| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and Immovable” Our Bible verse for today: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV) Our thought for today: “You are tough” I distinctly remember a scene from a movie I saw many years ago starring Dwyane Johnson (The Rock). I can’t remember the name of the movie, or even the storyline, but I do remember this one scene. The Rock was in some kind of a jungle setting, captured by a group of natives. The natives were all very small in stature and The Rock was huge, something like six feet seven inches and two hundred eighty pounds of bulging muscles. So, by comparison, the size difference was significant. The natives decided that for their entertainment, The Rock was going to have to fight their champion, who they then brought forward. He was like five feet two inches and maybe one hundred pounds – but he was wiry and muscular, not to mention cocky. He grinned at The Rock, sneered a little bit, taunted him, and then said, “Let’s fight!” It turned out this little guy was like the cartoon character The Tasmanian Devil. He just exploded all over The Rock in a blur of fists and feet and punches and kicks. The Rock was waving his arms around like he was swatting off a swarm of angry bees and he was getting his butt kicked. I laugh when I think of that scene, and I suspect the Apostle Paul was something like that. I imagine him to have been this wiry little guy – tough as nails, fierce in his determination, and never giving up. That’s what he was describing in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (above). He wrote of being pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down; but never crushed, in despair, abandoned, or destroyed. He was tough. In that passage he was saying that he believed that to be true of himself and of us as well. And at the conclusion of the passage, in verses 16-18, he explains why that was true of him and of us: “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” He means that our faith is our strength. It’s our faith in Christ that enables us to be tough as we deal with the challenges of life, and to be steadfast and immovable. My friend, you have that in you. I want you to know this morning that you are tougher than you realize. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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