Understanding

"I run in the path of Your commands, for You have broadened my understanding. Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart"- Psalm 119:32-34 (NIV).

Following Christ is not a passive activity. Paul defined your Christian life as a race, exercising self-control, to be carried out to the finish line (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). The course is to be run with endurance (Hebrew 12:1); forgetting what is behind you and straining forward (Philippians 3:13-14). If you become weary, God will will refresh you and renew your strength (Isaiah 40:31). And if you persevere, fight the good fight, finish the race, you will be rewarded with a crown of righteousness. That finish line moment, when you receive your crown, it will be awarded to you by none other than Jesus the Righteous Judge. (2 Timothy 4:7-9). His congratulatory statement will be, "Well done good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21). Give us understanding Lord!

The Source

"[We are] clothed with strength and dignity; [We] can laugh at the days to come"- Proverbs 31:25 (NIV).

What is the source of your countenance? God provides the rich soil, soft rains, and life giving sun for the grass in the field. How much more valuable are you in God's eyes (Matthew 6:30)? So much so, He would send His own Son to suffer and die for you (John 3:16). It is God's good intention that everyone learn of Him and come to believe, to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). The medical field reports that laughter is good for you; that there are health benefits to laughter. Faith and trust generate strength and dignity; You know Who you belong to and Who delivers you. Yes, laugh at the days to come; who can be against you if God is for you? (Romans 8:31). People will notice the difference in you and doors will be opened for you to share the Source.    

Undeserving

"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?"- Matthew 7:4 (NIV).

Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, who were so quick to judge, while not acknowledging their own sins, plus heaping additional laws on top. Jesus called them hypocrites in the next passage, instructing them to first check themselves before passing judgment (v.5). There's a little pharisee in all of us, meaning there's a little hypocrite in all of us. You can't acknowledge your need for forgiveness when you deny the very plank in your own eye. Jesus covered even those while on the cross, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). We sure don't! Thank you God for Your grace and mercy given to us who neither deserve it, nor have earned it. 

Humble Choice

"He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty"- Luke 1:52 (NIV).

Jesus said not to choose the best seat when attending a function, but to take the lesser seat or you may be embarrassed when the host asks you to move: "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 14:8-11). God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6). Acts of humility could include taking the lesser seat, offering first choice to another, allowing others to enter first, and in some countries bowing, both your body and your eyes cast down. How about washing someone's feet?...Jesus did. God's mighty hand lifts the humble in due time; being humble is a choice (1 Peter 5:6). These Scriptures are not advocating dismissal of leadership roles. Not all who are exalted lack in humility. You can be a leader, a king, and still remain humble, leading with fairness, mercy, truth, and love. Jesus is our Example. You may be born into leadership or be an exalted humble "Cinderella." Choose to follow the example of our Leader.    

Showing Up

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead"- 1 Peter 4:3-5 (NIV).

Peer pressure has been around since sin entered creation. The lost don't want to surround themselves with those who choose righteousness over sinfulness. The presence of goodness exposes their sinfulness; making them look upon their deeds, revealing a life in opposition to God; making them confront their choice of unholy living. Do they blame themselves? No, they were just fine until righteousness showed up. It's a sad day when a believer fails to reap abuse when they encounter evil, indicating righteousness never showed up; instead they blended-in, unnoticed. Count it pure joy to face testings of your faith, thus producing perseverance; perseverance will finish the work, making you mature and complete (James 1:2-4).