Tag Archives: Jesus

August 20, 2013 · 8:01 AM

Fear and Faith

Gideon has always been one of my favorite people in the Bible. He was able to do so many great things, but he was a lot like you and me. He dealt with fear and doubt constantly. He never wanted to act on something unless he was sure it was from God. He didn’t think of himself as a person who could do great things, but because he was willing to be used, God was able to do mighty acts through him. I see a lot of parallels between who he was and who many of us are.

When the angel of God first visited him, he was hiding in a wine press threshing grain. He was afraid the Midianites would see him, so he did his work out of sight. Even though he was out of sight of his enemies, he wasn’t out of God’s sight. He knew right where to find him and met him there. God does the same for us. He knows we deal with fear and try to run and hide from the things that overwhelm us. He sees us where we are and will come meet us in that place.

The next thing that happen shows just who God is. The angel seeing him hiding calls out to him in Judges 6:12, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of fearless courage (AMP).” Ha! Here’s a guy hiding from his problems and God doesn’t call him out on it. Instead He calls out what is inside. In other versions, the angel calls him “mighty hero” (NLT), “mighty warrior” (NCV) and “mighty man of valor” (KJV). God calls out what is on the inside, not what can be seen on the outside.

God knows that you and I are weak in our own strength. We are timid and afraid when circumstances roar like a lion and try to devour us. We hide from our problems, drown our problems and keep quiet about them. I’ve tried all three to get rid of them, but none of them worked. It took God calling out who He created me to be to come out, face them and to fight them. He did the same with Gideon.

After the angel visited Gideon, the Midianites moved closer to him and threatened him. In verse 34, it says, “The Spirit of The Lord clothed Gideon with Himself. (AMP)” God took off the clothing of fear and wrapped him in Himself. Suddenly Gideon was no longer afraid because he now knew who he was in God. He had boldness to go out and fight. He blew a trumpet and gathered an army together. Even then, he had doubt. God came and assured him that He was with him. He won an impossible battle because he trusted God.

Don’t be defined by your fear today. Be defined by who God sees in you. Let Him wrap you up in Himself and give you the courage to be the hero and mighty warrior that you need to be in order to face whatever your enemy is. God isn’t asking you to face it or fight it in your own strength. He’s asking if you’re willing to step on the battlefield and to allow Him to fight for you. Don’t be held captive by fear and allow it to keep you in hiding. Trust who God says you are, stand up and face that enemy. God will do the rest.

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August 19, 2013 · 7:32 AM

An Outside Set of Eyes

What do Phil Mickelson, LeBron James, Andy Murray and Michael Phelps have in common besides being amazing athletes? They all have coaches. They have someone who has an outside set of eyes to help them correct errors, tweak their movements and to provide encouragement to continue when things aren’t going as planned. Each athlete you can think of has a coach who helps them to be the best they can be.

This weekend, our church brought in an extra set of eyes to see what many of us on the inside can’t see. They looked at our processes, our friendliness, our reputation in the community and much more to help us be better. Having another person see you for who you really are versus who you see yourself to be can be difficult and scary. It’s a necessary step for growth though. You don’t get better unless you have someone who you trust to come and say, “Here’s what I see and here are the changes you should make.”

Each of us as Christians are called to be salt and light in our sphere of influence. Jesus asked, “If the salt has lost its flavor, what good is it?” What if each of us found someone to meet with on a regular basis to help our flavor get better? What if we opened ourselves up to that different set of eyes and heard the truth about the light we cast? It would hurt some, but it would also provide growth.

None of us have the Christian life down perfectly. We all struggle to walk in faith and in complete obedience. We are all successful in certain areas of our daily walk with Christ and we all have areas that could use improvement. We can only look in the mirror and see so much. It’s when we allow ourselves to be exposed that we truly find growth and accountability. I speak to people all the time in the business world about finding someone to help you succeed. Why don’t we do that in something that has eternal consequences?

There will always be someone who is better at certain aspects of the Christian life. Ask them to meet with you on a regular basis to challenge you and to help you grow. There is always someone who is coming up behind you who could benefit from knowing what you’ve learned. Reach out to them and ask if they’d like to meet regularly. Each of you will benefit from the relationship. Each of you will increase your flavor and ability to shine your lights.

Who are you thinking of right now that could help you to be accountable or could help you grow? Let me encourage you today to reach out to them and ask to start meeting with them to discuss your walk with God. It could be over breakfast once a week, a round of golf every other week, a cup of coffee at a local coffee house once a month or wherever and whenever that meets your schedules. It’s important to find someone you trust with your growth and who can provide input that you respect. Set that appointment up today. You won’t regret it.

