on pride (again)

Make a list of what you believe to be your strengths. Your gifts, talents. Things that you enjoy doing. Things that, when God lays it on your heart to serve someone, you would first think to do. If you are convinced that you know of a spiritual gift that God has blessed you with, be sure that you include it in your list.

Now, consider the list you have made. Do you know that it is also a list of your weaknesses? These are your greatest vulnerabilities because they are areas of life and experience where it is easiest to act independently of God. These are areas where you can quickly forget about Him, both in terms of depending on Him for the power and ultimately giving Him the glory. When someone thanks you for your service, or compliments your devotion, your human pride easily sneaks in to lap it up! Consider this statement by Augustine:

Other sins find their vent in the accomplishment of evil deeds, whereas pride lies in wait for good deeds, to destroy them.

God has recently been showing me areas in my life where, even if there was no overt pride felt or expressed, there were still "cracks in the character" where pride seeped in and motivated my responses to tests and trials, rather than the humility of mind that He desires. That I am shocked to find these weaknesses is telling of the depth of my need for Christ, even after He has grown me for these years.

Praise God for His love and patience with me! I figure that all of my life, most (if not all) of my struggles and failures will be traceable to pride. As C. S. Lewis said,

Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

always near

If the devil were wise enough and would stand by in silence and let the gospel be preached, he would suffer less harm. For when there is no battle for the gospel it rusts and it finds no cause and no occasion to show its vigor and power. Therefore, nothing better can befall the gospel than that the world should fight it with force and cunning.

—Martin Luther

The world does actively fight the gospel; it is an offensive message to people that any, much less their best, effort is of no avail in securing reconciliation with God or righteousness before Him. The good news is that Jesus accomplished what no other person could, by his sacrifice reconciling us to God and qualifying us to receive his righteous life in exchange for our sin.

When I read the quote from Luther, my mind moved on through the world's reaction to the gospel (generally) to the world's reaction to me (specifically) as a Christian and the message that my life speaks.

Recently one of the men I work with was involved in a traffic accident. He was riding his motorcycle to work when someone turned directly in front of him. He now has one less motorcycle and one more broken leg than before. The results could easily have been more tragic, and although surgery may be required, he will heal all right, thankfully.

It is often said that people just don't see motorcyclists; in the past when I have ridden motorcycles, I've always assumed that not only do other drivers see me, they will try their best to hit me! I figured that such wariness was the biggest contribution to my own safety that I could make. In reflecting on this again recently, I came to realize that there is an analogy to be drawn in my Christian walk.

We learn from scripture, along with so much more, that we have an enemy in life. For safety's sake, a motorcyclist might think of other drivers as adversaries, but in the Bible we are told that Satan really is our adversary. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8.) I have known Christians who don't believe that there is a devil, even though the scriptures declare him real; there is danger for them and for me if I don't take seriously his cunning and scheming.

However, just as my wariness when riding a motorcycle does not guarantee my safety, the power to resist and overcome the schemes of the devil lies not in my efforts or resourcefullness but in God's protecting hand. His promise to never leave or forsake us, the fact that he, in the person of his son Jesus Christ, overcame the world, is safety that I can rest in by faith. My own awareness and God's protecting hand are seen in James 4: Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...

one of those days

Here in the Texas heat, it seems that the last several weeks have been characterized more by perspiration than inspiration, but today God has placed encouragement on my heart that I must share.

Yesterday, I kind of "hit bottom." In the evenings when I go home from work, I habitually turn on the news; if one wants encouragement, don't do this! I had sent a note of encouragement to a close friend; the response so far is silence. Candidly, he owes me no reply, but I'm disappointed. Vacation is over. The culmination of all of this, yesterday, was dejection, poor attitude, emotional fatigue. In short, I spent the day yesterday thinking of myself.

Today has been much better. It began with my brothers at my men's breakfast, spending time together in the word. But the even stronger shot in the arm, and I know it's God by his spirit whispering in my ear, came moments ago, in the form of the "random quote" that came up when I looked:

It is not after we were reconciled by the blood of his Son that God began to love us, but before the foundation of the world.

