Uncategorized

Bits & Pieces (8/7/12)

  • The Gift of the Will – “Our ability to exercise our wills for good depends in large part on remembering that human beings have been given great gifts. Perhaps this is part of the message to glean from the parable of the talents that Jesus spoke to his followers long ago. Those who recognized the gifts they had been given went out and used them, thus increasing their impact and gaining more.”

 

  • What I’ve Learned Along the Way – Tim Challies writes about preaching for the non-preacher and reminds us of some things we should remember when interacting with our pastor.

 

 

  • Five Great Mysteries of the Christian Faith – “Are there more than these? Most certainly. But in theology, these are the biggies. These are the big pieces of our puzzle that are missing. Why are they missing? I don’t know. I just know they are. God chose not to tell us. I will ask him when I get there. But I will try to trust him until then. After all, don’t I have to borrow from his morality in order to judge him for leaving the puzzle unsolved? I think I will pass on that.” (H/T)


  • And Especially Hope – “When it comes down to it, hope is what most of us are desperate for in our lives. We need something to look forward to, something to keep us from despair in the midst of all of the pain and difficulty we experience and see around us.”
Continue Reading

Being Content Hope

The Trouble of the Day

diary
©iStockphoto.com/wildcat78

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all that has to happen in a given week, let alone all that we want to bring to fruition in a given month or year. We make plans in hopes of fulfilling our dreams and goals, only to quickly realize that we didn’t take into account all of the unforeseen circumstances that can distract us from our path. Sometimes as one thing goes awry, we quickly imagine all the other hurdles that we might have to face and are conquered by the seemingly endless litany of potential problems. Today seems insufficient; and tomorrow and the next day aren’t looking so good either.

Yet, as we battle with the fatigue caused by our worry, we would do well to remember that oftentimes the load we carry is greater than the one that is ours to bear. In Matthew 6:34, Christ reminds us that there is no use worrying about tomorrow, for that day contains its own challenges and difficulties. Today, in the moments we face now, God has provided His children with grace that is sufficient for the trials we are to face (See 2 Cor. 12:9). When the next day comes, He will provide the new mercies that are needed to bring Him glory and honor in whatever that days holds (See Lam. 3:22-23). Our job isn’t to bear all the burdens of what may be; our job is to trust in the One who was, is, and will be – and who through it all remains the same.

As John Newton reminds us about looking forward and anticipating the bundle of trials that may arise:

“…God does not require us to carry the whole at once; he mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today, and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday’s stick over again today, and adding tomorrow’s burden to our load, before we are required to bear it.

The challenge then is not that today is insufficient for its burden, but that we hold on to the past, and grab on to the future, overloading the day with cares that it was never intended to hold. Our worries are driven more by our own fears than the problems we need to face.

In all likelihood, there will be trouble today. It may be big or it may be small, but whatever it is, God has equipped His children with the grace they need to bring Him glory through it. We may be ill content with the burdens of the day desiring to take on our past and future struggles as well. However we need to entrust those to the day for which God has appointed them, and the mercies He will provide when those are the challenges we are to face.

 

Continue Reading