Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
(Galatians 6:7-9, NIV)
Hanging on is all in what we do. Although our feelings work against us, letting go or holding on still primarily involve our actions - whether we choose to conform our actions to our faith or whether we choose to turn from our confession and allow our actions to follow suit.
Paul uses farming as a metaphor for endurance. Whether we hold fast to the way of Christ or let go and turn away, we are always planting something. At the harvest, we will have the crops that we have worked for. If we put in the sweat and blood and toil in the field, then, we will someday reap the fruit of that painful labor. Paul urges us to keep our chins up and keep on doing good, because we will reach the harvest if we keep working and don't give up.
Here are the words of the song "Something Heavenly" by Sanctus Real. They really express the glory of the goal toward which we are striving.
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender
(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...
(Chorus)
Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly
It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
Blessings on all of you
Greg and Tiffany
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Stand firm to the end ...
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
(2 Tim. 2:3-7, NIV)
As a ministry team, we can learn a lot by reading a letter written to a minister. 2 Timothy shows us that endurance is not pointless. We are not just holding on for the sake of holding on, we endure because we are working for something. The soldier, the athlete, and the farmer all work hard and endure because they know the purpose and goal of their effort. The soldier knows for whom he is working, and thus abstains from civilian activities. He endures rigorous training for the sake of his master. The athlete also constrains himself to play by the rules, because he knows that if he wins fairly he will win a crown. The farmer works hard in his field because he knows that the fruit of his labor will be food for his own table.
Here are Jesus' instructions for his disciples when they face hard times in ministry:
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Matt. 10:16-22)
This is as bad as it can get! Most of us will not have to face being arrested or beaten in church because of our obedience to Christ. Still, we sometimes get the sense that there are pitfalls all around, a point the text makes quite clearly here. Things will go wrong, consistently and dangerously.
In spite of everything that can and will go bad, though, whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. There is good news in the affirmation that hardship is not the final word for us. Salvation comes after hardship if we only hold on. This insight has the potential to completely change our perspective. There is hope at the end of the road, even when we are at the end of our rope. We just have to hang on.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
(2 Tim. 2:3-7, NIV)
As a ministry team, we can learn a lot by reading a letter written to a minister. 2 Timothy shows us that endurance is not pointless. We are not just holding on for the sake of holding on, we endure because we are working for something. The soldier, the athlete, and the farmer all work hard and endure because they know the purpose and goal of their effort. The soldier knows for whom he is working, and thus abstains from civilian activities. He endures rigorous training for the sake of his master. The athlete also constrains himself to play by the rules, because he knows that if he wins fairly he will win a crown. The farmer works hard in his field because he knows that the fruit of his labor will be food for his own table.
Here are Jesus' instructions for his disciples when they face hard times in ministry:
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Matt. 10:16-22)
This is as bad as it can get! Most of us will not have to face being arrested or beaten in church because of our obedience to Christ. Still, we sometimes get the sense that there are pitfalls all around, a point the text makes quite clearly here. Things will go wrong, consistently and dangerously.
In spite of everything that can and will go bad, though, whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. There is good news in the affirmation that hardship is not the final word for us. Salvation comes after hardship if we only hold on. This insight has the potential to completely change our perspective. There is hope at the end of the road, even when we are at the end of our rope. We just have to hang on.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Too tired ...
Nobody ever warned me that the longer I lived the longer would be the list of my failures. Lord, on gloomy days, they seem to overwhelm all the happy memories, and I wonder what point there is in going on. But I know you faced much worse than I ever have, and that you rose again, even from the dead. Lord of resurrection, lift me from the dust and ashes of my failures into the joy of your kingdom and help me to trust, even on gloomy days, that your light still shines.
- Dorothy M. Stewart
I am tired, Lord,
too tired to think,
too tired to pray,
too tired to do anything.
Too tired,
drained of resources,
"labouring at the oars against a head wind,"
pressed down by a force as strong as the sea.
Lord of all power and might,
"you way was through the sea, your path through the great waters,"
calm my soul,
take control,
Lord of all power and might.
- Rex Chapman
Unsleeping friend,
when I come to the end of my strength,
and my work has no blessing in it,
help me to remember you,
to reach for the hand of a friend
and find your love there
- Bernard Thorogood
Tiffany and I offer this final prayer, written by Richard Harries, for all of you:
O God, we hold in your all-embracing arms those who feel at the end of their tether; those who feel things going against them; those who feel got down. Help them to let go into your life-giving power which saves us from every kind of death.
Lord, make possible for me by grace what is impossible to me by nature. You know that I am not able to endure very much, and that I am downcast with the slightest difficulty. Grant that for your sake I may come to love and desire any hardship that puts me to the test, for your salvation is brought to my soul when I undergo suffering and trouble for you.
