Iron Sharpers Iron

Happy Hump Day!

Jeez! This week is draggin'

So, I've been kind of busy with midterms, paper, work, church, blah blah blah....excuses! I know.

But I was reading my Bed Time Blessing and really liked todarrows (todays/tomorrows)...

Oct. 16

Believers who are growing toward maturity share in mutual feelings - mutual woes and mutual joys.

This is one of the best benefits of being part of the body of Christ and a major reason why we need to be involved in a local church. In that local community we have a context in which we can rejoice with each other and weep with one another.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Romans 12:15

This kind of reminds me of Proverbs 27:17 "as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another"

As Christians I think it's important for us to lean on our church body, our friends, and so on. They are there to help us, hold us accountable, and remind us what we need to be doing when we stray.  

I myself am beyond blessed with most of the people I have met within my church. They are loving, open, and (literally) always there for me (even at 1 in the morning and an hour away).  

I know for some of us, including myself, we may be a little introverted and don't really like opening up to others, or we may feel that we are burdening them with our problems. Try to be open and try to stop that thought process. Our church family is there for us. We should be able to or at least try to trust them and be open with them even especially when we have no one else to turn to.  God might just be forcing you outside of your comfort zone to begin a friendship or show you something you've been asking to see.

So if you need to talk or need pray or you're struggling with anything or everything try not to let insecurities or fear hold you back. Look to your church family for support, comfort, and love. 

¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Romans 12:10-13

Rock Bottom

Alright, tonight is going to get a little personal and is going to encourage you to be really vulnerable, honest, and humble with God.  Part of it is going to focus on the parable of the wise and foolish builders and the other will focus on why we tend to push God away when we need Him most.  Why we try to do things ourselves and don’t realize how badly we need Him till we’ve hit rock bottom.

I know we have all probably had our doubts in faith but what do we do when those doubts start to consume us and the devil gets that hold on us?  You’ll find out in this post.  For starts though it’s all about building your house (faith) on a rock and not in the sand, just as the gospel of Matthew tells us “those who build among the sand are fools.” This adorable little video does a great job of illustrating Matthew 7:24-27, and for those of you who prefer the text:

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The verse I want to focus on here is verse 27: “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  I want you to notice a specific word, crash. This is what happens when we build our faith on the sand.  It’s not sturdy or strong and it will Not hold its own when it’s challenged, it will crash and you will crash with it.  This is that rock bottom that I mentioned in the intro.  I know not all of us will experience rock bottom, and that’s wonderful, but I know we will all experience a fall.  In some way or another we will stray from the Shepherd.  The parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 gives us a good idea of the relationship between ourselves of God.  However there is a myth or whatever that takes this parable a little further.

It is told that before the shepherd placed the lamb (that strayed) on his shoulders, he broke its leg, so it could not run away again. Then by the time the leg has healed the lamb has learned to stay near the shepherd and trust him.  Whether this is true or not I still like it.

The breaking of our legs is that rock bottom we hit, and as we heal from the pain, or whatever it was we lean on God and his strength to carry us.  I hit what I think, and hope, was my rock bottom a little over a month ago.  I wont go into detail, but since then I had really seen a difference in Gods presence in my life.  I am being put into challenge situations that have been helping me grow and that are teaching me to go to God first.  I was humbled when I was broken.  During this past month or so I have really been meditating on Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  My pride is slowly crumbling and every time I think I can do something on my own I remember this verse, because my plan will do nothing but hurt me.  One thing that is very important about this verse is that it’s not saying that God will never break us, or knock us down, or that things will be easy.  It is saying that everything God does to you will make you better if you turn to Him while you’re going through it.  Remember to always look for that light at the end of the tunnel.

Now.  Here is what we have to do.  Let God break us.this song, or find a song that really speaks to you, listen to the lyrics and go back to you’re rock bottom.  Focus on who you were when you were there.  Remember the feelings and the thoughts of that state.  Now start moving forward and focus on each significant event where God showed you He was there and when you leaned on Him for strength.  Focus on how your faith became stronger with each passing trial and how you were able to learn and grow from each one.  Now focus on your present relationship with God.  On your current faith, feelings, and thoughts.  Notice how far you have come and thank God that your rock bottom was your new beginning. Be humbled that He left his flock and found you to save you from the world.  I want you to try and do something.  You’re going to go on a little soul search.  Now, I know this post is already really long, but take 5 more minutes.  I want you to listen to

If you have not hit your rock bottom spend the time of this song thanking God for the people and trials He has put in your life to help you make your faith strong, and pray for those in your life that may need a little help with this.  Pray for the ones struggling to build their foundation or for the ones still stuck on the sand.

