What Is Your Waterloo?

Romans 4:4-5 (NIV)

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

Napoleon's latest campaigns, in Russia, Germany and France, had all been complete failures. On April 6, 1814 he was forced to abdicate the throne, and he was given the sovereignty instead of a tiny little island called Elba.

When Louis XVIII took the throne from Napoleon, he set to work re-establishing the borders of France to what they had been back in 1791. The restoration period had finally begun.

But Napoleon wasn't satisfied with the new kingdom of France. "What a mockery," He thought. He decided to take his fate into his own hands, and he escaped from his tiny little island, landing in the Gulf of Juan, near Saint-Raphael. And somehow he ended up with 1000 troops!

On March 20, 1815 he marched on Paris, and as he met no resistance, he had no difficulties overtaking the throne. After all, wasn't he meant to rule?

Like any of us, Napoleon had a hard time giving up his ambitions, but sooner or later, he would face his end. In this case it was sooner, for 100 days after his escape, Napoleon lost everything. He lost the men in his troops, and he lost his throne. Napoleon's defeat came about just outside a town in modern-day Belgium known as "Waterloo", and this event has so gone down in history that the British have coined the expression, "Meet your Waterloo" to mean "meet your defeat".

Why are we so geared to want to be in control over all aspects of our lives? What do we gain by it? Headaches, anxiety, worrying and restless nights? Is it worth even pursuing?

Even in the case of salvation, many of us insist we have our part to play. Again, we try to be in control of our very own destiny! We truly believe salvation can be obtained by our meager efforts, that God is obliged to give it to us! "Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation." Romans 4:4.

Have you noticed that those who don't know love personally tend to depend on personal achievements to reach heaven? The Pharisees in Jesus' days were certainly specialists in this, and this attitude continues to exist even today.

Salvation is not an obligation, it is a free "gift" from above, a gift that cost God a great deal. Remember that it was not us who initiated reconciliation with God, but God Himself who reached out to us, providing salvation through the sacrifice of His very own son Jesus the Christ. Imagine the pain God endured while His son was hanging on that despicable cross! How much pain it must have brought upon God! But at the same time God wanted all of His children, even those who had wandered away, to have the opportunity to experience His grace fully.

Any effort to justify our own salvation is a mockery to the One who sacrificed Himself for us. It is God who provided us salvation, after all, not the other way around. We are the ones who erred and got lost, and we are still lost if we persist on obtaining grace through our own efforts!

"However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." Romans 4:5

Grace is not deserved, and it God isn't obliged to give it to us. It is a gift from above, demonstrating that God is pure love. There is thus no other way to obtain salvation. Anyone who takes his salvation into his own hands will certainly "meet his Waterloo". Grace is a gift from the Most High Himself (See Romans 6:23)! Like any gift we receive, we either accept it, ignore it, or reject it. The unaccepted gift can never be opened.

Dear Lord we thank You for the free gift You have given to us.  We know it cost You a great deal. Help us to rely completely on You in all things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Is Your Zeal Based on the Knowledge of God?

Romans 10:2 (NIV)

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

The following story is one that is reported to have been told by Napoleon to spark patriotism among his men:

Once, while visiting a province he came upon an old soldier in full uniform but with one sleeve hanging empty. He proudly wore the coveted Legion of Honour. Napoleon asked, "Where did you lose your arm?"

The soldier answered, "At Austerlitz, sire."

Napoleon asked, "And for that you received the Legion of Honor?" The man said, "Yes, sire. It is but a small token to pay for the decoration."

Napoleon continued, "You must be the kind of man who regrets he did not lose both arms for his country."

The one-armed man asked, "What then would have been my reward?"

Napoleon answered, "I would have awarded you a double Legion of Honor."

And with that, the proud old fighter drew his sword and immediately cut off his other arm.

What a great story of patriotic duty! It apparently was quite effective in stirring up in Napoleon's men a desire to sacrifice even more for the cause of France!

There's only one problem with the story. You may have already noticed the inconsistency. But apparently it was years before anyone dared to ask

Napoleon the question, "How did the soldier cut off his arm with only one arm to do it with?"

Nice story. Stirring, moving, motivating......but it wasn't true. It's possible for the same thing to happen to us in a religious sense. We can get all "fired up" without much thought as to the truth of what we're getting excited about. Paul said of those who were motivated in such a way:

"...They are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge." (Romans 10:2, NIV)

Zeal is good. We all need more of it. But we need to make certain that our enthusiasm is firmly based on our knowledge of God's will.

Dear Lord, we pray that are Zeal would be based on the knowledge that You give us through Your word. Help our enthusiasm not be on emotion alone.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

It's His Battle!

2 Chronicles 20:9 (NIV)

‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

The rain poured down in the days just prior to the battle of Waterloo. Napoleon had marched all the way from France to face his enemy, and we can image how tired his men must have been after trekking with heavy canons in the downpour. And since they didn't have paved roads, it wasn't exactly good for morale!

