Works in Progress as Witnesses

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

 

I found no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother, but I said good bye to them and went to Macedonia. -- 2 Corinthians 2:13 Don't worry about anything, but with every prayer and petition let God know about your requests with thanksgiving. -- Philippians 4:6 When Paul was in Troas (2 Corinthians 2:12) why didn't he just present his request to God with thanksgiving? Surely if he wasn't worried, he would have “rest for his spirit!” The other day I got a comment on something I wrote that suggested that a concern for one's bad behavior, and the negative witness for Jesus that it would present is a kind of legalism, that it makes Christianity into a list of rules. I would say, instead, that Christianity isn't about rules; it's about being transformed by the power of Christ working in your life. There are rules, and then there are rules. We can have rules that make up a checklist for our daily lives, things that we must do, not because we want to, but because we believe we have to. Then there are God's rules, that let us know what a good life is going to look like. But at the same time God lets us know that the only way our lives are going to look like that is if we allow him to transform us. The tough part of this is that transformation doesn't happen instantly. Paul tells us in the next chapter (2 Corinthians 3:18) that we “are being transformed.” That's something that's going on, not something that's finished, and not something that is going to happen only in the future. When we belong to Christ, when we look at him, meditate on him, and allow his Spirit to work in us, then we “are being transformed.”

There's a bumper sticker that annoys me, even though it does express a truth. “Christians aren't perfect—just forgiven.” What annoys me is that too often we use that fact as an excuse to behave in some very bad ways. When we take on the name of Jesus, and call ourselves Christians or followers of Christ, the things we do reflect on our Lord and Savior more than the things we say about him.

The truth of that bumper sticker, however, is that we aren't perfect, and we are forgiven. Jody likes to use the phrase “work in progress.” We are each works in progress. You are not a finished piece of pottery. When Jesus uses you and me as his witnesses, it's very much like a potter trying to sell his work based on what's happening on the wheel. “Look how it's shaping up,” he says to the world. “It's going to be beautiful when I'm done with it!”

And that's precisely the witness the world needs. It would be nice to show off a few perfect people in the church, though any of us who attained perfection would probably lose a bit of that shine to spiritual pride fairly soon, but perfect witnesses to Jesus would discourage most seekers. “I can't do that,” they would think. But works in progress—that's easier to deal with.

So should we worry about the witness we present? Well, brother Paul tells us not to worry, and then he worries himself. That's the nice thing. We have the great apostle breaking his own rules! But yes, we should make every effort, not to be a good witness, but to be constantly transformed. If you're letting Jesus work in your life to transform you, you will be the right kind of witness.

Always keep looking to him, always keep working toward him, but always remember that it's in his hands.

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Trust in the Lord

Posted on January 28, 2008 by Jody Neufeld

Trust in the LORD with all y our heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

For most Christians, this could arguably be one of the top three most known Scriptures along with Psalm 23 and John 3:16. It was with much joy that I received this Scripture from my pastor this past Sunday along with the bread that God had ‘baked FRESH’ for my pastor and me! So I share the ‘bread’ with you today –

1) Obeying God is a heart choice. To trust God with ALL – is a choice on my part. God speaks the words as a command: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” but as my ever-loving Father He gives me the choice to obey … or not. To trust God in ALL, in everything, is SO difficult. It requires that I deny who I am in and of MYSELF and affirm who I am ONLY in God. I am who I am because of what God has done in my life and what I think I have achieved myself is only an illusion that covers the gifts and opportunities that God has created and given.

2) Is my life in God and with God characterized by my heart devotion to Him? …in all your ways acknowledge him… Remember Jesus in the temple at age 12? Why had He turned from the path His parents were taking and went back to the Temple? What did He say to His parents as an explanation? “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (John 2:49NIV) or another translation says he had to be about His Father’s business. Am I always about the Father’s business? Is my work conducted as Jesus would do? Is my relationship with my husband and my children according to Jesus’ example? Am I about Kingdom work with my church or is it a social club that must cater to my agenda and meet only my needs? What have I done in outreach, missions, and evangelism so far this year? (almost 4 weeks into the year!)

