TANGLED IN THE TANGIBLES - You may be one who lives your life pursuing fame and fortune, depending on the applause of others. Bad plan. To begin with, fortune has shallow roots. The winds of adversity can quickly blow it all away. And fame is as fickle as the last response from the crowd. When you're praised and applauded, don't pay any attention. And when you're rejected and abused, don't quit. It wasn't human opinion that called you into the work you're doing. So don't let human responses or criticisms get you sidetracked. Keep going. Don't get tangled in the tangibles! Scriptures: When Paul was rejected, he didn't quit. As my good friend and wise mentor, Howie Hendricks, often says, "Where there's light, there are bugs!" The brighter Paul's light, the more the bugs. And in that situation, those bugs had stingers filled with poison. What grit! Paul didn't back down an inch in his response to open rejection. The result? Not surprisingly, the Gentiles in the crowd rejoiced in the good news he had for them. How exciting! What started as a smoldering ember of religious curiosity burst into flames of faith. Why were Paul and Barnabas able to persevere? Neither man set his affections on temporal things. What discipline. If you want to get caught in the net of disillusionment, allow yourself to get tangled in the tangibles. You'll not only run shy of courage, you'll sink like a rock in a country pond.

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Tangled in the Tangibles

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You may be one who lives your life pursuing fame and fortune, depending on the applause of others. Bad plan. To begin with, fortune has shallow roots. The winds of adversity can quickly blow it all away. And fame is as fickle as the last response from the crowd. When you're praised and applauded, don't pay any attention. And when you're rejected and abused, don't quit. It wasn't human opinion that called you into the work you're doing. So don't let human responses or criticisms get you sidetracked. Keep going. Don't get tangled in the tangibles!

by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Insight for Today

 

Scriptures: Acts 13:45–48

When Paul was rejected, he didn't quit.

As my good friend and wise mentor, Howie Hendricks, often says, "Where there's light, there are bugs!"

The brighter Paul's light, the more the bugs. And in that situation, those bugs had stingers filled with poison.

What grit!

Paul didn't back down an inch in his response to open rejection.

The result? Not surprisingly, the Gentiles in the crowd rejoiced in the good news he had for them. How exciting! What started as a smoldering ember of religious curiosity burst into flames of faith.

Why were Paul and Barnabas able to persevere?

Neither man set his affections on temporal things. What discipline.

If you want to get caught in the net of disillusionment, allow yourself to get tangled in the tangibles.

You'll not only run shy of courage, you'll sink like a rock in a country pond.

Why? Because others' opinions will start to mean everything.

When you allow their responses to be the ballast, then their applause becomes essential to keep you afloat, and their assaults drag you straight to the bottom.

That formula for failure can be found in all people-pleasing ministries. You're doomed to disillusionment if you don't focus on the eternal.

Lee lacocca, not long after leaving the automobile business, said, "Here I am in the twilight years of my life still wondering what it's all about. I can tell you this: fame and fortune is for the birds."

You may be one who lives your life pursuing fame and fortune, depending on the applause of others.

Bad plan. To begin with, fortune has shallow roots. The winds of adversity can quickly blow it all away.

"Riches certainly make themselves wings," writes Solomon, "they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Proverbs 23:5 KJV).

And fame is as fickle as the last response from the crowd.

Learn a dual lesson from this fine man who had wisdom far beyond most of us.

When you're praised and applauded, don't pay any attention.

And when you're rejected and abused, don't quit.

It wasn't human opinion that called you into the work you're doing.

So don't let human responses or criticisms get you sidetracked.

Keep going.

Don't get tangled in the tangibles!

Charles R. Swindoll is the founder and senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. But Chuck's listening audience extends far beyond a local church body, as Insight for Living airs on major Christian radio markets around the world. Chuck's extensive writing ministry has also served the body of Christ worldwide, and his leadership as president and now chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry. Chuck and his wife, Cynthia, his partner in life and ministry, have four grown children, ten grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

https://insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/tangled-in-the-tangibles1

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Acts 13:45-48 English Standard Version

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+13%3A45%E2%80%9348&version=ESV

JESUS TOUCHED THE UNTOUCHABLES - In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided by people he did not know, condemned to a future he could not bear… The touch did not heal the disease. It was the pronouncement and not the touch of Christ that cured the condition. The infection was banished by a word from Jesus. The loneliness, however, was treated by a touch from Jesus. Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease. I wonder… about the man who felt Jesus’ compassionate touch. He makes one appearance, has one request, and receives one touch. But that one touch changed his life forever…. In New Testament times leprosy was the most dreaded disease. The condition rendered the body a mass of ulcers and decay. Fingers would curl and gnarl. Blotches of skin would discolor and stink. Leprosy would numb nerve endings, leading to a loss of fingers, toes, even a whole foot or hand. Leprosy was death by inches. Considered contagious, the leper was quarantined, banished to a leper colony.

