The Gift of of a Handicap

 

We wonder why God keeps letting us go through challenges, trials, and obstacles. Sometimes it even seems like He's got something out for us. But occasionally, I wonder if he allows us to struggle because He knows other people are watching.

 My/ our challenges aren't always about me/ you - sometimes they're about a viewing audience. That audience might be friends, family, co-workers, boss, your kids… could be anyone.

 Especially if you're a leader, you can be absolutely sure people are watching. The bottom line is that the way you handle every difficulty, obstacle, or frustration you experience is being watched by someone else.

 Like it or not, they may be learning from your example. Your response to problems can be incredibly helpful or hurtful to the people around you. Remember that next time.

 We joke that pregnant women are "eating for two." The truth is, your challenges in life are the same way. It's not just about you. It's about others as well. Ap. Paul explains this as no other:

 … I was given the gift of a handicap (a thorn in the flesh - NKJV) to keep me in constant touch with my limitations… At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,” My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.

 Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (2 Cor 12:7-10 MSG)

Bitter-Sweetness

 

The preacher catches wind that someone in his congregation is living in egregious sin. And this Sabbath his text just so happens to be about that particular sin. That’s a bit unsettling, but he actually preaches verse-by-verse. Nobody can accuse him of cherry picking a verse just to deal with sin behind a pulpit instead of face to face.

So he ascends to the pulpit and preaches his heart. He preaches truth. He calls sin what it is, speaks of the odiousness of this particular sin, and calls for repentance. It hits the target. The man living in that sin feels guilty, ashamed, and even a bit angry. He leaves. Never comes back.

Some might hear a story like this and assume that the preacher should have coddled a bit more and not been quite so bold in naming sin. That’s not a conclusion, though, that most in my people will come to. They believe, I think rightly, that we must be truthful. Sin is sin. It kills. We cannot pretend it doesn’t. It is loving to address sin.

What we’ll do in these moments is reassure ourselves that we did our job by stating the truth, and doing it so compellingly that the sinner was cut deeply - but sadly sometimes they are choosing their sin over Christ. It happened before – remember the Rich Young Ruler or Demas in love with the present world, or others walking away from the kingdom because sin seems to be sweet.

Sadly, some people do hear the message of the kingdom and choose the fleeting pleasure of sin over the treasure of Christ. But is it possible that the reason this person is “choosing their sin” is because they aren’t seeing the beauty of Jesus?

I do agree with Thomas Watson that until sin be bitter Christ will not be sweet. But I kind of wonder if he has that flipped a bit. What if we said, “Until Christ is sweet, sin will not be bitter”.

Question to myself - Am I preaching Christ as compellingly as I’m preaching sin? Am I being as clear about the Good News as I am naming sin? Let us be truthful about sin. 

But let us preach Christ so wonderfully and beautifully that the bitterness of sin becomes obvious held next to the radiance of His splendor.

The Devil's Beatitudes

 
If the Devil were to write his own beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:

1.  Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians - they are my best workers!

2.  Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - I can use them.

3.  Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church - they are my missionaries. 

4.  Blessed are the troublemakers - they shall be called my children.

 5. Blessed are the complainers - I'm all ears to them.

6. Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerism and mistakes - for they get nothing out of his sermons.

7.  Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church - for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.

8.  Blessed are those who gossip - for they shall cause strife and divisions that please me.

9.  Blessed are those who are easily offended - for they will soon get angry and quit. 

10. Blessed are those who do not give an offering to carry on God's work - for they are my helpers.

11.  Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister - for he shall be with me forever!

12.  Blessed are you who, when you read this think it is about other people and not yourself - I've got you too! 

[Source unknown... but I have my suspicions ]

On the 9th Trip Around

A very overweight man decided that it was time to shed a few pounds. He visited a nutritionist, went on a new diet, and took it seriously. He even changed his usual driving route to the office in order to avoid his favorite bakery.

 One morning, however, he arrived at the office carrying a large, sugar-coated cake. His office mates roundly chided him, but he only smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said,

 "What could I do? This is a very special cake. This morning, out of my forced habit, I accidentally drove by my favorite bakery. There in the window were trays of the most delicious goodies. I felt that it was no accident that I happened to pass by, so I prayed, 'God, if you really want me to have one of these delicious cakes, let me find a parking place in front of the bakery.' Sure enough, on the 9^th trip around the block, there it was!”

CONSIDER this troubling poster I saw recently.  It read, "Lead me not to temptation, but just show me where it is." Why do I consider it troubling? Because this is the essence of bigotry crossing over hypocrisy – the outcome of casual Christians who think they can manage the power of temptation by themselves. 

Still going around on your personal 9^th trip? Just stop and instead of looking around you better look up.

