Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."Author/Writer: God and The Apostle PaulContext: II CORINTHIANS. Written to correct erroneous views arising out of the first epistle, and emphasizing Satanic counterfeit (2 Cor. 11).Read the Chapter >II Corinthians 11
Lord, I've got nothing! - Tom Norvell
Lord, I've got nothing!
My mind is jumbled with thoughts that range from excitement, hope, and anticipation, to confusion, discouragement, and frustration. I am amazed at the way things have happened in the past, and I wonder what sort of things will happen in the future. I dwell on the mistakes I have made, and I marvel the mistakes You have helped me avoid.
Lord, I've got nothing!
I read Your word and I understand that You direct my path and that Your Word lights the path that I walk. Yet, there are times when I am afraid to take another step. I read of how You have delivered Your servants from all types of disaster and calamity, and I realize that I have often been a recipient of that deliverance. I read of how You hear me when I have no words and answer me before I speak.
Lord, I've got nothing!
I look ahead of me to the tasks on my calendar for the week and wonder how I will ever get it all done. I don't have the energy. I don't have the desire. I don't have the motivation. Then, I look back and see all the things that You enabled me to do last week when I had just as little energy, desire and motivation.
Lord, I've got nothing!
People ask me questions for which I have no answers. People come to me for advice as I go to others for advice. People look to me for wisdom and knowledge as I come to you for wisdom and knowledge.
Lord, I've got nothing!
I am tired. I am weak. I am worn. I am a struggler. I am a sinner. I am a child. I am a human. I have questions. I have fears. I have temptations. I have pride. I am self-conscious. I am selfish. At times I am a mess.
I cry out to You, Lord, and I confess that I have nothing! As my cries grow silent I hear You say:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28-39, NIV)
"You can do all things through me for I will give you strength." (Philippians 4:13)
Lord, I have nothing! But, when I stop, listen, and hear Your voice I realize I have You, and You know me, and You have me. That's all I need.
Tom
My mind is jumbled with thoughts that range from excitement, hope, and anticipation, to confusion, discouragement, and frustration. I am amazed at the way things have happened in the past, and I wonder what sort of things will happen in the future. I dwell on the mistakes I have made, and I marvel the mistakes You have helped me avoid.
Lord, I've got nothing!
I read Your word and I understand that You direct my path and that Your Word lights the path that I walk. Yet, there are times when I am afraid to take another step. I read of how You have delivered Your servants from all types of disaster and calamity, and I realize that I have often been a recipient of that deliverance. I read of how You hear me when I have no words and answer me before I speak.
Lord, I've got nothing!
I look ahead of me to the tasks on my calendar for the week and wonder how I will ever get it all done. I don't have the energy. I don't have the desire. I don't have the motivation. Then, I look back and see all the things that You enabled me to do last week when I had just as little energy, desire and motivation.
Lord, I've got nothing!
People ask me questions for which I have no answers. People come to me for advice as I go to others for advice. People look to me for wisdom and knowledge as I come to you for wisdom and knowledge.
Lord, I've got nothing!
I am tired. I am weak. I am worn. I am a struggler. I am a sinner. I am a child. I am a human. I have questions. I have fears. I have temptations. I have pride. I am self-conscious. I am selfish. At times I am a mess.
I cry out to You, Lord, and I confess that I have nothing! As my cries grow silent I hear You say:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28-39, NIV)
"You can do all things through me for I will give you strength." (Philippians 4:13)
Lord, I have nothing! But, when I stop, listen, and hear Your voice I realize I have You, and You know me, and You have me. That's all I need.
Tom
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
I Can’t Save Myself By Living- John Alan Turner
It is such a beautiful day to be alive. I could be out taking a drive, or jogging, or getting a latte. I could be playing golf, or tennis, or having lunch with friends.
So many things I could be doing besides sitting here right now contemplating an instrument of torture. The cross wasn’t just designed to kill someone but to keep them alive as long as possible, so that they could experience as much pain as possible without passing out, and finally die an excruciating death from suffocation as their lungs collapse from the weight of their body suspended from iron spikes.
God, that’s brutal.
What brings me to this contemplation today? What draws me? I sit here thinking, concentrating on a cross. It’s worse than contemplating an electric chair or a hangman’s noose. At least those are quick forms of death. But if you were at a great party and told the host you had to go because once a year you always went and meditated in front of a guillotine or a syringe holding a lethal injection, the host probably wouldn’t invite you over again.
I could be doing something else right now that was upbeat and had more to do with living. Everything out there tells us that we can save ourselves by getting on with the business of living, right? There’s not a commercial or an advertisement campaign in the world that entices you to buy something that will hasten your death.
The whole point of advertising is that products will enhance your life. Take that vacation, get that new car, find the best food and stay looking young with all the wrinkle cream and hair dye available. That’s what we want: a beautiful life — as long as possible, as rich as possible, as pleasant as possible.
