Who's at the controls?

Behind Michael's forced smile was a tightly held jaw of determination. At home, things had to go his way. At work, his constant "It's not in the budget!" squashed the creativity of others; but there was always money for what he wanted to do. Pastors at the church where Michael was an officer would say, "Better check it out with Michael. Nothing happens without his okay!"

I met Michael at a retreat for men. His carefully controlled world had fallen apart. His daughter had rebelled, exposing his failure as a father. A new pastor in his church had confronted him with the harm done by his imperious ways. Then the members had voted him out of his key position. When Michael turned to his job to build up his ego, he found that some of his staff had reported their unhappiness to the company president.

It seemed as though the whole retreat—about the joy of living under the control of the lordship of Christ—had been planned for Michael. After several sleepless nights wrestling with what he'd heard, Michael saw his fear of losing control for what it really was—pride and fear of failure.

• Do I feel that I'm running things?

• If not, what showed me otherwise?

Christ, I realize I can't both call You Lord and continue to act as manager of my life. I'm ready to submit to Your authority.

—Lloyd Ogilvie in Facing the Future Without Fear Adapted from Facing the Future Without Fear (Servant, 1999, 2002) by permission.

This posted was inspired by a message entitled: Good News for Atlas

Faith & a relationship w/ God

Noah’s Relation”ship” w/ God
Inspired by Hebrews 11:7

Coupling the Genesis account with what the writer of Hebrews says, we can glean some fresh insight into Noah's faith, and about faith in general.

God chose to warn Noah because of his faith. This is an important point. God always has the answers to our problems, even the problems we don't know about yet. However, if we do not walk with Him, and listen to Him, we can not hear the answers to our problems.

Faith begins by reading God's word, spending time in prayer with Him, and listening to His urgings. If we don't start by doing these things, it is impossible to be able to hear what God is saying to us. Faith is not some vague feeling or belief we hold, it begins with concrete action on our part. We have to chose to devote our time to God and become close to Him.

The next phrase is as equally important: "moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house". Noah heard God's warning and acted with fear or reverence. Often, we hear God's specific instruction to us through His word, a friend, or the Holy Spirit, and we ignore it, or put
the task off until later and hope we forget about it. We need to take a page from Noah's life and be "moved with fear" and act now!

Imagine what people would say if you emptied out your bank account, bought as much lumber as you could afford, and started your own petting zoo! People would think you crazy. Yet Noah was faithful in this. He didn't wait around, or worry what others would say, he acted. Again, we see that faith isn't just a feeling or belief, but a belief put into action.

Where I End

This posted was inspired by a message entitled: Where I End

Rabbi Edwin Friedman tells the story of a man who had given much thought to what he wanted from life. One day the opportunity came for him to experience exactly the way of living he dreamed about. But the opportunity would only be available for a short time. It would not wait and it would not come again.

Eagerly the man started on his journey. Each time he thought about his goal, his heart beat quicker. He came to a bridge crossing the center of the town. The bridge spanned above a dangerous river. After starting across the bridge, he noticed someone coming from the opposite direction. The stranger had a rope about the length of 30 feet. Just as the two men met, the stranger said, "Pardon me, would you be so kind as to hold the end of the rope for me?" The man agreed without a thought.

Before he knew it the stranger jumped over the side of the bridge with the other end of the rope. "What are you trying to do?" he shouted to the stranger below. "Just hold tight," said the stranger. This is ridiculous, the man thought. He began trying to haul the other man in. Yet it was just beyond his strength to bring the other back to safety.

Again he yelled over the bridge, "Why did you do this?"
"If you let go, I will be lost," said the other.
"But I cannot pull you up," said the man at the top of the bridge.
"I am your responsibility," said the other.
"I did not ask for it," the man said.
"If you let go, I am lost," repeated the stranger.

The man began to look around for help, but there was none in sight.

Maybe I can tie the rope somewhere, he thought, but there was no way to get rid of his new found burden.

"Why did you do this?" he asked again. "Don't you see who you have done? What possible purpose could you have in mind?"

"Just remember," said the other, "my life is in your hands."

Now the man was perplexed. He reasoned within himself, If I let go, all my life I will know that I let this other man die. If I stay, I risk losing my momentum toward my own long-sought-after salvation. Either way this will haunt me forever.

As time went by, still no one came. The man became keenly aware that it was almost too late to resume his journey. If he didn't leave immediately, he wouldn't arrive in time. Finally, he devised a plan.

"Listen," he explained to the man hanging below, "I think I know how to save you." He mapped out the idea. The stranger could climb back up by wrapping the rope around him. Loop by loop, the rope would become shorter. But the dangling man had no interest in the idea.

"I don't think I can hang on much longer," warned the man on the bridge.
"You must try," appealed the stranger. "If you fail, I die."

Suddenly a new idea struck the man on the bridge. It was different and even alien to his normal way of thinking.

"I want you to listen carefully," he said, "because I mean what I am about to say." The dangling man indicated that he was listening.

"I will not accept the position of choice for your life, only for my own; I hereby give back the position of choice for your own life to you."

"What do you mean?" the other asked, afraid.

"I mean, simply, it's up to you. You decide which way this ends. I will become the counterweight. You do the pulling and bring yourself up. I will even tug some from here." He unwound the rope from around his waist and braced himself to be a counterweight. He was ready to help as soon as the dangling man began to act.

"You cannot mean what you say," the other shrieked." You would not be so selfish. I am your responsibility. What could be so important that you would let someone die? Do not do this to me."

