God in a Food Trough

God—omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. God Almighty. El Shaddai. Just trying to think about him can blow your mind. But to think that God, who is by definition limitless, would choose to take on the greatest limits that we know, can certainly trip all your circuits.

And yet, that is the message of the New Testament. Who would have ever thought this up? Certainly it wouldn’t be the logical conclusion of Judaism—the religion of God, the exalted and high and holy one.

Wanting Life My Way

My wife’s favorite movie, Lost in Yonkers, is one most people didn’t get that excited about. (She just has better taste than most!) The main character, played by Mercedes Rule, is Bella, a woman in her mid-thirties living in New York in the 1940s. Bella has a very childlike personality and is a bit on the slow side. After meeting a guy who wants to marry her, she decides to get her family (mother, aunt, brother and nephews) together to announce the big news.

Enjoy Others

 Last week I spoke to you about remembering to enjoy God, taking seriously David’s call for us to delight ourselves in the Lord.

In writing to Timothy, Paul said something else we need to hear. In the midst of a challenge to those who have wealth, he spoke of putting our hope in God “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

If we think sometimes that God’s real intention is that we live with a kind of grit-your-teeth, gut-it-out kind of endurance, we need to let Paul’s words change our minds. We live in relationship with a God who “provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Enjoy God

This passage from Psalm 37:4 is a good one for me this week and maybe it will be for you as well:

Delight yourself in the Lord

        and he will give you the desires of your heart.

David's statement here in Psalm 37 literally means it is God's will for us to take great pleasure in him. It is not his plan that we just obey him and trudge along the road of faith, grimly trying to hold on until the end. Yes, we need to fear, honor, obey, serve and glorify God and at the same time, enjoy him.

Father of the Bride

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Today, November 20, was a special one. Many in my family will write it on their calendars or store it in their computers. Today our second daughter was married to a man of character, heart and faith.

Give Anyway

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I once spoke with someone going through something very difficult. I asked him how he wanted to handle a certain change that challenging circumstances had dictated. “As painlessly as possible,” he said. “I’ve been through enough.”

This person has lived a life of giving to others, but in that comment he revealed the weakness we all have in the face of strong natural feelings. His pain was causing him to feel a bit like a victim—a victim who had suffered enough.

The Key to Overcoming

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Everything begins in the mind. “As a man thinks—so is he” is still true. Many have pointed out that in every situation there are two significant elements: (1) the circumstance itself and (2) the way you think about it. Of the two, however, the second is far more important than the first.

As I write this, I am reading a book by a man who was paralyzed in his youth by polio and has had only the use of some toes on one foot throughout most of his forty plus years, and yet he has earned and has become an author who types his own manuscripts. His circumstances seem overwhelming, but because of the way he came to think about them, he has been able to overcome.

Always a Choice

 Some people just have a naturally optimistic and cheery attitude toward life. They don’t seem to have to overcome much of anything to get there. It just seems to be in their DNA.

If you aren’t really acquainted with the Psalms, you might read some of the statements of David and assume that he was one of those sanguine happy souls.

You might hear him say this in Psalm 31: 

But I trust in you, O Lord;

I say, "You are my God."

My times are in your hands…

And you might think, I wish I could be like this. He makes it sound so easy. But this is one of those times when you need to look carefully at what led up to that statement.

The Kingdom -Vol. 2 -Another Excerpt

My friend Steve Brown and I are excited to see our second volume on the Kingdom of God now available. To give you just a taste of  what this book that is all about -- Jesus’ great sermon on the Kingdom life -- we will share this week another excerpt from the Introduction.

Realize there is no way to live this life on our own power. The more we read these teachings of Jesus, the more we may find ourselves saying, “God have mercy on us.” The Sermon starts with a beatitude (“blessed are the poor in spirit”) that is a confession that we are spiritual beggars…that we cannot do this without help. But each of the Beatitudes is a reminder of the grace that God intervenes to give his people. Of the “poor in spirit” Jesus says, “theirs is the Kingdom”! They taste the powers of the coming age (Hebrews 6:5). They receive strength to turn and live a new way.

