Got Courage?

Is it not easy to find yourself discouraged in life?  Discourage is to deprive of courage, hope or confidence according to dictionary.com.  I was wondering this past week what causes discouragement.  What is it that deprives us of courage or causes us to lose hope?  I started thinking I lose courage when I am tired, having pushed myself over one hurdle after another and then I look and see another row of hurdles coming at me.  Can you relate?

I get discouraged when the simple little things get in the way of what I am trying to do.  The more these things crop up, the more I can find discouragement knocking on my door.  Do you ever feel like just throwing in the towel and saying, "Oh what is the use!  I can't even get to what I am needing to get done because of all of this other stuff that keeps getting in the way!"

I can get discouraged when I feel rejected as well.  Some of the hardest moments to be a husband are when I feel rejected for whatever reason by my bride.  I struggle the most to hold the course as a godly husband whenever I feel rejected.  Those are the times I say, "There has to be a change of course here, because I am not going to just take this lying down!"  If I feel criticized at work it can have the same effect of discouragement from holding the course the Lord has for me.

Then the Lord showed me an incredible example of courage and an amazing absence of discouragement in the life of Christ, when I know that I would have been discouraged.  John 6:59-7:18.

Jesus had fed the 5,000 with the little boys lunch and the crowds were growing.  The number of "disciples" were growing rapidly.  Jesus had the launching pad for a super star.  He then says something that had the same effect as Gov. Perry forgetting the name of the branch of government he would remove.  He says that he must abide in us and we must abide in Him.  He uses the image of eating his flesh and drinking His blood though, and the people bail because they don't want any part of that.  The crowd is gone except for the original 12 that he chose personally.  All the ones who chose Him left, all the ones he chose remain.

His own brothers don't even believe in Him and start giving Him advice about how to do a better job of getting His name out there.  They tell him to go to Judea and go to where all the people are if he wants to make a name for himself.  But quit making big claims and staying in the countryside.

Everyone goes on to the the Feast of Tabernacles to celebrate God delivering Israel out of captivity.  Jesus later comes privately because the Jews were looking to arrest Him.  He begins teaching in the synagogue and has this interaction with the crowd:

13     Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

14     But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.

15     The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”

16     So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

17     “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.

18     “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Jesus is filled with courage and shows no signs of discouragement from the events that just transpired.  The devils grappling hook of discouragement that pulls us off course finds no hold in Christ's heart because there is no pridefulness in His heart.  In scripture we are warned not to give the devil a foothold, and the foothold that he always looks for is pride.  Like a grappling hook needing something to hang on, the devil throws his grappling hook at our hearts looking to hang onto our pride.  Because Christ was filled with humility there was no place for discouragement to take hold in his heart, and as a result he was filled with courage, hope, and confidence.  The very things we are deprived of when we are hooked by discouragement.

Jesus is the most courageous, most hopeful, most confident person the world has ever known.  Think about it.  He came to save people who had to be saved, but didn't want a savior.  He would have to live a perfect life and overcome all temptation which had never been done before or since.  It would cost him everything he had including his life.  He would be whipped, beaten, mocked, and tortured to accomplish His goal of saving us.  He would face the most powerful enemy the world has ever known in Satan.  He would not only do all of this, He would plan on changing the entire course of history through His 12 disciples.  He did all of this without a moment of discouragement.  He is the world's most courageous man!

To look to ourselves for courage, hope, and confidence is to miss the point in verse 63.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.

We won't fight discouragement with greater reliance upon ourselves.  As my mom would say, "You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip."  You can’t get from the flesh what can only come from God.

I also realized that my lack of understanding is not ground for rejecting the will of God.
(vs 66) As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
Humility in ignorance still seeks understanding and wisdom, while Ignorance in Pridefulness moves to judgment and rejection.  CJ Mahaney defines pridefulness as contending for the supremacy of God.  I saw that the "disciples" withdrew from him.  It was flat out rejection of his teaching, not just saying, "I don't understand, help me to understand."

Humility seeks God’s glory and Pridefulness seeks its own.  Our lust for our own glory is actually the foothold that leads to discouragement.  Sin never delivers what it's target without paying a severe price that is undisclosed in the contract.  Look at the courage of Christ.  He is the living example of what being "in courage" or "encouraged" looks like.  Take heart and be encouraged by the Lord today!

We will seek to be exalted in the eyes of men or seek for God to be exalted, but not both.  When we seek to be exalted in the eyes of men it is a prideful and sinful pursuit that leads to many painful experiences along the way including discouragement.  Discouragement should be a great indicator in our lives that we have been walking in our pride filled flesh not by humility in the Spirit. 

