DAY 59 - We Always Hurt the Ones We Love – But Do We Have To?

Ephesians 6:1-4 (NRSB)) ¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), ³SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH. ⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:20-21 (NIV) ²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

“Do not provoke your children to anger,” Paul says. The first and primary way of helping our children is to do them no harm. He says we are to bring children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. He is talking about constant, continual behavior toward our children, and the key phrase for fulfilling this command is “of the Lord.” The discipline and instruction must be carried out in a way that is in keeping with the character of God that we have known in Jesus Christ.

We do two things. One is we discipline, which can mean to disciple or train and usually has to do with setting protective and helpful limits with our children. We set limits in the spirit of the Lord, where we have a right and responsibility.

Secondly, we “instruct them.” The Greek meaning is “to put in someone’s mind,” and it refers to what we say in the spirit of God to teach our children. This means when we instruct we do not threaten, we weigh our words for accuracy, and we do not say it again and again. Words that carry the will of God do not need the force of our threats or the power of our bringing it up again and again. Words that are on wings of God will get through.

Sometimes even after we have followed the wisdom of God as best we know how things may not end “happily ever after.” We know that the God who created the first children created them free, placed them in a perfect environment, and dealt with them in a perfect way but Adam and Eve still made a mess of their lives.

If indeed we have failed as a parent there is forgiveness for that, and the sooner we accept it the better off everyone will be, including our grown children. But we also need to make sure that we are measuring our success and failure by the right standard, which is not our children’s behavior, but our own. The final verdict I believe God will pronounce upon every parent is this, In so much as you sought to be faithful to me in your responsibility I gave you, come, o blessed of my Father and inherit the happy home that I have prepared for you.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope April 23, 1989

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 58 - High Hope for a Hard Heart

Romans 9:14-17 (NIV) ¹⁴What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." ¹⁶It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. ¹⁷For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Exodus 9:12 (NIV) ¹² But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

If God has it in for you, what chance do you have? That is the way it appears for Pharaoh. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Does God at some point give up on us? Does it get to that point where we have done wrong for so long that God calls it quits in trying to reach us and to teach us the way we ought to live?

For many of us the thought that God would give up on us is almost unthinkable, and certainly unbelievable. But, whether we like it or not, believe it or not, the question is “Is it true or not?”

The word “hard” literally means “strong”, and carries the connotation of rigid strength or barrier that cannot be penetrated. The word “heart” obviously does not refer to an organ in the body, but to the whole personality. A hardened heart refers to someone who is intellectually rigid, willfully obstinate, and emotionally unresponsive to the Word and workings of God. This is the condition that God inflicts upon Pharaoh, so the second question is “How and why did God do such a thing?

Hardness of heart develops by persistent resistance to God’s Word and work, and by God allowing us to win, to succeed in keeping His word and work from penetrating our life. It is God’s passive judgment, His permissive will. He does not intervene or interfere in our lives, but allows us to have our own way.

Why then does God abandon us to self-willed lives? Certainly it is not because of indifference to us. Nor is it because He has finally lost patience with us. God abandons us to our self-willed lives out of respect for our freedom to do so and for us to exercise that freedom and to see where it gets us. His abandoning us to our self-willed ways has been called “God’s savage grace.” It is the experience of love by way of judgment. It is education by way of disappointment. It is illumination by lostness. His savage grace is love that feels like opposition, forgiveness that wounds our egos, grace that breaks our pride, victory that feels like surrender. God’s savage grace is brokenness that gives wholeness to our life. And nowhere is God’s savage grace more obvious than in the Cross of Christ. The Cross shows us what we do when we insist on having our own way. The resurrection is what happens when we allow God to have His way.

Preached June 18, 1989

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 57 - May I Have Your Attention, Please?

Matthew 4:23 (NIV) ²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 12:22-23, 25-28 (NIV) ²²Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. ²³All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" ²⁵Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

The miracles of Jesus were far more than attention getters. The miracles were those moments in Jesus’ ministry when He pulled back the veil that hid the presence and power of God’s kingdom and made it plain. Every time Jesus feeds the hungry, sets free the possessed, forgives the fallen, and raises the dead, we are shown a slide of what God’s intentions are for the human future. The miracles are a foretaste of life in the kingdom of God, where there will be no diseased bodies and minds, no one victimized by injustice, no malignant selfishness and hurtful relationships, no loneliness or addiction.