The Unbiased Confirmation Bias

 

Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

For example, my ultra-liberal (or ultra-conservative) friends share and “amen” articles, videos, and memes that fit their pre-adopted left (or right) leaning narratives.

I’ve been guilty of this myself. It is soooo easy to fall into this “confirmation bias” trap. If something sounds true - meaning, it seems to fit what we already believe - we believe it to be true without corroborating. It is the widespread epidemic of confirmation bias that has given us the relatively new phenomenon known as “fake news.”

What is the bias of all other biases? That we are the center of the universe. That our persona is what is most important in life and that our preferences ought to be the law of the land. So, whatever fits this bias, must be “true.” And whatever does not is repudiated, or simply ignored. How would you know if your Christian life has become hijacked by confirmation bias? Here are some possible diagnostic signs:

 -When we hear a particularly challenging sermon, we think mainly of who else needs to hear it or who else it ought to apply to, instead of how it might apply personally to me/us. “I really hope my spouse/ child/ friend is listening right now”.

   -We don’t pray much for God’s forgiveness, but mainly to get His blessings.

   -We think every strained or broken relationship we’ve ever experienced has always been the other person’s fault.

   -We constantly rehearse the failings of others in our mind and imagine dialogues with them in which we “put them in their place” and “win.”

The three steps remedy ∵

 1. Review, examine ourselves. Knowing and acknowledging we have this problem is necessary before we can even address it. Paul tells Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself” - 1 Tim. 4:16.

2. Repent. This is why Jesus said that if anyone wanted to come after him, they must deny themselves and take up their cross. This means constantly repenting and redirecting our indictments inward, into our own souls.

3. Repeat the above steps daily remembering that Christ’s mercies are new every morning. And this mercy is meant to be shared, not hoarded. When we remind ourselves about our union with Christ, we cultivate

   a fearlessness to repent,

      a boldness to “own up,”

        a courage to be transparent, and

          an impulse to love our biased neighbor as much as we love ourselves.

Hopefully unbiased.

Football Up-Down-Up Live

 

Snow. Icy road. Heavy traffic. Driving slowly, I mean very sloooooow - not my style, but it was nothing I could do. I turned on the radio. Two talkative hosts and one guest, more reserved (it should be the other way around, but hey, we live a post-modern post-normal time) shared the microphone. They were discussing the career of Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton. I never heard about him before, but they were passionate and nostalgic and angry, a rare mixture of feelings, so I continued to listen.

One said, "What a great player, unlike today’s sissies - just think, he carried that football for more than 9 miles."

The other said, "And every 3.8 yards, he got knocked down by a guy twice his size! And he did that for 9 miles."

The guest said, "Think of that. Every 3.8 yards, he's hit by what seemed to be a freight train. But he got back up, tucked in his shirt, and ran back to the huddle. It's this kind of perseverance that

- makes a football player a hall of famer,

- makes a Christian victorious,

- makes parenting successful,

- makes a marriage work." 

Bam, touch down! From football to life. Which is probably why the radio guys asked for a commercial break. And after that, changing the topic. But I am not. Because this is our daily Christian Super Bowl.

I stopped the car and I opened the Bible app searching for a particular Scripture. That’s it - Proverbs 24:16.

 

Loving the Love's Day in a Selfish Way

 

…and then she said to me, “I love loving the people who are special and love me.” Huh? Wait a minute here, it sounds like the quintessence of selfishness. But then she continued to talk, not realizing my perplexity:

“I love all things sweet and sappy and sentimental. I love red puffy hearts and pink shiny bows and glittery Valentine cards. I love heart-shaped pancakes in the morning, heart-shaped sandwiches at lunch and heart-shaped pizzas for dinner. I love presents covered in heart wrapping paper and red heart-shaped chocolates.”

Now I got it. She was in love with the idea of love. She loves Valentine’s day first, and then some of the people around her: family, work buddies, church people. She loves expressing-the-love, more than the love per se.   

Then I realized that I may be on the same path. Me sending V cards and giving V presents and sweets as a cultural trend, moral obligation and also to hear the feed-back, “oh, thank you, your are so nice, so sweet, so…” No, I am not. I am trying to be, but by nature I’m selfish.

I can be so easy to get wrapped up in the “sweet celebration of love” that I forget where all this love really came from. “We love each other because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just about us. If we are as intentional about loving Him as we are about expressing our love to each other, the whole day can still bring glory to the God. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17).

Love is a verb. Love your loved ones in a practical way beyond the paper hearts and Kiss candies. Call your parents and in-laws. 

Go out of your way to serve your children/ grand-children and celebrate them today. Do something special for your love ones. 

Let your family feel not the love of Valentine’s Day, but the love of God reflected through you.