God desires to use you

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36 

A little story time today. I once met a woman named Rosemary who was angry and disappointed over a friend’s success. “She is receiving promotion after promotion. She is doing in her ministry career what I want to do in mine. I have prayed. I have asked God to help me use my gifts and talents serving Him the same way she is serving Him, but nothing has happened. Any time I try anything, I get shut down. I feel like God has forgotten me and I don’t have any value in the body of Christ.” 

As I spoke with Rosemary, I realized she was missing three important truths: 

First, God doesn’t grant anyone favor simply based on our performance (or prayers). And, if we think he should, we may struggle with deep anger and disappointment. Instead, He will give us what is best for us. And that may mean He doesn’t give us what He gives someone else. 

In his book, The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller writes: 

If you think goodness and decency is the way to merit a good life from God, you will be eaten up with anger, since life never goes the way we wish. You will always feel you are owed more than you are getting. You will always see someone doing better in some aspect of life and ask, ‘Why this person and not me? After all I’ve done!’ This resentment is your own fault. It is caused not by the prosperity of the other person, but by your own effort to control life through your performance.

Next, God gives His children different assignments. 

The kingdom of God is like a farmer’s field and each of us has been given a patch to work and to tend. One person has been given a large patch; another has been allotted a smaller assignment. One person works in a noticeable part of God’s field, another in a less visible part. One person works here; another works there. But all assignments are important. 

Rosemary failed to see that God’s grace—or His unmerited favor—empowers us to do what He has assigned us to do. But where grace is absent, you won’t be able to move that mountain. That means that while others around you may be gifted to serve in one way, you will be gifted to serve in another. 

If you have ever felt you have gotten short changed, don’t waste your precious time envying someone else’s accomplishments. Know that the Lord has a plan for you to serve Him in a unique way. 

Finally, if God closes the door, He still wants to use you. 

As Keller mentioned, life never entirely goes the way we wish. When it doesn’t, and when God closes doors, it means He has plans to use us in other ways. No one is ineffective.  We all have value. We all have a patch of field in God’s Kingdom to work and as we submit to His plans, He will show us the way to serve Him best. 

If you can relate to this message, will you serve the way God desires and submit to His plan? Will you let go of the notion that He must love others more who are doing what you want to do? Will you trust that you are deeply loved, valuable and priceless to Him? 

“For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back” (Isaiah 14:27) 

Becoming a believer

 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17

How do we become a Christian? Belief in the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ for our sins. The cross of Jesus justified our forgiveness and the resurrection of Jesus validated our forgiveness. The God ordained miracle of bringing Jesus back to life after three days in the grave is the foundation of our faith. The risen Lord is evidence of His life fully alive in His followers. A person who claims to be a Christian but denies Christ rose from the grave is still lost in his sins. He only deceives himself. Faith in Jesus is based on His miraculous resurrection.

Paul gives a compelling argument to the necessity of believing in the resurrection as foundational for our faith. Preaching without the forgiveness of the cross and the power of the resurrection is a farce, fake and hellish in its outcome. Faith without the resurrection is faithless led astray by the most recent spiritual fad. If Christ is not risen from the dead we are false witnesses to what really happened and face no resurrection, no hope after we die. When we embrace the historical fact of Christ's resurrection we are forgiven, alive and envied by evil doers.

"God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Romans 4:24-25).

Have you settled in your heart and mind the reality of the Lord Jesus' resurrection? If not ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to your soul the sweet love of Christ who is alive and ever interceding to His Father in heaven on your behalf. Don't be dismayed by modern atheists who attack your faith by belittling your beliefs. There will always be those who seek to justify their conduct and convince their conscience that Christ was not who He claimed to be. The lost love company. Pray for those who dismiss Christianity to be drawn to Jesus. You know better, you know Him.

Prayer time with the risen Lord is an eternal investment. He reminds you what's most important in this life and in the life to come. The more you are vulnerable with Jesus the more you will get to know Jesus and the more your trust in Him will grow. The more your trust in Him grows, the more faithfully and passionately you will follow Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is your solid rock of faith: unmovable, alive, miraculous, comforting and necessary to be a Christian.  

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15).

Deception

The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed. In the dark, men break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light.     Job 24:15-16

Everyone has a dark side that flirts with your feelings and tries to lead you astray. It is ironic that your dark side engenders fear and, at the same time, a false and hollow hope. However, there is nothing about your dark side that is good. It is always attempting to seduce you into your old way of thinking and doing. It wants to pull a dark cloud over your soul and rain down discontentment and confusion. The dark side is filled with demons of discouragement seeking to seduce you into poor and even foolish decision-making. It knows that one devastating decision can mark you for a lifetime. The dark side offers the illusion that adultery is harmless and recreational. It reasons with you that in the cloak of darkness, no one will ever find out. You are led to believe that enough lies can cover up your dark deeds.