The good news for Napoleon was that he had more canons than his enemies, the British and the Prussians. He took this to his advantage, and he had his canons aimed low to hit as many of the enemy soldiers as possible. He made just one tiny oversight when it came to the simple laws of physics: Heavy rain causes mud, and that same mud would hamper the effectiveness of Napoleon's bowling-kind of tactics!

His enemies though took full advantage of the fact that they outnumbered the French two to one, and they placed themselves mostly on hills, where canons could not reach them!

Despite all of this, Napoleon still believed he would win the battle. Before lunch time, even! After all, he had won the battle against the Prussians two days before! Instead, Napoleon would meet his demise, or as the French would say, "Napoleon would meet his Waterloo"!

How differently King Jehosaphat faced the news that: "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea." (2 Chron 20:2 NIV)

What would we do in Jehosaphat's place? Would we react like Napoleon and conclude it will be a piece of cake? Or would we be filled with fear? After all we hadn't expected such calamity!

"Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah." (2 Chron 20:3 NIV)

Jehoshaphat faced this catastrophe quite differently. There was no way he would face this on his own strength! He wanted to hear from God before undertaking anything. Wise decision! If canons can be hampered by mud, other human endeavors could face similar defeats!

Strangely enough, we, as human beings, are always inclined to react on impulse, facing our adversity with our own ingenuity (Look at Napoleon!), an inventiveness that isn't much better than a croaking toad amidst flying cannon balls on a mud field! The outcome would be so different if we immediately ran to God!

Jehoshaphat did not put his confidence in himself, however, but put his trust in God! "If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us." (2 Chron 20:9 NIV)

Do we display this kind of confidence when we face the loss of a job, the loss of finances, the loss of anything? Do we truly believe that God hears our prayers even a midst our most somber of circumstances?

Jehoshaphat saw clearly how desperate his situation was. He truly had no idea how to face this immense tragedy. But instead of wailing, complaining and preparing for war, he decided to focus on God. Isn't He the One who gives hope to the hopeless?

So if it is true that none of our battles are really ours. That they are truly God's to fight.  Why not give Him the reins?

It's His battle!

Dear Lord I pray that we would look to You knowing that the battle truly is Yours and that You will handle it. Help us give you the reins and not take them back. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Lesson about Pride From Napoleon

Esther 5:11 (New International Version)

Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials.

Proverbs 27:1 (New International Version)

Do not boast about tomorrow,  for you do not know what a day may bring.

On the morning of June 18, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte massed his French troops on the fields near the Belgian village of Waterloo, just about 9 miles south of Brussels. Under his command, Napoleon had some 72,000 battle tested men. His enemy was an Allied army of 113,000 British, Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian troops. Napoleon had planned to have a surprise attack the day before, but heavy delayed his attack. But even without the element of surprise, the French dictator was confident in his victory.

As morning dawned on the 18th, Napoleon boasted he would bring a sound defeat to the Allies. Writing in his journal that morning, Napoleon called the Duke of Wellington 'a mere sepoy general' (i.e. one fit for nothing better than fighting in India), and boasted that he'd win the battle by lunchtime.

As the morning dragged on, the soggy field delayed the positioning of the French cannons. Finally near noon, the French cannons erupted. The British were well fortified by this time and prepared for the worst. Throughout the battle, the tide ebbed and flowed. Then the Prussians, who had remained in reserve, rushed to the battle. By 9 p.m., the French had suffered their worst defeat in history.

Has pride and boasting entered into your life?

Dear Lord we pray today that we would get rid of any sin of boasting and let our strength and confidence be in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Are You An Encourager?

Napoleon's genius had been attributed to many things, but, above all, he was a superb natural leader of men. Like any wise leader he was aware that his own success would have been nothing had his men not been willing, even eager, to follow him. Obviously he could not know and personally inspire every man in his vast army, therefore he devised a simple technique for circumventing this difficulty. Before visiting a regiment he would call the colonel aside and ask for the name of a soldier who had served well in previous campaigns, but who had not been given the credit he deserved. The colonel would indicate such a man. Napoleon would then learn everything about him, where he was born, the names of his family, his exploits in battle, etc. Later, upon passing this man while reviewing the troops, and at a signal from the colonel, Napoleon would stop, single out the man, greet him warmly, ask about his family, compliment him on his bravery and loyalty, reminisce about old campaigns, then pin a medal on the grateful soldier. The gesture worked. After the review, the other soldiers would remark, "You see, he knows us--he remembers. He knows our families. He knows we have served." 

What a great example of leadership. We need to take the time to know those around us in a way that makes them feel special.  In feeling special they will give their best.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

-1 Thessalonians 5:11 (New International Version)

Dear Lord we pray today that we would be the encouragement that somebody needs today. We pray that our eyes would be open so that we can be ready to share your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.