Title: Stay Weak
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Ecclesiastes 4-6, 2 Corinthians 12 Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9
As usual, strength is "in." Join the fitness center, work out, eat right, take supplements, be strong. Then be self-reliant, capable, assured, accomplished, using your connections and abilities to get where you want to be. Overcome your weaknesses and conquer the world.
You hear this over and over again, don't you? What you don't hear is an encouragement to be weak. The closest thing to that is the emphasis on "servant-leadership," but notice that it is still "leadership."
What Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 is truly counter-culture: "I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." When did you last hear someone say, "Let me tell you about my weak points"? We think they are to be hidden, put out of sight, covered up. But Paul said he would boast about them.
The difference is Christ. Paul knew, and we need to also, that Christ's power rests on us in our weaknesses, not in our strength. Where we say, "I can't," Christ says, "I can." And as long as we say, "I can," Christ says, "I can't." It is not that He can't but that we won't let Him. We are like a child, unwilling to let a parent help. It is only when the child in weakness admits he can't that the parent, in strength, can help.
It's the same for us. Stay strong and you are weak. Stay weak and by Christ you are strong.
"God, help me be weak, to put aside my arrogant self-sufficiency, drawing instead on the strength of Christ. I can't, but He can."
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Twisted and empty
Title: Twisted and Empty
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Ecclesiastes 1-3, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 1:15
A bundle of studs delivered to a building site will invariably have some boards that are twisted, and no amount of nails seems to be sufficient to straighten them. Then there is the frustration of running out of nails. "How many do we have?" someone will ask. When "none" is the answer, frustration sets in.
Know the feeling? When bad things cannot be undone, and the needed supplies or other people who could be of help are unavailable, realization sets in and emotions churn. Are we having fun yet? Not now.
Solomon catches our attention with this scenario. He writes, "What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted" (1:15). It is meaningless, he says, to try to change these facts. His intent is not to leave us in despair but to counsel us to a wise perspective. There are times that we must accept things as they are.
This is not a Christian fatalism or a Christian version of karma, but it is a biblical perspective that brings peace to the heart of the believer. We need to accept what God brings into our life, be content with our situation and learn to live for His glory with our circumstances. Some things cannot be undone. Other things will be lacking. So learn to accept those facts and get on with being the person God wants you to be.
Do you have any areas of discontent right now? Accept them and ask God to help you have contentment and fulfillment in spite of, if not because of, them.
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Ecclesiastes 1-3, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 1:15
A bundle of studs delivered to a building site will invariably have some boards that are twisted, and no amount of nails seems to be sufficient to straighten them. Then there is the frustration of running out of nails. "How many do we have?" someone will ask. When "none" is the answer, frustration sets in.
Know the feeling? When bad things cannot be undone, and the needed supplies or other people who could be of help are unavailable, realization sets in and emotions churn. Are we having fun yet? Not now.
Solomon catches our attention with this scenario. He writes, "What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted" (1:15). It is meaningless, he says, to try to change these facts. His intent is not to leave us in despair but to counsel us to a wise perspective. There are times that we must accept things as they are.
This is not a Christian fatalism or a Christian version of karma, but it is a biblical perspective that brings peace to the heart of the believer. We need to accept what God brings into our life, be content with our situation and learn to live for His glory with our circumstances. Some things cannot be undone. Other things will be lacking. So learn to accept those facts and get on with being the person God wants you to be.
Do you have any areas of discontent right now? Accept them and ask God to help you have contentment and fulfillment in spite of, if not because of, them.
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Verse of the day 09/17/09
Psa.128:1
Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
Coached to the end
Title: Coached to the End
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Proverbs 27-29, 2 Corinthians 10
Key Verse: Proverbs 27:6
The next time you meet a retired Major League Baseball player, ask him, "At what point in your career did you no longer have a coach?" "I always had a coach," he will answer. Even the perennial all star, certain Hall of Famer, needs a coach.
Some coaches are great motivators, encouraging with positive statements to help the athlete maximize his potential. But all coaches are critics. They have an ability to see what is wrong, point it out and correct it. The player who wants to improve his game needs a good coach and a willingness to listen. He may prefer having his ego stroked, but knows that he needs the blows the coach can dish out.
We all need coaches who will tell us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. We need to be coachable, people who will listen and learn from what Solomon calls the "wounds from a friend" (27:6). The words of a friend may hurt for a while, but ultimately they will help if we will listen. The person who says what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear is more like an enemy who kisses up to us.
Later in this chapter Solomon says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (v. 17). To sharpen involves removing some from the edge being sharpened. In a sense it, too, is a wounding, but for the good.
So which do you want ego strokes or wounds?
Has someone tried to help you but you rejected him because his words hurt? Go back to that friend and ask for his help. You can trust the wounds of a friend.
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Proverbs 27-29, 2 Corinthians 10
Key Verse: Proverbs 27:6
The next time you meet a retired Major League Baseball player, ask him, "At what point in your career did you no longer have a coach?" "I always had a coach," he will answer. Even the perennial all star, certain Hall of Famer, needs a coach.
Some coaches are great motivators, encouraging with positive statements to help the athlete maximize his potential. But all coaches are critics. They have an ability to see what is wrong, point it out and correct it. The player who wants to improve his game needs a good coach and a willingness to listen. He may prefer having his ego stroked, but knows that he needs the blows the coach can dish out.
We all need coaches who will tell us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. We need to be coachable, people who will listen and learn from what Solomon calls the "wounds from a friend" (27:6). The words of a friend may hurt for a while, but ultimately they will help if we will listen. The person who says what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear is more like an enemy who kisses up to us.
Later in this chapter Solomon says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (v. 17). To sharpen involves removing some from the edge being sharpened. In a sense it, too, is a wounding, but for the good.
So which do you want ego strokes or wounds?
Has someone tried to help you but you rejected him because his words hurt? Go back to that friend and ask for his help. You can trust the wounds of a friend.
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Verse of the day 09/16/09
Mat.5:16
Let your light so shine before men,that they may see your good works,and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Let your light so shine before men,that they may see your good works,and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Stoking the fire
Title: Stoking the Fire
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Proverbs 25-26, 2 Corinthians 9 Key Verses: Proverbs 26:20-21
A few years ago my wife and I decided to make the change from charcoal to liquid propane gas. We enjoy "grilling" and opted for convenience over taste. The flavor, in our humble palettes' opinion, is better with charcoal, but we do cook out much more with the gas grill. I have at times brushed the snow off the top to fire it up in the middle of the winter. A twist of the knob on the tank, one match and we are on our way.
There is a problem, though. With charcoal I could see how much was left in the bag, but with a propane tank, it is pretty much a guess. One time the meal was not completely cooked when we ran out of gas. No fuel, no fire. That's the way it is.
It is the same with arguments. If there is no fuel, there will be no fire and the argument will end. One of the things that can feed that fire is gossip, and when it dies down, the quarrel does also.
Some people are quarrelsome. They stir up things and keep them stirred up. That is why they are described as being like charcoal, or wood. They kindle strife.
With picturesque words, Solomon challenges us not to be the fuel for the fire. Neither our actions, as in gossip, nor our character, as in being contentious, should start disagreements and keep them burning.
Ask yourself before you say something about another person, "Am I saying this to stir up trouble?" Answer honestly. Better to be quiet than to stoke the furnace of disagreements.
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Author: Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll
Proverbs 25-26, 2 Corinthians 9 Key Verses: Proverbs 26:20-21
A few years ago my wife and I decided to make the change from charcoal to liquid propane gas. We enjoy "grilling" and opted for convenience over taste. The flavor, in our humble palettes' opinion, is better with charcoal, but we do cook out much more with the gas grill. I have at times brushed the snow off the top to fire it up in the middle of the winter. A twist of the knob on the tank, one match and we are on our way.
There is a problem, though. With charcoal I could see how much was left in the bag, but with a propane tank, it is pretty much a guess. One time the meal was not completely cooked when we ran out of gas. No fuel, no fire. That's the way it is.
It is the same with arguments. If there is no fuel, there will be no fire and the argument will end. One of the things that can feed that fire is gossip, and when it dies down, the quarrel does also.
Some people are quarrelsome. They stir up things and keep them stirred up. That is why they are described as being like charcoal, or wood. They kindle strife.
With picturesque words, Solomon challenges us not to be the fuel for the fire. Neither our actions, as in gossip, nor our character, as in being contentious, should start disagreements and keep them burning.
Ask yourself before you say something about another person, "Am I saying this to stir up trouble?" Answer honestly. Better to be quiet than to stoke the furnace of disagreements.
Daily devotions courtesy of Devotions.org, a ministry of Back to the Bible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