 

That, of course, is the sort of fiction you’d find in a romance novel. The light will eventually pierce the darkness and, like a scattering roach, you will be exposed. But there is nowhere you can go where God is not present. He is light; so in darkness, the light of His love exposes you. Why crouch in a dark corner of carnality, when you can be free in the light of Christ? Darkness promises freedom but delivers bondage. The promise of God is grace, which results in faith’s freedom. Christ is light in the darkness, and His word is your flashlight of faith. In Him, darkness recoils.

 

“You may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

 

Your dark side will hound you until you get to heaven. So, in the meantime, it is imperative to live in the light. Live in the light of God’s love, for that’s where you are accepted and kept secure; Live in the light of accountability, for that’s where you have boundaries from the edge of darkness; Live in the light of Christian community, for that’s where others can pray for you and with you; Live in the light of God’s Word, for that’s where you gain His wisdom and perspective. Simply live in the light of Christ, and He will repel the relentless rampage of your dark side. Therefore, do not tamper with the temptations of your dark side alone, or you may suffer the scars of sin’s consequences.

 

You can only gain authentic energy and excitement in the light. This far exceeds the artificial tantalizing that comes from submission to the dark side’s temptations. No sin can be hidden from God, no matter how concealed it may seem in the deepest corner of darkness. Wise ones submit to the light rather than to the deceptive dark side. The dark side is full of unpleasant surprises, while the route of the Holy Spirit offers pleasant ones. Walk away from the dangers of the dark side. Nothing there is worth the energy and the horrific hurt that accompanies its mission. Tell someone today your deepest, darkest secrets. Exposure is the enemy of your dark side. Freedom in Christ comes from accountability with other Christ-followers. Walk in the light together, as overcomers with God and people.  Alone, you backslide into your dark side. Therefore, surround yourself with lovers of the light. In the light, you get it right.

 

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Healing tongue

 A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4, ESV

What comes to mind when you hear the word “gentle”? Perhaps it is someone who was or is in your life, modeling the essence of a kind or wholesome disposition. To be gentle, in our minds, is closely linked to words, deeds, and actions that are soft-spoken and soothing. It is the opposite of aggressive, harsh, or demanding. 

In Proverbs 15, a gentle tongue is compared to “a tree of life.” Gentleness is closely connected to and meant to produce life. We see this even in the footnotes of our translation of this passage, which notes that “gentle” can also be translated “healing.” To be gentle is to bring healing and life to others.

“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” Proverbs 12:18 

Often we underestimate the impact our words have on others, using them freely without thought or reflection. Yet as Proverbs also reminds us, wisdom invites intentional reflection upon the words we use, never responding rashly from an impassioned heart. It is good and wise to look back upon the words we used, perhaps acknowledging ways we have brought pain or harm to others and seeking reconciliation and forgiveness whenever possible. However, take time to cultivate a habit of intentional reflection and preparation before interactions with others ever take place!

One of the most helpful practices I have adopted in recent years is an intentional reflection upon my daily schedule at the very beginning of each day. Whatever your life may hold, in one way or another, you likely will interact with someone other than yourself: a spouse, children, friends, co-workers, or random strangers at the store. Begin each day by opening your heart to these individuals, and ask yourself the question, “How can I bring healing to these people through the words that I use?”

The more we grow in this practice, the more effective we will be at offering healing to others. Of course, there are generic words of healing that are rooted in kindness and mercy. Yet when we truly know others and share life with them, we are aware of the wounds that they carry, the sorrows of their heart that may not be easily visible, and as such, we are able to share the healing love of God with them through the wise use of our words.

Capacity building

To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.  Matthew 25:15

Capacity is the ability Christ gives us to carry out His commands. And capacity varies from person to person. Some people can get by on five to six hours of sleep while others require seven to eight. Where I get out of balance is when I compare my capacity with someone of greater capacity. Indeed, capacity is meant to provide guardrails, not guilt.

So how can we use capacity to our advantage instead of our disadvantage? How can we understand our limitations and trust the Lord with the results? It starts by being honest about how God has made us. If we can only execute one project with excellence, then we limit ourselves to one. If we only have the time, money, and love for two children, then we accept this as the responsible decision. Honesty about capacity is freeing for parents.

