Stand!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
-- Ephesians 6:10


From where does our strength come? The better question: From whom does our strength come? It is obviously a leading question. And the Sunday School answer is, "God." That, or he, is also the right answer. And at times, we need the reminder.

Paul urges believers to be strong and to stand. He quickly notes in both cases that our strength is in the Lord and that we can stand only through the equipping that God provides - his whole armor.

Our strength is proportional to our dependence. 

And we stand strongest when we lean most on Christ. 

I was reminded of this earlier in the evening. Suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed and overtaken by worry, I prayed. It was an odd prayer. (And you would think me pretty unspiritual if I admitted the nature of the prayer.) I reminded myself and God - though he didn't need to be - that he alone has provided all along. He has always been faithful to me. And the anxieties that I was playing out for the future were indications that I was standing on my own, leaning on myself and trusting in my own strength.

At times the weight of our circumstances, relationships, hurts and fears seem they will crush us. Paul acknowledged this, but held to a greater truth. To the Corinthian believers he wrote:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 

persecuted, buy not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). 

Christ is our strength. And he never fails. 

God, You are my strength, and I will stand in you...

For now...
D

How We Walk Now...

Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time.
-- Ephesians 5:15-16


There are many things money cannot buy. Among these is time.

We cannot purchase any moment from the past to be relived. Nor can we buy additional seconds to be added to our future.

Each of us has a specified period of time in this life. We have also been given an allotment of time each year, each month, week, day and minute. Time is a precious commodity. And what we do in this moment matters. Who we choose to be in the present dictates who we will become in the minutes, days and years (even eternity) to come.

How and where we have walked in the past cannot carry us in the present. It is a legacy. It builds our confidence and hope. But it will not sustain us in this moment. Nor can our intentions and promises of faithful walking in the future empower us in the now.

We must walk (live our lives) with the wise understanding that we make the most of the moments. Each day gives us opportunity to walk faithfully with Christ ("in the Spirit").

Walk your walk today. Now.
... Pray now
... Get in the Word now
... Love now
... Be Christ to someone now
... Walk now!

God, walking with you is the best use of "my" time...

For now...
D

I wrote a post a while ago that speaks to this topic. (It also reminds me that I am far overdue to write the final post on Potential v. Kinetic.

IF ONLY... (Potential v. Kinetic, pt.3)

How we walk now...

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time...
-- Ephesians 5:15-16

There are many things money cannot buy. Among these is time.

We cannot purchase any moment from the past to be relived. Nor can we buy additional seconds to be added to our future.

Each of us has a specified period of time in this life. We have also been given an allotment of time each year, each month, week, day and minute. Time is a precious commodity. And what we do in this moment matters. Who we choose to be in the present dictates who we will become in the minutes, days and years (even eternity) to come.

How and where we have walked in the past cannot carry us in the present. It is a legacy. It builds our confidence and hope. But it will not sustain us in this moment. Nor can our intentions and promises of faithful walking in the future empower us in the now.

We must walk (live our lives) with the wise understanding that we make the most of the moments. Each day gives us opportunity to walk faithfully with Christ ("in the Spirit").

Walk your walk today. Now.
... Pray now
... Get in the Word now
... Love now
... Be Christ to someone now
... Walk now!

God, walking with you is the best use of "my" time...

For now...
D

I wrote a post a while ago that speaks to this topic. (It also reminds me that I am far overdue to write the final post on Potential v. Kinetic.

IF ONLY... (Potential v. Kinetic, pt.3)

DstanFit50! is now davidmstanley.blogspot.com

Hi and thanks for dropping by. If you are looking for DStanFit50! it has been moved. The name has also changed. My blog is now davidmstanley.blogspot.com

I am expanding the blog to incorporate a daily devotional I have been writing. I will still be writing posts along the lines of the previous content - dealing with potential, performance, fitness, etc.

Thanks and take a look at davidmstanley.blogspot.com

For now...
D

Walk...

Ephesians 4:1,15  "I... urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called... speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up..."

When a baby learns to crawl it is adorable and video-worthy. But there comes a time when crawling should turn to walking. It is the natural progression of healthy growth.

At some point crawling is no longer adorable, nor natural. There comes a time when crawling is an indication of trouble.

The Christian life is often referred to as a "walk." (Though it might be likened better to a hike.) This is appropriate in the sense that the life of faith is a journey, and there is no express charter to spiritual maturity. Our journey with Christ is a one-step-at-a-time faith walk-about over the rugged terrain of our lives.

