Oh to Have a Mind Like His!

     Some people are slow in making decisions and others jump right in without checking all the facts. We see this every day in our world.  In either extreme, mistakes can be made.  The person who is slow to decide may miss the opportunity set before them.  On the other hand, the person who jumps in may find he/she made a serious error in judgment which may result in loss of some sort.  So how do we find balance?  How can we have a mind like Christ?
     In his letter to the believers at Philippi, the Apostle Paul penned these words:  "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:5-11).  This is our starting place for examining the mind of Christ.  Lets break it down.
     Within the first verse of this passage, we come to understand that Jesus did not cling to His privileges.  While He was, indeed, God, He was also fully man.  He purposely laid aside any advantages He had in order to humble Himself and become like a servant.  In conversation with His disciples, Jesus frequently reminded them that if any one of them truly wanted to be great, he must be a servant to all.   Jesus never ceased to be God, but He emptied Himself relinquishing heavenly status so that He might come and bring us salvation along with an example of how to live.  For us to have the mind of Christ, we must be willing to do the same.  Serving others, putting aside our comforts so that we might help others and reaching out to help the less fortunate are ways we can have the mind of Christ.  It takes practice because we often have too great an opinion of ourselves and our abilities.  Our Lord was decisive but studied in all He attempted to do.  He took time to humble Himself in prayer before taking any action so He could honestly say He only did what the Father had told Him to do.  Can we say that of our activities?  Our decisions?
     A second characteristic of the mind of Christ is obedience.  Not only was Christ lowly in heart, He also followed the Father's commandments perfectly.  There was never a time when  Jesus sinned (2 Cor. 5:21).  His submission to the Father's will had no flaws.  Even in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus knew He would face unbearable agony of body and soul, He told His heavenly Father "...if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).  This is what submission looks like.  Here is the mind of Christ.  He laid aside His equality with the Father to be a completely obedient Son.  He restored what the first Adam lost in terms of His unqualified surrender to the Almighty Father.  What an example of love for us.
     In closing his thoughts about the mind of Christ, Paul writes that God was pleased to exalt Him and give Him the name above all names.  Why?  Because Jesus fulfilled His mission as our perfect sacrifice having no spot wrinkle or blemish in His thinking or actions.  Unlike those of us who are indecisive because we have either a) not asked God for wisdom or b) never looked into the Word of Truth;  or those of us who make decisions on the fly like Peter drawing a sword to lop off the ear of the high priest's servant, Jesus kept His perspective.  He fulfilled humbly the call of God and let nothing sway Him or get Him off track.  Likewise, He remained fully obedient to His Father.

      Here is the truth, though, dear friends.  We cannot have the mind of Christ unless we have the power of the Holy Spirit living within us moment by moment.  This should come as no surprise to us.  We have a mind often guided by the flesh rather than the Spirit of God.  While we may have good intentions, we often get off the track.  However, God is at work in us to conform us to His dear Son by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).  We are to test things so we can discern God's will for our lives.  If we are faithful, He will direct our steps.  The first place to begin is in prayer so that we might hear from the Lord what He wants for our lives.  Additionally, the Bible is like a road map for us to follow in decision making.  We need both of these elements to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, but the important thing is to begin this process.  Let us strive to have the mind of Christ daily so our decisions will bring glory to our Lord.  Selah!

Saying Good-Bye to a Remarkable Friend

     Yesterday was a hard day for me.  I had to take our 14 and 1/2 year old basset hound to the vet for the last time.  We knew the day would come when it was clear that we should take action to keep him from suffering.  However, such a decision is painful to say the least.
     Our basset hound Roscoe P. Coltrane came to our family as a gift to our youngest son Nathan at Christmas.  What an adorable long eared pup who tripped as he ran over those huge ears.  When our son moved away, we took over caring for Roscoe and so he became a fixture of our household and during the course of all these years, he taught us many lessons.

