OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #289 Hunting, Large Arms, and the Bible
Two thoughts, from entirely different and unexpected directions, came together this week.
Monday was the start of deer season and it will come as no surprise that I was out hunting. I’m sad to report I didn’t see a thing all day, although I know there are people who will be quite happy about that.
When we moved here a few years ago, a man from our church set me up in some areas he has been hunting since he was young. The inside of his hunting camp is a testament to his success as a hunter. More than a dozen mounted trophies illustrate his skill with the gun and bow. A bulletin board is covered with photos of him and others with their prizes. I added my own picture a few years ago.
To see him at his camp is to see his passion and commitment to hunting. Over the years he has invested countless time, energy and money, and it shows. He often sees deer on his hunts, and while he rarely shoots one now, it is not for lack of opportunity. He enjoys taking people like me and probably loves it more when we have success than when he does.
When he gives me some advice about hunting, I take it seriously because he knows what he is talking about. He has credibility.
Thought number two. I’ve been going to the gym to exercise since January. My goal is to do a combination of cardio and weight training at least twice a week in order to increase my fitness level and provide an outlet for stress. It has been working. I’ve lost about 10 lbs, my clothes fit more loosely and I can jog comfortably now.
I’ve noticed some interesting things in those hundred or so visits to the gym. There are a variety of people interested in fitness, everyone from teens to seniors. And there is a wide spectrum of commitment. I saw two young ladies on the bicycles one evening, barely moving the peddles, despite the easy settings they used. It didn’t seem to be hard for them. Rather, they appeared to be distracted as they changed the channels on their TV's (a lot of the machines have TV's – it really helps to prevent boredom), flipped pages in their magazines, texted, and chatted back and forth. I wonder if they ever say things like, “I go to the gym all the time, but it’s not doing anything.”
By contrast, I spotted a guy last night I hadn’t seen before, with the largest set of arms I have ever seen in person. Although I’m no weakling, I’ve long since gotten used to feeling a little small in comparison to some of the guys in the gym. But I have to say I felt downright puny working out next to him. He was using three times the amount of weight I was. Three times! He had clearly put in his time, with impressive results. At different points friends came over to see how he was doing. They talked about the gym and workout routines. Credibility.
People have credibility because knowledge and action come together in experience. There is a proven track record to show that they know what they are talking about. They are believable because the evidence is plain for all to see. A hunter has a trophy on the wall and meat in the freezer. A man in the gym has arms to show he can build his body.
Christians develop credibility when our actions, attitudes, lifestyle, behavior, habits, character and conduct illustrate that we follow Jesus. Do we have to be perfect? Of course not. We gain credibility when people see effort and consistency. We lose credibility when our effort is inconsistent or at odds with what we believe.
The apostle James talked about credibility:
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.... But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”* James 3:13-17
Hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Oct 24, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire is an occasional letter on Christian faith and character
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
OnFire #288 Things that Go Boom
OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #288 Things that Go Boom
A few weeks ago, our son Ian and I went duck hunting with a man from our church. Duck hunting is pretty exciting as it combines accuracy with speed and a little cunning. To lure the ducks into our area, we set out about a half dozen plastic duck decoys. As I understand it, ducks like company and it takes a crowd to make a crowd. They are more likely to land where others are already feeding, so we hoped the decoys would entice some birds to land in front of our blind.
A word about blinds. They hide hunters. Like most wild animals, ducks are always on the lookout for danger, and nothing says trouble like a few guys sitting behind a tree with guns. So, it is important that the blind break up the outline and pattern of the people sitting in it. Burlap, camouflage, and branches are popular and work well. From our cozy spot on a point of land beside a river we had already claimed two birds that morning, and hoped to get a few more before the wind picked up.
We had just settled into the blind after retrieving our ducks when we saw a boat approach from downriver. It was a bass boat, fast, with two men aboard, and it appeared to us that they were looking for something. We guessed they were duck hunting, like we were, and perhaps hoped to “jump” or surprise some ducks which might flush from the marsh. As they neared our point of land, the boat slowed and drifted to a stop in front of our decoys.
