Boasting about?

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Cor 12:9

Just prior to this declaration Paul has opened his life and heart to his readers in total vulnerability. He gives them the inside track on two polar opposite experiences in his life. A revelation and a thorn.

He had a revelation of God and heaven in a supernatural way. Not sure in his own mind how it all came together but it was so incredible that "he heard things that could not be told". He doesn't even make it clear that he was the man who experienced this incredible revelation of God.

But he also owns, personally, "the thorn" he has and chooses to share his weaknesses with his Corinthians friends. We have no real clue what the thorn was. But his prayers for it to be taken away had "FAILED" and he had come to realise that the reason that they had failed was that somewhere inside he had the tendency to become "CONCEITED".

So he plays down the fact that he has encountered a spiritual experience that virtually no one else ever has. And chooses to play up the awareness that his prayers have failed, he is stuck with a weakness and has a tendency to become conceited.

An incredible example of a revelation from one of the greatest leaders of our faith.

Somehow in today's information age I feel we would have heard a little more about the "heavenly" experience that the irritating "thorn".

Books would have been written, speaking tours would have been arranged, facebook pages would have been published and twitter would have been tweeting with 140 characters of the "things that could not be told". All to tell us about the man who went to heaven so we could marvel at how great he was and feel like they were somehow less of a christian.

Paul chose to write about his weaknesses so that generations of Christians to come would know that greatness rests with Jesus not his followers.

Making clear that hiding your weakness only hides them from the grace that is sufficient to make them irrelevant in the panorama of His power.

Suffering

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. - Romans 8:18

The Bible is not silent on suffering in fact so much of the letters written to the early churches return to this difficult subject with monotonous regularity. Guided by the Holy Spirit the writers of God's Word were lead to open up this tender wound again and again.

Not only did being part of this new kingdom not protect you from all the common trails of this world, like sickness and natural disasters, but it brought a new world of pain through persecution. Following Jesus actually added to suffering in a tangible way.

Three things Paul tells the Roman church to bring comfort in suffering.

1. Compare your suffering with the glory to come. Call to mind everything you know about how marvellous God is then take a deep breath and realise the the true extent of God's glory has not even been revealed to you yet!
   
2. Understand that the Holy Spirit is praying for us even if no one else is or we don't even know what to pray.
   
   Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. - Romans 8:26
   
3. Realise that whatever is happening in our lives, God WILL use it to accomplish GOOD in his eternal plan.
   
   And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Leaders Who Last

A few weeks ago we had the great privilage of hosting Dave Kraft one of the Elders at Mars Hill Church at MKCC. Dave spent a day sharing with leaders on how they can finish well.

Here are some of his observations of his time here:

• The very diverse ethnic make up of MKCC. Lots of people from Africa and other European countries are part of their fellowship. 
• The strong vision MKCC has to impact, and make a difference in their community and the surrounding region with the Gospel 
• The commitment the leadership team is making to invest in the next generation of leaders. 
• The number of very young leaders that MKCC is currently training. I met some at the seminar as young as 14! 
• The vibrant worship on Sunday at MKCC. They were completely engaged and enthusiastic.

And a short video of his trip:

England_June2013_LFTH from Dave Kraft on Vimeo.

Re•vere

Revere is:

A 7 piece London based band.
A  Jersey Hotel.
An Estate Agency.
A US City.

But it is also how we should approach God's Word.

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who REVERES the commandment will be rewarded. - Prov 13:13

The word is defined as:

To regard with respect tinged with awe.

And comes from the Latin - reverērī, to stand in awe of, fear, feel reverence.

Sometimes I ignore it by leaving it on a shelf or as an unopened tab at the top of my browser. Sometimes I ignore it by reading its words and doing the opposite. Sometimes I read it in desperation just to find a verse that will help me out of a hole. Sometimes I read it to arm me to prove a point. Sometimes I read it so I can beat another person up with it. Sometimes I read it just so I can preach a sermon. Sometimes I read it just to check the performance box. All of these and more the Bible describes as DESPISING God's Word.

To open its pages with trembling hands is our deep privilege. Our heart beating with a mixture of excitement and a tinge of awe as we allow our eyes to settle on the very words of God we discover exactly who he is.

Revere