Inspiration

[Judy Harder]

The Honor Of Your Friendship
READ: John 15:9-17
I have called you friends. -John 15:15
During the marriage ceremony of a British couple, the best man remained motionless. Even after vows were exchanged, he didn't move.

The still figure was a racecar driver who was trying to be in two places at one time. Because of contractual commitments, Andy Priaulx, three-time world touring-car champion, had to break his promise to participate in his friend's wedding. So he sent a life-size cardboard cutout of himself, as well as a prerecorded speech. The bride said she was moved by his effort to honor their marriage.

Priaulx's gesture was certainly creative, and we shouldn't second-guess his actions. But Jesus gave us another standard by which to gauge friendship.

Jesus asked His disciples to show their friendship to Him by loving one another as He had loved them. Then, He raised the bar. In anticipation of His death on the cross, He said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13).

This depth of friendship isn't merely about doing the right thing. It's about sacrifice, and it springs out of a relationship with the One who truly did lay down His life for us.

Are we showing others that we have been loved by Jesus as He is loved by His Father? (v.9).  - Mart De Haan

For Further Study
The Bible describes what real love looks like (1 Cor. 13).
Check online for What Is Real Love? at http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0714 to study this passage.


Love is more than a sentiment, it's putting another's needs ahead of your own.

Sour, Angry, and Negative

We are looking at how we make the gospel unattractive.  I believe one of the main ways this occurs is when Christians are sour, angry and negative. 

Some people live right but they always look like they have spent the night in a bottle of lemon juice.

If you struggle in this area, you need to listen carefully.  Your salvation should be the source of great joy, and that joy and happiness should be expressed in your life in a dynamic way. 

For example, Jesus said this in John 15:11,

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

And in John 16:22, He said,

"Your joy no one will take from you."

In Romans 14:17, Paul said,

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Finally, James 1:2 says,

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

Joy is one of the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God.  Even when we are going through a rough patch, the Bible says we are to be full of joy.

Joy makes the gospel attractive.  If you put on a sour face all the time and you have a negative disposition, you will scare people away from church. You make the gospel seem like something people would never want.

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!



Balance the Natural and the Spiritual
By Os Hillman

"No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save" (Psalm 33:16-17).

The Bible tells us not to put our confidence in things the world considers to be our protection, defense, or strength. However, the man or woman who does not perform well on the job is left behind in today's competitive world. Not only is this typical of the world at large, but even many Christians promote the importance of identifying our strengths and encourage us to move in them to accomplish God's will. Yet, throughout the Bible, we are discouraged from depending upon our own strengths. Instead, we are urged to rely totally upon the Lord.

God wants us to depend upon Him, and He demonstrates this throughout Scripture. For example, in Judges 7, God wouldn't let Gideon fight against another army until he reduced his own from 22,000 soldiers to a mere 300, so that Gideon could not boast about his army's strength. In Joshua 6, God told Joshua to walk around Jericho seven times and blow trumpets instead of relying upon his mighty army to overpower his enemy. In 2 Samuel 24, God judged David when he counted his troops to determine the size of his army's strength, apparently because David took the census out of pride or overconfidence in the strength of his army.

On the other hand, Jesus instructed the disciples in due diligence through the parable of the builder, who is cautioned to consider the cost before beginning to build. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:28-30).

Today, bring every project and endeavor before the Lord as you ask for His power and grace to accomplish it using both your natural gifts and the Spirit of God working together.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


Making Godly Decisions
Making Godly Decisions
Through Scriptural teaching and his own years of many life and work experiences, Os Hillman provides a thorough look into Biblical principles of decision-making from a practical standpoint. This book is a priceless resource that will help you understand how to make Godly decisions

Have You Seen Jesus?
After that, He appeared in another form to two of them . . . -Mark 16:12
Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God's grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.

You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure "as seeing Him who is invisible" ( Hebrews 11:27 ). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9 ). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, "Now I see Him!" (see John 9:25  ).

Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. "And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either" ( Mark 16:13  ). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don't believe.

O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it,
How, till He bringeth you where I have been

GOD BLESS

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 10, 2009

Who Crucified Jesus?
READ: Luke 23:33-38
When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him. -Luke 23:33

When looking at Rembrandt's painting of The Three Crosses, your attention is drawn first to the cross on which Jesus died. Then as you look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you are impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes drift to the edge of the painting to catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. Some art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.

Someone has said, "It is a simple thing to say that Christ died for the sins of the world. It is quite another thing to say that Christ died for my sins. . . . It is a shocking thought that we can be as indifferent as Pilate, as scheming as Caiaphas, as callous as the soldiers, as ruthless as the mob, or as cowardly as the disciples. It wasn't just what they did-it was I who nailed Him to the tree. I crucified the Christ of God. I joined the mockery."

Place yourself in the shadows with Rembrandt. You too are standing there. But then recall what Jesus said as He hung on that cross, "Father, forgive them." Thank God, that includes you and me.  - Henry G. Bosch

Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined
To bleed and die for thee! -Wesley


The cross of Christ reveals the love of God at its best and the sin of the world at its worst.

Remember

Titus 3:1-7 says,

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.  For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Paul tells us to remember where we have come from.  Notice he said to show humility to all men and speak evil of no one.  Why?  Because we also used to be foolish and deceived and disobedient.

I thank God I am a new creation in Christ, but I still blush when I think about some of the stuff I got involved in before I was saved!  Disobedient?  Been there.  Serving various lusts and pleasures?  Up to my eyeballs!  Plus all the other things Paul mentions in this passage and a few more!

It is amazing how people in the church forget what they were like before the grace of God came into their life.  When that happens they tend to get very haughty and judgmental towards those still lost in their sin.  A harsh, judgmental church that lacks humility while verbally lashing out at sinners is one of the ugliest garments you can dress the beautiful gospel in. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

The Fertile Pasture
By Os Hillman

"Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands" (Mic 7:14).

"I've called you to pastor the bank," said the Lord to my friend Chuck. "Pastor the bank? How does one pastor a bank, Lord?" "The things I taught you I want you to teach others," came the reply.

There is a people who live isolated in fertile pasturelands. They long for a shepherd who will help them discover their own inheritance. They are the lost majority in the marketplace who are living lives as though they are a child lost and aimless in a deep, dark forest.

Though most do not know it, they long for a pastor who will reveal to them their destinies. Your staff, which represents your vocation, is the means by which God is going to use you to pastor those in your sphere of influence in the workplace.

A fertile pastureland means there is a great harvest that can come if only there is someone to do what is necessary to bring a harvest from it. This is where you will derive your inheritance. The people you serve will be the spiritual inheritance God has allotted to you.

This forest is more fertile than all other potential fields because the power and authority represented by this forest has the potential to impact far greater fields. This forest has CEOs, presidents of nations, entertainment moguls, media tycoons, and educators to name just a few. They are the shapers of society who have yet to meet their Maker.

Are you willing to use your staff to be a shepherd to those in the fertile pasturelands?

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


Making Godly Decisions
Making Godly Decisions
Through Scriptural teaching and his own years of many life and work experiences, Os Hillman provides a thorough look into Biblical principles of decision-making from a practical standpoint. This book is a priceless resource that will help you understand how to make Godly decisions

Complete and Effective Decision About Sin
. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin -Romans 6:6
Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin- that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you-not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified- just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, "Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me." Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.

This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life- to see the very things that struggle against God's Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God's verdict on the nature of sin- that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin" ( Romans 6:11  ) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . ." ( Galatians 2:20  ).

GOD BLESS

[Judy Harder]

HomeWord - Apr. 10, 2009



What Will You Do with Jesus?
This devotional was written by Jim Burns

Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. —Mark 15:1-2

Today I want to introduce you to Barabbas. Strange name... pretty questionable character: murderer, thief, perhaps walked away from his family, evil, filthy, scum!