Did I say that decoys look like real ducks? If they didn’t realize these were fakes, we were now in the line of fire if they were hunters.
All at once, we stood up in the blind to show ourselves, but they didn’t see us. One man reached to pull something from a locker on deck while the other dropped the trolling moter at the front of the boat. And then both picked up fishing rods and cast into the river.
We were more than a little relieved to know that they weren’t going to shoot in our direction, but now we had another situation. As long as these guys were fishing from their boat, nothing was going to fly in our direction, and, in fact, we couldn’t shoot if they did because they were now in our line of fire.
We looked at each other and wondered what to do. How do we get their attention? Wait for them to notice? Yell? Fire a shot into the air? We could hardly believe the situation in front of us. I was already thinking of the story we could tell later, and pulled out the camera. You can see the picture on my website at www.onfireletter.com
All of this unfolded in less than sixty seconds. Looking for a new place to cast, one of the men spotted us standing in the blind and called out. “Sorry boys.... Good hiding spot.” At this they pulled up the trolling motor and left.
We did the right thing by waiting. We would have called out if they hadn’t noticed us in a few more moments. It was tempting to fire a shot into the air, but anytime a firearm is discharged it is potentially dangerous, and that sort of thing tends to tick people off. While it was an option, it was not a wise one.
This situation left me thinking about a lot of the tricky situations I have been in. Patience and tact are not always what I think to do first. Sometimes I’d like to go off with a big boom. Let people know how upset I am, how serious I think the situation is. Especially if the situation has a history. The more history there is, the harder it is to be patient. But going off with a big boom rarely accomplishes anything good. We make a lot of noise, some get scared, and some get ticked off or come back with something even bigger.
Proverbs 14:29 says, “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.”*
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Oct 17, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com . Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com . Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com .
OnFire #288 Things that Go Boom
A few weeks ago, our son Ian and I went duck hunting with a man from our church. Duck hunting is pretty exciting as it combines accuracy with speed and a little cunning. To lure the ducks into our area, we set out about a half dozen plastic duck decoys. As I understand it, ducks like company and it takes a crowd to make a crowd. They are more likely to land where others are already feeding, so we hoped the decoys would entice some birds to land in front of our blind.
A word about blinds. They hide hunters. Like most wild animals, ducks are always on the lookout for danger, and nothing says trouble like a few guys sitting behind a tree with guns. So, it is important that the blind break up the outline and pattern of the people sitting in it. Burlap, camouflage, and branches are popular and work well. From our cozy spot on a point of land beside a river we had already claimed two birds that morning, and hoped to get a few more before the wind picked up.
We had just settled into the blind after retrieving our ducks when we saw a boat approach from downriver. It was a bass boat, fast, with two men aboard, and it appeared to us that they were looking for something. We guessed they were duck hunting, like we were, and perhaps hoped to “jump” or surprise some ducks which might flush from the marsh. As they neared our point of land, the boat slowed and drifted to a stop in front of our decoys.
Did I say that decoys look like real ducks? If they didn’t realize these were fakes, we were now in the line of fire if they were hunters.
All at once, we stood up in the blind to show ourselves, but they didn’t see us. One man reached to pull something from a locker on deck while the other dropped the trolling moter at the front of the boat. And then both picked up fishing rods and cast into the river.
We were more than a little relieved to know that they weren’t going to shoot in our direction, but now we had another situation. As long as these guys were fishing from their boat, nothing was going to fly in our direction, and, in fact, we couldn’t shoot if they did because they were now in our line of fire.
We looked at each other and wondered what to do. How do we get their attention? Wait for them to notice? Yell? Fire a shot into the air? We could hardly believe the situation in front of us. I was already thinking of the story we could tell later, and pulled out the camera. You can see the picture on my website at www.onfireletter.com
All of this unfolded in less than sixty seconds. Looking for a new place to cast, one of the men spotted us standing in the blind and called out. “Sorry boys.... Good hiding spot.” At this they pulled up the trolling motor and left.
We did the right thing by waiting. We would have called out if they hadn’t noticed us in a few more moments. It was tempting to fire a shot into the air, but anytime a firearm is discharged it is potentially dangerous, and that sort of thing tends to tick people off. While it was an option, it was not a wise one.
