God Stories | areliablefaith

Archive for the ‘God Stories’ Category

Uncertainty… A Lesson in the Fog

Posted in God, God Stories, Prayer, Vision, Worship, tagged doubt, faith building, fog, hope, job loss, joy, Trust, uncertainty on June 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

As I rose this morning I wondered if the storm that crashed in upon us at dusk last night would result in a glorious sunrise this morning. I hurriedly got dressed as an excitement rose within me to commune with the Father and see what the morning light ushered in. Surprisingly, my excitement only rose when I looked out the window and saw the fog. Grabbing my bible and hot tea I headed outside.

This morning’s post requires a little background before I get to the good stuff. I am in a new phase of my life. At the beginning of this year after almost 32 years of constant employment and increasingly responsible positions within three different companies, I found myself unemployed. The way the separation transpired left me with unanswered questions and a fair amount of emotional loose ends to work through. I had the basis of a plan already formulated, but I had not done much work in setting the plan in motion when the separation arrived. So even as I moved into a time of soul-searching I also moved into hurry-up mode to become an independent consultant in my field of expertise. Today, five months later I have made more progress on the soul-searching side, but both are progressing.

Which brings me to the lesson in the fog. Our church is currently going through a series called “Without a Doubt”. We are looking at God’s faithfulness in life’s most trying times. As Pastor P said several weeks ago every person is in one of three stages in life. Either they are in a storm, they are coming out of a storm, or they are getting ready to enter a storm. Last night’s storm dumped a lot of rain and that moisture created the fairly dense fog this morning. Storms do that. Their impact can linger even after the deluge has passed.

The fog after the rain.

Enveloped by Fog.

As I prayed this morning I realized that since I came to faith I don’t believe I have doubted God’s love. I have experienced periods of uncertainty about what the results would be in a storm, uncertainty whether my response would be right and good, uncertainty whether I would stand in the God-honoring way I desire, but I haven’t been uncertain that God is or that He is sovereign. Digging deeper though, I have been uncertain that God’s love would manifest itself in a way that I could bear. It was not whether God loves or that He would be with me. Those are unshakeable truths. But I recognize in myself the weakness of thought and action that leaves me yearning for more of Christ and less of me.

At that moment I raised my hands and looked up into the grey mist all around and above and I praised the living Lord. Immediately I thought of what was on the other side of that grey mist – a glorious sunshine that was bright, golden, and warm. A light that is life giving. A light that is always there. A light that I am certain is there.

It dawned on me in that moment that God’s love is the same as the sun. It is always there… it is life-giving… it is bright, golden, and warm. My doubts and uncertainty are swallowed in the certainty of God’s love. It is a redeeming love. Even if I lose all, God’s love can and will redeem what is lost (See Job 42:10). Even if the way is dark, God’s love is the light of dawn speeding toward us. Even if my faith slips and my response misses the mark, God is faithful and just to forgive us and restore us because of His love.

I had two key take-aways from the message this weekend that apply in every storm and in the fog. First, if the situation we are in is not good, then God’s not finished. Second, in the times when I cannot see God’s hand, when I can’t understand what is going on, I can always, ALWAYS trust His heart. Let the storm come. Let the fog roll in. Let the darkness settle upon us. In all things and in every situation God is there, God is light, God is life and God is love!

As I finish this blog I look out the window and within the past five minutes the fog has lifted. I think I will take that as I sign I got it right.

The fog has lifted!

AWESOME! He is SO GOOD!

Rejoice today my friend. God’s love is precious and it is near. Take hold of His hand today and let us rejoice!

Read Full Post »

A Sweet, Sweet Fragrance

Posted in God, God Stories, Service, Spiritual Growth, Vision, tagged family, honeysuckle, mind of Christ, plants, service, sin, spiritual growth on June 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Two and a half years ago my wife and I felt prompted to make an addition to our home. It seemed a little odd since we were facing an empty nest within 8 months as our youngest of four was about to graduate and head off to college. As we continued to pray the nudge became a clarified vision and so we began the process. The addition was to add a pool and a garage with an apartment over head. We designed it, found a builder who worked wonderfully with us to get it done before the two weddings we had that year, and by Memorial Day we had a new swimming pool and pool house. One of the most exciting aspects of the process for me was the opportunity to design and add the landscaping.

One of the coolest features we designed was a cedar pergola to connect the pool house with our home. This turned out really nice creating a rather strong contrast of the red cedar against the grey-brown brick of the buildings. Additionally it framed a small courtyard that needed the creative landscape touch. One of the things I envisioned were vines climbing up the pergola and providing an additional degree of natural shading as well as seasonal color. I found some plants that appeared like they would work and I added them into the plan.

Today, two years after completion of the project I regularly begin my day talking to the Lord on the pool house porch. This morning I was struck by the wonderful fragrance that wafted in and around the little courtyard from one of the honeysuckles that we planted. The plant has climbed the 12 feet to the top of the pergola and is covered in delicate pink blossoms.

As I breathed deeply I thought about how that little honeysuckle is like believers who grow into committed followers. Two years ago the plant arrived in a pot that I easily held in the palm of my hand. We were careful to plant it in good soil. We amended the soil and added the appropriate fertilizer. We also watered it whenever conditions warranted. A regular task through the growing season has been the training of the plant. You see honeysuckles spread broadly in their natural state. They tend to be invasive and a nuisance. We had in mind a vertical growth that looped up and over the pergola. So on at least a weekly basis we have had to maneuver the branches into the correct direction. Additionally we have pruned it removing dead and damaged growth as well as branches that weren’t heading in the right direction.