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August 16, 2013 · 8:12 AM

Your Tomorrow is Coming

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My wife made some comments last night about how the book of Judges ended. I decided to open it up and read there today because it has been a while since I’ve dug through that book. I started in chapter 20 and found something I know I’ve read before, but now have a new perspective on. The story she was referring to was there. An Israelite had been traveling through the country and was in Benjamin’s territory. The men of the city came to them, raped his wife and killed her. He let the other 11 tribes know what happened and they came to his defense.

When the city and tribe of Benjamin wouldn’t give up the men who did this, the other 11 tribes sent word for their armies to come to the city to deal with it. Around 400,000 warriors showed up. They prayed and asked God which tribe should be out front in the attack. God responded with Judah. They went to attack and lost. They came back to God and asked, “Should we attack them again?” God replied, “Yes! Attack them.”

The next day, they went to battle again and got whipped. They came back weeping and crying. They fasted the rest of the day and asked God one more time if they should attack or should they call it quits. God said, “Attack! Tomorrow I’ll give you victory.” They went out the next day just as before. The army of Benjamin came out full force to attack, but this time was different. The army of the 11 tribes was victorious to the point they almost wiped out the entire tribe of Benjamin.

What I saw was that God gave them the go ahead to go into battle and they lost. Twice. They were in the will of God, there was no sin in the camp and they still lost. They didn’t just lose. They were humiliated. Their army of 400,000 was beaten twice by an army of less than 30,000. Plus, they had God on their side telling them to attack and to go into battle. When they went to God each night, He didn’t give them a reason that they lost. He just told them to go attack again. I’m sure their faith was shaken by the third day when they approached the battlefield.

Just because we’re in God’s will it doesn’t mean we won’t suffer loss. Even if we have God’s exact words to do something, we may not get the result we thought we were going to get. He may not tell us why we are suffering in the place He told us to go. We may feel humiliated about our circumstances and wonder what other people are saying. Doubt can come in and say, “Are you sure you heard God? Why did God bring me to this place just to let me be defeated?” Guard your mind against those thoughts and do what the army did each night.

They returned to the presence of God day after day. They continued to listen to His voice. They still followed His directions even though it had meant loss before. They also entered into a fast to ask for His favor. Then God said, “Tomorrow I’ll give you victory.” I don’t know when your “tomorrow” is, but I do know if you’ll keep trusting and obeying what God says, tomorrow will come. Victory will be yours. This time of loss will end and you will once again be restored and bring restoration to others.

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August 15, 2013 · 8:12 AM

Are We Goats Thinking We’re Sheep?

I’ve got Haiti on my heart this morning. Partly because I’m headed back in a few months and partly because we watched a video from Richard Stearns from World Vision last night. He reminded us of the scripture in Matthew 25:35-40 where Jesus told of the day where God will separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus said that He will turn to the sheep and say, “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ (MSG)”

What stood out to me last night as he read that scripture was the response of the sheep. They said, “Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ (MSG)”. They didn’t even realize it was Jesus they were doing it to. They were doing those things because God’s love compelled them to.

That’s a stark contrast from where the Church is today. The Barna Group released the results of a study yesterday. They interviewed over 700 self-professed Christians and asked a series of 20 questions about attitudes and actions. In the end, only 14% of self-professed Christians were found to have the attitudes and actions of Jesus. Another 14% had the actions of Jesus, but not His attitude. The results show a lot more and if you like, you can see it here.

If we add those numbers together, barely a quarter of Christians act like Jesus. He spent His time in ministry to the poor, the hurting, the outcasts, the leppers and the unwanted. He spent very little time with those who were looking for power and prestige. He made it clear that He wanted us to do the same. You can see that in what He said in Matthew 25. The ones who made it to Heaven were those who fed the hungry, gave drinks to the thirsty, sheltered the homeless, gave clothes to the poor and visited those who were sick or in prison. When is the last time we’ve done any of those things?

We’ve spent millions building bigger, more stylish churches and only thousands on taking care of the poor. I look at those results of the Barna group and ask myself, “What area do I fall in? Do I have both the attitudes and actions of Jesus? Am I in the 28% or in the other 72%?” Those are tough questions that God and I are going to work through. I encourage you to ask the same questions. If you’re not in the 28%, what can you start doing today to move in that direction? How can you be one of the sheep instead of a goat?

