May 6 - Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep...

Philippians 3:1-12

What keeps you up at night?

I wonder if there are ever questions that run through your mind, like mine, at the end of the day:

Did I remember to switch over the laundry?

Where is the grocery list?


Maybe our questions get a little more unsettling, just like our hearts that are searching for stillness even as our bodies toss and turn:

Did I get enough accomplished today?

How am I going to pay the bills next month?

Are the kids/parents going to be alright?

Is anyone going to take me seriously?

What does so-and-so think of me?

What if I get sick?

How can I prove myself to be worthy of the promotion/relationship/praise/job offer/love?

These questions aren’t just about whether or not we left the lights on. They are questions that reveal the wiring of our hearts—they reveal to us how much our hearts long for honor, worth, and significance. They reveal to us how much confidence we place in the things of this world and our own strength; health for survival and well-being.

And yet, neither we nor the things of this world will ever quiet those questions and pleadings of our hearts. If we turn to the world around us for answers, we will always be left longing. If we turn to ourselves, we will be left in despair. Even if we successfully climb the ladder of achievement and make ourselves out to have “made it”, there is always a secret fear in our hearts, whispering to us and reminding us that it can all come crashing down at any moment (and for many of us, it has in recent weeks). In order to stay at the top of the ladder of success, we can find ourselves tempted to mistreat others on the rungs below us, lest they pull us down a rung or two in their pursuit of our place at the top.

Whenever I am brave enough to remember and admit that this is true about myself, I am that much more moved by Paul’s words in verse 7: “whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” Paul does not hesitate to remind us about his place at the top of the ladder, rattling through his accolades that read like something out of a “Who’s Who of First Century Pharisees.” And yet, he is insistent that we realize that all those accomplishments pale in comparison to the fullness found in a life guided by—and lived with—Jesus.

Paul's confidence is not in his accomplishments, or his earthly good fortune, or his status. In fact, Paul, like Jesus, experienced great hardship throughout his life. But it seemed not to sway or unsettle him, because he had emptied himself of the need for his own elevation, and instead found a confidence and enduring hope in Christ.

There is freedom for us in body, mind, and spirit when we step off of the ladder and into the arms of Jesus, where "fears are stilled and strivings cease”. There is not a fragility or fickleness in the fierce and unchanging love of our Lord. And his arms are big enough for all of us, all the time.

That is a truth in which I can have confidence.

In Jesus' arms, I can truly rest.

Overcoming the Enemies in Your Life

By Thomas Denegre

We know how David overcame Goliath (1 Samuel 17). In a similar way, one woman, through Christ, overcame a South American tribe’s culture of death into life.

In the jungles of Ecuador, 33-year-old Elisabeth Elliot watched in horror as a dead man floated down the river with eighteen spears embedded in him.  The dreaded Auca tribe, known for their savagery and killings, had infiltrated her host’s village.  Filled with mixed feelings, Elisabeth made contact with the tribe she planned to evangelize with the Gospel.  Two years earlier, her husband Jim Elliot and four other missionaries were speared to death by the same tribe when they tried to evangelize to them.  Just as David was going to confront Goliath (1 Samuel 17), Elizabeth was going to confront her own foe.  Yet, her mission was not to destroy her enemy but to save them.

In the end, Elisabeth befriended the tribe and by modeling the virtues of Jesus she won many of them over to Christ.  Taken back by her character of humility, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, courage, and openness, 20% of the tribe received Jesus as their Lord. 

When she arrived in 1959 six out of ten Auca men died before the age of forty-five from homicide.  The Auca’s were a savage people and killing was an accepted form of behavior.  Within a few years the homicide rate dropped to 10% and the tribe’s population increased from 600 to 2,000 people.  The tribe changed their name from Auca to Waorani, meaning they are “the true people.” Clearly, the acceptance of Christ in these people’s hearts changed the culture of the tribe from death into life.  As Jesus once said, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have to come to bring life, and bring it abundantly.” (John 10:10).

So, how do we overcome our great enemies in life?  More importantly, how do we love our enemies when they want to kill us?  As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” Elisabeth Elliot, who wrote the book, “End of the Spear,” gives us the lessons to conquer our enemies.  Here are just few things I learned that you can apply to your life today, that can make a difference.

The prophet Hosea once said, “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) Or, as one of Murphy’s Law states, “if all else fails read the instructions.” As God plainly instructs us, we are called to plant and grow His Word in our heart and mind to prosper in all things.

Based on my own experience with prison ministry and mentoring immature Christians, the lesson is simple.  In John 15, Jesus is the source of life, truth, and the way while we receive and apply this source of love and life to others. Jesus said, “If you live in life-union with me (Jesus) and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask whatever you desire, and it will be done.  When your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are my mature disciples who glorify my Father!” (John 15:7-8 TPT)

By being in life union with Jesus and knowing his Words, I’m given the power, authority and strength to love, forgive, and care for others.  Not only does it change my life, but it changes those around me.  Today, the wardens of Ohio prisons are demanding more prison ministries to its inmates because it changes lives and changes the culture of a prison.  Just like the Auca tribe, the blessings of God are bestowed to those who hear, believe, and do his word.

To have the courage to face your enemy requires a large faith, confidence, and trust in the Lord. Elisabeth was soaked in the word and it gave her the strength and compassion to encounter her enemy.  It was not her facing the enemy, but Christ inside her that did.

