March 2007

Dear Lincoln Chapel friends,

     You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. -- 1 John 4:4
     I would like to share this devotional thought with you, penned by the great evangelist D. L. Moody: “The only man that ever conquered this world -- was complete victor -- was Jesus Christ. When he died on the cross, ‘It is finished!’ was the shout of a conqueror. He had overcome every enemy. He had met with sin and death. He had met every foe that you and I have to meet and have come off victor. Now if I have got the spirit of Christ, if I have got that same life in me, then it is that I have got a power that is greater than any power in the world, and with that same power I overcome the world.
     “Notice that everything human in this world fails. Every man, the moment he takes his eyes off God, has failed. Every man has been a failure at some period of his life. Abraham failed. Moses failed. Elijah failed.
     “Abraham was noted for his faith, and he failed right there -- he denied his wife. Moses was noted for his meekness and humility, and he failed right there -- he got angry. God kept him out of the promised land because he lost his temper. I know he was called ‘the servant of God’ and that he was a mighty man and had power with God, but, humanly speaking, he failed and was kept out of the promised land. Elijah was noted for his power in prayer and for his courage, yet he became a coward. He was the boldest man of his day and stood before Ahab and the royal court and all the prophets of Baal; yet when he heard that Jezebel had threatened his life, he ran away to the desert and under a juniper tree prayed that he might die.”
     As Christians, we are often tempted with human success. Perhaps a certain superstar has caught your eye -- be it a movie icon, a sports hero, a political figure, or even a religious leader. We so scrutinize these people, searching for every possible flaw,  hoping to discredit their status. We look for people’s failings, perhaps as a sign of our own insecurity. If you are looking for perfection in another person, even in yourself, you will never find it.
    Our spouses fail us. Our children fail us. Our friends fail us. Even the great men and women of the Bible, evangelist Moody reminds us, failed from time to time. The saying is sure: to err is human. And we, God’s own children, have at some time failed our Heavenly Father. But we are encouraged in the victory of our savior Jesus Christ. His love and forgiveness are not dependent upon our ability to avoid failure. His victory over our sin becomes even more powerful in our lives when we share his triumph by reaching out to those who have failed us. That, my friends, is how we overcome the world. Not by expecting perfection of each other, but by allowing the all-victorious power of our savior to conquer the failures we are bound to experience in this life.
     Jesus Christ has given you the power to overcome failure! And he has called you to share in his work in this world. Don’t look for faults, for you’ll surely find them. Instead, be open to the power and joy that comes through victory in Jesus!
    Marcia and I wish you God’s grace and peace this Lent,

Pastor Jon West