2 Corinthians 11:29-30 7/25/2023*

“Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?  Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?  If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.“

After stating his compassion for those he leads; and admitting he is as flawed as anyone else is… Paul declares that his boasting will only be about his weakness… Don’t skip over that concept… It’s a radical statement, and a revolutionary way to live your life. 

How do you establish your self-worth? Do you set your value on your level of performance?... Are you treasured because of what you do and how well you do it? … or does your value emanate from whom you belong to?

If my confidence is in Christ –  am I so grounded in Him that I don’t need to defend my own public image? Am I so confident in the power of my Savior that I embrace the things that show my need of Him? This is a radical departure from most people’s PR plan, and Paul is not subtle about it. 

He doesn’t have a trophy room; he boasts in mementos of his weakness… He embraces it. Do you absorb the benefits from your trials? ...or do you miss some growth opportunities because of blame deflection, denial, or self-pity? 

Paul leans into his flaws and sufferings and squeezes every ounce of growth and wisdom from each trial. No dodging, no excuses… he simply leans on the power of his Savior and allows God’s redeeming grace to transform him. 

Our adversary prowls around looking for someone to destroy.  So, we are not only exposed to suffering… we are hunted. If they’re not here already, trials are coming.  When heartache arrives, what are you going to do about it?  … Hide? Run?

Paul meets his head on… because he knows it will be the Mighty Warrior God that responds.  Paul will lean into the suffering, embrace his own weakness,  and marvel at the apocalypse God unleashes on those who hurt His children. 

So, decide today to boast about your strength, or about God’s ….  Rely on one or the other, and then let the chips fall where they may. 

“We are too much haunted by ourselves, projecting the central shadow of self on everything around us. … Redemption is this, to forget self in God.”

- Frederick W. Robertson

Colossians 4:10 7/18/2023*

“My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)” 

As Paul ends the letter to the Colossians, he mentions everyone but himself.  

Aristarchus is a prisoner with Paul, and Paul sends greetings from his “fellow prisoner” as if they are on a cruise ship  instead of in a prison cell. 

Had this been my letter, I would have been demanding my team to get busy targeting my unjust imprisonment.  Encouraging them to write letters, make phone calls. 

But Paul’s heartbeat is that other people are more important than he is… So, he speaks for Aristarchus and then he takes care to guard the reputation of a guy named Mark. This is the same Mark who had “quit the team” during a missionary journey. Which later caused a public dispute between Paul and Barnabas with Paul refusing to let Mark come on the next trip. 

As Paul sits in prison, he takes care to tell the Colossians (who may have heard of Paul and Mark’s disagreement) that Mark is an important part of the team and that their disagreement was not over what is – what isn’t sin …. but over personal approach to evangelism. 

This delineation is something we have abandoned. There are non-negotiables… right and wrong are not “soft targets”. Scriptural definition of sin is unbendable… opinions and techniques for effective evangelism are not ... 

Paul just said Mark was to be welcomed. I might have guarded my authority, and position by saying something like “now that he sees things my way,”…But Paul just says, “if he comes, you welcome him”.  

Their dispute was public, it had gone “viral”… but Paul is unconcerned with announcing a winner. Forgiveness’s goal is not to prove me right -and then virtuous for pardoning… That’s not forgiveness, that’s self-aggrandizement. 

Paul loved Mark. Later he will praise Mark as being helpful to his ministry. So, Paul didn’t worry about his own public stature, only about Mark’s reputation.

As I deal with others today can I keep my eye on the ball?  Can I love others without my own self-interests getting in the way? It all comes down to who I think is more important…you or me? 

“A culture of honor is celebrating who a person is without stumbling over who they’re not.”

— Bill Johnson

LUKE 10:29-30 7/11/2023*

“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho…”

Most of us have heard the story of the good Samaritan.  What we sometimes miss is that Jesus told the story in response to a question… and He didn’t answer the question.  

Jesus was asked, “who is my neighbor”?... and He answered by describing how that man should be a neighbor to others. That clarification is important because it completely changes the message.  

The man talking to Jesus wanted to establish what people needed to do to qualify as his neighbor, but Jesus said – “you’re the one who needs to qualify. Having a neighbor is your job, not theirs”. 

That flips the script... I can no longer look for loopholes to disqualify you – instead, I must do things that qualify me to be your neighbor.

God made it clear that life is a team sport and that we are to consider others as more important than ourselves. That point was significant enough for Jesus to include when asked about the greatest commandment. 

God placed the need for community in our DNA. Psychological studies on solitary confinement have revealed that isolation "destroys people as human beings."  Being alone causes anxiety, panic attacks, depression, anger, paranoia, and psychosis. The medical term for that is “it ain’t good.” We were created to love God and others. 

In scripture, God warns us not to give up meeting together.  He instructs us to go to church… go to bible study,  encourage one another… meet other people’s needs and be a good neighbor.

So, as you go out today don’t look for someone to be a good friend to you… look for someone who needs you to be a good friend to them. Look for people, like the man on the road to Jericho, who need help.   Because the only things you really get to keep – are things that you give away.

Living next door doesn’t make you a neighbor… loving someone does… Look for people who need to be loved… and then do something about it. Being a neighbor has nothing to do with where my house is… and everything to do with where my heart is.

"Bread for myself is a material question. Bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one." - Nikolai Berdyaev

Habakkuk 1:2-3 7/4/2023*

“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?… Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?”

Sometimes I act like Habakkuk. I forget that it is unwise to admonish God for allowing injustice and wrongdoing to persist - when I am the perpetrator of injustice and wrongdoing myself. It’s called a double standard. 

It happens when I don’t see my sin as clearly as I see yours.  I tolerate your sin as long as it looks like mine, and doesn’t go outside of my “acceptable sin circle” … The problem with that is that there is no such thing as an “acceptable sin circle”.   

The wages of all sin is death. But instead of confession and repentance, we adjust the definition of sin, and call for tolerance and acceptance. But God has never tolerated nor accepted sin … 

God sees sin as the mechanism that murdered His precious Son and His reaction to any sin is exactly what you would expect it to be… It is impossible to overstate His loathing and intolerance of sinfulness.   

An honest reading of scripture clearly defines sin, and we must see it as God does.  We cannot lower the bar …Yet at the same time, we must acknowledge that none of us can clear it.  

God hates sin – yet loves sinners. 

So, we must love the lost without supporting or tolerating their sin. 

And we must hate sin - without despising those who are controlled by it. Missing the mark in either direction causes us to sin ourselves. 

The litmus test is simple: If you confess and in faith battle sin in your life, you are on the side of Christ … If you redefine and embrace sin, you are not. 

All men are in one of these two camps. There are no degrees of righteousness… you are either holy, or vile.  And we all start out as vile. Only a blood-stained faith, with a repentant heart, can move me to holiness.

Scripture is clear that I am saved by grace, through faith alone, but the question remains …do I hate all sin like God does? … or do I tolerate my sin …and only hate yours?

“It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors” ― A.W. Pink