Overcoming with Christ

Overcoming with Christ—this is the name of a book my father, F. Burleigh Willard Sr., wrote a number of years ago and published in 2008, while he was living with me. I’m thinking about it today because my brother, Frank (FBW Jr.), called me this morning to order six copies for members of his church.

Here’s how that came about: Frank and Jeanne have been attending a bible study on the book of Revelation. Frank mentioned to their teacher that his dad had written a book on the message of Revelation. In fact, he loaned his copy to the teacher, and this instructor had used material from it. When the teacher mentioned the book to the class, six people wanted copies. Happily, I found that many copies in the "signed books" box in my garage.

. . . Such a sad fact that I did not think to have Dad sign all of the stockpiled books while he was able! Last Christmas, he signed about seventy cards (“Grandpa Willard,” “Uncle Burleigh,” etc.). It took him a couple sessions. It was not long afterwards that he was unable to even endorse a check. Now that Dad has graduated to heaven, a signed book is a precious commodity.

But let me tell you more about his book (one of five we prepared for publication while he lived with me). It is a unique study of the book of Revelation. A long-time friend of Dad’s, Bishop Emeritus Robert F. Andrews, of the Free Methodist Church of North America, describes it this way:

As I read Overcoming with Christ, all in one sitting, I seemed to hear a great choir in the background. Like the King of England listening to Handel’s Messiah, I want to stand!

While other scholars have approached the last book of the Bible with slide-rule and calculator, hoping to decipher a “playbook” for the “End Days,” Willard inductively uncovers a “Divine Oratorio” that not only enabled early Christians to sing victoriously while being thrown to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, but also assures overcoming victory to the followers of Jesus who face the evil forces of Satan in our lives today.

And that’s truly what the book is like—inspiring, encouraging. It is a helpful read for individuals . . . and a valuable resource for a group bible study. Incidentally, when my sister, Emily, used it for a bible study, she designed study sheets to use with it. Dad also handed out a couple worksheets to members of a class he taught in my church. These study materials are available for individuals or groups.

It makes my day to know that Dad’s books are still going out to spread the word about the Revelation message he loved so well.

Wisdom from Ivan Tait

For weeks, our pastor had announced that Ivan Tait would be preaching at our church on a Sunday morning in July. People who had heard him “last year” in Springfield made it seem as if this would be quite an event.

I saw what they meant. . . .

Half-Mexican and half-Scottish, Ivan conveyed an unusual depth of godliness and love for the physically and spiritually needy. His message to our church was so rich in one-line zingers, I was hard-pressed to jot them all down. Here is one I captured: 

Image from bubbewisdom.com

“Our experience becomes our bible.

We need for the Bible to reinvent our experience.” 


As I ponder his statement again, Isa. 55:9 comes to mind: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my [God’s] ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” That concept seems pretty obvious to me. So why do I look at God’s principles and commandments in the Bible and say, “Oh, that wouldn’t work in my situation”? 

I must think I know more than God. What if I respected and trusted him enough to do things his way? Ivan seems to have found out that a whole new world of experiences awaits me when I do.       

Punching Bag or Ambassador?

When you are at work, do you feel like a punching bag? Are you an employee your supervisor loves to hate?  

Have you asked God how he feels about this? Here’s the answer King David discovered: 

In my distress I called to the LORD;
   I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
   my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
   and the foundations of the mountains shook;
   they trembled because he was angry (Psa. 18: 6-7).

I don’t know about you, but I was surprised when I read this psalm and realized that the Lord cares that passionately about his children. 

So what are you asking the Lord to do for you? Immediately remove you from that situation? Miraculously change your employer’s attitude toward you? Take your boss out with a heart attack and bring in one who appreciates you?  

How about asking for . . . comfort? Before you say, “I need a whole lot more than that!” let me explain that comfort includes a whole lot more than we normally think.  

God’s comfort not only heals hurt feelings and damaged self-esteem, it strengthens. In fact, the second part of the word “comfort” comes from the Latin word “fortis,” which means strong. If you receive comfort from the Lord each time someone mistreats you, you will eventually become so strong on the inside that you will no longer feel humiliated when people harass you.  

If all you ask the Lord is to help you escape each difficult situation . . . well, there will always be another one. With the inner strength that Christ gives, you can be an overcomer in any situation. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom. 8:35, 36). 

