It is amazing to discover the people that God chooses. It usually is the people others pass over. That was certainly true for David when Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse's sons to become the next king; even his father didn’t bother to have David stand before the prophet. God generally chooses the weak and the nobodies of our world to manifest his grace, glory, and power. Kent Huges points out: “The Lord called Moses despite his inarticulateness, then no one can claim the prophets’ excuses (Gideon’s military weakness, Isaiah’s sin, Jeremiah’s youth, or Ezekiel’s trepidation), or the weaknesses we may offer, as valid reasons to duck God’s respective call.” Scott Hafemann echoes that same sentiment: “Indeed, the call of Moses demonstrates that these very obstacles are an essential part of the call itself, illustrating clearly that God’s grace, not the prophet’s strength, is the source of his sufficiency.” Paul is able to balance his negative declaration, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves,” with the positive counterpoint, “but our sufficiency is from God” (v. 5). And Paul goes on to explain that his sufficiency comes from two things: 1) the sufficiency of the new covenant and 2) the sufficiency of the Spirit.” What we discover is that God’s transforming glory is expressed through human weakness so that people will come to understand that it is the power of God’s grace working through our lives that brings about God’s power and virtues. Scott Hafemann explains the amazing grace of God’s covenant with us and our need to move from our self-sufficiency to total dependency on God. “The contemporary significance of our passage revolves around one central, all-determining point: God is the source and supply of our lives, as demonstrated by his calling and equipping his people for service in a covenant relationship with him. The call of God takes place in Christ; the service takes place by means of the Spirit. This is true whether one is an apostle called to be a minister of the new covenant in the first century or a believer called to be faithful in service to others in the twenty-first. Though inherently offensive to the self-reliance and self-glorification that are so much a part of modern culture (and every culture since the Fall), Paul’s stark reminder is that we cannot claim anything as coming from ourselves (cf. Rom. 11:36; Eph. 2:8–10). All things come from God (cf. 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 1:21). Nothing we have is earned; everything is a gift (1 Cor. 4:7).  

Many of us have heard the Christmas Story of Jesus, born to a virgin named Mary, two thousand years ago. That first Christmas night, while shepherds were watching over their flocks, they had an angelic visitation announcing the birth of the Messiah, the Christ. Born in the little town of Bethlehem, they would find him in a manger and off they ran to see this wondrous birth. In Matthew's gospel, we discover, sometime later, that magi [we call them wise men] from the east, who saw the star announcing the birth of the King of the Jews, travelled to pay homage to him. Mark doesn't go into these early details of the birth of Jesus, but begins his gospel with the preparation that we needed for people to receive their Messiah.

The first Christmas did not happen in a vacuum. We do not understand the need for the Christmas story simply from the birth of Christ.  We need to go to the beginning of the human story to really understand why God, in the person of Jesus Christ, had to come to earth. What necessitated the need for God to become a Man, live a sinless life and die a cruel death? The Bible states that we, as human beings, are the crowning achievement of His creation. We are made in the image of God. However, even in the sinless paradise that man found himself in, there came a temptation— the temptation was simply that God, our Creator, was withholding from the created. God’s goodness was challenged, and as a result, the first human couple rebelled from an amazing, transparent and sinless life to one now tainted and ultimately corrupted by evil. The result was that the image of God was marred in us as humans, and now sin works at dehumanizing us. What I mean by that statement is that in creating us as human we are to reflect the nature and goodness of our Creator. Now, with the birth of sin in the human family, sickness, alienation, and death were the outcomes for all generations. But God in His great mercy and love had designed a plan to reclaim us all from this terrible state through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Son of God. Beginnings are often very fragile times and open to blatant temptations or subtle spiritual attacks. We see that in the early life of Jesus, as Herod tried to murder him. Instead, Herod killed all the little boys two and under in the little town of Bethlehem because of the visit by the Magi. The enemy is always threatened when God is implementing His plans through the lives of His children.  

As we are now in the Christmas season, we have a built-in cultural opportunity as God’s people to use it as a springboard to share the truth of Jesus Christ with our neighbours, co-workers and families. This Christmas Season, how are you preparing the way for the Lord? In our homes? In our workplaces? In our relationships? In our own hearts?

