BBD 03.20.04 Avoiding Failure - Part 2

#1 · March 20, 2004, 10:54 am

Quote from Forum Archives on March 20, 2004, 10:54 am
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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03.20.04

Avoiding Failure - Part 2

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a
great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and
elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying,
"Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him." Immediately he went up to Jesus
and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him,
"Friend, why have you come?" Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took
Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand
and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his
ear. But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take
the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray
to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of
angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen
thus?" - Matthew 26:47-54.

Everyone knows that hockey is a violent sport and this was confirmed for
those who had doubts when Todd Bertuzzi attacked Colorado’s Steve Moore from
behind. There was no way Moore could have protected himself from such a
vicious and unexpected attack. As with many others I have watched the news
coverage and video of this act of violence several times. It is horrifying
to watch as Bertuzzi hits Moore from behind slamming his fist into the back
of the head and neck pushing him to the ice with the weight of his body on
top. Moore suffered a concussion, broken vertebra, and will miss at least
the rest of the season. Bertuzzi has been suspended and fined.

Bertuzzi’s action is said to have been premeditated and perhaps it was to
the extent that someone can premeditate such an act of violence in the
period of a few minutes. However, it is very unlikely that Bertuzzi was
planning this attack for weeks or months before the violence occurred. What
is the point? The point is that Bertuzzi like many others allow themselves
to be controlled by the whim, the emotion of the moment. The thought came to
Todd to hit Moore and without a second thought he did it, we all know the
result, and Bertuzzi knows the result now as well.

Allowing the whim, the emotion of the moment to control us very often will
result in very unpleasant things. Sadly, even those we would consider
spiritually mature can and do make the same mistake. Consider the apostle
Peter who when they came to arrest Jesus committed an act of violence
against the servant of the High Priest cutting off his ear. Most likely
Peter intended to cut off the head and not the ear but that kind of
swordsmanship requires constant practice. Certainly, the violence was not
something that Jesus wanted and he says as much, "Put your sword in its
place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think
that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than
twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that
it must happen thus?"

As we have already seen Peter, along with the rest of the disciples were
overconfident in their spiritual abilities. Peter never thought that he
would be capable of denying Jesus - and yet he did. Peter was sure of
himself, sure of his emotions, and confident that he would always do what
was right. However, Peter made the wrong decision through obeying the
whim/the emotion of the moment.

If we want to avoid being ruled by the emotions of the moment like Bertuzzi
and Peter we must become disciplined. What does that mean? It means that we
do what we know that we must do in our spiritual life even when we do not
feel like it. We will come to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and
Wednesday nights not because we happen to feel like it but because we know
it is the right thing to do. We will read our Bibles and pray not because we
happen to feel like it but because we know it is the right thing to do and
beneficial to our spiritual health. We must get beyond the idea that
spiritual things are always going to “feel” good.

To avoid the rule of our lives by our emotions we must constantly be about
doing what is right and good whether we enjoy it, like it, or even if we
hate it. Why? Because we train ourselves to then do what is right when under
stress and we have to make critical decisions in a moment of time. Don’t
make the mistake of overconfidence believing you will always do what is
right even during stressful times. Peter would tell you not to count on it.
Prepare for those stressful times by daily doing what you know you ought to
do whether you like it or not.

Copyright © 2004. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. On June 8, 1998 the email
version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

There is now a webpage available at associate.com where the devotionals are
archived associate.com/groups/burningbushdevo. There is a complete
archive at the Burning Bush website and the address for the archive is
www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

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Peoplefaces which seeks to help those in need
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Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org

Please sign the GuestMap at The Burning Bush website. You can plant your
country's flag on the map and leave a message. You can find it on the front
page at http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush Devotional

(Over 12,000 subscribers in 75 countries)

03.20.04

Avoiding Failure - Part 2

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a
great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and
elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying,
"Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him." Immediately he went up to Jesus
and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him,
"Friend, why have you come?" Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took
Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand
and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his
ear. But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take
the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray
to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of
angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen
thus?" - Matthew 26:47-54.

