Serving Rascals, Clumsy Disciples, and Physically and Mentally Ill Believers with the Unconditional Love of Jesus Christ
I once scorned ev’ry fearful thought of death.
When it was but the end of pulse and breath,
But now my eyes have seen that past the pain
There is a world that’s waiting to be claimed.
Earthmaker, Holy, let me now, depart,
For living’s such a temporary art.
And dying is but getting dressed for God.
Our graves are merely doorways cut in sod.
— Calvin Miller
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14
Paul’s wish was a heavenly one. He understood that this world had absolutely nothing to give him. Simply put, his faith was the bulldozer type. He pressed forward, and he would not compromise or vacillate. He would have all that Jesus promised.
“If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.”
Vance Havner
Paul ‘presses’ and his goal is very close. He is God’s ‘pit bull,’ and once he latches on, everything changes. He wants the prize. We can only look and wonder. What Paul has faced should empower us, and give us a sense of what is real. Life is just a little bit away. If we turn we will never see it.
There is a life that is far beyond what we think is possible. Our only real option is to press into what has been pledged. We must cling to all these ‘possible promises.’ But we must let Him decide what is true. He has promised us life, and we cannot turn from this. He is not some ‘shyster or a liar.’ We must push forward and then proclaim Him as ‘Lord of the Guarantee.’
He alone is worthy of such concentrated focus. We must admit that there is no one who can compare. Jesus Christ has an intensity and a radical commitment to what is really real and really true. We must turn to Him and beseech Him to become Lord and King. No one can compare.
Paul has a deep conviction. We must follow him, and duplicate his focus. We must concentrate on his aspirations, and follow him into what is true. Real Brokenbelievers have very few directions to go. Paul’s focus and direction should direct and motivate us into a very different direction than what this world system offers us.
“Press on”, or reach for a fresh understanding of Grace and goodness. Simply put, you really have few options. Captivity is very degrading and we lose our way very quickly. We really are much more than this.
Please consider all the good that has been given to you. The presence of Jesus is not to be trifled with. He gives all that He is, to bring you to Himself. But we must commit, and turn His heart to us. His love is amazing, and all those who turn to Him are brought into safety.
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Matthew 6:11, ESV
“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”
Matthew 7:9, 11, Message
His miracles for us often require some responsiveness on our part. He truly supplies what we need–but from day-to-day. He doesn’t just deliver a “pallet” of bread every 2 months. He simply provides what we need, day by day, contingent on us asking. If we don’t ask, he won’t provide. But his ear is very attentive to our cry for provision.
The bread provided is a gift. We are of the impression that we earn our bread, we work for it. This verse simply and profoundly says that he gives it. Bread is an issue of his grace and kindness. It is something that is given. You might say that our bread is grace in wheat form.
We must learn to trust him at this basic need. We need food on a daily level. We really should be aware of this essential need. Your supper tonight is infused with His goodness. He was the provider. Someone else may have taken certain ingredients and enhanced your dining experience, but he made the provision to your table.
The definitive issue is the “day-by-day” factor. We must learn that this is the way our Father operates. We are compelled into His daily care. Grace comes to us with a day-by-day submission. That is not a bad thing. We simply surrender our wills to our Lord. We must keep coming to him, and asking.
A day’s portion, arriving a day at a time. It is a profound deception if we believe we can move beyond this. We accrue wealth and anticipate “protection” from the vagaries of a deity we can’t see. We want safety and security that is definite and solid. We feel that if we have worked long enough, and sweated enough, then we will eat well. It is our privilege.
And we have gone the extra mile, and have developed a “doctrine” that fits our decision-making process. Theology is important to us, and we try to develop something that will cover us and soothe us, and provide a maximum amount of coverage. However being his disciple is not like buying good car insurance. But we can’t shake a deep conviction that we have “adjusted” what is real and lasting.
The Father intends that we are to be reliant on him, exclusively. But that, to be perfectly honest, frightens us. (That maybe why it is done so rarely.)
Being a believer is something quite radical. It should affect us at the deepest of levels. We must insist on a way of thinking that propels us into the place of a simple faith. Our faith in our Father will always be day-to-day. We can’t think otherwise. If we try to make it otherwise, we end up in a deep confusion. The Father has insisted that we depend on Him.
Exodus 16 is the Manna Chapter. To always rely on God daily was for many to be an issue. When they attempted to get ahead, that extra would become rotten. If I remember right, the surplus manna produced maggots.
We come to Him hungry. That is the way he insists. Our stomachs may growl, but He will always provide all that we need. Always–our hunger for a day’s provision should move us into a place of grace. You could say we have a substantial need for His grace. He will always provide for his children. And we really do trust Him. (Or do we?)
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Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
The United States has entered a new season of political change. With the election coming I’ve received several emails from political colleagues of mine discussing the impact of this new climate upon issues which strike at our core as believers, such as abortion, Israel, and conservative values in general.
All of this has reminded me of William Wilberforce and his campaign against the British Parliament to abolish slavery. During the course of his intense efforts, Wilberforce came to a desperate place of discouragement, feeling he had absolutely no more strength to continue.
In this condition he was about to give up, when his elderly friend, John Wesley, lying on his deathbed, was informed of his friend William’s distress. Wesley requested pen and paper, and with a quivering hand, wrote these words,
“Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.”
John Wesley died six days later, but William Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years, and in 1833, three days before his own death, witnessed the abolition of slavery in Britain.
Do not grow weary in well-doing, for we can still triumph! It’s exactly when everything looks hopeless that our God has opportunity to display His awesome power. Even the great men that changed history needed a word of encouragement now and then – so be encouraged, and be an encourager! You never know when you may enable another saint to continue pressing on, or how that may change the world!
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Broken Believers 