Humility Month: Part 3–Our Own Understanding

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.

(Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB)

 

So how was Humility Month for you? Humbling? Well, that was kind of the point. Here are some observations that I have made in the past 30 days from my own life.

 

Wisdom

I have mentioned before that the verse above is my favorite verse in the Bible. Some people call that a “life verse.”

 

The reason that it is my favorite is because it reminds me of my place before God. Living out this verse is a blueprint for a life of humility. Also, it is a command that comes with a promise. Do this, and God will do this.

 

I have found that it is much easier to do something than to try to stop doing something else. Therefore, the best way to rid yourself of pride is to focus on living out humility. And that begins by trusting God.

 

As we mentioned in part 2 of this series, God is God, and you are not. This should be a no-brainer, but that is why pride is so insidious. It grabs us before we engage our brains.

 

Our nature, then, is to try to figure things out by ourselves, and take control of the situation. If we would stop and consider God´s wisdom, however, we might realize that the situation isn´t even ours to control.

 

So, pride and arrogance reject wisdom, but humility surrenders to God, trusts Him to manage the problem Himself or else present a solution that´s better than what we would have concluded by our own understanding.

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Patience

 

However, even if we have chosen to trust God with the problem, trusting His TIMING is a whole other issue. And a more difficult one.

 

Patience is one of the Fruits of the Spirit that are the mark of every believer. But it´s one matter to have the divine enablement to be patient in all things, and another to REMEMBER that you have this power to call upon.

 

Impatience is a symptom of pride. When we start saying, “C´mon, C´MON already!” what we are unconsciously doing is placing our plans above God´s plans. Which is just another way of placing our own understanding above His. As Solomon wrote:

The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.
(Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 NIV)

So, we see that impatience goes hand in hand with anger. And from anger, it is a short drive to entitlement.

Whatever I Want, All the Time

 

Entitlement starts when we want one thing RIGHT NOW. We know the one thing we need to fix our situation, and we have prayed for it, so WHY ISN´T GOD ANSWERING MY PRAYER? COME ON, MAN! GET ON IT!

 

Yes, it looks stupid when you write it out like that, but have you ever said those words? (Be honest; I won´t tell.)

 

How prideful to think that our limited understanding of ANY situation would trump God´s omniscience. Our lives are like a puzzle piece. All we can see from here is that the piece next to us is missing. We need that piece in its proper place to feel complete. As long as that hasn´t happened yet, we can´t rest and be content.

 

But we can´t see the picture. God is putting together a seven-billion-piece puzzle that is more intricate and elaborate than we can comprehend. Maybe He´s working on the edges first.

 

When we trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding, then we understand that He will get to us when He gets to us. When He does, it will be at exactly the right time with exactly the right solution.

 

However, if we haven´t reached this level of trust, our impatience may cause us to “make something happen” under our own power. If you´ve done this, don´t beat yourself up over it. There is Biblical precedence after all.

 

Remember when God promised offspring to Abraham? Isaac wasn´t getting here fast enough for Sarah, so she relied on her own understanding and told Abraham to get with her maidservant, Hagar, and make a baby that way. It worked, but because it was not in line with God´s plan, there were consequences.

 

There is something worse than not getting whatever you want, all the time. And that is actually getting it but getting it the wrong way. Consider the story of King Uzziah. He reigned for 52 years and accomplished remarkable things with the Lord´s help. But then, pride went to his head:

 

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.” Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. (2 Chr 26:16-21 NIV)

Pride always makes us believe that our own understanding is superior to God´s. So how do we break this cycle?

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Eleven years and three kings after Uzziah came King Hezekiah. He was renowned for saving Judah from Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians. Toward the end of his life, however, he had a Uzziah moment. But watch how he managed his consequences differently:

 

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud, and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah. (2 Chr 32:24-26 NIV)

 

Hezekiah had developed a sense of entitlement regarding God´s blessings. The people of Jerusalem were taking their cues from that attitude as well. But when they repented of this attitude, God´s blessings returned.

 

Repentance is the ultimate expression of humility. Repentance is when you abandon your own understanding and make a deliberate effort to go God´s way. It is an act of complete surrender, and it ALWAYS leads to a good result. Maybe not the one you were expecting, or at the time you expected it, but it´s as sure a thing as you will ever find.

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Humility Wins!

 

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Daniel 4:37 NIV)

 

The best part about repentance is that it works for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Nebuchadnezzar was another king that was full of himself, acknowledged God, and had a better result. But he wasn´t a king of Israel or Judah. He was the King of Babylon, who had attacked Jerusalem and carried the Jews into exile. He then tried to force the Jewish exiles into idolatry. It went a little like this:

Something like that anyway. Nebby K. Was so far into his own understanding that God had to completely strip him of it. He ended up out of his mind, living like an animal in the wilderness. Seven years later, he lifted his eyes to heaven, repented, and God restored him to a glory former than what he had before (sound familiar?).

 

So how about you, dear reader? Have you been living under the limited scope of your own understanding? Has your pride barricaded you into a substandard life? If so, it is never too late to repent and trust in the Lord with all your heart.

 

 

Humility Month: Part 1–Pride vs. Humility

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In June, a certain percentage of the United States celebrates Pride Month.  Not all Americans are on board with this, which inevitably leads to accusations of homophobia from the participants.

