My road to faith was paved with great literature
Mark Storer
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
"It does sometimes seem a shame that Noah and his party did not miss the boat," quips Mark Twain as his sharp tongue aims at the heart of humanity. My favorite thing that Mark Twain satirically advocated, however, was to bring home missionaries from China. He wanted them to "sivilize" Southern white men who had sworn allegiance to the Ku Klux Klan. "You (missionaries) convert roughly one Chinaman per missionary per annum. That is an uphill fight against 33,000 pagans born every day." At such moments, Twain makes me think about Jesus.
But he isn't the only one. In fact, reading led me to Christ. I did not have a conversion experience. No drugs or alcohol sank me to rock bottom. I had no one mentor to lead me to church and ultimately to Christ. The Lord did not call me in a dream or speak in my ear. My faith in Jesus grew over time. I don't think I ever didn't believe in God. From the time I was born, I was brought up in the Protestant church, and while various of my family members traveled far and wide on spiritual journeys, I never did. But I read. I read a great deal.
After a short stint working in radio, I became a teacher and a writer. Soon the books I taught my students began to take hold of me—books I'd known since the time I was in high school were now my own personal Bible of sorts. I taught John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and found that I looked forward to it almost as much as my students loathed it. Reading a book of 500-plus pages is usually not an event anticipated with glee. But as a teacher, I did find joy in it, and what's more, I found God in it.Steinbeck's 'Jesus'
Steinbeck, who was not known for devout Christian faith, wrote about it all the time. In The Grapes of Wrath, the secondary character, Jim Casy (note the initials J.C., I always tell my students), is an itinerant preacher who has fallen away from the mainstream church. "Just Jim Casy now. Ain't got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears—but they seem kinda sensible." Casy is confused and in his confusion he says, "I went off alone and sat and figured. The sperit's strong in me, on'y it ain't the same. I ain't so sure of a lot of things." The tension between human mind and spirit—our desire to do what pleases God and upon trying, our inability to do so—is laid bare here.
Casy's death is even more allegorical than his life. In an attempt to stop farm owners from driving down wages, he leads some of the migrant workers on a strike and tries to force a settlement. It doesn't work, of course, and in a moment of violence remarkable for its sparse telling, Casy is killed. He is standing in a stream of clear water as a flashlight from one of the men chasing him falls on his face. He turns to the man and says, "Listen … You fellas don' know what you're doin'. You're helpin' to starve kids." And with that the man, armed with a pick handle, hammers across Casy's cheek and brow. He lays in the stream, lifeless, the flashlight beaming on him. Steinbeck merely dramatized what the Bible has said all along: God is on the side of the downtrodden.
Perhaps no one "secular" author has contributed so much to the Christian faith as Charles Dickens. His novella, A Christmas Carol, is perhaps single-handedly responsible for making Christmas a household celebration, as well as a pagan celebration. But in light of his stories of redemption, salvation, and grace, he can be forgiven and perhaps even lauded for bringing Christmas out of the basement of the Western conscience and moving it into the living room.
It is not Ebenezer Scrooge who fascinated me most, though. It is Sydney Carton, the debauched, drunken, and brilliant lawyer from A Tale of Two Cities who finds that his sacrifice will redeem him and save his dear friends. It is Carton who, though morose and depressed, drunk and slovenly, gives his life in the uncanny twist of events that lead him to the guillotine in revolutionary Paris.
"I am the resurrection and the life," Sydney keeps hearing over and over again. As his captors prepare to execute him, in the midst of his own sacrifice, he comforts another, a young lady, accused by the "Citizens" of France of treason. Sydney tells her to keep her eyes on him. He remains a constant and steady source of hope and inspiration for her. Yet the ridiculous events that lead these two innocents to be executed are not the focus of Dickens's attention. He does not write, in his extraordinary verbosity, about the injustice of the system. Rather, he writes about compassion, healing, understanding, justice, and ultimately faith.
An aside: in the high school where I teach, A Tale of Two Cities is core literature for the ninth grade. I am always puzzled when I hear cries about how God has been kicked out of our classrooms. Have those leveling this charge looked at the reading list of their local high schools recently?
In any event, Dickens, more than most classic authors, brought me to Christ. Though not my favorite writer, Dickens unabashedly writes about humanity in a way that would embarrass a 21st-century psychologist. As Harvard professor Robert Coles has said, "And Dickens, oh my, what Dickens knew about human nature!"
