Momentary Troubles Lead to Triumph

WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?
Most of us would not label any of our problems "light," even if we might recognise them as "momentary."

But the Apostle Paul said:

For our light and momentary troubles—Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers—are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
(2 Corinthians 4:17—2 Corinthians 11:25-26)

Reciting the reason why Paul responded to his trials as he did may be easy, but it's harder to apply, is it not?

Paul focused on Christ. He aimed for a reward in eternity, not one he could place on his trophy shelf now. He "gloried in weakness." He understood (as Peter did) that suffering for righteousness gives us—for the sake of illustration—tokens which we trade in for lasting treasure in heaven.

MIND RENEWAL
How could Paul view the troubles of life that wore him down physically, emotionally, mentally as merely "light and momentary"? He wrote this sentence just before it.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

How? If one is "wasting away," how can one be internally "renewed"?

Paul gives us a huge clue in Romans 12:2—

Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

If God does the mind-changing, how does He do it?

The composer of Psalm 119 tells us:

How can a young man keep his way pure?

   By living according to Your word.

I seek You with all my heart;

   do not let me stray from Your commands.

I have hidden Your Word in my heart

   that I might not sin against You.

The longest Psalm in all Scripture focuses not on man's struggle or even God's triumph, but merely delighting in God's Word and pursuing Him constantly.

RENEWED "DAY BY DAY."

"That's what you do. You sell a big lie, and wrap it up in a truth to make it more palatable." ~ Sherlock Holmes

We've all heard it, and—having worked at a bank over ten years—I know it. You detect counterfeit not by studying it, but by studying the true item.

How many Christians study the Bible "day by day"?

How many Christians believe sex outside of marriage is normal? How many believe homosexuality is not a sin? How many lie or twist truths to avoid a consequence? How many church-going people act more vicious and unloving than an atheist down the street?  How many religious people divorce or are captive to pornography?

HOLISTIC CHRISTIANITY
Holistic care and holistic medicine have been catch words in our society recently. The writers of the Bible, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could have coined the word "holistic" thousands of years before its recent popularity.

What the prophets taught, what the apostles taught, what Jesus taught—holistic Christianity (even if it was not called "Christianity" until years after Jesus resurrection, they all anticipated the solution in the Messiah).

What is holistic Christianity?

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 

The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Yahweh require of you—But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. "

WHAT NOW?
To know it initially, to believe it cognitively is not enough.

We must continually inhale the fragrance of grace, hear the constant whispers of our Saviour, see the nail-scarred hands, savor the meat of the Word, remember the bondage of sin, and feel the embrace of forgiveness.

With this daily renewal, we can step out in love and forgive our enemies, do good to those who wrong us, and see what we suffer here as "light" compared to the surpassing greatness of what our Lord has done for us in the past and what is waiting for us—perhaps today!

(Need Help? If you need a little accountability or just a daily reminder, goTandem allows you to request a Bible passage be sent via text, phone, or email at whatever time or times of day you choose.

You can also ask to have someone call you to ask how you're doing with your reading. Ideally, we should each have a Christian friend to do this—and be one to another—but, if you don't, goTandem at least provides one for starters.)

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Crushed Grapes

If you want a good time in this world, do not become a disciple of Jesus.

~Oswald Chambers

More and more Christians seem to aim to make the gospel attractive or at least make their church attractive to unbelievers. Entertainment increases while deep study of the Bible is minimized.

I do not mean to judge a church's motives by their programs, but I am concerned that we are passing on a new gospel and not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One pastor I heard recently said he believes the reason so many youth leave the church after graduation is that what they are taught in church does not match with the reality of life. We have promised them happy lives. Then why aren't they happy? Why did someone betray them? Why did they lose someone they loved? Why are they experiencing doubts?

By offering our hearers a sweetness-and-light gospel and promising every taker a place on the sunny side of the brae, we not only cruelly deceive them, we guarantee also a high casualty rate among the converts on such terms.