Many would be surprised to learn, however, that the offense of Pride Month does not stem primaily from the celebration of deviant sexual practices, or even from the appropriation of the symbol of God's promise for their flag.  The most egregious transgression of Pride Month is the elevation of pride itself.

No fewer than 18 times here at Truth Mission we have identified pride as the mother of all sin. Since humility is the polar opposite of pride, we have decided to designate September as Humility Month.  Instead of railing against Pride Month and the people who celebrate it, we would humbly (see what I did there?) like to offer an alternative that might just yield a better result.

So to kick off Humility Month, we are going to do something we have never done before here at Truth Mission.  We are highlighting a guest author!

Today's very special guest is Karen Pennington, author of An Anointed Mess: Discovering the Daily Adventure of Grace as well as the new devotional 10 Healing Truths from God's Word. The following appeared on her blog, Daily Adventures in Grace, on June 12, 2022.

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Pride vs. Humility–Finding the Best Package

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but wisdom is with the humble.” (Proverbs 11:2 NRSV)

I usually like package deals. It can often mean that I get a greater value, more bang for my buck. However, some packages deals just aren’t worth it.

There have been times when I thought I really wanted something but ended up giving up on it, because of all of the unneeded extra baggage and expenses that comes along with it. I’ve lost count of the memberships, activities, and even some relationships I have had to cut out of my life, because they either cost too much or came with an extra generous dose of pain or heartache. Those are the package deals I would choose to opt out of.

One of the worst possible combinations I can think of is pride and shame. It almost seems counter-intuitive that the two would come together, especially since those of us who have struggled with pride in some form (which is all of us) have sought to be lifted to higher ground, not brought low. But according to the words of Proverbs 11:2, those who exhibit pride as a means to honor get the exact opposite of what they are bargaining for.

That phrase “then comes” from this verse is not really implying that disgrace comes after pride- no delayed reaction there. It actually means that dishonor comes WITH pride. In other words, pride and shame are a package deal. So the moment we try to set ourselves on a self-made pedestal, we set a magnifying glass on our own inadequacy without Christ.

This very closely resembles the words of Christ that have come to be known as “The Great Reversal”:

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12 NRSV)

So what exactly is pride? Simply put, pride involves the idolatry of placing ourselves in front of God, in any way, or for any reason. It appears in many forms: workaholism, unforgiveness, gossip, criticism, or any number of thoughts, words, or actions that reflect the inner lie that somehow our way is more important than God’s. Pride can often masquerade as good things, like good deeds, felt convictions or (false) humility (because that buys into the lie that somehow our understanding of ourselves is more true than what God says about us).

The thing is, we ARE good, and valuable, and priceless. So there’s no need to falsely build ourselves up. Why not just lean into God?

True humility means we surrender our attempts to self-justify and self-promote, which in reality have only ever brought misunderstanding and pain. In return, we receive the eyes of grace, which allow us to define ourselves and the world around us through the lens of God’s infinite love.

Trust me, this is a much better package deal.

(We will continue celebrating Humility Month with Part 2: God is God and You are Not)

The End of the Age: Part 3–On Your Guard

Be on your guard!  For they will repeatedly hand you over to the ruling councils, and you will be beaten in public gatherings.  And you will stand trial before kings and high-ranking governmental leaders as an opportunity to testify to them on my behalf.  But prior to the end of the age, the hope of the gospel must first be preached to all nations.  (Mark 13:9-10 TPT)

 

In verse 9, Jesus gives another warning, this one more personal.  “Be on your guard!”  He then tells His inner circle of the personal persecutions they will face in His name, and the purposes thereof.

But He is not warning them to be on guard against their persecutors.   He is warning them against looking for big-picture signs of The End.  This practice would take their focus from their individual missions.  They need to be ready to witness to the authorities before whom they will be brought.  They will need to remember the Great Commission that Jesus will give them to preach the Gospel to all nations.  Most of all, they need to prepare their spirits to receive wisdom and comfort from the Holy Spirit amid their persecution.  It is their faith that will see them through what is coming, not their ability to read the signs of the times.

This warning is for us as well.  Most of us Americans have not faced the danger of arrest or public beatings for professing our faith, but this does happen daily in many areas of the world.  I doubt that many of the people who are persecuted find themselves in that situation for interpreting the signs of the times.  They are jailed, tortured, and martyred for the Name of Jesus.

But since, as Americans we have not previously faced these troubles, we tend to get spiritually lazy.  We lose our sense of urgency about preaching the gospel and instead turn our attentions to the news, fake or otherwise, about the state of our nation.  We look at the spreading degeneracy of our culture, in our media, our schools, our government, etc., and say something religious-sounding like, “Come Lord Jesus.”  But what are we doing to prepare for that coming?

More importantly, what are we saying or doing to get the world ready?

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Until the Whole World Hears

In verse 10, Jesus says that the Gospel must first be preached to all nations before The End comes.  I have often wondered if that’s why it has been 2000 years and we’re still waiting?   I can’t know this for certain, but it seems to make sense for this reason.  (I’m going to lose some of the Calvinists on this one.)

