Canton First Methodist Church

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Our culture teaches us to hide our weaknesses, to promote our success, and to become as self-sufficient as possible. We feel this temptation to prove our self-worth through our independence and accomplishments. However, the kingdom of God operates by a very different set of values. Paul boldly declares that he delights in weakness because it is in these challenges that Paul learns to depend more fully upon God and to allow God's power to work through Him. Pride convinces us that we can handle life on our own. It whispers that asking for help is equivalent to failure and that dependence is something to avoid. This insistence that we can live life on our own is spiritually dangerous because it blinds us to our need for God. As long as we believe that we are strong enough to plan our future and to live out our lives, we will never experience the fullness of God's power. However, when we acknowledge our weakness, God provides the strength that we could never produce ourselves. The strongest Christians are not those who appear to have everything together, but those who have learned that true strength is found in complete reliance on the power and grace of God.

Where do you need to repent of an attitude of independence so that you can delight in your weaknesses and experience the fullness of God's power?

Mark 12:42-44 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

This widow’s act of giving is about much more than a financial gift. Her giving is a tangible act of her trust and dependence upon God. The widow gives all she has, trusting in God to provide for her. The widow could have chosen to hold on to these two coins, using them in ways she saw fit for herself, yet she chose to surrender even these coins to God. Through the widow’s act of giving, we are reminded that nothing we own is actually ours. The money we earn or the success we have at our jobs is not really ours. God has given us the ability to work, and He sustains us in our labors. God is the ultimate owner of all of creation, including our very lives. By returning a portion of the money that ultimately belongs to God back to Him through the practice of tithing, we follow in the example of the widow who surrendered her coins to God, recognizing that God, and not our income, is our ultimate Provider and Sustainer. The way we use the money we have has spiritual implications, as God uses our giving to Him and His Church to shape our hearts and to increase our dependence and surrender to Him.

How is God calling you to more fully surrender to Him through the way you use your money?

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

For two thousand years, Christians have engaged in the historic spiritual practice of confession. Yet, there are many people, especially in our current culture, who would say that confession is dangerous because it allows other people to know our deepest secrets, and if we aren’t careful, they could use these things against us in the future. While we are not called to practice confession with everyone, all people need a small group of trusted Christians who they can openly and honestly confess their sin to. Through confession, we are honest in evaluating where we are in our spiritual journey as we reflect on and name the places where our lives do not reflect the love and holiness we are called to embody. In this Scripture, we are also reminded that we practice confession because as we meet with others and name the sin that remains in our lives, we also pray for each other and invite God’s redeeming grace to work within us to lead us in turning from sin and living more fully in holiness. Through confession and prayer, we humble ourselves in sharing our own shortcoming with others while also recognizing that God will use our honesty with others to heal us of our brokenness and lead us in becoming the people He created us to be.

Do you currently have a small group of others where you practice confession and hold one another accountable to growing as disciples? If you are interested in getting connected to a group like this, email Minister of Discipleship, Mattie Bryant, at [email protected]