In step

[RiverOL]

The best possible peace...
Mark 4:35-41
"... the waves broke over the boat ... Jesus was in the stern, sleeping ..." (vv.37-38)

We continue examining the essential differences between supernatural peace and certain other states of mind. Peace is not withdrawal. At recurring intervals in the life of the Christian Church, various forms of withdrawal have been practiced with a view to discovering inner peace. Early Methodism was almost wrecked by a form of it known as "stillness." The idea was to withdraw from all activity and remain "still" before the Lord. This kind of "stillness" is not to be confused with the supernatural peace which the Spirit brings to the hearts of God's people. "Stillness" is something achieved; peace is something given.

Someone has said: "He only is advancing in life whose heart is getting softer, whose blood warmer, whose brain quicker, whose spirit is entering into living peace." Note the words: "whose spirit is entering into living peace." Peace, to be peace, must be a living peace -- not a dead peace of retreat out of responsibility, or an encasement into insensibility. Supernatural peace is, like joy -- entirely independent of circumstances.

This truth is brought out most clearly in today's passage. As the wind whips up the waves, the Son of God remains asleep in the stern of the boat. Why the emphasis on the "stern"? I am told that this is the worst place to be when a boat is being tossed about by a storm. Yet in the worst possible place, Jesus enjoyed the best possible peace -- sleep. The peace of God does not require a mold of easy circumstances in which to operate. Nothing can push it under and nothing can push it over.

Prayer
O Master, how I long for the same inner calmness and tranquility that pervaded Your life when You were here on earth. But I know the secret -- I must let You live Your life more fully in me. Help me to do that -- today and every day. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The Source of Authority
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. —Psalm 5:11 NIV
Perhaps you may relate to the story of the county extension agent from Texas who went out to visit an old farmer. The agent held out his hand and said, “I have a card here that gives me the authority to go through your farm and check everything. If your place doesn’t match up to our codes, I can shut you down. That’s right; this card gives me the power to do whatever I want.”

The old man just looked at him and said, “Go on and exercise your rights, then. Take a look around.” The agent walked over a large red barn and asked, “What’s in there? Open the barn doors, now!”

As it so happened, the farmer had a big, ornery prize bull in that barn. When the man opened the doors, the bull bolted through it and headed straight for the agent, who cried. “Help me! Stop him!” The old farmer just smiled, “Show him the card, son. Show him the card!”
You may be a “card-carrying” member of the body of Christ, but does it mean you are experiencing His joy? His grace, blessings, and authority are yours for the asking. So is His joy—and you don’t need a card to receive it!

 

[RiverOL]

What Fills Your Mind?
May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.
—Psalm 104:34 NKJV

The Bible says you need to meditate on Scripture. Why? Because God’s Word is true, and it never fails. It is full of wisdom and will instruct you in the way you should go, the choices you should make.
It will reveal the Father’s heart and help you understand His will for your life. It will cause your love for Jesus to grow and bring peace even when your heart is filled with fear and turmoil. It will help you remember that God is still in control, and He is working everything out to your benefit.
Meditating on the Word will bring rest to your weary soul and body. Try this: Before you close your eyes at night, read one or two Bible verses. Let your mind dwell on them for 15 minutes or so—and see if your sleep isn’t sweet!

God is still on His throne! His Word is true! Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) says it is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
When the pressures of life weigh you down, meditate on the Word! When you are worried and fearful, meditate on the Word!

 

[RiverOL]

Good News For All
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,
“The Lord’s Spirit
has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news
to the poor.
The Lord has sent me
to announce freedom
for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind,
to free everyone
who suffers,
and to say, ‘This is the year
the Lord has chosen.’”

Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus.
Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”
All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, “Isn’t he Joseph’s son?”
(Luke 4.16-22)

Reflect:
Jesus starts his public ministry in a synagogue proclaiming a year of jubilee. He reads from the book of Isaiah, words which tell of the Messiah’s ministry to people who were suffering. Jesus was coming with freedom and good news for troubled people. A new era of salvation has begun; he was the fulfilment of this ancient promise.