Everyone knows that hockey is a violent sport and this was confirmed for
those who had doubts when Todd Bertuzzi attacked Colorado’s Steve Moore from
behind. There was no way Moore could have protected himself from such a
vicious and unexpected attack. As with many others I have watched the news
coverage and video of this act of violence several times. It is horrifying
to watch as Bertuzzi hits Moore from behind slamming his fist into the back
of the head and neck pushing him to the ice with the weight of his body on
top. Moore suffered a concussion, broken vertebra, and will miss at least
the rest of the season. Bertuzzi has been suspended and fined.

Bertuzzi’s action is said to have been premeditated and perhaps it was to
the extent that someone can premeditate such an act of violence in the
period of a few minutes. However, it is very unlikely that Bertuzzi was
planning this attack for weeks or months before the violence occurred. What
is the point? The point is that Bertuzzi like many others allow themselves
to be controlled by the whim, the emotion of the moment. The thought came to
Todd to hit Moore and without a second thought he did it, we all know the
result, and Bertuzzi knows the result now as well.

Allowing the whim, the emotion of the moment to control us very often will
result in very unpleasant things. Sadly, even those we would consider
spiritually mature can and do make the same mistake. Consider the apostle
Peter who when they came to arrest Jesus committed an act of violence
against the servant of the High Priest cutting off his ear. Most likely
Peter intended to cut off the head and not the ear but that kind of
swordsmanship requires constant practice. Certainly, the violence was not
something that Jesus wanted and he says as much, "Put your sword in its
place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think
that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than
twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that
it must happen thus?"

As we have already seen Peter, along with the rest of the disciples were
overconfident in their spiritual abilities. Peter never thought that he
would be capable of denying Jesus - and yet he did. Peter was sure of
himself, sure of his emotions, and confident that he would always do what
was right. However, Peter made the wrong decision through obeying the
whim/the emotion of the moment.

If we want to avoid being ruled by the emotions of the moment like Bertuzzi
and Peter we must become disciplined. What does that mean? It means that we
do what we know that we must do in our spiritual life even when we do not
feel like it. We will come to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and
Wednesday nights not because we happen to feel like it but because we know
it is the right thing to do. We will read our Bibles and pray not because we
happen to feel like it but because we know it is the right thing to do and
beneficial to our spiritual health. We must get beyond the idea that
spiritual things are always going to “feel” good.

To avoid the rule of our lives by our emotions we must constantly be about
doing what is right and good whether we enjoy it, like it, or even if we
hate it. Why? Because we train ourselves to then do what is right when under
stress and we have to make critical decisions in a moment of time. Don’t
make the mistake of overconfidence believing you will always do what is
right even during stressful times. Peter would tell you not to count on it.
Prepare for those stressful times by daily doing what you know you ought to
do whether you like it or not.

Copyright © 2004. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. On June 8, 1998 the email
version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

There is now a webpage available at associate.com where the devotionals are
archived associate.com/groups/burningbushdevo. There is a complete
archive at the Burning Bush website and the address for the archive is
http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You may subscribe to the pure text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org and you can unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

Subscribe to the Burning Bush Prayer Group. Send and receive prayer requests
to over 300 members. Send a blank email to: BBPG-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Subscribe to the Burning Bush Inspirational Group. Send and receive
inspirational material to over 100 members. Send a blank email to:
bbinspire-subscribe@welovegod.org

Subscribe to the Burning Bush Restoration and Recovery Group for those with
addictions or recovering from addictions. Receive devotionals and
inspirational material directed toward those with addictions. Send and
receive prayer requests. Over 200 members. Send a blank email to:
tbbrr-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Subscribe to the Intercede Life Group and pray for and help in practical
ways those who need help. To subscribe send a blank email to
interclife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. A closely related website is
Peoplefaces which seeks to help those in need
peoplefaces.ohzone.net/index2.htm