The Kingdom, Volume Two

My friend Steve Brown and I are excited to see our second volume on the Kingdom of God now available. To give you just a taste of this book that is all about Jesus’ great sermon on the Kingdom life, we will share a few excerpts from the Introduction this week and next.

Can the most challenging words we have ever read also be the most encouraging? Can a serious call to live an impossible dream not depress us but transform us? The answer to both questions is “yes” if those words are the message of Jesus that we usually call tthe Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5–7.

In our first volume on the Kingdom of God we pointed out that the Kingdom of God was Jesus’ primary message. We described how Jesus announced the in-breaking of God’s future into our present age. We saw it was his plan for the people of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to start living “on earth as it is in heaven.” But what does this type of living look like?

Showing Kindness to God

One of the most frequent prayers found in the book of Psalms is some form of “Lord, have mercy on me.” The Hebrew word used here carries the idea of “Lord, show me your loving kindness and devotion.”

But in Jeremiah 2:2 we find the word used in a very different way. Through Jeremiah God says to the people, “I remember the kindness [devotion] of your youth, your love as a bride” (KJV).  By the time of this writing Israel was showing God little of this, but God could remember when Israel showed kindness to him and was devoted to him with the loving kindness of a bride.

We Need Other People!

Some years ago, as I struggled with my illness and battled with a tenacious depression, I had some very mature and wise people in my life who could not figure me out. They wanted to have the answers. They wanted to find out how to fix me, but they will tell you today that they were perplexed. But in spite of their frustration and limitations, they did the right thing: They kept loving me. And, fortunately, I did the right thing: I let them.

See God in Circumstances

See God in Circumstances

I don’t always like my circumstances. But I am learning that God would not allow them if they were not opportunities for me to do something more important than I would have been doing without them.

What looks to me like something that is hindering the work of God (like Paul’s thorn in the flesh) is often a vehicle God plans to use for one of his patented surprise attacks. Change your mind about circumstances.

Simply Listen

I remember a man who stopped me once after a church service to tell me some of his troubles. He was not happy with some of the developments in his life and seemed to believe that telling at least one person how he felt would give him some satisfaction. I listened for some time as he described some decisions he had made that resulted in much difficulty.

Your Trump Card

According to The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, here is the definition of a trump card: “the suit designated as having precedence over the others. In general, it is something capable of making a decisive difference when used at the right moment as in ‘The prosecutor played her trump card by calling a surprise witness.’”

There have been more than a few times in my life when I did not like the hand I was dealt. It looked like there were too many things against me, and I found my unreliable emotions taking a dip. But in those times, I have learned something. I have learned that God has given us the ultimate trump card.

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

Most of us quite naturally think that joy comes when we feel strong; when we have done well and when things work out as we think they should. If we are feeling weak, uncertain, ill-prepared, disappointed, guilty or hurt, it hardly seems that joy could be in our hearts at the same time.

But consider a verse in Nehemiah. This verse comes after the people have been listening to Ezra, the priest, read to them from the law of God over several hours. As they hear it, they are weeping, apparently realizing their failures.

Christian, I Hear You

A few days ago an old friend shared with me what he had been reading from Psalm 143. Two days later as I was encouraging another friend, I turned to the words that had been shared with me, and again the power of Scripture was seen. Moved by this result, I decided to spend time every morning for a week focusing on this passage.

Raise the Volume

Sometimes a mind change is made quietly as you contemplate Scripture or as you pray or maybe even as you work or drive your car. You confront your circumstances, take note of your faulty thinking and decide to lock your mind on to God’s thoughts instead.

But sometimes I find that the only way to make a mind change is to be loud and passionate.

