"For we are not ignorant of his schemes."
One of the primary schemes of the devil is the lie that the goal of life is to maximize pleasure and to minimize suffering and discomfort. We don't say it, but we live it: "I don't care if the war is won, I just want to get through the war without personal injury to myself or those I care about." Francis Schaeffer called this the pursuit of affluence and personal peace - I want to be able to go the store and buy anything I want, and not be troubled with other people's problems.
Paul says, "If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." According to John Piper, Paul does not mean we should give ourselves to drunkenness and gluttony if there is no resurrection. Drunks and gluttons are not happy people. Rather Paul is saying that if there is no resurrection from the dead, we ought to pursue the ordinary pleasures of life (food, drink, etc.) which bring comfort and a sense of happiness since subjecting ourselves to extraordinary suffering would be a foolish waste of life. (From Desiring God Study Guide, Chapter 10, Suffering)
According to Paul’s testimony, we as Christians are called to live such a life which would be a
foolish waste if there is no resurrection. A life that values the resurrection from the dead more
than life and freely chooses suffering or the possibility of suffering if that is what is required for
Christ’s sake. (From Desiring God Study Guide, Chapter 10, Suffering)
What is Satan’s design in all our suffering? The destruction of our faith. (From Desiring God Study Guide, Chapter 10, Suffering)
Friday, May 31, 2019
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Don't Be Surprised
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 1 Peter 4:12
A high school kid heads south on a bus from Philly to spend the summer vacationing in Florida. However, a bus transfer mixup lands him at the Marine base at Parris Island. Expectations now clash with reality: He had expected to sleep in every day; instead, he's yanked out of bed at 5 a.m. He had expected to lay on the beach and work on his tan; instead, he has to "hit the beach" and work on his combat skills. He had expected to do whatever he wants whenever he wants; instead, he has a drill sergeant that tells him when he's going eat, sleep and pee.
How we see the difference between expectations and reality determines the mental and emotional ecology that we live in. Am I surprised that there are conflicts with others at my workplace? Am I shocked that my spouse is selfish, or that my kids grumble? Do I wonder that life is difficult?
Those who think that life should be easy and things should go well face frustration and disappointment every day. Psychiatrist Scott Peck said that most mental illness is caused by the people's inability to face the reality that life is hard.
Therefore, we should not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that comes upon us for our testing as though some strange thing were happening to us. We live in occupied territory as warriors for the King. On one hand, we have our enemy Satan with whom we must daily wrestle and do battle. On the other hand, we have our heavenly Father who daily is training us for this conflict. These are the times that try men's souls. Life is much more about the beaches at Normandy than the beaches on the Grand Strand. Expecting Disneyworld in this life is a sure formula for angst and frustration.
A high school kid heads south on a bus from Philly to spend the summer vacationing in Florida. However, a bus transfer mixup lands him at the Marine base at Parris Island. Expectations now clash with reality: He had expected to sleep in every day; instead, he's yanked out of bed at 5 a.m. He had expected to lay on the beach and work on his tan; instead, he has to "hit the beach" and work on his combat skills. He had expected to do whatever he wants whenever he wants; instead, he has a drill sergeant that tells him when he's going eat, sleep and pee.
How we see the difference between expectations and reality determines the mental and emotional ecology that we live in. Am I surprised that there are conflicts with others at my workplace? Am I shocked that my spouse is selfish, or that my kids grumble? Do I wonder that life is difficult?
Those who think that life should be easy and things should go well face frustration and disappointment every day. Psychiatrist Scott Peck said that most mental illness is caused by the people's inability to face the reality that life is hard.
Therefore, we should not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that comes upon us for our testing as though some strange thing were happening to us. We live in occupied territory as warriors for the King. On one hand, we have our enemy Satan with whom we must daily wrestle and do battle. On the other hand, we have our heavenly Father who daily is training us for this conflict. These are the times that try men's souls. Life is much more about the beaches at Normandy than the beaches on the Grand Strand. Expecting Disneyworld in this life is a sure formula for angst and frustration.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Thankful for My Problems? (under construction)
On the basis of yesterday's post on learning to give thanks in everything, I'm now faced with the reality that my problems, short-comings, sin areas and failures come under the category of "everything," and I have to deal with how I'm going to give thanks for them.