We tell them that if they will accept Christ He will give them peace of mind, solve their problems, protect their families and keep them happy all day long. They believe us and come, and the first cold wind sends them shivering to some counselor to find out what has gone wrong; and that is the last we hear of many of them! ~A. W. Tozer

Because suffering is such a negative topic, we tend to weed it out of our teaching. Maybe we believe if we ignore it, it truly will go away. But it doesn't. Not only is suffering a part of life, Jesus warned his disciples there would be an even a greater portion for any who follow Him.

We are apt to think that Jesus Christ took all the bitterness and we get all the blessing. It is true that we get the blessing, but we must never forget that the wine of life is made out of crushed grapes; to follow Jesus will involve bruising in the lives of the disciples as the purpose of God did in His own life. ~Oswald Chambers

In the 1930s and 40s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw this cheapening of grace amongst the Christians he knew in Germany and other parts of the world. In The Cost of Discipleship, he warned us what was at stake. "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

Then what is the grace of which the biblical writers told us? What is the grace earned by Jesus and too costly for us to earn by our good efforts? Bonhoeffer goes on to explain this costly grace:

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us our life, and it is grace because it gives us the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of God's Son: "you were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.

As the apostle Paul explains repeatedly, we have not been saved by works: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But this is where many Christians stop. Yet Paul goes on—"For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (v 10; cf James 2:14-26).

Suffering and pain, doubts and uncertainty will come. Yet as we draw close to the heart of Jesus, as we live out our faith through works He has prepared for us to do, as we remain faithful even to death, we will begin to grasp true life, both here and in the life to come.

As those who have died to the flesh and been made alive in Christ, Jesus calls us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. Obedience is the fruit of salvation.

Deja Vu and Amnesia

Do you ever have days when you feel what you conquered several hours before is back defeating you now? For me, this is one of the hardest parts of life.

I'm not one for repetition. I hate song lyrics that repeat and repeat. I get impatient with hearing long stories of trite origin retold.

This is one of the reasons I didn't last as a piano student. I hated scales. Maybe it's because I'm task-oriented; I love to accomplish something and check it off my list. Likely too, I'm just lazy.

Regardless, in my image of how life should play out, I should learn something, master it, and move on; I should not be trying to emotionally grasp it a week, a day, an hour later.

Someone aptly quoted a Professor Clair Davis saying that the Christian life is "a combination of amnesia and deja vu, but I'm not sure if I've said that before!" It correctly sums up this feeling of learning and relearning.

I've been reading through Genesis, Exodus and now into Leviticus. One of the things that struck me this time, while reading of the rituals of the sacrificial system, was how interactive it was. It cost something. You had to bring one of your own animals or purchase one, lay your hand on it, and kill it. It cost financially, but it also cost emotionally. That animal was taking your place, dying because you sinned. The physical interaction had to leave an indelible impression. There was the smell of incense, not to be burned anywhere else; the feel of the lamb's head under your hand as you held it while it was slain; the sight and smell of the blood and burning...

Our sins have cost Jesus the utmost price; dying for sins He never committed, and for people who never loved Him (and most who never would). Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls it costly grace. Jesus paid the ultimate penalty so that we would be free. Free to do what we want? No. Free to serve Him from our heart.

This all comes back to the battle. We are free to fight now. Free to win by the Spirit of God in us, who belong to Him. Yes, it is wearying to fight and re-fight, but we have the chance to win a battle that before Jesus we had no hope to win.

This fight is the cost of our faith. It does not win us salvation, but is a result of being saved.

My nephew said it this way: "Just when I think that I cannot go on, I look up and see Your cross."

And the writer of Hebrews says, "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 12:4)

The trials and lessons of life are God's way of discipling us as His sons, Hebrews goes on to say. We are disciplined out of love, so that we won't be spoiled children.

What about you? Are you relearning a lesson you thought you'd learned? Don't lose heart. There is a point to this deja vu. He teaches us again, and He doesn't give up on us.

"Let us not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest-if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)