Years ago, when Patty and I first came to Red Deer with our newborn daughter, Andrea, the church was in its earliest beginnings. That was over 41 years ago. After witnessing the church's amazing growth over 10 years, we resigned and moved to Seattle, Washington. Three years later, we were confronted with a very agonizing and significant decision that affected not only our lives but also two congregations. I was at that time leading a new church plant in the greater Seattle area, and seeing God bring people into his kingdom. Meanwhile, the church here in Red Deer had experienced a terrible conflict and was now without a pastor. I was asked to consider returning, which created a difficult, agonizing decision. As I was studying our text today, I gained a new appreciation for why Paul left Troas and the ‘open door’ of ministry there to discover what was transpiring in Corinth. In addressing the criticisms levelled at his apostolic ministry, particularly his boldness in correcting the Corinthians, Paul explains the nature of true Christian ministry. When I speak of ministry, I’m not just speaking of Christian leadership or ministry; I also include the idea that each of us, who are followers of Jesus, communicates God’s message to others. This includes our communication with those we lead, parent, coach, and mentor. It is also the communication we share with one another, discipling and encouraging people in their relationship with God. At times, it means not only affirming and encouraging, but also correcting those we love, as we see sinful behaviour that is destructive not only to the individual but also before God and its effects on others. One of the most difficult things to bear is the criticisms from those we love, particularly when we are being misjudged when trying to speak into their lives. Emotional suffering and anguish can be the emotional toil of having a meaningful relationship when we are being criticized for addressing issues. It certainly was true in the life of Paul, as we see from his letter to the Corinthians. What we also discover in 2 Corinthians 2 is the conflicted emotions between two significant elements in Paul’s ministry. We see Paul’s deep desire to know what is happening in the life of the church in Corinth in response to his latest letter correcting their sinful behaviour. He is also conflicted about what to do with the amazing opportunity in Troas, as the gospel is transforming people’s lives. Obviously, one situation was far more fulfilling and joyous, while the other left him in deep anguish and concern. We may have experienced conflicting emotions when torn between two concerns. Some of you may be bearing the weight of caring for elderly parents, while at the same time navigating through your child or children’s teen years. Paul, in defence of his absence in coming to Corinthian, explains why he addressed them from a distance and the heart behind such a strong, direct, and confronting letter, in which he called for their repentance. Paul agonized over causing them pain, but then rejoiced over their proper, godly response to correction, renewing their expression of love for him.   

The context for C. S. Lewis’ book, “Mere Christianity,” was drawn from a series of wartime BBC broadcasts on the Christian faith in which he spoke on the problems of suffering, pain, and evil from 1942 to 1944. You can then imagine when, in one broadcast, Lewis spoke on the issue of forgiveness. The book was published ten years later, in 1952. During WW2, 800,000 Londoners lost their homes to the Nazi ‘Blitz’. Night after night, hundreds of planes bombed not only London but also many other cities in the UK. Later, jet-propelled rockets turned civilians and their towns into the front lines, designed to put pressure on the government to surrender.  One address that Lewis broadcast was the Christian idea of forgiveness. “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive, as we had during the war. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger. …And half of you already want to ask me, ‘I wonder how you’d feel about forgiving the Gestapo if you were a Pole or a Jew? So do I. I wonder very much, just as when Christianity tells me that I must not deny my religion even to save myself from death and torture. I wonder very much what I should do at that point. I am not trying to tell you in this book what I could do—I can do precious little—I am telling you what Christianity is. I did not invent it. And there, right in the middle of it, I find ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’ There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms. It is made clear that if we do not forgive, we shall not be forgiven. …we might try to understand precisely what it means to love your neighbour as yourself. I have to love him as I love myself. Well, how exactly do I love myself? …my self-love makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself. …In my most clear-sighted moments, not only do I not think myself a nice man, but I know that I am a very nasty one. I can look at some of the things I have done with horror and loathing. So, apparently, I am allowed to loathe and hate some of the things my enemies do. Now come to think of it, I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man’s actions, but not hate the bad man, or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. For a long time, I used to think this was a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later, it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life-- myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice, conceit, or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it.  In fact, the very reason why I hated those things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them [sin] in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again.” If we could hate sin in us and in our world, yet still love people and ourselves, we would begin to understand the heart of God. That is the way of compassion toward others.

