Swimming Upstream

By James H. Pence –

As I consider my Christian walk, I often feel like a salmon swimming upstream.

Most of us have seen videos of this amazing phenomenon of nature. These fish not only swim against raging currents and rapids, but often have to jump up small waterfalls, all to fulfill their final task in life—spawning and creating a new generation. It is an all-out effort in pursuit of a virtually impossible goal, and it takes every ounce of strength these fish have. And when their task is complete, they die.

It is a nearly perfect picture of the Christian life.

The Christian life is all about pursuing a goal. You can describe the goal in different terms: heaven, glory, holiness, righteousness, etc. As Paul described it in Romans, God’s goal is for us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29). He puts it in more practical terms in his letter to the Ephesians: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4 NIV).

God’s goal—and our goal—is to become like Jesus Christ. The problem is, everything in our world runs counter to that goal.

To pursue Christlikeness while living in this world is like swimming upstream against roaring rapids, jumping over waterfalls, and fighting a constant, unending battle against a current that would inevitably take us in the opposite direction. What is worse, not only do we have to struggle against the current of the world; we also have to resist our natural inclination toward sin. At least salmon don’t have a sin nature to contend with.

Yes, this is a nearly perfect picture of the Christian life. Except that we have something the salmon don’t have. They must pursue and reach their goal, driven only by instinct and gritty determination. We have One who lives in us and empowers us daily, and He has promised to complete the work He began in us.

I often find myself discouraged in my daily battle against my own sin, against my own tendency to allow the stream to carry me away from God. But God has begun a good work in me through His Son, Jesus Christ, and He has promised to carry it on to completion.

AUTHOR QUOTE: I will finally reach the goal of Christlikeness, not because of my own will and gritty determination, but because of His faithfulness.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by James H. Pence. James is an author, speaker, singer, and gospel chalk artist, but prefers to be known as a storyteller. To learn more about James and how he draws the stories of your heart, visit his website at: www.jamespence.com.

Can’t Keep A Good Man Down

By Jarrod Spencer –

One of the things I enjoy doing is playing. I enjoy playing around with my family. I enjoy playing sports. Because I’m human, I cannot just go and go and go; there are times when I need a rest. However, I enjoy playing so much that even after a bit of a rest, I want to be right back in the middle of things. A little “out-of-breath” is not going to stop me from continuing to participate.

Jesus also slowed to take a rest. He left His Deity and allowed His human side to rest. I use this word to describe a momentary time between humanity and ascension. Jesus needed to give up His weak flesh for our sake. Jesus died and was put in a tomb, taking a rest. This period of time allowed people, both good and bad, to wonder. They wondered if He would rebuild as He said He would. They wondered if people would try to steal His body. Others probably just wondered. However, their wondering didn’t change His plan. They all discovered that a little death was not going to stop Him from participating in eliminating sin.

The following are lyrics from the song “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” by Newsong.
“When they nailed Him to the cross
by His hands and His feet
and they put Him in the ground.
Three days later
everybody found out
that ya can’t,
No you can’t keep a good man down.”

The word “good” in the title is not quite strong enough to describe Jesus. A stronger word like awesome, magnificent, unbelievable, first-class, superior, overwhelming, breathtaking, amazing, or remarkable, may have been a little bit closer to a description of our Savior.

Jesus died for our lying, cheating, murders, denials, addictions, etc. Jesus didn’t just die on the cross and then put in a grave to stay forever. Jesus escaped the grave allowing us to escape the nastiness of sin’s sentence to the grave. Because He escaped, we do not have to remain in the grave. How can we respond to something of that magnitude?

“God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good.”

PRAYER: Dear God, I am eternally thankful that I do not have to remain in the grave because You raised Jesus from the grave many years ago.

“‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him’” (Mark 16:6 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Jarrod Spencer. He is a seeker of God’s surprises in everyday life, looking for ways to be used by God to minister to others. He has a passion for encouraging people through the written word and exercises that passion with blogging and sending out a weekly text of encouragement. You can read more of his writings at http://jarrodspencer.blogspot.com and his church’s website is http://www.colbychurch.com.

The Power of Encouragement

By Carin LeRoy –

Encouragement is important in everyone’s life. While living as missionaries overseas, my husband and I went through some discouraging trials in our earliest years on the field. During those difficulties, the director of Pioneers, Ted Fletcher, wrote us letters of encouragement. His words gave us the boost we needed. He even came to where we lived for a visit. Without his inspiration and support, I wonder if we would have made it through the obstacles we faced.

One of my favorite Bible characters (among many!) is Barnabas. His name means “son of consolation,” or “comfort.” In Acts 13-15, we read the story of Paul and Barnabas and their missionary travels to spread the gospel. On the first part of their journey they took John Mark along as a helper. But during the trip, he deserted them. Later when planning other places to visit, Barnabas wanted to give John Mark a second chance and take him along. Paul disagreed. Their sharp argument separated them, and they departed for different areas of ministry. Barnabas took John Mark, and Paul left with Silas.

