February 27
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Uncategorized Aside

“When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.” (2 Corinthians 10:18, NLT)

The current fixation on self-promotion isn’t new. Folks were marketing themselves long before Paul wrote today’s admonition against the self-promotion to the Christian disciples in Corinth — which was the New York City of its day: Populous, cosmopolitan, a crossroads of humanity.

I know, I know. . . We reason that if we’re not for ourselves, then who is? It is a valid question.  The answer for the disciple of Jesus is that it is God who is our champion.  God opens doors that no one can close; and God closes doors that no one can open. 

Be faithful to Him in all things, and he will not only chart the course of your life; but He will ensure that you arrive at all of the correct checkpoints at the right time.  – Luther

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February 26
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Uncategorized Aside

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV)

I arrived at home one day to the lovely scent of one of my wife’s favorite perfumes.  My wife wasn’t at home at the time, so I figured that I had just missed her by a matter of minutes.

When she returned some time later, she told me that she had accidentally knocked to the bathroom’s tile floor a glass perfume bottle, thereby “liberating” its contents. 

As Paul reminds us in today’s scripture, we are like that perfume bottle: Fragile, yet filled with the spirit of God. The bottle’s purpose is to serve as a container of the fragrant treasure that, by its nature, changes the character of its environment whenever (and wherever) it is “liberated” — whether by design or by accident.

As we approach Ash Wednesday, remember that we are dust; clay; ashes; a tent.  But also remember that the spirit of almighty God from within us, and through us, changes the character of whatever environment, or circumstance, we encounter. Our fragile frame reminds us that the power is of God, not of ourselves.   – Luther

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February 25
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Uncategorized Aside

“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” (Mark 6:31, NIV)

Most of us have been where the disciples were in today’s reading. Some of us will be there today: In the place where the demands of others are too many, and the available time is too short; and our personal resources are too meager, to even begin to satisfy the need.

Most of us would choose to press-on — doing more and more with less and less until we get to the point where the upward curve of frustration meets the downward curve of exhaustion. It is never God’s will for us to be in such a state.

When we approach that state, Jesus invites us to go away with Him to a quiet place and get some rest. Will we go; or will we decline His invitation because we know our situation better than He?  

Will we go; or will we stay at the wheel because we derive personal satisfaction from being “in control” and we see no benefit to spending time away with Jesus — resting?

We have a standing invitation from Jesus to come away with Him to rest, not in “permanent retirement from the requirement”; but that we might be refreshed spiritually and physically before the next round.  – Luther

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