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August 14, 2013 · 8:10 AM

Cliff Diving in Faith

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One of my favorite things I used to do was to go float the Frio river. There’s something about lazily floating down the river in an inner tube with no worries. Eventually, as you’d float along, you’d come to a bend in the river that had created a cliff. At that cliff, there would be people who would climb up and jump off into the water. It looked like a blast. I paddled over to the shore, climbed up the side of the cliff and walked to the edge. That’s when it hit me: that’s a long way down.

Immediately fear crept in. I know knew why so many in front of me walked up to the edge and turned around. As I stood there contemplating whether or not to jump, my mind begin to think of every negative outcome. What if I hit a rock and was paralyzed the rest of my life? What if I messed up and belly flopped in front of everyone? What if I turned around and got back in my inner tube and kept floating? What if everyone behind me laughs? I could feel my heart beating in my throat as I stood there looking over.

Since that time, I’ve been to Acapulco and watched the famous cliff divers there. They were amazing. They had no fear. They climbed even higher than I had at the Frio. Their cliff was more treacherous. They stood up as crowds watch and video and took the leap. Some were doing inverted flips and then spreading their arms like wings to gracefully fly towards the water. I wish I could say that’s what my jump looked like. Mine looked more like a pencil being dropped into a glass of water vertically.

I’ve found that in my life right now I’ve been called out of a life of floating along. I’ve been called to take that leap off faith. I’m standing on the cliff right now looking down. Those thoughts of doubt creep in and make me fearful of taking that leap. There is uncertainty of what the future will look like after I leave the ledge. I have a choice. I can turn around and get back in my inner tube and float along or I can jump. My heart beats with anticipation. There’s excitement and fear at the same time.

Where are you today? Are you floating along safely in your inner tube? Are you looking at others who are jumping off their cliff and wishing you had the guts to do that? Maybe your climbing up the rocky cliff now and wondering how much longer you have to climb. You could be standing in line watching other turn away in fear and starting to doubt getting out of the inner tube. Are you standing on the edge of that cliff, looking over and thinking, “What if I fail?” Wherever you are, I pray today that you have the courage to keep going until you jump off that ledge.

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August 13, 2013 · 8:00 AM

The Great I Am

Last week a friend posted on Facebook, “Please say a prayer for my family right now.” I happened to look just as it was posted. My day was beginning, but I knew inside something was going on that was serious. I stepped out into the hall and not knowing what to pray for simply prayed, “God, this family needs you right now. They need you to be the Great I Am. If they need you to be their healer, be their healer. If they need you to be their protector, be their protector. Whatever they need you to be, I ask that you would be. Right now they need you to be their very present help in a time of need. Be their I Am of what they need.”

With that, I had to return to my work. I continued to lift them up throughout the morning. As I did, I kept thinking of that Initial prayer. I haven’t really prayed that before. Something began to click as I thought back to Moses in the wilderness. God had asked him to go lead the Israelites out of their captivity in Egypt. He protested to God in Exodus 3:13, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask, ‘What’s His name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God responded, “Say this to the people of Israel: I Am sent me to you.”

He went on to say other names to tell them too, but that one has always stood out partly because I never really understood. I always thought, “What did God mean by ‘I Am’?” I believe He meant that He is who they needed Him to be. They needed Him to be their deliverer that day. They needed Him later to be their guide. Still later on, they needed Him to be their provider. I like how the Amplified version records what God said. He said, “I Am who I Am and I will be what I will be.”

Today, wherever you are, whatever you’re facing, God is who He is and will be who He will be to you. If you need a fortress from your circumstances, He will be that for you. If you need peace, He will be your peace. If you need hope, He will be your hope. If you need healing, He will be your healer. If you need help, He will be your very present help in your time of need. If you need provision, He will be your provider. If you need strength to face the day, He will be your strength.

I can tell you that my friend needed God to be healer for a family member. Her father in law had what looked like a stroke. During the time of everyone praying, God became his healer. There are no more signs of the stroke or effects. God came down in that situation as He said He would and restored him to who he was before the stroke came. If God did that for him last week, He can meet your need this week. He still listens to our prayers and is still the Great I Am.

Who do you need Him to be for you today? I’ll pray with you.

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August 12, 2013 · 7:42 AM

Move That Bus

I used to love to watch “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. They always chose a family who were struggling and had been going through difficult times. They let the family tell their story in their own words. ABC would then send them to Disney for a well deserved vacation. While they were out, their house was demolished and a new one was built in its place. Once they returned from vacation, there was a bus parked in front of their house preventing them from seeing it. Ty Pennington would talk to them for a bit and then the family and the crowd would start to chant, “Move that bus!”