We should never be surprised when our good intentions are misconstrued and cast in a negative light. We can also expect that in serving others, there will come moments of misunderstanding and unwarranted criticism. In teaching a course on Nehemiah, I was reminded of this very thing. Nehemiah was confronted by those opposed to God’s purposes for His people. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. One of the strategies of the opponents of God’s work is to discredit the leader. When I talk about leadership, I mean anyone God is using to direct and influence people in the right direction. So, how do people try to discredit people? They often come to intimidate through false accusations. I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to i ntimidate me so that I would sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. What was true of Nehemiah was also true of Paul. We find an attack upon Paul, his character, his ministry, and his message. The issue is not whether people will attack those who serve others, but how we respond to the attack. We will discover in 2 Corinthians Paul’s response to the attack he experienced. We can also learn from that response so that when we feel misunderstood, or even worse, when others are discrediting us, we can biblically address the issue.

Rick Warren, former pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Southern California, shared the tragic death of his son, Matthew and his struggle with depression that led to his ‘suicide.’ Rick related that Matthew struggled with this his entire life, even though they sought extensive treatment, counselling, and prayer over the years. He shared that he continued to believe God for a miracle and also encouraged Matthew that, even if he did not receive complete freedom, he should pray for God’s strength to manage the challenges he was facing.  Despite all these efforts, Matthew ended his life after twenty years of struggle. This catapulted Rick and Kay into a ministry they never wanted, but God indeed called them into: ministering to others who are struggling with the loss of a loved one. Six months after the death of their son, Rick and Kay Warren expressed the following sentiment in an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan. “We intend to spend the rest of our lives comforting others with the same comfort God has given us. …Your deepest life message will come out of your deepest pain.” As we begin our journey through the most autobiographical sketch of Paul's life, we discover something of the nature of the gospel, the challenges, the sorrow, and the ultimate hope that God’s gracious message brings into our lives. In the introduction to this letter, Paul writes that he experienced his greatest pastoral challenge at Corinth. Linda Belleville, in her commentary on 2 Corinthians, explains that itinerant ministers were challenging Paul’s credentials and his authority. “Paul’s focus on visions, revelations, and the miraculous suggests that the issue was what constituted an appropriate witness to the gospel. A mistaken emphasis on the miraculous by these so-called super-apostles resulted in a misconstrued view of Jesus as a wonderworker rather than a suffering servant, and a misrepresentation of the Spirit as a miracle empowerer rather than a guarantor of the gospel message. In so doing, they effectively put forward “a different gospel” (11:4). For Paul, the role of the miraculous was to validate, not displace, the gospel. This is clear from the recurring thought in his letters that his preaching was one of word accompanied by power, conviction and the Spirit (1 Thess 1:5; see also Rom 15:19; 1 Cor 2:4; Gal 3:5).” In Paul’s greetings to this congregation, he appeals to three essential concepts regarding the nature of the gospel. This gospel of Jesus has the power to comfort us in the hours of darkness, where suffering and pain can at times overwhelm us.

As we come to the close of the book of James, we see that James has been speaking to believers who were experiencing ‘trials of many kinds (1:2).’ In the closing chapter, we see the abuse and exploitation of the poor by the rich. James speaks of developing an attitude of patience in their suffering by encouraging them that God will address all injustice, if not in one’s life, then at the Judgment at the end of the age. James concludes by moving to what we can do in times of trial and suffering. He challenges us to pray. It is as we pray that God brings hope, healing, and restoration to our lives. Suffering can move us to look beyond ourselves to God. The literal word that is translated here is ‘to suffer evil.’ Alec Motyer explains that suffering is a broader concept than simply sickness. “Jeremiah suffered opposition, Ezekiel bereavement, and Hosea marital breakdown.” In other words, it is any trouble we face in our lives that causes physical, emotional, and spiritual torment. Douglas Moo speaks to the attitude we need when praying and waiting for God’s outcomes. “Because the verb [for prayer] is so general in its meaning and application, no certainty about the content of the prayer that James calls for here can be attained. Perhaps James would include a petition to God to remove the trial. But James’s concern when he addresses trials elsewhere (1:2–4, 12; 5:7–11) is to encourage believers to endure suffering with the right spirit and a divine perspective on history. Presumably, then, the prayer that he encourages here is for the spiritual strength to endure the trial with a godly spirit.” Yet we also see that when God’s people begin praying, they start experiencing spiritual growth, healing, reconciliation, and restoration. Here, in the conclusion of his letter, James gives us direction in addressing two significant areas of our lives: physical and spiritual health.

