Meandering Monday - Powered to Serve - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. Acts 2:41 NLT

Power can be addictive.

Our culture seems to be enamored with power. I don’t want just any computer. I want a powerful one that will start up quickly and do the tasks I desire with lightning speed. No dial-up or slow internet connection either. When I click, I want immediate action. And my cell phone can’t be an outdated version from several years ago. I must have the most up-to-date version with all the bells and whistles that perform functions quickly. We crave power…I crave power.

On the seashore, God had re-commissioned Peter—taken away his discouragement and replaced it with confidence. Seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the church was born on the Day of Pentecost. The Spirit filled Peter and the other apostles, and they began speaking the gospel in other languages. When questioned, Peter delivered a power-filled message on behalf of the other apostles. Three thousand people believed.

Peter’s success depended solely on the power of God’s Spirit residing in him. Pentecost saw the coming of the Spirit in a fresh way.

The same Spirit Peter possessed is given to all believers. God’s might is unlimited, and God’s power in us is limitless as well. It saved 3,000 people after Peter preached. When we depend on his energy, we can accomplish anything when it fits his will and plan. Obedience unleashes the muscle of God.

When filled with God’s Spirit, we can operate with boldness. Like Peter, we can speak the truth even in the face of opposition…the truth that will set people free from sin’s slavery…the truth that is often unpopular.

Yet, as we experience God working in our lives, we must be careful not to give pride a stronghold. Peter was incredibly familiar with the trait—an attribute the Bible warns against frequently. Anything that results from our work for God is because of his power in us.

Are you tapping into your serving power?

Prayer: Almighty God, thank You for giving us the power of Your Spirit so we might do Your work successfully. 

Tweetable: Have you been empowered to serve? 

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Flashback Friday - The Source of Strength - Martin Wiles

The Source of Strength

What we rely on for strength can sometimes disappoint us. 

Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! I Samuel 9:21

My middle brother is a weight lifter. Not a professional. Just a regular lifter of lead. Initially, he lifted weights to boost his self-image. When younger, he was skinny. I suppose he grew tired of being picked on and decided to take action. When he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he was even more determined to heft the heavies. His upper body strength and build are impressive. Weight lifting is the source of his strength. Read more...

Tell us about a struggle you have faced, yet found hope. 

Tweetable: What is your source of strength? 

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My Source of Strength - Martin Wiles

Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. Isaiah 30:15 NLT

In spite of my best … and sometimes worse … efforts, my body is changing.

As we age, things tend to go south. My chest has, and now I have a belly, a part of which should be a foot north of where it has settled. This had caused a bulge, which makes it appear that I have gained weight—although I haven’t. Evidently, something else has gone south, too, because my feet are a size larger than they once were. And then there’s the turkey neck, as my grandfather called it. The skin under my neck has loosened and shakes.

These things have happened even though I exercise regularly and eat right. Well, at least most of the time. I limit fried foods, snacks, and desserts and eat my veggies when my wife cooks them (except broccoli).

All things considered, I live a relatively healthy lifestyle, but my strength has weakened as I’ve aged. I can’t do everything I once did, and even those things I can still do I do at a slower pace. Corrosion happens.

God, however, never intended for me to find my true strength through the muscles in my body. Isaiah told his listeners where their real strength lay. Nothing has changed.

Strength comes by turning … or returning … to God. Repenting of my sins initially and then confessing them daily keeps me strong in the Lord. The practice of confession keeps the lines of communication open between me and God. Sin statics up things.

Resting in God strengthens my body and spirit. God created the Sabbath for people. We need rest from our work. But we also rest in the knowledge that God controls our circumstances and will work them for our and His good.

Quiet is also important for spiritual muscle. Something difficult to find in our noisy world. But it still exists if we look hard enough. A place away from manmade noise—and not by putting a set of earbuds in my ears and connecting to a device.

Finally, confidence builds energy. Confidence that God is God, and we are not. Confidence that He loves and works in our best interest. Confidence that nothing can come against us that He doesn’t allow and control.  

True strength is still available. Make sure you look in the right place to discover it.

Prayer: Father, guide us along the path where the kind of strength is found that will take us through the difficulties of life.

Tweetable: Where do you find your strength? 

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Flashback Friday - Inner Power - Martin Wiles

Inner Power

A rush of it causes people to do things they’re normally incapable of or wouldn’t otherwise do.