This week I went to a place to pray and as I began, I was constantly distracted. I know we have all had that experience. We want to connect with God, but there are all kinds of things going on in our minds. As I paid attention to those distracting thoughts, one thing was clear: It is hard to admit, but they were all about me. They were about how hard something is for me. They were about how unfair some things seemed for me. They were all about how others could not understand me.

Now I suppose I could have quietly said, “Tom this is not good. You need to adjust your thinking.” But these thoughts seemed not only wicked but insistent and determined. It seemed no quiet response would do. Thinking immediately of Jesus’ rebuke of Peter, I blurted out with considerable force:  “Out of my sight, Satan! These are not the thoughts of God but the thoughts of men!”

My explosive response seemed to be just what was needed. The “what about me?” demons ran for the hills. I was freed up to focus on God, his calling and his provision. Some of the things that try to lodge in our minds can only be expelled with force, power and maybe even considerable volume. When this is needed don’t hold back.

Focus Scriptures

Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 16:23

Conflict

[This "moment" first was published three years ago]

My wife, Sheila, and I recently confronted a mild but persistent pattern of conflict in our marriage. At first we tried to think our way out of the problem, but then we saw it as a call to rely more on God in prayer. The conflict has now led us to come together in prayer more often which means our marriage has grown that much stronger.

Pinhead Faith

 I heard a man talk about faith. He asked how many of us have pinhead faith. The fact that he even asked the question most likely didn't give anyone a good feeling--especially since he asked it of people who are supposed be known for their faith.  It is embarrassing for most of us to admit that our faith is so infantile.

But then the speaker helped us change our minds. He pointed us to a surprising and amazing truth taught by Jesus. He said, "If you have faith as small as mustard seed--the smallest of all the seeds--you will be able to move mountains."

As you contemplate Jesus' words, you realize he was saying the problem for us is not that we don't have magnificent and impressive faith. He was saying that humble, struggling pinhead faith, mustard seed faith is quite enough. And so when there is a problem, it is not found in the diameter of our faith but in the disuse of our faith-whatever its size.

Some of us are tempted to look at some situation in our lives--like something we need to change or something we need to overcome--and think "I just don't think I have enough faith."

But do you have pinhead faith? "Sure," you say, "that pretty well describes what I do have."

Well, Jesus says you have enough-enough to move a mountain. And surely the issue in your life is not bigger than that.

Luke 17:3-6

Mark 9:20-24

James 5:13-18

True Colors

Some years ago Aderonke moved from her home in Nigeria to the United Kingdom. In Manchester, England, she met Christians who taught her the message of Jesus. In 1998 she shared in Jesus’ death and resurrection in baptism, becoming his disciple. 

Some Mornings

Some mornings I wake up with a mind full of ideas. I can hardly wait to get to the computer to start putting them down.

And then there are mornings like this one when all I seem to think of are how many things there are to do and how little energy I seem to have to get them done.

Some mornings I wake up with a gleam in my eye. Other mornings I feel a burden is on my back.  Can any of you relate?

When the latter happens in a mind like I have, such thoughts can start me on a downward spiral. It doesn’t take me very long to start feeling like a sorry fellow who wonders “How in the world did I ever write a book, and why in the world did I ever commit to doing a podcast that I think someone might actually listen to?”

But the truth is that it was in the middle of muddled and negative thinking just like this that God helped me understand the whole idea of a mind change.  I tried to learn to set my mind like a thermostat before I went to bed so it would be at a certain place when I woke up. Unfortunately that never worked.

But what I did learn was that the thoughts I have when morning breaks don’t have to dominate and determine the outcome of my day.

No, the God who gives a new day can also give us a changed mind.

The Beekeeper

Reuben Shubaugh’s story was recently featured on a Wichita TV station. He is known in his neighborhood as the beekeeper or the “bee man,” a title he has proudly worn for more than 50 years. His neighbors see him outside going from hive to hive collecting beeswax and honey, continuing an acitivity that may have been practiced first in ancient Egypt.