3) Finally, when I make the decision to choose well with my heart choice and heart devotion to God, then my heart direction will be on God’s path; the path of my life that is led by Christ. …and he will make your paths straight… When I follow Jesus, the path my life takes may have it’s turns and mountains and valleys but I won’t flounder around and wonder which way to turn at the crossroads. I will KNOW the way God wants to lead me because my heart is turned to Him first and always.

How wondrous it is to read even familiar words from God and receive fresh nourishment to my spirit! I pray that your Sabbath was also like that and you are hungry today to pick up God’s Word and receive some more!

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We Have This Hope

Posted on January 25, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

9We are confident concerning you, loved ones, that you have the greater salvation. That’s why we speak in this way. 10For God is not so unjust that he would forget your works and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints and continuing to do so. 11But we want each one of you to show the same zeal toward the fulfillment of your hope to the end 12so that you might not become lazy, but rather imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

13Now when God swore to Abraham, since he had nobody greater to swear by, “he swore by himself” [Genesis 22:16], 14saying, “Indeed I will bless you greatly and will multiply you greatly.” [Genesis 22:17] 15And so, being patient, he received the promise. 16For people swear by something greater, and all contradiction meets its end when something is confirmed by an oath. 17So much more, when God wanted to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable nature of his will, he guaranteed it by means of an oath. 18So that by means of two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have sought refuge might have powerful encouragement to seize the hope set before us. 19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, steadfast and firm and entering the inner side of the veil. 20Jesus entered there as a forerunner for us, becoming a high priest eternally according to the order of Melchizedek. — Hebrews 6:9-20

Note: This devotional is adapted from a post on my Participatory Bible Study Blog.

When I joined the Air Force, my mother made me a quilt that had this text embroidered in it in Greek. That quilt stayed with me more than 20 years. Why “anchor” for someone in the Air Force? Well, two things. I had intended to joint he Navy, but then got a job closer to what I wanted with the Air Force, and then she thought my soul still needed an anchor–as indeed it did!

St. John Chrysostom, known as the golden mouthed preacher (Chrysostom means “golden mouth”) comments on this verse that we are already living in God’s promises, and that “through hope we are already in heaven.” When I read that it really struck me. Just how powerful is hope? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest is love, but that still leaves hope in the top three!

But some of us have a hard time holding onto hope. When things get discouraging hope gets weak! St. John points out that the apostle (he assumes Paul as the author) chooses his figure wisely. There are those who are founded on the rock as Jesus said (Matthew 7:24-27). Then there are the rest of us, who are not quite so steady. We need an anchor that holds us in place even though we are shaken. This is a message for the folks who don’t feel quite so anchored on a rock. St. John also comments on the difference between the metaphor used by Jesus in the sermon on the mount and the one used here in Hebrews. The “house on the rock” is good for those who are truly established, but what about those who aren’t so steady?

This passage fits especially well into the message of Hebrews, which is for people who have begun to follow Jesus but have been looking back because of hardships. The author repeatedly assures us that the goal is worth working for, but he also tells us that we must keep going. They weren’t people whose houses were fully founded on the rock. They were shaken, but they needed–and they had–an anchor so no matter how they were shaken, they would still end up in place.

I think most of us are more like that. The house on the rock is a good ideal toward which we can strive, but I think we feel much more like an anchored ship weathering a storm. If that’s the case, Jesus still has the anchor to keep you safe. You’ll probably get wet, you’ll probably be shaken, but you’ll come out alright in the end.

The key to our hope, however, is the source. Our hope comes not from what we do, not from who we are, but from who God is and what God does. Notice the words of Hebrews. “God is not so unjust.” “God makes this firm by means of an oath.” “Things in which God cannot lie.”

If our hope depended on ourselves and what we could do, we would be in trouble. I have a hard time keeping to a schedule for an entire morning, but God has an unchangeable purpose. And that’s the great thing—our hope.

