Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?

Greetings All!

When people discover I am a pastor it often leads to questions they have about God or the church. This was the case the other day when at the YMCA an older gentleman asked me: "Why is Easter so late this year?"  As I always try to find the answer when asked, I collected the following data to share with him.  Yet its not the first time I've been asked that question. So I offer this to you in case you wondered or have been asked the same.  Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?  The answer lies below!  Enjoy!

Why Does the Day to Celebrate Easter Vary So Much from Year to Year?

     This year most Christians in the Western hemisphere will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 21, which is much later than last year’s April 1, or 2008’s Easter, which fell on March 23. This may make it “seem” like Easter is late this year, but according to the lunar calendar, it's right on time!  Easter Sunday is known as a "movable feast" because unlike Christmas (which always falls on Dec. 25), the celebration of Easter within the church does not adhere to a single date.  Rather, it always falls within a certain time period – on a specific Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This is because – NOTE:  Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on, or after, the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (spring equinox).

     Scripture puts Jesus’ death following the Jewish Passover, celebrated on a full moon in Spring. So, early Christians decided to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection according to that Jewish calendar tradition. In an effort to standardize this, in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea, the Western Church compiled information about lunar cycles into an ecclesiastical full moon table and made March 21 the standard date of the vernal equinox.

     One of the more noteworthy contradictions of this dating will be Easter in the year 2038. Astronomically, Easter should fall on March 28 that year, but because the equinox falls on Saturday, March 20 in that year, and the full moon occurs the next day, Easter will be observed on April 25 – its latest possible date given the lunar cycle's length of about a month. So, while Easter may feel "late" this year, the 2038 celebration will take place even later.

     Same Easter, Different Day

     At the Council in Nicaea (called for the purpose of seeking to create greater unity in a Church encompassing many peoples and cultures), the council thought they had finalized a universal date for Easter. However, what they didn't count on was a later split in the church which occurred in 1054. The “Great Schism” of 1054 became the dividing point for the church.

     The Roman Empire had already divided itself into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western (Roman) Empires, and even though the church tried to maintain a semblance of universal unity, it soon divided as well. Not only did the Eastern and Western halves form their own separate empires, they also chose their own spiritual heads for each church (Pope Leo the IX for the Western church, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius for the Eastern or Orthodox church). They split over doctrinal an “head of the church” issues, but when it came to Easter, both still believed Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon to follow the Spring equinox.

     Yet in 1582 (528 years later) the Catholic Church switched over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.  The Julian Calendar proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. took the place of the old Roman calendar on 1 January 45 BC, by royal edict. This was the predominant calendar of the Roman world and most of Europe until it was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar put forth in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.

     The Julian calendar has two types of years: "normal" years of 365 days and “leap” years of 366 days. There is a simple cycle of three "normal" years followed by a “leap” year, and this pattern repeats forever without exception. The Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long. Consequently, the Julian year drifts over time with respect to the solar year which is 365.24217 days. The Julian calendar did not compensate for this difference and as a result, even with “leap” years, the calendar year gains about three days every four centuries. This discrepancy was largely corrected by the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582.

     The Orthodox Church still holds to the original Nicaean Council's formula for Easter, but by using a different calendar system, the vernal equinox (which now falls on March 21 under the Gregorian calendar), is on April 3 under the Julian calendar.  Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox Easter this year is April 28. The two churches celebrate the same Easter holiday, but on two different days. Whereas the “Catholic” Easter falls anywhere between March 22 and April 25, the “Orthodox” Easter now falls anywhere between April 4 and May 8.

     In rare instances the dates align and Easter is celebrated simultaneously. For example, both the Orthodox and Catholic Easter fell on the same day in 2010, 2011, 2014 and in 2017. However, with the way the two calendars work, they will not fall on the same day again until 2034.

     I know some people will not care about such things, but some will.       For those who did, today was your day!  Yet, regardless of the day Easter is celebrated on, the more important fact is what we celebrate -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!  For as the apostle Paul tells us, it was Jesus' resurrection that "declared" (proved) Him to be the Son of God.  As Romans 1:1-4 states: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God -- the Gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God through his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

     Though the disciples confessed Jesus to be the "Son of God" right up until He went to the cross, when He died from the suffering inflicted by crucifixion, it left them all disillusioned, questioning everything, and hiding in fear and despair from the authorities. That is, until they saw, encountered and touched His resurrected body! Then all doubt was erased! For through that miracle He was, "declared with power (God put a divine exclamation point on it!) to be the Son of God... Jesus Christ our Lord."  So, regardless of the day we celebrate it (I prefer it later in the Spring!) it is that event we look forward to, honor, and rejoice in in our hearts. To Him be glory in the Church, now and forever more. Amen.