-Thomas a Kempis
May Jesus Christ, the King of glory, help us to make the right use of all the suffering that comes to us and to offer him the incense of a patient and trustful heart; for his name's sake. Amen.
-Johannes Tauler
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
- Dorothy M. Stewart
I am tired, Lord,
too tired to think,
too tired to pray,
too tired to do anything.
Too tired,
drained of resources,
"labouring at the oars against a head wind,"
pressed down by a force as strong as the sea.
Lord of all power and might,
"you way was through the sea, your path through the great waters,"
calm my soul,
take control,
Lord of all power and might.
- Rex Chapman
Unsleeping friend,
when I come to the end of my strength,
and my work has no blessing in it,
help me to remember you,
to reach for the hand of a friend
and find your love there
- Bernard Thorogood
Tiffany and I offer this final prayer, written by Richard Harries, for all of you:
O God, we hold in your all-embracing arms those who feel at the end of their tether; those who feel things going against them; those who feel got down. Help them to let go into your life-giving power which saves us from every kind of death.
Lord, make possible for me by grace what is impossible to me by nature. You know that I am not able to endure very much, and that I am downcast with the slightest difficulty. Grant that for your sake I may come to love and desire any hardship that puts me to the test, for your salvation is brought to my soul when I undergo suffering and trouble for you.
-Thomas a Kempis
May Jesus Christ, the King of glory, help us to make the right use of all the suffering that comes to us and to offer him the incense of a patient and trustful heart; for his name's sake. Amen.
-Johannes Tauler
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Don't be surprised ...
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
(1 Pet 4:12-14, NIV)
The language here is so vivid we almost feel as though it is a little overdramatic in relation to our own circumstances. But look again. Although we may not be persecuted for wearing the name "Christian," the way of Jesus is almost always at odds with the way of the world at some points. When we cross those boundaries as servants of Christ, we are sure to bear stigma and the exhaustion that comes from working thanklessly for the good of others. Maybe the grandiose language can make a point that connects quite readily with our experience.
The most stilting part of this passage is the straightforward way that Peter says we shouldn't be surprised when bad things happen. "It's not as if something strange is happening to you," he says, "you are only sharing in the suffering of Christ." In 1 Peter, slaves and others at the bottom of the social spectrum are exhorted to hold on the faith and way of life modeled by Jesus because they know that God's spirit is present in the midst of strife. So at the times when it seems the most like God has abandoned us, it is at precisely those times that the Spirit is near us.
In fact, suffering for doing good and patiently enduring our hardships mark us out as followers of Christ. In this, we are made witness to all that the power of God is revealed in weakness, and that the evil this world works is not final or binding.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matt 5:11-12)
It is so difficult for us to understand the idea of rejoicing in suffering. Let this prayer guide your understanding of Jesus' and Peter's admonition.
Lord, make possible for me by grace what is impossible to me by nature. You know that I am not able to endure very much, and that I am downcast with the slightest difficulty. Grant that for your sake I may come to love and desire any hardship that puts me to the test, for your salvation is brought to my soul when I undergo suffering and trouble for you.
-Thomas a Kempis
Peace,
Greg and Tiffany
(1 Pet 4:12-14, NIV)
The language here is so vivid we almost feel as though it is a little overdramatic in relation to our own circumstances. But look again. Although we may not be persecuted for wearing the name "Christian," the way of Jesus is almost always at odds with the way of the world at some points. When we cross those boundaries as servants of Christ, we are sure to bear stigma and the exhaustion that comes from working thanklessly for the good of others. Maybe the grandiose language can make a point that connects quite readily with our experience.
The most stilting part of this passage is the straightforward way that Peter says we shouldn't be surprised when bad things happen. "It's not as if something strange is happening to you," he says, "you are only sharing in the suffering of Christ." In 1 Peter, slaves and others at the bottom of the social spectrum are exhorted to hold on the faith and way of life modeled by Jesus because they know that God's spirit is present in the midst of strife. So at the times when it seems the most like God has abandoned us, it is at precisely those times that the Spirit is near us.
In fact, suffering for doing good and patiently enduring our hardships mark us out as followers of Christ. In this, we are made witness to all that the power of God is revealed in weakness, and that the evil this world works is not final or binding.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matt 5:11-12)
It is so difficult for us to understand the idea of rejoicing in suffering. Let this prayer guide your understanding of Jesus' and Peter's admonition.
Lord, make possible for me by grace what is impossible to me by nature. You know that I am not able to endure very much, and that I am downcast with the slightest difficulty. Grant that for your sake I may come to love and desire any hardship that puts me to the test, for your salvation is brought to my soul when I undergo suffering and trouble for you.
-Thomas a Kempis
Peace,
Greg and Tiffany
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Bearing up under ...
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
(1 Pet. 2:18-25, NIV)
It doesn't get much more depressing than being a slave. Hard manual labor, second-class status, not much opportunity for career advancement, and consistent abuse. Slaves would have to endure just and unjust suffering, and most people didn't think there was any difference with regard to slaves. A slave was someone to whom it was impossible to do an injustice.
A slave has no choice but to endure, speaking practically. The slave cannot prevent him or herself from suffering abuse. The slave can, however, control the occasion for their suffering, and they can control how they bear that suffering. There is a big difference between suffering for doing evil and suffering for doing good, according to Peter. Suffering for doing good is the true grace of God.
In fact, Jesus suffered unjustly as God's servant. He did nothing wrong, and he didn't even retaliate when he was abused (Notice that the second and third phrases describing Jesus' passion both relate to his refusal to respond to the abuse of power with violence - he did not retaliate to the insults, and he made no threats when he suffered). Here's the point - Jesus is an example for us because he entrusted any vengeance and vindication to God, rather than exacting it himself.
How quick we are to strike back, even if only with words. But again a writer of the New Testament, this one addressing slaves, urges that his readers endure hardship and affliction, burnout and abuse. In fact, Peter explains that we can do just that if we follow Jesus' footsteps. We don't have to keep fighting against others to hang on, we only have to hold fast to "him who judges justly."
This address is different than the others we have contemplated recently, though, because it calls people to endure who do not have the option of letting go. A slave has to hang on, as opposed to the Christians addressed in Hebrews who could turn away from their faith and return to normal. A slave can't give up being a slave. Still, the manner in which slaves endure matters, and the reason for their suffering also matters. Slaves should suffer for doing good, like the suffering servant Jesus did. Slaves should also endure suffering patiently, just as Jesus did.
Here is our prayer this morning:
May Jesus Christ, the King of glory, help us to make the right use of all the suffering that comes to us and to offer him the incense of a patient and trustful heart; for his name's sake. Amen.
Peace,
Greg and Tiffany
(1 Pet. 2:18-25, NIV)
It doesn't get much more depressing than being a slave. Hard manual labor, second-class status, not much opportunity for career advancement, and consistent abuse. Slaves would have to endure just and unjust suffering, and most people didn't think there was any difference with regard to slaves. A slave was someone to whom it was impossible to do an injustice.
A slave has no choice but to endure, speaking practically. The slave cannot prevent him or herself from suffering abuse. The slave can, however, control the occasion for their suffering, and they can control how they bear that suffering. There is a big difference between suffering for doing evil and suffering for doing good, according to Peter. Suffering for doing good is the true grace of God.
In fact, Jesus suffered unjustly as God's servant. He did nothing wrong, and he didn't even retaliate when he was abused (Notice that the second and third phrases describing Jesus' passion both relate to his refusal to respond to the abuse of power with violence - he did not retaliate to the insults, and he made no threats when he suffered). Here's the point - Jesus is an example for us because he entrusted any vengeance and vindication to God, rather than exacting it himself.
How quick we are to strike back, even if only with words. But again a writer of the New Testament, this one addressing slaves, urges that his readers endure hardship and affliction, burnout and abuse. In fact, Peter explains that we can do just that if we follow Jesus' footsteps. We don't have to keep fighting against others to hang on, we only have to hold fast to "him who judges justly."
This address is different than the others we have contemplated recently, though, because it calls people to endure who do not have the option of letting go. A slave has to hang on, as opposed to the Christians addressed in Hebrews who could turn away from their faith and return to normal. A slave can't give up being a slave. Still, the manner in which slaves endure matters, and the reason for their suffering also matters. Slaves should suffer for doing good, like the suffering servant Jesus did. Slaves should also endure suffering patiently, just as Jesus did.
Here is our prayer this morning:
May Jesus Christ, the King of glory, help us to make the right use of all the suffering that comes to us and to offer him the incense of a patient and trustful heart; for his name's sake. Amen.
Peace,
Greg and Tiffany
Monday, June 8, 2009
Hardship as discipline ...
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
Being trained by discipline; it's a strange thought, isn't it? We associate discipline so closely with punishment. It's no wonder that we're not overly fond of the imagery of God disciplining us.
I wonder what would happen, though, if we thought of discipline as a school teacher thinks of it. What if we thought of discipline as part of moral formation, part of the child-rearing process. I'm not thinking about groundings and spankings (punishment), I'm thinking of discipline that is given in order to build the recipient into a better person.
