Pastor's Page

May & June 2019

When Ben Franklin was the ambassador to France for the newly independent United States of America, his quick wit and well-thought wisdom opened many doors for him and this new country.  At one dinner in 1781 where the guest list included the leaders of the day, the French foreign secretary began the dinner with a toast to King Louis: “To his Majesty, King Louis, the sun, whose shining presence radiates the earth of France.”  Not to be outdone, the British ambassador rose with the toast, “To King George the Third, the moon, whose brilliance lights up the skies of Britain.”  With a twinkle in his eye, Franklin slowly rose and said, “I cannot give you the sun nor the moon, but I give you General George Washington of the United States, the Joshua who made the sun and moon stand still when he commanded.”

What is it about human nature that makes us want to boast?  We all do it.  When

we get together and somebody tells a story, pretty soon we all start playing that little game of one-upmanship. We may not do it very often but we all boast from time to time.  Sometimes we even boast when we talk about our faith.  Each time we tell our story we may add more amazing details about our walk with the Lord.

The Apostle Paul experienced this with the Church at Corinth.  He knew that boasting about spiritual authority does not build up the faith of others.  It does not lead others into a relationship with Jesus.  Instead it may create hard feelings and it may divide the fellowship.

Paul tells us in the verse above from 2 Corinthians chapter 12, that our attention should be on Jesus and not on our own experiences or on what we do for Jesus or for the work of the church.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that the only thing we can boast of is the Grace of God, for apart from the Grace of God we are nothing.  Knowing this from a firsthand experience allowed Paul to boast, not of himself, but of God.

So as we move into this time leading up to the celebration of Pentecost on June 9th, let’s pray that God will transform our faults, failures, and weaknesses by God’s Grace so that we may echo the words of the Apostle Paul, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me . . . for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”
  
In my weakness, I’m yours in the name of our all powerful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Buddy