Independence Day

On this Independence Day in the United States let me give you a few mind-changing thoughts from Jesus. Given the nature of Jesus' teaching, we should not be surprised to find that these are for the most part counter-cultural.

Not the Way I Pictured It

 One of my wife’s favorite movies is Lost in Yonkers. In it Bella, a sweet, mentally challenged woman who is probably in her late 30s eventually meets someone who she believes is the man of her dreams. She calls a family meeting to share with them her plans to marry Johnny, an usher from the local movie theater.

The Lowest Valley

I am a fan of bluegrass music. That works well living as I do now in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. I was not always a fan. It took a movie directed by two Jewish gentlemen from Minnesota to turn me into one, but a crazy film titled O Brother, Where Art Thou? did the trick. If you were to ask me, “What’s on your IPod?” chances are the answer will either be Alison Krauss or Ralph Stanley.

Just before I moved from Boston to Nashville a friend gave me a Ralph Stanley album of gospel songs. One of the tunes is called “The Lowest Valley,” and the refrain says “When I’m in the lowest valley, I can climb the highest hill.”

Not too Much

Dru has suffered from so many debilitating physical problems that you need a scorecard to keep track. Her battle with diabetes caused her to lose her vision. She had kidney failure, regular dialysis and finally a kidney transplant. She has had at least two surgeries for cancer. Her schedule for doctors’ appointments seems like a fulltime job. Her husband, Paul, is at her side when not working, and he suffers vicariously with her.

But…it doesn’t sound quite right to use the word “suffers” in regard to them. I know it is an accurate description of things they must feel, but together they face their trials with such faith and humor, that it is not the first thing you think of when you picture them. They are encouragers, always thinking of how to strengthen others who face challenges.

In my book, Mind Change, Power Thought #29 reads:

God has not given

you too much.

If there is something you have to

face, you can face it.

If there is something you must

overcome, you can overcome it.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:

”When something must be done, there is no use talking

about whether or not it can be done.”

           

It looks like Dru and Paul have an unfair load. But they show us that “God has not given too much” and that living a life of love is something they can still do with joy.

Not too Much

Dru has suffered from so many debilitating physical problems that you need a scorecard to keep track. Her battle with diabetes caused her to lose her vision. She had kidney failure, regular dialysis and finally a kidney transplant. She has had at least two surgeries for cancer. Her schedule for doctors’ appointments seems like a fulltime job. Her husband, Paul, is at her side when not working, and he suffers vicariously with her.

But…it doesn’t sound quite right to use the word “suffers” in regard to them. I know it is an accurate description of things they must feel, but together they face their trials with such faith and humor, that it is not the first thing you think of when you picture them. They are encouragers, always thinking of how to strengthen others who face challenges.

In my book, Mind Change, Power Thought #29 reads:

God has not given

you too much.

If there is something you have to

face, you can face it.

If there is something you must

overcome, you can overcome it.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:

”When something must be done, there is no use talking

about whether or not it can be done.”

           

It looks like Dru and Paul have an unfair load. But they show us that “God has not given too much” and that living a life of love is something they can still do with joy.

The Spiritual Battle

King David was aware of his enemies. He writes:

For I hear the slander of many;

There is terror on every side.

They conspire against me

And plot to take my life.

My enemies are just as real as David’s. They are those powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil that Paul describes in Ephesians. They are called “powers” because they are strong and are to be reckoned with. They conspire against me and want to ruin my life. This is not paranoia; it is just facing the facts.

They infiltrate my mind, causing a kind of spiritual auto-immune disease, so my mind can conjure up every possible reason that my failure will be eventual if not quick.

After facing the hard facts, David has a mind change. He says

“But I trust in you, O Lord;

I say “You are my God, my times are in your hands.”

He turns away from fear of his enemies and declares his faith.

Learning from David, I can hear the slander those evil powers broadcast against me, and turn my mind to God saying “But I trust in you, O Lord, You are my God, my times are in your hands.”