Living in the Hope of Jesus' Resurrection, Pastor Jeff

Little Faith

Greetings Everyone!

     Today's "thought" addresses the question: "How much faith is necessary?" 
     On two occasions I have heard preachers speak on Jesus' words that, "faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains."  And in each case both of those preachers went on to speak of wanting to exercise a far greater quantity of faith than Jesus said is necessary.  One of the preachers even said, "some people are content with a thimble full of faith, I want a swimming pool full of faith -- faith I can swim in!"

     Yet, I believe both of them missed Jesus point.  For Jesus tells us that faith the size of a mustard seed is far more than anyone will ever need!   With that much, says Jesus, "Nothing will be impossible for you."  In other words, we don't need tons of faith to see impossibilities become possible, we simply need that small amount and we will see miracles happen.  As R.T. France says in his commentary on Jesus words: "It is not the 'amount' of faith which brings the impossible within reach, but the power of God, which is available to even the 'smallest faith.' " 

     That's what today's thought is about: "Little Faith."   It comes to us from a book entitled, "Day by Day with the English Puritans" by Randall J. Pederson.  This particular entry was written by John Rogers, a Puritan pastor from Essex, England, back in the 1620's.  I trust you will find it helpful and encouraging. Enjoy.

Little Faith

"If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain,

'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 17:20b

     "Little faith is true faith, as well as great faith.  A little man is just as much a man as a large man; a little water is just as truly water as the ocean seas. The disciples had true faith, yet very weak faith, weak in knowledge. Though they believed that Jesus was the Messiah come to save the world, yet they did not know how.  They were ignorant of His death, for when He told them of His coming sufferings, it is said that they did not understand what He was saying (Luke 18:31-34). Peter took Jesus aside and counseled Him not to go to Jerusalem to die (Matthew 16:22). They were ignorant also of His resurrection also, for when Mary told them of it, they did not believe her (Luke 24:11).  And of His ascension, when He spoke of going away, they understood it not, neither did they know where He was going, or the way to get there (John 14:1-31).  Their knowledge was very weak to be ignorant of such important things...

     But weak faith may prove strong in time. The most learned clerk was once in school studying his grammar book. The greatest giant was once in swaddling clothes. The tallest oak was at one time a twig. And faith grows from a grain of mustard seed to produce a tall tree.  As from a child to a man, so corn grows from a weak blade, to a stalk, to an ear with ripe corn therein. The disciples who were so weak before, afterwards, when the Holy Spirit was sent among them, were exceedingly strong and feared not in the face of tyrants."

     It was not unusual for Puritan pastors to affirm the words of Jesus that even little faith (faith as small as a mustard seed) was sufficient faith.   Thomas Watson, also a Puritan pastor, once said: "Though your faith is weak, do not be discouraged -- a weak faith may receive a strong Christ."   And Richard Sibbes, yet another Puritan pastor, once said: "A spark of fire is fire, as well as the whole element. Therefore we must look to grace in the spark as well as in the flame. All do not have the same strong faith, though they have the same precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1), whereby they lay hold of, and put on, the perfect righteousness of Christ. A weak hand may receive a rich jewel.  A few grapes will show that the plant is a vine, and not a thorn.  It is one thing to be deficient in grace, and another thing to lack grace altogether.”

     So, we are, as Peter says, to, "make every effort to add to our faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control...." (II Peter 1:5-9).  We are called to exercise and add to our faith. Yet, we must also remember that a mustard seed sized degree of faith is more than sufficient to "move mountains" and make "nothing impossible for (us)."   No one needs a swimming pool sized degree of faith!  Who needs more than a faith that is able to do all things?!

     In fact, if Jesus rebuked the disciples for not being able to cast out evil spirits, "because they had so little faith," and then went on to say "faith the size of a mustard seed" was enough to do anything that needed to be done, one must question how much the disciples could have had?  Maybe the tiniest speck of a mustard seed that had been ground to powder?  I suppose it really doesn't matter. Little faith in the infinite God is enough! The aim, after all, is not to focus on our faith, but the immutable, great, loving, and all-powerful object of our faith.  For faith grows as we look away from it, and seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.  The greater we understand Him to be, the greater our faith will become -- and that without even needing to focus on faith.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Joyful Blessings Journal

Greetings All!

