WHO'S IN CONTROL, REALLY!

". . .they came to take control of him. . .saying, 'He's out of his mind'." (Mark 3:21, CEB)

When the teachings and actions of Jesus don't fit neatly into our progressive view of the modern world, we conclude that he just doesn't get it; he's out of touch with how our species and our culture have evolved.  So, we take over for him, explaining, 'What he meant to say was. . .' or 'That was then, this is now.'
What a futile effort that is!  Once Jesus has acted, once he has spoken, once he has ruled on some issue, no amount of word-smithing and manipulation can change it.  You can't put the toothpaste back into the tube!
Beware the consequences of taking over for the Lord of Life as if he were some outdated relic who has suffered a break from the realities of this brave new world.

The Good News in a nutshell:


IT'LL BE ALRIGHT!

Here's some recommended reading from the Bible for those with either a case of post-election anxiety OR post-election euphoria!

Daniel 2:20-21

Isaiah 9:2-7

John 19:8-11

Romans 13:1-5

1 Peter 2:13

SLIPPAGE

'When I said my foot is slipping, your mercy O Lord, held me up.' Psalm 94:18

Slipping can catch us by surprise.  Because of the icy conditions two people I know lost their footing and fell this past week and required emergency care.
Sometimes we can tell when we are about to slip morally, ethically or spiritually; those times when the insidious allure of sin is about to trip us up.  At that point we have a decision to make: ignore the warning signs and end up laid out in the dirt or call out to the One who can keep our legs under us.
It was when the author of this psalm "said"; when he acknowledged his vulnerable state and admitted to it that God intervened and steadied him.
You know when you're slipping because the Spirit of God will show it to your spirit.  The question is, will you admit it and let the mercy of God keep you standing firm?

The Difference is Faith

"Do not go gentle into that good night.  Old age should burn and rave at close of day; rage, rage against the dying of the light."  Dylan Thomas

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."  The Apostle Paul

What a difference faith can make!

John 15

Submit to the sharp edge of the Pruner's knife and do not draw back.  He has trusted you to bear fruit!

Cheerful Surrender

There is the surrender of defeat; the result of being overwhelmed by superior force and giving up, losing.  There is no pleasure in such surrender, only hopelessness, fear and the depressing sense of failure and loss.
These are not the characteristics of surrender to the will of God.  He is not an enemy or adversary who seeks to overpower but a divine Father who loves unconditionally.  The surrender of one's life and will to Him can and should be approached cheerfully, joyfully with great hopeful expectation.
Cheerful surrender, joyful surrender; not born out of having been beaten into submission but out of having been awakened by the Creator himself to the very real possibility of a victorious life.
We can submit our will and life to Him joyfully with the confidence that He will exchange strength for our weariness, abundance for our scarcity, forgiveness for our guilt, success for our failure, courage for our fear, assurance for our doubt and gladness for our unhappiness.