Sitting in a dark, dark dungeon waiting to die. Smelly, vile, no one, absolutely no one was going to miss Barabbas. The next day Barabbas was going to hang on a cross and literally no one would care. Most people would say "Finally, he's getting what he deserved." He deserves every bit of pain and humiliation on the cross.

Unbeknownst to him, while he sat in prison waiting to die, something else was about to happen to him. Now it was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them. "Crucify him!" they shouted. "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15:6-15

The crowd chose Barabbas! Jesus... kind, miracle worker, wonder man, provider of numerous healings, lover of children and the poor, humble, forgiving, genuine, had hurt no one. And the crowd chose Barabbas.

Pilate asked a key question to the crowd who had just a few days before honored Jesus on what we call Palm Sunday. "What will you do with Jesus... the one you call the King of the Jews?"

And the crowd yelled "Crucify him!"

Even Pilate was totally confused and asked, "Why, what crime has he committed?" But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him." Jesus was whipped, spit on, mocked and turned over to be crucified.

I've always wondered what was going on in the mind of Barabbas when he was set free and Jesus hung on a tree. He probably heard Pilate's words, "What will you do with Jesus?"

I wonder what decision he made. His very destiny, life eternal and abundant life on this earth, depended on his response to the single phrase of a Roman leader who in confusion asked a single question: "What will you do with Jesus?"

How about you? What is your response today? What will you do with Jesus?

GOING DEEPER:

What do you think you might have done if you were in the crowd who was yelling for Barabbas?
What do you think should have been Barabbas' response?
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 72:18-19

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 12, 2009

Much More!
READ: Romans 5:12-21
Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. -Romans 5:20

A statement I heard at an Easter service stays with me: "More has been gained in the resurrection of Jesus than was lost in the fall." More gained than lost? Can it be true?

Each day we experience the damage caused by sin entering our world. Greed, injustice, and cruelty all trace their origins back to Adam and Eve's decision to follow their own path rather than God's (Gen. 3). The legacy of their disobedience is passed down to every generation. Without God's intervention, we would be in a hopeless situation. But Jesus overpowered sin through His cross and conquered death through His resurrection.

The victory of Christ is celebrated in Romans 5, often called the "much more" chapter of the New Testament, where Paul contrasts the devastation caused by sin with the restoring power of God's grace. In every case, grace overpowers the consequences of sin. In a grand conclusion, Paul says: "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (5:20-21).

No matter how much we have personally lost because of sin, we have gained far more through the resurrection victory of Christ.  - David C. McCasland

Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater-yes, grace untold-
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross. -Johnston
© Renewal 1939 Hope Publishing.


Our sin is great - God's grace is greater.

Overcoming Barrenness

I Samuel 1:10-11 says,

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.  Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

These words are written about Hannah, who was barren.  But God answered her prayer by giving her a son, and he became one of the most prominent figures in Biblical history-Samuel.

Perhaps there is a "barrenness" in some area of your life, and like Hannah, who was tormented by her adversary-so it is with you.  Prayer can change things.  It did in Hannah's life, and it can in yours.  But there are several things about Hannah's prayer that we need to consider:

1.      Hannah's prayer was not casual.  It was heartfelt and deep.  Too much of our praying is "skin deep."  Only prayers that originate from deep within us get God's attention.  James 5:16 declares that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

2.      Hannah's prayer was specific. She asked for a male child.  Too much of our praying is too general.  Don't be afraid to be specific in your requests.

3.      Hannah wanted the answer to her prayer to glorify God.  Her boy would be dedicated to God's service.  When our prayers take on the purpose of glorifying God, we have moved into a higher realm.

If you are experiencing a barrenness in any arena of life, pray.  And let your prayers be heartfelt, specific, and for the glory of God. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

New Paradigms
By Os Hillman

"Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage" (1 Sam. 10:22).

If you want to experience something you've never done, you must do something you've never done. In his book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will, Henry Blackaby writes, "You cannot go with God and stay where you are."

