Humbled by Grace

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

Grace – the wondrous gift of unmerited favor from God – is, quite sadly, a theologically divisive subject.  People argue and debate about “cheap” grace and “free” grace and grace for this but not for that… It is as if so many want to deconstruct grace and use the materials to reconstruct a grace-built box in which to contain God Himself.

Perhaps the problem is that grace is such an unnatural state for we sinful humans.  Grace itself is an unearned – and unearnable – gift from our Eternal Heavenly Father.  If we could earn it, it would no longer be a gift.  It is by grace (through faith) that we are saved.  It is by grace that the painful things serve not to destroy us, but draw God’s children closer to Him.  It is by grace we are sustained.  It is by grace we are strengthened.

And all of us need God’s grace.

All.

Of.

Us.

The problem comes when we try to discern who should be the recipient of God’s grace.  As if one person or group’s sins is any greater or more insidious than our own.  The minute we say, “These people are not welcome in our community because they are __________________” (fill in the blank with any sin), then we fail to extend God’s grace.  We fail to reach out in love.  We do not recognize the truth of their – or, more importantly, our own – situation because of the blindness caused by the log lodged in our own eye.

It seems to me more than a little hypocritical to feel so certain of our own salvation, the gift of grace extended to us that washes away the otherwise permanent stain of sin, while denying – or at least placing prerequisites upon – others whose sins seem so hideous to us.  Are we so good?  Are we so pure?  Would any of us have given a second thought to dining with Jesus, considering the prostitutes and societal outcasts He chose to be with?  Jesus never said, “Deal with your sin, then we’ll talk.”  He said, “Come to me, all who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Our problem is universal: pride.  It is pride in our own imagined purity that causes us to look at someone else and level the charge of “sinner” upon them.  If that idea is offensive to you, perhaps now would be a good time to stop and reconsider some things.

When we judge another – especially when we excuse our judgment under the false pretense of discernment – we are choosing to be proud.  We forget from whence we came.  We fail to see the excremental unworthiness of our own pasts.  We place ourselves on some level above them.  But, remember this: we have no idea what someone has been through.  No idea of the hardships and pain that have led people – each of us included – to make some unwise life choices.  As we drive along our life’s path, each of us goes off into the ditch at some point.  To judge another is to abandon them in the ditch – the polar opposite action of the Good Shepherd Who leaves His flock to go find the one sheep who went astray.

None of us deserves God’s grace.  And yet:

…he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11  Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? – James 4:6-12 (ESV)

Sin is truly the great equalizer.  We have all fallen far short of the glory of God.  And we could all use a healthy dose of humility and, God willing, His grace.

The Situation is Not What it Seems

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

Imagine yourself in 33AD Jerusalem, on a hill just outside the city walls.  Before you are three men being executed by crucifixion.  The men on the left and right are known criminals.  You would expect to see them.

But the man hanging from the center cross grabs your attention.  Everybody knows who this man is: Jesus of Nazareth.  What did he ever do to deserve this cruel fate?  Who did he hurt?  You have heard of his good deeds: blind men receiving sight, the lame regaining the ability to walk, illnesses healed, hungry masses fed, Lazarus risen from his grave… The only “crime” this man committed was boldly standing up against the Jewish leaders and speaking truth.

Yet, here he is.  Stripped naked, bloodied and beaten to a pulp, scourged and bleeding, weakened and thirsty.  Roman soldiers sit at his feet – not to hear his teaching, but to gamble for his clothing.  You hear Jesus, through his agony, ask His Father to forgive these men, because they are ignorant of their actions.  Further proof, to your mind, that this man is innocent and undeserving of this humiliating, inhumane end to his life.

Where is the fairness?  Where is the glory?  Didn’t this man claim to be the Son of God, the Messiah?  Look at him now.

If you were standing there on Golgotha that fateful Friday afternoon, or had been in the courtyard earlier and witnessed Simon Peter’s denial of any connection to this condemned man, you may well have come to the conclusion that this man was a charlatan, or just plain crazy.  If you had been one of his followers, your faith was most likely shaken (at the very least).

