STANDPOINT360

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Romans 12:12 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.12.12.NLT

I like to mix things up in life.  Innovation and creativity excite me.  In uncertain times, this also becomes a vulnerability.  Change for change’s sake usually doesn’t work.  

Paul reminds us to stay the course in three specific ways:

• Rejoice in our confident hope:  Our confident hope is in God through Jesus Christ.  It is about life being restored and made new.  This happens now and it extends beyond physical death in this life. It is about God living out His will to redeem, restore and renew people and creation.  Our confident hope is in God the Father.  Our confident hope is in Jesus Christ. Our confident hope is in the Holy Spirit.  

• Be patient in trouble: We all get into trouble.  Sometimes we bring it on ourselves. Other times it comes from outside of us. Trouble is part of life in a broken world. The initial response when trouble comes is to move quickly and react now.  Paul reminds us to approach trouble with patience. Stand with people in messy situations. Guard against rushed reactions, panic, and poor decision making when in trouble. Lean into patience.  Give time for wisdom and discernment from God. He is with us in hard times. 

• Keep on praying: Continue to spend time alone with God, praying about the hope He gives us and the patience we need.  Talk with God about concerns.  Continue to pray for people and situations that need God’s help.  Keep on praying. 

Reflection

These words are spot on for followers of Jesus today.  Living with the hope we have in God allows us to experience joy in our own lives, while, at the same time, sharing it with others. Being patient in trouble gives us capacity to stay present with others in messy situations that take time to work out. Continuing to pray keeps us focused on God, the giver of life.  

Encouragement

Put Paul’s guidance into practice today.  Take a few minutes with God to thank Him for who He is and what He is doing in and through your life.  Be patient with the people and circumstances that are giving you trouble.  Guard against hasty conclusions and actions. Bring all of this to God in prayer.  Pray with God today.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, 

Thank You for the hope we have in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Thank You for giving us patience in times of trouble. Help us to hang in there in messy situations. Help us to see what You are doing in our challenges.  Thank You for conversation with You in prayer.  Keep us coming to You in prayer, knowing that You are attentive and responsive. 

In Jesus name, Amen

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

James 1:22-24 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.22-24.NLT

Confession:  I have been on a “mission” to get something from the next room only to arrive and think, “What did I come in here for?”  It usually happens when my mind is busy with many things and not focused on the “mission.” 

Confession:  I have been guilty of driving while trying to do many other tasks like responding to emails, texts, drinking coffee, eating a sandwich, all hands-free of course!!!, only to drive past my destination. 

Confession: Yesterday, I was tempted to act on something in the name of God in a way that doesn’t reflect the word or heart of God. 

The dilemma I face is how easily I can be distracted and lose focus on mission and purpose, from simple to the most sacred things in life.

This is what the Apostle James is getting at in relationship to God and His word. It takes focused action on our part to listen to God, reflect on what He says, remember what is said, and put it into action in everyday life. 

Reflection

Focused action with God includes showing up in the relationship consistently, being in conversation and prayer, reading and reflecting on scripture, asking for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, submitting my will to God’s will, and acting upon God’s direction. 

Encouragement

Consider a simple confession to God that recognizes our tendency to forget God’s presence and instruction in our lives quickly.  Ask the Holy Spirit to prompt and remind us of God’s word. Check our actions to see how they align with what God is teaching us.

Prayer

Dear Father,

I am the person James is referring to.  The one who comes to You for guidance, and in the course of a short time, can be acting in a way that has no resemblance to Your truth.  I don’t like this.  I am sorry. Please help me.  Holy Spirit, thank You for prompting me to show up with God to listen, pray, and consider the truth of scripture.  Thank You for helping me grow with focused action that reflects greater alignment with God.  I am hopeful because You are faithful in my life.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.1.3-4.NLT

What comes to mind when you think of living in comfort?  Sunshine, warmth, good health, family, friends, and adequate resources are a few words that come to mind for me.  

Paul uses the word “comfort” in a very different way.  In short, comfort is God’s response to suffering. God is our “merciful Father” and the “source of all comfort.”  Recognizing God as the source of all comfort releases us into His amazing care.  

God comforts us in all of our troubles.   Paul is writing of something he knows about and has experienced. “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety”. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 NLT

We are asked to comfort others in their troubles. What we have to offer is the same comfort God has given us in response to the suffering we have endured. There is something powerful when someone comes alongside you in a hard time, and extends comfort (not answers) in response to your suffering. Presence, prayer, encouragement, grace, and humility are qualities of God that show up in the life of a comforter.  Real comfort keeps one focused on what is true about God and life. 

Reflection

Hardship and suffering are part of life in a broken world.  While it may vary in its severity from person to person, no one escapes this.  

