Whistle while you work

Sometimes God has to remind us of the simple things he has asked us to do, like loving and honoring each other.  Sure, I know that’s expected of me.  Probably one of the first things I learned as a child was the Golden Rule.  But, the truth is that I tend to look at people differently based on how I know them, how close our relationship is, or the situation we’re meeting under.  For example, there’s the guy that cleans the bathrooms at work.  I probably see him every week, but never say more than hello.  Just a polite exchange (hey, it’s a men’s room, after all!).  Then there’s a guy who I also see probably once a week, but I look forward to seeing him because I know he’ll offer a warm welcome and have an encouragement or kind thing to say to me.  (I call him Barney after Barnabas “The Encourager”).  Two guys.  One I know I love, the other guy… well, I can’t say I’ve ever honored him or called him friend.  I’m sure you can think of similar examples in your life.

These are easy examples.  But when it comes to loving and honoring people, how are we supposed to do this for people who irritate us?  Those people who look for opportunities to take a jab at us, or coworkers who try to make us look bad so they look better.  What about friends who let us down and abandon us?  Or when we’re angry at our parents, or frustrated with a spouse?  Can’t we just avoid them, or at most be polite to them??  In “The Message” version Romans 12:9 is said this way, “Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it.”  The NLT version says, “Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them.”  No qualifiers there about how we are to love others.  No fakers.

Ok.  Why?  Why are we supposed to love and honor people, especially those we’re not particularly close to?  Do we have to really show kindness and love to them?  Let’s look at the next verse.  The NLT version says, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. The NET version says, “Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another”.  Get it?  It’s for our own delight!  We should be eager to love and honor each other because when we bless someone, we are blessed, too!

How often do we miss out on that blessing because we just don’t think about honoring someone? Verse 16 (NLT) says, “Live in harmony with each other. Don’t try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” (I think it goes the other way, too.  Don’t let insecurities or low self-esteem keep you from honoring and loving others because you will be missing out on some delight!)  Is it that hard to live in harmony with others?  Perhaps it’s because we tend to think too highly of ourselves and our opinions, and so we’re too easily offended?

Let’s go back to the men’s room (its ok ladies, stay with me).  Today I was washing my hands when the cleaning guy came in and started wiping the mirror.  I felt a prompting in my spirit to “honor him.”  So I said, “Hey, you really do a nice job keeping the bathrooms clean. I really appreciate it.”  Now remember, the most we’ve ever said to each other was “hi.”  Suddenly, he’s telling me all about his routine and techniques, and he obviously takes pride in his work. After we’re done talking, he continues on with his task… except now he’s whistling.  I walk back to my desk and I’m feeling something, call it delight, and so I started whistling, too.  I think I’ve got a new friend.

Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. My commandment is this – to love one another just as I have loved you.                                                                  John 15:9-12 (NET)

Arlen Martin

Will Jesus find faith when He returns?

Recently, during our Hope home group meeting some testimonies were shared by  persons who came from a limited and/or different church background. They shared how refreshing it was to learn basic biblical truths after coming to Hope and how these basic truths were contributing to their spiritual growth. In thinking of the basics, I realized that faith is one aspect of the Christian life that we cannot do without. We cannot follow Jesus without faith – Hebrews 11:6 - and without faith it is impossible to please God. So, what is faith, why do we need it, how do we obtain it, and where-when-how do we use it?

What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. We see that before we can have faith we need hope. Hope is the “soil” so to speak that faith grows in. Faith is the realization of things hoped for before they actually happen in the natural realm. A definition of hope is “the joyful expectation of good.” If we have no hope (expectation of good) in a certain area of our lives, we have a stronghold (which really is a lie about the truth) that blocks God’s goodness in our lives and therefore no basis (“soil”) from which faith can operate.

Why do we need faith?  All the promises of God are realized through faith – see Romans 4:13-22. For starters, our salvation comes by faith (Romans 10:8-11; Hebrews 11:6). As a follower of Christ we believe Christ died on the cross so that God could forgive our sins, thereby taking the punishment of sin for us. We also have faith that Christ was raised by God from the dead to forever defeat sin and death, guaranteeing to us eternal life with Christ, our living savior. We are sure of this hope of eternal life, even though we have not yet seen it. This is faith!

In the same way, other promises of God are realized through faith. We receive healing by faith – Luke 18:42 – Jesus said, “receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Romans 12:6 - Spiritual gifts are released in proportion to our faith. Acts 15:9 – he purified their hearts by faith. 1 John 5:4 – faith allows us to overcome the world.

How do we obtain faith? Romans 10:17 – Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes from the word of Christ.  The hearing here is in the “present tense.” We obtain faith as we hear (in the process of hearing) from God. That is why it is so important to know His voice. We hear from God primarily in two ways: through the written word (the bible) and through revelation (hearing his voice in prayer, dreams, through the prophetic word given by someone else, and many other ways). The revealed word is always substantiated by the written word. We also receive faith by asking and seeking - Matt 7:8 – For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened to him.

Where-when-how do we use faith?  A person that surrenders every area of life to the rule and Lordship of Christ uses faith every day and in every circumstance of life. Through faith we find peace and joy of Christ to overcome our own circumstances, but we also use it in ministry as we distribute God’s goodness and mercy to others. Faith reveals truth and transforms hearts as we share the gospel with others. Faith releases God’s power and goodness (His glory) as we pray for and minister to others.

Jesus knew it would be hard to live in strong faith when he asked the question in Luke 18:8 – “When the Son of man returns, will he find faith on the earth?”  Therefore, we need each other in community to encourage and build one another up in faith as well as the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

Dave Stutzman