Befriend your enemies

June 27, 2023

I really like today’s Our Daily Bread…

Dan endured daily beatings from the same prison guard. He felt compelled by Jesus to love this man, so one morning, before the beating was about to begin, Dan said, “Sir, if I’m going to see you every day for the rest of my life, let’s become friends.” The guard said, “No sir. We can never be friends.” Dan insisted and reached out his hand.

The guard froze. He began to shake, then grabbed Dan’s hand and wouldn’t let go. Tears streamed down his face. He said, “Dan, my name is Rosoc. I would love to be your friend.” The guard didn’t beat Dan that day, or ever again.

Scripture tells us, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21–22). The “coals” imagery may reflect an Egyptian ritual in which a guilty person showed his repentance by carrying a bowl of hot coals on his head. Similarly, our kindness may cause our enemies to become red in the face from embarrassment, which may lead them to repentance.

Who is your enemy? Whom do you dislike? Dan discovered that the kindness of Christ was strong enough to change any heart—his enemy’s and his own. We can too.

Dear Jesus, I praise You that Your kindness leads me to repentance and inspires me to be kind to my enemies. Amen.

Favourite thing about myself

June 21, 2023

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

Today’s WordPress question is an interesting one. The favourite thing about yourself.

To be honest this is not something I usually think about. But if I am pressed I would have to say my discipline in exercise.

I have trained six days a week for all of my adult life. That is is 38 years and counting. I started a gym program when I turned 18 and have stuck to it ever since.

My base program has revolves around three days of full body weights in my gym. The other three days are riding an exercise bike or going for a ride.

On top of this I play all types of sport with the kids at schools where I am Chaplain and on my days off I might go for a walk up our rock that overlooks our town.

Last Sunday I finished a 42 day fitness challenge for my work where we recorded all of our exercises. I did 4000 minutes in the 42 days. That is a bit over 95 minutes a day.

So what do I like most about myself. I would have to say my discipline in exercise.

Books that impacted me part 2

June 17, 2023

The second book that had a real impact on me was John Stott’s “The Radical Disciple”. I read this about 10 years ago.

Rev Dr. John Stott is known worldwide as a Bible teacher, writer, pastor and mission-leader. He was awarded the CBE in the Queens 2006 New Year Honours. Stott was honored by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

I read the book at the recommendation of my wife who read it and really loved it. Often she would read a paragraph at a time and pause to reflect on the depth of his teaching. This got me really interested!

In his book Rev Stott touches on a number of areas including Non-conformity, Christlikeness, Maturity, Creation-care, Simplicity, Balance, Dependence and finally Death. Each chapter has powerful lessons.

Here is the blurb from the publisher…

“What is a life of radical discipleship? At root, it means we let Jesus set the agenda of our lives. We aren’t selective. We don’t pick and choose what is cosy and stay away from what is costly. He is Lord of all of life. In the last book by a Christian leader who was himself a radical disciple, John Stott opens up what it means at root to be a follower of Jesus. He explores eight aspects of Christian discipleship that we need to pay much closer attention to. The message is simple, classic and personal: Jesus is Lord. He calls. We follow.”

Books that impacted me part 1

June 10, 2023

The first book that really impacted me I read back in the 1990s (it was revised in 2008). It was titled “Intimate friendship with God” and was by Joy Dawson.

This book spoke to my heart and helped shape my faith and relationship with God. It brought me to a point of revival and closeness with God like I had never experienced before.

For me it was the right book at the right time. I have often gone back to it hoping to rekindle that same fire and passion for God it gave me. It has to some degree, but nothing like that first time. First time around the impact for me was powerful.

Here is the blurb from the publisher…

It can sound like a contradiction: fear God, but consider him a close friend. How does a Christian find the balance between reverence and communion? For decades Joy Dawson has been helping readers reconcile diverse approaches to the throne of God. She shows them how to have God’s attitude toward sin, overcome the fear of what people think, attain godly wisdom, and fulfill their destinies. With personal examples and biblical truths, Dawson invites readers on a fascinating adventure into a place of intimate friendship with almighty God. This 20th anniversary edition includes fresh illustrations and a new foreword from Jack Hayford.