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Jesus Touched the Untouchables

Jesus touched the untouchables of the world

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In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided by people he did not know, condemned to a future he could not bear… The touch did not heal the disease. It was the pronouncement and not the touch of Christ that cured the condition. The infection was banished by a word from Jesus. The loneliness, however, was treated by a touch from Jesus. 

by Max Lucado

UpWords

 

When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him.

Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus.

The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!”

And immediately the man was healed from his disease.  - Matthew 8:1-3

I wonder… about the man who felt Jesus’ compassionate touch. He makes one appearance, has one request, and receives one touch.

But that one touch changed his life forever…. 

I wonder about this man because in New Testament times leprosy was the most dreaded disease.

The condition rendered the body a mass of ulcers and decay.

Fingers would curl and gnarl. Blotches of skin would discolor and stink.

Certain types of leprosy would numb nerve endings, leading to a loss of fingers, toes, even a whole foot or hand.

Leprosy was death by inches.

The social consequences were as severe as the physical. Considered contagious, the leper was quarantined, banished to a leper colony.

In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided by people he did not know, condemned to a future he could not bear…

The touch did not heal the disease, you know.

Matthew is careful to mention that it was the pronouncement and not the touch of Christ that cured the condition.

“Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, ‘I will. Be healed!’ And immediately the man was healed from his disease” (Matthew 8:3).

The infection was banished by a word from Jesus.

The loneliness, however, was treated by a touch from Jesus.

Jesus touched the untouchables of the world.

Max Lucado is a pastor, speaker, and best-selling author who, in his own words, “writes books for people who don’t read books.” He serves the people of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, and his message is for the hurting, the guilty, the lonely, and the discouraged: God loves you; let him.

As a writer, Max is known for combining poetic storytelling and homespun humor with the heart of a pastor. All of his trade books began as sermon series at Oak Hills Church, and his sermons all begin with Max asking himself this question: “What can I say on Sunday that will still matter on Monday?” He’s been dubbed “America’s Pastor” by Christianity Today, and “The Best Preacher in America” by Reader’s Digest.

https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/upwords/upwords-week-of-may-8-14-11603320.html

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SARCASTIC RIDICULE - Jesus knew the sting of sarcastic ridicule and unbelief from his family - What had happened between the sarcastic ridicule Jesus received from his brothers at home and their gathering with his apostles in Jerusalem waiting for him to pour out the Holy Spirit? What changed James and the half-brothers of Jesus from skeptics to followers? Jesus chose to come to his half-brother, the former unbelieving brother, and reveal himself after his resurrection. James was blessed to see Jesus after his resurrection, and from that point forward, we know that he and Jesus' other half-siblings believed. James went on to be THE great Christian leader in Jerusalem until its destruction around A.D. 70. Early believers were willing to endure sarcastic ridicule and far worse because of their conviction that Jesus was alive - Sarcastic ridicule! All too often we enjoy it at the expense of others. However, when we are in the crosshairs of its vicious bite, we can find ourselves torn apart emotionally and our confidence shattered. We can take comfort that we are not alone in facing this emotionally dismantling tool of Satan. As believers, many of us know how faith feels when you are on the wrong end of an increasingly unbelieving world. Some people today believe their job is to sarcastically ridicule people of faith. For them, this is a great sport. Sometimes, unfortunately, this sarcastic ridicule comes from people we love and people we long to bring to Jesus. This kind of ridicule hurts worst!

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Sarcastic Ridicule

Jesus knew the sting of sarcastic ridicule and unbelief from his family

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What had happened between the sarcastic ridicule Jesus received from his brothers at home and their gathering with his apostles in Jerusalem waiting for him to pour out the Holy Spirit? What changed James and the half-brothers of Jesus from skeptics to followers? Jesus chose to come to his half-brother, the former unbelieving brother, and reveal himself after his resurrection. James was blessed to see Jesus after his resurrection, and from that point forward, we know that he and Jesus' other half-siblings believed. James went on to be THE great Christian leader in Jerusalem until its destruction around A.D. 70. Early believers were willing to endure sarcastic ridicule and far worse because of their conviction that Jesus was alive!

by Phil Ware

Resurrection 2.5

The Jesus Window

 

Sarcastic ridicule! All too often we enjoy it at the expense of others.

