Archive for September, 2024
Our Promise Keeping God
The Bible is a book of promises. They represent the good will of God and serve as the anchor of His will.
The difference in a promise by God and one made by a person are defined for us in Numbers 23:19, saying: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Yes will!
Promises are “irreversible obligations and declarations of God, which He has freely made. Edward Leigh says the promises are the grounds of our hope, the objects of our faith, and the rule of prayer.” Indeed they are. Whether espousing good or condemning evil they embody His will. If He says to do something it is good for us to do it. If He says not to do something is for our good not to do it.
There are absolute promises and there are conditional promises. There are absolute promises that make known a certain and sovereign purpose, while conditional promises reveal what God will do if the fulfillment of those promises glorifies Him and is best for His people. We might say that with absolute promises we are passive recipients of God’s sovereign pleasure, while with conditional promises something is first required of us. If we fail to meet this requirement, we may lose much spiritual comfort.
Absolute promises, such as God’s sending His Son into the world, have no condition annexed to the performance of them, while conditional promises, such as the promise that he who believes shall be saved, require some condition to be met by the Christian before the promise is fulfilled.
Avoid self-deception. Don’t be fooled into thinking you cannot forfeit promises. God is faithful always, but we can of our own free will walk away from Him. Live mindful of the fact, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1: 1 – 3).
With every promise of great blessing, there comes also a responsibility and requirement for us. What God has promised we have a responsibility to perform. You can be confident God will keep His promise if we perform our responsibility.
God’s promises are based upon an “if, then” condition. His word always says that “if” we will do our part and remain obedient and faithful, “then” God can send the promised blessings to us.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10: 23). As He is faithful so must we be.
Colorful Speech
Take this lighthearted break and enjoy a brief break from life’s load.
Coaches are aces at using colorful speech. These comments by former coaches illustrate this.
“Son, you got a good engine, but your hands aren’t on the steering wheel.” Bobby Bowden
“Line up by height alphabetically.” Bill Peterson
“Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football.” John Heisman
“If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, ‘Roll Tide, roll!” Bear Bryant
“If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a good education.” Murray Warmath
“We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking.” John McKay
“I’ve found that prayer works best when you have big players.” Knute Rockney
When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world. “No, but you can see it from there.” Lou Holtz
“Lads you are not to miss practice unless your parents or you died.” Frank Leahy
“I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there two terms – Truman’s and Eisenhower’s.” Alex Karras
“They cut us up like a boarding house pie, And that’s real small pieces.” Darrell Royal
“The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” Tom Landry
“I celebrate a victory when I start walking off the field. By the time I get to the locker room, I’m done.” Tom Osborne
“A metaphor is one thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.” They are often colorful speech. The Bible is full of metaphors, such as, the bread of life, the light of the world, the vine, and the door. All of these illustrate a characteristic metaphorically.
The Old Testament is littered with them, none more peculiar than these two.
“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion” (Proverbs 11: 22).
“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25: 19).
Few Bible passages have a grouping of more metaphors that Psalm 18: 2. Read them and meditate on each. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18: 2).
What to Do When Frustrated – Part Four
There are certain things we need to do regarding frustration. Do – – – .
* Respond constructively. Let it stimulate positive change. Let a positive response to it make it work for you.
* Rely on the Lord. “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in the time of trouble” (Psalms 9:9).
To the oppressed, refuge is offered. There are many oppressed in our land. You are on occasion oppressed by circumstances or people. All of us are.
We are a generation that has been taught to demand its rights. No race of any generation has been so committed to demanding rights. “Let each esteem others better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3).
“In honor preferring one another” (Romans 12:10).
Can you imagine Christ demanding His rights? “Here Peter, you take this towel and bowl and wash my feet. That’s your job – not mine.”
* Resort to prayer. “Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you” (Psalms 55:22).
You can express frustrations to the Lord. He cares for you.
Wait on the Lord. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the brilliant Russian literary genius, was imprisoned in a horrible Siberian camp because of his religious and political views.
Consider the emotional, cultural, financial, or educational prison in which you might presently be. He had no contact with the outside world and was subjected to strenuous work under adverse conditions.
His frustration drove him to consider suicide, but his faith wouldn’t allow it. In that frustrated state Solzhenitsyn contrive a plan. “I will run in an attempt to escape. They will shoot me, but it will not be suicide.”
