Sunday, February 28, 2016

Philippians 2:3 -- Humility

“...be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)
Living a life of self-fulfillment and self-aggrandizement comes easy for us.  We are proud of our accomplishments and want others to be proud, too. But if we stop and think about the genesis of our blessings, we will see the blinding light of grace at work. Nothing is ours -- no accomplishment or reward.  And if we realize this, how can we sometimes treat others like they are lesser than us or think they deserve their difficult circumstances? It is one of our human faults, and one for which Christ provides an antithetical model. Jesus, after all, ministered to and ate with prostitutes and taxpayers, and he even washed the feet of his disciples the night before he was tortured and killed on the cross. Christ lived his human life as the perfect example of humility, and we, Paul says, must do the same: “Be humble toward one another.”
In his treatise on imitating the life of Christ, the fifteenth century writer, Thomas à Kempis, distinctly reflects Paul’s words to the church in Philippi:
Claim nothing for yourself, think of others kindly and with admiration; that is the height of wisdom, and its masterpiece. Never think yourself better than the next person, however glaring their faults, however grievous their offenses, you are in good dispositions now, but how long will they last? Tell yourself, “We are frail, all of us, but none so frail as I.” (The Imitation of Christ)
Let us go out humbly into the world, loving others with the merciful, welcoming heart of Christ.


May the love of God bless you all in every way.

Stan

Monday, February 22, 2016

Isaiah 60:1 (NIV): Our Menial Tasks Shine with God’s Love


“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”

The following excerpt is from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest, one of the most influential Christian daily devotional books ever published:
Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. Read John 13. In this chapter, we see the Incarnate God performing the greatest example of drudgery— washing fishermen’s feet. He then says to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it.
Chambers suggest that our everyday menial tasks become glowing reflections of God’s love when we do them in faith. Yes, every paper we grade, every meeting we attend, every email we write, every lesson we plan and teach, and every child we support all count. When we do these everyday tasks with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we and those we serve are changed and our daily “drudgery” becomes God’s transformative work. As we begin a new week, let us allow the Holy Spirit to work through our everyday tasks, allowing the loving light of Christ to shine.
May you all be blessed and encouraged in the love and peace of Christ.  

Stan

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT): Confidence in God


But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
   and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 
(Jeremiah 17:7)
Have you ever noticed that when we trust our lives to God things have a way of working out in the end? Even when events in our lives come in the form of trials, upon prayerful review we can see God’s grace at work. And even in the midst of our most painful experiences, the end result, if we put our trust in God, is that our lives are more in line with Christ. The key, however, as the prophet Jeremiah tells the wayward Israelites, is to make God our hope and confidence, not anyone or anything in the world.


During this Lenten season (and for the rest of my life), can I make God my whole hope? Can I put my total confidence in Jesus Christ? It is a prayer that I hope we all can offer through our life witness to an ever-loving, awesome God.


Let us keep each other and our special intentions in prayer this week.  


May you all be blessed and encouraged in the love and peace of Christ.  

Stan

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Romans 15:7 (NRSV): In Peace With One Another


Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)


Throughout Paul’s ministry he readily addresses the divisions that take place among Christ’s faithful.  Paul consistently reminds his audience about Christ’s words: They must love one another as God loves them. And love includes acceptance of differences and learning to live, not perfectly, but in harmony with one another. This was a challenge for the Jewish audience who felt entitled to the promises of the Old Covenant, for many struggled with accepting the troupe of new Gentile converts to the Gospel. Paul reminds them all to lovingly accept one another as God has accepted each of them. They are, moreover, bonded by the Holy Spirit and are to model the sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ in their lives.


We still have similar problems in today’s world, and they are not exclusive to Jews and Gentiles. Our problems, however, are more diverse: Catholic, Protestant, Islam, race, ethnicity, socio-economics, sexual orientation/identification, and gender. Paul’s message is as true today as it was 2000 years ago: We must learn to love each other despite our differences and live harmoniously in the love and peace of God, living Paul’s mantra to “welcome one another . . . just as Christ has welcomed you.”


Let us keep each other and our special intentions in prayer this week.  


May you all be blessed and encouraged in the love and peace of Christ.  

Stan