Tempering the Sword

Set down this morning and knew that I needed to write something. The last 4 months or so have been some of the most difficult in my life. I've been laid-off, am close to losing my house, family members with some very serious health issues, and some other issues I won't go into. There are times that I would like to find a small hole and just curl up inside. I feel like somehow that I've failed and the world is just caving in around me. I have to remind myself that this is NOT the time to give up, but to grab ahold of the issues like a bronc rider (yes, I live in the Southwest *smile*), and thank God for the chance to ride. Seems strange !?! Maybe so, but to understand what I mean you need to look to God's word.

For a New Testement example you can look to the book of James. In the first chapter of James verses 2-4 (NLT) it sayes,

"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

Romans 5:3-4 (NIV) also sayes,

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverence; pererverence, character; and character, hope. And hope does not dissapoint us, because God has poured out his love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Wow! Those are pretty powerful statements. An opportunity for joy!?! Rejoice in our sufferings!?! I know it's hard to see it that way but it's true. And what's more we are never abandoned in our trials. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul wrote:

"But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not keep the temptation from becoming too strong that you can't stand up agianst it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out a way out so that you will not give in to it."

You may be thinking "He's taking about trials and now he's showing us a verse about temptations. These are two different things!" Not really. In all of our trials we must stand up to the temptation to give in, or to blame God. Take heart that you don't share the troubles of Job. He lost his possessions, his family, and was covered in sores from head to toe. His wife approached him told him that for all his problems that he should curse God. Instead of following her advice, in Job 2, verse 10 (NLT) it was written:

He replied, "You are talking like a godless woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anyhing bad?" So in all this Job said nothing wrong.

Now I pray someday that I can have that kind of faith. Instead I am weak (as many of us are) and sometimes give in to temptation, or depression. One showing a lack of resolve to follow Christ. The other not trusting in him. Of course I'm not alone in that we all do in times of trial. We're all human and subject to these emotions.



To fight the tempations to give in there are a number of things we can do:

Keep up with our Bible studies and Christian fellowship: I'm grouping these together after reading a short *.pdf about this topic (http://www.scribd.com/doc/17024259/Overcoming-Trials-and-Temptations-Bible-Study-Lesson). In this the writer describes our lives as two dogs fighting. One dog is our sinful nature, while the other is the Holy Spirit. Which one are you going to feed? Which one are you going to make stronger? It's our relationship with God, our Christian friends and family that strengthen the Spiritual nature inside of us.

Pray: Not only are so bringing you problems to God, but you are strengthening yourself through your communication with him.

Don't Give Up: God has promised us to be faithful. We need to do the same. It is stregthening and comforting to kow that in my time of trial God is tempering me. He's making me into something better, something stronger. The thing that I just need to do perervere and not give up. Embrace your inner Badger!

Look to others for strength and support: Don't think that just because you feel alone that you truely are alone. There are people out there just waiting for you to come to them. Friends, family, pastors, counselors, support groups or hotlines are examples of places you can go.


I know this just scratches the surface of this topic. I'll try to touch on it agian sometime. I'll leave you with a few links that I found helpful when writing this...


http://www.openbible.info/topics/trials_and_tribulations

http://bible.org/seriespage/god-works-through-trials-james-11-13

http://www.acts17-11.com/tests.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17024259/Overcoming-Trials-and-Temptations-Bible-Study-Lesson


Also Cited

Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary/New Testement Volume 2 Colorado: Cook Communications Ministries, 2001.

2010 In Review and Plans for 2011

Wow, where did the year go? I haven’t written in awhile and it seemed like a good idea to recap. I’ve made a lot of progress, and am excited about 2011, but it’s time to put that life behind me and move on.


Currently I’m 50 lbs lighter than this time last year. It’s been a blast doing it as well. Now I look forward to my time in the gym. It’s frustrating that I worked so hard that I have Tendonitis in just about every joint that you can have Tendonitis in. The thing though is that this just challenges me to find other ways to exercise. Instead of lifting weights, now I bicycle (I have 4 bikes now…hehe), and I swim. I’m training for a sprint Triathlon and hope to do one sometime this year. It just depends on the Tendonitis in my knees and ankles.

Exercising has provided me with exciting options as well. I am looking for a good bike or Triathlon club. I’m looking much better and have many more options to meet women in the gym. I’m even getting noticed at work and it really feels good for my self-esteem and motivation. It’s ALL good!

I’m doing excessive reading and listening (there are some great podcasts out there) on Psychology. Learning how people think really helps with an overly left brained person like me. In fact I’m working on ways to be more left brained. I’ve been trying by reading more, visiting cultural places (art galleries, sculpture parks etc), and writing. All this helps build a more rounded better person.

Finally, I have a very optimistic outlook for this year. Sure, there will be ups and downs. That’s to be expected. I look forward to them all. These are the things that build character and personality. The only thing in which you really lose in life is by experiencing nothing by doing nothing.