Lean Toward The Leaners!
Sunday’s Monday
I don’t usually start out with an explanation, but I feel this needs to be told. I was entrusted with this subject last Saturday morning (02-01-20) during an unplanned breakfast with a spiritual brother and dear friend (Steve Workman). He had invited me to attend a Christian Men’s meeting which involved starting up a new multi group meeting in our area. So, I’m traveling I-40 passing through Conover, NC when my phone rings and it’s my friend stating, he had just discovered the meeting had been canceled due to weather. As he was apologizing, he suggested that we have breakfast together and joyfully I agreed. We agreed to meet at a restaurant located between where we each were at that moment and I immediately preceded to thank God for this opportunity. Contrary to what ever Satan had planned for the cancelation, it turned out for the glory of God as we enjoyed our time of planning, fellowship and worship “together”.
God chose our time of fellowship to instill in me the title of this week’s subject, “Lean Toward The Leaners!” Which reminded me that we all have the same illusion of control and Satan uses it to hide God’s goodness from us. Satan’s influenced is so strong that he uses shame and guilt to distract us from God. We are human and all humans (at some point) begin to lean from this weight of deception. The lost lean toward becoming more lost (hiding with like kind), immature Christians lean toward their own devices (as pretenders) while Jesus followers lean toward frustration and fatigue. We each have our own daemons to deal with! That is what God is telling us through Isaiah 35:3-4 (NIV), 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
Think on it this way, should there be a weary Jesus follower in a room with a troubled person of no faith and a Christian fence rider, each immerse in their own situation, not much (if anything) will change for either of them. However, once a conversation is started and each start to confide a little in the other, they slowly start to lean on each other. The lost may gain knowledge through compassion (not condemnation), the weary may find new strength in understanding (hope) and the Christian may find a passion as God’s love is shared. God expects His people to example, Ephesians 4:29 (NIV), Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. This reminds me of ¾”x4’x8’ sheet of plywood which is very strong yet highly unstable when standing on its edge. The slightest breeze or vibration would knock it over, however once it’s leaned against a second sheet of plywood it will easily withstand that same breeze or vibration, one can actually build a plywood house (of cards if you will) through leaning each against the other, and so it goes with people, the more people there are leaning in the right direction the stronger we become, both corporately as well as individually.
It is important to realize that in order to lean one must be willing to stand with someone else and all the while be accepting and expecting someone else to lean against you. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV), As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Using simple mathematics, it’s easy to see how, the more leaners there are the stronger they become, as long as they have a solid unshakable foundation, as God explains in Colossians 1:18 (NIV), And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. With Jesus as our solid footing, stabilizing His people, we are bound together for one purpose and that is told in Matthew 22:36-39 (NIV), 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This pretty much explains why each of us is here and what we are to do! We are cells in God’s body working together, leaning on each other for the glory of God!
At this point one should be primed and ready to get to the meat of this article. Well here it is and it’s not from me, it comes from God’s word! Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV), Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. We all have a God given need for each other!
My prayer this week is not from the bible but rather a few words from a song in a hymnal, which was written and recorded in 1972 by Bill Withers. “Lean on Me:”
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand; We all need somebody to lean on; I just might have a problem, that you'll understand; We all need somebody to lean on; Lean on me, when you're not strong; And I'll be your friend; I'll help you carry on; For it won't be long; Til I'm gonna need, Somebody to lean on. Amen
I pray we’ll be that friend, brother or sister!
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!
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