However, when we are in the crosshairs of its vicious bite, we can find ourselves torn apart emotionally and our confidence shattered.

As difficult as painful ridicule feels, we can take comfort that we are not alone in facing this emotionally dismantling tool of Satan.

As believers, many of us know how faith feels when you are on the wrong end of an increasingly unbelieving world.

Some people today believe their job is to sarcastically ridicule people of faith. For them, this is a great sport.

Sometimes, unfortunately, this sarcastic ridicule comes from people we love and people we long to bring to Jesus. This kind of ridicule hurts worst!

Thankfully for us, however, Jesus knew the sting of sarcastic ridicule from his family:

“After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’ For even his own brothers did not believe in him" (John 7:1-5).

Because Jesus knows the pain of family rejection and lack of faith, he understands our hurt, too.

After all, unless Jesus had given them some heavenly revelation about his identity, how would they knew who he was.

He was their brother. They ate together, played together, and did the things that brothers do.

No one around Jesus, except for Joseph and Mary, had any inkling that he was someone special.

To his brothers, Jesus was the guy in their family who would take over their father's carpentry business (Mark 6:1-6).

They had seen him in his underclothes, and they didn't see anything special in their brother!

If we pay careful attention to the Jesus story, however, these doubting brothers provide us with a reason for us to believe in the resurrection.

James the half-brother of Jesus, became the key leader of Christians in Jerusalem as the apostles dispersed throughout the world carrying out Jesus' mission for them (Acts 12:17; 21:18).

James helped ensure that the Gentiles would be included in the family of God without having to become Jews through circumcision (Acts 15:6-21).

However, our first clue that Jesus' brothers had moved from sarcastic derision of their brother to faith in his identity as the Christ, the Son of God, was very soon after Jesus' resurrection.

As the early followers were gathered in Jerusalem after Jesus' ascension and while they were waiting for the Holy Spirit to bring them power, Luke tells us: 

“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives [after Jesus' ascension], a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:12-14 Bold text added for emphasis.).

So, what had happened between the sarcastic ridicule Jesus received from his brothers at home and their gathering with his apostles in Jerusalem waiting for him to pour out the Holy Spirit?

What changed James and the half-brothers of Jesus from skeptics to followers?

Paul helps us understand:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:3-7 Bold text added for emphasis.).

Jesus chose to come to his half-brother, the former unbelieving brother, and reveal himself after his resurrection.

James was blessed to see Jesus after his resurrection, and from that point forward, we know that he and Jesus' other half-siblings believed.

Remarkably, James went on to be THE great Christian leader in Jerusalem until its destruction around A.D. 70.

Early believers were willing to endure sarcastic ridicule and far worse because of their conviction that Jesus was alive!

I am thankful that the New Testament is honest about the skepticism, unbelief, doubt, and sarcastic ridicule of Jesus' brothers before his death, burial, and resurrection.

I am thankful the resurrection accounts remind us of those who doubted, even those like Thomas who disbelieved until he had proof.

Their skepticism, and then their later faith-borne passion to give their lives proclaiming Jesus' resurrection point to a remarkable conviction built upon their experiences with the resurrected Jesus.

In the early decades of the church, Christians could point to people who had known Jesus before his death, been devastated by his crucifixion, and who were ignited with passion proclaiming his resurrection.

They shared their testimony even if it cost them their lives. In response to threats of bodily injury and death, they answered:

“Then they, [the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council that sentenced Jesus to death, called Peter and John] in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’" (Acts 4:17-20; cf. Acts 22:15).

The apostles, the brothers of Jesus, and others were eye-witnesses whose stories could be checked and challenged.

They shared those stories passionately with their changed lives as testimony to their conviction.

The power of the early church was not just because of the Holy Spirit's coming at Pentecost, but also this deep conviction and verifiable testimony from people like James and the other brothers of Jesus who knew that he was alive.

They were willing to endure sarcastic ridicule and far worse because of their conviction.

Now, because of the testimony of their changed lives, so can we!

Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God's Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels. (Visit the Author's Website)

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