You're Not Strong Enough

You’re Not Strong Enough

Have you ever been confronted with something so difficult that you did not know how you could go on? It is in those times that often you will hear trite Christian platitudes designed to make people feel better with bumper-sticker theology.  But these quotes do little in the face of the actual brokenness of the world.  

I have a friend who is currently going through one life-threatening struggle after another. He has leaned on God all the way and God has strengthened him to face each new day. The emotion of despair has not overtaken him. One day a well-meaning Christian said to him, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” I am sure you have heard those words before.

A limp, anemic statement such as that will not stand up in a broken world.

The primary problem with the quote is that it is not in the Bible.

There is, however, a statement that sounds like it.  In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”  Notice that the verse is about temptation.  That’s it.

The Bible reveals quite another story when it comes to struggles.

The apostle Paul faced many struggles in his life. He wrote, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead" (2 Cor. 1:8-9).

Take note of these scriptures as well.

 “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.” (2 Timothy 4:17).

“I can do all things thru Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

When you find yourself struggling and you have nothing left to give – when life’s difficulties are beyond your capability to cope, it is in those times you must rely on God.  Approach Him with an authentic faith that engages Him with the full brunt of your emotion and pain.  Then, the strength of the God of resurrection will be seen.

Dear Heavenly Father, life is often difficult. We sometimes feel overwhelmed and  don’t understand why you choose to leave us in the midst of the struggle. I hurt for my friend and his struggles, but I thank you for giving him strength. He is courageous because you stand by him! Thank you for our friendship and for showing me an unwavering strength in the face of weakness. I ask that you continue to hold him up. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Terry Smith 
Stephenville, TX

Things That Are Not - But Are

  "As it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed – the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”   (Romans 4:17)

         Daily, every person believes. Even one who scorns the idea of faith in the eternal God daily leans on faith.  He believes the floor will support him as he steps from his bed.  He trusts the light will come on as he touches the switch.  He is confident the water is safe as he brushes his teeth.  He is convinced that his eyes accurately assess reality that he sees.  No person lives without faith in something, or in someone.

         Abraham was 75 years old when God promised him a son by his 65 year-old wife, Sarah. (Genesis 12:1ff.) Twenty four years later, the 99 year old Abraham and 89 year-old Sarah were yet childless.  “…his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and…Sarah’s womb was also dead.” (Romans 4:19.)  A gambling spirit could sooner win the Texas Lotto than this couple in history could have had a son – and through him, beget “many nations”.              

        The Bible is not recording some boondoggling myth.  The Jews you know meet on the street today came – ultimately, from Abraham’s body, “…as good as dead…and from Sarah’s womb…also dead”!  Such is the reality of the history of God’s promise to them, and of its fulfillment in the lives of today’s Jews we see with our very own eyes.  Yet, we wonder, “How?”

       “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your seed be’…he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Vs. 18-21.)

         Therein lies the lesson, and encouragement, for us.  God has power to do what He promises.  The Bible records such power at work in his raising his Son from the grave, and in his fulfilling the promises He has since made to countless servants of Jesus our Lord.  No wonder we indeed profit from daily Bible reading, and meditation.  Such reasonable faith “comes from hearing the word of God.”. (Romans 10:17.)

                                                                                                                                                                --Ted Kell

Brownwood, Texas

Jesus Changes Everything

And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at this feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  Luke 7:38 (English Standard Version)

Jesus was not popular with the religious leaders of his day.  They ridiculed him, lied about him, and plotted to embarrass him.  They would ultimately murder him and call it capital punishment.

The above scripture isn’t about the Pharisee who may have invited Jesus to his home to entrap him.  It’s about a prostitute who had probably been among the crowds of people who heard Jesus preach.  His words gave her hope.  His message changed her.   She came to him a sinner; penitent, humble, heart overflowing with gratitude for the way his unconditional love changed how she saw herself.  Her tears say it all.

God has always taken disobedience seriously, but he is equally serious about his love for us.  We are his first priority.  How amazing is that?  

Jesus did nothing wrong yet he allowed himself to be executed for our lawlessness so we could live.  That act in itself elevates the worst sinner to a kinship with the King.  Jesus changes hearts.  He changes lifestyles, and ultimately destinies.  His life, death, burial and resurrection changes everything.

Pray with me:

“Father in Heaven, like the woman with the alabaster flask of expensive ointment, I weep with gratitude because of your priceless gift of salvation.  I know you love all of me, strengths and weaknesses.  Because you love me as I am, and because your arms are always open and welcoming, I want to give you my best self every day.  I love you back.  Amen.”