I am inclined to agree. In Soul Survivor, Philip Yancey writes of Coles being drawn to great authors—including Dickens, Flannery O'Connor, Leo Tolstoy, Simone Weil, and William Carlos Williams—while he was a student at Harvard. Like Coles, I have found that these authors are simply retelling the Bible, albeit sometimes in a way that makes some Christians angry. But Coles never blinks. He explains to Yancey that the Bible has all along steadfastly preached that we have both sides in us. We have the ability to be evil and ignorant, and we have the ability to behave with grace and compassion. All of us have those tendencies, and the authors that moved Coles merely repeat that refrain and seek ways for the most despicable of people to be redeemed.Beauty, Grace, Power
In the dying days of winter, I teach a book by Zora Neale Hurston called Their Eyes Were Watching God. The main character, Janie, is constantly in the spring of her life. Through a series of failed marriages and abusive situations, Janie does not shrink from her circumstances. Rather, she embraces them and lives joyously in God's shadow. "Ev'rybody got to go to God for theyselves," says Janie, speaking from experience. Never cowed or demeaned by her situation, she is an indomitable woman and ultimately finds her own soul. As one of my students wrote in a paper about the book, "Spring is the soul-chasing season." What a tribute to Hurston: She reaches into the black experience in America, and rather than coming out discouraged, as she has every right to do, she finds reason for joy and love.
One line reads, "Dawn and doom were in the branches." Hurston also knew that human beings have the potential for both. Dawn and doom exist in each one of us, and it is up to us to choose which one will succeed. Perhaps this is the ultimate expression of free will that we are given. This is the free will that allows human beings to suffer or alleviate suffering, to love or to hate, to choose spirit over ignorance, compassion over mistrust, and finally to accept and share what there is of living.
In that vein, I have continued to teach. I teach not because I know how to reach students. I teach because they reach me. In the depths of all that is rampant in a high school—drugs, abuse, sexual promiscuity, ignorance, hatred—literature also exists, and with it, God. Ralph Waldo Emerson speaks to students about self-reliance and the power of nature. He speaks to them about losing yourself in order to find yourself. Shakespeare provides such profound glimpses into the human heart that many doubt he could have written them on his own. The beauty of his words, the grace with which he writes, and the power of the human soul and spirit they convey are unmatched in the English language.
Tolkein, Lewis, Frost, and even more contemporary authors like David Guterson, Charles Frasier, Annie Dillard, and Anne Lamott are what led me back to the Bible and to Christ. In their writings is the constant search, and an acceptance of sorts, that while we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, we must strive toward that glory while giving love and compassion to those around us. This is not an epiphany or a moment of clarity. This is a lifetime of struggling with answers that belie their questions. It is a terrible honesty and, finally, a hope that God will indeed dwell within us. What a dreadful and wonderful lesson to learn.
Mark Storer is a writer and teacher in Camarillo, California.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Choosing Faith over Fear
Choosing Faith Over Fear
How singer Brooke Barrettsmith overcame panic attacks and fear.
Rachel Groters and Todd Hertz | posted 5/21/2009
When singer Brooke Barrettsmith was 15, she suffered her first panic attack. Pressure to succeed, stress over image, and worry about the future gave rise to what she describes as "heart-racing, irrational thoughts of fear and of not making it to tomorrow—or even to the next moment."
Brooke knew these intense attacks were medical and hereditary, but she also saw a spiritual dimension to the medical condition. "My heart was not set on living for Jesus," she says. "I felt the Holy Spirit telling me I'd come to a crossroads. I could either choose to follow the Lord and have victory over my attacks, or I could continue to live on the fence, never knowing when fear was going to take over."
Facing Her Fear
Brooke began memorizing Scripture and learning how to fast and pray on a regular basis. Her parents encouraged her to dive headfirst into her relationship with God and held her accountable as she did so.
"Slowly but surely, God was delivering me from my daily panic attacks," Brooke says. "I've learned to pray in the moment of panic and then bring that to the foot of the Cross and ask Jesus to meet me where I'm at. His Word says, 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind' (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). That was the verse I clung to."
God's Plan
The lessons Brooke learned in dealing with her panic attacks came into play in 2006 when she and her sister tried out for American Idol. "It was the most stressful and crazy anxiety-filled thing I've ever done," she remembers. "But God knew what he was doing. After all, by the time I tried out, I had already developed this ability to see the attack coming and give it to the Lord before it ever got to the point of a panic attack."
As Brooke advanced to Idol's top 40, her experience with anxiety also allowed her to minister to other contestants. She says, "I got to pray with a lot of people who weren't used to dealing with that kind of stress. And at that point, even if they were atheists they were like, 'I'll take anything right now to relieve this stress!'"
While panic attacks are not something Brooke would choose to experience, she says God has used them to help her reach out to others and to bring her closer to him. "Panic attacks are not my identity," Brooke says. "My identity lies in Jesus, and he is the ultimate peace."
