TOO STUBBORN

Some people are as stubborn as a mule. That is a quote that describes what most of us are like in our old natures. Some other words that describe stubbornness are: obstinate and bullheaded. One definition for stubborn is: “hard to get along with”. We don’t like for other people to tell us what to do. It is difficult for us to believe what we have not seen ourselves. It was the same way with Jesus disciples. Somehow it never soaked into their hearts what Jesus was teaching them about how his body would die and three days later be raised back to life again. The women who went to the graveside, came back to tell the disciples that Christ had risen, but they just couldn’t get themselves to believe it. We are not that different from those disciples today. Jesus makes many promises to us today, but many times we are too stubborn to believe them.

“Still later Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles while they were eating.

He put them to shame for their unbelief and because they were

too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.”

Mar 16:14 GW

Unbelief is a much greater sin than what we often think it is. Unbelief kept the Children of Israel from being allowed to go into The Promised Land. Unbelief is what is going to keep the majority of people from going to heaven. It is a very serious offence to God when people choose to not believe God’s Word. God likes for us to be stubborn when it comes to doing what is right, but he hates it when it comes to our stubbornly refusing to trust him. In I Samuel 15:23 the Bible says that stubbornly taking our own way is as serious a problem as worshiping idols or participating in immorality.

In 1974, almost thirty years after World War II was over, in the jungles of the Philippines Lt. Hiroo Onoda at age 52 finally surrendered his sword to President Ferdinand Marcos on the island of Lubang where he had fought World War II, not knowing that the war had ended and peace had been made for three decades. Loudspeakers, leaflets and an offer of $400,000 had not persuaded him to surrender. When he finally surrendered reporters asked what had happened during those 30 years on the island. His reply, "Nothing, nothing pleasant happened to me in all those years."

Lt. Hiroo Onoda is a perfect illustration of the foolishness of being too stubborn. When we choose to hang on to our stubborn ways, we always lose out on the best years of our life. This is especially true when it comes to obeying the word of God. Yielding to God’s way brings us the very highest quality of life. Precious life is wasted and can never be regained when we are too stubborn.

Alvin Yoder

The Beginning

Several months ago I watched an ugly worm crawling across the ground! That was the beginning of a thing. Now look at that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunshine, sipping from the flowers, full of life; that is the end. That caterpillar is us, until we are wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; because when Christ shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Be content to be like the caterpillar who like Jesus, will be totally fulfilled when we wake up in his likeness. The end will be much better than the beginning.

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

Ecclesiastes_7:8  KJV

Look at Jesus; see his beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The end is He now sits at his Father’s right hand, until his enemies are made his footstool. If we never bear the cross, we will never wear the crown; we must walk on the dirt road, or we will never walk the golden streets. We can take courage because “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

A rough-looking diamond is placed on the wheel of the jeweler. He cuts it on all sides. It loses a lot of what felt very costly to itself. But when the king is crowned; the diadem is put on his head with all its’ shining glory. Light will flash from the very diamond which at this moment is very unhappy with the filing and polishing of the Jeweler’s tools. We can compare ourselves to a diamond like that, because we are one of God’s people; and right now we are in the cutting process. Exercise faith and patience, because on the day when the crown is placed on the head of the King of kings… there will be flashes of glory streaming from us. God said, “They shall be mine, in the day when I make up my jewels.”

Let’s be excited about the beginning of a New Year. It is a reminder that we are still in time. The day is coming when time will be no more. The end will always be better for a follower of Christ. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning.

Alvin Yoder

12/30/2012

Attitude

Our attitude determines our altitude. I don’t know who coined that phrase, but I have seen the reality of it often over a lifetime. It’s not our aptitude, but our attitude that has the most powerful effect on all of our relationships. When we realize that, wisdom would tell us to spend more time learning to direct our thoughts, instead of our outward skills. A person’s attitude is more important than a clean face. Our attitude is more important than the color of our skin. Our attitude is more important than the part of the country we are living. In today’s passage of the Bible we are instructed to have the same attitude that Jesus had. The Greek word for attitude is phroneō.  It means… “to direct one’s mind”.  Jesus never focused on the color of his skin, or his outward skills. Jesus directed his mind toward encouragement, love, compassion, joy, harmony, unselfishness, being interested in other people. We are commanded to have this same attitude.

“Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

Philippians 2:5 GNB

When we put our thoughts in neutral, like our vehicles they tend to go roll downhill. One songwriter wrote about our bent toward leaving the God we love. We need to learn to “direct our thoughts” away from discouragement to encouragement. We need to direct our thoughts away from our own interests to the interests of others. We can direct our thoughts away from depression to joy…which is defined as cheerfulness in the Strong’s Concordance.

Eddie made living selling balloons at a fair. He had many colors of balloons including red, yellow, and green. Whenever business got slow, he would release a helium filled balloons into the air. When children saw the balloons go up, they all wanted to buy one. It would always increase his sales. One day, Eddie felt something tugging his jacket. A little boy asked him, “If you let go of a black balloon, would that also fly?” Eddie said, “Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what’s inside that makes it go up.”

The same thing applies to our lives. It is what is inside that counts. It is what goes on inside of us that makes us go uphill, spiritually speaking. What makes us go up is our attitude. God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of us. He can give us the power to direct our thoughts in the same way as Jesus Christ did. It will always take us up when we release this kind of an attitude.

Alvin Yoder

12/28/2012