By preaching, by teaching, and by mighty works, wonders, and signs, Jesus unleashed the power of the Kingdom of God on earth. We may misread the miracles and seek them as an end in themselves, or we may not seek them at all, but our failure does not change the fact that God is holding them out to us in loving hands. We know we are reading the miracle aright when it leaves a residue of obedience in our life. We begin to live toward the future possibilities God may have in store for us, even when the present is wholly unpromising.

The miracle may past, but our new view of life becomes permanent. No longer can we take things as they are for granted because we never know what kinds of surprises God may have in store. Real miracles call us into obedience to God. We begin to take risks for Him. We are able to dare the impossible for Him. We are able to talk to people and take on tasks that we previously would have thought dumb to do.

And a strange thing happens on the way from the obedience evoked by a miracle, miracles happen, miracles we never dreamed possible. Are we open to God’s miracles, whatever those miracles might be and whatever call to obedience they might carry? Are we prepared for His miracles, those little lariats of God’s love that He uses to yank us back into His world and His work?

Preached February 12, 1989

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 56 - The Yoke As A Working Instrument

Matthew 5:1-2, 5 (NIV) 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Central to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God was the necessity of love, and central to love was the practice of meekness. Most of us know that meekness has a negative image in our day. It is not even a word used very often, but would generally be used to describe someone who could use a good serving of assertiveness training. Even when we turn to the Greek word for meekness it is still not very flattering. The word was used primarily to describe a wild animal that had been tamed to work in the service of his master. So, the most literal definition is a “God-tamed person.” Meekness is a disposition of life which enables the soul to bow without complaining to the will of God in the hard and perplexing experiences of life.

Beneath the veneer of most of our lives there is a resistance to God that needs to be broken and tamed. Jesus, especially during His trial, exhibited meekness. Scripture says Moses was very meek, more than all the men that were on the face of the earth. And what did this meek man accomplish, under the taming power of God? He found a people in bondage to the most powerful nation of the world, and he let them free.

What does meekness look like in action? Meekness is that “broken and contrite heart” that God desires. Meekness means our passions and desires and energy are harnessed to accomplish His work in the world. And, perhaps most importantly in our relationship to God, meekness gives us the patience and power to withstand the unfolding of God’s hidden future for each of us.

The inward sign of meekness is a quietness that waits on God and readiness to respond to His slightest nudge. The outward sign of meekness is freedom from the need to dominate, manipulate, retaliate, or to put someone in their place. A meek person can never be humiliated since they are humble already. Rejection and mistreatment simply have no power to penetrate their God given self-esteem.

But Jesus says the chief end of meekness is that the meek will inherit the earth. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly.’ His yoke and His teaching are one and the same. The yoke is the working instrument. Jesus does not say, have a seat in the pew and let me teach you a thing or two. The yoke will teach us what to do. It will enable us to harness all the faculties of life to accomplish God’s will for ourselves and for others. Do we dare take Him up on it?

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope February 5, 1989

copyright Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 55 - No Doubt About It

Matthew 4: 17 (NIV) From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 11:2-6 (NRSV) 2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his* disciples 3and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ 4Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
For Jesus, the kingdom of God was the activity of God saving people from their sins and re-ordering their life after God’s will. The Kingdom of God was His belief that in and through His life the Kingdom of God had invaded the kingdoms of this world. And this is where doubt can begin, as it did for John the Baptist. As he sat in a Roman prison, he did not see Herod’s self-will broken. He did not see peace being restored, hope given, love replacing hate, and saw only the ugliness of corruption surrounding him. If Jesus is the long awaited king, why does Herod still occupy his palace and I this prison? Where is the proof of God’s power, the demonstration of God’s rule?

Jesus response is a double edged response. Jesus is saying Isaiah’s prophecy is being fulfilled, and He is saying that John does not see the whole picture from his prison cell. Power is being unleashed. There is evidence of the kingdom, but not the proof John wanted. Not every blind person was receiving sight, not all the dead were being raised, not all the poor were finding hope. Blessed is he who can accept the evidence offered. Blessed is he who can sort out the conflicting proofs and come to believe that the Kingdom of God is here.

