How Do You Define Success?

Read: Nehemiah 12:27-31

We are drawing closer to Christmas Day and the end of 2019.  If you are a lot like me, you are spending some time reflecting on this past year.  What has gone well?  What has been difficult?  What goals have I achieved?  Where have I fallen short?  It can often leave us feeling we have not measured up, that we have failed in what we set out to do on January 1^st. 

Today’s reading is about the prophet Nehemiah.  The ancient Israelites had been in exile far away from their homeland.  The walls around their city, Jerusalem had been demolished, and the city had become inhabited by other nations.  After nearly 70 years, the Israelites were released from their captivity and began returning home.  They settled in and around Jerusalem, but they were a broken people.  They lived in the shadow of the ruins, the boulders of the once magnificent wall mocking them. 

Yet they were content there.  The prophet Nehemiah comes on the scene.  During the time of his exile, he was the cup bearer to the King of Persia.  He takes a trip back to Jerusalem to visit.  What he sees makes his heart melt, and he is overcome with grief.  Nehemiah prayed. And God stirred up a vision in his heart.  He must rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. 

It must have seemed crazy!  Afterall, what was he going to be able to do?  He was just a lowly cup bearer to a King in a foreign land. 

Fast forward 13 long, hard, trying years!  Miracles happened, opposition arouse, setbacks came.  Defeats and disappointments seemed to be winning.  But the day finally came when the wall was completed!  What a day to celebrate!!  Yet there is more.

I have been enjoying a book based upon the story of Nehemiah by Andy Stanley called “Visioneering.”  Listen to what Andy says about Nehemiah and success:

“There is a tendency to confuse success with the rewards of success. If you are where God wants you, fulfilling the responsibilities he has given you, you are successful. In fact, when that is the case, you are as successful as you will ever be. Granted, you may not be seeing or experiencing the rewards of your success. But you are successful nonetheless.

Success is remaining faithful to the process God has laid out for you.”

Nehemiah remained faithful to what God had called him to do every step of the way. 

Do you see the parallel in the Christmas story?  Mary, a young teenager, received a vision from God.  When the angel appeared to her and told her she would be the mother of Jesus, she said, 

“I am your handmaiden.  Let it be to me as you have said!” 

When did she see the rewards for her faithfulness?  On their way to Bethlehem when she was 9 months pregnant?  When Herod killed all the newborn babies?  When they had to flee to Egypt?  Or maybe when Jesus was arrested, put on trial and sentenced to death?  Maybe at the foot of the cross when she watched as her beloved son was crucified? 

Mary too remained faithful and put her hope in God even when all seemed lost.  She pondered ALL the things God had put in her heart and remained faithful to the process God had laid out for her, being the mother of the Savior of All.  Imagine the JOY she experienced what Jesus was raised to life again! 

Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Son Jesus, born for us! Help us to remain faithful to the vision You have for us and entrust ourselves to Your divine plan, to rescue and redeem the lost and broken people in this world!  We place our hope in You, that You have all things in Your hands and one day, You will restore US and all things beyond all we could ever ask or imagine.   

        

Success! It's Not What You Think It Is

I Peter 5:5-11

Our society tells us that 'the early bird gets the worm.' And success is only achieved through our own efforts. You've certainly heard the expression "the harder he worked, the luckier he became." We nod sagely and say, yes, it's all about hard work. No one cares more about your success than you do.' 

And yet....and yet. Scripture offers a radically different view. In today's passage, Paul tells us to 'clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.' He also instructs us to 'humble yourselves under God's mighty hand.' And did I mention that scripture talks about suffering? A lot? (Be sure to read v. 10....and just google 'suffering in the Bible' and you will get pages and pages of verses to examine).

So what does an American Christian, steeped in the "pull yourselves up by your bootstraps" ethos, do? We open our Bibles, we ask God to show us how to live. And we 'cast all our anxiety on Him, because he cares for us.' (v. 7). We don't cast some of our anxiety on Him. We cast it all. And when we want to reel it back in to handle it ourselves, we confess our sin, and we give it back to him. Again. And again. And again....

