Ready the Ground 6

Romans 5:3-4

I have a daily exercise routine using the Wii Fit. Among other things I do military presses with weights, push-ups and jackknife exercises. It isn’t always easy. In fact, I would say it is never easy. But I keep doing these things because they keep me healthy.

Every time I feel like stopping, every time I want to give up, I remind myself that what I am doing is building muscle. The workout is helping me feel better even if I don’t feel great as I am going through the routine.

Thinking back on the parable of the sower we have seen the different types of soil that the seed has fallen on. Some of the ground was good soil, ready to grow a great harvest. The other soils were not good – too hard, too shallow, too overgrown with thorns.

These represent the tough times in life. Sometimes we feel that we are the hard path, beaten down by life. Other times we are like the rocky soil – our faith is not deep enough to get us through the tough challenges in life. Other times life is like a field of thorns choking out our hopes and resolve.

But Paul has some encouragement in his letter to the Roman believers. What attitude does he have toward suffering? What does suffering produce? Perseverance? Character?

While it may be difficult for us to rejoice in the times when we suffer, we must maintain the attitude that we will get through these difficult challenges. We must remember that the tough times of life – the thorns and rocks, the days when we are beaten down – will ultimately make us better people.

If we can face our challenges and setbacks with confident faith that God is with us and that God loves us, we can emerge on the other side of trials with a deeper and stronger faith. As we endure suffering we build our faith muscles making us more able to face future hardships. And as we face hardships in the knowledge of God’s love we will have hope for our ultimate victory over the pain with God at our side.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you keep a positive outlook in hard times?

Love God 5

Ephesians 4:22-24

In today’s society with our modern ways of communicating and staying in contact with one another it is easier to get in touch with people who live far away. Recently I was contacted through e-mail by someone I knew when I was a child. She reminisced on our childhood and the old neighborhood and suggested that we might get together some time.

I hesitate getting in touch with all the many people I knew so many years ago. The biggest reason is that I am not the same person I was forty years ago. Not only have my life and circumstances changed, but I have changed. I do not think and act as I did so long ago.

The letter to the believers in Ephesus makes a comment about spiritual growth. What are we to do with our old self? What is wrong with the old self? What is the goal of the new self?

Whether our beliefs in God came later in life or they have been with us since childhood, the odds are that we are not who we used to be. When we do not have a deep connection with God, or we have no faith at all, we are easily tempted by the corruption of our humanity – a tendency to be selfish, to sin, to act deceitfully. But when we take on a new faith, when we progress in our spiritual growth, we can put away our old habits and behaviors.

Through an acceptance of Christ and a movement forward in our faith we grow to be better people. As Ephesians 4:24 points out, we are to grow in the likeness of God. We should grow to be more holy in our thinking and in the things we do.

2 Peter 1 talks about the progression of spiritual growth for believers. We are to begin with faith and then add goodness to that. Once we have mastered our faith and goodness we can add knowledge and self-control. To continue growing toward that more perfect self, that spirituality that is like God in true righteousness and holiness, we must now add perseverance and godliness.

Godliness is that new self that we need to have. Godliness is that holiness, that God-likeness, that we must exhibit in our life and our ability to love.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be made new, more God-like, in your attitudes?

Love God 4

Matthew 15:25-28

When I applied for a position as a corporate trainer I felt very confident about the opportunity. I knew I would make a great trainer. But the manager who interviewed me disagreed and told me she did not intend to hire me.

After a moment of disappointment my wife told me to call her back and convince her that I was the person for the job. I called back, politely explained that I was truly qualified for the position, and challenged her to give me a chance to demonstrate my skills.

I got the job.

Continuing with the story of the Canaanite woman, we have seen that her daughter is suffering from demon possession. But Jesus has ignored her calls for help. What does the woman do in verse 25? How does Jesus respond? What ultimately causes Jesus to give the healing requested?

Jesus healed the woman’s daughter because she exhibited great faith. She was persistent in her pursuit of a response from Jesus. She did not give up easily, but pushed forward until she achieved what she desired.

We may find ourselves in a desperate situation. We need help. We need God’s blessings and guidance and strength.

We may turn to the Lord for help, but then we may feel that we have been ignored because God has not responded immediately. We need to have the perseverance of our faith, the ability to accept where we are and press forward to see the changes we want to have happen. We must be willing to be like the Canaanite woman and dare to press God for His presence in our lives.

Perseverance goes beyond waiting. Perseverance implies action on our part. When we see what needs to change – in ourselves, in our world, in our faith – perseverance calls us to make those changes. It may happen quickly. It may take years. But the faithful believer who has perseverance will constantly work toward improving God’s kingdom.

We also need perseverance with ourselves. We must constantly and patiently move on in our faith to become better Christians.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What needs to be better about your faith?

Love God 3

Matthew 15:21-24

We are all likely familiar with the frustration of waiting in a doctor’s office. We are aware of the patience needed to finally be seen by a physician. While patience is an admirable quality, the “perseverance” mentioned in 2 Peter 1:6 does not translate to be patience. Patience can be understood to be the quiet tolerance of the passing of time. But perseverance is the acceptance of circumstances joined with the active pursuit of change.

As an example of perseverance – the attitude that we must add to our faith, goodness, knowledge and self-control – we have the story of the Canaanite woman. Like the story of the Good Samaritan, there is information implied by the words. The Canaanite woman was not Jewish.