Once the bus rolled out of the way, the family was able to see their dream home. With grateful hearts and tears in their eyes, they often dropped to their knees in amazement. A house had been built just for them, with their needs in mind and the mortgage was taken care of. The struggles that they had been faced with were now smaller than before. The difficult situation they were in just got a shot of hope. Their future was bright once again.

After having several conversations this weekend regarding my post on Friday, this show came to my mind. There are so many of you who are struggling with faith, trusting God and wanting to know the purpose in the pain. There’s something like that bus that is preventing you from seeing the master plan that God has for you. It’s impossible to see around the circumstances that are filling your life. You know that God works all things together for your good, but you just want a glimpse of that good so you can have some hope in your current situation.

As a friend and I were discussing difficult times this weekend, the story of Joseph came up. God showed him the dream and then sent him down a path where he couldn’t see it anymore. You don’t read about him complaining though. What you do read is that God was with him. Finally, years after that dream, his brothers bowed before him in Egypt. I think it was one of those “move that bus” moments where everything became clear and he saw God had a plan the whole time.

Until that bus moves, there’s just anticipation of what’s on the other side. There’s doubt that the bus will ever move. There’s fear that it won’t. There’s concern that this may be the new normal for your life and that God will never reveal his master plan for your life. I understand those doubts and fears. I also know that the time comes when God moves that bus and He shows you fulfilled dreams that couldn’t have been fulfilled any other way than through pain, suffering and loss.

If you’re standing in that spot today where you can’t see the purpose in your situation, I’m standing with you. If you’re vision is blocked by the bus of circumstances, I’m praying God will give you hope that what He’s doing is for your good. If you’re chanting, “Move that bus”, I want to chant with you and to share in your joy as God reveals to you what He’s been doing. Your old life may have been demolished, but there is a better life just behind that bus waiting for you. It will be revealed at just the right time. Hang in there.

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August 9, 2013 · 8:33 AM

Making God Your Everything

There have been times when I’ve faced things that didn’t make sense. There have been times when I didn’t understand why I was going through something. I’ve had those moments when I’ve cried, “Make it stop.” I’ve been to the dark places where you question everything. There’s a place where I’ve questioned my faith, God’s existence and life itself. It’s scary to be at the end of your rope and to question letting go. I found that even in those places and moments God is there.

He is not afraid of you asking the hard questions. He is not scared to go to those dark places with you. When it seems everyone else has abandoned you and you are all alone, He is there. When life has broken apart and all is lost, He is there. He is an ever present help in your time of need. He is shelter from the storm that won’t stop beating you down. He is strength when the bottom falls out again and again. He never fails.

I’ve learned that when I’ve come to the end of my rope, when my strength gives out, His grace and strength are sufficient. I don’t think most people get to experience God this way because they’ve never been to this point. It’s a high price to pay in your life to get to that point. When you’ve lost all you have, He becomes your everything. When He becomes your everything, you will never be the same. You won’t look the same. You won’t act the same. You won’t think the same.

Once you hit that point in your life, God quits being a convenience and He becomes a necessity. I’ve lived my life both ways. I know what it’s like to have Him around and use Him when it was convenient. But I’ve also been to the point when there was nothing but me, Him and a whole lot of darkness and emptiness. I’ve been to the point where He became so real it was as if I could reach out and touch Him, but it took me getting to the point of desperation before that happened.

I know that’s how it happened for me, but I don’t think it has to be that way. God doesn’t want to wait until we get to that point to become our everything. I think He would rather hold that position in our lives before we get there. Whether we are riding high on the mountain tops, struggling with the climb up, falling down or stuck in the valleys of life, God is there and He wants to be a necessity in our life. He wants to be our strength. He wants to be more important to us than our next breath.

Yes, more important than your next breath. You rely on your next breath for life, but do you rely on God for your next breath? When God takes that place in your life, He is your everything. He is your life. He is your strength. He is where He wants to be in your life. I’ve had moments when He was there in my own life. I’ve found that keeping Him there is the hard part. Paul got to that point too. In Philippians 1:21-22 he said, “For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity]. If, however, it is to be life in the flesh and I am to live on here, that means fruitful service for me; so I can say nothing as to my personal preference [I cannot choose] (AMP).”

