Duh.

So… check this out… Read Matthew 14.

Go ahead… I’ll wait…

First, Jesus’ disciples marvel that five thousand are fed… then… Jesus is asleep on the boat and the disciples are afraid for their lives even though God’s only Son is with them on the boat. So… it gets better… Jesus’ disciples still don’t have the faith to believe that God is good enough to feed four thousand, but Jesus does it anyway.

Dumb, huh?

Okay, how about me… First, something really hard happens in my life, and I spend time wallowing in it and feeling like God isn’t good. Then He shows up, and I tell everybody how good He is. Then something bad happens in my life, and I wallow in it and feel like God isn’t good again. Then, He shows up, in less than obvious ways, and I tell everybody…

…lather, rinse, repeat…

I’m so dumb… (but God is so good…)

I wonder if I’ll ever be the kind of person who tells how good God is when it’s all crashing around me… That’s who I want to be…

The Daily Burden

Paul talks about his hardships in the 2 Cor. readings today, and then he adds, “Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along.  Who is weak without my feeling the weakness?  Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?”  (11:28-29)  It reminded me of how I feel as a ministry leader sometimes…concern for the children I teach, concern for the leaders I try to equip…are they really “getting it”?  Will they be led astray?   Are they maturing?  But while I care deeply and have concerns for my people, Paul reminds me that I can’t rely on my own strength to “fix” things or do anything truly worthwhile.  It is in my weakness that He works the best.  I may as well just admit it and even “boast”  that His grace is sufficient for me.  What a wonderful thing!   And… it helps me bear that daily burden. 

Free for the asking

Today’s reading in 2 Corinthians talks a lot about confidence. Confidence in the message that has been received, and confidence in the salvation offered through Christ. At one point, Paul says “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.”

 

Do you “know” that today? I’m not often “overtly evangelistic”, but I have to say, if you don’t know that… maybe there’s something wrong, and maybe you can find it. I know that there was one day in my youth, quite a long time ago, now, when I woke up without that knowledge, but by the time I went to bed that night, everything had changed.

 

There’s a line you can cross, slowly, or in some cases suddenly. One side of the line is the unsure-ness that so many have, and so many walk in in despair. On the other side is the new life in Christ that made Paul so confident that could endure anything.

 

You can have that kind of faith. It is a gift from God, and it is free for the asking…

Words and Silence

The readings today in Job and Mark made me think about the power of words and the power of silence.  Job was being verbally badgered by his friends, and it probably would have been “easier” to just nod in agreement with their eloquent accusations…maybe then they would have gone home sooner!  But I have to hand it to Job; he defends himself and refuses to give in and agree with them.  He keeps his words true and straight-forward, appropriately.  In Mark’s account, Jesus is before Pilate being accused and says nothing.  Pilate was both dumbfounded and impressed by this.  It is hard to imagine being quiet in that situation, but Jesus knew it was the right time for no words.  I wish I was better at knowing when to talk and when to be quiet!  It is something we can all work on.

Complain with all your heart.

I love listening to Job complain.

In chapter 23 and 24, he is totally honest in his complaints about how God operates, and yet, makes it clear that he believes in Him and follows Him.

I’ve had moments when I felt like darkness was my closest friend, and yet still hung on to God and his promises, however tenuously. The fact that God made sure we’d know that that’s normal by including Job’s story in the Bible is a great comfort. Job will eventually be restored, and his life will eventually be even better than it was before, but in the middle of the suffering, he complains to God, and God doesn’t “strike him dead”.

Next time you’re going through a rough patch, complain with all your heart to God, but at the same time, cling with all you have to his promises… and watch what happens!

All Aboard

The story of Paul being shipwrecked in Acts 27 and 28 always amazes me. I wish someone would make a big budget movie about this adventure.

If you’re familiar with it, you know that God promises Paul that his life would be spared along with everyone else on the ship–that’s 276 people. Not a couple hundred–but very specifically–two hundred and seventy-six souls.

A couple of things strike me. First, you’re always safer being with someone who’s close to God. Even the lifelong sailors that were on this vessel were frightened for their lives–but they observed Paul’s confidence in God and they listened to everything he told them to do. And it saved their lives.

The other thing is that even the storms of life have a purpose when the journey we’re on is with Jesus.

Here’s the lesson. It’s always a good idea to listen to someone who listens to God–especially in the midst of an incredibly dangerous storm.

All aboard!

God is Awesome

Job expresses his anguish in chapters 9 & 10.  I like that he is honest and trasparent before his friends and God.  He gets his doubts and fears about God right out in the open.  He tells his feelings of being at God’s mercy, and he questions why all this is happening to him.  He recognizes God’s amazing power and strength, and lays all his anger, fear, and questions out on the table.  I think we can learn from Job that God is big enough to handle all our questions, doubts, and fears.  We can go to him without pretending and playing games.  He knows us inside and out, so it is useless to try to hide our true feelings from him anyway.  I’m glad God is awesome like that to take on all our questions and doubts and still love us.

Get Some Sleep

I love this scene in the book of Acts where Peter is imprisoned–awaiting a trumped-up trial and will most likely be executed for political purposes. And there he is, chained between two guards in his prison cell…sleeping!

What kind of faith and spiritual courage allows someone to sleep at a time like this? And we think we’ve got problems.

So what are you losing sleep over these days? Are you troubled by things you can’t control–or are you at rest, knowing that your heart belongs to Jesus and God is in complete control?

Introduce them!

I’ve read Acts dozens and dozens of times, and Acts 10:4 has always gone right past me. An angel comes and speaks to Cornelius, a man who doesn’t yet know Christ, in fact, a man who despite not being part of “God’s people”, the Jews, is described as being “God-fearing” (along with his whole household).

Often those who follow Jesus think that God only hears our prayers, but here the angel says “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God.” I notice two things. One, that the prayers of someone who doesn’t know Christ are heard by God (and then God sees to it that Cornelius hears about Jesus, because Cornelius good works, as we know from Scripture, can never save him). Two, that prayers are heard by God along with acts of charity (also can be translated “gifts to the needy”) are what God listens to, regardless, I think, of who you are.

So… find some way to give to the needy today, offer that up WITH your prayers. AND… there might be somebody around you who is seeking God, and who is God-fearing but doesn’t know Jesus yet.

Introduce them.

Wise Like Ezra

It is so cool to read about Ezra in the Old Testament.  He was a priest and scholar.  Chapter 7 says, “Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of God, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truth and ways.”  (Message)  How cool to be known like that!  He was wise and loyal to God.  King Artaxerxes recognized that God was with Ezra and gave his blessing for him to go and work on the Temple.  The king also encourages Ezra to teach anyone who doesn’t yet know the truths of God.  Ezra had earned quite a bit of influence with the king.  Ezra organizes the leaders of Israel and heads back to Jerusalem with them.  Before leaving, he leads them in prayer and fasting in order to humble themselves before God.  He was a wise leader and God worked through him.  We as leaders can learn from Ezra’s example of wisdom, diligence, organization, commitment, and humility.