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On Second Thought
A collection of devotions, testimonies, poems, etc. that demand a second thought, or third, or . . . . . .
Our Job Is to Obey by Charles R. Swindoll
Let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy. Psalm 5:11
As you walk the path of trust, you will experience situations that simply defy explanation. When you look back, after the fact, you could never have figured out a better plan. At the time it seemed strange, mysterious . . . even illogical.
Let me assure you, that's God working. Things will happen that seem to be totally contradictory, but these are God's arrangements.
It was a wonderful day when I finally realized I don't have to explain or defend the will of God. My job is simply to obey it.
It is a waste of time trying to unscrew the inscrutable workings of God. You'll never be able to do it. That's simply the way God works.
He honors faith and obedience. He will honor your faith if you will trust Him in a walk of obedience. And when you trust Him completely, you will enjoy inner quietness and security. You will have a secure confidence that you are walking in His will. You will be surrounded by His peace.
Let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy. Psalm 5:11
As you walk the path of trust, you will experience situations that simply defy explanation. When you look back, after the fact, you could never have figured out a better plan. At the time it seemed strange, mysterious . . . even illogical.
Let me assure you, that's God working. Things will happen that seem to be totally contradictory, but these are God's arrangements.
It was a wonderful day when I finally realized I don't have to explain or defend the will of God. My job is simply to obey it.
It is a waste of time trying to unscrew the inscrutable workings of God. You'll never be able to do it. That's simply the way God works.
He honors faith and obedience. He will honor your faith if you will trust Him in a walk of obedience. And when you trust Him completely, you will enjoy inner quietness and security. You will have a secure confidence that you are walking in His will. You will be surrounded by His peace.
Acquiring Great Faith by Dr Charles Stanley
I’ve had people tell me, “I wish that I had great faith.” While most of us would like God to just drop that kind of confidence into our
laps, it’s not the way He operates. Faith increases as a result of our obedience in little things. We all marvel at Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac at the Lord’s command. But have you ever stopped to consider all of his smaller steps of submission that prepared the way for this enormous test?
Throughout his lifetime, Abraham obeyed God. At the Lord’s command, he left his country (Gen 12:1-4), was circumcised (17:10, 26), conceived Isaac in his old age (21:1-3), and sent his son Ishmael away (21:9-14). By the time he was asked to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, he already knew that his God would always be faithful to His promises. His previous experiences had taught Him to trust the Lord.
In the same way, each small step of obedience solidifies our confidence in God. Then, when He challenges us with a more difficult assignment, a firm foundation of assurance enables us to trust andobey Him. Great acts of faith flow from our past interactions with the Lord. By neglecting His simple commands, we miss priceless opportunities to witness His faithfulness.
Having trouble trusting God for something big? Maybe it’s because you’ve ignored those “small” and “insignificant” promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Lord considers each of His commands important and promises to reward every act of obedience, regardless of size. Great faith begins with little steps.
I’ve had people tell me, “I wish that I had great faith.” While most of us would like God to just drop that kind of confidence into our
laps, it’s not the way He operates. Faith increases as a result of our obedience in little things. We all marvel at Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac at the Lord’s command. But have you ever stopped to consider all of his smaller steps of submission that prepared the way for this enormous test?
Throughout his lifetime, Abraham obeyed God. At the Lord’s command, he left his country (Gen 12:1-4), was circumcised (17:10, 26), conceived Isaac in his old age (21:1-3), and sent his son Ishmael away (21:9-14). By the time he was asked to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, he already knew that his God would always be faithful to His promises. His previous experiences had taught Him to trust the Lord.
In the same way, each small step of obedience solidifies our confidence in God. Then, when He challenges us with a more difficult assignment, a firm foundation of assurance enables us to trust andobey Him. Great acts of faith flow from our past interactions with the Lord. By neglecting His simple commands, we miss priceless opportunities to witness His faithfulness.