    
     I came back from my trip to India only to move into a new office down the hall.  As a result over a hundred boxes of books needed to be transported and re-shelved in the new office!  And in that process I came across things that I had not seen for many years! One in particular was a journal I picked up somewhere along the line because of the quotes on each page. That's what I will share today - twenty various quotes from the "Joyful Blessings Journal" that were gathered or selected by Marla Tipton.  I trust that some of them might offer helpful insights and encourage your heart.  Enjoy



"It is pleasing to God whenever you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart."

Martin Luther

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

"Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere."

Unknown

"You pay God a compliment every time you ask great things of Him." 

Teresa of Avila 

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

Victor Hugo

"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every budding leaf in springtime."

Martin Luther

"Our life if full of brokenness -- broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful, except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives."

Henri Nouwen

"God often comforts us, not by changing the circumstances of our lives, but by changing our attitude toward them."

S. H. B. Masterman

"If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear.  His eye is upon us, His arm is over us, His ear open to our prayer. His grace is sufficient and His promise unchangeable."

John Newton

"A true friend (shares) freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably." 

William Penn

"Every now and then it is delightful to have the kind of laugh that makes your stomach jiggle... that sends tears down your face and causes your eyes to squint so it's impossible to see!"

Unknown

"When I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap from my pen."

Composer Joseph Haydn

"I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar; but I cherish the friend who for me does not even consult his calendar."

Robert Brault

"The thought of You stirs us so deeply that we cannot be content unless we praise You, because You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You."

St. Augustine

"Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there." 

Josh Billings

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life which we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy, because we will always want to have something else or something more."

Brother David Steindl-Rast

"God cannot give us happiness apart from Himself, because it is not there, There is no such thing."

C. S. Lewis

"How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource!  We go to Him because we have nowhere else to go.  And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven."

George MacDonald

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace."

Jerry Bridges

"Happy is the one who has learned to hold the things of this world with a loose grip. Of all classes and descriptions of people on this earth, they are the happiest of whom it may be said that the things most hoped for by them are the things not seen."

Mennonite Writings

With Prayers for the Abundance of God's Grace to You, Pastor Jeff

Streams in the Desert - Morning and Evening

Greetings All!

     About three weeks ago I was feeling rather dry spiritually speaking. So I headed to a nearby bargain outlet to see if they had any good devotionals. They did. Two of them.  One was "The Gift of Jesus," and the other the one I will quote from today called, "Streams in the Desert - Morning and Evening" by L. B. Cowman.  It's an old classic, but it has been edited and updated in modern language by James Reimann, and expanded to two devotional entries per day --  bringing it to 670 devotional readings and just about 900 pages.

     

     

     L. B. (Lettie Burd) Cowman was a tireless Christian worker.  Born on March 3, 1870, she met her future husband, Charles Cowman, when she was 13 years of age, and married him six years later, on June 8, 1889. On February 1, 1901, the Cowmans left the United States to work as missionaries in Japan. The work in Japan grew and by 1903 two Bible Training Institutes had opened in Japan. These schools held classes during the day, and in the evening hosted evangelical services open to the public. Dozens flooded in nightly to hear the Gospel.  At this time they (along with two other co-workers) started the OMS (Oriental Missionary Society). 

     Although they were making huge strides in their goals, Charles was not satisfied.  This led to the start of the Great Village Campaign in 1913.  His goal was for every person in Japan to hear the Gospel within the next five years. Teams of missionaries went to every town, village, and home throughout Japan, proclaiming the Gospel and distributing Bibles. When Charles’ health took a turn downward in 1917, he and Lettie were forced to return to America, they received news through the O.M.S. Standard in January 1918 that the Great Village Campaign was complete. About 60 million Japanese had heard the Gospel, with teams covering 161,000 square miles of the country.  Charles’ health continued to decline, and as he suffered in pain Lettie also suffered, watching her husband slowly fade away. Yet it was during this time her best-selling devotional book, Streams in the Desert, was conceived. In September of 1924 Charles died. Their co-worker took over as president of OMS and died in 1928.  It was then that Lettie took over the presidency of the OMS and held that position until 1949.