Prayer:

Lord I can see my heart more clearly because of your word today.  Thank you for the gracious way you draw us to yourself in spite of the magnitude of pride we bring with us.  Help me today to rely upon your Spirit and not my own flesh as I courageously seek to live a life that brings glory to Your Name!  Amen.

A desperate Dad

Reading the end of John 4 there is the story of the official whose son is healed by Jesus. It is an amazing story that I was extremely challenged by. Let me relate the story. The dad leaves his son for a 2 day journey, while his son is literally clinging to life. I can't imagine leaving my son at a time like this. He travels to where he thinks Jesus will be, but doesn't exactly know where to find him. He searches for Jesus and finds him, when he makes his request that Jesus come with him to save his son. Jesus gives him a rebuffed response to him and many there around him that they want to see signs and wonders before they will believe his words. The man pleads again for Jesus to come with him to heal his son, when Jesus tells him that his son lives. The man then begins his journey back home holding only onto the words of Jesus. He is met the next day by his servants that have come to inform him that his son has recovered. He immediately inquires about the time and it was the same exact time as Jesus spoke. The official believes and so does his household that includes the servants and the boy.

I was challenged by the father's faith and courage. The faith to overcome many obstacles, fear, and doubts just to get to Jesus.

I was challenged by the response of faith by the official when Jesus didn't answer the prayer in the way that the man asked. He did not waver in accepting a different answer.

I was convicted by my treatment of sin in my life in a manner that doesn't reflect true belief and a courageous faith. The thought of being separated in my relationship with Christ because of unconfessed sin should drive me to pursue Christ and the healing forgiveness that it brings.

Glory B, I finished painting!

I finally finished rolling paint on the walls with my Wagner Paintmate Plus. It made quick work of the painting process, I just didn't get started painting until almost 11pm. Yes, those were the same walls that we had floated, sanded, textured, and primed. It is exciting the transformation of that room. As I worked late into the night to finally end this never ending project, God has stirred my heart again to take note of the lessons that he has been teaching me.

I saw many imperfections while attempting to paint the walls. As God reveals the imperfections of my pridefulness that show up all over my life, it is funny (not really laughing) that I try to just paint over them. Just paint over them and noone will see a thing I tell myself. If they do see anything, I will just say its always been that way and there's no changing it now. It's painted! I may not say those exact words, but I treat pridefulness very similarly.


May the Lord continue to give me a burden for my sin that nailed Him to the cross and a humility that comes from seeing the Lord not leave me alone, but rather pursue me with His gracious love.

Grey hair and God's Glory

While I do have some grey hair, my hair was pretty much white after sanding down 8 walls with a pole sander. Thankfully I was able to borrow an electric sander that connects to a shop vac from a friend doing some work next door. This sanding portion of the project has been by far the most difficult and messy. I think there is a 1" layer of dust that has settled throughout our entire house. Though it has been the hardest, it has been a fruitful time for the Lord to stir my heart to realize spiritual truths that related to this task.

I had a young man, who is about to go off to college, over to help me apply the first layer of texture (2 whole boxes worth). The Lord had impressed on my heart that I needed to discharge the duties of my ministry in this young man's life. The Lord had blessed me with the relationship and the vantage point to be able to speak truth though windows that the Lord had opened to me. I feared for my friend that the desire for independence and the desire to be respected by his peers had blended with pridefulness and was blinding him to even greater dangers that lie ahead on the college campus.

How cool was it to hear that God had already begun revealing many of the very things I felt led to discuss with him. It truly was a blessed time of conversation, that left my friend humbled and truly desiring to take steps to seek forgiveness for many acts of pridefulness that had impacted the relationships in his life. He even desired for his parents to be a barometer helping him recognize pride in his life before it ran out of control. An 18 yr old seeking to humble himself before God and his parents is truly a miracle!

I thought that was all the lessons for the day, but I was wrong. As I put in my ear plugs to run the sander and shop vac to smooth out a few "blemishes" that I couldn't get with the pole sander, God began to teach me about my own pride. I looked over MY walls with pride having finished texturing 8 walls and having sanded them down with the pole sander. I almost made up the texture to be blown in 'cause this should be quick. Well as I got good lighting, and really began inspecting the walls, I was amazed that whatever wall was right in front of my face was covered in bubbles, scratches, grooves, bumps, divits, and ripples. When only a few feet away I didn't see any of that. I couldn't see the places where I had failed to have a smooth surface without blemish, until I looked at it carefully and up close.