In D. A. Carson’s book, How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil, he begins, “A pastor is cutting his front lawn. He looks up from his task just in time to see a heavy dump truck back out of his neighbour’s driveway—right over the neighbour’s eighteen-month-old son, who had been squatting behind the massive tires. The pastor accompanies the hysterical mother and ashen father to the hospital in the ambulance. There is no hope for the little boy; he has been crushed almost beyond recognition. …my own mother was mugged at the age of 72. As a result, she fell and hit her head on the curb. Her family noticed mental deterioration and personality change within weeks; she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and went through all the predictable stages of that wretched disease. She died nine years later. …And all these things represent the suffering that takes place in relatively stable societies. Add war, racism, genocide, grinding poverty, starvation.”  We can say that when sin entered the world, so did suffering, evil, and death, but this remains a set of beliefs until suffering strikes us personally. Carson pushes us to see beyond the mental aspect of truth to apply the truths we know that are consistent with a good and compassionate God. “…in addition to holding that Christian beliefs are true and consistent, the Christian, to find comfort in them, must learn how to use them. Christian beliefs are not to be stacked in the warehouse of the mind; they are to be handled and applied to the challenges of life and discipleship. Otherwise, they are incapable of bringing comfort and stability, godliness and courage, humility and joy, holiness and faith.” James, rather than shying away from the reality of suffering in our world, speaks to the issue. James 1:2-4  - “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.“ What James is saying is that God uses the worst things in our lives to cultivate spiritual maturity. Yet, we find that suffering can be overwhelming. In this letter, he is speaking to believers who have been exploited by those who use their wealth and power to devastate their lives. How should we respond to evil? How are we doing to find the endurance and hope necessary in times of suffering in our lives? James calls for restraint and patience in addressing these issues. He gives several reasons for those who are suffering to be patient and to entrust their situations to God.   

One of the concerns for people as they age is whether they will have enough finances in their retirement years. Financial planners all have different gauges to determine how much is enough, but maybe we are not thinking far enough about our future. How will God evaluate our financial portfolio? How will that impact our lives in eternity? If financial planning is part of our eternal plan, perhaps we need to evaluate what we are or are not doing in this area of our lives. Are we living the kind of life that God has called us to be ready for eternity? Being generous with our time and money does affect eternal outcomes. Charles Dickens' Christmas classic, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ is a cautionary tale about how we prioritize this world’s riches over people's needs. James challenges us regarding our priorities with finances, both in how we attain and invest them, often taking advantage of others or simply living a self-gratifying life. James 5:1-6 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. Is this simply a warning against ungodly people? Or is this a warning against the misuse of God’s resources that He has given us? Obviously, it serves as a warning against those who oppress others, but it is also a word of encouragement to those who suffer as a result of financial inequality. James is using a literary device known as “apostrophe’—speaking to people who are not present, for the benefit of those who are. This way, James’ listeners will know the certainty of the coming demise of their oppressors.” James is about to call for patient endurance under repressive economic conditions, where some are benefiting at the expense of others. The analogy James makes in Chapter Five is that of a ripening harvest.  Jesus’ return to judge is often spoken of metaphorically as a harvest of people. The harvest is divided between that which is of value, the righteous and those who will be judged for their sinful actions, the unrighteous. James 5:1-6 deals with this economic oppression and serves as a warning to affluent Christians to invest in the lives of others, particularly those who are unable to care for themselves.  David Platt explains: “You might wonder why, in a book addressed to Christians, James would spend time using such harsh language toward unbelievers. The answer is that he is reminding the Christians that the justice of God is coming. This reality should enable them to be patient. With that said, it doesn’t mean these verses have no other application to Christians. James has already rebuked Christian brothers and sisters who favoured the rich over the poor, so 5:1–6 serves as both a direct rebuke to rich nonbelievers who were oppressing the poor and a subtle, indirect warning to rich believers (Christians) who were ignoring the poor. Notice that James is not necessarily condemning wealth here; instead, he focuses on the sinful use of wealth. At the same time, for those of us who are part of a culture that is extremely wealthy compared to the rest of the world, we need to examine whether we are engaged in a sinful use of the resources God has given us.” 