6For I am YHWH. I do not change. So you children of Jacob [and us Christians too!] have not been destroyed. — Malachi 3:6

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Where I Stand with my Pastor

Posted on January 24, 2008 by Jody Neufeld

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” Matthew 26:31 (NIV)

Jesus is quoting a prophecy from Zechariah which was aimed, not at disobedient shepherds as in Zechariah 11, but at the obedient shepherd. OBEDIENT shepherds, beginning with Jesus, will be STRUCK and his sheep will scatter. The word of the LORD in Zechariah says 2/3 will scatter and only 1/3 will be left. Not many pastors want to meditate on the passage! Maybe shepherds and sheep alike should give it some thought!

Does the Staff-Parish Relations Committee or Board of Deacons know where you stand in regards to your pastor and the vision he has been given for his ‘flock’? I am not going to deal with whether you know the vision itself. That’s another day for the LORD to speak to us about that. I know that my pastor’s vision for the church that I am a part is for outreach. It’s about evangelism and discipleship. I know that it is his desire that every activity and function in the church from worship to softball be about saving souls and growing up mature disciples. I am behind that 100%. I want our church to grow so much that I would miss meals in order to teach discipleship classes – there would be a need for so many of them! I would have to stay up late to write Power Point presentations for teachers to use about gifts and missions and various ministries. And if this is NOT where I am and I am NOT on the same page with the church vision – then I need to move on and find a church that doesn’t want to grow! There are plenty of those who are ‘satisfied with the way things are’ and only want to ‘do what we’ve been doing’. That’s not me!

This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

Zechariah 13:9 (NIV)

Will you be a part of the 1/3 that stays near the shepherd and says clearly, “I am part of the God’s vision for this church and I won’t be part of the silent majority that allows the loud, miniscule minority to shout as long as they like”!

Peter said that he would stand by Jesus no matter what – then he denied Him three times in the next 24 hours. Jesus didn’t stop with Peter’s denial. He saw his repentance and tears even as He hung on the cross. Jesus reinstated Peter by asking the all important question: “Peter, do you love me?” the same three times. Jesus asks me that today as I quickly say I will stand with Jesus and the vision He has given my pastor and then let the opportunity slip through my hands once again. What answer do I give when Jesus asks: “Jody, do you love me?” Do I love my Jesus enough to STAND with him behind the line that He has drawn in the sand. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! ENOUGH SILENCE!! SPEAK!

This devotion goes out today as usual but with an added recipient. It is going to the committee chair at my church. I am at this church to serve and be obedient to “GO! And make disciples!” If that isn’t where the church is going, then I will find a fellowship that is. This is where I stand.

 

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Pastoral Priorities

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

15And Moses went up onto the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16And the glory of YHWH settled over Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it for six days, and on the seventh day God called from within the cloud. 17And the appearance of the glory of YHWH was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the Israelites. 18And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain for forty days and nights. — Exodus 24:15-18

Between Exodus 24 and the end of Exodus 32 is a remarkable story, and I plan to look at just one element of that story. I think there is a lesson in it for us today.

In chapter 24 we have Moses going up on Mount Sinai where God will speak to him and provide him with information on how Israel is to worship, and how they are to build a tabernacle. We get some element of these instructions in chapters 25-31. In chapter 32 the Israelites rebel and make the golden calf, because they think their leader has been gone too long and they are ready to replace him.

What happened in there? It’s pretty simple. They got impatient. Moses was the one who had led them out of Egypt. He was the one who had led them to Mt. Sinai. He was the one who talked to God and got instructions. He directed the fight against their enemies. All in all, Moses could be called the perfect pastor. Nothing fell to the ground while he was in leadership. The people liked that most of the time.

But now Moses went up on the mountain and there he stayed. And stayed. And stayed. What could he possibly be doing? He should be down here holding religious services, visiting the sick and the elderly, preaching sermons, and generally taking care of us spiritually and physically.

Imagine whatever committee or group in your church that is responsible for working with the pastor. In United Methodist churches, there’s the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, or SPR. I can imagine a meeting of the Israelite SPR committee somewhere after the 35th day. “Where is Moses?” “He’s missed five Sundays!” “He didn’t visit my sick mother.” “This isn’t what we agreed to when we signed on to follow him out of Egypt.” And on and on it would go.