I really hope some of you found a little hope within this post or a little relief.  Sometimes simply knowing that God does these things to strengthen us helps us out.  I hope you have a beautiful weekend and if you’re here in Southern Cali. don’t go outside, because those winds are crazy!

Links in post

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlPMld7ScU0

Song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkZDJY31RX4

Romans 7: Believers United to Christ

Geez! I feel like I just colored this chapter orange (that’s the color of my highlighter).  This chapter brings back one of Paul’s main ideas, that we are all equal.  Whether we only know the law, only know the scripture, or think we know everything.  Paul reminds us again in verses 5 and 6 of Jesus’s death for us, and how when we die in our old life we become new.  Verse 5: “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6: But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”  When Jesus was crucified we were disconnected from the law.  Not law in a spiritual sense but in a physical sense.  God created the law but man determines it, therefore it is of this world and this world is of sin.  However it is all very confusing and Paul begins to sound a bit like Captain Jack (Sparrow) in these verses, especially 14-17: “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15: For what I am doing, I do not understanding; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16: But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17: So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

What?! So Paul is blaming what he is doing, but doesn’t want to be doing, on sin?  Not himself, but the sin in him.  Alright…so thanks to my handy-dandy foot notes here is what Paul is trying to say.  He is sharing 3 lessons with us, lessons that he learned while trying to deal with his sinful desires. (1) Knowledge is not the answer.  Paul was ok with not understanding what the law demanded.  (2) Self-determination doesn’t succeed.  We can’t do things on our own.  Christians get their power and strength from God. (3) Becoming a Christian DOES NOT stamp out all sin and temptation from a person’s life.  This third one may be the most important.  Like I said in yesterdays post, becoming a Christian isn’t all hunky-dory.  If anything becoming a Christian means you will be even more tempted, and when you give into that temptation those around you will judge you twice as harshly.  For some people you will be the only Christian face they meet and by you they will measure and judge all Christians, so keep that in mind.

Lastly I want to mention verses 21, 24, and 25 (ya know, sense they’re at the end).  Also I want us to notice that Paul is speaking from his own experiences and struggles here, this is straight up, hard-core Paul!  Verse 21: “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”  Paul totally fesses up and acknowledges the fact that he is made of evil.  He is made of this world, but he wants to do well, he wants to be right with God.  I myself, think that is a really difficult thing for us to acknowledge and accept because we are so good at making excuses for ourselves and we are so quick to blame others. (This is where our challenge of the week will be pulled from).

Verse 24: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”  Here Paul shares his inward struggle with sin; it was as real for him as it is for us.  However we can learn from Paul’s wisdom.  Whenever Paul felt lost, he would return to the beginning of his spiritual life, remembering that he has already been freed by Jesus Christ.  When you feel confused or overwhelmed by sin’s appeal, follow Paul’s example: Thank God that he has given you freedom through Jesus.  Let the reality of Christ’s power lift you up to real victory over sin. All that was from my footnotes, because they are smatter than me.  But seriously though, when we are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, glum, etc. we often try to handle things with our strength first.  We could save so much time and energy if we just train ourselves to look to God before we try anything else, and this comes with putting God First.  Not letting other worldly things come before our love and faith in God but trying our best and doing things through Gods power. 

Challenge of the week: Don’t make excuses this week.  Be honest with God and fess up your evil.  God already knows what it is that you struggle with, but He wants to hear it from you.  Fess it up and give up.  Then after that thank God.  Thank Him for taking your sin and allow yourself to be with Him for a few moments.  Try to be quiet and listen.  “Let His power lift you up to real victory over that sin/struggle.”

Song of the day:

Autumn in New York

By: Frank Sinatra

Because it's autumn and I want to be in New York, and it's Frank Sinatra!