Two Minute Drills from Coach Joe Gibbs

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, November 4

The Fine Line

Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness: I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off.
Isaiah 46:12-13

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 46 [ http://iz3.me/tPs02zwXd1A1 ]

Are you stubborn? If so, is your stubbornness a good quality or a bad one? When stubbornness means dogged determination to do the will of God, it's good. Perhaps a better term would be perseverance -- a quality the Bible upholds as the core of character (Romans 5:4). But when stubbornness is another word for self-will, it's a destructive force. The Bible says, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" (1 Samuel 15:23).

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/uPs02zwXd1A1 ]

There's a fine line between stubborn self-will and godly perseverance; and often the Lord uses crises in our lives to move us from one to the other. Take the patriarch Jacob for example. His story in the book of Genesis is filled with selfish and stubborn choices, which caused pain to himself and others. But by the end of the story, God had used a series of crises in his life to turn his stubbornness into sanctified perseverance.

We can't avoid pressure in life, but we should always remember that whatever crisis we face is God's way of reshaping our stubborn hearts into models of perseverance and character.

Satan tests us at our weakness, so that he might destroy us; but God tests us at our strengths, so that He might employ us.
David Jeremiah

1 Purple Heart Homes, purplehearthomesusa.org (accessed July 29, 2014).

Read-Thru-the-Bible
John 7-8 [ http://iz3.me/vPs02zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Job Hazards

We know what kind of violent insults can be hurled at coaches whose teams miss the playoffs for a second season in a row. We hear of even college players—nineteen and twenty year-olds, remember—getting death threats after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.

But in their own way, any unfair complaints you may be enduring on the job right now are just as damaging and hurtful as these. Perhaps your upper level management is making it nearly impossible for you to succeed. Maybe a coworker or employee with an axe to grind is bad-mouthing you every chance he gets. A customer whose order was delayed—just this one time—is talking you down to those who could take you down.

People can misunderstand. They can take things out of context. They can see something they don't like about you and never leave the door open for a second impression, no matter how hard you try to please them. "Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets" (Psalm 55:11).

But as for you, keep showing up for work on time with all your personal skills in playing shape. Do your best to treat others fairly, learn from criticism, control your anger. Then just "cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22). You don't have to beat them. You just need to know where your true victory lies.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I've really been under attack lately, and I'm getting tired of it. But you certainly know—much better than I do—how it feels to be mistreated. Help me learn how to handle this well.

[Judy Harder]

All God's Children

Even though America has come a long way in terms of race relations—far more than many other countries of the world—stereotypes do still exist. Perhaps there are some people you'd rather not have as neighbors. Certain nationalities draw your suspicions. They have customs and habits that feel—(to use a fitting word)—"foreign" to you.

But while home and family and patriotism are each good things, we must always be careful about letting natural mind-sets overrule biblical ones. Just because a bigoted attitude of yours is embraced and encouraged by your friends doesn't mean it's the right one for you to have. When you have an automatic, negative reflex that lights up whenever you see a person of another race or national origin, you're assuming a superiority that isn't really there.

And you're forgetting that one reason why heaven is so heavenly is because it's the biggest melting pot of all.

"After this I looked," the apostle John said, "and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9). This preview of heaven's population simply cannot be allowed to land on our ears and not logically affect the way we treat people whose heritage and skin color are different from ours. Jesus Christ can rule in anyone's heart. Let's make sure he's ruling in ours.

Pray this prayer: I ask you, Lord, to take an axe to my prejudices, that I would not look down on anyone, but would rather be dedicated like never before to your call to make disciples of all nations.