Frustration had driven him to the brink of self-destruction.
Just as he was about to spring up and run, another prisoner whom he had not seen before came and stood in front of him. Of this one Solzhenitsyn said, “He looked into my eyes as though he could read my thoughts.”
These prisoners were not even allowed to speak, so no words of encouragement were forthcoming. Then, with a stick, as though doodling, the unknown old prisoner drew a cross in the dirt and walked away.
Solzhenitsyn said, “I knew he was a messenger from God and that what I was doing was wrong. I settled down to trust God.”
It was a moment of unqualified trust. Little did he know at the moment that the impossible was about to happen. Within a few days he was a free man in Switzerland, having been miraculously released unexpectedly.
By not waiting on the Lord you may be about to prevent Him from doing a great and mighty work in your life. “Wait on the Lord, run not before Him.”
What to Do When Frustrated – Part Three
Fine counsel regarding frustration is found in Psalm 37: 7, “ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” Bottom line, cool it. To do so consider these biblical steps regarding what not to do. Don’t – – – .
* Resort to vindication. In their time of frustration many people try to find someone or something to blame in order to justify themselves. “They made me do it,” is a cover-all for all sorts of inexcusable attitudes and actions.
We cause our own frustration because of how we think.
Solomon wisely wrote: “As a man thinks in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). If an individual or a group gets to thinking they have been wronged and have the right to destructively retaliate, violence results.
Few people are willing to take responsibility for their own actions. Yet, “…each of us shall give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14: 12).
Never do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.
“Do not evil that good may come.”
“See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourself and for all” (I Thes. 5:15).
Don’t resort to violence.
John the Baptist was God’s oracle who said, “Do violence to no man” (Luke 3:14).
Proverbs 16: 32 reminds us: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
* Violence may hurt others but it doesn’t help you.
Don’t go “ballistic”” over your frustrations.
Plato said, “The good man will suffer evil rather than do evil.”
* Don’t resort to vengeance. Romans 12: 17 – 19 is a case study in how to respond without a vengeful spirit.
Live Honestly. “Repay no one evil for evil” (Vs. 17). The great Booker T. Washington said, “I will not allow any man to make me lower myself by hating him.”
Live Harmoniously. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Vs. 18). Do all you can, without compromising your convictions, to achieve peace and harmony.
Live Humbly. “Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath… Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Vs. 19).
“Do not avenge yourselves” means don’t take the law into your own hands.
Don’t retaliate in a like manner. If vengeance is God’s business, get out of His way and let Him to His work. He doesn’t need your help.
What to Do When Frustrated – Part Two
Luke 21: 25 – 28
Frustration is you and circumstances standing face to face with life shouting “no way” and you responding “yes way” and circumstances won’t yield.
In general there are two types of frustrations.
There are episode frustrations which are temporary problems, such as missing an important phone call, trying to get a knot out of a shoestring while friends call you a klutz or worse, or being unable to solve a computer glitch.
An episode of frustration is you slamming the refrigerator door because your favorite snack isn’t there.
It’s you kicking the cat or dog because someone chewed you out when you didn’t deserve it.
There are process frustrations which occur when a person continuously feels blocked in an area of life. Process frustrations build up and cause major problems.
A few years ago psychologist William Knaus wrote a book entitled “How to Conquer Your Frustrations.” Some of his observations are worthy of noting. He said:
1. Frustrations exist when our wants, wishes, and desires get thwarted or interrupted. The feeling results from disparities between what we want and what we find available. For example, when our level of aspiration exceeds our level of achievement, we will likely experience frustration.
2. Frustrations can range from imperceptible to powerful.
3. Frustration starts from a feeling of discomfort.
4. We cause our frustrations because of what and how we think about our frustrations.
5. Strong frustrations result in mixed emotional states that have a disorganizing effect on memory and behavior.
6. Depending on how we interpret our feelings of frustration, they can stimulate positive change, aggression, regression, complacency, or compulsive behavior.
This last one means you choose how you will respond to your frustrations. Options are available to you. You are not a slave to your heredity or environment. You have willpower. You are responsible.
In summary the way to deal with frustration is to follow this pattern.
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27: 13 – 14).