Both were great men of God, but Barnabas was a mentor. He saw something in John Mark that he deemed valuable and worthy of his time and effort. After spending time working with John Mark in ministry, he soon became an important asset, even to Paul. Later he said, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is a great help to me in ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11 NET). I wonder if Paul would have said that had it not been for the encouragement and mentoring that Barnabas invested in John Mark’s life.

It is interesting to know that in Acts 9, the disciples rejected Paul because they feared he wasn’t a believer and might persecute them. Barnabas became his advocate and supported him. He not only mentored John Mark, but also Paul! Both became great missionaries in spreading the gospel.

We underestimate the power of encouragement. Each day we encounter people who need a word of praise, a kind word, or time from us. Who are they? Maybe they are within our own family, in the work place, or a neighbor across the street. Let’s also take heed of God’s reminder to “encourage one another and build up each other” (I Thessalonians 5: 11 NET). Be a Barnabas in someone’s life today.

PRAYER: Father, help me learn to be a person of encouragement. Keep me mindful that people are more important than my goals and schedule. Show me today how You can use me to build up and show kindness to others.

“And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (I Thessalonians 5: 14, 15 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Carin LeRoy, wife to Dale and mother of three grown children and one almost-grown teenager. She has been a missionary with Pioneers since 1982. Her passions are family, missions, piano, and writing to challenge others to live faithful lives for God.

Skip the Wipe Warmers

By Hally Franz –

Recently Natalie Portman accepted the Oscar for Lead Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance in Black Swan. She looked gorgeous in her designer gown and jewelry—a stunning mother-to-be on the red carpet. Pregnancy is very stylish for women today, including those who aren’t celebrities. Maternity clothes are now available in a range of colors, rather than plain pastels with bows, and they have shape, unlike the old-fashioned smock.

Not only are future mommies donning trendy clothes, their infants are living in style upon arrival too. In my circle there has been a run on babies lately. Consequently, I’ve attended several baby showers in the last few months. These precious little ones have it made.

There was a time when baby shower gifts included basics like diapers, sleepers, pacifiers, lotions, baby blankets, rattles and bottles. Now, newborns are welcomed home to private baby-sized bathing spas, state-of-the-art music and security systems, nurseries decorated with the most soothing and, simultaneously, the most stimulating walls, mobiles, and playthings, and environmentally-friendly and organically-inspired diapers. My favorite of the modern baby necessities are the wipe warmers, designed specifically to prevent the little love morsels from experiencing the traumatizing chill of a straight-from-the-box wet wipe. Wow!

At the risk of sounding terribly old school, could we be taking things a little far when it comes to pampering (pardon the pun) our children? I remember my sister and me begging Dad to turn on the air conditioning by the time July rolled around, and wearing layers all winter. My children dwell in a temperature-controlled environment. When I was a child a Saturday evening treat meant a ride to town and an ice cream cone, but today meals at McDonald’s are standard operating procedure. My summers were long and boring; my children’s are busy with camp and pool visits, the county fair and family vacation.

Honestly, I would probably use the wipe warmers if I had a baby in my home too. The truth is most children are blessed and comfortable, more entertained and worldly-wise than they need to be. Parents naturally tend to do and give more where our children are concerned. So our real challenge is to instill in them a grateful and giving spirit, a sense of appreciation for the blessings they’ve been given and of responsibility to serve and give back to others.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, how You have blessed us in America! Please help me to always be grateful for those blessings, to be giving to others, and to raise children who are appreciative and generous Christians.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Hally Franz. Hally is a former high school guidance counselor, turned homemaker. Hally sees each day as a new exercise, where routines change and weights vary. Her goal is to maintain all-around fitness for service, while training her children to be competitive, compassionate and Christ-like in the world in which we live.

STOP the Merry-Go-Round

By Cheri Cowell –

Do you ever find you’re talking to yourself? The saying goes, that it’s okay as long as you don’t answer. Well, I think you should answer, and sometimes with a big and resounding STOP! I’m sure you are familiar with the times when that negative voice within just won’t shut up. It seems you’re on a merry-go-round of negative thoughts and don’t know how to get off. The thoughts just keep coming and you are becoming more and more discouraged and despondent. This is when you need to not just talk to yourself, but instead shout, “STOP, I’m getting off this thing.” That will break the cycle, but then you need to follow with steps in a new direction. If you don’t, you’ll end up back on that thing. Begin talking to yourself and take your mind to a new place. Sounds like pop-psychology and not sound biblical counsel?

King David was battling the feelings of depression when he wrote these words. He fought those feelings by reminding himself to be hopeful. David knew God was faithful and He was bigger than any problem David faced. Yet, those overwhelming feelings of depression and discouragement still enveloped him. David fought back by talking to himself. He told himself to look up; though things were bad he had reason to hold onto hope. He told himself to hold onto that hope by looking expectantly for God to do something, and to praise Him while he was waiting. Doesn’t sound like pop-psychology to me, does it to you?

PRAYER: Thank You for being with me in even the darkest of days. Help me to stop the merry-go-round by clinging to the hope I have in You.

“My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long,  “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:3-5 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on the deep questions of faith. You can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional at http://www.CheriCowell.com

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