Believe in Yourself; Jesus does.

When did you stop believing in yourself?

As followers of Christ we can sometimes be cinical of the way people always promote self confidence over faith in a "higher power". Humanism is the belief that power comes from within ones self and must be released for one to reach their full potential while faith in God teaches us to reach within ourselves to believe in Him rather than ourselves. If all of this has your head spinning in confusion don't worry, so is mine. However, last week a revelation was given to me in preparation for two youth services. Believing in Jesus is great but if you don't believe in yourself your faith in Jesus if useless.

In Matthew 14.22-33 the record is shared that Jesus is walking on the water with his followers were in a boat. One of the men, Peter, calls out and asks if he can join Jesus. Jesus says "yes" so Peter steps out of the boat and begins to talk on the water! He is actually walking on top of the water! Well... for a moment, then he starts to sink. Why does he sink? Because he starts to doubt. Jesus asks him, "Why did you doubt?" Stop here. If doubt caused Peter to sink, we have to ask our self, who or what did he doubt. Some would be quick to say, "He must have doubted Jesus" but that isn't true because he calls out for Jesus to save him. He doubted himself. He doubted that he could walk on water. He doubted what he could do when he was acting under the command of Jesus. We do the same thing.

Peter knew that Jesus had all power of heaven and earth and that Jesus was the Son of God; what he forgot was that that power had been given to him as well. Peter told himself, "I am man, man cannot walk on the water. I cannot walk on the water!" True. Man cannot walk on the water but man under power of God can. "I can do all thing through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4.13.

The next time you tell yourself that you can't do something remember that Jesus said you can. At the same time that we say we believe in Jesus, He is believing in us. As we are trusting Jesus, he is trusting us. Jesus trusts in you enough, and has enough confidence in you that he has trusted you with his love, his salvation, and his word that you can carry it to the world. He believes you can; it is time you start believing that you can too.

"I disagree with what you're about to say!"

Recently I had the opportunity to host a local pastor fellowship meeting with about 16 pastors and their wives present. I had chosen the topic study of the age demographics of our church and which areas we are excelling at and which areas we are missing the boat. The begin I drew a pie chart on the board and divided it into quarters labeling them Kids, Teens, Adults, and Seniors to represent the basic areas of ministry a church has. Having said little more, I wanted to stir a little discussion and asked, "Which areas do you find the American church as a whole is doing a good job in, and which areas do you feel we are lacking in?" A few Pastors who are obviously blind to American church trends said, "I don't know that we can really answer that..." Then rose a voice above the rest saying, "Randy, I can see where you are going with this and I disagree with what you are about to say!" He went on telling me why he disagreed with what I was about to say however, I hadn't said anything yet for him to disagree with! For the next several minutes I allowed him to dig a whole as he told all about why he didn't agree with me. In his speech he received many affirming gestures and remarks from other Pastor's present.
Immediately a fence was built down the middle of our group; on one side was everyone who agreed with what he said, and the other group on the side of what I said... although I hadn't said anything, and frankly, I was on his side because he said what I was about to say. Once his whole was deep enough and my blood was boiling enough I interjected as calmly as I could, "_____, You started your speech saying to disagreed with me. I am wondering, the question was, 'Which areas is the church doing good at and which areas is it failing?' What is your answer to this?" After he then answered the question and I asked him this, "Okay, now which areas did you expect me to pick?" After back peddling and denying he every claimed to disagree with me he was bound to an answer but, it was the same answer that he had given! He vehemently said he disagreed with me, took five minutes to tell me why he disagreed with me, and then says that he thinks I agree with him! I am not one to get mad but on the inside my blood was boiling!!! No matter what I said the rest of the meeting I knew that since all I did was retold what he had just said, it sounding like I was only following his direction and not presenting it as my own... the fence was already erected and though we were on the same side it was still dividing. To his credit he did publicly apologize, but that did little for me.
Throughout the afternoon and evening I couldn't get the incident out of my mind. The next day I couldn't get it out of my mind. I got little sleep either of those nights because of the who ordeal, but I knew it wasn't right. God continued to pound my mind with verses like Luke 17.3b-4 If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. It kept through my mind like a Christmas list through the mind of a child. The verse, the ordeal, the apology, the fence... it was all consuming until I finally had to claim victory. It was not God who was wanting me to hold a grudge, it was Satan! I was holding myself victim to a man that simply made a fool of himself in front of his colleagues. I was allowing his foolish action to plague me and keep me from sleep! Satan was throwing this back into my face and keeping me down.
Lying in bed getting no sleep for the second night in a row I finally had to claim victory over defeat and release this from me. God had been prompting me to give it up all along with the scriptures he brought to my mind, but I wasn't done with it yet. Finally, laying there in the stillness of the night I mentally took my hands off from around the man's neck that I had been wringing for the last days and in turn released the bonds of bitterness and unforgiveness.
Sharing my personal struggle with you is not to tattle on anyone. I get the overwhelming feeling that many of our readers are also holding on to something in their life that they need to let go of. Something of the past is dragging you down in the present. You are not only hurting yourself in self-bondage, you are limiting the work of God in your life, and allowing someone else's foolish actions to control yours. Release yourself from their grasp today.