Today, we have the advantage of hindsight.  We know how this story ends, and the glory that came on the third day.  But, in the moment – in the midst of the horror of the crucifixion – all one could see was what appeared to be an ignoble end to great and miraculous promise.

When we are in the middle of a storm, all we tend to see is the maelstrom swirling around us.  Overwhelming feelings of fear and doubt sweep over us when we stare at the problem.  But, even in what appears to be the darkest defeat, there is hope.

Today you may be facing a hardship that seems insurmountable, a loss inconsolable.  You may feel cheated or victimized.  You may be facing a pain indescribable.  You may not be able to see a way out of your situation.

Today, I want you to know that you are not hopeless.  You are not helpless.  You are not alone.  Today – right now – I want you to look away from the storm.  Fix your gaze on Jesus.  Place your hope in Him, the One Who faced the horrors of Good Friday to bring about the death-defying glory of Easter morning.  Remember Peter, who stepped out of the boat on the choppy, storm churned sea to walk to Jesus.  Peter walked on water as long as his focus was on Christ.  As soon as he turned his eyes toward the storm, he began to drown.

And Jesus saved him.

Today, you can choose to be bitter.  You can decide to cry out, “Unfair.”  You can despair over your lot in life and feel despondent or angry or just want to give up.  We all have the choice to stew in our misery, if we so desire.  And, in the moment, that may actually feel good.  But, in the end, what does all that ick bring us?

Or we can choose faith.  Choose to forgive. Choose to be brave.  Choose to be confident in our Savior.  Choose to let peaceful joy and love reign in our lives.  Choose to see our situation as a life change, one that is not a loss, not a failure, but one that will ultimately be a blessing.  Choose to see how each of us can help others through what we – and they – are facing.

God can take any circumstance and turn it to His glory.  This moment will pass.  The sorrow will not last forever.  The hard time will lift.  Keep focused on God.  I truly believe that God never closes one door without opening another.  We just need to focus on Him with open eyes of faith.

Remember: we cannot see whole of our situations in life.  All we see is the limited information we have before us.  Do not assume the bad news is bad.  Do not accept defeat. Do not despair.  The situation is rarely – if ever – quite what it seems.

Anxious Pariah

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

14  Let all that you do be done in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV)

Please consider this a plea to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, on behalf of we, your fellow believers – fellow parts of the body of Christ – who do not have it all together (so to speak).

Even if we appear that we do.

If you have never dealt with anxiety and depression, you cannot possibly have a firm understanding of how it feels to be in the midst of such hurt.  And it makes facing people with depression daunting and uncomfortable.  What does one say?  How should one act?

I want to help you understand.  You need to understand.   And I will tell you why.  According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, around 40 million American adults suffer from anxiety disorders.  That’s 1 in 18 people in the USA age 18 and over.  Statistically, if you attend a church of 200 people, 36 of your brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering from anxiety (statistically speaking).

So, I ask you, please… if you love those of us who suffer from anxiety and depression as much as you say (and, trust me, I truly believe you do… I wouldn’t write this if I didn’t…), take a few minutes and read this and try to understand.

1. We are not pariahs

Dealing with anxious and depressed thoughts and feelings will make a person feel very isolated.  Even in a crowd.  These feelings are only intensified when we feel shunned.  Please don’t let not knowing what to say or how to act stop you from interacting with someone who is dealing with very complex (like anxiety and depression).

2. You do not have to know all the right words to say

Just love us.  Hugs work wonders.  Even letting us cry on your shoulder (sometimes figuratively, others literally) can be very cathartic.  Listen.  Love.

3.  This is not necessarily the effect of some secret sin…

There are a lot of factors that contribute to anxiety and depression.  Sin is one of them.  However, there are also physiological contributors (such as one’s brain being unable to produce the proper amounts of serotonin or dopamine).  A huge contributor is stress: major life changes, overwork, troubles in life… Do not be so quick to play the “sin” card.  Judge not, friends…

4. Do NOT tell us to “get over it”

Nobody who deals with anxiety and/or depression enjoys it.  It is no fun.  In fact, it can be downright agonizing.  Personally, my low point was a hellish bout of fear that terrorized me for nearly a month.  I couldn’t sleep.  I was so exhausted I couldn’t think straight.  I had fits of anxiety that felt like lightning bolts surging through my body.  If overcoming anxiety and depression was as simple as simply bucking up and getting over it, I would have done it.  So would anyone else who can relate to what I’m writing.Again, just love.  If you can’t understand, that’s all right.  Just be there.  Just love.