Roscoe P. Coltrane

     First, he taught us about unconditional love.  No matter what happened during the course of the day, Roscoe was always glad to see us, loved to be around us and never seemed to tire of following us around the house.  Isn't that what our Lord and Savior wants to see in our lives?  If only we could love unreservedly those who are hard to deal with just like Roscoe loved us.  Are we glad to greet people whether at work or in our own family at home?  We should be.  After all our Lord reminds us to "love our neighbor as ourselves".  He also said in John 13:35:  "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  In some cases, I believe Roscoe had me beat in this area.  He faithfully followed us around and gave us love even when we were grumpy.  Oh that we humans can learn this lesson that Christ might be glorified!
      Second, Roscoe taught me about perseverance.  How many animals could survive the extreme things he did?  He nearly died from bloat (a twisted stomach that cuts off circulation), a cancerous tumor in his spleen resulting in surgery to remove it and finally nearly drowning in our pool.  All were close calls, but Roscoe soldiered through each challenge to come back strong.  Those of us found in Christ are also called to persevere.  It is no surprise that life is hard on this fallen planet on which we live.  We face trials, sickness, loss and heartache, but when we are in Christ, we are more than conquerors.  Jesus spoke these words of encouragement (John 16:33):  "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  Like Roscoe, we can persevere through hardship and the difficulties we face each day not in our own power but with the help of the Holy Spirit.
     Finally, Roscoe knew how to relax, rest and sleep.  Nothing seemed to disturb him.  He was the consummate connoisseur of nap time.  In the same way, we can walk in perfect peace knowing that we are safe in the Father's hands.  Because He keeps us, we need not fear.  We can rest like Roscoe in sweet peace.
     I miss our basset hound so much as he brought us joy and laughter.   More than this, though, he reminded us of the important qualities of our faith like unconditional love, perseverance in the face of hard times and  how to have peace.  Each one of these qualities is a means of identifying those who love our Savior.   Let us practice these qualities and put them to good use for the glory of Christ!  If a dog can do it,  I KNOW that in Christ

we can too.  Selah!
   

A Fire Scare

      Today, we had a big scare at our house.  As we were returning from a walk, I thought I heard our smoke detectors going off.  The closer I got to the front door the louder the sound became.  Sure enough,  when I opened the door, smoke poured out of our house.  I ran inside to find that I had a pan with burned chicken on the stove which was making all the smoke.  Fortunately, our house did not catch fire as a result of this oversight on my part.  Having turned down the chicken to a simmer, I thought I would be fine until we returned.  However, I was wrong.  Normally,  I would laughingly say that its my "burnt offering" unto the Lord!  But today was different.   We all know how dangerous fire can be and how badly we can be burned both physically and spiritually.
     In Scripture, we also learn about a very real, hot fire and some young men who experienced it
.  Read Daniel 3:19-28.  I know we have all read this story before, but it bears repeating.

Our son Nathan a firefighter with his niece Rilyn.

     King Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego because they would not bow down to worship his statue.  Since they defied him, he heated up the fire seven times hotter than before in the furnace where he would throw them.  He bound these men and had his soldiers send them into the flames.  The men who threw them in were even killed by the fire.  Now that's hot!  When the king looked in to see them, he saw four men walking about in the fiery furnace.  "Look! he answered, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."  When the king released these men, he was a believer that their God could deliver them.

     This story illustrates something very practical in our lives as well.  Who was with these three in the fire? Jesus.  Who will be with us in our fiery trials of life?  Jesus.  Were these men doing something wrong that they deserved to be burned?  No.  In fact, they were serving the Most High God and honoring Him...yet, God allowed them to go into the fiery furnace.
     Sometimes, in our lives, we face some pretty difficult circumstances, heartaches and trials.  But who is there with us through them all?  Jesus.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  Furthermore, just because we go through the fire does not mean that we are being punished...rather we often are being refined in our trust.
     When Nebuchadnezzar asked the three young men who will deliver them from this furnace, I love the answer given by them:  "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King.  But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."  I don't know about you but that gives me goosebumps just reading this reply.  What faith in these men!  May our faith be as strong and determined.
     So today, if you are facing any trials, remember that Jesus is there beside you all the way.  If you belong to Him, you are in good hands and He is able to deliver you!  Selah!