Leading Like Jesus

Today God revealed to me a great nugget of information that is nestled into a Psalm of David. Psalm 28.1 says "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my Rock; be not silent to me, lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." Did you catch it? Let me show it to you.

David begins by saying this: "I am crying out to God, now it is your turn to talk to me. God, if I don't hear from you then I am as good as being in hell". That is a loose paraphrase with emphasis added, but look back to the actual verse and you will see it there along with the state that David might as well be in if he doesn't hear from God. Here is a bit of what brought to my heart as I saw the verse in this light.

First, David is listening to hear from God. You say, "Yeah, so?" This is possibly the most important part of the verse because God could be speaking loudly, opposed to the "still small voice" and if David wasn't listening to God it wouldn't make any difference. David, being a believer if the triune God, is taking the time to recognize that God is wanting to say something and he wants to listen because to him God is his "Rock". If God was not the "Rock" of David's life then he likely wouldn't have cared if he heard God or not. We must make God the Rock of our life and listen for God; He is talking to you and wanting to be heard.

Secondly, David realizes that if he does not hear from God his life is useless and he may as well just go to hell now and save the waste of his earthly breaths. Without the voice of God, David could not write the 23rd Psalm which portrays God as being the Shepherd that leads to the lush great pastures and the calm waters nor prepare the feast before him. David knows that it is imperative that he stay in tune with the voice of God for his life to have meaning and purpose. David knows that as soon as he stops hearing the voice of God his life is over, spiritually speaking. What about you, are you too far from God to hear him speaking? Are you the same as the sinner still bound for hell? Your life has a greater purpose than to be a spiritual couch potato. It is time that we all make God our Rock and stay close enough to Him to hear Him and stay fresh, not stagnate.

Lastly, I was struck with a great truth of a parallel truth of this passage and a series we are currently going through with our 11 am worship services called Follow the Leader where we are learning to not only follow Jesus but to lead like Jesus as well. It has been said that the average person will influence over 200,000 people in their lifetime. If that is the case we have the opportunity to influence A LOT of people with the love of Christ, but if they don't hear from us they are as good as being in hell already. David is crying out to his leader and wanting to hear from them. God was also the mentor and advisor to David and greatly relied upon. If you are believer in Jesus Christ then you are leading someone too and are their spiritual mentor and advisor. No, you should not be their god but you should be the voice of God in their life. If you are someones "spiritual mother or father" they need to hear from you God's voice, and see God's character in you. Are we answering the cry of people who are looking up to us?

God has established the church to be His body in this New Testament church age. We are the ones people are looking to and crying out to for help as they cry out to God. It is time for you to stand up and answer that cry. Live the love of Jesus and lead someone like Jesus would.