There are parallels with the growth and training of this little plant and followers of Jesus. The start of our life in Christ is a very delicate time. If the enemy can’t stop us from hearing and responding to Jesus’ call to save us, he will double down to keep us from growing in our faith. He hates all Christians, but if he can prevent us from becoming effective, then at least he doesn’t have to worry about us working in tandem with God to expand the kingdom. During this period of vulnerability it is crucial that new believers be properly connected to a vibrant body of believers who will ensure they are fed, nurtured, and encouraged.

A major challenge for new believers is the process of sanctification that we begin when we say YES to Jesus call upon our lives. Salvation is God’s gift given the moment we say yes to Him. Our new life in Christ begins then. It would be wonderful if all bad habits and sin tendencies were immediately removed at that time too, but it doesn’t work that way. My personal experience is that some of my sin tendencies disappeared immediately. Some did not. 1 Thessalonians 4 talks about living to please God which we do as we sanctify ourselves from the old habits and sins. In a very close comparison this is like the pruning that takes place on that little honeysuckle we planted. Unhealthy branches and branches that aren’t going the right way have to be removed. The same is true in our lives. And these things take action on the part of the new believer usually in alignment with the body of believers they are connected to.

Time is also a similarity between our honeysuckle and the believer. I have seen a few new believers “flame out.” In every case they jumped forward with great enthusiasm and vigor, but they wilted within a relatively short time frame. They had not taken the time to grow, to develop the roots of faith needed to withstand persecution and the various attacks of the enemy. Jesus talks about this in the parable of the sower see Matthew 13:1 – 23, but especially verses 20 & 21. As I mentioned before the early stage of plant growth is a very vulnerable time. The roots must develop depth to be able to withstand a dry spell.

I have a lot of perennials that I have planted. One of the worst things you can do for a perennial is water it too often. This results in shallow roots with no depth. If you then leave for a week or two and there is no rain you are liable to return to dead plants. This is one of the reasons that the Lord doesn’t just make life all fun and games. We must experience times of difficulty, challenge, and dryness to cause us to persevere, stretch ourselves, and grow our faith.

Finally I mentioned the wonderful fragrance coming from the honeysuckle. In the old testament the burning of incense was a prescribed act of worship. Symbolically we view the drifting up of the incense smoke and fragrance as representative of our prayers and offerings rising to God. As we spend time in the Word of God, the Bible; as we sit under good, solid teaching; as we apply ourselves to serving others; as we seek to hear and obey God, we will grow in our faith. It may be all small steps, but they are steps none-the-less. We begin to take on the mind of Christ more and more. We are like that honeysuckle stretching, reaching, and growing. And in our season to blossom, we will burst forth in fragrant, beautiful bloom. Our devotion and love of the Father will manifest itself in the flower and fruit of a life established and growing in Him.

Let me finish the story about why God gave us the vision to expand. About the time we finished building, my sister’s house sold essentially out of the blue. They looked around for some place to live, but that wasn’t working out. Again that nudge from the Lord convinced us to offer up our home. The day after our youngest son moved into College, my sister and her family moved in with us. The extra room made it work fine. And then 8 months later, our oldest son who had moved away for what seemed like a good job opportunity, realized closer to family was important. So their family of 4 moved in with us. So when the vision was given we wondered why soon-to-be empty nesters would be adding on rather than downsizing. We didn’t know, but we clearly sensed the Lord’s leading so we obeyed. And because we did we have been blessed to grow so much closer to our grandsons, son, and daughter-in-law as well as my sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephew. I’m convinced that despite the challenges that three families living together will invariably bring, we have all grown through this experience. And I believe that part of that sweet fragrance is the love and service we have given to one another these past two years.

Be blessed my friend and be a blessing to someone today.

Our Fragrant Honeysuckle

Climbing the pergola this honeysuckle looks and smells wonderful.

Read Full Post »

Turn Toward the Sun

Posted in God, God Stories, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Growth, The Father, tagged classical disciplines, holy spirit, Jesus, spiritual growth, Transformation on May 28, 2015| 2 Comments »

It is a coolish late spring morning where I live. As I slipped outside into the early dawn my shorts and t-shirt provided slightly less warmth than I needed, but the beauty of the pre-sunrise sky drew me in and kept me from going back inside. As I walked I meditated upon my study the night before on spiritual growth and the classical disciplines which help us in that growth. As I look back on my life I can see that it has been a series of growth spurts and plateaus. It is probably much like a tree which grows rapidly during the spring and summer and then rests through the fall and winter. I suspect we all have “growth rings” of a sort. I recognized two other things. Deeper intimacy with the Lord and increased practice of one, and usually more, of the spiritual disciplines were present during the times of growth.

There is an essential order to the process. It is crucial that we recognize and keep before us the goal of our life, the goal of spiritual growth is to grow in our intimacy with the Lord. Jesus’ death on the cross was not simply so that we could go to heaven one day. No, His death was to remove the curse of sin which separated us from the Father and opened the door to a life of intimacy with Him. The curse is removed immediately, but intimacy comes over time as we collaborate with the work of the Holy Spirit inside us. So the essential order is 1) accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, 2) make intimacy with God our primary goal in life, 3) practice those activities which lead to greater knowledge of and intimacy with the Lord, and then 4) experience all the benefits, privileges, and responsibilities of a life surrendered to Him. The benefits, privileges, and responsibilities begin showing up as soon as we begin our spiritual journey, but what I experience today is so much more than what I did when I was a young Christian.

I had been exposed to small doses of the classical disciplines over the first couple of years of my faith walk by more mature believers, but the real breakthrough came when someone gave me the book, Celebration of Discipline – The PATH to SPIRITUAL GROWTH by Richard Foster. It is succinct, well-researched, and written in a way that I could easily understand. I recommend it to anyone seriously desiring to grow spiritually but unsure what steps to take. In the near future I suspect my posts will include things we discuss in our Home Group since we will be studying this over the next three months. I am very excited because I sense the Lord wants to do something new and fresh in our group and in me.

