Encouragement
THE LAST MILE OF THE WAY 9.6.09 by Heather Wells
I remember reading a story once about a man (at least my memory says it was a man) who set out to swim across the English Channel – 21 miles of cold choppy water populated with stinging jellyfish and sharks. No small feat. As he approached the shores of England a fog set in obscuring the coastline. A mere mile away from victory he began to despair. The people in the accompanying boat encouraged him that the shore was within reach but with the goal out of sight he gave up and climbed into the boat. I guess in his exhaustion he felt like the shore kept getting farther away rather than closer. So much effort spent. So many obstacles overcome. So close. But in all the books on Channel crossings this man is not listed; he cannot be.
This story came to my mind this week as we got close to closing on our house – again- only to have the date pushed further out in front of us – again – because the mortgage company needed more information - again. To be honest, my attitude began to sink. I’m tired of living like gypsies. I’m ready to have my own nest. We’ve already waited a really, really long time! You might say that a fog of despair started to roll in. You see, there is a coastline ahead of me. God has opened a door for us to be here working with you all. By faith I know that God doesn’t bring you to a work and then leave you without the resources you need to accomplish the work. While the Walkers have been such wonderful examples of hospitality and God’s love in action, we cannot impose upon them indefinitely. Perhaps the choppy waters of getting a mortgage will take us away from the house we’re bidding on and take us to another dwelling. Maybe we’ll need to rent for a time. I don’t know. But I do know that every sea meets a shore. You just have to keep swimming in the right direction.
Here are some verses that are helping me through my fog of discouragement. I hope they encourage you to endure as well!
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58
My labor is not in vain! There is a shore!
"To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now." 1 Corinthians 4:11-13
Paul was homeless and he didn’t give up! In Christ he found the strength to bless, endure, entreat and rejoice. I’m not hungry or thirsty. I have more clothes in storage if I need them. I haven’t been beaten. I need to count some blessings!
“[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:7
“ALL” as in waiting for our own nest to feather. I don’t know what’s included in your “all”. Maybe you’re enduring an overbearing boss, an illness, a spouse that doesn’t follow Christ’s example of love and service. Whatever trial may be, it is part of the “all” that the love from God endures.
“This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:11-13
What a goal! If I endure, Christ assures me that I will reign with Him!!! That’s worth the cold water, the aching muscles. Or, in my case, it’s worth choosing a hopeful attitude when I want to pitch a fit. It’s worth being content where I am and looking for the blessings instead of murmuring. Having a home in heaven is more than worth having a house here on earth.
“And so, after he [Abraham] had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:15
Lessons from a man who also left his home. Not only am I to endure but I am to do so patiently. What does that look like? A face of hope. A simple trust in God to provide my NEEDS.
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:27
Just like the swimmer needed to swim for a shore he couldn’t see, I need to endure with a trust that God is with me even though I cannot see His face.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
Although I cannot see His face, God has left me Jesus’ example to follow. My eyes of faith can see my LORD through any fog of discouragement. If He can endure the cross and its shame because He could see the joy that was beyond it, what is there for me to murmur against? I just need to swim in His wake.
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12
These times of temptation (give into the despair, quit waiting on the LORD, make everyone around you miserable) serve to prove me. Not to prove that I’m perfect but that I trust in the One who is able to perfect me. Endure the temptation, receive the crown. What a bargain! The lie that Satan whispers is that choosing Him means no temptation. Whether we wait on the LORD or not, life will be full of trials. The truth that Jesus speaks is that He will enable us to overcome the world and receive the crown.
“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” James 5:11
God intends a good end for me. His grace and mercy aren’t on reserve for Heaven alone. He sheds them on me right now. And here is where I count my blessings. I’m waiting on a house but I’m welcomed in a comfortable home. We’re living out of suitcases but we have clothing. Not only are our daily needs met, God’s blessed us with all of you. How compassionate and merciful of Him!
Just as God has promised His word has comforted and encourage me. I hope you feel the same way. I don’t want to let anything keep me or you just a mile from heaven’s shore and having our names written in the most important of all record books. ~ HLW
THE PERFECT HAS COME 9.24.09
As many of you know who will be reading this bulletin, Heather and I purchased a house Tuesday September 15th. The house was a foreclosure, and the process seemed to be never ending. On more than one occasion we were confident that all terms and requests had been fulfilled only to receive a phone call requesting more information in order for the process to move forward. These phone calls were revelations to us that required action on our part. We kept wondering when the revelation of requests from the other parties would finally be complete.
As I pondered this thought I began to think about the prophets of old who would receive a revelation that was only a portion of what God would eventually completely reveal.
“Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” 1 Samuel 3: 1
There were periods during the thousands of years covered by the Old Testament when the revelation of God’s word was “rare”. Imagine living in a time when you have the revelation from God necessary to please Him, but also knowing that there was more to come. Couple that with being in a period of time when God was not revealing more of His will to the prophets. The last books written that are a part of the Old Testament were written over 400 years before the birth of Christ. This period in Biblical History is referred to as the “Years of Silence”. It is an amazing period mainly due to the fulfillment of several prophecies. For 400 years people are awaiting further revelation, and seeking for the Christ whom the prophets had described in various ways.
After the resurrection of Jesus and the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, which began the fulfillment of Joel 2: 28-32, there was an outpouring of revelation for the next few decades. The apostles and those whom they laid hands upon received spiritual gifts during this time to aid in the revealing of God’s word. This was a time of anticipation as the New Testament of Jesus Christ was being revealed and preserved for all time, and the complete revelation of God would be made known to humanity.
“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13: 8-13
This passage shows that a time would come when the purpose for spiritual gifts would be complete, and they would no longer continue. This would be when “that which is perfect has come” so it is necessary for us to identify what the “perfect” is. Strong’s Concordance online provides the following information concerning the Greek word teleios that is translated “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13: 9.
G5046 teleios- perfect, man, of full age-Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly- signifies "having reached its end" (telos), "finished, complete, perfect." It is used (II) of "things, complete, perfect," Rom 12:2; 1Cr 13:10 (referring to the complete revelation of God's will and ways, whether in the completed Scriptures or in the hereafter); Jam 1:4 (of the work of patience); Jam 1:25; 1Jo 4:18.
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1: 21-25
The word “perfect” in James 1: 25 is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 13: 9. The context of this passage makes it clear the “perfect” is the “implanted word”, “the word”, and the “law of liberty”. The “perfect” in these passages is referring to the word of God that was fully revealed within a few decades of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We do not live in a time where we are seeking further revelation from God. The “perfect” has come, Hallelujah (Praise you Yah), and we are all able to be guided by the complete revelation of the “law of liberty”. ~ LRW