Devotionals
What's Your Thorn?
2 Corinthians 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh,
a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake,
I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
So that Paul would continue to be mindful of what he wrote in another place - that we can only really boast about what we have in Christ, our triune God gave Paul a constant reminder of his weakness. Paul labeled it his thorn in the flesh. Countless explanations concerning the nature of his thorn have been offered. These range from incessant temptation, dogged opponents, to chronic maladies. Some have speculated ophthalmia, malaria, migraine headaches, epilepsy, or disability in speech. None of us can say for sure what his was, but the majority of interpretations lean toward it being a physical affliction.
It's certainly understandable how Paul could consider this thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry and that he would repeatedly petition God for its removal. But Paul was being led to a greater and deeper truth about God's love for us - It's not just for the moment, but for eternity. He learned from this experience the lesson that pervades this letter-- the Divine power of God is best displayed against the backdrop of human weaknesses so that God alone is praised.
So rather than removing the problem God gave him grace in it. And then He reminded him that this grace is sufficient. The Greek word means "a sense of providing contentment". God's grace completely transformed Paul's perspective. Through this lens Paul was able to view some of the unpleasant experiences in his ministry with a supernatural perspective because the evidence of Christ's power in the midst of them brought glory to God, not Paul. When Paul came to the end of himself, Christ alone was seen. When he was weak, then Christ, by His strength, could make Paul spiritually strong.
This is part of Paul's legacy we desperately need to grasp because we to feel weak far more often than we feel strong. We want to feel the power of God but we sometimes fail to realize that it is in our most difficult and trying season that we will see the most of God's power. The fact that God has given us this glory in an earthen vessel is a continual mind boggler! We yearn to see and experience everything about the reality of our life in Jesus in our present state. But we can't and aren't supposed to... The fullness of that experience is to be lived out in a resurrected body.
This is a reflection of the image of Christ in Paul. Jesus chose to display the perfection of His nature and power in the form of frail human flesh. He became a suffering servant. He entered Jerusalem on a donkey rather than majestic horse. He finally overcame death by actually dying and the power of God was made manifest in the resurrection.
For Paul there was the actual backdrop of moral frailty that Jesus did not have. Jesus could be tempted in all things but He was without sin (Heb. 4:15). Paul was a human with the sins of humanity in him like you and me.
The great encouragement in this text is in knowing that there is not something 'wrong' with us or with God's plan when we experience various trials, including sickness. Not all ailments will be delivered from us in this lifetime. Some "thorns in the side" are allowed by God and some suffering has purpose beyond our present grasp. But He knows it fully in the person of Jesus, the Son of Man, and we are included in this real life of our risen savior. His power is made perfect in our weakness.
So what is your thorn? It's probably good that the Bible leaves this undefined. It could be a person or a tough relationship or a very difficult situation that is ongoing. It could be a malady or chronic illness. It is not a sin that we fall into repeatedly-- because such besetting or entangling sin is something we can be free from (Heb.12:1). But it could be a temptation or private struggle that we never feel free from even though we do not give in to it.
We can submit that kind of thorn to God until He releases us from praying about it. Paul was released from praying over this after three seasons of intense prayer. And he didn't carry anxiety around on his shoulder over not having enough faith to solve His problem. The wonderful thing to know and remember is that his power is going to be very evident in your life even when you are carrying a difficulty that will not go away.
Father, help us to see the real thorns in our lives as well as the real blessings. Help us to know when to pray fervently and when to find peace. Help us to see Your power made perfect in our weakness. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"Food for Thought - Answering Difficult Passages from the Old Testament Record!"
I once commented to a church member that when we preach God's word we have to be ready to give an answer to questions
about what we've preached as well anything else someone may find in the word which doesn't seem to support our own conclusions!
The excerpt below is from Tammy Tkach's recent Nurturnet Article posted last week.
The Old Covenant was all about the flesh and set the stage for the Incarnation, which was prophesied throughout the Old Testament.
The New Covenant is about new life in Christ, eternal life by God's grace, a fulfillment of what God instituted by the Old Covenant.
The Bible shows a progression, all leading to the cross.
People seem to want to draw conclusions about who God is based on our own human characteristics.
At first glance it does seem God could be a two-headed monster,
but isn't that what we ourselves are kind and gracious one day, mean and nasty the next?