5. Don’t give us grief about counseling and antidepressants

It has been said so many times before, but it is so true that I have to say it again.  You would not condemn a cancer patient for taking chemotherapy.  God created the medical profession for our benefit.  Just because we have a medicine that helps right our serotonin production and makes us feel and function better does not mean it is any less the work of God.  And as for counseling… we put too much on the plates of our pastors.  They are spiritual counselors, not mental health workers.  Sometimes the source and strength of one’s anxiety and depression is outside of our pastor’s wheel house.  We often expect too much from these already overloaded men of God.

I could go on, but I think I have hit the high points.  The main point I feel the need to stress is love.  Love one another. Understand this if nothing else.  If you don’t know what to say or how to act, just let love lead.  Say nothing more than “I love you brother / sister.  I’m here.”    Be supportive.  Be loving.  Be normal.

Just love.  With all that agape entails.  Don’t try to make things all right.  Just love.

Perfecting Martha

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosenthe good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)

God bless you Martha Stewart.  You have shown thousands – if not millions – of Americans how to host the perfect gathering for any and every occasion.  The right table settings, the right decorations, the right ambience, the right food… everything prepared to glorious perfection!  The apéritifs must be stunning (swirls of canned cheese heaped on crackers and celery won’t do for Martha, no matter how beautiful the layers).  The meal must be memorable, leaving a lasting impression on all who are invited to the soirée.

The gorgeous feast causes an audible gasp of delight (as well as plenty of “oohs” and “ahhs”) from the appreciative and hungry guests.  (Not too hungry, mind you.  The hors d’oeuvres should serve to curb any hunger pangs while whetting the appetite for the meal to come).

The Biblical Martha was, in some ways, like Martha Stewart (except for the whole insider trading prison sentence business).  Well… in one way.  The Biblical Martha was a perfectionist.  She had guests to feed.  She had Jesus in her home!  And everything had to be just right.

The napkins weren’t going to fold themselves.  The hand-rolled croissants still needed baking.  The beef bourguignon was in danger of overcooking and the quiche was going to fall if it wasn’t served soon.  (Boy, I really have overdone this French cooking theme, haven’t I?)

And where is her sister Mary?  She is sitting at the feet of the guest of honor, reveling in His company, soaking in His words.  Can you picture the scene?  Martha stomps into the room, hands on hips, hair disheveled, apron askew and flour-coated, face contorted with stress.  “I am in the kitchen, slaving away, and here you are, having a grand time!   Do you think the Tarte Normande is going to bake itself?  Come help me!  Jesus, tell her to get in here and give me a hand!”

Now picture Jesus, a slight smile on His face, calmly telling Martha that her serving is wonderful, a good thing, but something more important than food – no matter how fine the delicacy – is being served here tonight.

If you struggle with perfectionism, believing everything has to be just right or it will all be ruined, relax.  Don’t get stressed.  Don’t be anxious.  At the end of the evening, the meal will be devoured.  The bouillabaisse gone, the bowl that once contained the coq au vin now holding a mere carrot slice lying in a thin scrim of broth on the bottom.  The once perfectly folded linen napkins will be a stained crumpled mess.  All that is left will be a wonderful memory.  And the washing up.

It is far better to focus on real substance, and that is found at the feet of Jesus.  Put your focus on Him.  Not on being stunning.  Not on being perfect.  The real blessing comes from the presence of the Lord, not from the accoutrements that decorate the evening.

You don’t have to be perfect.  You don’t have to appear perfect.  Be authentic.  Relax.  All you have to do is love.  And put God first in all things.

Canned cheese squirted atop crackers on a paper plate will do just fine. Call it fromage dans une boîte sur un craquelin if you must.

