Verse of the Day
New Summer Bible classes begin tonight! Here’s what you have to look forward to:
Sunday Morning at 9am:
Auditorium: Glenn Buffington “Grace and Works”
Downstairs: James Hinkle “You and Your Bible”
Wednesday Evening at 7pm:
Auditorium: Jerry Hall “Great Passages of the Bible” (Gospel Advocate quarterly)
Downstairs: James Hinkle “The Minor Prophets”
Bible Bowl 2009 will begin in July with a study of the Gospel of John from the New King James Version.
Hope to see you there!
There is a tendency among many of us that it is the primary commitment of God to solve our problems. When a problem arises we just turn it over to God and whammy! It is solved. No more having to wait in line for a big cure all for all my woes.
Paul reminds us that this may not be the case. Paul views God’s wonderful grace as the power of God in our lives that is sufficient to help us to face and walk through trials. The goal of God is change in our lives. We need to move to a more intimate life with Christ. This doesn’t always equate with the removal of our problems. His power is made perfect in weakness.
Since God is in the people changing business, He can use every ailment to bring about any necessary change in our lives. He may never remove a thorn in the flesh but His grace is sufficient for you. Change is never easy but God hangs in there for us and will work His power in us as we face the realities of this world and prepare for the world to come.
God’s goal for our lives is maturity. Life is not just ailments to be removed or events to be avoided. He wants us to learn how to better worship Him and serve Him. He may never remove an illness from us or our loved-one, but He is always there teaching us about Himself. He may lead through the valley of the shadow of death but His gentle hand will lead us less we fall.
We need to commit ourselves to embrace what God is doing in our lives. He is trying to make us into His image and as we can learn to see as He sees. We can look beyond the present problem to the purpose of God for our lives. His word gives us vision, hope, direction and goals. Our challenge is to look beyond the now and embrace the vision that God has for us. We may have a physical or emotional problem but it is the spirit that needs God’s power.
At the funeral of wealthy Howard Hughes someone remarked,” I wonder what he left behind.” To which another remarked, “All of it.” What kind of expectations do you have for yourself? Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief?
Don’t sweat it. God gives us what we need and he doesn’t expect us to bring earthly treasures to His door and pay for entrance. You don’t arrive at His gate with a bucket full of cash and demand entrance. It’s an eternal life that we are talking about not some few years on this earth making fortunes and losing them.
Here are some suggestion s for living God’s way.
Celebrate the wonder of grace. Believe in grace more and more each day. Ponder grace, praise God for grace, preach grace and live grace. By doing this we can remain confident and upbeat when life doesn’t live up to our expectations. God loves me just as I am and He faithfully accepts me with all my faults. I can accept myself because he has already accepted me with my strengths and weaknesses. That does not mean that I give in to laziness and irresponsibility. It does mean that I am not overwhelmed with guilt and can deal with life constructively. Life it not just getting somewhere. It is a process of how are we getting on His wavelength.
Celebrate what is rather than what might have been. I rejoice in what is happening rather than bemoaning what isn’t happening. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in Life Together, “If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed . . . we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow to the measure and the riches which are in Christ Jesus.” If things are not the exact way we want them to be, adjust! Enjoy the world as you have it rather than dream of greener grass.
Keep a sense of humor. Norman Cousins calls laughter “internal jogging.” George MacDonald said that the heart that is unsure of God is afraid to laugh. Don’t let the lesser issues of life control you. But by the grace of God I am what I am.
