Tag Archives: Strength

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 10, 2015
Tags: Strength,   

Let Anger Lead You to Positive Action — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image          October 10, 2015

“So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” Ephesians 4:25-26

“Last year was the “Year of Outrage,” according to Slate.com. To prove their point, they provided a handy interactive online calendar. You can pick a day, any day, from 2014, click on it, and find out what everyone was outraged about during that particular 24-hour period. Every single day, a new outrage, a new offense, a new anger, over something that someone, somewhere, had done or said. Forget the NFL: Being offended is our national sport. It’s what we do. We’re good at it. It’s righteous. We’re entitled to it. It’s good to be angry, even! Here’s the problem: We’re dead wrong. We’re convinced our anger is justified. It’s righteous. We’re entitled to it. It’s good to be angry, even! Here’s the problem: We’re dead wrong. Anger is universal; it’s an absolutely natural reaction to perceived threat. So the idea that we are to rid ourselves of it as soon as possible is radical indeed. Otherworldly, even. In order to give up our right to anger, we have to crush our own egos. It feels self-diminishing. It’s almost as if God is asking us to deny ourselves entirely. Wait, it’s not “almost” like that at all. It’s exactly like that. But honestly, since when has following Jesus been anything short of radical? And what if—what if !—Christians were the least offend-able people on the planet?” (NO OFFENSE, There’s plenty to get angry about, but what would happen if Christians chose not to take things personally? By Brant Hansen, July 1, 2015)

Yesterday I wrote about admonishing our Christian brothers and sisters in gentle ways rather than in brash and ugly ways. Today we are talking about anger. Brett Hansen will go on to write in this devotion:

“You do well to be angry,” he writes. As I say, people have this memorized. Interestingly, they forget something Paul writes in the exact same passage: “Do not be bitter or angry or mad” (Eph. 4:31 NCV). Let’s be honest: We want to be angry, so we cling to a passage that clearly says yes, it happens. However, we simply cannot take it to mean anger is always a good thing.”

In one instance Paul says “be angry” and in just a few more verses he says “do not be…angry”. Anger can be a motivating reaction, but anger can also encourage a person to look for revenge. Anger, if held onto for any length of time, will most often cause someone to sin. Anger usually is an immediate reaction to an injustice done to ourselves, or done to someone we know — even to complete strangers. But, let the anger lead you to action, positive action to change the injustice, to deal with the situation. The challenge is to do it out of love, and let the anger go. Anger that we hold on to will only eat away at our ability to love unconditionally.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 3, 2015
Tags: , Strength   

Spiritual Weight Lifting — Rev. David J. Schreffler

image  October 3, 2015

“Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly; David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.” 1 Chronicles 29:10-13

“Recently, I looked up the word sinker in the Webster’s dictionary. It is a weight used for sinking a fishing line or seine. Next, I looked up weight. Weight is heaviness, mass, burden, load. I believe God is telling us, if we will learn to run with the weight that is intended to sink us, it will be astounding to see how fast we can run when the load is lifted. You see, the weights in life that are meant to bring us down can, in fact, build us up. Athletes know this. They use weight to build muscle. Likewise, with the help of the Lord, weights in life such as a loved one passing, sickness, financial trouble, marriage problems, false accusations, job loss, etc. can actually strengthen us.” (Run with Weights On, By Sue Bohnert The Christian Broadcasting Network)

“…it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.” Before I entered high school I considered myself to be average at athletics, but not a physically strong person. Then, in eighth grade I decided to play football. The summer before ninth grade all of us who were going to try out for football needed to be involved in a strength training program. We lifted weights every day, twice a day. Over the next year, I found that I became physically stronger, and also found that other physical challenges became much easier for me to perform. I could climb the rope in gym class faster and easier than many of my classmates. Other activities we did in gym class also became easier for me to do.

As a pastor, I often pray for the Holy Spirit to give strength to my members who are in the hospital or having other difficulties. Strength comes in many forms — we can lift weights, we can work in a warehouse that requires a lot of lifting — these help us build physical strength by exercising our physical muscles. But in the realm of faith, strength comes from exercising our faith muscles through our experiences. We find strength in how we endure our life experiences, and we find strength in how we experience G*d’s presence with us, sustaining us, and showing us G*d’s love as we travel difficult roads.

You may not feel like a weight lifter, but every day you are building muscles. As you travel the roads of life, when you allow your faith and your relationship with Jesus to lead and guide you, you will be exercising your faith muscles.

Pastor Dave