Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13 NIV)
I think there comes a time in every believer’s life where there is a struggle with the Pharisaical mindset. You know the one, where we believe we’ve come to a sense of enlightenment that should be emulated by everyone else. Jesus summarized this thinking through His story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee looks down on the tax collector and thanks God he is better because of his great righteousness. Jesus, of course, takes apart this self-exulted attitude and lauds the tax collector for his humility.
The problem with Pharisaical-minded people is they are arrogant and have forgotten their own shortcomings. They adopt a superior view of themselves and believe everyone should listen and follow their point of view. They are quick to tell others what they should be doing and quick to judge when they don’t do it.
I remember back in my early days as a follower of Jesus, struggling with the idea of baptism. Some of my Christian friends questioned whether I was truly a believer; while others cited their favorite Scripture verses about baptism, telling me I was being disobedient. I became so frustrated with them and resented their judgment of me. However, after studying the Scriptures myself, I came to the conclusion I did need to be baptized. Months later, I was working at a summer camp and the topic of baptism came up among the counselors. At that point, I entered my Pharisaical mindset and began to argue and judge in the same way my friends had done to me just a few months earlier. Sadly, I stayed in that mindset for several years.
Our pastor once said, “It is better to be kind than right.” To the Pharisaical-minded, that is blasphemy, but I think this is what Paul is telling the Colossians. The mindset of condemnation and judgment has its birth in our forgetting we have the same need of forgiveness as anyone else. Once we become “enlightened” about spiritual matters, we tend to forget that.
Do you realize how much you need the forgiveness of the Lord? If you don’t, then you are in danger of, or may have already entered into, having a Pharisaical mindset. Remember the words of the Lord at the conclusion of His story: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Today, bear with those with whom you disagree. Have grace for them and forgive them, just as the Lord has done for you.
© Jim Musser 2013
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
One constant working with college students is they are stressed much of the time. And I rarely notice much difference between those who say they follow Jesus and those who don’t. The college campus is a culture of stress that the inhabitants reinforce among each other. Like adults who constantly talk about how busy they are, often seemingly wearing it as a badge of honor, so do students talk about how stressed they are.
I don’t doubt they are, but what puzzles me is they never seem to seek a solution to how to deal with stress. It’s as if they think, “I am a college student, therefore I am stressed out.” And many seem to think once they graduate, life will become less stressful, which those of us on the other side of the diploma know is not true in the least. So what concerns me is this culture of stress is producing people where “stressing out” will be the norm for their lives.
Paul offers a solution, one not frequently embraced, but a biblical command nonetheless. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” “Anything” and “every” are comprehensive words; they don’t leave much room for interpretation. A paper due or an exam to be taken? Included. Plans for the future? Included. A relationship issue? That, too. A serious illness or tragedy in your family? Yep. No matter what you are facing currently in your life that is causing you stress, or what you may face in the future, the solution to dealing with it is the same—going to the Lord in prayer and, with thanksgiving, presenting your needs to Him.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But we know it isn’t because, if it were, the vast majority would be doing it. Rather, it is quite difficult because it involves letting go of our perceived control over a situation. If we are stressed about a situation, it gives us a sense of control, but if we give it over to God, then we need to trust Him to take care of it. Much harder to do.
But the reality is if we follow Jesus, by default, we are to trust in Him. So while stress will always be a part of our lives, how we handle it is to look much different from the world. In the midst of stressful situations, we are to have a sense of peace because we have handed over our anxieties to the Lord, trusting He is in control so we don’t need to be.
Today, what are you stressed out about? By following Paul’s command, you can set yourself free from the constant anxiety life brings and exchange it for a peace that comes when you entrust the Lord with control of every aspect of your life.
© Jim Musser 2013
“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” (III John 11 NIV)
Let me just be straight up: I would just as soon skip October 31st every year. Halloween is not only my least favorite holiday; I don’t even think it should be celebrated, at least by those who claim to follow Jesus. Yes, it is a day where kids put on cute costumes and adults get to act like kids again and play dress-up, but can we all admit that, at its core, Halloween seeks to glorify the dark realm? No matter what we try to make it, it is still primarily a holiday celebrating and drawing attention to darkness.
This time of year, horror flicks are staples for many of the cable channels. “Haunted houses” feature fake, but often realistic gore with the intent to scare their patrons. Ghosts, spirits, and demons clearly are the focus for many. So I think my uneasiness with this day is warranted.
John says not to imitate evil, and many other places in the Scriptures warn us to avoid evil. So it seems to reason that we should carefully consider this day and what we do with it. Should those of us who worship the God who is love be involved with a holiday that exalts fear? (I John 4:18) Should those who follow the Light of the World (John 8:12) embrace a holiday devoted to darkness? Should those of us who believe death is the curse of sin (Romans 5:12) celebrate a holiday glorifying death?
I know there are many, perhaps including you, that celebrate this day because it is a lot of fun, and your intent is not to imitate evil. Yet, today I would ask you to consider whether Halloween in any ways brings glory to God or to anything to which He calls good. For me, I will do what I do every year—skip it.
© Jim Musser 2013
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” (Psalm 147:3-4 NIV)
Regardless of how good our lives might be at a given time, there is no denying we live in a hurting world filled with wounded people. Recently, I have become aware of tragic events affecting students’ lives—parents deciding to end their marriages, parents with serious illnesses, and friends dying. And then there are the self-inflicted wounds—alcohol and drug use leading to thoughts of suicide, over-commitment leading to excessive stress, and choosing the comfort and excitement of romance over a relationship with God.
