When We Are Not At Our Best

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

Let’s face it, there are many times in our lives when we are not at our best. Years ago I was at a library book sale and as I was walking in there was a lunatic out ranting and raging in the parking lot. Like others who were going into the sale I ignored the mentally disturbed man and quickly made my way into the building.

By the time I was leaving the sale I had forgotten about the man. Yet he was still there as I exited the building. I have said to my wife that if there is a crazy person around they choose me to focus on and talk to. And here he came straight at me raging and bellowing. He was quite scary with his ranting at me.

By some miracle I got into my truck and locked the doors getting away from the raging man before he could reach me. He had frightened me badly and I was relieved to be within the safety of my truck. I know I shouldn’t have done it. I would not do it today. But as I went past the lunatic in my truck I lay upon my horn returning one scare for another, having the satisfaction of watching in my rearview mirror as he chased me down the street raging more than ever.

We all do things we are not proud of. It’s part of our humanity and sinful nature. One day we will be completely above petty behavior and the desire to get even with others. We will be able to fully rise above our constant tendency to do wrong and fall short of God’s glory and will for us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:9-10

Jesus did not come to save a perfect human race. There would have been no need to do so. Thankfully Jesus came to save us sinners. 

Each of us has moments in life we regret and are ashamed of, times when we know God was not smiling upon our actions. We have a Lord who saved us from past, present, and future sins. Our job, with God’s help, is to make those sinful actions few and far between.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that our sins are forgiven. Thank You for not giving up on us and loving us no matter how foolish our actions may be. Amen.

Every Person Matters

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 1 Corinthians 12:26

At the dentist’s office I asked the dentist to allow me to look at the crown he was about to place over what remained of one of my rear molars. It struck me that the crown was a small thing for the expense, trouble, and job it must do for years to come. Yet without that crown I would be in a great deal of trouble, both from the pain of my old worn tooth, and the inability to properly eat food to nourish my body.

God wants us to realize that every person in the body of Christ matters. Some people seem more important than others. Some more public, visible, and others less so. Nevertheless, in God’s eyes every member fits into the body of the church and is necessary. Just like a little tooth is vital to our overall well-being.

You do not see or even notice the toes on your feet. You take them for granted. Yet, stub one of them, or get an ingrown toenail, or otherwise injure a toe and you cannot walk properly much less run due to its pain. Similarly, our individual pain and suffering also affects the rest of the Body of Christ.

By God’s amazing grace our human body can keep going for decades, with some people living past 100 years old. It is an amazing biological machine. But illness, disease, injury to even the smallest portion of the human body will stop it in its tracks.

We often believe that individually we do not matter. Life seems to go on around us oblivious to our existence. Yet not one person on this earth would be here if it were not a part of God’s plan.

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be. Psalm 139: 13-14, 16

You matter. You always will. God made you for a purpose and a plan. Though it may seem like the world could go on without you, God makes nothing and no one in vain. God has a plan for us all. 

The next time you have a toothache, or stub your toe, or smash a finger, consider how important that small part of your anatomy is and what a big difference it makes. Then magnify its importance a thousand times and you merely begin to comprehend your value to God and your part of the Body of Christ!

Prayer: Dear Lord, we feel so insignificant and often an island unto ourselves. Help us to never forget how much we matter to You and what You went through Jesus to secure a place for us in Your Body. Amen.

He's Got This

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, Nahum 1:7

I was undergoing a procedure. It was stressing me out because I had not expected it, or mentally prepared for it. As my stress increased I said to the Lord in prayer: “I don’t know if I trust this guy.” Meaning the professional doing the procedure. The Lord replied very clearly back to me: “Then trust Me.”

So much in life happens to us in unexpected ways leaving us fearful and worried. The mistake we often make is to get absorbed in the problem or concern facing us, and lose sight of the Lord who cares for us.

Once I readjusted my “trust sensor” I felt peace and courage rise to meet the situation.

Saying to someone “Trust in the Lord” is not just a nice mantra. God wants us to trust Him with every aspect of our lives. What would happen if we truly believed, as Scripture says, that God dwells within every believer in the Person of the Holy Spirit? What would happen if we stopped for a moment spewing out all our concerns and worries and instead listened to Him for a change? What if we simply believed His promises in the Bible and trusted in His ability to protect us?

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17

If we could clearly see the One who is for us standing by our side in every difficulty what courage we could have. And we do have Jesus with us in our difficulties for Christ abides within every believer. We are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Add to this that the angels of God project and deliver the children of God. I strongly suspect that in heaven we will laugh at our fearfulness and foolishness while here on earth. When we realize the puny challenges that were arrayed against us, and the incredible might of the God that protected us, we will have to laugh at past problems and fearful situations. 

It is challenging to keep our focus upon God. We are distracted by human weakness, afflictions of all sorts, and troubles that often arrive one after another. As our fears grow, so does the size of the difficulties in our imagination. If we could but for a moment stop the runaway fears then a proper perspective could return. We would recall that we have a Lord greater than any adversary in whatever shape or form it might take.

You will have challenges, perhaps every day, and with those difficulties you have a choice: Who will you trust? What will you trust? The problem, or God? Stop sweating the fearful situation. He’s got this.

Prayer: Dear Lord, it is embarrassing how quickly we lose sight of You as our troubles increase. Realign our focus where it belongs, upon You! Amen.

Brother Lyme

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 1 John 2:24

Today in church my preacher mentioned those we influence, and it got me to remembering someone who had greatly influenced me. Right around the age of eight years old I started going to Sunday School. My Sunday School teacher was a man named Brother Lyme. I have no idea what his actual first name was, we simply called him Brother Lyme.

 

Few men in my life have ever had such an influence upon me as Brother Lyme. He was a quiet man, and very dignified, but it was couched in humility. He was a godly man that revered God’s Word and brought that reverence into his Sunday School class and into our lives. He gave me my first Bible. You could have handed me a bar of gold and it would have meant nothing compared to that Bible. Brother Lyme explained to us that when we held a Bible in our hands we were holding onto the very words of God. For a young boy that truth was both astonishing and life-changing.

Brother Lyme was my Sunday School teacher for about 3 years. And I did not want to leave his class when I was old enough to go up to the next level of boys of twelve years old. Indeed, I asked him if I could stay in his class, but I had to go with the older boys into their class. I knew, and I was correct, that the next class would never have that same godly atmosphere, peace, and power as we read God’s Word aloud and revered its Author.

I still strive to be even a fraction of the godly, dignified man that Brother Lyme was to me, and to pass on that same reverence for The Holy Word of God on to others. That wonderful Sunday School teacher could not have imagined how those few short years would impact a boy, a teenager, a young man, and now an old man.

We will impact those around us for good or ill. We may believe we do not have much influence or sway in this world, but once you attach the name “Christian” to anyone, everything changes in the way others see us. They may see us as hypocritic fools who only play at religion, or they may see us as people who love God and actually live like Believers. But be sure that they do see us.

Too often in my life I have acted much less like a Christian and more like a fool. Our human frailty often overshadows any Christian dignity we ought to manifest. Nevertheless, we must strive, as my preacher reminded today, to live out our Christian faith and let Christ shine through us. I’m glad I saw that in Brother Lyme. It was life-changing for me. We all need to be more like Brother Lyme, for this world has too few like him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive me for the times I’ve represented sinners better than representing You. Help me to be more like You. To let others see Jesus in me. Amen.