Month: January 2019

Biblical Messages

So you think you can see?

Jeff

Jesus said that the Pharisees were guilty because though they had sight, they refused to see.  So often, people lack self-awareness, like the Pharisees did.  The man born blind, on the other hand, saw Jesus for who he truly was.  Based on John 9.35-41, you can watch or listen to this message below.  I apologize for my pre-pubescent, raspy voice.

Encouragement From The Word

From the archives: Saying Thanks

Jeff

This bug that’s going around has clouded my mind, so I thought I’d pull something out of the Encouragement archives from 2010 for you this week. JFL

In Matthew 25.40, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (NIV).  In the context of that story – about the sheep and the goats – the righteous are surprised to learn that they had served the Lord in small ways, such as feeding, clothing and caring.  Acting on the grace of God at work in their lives through faith, they had ministered to others, and thereby ministered to Jesus himself.  What they were doing just flowed from them naturally, because of their faith in Christ.

Have you ever thought about the little encouragements you give, the little kindnesses you share?  Perhaps these are ministries both of and to Jesus.  Nobody gets too much encouragement.

For example, last night, having had some minor trouble with my smart phone, I called Bell Mobility tech support to try to get the problem solved.  The chap I spoke with, while not perfectly fluent in English, was extremely courteous, very patient, and gave me the impression that he really wanted to help me with the problem.  While the difficulty turned out to be simple to solve, the process of ‘getting there’ was a bit more complicated than either of us had anticipated.

Still, when it was all done – nearly an hour of trying things and waiting on hold while he talked with another expert – I did not feel exasperated (as I often do at the end of such calls).  I felt that I had been heard, and my concern had been taken seriously.  And he worked to solve the problem to my satisfaction!

When we were finished, I said to him, “I need to ask one more thing of you:  will you put me through to your supervisor, so I can tell that person what a good job you have done for me?”  I think he was a bit surprised that I asked, but glad that I had said why I wanted to talk with his supervisor, because all too often, when consumers ask to speak to the supervisor, it’s to complain.  But I wanted to commend, rather than complain.

I had to leave a voicemail for the supervisor, but at least I had the opportunity to speak some encouragement into the life of a faceless technical support person who could have been in another city or another country for all I knew. But I was pleased with his work and I wanted his boss to know that.

Who have you thanked for doing a good job for you lately?  That may be one of the little things you do for Jesus.

Encouragement From The Word

Position yourself for growth

Jeff

If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for any length of time, you know the importance of growing in your faith.  So often, we get the notion in our minds that we have to work at it – and while there is some truth to that, we need to understand that it’s not our job.

I’m fond of the definition of spiritual formation given by the late Robert Mulholland, who taught New Testament at a seminary in the United States.  His definition of spiritual formation is that it is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.

When we come to faith in Jesus, it is not the end of a journey, but the beginning. When we begin our relationship with God, we submit ourselves to the process of being conformed – it’s not our job, but that of God the Holy Spirit living within us.

And we are being conformed to the image of Christ – as the apostle Paul tells the church in Corinth, “the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3.18, NLT).  That’s our goal – not to be “better people” or “more moral”, but to be more like Jesus.

Why?  For the sake of others.  We don’t grow in faith for our own sakes, but so that the world God made and the people God loves may benefit, and glimpse more of his goodness through us.

The work is God’s, but we are invited to be willing instruments.  Position yourself for growth this year.

Encouragement From The Word

A Psalm about Self

Jeff

There’s a little book of creative writing that was written by Joe Bayly, and compiled after he died.  It’s called Psalms of My Life, and as we start a new year of Encouragement, I’d like to share one of Bayly’s pieces, called “A Psalm about Self”.  See if you can find anything in here that might help you start your 2019 right.

Lord save me
from myself
my settled self
unsettle me
bring to end of rope
but only
if you
are at the end.

My procrastinating self
that can so easy find
side roads
that are more interesting
even ones where
errands can be run.

Send me back
to
my comfort loving self
uncomfort me
pull the covers from me
on cold night
that I may
wake.  Starve my body
that my soul may feast.

My proud self.

Give me grace to bend myself
And keep me bent
lest you should
one day
bend me to the breaking point.
My righteous self
show me sin
that lurks beneath
my conscious thought
motivating
that pushes me
to settling
comfort pride
and self
rationalizing self
that finds excuse
for what I do
and don’t.

Save me from myself
Save me so that
self may die
and save me
from pride

that self is dead.

Joseph Bayly, Psalms of My Life:  Daily Reflections on Newspapers, Wild Flowers, New Jobs, Hotel Rooms, Birthdays, and other Nitty Gritties of Life (Weston, ON:  David C. Cook, 1987), 16-17.

“Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11.2, NLT).