Respond:
Who could you encourage, even bring joy to today? Who do you know who is suffering in some way – what could you do to lighten their day or bring a smile to their face?

Midday Meditation:
‘When the poor receive the good news, when the captives are released, when the blind receive their sight, when the oppressed are liberated, who can withhold the shout of jubilee?
(Richard J. Foster Celebration of Discipline)

Evening Reflection:
Jesus didn't say, 'Blessed are those who care for the poor.' He said, 'Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.' It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself.’

 

[RiverOL]

A Christ Not in Us...

Galatians 2:11-21

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (v. 20)

We saw yesterday that the apostle Paul claimed his labors were energized by the grace given to him by God. He says something similar in the text before us today: "I no longer live ... Christ lives in me." The apostle had learned that it was not enough to give all of his strength to the work of Christ, though he certainly did that; he had to receive Christ's strength in order to do His work.

I have seen Christians suffer a breakdown as a result of trying to live the Christian life in their own strength.
On one occasion I was present at a dinner given in honor of a certain bishop. During the after-dinner speeches I heard a layman make a terrible blunder when he declared: "Bishop, we are both doing God's work; you in your way, and I in His." Question yourself at this very moment and ask: Am I doing God's work in my own way or in His? "A Christ not in us, imparting His grace to us," said the great preacher William Law, "is the same as a Christ not ours." I don?t know about you but I find those words terribly challenging.

Is this why so many of us fail to go as deeply with God as we ought? We have received Christ but we do not allow Him to diffuse Himself through all our faculties, to animate us with His life and Spirit. Let William Law's words strike deep into your soul: "A Christ not in us, imparting His grace ... is the same as a Christ not ours."

 

[RiverOL]

How peace continues...
Isaiah 26
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you ..." (v.3, NKJV)

We ended yesterday by saying that our Lord enjoyed the best possible peace -- sleep -- in the worst possible place -- the stern of the boat. We see another demonstration of this deep serenity our Lord enjoyed when, as the ugly arms of the Cross stretched out to take Him, He said: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you" (John 14:27, NKJV). Galilee in storm and Calvary in darkness both set it off. The issue we must now face is this -- although peace is something given rather than something achieved, its continuance is guaranteed only as we fulfill certain conditions. If, for example, we decide to go on an immoral spree, we will soon find that peace will elude us. Scripture says: "There is no peace ... for the wicked" (Isa. 57:21, NKJV). Why? Because peace is conditional on obedience to morality -- biblical morality.

Our text for today gives us another condition on which continuing peace depends: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you." Note the words -- "stayed on you." This shows that in order to enjoy continuous peace, there must be a conscious centering on God. He must not be the place of occasional reference but of continuous reference. Furthermore, He must be the center of our trust: "because he trusts in you." W. B. Yeats tells in these gripping lines the results of a lack of trust in God:Things fall apart, the center cannot hold,Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world ...

Things really do fall apart when the center does not hold -- and no center will hold if the center is not fixed on God.

Prayer
O God, I see that unless I am held at the center of my being, then I am just not held. Hold me at my center, dear Lord -- today and every day. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
—Proverbs 24:10 NKJV
Focusing on your problems can make you forget that gladness, joy, and laughter bring release and deliverance. But meditating on the Word of God puts everything into perspective. What a wonderful way to refresh your spirit and revitalize your joy!

Proverbs 24:10 says: “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” You are living in a day of tremendous pressure and adversity. Are you going to faint?
The temptation to harbor an offense is greatest when you have pressures in your life. If you allow stress to determine your actions, you will be stumbling along in darkness. That kind of darkness will blind you to the truth and keep you from responding as you should. That’s why you have to renew your mind.

God wants you to look and act like Jesus! Sometimes He allows pressures to build as a way of refining your patience and faith. The stress and pressures are temporary.
Jesus died so you could have abundant life. He didn’t die for issues or causes. He died for you. He also rose again, making you a conqueror in Him. You will overcome the pressures of life when you recognize His love and care for you and submit to His lordship.