Meanwhile, up on the mountain, Moses is busy listening to God, while down below the Israelites are getting ready to make a golden calf. At least they had Aaron. They could all follow him and get this all settled in a hurry!

I think you get the picture. Now consider Moses on the mountain. He spends seven days in God’s presence before God even speaks to him. Then he’s up there in this cloud of God’s glory, getting instructions. He’s going to come down the mountain so filled with God that his face will frighten people.

Would you like it if your pastor did that? Suppose your pastor came before the church with an announcement. “I’m going to spend the next forty days fasting and praying. Somebody else is going to have to preach. Somebody else is going to have to visit people. I’m going to do nothing but listen for what the Lord has to say.” Would you be OK with that? Would your church’s SPR committee (or your denominational equivalent) agree that this was good use of his time?

And if he did get away, would you begin fashioning a modern sort of golden calf, by creating a replacement power structure in the church, seeing as the pastor was gone.

Do you think maybe we should arrange more time for our pastors to just listen to God?

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An Open Ear

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

6It’s not sacrifices and offerings that you want.
You’ve given me an open ear.
It’s not burnt offerings and sin offerings you asked for. — Psalm 40:6

There’s a structure in this verse that is often used to point to and emphasize particular elements of a statement. Notice how the first and third lines say almost the same thing. That’s called parallelism. In the center, we have a simple statement—you have given me an open ear. That’s the central point. It stands out because of the way it is placed.

We don’t often talk about an open ear as something that is most important. When we feel that God is too far away, and suspect he isn’t listening to us, we tend to do just about everything else. Am I tithing correctly? Am I attending worship enough? Am I following God’s plan for my life? Is there sin somewhere around?

We can really get to stewing about it. We go from one idea to the next in a desperate attempt to get back closer to God. But we do this all alone.

The psalmist has caught something important. Perhaps, he is telling us, if you aren’t hearing God the problem is that you aren’t listening. It’s not the sacrifices and the offerings, it’s the listening. And if you want to hear something, you often have to wait.

Probably the greatest gift for our spiritual growth is the open ear. Most often, when we don’t hear God, the problem is not that God isn’t speaking, it is that we aren’t really listening. Real listening, whether spiritually listening to God, or listening to friends or to your spouse involves:

  1. Waiting. You have to be patient enough to listen. You can’t run into the room and ask “What do you want to say?” and then run out again. Communication requires time.
  2. Paying attention. You have to put your attention on the conversation. This is where I have my biggest problem. I have a hard time putting aside other concerns, whether I’m trying to hear God or my wife. But full attention is necessary.
  3. A willingness to act. Does the conversation require an active response? You have to be willing to do so.
  4. A willingness to listen without acting. Oops! I’m stepping on my own toes again. This one is terribly hard for me. I want to hear the stuff that I can do something about, and then I want to do something about it. My wife frequently wants to tell me about something that happened to her without me jumping up and implementing a solution. Consider that God may sometimes just want to talk to you as well.
  5. Readiness to obey. When God speaks to you, he may just have a task for you to perform. But is there any point in him talking to you if you aren’t willing to do what he says? (But remember point #4!)

Your hearing ear is more important than sacrifices and offerings!

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Why Not Worry?

Posted on January 21, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

25For this reason I say to you, Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, with what you will be clothed.  Is not life more than nourishment and the body more than clothing?  26Look at the birds in the sky.  They don’t plant nor do they harvest, nor do they gather food into storage, but your heavenly father cares for them.  Aren’t you much more important than they are?  27And which of you can add a foot or so to his height by worrying? — Matthew 6:25-27

[For those who may wonder, this is Henry, not Jody. Jody was busy working on the tournament, not worrying about it! — HN]

Often we look at a command in scripture and then we head out to try to obey it, but we don’t consider the reason the command is given. I will ignore for today all the occasions when we see a command in scripture and just ignore it! We’ll discuss those another day.

But this text has come back to me since the golf tournament that we held—or rather didn’t hold—this past Saturday. Now I have to confess that I worried quite a bit as I watched the weather reports come in. A few friends didn’t help me much by calling me up and asking me whether we had canceled it or not, or whether we had plans for an alternative date. (We didn’t and couldn’t.)