God offers salvation from Sin and Death as a free gift.  The way to receive this gift is to believe that Jesus is who the Bible says He is, did what the Bible says He did, and to trust and rely completely on that Truth, following Christ in obedience.  In other words, a person must exercise a conscious and deliberate act of the will.

But a choice can not be made where there is no awareness of the choice that needs to be made.  This is what the preaching is for:

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How are they to call on one they have not believed in?  And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news. But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? Consequently, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.  (Romans 10:13-17 NET)

For this reason, I do not believe that anyone who has never heard of Jesus could be condemned for not choosing Him.  Some theologians would disagree with me on that, but it’s the story I’m going with, because if God would send some lost African tribe to hell because they didn’t make a decision for Christ, then all those who die in infancy would go along with them.  Therefore, I call shenanigans on that theology.

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Every tribe, tongue and nation…

So, about those lost African tribes (or wherever they may be).  I believe that Jesus hasn’t come back yet because we haven’t reached everyone with the Gospel yet.  Whether it’s because the Church has been lazy about missions, or the world’s population is simply growing at a rate that the Church can’t keep up with, they haven’t all had a chance to make their choice yet.

Therefore, the point is to stop looking at the sky and to start looking for opportunities to share the Good News, both near and far, until the whole world hears.  Because until we reach the whole world with the Gospel, it doesn’t matter what ELSE is going on in the world.

(To be continued in Part 4—Stand Firm)

 

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Whose Money is it Anyway? (Part 4–Enough)


“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to make you appreciate the day even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest joys of life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

Bob Perks—Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul 2003

 

I made the decision long ago to live within my means.  After my bankruptcy in 1996, I decided I was never going down that road again.

I didn’t know anything about tithing at that point, but I did know a thing or two about budgeting.  When you are living on public assistance, and only have about $20 a week to feed a family of four, you know exactly how many cans of tomato soup that will buy.

Somewhere along the line, I learned the 10-10-80 principle.  How this works is that you tithe the first 10% of your paycheck (or give it to charity, if you don’t have a home church).  Then, you save the next 10% and live off of the remaining 80%.

This is scary when you’re poor.  If 100% of your paycheck isn’t enough to get by, how are you going to do it on 80%?

What I have learned, as I elaborated in Part 3 of this series, is that when you keep your priorities in the proper order, you’ll always have enough.  We never ate fancy, but we never went hungry.  We could always keep at least one car running and one utility connected.  In short, we learned how much “enough” really was.

However, it’s one thing to have black numbers at the end of your monthly budget.  It’s quite another to be OK with the black number, no matter how small it is.  As Paul said to the Philippians:

I am telling you this, but not because I need something.  I have learned to be satisfied with what I have and with whatever happens.  I know how to live when I am poor and when I have plenty.  I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.  Php 4:11-13 (ERV)

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Content, whatever the circumstances

Our circumstances change, and they are almost always beyond our control.  Contentedness, however, is an attitude that we can cultivate and apply to any situation.  It is the attitude that whatever we have, it is always enough.

If we can develop this attitude when we don’t have much, then God begins to trust us with more.  For this reason, He requires contentedness as a condition of stewardship.  When we are content with what we have, we are not tempted to gain more by dishonest means.  As Jesus cautioned us:

 

The one who manages the little he has been given with faithfulness and integrity will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities.  But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more.  If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world?  Luke 16:10-11 (TPT)

 

Have you ever wondered why so many TV evangelists and prosperity gospel hucksters end up disgraced?  It’s this principle at work.  They are not content with what they have.  So, they take the Lord’s name in vain by using it to cheat people, building up their own treasures on earth.  Their messages end up as corrupted as their hearts, and NO ONE gets blessed.

 
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Faithfulness and Integrity

So, what does it look like to manage your money with faithfulness and integrity?  There are many examples, but here are seven that I am currently trying or have already had success with:

 

  1. Avoid get rich quick schemes. I went into detail about this in Part 2.  This is what led to the bankruptcy I mentioned in the opening paragraph.
  2. Save gradually. Have a goal amount ($1,000 is a good place to start), but don’t obsess about the date.  Getting there is more important than WHEN you get there.
  3. Employ the debt snowball method. Although logic suggests paying down accounts with the highest interest rate first, those drowning in debt have a psychological need to see progress.  The debt snowball method involves paying off your smallest debt first, while making minimum payments on other accounts.  Once the smallest account is paid off, take the amount you paid toward that and add it to the minimum payment on your next largest account.  As you continue this process, you will gain momentum, and your accounts will STAY paid off.
  4. Use a cashback credit card like a debit card. (NOTE: IF YOU HAVE GOTTEN INTO TROUBLE WITH CREDIT CARD DEBT DUE TO LACK OF DISCIPLINE IN THE PAST, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR LIMITS AND SKIP THIS STEP.)  We chose the Quicksilver card from Capital One, but there are other cards that might be more beneficial based on your individual spending patterns.  We pay for EVERYTHING on this card, then pay the balance in full each month, so that we do not ever pay interest on it.  With every purchase, we get 1.5% cash back.  This doesn’t sound like much, but we let that bonus cash accumulate and have Capital One send us a check on the first of November, which then becomes our Christmas Fund.  This year, the check was for $687.62.
  5. Pay cash for everything. Once you have completed step 3, paying down all your debts, don’t make new ones.  Pay cash for everything you get (or use the cashback credit card from step 4, but ONLY if you are paying the balance in full EVERY month).  If you don’t have enough cash right then for a large purchase, a car for instance, wait until you do, or find another way to leverage your income (or add to it).  If contentedness is your priority, this will prove easier than you might think.  We made our last car payment on September 5, 2013—over seven years ago.  We have paid cash for a newer car since then.
  6. Save more than you need to. This is my most recent method.  As retirement has now become a visible light at the end of a tunnel that is getting shorter by the day, I am realizing that my 3-months’ expense savings milestone may not be adequate as a nest egg.  For this reason, we have paused our debt snowball and are only making the regular mortgage payments on our home, which is our only remaining debt.  Our reasoning behind this is that we will likely be selling the house before we pay it off completely, even at the accelerated rate.  So we are doing a “reverse snowball” of sorts and taking the amount that we had set aside for paying down the mortgage quickly and putting that into an interest-bearing savings account, which we will not touch until after we have ridden off into the sunset.
  7. Set an example for your children. The first six steps are of little use unless you pass on the wisdom to your children.  They understand more than you might think.  Don’t insult them by withholding the concept of money management until they are “old enough to handle it.”  The danger you are courting there is that your children will develop an attitude of entitlement, rather than contentment, which can become hard-wired into their personalities long before they ever learn what a spreadsheet is.