 

[RiverOL]

My Joy In You
Morning Encounter:

Read:
I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you. If you obey me, I will keep loving you, just as my Father keeps loving me, because I have obeyed him. I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am. Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them. And you are my friends, if you obey me. Servants don’t know what their master is doing, and so I don’t speak to you as my servants. I speak to you as my friends, and I have told you everything that my Father has told me.
(John 15.9-15)

Reflect:
The time of Jesus’ death is drawing near and these are some of his last words to his disciples. Notice the link between obedience and joy. Jesus’ joy comes from doing just what his Father asks him to do. Obedience is demanding, especially for Jesus as this leads him to lay down his life for others. Hebrews 12.2 tells us that due to ‘the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.’

Respond:
Reflect on this sentence from Richard J. Foster: ‘Joy comes through obedience to Christ, and joy results from obedience to Christ.’

Midday Meditation:
‘One of the most outstanding features of Jesus’ personality was precisely an abundance of joy. This he left as an inheritance to his students, ‘that their joy might be full’….for he was well known to those around him as a deeply happy man.’
(Dallas Willard The Divine Conspiracy)

Evening Reflection:
But I will sing about
your strength, my God,
and I will celebrate
because of your love.
You are my fortress,
my place of protection
in times of trouble.
I will sing your praises!
You are my mighty fortress,
and you love me.
(From Psalm 56)

 

[RiverOL]

Wholehearted belief
Mark 11:12-26
" 'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered" (v.22)

Today we look at another condition on which continuing peace depends -- complete and utter faith in God. A Christian who truly believes in God -- not pretends to believe, or half-believes -- will inevitably enjoy and experience God's perfect peace. But what does it mean to believe in God? What are the basic requirements?A Christian believes -- and believes wholeheartedly -- that Jesus is God and that He is the Savior of the world (Rom. 10:9). He believes also that the universe is in the keeping of Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Love, and that God is directing the course of his individual life (Psa. 139:16).

He believes, too, that nothing can happen in the universe except as God permits. If it were possible to conceive of anything out of which God could not bring good, then God would not permit it (Rom. 8:28). In the deepest possible sense, the Christian therefore says:"Whate'er events betideThy will they all perform."A Christian believes, further, that God holds the universe together. Man may be free but his freedom is limited.

He cannot extinguish the stars, pluck the sun from the sky, blow the earth to smithereens with atomic explosions, quench love in a mother's heart, prevent the return of spring or defeat the purpose of God which was revealed at Calvary. God would not allow any of the things I have listed, for they would be contrary to His design for the universe. The peace of a Christian is therefore set deep in the rock of reality. It is based on his complete and utter faith in God.

Prayer:
Gracious and loving heavenly Father, help me to check on my faith this day and see whether I am really believing or just pretending to believe. I want to be done with all pretense. O Lord, increase my faith. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

God's Amazing Love
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! —1 John 3:1a NKJV

God loves you as much as He loves everyone in His Kingdom. You are no less important to Him than your pastor or any other leader in the Church. St. Augustine said, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
God loves you so much that He has called you to do great things in Jesus’ name. But you won’t fulfill that calling unless you are walking in faith, not fear. Living in fear is like living near a poisoned stream.

You can take a drink from it and perhaps satiate your thirst for a moment, but the end result is sickness or death.
Some think fear is an effective motivator, but fear doesn’t motivate anyone to grow, spiritually or otherwise; it only leads to deeper deception and greater bondage. Throughout your life, you will deal constantly with faith and fear. With faith comes power; with fear, paralysis. The Bible describes many individuals who were conquerors in life: Noah, Moses, Daniel, and many others.
What do the words of your mouth reveal about you? Do they reflect your faith in God, or do they indicate your bondage to fear?