So why am I here — thinking about an instrument of torture — a crossbeam of suffering? Am I crazy? Are Christians all nuts? Why not get out there and enrich my life? It can’t be healthy to think about death. It’s certainly not popular.
The truth is there comes a time in everyone’s life, a time when we become painfully aware that we cannot save ourselves by living. We’re dying to live, but the allure of our own life — to possess it — if that’s our dream — can never be realized in the fullness that we would desire it. It slips away — life has a way of ebbing out of even the healthiest among us — and it becomes something so much less than what we had tried to grab hold of.
A relationship fails.A loved one dies.The opportunity of a lifetime falls through.Illness strikes.People betray us.
And all of a sudden, the life we tried so hard to create, the life we thought we had, is suddenly so much less than what we hoped for. The truth is that what draws me to the cross of Jesus is something deep inside of me that says: Jesus’ dying was the real currency that purchased my freedom from all this “try-to-save-yourself-by-living” frenzy.
Trying to save yourself by living is like trying to buy groceries at Safeway with Monopoly money. You’ve got the wrong currency. It may be good when you’re playing the game, but it won’t work when you want some real food. All the little properties and accumulated achievements that enable us to own the board and win the game having nothing to do with God’s economy.
Somewhere along the line, you’d think someone would realize that if we could save ourselves by living we would have been able to pull our sorry little planet up by its bootstraps a long time ago. If we are going to wait until we all save ourselves by human effort and wisdom — by using Monopoly money — we’re going to be waiting a long time. As one theologian put it, from Socrates to Dr. Phil the world has taken a 5,000 year bath in human wisdom and come out just as dirty as ever.
So, that’s why I’m here, thinking about a Jewish carpenter hanging on a Roman cross.
I can’t save myself by living. I haven’t, and I won’t. So God has come to save the whole world by dying.
So many things I could be doing besides sitting here right now contemplating an instrument of torture. The cross wasn’t just designed to kill someone but to keep them alive as long as possible, so that they could experience as much pain as possible without passing out, and finally die an excruciating death from suffocation as their lungs collapse from the weight of their body suspended from iron spikes.
God, that’s brutal.
What brings me to this contemplation today? What draws me? I sit here thinking, concentrating on a cross. It’s worse than contemplating an electric chair or a hangman’s noose. At least those are quick forms of death. But if you were at a great party and told the host you had to go because once a year you always went and meditated in front of a guillotine or a syringe holding a lethal injection, the host probably wouldn’t invite you over again.
I could be doing something else right now that was upbeat and had more to do with living. Everything out there tells us that we can save ourselves by getting on with the business of living, right? There’s not a commercial or an advertisement campaign in the world that entices you to buy something that will hasten your death.
The whole point of advertising is that products will enhance your life. Take that vacation, get that new car, find the best food and stay looking young with all the wrinkle cream and hair dye available. That’s what we want: a beautiful life — as long as possible, as rich as possible, as pleasant as possible.
So why am I here — thinking about an instrument of torture — a crossbeam of suffering? Am I crazy? Are Christians all nuts? Why not get out there and enrich my life? It can’t be healthy to think about death. It’s certainly not popular.
The truth is there comes a time in everyone’s life, a time when we become painfully aware that we cannot save ourselves by living. We’re dying to live, but the allure of our own life — to possess it — if that’s our dream — can never be realized in the fullness that we would desire it. It slips away — life has a way of ebbing out of even the healthiest among us — and it becomes something so much less than what we had tried to grab hold of.
A relationship fails.A loved one dies.The opportunity of a lifetime falls through.Illness strikes.People betray us.
And all of a sudden, the life we tried so hard to create, the life we thought we had, is suddenly so much less than what we hoped for. The truth is that what draws me to the cross of Jesus is something deep inside of me that says: Jesus’ dying was the real currency that purchased my freedom from all this “try-to-save-yourself-by-living” frenzy.
Trying to save yourself by living is like trying to buy groceries at Safeway with Monopoly money. You’ve got the wrong currency. It may be good when you’re playing the game, but it won’t work when you want some real food. All the little properties and accumulated achievements that enable us to own the board and win the game having nothing to do with God’s economy.
Somewhere along the line, you’d think someone would realize that if we could save ourselves by living we would have been able to pull our sorry little planet up by its bootstraps a long time ago. If we are going to wait until we all save ourselves by human effort and wisdom — by using Monopoly money — we’re going to be waiting a long time. As one theologian put it, from Socrates to Dr. Phil the world has taken a 5,000 year bath in human wisdom and come out just as dirty as ever.
So, that’s why I’m here, thinking about a Jewish carpenter hanging on a Roman cross.
I can’t save myself by living. I haven’t, and I won’t. So God has come to save the whole world by dying.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
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