As I continued to walk outside a shiver hit me due to the chill in the air even as my excitement was building. I stopped and turned to look at the sunrise just as the sun was becoming visible through the trees on the horizon. Immediately the chill was gone and I sensed a warmth on the outside that mirrored the warmth I was feeling on the inside as I had been meditating and praying to the Lord. In that moment I was struck by the fact that as we look to the Son, Jesus, and grow in intimacy with Him, God the Father draws us into His warm embrace and fills us with His grace more and more.

At Pentecost, God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the disciples as tongues of fire. So it is when we make it our life goal to live in intimacy with Jesus, the Holy Spirit will warm us with His Holy fire. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we surrender ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us. His fire is a refining fire though. It will burn up the chaff in our life – those things that are not God’s best for us. But with the purging and refining comes something so much better, so much greater – a deeper, richer faith and an intimacy with the Lover of our Soul that we were created for.

And that, my friend, is glorious!

Go forth to be blessed and be a blessing to someone God puts in your path today!

A pre-dawn sunrise viewed from our SC home.

Read Full Post »

Like the Weather

Posted in God, God Stories, Jesus Christ, Worship, tagged hope, hurricane, Jesus, storm, Trust on May 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Life is a lot like the weather. Sometimes it is wonderful like blue skies and pleasant temperatures. Other times it is rainy, dull, and dreary. And on occasion a storm or hurricane decides to roll through. For those in the northern climes we’ll say a blizzard blasts you. Today I sit on a balcony at Myrtle Beach as tropical storm Ana decides to come ashore. As storms go Ana is relatively mild. Still the wind gusts and at times driving rain are scuttling the plans of many as we hunker down inside and plan to “make the best of it.”

Today several of our friends are going through hurricanes in their lives. A precious 2 year old succumbed to cancer yesterday. Another friend lost her only brother who leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. Other friends are dealing with struggling relationships – marriages being attacked and threatened. These painful events are akin to the wind, rain, and battering waves that threaten to destroy beach, buildings, and any soul who mistakenly wanders out into the storm.

Jesus talked about exactly these sorts of situations and He used a weather metaphor to do so. In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus describes the wise and foolish builders.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

I am an engineer so I know that there are many steps in building a good, solid house. Jesus really emphasizes only one point in this story – the foundation. You can do everything else in home construction perfect, but if you have a poor foundation the home will not stand when the earth shakes or the severe storm hits. Jesus and His teachings are the only truly solid foundation for life.

Just a little bit later in Matthew we see a real life example of Jesus’ authority demonstrated. Crossing the Sea of Galilee Jesus falls into an exhausted sleep in the boat when a squall breaks out. From Matthew 8: 23 – 27:

23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

For some storms in our lives Jesus will step in and calm the storm… the layoff passes us by, the diagnosis is marvelously / miraculously wrong, the wayward child comes to their senses and returns home. For many storms though the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, chooses to walk with us through the storm rather than still the storm. The promise of scripture and the experience of followers everywhere is that if the Lord doesn’t calm the storm, you can be certain He is with you in the storm. That is my story. Jesus’ peace, comfort, and grace have sustained and carried me through every storm I’ve experienced. And on the other side I am a better person with a stronger faith because of it. I have been in a particular storm for the past year plus, but I see the end of this storm on the horizon and I am excited.

As I’ve written the bands of wind and rain have continued to sweep through and yet I feel joy in my heart as if it where a beautiful, spring morning. I know Him who is the foundation of life and He is my strength and shield. I don’t know where you are in your life, but there is a truth our pastor says fairly frequently. “Whoever you are you can be certain one of three things is true. Either you are in a storm, you’ve recently come through a storm, or there is a storm in your future.” This would be pretty discouraging IF we didn’t have a sovereign God who knew how to bring good out of every storm and Who walks with us through them.

If Jesus and His words are your life foundation, then join me in praising Him in the rain. If you do not yet know Him, please comment to my blog and I will be happy to reach out and introduce you to the Lover of your soul who wants to be your foundation. Ask the Lord to help you know Him. Also pick up the bible and start reading. The gospels are the best choice, but I would be happy to correspond with you and give you some suggestions based upon your life situation.

Be blessed today and be a blessing whether you are in the sunshine or in the rain.

Read Full Post »

Scars Aren’t All Bad

Posted in God, God Stories, Holy Spirit, Marriage, Prayer, Vision, tagged broken legs, hearing God, holy spirit, hope, marriage, Prayer, scars, tangible change on May 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

This morning as my wife and I finished our devotion we moved into prayer for friends and family who are going through serious challenges. In particular we prayed for couples who are striving to reconcile their marriages after betrayal and hurt.

A picture that came to mind as we were praying is that of a deep wound that must heal from the inside out. I spoke with a friend recently who has suffered a very serious injury losing the ends of three fingers. The doctors are leaving one of the wounds open so that it will heal properly – from the inside out. Coming back to the picture that came to mind as we were praying, I believe that this was a word the Lord gave of what has to happen in these couples we know although it is true of anyone who has suffered deep hurt. The emotional wound has to have time to heal. Words and superficial actions will not bring the healing that we truly need to be made whole.

In a marriage a demonstrated commitment is essential for this healing. Practical steps in this are striving to know and understand our spouse better and better, seeking to understand and speak our spouse’s love language, putting our spouse and their needs before our own, and walking in the character trifecta of openness, honesty, and integrity. These same truths apply to other relationships as well, but marriage is indeed a common relationship crucible for many of us. Sadly, for many marriages the refining fire beneath the crucible doesn’t have to get too hot before the majority of what we have built our life upon becomes ash. Yet through this God is able to build something truly valuable with the little that is left and adding His all-sufficiency.