God often has to radically change us if we are going to fulfill His purposes in our lives. Saul was about to be anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel. Samuel said to Saul, "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person" (1 Sam. 10:6). Up to this point, Saul had never prophesied or led a group of people. He had also never had to be accountable to a prophet and to God for his every action.

Saul took a big step of faith right away and prophesied with the prophets just as Samuel said he would. How exciting that must have been. Yet, when Samuel called the entire nation of Israel together to announce him as Israel's first king in history, Saul was nowhere to be found. This part of the story is humorous. Excitement is in the air, but when they call Saul's name, he doesn't even come forward. So the people "inquired further of the Lord, 'Has the man come here yet?' And the Lord said, 'Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage'" (1 Sam. 10:22).

I recall when God began moving me from a career in advertising to a new ministry to men and women in the workplace that involved writing and public speaking. Neither of these were my particular forté. I was forced to do something I had never done.

The story of King Saul should be an encouragement to us all. God continues to pick the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Your greatest setback can be thinking that there's no way that God can use "little me." However, the reality is that He can and will, if we respond to the new places He takes us.

Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1998), p. 132.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power
How are key influencers living out their faith within the seven mountains of cultural influence? Within the pages of this book is an interesting and in-depth look into the lives of evangelical business leaders, politicians, industry leaders, and others who are in places of tremendous influence within our culture. This resource is helpful for understanding where God has placed his people in positions of influence, documenting their steps for how they are living out their faith in culture, and also a resource for reclaiming our culture for God at the highest levels.
Click Here To Learn More or Order

Complete and Effective Dominion
Death no longer has dominion over Him. . . . the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God . . . -Romans 6:9-11
Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.

"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . ." (Acts 1:- not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life- ". . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" ( Ephesians 3:19  ). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to "let go." But any effort to "hang on" to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

April 13, 2009

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him
by Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Matthew 26: 40-41 NIV


There is a little chapel I frequent once a week to spend time with the Lord. It consists of a small, modest room attached to a monastery, tucked away on sprawling land in a neighboring county. Every Thursday, my boyfriend and I travel to spend one hour of silence before the Lord.

One full hour. With no breaks, no comforts of home. Just a cheap chair and a beat up old kneeler.

When we first made the one hour commitment, I expected a struggle.10 minutes here or 15 there in the tiny chapel seemed much more reasonable. It's times like this that I empathize with the disciples in the passage above. Indeed, the spirit is more willing than the flesh.

Over time, I am beginning to realize how little an hour per week really is -- and how beneficial this hour is to my relationship with God. It often takes a solid half hour before my soul is even still enough to cease my rambling at the Lord and allow Him to speak. And both of us recently noted that on the weeks we don't make it to Adoration, there is a distinct hole in our lives.

St. John of the Cross once said, "Those who are very active and think they can embrace the world with their preaching and external activities, should remember that they would be more useful to the Church and more pleasing to God, not to mention the good example they would set, were they to spend half as much time with him in prayer."

It's hard to imagine such a stationary activity could be so valuable -- even more so than preaching. Yet, ultimately, all the doing in the world, all those other interesting things that hold our attention, could be rendered meaningless if our relationship with the Lord is weak.

I often imagine the Lord waiting for us each week for that appointment in that chapel. There may be hours where it is completely empty, and yet He waits. As you begin your week, know that time spent with the Lord is time He desires with you. It is never wasted time and may bring Him more pleasure than anything else you accomplish this week

Intersecting Faith & Life: Are your quiet times still and peaceful? Or are they distracted and rushed? What can you do to improve your quiet times? Do you have a special place set aside where you spend time with the Lord?

Further Reading

Jeremiah 29:12-13
Psalm 95: 6-7
Matthew 6:5-8
How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time, by Adrian Rogers

[Judy Harder]

Crosswalk.com - The Devotional

April 14, 2009

Is Suffering Inevitable?
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:17, NAS

Suffering. It's not standard daily devotional fare, because let's face it, usually we want to begin or end our day being uplifted, or even better, lifting up God, rather than focusing on our pains and problems.