Blessed to be a blessing

I have learned what it is to have enough, and to recognize when I have been blessed with more than enough, which is pretty much all the time.

And we are blessed to be a blessing, so that everyone has enough.  This goes much deeper than wealth distribution, which the government can handle.  This is about an attitude in the heart of every individual by which we can find the joy in our circumstances, whatever they may be.

Therefore, dear readers, in this season of Thanksgiving, I wish you enough.

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Love Your Neighbor: Part 2–Rights or Responsibilities?

 

Freedom is a word that gets thrown around a lot here in the US.  Especially in an election year.  ESPECIALLY especially in THIS election year.  Vote for (fill in the blank) because OUR FREEDOM IS AT STAKE!!!  Another word that we use interchangeably with this kind of freedom is “rights.”  Our Constitution has a Bill of Rights.  We have the right to do this, or not to do that.  Don’t you dare violate my rights!  But Christians are called to a different, I would even say higher, form of freedom.  While American freedom is preoccupied with individual rights,  Christian freedom is about communal responsibilities.

 

Loving your neighbor calls for the realization that you are part of something bigger, a member of a larger body.  Within the Church, we refer to ourselves as the Body of Christ.  However, any community is also a body, whether it is a household, neighborhood, city, state, or country.

 

No one lives in a vacuum.  What we do affects others, whether we can see it or not.  A HUGE problem in our society is that people have forgotten the basic principle that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Paul addressed this problem in the church at Corinth in this way:

There’s a slogan often quoted on matters like this: “All things are permitted.” Yes, but not all things are beneficial.  “All things are permitted,” they say.  Yes, but not all things build up and strengthen others in the body.  We should stop looking out for our own interests and instead focus on the people living and breathing around us.  1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (The VOICE)

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Yes, we have rights.  Yes, we have the freedom of speech; therefore, yes, we ought to be able to speak truth, whenever and wherever and amongst whomever we find ourselves.  Technically.  However…

Just because we can doesn’t always mean that we should.

Here is something you might not have considered.  Even if you’re right in what you say, someone hearing it may not have a full understanding of the issue at hand.  If someone questions you out of simple ignorance, you can gently educate them to build them up to where you are.  However, if you argue, shout them down or otherwise dig in your heels to assert your rightness, not only are you failing to get your own point across effectively, you are also making it less likely that the other person will ask other significant questions in the future.

 

Furthermore, they may likely develop an attitude about you as a person, and by extension any group with which you are affiliated, that is closed off and hostile.  Can you see how potentially devastating it can be when Christians behave this way?  Great job Ace, you won an argument that you never should have been in (slow hand clap), and you lost a soul for the Kingdom in the process.  You exercised your Constitutional right to voice your opinion, but you broke God’s commandment to love your neighbor.

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It all comes down to the question of rights.  If you’re only focused on your own, sooner or later, you’re going to be depriving someone else of theirs.  Rights are about exercising your freedom.  However, responsibility is the freedom to lay aside your rights for the greater good, just as Jesus laid aside His divinity to come down here with us.

For example, freedom of speech is great until you say something that isn’t true, and it spreads like COVID on the Internet.  By that point (and it only takes hours in this age of technology), it’s too late for an apology or retraction.  The damage is done and is not likely to be undone.

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For this reason, love dictates that the freedom of speech should be in submission to the responsibility to speak truthfully, and to lift others up instead of tearing them down.  As Paul directed the Ephesians:

 

Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.  Ephesians 4:29 (GNT)

 

This is useful advice in any context, but especially on social media.  Here are some questions every Truthseeker should ask themselves before posting:

 

    • Is what I am saying building up orders according to their needs?
    • Do I even know what those needs are?  (I.e., Did I really listen to what they were saying?)
    • Have I tested my own perceptions and beliefs before questioning theirs?
    • Do I for sure know what I’m talking about, or am I about to spout an opinion based on emotion rather than reasoning?
    • What effect might my words have for those lurking on this post or page that aren’t directly involved in the conversation?
    • What is my motivation for making this post? Am I trying to illuminate Truth or win an argument?
    • If a non-believer reads this post, is it going to make them more curious to see what this God thing is all about, or will it make them say, “See, I told you those people were all ignorant douchebags.”