After a long pause, the man on the bridge uttered slowly, "I accept your choice." In voicing those words, he freed his hands and continued his journey over the bridge.

Are you the man dangling from the rope or the man holding the rope?

A walk to remember

Enoch isn't one of the most recognized Biblical characters. He didn't slay any giants, build any temples, or write any important books-he simply spent his life walking. Walking and perhaps talking with God. Maybe it was something like Adam and Eve did with God in the Garden of Eden. God was so pleased with Enoch that God took Enoch off the face of the earth and no one ever saw him again.

Enoch’s story reminds me that God doesn't want me to attempt great feats for Him if those exploits keep me from spending time with Him. It says to me that it is OK to slow down and walk and talk with God in prayer.

Enoch pleased God in a big way. He had faith that when he was spending time God, God was there! What kind of "faith" do we need to have in order to have a relationship with God the way Enoch did? There are 2 requirements: 1) Hebrews 11:6b, believe that He exists and 2) Hebrews 11:6c- believe that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

A little boy asked his mother, "Why did God take Enoch, and where did he go?" The mother's reply was, "Well, God and Enoch were the best of friends. They went on long walks with each other. One day, they walked so far, God looked at Enoch and said, "You know, you are closer to my house than yours. Why don't you just come home with me!"

Are you walking with God? Do you believe he exists? Do you believe he rewards those who seek him? Seek him today. You won't be disappointed.

Showing up

Someone has said that 90% of life & ministry is just showing up.

Jesus promised...
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:7-8).

We are to be so connected to Jesus that it shows by the fruit that we bear. People ought to be able to see the tangible evidence that we follow and serve Christ. There will be times when we don't feel like bringing glory to God and serving others, but we show up anyway and pray that God uses us despite our frame of mind.

This week, I was slapped in the face with this concept. I was totally preoccupied b/c of my concern for a friend. I didn't feel like helping other people, but I showed up anyway. Someone stopped in front of me and just stared at me. I stared back. They said, "I just wanted to stop and enjoy a smiling face." I felt like saying "I am smiling on the outside but not on the inside." I learned that 90% of helping others is just showing up. That person made me glad that I showed up. I am glad that she showed up, b/c she brought joy into my life when I needed it.

Here are a couple of people from the Bible who didn't show up:

• Demus (forsook Paul in 2 Timothy 4:10)
• John Mark (deserted Paul on missionary journey)
  

A couple of people who did show up:

• Peter (at Pentecost)
• Stephen (stoned b/c of his outspoken faith)
• Jesus (on the cross)
  

Can you add to my lists?

This post was inspired by a message delivered at Crossroads Community Church, Framingham MA.

Cain wasn't Able

Hebrews 11 has been called the “Hall of Faith.” Sometimes we see these heroes of faith work mighty miracles, and sometimes we see them work through trials caused by their lack of faith.

The beginning of this chapter gives a brief overview of what faith is (vs
1), where examples of it can be found (vs 2), and why it is important (vs
3). After this brief overview, the writer begins to remind the reader of
examples of faith from the past. The first example spoken of is Abel.
Abel's story can be read from Genesis 4:2-8.

It is interesting to me that Genesis doesn’t say why God accepted Abel's sacrifice and rejected Cain's. However, the writer of Hebrews fills in the blanks. It says Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain’s. Abel's faith in God and devotion to God was the true sacrifice. Abel understood that faith meant giving himself to God, not just giving material possessions. We see the opposite with Cain. He offered God material things, but did not offer himself to God. God warned Cain to confess his anger and put his faith in God. If not, sin would be waiting to destroy him. As we see later in the chapter, God’s words came true.

Are we withholding a part of our lives from God? If so, we must confess it to God, have faith that He can handle our problems, and also have faith that God will use our lives in a way that will give glory to Him. If we do not, we run the risk of becoming like Cain. We must offer ourselves completely to God through our faith and by doing this we can be righteous.

Take a lesson from Abel’s story and have an attitude of faith. Offer your life to God, have faith that He knows what path to lead you down and has the solutions to your problems before you even encounter them!

Healing an old wound

Have you ever heard of maggot therapy? It's where they use maggots to help close wounds. The bugs eat away dead tissue and leave the healthy tissue behind. When it comes to emotional wounds, we must deal with the dead tissue that is keeping the wounds open. In other words, a-dressing the wound and issues surrounding it.

Here are some ideas to apply the teachings of Ephesians 4:32

* Find someone who has hurt you in the past and do something kind for them.

* Ask God to soften your heart toward someone with whom you have had a serious disagreement.

* Forgive someone. Is there someone in your life that needs to be forgiven? What are you waiting for?

Most of the time the person who suffers from un-forgiveness is the one who should be doing the forgiving. I am thinking about people I need to forgive. Most of them are going on with life and don’t even know they need forgiveness. If I don’t forgive them, they are not necessary the worse for it. I am the one who is going to benefit from forgiving them.

Sweat the small stuff

National Geographic magazine claims that pinhead size particles of dust flying through space are as dangerous as a .22 caliber bullet. I am glad I don't live in space.

There is a book entitled, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff." I don't think the author of that book knew about dust particles in space.

Solomon says that it is the little foxes that will spoil the vines in the vineyard (Solomon 2:14-15). I don't know about you but I don't want my vineyard ruined. For me, the little fox is "stuff." There is so much stuff (materialism) and so much stuff (things to do) that sometimes I lose sight of what God wants me to be focusing on (helping others & shepherding my family).

Can you think of some relatively small things that could or are derailing your...

* marriage
* relationships
* family
* spiritual life
* emotional life
* etc.

Post your comment below.