Now I can’t blame them for their calls; I probably would have been wondering the same thing had I been in their place. The question that always comes up under such circumstances is whether you’re going to actually raise any money, and in a worst case scenario are you going to pay expenses. A fundraiser that turns into a fund-loser can do a lot of damage.

As it happened, things went quite well. We didn’t raise as much as we would have had the tournament taken place as scheduled, but some good things came out of it, and the bills are paid.

Now why do I tell this part of the story? Well, here’s my point. The time I spent worrying about it didn’t contributed nothing to the success of the tournament (the lunch, raffle, and silent auction that did take place). Nothing. Nada. Zilch. No production resulted from the worry.

That’s the logic behind the command Jesus gives. The worrying doesn’t do anything. Now there are things that do help, and he doesn’t tell us not to do those. In other places he congratulates those who prepare ahead and who count the cost.

The very human thing to do, however, when we read a command like this is to worry about obeying it, so we start to worry about not worrying. I could be worried today about the signs that I have not truly conquered worry in my life.

But if we look at the reason for this command we’ll see that sitting around and worrying about failures or weaknesses won’t add a foot to our height, nor will it add one good trait to our characters.

How do I overcome worry? Not through a concentrated program of avoiding worry. Rather, I will conquer worry by filling my life with things that do work: prayer, worship, praise, studying the word, and positive effort where it does count.

Overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:21) works ever so much better than trying to get rid of the bad and replace it with emptiness. The best way to deal with a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.

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Command and Completion

Posted on January 18, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

9God, the one who called you into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 10But I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you speak in unity, and that there not be divisions among you. Let yourselves become of one mind and of one opinion. — 1 Corinthians 1:9-10

Unity is really, really hard. It takes a whole congregation to truly live in unity. Just one disruptive person can prevent unity.

I’ve taken two verses together than normally would fall into two separate paragraphs. The reason is that I want us to see the connection. All of Paul’s letters take on the form of ancient letters. There is a salutation indicating the writer and the intended recipient. There is a greeting, in Paul’s case normally “grace and peace.” Then in Paul’s writing there is a thanksgiving or blessing.

But Paul isn’t just writing a thanksgiving or a blessing because there is supposed to be on there. He has specific things in mind. Here he tells the Corinthians first that God is faithful. Second, he tells them that God has called them into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ. Do you get the connection here? God is faithful. God has called. God will empower.

Then he calls on them to live in unity. Now Paul already knows that they are not, and he expects them to have a number of excellent excuses. So right here in his blessing he has cut off those excuses.

Unity is God’s call. God is faithful. God will empower us to dwell in unity. It may seem too difficult for us, but it is not too difficult for him.

11I have spoken to you, so that my joy might be in you, and your joy might be complete. 12This is my command, that you love one another just as I loved you. 13Nobody has greater love than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do that which I command you. 15I no longer call you slaves, because the slave doesn’t know what the master is doing. But you I have called frinds, because everything that I heard from my father, I made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you that you should go and bear much fruit and your fruit might remain, so that whatever you ask the father in my name he might give you. 17These things I command you, so that you might love one another. — John 15:11-17

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Way and No Way

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

5Commit your way to YHWH.
Trust him.
He will do it. — Psalm 37:5

The word “way” is very interesting. A few years ago I recall hearing the expression “no way,” as in “no way he could do that!” It was an emphatic negation. More recently we hear the rejoinder: “Yes, way!” Odd, isn’t it, how language develops. “Ways” have been important for a long time.

“Commit your way to the Lord.” What exactly does that mean?

I remember when I was 11 or 12, my brother and I decided that we wanted to climb Lookout Mountain. Now Lookout Mountain was across the valley from our house in North Georgia, just across the line from Tennessee. It was quite a hike, though we had done it before. But today was to be different. We decided that the right way to climb a mountain was by going straight, and not following any wimpy paths. We would start at our house and plow through thick or thin until we reached the top of Lookout Mountain.