Part of the body’s flight or fight process, adrenaline is a hormone produced by the body’s adrenal glands during periods of high stress or anxiety. With an adrenaline rush, the heart rate increases, the blood vessels contract, and the air passages dilate. All of which increases blood flow to the muscles and oxygen to the lungs. Such rushes have caused humans to lift cars by themselves or to rush into burning buildings to save a life. Read more...

Tweetable: Where do you get your inner power?

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The Need Meter - Martin Wiles

Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10 NLT

As I graced its presence, it spun out of control.

My wife and I were living in an older house that had been built when efficiency wasn’t important. Ceilings were high, making it cooler in the summer. Every room had a fireplace, though they were now boarded. Insulation wasn’t a factor when it was built either. None underneath, none in the walls, and just a little in the ceiling. The windows were rope windows that let in almost as much air as they kept out. 

Regardless of when I walked past the meter, it spun quickly. If it was summer, the unit was doing its best to cool. Our landlord would not install a larger unit, so the smaller unit had to work harder—and still didn’t do the job. When it was cold, it failed miserably to keep the house warm.

I knew how to make it go slower: turn up the air or turn down the heat. Turning down the heat would be acceptable to my wife, but turning up the air wouldn’t. She doesn’t do hot well. Her attitude changes, and then she changes into some person I don’t know. So it’s better to let the meter run. It meets our need.

I’m thankful I have another need meter that doesn’t spin as quickly. Nor does He charge anything to meet my needs. The psalmist says anyone who trusts in the Lord can have this need-meeter meet their needs too.

There have been times when I’ve trusted in the Lord and still lacked, so I’ve had to look at this verse differently. God’s definition of good may very well be different than mine. Such as when my parents thought a particular form of discipline was good for me, but I didn’t agree. Later, I discovered they knew best.

What I think is good for me and what God knows is good for me may be entirely different. I have to trust His judgment. God’s timing also comes into play where lacking or not is concerned. What I may perceive as lacking may be merely a timing matter. I may have to lack for a time so I can receive His best.

Everything we need, Jesus will supply. His children never lack any good thing. Trust Him to be your need-meeter so your perceived need meter can slow down.

Tweetable: What do you depend on for your needs? 

Prayer: Father, we trust You to meet every need we have in Your time and according to what You know is best for us. 

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Power under Control - Martin Wiles

But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalm 37:11 NKJV

Plowing with a mule requires a great deal of meekness.

At twelve years of age, my grandfather was left to run the family farm and tend to his mother, sisters, and brother. A task he might not have been able to handle had it not been for an uncle who helped him.

Mules were used for plowing fields, but mules could also be stubborn. And so could Uncle Ransom. He had a habit of fussing the mule out, which resulted in its stubborn refusal to move or either a crooked row. My grandfather would intervene, talking gently to the mule. The mule would cooperate and plow a straight row.

Eventually, my grandfather left the farm and began selling ice, then milk, and finally ice cream. Many a customer was gruff with him or with other delivery companies. But my grandfather’s meekness had a way of winning over those stubborn customers.

According to the psalmist, the meek will be rewarded with the earth and with peace. Jesus says a similar thing thousands of years later in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:5).

Some associate meekness with weakness and avoid it like a plague. But the two are not the same. Meekness is power under control, just as the mule controlled his temper and his ability to harm the person wanting him to work and rather worked for the person giving the orders.

David demonstrated meekness when King Saul attempted to kill him and when he fought the giant Goliath. Jesus demonstrated meekness when He refused to retaliate against those who abused Him and tried to take His life.

I demonstrate meekness when I follow their examples. I may have rights and power, but I voluntarily give them up when I have the chance to retaliate, to become angry, to plan revenge, or to undermine those who harm me. Meekness is acting as Jesus did. It’s a willingness to take the lowest place, letting Christ elevate me instead of me attempting to do it myself. It is understanding that greatness in God’s sight is not how many people serve me but how many people I serve.

The inheritance and peace that come from being meek come from knowing I’m living as Christ wants me to live. And in eternity, I’ll be rewarded.

Be meek, not weak, and look for the rewards God will give you now and later.

Tweetable: Have you learned to be meek? 

Prayer: Father, give us an attitude of meekness, and teach us to respond in all situations as Christ would.

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