Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Is discouragement inevitable?

Are you discouraged? Do you get discouraged often? Are there particular people who discourage you, either with their words or their unwillingness to commit or even their spiritual immaturity? I think of the apostle Paul opening his heart in his letters to the churches and to individuals.
This is a man who, after turning his life over to Christ, became what we would call a "super" Christian. He was on fire for the Lord, and nothing could bring him down...or could it.
In I Corinthians 1:11, he states: "For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you." Did this hit Paul like a kick in the stomach? He loved the Corinthian church and now he hears that they are dividing themselves. Not over doctrine, but over who baptized whom. This sounds like a schoolyard bragging contest - My dad can beat up your dad! Does he throw in the towel? No! He calmly and lovingly corrects these immature Christians in their understanding of their place in God's kingdom.
Also in I Corinthians, chapter 11, Paul corrects the church in its observance of the Lord's Supper. He rebukes them for the way they are making it a meal and leaving the reason for its observance.
Was he discouraged by these Corinthian Christians? Maybe. Did he write them off? No. He brought to their remembrance the Last Supper and showed them again the reason why they were there on the first day of the week.
Lastly, in II Timothy, chapter 4, Paul laments the loss of his fellow workers, Demas, Crescens and Titus, to the sinful world. This would be discouraging to almost anyone who worked with someone from their conversion on. Paul moves forward with no time to waste on mourning. He is already making plans for further work in the Lord's kingdom.
Do not be discouraged. Press on. Strive for the prize. Run the race.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Try to be consistent and look where it gets you.

I started off with the best of intentions: try to consistently post at this blog. You have only to look at the timeline and see where that got me. Started strong, but allowed other things to grab my attention. I put off posting (I'll get to it later), rationalized it (I don't really have anything to say), and finally gave up any semblance of caring (no one reads it anyway). Then I realized that maybe I put too much pressure on myself. I WILL get to it later, I really did have something to say, and, come to find out, people actually do read it.
This sounds a lot like people in the church. We start out strong after, maybe, public repentance or baptism. We pressure ourselves to attempt "super-christianity". Then, unsurprisingly, we falter and then fall back into old habits, all the while rationalizing our behavior.
Guess what? God gets it. He's seen it all and it is not new to him. Remember, God is love. He loves us when we break promises, when we explain away bad behavior and even when we give up on Him. Luckily, God's love for me does not hinge on my blog entries, or my failed attempts at showing my zeal, or even for my occasional apathy. He loves me no matter what.
That's not to say He is not disappointed in me, or that He will not punish my disobedience. He is faithful in all his promises, including the one that says He will cast out the disobedient from His presence. I can, though, rest assured in the fact that He wants me to succeed in my walk with Him.