As I had spent time helping my friend to see the areas that pride had created blemishes in his life and relationships, I was confronted with the question, "When was the last time you really looked at the walls in your life slowly, carefully, and with the Light of God revealing your pridefulness and sin? Would you pray for me and consider joining me as I let God shine His Light on the walls of my life and reveal any (better said ALL) of the blemishes and bubbles, scratches, grooves, bumps, divits, and ripples of pride that Christ desires to sand down and cover over with His blood and His holiness. Just as sanding the walls took hours and get messy, I am sure this will take some time and looks to be pretty messy as well. Praise to the Glory of His Grace that He answers such prayers!

Ro 7:24-25 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Me too

I have often reflected upon the words Jesus uttered while hanging on the cross “Forgive them Father; they know not what they do”and each time I am amazed. When reading the account in the gospels I feel like arguing with God, “Yes they did know!” They were even there at the very end gloating over their perceived triumph over the thorn in their side. Adding literally insult to injury by mocking the fact that the Son of God would not allow himself to be crucified. In the face of the very ones who were responsible for the cruelty of the cross, all Jesus said about them was, “Forgive them!” There is part of all of us that kind of wish Jesus wouldn’t have let them mock Him. Wouldn't have let them get away with it, without them also going the way of Judas. Give them a little bit of what they deserve. Serve up a little justice on the spot.

This has always blown me away at the magnitude of Grace that was shown to those responsible for His death. It was shocking to those that heard it at the time as well. The greatest demonstration of love is not that we loved Him, but that He loved us while we were yet enemies of God. I am sure that the image of Jesus praying for them had to haunt many after His body went missing from the tomb, and hundreds of reports of seeing Him alive, and the boldness of the disciples in telling the story of His death and resurrection. I am sure the image of Jesus nailed to the tree praying, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do,” had to be one of the hardest images to shake free from their conscience in the following days and weeks or even years.

It has rattled me the same way here lately. It was not until reading John Stott’s book, “The Cross of Christ,” that he points out the motivations that each of the characters had, in playing their part in the crucifixion of Christ. Judas was motivated by greed, the Pharisees and Sadducees by envy/jealousy or by a desire for power, Pilate was motivated by fear/selfishness or just peer pressure, and the Roman guards appear to have been motivated by pride. Their sin was ultimately a handing over Christ to be crucified. It was a betrayal of the person and authority of Christ.

Any time I sin, it is not that my sin is any less a betrayal of Christ and His authority or any less of a handing Christ over to be crucified than theirs was. My longing is to hear, "Forgive Him Father, I've paid for his sin." Thank you Jesus!

Got Joy?

Does God need to answer a prayer that you are praying in order for you to have joy in your life right now?

Does something need to change at work or in a relationship for you to have a little more peace?

Is your joy completely overflowing in your life right now?


I have a friend who really challenged my thinking when he shared a story. The Lord had used me to help him see the cross again as the center of his thinking. He had a friend that was really getting discouraged because God was taking too long answering some of his prayers. Prayers and work dedicated to good things, but not seeing the results yet. My friend shared what he asked his friend. "Did Jesus need to do more on the cross in order for you to be satisfied?" Wow, that question hits hard. We have such a tendency to move right past the cross on to "more pressing" issues, when the source of joy and satisfaction has already been bought and paid for.

I have related what Christ did on the cross to an analogy of my father wrestling with a person holding a gun to me. If he gave his life in order to save mine, would I still demand more from my father? Would I get mad at my father for not being there when I missed him or things were difficult? The clear answer is no! So an imperfect father, saving only my physical life receives a lifetime response of gratitude for his heroic act, but Jesus heroic sacrifice of His life for mine receives anger, contempt, rebellion, and disappointment when He doesn't give me more than His very life. Is my heart really that hard?

It is at the cross where Christ demonstrated the greatest measure of Grace from God to me. That Jesus would become my very sin, that God would pour out His wrath against my sin on Christ, and that I would become the Righteousness of God through Christ. That the love and acceptance that would be shown to Christ is shown to me. God sees me as righteous, blameless, holy, and as His child. I am given the spirit of God himself as a gift to seal my soul one day to be made into the image of Christ. I am given a gift more valuable than all the treasure of the entire earth, and I am left empty and dismayed because I feel he has shorted me the equivalent of one corn flake out of my bowl of cereal. The gift of the whole world is cast aside, because of the equivalent of one flake of cereal that I feel should have been added to my bowl.