—John Calvin

The next time you have "one of those days," remember that it really is one of those, like every other: God loves you dearly, warts and all.

being back

I recently alluded to the fact of my family's summer vacation. One of the things that inevitably happens when we return from such a trip is that we get cranky because we are not still gone! I guess it is typical human behavior to complain along with, or rather than, thanking God for his provision of rest and enjoyment along with other blessings. With this in mind, I thought I'd share the comment made by my wife yesterday morning (our first day back) as we prepared for work:

I need some altitude, but I suspect I'll just have attitude.

indescribable

Last year, while on a camping trip, I did a post entitled "know who did it," speaking of God and His creative genius. During my vacation in Colorado, I have been thinking of His creation again--it is difficult not to as I am surrounded by beauty: Here at Leadville, I am staring out the window of my RV at Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, Colorado's two tallest peaks, and the hummingbirds are just going nuts around the feeder hanging just outside. Earlier, when we had to refill it, I took it out to hang it back up and a hummingbird flew up and began feeding while I was still holding it!

I have been musing on how awesome God's creation is, and I began thinking of how to express it. Then I began to realize that to call God and His creation awesome, matchless, or for that matter any other description I could come up with is to limit Him to the bounds of the creation within which we live. For to describe something is to bound it, to limit our field of view of it, and God is truly indescribable, as is His creation.

God is infinite in all of His attributes, including His love and faithfulness. Knowing this should bring great comfort and encouragement to us. George Muller put it this way in his autobiography:

Those who trust in the Lord will never be disappointed. ...If we were to lean upon man, we would surely be disappointed; but in leaning upon the living God alone, we are beyond disappointment and beyond being forsaken for any reason.

again I say

I'm reminded of Philippians 3:1, where the apostle Paul writes, "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." Now, what made me think of this verse is the phrase to write the same things to you again. For today my thoughts return to a topic that I've written about several times before--the stuff of one's relationship with God.

God speaks to us through his word; we speak to God through prayer. This basic expression of the personal relationship with God is easy to state and understand, but for many if not most Christians, it is difficult to practice. I struggle myself with the discipline needed to daily open the word and my mind to it. Prayer can easily decline to a selfish listing of wants rather than intimate communion with a friend. Perhaps that is why I felt compelled to write this short blurb, again, when I saw this statement from Hudson Taylor:

Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.

can't or can't hardly?

I remember when, as a child, I would get frustrated and say, "I can't..." My dad invariably would respond with, "Can't or can't hardly?" I'd cry out, "I can't do this!" and he would say, "Can't or can't hardly?" I might say, "I can't wait!" and there he would be replying, "Can't or can't hardly?" It was maddening, but I would realize that in almost every instance my frustration did not come from inability but impatience.

Lately I have been musing over occasions which cause me to say, "I can hardly wait." At this time of year, a big one is family vacation. I look forward to getting away from routine, into the mountains, out of the heat. I like to travel anyway, and my friends know that I'd be gone all the time were it not for little, insignificant things such as having to work for a living, high fuel prices, etc.

I have a close friend who lives in Tucson, and we both look forward to being able to get together on a vacation trip. We've camped together in the past, but the last time was five years ago, and we "can hardly wait" to do so again. Looking forward to getting together isn't so much for the vacation or the camping, even though we both enjoy those; it is for the reunion because we love each other as friends and brothers in Christ.

Lately I've been convicted that, while I have [truthfully] said, "I can't wait for Jesus to come back!" it is not the same kind of yearning. I commented on this to another friend over coffee this morning, and he referred to Jesus' return as [the beginning of] the ultimate vacation; if I look forward to it through the lens of my own understanding (What will it be like?) as an eschatological topic, I won't yearn for it like I will seeing a brother again. But that's the key--I can hardly wait to be together with my closest brother, Jesus! (See Romans 8:29-20, Hebrews 2:9-13.) As A. W. Tozer said,

It is precisely the "yearning" and the "fainting" for the return of Christ that has distinguished the personal hope from the theological one. Mere acquaintance with correct doctrine is a poor substitute for Christ, and familiarity with New Testament eschatology will never take the place of a love-inflamed desire to look on his face.