This situation left me thinking about a lot of the tricky situations I have been in. Patience and tact are not always what I think to do first. Sometimes I’d like to go off with a big boom. Let people know how upset I am, how serious I think the situation is. Especially if the situation has a history. The more history there is, the harder it is to be patient. But going off with a big boom rarely accomplishes anything good. We make a lot of noise, some get scared, and some get ticked off or come back with something even bigger.
Proverbs 14:29 says, “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.”*
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Oct 17, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com . Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com . Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com .
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
OnFire #286 Peeling Back Old Shingles
Onfire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #286 Peeling Back Old Shingles
For the last week I’ve been using any spare time I have to replace the shingles on our carport. They were long since past their best-before date, curled and brittle. A few years ago we replaced the shingles on our roof, but we put off doing the carport to save money. We couldn’t put it off any longer as wind damaged shingles last year, and the condition of the rest of them told us it was not wise or prudent to delay.
So, like I mentioned, I’ve been working away on this over the past week. It isn’t a large area, isn’t very high off the ground, and isn’t steep. Our son Mark and a man from our church helped on Saturday. Monday I finished 14 rows and now there are only a few rows left.
I had a little surprise when I peeled back the shingles nearest the house and found some rotten wood, signaling that water was a problem in that area. I think I understand how it got in. This is important as I want to avoid costly issues in the future. Thankfully the damage wasn’t structural, and it confirmed for me that it was a good idea to change the way it had been done compared to last time. This way should make it a lot harder for water to leak under the shingles.
Tearing off those shingles reminds me of the process of transformation we have as believers. We find this process of change in verses like these:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
We are, or ought to be, in a continual process of peeling back old ways and replacing them with new ones, of getting rid of negative and harmful character traits and replacing them with new traits of godliness.
It sounds simple enough. After all, it is easy to point out the weaknesses of others, but they are harder to see for ourselves. We are often blind to our own faults and weaknesses until something happens to show us up, and then we stand uncomfortably exposed.
The better approach is continually to ask God to reveal the changes we need to make in our behaviour, our actions, thoughts and attitudes. As we come to understand these things, we can make the changes we need to be transformed.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Sept 19, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire #286 Peeling Back Old Shingles
For the last week I’ve been using any spare time I have to replace the shingles on our carport. They were long since past their best-before date, curled and brittle. A few years ago we replaced the shingles on our roof, but we put off doing the carport to save money. We couldn’t put it off any longer as wind damaged shingles last year, and the condition of the rest of them told us it was not wise or prudent to delay.
So, like I mentioned, I’ve been working away on this over the past week. It isn’t a large area, isn’t very high off the ground, and isn’t steep. Our son Mark and a man from our church helped on Saturday. Monday I finished 14 rows and now there are only a few rows left.
I had a little surprise when I peeled back the shingles nearest the house and found some rotten wood, signaling that water was a problem in that area. I think I understand how it got in. This is important as I want to avoid costly issues in the future. Thankfully the damage wasn’t structural, and it confirmed for me that it was a good idea to change the way it had been done compared to last time. This way should make it a lot harder for water to leak under the shingles.
Tearing off those shingles reminds me of the process of transformation we have as believers. We find this process of change in verses like these:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
We are, or ought to be, in a continual process of peeling back old ways and replacing them with new ones, of getting rid of negative and harmful character traits and replacing them with new traits of godliness.
It sounds simple enough. After all, it is easy to point out the weaknesses of others, but they are harder to see for ourselves. We are often blind to our own faults and weaknesses until something happens to show us up, and then we stand uncomfortably exposed.
The better approach is continually to ask God to reveal the changes we need to make in our behaviour, our actions, thoughts and attitudes. As we come to understand these things, we can make the changes we need to be transformed.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Sept 19, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
Friday, September 7, 2012
OnFire #285 Free At Last
OnFire Encouragement
Letter
OnFire #285 Free At Last
Hi Folks:
The big news is that Ian is settling into life at college in Fredericton - the Maritime College of Forest Technology. This is a big change for our family, harder for his parents than for him, I suspect. But he is doing well, enjoying his classes.