When God has become your everything, your next breath doesn’t mean very much. If it doesn’t come, I’ll be ok because you’ll be standing in His presence in the next second. If He grants it, then you’re here to do His will and to be fruitful. God’s power and presence in your life can be so powerful and so real, but you have to learn to trust Him with your everything. For me, it took getting to that dark lonely place where I was hanging by a thread. You don’t have to wait until that point though. Wherever you are, reach out to Him and make Him your everything today.

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August 8, 2013 · 7:45 AM

An 80/20 Prayer

One of the things I talk to sales reps about is the 80/20 rule. I try to teach them to let the customer talk 80% of the time and they should only be talking 20% of the time. If they’re talking 80% and the customer 20%, they won’t have enough information to make a good recommendation. The interaction should be about the customer not them. I think the same rule should apply to prayer.

What if in our prayer time we let God speak 80% of the time and we only spoke 20%? How would our lives change? How would our faith change? We have a greater need to hear what God says then He has of what we have to say. He knows what we are going to say before we even speak. He knows the intent of our hearts. He already knows us inside and out. It’s us who have a need to know Him.

I’m not writing this as someone who has accomplished this consistently with God. I’m writing this as someone who has a greater need to know God more. I use words to fill up my time with God more than listening. When I do listen, He speaks. He’s always speaking to us, but we rarely listen to what He’s saying because we’re too busy talking during the time we give Him each day.

I love how the Message writes the conversation between Jesus and His disciples concerning prayer in Matthew 6. Jesus said in verse 6, “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace.” The reason for prayer is to shift the focus from you to God.

Imagine how your life would be different if you shifted the focus from your problems, schedule, bills, hurts, hopes and dreams to God. Mark Batterson tweeted yesterday, “Talking to God about your problems is fine and good, but FAITH is talking to your problems about God.” We fill up our time with God talking about our problems instead of getting to know Him. We tell Him our needs, but never ask what His needs are. We ask for His help, but rarely offer our help.

Most of us would never want to be in a relationship as one sided as that. So why do we think that God wants to? I believe He wants to engage in conversation with each one of us. He wants us to get to know Him on a deeper level than we ever imagined possible. First of all, it takes finding that quiet, secluded place every day. The next step Jesus said was to just be there simply and honestly. He didn’t say to fill the silence with words. Just be there in that moment with God and listen. Open yourself up to what He has to say to you. That’s when you’ll begin to sense His grace and know Him more.

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August 7, 2013 · 7:57 AM

Who’s Report Are You Believing?

I’ve got the story of Jarious on my mind this morning. In Mark 5, his daughter was sick so he went to get Jesus. After telling Jesus about his daughter, a woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment for her healing. Jesus stopped and asked who had touched Him. While Jesus was speaking to the lady, a servant came up and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” I’m sure Jarius felt like he was too late. All the what if’s started to pop into his mind.

It can happen to any of us. We have a urgent need that requires Jesus’ attention, but we delay in bringing it to Him. Or we take it to Him and He is delayed in responding to our request. Either way, when we take our needs to Jesus, He is able to help and to heal. In this case, the worst possible thing happened. I wonder if Jarius started to blame the woman with the issue of blood. Did he blame Jesus for not moving quickly enough to heal his daughter?

How do we respond when the worst possible thing happens? Do we turn and walk away? Do we stay with Jesus and ask for Him to intervene anyway? Do we listen to the reports of others? In sales, I’ve heard it said, “Never take a no from someone who can’t give you a yes.” In faith I say, “Never believe the report of someone who doesn’t have the power to change it.” Jarius didn’t. He stayed with the One who had the power to change the report.

In verse 36 of the New Century Version it says, “Jesus paid no attention to what they said. He told the synagogue leader, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just believe.'” Jesus had the power to change the report so He paid no attention to it. I’m sure Jarius was starting to believe it so Jesus spoke to him about his faith. He then took 3 disciples with Him to the house. When he arrived, there were people crying and wailing over the child. Jesus spoke to them with confidence that the girl wasn’t dead. They didn’t believe His report so He threw them out of the house.

Jesus then took those who believed His report over the report of others into the girl’s room. Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to get up. She opened her eyes and stood up. Those that believed His report got to witness the miracle. Those who didn’t were not given the opportunity to see. Jesus is the one who has the power to change the report that has been given to you today. He’s the one who speaks peace after a bad report is given. He says, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”

What report have you been given? Are you believing in the one who doesn’t have the power to change it? Or are you believing in the One who does? It’s our faith that causes us to stay with Jesus after a bad report is given to us. It’s the enemy who says, “Don’t bother Him anymore. There’s nothing He can do.” As Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom you will serve (believe). As for me and my house, we will serve (believe) The Lord.”

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