In my book, Mind Change, power thought #25 reads:

Don't resent the spiritual battle. 

Be thankful you have the weapons to fight it.

Be glad you are on the winning side.

A Spiritual Way to Think

When we entered the room where Bill was waiting for us, the first thing I noticed was the broad smile. He can no longer move his limbs except for the lower part of one arm, but with that smile he was giving us a warm hug.

Bill has Lou Gehrig ’s disease. Two years ago he was traveling the country as an active expert in the field of sound. Today he is confined to his high tech wheelchair.

Enjoy the Challenge

In the New Testament the apostle Paul says, “[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.”

This is the painful truth: God allows pain. Most of us don’t like it. We profile those who do like it in the abnormal psychology books. But the God who allows pain, for purposes we may not fully understand, also gives comfort. And one of the reasons he gives us comfort is to make us part of what we might call a “comforting chain reaction.”

We are all familiar with a “downward spiral” where one bad experience leads to another one. God wants to create an “upward spiral.” I may get knocked down by something painful. But rather than fall into a downward spiral, I can change my mind, look to God and allow him to give me his comfort and strength…then I can be there for someone else who has taken a tough hit. As I help that person, we are both encouraged, and we are both equipped to encourage someone else.

In my book, Mind Change, Power Thought #20 reads:

Decide to enjoy the challenge.

If it is going to be there, you might as well enjoy it.

God is allowing it for some good purpose.

Like, Jacob, don’t let go of it until it blesses you.

Remember that problems prepare you to give to others.

Accept with Faith

Karen was fifteen when she developed a rare form of muscular dystrophy known as Friedrich’s Ataxia. When she was around thirty she had to use an electric wheelchair that she operated with one hand. She soon required a personal assistant to dress and bathe and prepare food. She met a man named Rich who also used a wheelchair, having been paralyzed from the waist down by polio as a child.

Ten years ago I did their premarital counseling and performed their wedding ceremony. Everyone in the wedding party was seated, including me as the presiding minister because I have MS. The best man was a quadriplegic and, of course, in his wheel chair. I have performed a number of weddings throughout the years but never one more inspiring or more memorable.

Can you imagine the negative thoughts Karen and Rich had to overcome to envision a marriage with their severe disabilities?

But these two special people have learned the power of changing their minds. Karen says, “As my disability has progressed, I am constantly reminded to rethink my attitude, and have a godly focus, realizing that I am given the opportunity to pray much more diligently. I have learned to laugh, instead of getting frustrated.”

In my book, Mind Change, Power Thought # 4 says:

Accept whatever

comes. . .with faith.

Disappointment?  Faith.

Unfairness?  Faith.

Fear?  Faith.

Thank you, Karen and Rich, for showing us faith in difficult circumstances.

The Kingdom -- Final Thoughts

This is going to be my last videocast before we began to replay some of the mind change moments we've done over the last four years. I was in graduate school and beginning to grow long sideburns while wearing bell bottom pants in 1971 when I first picked up a copy of John Bright’s classic book, The Kingdom of God. It strikes me now that I was all most through a Master’s program in theology, but had heard almost nothing about Jesus’ concept of the kingdom.

Kingdom #5: The Kingdom and the Church

In the Scriptures there is a dynamic relationship between the kingdom of God and the church. The kingdom of God was the dominant theme of Jesus preaching and teaching. In the person of Jesus the New Age was breaking into the present age.  Through Jesus and those who would become his disciples, God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The phrase kingdom of God in Greek is the term baseila tou theo which can also be translated the reign of God or the rule of God. Because of Jesus and through faith in him men and women can begin to live under God’s rule and reign right now in this present age.

To be in the Kingdom is to live a certain lifestyle and to treat people in a certain way—a way very different from the way we have all been taught by the world. As we said last week it is to live conscious that your citizenship is in heaven and you take your direction from there.

