“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:16-19 NIV)
My wife saw it; I only heard it. The thump against the glass and my wife’s call to me that a hawk was after a sparrow. When I came into the room and looked out our sliding glass door, there was the poor bird lying face down in the snow next to our grill. My wife thought it best to turn it over and so she opened the door and gently flipped the bird’s limp body. It was breathing and it slowly opened its eyes. Then it began to move its head and look around. Within a few minutes it was alert and the memory of its close encounter with the raptor was fresh on its mind, evidenced by it ducking down at the sight of another bird’s shadow from overhead. A few minutes later, it flew into the safety of the trees, hidden from its enemy and its rescue complete.
David was reflecting on the great peril in which he found himself when he wrote this psalm. King Saul, full of jealousy and rage, wanted him dead. David was on the run and fearing for his life. He was facing a much more powerful foe and his situation was grave. Death seemed imminent and he cried out to the Lord. And, then, the hand of the Lord reached down and rescued him.
We are told that our Enemy looks for opportunities to devour us, that we should always be alert to his lurking presence. However, sometimes we are distracted and unaware until it seems too late. He has us cornered and escape seems impossible. Have you ever felt that way?
What David’s psalm and so many other Scriptures tell us is the Lord is always able to rescue us. Even when we find ourselves in the most dire circumstances, whether created by others or of our own making, it is never too late to be saved. Our heavenly Father is always alert to our cries for help and able to pull us out of danger.
Today, be assured that no matter how dire your circumstances, there is One who is able to rescue you. He is the Lord Almighty and He is always on alert for your cries for help. When He hears them, He will come and pull you out of danger.
© Jim Musser 2018
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2 1-2 NIV)
The overarching theme of John’s letters is love. In the three that he wrote, he uses the word 34 times. And in his gospel, love appears 39 times—more than twice the other three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) combined. In fact, only the Psalms use the word more than John.
So why do I use a Scripture passage this morning that does not include the word love? Well, with John it is very easy to connect the dots. Perhaps the most well-known verse of the Bible—John 3:16—tells us that “God so loved the world.” And how did He demonstrate that? By giving His “one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” In other words, Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins, an act of love greater than all others throughout history. But not just for our sins, but for everyone’s throughout the world for all time.
In our individualistic society, it is easy to read passages about God’s love as personal to us—God loves ME. And, so He does. BUT, He also loves everyone else as MUCH as He loves you. You are special to Him, but no more special than anyone else. And this has implications for our lives.
If God loves the world and everyone in it, then we as His children must love those we encounter in our daily lives. This includes members of our family and our friends. But it also includes people with whom we are mere acquaintances or don’t know at all. It includes the clerk at the grocery store, the person at the dining hall taking your money for your meal, the waitress at a restaurant, and your professor for a class you have to take, but don’t really like. It also includes people who have hurt you or disappointed you, and people with whom you disagree strongly on any number of important issues. It includes, as well, people you don’t know but of whom you have heard about through the news who are suffering from oppression, war, or starvation.
You see, God loves them all. As Jesus said, it is easy to love those who love us (Luke 6:32). But the Lord calls us to a higher, deeper love than is common in the world. Worldly love is based mostly on what we gain from it. Godly love is unselfish and given even when it is undeserved and the prospects of its return in kind are unlikely. This is exactly how God has loved us, all of us.
Today, how can you love the people around you? And not just your family and friends, but everyone? If you need help, then read I Corinthians 13:4-7 and Galatians 5:22-23. For if God does indeed love everyone in the world, then it is important, as His children, to know how to do that as well.
© Jim Musser 2018
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (II Timothy 1:6-7 NIV)
Every day I interact with students who struggle to do what God calls them to do, whether that be sharing their faith with others, loving people unlike themselves, or being able to manage their time in a way that enables them to live more stress-free, and thus more productive, lives. They remind me of my own struggles while their age.
It is believed Timothy was a young man in his 20’s when he became a protégé of Paul. He was given charge of overseeing a church—a huge responsibility for one so young. Yet, it appears he was very effective. I think following this bit of wisdom from Paul may be the reason why.
Timothy had been given the gift of evangelism (II Timothy 4:5) and Paul told him to put himself in situations to use that gift. Sharing our faith with others can be particularly intimidating, but Paul reminds Timothy that the Spirit of God can give us power to overcome our fears.
The lessons here are two-fold regardless of what spiritual gifts we are given. First, we must put ourselves in positions to use them. If we have a gift of service, then we need to seek opportunities to serve. If it is a gift of administration, then we need to pursue opportunities to organize for the sake of the Kingdom. By doing so, by using our gifts, we strengthen them and make them more effective. Secondly, it is the Spirit of God that gives us the power to accomplish things with our gifts and to do the will of God. Far too often, we believe we must do things out of our own strength. I see this with students all the time. They burn out, they fail because they try to do things on their own without calling on the Spirit of God for help.
Though Timothy was young, he followed Paul’s counsel and was very effective. Regardless of our age, we, too, can benefit from his words of wisdom. If we want to live lives that are successful in doing Kingdom work, we need to be intentional about using the gifts given us and rely on the Holy Spirit for the power to be effective. We simply cannot do it on our own.
Today, consider what gifts you have and begin putting them to use for the work of God’s Kingdom. But remember, it is only through God’s Spirit that you will have the power to use them effectively.
© Jim Musser 2018
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV)
One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis is this one from his book, The Weight of Glory: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Do you ever have the sense there must be something more when you attend church on Sunday, a large group ministry meeting on campus, or a small group Bible study? Most of us, like the ignorant child Lewis speaks of, are content with our religious experiences, but I think there are times when we have a sense there should be something more, perhaps a lot more, than we are experiencing.