 

The best practice we can all learn is to do everything we can to widen the gap between stimulus and response.  It’s easy to feel anger.  It’s harder, but more beneficial, to take a breath, think things through, and respond constructively.  It requires wisdom to understand that sometimes the most constructive and loving response is no response at all.

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Love Your Neighbor: Part 1–And Your Enemies Too

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40 (MEV)

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor.  Hate your enemy.’ But here is what I tell you.  Love your enemies.  Pray for those who hurt you.  Then you will be children of your Father who is in heaven.  He causes his sun to shine on evil people and good people.  He sends rain on those who do right and those who don’t.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Even the tax collectors do that.  If you greet only your own people, what more are you doing than others?  Even people who are ungodly do that.  Matt 5:43-47 (NIRV)

 

So, Jesus said to love our neighbor AND love our enemies.  There are two implications here.  The first is that our neighbors might BE our enemies.  The second, is that what Jesus is really saying is to love everybody, that way you don’t miss one.

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You all remember the story of the Good Samaritan, right?  But do you remember the story behind the story?  Here’s how it went down:


A lawyer got up and put Jesus on the spot.

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what should I do to inherit the life of the coming age?’

 ‘Well,’ replied Jesus, ‘what is written in the law?  What’s your interpretation of it?’

 ‘You shall love the Lord your God’, he replied, ‘with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your understanding; and your neighbour as yourself.’

 ‘Well said!’ replied Jesus.  ‘Do that and you will live.’

 ‘Ah,’ said the lawyer, wanting to win the point, ‘but who is my neighbour?’

 Jesus rose to the challenge.  ‘Once upon a time,’ he said, ‘a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and was set upon by brigands.  They stripped him and beat him and ran off leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down that road, and when he saw him he went past on the opposite side.  So too a Levite came by the place; he saw him too, and went past on the opposite side.

‘But a travelling Samaritan came to where he was.  When he saw him he was filled with pity.  He came over to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.  Then he put him on his own beast, took him to an inn, and looked after him.  The next morning, as he was going on his way, he gave the innkeeper two dinars.  “Take care of him,” he said, “and on my way back I’ll pay you whatever else you need to spend on him.”

‘Which of these three do you think turned out to be the neighbour of the man who was set upon by the brigands?’

‘The one who showed mercy on him,’ came the reply.

‘Well,’ Jesus said to him, ‘you go and do the same.’  Luke 10:25-37 (NTE)

 

With this parable, Jesus answered two questions—”Who is my neighbor?” and “What does love really look like?”

 

A neighbor is anyone you come into contact with, not just those you would PREFER to come into contact with.

 

And love?  We have discussed before that agape, the Greek word for “love” in this example, is not an emotion, but an action.  It is kindness in motion, having an unselfish concern for others, seeking the best for them, and doing everything in your power to make that happen.  The Samaritan had no incentive to help the Jewish man in the story, as Jews and Samaritans hated each other with a passion.  Nevertheless, he was motivated by love for God to show compassion to this man, who on any other day would just as soon have spit on him as looked at him.

 

Love involves sacrifice in any context, but much more so when it involves our enemies.  It’s easier to step on someone’s neck than lift them up, especially if they don’t like you either.

 

Love of this nature can only come from a posture of humility.  To seek the best for others, you must already be in the habit of having a mindset that the welfare of others takes priority over your own.

 

Now that does not mean to never look after your own interests.  Just consider the needs of others first, THEN yours.  Have the heart of a servant, just like Jesus did.  He set us a crystal-clear example of what that looks like, throughout His entire ministry, and explicitly at the Last Supper.  So why do we have such a hard time following that example?

 

(To find out, come back for Part 2—Rights or Responsibilities?)

 

 

Antichrist

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.  1 John 4:1-3 (NIV)

 

2020 has been a rough year for everybody so far, but especially for Truthseekers.  The media has degenerated from fake news to absolute lunacy.  A pandemic, or at least the fear of one, has gripped the world, but the scientists can’t seem to get their stories straight.  Worst of all, opportunists of the lowest caliber have used fear and racial prejudice to turn us against each other.

 

Why do I say that one is worst of all?  Because if we create enemies for ourselves along the lines of racial differences, we will forget that we have a common enemy.  Which is exactly what our real enemy wants.

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So, what does John mean when he talks about “testing the spirits?”  Some people get a little froke out by this, but it’s not all that weird.

 

Three years ago, we covered this extensively in the Overcoming the World series.  In Part 8, we discussed that when a thought “pops into your head,” it is likely a message from God if it is in line with scripture, illuminates the solution to a problem and leads to a good result for all concerned.  If this out-of-the-blue thought does not meet those criteria, it did not come from God.  So where did it come from?

 

The passage above makes clear that deceptive messages are from the spirit of the antichrist.  Now this is the spirit of antichrist with a lower-case A, not the big baddie of Revelation (more on that later).  John uses this term literally to mean a spirit that opposes Jesus.  You can see from this passage that this is the spirit that controls false prophets.