·      So what about the church? Is the church the same as the Kingdom? No, that would not be the right way to put it. Well, is the church in some way the Kingdom of God on earth? While there is definitely a crucial relationship between the church and the Kingdom, to put it that way would also be to diminish the scope of the kingdom and make it something less than what it is.

Kingdom #4--Citizenship in Heaven

 “Our citizenship is in heaven,” Paul says in Philippians 3:20.

When some people hear this phrase they think “Heaven is eventually where I will go.” Paul seems to have something else in mind. The Greek word for citizenship can mean a form of government or citizenship. Paul is saying that the form of government disciples of Jesus are under is ultimately the reign of God and as such our citizenship is in heaven… or if you will “our political thinking comes from heaven.”

A citizen is a native or naturalized member of the state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and can feel entitled to its protection. A citizen is to be distinguished from an alien or a foreigner.

It is most significant that Paul makes this statement to the Philippians, for their city was highly favored by the Emperor, and he had granted most of the people there Roman citizenship for which they were extremely proud. But Paul reminds the believers that their citizenship is really not Roman but it is in heaven.

Kingdom #3: The Sermon on the Kingdom

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus comes announcing the in-breaking of the Kingdom. And then Matthew presents to us what we usually call The Sermon on the Mount. We have come to call it the Sermon on the Kingdom, or, if you will, the sermon on kingdom living. This is the core of Jesus’ message and he almost certainly repeated many of the teachings found here on other occasions. Luke, in chapter 6 of his gospel, tells us about at least one of these times that is often called the Sermon on the Plain.

Kingdom #2: Kingdom Humility

Having said last week that I want to talk to you more about the Kingdom of God and urge you to study this subject seriously, I want to make something as clear as I can. I do not consider myself an expert on the subject. I have been seriously studying Jesus’ teaching on this vital subject for the last thirty months. My friend, Steve Brown, and I have written a book on the topic, but I am still very much a learner and a student, and expect I always will be.

The Kingdom of God is as majestic and monumental a topic as you can find in Scripture. One of the key verses that has captured my attention during our study has been Hebrews 12:28-29: “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us worship God will reverence and awe.” Two key insights come from this text.

Scripture #1: "Kingdom Come"

To view today's presentation as a video click here.


Today represents a bit of a milestone for us as it is our 200th week to send out a Mind Change Moment. Sheila and I want to thank you for so much encouragement and support that you have given us so to help keep these messages going out. After today were going to take  a break, and not be sending out any our regular podcasts for a while. But I do want to talk to you about something else we're going to make available.

Scripture #2: See to It

Hebrews 3:12-13

    See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

 With only two passages to go, here is one of many in the New Testament that shows just how much we need each other to live a kingdom-first life. With the use of the phrase "see to it" and the phrase "let us" which is used an astonishing twelve times in Hebrews, the writer is calling us to be involved in each other's lives.

Scripture #3: The Much More of the Heavenly Father

With only three weeks to go I am down to the last three passages of Scripture that have greatly influenced my life. As I have said earlier, these are not in any certain order, like you would get on the David Letterman Show or the Top Forty Hits. We aren’t counting down to number one.

Today’s passage comes from Matthew 7:11 and is not one you hear quoted that often. In the Sermon on the Mount, which Steve Brown and I call the Sermon on the Kingdom, in the context of teaching on prayer, which we believe must be seen in the context of Jesus’ Kingdom teaching, he says:

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Scripture #4:Seek First

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

How could this one not be on my list? In all our lives there is going to be something we seek first. What is it for you? It may be something noble like the good of your marriage or the good of your family. For a few people it may be their country. It may be a long time dream or something you want to achieve. It may be something not so noble like your own pleasure or your own self-centered 

happiness. Something is going to be first in all our lives.

Create in Me a Pure Heart, O God

Counting down toward number one, this passage is a slam dunk for my list. Thirty-three years ago it sprang to life in me and helped set me on a new course. I had been a follower of Jesus for ten years, looking for ways to be used by him, but slowly and unknown to me my heart had grown hard.