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Ignite Your Faith magazine.
How singer Brooke Barrettsmith overcame panic attacks and fear.
Rachel Groters and Todd Hertz | posted 5/21/2009
When singer Brooke Barrettsmith was 15, she suffered her first panic attack. Pressure to succeed, stress over image, and worry about the future gave rise to what she describes as "heart-racing, irrational thoughts of fear and of not making it to tomorrow—or even to the next moment."
Brooke knew these intense attacks were medical and hereditary, but she also saw a spiritual dimension to the medical condition. "My heart was not set on living for Jesus," she says. "I felt the Holy Spirit telling me I'd come to a crossroads. I could either choose to follow the Lord and have victory over my attacks, or I could continue to live on the fence, never knowing when fear was going to take over."
Facing Her Fear
Brooke began memorizing Scripture and learning how to fast and pray on a regular basis. Her parents encouraged her to dive headfirst into her relationship with God and held her accountable as she did so.
"Slowly but surely, God was delivering me from my daily panic attacks," Brooke says. "I've learned to pray in the moment of panic and then bring that to the foot of the Cross and ask Jesus to meet me where I'm at. His Word says, 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind' (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). That was the verse I clung to."
God's Plan
The lessons Brooke learned in dealing with her panic attacks came into play in 2006 when she and her sister tried out for American Idol. "It was the most stressful and crazy anxiety-filled thing I've ever done," she remembers. "But God knew what he was doing. After all, by the time I tried out, I had already developed this ability to see the attack coming and give it to the Lord before it ever got to the point of a panic attack."
As Brooke advanced to Idol's top 40, her experience with anxiety also allowed her to minister to other contestants. She says, "I got to pray with a lot of people who weren't used to dealing with that kind of stress. And at that point, even if they were atheists they were like, 'I'll take anything right now to relieve this stress!'"
While panic attacks are not something Brooke would choose to experience, she says God has used them to help her reach out to others and to bring her closer to him. "Panic attacks are not my identity," Brooke says. "My identity lies in Jesus, and he is the ultimate peace."
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Ignite Your Faith magazine.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
“GOD IS HIS OWN INTERPRETER AND HE WILL MAKE IT PLAIN”
Do you ever struggle with depression? Man, I certainly do from time to time. Often without warning, it seems, I will find myself in a funk. It is then that my mind races back and forth, searching for the cause of the depression. Rather than allow myself to sink into the quagmire of morose introspection, I will usually pray through Psalm 139:23-24, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin that may be the cause: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
This morning, in dealing with one of these periodic struggles, I meditated and prayed my way through Psalm 55. I was impressed with the psalmist’s struggle and need for God’s touch: “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught… My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.” (vs. 1, 2, 4, 5) Surely, at times we can identify with his desire to escape: "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest-- I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm" (vs. Psalms 55:6-8).
As I pondered this wonderful Psalm, I found myself praising Him for the assurance offered in David’s prayer, “I call to God, and the Lord saves me…hears me…[and] ransoms me” (vs. Psalms 55:16-18). The cloud lifted and the depression eased, and then disappeared.
As I have studied the lives of outstanding believers, I have found that a significant number of them have had battles with depression. It is interesting to note that it was often out of their tormented struggles that their greatest achievements have been born. One notable example is William Cowper (1731-1800). It was during one of those periods of despair that he penned this marvelous piece:
Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs and works His sovereign will.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for his grace; behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain: God is his own interpreter, and He will make it plain.
Larry Crabb in his book, “Inside Out”, challenges the common belief among believers that they are owed a wonderful, fulfilled, and “happy” existence that is free of turmoil. No, God uses, perhaps even causes pain in our lives to drive us to himself and craft his character in us. John Piper picks up on this concept in stating, “Not surprisingly therefore, suffering fits into God’s design in ways that sometimes baffle us and test us to the limit.” ‘…Don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you’ (I Pet. 4:12). This very baffling and testing is part of the design”: ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything’” (James. 1:2-4). 1
My friend, perhaps you too have your dark moments where there seems to be no way out. God can and will extend his peace and grace to you…if you want him to.
1 The Hidden Smile of God”, Crossway Books, John Piper, pg. 20
My prayer is that you are having a great week!
R. Dwight Hill
This morning, in dealing with one of these periodic struggles, I meditated and prayed my way through Psalm 55. I was impressed with the psalmist’s struggle and need for God’s touch: “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught… My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.” (vs. 1, 2, 4, 5) Surely, at times we can identify with his desire to escape: "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest-- I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm" (vs. Psalms 55:6-8).