This week we kick off our Sunday school at church with a gospel illusionist at 9:30. I’ll lead some songs, and we’ll honour one of our classes for their 100th anniversary. If you are in the Moncton area, come visit Highfield Baptist. I think we’re going to have a great morning.
Blessings for your week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Free, free at last!” This is what I thought as I watched my mother’s car pull away from the university. It was 1985, and while she was shedding tears of sadness, I was shedding tears of joy that I was free to test my wings. I was 17 and ready to explore the world on my own, no longer under the watchful eyes of my family.
These memories were all too fresh the other day as we left Ian at his college. What a conflicting ball of emotions I felt. I was sad that a chapter in our lives was drawing to a close. Routines that included Ian at home would change, and I can’t walk this part of the journey with him. “Suck it up,” I told myself. “You’re not the first parent to go through this.” So, there was sadness.
Strangely, a small bit of jealousy was part of the mix. Here were all these young kids just starting out on their adventures. All their hopes and dreams are so fresh. Why is the beginning of the adventure always the most exciting part? I like where my adventure has taken me thus far, but there is something exciting about being at the beginning. Ah, but I digress...
I was, and am, nervous for Ian. Is he ready for the stress and pressure of student life? And, how will he handle his new-found freedom? The issue here is one of character. Who, really, is he? I am confident in him, but yet the answers to these questions can only be found in time, and in the context of his new freedom. We will only discover his true nature as we see how he handles himself.
Students are not the only ones who demonstrate their character by how they handle freedom. Indeed, it is the same for all of us. The apostle Paul wrote about freedom in Galatians. Freedom is not meant to be about just doing “what I want,” which leads to all sorts of selfish behaviour. Rather, the Christian demonstrates freedom in Christ differently. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23*)
Freedom is a test of character. We can use freedom (freedom from others watching, freedom to spend our time or money as we want) simply to indulge our own desires and pleasures, or we can use our freedom to honour Jesus Christ. The choice is ours, and how we use our freedom shows who we really are, the true nature of our character. We expect to find apples on apple trees. Likewise, these are behaviours which people ought to find in us as followers of Jesus Christ.
These verses are on my “top ten” list because they are reminders to me, a kind of inventory to see how I’m doing. At times I slip toward selfishness, but this group of character traits calls me back.
Hope this helps. Be on fire.
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Sept 7, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire #285 Free At Last
Hi Folks:
The big news is that Ian is settling into life at college in Fredericton - the Maritime College of Forest Technology. This is a big change for our family, harder for his parents than for him, I suspect. But he is doing well, enjoying his classes.
This week we kick off our Sunday school at church with a gospel illusionist at 9:30. I’ll lead some songs, and we’ll honour one of our classes for their 100th anniversary. If you are in the Moncton area, come visit Highfield Baptist. I think we’re going to have a great morning.
Blessings for your week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Free, free at last!” This is what I thought as I watched my mother’s car pull away from the university. It was 1985, and while she was shedding tears of sadness, I was shedding tears of joy that I was free to test my wings. I was 17 and ready to explore the world on my own, no longer under the watchful eyes of my family.
These memories were all too fresh the other day as we left Ian at his college. What a conflicting ball of emotions I felt. I was sad that a chapter in our lives was drawing to a close. Routines that included Ian at home would change, and I can’t walk this part of the journey with him. “Suck it up,” I told myself. “You’re not the first parent to go through this.” So, there was sadness.
Strangely, a small bit of jealousy was part of the mix. Here were all these young kids just starting out on their adventures. All their hopes and dreams are so fresh. Why is the beginning of the adventure always the most exciting part? I like where my adventure has taken me thus far, but there is something exciting about being at the beginning. Ah, but I digress...
I was, and am, nervous for Ian. Is he ready for the stress and pressure of student life? And, how will he handle his new-found freedom? The issue here is one of character. Who, really, is he? I am confident in him, but yet the answers to these questions can only be found in time, and in the context of his new freedom. We will only discover his true nature as we see how he handles himself.