In fact, we do a pretty fair amount of this kind of discipline. Allowing a boy to miss out on some activity when he has failed to make adequate preparations would be an example of discipline. Think about when we take a group of boys to Wal-Mart and some boys have money to spend while others do not. If we are making a quick stop at Wal-Mart, we might require those without money to wait in the car. The action is not punitive, it is simply a manner of correction intended to encourage and create better money management skills in the future.
Maybe we can see the value of discipline by looking back. Although sometimes we don't understand why we must endure hard times while we endure them, later on we may recognize that we are now stronger, healthier, more faithful, etc. because of the way we were formed by "enduring hardship as discipline." Maybe there is or can be a reason in fear, exhaustion, and suffering.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
The discipline we face is always uncomfortable. In fact, when we haven't done anything wrong and we still suffer, we can even come very close to scrapping it all and forgetting about it. But sometimes our suffering can be discipline, and in those times it is also important that we hang on. In those times, we must recognize the difference between punishment and discipline. We must realize that God is treating us like his children, not as his enemies.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
(Heb. 12:7-13, NIV)
Once more, we find that we must hold on. Again, we find a reason to hold on. If we face hardship in the form of discipline, we must hold on in order to reap the benefit of that discipline. I love the imagery here. Haven't we all been so overwhelmed that we just couldn't hardly stand up at some point? Haven't we all woken up in the morning feeling that we barely had the strength to pull ourselves through the day? On days like that, we always seem to struggle with "drooping hands and weak knees." When we hold firm, though, we see the outcome of our perseverance - growth, sharing in Christ, and citizenship in the heavenly city.
Here is a poem to help us understand suffering as development and refinement:
Mixed Metaphor
Mold me to your form
that I may pour out love like a spigot
Work me over with chisel and hammer and fire
You are the vine, I am a branch, the Father is the gardener
Impoverish me, in preparation for treasure in heaven
Humble me as your servant
Let me participate in your suffering, and so in your resurrection
Into the water, into the grave
Death is life
Suffering tears away the unnecessary things like an umbilical cord
I yearn for my birth into your realm
even as I call to you for strength
to let go of the death in my realm
Bring me to my knees, where you are
Resurrected one, create new and different life in me.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
Being trained by discipline; it's a strange thought, isn't it? We associate discipline so closely with punishment. It's no wonder that we're not overly fond of the imagery of God disciplining us.
I wonder what would happen, though, if we thought of discipline as a school teacher thinks of it. What if we thought of discipline as part of moral formation, part of the child-rearing process. I'm not thinking about groundings and spankings (punishment), I'm thinking of discipline that is given in order to build the recipient into a better person.
In fact, we do a pretty fair amount of this kind of discipline. Allowing a boy to miss out on some activity when he has failed to make adequate preparations would be an example of discipline. Think about when we take a group of boys to Wal-Mart and some boys have money to spend while others do not. If we are making a quick stop at Wal-Mart, we might require those without money to wait in the car. The action is not punitive, it is simply a manner of correction intended to encourage and create better money management skills in the future.
Maybe we can see the value of discipline by looking back. Although sometimes we don't understand why we must endure hard times while we endure them, later on we may recognize that we are now stronger, healthier, more faithful, etc. because of the way we were formed by "enduring hardship as discipline." Maybe there is or can be a reason in fear, exhaustion, and suffering.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
The discipline we face is always uncomfortable. In fact, when we haven't done anything wrong and we still suffer, we can even come very close to scrapping it all and forgetting about it. But sometimes our suffering can be discipline, and in those times it is also important that we hang on. In those times, we must recognize the difference between punishment and discipline. We must realize that God is treating us like his children, not as his enemies.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
(Heb. 12:7-13, NIV)
Once more, we find that we must hold on. Again, we find a reason to hold on. If we face hardship in the form of discipline, we must hold on in order to reap the benefit of that discipline. I love the imagery here. Haven't we all been so overwhelmed that we just couldn't hardly stand up at some point? Haven't we all woken up in the morning feeling that we barely had the strength to pull ourselves through the day? On days like that, we always seem to struggle with "drooping hands and weak knees." When we hold firm, though, we see the outcome of our perseverance - growth, sharing in Christ, and citizenship in the heavenly city.
Here is a poem to help us understand suffering as development and refinement:
Mixed Metaphor
Mold me to your form
that I may pour out love like a spigot
Work me over with chisel and hammer and fire
You are the vine, I am a branch, the Father is the gardener
Impoverish me, in preparation for treasure in heaven
Humble me as your servant
Let me participate in your suffering, and so in your resurrection
Into the water, into the grave
Death is life
Suffering tears away the unnecessary things like an umbilical cord
I yearn for my birth into your realm
even as I call to you for strength
to let go of the death in my realm
Bring me to my knees, where you are
Resurrected one, create new and different life in me.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
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