Why does the woman come to Jesus? What was Jesus’ response? What did the disciples want? How do you feel about Jesus’ responses?

There are many different interpretations of why Jesus ignored the woman as he did. He may have been testing her devotion and authenticity. He may have truly wanted to focus on the Jews, but changed his mind. He may have been teaching a lesson to the woman, to the disciples, or to us.

If there is anything we can take away from this story it is the need for perseverance in our faith. The woman was not part of the ministry of Jesus yet she was willing to make herself vulnerable, to risk the rejection she received, by confronting Jesus. She was willing to endure being snubbed by Christ and the disciples to accomplish a greater good.

As Christians we must realize our need to grow in our faith, to move from being good to being great. That requires that we put ourselves at risk. That requires that we move forward, refusing to accept where we are as the end of the journey.

We must have faith and goodness. And to that we must add knowledge and self-control. Then we must add perseverance – the deliberate and sometimes slow movement forward in faith.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you live out perseverance in your faith?

Are You Willing? 5

Matthew 5:10-12

Rev. Mike Slaughter once said that others have wondered about his hard work in ministry as he helps the needy and works among those who do not have faith. He said that he is happy to be in those challenging situations. He said that he is glad to stand at the gates of Hell because that is where Jesus will triumph.

Whenever we are in a challenging situation, surrounded by the hardships of life and outside the comforts of our family of faith and place of worship, we should be glad. In that place of trial we are in the presence of Christ and we are surrounded by the Lord’s strength.

This passage is part of “The Sermon on the Mount.” What encouragement does Jesus offer those who feel persecuted? What does he say about suffering insults and accusations? What can we expect?

A common misconception is that every problem should cause us happiness. That is not completely true and accurate. The hardships that should cause rejoicing are the trials we experience when we do the good work of God.

As we deal with people outside the church, people who are not familiar with the love and grace of God, we should expect some opposition. The love and mercy that we are to show to others seems to defy the logic most people employ. Instead of welcoming this love and grace many people are confused by it and seem to reject it.

If we strive to do the work of God we can expect that there will be those who will work to stop it. We may have to face those who will persecute us, criticize us, even make up false claims about us – anything to get us to stop.

If we are working for God and our intentions are holy and good, then we must press on with the good work we are doing. And as we soldier on in the kingdom of God we should do it with a glad heart, knowing that God will richly bless us and provide for us even in the worst of times. When we are in the midst of challenges because of holiness we are also in the midst of Christ.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can remind you of Christ’s presence even in the midst of hardships?

Are You Willing? 4

1 Peter 4:12-13

I recall a teen-age girl at our previous church who had a pretty good life. She and her family had a nice house, drove nice cars, and she was popular in school. Then one day her father became ill and she was absolutely devastated. How could God be so cruel? Why was life suddenly so hard?

And I wondered at her lack of faith. I wondered why she was so surprised when something bad had happened.

It isn’t that we should never hope for good in our life. It isn’t that we shouldn’t desire a comfortable life. But neither should we be surprised when bad things come along now and then. In Matthew 5:46 Jesus tells us, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Things happen in life. Some are good and some are bad. But we who believe in God and try to follow the teachings of Jesus, we who try to live a righteous and holy life will indeed encounter opposition. Those who do not have our faith may be confused by our beliefs and may be against what Jesus teaches. The evil that exists in the world will always work against those who try to do good.

So, Peter has a comment on our attitudes. What does he say about suffering? How should we react?

This is not to say that we should delight in troubles. Rather, we should not be surprised when bad things come along. And we should expect that our attempts at living as Jesus taught is going to bring some challenges.

We shouldn’t rejoice in every problem that we encounter, but we should rejoice when we encounter trials as we live out a holy life. It shows us that we are in fact doing good or the evil that exists wouldn’t be working so hard to stop it.

If we experience hardships because of our faith it can be an indicator that we are indeed on the right path. We should rejoice, not in our troubles, but in the knowledge that we are doing what is right.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you rejoice in the trials that come from living out your faith?

Are You Willing? 3

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

I caught the end of National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” movie the other day. Most of the movie is about all the horrible things that take place in the Griswald home during the holidays. Things fall apart. The tree bursts into flames. The dog knocks over cabinets and tears down curtains, and so on.

In the end the main character realizes the importance of Christmas is the love that came from God. In spite of all the upheaval he is at peace.

Although our lives are nowhere near as chaotic and tumultuous as what goes on in the movie, we can sometimes feel that we are being pushed around and that our lives are under attack at every turn. We can sometimes feel discouraged.

In this second letter to the Corinthian believers Paul offers some words on the struggles of life. To what does he compare human frailty? What are the bad things of life? What are the good?

Paul begins this section with an image of our humanity. We are like clay jars which hold a great treasure. The exterior, the clay jar, is not as important as what is inside. The container is a fragile thing, easily broken and destroyed, in spite of the goodness within.

So it is with us. We are fragile mortals, easily destroyed, easily broken. Our frail mortal existence is not as important as what is inside us. The Spirit of God dwelling inside each of us is what is important. The presence of Christ within us is the treasure we bear.

And in spite of all that buffets and assails us – we are pressed, struck down, perplexed and persecuted – we remain strong in the Lord. We are not crushed or abandoned. We do not despair because we are not destroyed.

No matter what difficulties we may endure, no matter what hardships, we persist. No matter what our weaknesses and frailties we are successful because the treasure of Christ is within us to help us carry on.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What helps you remember the treasure you carry?