Students are not the only ones who demonstrate their character by how they handle freedom. Indeed, it is the same for all of us. The apostle Paul wrote about freedom in Galatians. Freedom is not meant to be about just doing “what I want,” which leads to all sorts of selfish behaviour. Rather, the Christian demonstrates freedom in Christ differently. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23*)
Freedom is a test of character. We can use freedom (freedom from others watching, freedom to spend our time or money as we want) simply to indulge our own desires and pleasures, or we can use our freedom to honour Jesus Christ. The choice is ours, and how we use our freedom shows who we really are, the true nature of our character. We expect to find apples on apple trees. Likewise, these are behaviours which people ought to find in us as followers of Jesus Christ.
These verses are on my “top ten” list because they are reminders to me, a kind of inventory to see how I’m doing. At times I slip toward selfishness, but this group of character traits calls me back.
Hope this helps. Be on fire.
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Sept 7, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
Monday, August 20, 2012
OnFire #284 Peace and Joy Prevail
OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #284 Peace and Joy Prevail
While we were on PEI for vacation this summer, friends of ours joined us and brought their motor boat. One day while on a cruise of the river a loud buzzer warned that the engine was overheating. As it turns out, a piece of seaweed had clogged the water intake. Once we cleared it, the pump was free to do its work, and we were soon speeding up the river once again.
It’s too bad we don’t have some sort of internal warning like that buzzer to alert us that we are anxious and fearful about something. Sometime in the middle of last week I realized that I was not a good judge of my own emotional state, but rather had been stressing about problems. In fact, I understood that I had been worried for some amount of time, distressed even, and had not realized it. I wonder how often in the past this has happened to me without realizing it....
In any case, perhaps it was in response to thinking about this week’s verses, which I have often used to help other people. Curiously, I was thinking about how to write about them for you, when I needed to apply them for myself.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7*)
These verses rate highly on my “everyone should know list” because they show us how to replace anxiety, stress and fear with joy and peace. Rather than “chewing and stewing” like we so often do, we can experience deep and genuine peace even though “the wheels are coming off the cart,” as people like to say here. When we have real peace, we feel joy and blessing instead of fear, and we can even pass it along to others instead of being grumpy and grouchy with the people around us.
I have come to believe that a lot of what we do when we’re afraid and anxious is about coping with our distress, not about actually taking it away. We tend to do things to make ourselves feel better, if only for a short time, but it doesn’t actually remove the apprehension we feel.
Here we’re not talking about drugs and alcohol, although lots of people certainly resort to these measures. How many times do we turn to food, or a movie, or a cup of coffee because it feels good, and we need a break? How often do we pour ourselves into work or a project, to cooking or cleaning because it helps us forget our problems, at least for a little while?
What we have in these verses is not about coping, but an actual remedy for our restlessness about the future. “ ...by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” It must seem silly to God when we won’t give Him the things that are too big for us to carry. He is more than capable, and He is more than willing to lift the burden for us.
The word “petition” implies that we’re going to need to repeat the exercise of prayer. We are prone to worry and so we must be prone to pray. Like weeds creeping in the garden, we need to cut back worry with prayer.
“Thanksgiving” is important, too. Do we believe God will help us? We can thank Him for it even before we see the results because we know it is as good as done.
I have discovered I am a poor judge of my own state, but that doesn’t matter so much. Once I understand that I am agitated, I can take these things to the Lord, and I know that he will replace my fear with His peace.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Aug 20, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire #284 Peace and Joy Prevail
While we were on PEI for vacation this summer, friends of ours joined us and brought their motor boat. One day while on a cruise of the river a loud buzzer warned that the engine was overheating. As it turns out, a piece of seaweed had clogged the water intake. Once we cleared it, the pump was free to do its work, and we were soon speeding up the river once again.
It’s too bad we don’t have some sort of internal warning like that buzzer to alert us that we are anxious and fearful about something. Sometime in the middle of last week I realized that I was not a good judge of my own emotional state, but rather had been stressing about problems. In fact, I understood that I had been worried for some amount of time, distressed even, and had not realized it. I wonder how often in the past this has happened to me without realizing it....