You see I know this from personal experience. My wife and I celebrated 30 years of marriage last month. As I look back I can honestly say that over those 30 years we have had 29+ years of very good to amazingly great love and life together. But there have been times… A little over three years ago our relationship had become quite strained. My job had me on the road 70% of the time. Lisa was focusing more and more on her career and when I came home looking to be pampered a little bit (okay maybe I was looking for a lot of pampering) Lisa was about used up from all the extra she was having to do. Our communication suffered and frankly the love was a rather dim ember at that time. Even the close friendship that we have always shared was being severely tested. At Christmas we had booked a condo in Orlando assuming Sammy’s soccer team would be playing soccer between Christmas and New Years as they had done for four years previously. Surprise, they decided not to play in that tournament and yet I had the condo rented. The short story is it was not the relaxing time to refresh and rejuvenate that I had hoped for. In fact we now refer to it as the “vacation from hell.” That is not a direct reflection on Orlando necessarily, but more on our heart condition at the time.

Driving back from that vacation I was secretly looking forward to work and being be back out on the road. I had scheduled to be gone for the first seven weeks of 2012. Six days later we were racing to the emergency room with Lisa’s left leg just above the ankle sitting at a grotesque angle. It was a compound, open fracture of both bones a little above the ankle. A week in the hospital, three surgeries, 12 weeks with no weight on the ankle and multiple PT sessions later Lisa is able to walk and generally has regained most of her mobility. In a previous post I have written about our walk through this time. It’s a particularly moving read called “Broken Legs, Mended Hearts.”

I allude to this story today because one of the residuals from this is a serious scar around Lisa’s leg where the tissue was so seriously damaged. Two things the doctor later told us that we look to as a testament of God’s grace. First when he first saw Lisa’s leg he estimated he had a 50/50 chance of saving it. Yet her healing progressed very well. In fact he seemed very pleased and even a little surprised at how well she recovered. Second at her one year check up he fully released her telling her to listen to her leg and let pain and discomfort tell her how much to do. (Oh he did forbid her from swinging on rope swings too.) But he also said, that a break as bad as hers 50 years earlier often proved fatal. The bones were shattered into so many small pieces and the wound was a terrible thing.

As we finished our prayer time and I shared the picture that I had used in praying for our friends, Lisa thought of her leg and pointed to her scar. And she said that deep wounds can leave bad scars. She was mostly right, but I don’t see her scar as bad. To some it may not be pretty, but to me it reminds me of Gods abundant grace. Lisa lived. Lisa kept her leg and she has most of her mobility. Our marriage was healed because when Lisa broke her leg, God broke my heart. Our oldest daughter who had been estranged from us for a time not only came rushing back to be with her mama, she gave her life to the living God. She will live with God in His kingdom and the catalyst for her final step to this decision was Lisa’s broken leg.

One final thought. I went for a run after we finished our devotion. I love to run and I had stopped for a couple of months, so it was exhilarating to get back out there. But I don’t run for the sake of running. I run so I can talk with the Lord. He did not disappoint. I pick up small rocks as mementos of the places we’ve travelled. (Lisa is wrapping up a business meetings here in Myrtle Beach as I write this post.) You may agree with Lisa and think it’s a little weird, but I have found a few other persons who share this weirdness. Anyway I am on the return leg of this long run and I have picked up a couple good rock candidates for my collection when I feel the Lord speak to me to stop and look for a rock. Now I like fossil rocks or intricate design rocks or even pretty rocks – something that stands out. So as I stand by this puddle I am thinking, “Are you going to show me a gold nugget or something Lord?” And I started looking for something special. But the Lord said, “Look in the muck and mire. Look for the dirty and overlooked. Get the rock that looks the least appealing.” So I looked and sure enough there was a little, ugly black rock. I picked it up and as I evaluated it I decided it is a possibly a small piece of shell encased in a little bit of asphalt. I thought, “Wow, no gold nugget here.” To which the Holy Spirit immediately replied, “Everything can be redeemed!” My mind went to the description of the heavenly city described in Revelation of the streets of gold and I realized that streets of gold will have an underlayment that support them and keep them strong, flat, and beautiful. An underlayment that can include little pieces of shell encrusted in small chunks of asphalt.

Friend, I do not believe you are reading this by accident. I feel that the Lord has a message of hope for the world that He will get out through as many means as possible. This message is meant for you and perhaps a loved one or friend. God loves you, He can bring about the deep healing that is needed, scars aren’t always bad, and everything can be redeemed. That about sums it up for this morning.

Have a blessed day. And be a blessing to someone God puts in your path or on your heart today.

Read Full Post »

Final 48

Posted in God Stories, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, tagged commuion, empathay, faith, Holy Week, intimacy with the Father, precognition, prophecy on April 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

It is Wednesday of Holy Week in Jerusalem the year 30 AD. Jesus has less than 48 hours before He is nailed to the wooden beams of a Roman cross.

I often try to put myself in the place of others to see from their perspective. I have found this an excellent approach at building empathy. I wonder what Jesus’ mindset was on this Wednesday. He knew what was before Him. He had mentioned it to His disciples on numerous occasions (even though it appears they didn’t grasp the immediacy of his prophetic words). Yet we see in the scripture that Jesus continued His routine. He resided outside the city, probably in Bethany (Matt 21:17). His early morning would be spent in communion with the Father. One of the things I didn’t realize until lately was that Jesus didn’t need to carry a written scroll of the sacred texts. He had these memorized. This was actually common among religious Jews, so it is a safe assumption that Jesus knew them by heart. Of course He knew them – He helped write them. John 1 tells us that Jesus is the “Word of God” so He knew the scriptures more intimately than any religious person ever could. He actually understood what each line and phrase was intended to convey. And that was another reason that He and the religious leaders so often clashed.

