"When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling." (1 Cor. 2:1-3)
Sometimes I am surprised at how painfully shy I can be at certain events. Because I feel nervous about a situation or a meeting, the thought of it can make my stomach turn.
In these moments, I am encouraged by these words of Paul -- that He too was a human being who experienced nervousness even when being one of the most powerful and memorable apostles for Christ. I forget that as a Christian, I do not live on my own strength and on my own abilities, that I may be proud of my accomplishments and boast to the world my greatness.
No, Paul says, "The foolishness of God is stronger than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Cor 1:25) In that vein, we give over our lives to Christ in full, so that we can do more than what our human strength (or weakness) can accomplish.
Yes, I have moments when my own strength is not strong enough and my own capacity is found wanting. In those moments, how blessed am I that I can turn to the Lord and ask for more capacity and more strength to do the things that He has called me to do. In the same way that Paul was called beyond his capacity to be an apostle, so too have I been called to the mission field of business -- and so I must rely and lean upon the Lord for my strength to go with courage even into the situations where I have none.
Lord Jesus, how great are You that I can lean upon You to do more than my human capacity allows. Strengthen Your servant in those times and lead me with peace into any perceived lions' dens that the world may construct. I pray that Your Spirit will always shine through in everything that I do. In Your awesome name I pray, AMEN.
Showing posts with label courage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label courage. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Resetting To God Regularly
It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! (Mt 10:25)
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Mt 10:28-31)
I've been remiss in my reading and studying of His word lately. I am His disciple, but I have let the obligations, cares and burdens of the world crowd out the priority of Him. And it isn't as if the world doesn't stop hammering away at you when you take a break from God. It just does it more subtly in ways that you don't realize are weakening your defenses.
I needed to hear this chapter and set of verses today. It is a reaffirmation of everything that is a Christian life. Courage in the midst of fearful circumstances. Jesus was sending his disciples out into different towns and cities where they would be welcomed in different ways. Sometimes it would be pleasant experience, and other times they would be hated and reviled.
That's so similar to life. We represent Christ Himself wherever we are, and we are being called to live by the standards that Christ has set. Honor, Integrity, and Honesty. The sad fact is that that is hardly the standard of the world. And of course it is understandable that people are more driven by their sins and fears than they are by the Lord. But, the Lord clearly warns us about Hell -- it is our awaited punishment unless we follow Christ.
We all have an appointed time to die. Nothing will happen to us, especially those who stand with Christ, unless the Lord allows it. That is the truth - and it is also the truth that bad things and tragedies also happen to Christians as well. However, our responsibility is ultimately in our response to these trials.
Will we continue to stay strong and obedient to the Lord's calling, no matter what the world and Satan tries to throw against us? Or will we be battered down and give up?
It all depends on whose strength we are leaning on in times of difficulty and trouble. If we are not trained up to know God's word intimately and thoroughly, we will falter because our foundation is weak. That is the risk that I face today. Can I not even read one chapter daily to meditate and pray upon?
The Lord has reminded me of how weak I am without Him, but also how strong I can be in the midst of trial when I am near to Him.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. (1 Cor 10:12)
As Christians we have given our lives over to Christ. We do not stand without Him, and if we ever find ourselves drifting to a place where we don't think we need to read the word or seek to do His will, then there is a big issue.
I don't think I quite got to that type of place, but surely this has been the reminder of who I am, and how I need to react in the face of trials and situations that call me to compromise.
Lord Jesus, please forgive me that I have been absent from my reading and studies. I know that this is a recurring theme in my life -- will I not learn?! Am I instead to wander in the desert in circles just outside the promised land? I know that there is so much ahead, but I need to submit to Your will, Your ways, and seek You out daily. Please help me to grow my inner strength and to have Your strength as I face the trials ahead. In Your overcoming name I pray, AMEN.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Making Godly Personal Choices Against Worldly Pressure
"Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives..."When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women,...if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. (Exodus 1:15-18)
The midwives in this story are true heroes. Here is a situation which is unfortunately too familiar to the Jewish people, where there is a desire of a national leader to exterminate them. In this case, Pharaoh did not want to get rid of the forced labor that he was using (the Hebrew population), but he wanted to minimize their numbers so they would not be a threat.
The midwives needed to make a choice, do they follow the earthly king who had to power to kill them, or do they fear God even more and disobey the direct orders they have been given? While the decision can seem cut and dry, in the moment with such an intimidating presence as the leader of one of the most powerful nations on Earth ordering you to do evil, it is tough to side with the Lord.
To their eternal credit, the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah defied the Pharaoh and let the males live. They were called to Pharaoh to explain themselves, but instead deceived him by saying that Hebrew women typically give birth even before the midwives get there. Was that a lie? Yes. But a lie to fool a person who is doing evil is not a lie. Other prominent examples of this type of lie would be Germans who helped hide the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust or Underground Railroad participants who aided and hid slaves going North toward freedom.
This kind of usage of deception needs to be used very carefully however, and the usage of "evil" must be that as defined by God and not by man. For example, the deception and fudging of figures of the scientists recently exposed in the "Climategate" scandal could be construed as deception done for the greater good of the Earth (although it was probably done for the greater good of the scientists' funding). Many environmentalists might believe that true evil is our production of carbon dioxide, the gas we emit when we breathe. Irrespective of the argument over whether global warming is true, this instance is not a definition of evil in the eyes of God. In fact, He says, "subdue the Earth" (Gen 1:28), not "save the Earth". So the lies and deception of the scientists in this case are sins.
Ultimately, this passage is really about personal choices that we make. In this situation, the Hebrews were subjugated by Pharaoh and made to do rigorous labor. It seems like they had little personal choices and were trapped in their situations. Scribbles scrawled into rock walls of the time period had desperate pleas written in Hebrew like "Save us El (God)!" carved into them.
