Perseverance - Placing your confidence in sure foundation

This may come as no surprise to you, but the Cleveland Browns are 0-12 so far this season. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it got worse.

Have you ever been in a season of life like that? A season where everything that could go wrong keeps going wrong? We’ve all been there, whether it was just a day or two, or few weeks, or even years. It’s easy to get discouraged and want to just give up, right?

The Apostle Paul wrote to encourage believers in Philippi and left us with one of the most encouraging verses in all of Scripture.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6

Certainly, we could place Romans 8:28 right up there with that one too. But Paul was in a season of struggle where everything was going “wrong.” He actually wrote the book of Philippians while he was in prison. The book on being joyful was written from a prison cell.

Paul was able to look beyond his circumstance and see that his confidence wasn’t in where he was, what job he had, what car he drove, what smartphone he carried. No, it was in the work of Jesus Christ!

What brought him great joy was the Gospel of Christ and the partnership of other believers. He expresses his sincere love for the Philippians who are “partakers with me of grace.” The joy of fellowship with other believers because of what Christ had done was his encouragement.

In part I believe the Philippian church held a very special place in Paul’s heart because of how the church in Philippi was born. Spend some time reading Acts 16 for the full story. Paul was beaten and put in prison with his buddy Silas for preaching the Gospel and casting out a demon. While chained in prison and singing praise songs to Jesus, there was an earthquake that loosened their chains and opened the prison doors.

Instead of escaping, Paul and Silas got all the other prisoners to stay, which saved the jailor's life. Because of their actions, the Philippian jailor asked Paul what he must do to be saved. That very night the jailor and his family received Christ and were baptized, thus starting the church in Philippi.

Paul saw how God turned one of his worst days into a day of rejoicing! Through Paul’s pain and suffering came the birth of a new congregation, one that became very near and dear to the Apostle’s heart.

And so, I want to encourage you with this thought, keep your eyes on Jesus even when you are going through hard times. He is working in and through you in ways you can’t understand yet, but nothing is wasted with Jesus. You never know who is going to see Jesus in you as you preserve through trials.

Our confidence is not in our self, but in Jesus Christ!

Some Thoughts on Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?

It's the question going around this week as everyone is gearing up for the holiday.

I heard a topic being discussed on talk radio this morning that has got me to thinking about this truth: 

...In your book were written, everyone of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:16 

I am thankful for the life God has given me. Not just that I am alive and still breathing, but think of all the forethought and attention God had to invest in your life. He chose to place you in your family, in the country and city you were born, in the era of history. Nothing about these things can we choose, for better or for worse.

My life, your life, is no accident. God numbered our days, He wrote them out in detail before we were even formed. Think of all the blessings you have today that you wouldn’t have if you were born 100 years ago, or 1,000. What would life be like if you were born on the other side of the world?

For me, this Thanksgiving is about thinking on how big God is, how good and gracious He is. I want to consider how dependent I really am on Him each and every day and praise Him for His faithfulness.  I was encouraged to evaluate how I give thanks by this quote from C.S. Lewis.

"Gratitude exclaims, very properly, 'How good of God to give me this.' Adoration says, "what must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscations (flashes of light) are like this!" One's mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun." C.S. Lewis

I desire my thanksgiving to be full of gratitude and adoration for God.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"I Couldn't Help Myself"

“Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know! I couldn’t help myself!”

Have you ever had this exchange with someone? Either being asked by your parents or a teacher on why you just did something stupid. Or maybe you asked “why” and this was their response.

It was a typical day in kindergarten and we were walking back into the class room at Highland Elementary School. Ahead of me was a girl in the class who realized her shoe was untied. She immediately did the straight leg bend at the waste to tire her shoe. When a “brilliant” idea popped into my mind, and I immediately kicked her in the butt! That’s when she fell down and lay there sprawled out on the floor.

That’s when the guilt began. But of course, instead of saying “I’m sorry” and helping her up, I laughed and teased. And I got in trouble. My teacher asked why I would do such a thing. “I don’t know, I couldn’t help it,” I replied.

Seemed like a good answer to my six-year-old self. It was a stupid thing to do. What seemed super funny and harmless in my mind, was hurtful and mean and led to unpleasant consequences. I remember getting punished at school, but most of all I remember the look on her face and the guilt I felt. Stupid is stupid. In that moment I was lacking something very important: self-control.

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

Proverbs 25:28

If you spend any time in the book of Proverbs, you’ll see that King Solomon was writing advice on how to avoid being stupid. He writes his wisdom prose to help us develop a self-controlled and disciplined life (Proverbs 1:1-7). I believe the book of Proverbs was very instrumental to me as I matured from that silly 6-year old’s mischievous ideas, to understanding how to stop and think through my actions. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time reading through and praying through Proverbs. There are 31 chapters, so I would read 1 chapter a day for every day of the months with 31 days in them.

When we turn on the news today we will see evidence of self-control lacking in people’s lives. The lack of self-control turns a peaceful protest into a riotous mob. We have seen this several times this past week in response to the election results. It takes self-control to avoid these types of situations.

I just read an article today of a “Christian Mom blogger” who has divorced her husband for a woman. It takes self-control to remain faithful to your vows and to deal with sinful thoughts and feelings in a righteous way.

Examples are everywhere of people responding to their feelings. “Don’t tell me I’m wrong!” “God just wants me to be happy!” “If it makes me feel good it can’t be that bad, right?” People lack discretion, the lack self-control.

Self-control is hard. It’s having power over yourself, your desires, your actions and your feelings. It can seem almost impossible at times depending on the situation. But there is great news for Christians: self-control is not entirely up to us! Paul labels self-control as a Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians5:22-23). This means that self-control is an evidence that we love Jesus and that the Holy Spirit is living in us.

If you are finding that you are having a hard time not gossiping, love Jesus more. If you are finding it hard to avoid saying hurtful things, love Jesus more. If you are having a hard time avoiding sinful websites, love Jesus more. You see, it’s about loving Jesus. The more we love Jesus the more the Holy Spirit will help us control our lives. That means you can have control of your anxiety, fear, lust, anger, greed, etc., but loving God with all your heart!

Self-control takes practice and time. There is a behavioral aspect to it. The more stupid you do and the harsher the consequences you face, you may learn to avoid those bad behaviors later. But it is more than behavior modification, it is heart change.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…” Titus 2:11-12

When we trust Jesus, love Jesus and repent of our sinfulness, He gives us the power to say no to sin. That is a huge promise and a much needed one.

All you have to do is open up Facebook, watch the News, or even walk down the street. You will see so many whose lives lack self-discipline. Ask God to open your eyes to it and the path it leads. There is a reason God lists this as a Fruit of the Spirit, a self-discipline life sets you a part from the world and brings glory to God.

In what area of your life are you lacking self-discipline?