Have you ever had “one of those weeks”? (The very fact that you know what I mean when I write “one of those weeks” means, of course, that we all have them).
Last week started well. I was feeling good and happy, and then things went downhill quickly. A couple of situations came up, I had a conversation or two that were not much fun and suddenly my good week was gone. I was pouty, depressed and grouchy. I did not want to see, talk to, or deal with anyone.
In reality, nothing was drastically wrong. From the outside looking, you likely would not see any obvious reason to be upset. Things looked about how they always look.
I am aware that my perception of my life is influenced by many things including how much sleep I am getting, how much I am exercising and the fact that winter this year seems never-ending. However, I came across something in my morning devotional that I had not considered. I found it helpful and maybe you will too.
In “My Utmost for his Highest”, Oswald Chambers writes, “If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.”
There is a huge difference in serving people so that they will like me and serving people because God likes me.
If I serve only to make people happy, I will always be on the rollercoaster – good day, bad day, good day – because I will never be able to keep everyone happy. No matter what I teach, say or do, I will always be able to find someone who liked it and someone who did not (and you know which one we most often focus on in that case).
However, if I am serving God, things are different. As Chambers points out, “[The Apostle] Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference… the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord.”
Near the end of last week, I decided to stop worrying about what others wanted and decided to refocus on what God might want from me. Interestingly enough, I was happier and so were the people around me.
It is a good lesson to learn: We serve others not for their praise, but so that they will see and praise God.
That has to be right, because that is what Jesus did.
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve . . . - Matthew 20:28
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Inefficient Faith
“You cannot do God’s work without God’s power”.
That is the lesson that the apostles learned in Luke 9. They had tried to heal a sick boy and, in spite of their best efforts, they could not do it. When they asked Jesus why they failed, he talked to them about their need for stronger faith (Matthew 17:19-21), a more consistent prayer life (Mark 9:29) and a real belief in him (Luke 9:41). Apparently, they had forgotten where their strength came from.
Why would anyone try to do God’s work by his or her own strength? Well, to be honest, it is easier. If we do not have to consider God, then we can make plans, set goals and decide on our own what we are going to do. Faith becomes a straight line from “point A” to “point B”. Rally the troops, get people excited, work hard and get it done.
By contrast, working with God’s power can seem quite inefficient. Things like praying, waiting on God, trusting in him, making yourself available to be used and serving your neighbour take tremendous amounts of time and energy. Rather than looking like a straight line from here to there, this type of faith looks much more like a river winding its way across a valley. It is slow and inefficient.
Now, I am not arguing that we should never make plans. My concern is that when my strength, my plans and my goals are the focus, God can be left out of the picture completely. We then become tempted to “sort things out” and to push for the results that we want to see happen, regardless of what God could be doing in the situation.
That makes me wonder: Is it possible that some of the things that you and I are trying so hard to fix could be “healed” if we were working with something more than our own power and strength?
As the old saying goes, “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works”.
In that light, the “inefficient” things of God are not so bad after all.
“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).
That is the lesson that the apostles learned in Luke 9. They had tried to heal a sick boy and, in spite of their best efforts, they could not do it. When they asked Jesus why they failed, he talked to them about their need for stronger faith (Matthew 17:19-21), a more consistent prayer life (Mark 9:29) and a real belief in him (Luke 9:41). Apparently, they had forgotten where their strength came from.
Why would anyone try to do God’s work by his or her own strength? Well, to be honest, it is easier. If we do not have to consider God, then we can make plans, set goals and decide on our own what we are going to do. Faith becomes a straight line from “point A” to “point B”. Rally the troops, get people excited, work hard and get it done.
By contrast, working with God’s power can seem quite inefficient. Things like praying, waiting on God, trusting in him, making yourself available to be used and serving your neighbour take tremendous amounts of time and energy. Rather than looking like a straight line from here to there, this type of faith looks much more like a river winding its way across a valley. It is slow and inefficient.
Now, I am not arguing that we should never make plans. My concern is that when my strength, my plans and my goals are the focus, God can be left out of the picture completely. We then become tempted to “sort things out” and to push for the results that we want to see happen, regardless of what God could be doing in the situation.
That makes me wonder: Is it possible that some of the things that you and I are trying so hard to fix could be “healed” if we were working with something more than our own power and strength?
As the old saying goes, “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works”.
In that light, the “inefficient” things of God are not so bad after all.
“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).
Monday, February 9, 2009
Worth a Closer Look
Talk show host and car enthusiast, Jay Leno, heard about an older man in his neighbourhood who was rumored to have an old car in his backyard garage. After finding the man and visiting with him for a while, Leno asked if he could see the car. The man said, “No”. For over 20 years, Leno kept visiting the man and every time he asked to see what was in the garage the man said, “Oh, no, not today. Not today”.
Eventually, the man moved to a nursing home. Jay writes, “So I went to see his daughter. She was now in her 60s but she grew up in the house. I asked her when she was last in the garage. She said, ‘I guess when I was about 4 years old.’ That would have been around 1950. I asked her what was in there and she said, ‘Some old car’.”
He then offered to buy whatever was in the garage, sight unseen. She talked to her dad and he agreed, so they went to the garage, lifted the tarp and found a 1927 Model X Duesenberg Sedan.
What is so special about that? Well, there were only thirteen Model X sedans ever built and only four survive today.
One of the rarest cars in the world was sitting in the garage behind the house and for 60 years, this lady thought it was “just some old car”. Needless to say, she soon found out that what she thought was just junk was actually something incredibly valuable.
If I can draw a very unworthy parallel here, many people seem to think about Jesus in the same way that this woman thought about her dad’s old car. They have heard about him, but they do not see his value. Jesus was a nice guy, an interesting teacher or a good storyteller, but that is about it.
Luke 9, just for a second, Jesus let three of his followers see him, not as just a man, but as he truly was, the Son of God. “The appearance of his face changed and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (verse 29). That one glimpse of his glory changed Peter, James and John. More than thirty years later, they were still talking about the real Jesus they saw that day (2 Peter 1:16-18).
Have you really seen Jesus?
Sometimes a closer look can be very valuable.
Eventually, the man moved to a nursing home. Jay writes, “So I went to see his daughter. She was now in her 60s but she grew up in the house. I asked her when she was last in the garage. She said, ‘I guess when I was about 4 years old.’ That would have been around 1950. I asked her what was in there and she said, ‘Some old car’.”
He then offered to buy whatever was in the garage, sight unseen. She talked to her dad and he agreed, so they went to the garage, lifted the tarp and found a 1927 Model X Duesenberg Sedan.
What is so special about that? Well, there were only thirteen Model X sedans ever built and only four survive today.
One of the rarest cars in the world was sitting in the garage behind the house and for 60 years, this lady thought it was “just some old car”. Needless to say, she soon found out that what she thought was just junk was actually something incredibly valuable.
If I can draw a very unworthy parallel here, many people seem to think about Jesus in the same way that this woman thought about her dad’s old car. They have heard about him, but they do not see his value. Jesus was a nice guy, an interesting teacher or a good storyteller, but that is about it.
Luke 9, just for a second, Jesus let three of his followers see him, not as just a man, but as he truly was, the Son of God. “The appearance of his face changed and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (verse 29). That one glimpse of his glory changed Peter, James and John. More than thirty years later, they were still talking about the real Jesus they saw that day (2 Peter 1:16-18).
Have you really seen Jesus?
Sometimes a closer look can be very valuable.
Monday, February 2, 2009
A Focused Life
“Then he [Jesus] said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:23-26)
Yikes! On first reading that does not sound like the Jesus that we often hear preached these days, does it? What is going on here?
As with most Bible passages, the context is important. Jesus has just asked his disciples who they think he is and Peter has replied, “You are the Christ of God” (verse 20). Jesus then tells them that he is going to be killed and raised again on the third day. He then says the things found in the first paragraph of this article.
So why does Jesus sound so strict and restrictive?
Jesus does not say these words to be mean or to make them somehow prove their faith. I think, rather, that he is simply asking them to focus on following him. Without a serious focus on Christ, life can be full of good things and still be a mess.
Think of it this way. What would happen if you went into your kitchen, got your biggest bowl and then mixed together every last piece of food you had in the house? You would end up with a pile of garbage.
Now, what would happen if you restricted yourself to a recipe and used only the ingredients that it specifies? Those same ingredients could make hundreds of good things.
Restrictions are not always bad. In fact, they can help us focus and produce something wonderful.
Jesus offers us a new life, with new goals, new visions, and a new purpose.
While we can never earn this great gift, we are called to live differently in response to it (Romans 6:1-14).
Yikes! On first reading that does not sound like the Jesus that we often hear preached these days, does it? What is going on here?
As with most Bible passages, the context is important. Jesus has just asked his disciples who they think he is and Peter has replied, “You are the Christ of God” (verse 20). Jesus then tells them that he is going to be killed and raised again on the third day. He then says the things found in the first paragraph of this article.
So why does Jesus sound so strict and restrictive?
Jesus does not say these words to be mean or to make them somehow prove their faith. I think, rather, that he is simply asking them to focus on following him. Without a serious focus on Christ, life can be full of good things and still be a mess.
Think of it this way. What would happen if you went into your kitchen, got your biggest bowl and then mixed together every last piece of food you had in the house? You would end up with a pile of garbage.
Now, what would happen if you restricted yourself to a recipe and used only the ingredients that it specifies? Those same ingredients could make hundreds of good things.
Restrictions are not always bad. In fact, they can help us focus and produce something wonderful.
Jesus offers us a new life, with new goals, new visions, and a new purpose.
While we can never earn this great gift, we are called to live differently in response to it (Romans 6:1-14).
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