Pathways Press.com

Written by Janice Mayo Mathers (1951-2026), an author and speaker.  This is an excerpt from her book “Following Jesus Through Mark.”

Agnes was just a teenager when she felt God calling her to become a missionary. It was a God-fueled passion that burned within her, never dimming until the day she died. For 50 years, she worked determinedly among the poorest of the poor in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) India. To the world she eventually became known as Mother Teresa, a tiny woman whose contribution to humanity was so great she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But in the beginning, before anyone had heard of her, when she was still just Agnes, she approached the superiors of her church and told them of her desire to be a missionary. “I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage,” she said. “You can’t build an orphanage with three pennies,” they reasoned.  “With three pennies you can’t do anything.” Agnes just smiled at them. “I know. But with God and three pennies I can do anything.” It is easy to think our tiny efforts can’t make a difference, that we don’t have the talent or the money to really help. What Agnes understood, however, is that it is not our talent or money that makes a difference—it is our willingness to be used by God. The truth is—with God and three pennies we can do anything.

 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” [Matthew 19:26]

Written by David Briones, a contemporary professor and author.

Self-sufficiency (autarkeia) was considered by ancient Stoic philosophers to be the essence of all the virtues. The ideal wise person was entirely independent. To be dependent on someone else expressed one’s subordination. The wise person must rely on oneself through his inward ability—the power of the will—to resist the force of external circumstances and prevent those circumstances from causing inner anxiety or distress. Put simply, the power to become self-sufficient came from within. But for Paul, the power to become self-sufficient comes from without…We are not the source of our contentment. We are always dependent on Christ…Paul redefines “self-sufficiency” into “Christ-sufficiency.” Through our union with Christ, we receive the ability to do “all things.” The meaning of “all things,” however, is determined by the economic extremes of “abound,” “plenty,” and “abundance,” as well as “low,” “hunger,” and “need.” Whether in material lack or abundance, believers can experience contentment in Christ and avoid the temptations that attend both doubting the love of God in low times or forgetting the God of love in high times. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessingin the heavenly places. [Ephesians 1:3]

Written by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), an evangelist and teacher aligned with the Holiness Movement.  This is an excerpt from his book “My Utmost for His Highest.”

The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reign.

He has responded to the prayer of the destitute and has not despised their prayer. [Psalm 102:7]

Written by Paul David Tripp, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker.

[The truth is], none of us likes the prospect of being physically weak. None of us likes our lives being put on hold. But it does force you to face the reality that your life is in the hands of another. It reminds you that you are small and dependent, that whatever little pits of power and control you have can be taken away in an instant. Independence is a delusion that is quickly exposed during times of weakness. I found what I went through to be deeply humbling. My weakness enabled me to see and admit to things I have never faced in myself before.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:9-10]

Written by Winn Collier, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Let God.”

One of the beauties—as well as the prickly points—of Christian faith is that it is never intended to be lived in theory. Faith is fleshed out among particular people, in particular places. Some of the most important elements of our spiritual pilgrimage will be names—names of friends we’ve had and places we’ve lived. There will be people we couldn’t get enough of and people who hung around way too much. There will be places that felt like home, places that felt like hell, and places that had bits of both. To live well we must embrace this particularity. If we don’t we will miss the very best of what it means to be alive. We will miss living with an engaged, open heart. As Terry Tempest Williams said, “If I choose not to become attached to nouns—a person, place, or thing—then…my heart cannot be broken because I never risked giving it away.” This isn’t easy. The pain is in the particulars. We can believe in the idea of squashing our selfishness in order to love another. We can believe in the notion of giving ourselves to a place that isn’t exactly the place we would choose. However,m the actual doing of it, the loving and the giving—that often hurts. It hurts because we can’t control the process. We can’t choose all the people God will send into our life, and we can’t choose to turn it off when it gets too messy.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.  [Hebrews 10:24-25]

Written by Francois Fenelon (1651-1715), a French archbishop, theologian, poet, and writer.

You trivialize authentic love when you assume that the small things that hold you hostage have also kidnapped love. This isn’t true. Love is wild and free; it goes straight to God with abandon and simplicity. Satan masquerades as an angel of light. He disguises himself beautifully, under the garb of things that seem spiritual. He will use a false, overwrought love or a guilt-wracked mind against you…You absolutely must have a courageous obedience and push back Satan’s very first advances. You must cut him down when he first raises his head or first slings his lies.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. [1 Peter 5:8-9]

From the ReformedWorship.org website.

In a divided world,
may we speak of our unity in Christ.
In the midst of a scarcity mindset,
may the church be generous in all things.
When the world is at war,
let the church work for peace and the flourishing of all.
Amidst the shouts of “hate,”
may we live “love”
and follow the God of love
to the cross.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [Ephesians 4:2-3]

Written by Erika Allen, a contemporary writer.

Biblical humility can be understood as a posture of the heart and mind that is characterized by the absence of pride and a commitment to the well-being of others. A humble person recognizes his dependence on the Lord, and he willingly submits to God’s way over his own. Humility is simultaneously the hardest and one of the most fundamental Christian virtues we are called to master. The reason humility is difficult for us is because it runs completely counter to our sin nature, which insists that our focus should be primarily, if not exclusively, on our own happiness…The Bible’s teaching on humility focuses on putting others’ needs above our own…To do this consistently…Jesus must first transform us and give us a heart that is both God and others-focused. And even after we are redeemed, we will need the Spirit’s constant help to think of others as “more significant” than ourselves. Humility is a distinctly Christian attribute. We simply cannot get there on our own.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. [Philippians 2:3-4]

Written by Kallistos Ware (1934-2022), an English Eastern Orthodox bishop and theologian. This is an excerpt from his book “The Orthodox Way.”

Abraham journeys from his familiar home into an unknown country; Moses progresses from light into darkness. And so it proves to be for each one who follows the spiritual Way…We do not simply proceed from the darkness of ignorance into the light of knowledge, but we go forward from the light of partial knowledge into a greater knowledge which is so much more profound that it can only be described as the “darkness of unknowing.” Like Socrates we begin to realize how little we understand. We see that it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder…Gregory of Nyssa states: “God’s name is not known; it is wondered at.”

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! [Psalm 8:1]

Written by Susanna Wesley (1669-1742), mother of John and Charles Wesley who were the founders of  Methodism.

Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things, in short, if anything increases the authority and the power of the flesh over the spirit, that to you becomes sin however good it is in itself.

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. [Hebrews 12:15]