 

[RiverOL]

Joyful Jesus
Morning Encounter:
Read:
When the seventy-two followers returned, they were excited and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!”
Jesus told them:
I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you. But don’t be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!
At that same time, Jesus felt the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, and he said:
My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that is what pleased you.
(Luke 10.17-21)

Reflect:
Once again we see the joy in Jesus, this time as his followers return home from a mission trip and explain all that they had experienced. This is the start of the greatest rescue mission of all time and Jesus is joyful at hearing their stories. He is exuberant, filled with thrilling joy in the Holy Spirit at their news. But the real ground for rejoicing is that their names are written in heaven.

Respond:
Can you imagine Jesus this joyful, perhaps even leaping around in exuberant praise? Practice joy by taking time to thank God for every good thing that happens today.

Midday Meditation:
Jesus is not your accuser. He’s not your prosecutor. He’s not your judge. He’s your friend and your rescuer. Like Zacchaeus, just spend time with Jesus. Don’t hide from him in shame or reject him in self-righteousness. Don’t allow the opinions of other people to shape your concept of him. Get to know him for yourself, and let the goodness of God change you from the inside out.”
(Judah Smith Jesus Is)

Evening Reflection:
I lay my head to rest and in doing so lay at your feet
the faces I have seen
the voices I have heard
the words I have spoken
the hands I have shaken
the service I have given
the joys I have shared
the sorrows revealed
I lay them at your feet
and in doing so
lay my head to rest

 

[RiverOL]

Three attitudes to God's will
Acts 22
"... The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will ..." (v.14)

Another condition of continuing peace in the heart of a Christian is this -- joyful abandonment to the Father's will. There are three main attitudes to the will of God found among believers. Some resign themselves to God's will, some rebel against God's will and some rejoice in God's will.

Those who resign themselves to it are the people who, having been caught up in some trouble or difficulty, fail to see that divine love and wisdom are at work, redeeming every situation and turning it to good -- hence their hearts are filled with irritation and resentment. Eventually they get over it and by grace resign themselves to the will of God. They are not happy at what God has allowed, but they resign themselves to "putting up with the inevitable." One hears them say in half-hearted and grudging tones: "Well, I'm resigned to it now." But resignation is not a full Christian grace; beneath it lies an unconquered and unsubmissive spirit.

Others, as we said, rebel against the will of God. These are the people who don't just "put up with the inevitable" but take up arms against God and let Him know that they do not believe He is working in their best interests. Over the years I have met many Christians like this. They do not bring out the rebellion they feel toward God in their conversations with other Christians or even in their public prayers, but it is quietly suppressed and can break out at any time. Such people never enjoy the peace of God because, quite simply, they have never truly believed that divine love and wisdom can turn all things to good

Prayer: O Father, Your Word is plowing deep into my life today. Help me to face up to what Your Spirit is saying to me. I don't just want my attitudes to be challenged; I want them to be changed. Change me, dear Lord -- into Your image. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

When Darkness Threatens
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4 ESV

How do you respond to the dark times in your life? Do you face the darkness as a soldier in God’s victorious army, as an overcomer? Do you face the darkness with a tender and repentant heart? Or do you retreat from the darkness? Does the pressure expose your anger and unbelief?

When darkness threatens to overtake you, do you lash out at God and others? Do dark moments make you want to compromise your faith?
How do you respond to the dark times in your life? Do you face the darkness as a soldier in God’s victorious army, as an overcomer? Do you face the darkness with a tender and repentant heart? Or do you retreat from the darkness? Does the pressure expose your anger and unbelief?

When darkness threatens to overtake you, do you lash out at God and others? Do dark moments make you want to compromise your faith?
God has given you the strength and power to overcome the Enemy. Put on the whole armor of God, and when you have done all to stand—stand, therefore, secure in Him.

 

[RiverOL]

Celebration Story 1
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, “This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this story:
If any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbours and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep.”
Jesus said, “In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to.” (Luke 15.1-7)

Reflect:
Jesus is in trouble with the Pharisees because he associates with sinners (which a Rabbi should never do). He even chooses to eat with them which implies both a welcome and recognition of ‘sinners’ (immoral people or people whose occupation was seen to be incompatible with the Law). These verses reveal that God is actively involved in seeking out the lost to bring them home. Jesus, it seems finds joy in the ‘ninety-nine’ – but even more joy over a repenting sinner.