 

However, the wording above appears at first to be too simplistic.  Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that doesn’t, isn’t.  If discerning the spirits were that easy, then why would we need to test them?

 

Well, have you seen what’s going on in the Church lately?  It mirrors what’s going on in our country.  Just as America’s greatest enemy has proven to be from within, so it is with the Church.  Atheists are the least of our problems, annoying though they may be.  They are a mosquito bite compared to the cancer that is eating away at the Body of Christ from within.

 
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In the Flesh

 

To understand what it truly means to test the spirits, it is important to know that John snuck a coded message into verse 2 above.  “Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.”    Pretty much every church identifying as Christian acknowledges that Jesus was an actual human born into this world.  Yet sharp division remains on what the Church’s role in the world ought to be.  So, there must be something more to it than that.

 

There is.  It’s hiding in plain sight at the beginning of John’s Gospel:

 

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

 

And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception). John 1:1, 14 (AMP)

Jesus is the Word of God in human form.  He is one with God Himself, which means that the Word is one with God Himself.  Jesus is absolutely free of deception, which means the Word is absolutely free of deception.

Are you seeing where I’m going with this?  Remember, the first criteria to judge whether a message is from God is if it lines up with scripture, logos, THE WORD, God Himself.  Therefore, anyone who claims to speak on behalf of God but says something different than what God has already said—this is the spirit of the antichrist at work.

And we let it right in the front door.  Because we didn’t want to be “judgmental.” 

God’s righteous judgment

Wake up Truthseekers!  Put on the armor of God and report for duty.  John has already told us what comes next:

 

Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse.  Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns.  And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, “THE WORD OF GOD.” The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations — “He will rule them with a staff of iron.” It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven’s armies.  And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written:

KING OF KINGS

AND

LORD OF LORDS.

 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, “Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!” I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army.  But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.  Revelation 19:11-21 (CJB)

Can you see now why the spirit of antichrist is so intent on dividing us in terms of race?  Because the devil knows well that when The Word Made Flesh returns, there will only be two kinds of people.  The Army of Heaven, and Bird Food.

Now, I promised that I would get back to the Capital-A Antichrist. 

What I did not promise was to reveal who I think it might be, because that is pointless speculation.  Just as trying to figure out when Jesus is going to return is a distraction, trying to make news headlines line up with Biblical prophecy is also disruptive to the work we are supposed to be doing.

 

Trust God and His Word this much—when the Antichrist reveals himself, if you’re still here to see it, you’ll know.

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The End of the Age: Part 1–In the Last Days

You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian.  2 Timothy 3:1 (TLB)

 

Christians are well acquainted with the concept of “The Last Days,” the very end of the age leading up to Christ’s triumphant return.  It is no mystery to us that things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

 

Even many non-Christians are at least aware of this concept.  If you have a social media account, the concept is kind of hard to avoid.

 

The first five months of 2020 certainly haven’t given us any reason to doubt that the end of all things is near.  Nevertheless, there are a couple of things that we need to understand about “The Last Days.”

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When are the Last Days?

 

Most Christians, as I stated above, think of the Last Days as being the very end of this age leading up to Judgment Day.  The prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation speak of a Great Tribulation lasting seven years that will mark the end of the age.

 

Some believe that God’s people will be “raptured,” or whisked up into heaven before the Tribulation begins, so as not to have to suffer through it.  Some believe, according to Daniel 9:27, that this rapture will occur in the middle of the Tribulation when the “Man of Lawlessness” (a.k.a. the Antichrist) is revealed.  And some believe that there will be no rapture at all, but rather that God will protect His people and help them to stand firm throughout the Tribulation.

 

However, none of these views acknowledge that the Last Days have actually been going on for quite some time.

 

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose.  It’s only nine in the morning!  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.  Acts 2:14-19 (NIV)

 

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)

 

But, beloved, remember the words that were previously spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They said to you, In the last days there will be scoffers who will walk after their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who cause divisions, sensual, devoid of the Spirit.  Jude 1:17-19 (MEV)

 

In the above verses, I have highlighted the words that show the Last Days as being present tense, not future tense.  A question I get from a lot of my Christian friends is, “Do you think we’re living in the Last Days?”  Absolutely we are.

 

The Last Days began when the Church began, at Pentecost.  We have been in the last days for nearly 2,000 years now.  That’s a lot of days!

 

For this reason, I would submit to you that anyone who is trying to decipher scripture or read the signs of the times to figure out when the end is coming, or when (or if) the Rapture will happen, have completely missed the point.  The point is that instead of looking up at the sky for signs, we should be looking inward.

 

 

What should we be doing in the Last Days?

 

2020 has presented us with many challenges so far.  Some of them are new (COVID-19), and some of them are ongoing problems that are bubbling to the surface again, such as the current racial unrest over the George Floyd incident.  These are the kinds of things that light up the social media accounts of Christians with public calls to repent, for the end is near.

 

A call for repentance is always good advice, but there’s an elephant in the room that we need to put the spotlight on.

 

With the understanding that the Last Days are present tense, not future, let’s go back to the quote at the top of this post.  Paul’s warning to Timothy is also a warning to us, because we are in the same last days now as the world was when this letter was written.  It was difficult to be a Christian then, and it is difficult now.