Primum Movens

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

Thomas Aquinas was a 13th century Dominican friar.  Over the last nine years of his life, Aquinas penned his classic book Summa Theologiae (“Highest Theology”).  Within the roughly 3500 pages of the Summa are a page and a half that contain the quinque viae, or “the five ways” of knowing that God truly exists.

The first, and to Aquinas’ most important, was the proof of motion.  Motion occurs when an external force is exerted on an object, causing to move.  A ball with not throw itself.  It needs someone to throw it.  A tree will not sway on its own.  That requires a wind blowing against it.  These forces didn’t appear from nowhere.  Somebody or something must have started them.  Taken to its logical conclusion, we realize that somebody had to make the first move, the first push, the first exertion of force, because objects in and of themselves cannot move.  Hence, there must be God, Who not only created all but set all creation in motion.

I love to ponder these things, to think about the greatness of our God.  I can accept the idea of a big bang because, I am quite sure that when God spoke the universe into existence, it started at fixed point in space and time

And it was most certainly a loud “BANG!”

And the universe continues to move to this day.  The power of God is such that, if you consider Newton’s third law of motion – that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – His Greatness shines through in the fact that the reaction to His creative action has yet to stop!

If God can, by simple utterance of will, create all of the universe and set it in motion, all amazingly choreographed and executed with perfection, then surely there is nothing too hard for Him.  There is no opposition too fierce, no enemy too strong, no problem too broken.  He created and sustains all.  And, although death came to destroy His creation, God overcame death to provide eternal life to His children, His beloved.

The arrogance of science concedes to the point of recognizing “intelligent design”, but so many refuse to take the next logical step and call that designer “God”.  The wonder of creation truly comes alive when we recognize the Creator, and begin to see His beautiful, intricate creation for what it is: something created to bring God joy and honor, which we are graciously given the gift of reveling in and enjoying.

There is absolutely nothing too hard for our God.  Trust Him.  And choose each to revel in the greatness of His creation, and thank Him for the blessing of another day.

Hello Boldness, Goodbye Discontent

/ Chris Courtney / 1 Comment

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31  proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. – Acts 28:30-31 (ESV)

The book of Acts has no Hollywood ending.  The apostle Paul doesn’t mount his trusty steed and ride off into the sunset.  Rather, Luke ends his history of the early church rather abruptly.  I say “abruptly” because we know Paul had about another five years after this point to minister before his execution during the reign of Nero.  During these years Paul wrote his pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus.  If tradition is correct, this would have been the period when the apostle traveled to Spain (although no mention of such a trip is made in Scripture).

But Luke ends his account in a manner most befitting of the self-proclaimed least worthy apostle .  If Paul was nothing else, he was bold.  He understood what it meant to stand strong in Christ.  He knew the Lord was with him always.

And he understood all too well that physical circumstances were no indicator of the presence of the Lord:

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:11-13 (ESV)

Paul’s boldness was hard earned.  In 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, he lists the painful hardships he had endured for the sake of the Gospel:

24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27  in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. – 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 (ESV)

I find it remarkable that this man did not merely withstand such hardship.  He thrived in it!

How?  Here is the key:

9 (Jesus) 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV)

Boldness is not a matter of puffing ourselves up and acting strong.  When we live in our own strength alone, we are like a straw house that seems sturdy, until a strong wind blows us over.  The key is to seek the Lord first, be content with His grace (as opposed to our circumstances), and humbly realize that any true strength we have is from God, Who amply supplies for our every need.

It is the grace of God that enabled Paul to not only survive, but thrive through otherwise unbearable situations.  Any one of the hardships Paul recounts to the Corinthians would be enough to derail even the heartiest of Christians (at least those of us who live in considerable ease in the western world).

But, by God’s grace, Paul soldiered on.

And, by the end of Acts, we see Paul imprisoned.  Not manacled to a wall or in chains, but living alone with a guard, supporting himself without having a job or source of income, receiving guests and proclaiming the Gospel.