As I pondered this wonderful Psalm, I found myself praising Him for the assurance offered in David’s prayer, “I call to God, and the Lord saves me…hears me…[and] ransoms me” (vs. Psalms 55:16-18). The cloud lifted and the depression eased, and then disappeared.
As I have studied the lives of outstanding believers, I have found that a significant number of them have had battles with depression. It is interesting to note that it was often out of their tormented struggles that their greatest achievements have been born. One notable example is William Cowper (1731-1800). It was during one of those periods of despair that he penned this marvelous piece:
Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs and works His sovereign will.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for his grace; behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain: God is his own interpreter, and He will make it plain.
Larry Crabb in his book, “Inside Out”, challenges the common belief among believers that they are owed a wonderful, fulfilled, and “happy” existence that is free of turmoil. No, God uses, perhaps even causes pain in our lives to drive us to himself and craft his character in us. John Piper picks up on this concept in stating, “Not surprisingly therefore, suffering fits into God’s design in ways that sometimes baffle us and test us to the limit.” ‘…Don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you’ (I Pet. 4:12). This very baffling and testing is part of the design”: ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything’” (James. 1:2-4). 1
My friend, perhaps you too have your dark moments where there seems to be no way out. God can and will extend his peace and grace to you…if you want him to.
1 The Hidden Smile of God”, Crossway Books, John Piper, pg. 20
My prayer is that you are having a great week!
R. Dwight Hill
Bible Study Title: In Jesus' Name
Bible Study
Title: In Jesus' Name
Date: May 18, 2009
Topic(s): Prayer
Scripture: Philippians 2:9-10, Matthew 28:18, Matthew 6:9-10
Ever wonder if God hears your prayer? Have you ever desperately needed the assurance that God was listening when you prayed? The Bible teaches us some great truths about prayer that can bring a sense of confidence.
What Does God Say?
Here, from Jesus, is the first truth: "In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9, NKJV).
Jesus taught us that we can communicate with God in prayer, just as we would talk with a father who is loving and caring. God is our Heavenly Father. And so, just as a child eagerly comes to his father to share with him, so a Christian may confidently go to God in prayer.
What do you think might be the second truth? Search for it as Jesus continues to teach.
"Hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come.Your will be doneOn earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10 NKJV).
Notice where the emphasis is? Jesus reminds us that the focus of prayer is not us but God. If prayer becomes about us, when God doesn't answer our prayers, we begin to say, "Well, prayer didn't work for me because I didn't get an answer." But the whole point of prayer is not to get answers; the whole point of prayer is to communicate with God.
The last truth has to do with our access to God and the authority by which we pray: I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name" (1 John 2:12, NIV).
We pray in the name of Jesus because it is through Him we can come before God (His shed blood makes it possible for God to forgive our sins.) and by His name we acknowledge the authority God has given Him.
"For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:9-10, NASB).
"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth' (Matthew 28:18, NASB).
So, prayer is communicating with the Father in the name of Jesus.
My Thoughts
Has it ever seemed to you like praying in the name of Jesus was just a convenient or traditional way of ending prayers? What is the significance of ending your prayer in Jesus' name?
If prayer is about communicating with God, what is it that you most would like to share with Him?
Sometimes, we experience an urgent or deep need to talk to God. Do you realize that God wants us to talk to Him and wants us to feel privileged and blessed to pray to Him.
My Part
Spend a few minutes in prayer now. Pray, guided by the truths you have learned about praying.
Are there times when you do not feel like praying? The best thing you can do in those moments is to talk to God about how you feel.
Title: In Jesus' Name
Date: May 18, 2009
Topic(s): Prayer
Scripture: Philippians 2:9-10, Matthew 28:18, Matthew 6:9-10
Ever wonder if God hears your prayer? Have you ever desperately needed the assurance that God was listening when you prayed? The Bible teaches us some great truths about prayer that can bring a sense of confidence.
What Does God Say?
Here, from Jesus, is the first truth: "In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9, NKJV).
Jesus taught us that we can communicate with God in prayer, just as we would talk with a father who is loving and caring. God is our Heavenly Father. And so, just as a child eagerly comes to his father to share with him, so a Christian may confidently go to God in prayer.
What do you think might be the second truth? Search for it as Jesus continues to teach.
"Hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come.Your will be doneOn earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10 NKJV).
Notice where the emphasis is? Jesus reminds us that the focus of prayer is not us but God. If prayer becomes about us, when God doesn't answer our prayers, we begin to say, "Well, prayer didn't work for me because I didn't get an answer." But the whole point of prayer is not to get answers; the whole point of prayer is to communicate with God.