Tears=Joy

Does God grade on a curve? No. Is God's love love for us based upon a "How much I love Him" meter? No. Are God's blessings bestowed to me based up my dedication and devotion to Him. Yes.
Although it is true that a person can live a life of a carnal Christian and still receive blessings from God, we are still instructed to "Be Holy as I am Holy." There are still responsibilities for the believer. Some try to deny that a God of Grace could ever be partial to some and neglect others. The fact is that God is a just God, and that means he will keep his word. As you look through scripture is repeats over and over the idea that God will bless his own, and the obedient more so than the lukewarm. This is not a bias God, this is a fair God.
God, being a fair God, wants to see us excel in all we do. God nurtures our needs in all realms; spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional, and in all areas we are to submit to him. When we do this, there is reward. Blessings to believer should not be our driving force of dedication to God, but it is certainly a bonus.
Last week a revelation came to be based off Psalm 126.5 "Those who sow in tears, shall reap in joy." Think of this verse; what does it mean to "Sow in tears" and what does it mean in relation to our service to God? Yes, there are certainly times we literally invest sweat, blood, and tears into our life's passion, but was characterizes those times? If we are passionaite about something or someone so much that we are "sowing in tears", it is not an easy task, trial, or temptation that we are going through; we might want to give up. Through out the Psalms David continually whines to God about the unjust people living a life of luxury while he is enduring the day in misery... he was having to "sow in tears".
You too will face mountains in life where you can't do anything but "sow in tears". You won't be able to do more than endure for the moment and have faith that God will take care of it. It will seem easier to give up on people, God, and issues in our life than to press through, but what is the reward in that? God did not intend for us to be quiters or failures. If we were made in the image of God, we were made in the image of the greatest "overcomer" this world has ever known. There are times you will have to invest sweat, blood, and tears into your life, but there is just reward also.
The last half of the verse states the blessing given to people who are faithful through troubles and temptations. "...Shall reap in joy." This is the principle of "Sowing and reaping" found all through scripture. You get what you give. If you put forth a half-baked effort in life, don't expect much out of it. If you put forth a limp-wristed handshake in your relationship to God, don't look for the greatness of the utmost joy. Our salvation is not achieved by anything more than the faith we have through God's grace (Eph. 2.8-9), but our blessing is. Ephesians 5 lists off the fruit of the Spirit, and in them is Joy; how do you get it? By letting Spirit have control and produce it... having faith, sowing in tears because we know God is in control, and from it we "shall reap in joy."
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who is currently incarcerated and shared this verse. This man is justly in jail and he knows it. The fact is that he will face the temptation that put him there for the rest of his life, and in order for him to continue overcoming those temptation he will have to work at it and continually submit this area to Christ. It will not be easy; he will have to "sow in tears" to retain victory, and the reward from God (reaping in joy) will be far greater that the pleasure he would receive from his past substance abuse.
When life seems to be producing little joy, examine it again and see if you have been sowing in tears. What has your effort level been in handing it over to God and pressing through, claiming the power of God. Joy is not conditional upon circumstance and it does not mean you won't bad days, weeks, or years in life, but it does make it easier to sow in tears, when you know that God's blessing of joy awaits.

From the Skeletons to the Defensive Line

Last week I was sitting on the couch watching the new game show called, "To tell the truth" and began to think of all the parts within me that I don't want anyone to know. The skeletons in my closet that I would never want to be brought to life; not because I am a Pastor, but because I am ashamed to admit the failures I have. In a book I recently read it told of how each person, especially men in positions of leadership have a fear in common, the fear of being exposed for all of what goes on in our hearts and in our minds. The fact is that God already knows what these things are and to him they are not skeletons, they are an army of defense blocking us from the true presence of the Father.

This week was also the Super Bowl where the best football players in the world gather to show who is boss. Within the game stand a brick wall of players all weighing twice my weigh and able to bench press three times as much. As I watched it accured to me that those living skeletons I have kept hidden so long were not skin and bones before the Father, they were like the defensive line of the the worlds best football teams.

All of this can seem overwhelming when we consider that this brick wall of garage we've hidden in our lives is keeping us from the life of abundance Jesus died to give us. One will begin to feel on of two things when this reality strikes. 1. I am hopeless. 2. What is the use, I'll never be perfect, and just continue with the defensive line in full force. What is one to do?

Back to the game show. If the contestant want to defeat the game they have to do only one thing... be honest. It sounds easy, but the people they love the most are present, and those are the people we try to hide these skeletons from the most. What can we do?

Just like in "To tell the Truth" we must simply be honest. Honest before God. Honest before ourselves. Honest before others. Stop living in the fantasy world that if we ignore something no one will, know, care, or be hurt.

What we see as an impossible obstacle is a mere illusion of perspective. God has the power and the desire to wipe out that entire defensive line in one easy blow but it will require that we come clean with him in all areas.

That settles being honest with God. What about being honest with ourselves and others. That is not as easy and may be a process, but it is acheivable.