Woundedness, whether from others or self-inflicted, is painful and affects our relationships with everyone, especially God. When we are wounded, our tendency, more often than not, is to run from God, to seek our own solutions and healing.
My late father-in-law hated to go to the doctor. He preferred to treat himself. One time he had a very sore leg. He took a pain reliever, but after a couple hours without relief, he took more. After a few days, he became very disoriented and was hospitalized. He had overdosed on the pain relievers. Trying to treat our own wounds is not often very wise. We need the wisdom of others who know what they are doing.
We have a God who created the universe, knows the number of stars and planets and has named them all. Scientists have concluded there are billions of them. Think about that. This is the God who also can heal our wounds. He can make our broken hearts whole again. He does not promise a pain-free life, but when we suffer pain from deep wounds, He can heal us. But we have to go to Him in order for healing to be achieved.
I recently heard the testimony of a man trapped for years in drug addiction. His woundedness was deep, but six months ago he turned to Jesus for healing. He is now free from drugs and their hold on him. His wounds have been healed.
Today, if you are hurting from recent or long-present wounds, know the Lord can heal them. You don’t even need an appointment.
© Jim Musser 2013
“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.” (Hebrews 5:12-6:3 NIV)
In my years as a campus minister, one statement I hear fairly often is, “I was not being fed.” And it comes from both students who leave our ministry for another and students who come to our ministry from another. Of course, this sentiment is not limited to college students; there are plenty of adults in churches who say the same thing. It seems a lot of believers feel the need to be spiritually fed by someone else.
The same attitude existed in the 1st Century church as well, and the Hebrew writer minced no words. He basically called them out as spiritual adults acting like babies. While they should be far beyond the elementary teachings of the faith and growing more mature, they have remained infants in their thinking and understanding. They can only handle the basics of salvation, teachings on the Resurrection, and the facts involving eternal judgment—elementary school level subjects. He’s telling them to grow up and learn to feed themselves.
In a discipleship course I teach every year to students desiring to be leaders in our ministry, we talk about this very thing. I ask them to imagine seeing a mother breastfeeding her five-year-old or spoon-feeding her 12-year-old. There are always gasps of disgust. Yet, isn’t this what we so often see in the church? People who have been in the church for years still having their mouths wide open looking for someone else to feed them.
The Hebrew writer told his readers, and is telling us, that it is time to grow up and learn how to feed ourselves. We need to move beyond the basics of the faith to teaching ourselves how to live righteously. How? By constant use, he says. By digging into the Word daily and putting into practice what it says. Sure, we will all need help in doing this, but the responsibility of maturing is on us. A learner becomes adept in a subject or skill by applying himself, his attention and energy, to it. And if it is important enough to him, he will do it.
Today, if you want to be spiritually fed, then open up the Word and start reading.
© Jim Musser 2013
“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” (Luke 5:12-13 NIV)
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with the same doubts as this leper. I believe the Lord is omnipotent, that He can do whatever He pleases, and, most certainly, He can meet any need I may have. But the question that frequently comes to my mind is this: Is He willing?
Lepers in the 1st Century were outcasts, avoided at all costs by the populace. No doubt this man struggled with feeling worthy of almost anything. Hearing about Jesus and the miracles He was doing had to put hope in his heart. He knew Jesus could heal him. The big question was: Would He be willing to do so?
It is likely the leper doubted He would. The general public abhorred him. The religious people avoided him. And it is likely a human hand had not touched him since he was afflicted with the dreaded disease. He had every reason to doubt Jesus would be willing to heal him.
Like the leper, I recognize my sin is abhorrent to God. Still, I repeatedly fall into sin. So the question naturally arises, why would the Lord be willing to heal me or to meet some other need I have when I am so unfaithful? Perhaps the answer is found in this verse from Paul’s second letter to Timothy: “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (Verse 13) God’s character is one of love. That is who He is. Regardless of our unfaithfulness, He will remain faithful in loving us.
So we should not be surprised by Jesus’ answer to the leper’s request: “I am willing.” That is in direct line with His character. His love produces a willingness to meet our needs.
Today, know the Lord is willing to provide for your needs, regardless of your repeated falls into sin. The God who created you will always be faithful in loving you.
© Jim Musser 2013
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (Acts 12:27 NIV)
There’s an old saying among pastors: Twenty percent of the people do 80% of the work. The work of the Church is typically done by the few. Most people involved in churches or campus ministries do one thing well—they faithfully attend the worship service or large group meeting. Beyond that, the percentages of involvement typically decrease rapidly. A church of a thousand might have only 200 involved in small groups. A prayer gathering might attract 20 or so.
It has been true for a long time that involvement in a church or campus ministry is defined as attending one meeting a week, but as another old saying goes, Christianity is not a spectator sport. Paul compares the Church to a body made up of many parts. Although the parts may be “spectators” on occasion (like my foot is “watching” my hands type right now), they are mostly fulfilling a functional role. Followers of Jesus are a part of His Body. And this Body doesn’t just sit around doing nothing. It has a purpose—to do the work of Jesus.
That work entails drawing people into a deeper relationship with the Lord, meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, spreading the Good News about Him, and seeking justice for the poor and oppressed. The scope and breadth of the work requires all the parts be engaged and active.
So what about you? If you are a part of the Body of Christ, what are you doing besides attending one meeting a week? The Lord has given you gifts so that you can be an effective and contributing Body part (see I Corinthians 12:28-30; Romans 12:4-8; Ephesians 4:12-13; I Peter 4:7-11). He does not desire for you to be merely a spectator. A spectator is really a useless Body part.
Today consider how you might become an effective part which contributes to the overall work of the Body of Christ.
© Jim Musser 2013
