Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Mexico on a missions trip. It was a with a group of guys from my church that went down for a quick trip to do some construction. We were pouring concrete for a missionary that is working with some locals to build a Bible school, to train locals to share the good news. Our plan was to spend a day driving down, three days working, a day of church, then a day driving back. We were scheduled to pour a concrete slab that was 34'x68' for a future church. When we arrived at the work site nothing had been done to prepare the ground, so we had to move dirt, level the pad, and compact the dirt. We spent the first day and a half just doing dirt work, then started pouring concrete. The concrete was hard because we had to mix it all by hand, and the weather was so warm that we could barely get the concrete down before it started to 'set up'. It was hard work, but we were making good progress. The night before the last day of work we decided to bless the people by also pouring a concrete floor in one of their other buildings. So that last day we were at the site working by 6 a.m. (when the sun started coming up) and worked until 7:30p.m. We ended up working about 40 hours in those three days and pouring over 3,000 sq.ft. of concrete. It was long and grueling, but we got it done. Due to several different circumstances that I wont get into, the last section that we poured almost didn't work out. The concrete almost dried before we had the chance to get it leveled and smoothed out. But after a few hours of fighting it, we finally got it done.

So now for the moral of the story: As we were finishing up on the third day (and we were all tired, filthy, covered in sweat, blood and concrete) the missionary we were with asked "Did we bite off more than we could chew?" I thought about it for a few seconds and replied "Absolutely! If all we ever do is look at a situation and think 'What is reasonable for me to get done' than we will never have to rely on God's strength." I think that as Christians we should make it a habit to 'bite off more than we can chew' because then we can see the power of God working in us. As I was crawling on my hands and knees through concrete trying to get that last section to work I realized that I had hit a point that I was no longer strong enough to make my body do what I wanted it to do. I had to give up and pray "God, I no longer have the strength to do this work, I need you to fill me with your strength if you want this task completed." And guess what, he did give me the strength. He allowed us complete both buildings. God used that experience to teach me that all too often I only do what I have the strength to do. I need to learn to bite off more than I can chew, so that I can learn to depend on God's presence and strength in my life.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power my rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I encourage you to learn to bite off more than you can chew. To put yourself in situations where you know that your strength or ability is insufficient, so that you can learn the sufficiency of His grace, the awesomeness of His power, and the might of His strength.

Be a Good Tree

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:33-37

I read this passage yesterday during my daily reading and was convicted by it. How often do I let "careless" words come out of my mouth? Is the fruit that is produced by my mouth good fruit or bad fruit? Unfortunately I think that sometimes my mouth produces bad fruit. I know that I sometimes speak words of negativity, mockery, and complaining. I encourage you this week to watch the words that come out of your mouth. Think about the careless words you speak and set your mind on producing good fruit.

Lord please give me the strength to not let bad fruit come out of my mouth. Change my heart so that it only produces fruit that is pleasing to you. Open my eyes to the careless words I speak, so that I may remove them from my daily life.

Dead to Sin

Romans 6:6-7 says: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

This is a difficult section for me to wrap my mind around. In the past as I've read these verses several questions start popping up. Questions like, "Does that mean that Christians will not sin?" "Does that mean that if I sin, I haven't' been crucified with Christ?"

I think that in this first section of Chapter 6 Paul is not saying that we will not sin, but that we don't have to. Christ has given us a way out and if we will die with him we will be released from that bondage. The NEB version says: "a dead man is no longer answerable for his sin." Those who do not know Christ and have not been crucified with him do not have a choice. They are slaves to sin, and cannot control it. If you are in Christ, you are no longer controlled by that sin. You have a choice. When a sinful situation presents itself you have the power, through the shed blood of Christ, to overcome it.

In verse 12 Paul says:" Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." I think the operative word there is 'let.' We have a choice of whether or not to allow sin in our lives.

Verse 18 says: "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." We who are in Christ, are now slaves to his righteousness.

LORD, forgive me for the sin that I have allowed into my life. You know my desire to be sinless, to live like Christ, and also my flesh's desire for sin. Help me to crucify the old self and live fully in the new self. Help me to view myself as your slave, that I may submit myself to you, and no longer have the right to have a say in my life. How amazing would it be if I could live like that. Lord, give me the strength.

If you have any thoughts or comments you would like to add to this post please feel free to leave comments below.