The last truth has to do with our access to God and the authority by which we pray: I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name" (1 John 2:12, NIV).
We pray in the name of Jesus because it is through Him we can come before God (His shed blood makes it possible for God to forgive our sins.) and by His name we acknowledge the authority God has given Him.
"For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:9-10, NASB).
"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth' (Matthew 28:18, NASB).
So, prayer is communicating with the Father in the name of Jesus.
My Thoughts
Has it ever seemed to you like praying in the name of Jesus was just a convenient or traditional way of ending prayers? What is the significance of ending your prayer in Jesus' name?
If prayer is about communicating with God, what is it that you most would like to share with Him?
Sometimes, we experience an urgent or deep need to talk to God. Do you realize that God wants us to talk to Him and wants us to feel privileged and blessed to pray to Him.
My Part
Spend a few minutes in prayer now. Pray, guided by the truths you have learned about praying.
Are there times when you do not feel like praying? The best thing you can do in those moments is to talk to God about how you feel.
The Heavenly Alternative
The Heavenly Alternative
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:1-11
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. —2 Corinthians 5:8
Recently, I wished a young friend “happy birthday” and asked him how it felt to be a year older. His playful response? “Well, I guess it’s better than the alternative!”
We laughed together, but I later stopped to think—is it really? Don’t misunderstand me. I’m happy to live as long as the Lord allows me to live and to watch my kids and grandkids grow and experience life. I’m not excited about the inevitability of death. But as a believer, the alternative to getting older is heaven—and that’s not bad!
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul talks about the reality of living with the aches and pains of our physical bodies, our “tents” of flesh. But we should not live in despair about aging. In fact, the apostle calls us to just the opposite. He wrote, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (v.8). Confident! Pleased! Why? Because our alternative to earthly life is that we will be present with the Lord—forever! The heavenly perspective of what awaits us can give us confidence for living now.
If you know Christ, His promise can give you what the hymnwriter called, “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” What a great alternative! — Bill Crowder
Death is gain because it means heaven, holiness, and Him!
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:1-11
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. —2 Corinthians 5:8
Recently, I wished a young friend “happy birthday” and asked him how it felt to be a year older. His playful response? “Well, I guess it’s better than the alternative!”
We laughed together, but I later stopped to think—is it really? Don’t misunderstand me. I’m happy to live as long as the Lord allows me to live and to watch my kids and grandkids grow and experience life. I’m not excited about the inevitability of death. But as a believer, the alternative to getting older is heaven—and that’s not bad!
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul talks about the reality of living with the aches and pains of our physical bodies, our “tents” of flesh. But we should not live in despair about aging. In fact, the apostle calls us to just the opposite. He wrote, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (v.8). Confident! Pleased! Why? Because our alternative to earthly life is that we will be present with the Lord—forever! The heavenly perspective of what awaits us can give us confidence for living now.
If you know Christ, His promise can give you what the hymnwriter called, “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” What a great alternative! — Bill Crowder
He’s gone “to prepare a place for you,”That where He is, “there you may be.”Our death is not the end of life—We’ll be with Christ eternally! —Hess
Death is gain because it means heaven, holiness, and Him!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Wounded by Words
Wounded by Words
Saturday, May 02, 2009
“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate.”
I Peter 2:23 NIV
Someone you love or respect slams you to the floor with a slur or slip of the tongue. And there you lie, wounded and bleeding. Perhaps the words were intended to hurt you, perhaps not; but that doesn’t matter. The wound is deep. The injuries are internal. Broken heart, wounded pride, bruised feelings.
If you have suffered or are suffering because of someone else’s words, you’ll be glad to know that there is a balm for this laceration. Meditate on these words from I Peter 2:23: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate…Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
Did you see what Jesus did?...He left the judging to God. He did not take on the task of seeking revenge. He demanded no apology…He, to the astounding contrary, spoke on their defense. “Father, forgive the, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 NIV).
Saturday, May 02, 2009
“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate.”
I Peter 2:23 NIV
Someone you love or respect slams you to the floor with a slur or slip of the tongue. And there you lie, wounded and bleeding. Perhaps the words were intended to hurt you, perhaps not; but that doesn’t matter. The wound is deep. The injuries are internal. Broken heart, wounded pride, bruised feelings.
If you have suffered or are suffering because of someone else’s words, you’ll be glad to know that there is a balm for this laceration. Meditate on these words from I Peter 2:23: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate…Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
Did you see what Jesus did?...He left the judging to God. He did not take on the task of seeking revenge. He demanded no apology…He, to the astounding contrary, spoke on their defense. “Father, forgive the, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 NIV).
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