     Just as Charles felt such a strong calling to proclaim the Gospel to every individual in Japan, Lettie felt a similar call to distribute the Gospel to ALL nations. They had already been to Japan, Korea, and China, so they began to make plans to go to India, Africa, South America, Europe -- all the nations of the earth.  In Europe, they expanded into countries such as Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, a crusade which marked one of the last great evangelistic efforts in Europe before Nazi Germany took control.  In Africa, Egypt was a country for which Lettie felt a great burden. In December 1941, a crusade began in Mexico, and over the course of five years, the total evangelical church membership there doubled.  In 1943, the OMS entered South America, something Lettie never dreamed would happen. The right doors opened, and a Bible Training Institute began that year in Medellín, Colombia.  She became ill in 1957 and died on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1960, at the ripe old age of 90. This selection is her devotion for the evening of July 19. Enjoy

     Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? (John 18:11)

     "To “drink the cup” was a greater thing than calming the seas or raising the dead. The prophets and apostles could do amazing miracles, but they did not always do the will of God and thereby suffered as a result. To do God's will when you know it will bring suffering is still the highest form of faith and the most glorious Christian achievement. 

     Having your brightest aspirations as a young person forever crushed; bearing burdens daily that are always difficult and never seeing relief; finding yourself worn down by poverty while simply desiring to do good for others and provide a comfortable living for those you love; being shackled by an incurable physical disability; being completely alone, separated from all those you love, to face the traumas of life alone --  

yet in all these, still being able to say through such a difficult school of discipline, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” --  this is faith at its highest, and spiritual success at its crowning point.

     Great faith is exhibited not so much in doing as in suffering (Charles Parkhurst).

     In order to have a sympathetic God, we must have a suffering Savior, for true sympathy comes from understanding another person’s hurt by suffering the same affliction. Therefore we cannot help others who suffer without paying a price ourselves because afflictions are the cost we pay for our ability to sympathize. Those who wish to help others must first suffer. If we wish to rescue others, we must be willing to face the cross; experiencing the greatest happiness in life through ministering to others is impossible without drinking the cup Jesus drank and without submitting to the baptism He endured. The most comforting of David’s psalms were squeezed from his life by suffering, and if Paul had not been given “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor.12:7 KJV), we would have missed much of the heartbeat of tenderness that resonates through so many of his letters.

     If you have surrendered yourself to Christ, your present circumstances that seem to be pressing so hard against you are the perfect tool in the Father’s hand to chisel you into shape for eternity. So trust Him and never push away the instrument He is using, or you will miss the result of His work in your life.

Strange and difficult indeed,

We may find it,

But the blessing that we need

Is behind it.

The school of suffering graduates exceptional scholars."

     Hebrews chapter 11 is "Faith's Hall of Fame."  Listed in it are people who by faith did all sorts of miracles, persevered against immense temptation in remaining true to God, and won all sorts of life's battles. Yet after going through a long list of overcomers, the tone changes in v. 35a, and instead of speaking of those who, "conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised, shutting the mouths of lions, quenching the fury of the flames, escaping the edge of the sword, and seeing their weakness turned to strength, routing foreign armies," we find others who did not gain deliverance or "victory" as we would often tend to describe it. 

     These others did not escape by faith but were, "tortured and refused to be released so they might gain a better resurrection."   They, "faced jeers and flogging, were chained and put in prison, stoned, sawn in two, and put to death by the sword.  They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated..."

     Yet interestingly, it is not the first group, but this last group -- the sufferers of abuse, poverty, torture, and death for their faith -- of whom the author writes: "The world was not worthy of them."  The others are commended are commended for their faith, but the people in this second group (those who suffered abuse, severe poverty or destitution, and often torture until death) are said to be, "those of whom the world is not worthy."  To use the words from Lettie's entry: "Great faith is exhibited not so much in doing as in suffering...  The school of suffering graduates exceptional scholars." 

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Holy Week -- the cross and the resurrection

Greetings All,

     I just returned from a three week ministry trip to India, thus explaining why you have not received one of these thoughts for a few weeks!
     It was wonderful, as usual, with many reasons to praise God. Yet it reminded me of one of the things that occurs whenever one ministers cross-culturally, or in a setting where pluralism, syncretism, or relativism are the dominate prevailing philosophy. Therefore I wanted to share this excerpt that a friend posted on his Facebook page recently. It is so true - here in the States and elsewhere.
