“Unwell, and much in prayer, he heard a voice saying, ‘In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise, and believe, and thou shalt be healed of all thy infirmities.’ It was, in fact, the voice of [a woman] who had felt herself commanded in a dream to say these words. Charles got out of bed and, opening his Bible, read from the Psalms: ‘He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.’ Followed by the first verse of Isaiah 40, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,” saith your God.’ He wrote in his journal, ‘I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in the hope of loving Christ.’” Two days later, he began a hymn upon his conversion, [in which he wrote] Where shall my wandering soul begin? How shall I all to heaven aspire? A slave redeemed from death and sin, A brand plucked from eternal fire, How shall I equal triumphs raise, And sing my great Deliverer’s praise!” Charles Wesley continued to praise his Lord and Saviour for the next fifty years. “According to Frank Baker [Charles Wesley] averaged ten poetic lines a day for fifty years and wrote 8,989 hymns, …who produced “Hark! The Hearld Angels Sing, “And Can It Be,” “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” “Love Divine, all Loves Excelling,” “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “Soldiers of Christ, Arise,” and Rejoice! The Lord is King!” The nature of worship, spoken or sung, is to express our deepest gratitude toward God for who He is and all that He has done for us. When set to music, it can move us emotionally, but the message is critical. It transforms the worshiper, but it is heightened when gathered with others. God’s presence is often deeply manifested in speaking into our hearts as His word is ministered to us. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving season, may our hearts and expressions of gratitude to God ascend to God, bringing praise to Him, but also impacting and transforming our attitudes and actions. As we examine the Old Testament songbook, the Psalms, we find numerous expressions, one of which is a great hymn of praise. Tremper Longman writes regarding the nature of a hymn. “Hymns are easily recognized by their exuberant praise of the Lord. The psalmist pulls out all the stops in his rejoicing in God’s goodness. His praise is exuberant because the psalmist is very conscious of God’s presence. Though there are many different types of hymns, almost all of them share a similar basic structure. Hymns begin with a call to worship. They continue by expanding on the reasons why God should be praised. Hymns often include, and sometimes conclude with, further calls to praise.” We gain insight into the setting of Psalm 147, which is one of the later ones not only in the canon but in its historical context. It is written to celebrate the return of the exiles from captivity and the restoration of Jerusalem. God has faithfully fulfilled his promises to his people, particularly the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.  

Are we ready for this ultimate union that scripture says is going to take place? We are expected to be prepared by living in a state of readiness for Christ’s return.

Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? For most people, it is simply about snatching moments of pleasure, trying to find happiness or meaning in various pursuits or relationships. Yet, there is a longing within the human heart for understanding, to be loved, and to find meaning and purpose in life. If we are simply a cosmic accident, then life is reduced to surviving and trying to make the most out of our lives. But what if we were designed by a loving God who had a plan that would not only shape who we would become, but also live a life of significance and purpose? Once we embrace that God designed us, life takes on a new purpose and direction. The question then becomes, if God created me, what does He have in mind for me? What we are about to hear from James is that God will shape the course of our lives. When we discover Him and then walk in obedience to His will, we embark on a journey of faith that is both challenging and rewarding, in a way we could never have imagined.  Last week, I focused on addressing the issue of pride in developing and maintaining healthy relationships. This arrogance, however, finds its way into our work world, in which we lose sight of the transitory nature of life itself. We often act as if we have all the time in the world when we do not know what tomorrow holds for us. It is the difference between a self-directed life and one that is lived with eternity before us, marked by a deep dependency on God and learning to embrace God’s designed task for our lives. The issue for all our lives is simply to do God’s will. However, we often struggle with what that really means. What happens when I ignore it or simply disobey it? What are the outcomes then? What happens when I exert my own sinful desires as the catalyst for living my life? I believe that in these few verses in James, we will discover something of the critical nature of embracing God’s will for our lives. 