Well, there was an old vineyard just across the driveway. It would take two or three minutes to go around it walking on the road, but having sighted on the Covenant College building, we headed straight off through the vineyard. The rows ran across our path. After a little while, we decided that we could use the road just a little bit, for example to get around intervening farms.

Eventually we did get up the mountain, but we used a great deal more “way” than we had expected to, and I was certain I was going to land in the creek at the base of the mountain. All told, we took multiples of the required time and ended up at pretty much the same place we would have been had we followed the path. We were just more scratched, more sweaty, more tired, and generally short tempered.

Following a less than optimum path up a mountain for fun will cost you, but only a little bit. Life is different.

43Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but angered me with all these things, I in turn have brought that same way on your head, says the Lord YHWH. Did you not do all these lewd things over and above all your abominations? — Ezekiel 16:43

The Israelites very often thought they had a faster path to wherever they needed to go. We often wonder just why they would imagine that going after all those false gods would work out for them. It never did, yet they kept trying.

But we have a similar problem here. Don’t want the commitment of marriage? Go ahead and live together. Don’t want to deal with being part of a church congregation. Go ahead, pursue spirituality on your own. Don’t want to go to the trouble of learning? Go ahead, just see if you can’t fake it. Don’t want the trouble of earnest, unceasing prayer? Go ahead, just arrange your own way out of trouble.

But as God told the Israelites, there comes the time when all the shortcuts come home. Since you didn’t follow his way, God sends back your way on your head.

1But Saul, breathing death threats against the Lord’s disciples, went before the High Priest, 2and asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find any people who were of the way, men or women, he could bring them bound to Jerusalem. — Acts 9:1-2

So you get going on the way, and what happens? Well, the enemy doesn’t like people who are following God’s way so he sends people like Saul to persecute them. It’s still God’s way. The temptation is to take a shortcut, and do it our own way—one we think is safer.

But there is only one safe way.

19Now then, brethren, we have boldness to go into the holiest place through the blood of Jesus, 20which he placed as a living way through the curtain, not previously available, which is his flesh. — Hebrews 10:19-20

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. — John 14:6

12There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is in the ways of death. — Proverbs 14:12

[Emphasis in all texts is mine.]

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More Than I Can Tell

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

5You have done great things, YHWH my God,
Your wonders and your thoughts are for our benefit.
None can compare to you.
I would announce them and speak of them,
but there are too many of them. — Psalm 40:5

The pastor gets up in church and asks for blessings, things that God has done for you during the past week. Silence settles on the congregation. There is uncomfortable fidgeting and rustling of bulletins. What shall we say? Do we have any blessings to report? Are we too embarrassed to talk about them?

I’d blame it on our general shyness, except that when the pastor calls for prayer requests, there are usually more than enough to take up the time.

Why are we slow to remember and to proclaim our blessings? The psalmist tells us his problem. He had so many blessings to tell about that he didn’t know where to start? I suspect we’re more likely to find our reason in this list:

  1. We don’t give God credit for many ordinary good things that happen to us. This is an odd one, because if you think about it, would you like your ordinary blessings to be extraordinary? If you had to go without food for a week, and then God provided some I suspect you’d be willing to proclaim it the next Sunday!
  2. We’re focused on the negative things that happened during the week. I think this catches most of us. I know it catches me from time to time. I can take all the bad things that have happened, and then spin them into a few really nasty scenarios of what is probably going to happen next. One of the great blessings of my life is that it is very rare that things turn out as badly as I expect!
  3. We’re afraid other church members will think our blessing is silly. This sometimes keeps us from reporting ordinary blessings. But I suspect there are less church members thinking you’re silly than you think! And besides, if you’re praising the Lord, how much harm can it do for someone to think you’re silly? Mical through David was pretty silly (2 Samuel 6:20-23).
  4. We’re not that grateful, because we did it ourselves. The problem with trying to get away from acknowledging God’s blessings is that even the power to “do it yourself” comes from God. You can’t get away from God that easily.
  5. You have stage fright and don’t like to talk in front of people. If this is your problem, why not try a different way of proclaiming blessings. Find just one person and pass your blessing on to them.

God’s blessings truly are too many to count!

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