Having trouble trusting God for something big? Maybe it’s because you’ve ignored those “small” and “insignificant” promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Lord considers each of His commands important and promises to reward every act of obedience, regardless of size. Great faith begins with little steps.
Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ's Work, Not Mohammed's by John Piper
What we saw in the Islamic demonstrations over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad was another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each. Not all Muslims approve the violence. But a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.
If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised: "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads" (Psalm 22:7). "He was despised and rejected by men . . . as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we
esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).
When it actually happened it was worse than expected. "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. . . . And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on him" (Matthew 27:28-30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work he came to do. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).
This was not true of Muhammad. And Muslims do not believe it is true of Jesus. Most Muslims have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. One Sunni Muslim writes, "Muslims believe that Allah saved the Messiah from the ignominy of crucifixion."1[1] Another adds, "We honor [Jesus] more than you [Christians] do... We refuse to believe that God would permit him to suffer death on the
cross."2[2] An essential Muslim impulse is to avoid the "ignominy" of the cross.
That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25).
The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children.
How should his followers respond? On the one hand, we are grieved and angered. On the other hand, we identify with Christ, and embrace his suffering, and rejoice in our afflictions, and say with the apostle Paul that vengeance belongs to the Lord, let us love our enemies and win them with the gospel. If Christ did his work by being insulted, we must do ours likewise.
When Muhammad was portrayed in twelve cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the uproar across the Muslim world was intense and sometimes violent. Flags were burned, embassies were torched, and at least one Christian church was stoned. The cartoonists went into hiding in fear for their lives, like Salman Rushdie before them. What does this mean?
It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to "share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).
1[1] Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Nairobi: Usima Press, 1980), p. 141.
2[2] Quoted from The Muslim World in J. Dudley Woodberry, editor, Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1989), p.164.
By John Piper. © Desiring God.
What we saw in the Islamic demonstrations over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad was another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each. Not all Muslims approve the violence. But a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.
If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised: "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads" (Psalm 22:7). "He was despised and rejected by men . . . as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we
esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).
When it actually happened it was worse than expected. "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. . . . And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on him" (Matthew 27:28-30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work he came to do. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).
This was not true of Muhammad. And Muslims do not believe it is true of Jesus. Most Muslims have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. One Sunni Muslim writes, "Muslims believe that Allah saved the Messiah from the ignominy of crucifixion."1[1] Another adds, "We honor [Jesus] more than you [Christians] do... We refuse to believe that God would permit him to suffer death on the
cross."2[2] An essential Muslim impulse is to avoid the "ignominy" of the cross.
That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25).
The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children.
How should his followers respond? On the one hand, we are grieved and angered. On the other hand, we identify with Christ, and embrace his suffering, and rejoice in our afflictions, and say with the apostle Paul that vengeance belongs to the Lord, let us love our enemies and win them with the gospel. If Christ did his work by being insulted, we must do ours likewise.
When Muhammad was portrayed in twelve cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the uproar across the Muslim world was intense and sometimes violent. Flags were burned, embassies were torched, and at least one Christian church was stoned. The cartoonists went into hiding in fear for their lives, like Salman Rushdie before them. What does this mean?
It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to "share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).
1[1] Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Nairobi: Usima Press, 1980), p. 141.
2[2] Quoted from The Muslim World in J. Dudley Woodberry, editor, Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1989), p.164.
By John Piper. © Desiring God.