If so, then this is the prayer we should be praying. In times where we are just scraping by spiritually, robotically going to church but experiencing little of the joy of worship, we should fall to our knees and pray this prayer. When following Jesus seems to be all about doing activities and attending meetings, and we feel burned out, Paul’s prayer can lead us into a deeper understanding and joy. Or if you lean toward thinking the world has a lot more to offer you than the Church, then praying this prayer can change your perspective.
The truth is Lewis is right. Most of us are far too easily pleased. We are content to accept far less than is offered. And what is offered is so much more than we could imagine. I have been in slums and I have had holidays at the beach, and there is no contest as to which is better.
Today, if you want to get out of the slum and go to the beach, Paul’s prayer is the place to start.
© Jim Musser 2018
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” (I Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV)
Sometimes a particular passage in Scripture just jumps out at you. It may be because it speaks directly to something you are experiencing, or convicts you of something of which, up to that moment, you were unaware. Or perhaps its practical clarity just grabs you. I think it was the latter when I was reading I Corinthians 16 yesterday morning.
Paul is wrapping up his first letter to the Corinthian church, writing about his plans and various friends, when he writes these two sentences—five straightforward, practical commands. I am guessing they just came to his mind and he wanted to include them, and being in a time before digital writing, he couldn’t just go back and insert them in an earlier part of his letter. I am glad he did, because these are important commands, not only for his readers at the time, but for us as well.
Be on your guard. Remember, we are in a spiritual battle with an enemy who seeks to destroy us (I Peter 5:8). Life may seem like, well, life, nothing out of the ordinary, but we live on a spiritual battlefield and we need to be constantly on guard for enemy attacks. But we need not be afraid.
We can stand firm in our faith because if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) We can be courageous because nothing can separate us from the Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) We can be strong because we have powerful weapons at our disposal. (Ephesians 6:10-17) And we must fight these battles in love because, without it, we fight for nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)
Today, consider what battles you are facing and how you will fight them. Paul has given you some very practical commands to implement that will insure success on the battlefield.
© Jim Musser 2018
(Author's Note: Spring Break begins tomorrow, so I will be away with students next week. WftW will return on March 12th. Jim)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-24 NIV)
There have probably been times in your life where you have felt the need to be more loving or joyful, or patient. Most likely you were inclined to try harder to incorporate the trait into your life, because that is what we do to improve something—we work harder.
When it comes to the fruit of the Spirit, we wish that we had them in more abundance in our lives, and our instinct is to work on that. Yet, Paul says there is no law involved in the production of this fruit. In other words, the law is an obligation, something to fulfill, but the fruit of the Spirit is naturally produced. We don’t form it in our lives by trying harder.
If you walk in an orchard grove, you won’t hear the sounds of grunting as the trees work hard to produce their fruit. Rather, it is a natural process because fruit trees just naturally produce fruit. There is no trying. In the same way, the Holy Spirit naturally produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It doesn’t take more exertion on our part, but rather to cease impeding the Spirit and submit to His work in our lives.
If you desire to have more of the fruit of the Spirit in your life, you don’t have to try harder to get it. If you are a follower of Jesus, the Spirit lives in you (Romans 8:9), and He will naturally growHis fruit if you don’t impede Him. Today let Him do in your life what He naturally does—produce His fruit.
© Jim Musser 2018
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” (I Corinthians 12:12-20 NIV)
I have been a fan of the Kansas Jayhawks for a very long time, the result of ministering on the University of Kansas campus for many years. I belong to what is referred to as the “Jayhawk Nation.” Several years ago, I was walking in downtown Boone, where I now live, and saw a family wearing Jayhawk t-shirts. This is a very rare sight since I now live in North Carolina, so I was excited to see some of my fellow “citizens.” When I greeted them and told them I was a Jayhawk fan as well, the response was disappointingly underwhelming. They smiled hesitantly and kept on walking. I assume the connection we had was not significant enough in their minds to overcome the uncomfortableness of a stranger greeting them on the street of a town with which they were unfamiliar.
I have always loved finding obscure connections with people—meeting folks who are from the same state or town where I’ve lived, or who are from places where I know people. I remember years ago meeting someone in Kenya who grew up very near where I was born. I really enjoy experiencing those types of connections.
But I’ve realized through the years that not everyone has the same appreciation of these things as I do, the family I mentioned above being a prime example. And I understand that with things like I’ve mentioned, but what I struggle with is often the lack of enthusiasm in engaging with fellow believers in Christ. And it is not merely with strangers that we meet for the first time. It is also with people in our own churches or Christian ministries. Little eye contact is made, few smiles or greetings given. It is as if we are on the street walking among strangers with no connections to them. Yet, what Paul emphasizes is that we as believers are all a part of the same body. In other words, we are connected, whether we know particular people well or not.
In a culture where many of us have been raised with the concept of “stranger danger,” our first instinct is to avoid interaction with anyone we do not personally know. This, I believe, has led us to ignore the reality of the connectedness we have with each other through Jesus. Whether we know others in our churches or ministries, they are likely relatives of ours and we should treat them as such.
Today, think about the fellow believers you know or encounter on a regular basis, but with whom you’ve resisted any interaction, even a smile or kind acknowledgement of their existence. Ask the Lord to help you have a sense of connectedness with them and to respond accordingly. After all, they are a part of the same family as you and your connections run deep.
© Jim Musser 2018