In any case, perhaps it was in response to thinking about this week’s verses, which I have often used to help other people. Curiously, I was thinking about how to write about them for you, when I needed to apply them for myself.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7*)
These verses rate highly on my “everyone should know list” because they show us how to replace anxiety, stress and fear with joy and peace. Rather than “chewing and stewing” like we so often do, we can experience deep and genuine peace even though “the wheels are coming off the cart,” as people like to say here. When we have real peace, we feel joy and blessing instead of fear, and we can even pass it along to others instead of being grumpy and grouchy with the people around us.
I have come to believe that a lot of what we do when we’re afraid and anxious is about coping with our distress, not about actually taking it away. We tend to do things to make ourselves feel better, if only for a short time, but it doesn’t actually remove the apprehension we feel.
Here we’re not talking about drugs and alcohol, although lots of people certainly resort to these measures. How many times do we turn to food, or a movie, or a cup of coffee because it feels good, and we need a break? How often do we pour ourselves into work or a project, to cooking or cleaning because it helps us forget our problems, at least for a little while?
What we have in these verses is not about coping, but an actual remedy for our restlessness about the future. “ ...by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” It must seem silly to God when we won’t give Him the things that are too big for us to carry. He is more than capable, and He is more than willing to lift the burden for us.
The word “petition” implies that we’re going to need to repeat the exercise of prayer. We are prone to worry and so we must be prone to pray. Like weeds creeping in the garden, we need to cut back worry with prayer.
“Thanksgiving” is important, too. Do we believe God will help us? We can thank Him for it even before we see the results because we know it is as good as done.
I have discovered I am a poor judge of my own state, but that doesn’t matter so much. Once I understand that I am agitated, I can take these things to the Lord, and I know that he will replace my fear with His peace.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a biweekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Aug 20, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
OnFire #283 Lessons from the Treadmill
OnFire Encouragement
Letter
OnFire #283 Lessons from the Treadmill
While I was on PEI for vacation, I ran in a 5km “fun run,” a semi-competitive race organized as part of a local summer festival, the O’Leary Potato Blossom Festival, for those who are wondering. I had been looking for a 5km race to try and this one was close to my mother’s cottage, so at the appointed time I showed up, paid my money, stretched and finally lined up on the starting line.
My goals in the race were very modest - not to embarrass myself by tripping over my own feet, and to finish without walking. I set a comfortable pace under the warm morning sun and hoped I would be OK. Lots of people passed me, but I wasn’t running to compete, I was running to cross the line.
At about the half-way point, it was fun to pass some of the people who were now walking. I kept on plodding, one foot after another.
A fun thing happened at about the 3.5km mark. I passed a girl about 11-years-old who was walking. As I pulled up beside her I asked, “You’re not going to let an old, bald, fat man beat you to the finish, are you?” About 30 seconds later she passed me and I didn’t see her again until the end.
What a joy it was to see the finish line. People were gracious enough to clap. I made it, and actually managed a decent time for a first timer. I had never, ever, run that far before in my life, so 31:28 wasn’t too bad.
When I joined the gym back in January, the longest I could run on the treadmill was about 2 minutes. I went twice a week all winter, and gradually built it up until I could run a whole mile. I kept working on my endurance until I figured out that 5km was within reach. What a difference training all winter made in my strength and endurance.
Romans 5:3-5 says, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”
Paul reminds us that suffering is not in vain. We often think that our trials and difficulties are nothing but frustrations and problems which hold us back from what we hope to do in life. On the contrary, suffering can produce good things in our character.
There are character traits which we can’t develop without facing challenges and troubles. That’s not so different from my time in the gym. I would not have been able to run that race if I had not strained and tested those muscles all winter.
I want to be clear. God does not bring suffering into our lives to teach us lessons. However, God is a redeeming God, and He brings good from the bad by doing this work in our hearts.
I wish there was another way to strengthen my body to give me more power and endurance. Likewise, I wish there was another way to gain perseverance, character and hope. However, it helps me to know that my struggles are actually workouts for my soul, strengthening my faith and developing deeper levels of perseverance.
