Strengthening the Weak Protects the Strong.

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 

1 Corinthians 12:27

Recently we went to Felsenmeer, in the Odenwald.  It’s an amazing spot!  Large boulders seem to cascade down the side of a steep hill like a stone waterfall frozen in time.  Thousands of people go each year to climb the stones, or walk the trails along side.  Carol and I went with a couple of our university students to spend a sunny day enjoying God’s creation.

I had only climbed be a dozen or so of the large stones, when, as I pushed off with my leg to propel myself up to the next level, I heard a loud “pop” and felt a searing pain in my left knee. I thought I could wait a few moments and “shake it off,” continuing up the hill; but alas, I had to very slowly make my way down the hill along the side trail. My climbing for the day was over.

The trouble was – my left knee had been my “good knee” for years!  My right knee had been week and painful since a sports injury in the 1970’s.  I thought that I could overcome the weakness in that bad knee by putting the hard work on the good knee. In the end, the good knee was left injured and the whole body suffered.

Paul tells us that the church is like a body. Each member is meant to do its part. Sometimes there are members of the body that bear scars from old wounds, or are weak due to lack of use. Far too often, rather than working with the weak to strengthen and mature them, we simply put additional strain and tension on the stronger and healthier parts of the body. Sadly, this can lead to new strains, and fresh wounds. 

Ministry leaders need to be constantly searching for those who are weak and sidelined by pain; working with them to get them moving again, building strength and finding purpose within the body. Members who find themselves timid and resistant to ministry because of old pain or fear of injury, need to recognize their important role in the body, and do their part. They will not only be strengthened themselves, they will prevent others from injury, and strengthen the entire body!

Discontentment Says Something about You, Not Your Circumstances

This post by Philip Graham Ryken is adapted from the ESV Men's Devotional Bible.  From: Crossway

Grumble, Grumble

In Exodus 15, the Israelites camped by the springs of Elim for several weeks, lingering under the palm trees and taking long drinks of cool water. Then it was time to move on. They were on a spiritual journey—a pilgrimage that reveals the pattern of the Christian life.

The spiritual geography of Israel's exodus from Egypt can be mapped onto the experience of our own souls. Although there are times of refreshing, usually they do not last for long. Soon it is time to head back into the desert, which is a place of testing and spiritual growth.

The Israelites headed deeper into the wilderness. Soon they were tired and hungry, and once again they started to complain. Whining was Israel's besetting sin. It started when Moses first went to Pharaoh and people complained that he was making their job harder instead of easier (Ex. 5:21). They grumbled at the Red Sea, where they accused Moses of bringing them out into the desert to die. The grumbling continued more or less for 40 years, as they became a nation of malcontents.

Discontent With God

Our own complaints are not caused by our outward circumstances; rather, they reveal the inward condition of our hearts. Really, the Israelites had nothing to complain about. They were not running out of food, but were confusing what they wanted with what they needed. This is often the source of our discontent: thinking that our "greeds" are really our needs.

The Israelites also exaggerated the advantages of their former situation. "Remember the good old days?" They said. Looking back with longing on their time in Egypt, they imagined themselves bellying up to Pharaoh's buffet. Yet it is doubtful that, as slaves, they were ever treated so lavishly.

Israel's attitude is a warning against the great sin of complaining. Although they complained to Moses, they were really grumbling against God. By saying that it would have been better for God to let them die back in Egypt, they were really saying that they wished they had never been saved.

We need to be honest about the fact that all of our dissatisfaction is discontent with God. Usually we take out our frustrations on someone else. But God knows that when we grumble, we are finding fault with him. A complaining spirit indicates a problem in our relationship with God.

The irony, of course, is that God always gives us exactly what we need. For the Israelites, this meant manna in the wilderness. For us it means the true Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

Philip Graham Ryken (DPhil, University of Oxford) is the eighth president of Wheaton College.

https://www.crossway.org/blog/2016/05/