Life may be experienced as “heaven on earth,” and it can just as easily shift and feel like hell on earth. And to those experiencing hell, the shouts of praise of those experiencing the heaven can be horribly hurtful and offensive. Jesus knows it, and He says, “Blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” Blessed are you, John, if you do not judge from your own experience in prison that the Kingdom of God has not come. Blessed are you if you can choose to believe the evidence presented. Though it does not release you from your prison cell, it will set you free from darkness, disappointment, disillusionment, and doubt.

We do not make the decision in the dark, but in the light of what we know about Jesus. We decide on the basis of what we see in Him. He demands that He has first place in our life, but the demand comes from One who has given us first place in His. He calls us to turn from whatever doubts have darkened our minds, whatever disappointments and disillusionments have hardened our hearts, whatever promises and enticements have led us away. Turn and look to Him.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 29, 1989

copyright Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 54 - Flesh Versus Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26 (NIV) 16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
The life of the flesh is a life out of control. The life of the flesh is also a life of self-will because we attempt to gain control over our life by the determination of will-power, and will-power always follows a “do it by myself” policy. Will-power does not conquer the life of the flesh. If it could, it would have a long time ago. We need outside help, yet that is the very thing that the life of the flesh resists.

The life of the flesh does not want, will not trust, and cannot tolerate outside management that might say no to our desires and to our determination. And yet, the desires of the flesh prevent you from doing what you want.

A life in the spirit is a life under the control of God’s spirit. And Paul tells us what this kind of life costs us. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. To crucify the flesh is the daily turning over of our life to God. It is an abandoning of life into the hands of God. To crucify the flesh is a willingness to yield to God’s hand in a situation, to accept and set limits on self as we are so led. To crucify the flesh is to ask for help, despite the resistance we feel. It is to pray for the knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out, to be made aware when we are wrong, and to admit it to ourselves and to another human being.

We pay the cost. We crucify the flesh because we have discovered a God whose Son was crucified for us. His death is a message written in blood that we need more than a little help from God. His death is a power that destroys any resentment we might have about having a manager in life. Jesus died for us and we learn to die daily to the flesh that we might accept His rule.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 12, 1997
copyright Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

DAY 53 - When You Dream of One Life and Are Forced to Live Another

II Corinthians 12:7-10 7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 10Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

How can I give to the church when I have nursing home expenses? How can I do for others when my arthritis won’t let me get out of bed in the morning? How can I know the joy of being a Christian when I am plagued with bouts of depression? What can I say about being a Christian parent when my children are now grown and do not attend church? How many of us have run into something that seems to limit us and keep us from the life we want and desire? Apparently, Paul had that problem. He called it his thorn in the flesh.

Do you have a thorn in the flesh? Or, maybe several? A health problem? Anxiety? Worry? A person you cannot change and cannot separate yourself from? Your looks?

The thorn kept Paul humble and helped him remember his weakness and his need for God. Still, he called this humbling thorn a messenger from Satan. Sometimes a message from the thorn made Paul resentful of his weakness, and maybe rebellious of his circumstances. Paul knows the thorn has a purpose, but he is not rejoicing in the humility given him. There is no easy acceptance of the thorn on Paul’s part. He wants it out, removed from his life, and he does everything possible he knows how to do to be delivered from this thorn. He prayed three times, just as Jesus prayed three times that God would remove from Him the cup of suffering on the Cross.

Struggling to get rid of the thorn is normal. Praying to have it removed is good. Paul struggled against the thorn and prayed for the removal of the thorn until something happened. And what happened was a moment of grace. My grace is sufficient for you. How do we possibly describe this moment? Grace does not cure all our diseases, transform our children to what we had hoped they would be, send us soaring into the skies with spiritual ecstasy and joy. Grace is that experience of God that gives us the power to look earthly reality full in the face with all of its outrageous unfairness and somehow know that it is all right.

Grace does not remove the thorn, but it sheds new light on the thorn, and the light comes from God. We do not know what Paul’s thorn was. I do not know what your thorn is. We do know that for Jesus the thorn in His flesh felt like a nail, looked like ridicule and rejection and failure, and yet the thorn did not defeat God’s plan and purpose for Jesus’ life. What is your thorn? What is the message that your thorn gives you? My grace is sufficient for you.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope
copyright Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles