7”Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
- Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
“Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.”
Oswald Chambers, The Place of Help
December 6, 2015
It was a wonderful family gathering for Thanksgiving this year in WA thank God. No angry outbursts or pent up frustrations boiling over from anyone. That's gotta come from God believe me amen to that. Don't holidays with the family have the classic potential of starting out well but breaking bad into petty quarrels and hurled insults over un-settled payback? My family has never had an all out drag out showdown but we've had our share of ongoing skirmishes through the years haven't we all?
I have two older sisters and an older brother. Earlier this week I found out my brother was invited to Thanksgiving and that he was actually going to come from out of town. I was excited but also anxious about that. This would be the first time all of us would be together since my wedding in 1999! My son has actually never met his uncle. There's a bit of sad history there. My brother was once married and they had two daughters. However, the marriage failed and their parental fitness was in serious question. (The only court case I ever did in WA was representing my mother in family court in 2004 to get custody of the two granddaughters. Let's just say the devastating ravages of alcohol and drug abuse are pure evil). It severely strained family relations to say the least.
The two estranged daughters were also going to be at Thanksgiving. In addition I hadn't kept in touch with one of my sisters for about 5 years over petty matters I shouldn't have allowed to affect me. My mother's health is an issue plus my other niece is engaged and was going to be bringing her girlfriend/fiancee to Thanksgiving (gulp).
So there are all of these ongoing issues I pray through for reconciliation and forgiveness for myself and for this family. I'm not one to publicly air the family dirty laundry but I believe exposing darkness to light takes away it's power over us. James 4 says "Mock the devil and he will flee from you." So this whole week I had been making snarky remarks in jest about how bad things could get by Thanksgiving. We had a good laugh about that. When we confront our fears we don't allow them to manifest and build up in even unhealthier ways. Why try to ignore or tiptoe around the elephant in the room. This is the one rare instance I think where my sarcastic directness was actually appropriate.
But thank God for answered prayers. My brother and I both broke down in tears when we saw each other but there was joy and relief as brothers and as friends. We were each other's best man at our weddings. But the whole evening was filled with laughter and reminiscing for everyone. So for at least one evening this family was able to set aside our differences and simply enjoy each other's company after so many years apart. That's a start and so I'm very thankful to God for such an unexpected blessing.
From Pastor Mark’s Heart
November 29, 2015