THEY DIED FROM THE COLD WITHINSix humans trapped by happenstance, in bleak and bitter cold;
Each one possessed a stick of wood, or so the story told. Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back, For on the faces around the fire, he noticed one was black. The next man looking across the way, saw one not of his church; And couldn’t bring himself to give, the first -- his stick of birch. The third one sat in tattered clothes, he gave his coat a hitch. Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich? The rich man just sat and thought of the wealth he had in store, And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor. The black man’s face bespoke revenge, as the fire passed from his sight, For all he saw in his stick of wood, was a chance to spite the white. The last man of this forlorn group, did naught except for gain. Giving only to those who gave, was how he played the game. Their logs held tight in death’s still hand, was proof of human sin. They didn’t die from the cold without, they died from the cold within. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant. I Corinthians 13:4 |
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After God's Heart by Myrna Alexander ~ excerpt from Chapter 10 - Waiting on God
In our impatient, instant-everything society, waiting on God is not easy. We often picture waiting as something passive, much like twiddling our thumbs. But waiting on God is intensely active. It requires us to "trust in the Lord with all [our] hearts and lean not on [our] own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
God's Complete Control
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Quiet our hearts, dear Father, and in so doing, remind us that You are sovereign—not almost sovereign but altogether sovereign. Nothing occurs in our lives that has not been masterfully planned and put together by You, our eternal God. Help us to enter into the truth of Psalm 46:10 personally and consistently. May that result in being still, enabling us to discover that You are God. As we cast our cares upon You, knowing You care for us, release our stress.
We entrust our concerns to You today . . . large and small, new and nagging. We long to experience peace-filled living by stepping off this treadmill called pressurized living. We pray that Your mighty presence would take the place of the stress, the demands, the struggles, the mess we've created. We ask that You would give us Your shalom--Your peace—like we've never known it before. We deliberately choose to trust You and to rest in You. In the name of Jesus. Amen. See also Psalm 34:4; Proverbs 16:3; Jeremiah 17:7; Philippians 4:19 |
Contagion ~ taken from Turning Point by David Jeremiah
Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord for the Lord heard it. Numbers 11:1
Leadership expert Erik Calonius tells of a study of 12,000 interconnected people in Massachusetts that found that happiness passes from one person to another like flu. The closer you are to a happy person, the happier you'll be. Statistically, each happy friend a person has increases that person's probability of being happy by about nine percent. Every unhappy friend decreases it by seven percent. Experts call this "contagion."1
Readers of Exodus aren't surprised, for negative attitudes swept through the Israelites in epidemic waves. For example, in chapter 15 the Israelites burst into hymns over the parting of the Red Sea; but by the end of the chapter, they were grumbling again.
The attitude you're carrying right now will spread to somebody else today. If you're joyful, you'll lift their spirits. If you're angry, you'll infect them with negative feelings. The Bible tells us to exhort one another, to hold fast to our faith, and to spread abroad the love of God with overflowing hearts.
Smiles are the most contagious emotional signal of all, having an almost irresistible power to make others smile in return.
Daniel Goleman
Leadership expert Erik Calonius tells of a study of 12,000 interconnected people in Massachusetts that found that happiness passes from one person to another like flu. The closer you are to a happy person, the happier you'll be. Statistically, each happy friend a person has increases that person's probability of being happy by about nine percent. Every unhappy friend decreases it by seven percent. Experts call this "contagion."1
Readers of Exodus aren't surprised, for negative attitudes swept through the Israelites in epidemic waves. For example, in chapter 15 the Israelites burst into hymns over the parting of the Red Sea; but by the end of the chapter, they were grumbling again.
The attitude you're carrying right now will spread to somebody else today. If you're joyful, you'll lift their spirits. If you're angry, you'll infect them with negative feelings. The Bible tells us to exhort one another, to hold fast to our faith, and to spread abroad the love of God with overflowing hearts.
Smiles are the most contagious emotional signal of all, having an almost irresistible power to make others smile in return.
Daniel Goleman
Ministering Together - by Charles R. Swindoll - Read Acts 11:19–26
In every ministry there are at least three essentials that produce an atmosphere of joyous cooperation. They are objectives, people, and places.
First, whatever God plans, He pursues. That has to do with the ministry essential of objectives. There's nothing wrong with having a clearly defined mission statement that gives direction and purpose to the vision of a ministry. In fact, there's everything right about it as long as it is the Lord who provides the direction. God's plan unfolds in ways that confound human wisdom and sometimes defy common sense. But it is His plan. Objectives are essential when they are His objectives, not ours.
Second, whomever God chooses, He uses. That has to do with the ministry essential of people. And I must quickly add, the people God chooses are never perfect. That includes me. That includes you. In fact, we prove more useful to the Lord when we accept that reality and trust Him with our imperfections.
Third, wherever God selects, He sends. That has to do with the ministry essential of places. I wish He would send all of the great ones to Stonebriar Community Church. And I wish He would never let any of them leave. That's desire based on my limited human perspective. I never prayed this prayer, but I've been tempted to pray, "Lord, send us only the great ones and keep them here forever. Don't ever take them anywhere else." (Being imperfect, I'm not above a few selfish prayers!)
God's plan, however, includes removing some very gifted people among us and sending them elsewhere. His ways are not our ways. His places are not the places we would choose to go on our own. None of that matters. What matters is this: God sends people of His choosing to places of His choosing. The sooner we accept and embrace that truth, the more contented we will be.
Ministering together is always an adventure. It's about embracing change. It's about maintaining flexibility. It's about walking with God through the surprising events He has designed. Barnabas needed help. The work was too much for one gifted but limited man. Paul stepped into the gap. And together they turned Antioch upside down for Christ.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005
An Attitude of Genuine Thanksgiving - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 16:16–40; Philippians 2:1–18
Paul had an attitude of genuine thanksgiving: "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak" (Colossians 4:2–4).
Here's a man in his sixties who has been preaching for years asking for prayers for a clearer delivery. There was no pretense with Paul. No degree of success or number of years in the ministry gave him a false sense of ultimate accomplishment. He knew he had not yet arrived. He was convinced his preaching could be improved. And so with a genuinely thankful heart, he entreated his fellow believers for their prayers. Can you see the power of that kind of attitude? Very refreshing.
No wonder the man had such lasting impact for Christ. His secret bled through every one of his letters. He had learned to be content in all things. But we can't leave the ink of these truths to simply sit and dry on the page. We must embrace the same secret for ourselves if we are to have the same lasting impact. Some personal reflection is in order.
Let's turn the spotlight away from the man housed in Rome back then and focus it on you and your life, wherever you find yourself right now. Are you making a difference in the lives of those closest to you by the way you respond to your circumstances? Are others inspired by your faith, or are they discouraged by your fears? Are the attitudes of unselfish humility, joyful acceptance, strong determination, and genuine thanksgiving evident in the way you respond to circumstances? Maybe it's time to make some changes. Let's see if I can help.
Start by refusing to let your situation determine your attitude. When your attitude overshadows your situation, transformation really begins. As we saw in Paul, the power to transform stubborn attitudes of fear and bitterness, anger and defeat, comes from Christ. The Lord our God stands ready to pour His strength in you. He alone has the power to deliver you from those relentless foes and send you soaring.
Keep an attitude of genuine thanksgiving.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Like Clay - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 12:25–13:5
Keeping the clay of your will supple and flexible calls for constant attention along the way. Once you grow hard and brittle to God's leading, you're less usable to Him. I want to take the truths we've wrestled with here and make them into a softening ointment you can regularly apply when a change is on the horizon. The ingredients in the ointment you need to apply include a pinch of the negative and a smidgen of the positive.
First negative: Do not remove any possibility. Stay open to whatever it is God may have for you by removing all the limitations. Tell the Lord you're willing to cooperate. But don't forget, you may be the next Barnabas or Paul the Lord decides to move. Remember, we're dealing with change—changing so we might obey.
Second negative: Do not allow a lot of activity to dull your sensitivity. Remember, God spoke while they were ministering. You can be so busy in church activities you can't figure out what the Lord's saying.
First positive: Let God be God. He is selective when He moves people. He picked two and left three. That was His prerogative. He could have chosen all five or only one. It's His call. Our sovereign Lord does as He pleases, and when it's clear, our response is to obey.