Lord, I want to live for you. Help me to draw closer to you, and to cast all my cares on you. Amen.

Cast Your Nets, One More Time

This month my husband and I celebrate 19 years of marriage. I remember early in our marriage my struggles with cooking. I would try and duplicate something my mom had cooked, or even something on TV and it would flop. I was a bad cook. What went wrong? Why did every attempt to feed my husband totally fail? Easy I didn’t go to the source of success, a recipe.

I didn’t cook well, because I was doing it my way. The disciple Simon, had an experience with the true source of success, Jesus. In today’s passage. Jesus climbs into the fisherman’s boat and uses it as a place to sit and teach the crowd which had gathered. After he was done teaching, Jesus tells Simon to go fishing.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

I absolutely love how Simon says, “But because you said so, I will let down the nets.” Simon had been unsuccessfully fishing all night, but now he new it would be different. Jesus was the key. Just like a recipe was the key for me to be able to cook. Jesus was all Simon needed. Before he new it, so many fish were in the nets, his boat started to sink!

Is there an area in life where you are trying to do something without a connection to Jesus. It’s not going to work.  Perhaps you feel like it is working just fine, let me ask you…is your boat so full it’s sinking? Stay connected to Christ. Seek him first in all you do. And if he tells you to do something you have already tried without success, do it again, just because he said so.


Read today’s entire passage here. Luke 5: 1-11

How do YOU spell success?

The verse which jumps out when I read from Psalm 118 is, "O LORD, save us: O LORD, grant us success. Success? Really?  If you read from The Message Bible, it calls success: "a free and full life." Is that success? Google describes it as (1) the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, (2) the attainment of popularity or profit.

George Patton said, "success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." If you research other quotes by other famous folks you will find a plethora of concepts. What do you say success is; looks like or feels like?

In a world overflowing with chaos and turmoil, to this writer, success is finally embracing the peace that passes all understanding. Success is having walked through all the drama life had to throw at us and coming out on the other side with a testimony worth telling.  It is having a story where God is the main character and peace and hope are the happy ending.

Psalm 118:19-29

I have written on these very same verses twice before in 2012 and 2014. Which of the 3 speak to you today in this place and in this time? Comment below or email your comment to me.

There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. (1 Timothy 3:16-17)

2 Timothy 3: 16-17

                 Looking for inspiration? “Google It!”

I did. As I read through the hundreds of inspirational quotes, it occurred to me that though not stated, a good portion of them were bible based whether the author of the message intended it to be or not. It is true that many quotes people think came from the bible,  have no biblical base, such as “God helps those who help themselves,” but to an extent it is good to know that God’s name is being referenced in the life of those who may not be truly committed. There are also verses spoken by preachers and teachers of the word that may not be directly taken from the bible yet reference how we are to live our lives based on biblical principles, like one of my favorites from Chuck Swindoll. 

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we are reminded: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 

If we are familiar with God's word, we can make reference to his teachings and help others make connections to the bible; our training manual for life, when we have the opportunity. Everyone loves to be inspired, so let's use our daily circumstances and interactions to direct others to His Word. What does the bible say?

1 Chronicles 28:20                    James 1:23-25
Deuteronomy 31:6                    1 John 3:18
Joshua 1:9                                Colossians 3:23-24
Psalm 27:14                              1 Peter 1:13
1 John 1:9                                  Hebrews 6:11-12
Philippians 4:13                         Daniel 11:32
Proverbs 28:13                          Luke 11:9
James 4:10                               James 2: 14-17
...and many more                      ...and many more

            2 Corinthians 5:17

            James 1:12
            Romans 5: 3-5
            Matthew 24:13
            Hebrews 10:36
            Acts 2:38
            Matthew 18: 21-22
            Psalm 32:5
            Luke 23:43
            ...and many more