Ignore

Ignore, the cheesey devotion below. It was an assignment. :)

Would I trust God through affliction?

As I was reading my daily reading for today (Job 29-31), I reflected on Job's affliction and wondered how I would respond.

It is not enough to profess, "The Lord is Sovereign." It is a paradox for me to profess that God is in control yet still have an anxious heart and doubtful speech. I must confess trust in the Lord's Sovereignty by persevering during difficult times, exhausting my time, talents and resources for the sake of the Gospel. I want to die with nothing left to give.

But, what if I were to fall and make a mistake? What if I were to take my eyes of Christ? I would want to respond like Marion Jones.

The day after she was released from prison, Marion Jones and her husband, former Barbados sprinter Obadele Thompson, sat alone in their Austin, Texas, home and tried to decide the right path for the rest of her life. After prison, she could have lived a solitary life and raised her three children far from the madding crowd. Instead she's had the courage to climb back up in front of the same people who watched her fall. She's back with a message that is as honest as a stopwatch. "Initially, after having been away, the thought of having a quiet life out of the public eye was very inviting," Jones said Monday afternoon before an appearance at the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club. "I wanted quiet. I wanted to re-connect with my family, to try and live whatever a normal life is. But we decided, at some point the kids are going to know about my life and if I decided to get away from the public eye, what was that telling them. "We teach them every day that if you make a mistake, you come and tell us. You deal with the consequences and you move on. I didn't want to live my life as a hypocrite. I wanted to be a living example to them, of somebody who made mistakes but absolutely didn't give up." "All I can do now is encourage young people and young athletes to be aware. Be aware of your surroundings. Ask questions. Be an active participant in your training. I'm confronting everything I've done with the hope that these kids can avoid some of the things that I went through." Marion Jones has chosen this second chance in the public eye. A second chance she is using to be the role model she wasn't when she was the fastest woman on the planet.

Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ who has brought us redemption and reconciled us to You. Please grant me the same strength and grace so that I may place my hope in You resulting in perseverance under trial and the courage to stand back up if I fall!
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• What is the theme for 2011 at the International Mission Board of the SBC? His Heart, His Hands, His Voice: I am Southern Baptist Missions
  

• Where is the SBC Annual meeting going to be held in June 2012?New Orleans, LA June 19th-20th
  

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Source: Steve Kelley, "Sprinter Marion Jones uses public eye to become role model she wasn't the first time," The Seattle Times (online), 25 April 2011 (accessed 2 May 2011). Available from the Internet: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2014875413_kelley26.html

Adopting the Apostle Paul's broad perspective (John Stott)

Ephesians 1:1-13

"Mark well the statement: he chose us in him. The juxtaposition of the three pronouns is emphatic. God puts us and Christ together in his mind. He determined to make us (who did not yet exist) his own children through the redeeming work of Christ (which had not yet taken place). It was a definite decision. It also arose from his entirely unmerited favor. When he chose us, we were unholy and blameworthy, and therefore deserving not of adoption but judgement. Further, he made us his children...

...At this point it may be wise to pause a moment and consider how much all of us need to develop Paul's broad perspective. Paul was a prisoner in Rome. Not indeed in a cell or dungeon, but still under house arrest and handcuffed to a Roman soldier. Though his wrist was chained and his body was confined, his heart and mind inhabited eternity. He peered back 'before the creation of the world' (v. 4) and on to the fullness of time (v. 10), and grasped hold of what 'we have' now (v. 7) and ought to be now (v. 4) in the light of those two eternities.

How blinded is our vision in comparison with Paul's! Easily and naturally we slip into a preoccupation with our own petty little affairs. But we need to see time in light of eternity and our present privileges and obligations in the light of our past election and future perfection. Then, if we shared the apostle's perspective, we would also share his praise. For doctrine leads to doxology as well as to duty. Life would become worship, and we would bless God constantly for having blessed us so richly in Christ..."

-John Stott, A Study on Ephesians