     

Sandra Milholland – Abilene, Texas

In Between

I was reading a fellow’s thoughts on I Peter, chapter 4. He brought up the idea that between Jesus’ ascension and His return at the second coming is where we live. This time He called “the between time”.

I like that! The between time! Between the time when I was baptized and when I, too, ascend. The between time between the time I was adopted into God’s family and when I go home.

What happens during these between times?

Peter says you may suffer, but take heart. This is your time…the time you live as lights in a dark world. The time you live in fleshly bodies but you also live in the spirit of God.

This is your time to demonstrate to the world that God is real. The Bible is true and Jesus is coming back.

Angels would love to have our job…to represent God to the world…to praise Him here…to live lives of faith in this world.

So, what are you going to do with your “between time?”

Dear Father, Here I am in between. In between birth and death...baptism and resurrection. I have stumbled many times. I have wasted so much. But here I am…forgive me for my sins. Help me to use what time I have left. I want to finish well. I must finish well. Guide me. Guard me. Help me. Lay down every sin that besets me. Help me to look to Jesus. Keep my feet from stumbling. Bring me home.   In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. 

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

Heart Checkup

Confession time!  A few weeks ago, I gave a lesson on the heart. Lessons about the heart were easier to give back in my twenties.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve become more aware of my own heart – both its joys and its flaws.  Texts about the heart have taken on a more practical edge for me.   

Here is a sampling of some texts we reflected on.

Proverbs 4:23: “Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the issues of life.”   

Matthew 5:8:  “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” 

Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick.  Who can understand it?’ 

Psalm 19:12:  “Who can discern his errors?” 

Psalm 139:23:  “Search me, O God, and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there is any hurtful way in me.”   

As I thought through these and other texts and talked through them with our congregation, I was again reminded how often and easily I recited them when I was younger.  As the time drew nigh for me to share a lesson about “spiritual heart health”, I thought about how innocent (another confession) my appreciation of these texts had been in earlier years.  Some of that comes with just being young and not yet battle tested.  I also thought about how true it is that as we grow older we become more acquainted with our inclination for sin.  In other words, we learn how volatile and impulsive our hearts can be.  We reach, for example, for Proverbs 4:23 knowing that we live smack in the middle of the reality Jeremiah 17:9 describes.  We encounter thoughts and impulses that can take us into dark places.  Have you ever found yourself struggling with things you never thought would be on your radar?

Someone remarked to me a while back, “I look forward to getting on the other side of forty.”  I said, “What’s on the other side of forty?”  They quipped, “Less of the stuff I’m dealing with on this side of forty.  I just think life will be simpler and easier spiritually when I get on the other side.”  I had to think about that one for a minute.  “Easier…?  Hmmm.”  I remarked, “I think you are in for a surprise.  When you get to the other side of forty, I think you will discover that you are still ‘very human!’”  Sin and its deceitfulness doesn’t stop with “more birthdays”.   Our growth spiritually should certainly see us developing a resistance to some of the things that used to “get at us” at an earlier point in our lives.  But, other spiritual challenges come along that search for new holes in our spirtual armor.  Luke 4:11 says Satan left Jesus after the wilderness temptation experience, lying in wait for another opportunity!

Take David for example.  David does some fantastic things in his life.  He also faces some enormous life challenges.  In his younger years he endures Saul’s antagonism – even his plots to destroy him – refusing to take Saul’s life when he had the opportunity on more than one occasion.  He absorbs the blows on the way to becoming Israel’s next king.  After Saul’s death, he composes a song about him and encourages every Israelite to learn it.  Pretty mature…right? 

But later in life, David leaves Jerusalem as a wounded king to protect the city from civil war at the hands of his son, Absalom.  On the way out of the city, a mean, hateful man named Shimei walks alongside him mocking him, cursing at him and throwing stones his direction (2 Samuel 16:5ff).  A member of David’s entourage wants to “fix the guy’s problem” but David begs him off.  They walk away from the situation and travel on.

Now, fast forward to the end of David’s life.  As he lay upon his death bed (a dying king with a great memory can call attention to a lot of unfinished business!), he calls Solomon’s attention to what Shimei did a “long time ago”.  “Make sure he doesn’t die a natural death”, David says (2 Kings 2:8-9).  And, that’s exactly what happened (2 Kings 2:36-46).

Pre-forty…post-forty…the battles come and go.  They change form, type and degree.  We live in strength in one moment but have to be vigilant for “Shimei” episodes in moments when we are frail.  One thing is certain.  They keep coming.  Paul was right:  “I have not arrived nor have I become perfect” (Philippians 3:12-14).  I think our challenge and calling is to hear the wisdom of Proverbs 4:23 in the awareness of the frailty of our flesh mirrored in David’s cry in Psalm 19:12 knowing that we walk with the One who has passed every test this world could throw at him and who lives to make intercession for us as One who sympathizes with us (Hebrews 7:25; 4:15).  We live in the mix of all of that.  And, in that mix we exercise diligence in matters of the heart.  .