“In a certain pond on one of the farms in the East were two ducks and a frog. Now, these neighbours were the best of friends; all day long, they would play together. But as the hot summer days came, the pond began to dry up, and soon there was so little water that they all realized that they would have to move. Now the ducks could easily fly to another place, but what about their friend, the frog? Finally, it was decided that they would put a stick in the bill of each duck, and then the frog would hang onto the stick with his mouth, and they would fly him to another pond. And so, they did. As they were flying, a farmer out in his field looked up and saw them and said, “Well, isn’t that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it!” The frog said, “I did …” We can chuckle at this humorous little antidote, but it simply illustrates a profound truth, as expressed in the wisdom literature of the Bible. In Proverbs 16:18, it states: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. One of the most subtle temptations is the insidious nature of pride. It can easily rear its ugly head and capture those who have so much going for them. In the book of Daniel, we have a contrast between Daniel, a captive slave, and the king, who asks for an interpretation of a troubling dream he has had. King Nebuchadnezzar became the most powerful man alive in his time. He was a world conqueror. He amassed incredible wealth and power. One expression of that wealth was that he had built two of the wonders of the ancient world: the walls of the city and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This was a magnificent garden for his wife, as she missed the vegetation of her homeland. One day, while strolling on his palace roof, musing over his own personal greatness, he was struck down by God, the Almighty. He lost his sanity and spent ‘seven times’ (a season of his life), groping about like an animal, without the capacity to understand and reason. The biblical text describes how his restoration occurred. Daniel 4:34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives forever. God restored to him what his pride had stripped him of, which was the sanity needed to lead his people. He later confessed. Daniel 4:37b And those who walk in pride, he is able to humble. What is pride? It is living as if God does not exist. It is believed that we can be self-sufficient. It is trusting in anything or anyone other than God. The only remedy is a deep sense of reverence toward God. 

There is a hunger for the Gospel! Reboot the Gospel in your own personal life, and in the lives of those you care about who don't know about Jesus and how He can transform them and give them eternal life.

In one of William Shakespeare’s great tragedies, Othello, one of the soldiers under his command, a man by the name of Iago, motivated by a wounded sense of injustice and jealous of his commander, plots to destroy Othello. He creates a misrepresentation that appears that Othello’s wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with another man under Othello’s command. While framing this innocent wife of Othello, Iago manages to convince Othello of his loyalty.  The story concludes with Othello believing that his wife has been unfaithful to him.  He kills her only to discover the truth and, in his grief, takes his own life.   What makes the works of William Shakespeare such great literature? It speaks to the transcendent nature of human relationships. All the struggles, joys, and tragedies of life are addressed, which speaks to the human condition. This is why the Bible is so relevant. Even more importantly, the Bible reveals something we would never know apart from its revelation: the very nature of God and His love towards us. While Shakespeare often leaves us looking at the pain and tragedy of life, the Bible moves us to the hope found in God. Ernest Marshall Howse, in his book, ‘Spiritual Values in Shakespeare, states, “In his last will and testament, Shakespeare wrote: 'I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour to be made partaker of life everlasting.” So, what is the underlying reason for the great tragedies of life? What causes unrest, bad feelings, hostile and destructive relationships? What is at the root of these things? In James 3, we find the origins of why relationships deteriorate. Jealousy and envy lead to the desire to destroy another. That is why the religious leaders crucified Jesus. They were jealous and envious of Jesus. Matthew 27:18 For he [Pilate] knew that it was out of envy that they [religious leaders] had delivered him [Jesus] up. From the very beginning, we have the issue of jealousy and envy bringing about the destruction of a relationship, and even of life itself. Cain was envious of his brother Abel, and he killed him. Therefore, the condition of the human heart is crucial for maintaining healthy human relationships. As we examine the landscape of our community, with so many relationships in jeopardy, what does that reveal about the condition of our hearts?  But what is even more important, what can be done about it? How can our self-centred and sinful nature be subdued? It takes a power greater than us. It is only as we yield to God’s Spirit in our hearts that we can have healthy relationships. One of the results of a Spirit-controlled life is that we live a life of submission, first and foremost, to God. It is only then that His purposes for our lives can be known and lived out. It is through this submission to God that we learn to value others and can learn to submit to them. Submission, then, is a key ingredient in healthy relationships.  What does the Bible mean when it speaks about submission? Often, we confuse submission with subjugation. Submission speaks of yielding to another.  Submission can either be forced or willingly given. People who are forced to submit or who are being subjugated live in resentment, bitterness, and anger. There has been far too much exploitation and humiliation of people in our world.  The result is nothing but resentment and rebellion. The biblical idea is willful submission. It is something we willingly give to another. I love the distinction that Warren Wiersbe makes between submission and subjugation.  “Subjugation turns a person into a thing, destroys individuality, and removes all liberty. Submission enables a person to become more of what God wants them to be; it brings out their individuality, giving them the freedom to accomplish all that God has planned for their life and ministry....