But, even though orders were given by Earthly authorities, there is still a personal choice on whether they will be followed. As Christians, we ultimately fear God over anything else. When we refer to Him as "Lord", it is a calculated word which means "My life is God's, for His service alone. Even my own desires and wants must be checked to His authority." There are no half-measures here. We cannot be saved by Christ, and call Him Lord without truly handing over all of ourselves to Him. The standard - the only standard for the Christian is as Paul describes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."(Gal 2:20)
In that light, there are many agendas in this world, and powerful people who will seek to persuade, influence and even cajole others to do things ranging from unlawful acts to acts lacking in integrity that aren't criminal. They will ask you to mislead others and make it sound harmless by calling it "mere spin". I write these things because it is very real to me and to my profession. I write these things because I know that my heart and my flesh are weak. I know that I am not strong enough to live a life of integrity without the Lord.
Although we may feel trapped and afraid in certain situations, we must remember these two brave midwives. They defied a king who asked them to do evil, and are forever remembered for their faith in the Lord and their allegience to Him alone.
Lord Jesus, You ask us to set ourselves aside and to worship only You. What that means is that You are our Lord in everything and we live our lives for You, knowing that ultimately You are responsible for guiding our lives like a loving Father. We will be all right, things will work out. There are those in the world who are striving to manipulate us for their own gains, and unfortunately they can put very real pressure upon us to forget our core beliefs and values. Lord Jesus, give me the strength to walk in integrity. Let me never choose to do an act that would violate my beliefs, but instead, help me to walk a path of true faith. I know that might mean killing my career, losing friendships, and struggling at times, but I know You will honor my choices accordingly. If the only reward we see is eternal salvation and being with You in Heaven, that is enough. Thank You Lord that You have taught me how to know right from wrong, please empower me with the strength to live it out. I know I am imperfect in that light, but my desire is to get better and better everyday. Please help me in that, In Jesus' name, Amen.
The midwives in this story are true heroes. Here is a situation which is unfortunately too familiar to the Jewish people, where there is a desire of a national leader to exterminate them. In this case, Pharaoh did not want to get rid of the forced labor that he was using (the Hebrew population), but he wanted to minimize their numbers so they would not be a threat.
The midwives needed to make a choice, do they follow the earthly king who had to power to kill them, or do they fear God even more and disobey the direct orders they have been given? While the decision can seem cut and dry, in the moment with such an intimidating presence as the leader of one of the most powerful nations on Earth ordering you to do evil, it is tough to side with the Lord.
To their eternal credit, the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah defied the Pharaoh and let the males live. They were called to Pharaoh to explain themselves, but instead deceived him by saying that Hebrew women typically give birth even before the midwives get there. Was that a lie? Yes. But a lie to fool a person who is doing evil is not a lie. Other prominent examples of this type of lie would be Germans who helped hide the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust or Underground Railroad participants who aided and hid slaves going North toward freedom.
This kind of usage of deception needs to be used very carefully however, and the usage of "evil" must be that as defined by God and not by man. For example, the deception and fudging of figures of the scientists recently exposed in the "Climategate" scandal could be construed as deception done for the greater good of the Earth (although it was probably done for the greater good of the scientists' funding). Many environmentalists might believe that true evil is our production of carbon dioxide, the gas we emit when we breathe. Irrespective of the argument over whether global warming is true, this instance is not a definition of evil in the eyes of God. In fact, He says, "subdue the Earth" (Gen 1:28), not "save the Earth". So the lies and deception of the scientists in this case are sins.
Ultimately, this passage is really about personal choices that we make. In this situation, the Hebrews were subjugated by Pharaoh and made to do rigorous labor. It seems like they had little personal choices and were trapped in their situations. Scribbles scrawled into rock walls of the time period had desperate pleas written in Hebrew like "Save us El (God)!" carved into them.
But, even though orders were given by Earthly authorities, there is still a personal choice on whether they will be followed. As Christians, we ultimately fear God over anything else. When we refer to Him as "Lord", it is a calculated word which means "My life is God's, for His service alone. Even my own desires and wants must be checked to His authority." There are no half-measures here. We cannot be saved by Christ, and call Him Lord without truly handing over all of ourselves to Him. The standard - the only standard for the Christian is as Paul describes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."(Gal 2:20)
In that light, there are many agendas in this world, and powerful people who will seek to persuade, influence and even cajole others to do things ranging from unlawful acts to acts lacking in integrity that aren't criminal. They will ask you to mislead others and make it sound harmless by calling it "mere spin". I write these things because it is very real to me and to my profession. I write these things because I know that my heart and my flesh are weak. I know that I am not strong enough to live a life of integrity without the Lord.
Although we may feel trapped and afraid in certain situations, we must remember these two brave midwives. They defied a king who asked them to do evil, and are forever remembered for their faith in the Lord and their allegience to Him alone.
Lord Jesus, You ask us to set ourselves aside and to worship only You. What that means is that You are our Lord in everything and we live our lives for You, knowing that ultimately You are responsible for guiding our lives like a loving Father. We will be all right, things will work out. There are those in the world who are striving to manipulate us for their own gains, and unfortunately they can put very real pressure upon us to forget our core beliefs and values. Lord Jesus, give me the strength to walk in integrity. Let me never choose to do an act that would violate my beliefs, but instead, help me to walk a path of true faith. I know that might mean killing my career, losing friendships, and struggling at times, but I know You will honor my choices accordingly. If the only reward we see is eternal salvation and being with You in Heaven, that is enough. Thank You Lord that You have taught me how to know right from wrong, please empower me with the strength to live it out. I know I am imperfect in that light, but my desire is to get better and better everyday. Please help me in that, In Jesus' name, Amen.
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