Comfort is God’s response to suffering.  He is the source comfort.  His comfort lives through our suffering to help us endure and help others by providing comfort. 

Encouragement

Perhaps its time to stop measuring the quality of life by the absence of suffering.  Consider looking at life by the measure of comfort God gives so that we can endure through challenging times, and, in turn, be a comfort to others, reflecting how amazing God is. 

Prayer

Father God, thank You for Your merciful comfort in a world that inflicts hardship and suffering.  Thank You for being the source of comfort.  Holy Spirit, thank You for Your real time presence in our lives, offering comfort by Your very presence. Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice that gives us a new relationship with God, through You.  Ultimate suffering was Your journey Jesus.  Unlimited comfort for everyone who believes is Your gift. May we be people who comfort others from the source of comfort. 

In Jesus name, Amen

Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.

Amos 5:24 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/amo.5.24.NLT

Make no mistake about this: We are prone to lose our way with God.  

Be it as an individual, family, community, church, county, state, or national level, we become enamored with options that are contrary to the heart of God.  We set God aside, while still offering vague references to Him, as if we are appeasing Him.  We accept a prideful self-reliance and even open up to multiple objects of worship in our arrogance. 

Even within the Body of Christ, worship can so easily become production with no real concern for people who are lost and dying in complete brokenness.  We don’t strain for what matters to God anymore. 

The prophet Amos sees all of this as if a funeral song was being written in real time for everyone living this way.  This is serious.  

Listen to some of the descriptions Amos writes about when we try to live without God:

• People die in big numbers: “When a city sends a thousand men to battle, only a hundred will return.”  Amos 5:3 NLT
• Bad treatment of people: “You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.” Amos 5:7 NLT “You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent.” Amos 5:11 NLT.
• Honesty and Truth are no longer valued: “How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!” Amos 5:10 NLT

Amos describes this as an evil time. 

Reflection

In the context of just how serious the situation is, there is a wonderful invitation that shows up throughout the chapter “Come back to the Lord and live!”  God is wanting us to know that it is not too late.  We are invited to be devoted to God.  We are challenged to focus on justice and a river of righteousness.  We are asked to run from evil so we might live.  

Encouragement

We are in a very serious time of evil, where choices being made that fly in the face of God and His ways.  This invitation to “Come back to the Lord and live!” is such a gift.  There is a way of living that brings freedom and help to everyone.  This flows from the heart of God for the wellbeing of everyone. May we run from evil, come back to the Lord and live!  May there be a flood of just and righteous living that blesses everyone in the land. 

Prayer

Father God, thank You for the sobering words of Amos.  Thank You for being honest with us about the evil times we live in.  Thank You for being clear about our own vulnerability to get lost in all of this.  Thank You for inviting us back to You,  not giving up on us. Thank You for giving us yet, another opportunity to devote ourselves to You and live in ways that uplift everyone around us.  Thank You for Your honest and enduring love with us.  

In Jesus name, Amen

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.

Psalms 24:1 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.24.1.NLT

Who owns what is a big deal to us.  Intellectual property rights, patents, copyrights, deeds of trust, and titles are examples of identifying who created this and who owns it now. Entire professions are built around keeping issues of creative license and ownership sorted out.  

King David, in Psalm 24 reminds us of a profound truth:  Anything created and produced by us, is being done in God’s created space. He is the original creator and owner.  It is all His.  We belong to God.  “For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.” Psalms 24:2

Reflection

By embracing the truth that everything belongs to God, we are able to think about being good stewards and caretakers of God’s creation and people.  

Rainier Camp and Retreat Center is located in the foothills of Mount Rainier in the state of Washington. The camp is developed on National Forest Service Land.  Running a Camp on property we do not own is different.  Everything about the property requires permission from the people who oversee the land we occupy.  It is not our land to do with as we please.  It is land we steward on behalf of the owner. We are constantly thinking about who we are accountable to, and how we can best honor that relationship. 

While this example has its limitations of making the point, it moves us in the right direction.  Shifting away from an attitude and orientation of ownership to a life of stewardship puts us in a much better place to embrace the truth that “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” Psalms 24:1 NLT

Encouragement

We live and operate in a world that requires declaration of ownership.  God calls us to live in a way that acknowledges and declares the original designer and owner of everything.  We are stewards of something so much bigger than we are that is rooted in God and His will.  We belong to God.  We live for God.  We acknowledge God as the rightful owner of everything we have and everything we are.  There is freedom to be discovered in living this way. Lean into it.

Prayer

Dear Father God,

Thank You for reminding us that Your claim as original designer and owner stands true. Thank You for the blessing of belonging to You.  Thank You for the freedom of embracing stewardship of everything as Yours, rather than ownership of everything mine.  Living this way is pure wisdom.  Today, I pick up a life of stewardship and set aside a life of ownership. 

In Jesus name, Amen