And here’s another reason to let the Holy Spirit (the “Comforter”) make you strong—and it’s a very important reason. The Lord has called us to be his ambassadors to hurting, ugly people.  

. . . God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:19-20).

How are we going serve as ambassadors without going where messed-up people are, rubbing shoulders with them, and showing them God’s love? And here is how we show his love:  

Jesus said, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5:44-45). 

The apostle Paul said, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:13-15). 

The apostle Peter said, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:9).  

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Pet. 2:12). 

It’s a strategy that will take your “enemies” by surprise. It will open their hearts to learning about the God whose love—and strength—they see in you.

The Way Out

Are you a fan of A. A. Milne's books about Christopher Robin and his stuffed animal friends? If so, you will enjoy the new Winnie the Pooh movie. A subplot of the story (I won't give away the main plot) has Winnie the Pooh helping to dig a pit to trap a fearsome (imaginary) animal. As one might expect, Pooh and all his friends fall into it themselves.  However--as one might also expect--by the end of the story, they escape from the pit, their other problems are beautifully solved, and they seem poised to live happily ever after.

Can you and I escape as easily from the deep pits we might be in? Probably not. But Pooh and his companions did something that anyone in a pit should do. They looked up a lot . . . not down. The one thing we can't afford to do is focus on our problems and our feelings. Of course, we need to consider the situation carefully and make a plan for fixing it. However, once we've made that plan, we'd better get on with life, as much as possible. 

Dwelling continually on fixing your problems or healing your heart will not make it happen any faster. In fact, the more you focus on them, the more miserable and hopeless you’ll become. Focus on where you want to go, not the place you want to leave. Focus on the things you were created to focus on—God and others. As you put your trust in God and follow him, you will find your pit getting shallower and shallower.

 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight (Prov. 3:5-6).

 ¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Prov. 4:18).

Helpful Truth

A thought that just gelled for me a few days ago:

The truth, not spoken in love, comes across like a battering ram. Love is the bridge between me and others, which allows the truth I speak to walk across, looking like a friend.

How to make the love felt? I will need to preface my statements with “I don’t want to offend you,” or “May I say something as a friend?” or “May I make a suggestion?”--spoken with friendly ease. 

. . . that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:14-16).

Notice that the apostle Paul refers to growth twice in this passage--and that both times he links it with love. So, it's not just speaking truth to others that causes them to flourish--it must be mixed with love.

Adult Children

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:15 NIV).

Children are well aware of their dependency and are comfortable with it—as long as the adults in their lives are reasonable and caring. We adults are not so different. Life is less perplexing and overwhelming when we have a wiser, more capable Person to depend on.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

Children love to be mommy’s or daddy’s little helpers. Adults, too, are highly motivated to work well when they are working for someone they esteem and emulate. And we all are working for such a Person, regardless of who our earthly supervisors or clients are.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Col. 3:23 NIV).

I believe I will take a good look at children this week. The closer I get to being an adult child, the better I will relate to my King.

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:15 NIV).

A Quick Fix or The Real Deal?

Do you know anyone who is angry with God? Disillusioned with him because he didn’t answer their prayers? My heart sinks when I meet such a person because it’s such a tough situation to be in—with no guarantees of a satisfactory outcome unless the person is willing to look beyond their confusion and disappointment and check out God’s view of the situation.

The best way I can explain what I mean is with this illustration:

Image: http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

A man takes his car to his mechanic and asks him to change the brake pads. An hour later, the mechanic calls him back and says that his brake pads are fine, but he needs . . . . The owner of the car angrily asks him what he was doing poking around in his car instead of doing what he asked him to do. Then he demands that he install new brake pads.

The story could end in one of two ways. The mechanic could politely refuse, saying that’s not what the car needed. The owner would then complain to everyone at his office that the mechanic had the nerve to refuse to work on his car.

Or, the mechanic could have gone ahead and installed brake pads. When the owner drove off in his car and experienced the same problems, he would call the mechanic up, accusing him of putting in defective pads. When the mechanic said they were perfectly fine brake pads but they weren’t what the car needed, the owner could petulantly say that he wasn’t much of a mechanic if he couldn’t give him what he wanted and make it work for him.

How about it? Will we be angry when he doesn’t go along with our desire for a quick fix? Or—when our ways fail—will we get back on the road with him and see where he leads us?

There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death (Prov. 14:12 NIV).
 
The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Prov. 4:18 NIV).