A Fool Already Knows

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,

“He traps the wise
    in the snare of their own cleverness.”

And again,

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise;
    he knows they are worthless.”  1 Corinthians 3:18-20

We all work hard to be successful not only at work but also in our relationships and faith.  Most times, we are, but every so often, we are not.  Some of us have minor slip ups, but other times, we fail.  Miserably.  I thought about the times that I failed.  I failed to study well enough for a test and suffered mightily getting a poor grade.  There were times that I was not a good husband to my adoring wife, and I hurt her and in essence myself.  My performance at work had been substandard before, and yes, I had lost a job for it.  In most of these instances, I can now see how foolish I was.  It would have been so easy to turn right, and yet, I managed to turn left.  Yet as I reflect on those failures, I am incredibly thankful to God for them.  The one poor grade drove me to perform better and get better final grades.  My pleas for forgiveness and the tears my wife and me shared made me so much better as a husband.  And my failures at work not only helped me become better but also allowed me to be a relied upon resource to others who also suffered failure.  It reminded me of a song when I was a kid.  The chorus went:

Whoa-whoa, fools rush in
Anywhere, anywhere
Wise men will never go
But a wise man will never fall in love
He will never learn
What a fool already knows - Peabo Bryson, ‘A Fool Already Knows’

God uses our mistakes to make us even better disciples of Christ.  We think of the most intelligent people we know, and state, “Wow!  She is so smart,” or, “He always seems to know the answer.”  While there is a great deal of wisdom within them, ask them about a failure they have had and what they learned from it.  If they do not have a story like this, they are the people Paul is warning us about in today’s verses.  I remember doing lent for years only to fail each year.  However, one year I managed to put the failures behind me, and successfully completed it.  The closeness it brought me to God was incredible because I had put Him before myself for an extended period.  It was not anything special that I did different.  What I remembered was the failures when I turned left, and then I fought hard to turn right.  The purpose of Paul’s words was not to say understanding the world is wrong.  It meant to apply worldly logic to understand God is indeed foolish.  Along those lines, Godly wisdom means to rely on His word and to apply it to the world.  To the world, it will sound foolish, but being a fool for serving God is far better than being wise and serving the wrong Master, which in many cases is ourselves.  Why?  God guides us through our mistakes, and we can better see the end result of the wrong path.  After all, Jesus Christ is the only person that was ever perfect. 

True wisdom is knowing who God is and trusting what He says.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”  That would not make sense to a person who relies on his or her own judgment, but if they knew like we knew, it makes perfect sense.  He knows what is right, and has never led us astray.  Let us apply the wisdom of God trusting Him in all we do.  What has God taught you through your mistakes?  How can you trust Him more in your decisions?  My prayer is that we can see the wisdom in our failures to know what a fool already knows.  Amen.

Salt

Yesterday I shared a devotion with my small group.  I wanted to share it here also even though I really don’t have the option to show the props.

I had with me a tomato and a can of tomatoes.  I started by asking the group how long they thought the can of tomatoes was good for.  Upon checking the expiration date, we saw it was good until 2021.  I then showed them my tomato from my garden and asked why I couldn’t leave that sit on my counter until 2021.  Of course, even the kids were able to tell me that it would rot.  So, what allows the can of tomatoes to last so long?  The answer is simple, salt. 

Salt is used to delay the decay of things. Back before we had refrigerators, people would pack their meats in salt to preserve it. 

Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

As Christians, we are the salt of the earth.  That means we are designed to preserve the earth, to prevent the decay of those around us. 

Salt is a good thing, however if we as Christians, loose our saltiness, we are good for nothing.  We are no longer able to help save the people from decay. 

Are you salty?  Do you help preserve those that you encounter?  I encourage you today to make sure that you are not loosing your saltiness.

Every Day

“I will extol You, my God, O King;

and I will bless Your name

forever and ever. Every day I will

bless You, and I will praise Your name

forever and ever.  Great is the Lord,

and greatly to be praised; and His

greatness is unsearchable.”

     Psalm 145:1-3 (NKJV)

It is easy to praise God when time are good, when our lives are working well.  But when we’re going through a situation we don’t understand, when we’re hit with disappointments, when we experience heartache, we can sometimes find it hard to bless God as we should.  Yet He is always worthy of glory and praise.  Our joy is in the Lord at all times, even in the darkest days. 

My heart is still broken over a relationship with someone I dearly love that became estranged years ago. There is no sign of any healing on the horizon, yet I praise God in this trial.  Through it, He is teaching me to trust Him and strengthening my faith. God has been so faithful, so steadfast.  He wipes away my tears and comforts me. He is always there for me to lean on. He guides me and loves me and provides for me so well.

If we can praise God on the mountain top, we can praise Him in the valleys.  He never changes.  He is always faithful, always worthy.  Every day.