I think many of the misconceptions we have about God are based on not understanding God is not like us.
He's not capricious, mischievous, self-centered or petty. He does what he does for his own reasons, with wisdom and brilliance,
and completely out of our scope of understanding.- (Nurturent Article, Tammy Tkach, April 2009)
Tammy's article prompted me to consider a discussion I participated in which focused on the events described in 2nd Samuel, chapter 6.
The headlines today might read: "Uzzah Gets Zapped by God Attempting to Steady the Ark".
But we all know how the headlines work. - They're intended to grab our attention without giving too much of the story away.
______________________________________________________
Hi Tammy,
favorite difficult scriptures from the Old testament - Uzzah and the Ark. Why would God zap a guy like that
out of the blue for simply steadying a piece of falling furniture?
I could be way off the mark, but my mind keeps picturing a scene similar to that recent car insurance commercial
where a grand piano is hanging from a wire in transport and falls to the street crushing the sports car below while
two men in an office above make comment. Makes you laugh and cry at the same time.
I see the whole of the Ark in transport setting a bit like bungee jumping, hang gliding off a mountain peak,
and surfing in waters where Great whites circle and feed.
It's not for the fainthearted, and those who participate usually do so at their own risk.
We aren't shocked when occasionally a hang glider crashes, or surfers off an Australian coast get shark bit,
or when bungee chords sometimes break instead of stretch. It goes with the territory - or recreational activity, "Whatever!"
Those who participate in these activities have a hard time getting health insurance coverage based on actuarial chart statistics.
Scripture says that David was angry at God over it, (for a time). But like David, each of us gets angry over things that hurt us,
make us look bad, or thwart our wills& It sometimes makes us doubt God's motive to our own hurt.
Doesn't mean a good case can be made for faulting God when we do stupid things.
The oxen stumbled - scripture doesn't tell us the Ark fell, or that it would have hit the ground except
Uzzah took things into his own hands. In this instance he was like a lineman working without gloves in a tight-spaced high voltage area.
Your brother,
Steve
2 Samuel 6 The Ark Brought to Jerusalem- 1 David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all.
2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God,
which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.
3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio,
sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it.
5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD,
with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. 6 When they came to the threshing floor of
Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7
The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he
died there beside the ark of God. 8 Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah,
and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. (NIV Notes: Out break against Ussah)
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?"
10 He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead,
he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
Your pastor and brother,
Steve Schantz
"The man who does these things will live by them." 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says:
"Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down)
7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say?
"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)
"When you're happy and you know it Clap your hands!"
So begins the upbeat children's song recounted by pre-schoolers as well as children's choirs.
But we soon have to come to grips with the fact that slices of both happiness and unhappiness wrestle for plate position in our lives.
As we tell our story by categorizing our feelings and experiences, this Christianity thing often defaults into something we must ascend to. (Like 'comin' up in neighborhood of spiritual success.) Living the spiritual life is then defined (and marketed) as a high plains existence.. a mirage we struggle to attain by way of steep crags and crevices, mud slides, and occasional avalanches. Many are left bruised and bleeding and some altogether forsaken - left for dead along the way.
We embed the Christian path from sin to righteousness deep into our collective psychy to share with those who follow, label it discipleship, and celebrate our burgeoning (or scanty) programs. In this we all too often miss the point of Paul's inspired words. The Word came down to us, we did not go up. In fact, he came all the way down, not just part of the way, to meet us in our total failure and weakness. One of the most important realities to celebrate this Advent season is that Jesus didn't arrive half baked, (¾ incarnate!) He became completely and fully human for our sakes.
We (especially those of us influenced by dispensational thinking) await a Kingdom to be set up in God's time, yeah even imposed
upon the creation and all its' inhabitants. But this view of a God with a final imposition stands in opposition to the way
His Spirit works by way of recognition (believing) and reconciliation with the only God who is and was and ever will be in Christ Jesus.
We often see God's presence while we are confident in the map, and suffer the feeling of failure
and fear when we can't keep up with the pace of the next chapter.
Some of the best map makers produce best sellers ..
even series of bestsellers, and of recent note a couple of full scale movies. (And great theatre going they make!)