Now my list of "impossible" problems looks like this:
1. Desire and ability to lead.
2. Consistency with life and disciplines
3. Developing an other's focus and a concern for others.
4. Discipline and control of eating.
5. Home church growth in depth and breadth.
6. Initiating in relationship with others.
7. Consistency with exercise.
8. Learning to suffer.
9. Making my Father my exceeding joy.
So, let's take the first one, desire and ability to lead. It has been said by many that "leadership is influence." If this is true then I do have a desire to lead in the sense that I do have some desire to influence others in how they think and in what they believe. However, what is fundamental to leadership that is lacking in my life is the the concept of taking responsibility for the lives of others. This is something that I do not naturally want to do. I am glad to help you and care for you when you ask for it, but I don't want to take responsibility for you. Whereas I do not have many brain cells that think in terms of being responsible for others, Sue does not have many that don't. She sees the people in the house as her responsibility and cannot sleep (literally) if they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.
So how can I understand this in such a way to give thanks for this glaring shortcoming in my life?
I can
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Loyalty to Jesus (under construction)
Whatever is not from faith is sin.
Prideful thoughts - I'm better than others. I'm not like others.
Prideful thoughts - I'm better than others. I'm not like others.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Going After What's Important
Blessed are the poor in spirit... Blessed are those that morn...Matthew 5:3, 4.
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount begins to crush what we commonly think about the goal of life and what life is all about. He has turned over not only the tables of those selling in the temple, but the tables of all of us who have set up our wares somewhere seeking prosperity in this life. For many of us, life is about maximizing pleasure and ease and minimizing discomfort and inconvenience. By contrast, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, "The meaning of earthly existence lies, not as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul." We have to reorient ourselves to what Jesus says is important. "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies..." (John 12) Watchman Nee says that the outer man (the soul - our minds, hearts, emotions) must be broken like the outer shell of a grain of wheat in order to allow the release of the spirit (and Spirit) within us. Prosperity only pampers the outer man and makes the shell harder. Prosperity only numbs and is a hindrance in the development and breaking of the soul.
By contrast, one of God's greatest gifts for the growth of the soul is suffering. The testimony of so many who have embraced God's gift of suffering is that: 1) they wouldn't want to have to endure it again 2) they would not wish it on their worst enemy and 3) they would not trade the benefits of the experience for the world. Spurgeon confirms:
“I am afraid that all the grace that I have got of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours, might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable … Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister’s library.”
Let us not seek for that which prospers the outer man, but for that which prospers the soul, the inner man, and the spirit.
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount begins to crush what we commonly think about the goal of life and what life is all about. He has turned over not only the tables of those selling in the temple, but the tables of all of us who have set up our wares somewhere seeking prosperity in this life. For many of us, life is about maximizing pleasure and ease and minimizing discomfort and inconvenience. By contrast, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, "The meaning of earthly existence lies, not as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul." We have to reorient ourselves to what Jesus says is important. "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies..." (John 12) Watchman Nee says that the outer man (the soul - our minds, hearts, emotions) must be broken like the outer shell of a grain of wheat in order to allow the release of the spirit (and Spirit) within us. Prosperity only pampers the outer man and makes the shell harder. Prosperity only numbs and is a hindrance in the development and breaking of the soul.
By contrast, one of God's greatest gifts for the growth of the soul is suffering. The testimony of so many who have embraced God's gift of suffering is that: 1) they wouldn't want to have to endure it again 2) they would not wish it on their worst enemy and 3) they would not trade the benefits of the experience for the world. Spurgeon confirms:
“I am afraid that all the grace that I have got of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours, might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable … Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister’s library.”
Let us not seek for that which prospers the outer man, but for that which prospers the soul, the inner man, and the spirit.
Monday, April 15, 2019
The Blessing of Sorrow and Suffering
Sorrow and suffering draw us to Jesus.