Prayer: O God, save us from both the naiveté and the arrogance that seduce us into becoming less vigilant over our hearts.  As your servant James said so we request that you help us “implant” your word into our hearts so that we might think rightly about our lives and detect the deceitfulness of sin in its many forms.  We know our hearts.  Heal us.  Convict us.  Encourage us.  Restore us.  Equip us.  We need your presence in our hearts.  May the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in your sight…now and always.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty
Stephenville, Texas

Just Expressing Myself

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” – Proverbs 18:21

Words matter.  They always have.  Take social media for instance.

A woman lamented, “We have never been so wounded and hurt by anything…ever."  

She and her family recently lived through a social media “beating.”  

To be fair, social media has some upsides.  But, the downsides are destructive to say the least. 

One of the things that is often overlooked in the angst about social media is the connection between ethics and speech.  To be short….there is one!

Our culture’s penchant for drama and our unwillingness to self-regulate has turned everything from twitter, to yik yak, to texting to facebook into a Darwinian jungle.  Only the fittest survive!  Unfortunately, the casualty rate is climbing especially among teenagers.  Adults are a close second.

What's happening?  In a nutshell, there is no recognition of boundaries.  Human dignity is being abandoned in a window of literally seconds in favor of "my freedom" to say whatever I want to say or text or tweet.  Don’t like it.  Don’t read it.  Is it that simple?  I don’t think so.

If you are mad, spray a page, a tweet or a text with rancorous speech.  Don’t worry.  You can re-tweet it later.  

Don’t like something down at church…vomit on facebook.  If you have screened your friends just right, there is a strong probability you will get some “likes.”  

But, there is a big difference - albeit a fine line - between “expressing a viewpoint” and attacking people and groups in the name of free speech.  

In fact, free speech can become a cover for hateful discourse and slander of every kind.  Speech and expressing yourself still matters on an ethical level.  Jesus said so.  So did Paul.  Ephesians 4:30 says that words can grieve the Holy Spirit regardless of the disclaimers and emoticons that enclose what is said.

Much more could be said.  But think about the following:

• You are free but not really.  1 Peter 2:16 says, "Act as free men but do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of Jesus Christ."  We are free in America to do a lot of things.  But, the Lordship of Christ should interpret how we exercise every kind of freedom the law gives us (1 Corinthians 6:12-14).  Paul says that we are free to serve Christ (Romans 6:12-14).  Our bodies, and that includes our fingers and mouths, belong to the Lord.  

• Think!  Think before you write, post, tweet, text, and speak. Proverbs 12:18 says, “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

• Haste makes waste!  If you are angry it’s better to get control of your emotions before you say something that is way off the mark!  James says the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God (James 1:20).  He says in verse 19, "Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."  

• Is this helpful?  Ask yourself, "How am I helping "good" (whatever it is) move forward in this conversation or with this person?  Hebrews 10:24 says we should "consider how to stir one another to love and good works."  In other words, "think on it...deliberate it."  How does this honor what the Spirit is trying to do in this moment?  If you have a taste for drama Hebrews 10:24 could be just what the doctor ordered!

“He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).  Imagine a week of social media governed by those words.  What a blessing! 

Father, may the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

"Lettuce" in Hebrews?

My first serious study of the Book of Hebrews was at the feet of Dr. Neil Lightfoot a professor at Abilene Christian University.  His lectures were always stimulating to say the least.  I looked forward to every class! 

I remember him adding a touch of humor to a lecture one day.  He asked, “Can anyone name the most popular vegetable in the book of Hebrews?”  We knew there was a catch.  He waited patiently and then, with a sheepish smile, said, “It’s lettuce.”  And, then he took us on a journey through several texts in the book that had two simple but very powerful words:  “let us”.  He said, “This vegetable is never served by itself.  It is always accompanied by other nourishing things.”  His point was well taken!  

As we started our exploration of the “let us” texts we discovered something new in each one.  More importantly, we discovered that  “let us” is always calling us to “do something”. 

Want some great meditation texts for the upcoming week?  Read through these powerful texts and let the Holy Spirit guide your heart.  Insights for faith and living are sprinkled across each one! 

4:1 – Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

4:11 – Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

4:14 – Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession

4:16 – Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

6:1 – Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.

10:21 – Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

10:23 – Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

10:24 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…

12:28 – Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe

Father, thank you for these special reminders about how to live out our faith in the One who is the same today, yesterday, yes and forever.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas