Strength

Philippians 4:13
Last night my family gathered before bed and recited "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." We knew today would be a very busy day. I was reminded of that verse again as I was putting Peter in his car seat at seven o'clock this morning. I said to myself, yes, I need to apply that verse! I promptly rushed back inside to the kitchen and spilled coffee all over the counter. I got the message loud and clear. Though I had just finished saying the verse I am trying to teach my kids, I still wasn't applying it. What was my hurry? Did I not know that God will make sure that everything that needs to be done will get done? Isaiah said, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;" (Isaiah 40:31).

Are you strong? What do you do when you come to the end of your strength? The Bible tells us that self-reliance is a trap (Jeremiah 9:23). Paul came to understand this lesson well. God knew that it would be too tempting for him to rely on his own strength. So, God touched his body with an unknown infirmity to keep him from boasting about his own power.  Paul begged God to take it away, as I'm sure I would have done. But God's response to him acts as a flashing sign to us as well. He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Let me be frank. God will not supply his strength to those who don't depend on it. The surest way to a fall is to use the word "I" too much--I did it, I will do it, I made it, I earned it, I deserve it and so on and so forth. Do you bask in the glory of a home run or a test score? Do you take a deep breath of self satisfaction at a big sale or your full balance sheet? Did you purchase your last car based on reliability or head-turnability?

Let us flip the coin for a minute before ending. All this is extremely encouraging for those who's pendulum swings in the opposite direction. Do you feel weak, lost or broken down? If you are at the end of your rope, you are at the point where God's strength can shine through most brightly. Be uplifted! "He gives strength for the weary and increases the power of the weak" (Isaiah 40:29).

Trust the Process

Philippians 1:4-6
We live with the innate desire for measurable results. We get frustrated when we don't see hard work pay off right away. Students want a good grade on the test they studied hard for. We want our lawns to look green when we spend all afternoon spreading fertilizer. We want our children's fevers to go down when we give them Tylenol. We count down the number of payments remaining on that car that's past it's prime. We want problems fixed within a week at the latest and AAA has no right to take more than 30 minutes to fix our flats. I digress.

Could this be why it is so hard to develop Christlikeness as a Christian? Paul told the Philippians:

⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (NIV-italics mine)

 There are days when I wonder if I've grown at all in the past month, or year for that matter. I need to keep doing my part and trust the process. The more of my life I surrender, the more in my life he can render. Charts and tape measures can't gauge this kind of progress. But if you "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18) there will be fruit for your labor. So, stay on your knees and in the Word. Those who do never regret it.

Fresh Start

1 John 1:9

Wouldn't it be great if life had a do-over button? Mine would be worn out by now. What if you could only push it three times in your life--would you have used it yet?

We mess up. That's just the way life is. But when it comes to right living, God wants us to be rounding it up sin and kicking it out of our lives. Making a wrong turn while driving is not a sin, but road rage certainly qualifies (Colossians 3:8). Some of us have a hard time recognizing our sin, but the majority of us are quite aware of those uh oh moments.

What do you do when you mess up? How does that affect your relationship with God? Far too many people I've known have a hard time letting go of their sin. 1 John 1:9 tells us that confessed sin is always forgiven by God. Why is it then that we tend to refuse a fresh start? One of the chiefs among many reasons is that we project our own human limitations on God. We think, if someone did to me what I just did I'd never forgive them! Then we mistakenly attribute the same feeling to the one who sent Jesus to die for us when we were his enemies.

Do you need a fresh start this morning? Fresh coffee is good, but the forgiveness of God is better!

Freedom

Romans 6

Anarchists have the illusion of freedom--no laws to govern us! We will govern ourselves. It is based on a notion that we are all really good people by nature and it is the oppression of laws that makes people do bad things. The Bible, simple observation and common sense speak out against such thinking. According to Romans, we are not good by nature but broken and unrighteous (3:10). This sinful nature enslaves us (6:17), keeps us bound and blinds us (2Cor 4:4). It gives us the illusion of freedom.
The best historical example of national anarchy we have is the French Revolution. It was a classic example of "every man doing what was right in his own eyes." The laws of the land were disregarded and what happened--utopia? I think not. Charles Kingsley explained the illusion this way:

There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought. 

 This was precisely the point in Romans. The illusion of freedom that sin offers is a trap. Deep, penetrating claws grip the souls of those who are chained to sin. There is a sinister motive behind the illusion. True freedom is found by those who come to Christ. He sets the captives free. We become servants of righteousness (6:18) and there is no greater freedom. So rest easy in the service of Jesus. I like the way the poet Robert Frost put it: You have freedom when you are easy in your harness.