After breaking fast with His disciples He would head to back into Jerusalem probably over the road from the Mount of Olives. Let’s take a minute and consider what breakfast would look like. Jesus, fresh from His time with His Father in prayer and having been awake for some time already, would be fresh and alive. I can visualize various members of His band coming in and picking up a piece bread and fruit the women have spread on the table and playful conversations picking up.

“Andrew, did you sleep in the barn again? You have straw sticking out of your hair.” John asks Andrew as he sleepily walks into the large room.

“Speak for yourself John. From your smell I would say you slept in the barn AND you haven’t bathed in a month,” Andrew replies.

“Andrew, he is just a boy.” James exclaims. “He hasn’t learned that a man must bath at least once a week if he is to share close quarters with his friends. Out in the fields and walking in the wilderness he can get away with only the occasional ritual bath, but not when we all come to Jerusalem.”

“He will get His ritual bath soon enough,” Jesus says. “We all will be cleansed very soon. Passover is upon us my brothers. A very special Passover indeed.”

After breaking fast they would take the 30 minute or so walk to Jerusalem entering through one of the massive gates in the city wall. They would proceed to the Temple. One of Jesus’ favorite places to teach was Solomon’s colonnade. Here he would take a seat and begin to teach.

These final few days were a political chess match. Jesus continued to teach and heal while the religious leaders repeatedly tried to trap Him in His words. One day they asked Him about paying taxes expecting Him to either anger the authorities by saying NO or displeasing the crowds by saying YES. Instead Jesus says, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and unto God, that which is God’s”. Another time they demand to know by whose authority He is teaching. They did not sanction Him therefore that are suspect of His credentials. Not to mention He takes issue with a significant number of their interpretations of the law. Jesus answers their question with a question. “I will answer you if you answer my question first. John’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven or of human origin?” Now they are trapped because they did not accept John’s baptism and message, but they know the people did. To answer as they truly believe would risk a riot and further alienation from the people. But to answer otherwise would reveal their blatant hypocrisy. So they say, “We don’t know.”

If He was stressed by the continued manipulations of the temple leaders, none of the Gospels bear this out. And personally, I don’t expect that these things surprised or stressed Jesus. Not because of the fact of His divinity, but because of His intimacy and trust in the Father. The impression I take from studying Jesus in the scriptures is One who is 100% confident in Himself because of His absolute connection with the Lord of the Universe. There is no sin to disrupt that connection. He consistently seeks to know the Father’s will and communes with Him constantly. And He is obedient to the uttermost.

A logical question arises – did Jesus know all the events each day held beforehand? We see that a number of times He is aware of what is going to happen… sending the disciples ahead for the donkey on Palm Sunday, waiting for Lazarus to die before heading to Bethany to raise Him, seeing Nathaniel under the tree before they meet. But I don’t think this has to be extrapolated that He knows every detail of every day. In fact, I think He knew the details that He needed to know to be in the right place at the right time. And I am sure that He was given the words He needed at the time they were needed (see Mark 13:11). This came from His communion with and total faith in the Father which was reflected in complete obedience. But in keeping with one of the “secondary” reasons He came and lived among us, for Him to effectively model a life we are to strive for, He would have to “walk by faith and not by sight” some of the time.

I encourage you to take time to put yourself in Jesus’ place on this Wednesday in His final week. Consider what might be going through His mind. How did He find the will to move resolutely toward His death rather than look for the way to escape. Then apply that to where you are right now. What incremental step can you take to grow your faith and move a little closer to the person the Lord has called you to be… the Lord has equipped you to be… the Lord died for you to be. Don’t misunderstand. The Lord isn’t calling a person of little to no faith to immediately become one who boldly faces down the religious leaders and willingly dies for Christ. But He is calling us to grow in our faith today to be a little stronger today than yesterday. And then tomorrow to grow a little stronger than we were today. In time, perhaps less than we can imagine, the Lord will put us in places were our natural response would have been to run and hide, but our faith response becomes to stand and proclaim the goodness and richness of the Lord.

Be blessed today my friend and allow the Lord to make you a blessing to those He puts in your path this day.

Read Full Post »

Lover of My Soul

Posted in God, God Stories, Jesus Christ, Prayer, The Father, Worship, tagged Easter, God loves you, God's plan, grace, inspiration, Jesus, love, sacrifice, train, Transformation, truth on March 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

I am moved by how deeply, how passionately God loves us. As we approach Holy Week I invite you to pause each day and plumb the depths of what God did for us… for you 2000 years ago. He literally dealt with sin once and for all. Jesus, God’s Son, performed the most gracious act ever undertaken because He loved and obeyed the Father and because they both love us. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I heard a story about a Railroad switchman many years ago that has stuck with me. Back in those days switching a railroad from one track to another was accomplished by manually actuating sets of large, open gears that literally shifted the rails from one set to another. The switchmen were the railroad employees responsible for knowing which tracks went where and how to keep the trains flowing smoothing through the yard without incident. While this is all automated today, back then it was a task that rested upon the knowledge, quick-thinking, and physical strength of the switchman. The story told was long before OSHA rules and regulations.