But isn’t there a way to build capacity at work, at home, and in relationships? Yes, indeed! As we remain faithful with small responsibilities, the Lord and others can trust us with additional tasks. When we manage a small amount of money on a budget, we can be trusted with more resources to steward well. When we treat one individual with a full complement of grace and truth, we build relational capacity for more quality friendships.

Furthermore, we are over capacity when cash in our bank account is overdrawn or when we have written a relational check our emotions cannot cash. Therefore, monitor your capacity in prayer before Jesus. Ask Him for courage to say no to something new so we can say yes to current obligations. As in weight lifting, we can increase our mental, emotional, financial, and relational capacity, but it takes time, focus, and discipline.

The Lord has unlimited capacity for empathy, wisdom, and character. So go to Him for your character-capacity building. Make sure your character capacity keeps up with your success, and you will be able to handle success. Does your heart have the same capacity for humility as your mind does for truth? So build capacity around Christ’s gifts to you.

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you” (2 Corinthians 10:12–13).

Out do each other

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10, ESV

We live in a culture of winners and losers. You can win a championship in sports, win on the stock market, and win political races. And all too often, in order to win we must exploit the weakness and shortcomings of others, usually to their shame and disrespect. Increasingly it seems this is a steam train that is only picking up more and more speed. Our public discourse is at an all-time low, with basic human decency thrown out the window, instead replaced with below the belt punches whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Sadly, this same spirit is often seen within the family of faith. In the name of defending our beliefs or even God himself, we frequently lose sight of the dignity and worth of “the other,” reducing them to positions or actions with which we disagree. Of course, we may have good reason and sure foundations for our disagreement, yet frequently our need to win trumps our commitment to humility and honor, even in the face of disagreement.

St. Paul often used competitive language in his letters, urging the early Christians on in the race of faith. And yet, we must not miss the fact that his vision of “the prize” was wildly different than what we so often accept as worthy of our time and devotion. For Paul, “winning” was closely tied to a commitment to elevate and honor others, even at great personal expense. If and when we strive to beat someone else, to “outdo” them in biblical terms, the competition is squarely built upon our unwavering resolve to honor one another.

It is relatively easy to honor people we deem worthy of honor. This may be a beloved public figure or faith leader, or it can be as intimate as a parent, sibling, or spouse. We tie their worthiness of honor to their beliefs, accomplishments, or intimate proximity. Yet, and this is key, how do we honor the humanity of those with whom we profoundly disagree, or those who have wounded and betrayed our confidence and trust? Honor in these cases does not mean we ignore or dismiss the disagreements or betrayals. However, as forgiven and reconciled sinners, we too must view others through this lens, refusing to say that any person is fully defined by their faults, but is instead a human being made in God’s image, and therefore worthy of honor and a belief that even their greatest shortcomings can be healed and transformed by the all-consuming fire of God.

Care for others

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, The one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him, Go and do likewise. Luke 10:36-37

 

Who is our neighbor? Jesus says our neighbors are those we meet who are in need, especially the needy who are outcasts. Religious people may ignore a suffering race indifferently, or label a lifestyle as repulsive, but Jesus sees them with compassion. The individuals Jesus spent most of His time loving are the ones who were marginalized by those who felt spiritually superior. Ironically, the “Good Samaritan” loved someone who may not have done the same for him.

 

Furthermore, when we take time to care for those much different from ourselves, we model the love of Christ. It is easy to love those like us, but more difficult to love those from a diverse culture. We do risk rejection from religious people too busy with programs that care only for their own kind. They reason, “We don’t have the time, money or interest to care for those of a different culture, while our people still have needs.” However, love looks beyond its own and offers care!

 

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” (Luke 6:32).

 

Racism is a raw nerve that requires intentional investment by those of us with influence. We all have opportunities to accept those who have been rejected and bring healing to those who have been hurt. Yes, those who have been robbed of equal rights need us to make things right through education, legislation and jobs. However, the quiet generosity and engagement of Jesus followers is the most effective in affecting society for good. The sufferings of those trapped in generational cycles of cynicism desperately need our compassion. Christians are called to care for strangers.

 

Who in your life is beat down by their circumstances and needs you to lift them up? Who can you search out that has been robbed of their rights, that you can stand in for as their advocate for justice? Perhaps for a season your generosity will give hope to someone who faces temporary setbacks. It may require you to get your hands dirty in dealing with their issues, because relationships are messy and complicated. Care for strangers can lead them to love Christ, the ultimate caregiver