 

“Oh, I know,” you might say.  “Just look at how we’re portrayed in the media and by the government.  They destroy our economy, but glorify abortion and drug use,” etc.

 

True, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now.  And it’s not what Paul was talking about then either.  He goes on in the next eight verses to describe the people Timothy ought not to associate with, and the methods that they use.  But here’s the kicker…

 

He was talking about people INSIDE the church!

via GIPHY

 

It is no news flash that Christians are opposed in today’s culture.  The ignorance of outsiders has never torn down the church, and it won’t now.  Our greatest enemy comes from within.  And here is what they look like:

 

      1. Narcissists
      2. The greedy and stingy
      3. People who draw attention to themselves
      4. People who look down on others
      5. People who take advantage of others
      6. People who dishonor their parents
      7. People with an entitlement mentality
      8. Those who conform to the pattern of this world
      9. Those who won’t help others
      10. Those who hold grudges
      11. Those who tear down other people verbally
      12. The undisciplined
      13. The physically violent
      14. Those who glorify evil
      15. Back-stabbers
      16. The impulsive
      17. The self-centered
      18. Hedonists
      19. Religious Legalists

 

That’s quite a list.  Except there’s a problem.  I said “they.”

 

And as of this writing, if I am going to be completely transparent, I believe that I fit six of these categories myself.  So, it’s not “them.”  It’s “us.” 

 

This is why I say that we don’t have time to waste looking up at the sky, watching for a sign of Jesus’ return.  The thing is, YOU DON’T KNOW when He’s coming back.  The Great Tribulation may have already started.  Or not.  The Rapture may be tomorrow.  Or 10 years from now.  Or never.

 

Here is what we do know:

 

For the Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory, with his angels; and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.  Matthew 16:27 (CJB)

 

God has given us all gifts and wired our personalities to do the work He had planned for us to do before we were ever born.  To be able to do that work effectively and leave a legacy in the world for Jesus, our hearts must COMPLETELY belong to Him.  The only way that will happen is if we take an honest look at that list above and figure out what we need to repent of in our own lives.  Then take a radical step of faith and DO that repenting.

 

Because in these last days, ain’t nothing gonna be easy for us.  Let’s not make it any harder for ourselves than it needs to be.

(Nevertheless, there will be signs. To learn more about those, please come back for Part 2–What Sign?)

Reasonable: Part 4–The Best of Your Ability

(Originally published 5/10/2020 during the lockdown)

If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. (Romans 12:18 CEB)

 

Back in Part 3, we gave some examples of the characteristics we ought to be manifesting as we cling to what is good.  Here are some more practical tips from Romans 12 on how to walk this out.

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14 Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them.

 

Most people know that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies.  That notion was just as counter-intuitive 2,000 years ago as it is today.  If we have the capacity for hatred, who better to bear the brunt of it but our enemies?  Isn’t that what enemies are for?

 

Not so much, as it turns out.  Even as Jesus was hanging on the cross, He forgave the people that put Him there.

 

Christians all around the world experience persecution at many levels.  Since Truth Mission has readers all over the world, what you are going through as you read this could be quite different than my experience.

 

Some of you may be harassed on social media. Some of you may be feeling heat from the government.  Some of you may actually have been beaten, fired from a job, or had loved ones tortured and killed for their faith.

 

There are two things we need to remember though.  The first is that the people who persecute us are not our real enemies.  We have one Enemy who seeks our destruction.

 

The second thing is that we have no control whatsoever over how other people respond to the promptings of the Enemy.  We do, however have control over how we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

 

Therefore, to the best of our ability, we need to follow the example set in Proverbs 25:21-22:

 

If your enemies are starving, feed them some bread; if they are thirsty, give them water to drink. By doing this, you will heap burning coals on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.

 

The “burning coals” bit may refer to an Egyptian custom where people would carry a pan of hot coals on their heads as a sign of repentance.  So the idea here is that if someone is harassing you, and you respond with a blessing instead of a curse, they may take note of that and see you, and God THROUGH you, in a different way.

 

Now will that happen every time?  No, of course not. But if it doesn’t, that’s not your problem.  To the best of your ability, you have followed Christ’s command.  By your actions, you have shared the Gospel and offered a tacit invitation for your “enemies” to turn from their ways and join in the freedom that you enjoy.  But it is up to them to RSVP to your invitation.

15 Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying.

 

A healthy church functions as a family, so we always need to be aware of and involved with one another’s lives.

 

We celebrate together at weddings, graduations and baby showers.  We also walk alongside each other at funerals, during illnesses, or when children go astray.

 

This unity has never been more important than it is right now.  As I type this, we have been on COVID-19 lockdown for about eight weeks.  The Enemy has used this “pandemic” as an opportunity to scatter the body of Christ by influencing our State government to keep the churches closed for far longer than necessary.

 

However, to the best of our ability, we must rise up inside this.  We need to get over our technophobia and learn how to do Zoom meetings and participate in online church. Yes, it’s not the same as meeting in person, but a connection is a connection.  We can’t afford to just float away from each other just because meeting virtually is inconvenient.

 

We must stay in the habit of gathering, not just for our own sakes, but for the sakes of those who do not have a church community.  Think about it.  If you are feeling lonely and disconnected right now, and you HAVE a church family, how do you think the people feel who have no one to do life with?  These are the people we need to be reaching out to.  They are more open than ever right now for conversations.  So have some.