But there's the rub... we all have pains and problems. Christian and non-Christian. Lifelong disciple and baby believer. Red and yellow, black and white. Everyone, from the moment he or she was born, has struggled, tried, failed, hurt, sinned, misunderstood, and reacted. Humanity shares a true brotherhood over suffering, one that we might understand a lot better if suffering weren't also so relative. By which I mean, one person's issues may sound simple, easy-to-solve, even petty to another. "That's nothing compared to what I've had to endure!"

But the fact is, your sorrows and difficulties are real to you. It's one reason why I'm no fan of when people say a certain place or time in their lives isn't "the real world," as if the spot they are currently tucked away at is immune from any degree of difficulty.

Suffering is very real, and there's certainly no reason any Christian would expect life to be otherwise. We purport to follow a "Suffering Savior." His stripes have healed us, and wow do we seem to feel them sometimes, which is as it should be, as we deserved them instead of Him. If we agree that no person but one - no matter where they lived or how easy or hard they had it - has escaped sin's corruption, then how much more must we agree that truly NO person has escaped suffering?

Look at what Peter suggests in today's verse: you can suffer for doing good, or you can suffer for doing bad. By extension, some of the problems in your life may be a result of your own rebellion, while other hurts may naturally result from walking so closely with Christ that you ache at the injustice and hardship around you, with the world despising and persecuting you.

In the classic allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places, Much-Afraid journeys with companions named Sorrow and Suffering, and these two assist her in her climb up the Injury Precipice, which is a part of her transformation into "Grace and Glory."

The same is true for you. Your sufferings have informed you, educated you, helped you along in your journey. You may despise them, but they are yours. And they will be with you whether you are doing right, or not. Of course, the nature of them will be quite different.

There may be one way, though, to avoid suffering. There's a third option, left out here by Peter, but not left out by John in the Revelation. It's the lukewarm response to life, the do-nothing approach. This is the approach that cocoons itself off from life and all of its pain. And make no mistake, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something," says that famous theologian the Man in Black in The Princess Bride.

You may not feel anything from inside a cocoon; in fact, it may be an abundance of pain and suffering that forced you in there. But remember, no creature that cocoons itself is intended to stay locked up forever. The point is to be rested, healed, matured, transformed. To become more beautiful, useful. Even the emerging process itself carries a degree of struggle, but one that, if the insect did not go through itself, would leave it too weak to fly.

So be lifted up in your suffering today.

It is a companion.

It is designed to transform you.

It gives you a share in the inheritance of Christ and the brotherhood of humanity.

And it gives you empathy, which gives you every excuse for ministry.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Make it your goal to partake, as much as possible, only of the brand of suffering that comes from doing what is right according to God's Word.

Further Reading

God's Undeserved Gift to the World: Christian Sufferers
Trusting God in the Darkness

 

[Judy Harder]

Crosswalk.com - The Devotional
 
April 15, 2009

More than Forgiveness
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor 

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." -- 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Which is easier: forgiveness or reconciliation? As I come away from Easter, I find myself trying to discern between the two actions.

One -- forgiveness -- has become Americanized into the simple "forgive and forget" phrase. Not that the saying is entirely inaccurate. Every Christian treasures the promise of the Psalms, that "as far as the East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) But somewhere along the way, I started scrambling the concepts. Forgiving and forgetting just seems so simple, and I beat myself up when we can't "forget" how someone wronged us. I take "forgive and forget" and think it means "forgiving equals forgetting." So if I can't forgive... I can just forget about it, right? Or maybe just forget about the person if that's easier. And quickly, forgiving becomes forgetting... becomes ignoring.   

As I started writing this devotional, I kept thinking of stories I've read about the Rwandan genocide. Take the book "As We Forgive," the war stories of several individuals who lived through the massacres and into the new government. Dealing with grief, anger, loss, and the desire for revenge, each survivor's life eventually intersects with someone from "the other side." Even more traumatizing, these people are directly connected with the survivors' friends', families', and even spouses' deaths.