The simple truth is that discontent saps us of God’s power, because it draws our attention inward, not upward.  I wonder what Paul would say if he saw my reaction when I can’t connect to the coffee shop’s wireless Internet, or when I am cheated out of the pickle that is missing from my Super Bacon Wacky Burger Deluxe.  With cheese.  (Actually, that may be God’s way of telling me to lay off the Wacky Burgers.)

When we refuse to be discontented by the discomforts of this life, or overly enchanted with the trappings of this world, and focus instead on God’s will and path and purpose, we find the boldness and strength through the grace of God to be joyful anyway.  The hardships of this life are a fleeting instant when compared to greatness of our Lord Jesus and the wonder of God’s great plan.

Keep your eyes on the purpose and prize of Christ!  Be bold in Him, and refuse to be discontent.

Not Hopeless

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for theLord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV)

You are not hopeless.

Your situation is not hopeless.

Your life is not hopeless.

Your circumstances are not hopeless.

Now, here comes the caveat, the big “but”… Nothing is hopeless if your hope is in the right place.

Your hope is deeply rooted in your desires – your needs (perceived and real) and wants.  Some hope for a different station in life.  Some hope for change.  Some hope for a new job.  Some hope for children.  Some simply hope for the pain to go away.

None of these are bad things to hope for.  But, there is one overarching hope that needs to come first.

4  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7  Be still before theLord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,over the man who carries out evil devices! – Psalms 37:4-7 (ESV)

Look at verse four.  The message is not that God will give us whatever we want.  Rather, when we seek God – when our hope is in Him – He changes our heart’s desires.  We begin to see things differently, more clearly.  We see that all is not lost.  We see that God has a far larger, greater plan, and our lives are but a very small part thereof.

I write this message today with a heavy heart.  Not over one person or situation, but because so many people I know and love are hurting.  They are facing trials and heartaches and problems that seem insurmountable.  Some are grieving a loss unimaginable.  Others are worried about the outcome of the day ahead.  Some need stability, some need work.  Some need healing.  Some are simply hurting and worried and anxious about life.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12, ESV).  Today I want to ask you – and myself: where is your hope?  Is it in a surgeon’s scalpel?  Is it in your 401(k) or the hoped for benevolence of an employer?  Is it in circumstances that are beyond your control?

We have only one true hope: God and His great love, mercy and grace.  It is in adversity that we find God.  It is when we finally come to the conclusion that this life is fraught with danger and pain and an appalling lack of fairness that we begin to see just how lost and hopeless we are without Him.

But… all is not lost.  You are not hopeless.  Your life is not hopeless.  The Lord is with His children.  Always.  Through the hardships.  Through the moments of pain and loss.  Through the fearful and worrisome times.  Through the hurt.  Through the darkest of nights and the valley of death.

We were never promised ease or comfort.  But we have the promise of strength and joy and hope – immeasurable and overflowing – when we choose to trust God and put all our hope in Him.  He will never leave you, nor forsake you.  You have not been – and never will be – abandoned.  Take it on faith.  Despite how you feel, God is with you.  His grace goes with you.  His love for you is beyond compare.

Seek Him first.  Latch onto God’s Word, even if it makes no sense or just doesn’t resonate in your heart. Don’t look at the storm.  Don’t stare at the waves.  Look to Jesus.  Focus on God and take Him at His word.  Rest in the Lord.  Find His peace.  He is our hope.

The Thornbush Harvest

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?” – Luke 6:46 (ESV)

It’s a more than fair question, and more than worthy of our consideration. It lies at the heart of what is in our hearts.  It speaks to how much we have continued to conform to the patterns of this world, and how much we have been transformed by God and His Word.  After all, if we are not following Him, seeking His kingdom first in all things, our transformation will be limited.

In the verses immediately prior to the above passage, we see this is part of a larger teaching about how to discern (as opposed to judging), and the clarity required to clearly suss out the truth about another person or situation.  We have a huge, sinful log in our own eyes that blinds us from the ability to see the reality behind the surface.

We see rightly when we view the fruit being born from a person, or ministry, or business, or community… When you see the tree for the fruit it bears, you can discern accurately.  Grapes don’t grow on thorn bushes.