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16 Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart.

 

And while you’re planning those conversations, which may be out of your comfort zone anyway, I would like to challenge you further to have conversations with people who aren’t like you.  If God’s invitation is open to everyone, and he uses us to extend that invitation, then we should be doing this anyway.

 

By all means, we should talk to the people we’re around every day.  However, we must also remember that someone who doesn’t live in our neighborhood or work in our office or walk in our social circle also has a gift and a passion that God gave them to build His Church.  We need that person just as much as he or she needs us.

 

Are you educated? Think of the uneducated people you know.  Do you see how hard many of them work, because they haven’t had the occupational privileges that come with a college degree? Don’t you think your church needs someone with that work ethic using spiritual gifts they may not even be aware of until you invite them in?

 

Are you financially well-off?  Try walking your Labradoodle on the other side of the tracks today and wave to everybody you see.  (Or go shake hands once we’re done with social distancing.) That act by itself won’t save many souls, but you have to start somewhere.

 

Are you well-versed in scripture?  Instead of correcting people who misinterpret the Bible in your Facebook feed, maybe you could start an online Bible study group with them and ask them to invite friends that have questions.

 

Bottom line—if we are all equal in the eyes of God, then we should be all equal in one another’s eyes as well.

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. (NLT)

 

This one is a challenge for all of us.  Our first instinct when someone wrongs us is to get even with our harasser.  Some people just repress that instinct better than others.

 

Nevertheless, repress it we must.  To the best of our ability, we must leave room for God to deal with our accusers.

 

Revenge is a control issue.  When we are wronged, we feel that we must take control of the situation by restoring balance to the equation.  If we take an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, then we feel that we are restoring the equilibrium of justice.

 

But if that were our job, then what would be the purpose of Judgment Day?

 

A reasonable assumption for those who have put their trust in Jesus is that God is in control.  And if God is in control, then the only control we need to be concerned with is self-control.

 

Therefore, to the best of our ability, we use this self-control to resist conforming to the pattern of this world.  We use it to restrain ourselves from following our own understanding when discerning what is evil from what is good. Finally, we exercise our self-control to avoid being conquered by evil, but rather to conquer evil by doing good.

 

That sounds reasonable, right?

 

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Reasonable: Part 3–What is Good

Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. (Romans 12:9 NIRV)

 

Back in Part 2, we discussed how God gives various spiritual gifts to individuals, so that we can build up the Church, with each member doing its part, just like the parts of our body.

 

So what does it look like when the Church is functioning this way?  It’s a lot more detailed than making sure the Wednesday night potluck goes off without a hitch!

 

First, we must remember that these are SPIRITUAL gifts, which means that there must have been a spiritual transformation that has taken place already.  The greatest evidence of this is love.

 

Not feelings, but actions.  There is no room in the body of Christ for hypocrisy or two-faced gossiping.  We have to get this part right before we can move on with the rest of verse 9.

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Hate what is evil

 

If this sounds familiar, it is because we covered this verse thoroughly in the Necessity of Being Intolerant series.

 

I feel like I should reiterate, though, that the Bible clearly states to hate WHAT is evil, not WHO.  There are still too many people misinterpreting this verse to justify judgmentalism.  We are not talking about hating people here. We are talking about behaviors and habits.

 

For more details regarding “what is evil,” I would encourage you to review the Necessity of Being Intolerant series, especially part 1.  But for now, I want to focus on the rest of Romans 12:9.

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Hold on to What is Good

 

Verses 10-12 contain several examples of what is good, the things that we should hold on to.  Let’s break this down verse by verse.

 

10 Love one another deeply. Honor others more than yourselves.

 

What is good in this verse is humility. C.S. Lewis once said that humility is not so much about thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.  When the members of the Church body are focused where they should be, they don’t just use “brother” and “sister” as honorary titles, but truly do treat everyone else in the Church as family.

 

Remember, false humility makes a show of itself to build up the person showing it, but real humility builds up others, and is not self-seeking.

 

11 Stay excited about your faith as you serve the Lord.

 

When you know your calling, your work should be a joy, not a grind.  God’s part is to prepare the work for us and equip us to do it.  Our part is to have a zeal to meet God where He’s already working and join Him in that work.

 

12 When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful.

 

Hope does not mean the kind of hope that is desperation mixed with doubt.  This is a joyful expectation.  You’re not wishing that something might happen; you’re eagerly awaiting something good that you are certain is coming.

 

Yet while we are hoping and waiting, sometimes we are suffering.  When I first wrote this on 12/12/2020, many were suffering from the financial fallout of COVID-19. Many still are today.

 

Regardless of our gifts, one of the fruits of the Spirit that all believers receive is patience.  Some older English translations actually use the word “longsuffering.”  If we have joyful hope that what is good is on the way, this helps us to endure what is not so good.

 

And we endure these things by being faithful in prayer.  No matter how grim our circumstances get, we always have the ability to exercise this discipline.  God can handle our anger and our disappointment, but He also wants us to remember that what is good comes from Him, and always at exactly the right time.

 

(For more of what is good, come back for Part 4—The Best of Your Ability)

 

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