If we sprint out ahead of Christ, we will trip over an unforeseen rock or root in the path; or diverge from the path completely. If we lag behind (or crawl), we may lose sight of our guide. The Christian "walk" is to be "walked" side by side with with the One who promises to "never leave us," and "be with us always," (Deuteronomy 31:6; Matthew 28:20). (In reality, both analogies - running ahead and lagging behind - fail, because no matter where we are, God will not abandon us.)

The harsh reality is we all struggle to walk at times. We revert to a crawl; whether due to internal impairment or the weight of external circumstance. In either case however, Christ gives us the power to stand up and walk. It is the Holy Spirit's ministry within to empower us when we have no power. At these times, we must trust him, lean on him. We just get up and allow him to direct our steps. "Trust in the Lord... and he will direct your steps," (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Paul writes that we are to "...walk in a manner worthy of the calling..." (v.1). As he describes the manner of this walk, he places our Christian life in the context of relationships. Each of the qualities he mentions - gentleness, patience, humility, love, etc. - are internal "fruit of the Spirit" with relationship application (see Galatians 5:22-23).

For the sake of time and (blog) space, let's distill it down to this: We need one another. The life of faith is a life set in community. Christianity cannot be lived or experienced in a vacuum of isolation.

Today we may be the arm of Jesus reaching down to help another stand from a crawl. Today we may need a another to reach down to us - to help us walk.

God, Help me to walk in a manner worthy...

The Abundant Giver

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us… to him be glory."

We don't pray big enough. We don't believe big enough. We don't dream big enough. We don't dare big enough.

God's power and his plans far exceed our greatest imagination. It should go without saying that Christ can do in us and through us all he has promised. Far beyond that, he can do what we have never been bold enough to dream; what we have not conceived to ask.

We must keep in mind that this is for his glory, not ours. It just so happens that in God's spiritual economy, what glorifies him turns out to also be what is best for us. If we get this turned around, our faith in in danger of becoming self-centered, adulterated and futile. And it just takes a quick cycle through the religious TV channels or a pass through the "Christian" section of Barnes and Noble to see an upside-down theological trend of man as God and God as helper.

That said, however, God offers so much more than we experience. More of his presence. More of his power. More intimate knowledge of his amazing grace. More partnership in his purposes.

God is not a provider of partial. Nor is he the giver of just enough. God is a God of abundance.

When Moses just wanted an escape route… God parted a sea.

When Israel just wanted someone to sacrifice to the giant… God provided a steely-eyed shepherd boy with a huge heart and deadly aim.

When Mary and Martha just wanted a healing… God performed a resurrection.

When mankind was bound in the hopeless prison of sin… God gave his Son.

And when you and I turn to him in need… God gives abundantly more than we can possibly ask or dream.

We must pray bigger... believe bigger... dream bigger... dare bigger.

God, you are the abundant giver…

The Sculptor...

(This post is from a daily devotion I write. At some point I will be combining it with my blog - all under a new title).

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

"You are who you are because of the Master Artist who put you together." That is how Malcolm Smith closed each of his radio broadcasts. Thirty years later, the phrase is as fresh and meaningful as it was the day I first heard it delivered in his calming, yet authoritative British accent.

God paints our lives for his purposes. And he does so with a care and precision that, by comparison, make Michelangelo or Da Vinci look like kindergarten finger-painters. Yet in his incredible artistic sovereignty, he gives us freedom.

I cannot explain God's artistry any more than I could attempt to sculpt Michelangelo's "David" from play dough.  (Sorry for the mixed art-medium metaphors throughout this post). God's design, his brush-strokes - our freedom, our belief and failures; they somehow come together to form the picture he has in mind.

We are not passive in the process. Nor are we in control. We are participants. And we are the canvas (or the block of stone). Brush strokes and chisel points are often uncomfortable. But they are purposeful.

The more hammer blows that fall upon the chisel, the more we resemble the picture of Christ. Sometimes large chunks of unnecessary weight fall away with one blow. It is freeing. More often, the process is incremental. And the scarring from the chisel point reminds us of the wounds that bought us freedom.

God takes ordinary blocks of stone (maybe clay is more biblical) and carves master works. That is what he wants to do in your life and mine. And though we may not be completely aware, he is at work. Now. Today.

"We are who we are, because of the Master Artist who put us together."

God, paint my life for your purposes…

For now... D