      
      I know we are coming up on Good Friday and Easter, and on Holy Week I usually post a thought addressing one of those two events.  But this year I would like to change that up a bit and post this thought from J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937).  He was Professor of New Testament at Princeton University Seminary, between 1906 and 1929.  And I share his thoughts this week because it is actually the events of Holy Week -- the cross and the resurrection -- that make what he says here all the more relevant.
     Christ's sinless life of obedience, sufferings, sin-atoning death, and resurrection -- when rightly understood in their biblical framework of redemption -- are what gave Jesus, the disciples, and the apostles, the basis for proclaiming that salvation is found in Him alone (John 3:1-8, Acts 2:38-41, Acts 4:12, etc.).  The early church humbly proclaimed this because they understood the ultimate purpose behind His substitutionary life of obedience and death for sin.  The modern church, if they do understand it, tends to be embarrassed by the exclusivity of such a claim.  Machen sheds a bit of light on that, even this piece was written about 100 years ago. Enjoy.

     "The early Christian missionaries demanded an absolutely exclusive devotion to Christ. Such exclusiveness ran directly counter to the prevailing syncretism of the Hellenistic age.  In that day, many saviours were offered by many religions to the attention of men, but the various pagan religions could live together in perfect harmony; for when a man became a devotee of one god, he did not have to give up the others.

     But Christianity would have nothing to do with these “courtly polygamies of the soul."  It demanded an absolutely exclusive devotion.  All other saviours, it insisted, must be deserted for the one Lord.  Salvation, in other words, was not merely through Christ, but it was only through Christ.  In that little word “only” lay all the offence. Without that word there would have been no persecutions; the cultured men of the day would probably have been willing to give Jesus a place, and an honorable place, among the saviours of mankind.

     Without its exclusiveness, the Christian message would have seemed perfectly inoffensive to the men of that day. So modern liberalism, placing Jesus alongside other benefactors of mankind, is perfectly inoffensive in the modern world.  All men speak well of it.  It is entirely inoffensive.  But it is also entirely futile. The offence of the Cross is taken away, but so is the glory and the power."

     He is so right.  His comments were accurate then, and they still hit home today.  No one really tends to mind if a person looks to Jesus as a moral guide, or spiritual instructor, or life-example.  Jesus as a man, prophet, or spiritual guide, tends to be respected in most all places by most all people. It's Jesus as Lord, and Jesus as Savior that stirs up antagonism, opposition and persecution. The cross humbles (shatters) the pride of humanity, while His Lordship assaults the autonomy of humanity.

     We like to do what we want without being told that certain choices and options are just plain wrong, and we want to believe our efforts at gaining God's favor can make us acceptable to Him -- the first being nullified by His Lordship, the second by His death of the cross (Gal. 2:21 / I Cor. 1:20-31).

     So, as you contemplate the events that took place on that first "Holy Week" so long ago, consider this: The cross proclaims I cannot be saved apart from what happened to Jesus on it. All my best efforts fall far short (Isaiah 64:6). And His resurrection proclaims He is the Lord to whom I owe all due obedience (Romans 1:4-5).  If I miss either of those, I have really missed two of the primary messages of Holy Week.

In the Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Principles of Spiritual Growth

Greetings All,

Today's selection comes from a book given to me by a fellow missionary friend in Honduras many years ago.  We were walking along the shoreline of a coastal island discussing the struggles of ministry, the knowledge of our own sinfulness, and thus our mutual sense of feeling unworthy for the task, when suddenly he voiced the phrase I myself have used so often: "Hey, I have a short little book you should read...."   Not much later it was in my hands, and like many other books I've read, I found it very helpful.
So these many years later I will share with you some of the parts I found helpful and highlighted about 20+ years ago.  (Yes, to the horror of many fellow book lovers, I do mark up all my books, and love picking up used ones where others have done the same!)  The book is called "Principles of Spiritual Growth," and was written by Miles J. Stanford.  Each builds upon the others.  Enjoy.

     "Many Christians mourn over their weakness, thinking that if only they were stronger all would be well. The idea that our failure to lead a holy life is due to our impotence, leads naturally to a false conception of the way of deliverance. If we are preoccupied with the power of sin, and with our inability to overcome it, then we naturally conclude that to gain victory over sin we must have more power. 'If only I was stronger,' we say, 'I could overcome my violent outbursts of temper." And so we plead with the Lord to strengthen us that we may exercise self-control. But this is altogether wrong. This is not Christianity. God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker and weaker. 'This is surely a peculiar way of victory,' you say, but it is the divine way. God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man, but by crucifying him. Not by helping him to do anything, but by removing him from the scene..."

