My Faith Stands On.....

And Abram believed the Lord . Genesis 15:6 (NLT)

Abram and Sarai were old. Really old. They were way past the age of child-bearing. Yet when God told Abram that he would have a son, Abram believed him. And as years went by and nothing happened, Abram still believed God.

Why? As we look at our circumstances and they look impossible, it is so easy for us to give up and think (pick one) God forgot or we heard him wrong or we did something to change his mind or God doesn’t love us or fill in the blank because we each have our own nuance of this.

Abram believed God and he kept walking. Romans 4:18-21 says:

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

Do you see that? Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping…..and He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

What was he putting his hope in if there was no reason? What do you put your hope in when it seems hopeless? Is it possible that we should not be hoping in our circumstances or the things we see but in what we don’t see? Shouldn’t our hope be in the God we know and love? How about this? Shouldn’t our hope be in the intentions we know God has for our lives?

Ahhhh, that’s a different twist huh? If we know that God loves us and his intention for our life is to save us, wouldn’t that be where our faith should rest? You see, often we look at how things are going and determine that God isn’t working. We are basing that thought on a fleeting circumstance - a moment in time. God is looking at the big picture and he’s working to fill in the puzzle pieces so the picture is complete for his purpose in your life. I bet if we really think about it, deep down we understand that his complete picture is very different (and should be) from our temporary one.

Some days it is really hard to keep walking when you look around and it just doesn’t make sense. It’s on those days especially when we have to return our gaze to the Good we know. That Good is God. His intentions for you are perfect. Hold on to that and let that be where your faith stands.

Hand Me A Rock

From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, Psalm 61:2 (NLT)

Have you ever seen the commercial for Snickers where the main character is hangry (hungry and angry)? They act out, not being themselves until eventually someone hands them a Snickers to eat and it returns them to normal.

That’s how I felt recently in a church meeting. We were talking about a God Project and all the implications. When you read “God Project” feel free to insert the words unknown, bigger than we are, full of surprises, etc. Because let’s face it, when God puts you on mission anything can happen and it will always be bigger than you.

I remember sitting in the meeting feeling scared. I wasn’t scared because I was terrified; I was scared because it was overwhelming. Overwhelming because I sensed things were about to change; overwhelming because this was going to get bigger than we were. When I feel overwhelmed, I tend to get very detail oriented and logistical. I focus on details that may or may not be important but usually are not important at that particular moment. And that is exactly where I went.

Later, as I was driving God revealed this to me. The funny thing is I’m pretty sure I’ve done this all my adult life but I never knew what triggered it. Suddenly, I do. There was a little relief in that aha moment but the real question became “God, how do I overcome this?” You see, being detail oriented and thinking logistical can be a good thing as long as it is contributing toward the mission. But when I am doing it to make myself feel safe and secure, that’s going to be counter-productive.

Here are my take aways from this experience.

1. God is active in our lives to grow us to be the kids he wants us to be.

2. My security can never be the main goal. It has to be about God’s plan.

3. When God reveals something to me, I need to ask him for help to change the behavior (because let’s face it….if I’ve been doing it all this time I’m not likely to change it by myself.)

4. Instead of reaching for a Snickers, I need to reach for The Rock. And there I will find my safety.

Not So Patiently Waiting

Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

Ever notice that when you follow God there is a lot of waiting. We wait for an answer to prayer. We wait for guidance. We wait while we try to figure out what God wants.

Waiting is not my strongest trait. As a matter of fact, I think I am pretty terrible at it. On a pretty regular basis I complain to God (and my friends) about the waiting. I feel that I have been waiting on God for a couple years now.

What am I waiting for? I am waiting on some idea I have in my mind about how things are supposed to look. And they don’t look like that. Where did I get that idea? Good question. Somewhere in my head I formed this idea about what life is supposed to look like. It doesn’t so I am expecting God to change it.

Maybe that’s where the next line in today’s text comes in. Be brave and courageous. Sometimes we feel that waiting is a bad thing. But in all honesty, it takes courage. When you wait, you acknowledge that you are not going to “fix” it by yourself. In this case, I am waiting on God to step in. I am surrendering the outcome to him not knowing his next move.

Surrendering is hard. It requires courage to trust God and let him run the show.

There is one word in this text that I am still working on; patiently. I am learning to wait. God’s been telling me to wait for a while now. While I wait, I am learning to trust. But the patiently part still eludes me on a pretty regular basis.

Good thing God has the “patiently” part down! He is very patiently waiting for me to learn this lesson.

A Minute In It - Counting the Cost

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then ponder the questions at the bottom of the post.

25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’

31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?

33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple. Luke 14::25-33 (MSG)

Reading this text in the context of surrender, ask yourself ……

When we come to Jesus as disciples, do we really count the cost or is it just a term we throw around?
How do we take the things that are most dear to us and be willing to let it go?
Can we do that in our own power?
Do we come to Jesus willing to surrender so we get what we want?
Are we surrendering so he’ll pretty us up and make us look good or are we coming willing to be used however for whatever his purpose is?
Do we even understand the difference?

Being Jesus

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (MSG)

In the Book of Job, Job was going through a really hard time. He had lost everything. He lost his family, his wealth and even his health. He was miserable. As he sat in ashes with sores all over his body, three of his friends decided to come comfort him.

As they sat there, they started talking. Unfortunately, what they said was not helpful. Instead of coming along side Job and lifting him up, they started telling him how he must have messed up. They told him the calamities that he was facing had to be his fault. He must have done something to deserve this.

To add insult to injury, they told him God was punishing him. And then they started misrepresenting God in their conversation.

At the end of the book God says this:

“I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has.” 42:7 (MSG)

God was angry with Job’s three friends because they misrepresented him. They didn’t help Job at all with their words. Maybe they were just trying to provide an answer but in doing so, they hurt Job and God’s image. Often when we come across people who are hurting, we feel that we need to say something and in grasping for the right thing to say, we say things we shouldn’t.

Maybe we should just come alongside and be. Be present, be silent and be loving. We don’t need words for that. We need a heart that has traveled through pain before (haven’t we all?). We need a relationship with Jesus so we can share the comfort he has shared with us.

If you encounter someone who is hurting today, say a quick prayer asking God for His Spirit and be….

How To Come Up With A Plan

“Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.  But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives.  Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.  Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive.  And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.” Genesis 6:17-21 (NLT)

My natural bend is to be a task oriented person (God is working with me on this.) So I look at today’s text and see a list of things to do.

Build the boat.
Gather all the animals.
Get them into the boat.
Bring your family.
Gather food for the animals and your family.

Each one of those has a million subtasks. Like for example, where do you get the materials to build the boat? How are you going to clean up after the animals? How are you going to keep the food from going bad?

Do you think when God said to Noah “This is my plan for you” Noah’s eyes glazed over and he got stuck? Being the way I am, I would have started making lists. Endless lists of what had to be done and when. I would have become so focused on the lists that I’d forget to look at God.

Another thing I would probably do is ask God to lay out exactly when I needed to have everything done. I would want to know when the flood was going to start. I probably would have had endless questions.

But, as I ponder the story, God worked with Noah for around 100 years to get the job done (give or take depending on the calculations you use.) He gave him the information he needed when he needed it. For example, when the boat was ready, God said “Seven days from now I will send the rain.” He didn’t tell him way in advance. At the end of the flood, God told Noah when he was to come out of the boat. He didn’t leave a lot of room for guessing.

A couple of things pop into my mind when I read this story. First, God chooses us for his plan and he gives us the ability to do what he asks. There were so many parts of this job that Noah had never done. Heck, they’d never even seen rain before! But God walked him through it, step by step. Next, God’s timing and his communication about that timing is perfect.

He told Noah what Noah needed to know when he needed to know it. Every part was covered even down to the part about taking seven of the clean animals so at the end Noah could offer a sacrifice without killing off a species.

What was Noah’s role? To listen for God’s direction and do what God said when he said it. Today, as you look at the list of things you have to get accomplished, maybe instead of getting overwhelmed you could give it to God and ask for his plan. Maybe if we make his plan our plan we’d do amazing things for him like build an ark or spread his kingdom to the corners of the world. What do you think?

Heaven Looks Like This

He is the embodiment of our peace, sent once and for all to take down the great barrier of hatred and hostility that has divided us so that we can be one. Ephesians 2:14 (VOICE)

This week I have been privileged to attend a Christian conference. This conference is about growing God’s Kingdom. It’s about how we, as Christians, are to follow God’s mandate to “Go.” We dive into the Bible and see what God has charged us to do and then we talk about it (in lots of different forums.)

Each year God impresses me with the next step in my journey and to tell you the truth, I have not met one person that has not experienced God impressing something on their heart while here. But that’s not what continually amazes me.

My absolute favorite part is that Gods Kingdom is represented by many nations, tongues, races and denominations. When we come together to celebrate, the room (about 5,000 people) is full of people from many countries, who speak various languages, who have different beliefs and who look different on the outside. But not on the inside.

On the inside we all have one desire; we are here for one thing. We are here to celebrate Jesus but we are also reminded of our mission. Our mission is to love each other and see each other as brothers and sisters. Our mission is to take our love and share the gospel with as many brothers and sisters as we can because the King of our lives told us to.

As I stand in a sea of people and hear the Word of God, as we sing and praise together, I am reminded that this is what Heaven will look like. All of God’s people standing together with one purpose….to worship our King.

I truly wish that our world would live like this. That we would remember that we are all God’s children. We are all beautiful Masterpieces in the Father’s eyes. I long for the day when we stand together united, loving one another and celebrating each other.

We are not in heaven yet but we can have heaven here on earth. It starts with each one of us who believe in the sacrificing love of Jesus Christ living that love in our world. It starts with us refusing to give in to the lies that permeate our world that tell us we have to be separate because we are different. We must live the way Jesus lived. Loving everybody always.

Gotta Go

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” ‭Romans‬ ‭10:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are some days that make you feel like you are being tossed in gigantic waves. Heck, sometimes I feel like I can’t get out of the storm. I know you’ve experienced them too. When I have those days, I want to hide. Not literally, but hide in my quiet space.

I want to stay in my worship time for a long period and just look at Jesus. I feel at peace there. When I am there, it doesn’t matter if I know what tomorrow brings. It doesn’t matter what I will get accomplished today. The fact that things feel like they are burning down around me doesn’t even matter. It’s during these times that I want to stay where I am and not venture out into the big, bad world.

That truly is an option right? I mean obviously I have to go out to do some things like work, buy groceries, etc. but I could limit my exposure to only those necessary things. How then, would I reconcile my relationship with Jesus and his directive to “Go.” Go and get to know people. Go and love my sheep. Go and care for them. Give them a safe place.

My quiet time isn’t just for me to feel better. Sure, that’s part of it but it’s really to get my feet back on the dock as I am being tossed about. It’s so I can be recharged and refreshed. Then, as I am filled with what gives me strength and hope, I can “Go” and share that with others.

If the Jesus we know can offer us peace, strength, courage, love and fulfillment, wouldn’t we want others to experience that as well? I think so. I think the love we feel for him would drive us to love others more than we love our comfort.

So, on the days that I want to stay put and be comfortable, I remember. I remember that if Jesus did the same thing, I’d be lost. He left comfortable and safe so I could experience him. Maybe, just maybe, we should do the same.