Respond:
Enjoy the grace of God today. Enjoy it and extend it to others that you interact with.

Midday Meditation:
'My trust flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or fair, whether I'm sick or in good health, whether I'm in a state of grace or disgrace. He comes to me where I live and loves me as I am.'
(Brenan Manning)

Evening Reflection:
Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you. I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom. Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Utter abandonment
Luke 1:26-38
"... Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word ..." (v.38, NKJV)

Those who know peace are those who know how to rejoice in the divine will. It is the attitude of Mary who, in our text today, says: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."One great writer, Francis de Sales, puts it this way: "To rejoice in God's will suggests mobility -- the mobility of a voyager who moves with the motion of the vessel on which he has embarked.

It suggests also the abandonment of a servant in attendance on his lord, going only where his master goes. It is the attitude of a child leaving to his mother the care of willing, choosing and acting for him, content to be in her safe and tender keeping."

The biographer of Sadhu Sundar Singh, the great Indian Christian, says: "Realize that, to the Sadhu as to Paul, partnership with Christ was a passion and a privilege that transformed hardship, labor and loss from something which was to be accepted negatively as an unfortunate necessity into something positively welcomed for His sake -- and you will understand a little of the secret of the Sadhu's peace."Our Lord, of course, is once again the supreme example of this. As Robert Nicoll puts it: "He did not merely accept the will of God when it was brought to Him and laid upon Him.

Rather, He went out to meet that loving will and fell upon its neck and kissed it." Saints down the ages have illustrated through their lives the quality of this ripened peace. Oh, that we, His present-day saints, might show it too.

Prayer:
O Father, teach me the art of utter abandonment to Your will. Help me to be like Mary -- not just willing, but enthusiastically willing. I ask this for Your own dear Name's sake. Amen
​

 

[RiverOL]

Access to God's Presence
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. —John 19:30 NIV

When Jesus breathed His last and gave up the ghost, Matthew tells us that “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51 KJV). The temple’s high priest must have been terribly frightened. As he made his way into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood for the evening sacrifice on the horns of the altar, the veil that separated man from God had been ripped from top to bottom.

Why was that important? It was a symbol that we no longer have to wait to be represented yearly by the high priest:
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:14–16 KJV
You, as a Believer, now have free access into the presence of God so that “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6 KJV).

 

[RiverOL]

Irresponsible Worry

And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of life?—Matthew 6:27

Something’s coming. Doesn’t it always feel like that? Maybe it’s something financial . . . maybe work-related . . . maybe health-related . . . definitely bad. And so, we worry. I mean, it almost feels like that’s just a part of being a man, worrying about what’s coming. We worry about all the bad things that could happen, to us and to our loved ones. We scheme about how to get out in front of all those things. Then we worry some more about whether we’re actually men enough to execute our schemes. All this worrying hangs over our lives. It haunts our thoughts and steals important moments—moments that should be joy-filled.

But, it would be irresponsible not to worry, wouldn’t it? We’ve been trained to worry, all our lives. We’ve been trained that men with responsibilities are supposed to worry. It’s part of manhood.

Or is it? Our King, Jesus Christ, teaches us that it’s actually not. You see, he didn’t come so that we’d live lives haunted by fear. He came and died to set us free from such things (Galatians 5:1). He assures us, our Father God will take care of us, whether we worry or not (Matthew 6:26). We must, therefore, adopt a radical, new mindset: “We don’t know what’s coming . . . but our Father God does. So, we’ll leave it to him.”



Letting go of worry is tough. You must approach it not only intellectually, but practically too. You cannot simply command yourself, “worry less.” That, by itself, doesn’t work so well. You must get practical by actually talking about worries with a spouse, a friend, with brothers in community. That does work (2 Corinthians 12:9). Getting your worries out into the open is as powerful as it is counterintuitive. So, brother, defy your instincts.

