Perseverance

It was a little, wooden, black train engine. He wanted it so badly. As he grappled with the side rails of his changing table -- reaching with tiny fingers to sit up and grasp the prize, face filled with determination, I just stood there and cried. "O Lord, why does it have to be so hard?" my mind pleaded. "Why can't he be like other little boys?" Other little boys. Like the one I assumed I had. Little boys who roll all over the floor, who pull up on the furniture. Little boys who could sit up and grab the little, wooden, black train engine, with much less effort. "Why does he have it so hard?" I ask the Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth.

Zeke is crying now and has resolved for the moment just to lie back down and give up the struggle. I am tempted to just give him the toy, but I think better of it and instead place my hands on his little limbs and pray for him. I pray that his brain will be whole and healthy, that his arms and legs will be strong. I pray for his little spirit -- that it will also be strong and not be crushed under the challenges he faces. I pray that one day the little, wooden, black train engine will be easily in his reach. Then, we try again. I place my hand under his neck and gently coax him. "We're going to try it again," I said with enough determination for the both of us. His hands grasp the side rails. His toes curl and legs raise up off the table with the effort. His face is red and a small vein rises in his forehead. And then, he sits up. He sits up and grabs the little, wooden, black train engine.

A giant smile covers his face as he chews on the much desired prize. Life is filled with these kind of moments, I suppose -- moments when perseverance is put to the test; moments when we are tempted to just throw in the towel; moments when it just feels easier to lie back down. These are our spiritual work-outs. God at work. I smile too. Surely, God is cultivating an amazing young man . . . . "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:2-4).

Copyright 2006 by Melanie Simpson. Permission hereby granted to reprint this gracEmail in its entirety without change, with credit given and not for financial profit.

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,

Selah

that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.

Selah

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.

Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
(1-7)

Psalm 66

Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name.” Selah

Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man’s behalf!
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.

Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.

If I had cherished sin in my heart
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
(1-6, 8-9, 18-20)

Obvious Conclusions

A gracEmail subscriber asks whether we are capable of correctly concluding from the Bible what God intended to convey. "I believe we can," he says, "and that's why I think obvious conclusions from the Bible are so clear that all other people should also see them."

Yes, it is possible to draw correct conclusions from the Bible using our God-blessed thinking. However, Thomas Campbell, a founder of my own modern-day Churches of Christ, had some wise advice on that point. We must be careful, he warned, not to attempt to bind such deductions on the consciences of others, "farther than they see the connection and evidently perceive that they are so," otherwise their faith will rest in the wisdom of men and not in the wisdom of God.

What is "obvious" to you or to me is not necessarily "obvious" to everyone else. God does not hold others accountable to what you or I understand, but to what each of them understands. A person cannot "see" further than his or her own mind understands. A person cannot obey God further than she or he "sees." God looks at the heart, and he regards what he sees there as if it were the deed itself -- both for good (2 Chron. 30:18-20) and for ill (Matt. 5:22, 28).

Jesus does not call us to be debaters but disciples. He seeks learners, not logicians. We should love the Lord with all our minds, but that is not the same as trusting in our intellectual prowess to get us to glory. We are no more saved by our right thinking than we are saved by our right conduct or behavior. Justification is by grace through faith, not by logic through syllogisms. The gospel is not a puzzle to be deciphered but an announcement to be believed. Studiousness is one proper response to God's gift of salvation. It is not a route to eternal life apart from trusting in Jesus Christ.

Copyright 2006 by Edward Fudge. Permission hereby granted to reprint this gracEmail in its entirety without change, with credit given and not for financial profit.

Psalm 65

Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
O you who hear prayer,
to you all men will come.
When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave our transgressions.
Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
Those living far away fear your wonders;
where morning dawns and evening fades
you call forth songs of joy.
(1-8)

Pray

In college, a book was passed around through all the really “spiritually minded” students called Practicing the Presence of God by a monk named Brother Lawrence. I can’t say I read it completely through, but I remember one particular quote about Brother Lawrence’s personal prayer life: “For many years I was bothered by the thought that I was a failure at prayer. Then one day I realized that I would always be a failure at prayer; and I’ve gotten along much better ever since.”

This week as we get to the end of James, we talk about prayer, and I must say as your speaker for the day, I am a person who often feels the burden of being a failure at prayer. I pray faithfully . . . WHEN I am in a serious bind. WHEN my kids are sick or WHEN someone dies, I pray! But when things are going great, I rarely think about praying. In fact, when things are going sort of bad or things are unsure . . . I usually don’t think to resort to prayer.

I hope not, but maybe you are like me. Maybe you don’t pray as much as you should. When I think logically, it’s just crazy not to pray. Sometimes I wonder if from heaven above God wonders why we choose to struggle so much without asking for help. I can imagine Jesus saying, “How bad does it have to get before you ask for a little help?! I am right here for you—amazing power! The resurrection Spirit of Christ that dwells in every believer is only a prayer away.”

Instead, we run around on our own and say, “No, no, I can handle this.” It’s interesting in James 5: 13-18, James, who much have spent large amounts of time with his half brother Jesus, does not talk about the theology of prayer, or how to pray, or prove the effects of prayer that much. He just applies it. James says, “Just do it.”

This week we will look at how we can “just do it” and be people of prayer.

Mark

James Chapter 5: 7-11

We have been in the book of James for about 8 weeks now, and we are heading for the end. Throughout the book, James has had the same style . . . as a preacher and writer, he is a classic “deductive reasoner.” Here is what he normally does:

A. He states the truth. He is clear in what he is trying to say. He states what he wants you to know right up front.
B. He illustrates it in a manner that is understandable to the reader. (Even if we are 2000 years removed.)
C. He then explains the details . . . usually by defining terms or tying up loose ends.
D. Finally, he applies it to real life.

We mentioned this a few weeks ago, and this week, verses 7-11 are great examples of this again:

~5: 7a “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord . . .“
James states a command, clear and simple.
~5: 7b “Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.”
He illustrates it for an agrarian society . . . they are intimately familiar with farming, so he makes it simple.
~5: 8 “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Now he gives them more details . . . the NIV says, “brace yourself.”
~5:9 “Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.”
He applies it to real life, showing them that his command to be patient can be applied in their lives by not complaining against one another.

This week we will look at James again and attempt to apply his simple, straightforward (sometimes difficult to hear) teaching to real life. In the final three weeks of James, may we concentrate more and more on making sure James’ messages jump off the page and take action in our everyday interactions with each other.

Mark