20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The Bible teaches that in our weakness, we can encounter the incredible strength of the Lord - as we are willing to turn aside from self-reliance and depend on the presence of God, Who is near to us, then we can experience what He has to give us. He has provided unlimited spiritual resources and wants to accomplish in our lives what only He can. Our human effort can yield a certain level of achievement, but the Lord wants to show us what He can and is willing to do, so that He receives all the glory!
+++++
Here are some great words of encouragement that underscore the promise of God's strength to the weak, from Isaiah 40:
28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,31But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Customers have made the amazing discovery that the energy drink Red Bull does not "give you wings," as the manufacturer had claimed nor can it increase athletic performance.
A piece on the International Business Times website quoted a report that said certain purchasers of Red Bull filed a lawsuit against the parent company because they said they were misled by the “Red Bull gives you wings” slogan into believing that the energy drink could increase consumers’ speed and athletic performance, quoting beverage industry news source BevNET. “Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull’s] advertising and marketing is not just ‘puffery,’ but is instead deceptive and fraudulent and is therefore actionable,” the lawsuit states.
The company agreed in August to pay more than $13 million to settle the false-advertising suit. Customers could choose between $10 cash or $15 in Red Bull products IF they could prove that they purchased a product since January 1, 2002. But there is a cap, according to the IB Times, the settlement fund will contain $6.5 million to be doled out to consumers who purchased Red Bull over the past 12 years - so if there are more than 650,000 claimants who choose the cash, then the amount goes down.
The company agreed in August to pay more than $13 million to settle the false-advertising suit. Customers could choose between $10 cash or $15 in Red Bull products IF they could prove that they purchased a product since January 1, 2002. But there is a cap, according to the IB Times, the settlement fund will contain $6.5 million to be doled out to consumers who purchased Red Bull over the past 12 years - so if there are more than 650,000 claimants who choose the cash, then the amount goes down.
Red Bull denies misleading consumers. The company told BevNET in a statement, "Red Bull settled the lawsuit to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation...However, Red Bull maintains that its marketing and labeling have always been truthful and accurate, and denies any and all wrongdoing or liability."
So, Red Bull did not provide the increased athletic acumen, as some perceived that it had promised. But, its promises to pay off have a limit. But, isn't that the nature of human promises sometimes? This story can give us several spiritual reminders.
First of all, we have to make sure that we are not promising people that we will do something for them and then not follow through. If we are exhibiting the character of Christ, then I believe that reliability and integrity will be traits that we would want to display.
But, we do serve a God who has provided for us what the Bible terms are exceedingly great and precious promises. We can depend on God's Word, recognize that we have enormous resources available to us, and call on Him in order to activate and appropriate those resources in our lives.
One of those promises is spiritual strength! He does not promise that we will sprout wings, but the Word does say that if we wait upon Him, if we minister unto Him and spend time abiding in His presence, then we can renew our strength - figuratively speaking, the phrase tells us that we will "mount up with wings like eagles." So, if we want to truly soar spiritually, then we respond to God's invitation to come into His presence and connect to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment