Gritty Growth

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 3:18a

This is our charge as believers, that once we believe we are to grow. Peter writes to the followers of Christ in Rome to encourage them to be diligent in their pursuit of Christlke living. Earlier in this letter he implores them to “make every effort” to add to their faith excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection, and unselfish love. I2 Peter 1:6-7). The man who joined Jesus walking on the water on the sea knows there is no treading water in our walk with Jesus. It is a constant looking into the eyes of the savior to  strengthen our faith and learn to trust in his strengthening provision.

Angela Duckworth writes in Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, “Gritty people have a growth mindset; when bad things happen, they don’t give up.” James reminds us that, “the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:3) We experience setbacks regularly in our quest to be Christlike. Temptations from within, circumstances from without, and the schemes of our enemy cause us to doubt, lead us to selfish choices, and discourage us as we experience failure and factors beyond our control. But we must learn to be gritty in our walk and to understand that growth is scruffy and circuitous. 

Don’t lose heart. Stay focused. When you fall, accept the hand offered by Jesus and let him set you back on the path. Remember the great cloud of witnesses spoken of in Hebrews – the ones of who run the race before you and are cheering you on. Keep your eyes on the prize – life with Jesus for all eternity – and stay gritty no matter what happens along the way. Keep growing in grace and knowledge, learn when you fail or get knocked down, and don’t give up. 

Prayer: Jesus, Savior, I get discouraged and want to give up when I fail in my walk with you. Help me to stay focused on you, to be scrappy and gritty as I fight through setbacks and doubts. I long to be with you and will persevere, growing and learning as I go through trials and tests meant to strengthen and shape me. I will not give up because I know you are with me and your Spirit provides direction, correction, and encouragement. 

Acknowledging Spiritual Weakness (and finding strength)

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8: 26-27

If ever there was a single passage that confirms God’s care for his children, it’s Romans 8:26-27. Here we discover that God doesn’t save us and leave us on our own to flounder or fly unassisted. No, he provides a resource to aid us: his own Spirit. It seems an understatement to call the Spirit a Helper, although that is one of the roles Jesus attributed to him. But he is not just a helper in the sense of an assistant, someone I can call on to help me when I get in a scrape or conundrum. Instead, the Spirit is one with God the father and God the son. As a unified entity, the Trinity has planned, executed, and anticipated on my behalf.

 

In verse 26 we find that the Spirit is necessary because I am weak. If I had the spiritual strength required to live a sanctified life I would have no need for the Spirit. But I must acknowledge that the flesh continues to dominate and destroy my attempts at holiness. And I have an enemy who is a skilled warrior, determined to see me fall and suffer. I am weak of resolve and weak of knowledge when it comes to fighting spiritual battles. For this reason, the Spirit intercedes for me, taking the kernel of spiritual desire and seeing it as a giant redwood strengthens me.

 

I need to be specific in acknowledging my weakness. Keeping my spiritual myopia generic and ethereal means I approach God with generalities. To fully obtain the strength that the Spirit provides I must confess not just my obtuseness in spiritual matters, but also my general lack of desire for holiness. In fact, I do want to be holy, but not to go through the process of sanctification. Some days I’m not even sure I want to be holy, as my fleshly pursuits are enticed by immediate gratification that seems so much more palpable than heaven.

 

God, I know I am weak. I acknowledge my weakness before you. Hear my feeble prayers and strengthen them before the throne to stir the heavens, and yourself, to rescue me. I get in my own way and prevent my own spiritual growth and knowledge. I tend to keep a spiritual distance and avoid mirrors in the hallway so I don’t have to see the pathetic, groveling, impotent mess that I am. But that is not who I really am in your presence, is it? You don’t see me that way. Thank you for choosing to see me as your holy child, and for providing not just rescue, but also help for my struggle.

The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

This Truth is mind-boggling – He left His home in glory to save wayward and ungrateful humanity. He created us and loved us, with full knowledge that His love would not be returned. At last not to the degree that He loves. It’s a complicated relationship. It doesn’t have to be, but we’ve made it that way.

I wonder if the complexity makes it easier somehow – easier to live distantly from the One who shines a light on our dark souls. If I can say it’s complicated, I don’t have to hold myself to the burning light that both exposes darkness and reveals Truth.

But if I allow the light to encompass me I can live open as an imperfect man in need of a loving Savior – who humbled Himself by coming down to His creation and faced the humility of the cross.

Father, help me to simplify my relationship with You, accepting the beauty of your Son’s love and the power of your Spirit who empowers me to love as lavishly as you do.

What Do You Want?

What do you want me to do for you? -Matthew 20:23

When Jesus stopped and asked the blind men on his way out of Jericho what they wanted him to do for them, his disciples probably wanted to blurt out, “Duh, Jesus!” They obviously wanted to be able to see – and Jesus surely knew that was their request. So why did he make them say it?

The blind men couldn’t work, so they stood along the road to beg. Their daily request was for passers by to give them a few coins so that they could eat. And now they had heard Jesus preaching in Jericho and knew that he was a healer. But they yelled out to him, “have mercy on us.” What did they mean by that? Why didn’t they say, “give us our sight – we want to see?!”

I think Jesus wanted them to articulate clearly exactly what they wanted. They were asking for more than mercy – they were asking for a miracle. They wanted their eyes open to see the world around them. So he made them say it out loud. And Jesus gave them just what they asked for.

We need to come to Jesus with specific prayers. Mark Patterson writes, “God does not answer vague prayers.” We need to be able to articulate just what we want, faithfully believing that he will give us that – or even better, according to his will.

What specific thing will you ask of him today?

Wait Continually

So you, by the help of your God, return,

Hold fast to love and justice,

And wait continually for your God.

-Hosea 12:6

 

God is speaking to the tribes of Judah and Ephraim, calling them back to Himself. He spoke through the prophet Hosea to remind them of the care and guidance He had provided for His people. These tribes were about to break a covenant with Assyria to make a deal with Egypt. They had lost sight of God’s promise to them and Hosea called on them to trust the Lord.

Love, justice, and patience are key traits of those who follow after God. This verse assures us that the One who calls us to live according to these traits will equip us to develop them. He is like a magnet to those who align themselves with Him. Though we pull away, we are drawn back by His love and provision.

We may feel the burn of the fire we so foolishly touch, He places a soothing balm on our burnt skin and restores us.

As the psalmist testifies (Psalm 40), He lifts us out of the miry clay and sets our feet on solid ground. He puts a new song in our mouth so that we can proclaim His greatness.

Wait continually…keep the faith and remain on the path. To the right and left are temptations aplenty that flash on the periphery, but we must keep our eyes before us as He lovingly and skillfully leads us to green pastures and still waters on the other side of the valley.

Act Like Men

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

 

 

 
ACT LIKE MEN

What does it mean to act like men? How does a man act? Especially in today’s culture that wants to equalize the genders – making women tough and men soft. Today’s men are more sensitive, kind, and nurturing.

The days of men smoking cigars in the waiting room while their wives gave birth with a doctor and nurses is a “manly” tradition that gladly went by the wayside. For too many generations manliness was equal to machismo, and men were expected to be harsh, aloof, and uncomfortable with feelings.

I don’t think Paul was thinking along these lines when he instructed the mean of Corinth to act like men. After all, he had just finished telling them to show extreme charitable love. No, I think Paul was talking about

Courage…resolve…sincerity…integrity…drive…protectiveness…paternal nurture.

Masculine traits often miss the gentler side of manhood. Being a man is not about chauvinism and emotional distance. Paul wrote the “love chapter” to men as well as women. Love is not a feminine quality, but a human quality. Specifically, it’s the hallmark of Christians who want to reflect the nature of Jesus.

Patience, kindness, humility, forgiveness, and charity are manly attitudes. And men are to be leaders in these behaviors. We are to show the way and not shrink back. We are not to respond in anger when wronged, but refuse to be provoked to exasperation.

Men figure things out. They build and fix; they work hard and see things through. A man seeks the truth and makes a way for others to enter in. Men are standard bearers of hope, guiding the way without fear or discouragement. As our culture becomes more chaotic and complex, where sides are taken and hatred is seen as a fitting response to differences of opinion, men must act like men and display their strength in love and charity.

Called “As Is”

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. this is my rule in all the churches. I Corinthians 7:17

Paul is writing here to the church in Corinth and this verse is in the middle of his teaching on marriage and sexuality. He expands the message at this point to include various situations a believer may be in when they choose to accept Christ.

The core message of this verse is to encourage contentment, or at least acceptance, of one’s station in life. We shouldn’t strive for what we don’t have – money, circumcision, freedom, or marriage.

We spend a lot of our lives being dissatisfied. We compare our lives to others or to an ideal cultural standard, and expend great amounts of energy anxious to acquire what we lack.

Paul wants us to put our energy toward things that are spiritually important – like unity, service, and holiness. Discipleship is not about becoming more like Christ, not conforming to church and community expectations.

I don’t think Paul is crushing all ambition in this chapter. Instead, it’s a matter of discerning our calling and position, and letting God work through us and in us no matter our condition.