I find it interesting to clear the editor’s subtitles away and read Scripture as it was intended: a cohesive whole, flowing and orderly, not chopped up into bite-size passages.  In doing so – in reading the narrative as a whole – we find something quite interesting.  Jesus says (as recorded in Luke 6:45), “…out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”  Then, immediately following, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?”

I imagine Jesus pausing – a Selah moment – between those two sentences.  He doesn’t expect an out-loud verbal answer.  He doesn’t need one.  He already knows.

What Jesus is doing is putting in motion the thought processes of the listener.  In the moments of intimacy, in conversation, in discussion… When we are at our most honest, our most authentic, being real… what flows out of our mouths?  Does what we say mesh with what we do?  More importantly, does why we say what we say mesh with why we do what we do?

If what we claim to be Christians, we need to back up our words with right action.  It doesn’t mean we are perfect, or that we expect perfection from others.  It doesn’t mean we try to present ourselves anything we are not, and we are nothing without Christ.  We are imperfect, filthy sinners, given a gift of salvation – a second chance (or third, or fifth, or one-hundredth) to be set right by Our Lord and Savior.  We should be humble, not haughty.  Justified, but imperfect (our perfecting being a lifelong process called sanctification).  Utterly unworthy yet wholly (and holy) redeemed.  A vessel for filling.  A lump of clay for forming.  A slave to freedom and righteousness.

What we say and do need to line up, as do the reasons therefore.  If we call Jesus our Lord, we need to be following His example, seeking His will, submitting to Him with our whole hearts, trusting Him in all things.  It is in doing so that we find our house to be a well-founded structure, able to withstand the storms that rage against us.

Frankly…

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

The Bouville Diarist has a new addition to the website.  It’s called “Frankly…” because, frankly, there are things I feel God has put on my heart that don’t necessarily fit the mold of the Bouville Diarist posts.

Frankly, I want this to be the place to get more personal, dig a bit deeper, take a step or two off the usual mark and run with it.

Frankly, it will be a bit freer.

Frankly, it is more like a letter than a proper article.  (As if every Bouville Diarist piece were a proper article.)

And, frankly, when people write letters, they like responses.

So, can we be frank here?  I want to invite you to visit The Bouville Diarist, read the articles on the main page, and click on the tab up top labeled “Frankly…”  Comments and dialogue are not only welcome, but hoped for.

The goal is still the same: finding peace, comfort, joy and purpose by seeking God first in all things and integrating the realities of Christ with the “realities” of life.  It’s just that, on this page, we’re a bit more… well… frank about it.

Transformitive Humility

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11  To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Peter 5:6-11 (ESV)

Tonight has been a night of prayer and preparation, seeking and expecting, letting go and looking up.  And, as I studied God’s Word tonight, one word in 1 Peter 5 stuck firmly in my mind: humble.  The act / art of lowering one’s attitude toward themselves, to “not… think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3, ESV).

Peter tells us to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand.  In other words, we are to submit to God and His will.

And stay submitted.

Just before Paul warns us against thinking too highly of ourselves, he tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, ESV).  If we want to be transformed in our thinking – truly changed from the inside out – we have to start with humility.

Humility lets go.  When our thoughts are Godward, anxiety isn’t an issue.  Worry evaporates.  Troubles shrink.  This is because being humble requires faith.  Faith that God is in control.  Faith that He knows every circumstance that will come our way, every stone to stub our toe, every obstacle in our path.

We have to humbly trust that God knows what He is doing in our lives.  If we feel stuck in a painful circumstance, perhaps there is a lesson to be learned, or another person we are to help.  Any way we look at it, there are no accidents.  We are where we are, when we are and why we are because of God’s purposes.

And when we stay focused on ourselves… well, that just isn’t what God has in mind for us.  We are called to love, to put others first and above ourselves.  We are instructed to cast our cares to God and trust that He has it all under control.

We are to be sober-minded.  Not anxious or fearful, but calm and faithful, filled with joy and peace, resting in the Lord.  Humbly.  In faith.  It is humble firmness in faith that sends the enemy running.

Humility helps us focus where we ought, by focusing our efforts in the right place: Godward.

Be transformed.  I like that.  I pray that for us all.