As the story was told to me one particular day a watchman had decided to take his young son to his work to show him the trains and give him an idea of what his dad did for a living. The young lad was thrilled to see the engines and all new things in the switchyard. While they are there another railroad employee approached the switchman with a question to which the switchman responded. His son saw his chance to “explore” and slipped away. The question it turns out reveals a significant drama unfolding. A passenger train is barreling into the switchyard and has had a brake failure. The father’s presence becomes providential in that he understands the gravity of the situation and is able to quickly determine what must be done to save the train and it’s passengers. It’s fairly complicated, but with a few rapidly executed track switches he can prevent a certain crash and derailment which would injure and kill many passengers. As the father runs from switch to switch making the necessary changes, he is barely ahead of the speeding train. At the last switch he arrives with only a moment to look up before he must throw the switch only to realize making the last switch will send the train down the track where his son is seated playing with a piece of coal. He has only two choices – either save his son and watch many people crash and die or make the switch and watch his son die.

I heard this story before I had children and it was hard to fathom the sacrifice the father made even then. Today I have four children and it is even harder. But this gives us a sense of the sacrifice our heavenly Father made in sending His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Why did He do this? The answer absolutely blows me away. He did it because He loves me. He did it because He loves you. He did it because it was the only way we could be reconciled in our relationship with Him.

Sin… my sin, my choices to go my way, had put a barrier between the God who loves me and me. But God never stopped loving me. He never stopped loving you despite your sin. In fact He knew we would be separated from Him so He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him. He called a people group to be His chosen people. Through this group He set up the process where by a substitution, a perfect lamb, could stand in the place of a sinner to take their deserved punishment. The code of justice was served, the penalty was paid, and mercy was extended to the sinner. But the blood of goats and lambs only rolled the penalty forward. It foreshadowed God’s ultimate plan to send His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect sinless life among His chosen people. And at the right time to become the one, perfect sacrifice for all people, for all time. AMAZING… AMAZING LOVE!

For the person reading this right now, I believe God put these thoughts in my heart and encouraged you to read this so He can get you this message. “He loves YOU with an amazing, hard-to-fathom, but true love. You are so precious to Him that He gave that which was, and is, dearest to Him – the life of His Son, Jesus. He purchased your salvation at the highest price imaginable because to Him, you are worth it.”

“Father, this day we thank you for your amazing love. You absolutely overwhelm us with your goodness, your kindness, your mercy. Although we don’t deserve it, we will receive it with thanksgiving. And we love you in return. Imperfect as it is, we offer you our love, our lives, our obedience. God, please deepen our knowledge of You. Help us to be transformed by Your Holy Spirit through the reading of Your Word and obedience to what it says. Jesus, make your life inside of us grow more and more each day. Let your love do its work in us and through us. And love others through us today so that they might know You – the Lover of our soul. Jesus, I pray this in Your mighty and powerful Name. Amen.”

Be blessed and be a blessing today my friend.

Read Full Post »

Leaving and Forsaking

Posted in God, God Stories, Jesus Christ, Salvation, The Father, tagged faith, Jesus, Prayer, Transformation, truth on March 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Many of us live lives that are damaged, bruised, and broken. Even those who seem to “have it all together” often have scars and reminders of the brokenness we all must deal with. Relationships with those around us – spouse, family, friends, acquaintances are subject to the influences of mood, circumstances, miscommunication, egos, and sin in all its varied forms. It’s no wonder that from time to time we experience pain in every facet of our being whether it be emotional, physical, mental, or spiritual. But this is not our end state. Nor do we have to remain trapped in the lonely, unhappy place this brokenness takes us. In John’s gospel we read. 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” There has been one thought that has rumbled through my consciousness all week that is tremendously liberating. God promises to those who are His that He will never leave us or forsake us. This is a bedrock truth that fits tightly with the cornerstone of faith which is Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

This truth was what Jesus said the day I turned my life over to Him. As I knelt in the chapel at Camp Hardtner in the piney woods of central Louisiana I knew I had an important decision before me. At 23 years of age I had been a church-goer all my life and seemingly for the most part, a pretty good guy… But in reality I was living mostly for myself and there were plenty of times when the choice to do what I knew was right was overwhelmed by the decision to do what I wanted to do in that moment. I was in Camp Hardtner because the leader of the youth group where I was helping had suggested that I go to the Cursillo weekend. Well, a day and a half of being loved on by people who knew and loved the Lord combined with simple, yet powerful talks by people whose lives were being touched by a very real, very personal God had me in the chapel pondering what it all meant for me.

You see, I entered the chapel to get alone for a few minutes to gather my thoughts and try to process what I was hearing, thinking, and feeling. But in reality I was coming to a divine appointment with Jesus. As I knelt there looking at the cross in the chapel I started talking to God knowing that He was real and that He could hear me. As I poured out my questions I became aware that I was not alone. I realized Jesus was right behind me, listening to my words and listening to my heart. I stopped talking and I just listened. Then Jesus spoke to me. Even though it was over 31 years ago, I remember the details very vividly. He first clarified the question. “Dan, will you continue living as you have been living or will you follow me?” He didn’t have to say that my “following Him when it was convenient” wasn’t really following Him. That was what the day and a half at the camp had brought into crystal clarity. I remember at this point holding my hands in front of me, palms up. I saw that I was holding up everything that meant something to me in life…my family, my job, my car, my reputation, even my future hopes and dreams. I guess I subconsciously knew I was making an offering of my life at that point, but Jesus made it even clearer with His next words. At that moment he referred to my left hand and He said, “Dan, this is your life… your parents, your brothers, your sister, friends, job, reputation, your hopes and dreams… everything that you call your own. Everything that makes up your life now.” And then He switched the focus to my right hand which at this point was empty since everything that defined me was resting in a pile in my other hand. And then He said, “This is the life I offer you. I promise you only one thing, I will never leave you or forsake you.”

I knew I had a decision… the most important decision of my life. I had a lot in my left hand compared to what was visible in my right hand – a life given to Jesus with only the promise that He would never leave me or forsake me. But God gave me the faith and courage to make the decision for Him. In my mind I offered up everything in my left hand, one by one, to God for Him to have and do with as He saw fit. My family was the hardest, but at 23, my hopes and dreams were a close second. Funny thing is, in releasing those things, whatever control they had over me was gone. I still loved my family, in fact I believe I have been able to love more deeply, but since they were the Lord’s I did not fret over them. In my case, the majority of the things that I gave up, the Lord allowed to remain and become better because they were now all viewed as gifts from God. The things I needed to give up and be done with were easy to walk from since I had truly “turned them over to God”. I forsook and left those things that were of no lasting value and I gained a relationship with the One who promised never to leave or forsake me. I am reminded of a quote by the martyred missionary Jim Elliot. He said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

The Lord’s peace gently came over me that afternoon which was greatly reassuring. Our Father meets us in a manner that is perfect for us. I have heard of others who are absolutely overwhelmed by God’s grace and power at the moment of salvation. For me it was more like the tide turned and began to rise. I knew immediately that God and I had entered into a life relationship and I experienced His peace, but over the rest of the weekend that peace and joy steadily grew. By the time the weekend ended I had experienced a healing of my heart that I didn’t even realize I needed and my heart was truly full.

Today, some 31+ years later, I can honestly say God is faithful to His Word and to the specific word he spoke to me that day. He has never left me or forsaken me. That includes the times when I have stumbled in my walk. It includes the few times when regretfully I grieved Him. Even when I have gone through challenging and spiritually dry times, I could look back and see He was there with me through them all. He has remained patient, loving, and present at all times.

As you read this, take heart because Jesus loves you and desires an intimate relationship with you. If you are already His, take a moment to dwell on His promise repeated over and over in scripture (Jos 1:5, Psalm 37:28, Psalm 94:14, Hebrews 13:5, Isaiah 42:16, John 14 – 17) that He will never leave you or forsake you. Rejoice in that truth. If you are not His, I believe you are reading this as another time He is reaching out to you, calling you to Himself. In fact, if you are willing it can be your moment of truth, your moment of decision just like I had in a little church camp many years ago. I encourage you to take Him up on His offer. While my life was already full of stuff, I didn’t realize there was still an emptiness until He offered me a life totally committed to Him. I have learned that a Full Life in Him is way beyond a life full of stuff. And while stuff fades, breaks, gets lost or stolen Jesus and His love will never leave us or forsake us… forever and ever, world without end. Amen.

If you have made a decision for Christ today please let someone know. And drop me a note as I would like to encourage you in your new life in Christ.

Have and unbelievably awesome day today. Be blessed beyond all measure and be a blessing to someone else.

Read Full Post »

In the Sonshine

Posted in God, God Stories, Worship, tagged lessons in the snow, photography, snow, snow whoosh, worship on February 28, 2015| 4 Comments »

I was at my parent’s home in Northeast Georgia this week when a snow storm hit. They got 6″ of snow overnight and the morning dawned a crisp, clear winter wonderland of snow and sun. I got my camera and hiked around in the woods and then hit the roads to see what I could see.

I was out in the snow the night before and I enjoyed the intense quiet of a world muffled of sound by the blanket of falling snow. I had the feeling of being in a majestic cathedral empty of anyone except for the Ever-living One and myself.

As I slowly walked through the woods that morning I paused thinking I would again be surrounded by silence but instead I heard the sounds of a forest coming awake. The birds were calling, in the distance a dog barked, and interestingly, every few seconds I would hear a rustling and a gentle whoosh. I paused to ascertain the source of the sound and finally I saw it. From the very tops of the trees, where the sun was just hitting, a clump of snow would release and fall to the ground. The clump did not remain a clump for long, but usually struck a lower branch and burst into a fine powdery cloud floating to the ground. If I was facing the sun the cloud of snow dust became a cloud of sparkling diamonds fluttering to earth.

The worshipful feeling was again strong as I enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation without manmade sounds other than my sometimes labored breathing and the click of my camera. It’s amazing how majestic the mundane can become when it is clothed in a fresh mantle of pure white snow. It reminded me of what Jesus does for us when we give Him our lives and put our trust in Him. A holy exchange takes place. We give up our sin-stained outer garments and we put on a robe of Christ’s righteousness. From Isaiah 1:18 we read, “Come now, and let us reason together says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”

I walked through the woods and along the road simply praising and clicking, praising and clicking – it was glorious. I had in mind to try and get a view of Yonah Mountain, a local peak that is a few miles away from my parent’s home. While I didn’t succeed in gaining a good vantage point, the search took me throughout the neighborhood and to many great pics.

As I stood at the end of the road with fields on either side that were surrounded by trees weighed down with snow another lesson came to mind. I was still mindful of the whoosh of snow as a tree would shed it’s burden so I was watching with camera ready to catch the event. I am sure I was comical looking to anyone watching. I would be pointing at one area waiting to catch the snow just as it released and I would hear the whoosh off to my side. Whirling to the sound I would snap a picture of a branch devoid of snow and whatever snow cloud had existed had vanished. Of course you know what happened right after I turned… that’s right, the snow whoosh would occur back where I had been pointing just a moment before. That lesson was that patience and trust are two key attributes I still lack.

Looking at the rows of trees bent over from the weight of the snow I thought how they represented people weighed down with the cares, worries, and problems of life. I had even seen signs where some had broken limbs and suffered damage due to the weight. As I stood watching and waiting, I realized the magnificent sunshine was melting enough of the snow in the trees that the burdens were slipping off all around. As the upper limbs became unburdened, they stood up a little straighter and reached a little higher as if offering uplifted branches in thanks and praise to the sun that had set them free.