Imagine such a meeting. Face to face with the person who destroyed the other's life. Forgive and forget completely falls apart, doesn't it? It's not humanly possible to forget death of those you love, not without losing yourself in the process.

"God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

Rwanda's hurts have only begun to heal, just as the people portrayed in "As We Forgive" must travel a long road before they find peace. But slowly, each victim in the book finds himself offering a hand of forgiveness to the perpetrators, the killers. The handshakes are more than symbolic -- these people, Tutsi and Hutu, must now work alongside each other, meet in the streets... and always bear the absence of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in 1994. There is no forgetting.

But there is reconciliation.

Easter unleashes God's offer of reconciliation to those who killed him. The Resurrection doesn't make God forget our sins -- it allows us back into a relationship with him in spite of our sins. Reconciliation takes forgiveness a step further, and cultivates a new bond based on overwhelming love, not past actions. That's the "ministry of reconciliation" -- and that's what I'm called to accomplish.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Are you practicing the old "forgive and forget" with someone? Or are you seeking opportunities to spread the "ministry of reconciliation"?

Further Reading:

As We Forgive: Rwanda 15 Years Later
Ephesians 1:7

[Judy Harder]

April 16, 2009
Crosswalk.com - The Devotional

Considering Enemies of Christ--Even With Tears
Mike Pohlman, Editor, Christianity.com

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Philippians 3:18 (ESV)

I arrived at the Lucky's Market in Woodlake, Virginia about 6:30 p.m. last night. I had driven the eighteen or so miles from my office in downtown Richmond looking forward to being home with my family. But first I needed to stop at the market and get my ailing wife some Sprite. Julia, battling flu-like symptoms, thought this would sit relatively well with her queasy stomach.

I quickly found what I was looking for, paid the clerk, and proceeded out the door. As I approached my car a few young men--probably in their late teens--bounded out of their truck and began shouting obscenities to another young man at the pizza place next door. (Words I won't even abbreviate here.) While it was clear they were joking, I was shocked at the lack of restraint these men used in public. I was glad my four young children were not with me--I would not have enjoyed fielding questions on the way home like, "Dad, what does ________ mean?"   

The men were not only spewing obscenities, but were dressed in dark, Goth-like attire. It did not seem like a logical leap to assume these young adults were not professing Christians. They presented themselves more like "enemies of the cross of Christ" rather than followers of Christ.

What alarmed me more than their conduct and attire, however, was the way I responded.

I was angry at these men. I despised them in my heart. I wanted judgment poured out on them right then and there. I felt like James and John who were furious over the Samaritan village that rejected Jesus in Luke 9:54, "And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, 'Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?'"

But then I remembered our Lord's response to his immature disciples.

He rebuked them.

Of course he did. Jesus is the one who said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Nothing had changed since the Sermon on the Mount.

The Apostle Paul took Jesus' command to heart. Writing to the Philippians we get a window into how Paul viewed people who were utterly opposed to Christ.

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things (Philippians 3:17-19).

Even as Paul exhorted his readers to imitate his godly example, he wept over the "enemies of the cross of Christ." Why? Because unless things radically change for these people, "their end is destruction" (v. 19). Paul's eternal perspective would not allow him to despise God's enemies. He wrote of them "even with tears."

It took me about three minutes to get home from Lucky's. Once in the driveway I stopped the car and, under deep conviction, prayed for the men at the market. I prayed that their end would not be destruction; that their God would not be their belly; that they would not glory in their shame or set their mind on mere earthly things. I prayed that they would come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. But I also prayed for myself--that my heart would soften and tears more easily flow for the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Further Reading

Matthew 5-7
Romans 12
Philippians 3

[Judy Harder]

Crosswalk.com - The Devotional

April 17, 2009

Prepare to Be Shot
Laura MacCorkle, Senior Editor, Crosswalk.com

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:14-15, NIV

If you're old enough to read this, then you've probably heard someone say "Don't shoot the messenger" before.

