Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Philippians 3:17-19
I love music and listen to it quite a bit. Sometimes I use it to calm me or rearrange my thoughts, sometimes I listen to get motivated and at other times it’s for the pure enjoyment of it. My collection is quite varied in both genres and eras as it ranges from the 1930s to the present. Recently, I was at the gym and the song “Lady Godiva” by Peter and Gordon started playing. While some may not appreciate the song, I listen to it occasionally as a reminder to not get caught up in “lesser things”. In case you’re not familiar or haven’t heard the song in the last five decades, the lyrics tell the story of a young and beautiful woman pursues fame and fortune. In the process, she compromises and forfeits all of the things that made her beautiful, but never achieves the fame that she desires and becomes so poor that she can’t afford her clothes. God offers us so much, but too often people get off course with respect to godliness and forfeit their faith for lesser things that are useless and meaningless in light of eternity. Time and time again we are reminded in scripture to pursue God and His truth in various ways and the reasons are clearly explained to us. However, some reject the concept, some ignore it, while others struggle with it. Three reasons why it may be difficult are: hope, pride, and fear.
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God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation.
John C. Broger
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Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
Idioms, colloquialisms, and slang are common in our speech and rather confusing for those trying to learn a language. I am guilty of using all three. Having lived in or traveled frequently to different parts of the country, it is possible for me to mix phrases from various regions in the same sentence…adding to the confusion. This became quite evident when I worked with a young woman from South America. She had just immigrated to the United States and while her command of English was good, she had not yet had much exposure to the variety of idioms, colloquialisms, etc. When combined with accents and cultural differences, conversations between us were sometimes laborious. I would later learn that for the first two years, she thought I was being critical when I was trying to reassure her because of the different views our respective cultures had on the use of a certain phrase. Fortunately, she was living with an older couple who regularly reminded her that in the U.S., the phrase was a form of encouragement. I still felt awful about the miscommunication and certainly would have chosen different words had I known of the stress it was causing her. Therein lies one of the issues with speech: miscommunication. As ambassadors for Christ we’re called to guard our speech and “unwholesome words” can take a variety of forms. There are many idioms used regularly in our culture.
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“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.’” Luke 21:1-4
In the wake of Billy Graham’s departure from this world, the atmosphere seems a tad darker. He was truly a mighty man of God who was used to reach all levels of society around the globe. Not only did he touch the lives of many great and influential people not the least of which were several US presidents, but he also touched the lives of the humble such as my grandmother who accepted Christ sitting in her apartment watching one of his crusades on her television. In that light, take a look at the picture described in Luke 21. A poor woman who has next to nothing is noticed by the Lord of all that exists. He doesn’t look down on her as someone who is insignificant. Quite the opposite, He recognizes that her small offering or her “mite” is a mighty act of faith as she is giving all that she has; He acknowledges that she has contributed more than those who have given much larger offerings out of their surplus. When I consider the opportunities, wealth, talents or spiritual gifts of the mighty and those with no more than a mite, three points come to mind: jealousy, attitude and value.
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Your Father knows your gifts, your hindrances, and the condition you’re in at every moment. And He also knows something you can’t possibly know–every single person who’s in desperate need of receiving His touch through you.
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
I was recently included in an invitation to participate in an activity. For various reasons I declined; any one of them had sufficient merit to opt out, but together, the choice was self-directing. A few days after the initial invitation, a second was received. It came on a rather busy day and not wanting to forget to respond, I sent a brief message indicating my choice. Rather quickly, I received a reply questioning my decision which was followed by a volley of emails that indicated offense for both my choice and my means of communicating it. The end result was yet another hurt and a broken relationship that increased my desire to withdraw from most people and especially pull away from the Christian community.
One of the difficulties for those dealing with life’s trials and/or the ongoing challenges of chronic illness is the focus. We all face various circumstances that disappoint and frustrate us giving rise to the need of confidantes to whom we share our thoughts and occasionally vent. However, when our thoughts become self-absorbed, we lose our perspective and cause damage in our vital relationships.
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I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3
In 1995 I had a grand mal seizure and was put on seizure medication without a thorough investigation of the circumstances. We would learn later that I did not need it. Problematically, if you take seizure medication and don’t need it, it can cause seizures. Consequently, for the next nine years I endured petit mals or absence seizures. The first one occurred after my wife and I returned home from a dance. While we were talking with our children, Marie noticed that my expression changed to a vacant stare. In order to avoid alarming our children she moved close to me, took my hand, lead me to our bedroom and had me sit down. In a few moments I returned to normal function. Through experimentation and discussion, we learned that while I could not initiate movement or speech, I could be led by others and I could nod faintly in response to yes or no questions. However, for the most part I was immobilized and temporarily stuck in a very confining world. As I think about those seizures, I’m reminded of times when I’ve been stuck in life. Usually, I’m immobilized by one of three things: fear, fatigue or indecision. Can you relate?
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
My wife and I like to dance. Considering all of the choices, the waltz is our preferred dance. I’m not talking about the basic box step, but rather moving down the line of dance with whisks, weaves, turns, etc. When a couple is dancing, the male leads. It is his responsibility to employ good technique to move the couple around the dance floor and to lead his partner in the various moves. It is up to the woman to follow. Well done, it is very beautiful and graceful. Poorly executed, it looks clumsy and can be somewhat dangerous. When I contemplate my relationship with God, I often compare it to the waltz.
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Trials should not surprise us, or cause us to doubt God’s faithfulness. Rather, we should actually be glad for them. God sends trials to strengthen our trust in Him so that our faith will not fail. Our trials keep us trusting; they burn away our self confidence and drive us to our Savior.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
Producing art, whether for functional use, aesthetic value, or some combination of the two, takes effort and skill. In my youth I used to tool leather. I made belts, purses, bible covers, etc. At times I used kits, regularly I used precut pieces such as belt blanks while the remainder of the time I started with a piece of tanned hide. Obviously the latter required the most effort in that I had to decide what I was making, its intended purpose, its shape, and its dimensions. From there the cutting had to be precise which was not easy with a utility knife. Once cut, the leather had to be moistened to keep it pliable so that the stamping and carving could be done properly and evenly. After being tooled it had to be died and finished. Each piece was unique and an investment of time, effort, and creativity. The process was a very faint imitation of how God has created each of us.
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