Second positive: Be ready to say yes. Don't wait for all the details to be ironed out before you agree to release and obey. Sure, there will be hardships, some uphill stretches in the road. So what? Be ready to say yes, and trust Him to take care of the rest.
Only you and the Lord know the condition of your heart. Is it soft and pliable clay, ready to be molded and shaped by the Master sculptor? Or has it hardened into brittle and fragile pottery from years of faithless living? You know exactly what God is asking you to do. It may be well beyond the boundaries of logic and far outside your comfort zone. You may even have a few friends telling you that what you believe He's asking you to do is wrong, completely wrong. Still, His leading is clear. Only one thing is needed: say yes, Lord, yes.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Gentle Nudging - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 12:25–13:3
While they were ministering to the Lord—fasting, singing, teaching, witnessing, and praying—the Holy Spirit said, "Okay, hitch up the wagons, fellas . . . westward, ho! I need Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them."
Can you imagine how some would react today? "You can't be serious. You're gonna take two of the five chefs and send them to another joint? We'll starve! You're gonna reach down in our ranks and pull two of the best adult fellowship teachers we've got and move them to some distant mission field? That's two-fifths of our leadership. We can't let these guys slip through our fingers!"
But none of that occurred in Antioch. As soon as those folks realized it was the Spirit of God who was sending them on, they released them. And the change occurred (don't miss this!) "while they were ministering." It didn't happen in a lull, when giving was way down, or during a period of leadership transition. God lifted these men from that exciting setting while the church was at its zenith, steaming ahead full-bore. People were coming by the cartload, deep needs were being met, souls were being saved, lives were being transformed, families were getting healthy, the place was electric! Still, the Spirit said, "It's time for change." Who would've ever imagined? But God is full of surprises, since He sees the big picture while we focus mainly on the here and now.
It was God's way of telling Barnabas and Paul it was time to move. By the way, the Lord did the speaking. In those days the Lord revealed Himself in a number of ways. Today, I believe He speaks to us through His Word, through the gentle nudging of the Spirit, and through the collective witness of His people. Then it may have been in a night vision, or during a time while the disciples were praying, meditating on the Scriptures, or while fasting. A couple of the leaders sensed the Lord's leading in a new direction. Others verified the voice. The Lord said, in effect, "I have work for two of you to do elsewhere. Not all of you, only two, and My plan is best. Release Barnabas and Paul. They are the two I'm calling elsewhere."
Westward, ho!
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
It's Not About You! - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read 2 Corinthians 12:2–10
I need to underscore a foundational fact: God's goal is not to make sure you're happy. No matter how hard it is for you to believe this, it's time to do so. Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free. It's about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be. Unfortunately, we will rarely hear that message proclaimed today. All the more reason for me to say it again: Life is not about you! It’s about God.
How can I say that with assurance? Because of Paul's response: "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (vv. 9–10). That's it! He got it too. And he went with it for the rest of his days.
When you and I boast of our strengths, we get the credit, and we keep going under our own head of steam. But when we boast in what He is doing in the midst of our brokenness, inability, and inadequacy, Christ comes to the front. His strength comes to our rescue. He is honored.
Don't miss that point. The very things we dread and run from in our lives are precisely what brought contentment to Paul. Look at the list: I am content when I lose. I am content when I am weak. I am content with insults. I am content when I'm slandered. I am content in distresses. I am content with persecutions. I am content with difficulties and pressures that are so tight I can hardly turn around. Why? "Because when I am weak then I'm strong." Knowing that brought the apostle, ablaze with the flaming oracles of heaven, to his knees. What a way to live your life—content in everything—knowing that divine strength comes when human weakness is evident.
That's what gave the man of grace true grit. It will do the same for us.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
In every ministry there are at least three essentials that produce an atmosphere of joyous cooperation. They are objectives, people, and places.