Thursday Devotional - Pressing Questions

What is the one thing you want to know right now? Do you have a pressing question or dilemma?

Right before Jesus ascended back to Heaven, the disciples had a pressing question.

Acts 1:4-9            ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

The disciples wanted to know if Jesus was right then going to restore the kingdom to Israel! He didn’t directly answer their question. He didn’t answer it the way they wanted, but gave them far more than they asked! He gave them what He knew was best for them to know right then. He does that for us today.

I’ve had several pressing questions over the years. After our miscarriage and years of infertility, Joe and I wanted to know if we were to have children, when, how, etc. God didn’t answer all those questions at once, but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit gave us what we needed to know for the next step.

           

God provides what He knows we need to know (and not always what we want to know).

What part of your and my life is confusing right now? If we are seeking His direction and desiring to follow Him, He will give us what we need, when we need it. We can trust His purposes and plans. He will prepare us for the next step, just as He did the disciples!

Alice

No Pain, No Gain

“You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.”  1 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NLT

Derek Redmond was a great Olympic sprinter.  In the 1992 Olympic Games, he was running well in his event, the 400 Meters, winning his first two qualifying heats with ease.  In the semifinal, he started well, but midway through the race, something went terribly wrong.  He tore his right hamstring, and knelled to the ground in sheer agony.  Not to be deterred, he stood up, and hobbled on his good leg the next 100 meters even though the other competitors had already finished the race.  Still having another 100 meters to go, he was joined by a familiar face that would walk with him the rest of the way; his father.  As he sobbed on his father’s shoulder for the remaining 50 meters, the crowd at the stadium, which first started with a courteous applause, now had begun to cheer … louder and louder as they got closer to the finish line until his father and him crossed it.  In Derek’s pain and suffering, he still lost a race.  Because his father helped him across, he was disqualified.  However, he gained a world of fans and appreciators that watched his heroic feat.  No one remembers who won the race or even the gold medal for the 400 meters that year.  Everyone remembered that moment (https://youtu.be/t2G8KVzTwfw).

Some of you cannot relate to this kind of story, but many of us had parents who sacrificed a lot to ensure we could have a better life.  If so, I hope you appreciate all your parents did for you as mine did for me.  They many times struggled, but it was the pain of that struggle that allowed my brothers and me to do two things.  First, it set a standard for all our children to follow.  Second, it garnered attention that served as a platform to speak about who we are and who we serve.  These are the things that had me think about the writers of the Books of Thessalonians.  Like many of the early Christians, they suffered for what they believed in to reach something greater.  Something more important than a race.  Instead, it was the salvation of all mankind.  It reminded me of a saying my mother told me and what many of you have heard before; no pain, no gain.

Suffering is the currency of living a faithful life serving God.  Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians speaks of the suffering they encountered prior to their writing.  It is not the suffering that is of the greatest fascination.  It is clearly the ‘why’ behind it.  They saw a greater good in their suffering.  It allowed them to share the Good News of Christ.  It’s the suffering that gives credibility to their teaching.  We often look at suffering as tests of faith, and that is often true.  However, it is usually in preparation for something bigger that God has in store for you if you are willing to endure what comes with it.  We must prayerfully discuss with God His purpose, and remember the words of Hebrews 10:23, which says, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”

While no one should look to suffer, we should always view it through a Godly lens.  Jesus Himself did not want to endure the suffering that came with the crucifixion saying in the beginning of Mark 14:36, “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me.” But as we read the latter half, He acknowledged the ‘why’ behind His suffering showing love for both God and us completing His thought saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  Whenever we are faced with suffering, let us remember our ‘why’ knowing there is something greater God has planned for His purpose.  What pain and suffering are you enduring today that could use a Godly perspective?  What lessons from the suffering of Jesus and Paul can you draw from in your life?  My prayer is that we remember the purpose of suffering along with the saying, ‘No pain, no gain.’  Amen.

The Power of Prayer

James 5:14-15

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. 

I tend to ask for prayer a lot.  Sometimes for me, sometimes for others.  I know some people that are shy to ask for prayer as they don’t want to burden others.  Prayer should never be a burden!  This last week, I begged my community of people for all the prayers I could get.  I knew that God was the ultimate healer!  You see, I ended up in the ER Monday for very severe chest pain.  I really thought I was having a heart attack.  After they ruled out the heart and a blood clot, they discovered that I had pneumonia.  What??  I hadn’t even been coughing. 

How could this be?  Simple, the power of prayer!  Either of the things the doctors were evaluating me for would have been far more serious.  My community of people prayed hard over me.  God answered their prayers.

What is it that you could use prayer for today?  Do you have a community of people that will pray for you?  If you need prayer, please know that we as a group are here to pray for you.  The leaders of this group will pray for you in private if you do not wish to share with the group. 

The Lord answers the prayers of those who come to him in prayer.  Even when it is not always answered the way that we are hoping, he still answers them.

Letting Go

“And we know that all things work together

for good to those who love God, to those

who are the called according to His purpose.”

   Romans 8:28-29 (NKJV)

To let go and let God’s will prevail in your life is the essence of faith.  To really trust and turn everything over to God means giving up the expectations of what your life is supposed to be like. When you commit yourself wholeheartedly to God, you don’t necessarily get what you thought you wanted or would have. 

You trust God and get God’s plan.  But you can be sure that Jesus knows your heart and your prayers, and is working things out for good.  You can trust that He knows your heartaches and sorrows, and that He loves you through it all.  Yield all to Him and His glorious plans will be accomplished for His glory and your good.

When you give your life to Jesus, you can trust Him with your dreams and your plans.  Even when your heart breaks because things seem to have gone awry, trust Him.  He will work things out in a way you might not expect, but His plans are perfect and better than any we have. 

There is blessing and contentment when we submit to His will.  Then we know the peace that comes from resting in God’s sovereignty. 

Thursday Devotional - Prayer Yesterday

Thank you to those who were able to join us at any of the locations yesterday!   

We in Ann Arbor were told to move See You At The Pole™ to an offsite location, so we met at the flagpole and walked to an off-property spot.

After a time of praising and thanking God, we read through the following passages before each section of prayer specifically for our company, leadership, co-workers and ourselves.  

Company

I Timothy 2:1-4   I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Leadership/bosses

Ephesians 6:9     And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Co-workers

Ephesians 1:18    I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.

Ourselves

Ephesians 6:5-8  ⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

Closing

Ephesians 6:18    ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

We can use these verses (and others) to remind us to continue to pray for our company, leadership, co-workers and ourselves!

Alice

Celebrating Victory

“So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions.  Then the land had rest from war.”  Joshua 11:23

Now hear is an interesting story.  I read the book of Joshua, and come across this verse.  After looking at it, I say to myself, “Good grief!  These guys go on for years (not to mention 11 chapters) fight after fight even after Moses delivered them out of bondage, and only NOW do they get to rest?”  You would think that God could have made it just a little easier, wouldn’t you?  I mean this is God that could take on the mighty army of Egypt and render them helpless!  Surely, He could have rid the smaller armies in Jordan in little time, couldn’t He have?  Certainly after the people of Israel had been forced to wander in the desert for years, they would have figured out that the Lord is God, and He will handle things, right?  Apparently not.

Now if we take a closer look into this story, there are a couple truths to be remembered.  The first is we know that God is always in control, and secondly, we should also know that God tests us on occasion just to see if we will remain faithful.  The book of Joshua was about one of God’s most faithful servants, and in every instance that God spoke to him, Joshua followed His instructions to the letter.  As a result, Joshua was allowed to lead the people to the promise land giving the people of Israel victory after victory over their enemies.  Thus, those who followed God’s law were entitled to Lord’s promise, and given land section by section and city by city.

It led me to think about celebrating our own victories.  If we as Christians are faithful to God and His word, do we fail to acknowledge the victories He gives us?  When we pray at night, does He not give us the victory of another day that we were allowed to serve him?  When we return from our job to our homes, did the Lord not give us the victory of safely reaching our destination?  When family, friends, and loved ones are in His care, does He not give us the victory of peace and tranquility?  I could go on and on about this, but hopefully you will have realized just how much God has given us.  Even at times where we feel our prayers are not answers, it is not about the prayers not being answered.  It is often that we are not patiently waiting for the right time.  If we truly trust in Him, we realize that what seems like ‘no’ really means ‘not yet.’

God is a good God.  When we commit our lives to the Lord saying that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and believe that Jesus was resurrected as proof of his overcoming death giving eternal life through him, it was the greatest victory of all.  I am thankful God’s truth allowed for me victory over the past, and as a result I have everlasting joy sharing with those truths with all of you each and every week.  The more we rely on the Lord and stay faithful to him, we, just as Joshua, will experience victory over our enemies, shortcomings and hard times, and despair and solitude.  If for nothing else, remember the words of Bear Grylls, who simply said, “Never forget how lucky you are to be alive.”  Let us remember that each day is a victory!  Could you imagine how much joy you would have in life knowing that every day you are a winner?  Don’t wait for it.  Claim it!  My prayer is that having God in our lives means we can celebrate victory every day.  Amen!

Hope through the suffering

Romans 5:1-4

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

Can you honestly say that you are happy in your sufferings?  I know that I find that hard.  At the same time, I truly know that the Lord our God has a plan for me so while there are times that I get frustrated through sufferings, I somehow also remain hopeful. I have had people question how I can be positive when I get the raw end of the deal.  I believe this scripture really explains it.  It is through suffering that perseverance comes and from perseverance that character comes and then from there comes hope. 

Today I want to encourage you, if you are suffering through something in your life, remember to remain hopeful as God is pouring out his love for you through it.