But when we are unhappy and we know it, the Holy Spirit is also at work in our lives. This runs contrary to our modern concept of the how the Kingdom of God advances in the world. The early fathers saw a broader, deeper map of the future when they focused on Jesus words about a Kingdom that is unstoppable at every moment in time - and not just at the end of time. It is a Kingdom whose living waters began flowing without reserve as promised by their only source and announced to a fledgling group of Jewish men. It is the Kingdom Jesus describes in His parables, and in the parable of a ball of leavened bread in particular. (Let's not lose the symbol of this bubbling brood of bread!)
"History is the time and space given to us to dream our dreams, to think up our theories, to invent our own worlds, and to attempt to wrest Jesus and the cosmos into our vision. All the while, Jesus is sharing himself and his life with us, and we are haunted and inspired, thrilled and made malcontent by his presence in our darkness. We know we are made for glory, but we still believe in ourselves and our endarkened dreams. We are, as Chaucer said, like the drunk man, who knows his has a house, but cannot find his way home. Meanwhile there is more than a little of Jesus' life everywhere you look and listen. Come, Spirit of truth." (C. Baxter Kruger, Perichoresis.org, Blog site)
Your pastor and brother,
Steve Schantz
Hearing Our own AccentJohn 3:19 "...This is the verdict: Light has come into the
world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." &
31 "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.
The one who comes from heaven is above all.
32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
33 The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.
One of my pastoral mentors hails from Mississippi. He's a former pastor, now author and lecturer.
A couple of years back his family traveled with him to an Australian conference where he was scheduled to speak.
During in-flight conversation with his young daughter he began preparing her for the different culture that lay ahead.
"Now sweetie, the people in Australia will have a different accent than we do.
Their words may sound a bit funny to your ear and sometimes seem hard to understand."
His daughter turned, looked him straight in the eye, and said with her own acquired Mississippi drawl, "Daddy, ah don't have a axe-caent."
When we believe who Jesus is and that He came from the Father to reveal the Father's heart toward His adopted children, our ears are opened to hear what they normally would not and our eyes are opened to see what we normally could not see about God or ourselves. The bible terms it Repentance, born from above, converted, regenerated, baptized in the Spirit& We become a 'new man/woman' in Christ because how and what we think about God has changed. We no longer live in the myth that we're our own God. This process of self judgment in the light of God's truth continues until this body dies and we inherit a glorious one. There's always some pain involved in coming out of the darkness - some crisis (judgment). When our eyes are accustomed to the dark they resist the light of life in Jesus Christ. Our first response is always to squint. But the fruit of believing is worth the pain of coming out of denial. We are called to live in the light, and as we know Him better we also realize that everything we ever were or ever will be has been done through Him. (Verse 19)
A church member in Kentucky once asked me about her own conversion during a tough time in her young marriage. With a husband laid off from work in the coal mines and three mouths to feed, life in their small trailer was full of arguments, angry accusations, frustration and despair. She blamed herself for most of their problems and in the confidence of counsel said to me, "I don't think I was ever converted!" (The conversion experience in our denomination back in those days involved much qualifying knowledge of doctrine as we saw it and taught it. When an individual seemed to be failing spiritually, we would often suggest they go down the check list of 'to do's' or 'not doing enough of' - usually beginning with prayer.
Now prayer is a good thing, and Christian maturity is buried deep in the soil of prayer. But I differed with her self-drawn conclusion. I told her that I thought she was converted. "Why do you think so?" she asked. I told her I thought she was converted because she cared about failing spiritually, and the unconverted mind doesn't know or care about spiritual growth in Christ. This truth reaches out for us like a retooled Cartesian mantra - "I care what God thinks - therefore I am a Christian."
The mind that is only carnal does not know the desire to change and grow in relationship to God. It only knows darkness and dullness of hearing and isn't looking for real truth. (Romans 8:7) It doesn't know it has 'a ax-caent'! Paul reminds us that sometimes when we think we're really living we're actually on borrowed time. -- "Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died." (Roman 7:9) And at other times when we feel like we're dying our greatest growth and change is taking place. "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (Jn 12:24) Are you feeling your struggle? This crisis is actually one of the proofs that you in fact are in Christ. Keep fighting the good fight of faith and don't be discouraged when you realize how much of an accent you still have.
Steve Schantz, Senior Pastor
Steve Schantz, Senior Pastor
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