lean in

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

- Romans 15:1 (NKJV)

 

What do we do to “bear with the scruples of the weak? 
What does that even mean? 
Let’s look at the Message translation: Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

I don’t think that means that we should try to fix everything that is wrong with the world, but I do believe that it means we use our knowledge of God and our strong hearts to uplift and support one another. 
We are taught to accept one another just as Christ accepts us in order to bring praise to God (see Romans 15:7). 
We cannot go on every day and turn a blind eye to those who are hurting spiritually, we must lean in, step in, and help them see the Father.

Who are we if we don’t support each other in everything?

 

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tempted?

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

- James 1:13 (NKJV)

 

“The devil made me do it”.

I think we have all heard this phrase and some of us have even used it to excuse our poor behavior, but nothing is further from the truth.
We can blame the devil, we can blame others, we can even blame God if that takes away our guilt, but the truth is that it is us failing to address our own hearts.

Temptation begins with our own hidden agendas.

Fortunately, we have an out: Jesus came to deliver us from temptation so when we recognize the great love that God has for us, we can bring our darkest motives to light.
And let them go. 
We need to admit the temptation, where it lives and stop it before it grows from temptation to sin. 
Because we all know that once it is sin, surely it will bring us death (Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NKJV]).
Don’t live tempted. 

 

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I’m safe

You will feel safe because there is hope; you will look around and rest in safety.

- Job 11:18 (NCV)

 

I remember when I was a teenager my friends and I would walk everywhere, many times this meant that we were in parks and downtown after dark, curfew for teenagers was midnight. 
Even in a town of 80,000 people with some areas that were considered “bad” we were never afraid about being out late at night; we didn’t have cell phones and I only remember one time when we thought we were being followed. 
There were even times that I would go walking alone to clear my head from whatever teenage drama I was having.

How times have changed, I am not sure that I would allow a teenage girl to be out alone after dark these days.

Still, I feel safe because I have God. 
Different translations of this verse say we will feel secure, confident, or bold and we will explore and be protected, sleep in safety, lie down secure or be emptied of worry.

What an amazing feeling it is to know with confidence that we are protected. 
In this chapter of Job, Zophar is urging Job to repent because he thought that Job had somehow offended God. 
Zophar tells Job that if he admits what he did wrong that God keep him safe no matter what is happening.   
While Zophar and Job’s other two friends were clearly wrong in their assumptions and even their advice, we do know that God sees our pain, our suffering, and our fear and that we can trust Him to protect us always.    

 

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wait

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

- Isaiah 30:18 (NKJV)

 

I am going to age myself here, but that is ok, I am getting old, and I admit it! 
There were several commercials in the late 70’s for Heinz Ketchup that used Carly Simon’s song “Anticipation” as the theme, showing a little kid waiting patiently for the ketchup to come out of the bottle, their slogans were “it’s slow good” and “the taste that’s worth the wait”.  
Sometimes anticipation is good, as described in the commercials, it’s worth the wait. 
Other times anticipation can be nerve racking. 

But when we wait on God, we are blessed with good things.
Chris Tomlin tells us this in his song “Everlasting God”: 
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever

Our hope, our strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God

The everlasting God

You do not faint

You won't grow weary

...

You're the defender of the weak

You comfort those in need

You lift us up on the wings

Like eagles

...

It’s ok to anticipate the good things that the Lord has in store for us because when we wait on Him the blessings are definitely worth it. 
God is so good, and when our praises go up His blessings rain down! 

 

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blessed

If anyone pays attention to what they’re taught, they will succeed. Blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord.

- Proverbs 16:20 (NIRV)

 

Since my family moved south, there are a few phrases that I now hear on a regular basis such as “bless your heart” and “God bless you”.
I have learned that “bless your heart” is not always nice, but often a gentler way of saying “I’m glad it’s you and not me”. 
“God bless you” is sometimes an automatic response to a sneeze. 
Have you ever really stopped to think about your blessings?
In the song “Blessings” by Laura Story, the lyrics resonate with me: 
We pray for blessings

We pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

And all the while, You hear each spoken need

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near?

And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while, You hear each desperate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe

...

When friends betray us

And when darkness seems to win

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not, this is not our home

It's not our home

...

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy

And what if trials of this life

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise?
I once saw a sign that said, “What if you wake up this morning with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?”

I think I stopped in my tracks; do I thank Him every day for the many blessing in my life?

I am ashamed to say that I don’t believe that I do.

The verse says, “blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord”.

I DO trust Him, and I believe that I am very blessed.

I hope you feel the same.

 

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never again

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

- Hebrews 9:28 (NIV)

 

At least once in our lives we experience something where we think to ourselves “I’ll never do that again”.

After trying a new food that was just terrible or attending an event that completely missed our expectations, we say we won’t do it again.

But often even as we say that we will never do that again, we are taking steps to repeat ourselves.

How quickly we forget the choices we made that were not the wisest and we make the same mistakes over and over again.

Sin is one of those things that manifests itself as something fun or exciting that will turn around to bite us, yet some of us repeat those sins often.

In the Old Testament, people would atone for their sins via sacrifice such as an animal or crops, I’m thankful that we no longer give burnt offerings because Christ came to earth to live among us, to teach us, to die for us.

Jesus sacrificed Himself, just once, and by doing so He wiped out our sin, the sin of many.

We have salvation, we have a way to Heaven, and we need to live like it.

He is coming back, but this time He is not going to die for us – He only did that once.

As we wait for Him, we need to follow His example – the old saying “what would Jesus do”, while overused and cliché has a ring of truth to it.

Let’s live our lives as if He is coming back tomorrow and we want to go home with Him.

 

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good old days

Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.

- Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NLT)

 

How many times have we sat with friends and family and reminisced about “the good old days”? 
Recounting memories can be fun, but we should not wish for those times to return.

When I hear “the good old days” I am reminded of a country song from The Judd’s called “Grandpa” 
Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days

Sometimes it feels like this world's gone crazy

Grandpa, take me back to yesterday

When the line between right and wrong

Didn't seem so hazy

Did lovers really fall in love to stay

And stand beside each other, come what may?

Was a promise really something people kept

Not just something they would say

Did families really bow their heads to pray?

Did daddies really never go away?

Whoa, whoa, grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days

Grandpa, everything is changing fast

We call it progress, but I just don't know

And grandpa, let's wander back into the past

Then paint me the picture of long ago
The song really sounds like the artist is longing for those “good old days”. 

We can’t live in the past, and I don’t think that many of us would want to live in the past.

It’s nice to remember a simpler time, but along with those simpler times there were problems that have now been solved. 
I’m thankful that technology has allowed humanity to diagnose and cure some diseases.

I appreciate being able to be in contact with my family and friends without an expensive phone call or waiting days or weeks for “snail mail”.

I’m glad that we can travel across the country in a matter of hours and in relative comfort, rather than weeks of traveling via covered wagon or by sea in a small ship.

Longing for the past we would lose so many of today’s conveniences.
Wishing for “the good old days” is not a good use of our time.  

 

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