more coke
From OneTimeBlind
When our desires conform to God’s will,
we’re not likely to waste time wishing for things that can’t satisfy.
Real joy comes not in getting what we want,
but in wanting to be close to God. — David C. Egner
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...ODB: be still
October 14, 2009
READ: Psalm 46
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! —Psalm 46:10
As I sat in the dentist’s chair, I braced myself for the drilling that would begin my root canal. I was ready for the worst, and my body language and facial expression exposed my sense of dread. The dentist looked at me and smiled, saying, “It’s okay, Bill. Try to relax.”
That isn’t easy to do. It is actually very difficult to try (requiring effort and exertion) to relax (requiring an absence of effort and exertion). Try and relax just don’t seem to fit together—not only in the dentist’s chair, but in the spiritual realm as well.
Far too often I don’t limit my efforts of resistance to visits at the dentist’s office. In my relationship with Christ, I find myself not pressing for God’s purposes but for my own interests. In those moments, the hardest thing for me to do is “try to relax” and genuinely trust God for the outcome of life’s trials.
In Psalm 46:10, we read, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” In the moments when my heart is anxious, this verse reminds me to “be still, and know.” Now, if I can only put that into practice and rest confidently in His care, I’ll be at peace. — Bill Crowder
God knows the future, so we are safe in His hands.
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October 14, 2009
READ: Luke 23:23-34
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (v.34).
In the US presidential election of 2000, Senator John McCain lost his momentum and ultimately his party’s nomination when someone spread rumors that he had fathered a bi-racial child out of wedlock. Besides its overt racism, the slander was particularly despicable because the child in question was a handicapped orphan that John and his wife Cindy had adopted from Bangladesh.
Seven years later, as her husband was running for president again, a friend asked Cindy what she would do if she encountered the person who had spread the vicious rumor. Would she want to stab him in the back? “No,” she answered, “I’d stab him in the front.”
Who can blame Cindy McCain for nursing a grudge all those years? She had sacrificially given of herself for her child, only to have that loving act twisted and thrown back in her face.
But here’s the thing. We who have received the forgiveness of Christ are obligated to pass that same forgiveness on to others. If we don’t, Jesus said we are like a debtor forgiven of “millions of dollars” who demands payment from someone who owes him “a few thousand dollars” (Matthew 18:23-35). A few thousand dollars is a lot of money, but it is much less than what God has forgiven us.
But forgiving others is hard! Actually, it’s impossible. On our own, we will continue to do what comes naturally and dream of paying back those who have hurt us. But with the empowering Spirit of Jesus, we can follow the example of Jesus, who in the act of providing forgiveness for the whole world also asked forgiveness for the people who were killing Him (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness is an act of God. If He lives in you, you can and must do it. —Mike Wittmer
What does it mean to forgive? How can you tell that you’ve forgiven someone?
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