You Have Heard That It Was Said (2)...

...God never gives you more than you can handle. But I say unto thee...mule fritters!

Don't get me wrong, I understand how the idea sounds Biblical. We hear "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear" and think, "See? God won't give you more than you can handle!"

But we need to read ALL of 1 Corinthians 10:13 to get the whole concept: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

     1.  Paul is specifically talking about temptation; not the stressful or worrisome life situations that threaten to overwhelm us.
     2.  Even if we viewed those life situations as "temptations," God is not promising to make us powerful enough to blast them out of the water. He is promising to "provide a way out."  He is promising to help us endure them.

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Truth is...God is not so much interested in strengthening us to the point of being able to handle anything that comes our way as He is longing to have us depend on Him: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me." (Matthew 11:29)

Self-Awareness Made Holy: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #14

It was C. S. Lewis who said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less."

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3 NASB)

I would generally agree that thinking of oneself at all is a dangerous, slippery path.

And yet...

Brennan Manning traveled a long and twisted road to get to a place where his observations on life and love and himself mattered and were able to influence and encourage hundreds of thousands of people.

From page 19 of The Ragamuffin Gospel, this is Brennan at his best:

"My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it."

Truth is...I believe the more I can see myself in this light, the more I will be able to live a life of powerful humility...like Christ.

Acts 2:28 With Footnotes

You have shown me the paths that lead to life, and by your presence you will fill me with joy.

Love...Peace...Joy

Stop, think it over

Over again

Love...Peace...Joy

Stop, think it over

Over my friend

You can have these

If you're born again

My friend

So don't you try to hide any longer

'Cause you need love

You won't have to cry any longer

'Cause you'll have love

In your heart...

Love

"Love Peace Joy"
©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/WtV3EyZDspc

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Truth is...When I suggest Jesus as the appropriate object of your devotion, I'm not being judgmental or pushy. I'm just "one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread" (Daniel T. Niles).

Singlemindedness and the Right-Fielder

We turn to Lucy Van Pelt for today's reminder that attitude is everything.

Truth is..."If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." ~ Abraham Maslow

The Crux of the Matter: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #15

Number 15 on our hit parade of quotes about Jesus comes to us from the well-known pen of Oswald Chambers. His book, My Utmost for His Highest, was first published in 1927 (ten years after his death), has never been out of print, and remains a top-seller in devotional literature.

The thought being featured today is this:

"The center of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much."

Don't misunderstand. To say that salvation is easy to obtain is certainly true, but it doesn't mean that fleshing that out on a day-by-day basis is a stroll in the park. There's probably a good reason Paul tells us to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12)

In fact, in the very next verse, Paul is kind enough to tell us that good reason. It's because "it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."

The creator of all that exists is working within me to accomplish His purpose. Just as He was working through Jesus Christ by sending Him to the cross. If that doesn't fill me with a fearsome sense of awe and enough wonder to set my knees to knocking, what will?

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Truth is..."Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours." (Rich Mullins)

Acts 2: 25-27 With Footnotes

David said about Jesus,
     "I saw the Lord before me at all times;
       he is by my right side, so that I will
       not be troubled.
     Because of this my heart is glad
       and my words are full of joy;
     and I, mortal though I am,
       will rest assured in hope,
     because you will not abandon my soul in
       the world of the dead"

Mile after mile

I am walking and holding to the One who

Cares, really cares

And who calls me His own

Life is a highway

We don't have to walk alone

Just give Him a try, maybe

You'll sing like me

With Jesus I'm stayin'

With Jesus I'm goin'

In Jesus I'm livin'

Each and every day of my life

With Jesus I'm stayin'

With Jesus I'm goin'

And Jesus is teachin' me love each day

Trial after trial

He is drawing me closer to the One who

Loves, really loves

More than my mind can know

Love one another

Is what He has clearly shown

Just call someone brother

And then you will see

"With Jesus"
©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/m_H3UYpv1xA

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Truth is...Jesus wasn't just puttin' on the Ritz when He said he would be with us always...even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). And if that doesn't have an effect on how I'm staying and going and living each and every day of my life, that's on me...not Him.

I Never Got What I Wanted

I find it very difficult to believe that the following poem was written by a 14-year-old boy, but that is apparently the case, according to where it is excerpted from: the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow, originally from Who Gets the Glory? by Dr. Charles R. Swindoll. (Thanks to blogger Kara @ Just1Step for giving proper credit.)

It was spring but it was summer I wanted;

the warm days and great outdoors.

It was summer but it was fall I wanted;

the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was fall but it was winter I wanted;

the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter but it was spring I wanted;

the warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted;

the freedom and the respect.

I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted;

to be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged but it was twenty I wanted;

the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired but it was middle-aged I wanted;

the presence of a mind without limitations.

My life was over but I never got what I wanted.

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Truth is...This gives added weight to the almost-flippant phrase, "Wherever you go in life, be there."