Three things matter most in our faith journey. One is knowing the word of God. Two, is visualizing it working, and three being obedient to His Word.  As St. Paul said in Romans, “So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17).  Equally important is visualizing the hope of God in your heart. “For the heart is the wellspring of Life.” (Proverbs 4:20)

You have to conceive the Word, then you believe what it says, and then you’ll receive its promises. God calls us to meditate on the word to conceive its blessings as it is written in Psalm 1.  For it says,

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And, in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season,

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Yes, God prospers us when we own the Word of God in our heart and mind! I learned that by meditating on the Word in my heart God has prospered me with a rich life with Jesus in the Kingdom of God, and a blessed life with my wife, family and friends. Through humility I opened my heart to his love and his teachings.  By seeing how Jesus works in the Word, I can manifest these blessings from my mind’s eye into reality.  It is the same way Elisabeth was able to convert the tribe from a culture of death to Life, and the same way you can do it too.

Finally, you will always encounter doubts when facing difficult circumstances.  The way out is simple; never trust your own reasoning based on earthly teachings, never trust the reasoning of an unbeliever, and never trust the reasoning of a Christian who does not know or honors the Word of God.  Rather, through the Holy Spirit, always trust in the Word of God and the counsel of like-minded Christians. Just as Elisabeth trusted God in the jungles of Ecuador, you too can trust God to change your life and those around you.

Bear Necessities

2 Peter 3:10-13

If only we had a heads up on life’s curve balls! Wouldn’t it be great to be prepared for any situation?! I want to be like Bear Grylls – fearless and prepared for anything that comes his way. Bear seems to anticipate all possibilities and not dread them. He enjoys running into the “unexpected.”

Recently I went through an Alpha course and was pleasantly surprised to see Bear’s face on the screen. I didn’t know he had such a strong faith. I decided to google him and found multiple articles about his walk with God. I clicked on one story written a few months ago by Bear himself for British GQ. Again, pleasantly surprised to find such a story in this publication.

Bear wrote, “when we’re truly afraid and there’s no one around to help us, to possess a quiet faith can give us a persistence, light and courage that is so much greater than simply ourselves.” Later he says, “For many years I tried to do without it (faith). I tried to be strong only in myself. But the truth is that I’m not. I need a helping hand, a peace within and that quiet assurance for my future…I am no longer too proud to admit that I need my Saviour beside me.” He ends by saying, “Each fresh challenge offers an opportunity for you to develop your adventurous spirit and inner strength. So be brave. Embrace faith wherever you may find it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

After reading this, I understood where Bear’s confidence comes from. He knows he could die doing what he does, but it doesn’t seem to faze him because he knows where he’s going and that there’s a wonderful new heaven and new earth waiting.

1 John 3:11-24

Confidence Before God

The world is fallen and broken, walking in darkness, and ever hostile to God’s will and God’s way. It was that way in the beginning, it will be that way in the end. It was that way for Jesus, it will be that way for us. Knowing this, how do we carry on?

                                                    1 John 3:11 “We should love one another.” 

                                                     

1 John 16: This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

John tells us not to love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth in 1 John 18.

         A true heart for God feels and behaves differently than a heart of the world.

We can tell who is who by the way they live. “By their fruits you shall know them” said Jesus (Matt. 7:20)

But what about the times when we do not walk in His ways? When we sin does it mean we are no longer a child of God? Will God turn away? Absolutely not!

Whenever you doubt God’s love for you, look to the Cross. Whenever you feel sin dragging you down, look to the Cross. Whenever you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not worth it, look to the Cross.

1 John 3:24 concludes with:                                           

Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.

We all lose our way from time to time, yet knowing the Spirit is within us is all we need. The Holy Spirit was sent to give us hope and strength to fight for what is right and true and love unconditionally as Jesus did, giving us all the confidence we need before God.

Read/Listen to 1 John3:11-24

Need a Lift? Acts 18:1-17

We all need encouragement at times.  When someone we respect says things to us that build us up doesn't it make a difference in the way we act or respond to situations?  When I was a new Christian there was a woman who always found something good to say to me.

She made an effort to watch me and find something she could praise.  She obviously could read people and their body language for she had me pegged as one who needed to be reassured of my value.  It was her attentiveness that first impacted me and brought me back to church again and again.

Paul has had a rough time of things lately.  He was scorned, stoned, jailed and run out of town.  Anyone would begin to doubt themselves and their ability to carry out the mission God gave them.  Then, God spoke to Paul.  It must have been just what the doctor ordered.


One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. (Acts 18:9-11)


Those times when I need a boost, a shot in the arm, I turn to the scriptures, ask God to speak and sure enough He does.  By the time I am finished reading, praying and journaling, a theme surfaces and my path becomes clearer and my confidence is soaring.  God is so good.

Read Acts 18:1-17 here.

Attitude Is Everything, 1 Peter 4

My dad is a Marine. Growing up I was often confused by his attitude on life. He never seemed afraid or intimidated; he didn’t know a stranger or care what other people thought of him. My response to his seemed indifference was embarrassment. Today I see things differently. I recognize my father’s actions as confidence, which he learned in the Corp.

1 Peter 4 reminds me of my father, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” I love the phrase, arm yourselves with the same attitude. Before my son was one, my dad sent him a Marine Corp T-shirt sporting the phrase, Attitude is everything.

As a Christian, life should not be easy, we ought to live so different from the world that we stick out. If we truly are living holy, we’ll need our attitude to keep focused. 1 Peter states, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ…” We should actually be surprised if we are not suffering. In the same way I didn’t understand my father, the world will not understand us.

1 Peter calls us to find hope in our suffering, “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” Do you need to be accepted by God, or by the world?  If your choice is God, attitude is everything.

Read today's entire scripture on Biblegateway 1 Peter 4