Any ambition that rises up within me needs to be prayerfully considered to determine whether it’s my flesh wanting to achieve and accomplish for some earthly reward, or if it is truly the Lord planting a seed of possibility that I am to pursue with His guidance. If it is of the Lord, He will equip and empower me. If I find that I’m anxious and struggling, I have to realize the root of the dissatisfaction and ask the Lord for the strength to accept my condition.

_________________________

Lord, help me to lead the life that you have assigned to me and not waste effort pursuing someone else’s life. Give me the ability to discern whether ambition is from you or my flesh. Thank you for using me in my current circumstances.

Enriched in speech and knowledge

“that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge”         1 Corinthians 1:5

Enriched in speech and knowledge. More clearly, they were abounding in these. A special, Holy Spirit enabled comprehension of spiritual things. They were able to explain, with “holy eloquence” and understand the message of the gospel, a rich treasure of holiness that they should cherish.

The Geneva Study Bible commentary states, “He refers to that by name which they abused the most.” The Corinthian church had this precious endowment and neglected it to the point of abuse.

Paul first recognizes and congratulates the Corinthian believers for possessing the endowment, gaining ground on which to build his argument that they were lacking.

The fact is, we are Corinthians in a new age. We love to study Scripture, and we can often explain it with an illustrated, 3-point outline, yet we lack the spiritual discernment to see that the truth that we preach has failed to take root in our own lives. We enjoy the game, but resist the transformation required of a disciple.

Prayer:

Lord, may I be transformed as I consider the gospel and the truth that it conveys to my life. May I have holy eyes to see my arrogance and lack of zeal to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. Make we aware of the treasure you have placed in my heart and mind, and help me to invest it wisely for true spiritual relationship with you.

Driving out the “Ites”

And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad loans, a land flowing with milk and honey, to a place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. -Genesis 3:8

And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. -Genesis 23:31

In order to possess the land that God has marked out for the Hebrew people, they had to drive out all of the inhabitants of that land. To avoid becoming defiled and corrupted by those in the land – those who followed other gods – the people of Israel needed to push whole nations away; all of the “ites” had to be expelled.

Metaphorically, we need to drive out the “ites” from our lives in order to take possession of the spiritual land the Lord has planned for us. We can’t allow remnants, rituals, or riches to remain or we may be tainted by the seemingly harmless, but truly dangerous elements that have taken up residence in our promised land.

What are the “ites” that must be driven out?

• Pride?
• Selfishness?
• Settling?
• Jealousy/envy?
• Anger?
• Ambition?
• Safety?
• Wealth?
• Logic?

We must identify our “ites” so we understand the enemy that must be expelled.

Pray that God would reveal a map of the landscape of your heart and give you the courage, resolve, and spiritual strength to put on the spiritual battle armor to begin taking possession of your promised land.

God is Faithful, But He Often Takes Us on a Circuitous Path to Blessing!

We like formulas. We prefer proven methods. It gives us comfort when 1+1=2. But when the secret sauce remains hidden, when the logical approach doesn’t bring the sensical solution, when 1+1=8.3, we lose heart quickly.

God is completely dependable and will fulfill His promises, but not always in a straight line. And it drives us to discouragement, wondering if he really loves us. Have we misunderstood? Have we sinned in some way to cause Him to delay? We cry out, “Why, Lord, do you tarry?” I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do, remained faithful, and still things aren’t working out the way they’re “supposed to.”

There are promises in the Bible that sound formulaic: do this and this blessing will come. It seems straightforward and simple, but complexity and delay seem to discount the promise.

Some reminders from Scripture will give us proper perspective and allow us to remain hopeful when the rules don’t seem to apply to our situation.

1 Peter 3:8 – But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Isaiah 55:9 – As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.\

Ecclesiastes 8:17 – then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.

Romans 11: 33 – Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

We are bombarded with advice that promises a path to a sure win. And for some those best practices do work. But often, for the one the Lord is wanting to shape for depths of holiness, trust, and usefulness, the path is more circuitous and the formulas worthless. For such a person the only sure thing is to stay faithful and obedient.

The beginning days are often the hardest, and we must not quit. God’s provisions along the way are often just enough, and we must remember to thank Him. First comes obedience, then the blessing. He takes the impossible and glorifies Himself through our dependence.

We miss so much with God when we wait for favorable circumstances. The glimpse of the promise must be enough for us. Follow His “go” and don’t lose heart when His leading is surprisingly vague and changing. Don’t analyze it – just follow the path that is lit before you, even if it’s just one step.