This caveat has always sounded good in theory. But it doesn't always work, does it? How many times have you had to deliver some news that you knew would not be received with open arms? It might have been bad or controversial or news that could hurt feelings, and you knew going in that you could be caught in retaliatory crossfire. 

But then, you also knew that the message you were carrying was of such great importance that it didn't matter to you. You knew in your heart that you were doing the right thing and that the recipient would ultimately be better off hearing whatever news you had. 

Perhaps this is how you've felt when you've shared the Gospel with someone before. You were compelled. You were convicted. And as the messenger, you knew you might get "shot" if someone was hostile toward anything to do with Christianity. But still, you shared the Good News no matter what "bullets" might hit you in return.

It's what Jesus must have felt like when he came to earth. He was the messenger by which the message of the Good News was delivered. And you either loved him or hated him (Isaiah 53:3). He already knew what his outcome was going to be, but he was obedient--even to death. 

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near," Jesus preached (Matthew 4:17). Those who really understand our condition and how much we need a Savior to save us from our sin know that this is unbelievably good news (Romans 8:1-3a). It's a lifesaving gift that only requires our belief for acceptance (John 3:16).

Jesus not only carried the Good News, he was the Good News. He embodied his message, and the glory of the Father was revealed through the Son. Those of us who have chosen to love Jesus and give our lives to him are challenged to become messengers, too. "To go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15-16). 

Earlier this week, as we celebrated a risen Lord and victory over death, I challenged myself to step up my messenger game and be willing to be "shot" when it comes to delivering this Good News with others. 

As I remember the message Christ delivered for me, may I be bold and do whatever is necessary to share the Gospel with others, so that the Father might say of me, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" 


Intersecting Faith & Life

How long has it been since you've shared the plan of salvation with someone else? Whether through words or actions, ask God to equip you and display himself in your life today so that you will reflect his glory to others. Remember, this world is a life or death situation. You are the messenger. And your message can save lives!

Further Reading

Matthew 5:16

2 Corinthians 3:18

[Judy Harder]

April 22, 2009

A Little Forgiveness
by Katherine Britton, Crosswalk.com News & Culture Editor


"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven -- for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." -- Luke 7:47, ESV

How do you explain to a child that's never been to the ocean what waves are like? You might fill a bathtub with water and splash it back and forth. That could teach action of waves -- but what about the look? You might take the child to a nearby river with a few rapids, and show them how the foam collects at the bottom of a fall "like on top of a wave." You might show them a 4x6 inch photograph. You might try to show them what waves sound like with a conch shell. But what about their vast dimensions along the shore? What about their unending nature? What about the undercurrent of a wave going back to sea?

No substitute can convey the scale and true nature of waves continually breaking on the shore. No analogies or to-scale models prepare children for their first trip to the beach. They can't grasp the greatness until they've seen it for themselves.

Have you seen the greatness of God's forgiveness yet?

No measure of teaching, preaching, and analogizing can make us really grasp what God's forgiveness means. Even after we reach adulthood, we're still creatures of experience. It takes a firsthand experience -- recognition of how vast our sins really are -- before we can appreciate how vast God's mercy is to cover them.

Jesus gave Simon the Pharisee the example of two men who owed another money -- one owed him five hundred days' wages, one owing him fifty. The moneylender forgives both debts, but, as Simon empathizes, the one forgiven the larger sum has a greater reason to love the one who cancelled his debt. But all Simon heard were the Jesus's words. He failed to realize what a vast stretch of sand he stood on, and what a great tide it would take to overtake all of those grains of sand. As a result, it's the woman Jesus recognizes for her great love of her Savior.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Is it possible that we can extend love and forgiveness if we don't understand how much Christ has shown us? Take your own "beach trip" and survey the vastness of God's incredible forgiveness that covers incredible sin.

Further Reading:

Luke 7:40-50
Celebrate Forgiveness
25 Affirmations about Forgiveness