First, whatever God plans, He pursues. That has to do with the ministry essential of objectives. There's nothing wrong with having a clearly defined mission statement that gives direction and purpose to the vision of a ministry. In fact, there's everything right about it as long as it is the Lord who provides the direction. God's plan unfolds in ways that confound human wisdom and sometimes defy common sense. But it is His plan. Objectives are essential when they are His objectives, not ours.
Second, whomever God chooses, He uses. That has to do with the ministry essential of people. And I must quickly add, the people God chooses are never perfect. That includes me. That includes you. In fact, we prove more useful to the Lord when we accept that reality and trust Him with our imperfections.
Third, wherever God selects, He sends. That has to do with the ministry essential of places. I wish He would send all of the great ones to Stonebriar Community Church. And I wish He would never let any of them leave. That's desire based on my limited human perspective. I never prayed this prayer, but I've been tempted to pray, "Lord, send us only the great ones and keep them here forever. Don't ever take them anywhere else." (Being imperfect, I'm not above a few selfish prayers!)
God's plan, however, includes removing some very gifted people among us and sending them elsewhere. His ways are not our ways. His places are not the places we would choose to go on our own. None of that matters. What matters is this: God sends people of His choosing to places of His choosing. The sooner we accept and embrace that truth, the more contented we will be.
Ministering together is always an adventure. It's about embracing change. It's about maintaining flexibility. It's about walking with God through the surprising events He has designed. Barnabas needed help. The work was too much for one gifted but limited man. Paul stepped into the gap. And together they turned Antioch upside down for Christ.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005
An Attitude of Genuine Thanksgiving - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 16:16–40; Philippians 2:1–18
Paul had an attitude of genuine thanksgiving: "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak" (Colossians 4:2–4).
Here's a man in his sixties who has been preaching for years asking for prayers for a clearer delivery. There was no pretense with Paul. No degree of success or number of years in the ministry gave him a false sense of ultimate accomplishment. He knew he had not yet arrived. He was convinced his preaching could be improved. And so with a genuinely thankful heart, he entreated his fellow believers for their prayers. Can you see the power of that kind of attitude? Very refreshing.
No wonder the man had such lasting impact for Christ. His secret bled through every one of his letters. He had learned to be content in all things. But we can't leave the ink of these truths to simply sit and dry on the page. We must embrace the same secret for ourselves if we are to have the same lasting impact. Some personal reflection is in order.
Let's turn the spotlight away from the man housed in Rome back then and focus it on you and your life, wherever you find yourself right now. Are you making a difference in the lives of those closest to you by the way you respond to your circumstances? Are others inspired by your faith, or are they discouraged by your fears? Are the attitudes of unselfish humility, joyful acceptance, strong determination, and genuine thanksgiving evident in the way you respond to circumstances? Maybe it's time to make some changes. Let's see if I can help.
Start by refusing to let your situation determine your attitude. When your attitude overshadows your situation, transformation really begins. As we saw in Paul, the power to transform stubborn attitudes of fear and bitterness, anger and defeat, comes from Christ. The Lord our God stands ready to pour His strength in you. He alone has the power to deliver you from those relentless foes and send you soaring.
Keep an attitude of genuine thanksgiving.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Like Clay - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 12:25–13:5
Keeping the clay of your will supple and flexible calls for constant attention along the way. Once you grow hard and brittle to God's leading, you're less usable to Him. I want to take the truths we've wrestled with here and make them into a softening ointment you can regularly apply when a change is on the horizon. The ingredients in the ointment you need to apply include a pinch of the negative and a smidgen of the positive.
First negative: Do not remove any possibility. Stay open to whatever it is God may have for you by removing all the limitations. Tell the Lord you're willing to cooperate. But don't forget, you may be the next Barnabas or Paul the Lord decides to move. Remember, we're dealing with change—changing so we might obey.
Second negative: Do not allow a lot of activity to dull your sensitivity. Remember, God spoke while they were ministering. You can be so busy in church activities you can't figure out what the Lord's saying.
