Tag Archives: Jesus In Us

A New Year’s note from your friend – A.B. Simpson

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imageA NEW YEAR’S GREETING FROM YOUR FRIEND, A. B. SIMPSON

In the name of the Lord, we wish for all to whom these words may come a happy New Year. In order that it may be so, let it be:

 

A year with Jesus. Let us seek its plan and direction from Him. Let us look to Him for our desire, ideals, expectations in it. Then shall it bring to us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Let Him also be the sufficiency and strength of all the year. Let us not merely try to obey Christ or imitate Christ. Let us have Christ Himself in us to do the works, and let us every moment fall back on Him both to will and do in us of His good pleasure. And let our service be not our works, but the grace of Christ with us.

 

A year of self-forgetting ministry for Christ and others. Let us not drag our burdens through the year, but drop all our loads of care and be free to carry His yoke and His burden. Let us make the happy exchange, giving ours and taking His. So shall we lose our heaviest load—ourselves—and so shall we find our highest joy, divine love, the more blessed “to give” rather “than to receive.” Let us do good to all men as we have opportunity, let us lose no opportunity of blessing. Especially let us seek to win souls, and may 1886 [2015] be the harvest year of our lives.

 

A year of prayer. Let us learn the meaning of the ministry of prayer. Let us reach persons this year we cannot reach in person; let us expect results that we have never dared to claim before; let us count every difficulty only a greater occasion for prayer, and let us call on God for great and mighty things which we know not, and may the most glorious reminiscences of next New Year’s Eve be the wonders of answered prayer.

 

A year of joy and praise. Let us live in the promises of God and the outlook of His deliverance and blessing. Let us never dwell on the trial, but always on the victory just before. Let us not dwell in the tomb, but in the garden of Joseph and the light of the resurrection. Let us keep our faces toward the sun rising. In everything give thanks. Praise ye the Lord.

 

A year to forget the things that are behind and reach out unto those that are before. God has “a new thing” for us in 1886 [2015]. Let it be a year of deeper, wider, higher, diviner things. Let us hold fast that which we have attained, but go out also to “the regions beyond,” and arise and possess the length and breadth of the land which the Lord our God does give to us.

Yours in Him,

A.B. Simpson

(Excerpts reprinted from a personal letter to friends and acquaintances, January 1886—equally relevant for 2015.)

 

 

Income inequality – wwjd?

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Most of you reading this on your computers probably don’t consider yourself rich like “the 1%.” Yet the reality is, we are all likely richer than most living on this planet with us. Some may say, “Well I work for it and so I have a right to my riches.” I don’t disagree. But consider the testimony of the first century church; one of immense generosity out of poverty, living and giving to benefit others in Jesus’ name. Today, most of us live in relative abundance, not lacking for any real needs. I wonder if we are even able to hear Christ asking us to love and serve him by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting those in prison…

 

Jay Parini, author of “Jesus: The Human Face of God,” has some provoking thoughts for us:

 

“Ridding the world of poverty is, of course, a fantasy. Jesus knew this: “You will always have the poor among you,” he said (Matthew 26:11). He also said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.” (Luke 6:20). He cries (echoing the Old Testament): “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18). Jesus also noted that it is easier “for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23-24).

 

“Jesus discouraged the accumulation of wealth , worried about its effects on those who had it, and took special pleasure in helping the poor, dedicating his efforts to them.

 

“Everyone knows that the wealth gap in the U.S. has increased dramatically. Even those formerly known as the middle class struggle to make ends meet. Do people on the other end of this inequality equation really fare better? Does wealth make you happy? Jesus certainly didn’t think so.

 

“Neuroscientists have suggested that being rich actually makes you less happy and, even worse, unable to sympathize with the poor. They find that the rich and powerful among us show less brain activity in that region of the brain where human sympathy is excited. Conversely, those who feel poor and marginalized in society show a great deal of sympathetic activity. The ability to sympathize with those around us seems crucial to our survival, and it’s connected to the mirroring functions of the brain.

 

Is it any wonder that when a rich young man came to Jesus asking for spiritual guidance, Jesus said: “If you wish to feel complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” (Matthew 19:21). The young man “went away grieving,” as he had so much property and didn’t want to let go of anything. But letting go is essential to our own happiness as well as the world’s economic equilibrium. It’s a hard teaching, but it’s important.”

 

BT: You nor I have all the answers to this issue. But I believe God would love for us to talk with Him about it and then let Him speak to us individually about what Jesus-in-us would do.

 

 

Better Health – Even On Crummy Days

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It’s hard to love a crummy day. About an hour after I wrote a positive post about the riches of life, I was hit with the worst migraine I’ve ever faced and a sick stomach with low blood counts, which led to another day in bed. No huge deal; we’ve all had these kind of days and get through them. Even faith and prayer do not eliminate crummy days. But the interesting thing is what opportunities we have to respond.

I remember years ago coming across research about the effect of serving others. The particular study involved two groups of individuals in an in-patient psychiatric facility. Nothing changed with the control group; they remained on unit and participated, or not, in their normal daily activities, largely centered on themselves. The test group however were given opportunity to participate in off-grounds community volunteer work, helping others. The study concluded that well-being as rated by patients, peers, and doctors all increased for those who helped others. In other words, getting our focus off ourself and helping others is a remedy for better health! Jesus knew this when he gave us the Great Command:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength; Love your neighbor as yourself. – Mark 12:30-31

Doesn’t it go against our natural self to love God or others on crummy days? And yet, if we were perfectly ‘selfish’ and DID what was truly best for us, that is exactly what we would do. It is part of God’s plan for our wonderful life.

And so, through this pretty crummy day, Marcia and I had opportunity to draw close together as she ministered to me so tenderly. And my nurse who is also paying close attention to me started asking questions about my faith. We talked not only about church but also about the real power of letting Jesus live in our life, to be not just our Savior, but also our Lord. We ended with prayer. I can’t share the specifics of the impact in her life, but it was good.

Physically, it was a crummy day, no question. But in other ways, it led to something else that was quite special indeed.