Paul asked for the thorn in his flesh to be removed three times, and the Lord's answer was that His grace was sufficient. I never had considered that the grace that God showed me through Jesus on the cross was sufficient to overcome any difficulty or disappointment in life. I always assumed that it was future demonstrations of graciousness that would be shown to Paul and me that made His grace sufficient. I can see clearly that God continued to show Paul an unmerited favor and kindness after that point, but I believe God was turning Paul's eyes back to the cross! That Paul would know nothing but Christ and Him crucified! May we all return to the cross as the source of strength and joy! For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life.

Lord, let us not get so far from the cross that we feel we need something more from you to have joy today in our lives for you have already given us immeasurably more than we could have ever asked or imagined. Let our lives be lived as our response of gratitude for what was done on our behalf on the cross. Here am I, be glorified through me today!

3D Glasses

It is funny how so much scripture comes alive when the Lord moves us to look through the proper perspective. A perspective that doesn't seem complicated, just uncomfortable for my pridefulness. Drawing near to the cross and allowing God to make the gospel the center of my understanding and of my life changes everything. Today I was reading in Ephesians 6 about putting on the armor of God when I began with a desire to know Christ and Him crucified as Paul states.

I remember hearing this passage since I was a child. I still remember as a child Mrs. McNamee using a flannel board to illustrate the different pieces of the armor of God. But since really praying and seeking to go deeper into the gospel and to attempt to study God's word in the shadow of the cross, everything has changed. As I began reading it became so incredibly clear that what we needed to clothe ourselves in was Christ himself through our oneness with Him. We need to cling fast to the cross to the point it causes us to lay down our claim on our own lives and live for Him. Put on your 3D glasses approaching close to the cross and watch this passage come alive.

Here is the whole passage from Ephesians 6.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

I want to give you two verses from Chapter 5 that help to shape our understanding.
³¹"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." ³²This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Paul talks about the intimacy and connectedness of a husband and wife being a picture of the oneness we should have with Christ. We should be covered with oneness with Christ. Is there one who has done more to protect us from the schemes of the devil. I don't need a piece of armor, I need Christ.

As I began to look at these pieces of armor, I was reminded of the thought that God doesn't desire to give us just something, He gave us Himself. The belt of Truth...Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the Truth. The greatest realization of Truth is Christ! There is no truth apart from Christ. The breastplate of Righteousness, I was reminded of 2 Cor 5:21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." There is also a reference to the Messiah wearing armor in Isaiah 59:17 "He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head;" Jesus does not put on and take off Righteousness! He is righteous! We become the righteousness of God in Him. I need for Him to take my sin and for me to be clothed in His righteousness. Well, His righteousness is not a garment. It is found IN HIM.

The readiness of the gospel of peace. It too is found in Christ. The gospel is the message that you and I can have peace with God by coming through, by trusting in, by being found in Christ. Being clothed in Christ makes your feet ready to go share about how incredible it is to be one with Christ. Intimacy and oneness with your wife makes you want to tell everyone how incredible your wife is as a precious and amazing gift from God. Oneness and intimacy with Christ makes your feet ready to go and share the gospel of peace.

The shield of faith. Faith is not a substance that exists by itself. There is an object of that faith. Faith is what you really believe to be true about that object. Our faith is in Christ. Our faith is really about Christ. The more we are clothed and covered with the reality of Christ, the less vulnerable we are to the flaming arrows that are directed at what we believe to be really true about Christ. The more oneness and closeness I have, the less vulnerable I am to exchange the truth of God for a lie.

The helmet of salvation...Is our salvation separated from Christ. Christ is our salvation, for salvation is found in Christ and Christ alone! I need my mind and thoughts clothed in oneness with Christ my savior. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. John 1 tells us the Word was with God, the Word was God, and that the Word became flesh. The greatest sword is me being clothed in oneness with Christ. Look at Paul's request for prayer. 19 that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

It really is simple. When I have the greatest oneness with my wife, it is then that my marriage is least vulnerable to attack. It is when I have the greatest oneness with Christ that I am least vulnerable to attack as I am clinging to the cross of Christ, that He has taken my sin, bore it in His body, and in turn gives me Himself. That through my oneness with him, knowing Him and being known by Him deeply, He might be the armor that protects my very soul from attack. And through that same oneness my life might be used mightily as a sword in His hand!

Lord, I ask for forgiveness for so consistently desiring and pursuing so many things other than oneness with you. For often pursue religious things instead of intimacy with you as what I need most. I pray that you would stir an unquenchable hunger and thirst for your righteousness that would only be satisfied through oneness with you. Walking with you, Praying with you, and meditating on your every word spoken to me. Jesus, thank you for being my covering and for even desiring oneness with me!