I realized we are the same. We are often burdened by the difficulties life can bring. But Jesus promises He will never leave or forsake His own. Whatever challenge we face, we can do so knowing that the Lord of the universe is with us in the midst of it. And just like those trees along the field we just need to patiently trust in the Sonshine to relieve us of our burdens.

I smiled and headed for home, happy for the lessons in the snow and somehow walking a little lighter realizing that a little more of my cares had melted away too. While I wasn’t going home with the great shot of a snow whoosh, I had a reassurance of the Lord’s tender care for me and for you that was so much better than the perfect picture.

But just for good measure, the Lord provided a great opportunity to catch some snow whooshes in the final walk home. I hope you enjoy the pictures and lessons as much as I enjoyed getting them.

Here are a few other of my favorite pics from my walk in the Sonshine and Snow.

Be blessed today and be a blessing.

Read Full Post »

Eye on the Prize

Posted in God Stories, Jesus Christ, Service, tagged crabs, dugout canoe, fishing, honduras, mission trip, persistence on February 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Do you have trouble becoming distracted? In the Movie “Up”, this is humorously captured whenever a squirrel shows up or even the mention of a squirrel takes place. Retaining a sharp focus upon the task at hand is a necessary trait for success. The ability to articulate a definitive vision and goal, and then determinedly stick to the plan to achieve them is a critical element of success. This is true on the grand scale of nations and armies as well as in our personal lives and with daily activities. During our week in Honduras, we got to see this dogged determination play out in a fun and inspiring manner when we went “fishing” with Erlin and his father.

The gentleman in the yellow shirt is Erlin’s father and Erlin is the young man in the middle of the green boat. That was our vessel for the trip into the bay on that sultry Thursday morning.

Getting into the bay required weaving through a mangrove forest down a narrow channel until we got to bigger water.

Erlin’s father knew the waterways well since his living was made plying the waters catching fish and crabs and performing whatever odd chores he could find. Fernando made it a point to take us on this tour not only to give us a picture of what every day life looked like to the locals, but to give this family a little income.

We passed a few other fishing boats. The term fishing was used rather loosely to refer to any activity around the water that entailed catching food for the dinner table whether it was fish, crabs, oysters, shrimp or whatever.

Twelve year old Erlin sat beside his father acting as the first mate. As we made it out into more open water I looked around for the life preservers. I realized then how much our lives in the US are regulated. There were not only no life preservers, there was no load rating on the boat, no throwable floatation devices, actually there wasn’t much at all other than a small boat that resembled a dugout canoe with a rather antiquated 25 horsepower motor, one gas can and nine passengers.

When we got into the bay we traveled for about 20 minutes along the mangrove covered shore. Having covered three or four miles through various channels and streams to get into the bay I realized we were a long and arduous distance from any civilization.

Now I mentioned yesterday that the village was called Playa Grande which can be translated as grand or large beach. Well, I have to say the name had to be applied either in jest or as very wishful thinking. Up to this point we had seen nothing resembling a beach.

The heat of day, the gentle slap of waves against the hull, and the buzz of the boat motor had lulled me into a drowsy state. Suddenly I noticed the wind created by our movement die down and the motor idle back. We then turned into the beach for our picnic.

At the risk of chasing a squirrel, I want to make a point about different perspectives. To our new friends this was their understanding of what a beach was like. I expect many of my readers got a little chuckle as they saw this beach that doesn’t exactly fit the picture of a beach most of us have. Perspective is huge isn’t it. To all of the young people and to many, if not most, of the adults in Playa Grande their experiential base is what they can see within a days walk of their home. The broad sandy beaches that we associate with a beach simply isn’t within the experience of most of the people of Playa Grande.

As we ate our mangos and drank our drinks, a discussion between the men broke out about whether they could catch crabs here to show us. They thought it was possible, but they would have to move away from the beach to do so. Erlin, listening intently to the discussion, said there were crabs close by and he could catch one. A little smack-talk ensued which seemed to only strengthen Erlin’s resolve.

The men spread out and disappeared while Erlin walked a few feet and away and shouted, “there’s one down here!” (Fernando was giving us the play by play interpretation since all the conversation was in Spanish.)

We watched as Erlin started digging furiously into the mud.

Every now and then he would stop to listen. Then he would dig speedily again.

He was down on the ground reaching as far as his short arms would reach trying to get his hand into the crab hole and around the crab.

Finally he shouted and Fernando announced that he had a hold of a crab. A minute later Erlin walked back to the group with his prize.

It was really fun to watch this unfold as Erlin was the first back to the beach with a crab.

This vignette reminds me of what the author wrote in Hebrews 12:1-3

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing out eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him He endured the cross, scoring it shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Our vision is to be and do all that God created us for and Jesus died for us to walk in. A steady focus upon the Lord combined with a consistent, determined pursuit to know Him is the path to an abundant life in Him.

Paul states it in a similar way in Ephesians 3:12-14.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

I am so thankful that we had an opportunity to spend this week in Honduras. It was especially gratifying to see the Lord touch and change lives – ours as much as anyone’s. And I will never forget the lesson of a persistent young man with mud up to his neck, a grin from ear to ear, and a wriggly crab in his hand.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

areliablefaith

Musings of one regularly overwhelmed by the love and goodness of God

Archive for the ‘God Stories’ Category

Uncertainty… A Lesson in the Fog

A Sweet, Sweet Fragrance

Turn Toward the Sun

Like the Weather

Scars Aren’t All Bad

Final 48

Lover of My Soul

Leaving and Forsaking

In the Sonshine

Eye on the Prize

Archives

Categories

Pages