First positive: Let God be God. He is selective when He moves people. He picked two and left three. That was His prerogative. He could have chosen all five or only one. It's His call. Our sovereign Lord does as He pleases, and when it's clear, our response is to obey.
Second positive: Be ready to say yes. Don't wait for all the details to be ironed out before you agree to release and obey. Sure, there will be hardships, some uphill stretches in the road. So what? Be ready to say yes, and trust Him to take care of the rest.
Only you and the Lord know the condition of your heart. Is it soft and pliable clay, ready to be molded and shaped by the Master sculptor? Or has it hardened into brittle and fragile pottery from years of faithless living? You know exactly what God is asking you to do. It may be well beyond the boundaries of logic and far outside your comfort zone. You may even have a few friends telling you that what you believe He's asking you to do is wrong, completely wrong. Still, His leading is clear. Only one thing is needed: say yes, Lord, yes.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Gentle Nudging - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 12:25–13:3
While they were ministering to the Lord—fasting, singing, teaching, witnessing, and praying—the Holy Spirit said, "Okay, hitch up the wagons, fellas . . . westward, ho! I need Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them."
Can you imagine how some would react today? "You can't be serious. You're gonna take two of the five chefs and send them to another joint? We'll starve! You're gonna reach down in our ranks and pull two of the best adult fellowship teachers we've got and move them to some distant mission field? That's two-fifths of our leadership. We can't let these guys slip through our fingers!"
But none of that occurred in Antioch. As soon as those folks realized it was the Spirit of God who was sending them on, they released them. And the change occurred (don't miss this!) "while they were ministering." It didn't happen in a lull, when giving was way down, or during a period of leadership transition. God lifted these men from that exciting setting while the church was at its zenith, steaming ahead full-bore. People were coming by the cartload, deep needs were being met, souls were being saved, lives were being transformed, families were getting healthy, the place was electric! Still, the Spirit said, "It's time for change." Who would've ever imagined? But God is full of surprises, since He sees the big picture while we focus mainly on the here and now.
It was God's way of telling Barnabas and Paul it was time to move. By the way, the Lord did the speaking. In those days the Lord revealed Himself in a number of ways. Today, I believe He speaks to us through His Word, through the gentle nudging of the Spirit, and through the collective witness of His people. Then it may have been in a night vision, or during a time while the disciples were praying, meditating on the Scriptures, or while fasting. A couple of the leaders sensed the Lord's leading in a new direction. Others verified the voice. The Lord said, in effect, "I have work for two of you to do elsewhere. Not all of you, only two, and My plan is best. Release Barnabas and Paul. They are the two I'm calling elsewhere."
Westward, ho!
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
It's Not About You! - by Charles R. Swindoll
Read 2 Corinthians 12:2–10
I need to underscore a foundational fact: God's goal is not to make sure you're happy. No matter how hard it is for you to believe this, it's time to do so. Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free. It's about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be. Unfortunately, we will rarely hear that message proclaimed today. All the more reason for me to say it again: Life is not about you! It’s about God.
How can I say that with assurance? Because of Paul's response: "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (vv. 9–10). That's it! He got it too. And he went with it for the rest of his days.
When you and I boast of our strengths, we get the credit, and we keep going under our own head of steam. But when we boast in what He is doing in the midst of our brokenness, inability, and inadequacy, Christ comes to the front. His strength comes to our rescue. He is honored.
Don't miss that point. The very things we dread and run from in our lives are precisely what brought contentment to Paul. Look at the list: I am content when I lose. I am content when I am weak. I am content with insults. I am content when I'm slandered. I am content in distresses. I am content with persecutions. I am content with difficulties and pressures that are so tight I can hardly turn around. Why? "Because when I am weak then I'm strong." Knowing that brought the apostle, ablaze with the flaming oracles of heaven, to his knees. What a way to live your life—content in everything—knowing that divine strength comes when human weakness is evident.
That's what gave the man of grace true grit. It will do the same for us.
Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.