Sorrow and suffering humble us. They bring about the breaking of our minds, hearts, and wills so that the spirit and the Spirit within us can be released.
Sorrow and suffering strengthen us.
Sorrow and suffering enable us to taste the sufferings of Jesus in an experiential way.
Sorrow and suffering pull us into an experience of the moment.
Sorrow and suffering humble us. They bring about the breaking of our minds, hearts, and wills so that the spirit and the Spirit within us can be released.
Sorrow and suffering strengthen us.
Sorrow and suffering enable us to taste the sufferings of Jesus in an experiential way.
Sorrow and suffering pull us into an experience of the moment.
Seeing the "Why" in Our Suffering
"As for you, you meant evil against me, [but] God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. - Gen 50:20 NASB
Having good eyes in suffering is paramount. Suffering that we see as needless, spiteful or unjust quickly turns to bitterness and/or anger. What man will not patiently wait two minutes on a traffic light to change at a busy intersection, but will angrily blow his horn if someone sits at a green light for more than a few seconds. You may joyfully drive for hours to pick up a friend from the airport, but if your friend decides not to come, doesn't tell you and you make the trip for nothing, he may not be your friend anymore.
The reality is that in relationships there will be times when we suffer because of the ignorance, neglect, sin, selfishness, spite or abuse from others. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, which ultimately led to being framed and years in a dungeon. Yet he endured without despair, bitterness or anger. Likewise, we must protect ourselves from the deadly diseases of despair, anger, and bitterness. As Joseph saw the hand of God in his affliction which caused him to rise above despair, anger, and bitterness, it is absolutely critical therefore that we see meaning and purpose in our suffering. Navy SEALS undergo immense suffering and pain in their training. Enormous physical exertion, days without sleep, exposure to miserable conditions ("cold, wet and sandy) all take there toll. Though the training, preparation, and selection process have improved the success rate, in the past only 10 percent of those who start will finish.
How do the successful ones endure such hardship? They know the "why" of their suffering; they are clear why they are there, why they are suffering, and why they must finish their course.
Suffering may clothe itself in listening to a long-winded friend, living daily in the grief of the loss of a child to a drunk driver, watching another receive credit for my work, or having to stay up late after an exhausting day to give attention to a spouse.
Do I know the "why" in my afflictions and am I ever holding it before me? Without the "why", despair, bitterness, and anger are crouching at the door.
Having good eyes in suffering is paramount. Suffering that we see as needless, spiteful or unjust quickly turns to bitterness and/or anger. What man will not patiently wait two minutes on a traffic light to change at a busy intersection, but will angrily blow his horn if someone sits at a green light for more than a few seconds. You may joyfully drive for hours to pick up a friend from the airport, but if your friend decides not to come, doesn't tell you and you make the trip for nothing, he may not be your friend anymore.
The reality is that in relationships there will be times when we suffer because of the ignorance, neglect, sin, selfishness, spite or abuse from others. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, which ultimately led to being framed and years in a dungeon. Yet he endured without despair, bitterness or anger. Likewise, we must protect ourselves from the deadly diseases of despair, anger, and bitterness. As Joseph saw the hand of God in his affliction which caused him to rise above despair, anger, and bitterness, it is absolutely critical therefore that we see meaning and purpose in our suffering. Navy SEALS undergo immense suffering and pain in their training. Enormous physical exertion, days without sleep, exposure to miserable conditions ("cold, wet and sandy) all take there toll. Though the training, preparation, and selection process have improved the success rate, in the past only 10 percent of those who start will finish.
How do the successful ones endure such hardship? They know the "why" of their suffering; they are clear why they are there, why they are suffering, and why they must finish their course.
Suffering may clothe itself in listening to a long-winded friend, living daily in the grief of the loss of a child to a drunk driver, watching another receive credit for my work, or having to stay up late after an exhausting day to give attention to a spouse.
Do I know the "why" in my afflictions and am I ever holding it before me? Without the "why", despair, bitterness, and anger are crouching at the door.
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