 

[RiverOL]

Good temper
Ecclesiastes 7
"... and patience is better than pride." (v.8)

The fourth fruit of the Spirit is patience. The central meaning of this word (Greek: makrothumia) is "good temper." It denotes a person who does not easily "fly off the handle." He maintains good temper amid the flux and flow of human events.

One commentator says of this word: "This fourth fruit of the Spirit expresses the attitude to people which never loses patience with them, however unreasonable they may be, and never loses hope for them, however unlovely and unteachable they may be." Archbishop Trench defined the word as "a long holding out of the mind before it gives room to action or to passion, the self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate a wrong."

And Moffatt describes it as "the tenacity with which faith holds out."Good temper must not, however, be confused with apathy. In the days of the early Church, the group called the Stoics made indifference a virtue. They said: "Nothing is worth suffering for, so build a wall around your heart and keep out all sense of feeling." The early Christians did not share that view, however, for Christians care -- and because they cared, they suffered.

Through the ministry of the Spirit in their lives, they found poise and good temper amidst their sufferings. The more we care, the more sensitive we will be to things that tend to block our goal of caring -- that is why the quality of patience is so essential. An evangelist addressing a meeting was subjected to persistent heckling. Unfortunately, he lost his temper -- and also his audience. They saw he had little to offer except words.

Prayer: O Father, help me to become a person of good temper. Dwell deep in me so that I shall be the peaceful exception amid the disturbed surroundings that I encounter day by day. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Confession? Ugh . . .

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

Confession—real, raw confession—is a critical component of a healthy spiritual life. It’s also an essential element of robust Christian brotherhood. We may not want to admit it, but we men need to be known, truly known . . . and be accepted by our brothers still.

We’ve all believed, though, that to be accepted we can project images that are only partially accurate. It seems so right, at first. But make no mistake—it’s not. It’s a lie from our enemy. As long as we conceal parts of our lives, we cannot know the true depth of friendships. As long as we hide, brotherhood is never tested. As long as we hide, we harbour doubts: would they stand by me, if they knew the real me? This leads to shame, and we forsake the compassion of true Christian community. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Moreover, if friends see us only partially, they cannot fight for us—because we obscure what’s going wrong. But we’ve all “sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And when we fall short, we need others to see . . . to step in, to help, and to pray. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another . . . pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16).



You must figure out what to confess and to whom. What is easy: whatever you haven’t already. There shouldn’t be anything in your life that someone doesn’t know. Who requires you to ask God and to search your own heart. He’s put men into your life specifically for this type of transparency. Reach out to them today and have a conversation.

 

[RiverOL]

Looking around with anger
Mark 3
"He looked round at them in anger ..." (v.5)

Did Jesus ever lose His temper? Some, looking at the passage before us today, might think so. In fact, I once heard a Christian defending his temper by saying: "If Jesus could not control His temper when faced with the scorn of the Pharisees in Mark 3, why should I be condemned for my inability to control mine?"Did the behavior of Jesus on this occasion result from a loss of temper? Of course not. One luminous phrase lights up the story and puts the matter in its proper perspective: "being grieved by the hardness of their hearts" (v.5, NKJV). The reason why Jesus "looked around at them with anger" was because He was "grieved by the hardness of their hearts." The cause of His anger was grief, not loss of temper -- grief at their insensibility to human need. It was grief at what was happening to someone else, not personal pique at what was happening to Him.

Whenever we get angry, it is usually because our ego has been wounded and hits back, not in redemption but in retaliation. There is a temper that is redemptive and there is a temper that is retaliatory. The redemptive temper burns with the steady fire of redemptive intention; the retaliatory temper simply burns you up. It was intended to burn the other person up, but all it serves to do is to burn you. Patience, the fruit of the Spirit, works in us -- if we let it -- to temper our purposes to the Kingdom, and to Kingdom purposes alone.

Prayer:
My Father and my God, dwell so deeply in me by Your Spirit that my temper shall be tempered and produce no tempests -- either in myself or in others. For Jesus' sake I ask it. Amen.