Some struggles seem hard at the time, but someday we’ll look back and see that we have gone on to handle even tougher ones. And that gives us character and hope to trust in God as we face the next challenges.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a bi-weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Aug 8, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
OnFire #283 Lessons from the Treadmill
While I was on PEI for vacation, I ran in a 5km “fun run,” a semi-competitive race organized as part of a local summer festival, the O’Leary Potato Blossom Festival, for those who are wondering. I had been looking for a 5km race to try and this one was close to my mother’s cottage, so at the appointed time I showed up, paid my money, stretched and finally lined up on the starting line.
My goals in the race were very modest - not to embarrass myself by tripping over my own feet, and to finish without walking. I set a comfortable pace under the warm morning sun and hoped I would be OK. Lots of people passed me, but I wasn’t running to compete, I was running to cross the line.
At about the half-way point, it was fun to pass some of the people who were now walking. I kept on plodding, one foot after another.
A fun thing happened at about the 3.5km mark. I passed a girl about 11-years-old who was walking. As I pulled up beside her I asked, “You’re not going to let an old, bald, fat man beat you to the finish, are you?” About 30 seconds later she passed me and I didn’t see her again until the end.
What a joy it was to see the finish line. People were gracious enough to clap. I made it, and actually managed a decent time for a first timer. I had never, ever, run that far before in my life, so 31:28 wasn’t too bad.
When I joined the gym back in January, the longest I could run on the treadmill was about 2 minutes. I went twice a week all winter, and gradually built it up until I could run a whole mile. I kept working on my endurance until I figured out that 5km was within reach. What a difference training all winter made in my strength and endurance.
Romans 5:3-5 says, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”
Paul reminds us that suffering is not in vain. We often think that our trials and difficulties are nothing but frustrations and problems which hold us back from what we hope to do in life. On the contrary, suffering can produce good things in our character.
There are character traits which we can’t develop without facing challenges and troubles. That’s not so different from my time in the gym. I would not have been able to run that race if I had not strained and tested those muscles all winter.
I want to be clear. God does not bring suffering into our lives to teach us lessons. However, God is a redeeming God, and He brings good from the bad by doing this work in our hearts.
I wish there was another way to strengthen my body to give me more power and endurance. Likewise, I wish there was another way to gain perseverance, character and hope. However, it helps me to know that my struggles are actually workouts for my soul, strengthening my faith and developing deeper levels of perseverance.
Some struggles seem hard at the time, but someday we’ll look back and see that we have gone on to handle even tougher ones. And that gives us character and hope to trust in God as we face the next challenges.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a bi-weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Aug 8, 2012. Scripture taken from New International Version, 1984. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Vacation!!
Hi Folks:
Vacation is here!!!! We're taking two weeks and going to PEI, which is our normal routine for summer vacation. It's been an intense season but this is drawing to a close and a new season is about to begin.
On July 29 our new senior pastor will begin and we're very much looking forward to this. A lot of things were put on hold in the interim time and so we'll be able to move ahead again.
In the meantime, we're going to get some rest. Paddle on the river, visit family, and do a lot of nothing, really. It will feel good.
When I return, I'm planning a new series for OnFire: "10 Verses Every Christian Should Know by Heart." I've got them lined up, but you may have some suggestions. Let me know.
Last week was Vacation Bible School at our church. For reaching a total attendance goal of 350 (70 avg), I let them slime me. There is a picture here and on the website, www.onfireletter.com
Blessings, and I'll be back in a few weeks.
Troy
Vacation is here!!!! We're taking two weeks and going to PEI, which is our normal routine for summer vacation. It's been an intense season but this is drawing to a close and a new season is about to begin.
On July 29 our new senior pastor will begin and we're very much looking forward to this. A lot of things were put on hold in the interim time and so we'll be able to move ahead again.
In the meantime, we're going to get some rest. Paddle on the river, visit family, and do a lot of nothing, really. It will feel good.
When I return, I'm planning a new series for OnFire: "10 Verses Every Christian Should Know by Heart." I've got them lined up, but you may have some suggestions. Let me know.
Last week was Vacation Bible School at our church. For reaching a total attendance goal of 350 (70 avg), I let them slime me. There is a picture here and on the website, www.onfireletter.com
Blessings, and I'll be back in a few weeks.
Troy
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