I still preached and taught and wrote, and I still sat down with others and shared my faith. I still gathered my wife and children, and we worshipped God in our home. But I had become a negative presence. I had let bitterness come in and set up shop.

The Power of the Cross

Passage number six is 1 Cor. 1:18:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

The first book DPI published was: Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross. Now some 200 plus books later, it is still one of our most popular. In the introduction, eighteen years ago, I focused on this passage and then wrote the following words that describe my convictions:

a Challenge to Husbands

The seventh passage I want to share with you is  Ephesians 5:25-26:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.

Some of the passages are on my list because of the encouragement and hope they give me. That has been true of most of the passages I have shared so far. But some are on my list because of the direction and challenge they give. This verse definitely belongs in the second category. More than forty-one years ago a most wonderful young woman became my wife (by the grace of God), but I know myself well enough to know that without words like these found in Scripture, I could have moved from those exciting days of young love into a very selfish and ungrateful way of living.

My Times Are in Your Hands

In my list of the top ten most influential passages for my life I would have to put Psalm 31:14-15, but before we look at what it says, let me tell you the context of it. If you go back about five verses you find David felt about as troubled as a man can feel.

Words like anguish and groaning are there, as are ideas like weakness, sorrow and distress. He pretty much sums it all up by saying he feels like a piece of shattered pottery. We would not be surprised to hear him say he is ready to give up, but instead come these words:

Through Weakness

I am taking a few weeks to give you eleven passages of Scripture that I believe have had the greatest impact on my life. We have talked about number 11 and number 10 and that brings us to number 9, and I cannot count the times this one has kept me going. It is 2 Cor. 12:9:

    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.

Some of us seem to be more in touch with our strengths and others of us are more in touch with our weaknesses. Most of my life I have been in the latter category. Just naturally wired this way, I then developed a chronic disease that can make even the most buoyant and self-confident fellow feel amazingly weak. I honestly believe that had it not been for this passage I likely would have lived a life characterized by doubting, withdrawing, pulling back and giving up.

Again and again I have been confronted with various feelings of weakness—that gut level emotion that says, “I just don’t think you have what it takes.” But if there is a reason that I am not known as one who retreats from the battle, it has to be found in the promise and the spirit of this verse.

I claimed this promise when walking into college dorms to lead Bible studies; when traveling across the country to speak or to take on the task of putting together a book.  But I also have clung to it when seeking to lead my family and be the husband and dad I did not seem to have the strength to be. In my flesh I prefer for God to work through my strengths, don’t you? But one of the greatest miracles is that he works through weakness.

Grace to the Humble

For Scripture number 10 (and these are not in any order of importance), I have 1 Peter 5:5:

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 

Thirteen years ago, I wrote about this text in The Prideful Soul’s Guide to Humility, and I still have deep conviction about what I said.

Passage after passage in the Scriptures make it clear that humility is the way to God’s heart. The proud find the door closed to his inner sanctum, but those who demonstrate humility are welcomed there again and again. By some measures of performance the former group may outshine the latter, but never mind. God does not receive us on the basis of performance. He receives us on the basis of heart, and no quality of heart is more important to him than humility.

In Grace I Stand

I am sure you have been counting and so probably know that this Mind Change Moment number 190. :) To get us to an even 200, I will use the next eleven Mondays to share with you eleven passages that seem to have most impacted my life. Once we reach that milestone, we will be stopping, at least for a while. DPI will be rerunning previous weeks for those of you want to continue to receive them.

So this week we start with passage number 11 and it comes from Romans 5:1-2:

Of Legs and Life

It will not surprise you that I watched some football on New Year’s Day. After all I live in North America. I also enjoyed black-eyed peas and cornbread with family and friends and played a fun game of “Catch Phrase.” But football was the main thing on the schedule. I only watched one game from beginning to end (Roll Tide), but I saw some of all the others.