2 Corinthians 10:12; 17-18 NASB For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 17 But HE WHO BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN THE LORD. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

We got one of those giant rulers for our wall to mark how tall our children are each year. Well, of course we had to measure ourselves and my husband was very insistent that he was a certain height…even though the ruler did not corroborate that. He said “My driver’s license says that’s how tall I am!” I was quick to remind him that your driver’s license says whatever height you tell them to put down. (It was only a half an inch difference, so we agreed if you round up, he was indeed as tall as he said he was.)

If you measure yourself by yourself, you might end up with a skewed reality. Paul was warning the Corinthians not to follow the example of false teachers in the church that had two high an opinion of themselves. Instead, we should view ourselves through the lens of the Gospel. Our accomplishments are only those that God has given us. And His opinion is the only one that really counts.

-Kevi

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Matthew 11:28-30 NASB “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Have you ever gone to the grocery store for just a few things, so you decided not to get a shopping cart? Well, I did this once, and then remembered I needed a sack of potatoes…by the time I got to the checkout counter, my arms were tired! I had every opportunity to put down my heavy burden in the shopping carts provided, but I stubbornly carried a sack of potatoes all around that store instead.

Jesus gives us every opportunity to put down our burdens: our sin, our regrets, our pride and our worries. He will show us a better way; if we take His yoke to direct us, and His burden instead of ours, we will feel rested instead of weary.

-Kevi

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Matthew 11:28-30 NASB “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Oxen are usually yoked together in pairs. When I hear the familiar Scripture “My yoke is easy” I have had an image in my head of Jesus and I yoked together, working together. Well, I don’t know where I got that idea from, because as I read this Scripture today, the Holy Spirit made it very clear that although I may be one of the oxen, Jesus is definitely not. He’s the one leading the team!

When we make Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives, we accept His yoke upon us, so that he can lead us. He will be gentle, but He will still drive us in the direction He wants us to go.

Lord, forgive me for ever thinking we were on equal footing. You are the Lord of my life!

-Kevi

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Romans 8:26-27 NASB In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

The first time I remember hearing this verse, I was in high school and a visiting evangelist preached an impassioned sermon on it. It stuck with me, but at the time I honestly didn’t understand what it looked like to need the Holy Spirit to help you pray.

But I’m older now, and I’ve had times that I didn’t know what I should pray for, because I didn’t know what was right. I’ve had times when I couldn’t pray, because the words wouldn’t come, or the tears wouldn’t let them. I’ve had times when I felt like I had prayed the same prayer too many times, and I didn’t feel like it was worth praying again. But each of those times God heard my prayer, because the Holy Spirit was interceding for me.

Even when you don’t think words can help, prayer is still an option!

-Kevi

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2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 (NASB) But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

When I visit my doctor I have confidence in the advice and diagnosis he provides for me and my children. But I am not putting my confidence in his innate ability to heal, rather I am confident in the medical school that trained him. If they say he earned a medical degree, then I can have confidence he gained the necessary medical knowledge to be my doctor.

Paul didn’t say he had confidence in the Thessalonians; rather he had confidence in the Lord who was directing their hearts. Likewise we can’t always have confidence in mankind, but we can trust the Lord to lead us and our fellow Christians. If we allow Jesus to be Lord over our lives, He will direct us towards obedience.

-Kevi

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Romans 10:13-15 (NASB) for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

When we moved into our house one of the things we found was an emergency fire escape ladder in the upstairs closet. In the event of a fire you can hang it over the window and climb out to safety. My husband just reminded me about it the other day, because he realized we never remember to tell our guests (who stay in the guest room upstairs) that it is there. How sad would it be if there actually was a fire, and they didn’t know the way to safety?

There are so many in this world that don’t know the way to safety. An eternity with God is available to “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord” but someone needs to share this truth with them first. Whether they live next door or on the other side of the world, someone needs to bring them the Good News.

Will it be me? Will it be you?

-Kevi

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Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We have a second floor in our house, but it only has the guest room and office, so there's no reason for our son to ever go up there. Nevertheless, the stairs are very alluring to him, and today he got me to open the baby gate and go up stairs. And down stairs. And up the stairs and down a few more times. I walked beside him the whole time, but if I tried to hold on to him he would push my hand away. So I held my arm out just beside him and a few times he would use it to steady himself, when he thought he needed it.

God has given us the Holy Spirit to rely on as we are walking our spiritual journey. He is always there for us to lean on, but we don't always accept His help. The more we listen to and rely on the Holy Spirit, the more we will be assured of God's love for us. 

-Kevi

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Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. Andthis hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We use the same word “hope” in English to mean many different things. But in Spanish there are two words for hope. Ojalarmeans “to hope” in the sense that you wish something were true, but you don’t actually know. The word esperar means both “to hope” and “to wait for” and it implies an expectation that what you hope for will come to pass.

The problems and trials that strengthen our character also increase our hope in our salvation. But it is not the “I wish!” kind of hope; it is a “confident hope.” We can expect that it will come to pass because all of our experiences lead us to believe that God is who He says He is.

-Kevi

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Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

I have a friend who likes to refer to difficulties in life as “character building.” She doesn’t say she “had a bad day” she’ll say it was a “character building day.” But just because she recognizes that “problems and trials” develop “strength of character” doesn’t mean she enjoys it!

So next time you have a “character building day” remember that Paul followed this verse with a reminder of “how dearly God loves us.” He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us; surely he can love us through the character building days, too.

-Kevi

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Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

I gave my son a burrito the other day and he started eating it…from the middle. There is an obvious reason most people start eating burritos at one end; starting in the middle makes a big mess!

In our spiritual walk we often want to skip to the middle: past the “problems and trials” and the development of “endurance.” We want to skip to the good stuff. But each step we take leads us to the next step, and we won’t become spiritually mature without each of those steps. If the beginning seems daunting, remember Paul’s reassurance, that God has “given us the Holy Spirit” to encourage us at each step!

-Kevi

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