     "Immaturity considers the Lord Jesus to be a Helper. Maturity knows Him to be Life itself.  Dr. J. E. Conant wrote, "Christian living is not our living with Christ's help, it is Christ living His life in us.  Therefore, that portion of our lives that is not His living is not Christian living; and that portion of our service that is not His doing is not Christian service; for all such life and service have but a human and natural source, and Christian life and service have a supernatural and spiritual source." Paul insisted, "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20)." 

     "In preparation, there is a tearing down before there can be a building up. "Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, and He will heal us, He has smitten and He will bind us up" (Hosea 6:1).  This applies to both growth and service.  J. C. Metcalfe writes: "It is more than comforting to realize that it is those who have plumbed the depths of failure to whom God invariably gives the call to shepherd others. This is not a call given to the gifted and highly trained, or the polished as such. Without a bitter experience of their own inadequacy and poverty they are quite unfitted to bear the burden of spiritual ministry. It takes a man who has discovered something of the measures of his own weakness to be patient with the failings of others. Such a man also has first-hand knowledge of the loving care of the Chief Shepherd, and His ability to heal one who has come humbly to trust in Him and Him alone. Therefore he does not easily despair of others, but looks beyond sinfulness, willfulness, and stupidity, to the might of unchanging love. The Lord Jesus does not give Peter the charge "Shepherd my lambs" on hearing Peter's self-confident affirmation of undying loyalty (Matthew 26:33). He gives it after Peter has utterly failed to keep his vows and has wept bitterly in the streets of Jerusalem."

     "The first step in getting out of the struggle of the seventh chapter of Romans, and into the victory of the eighth chapter, is to pass through the struggle spoken of in the seventh. Of all the needy classes of people, the neediest of this earth are not those who are having a heartbreaking, agonizing struggle for victory, but those who are having no struggle at all, and thus no victory, yet do not know it. Those who are satisfied and jogging along in a pitiable absence of almost all the possessions that belong to them in Christ.  J. C. Metcalfe gives this same fact an added witness: "Many a young Christian, who has not been warned of this necessary voyage of discovery upon which the Holy Spirit will certainly embark him (Rom. 7), has been plunged into almost incurable despair at the sight of the sinfulness which is his by nature.

     He has in the first place rejoiced greatly in the forgiveness of his sins, and his acceptance by God; but sooner or later he begins to realize that not all is well, and he has failed and fallen from the high standard he set for himself to reach in the first flush of conversion. He begins to know something of the experience Paul so graphically describes: "The good I want to do, that I do not do, but what I hate, that I do" (Rom. 7:15). And, in consequence, he feels that the bottom has fallen out of his Christian life. Then, perhaps, the Devil whispers to him that it is just no good in going on, because he will never be able to make the grade. Little does he know how healthy his condition is, and that this shattering discovery is but the prelude to a magnificent series of further discoveries of things which God has expressly designed for his eternal enrichment.

     All through life God has to show us our own utter sinfulness and need, before He is able to lead us on into the realms of grace, in which we shall glimpse His glory. Self-revelation (regarding our sin) precedes divine revelation -- that is a principle for spiritual birth and spiritual growth. The believer who is going through struggle and failure is the Christian who is being carefully and lovingly handled by his Lord in a very personal way. He is being taken through the experience (years in length) of self-revelation, and into death -- the only basis upon which to "know Him" and the power of His resurrection... (Phil 3:10).

     God works by paradox. Success comes via failure; life springs out of death, etc. The only element in the believers life that crumbles is that which has to go anyway. New life can never be harmed or affected. This disintegration is something the believer cannot enter into or engineer on his own.  Self can never cast out self.  He has to be led into it by the mercy of the Holy Spirit -- into failure; abject and total...

     So often the means utilized by the Spirit is an unsaved mate, or even a saved one!  Or poor health, yes, and good health too!  A thousand and one things are used by Him -- in fact, everything (Rom. 8:28-29), to bring out the worst in us, ultimately enabling us to see that the Christian life has to be, "not I, but Christ."  People, circumstances, etc., are never the cause of failure. Self's reaction to them is the cause, and the one problem to be dealt with. "It's me, it's me, O Lord."

Just some helpful contrary-to-the-ways-of-the-world Gospel truth to chew on and be encouraged by!

With you in the Bonds of this life's struggles, Pastor Jeff