Yeah your faith is going to be tested.

It would be foolish for us to think that our faith would not be tested repeatedly. Think about the repercussions of a faith that is not tested. It would not grow. It would not flourish and blossom into something that is worth of the Lord. Look to the life of Peter. The Apostle Peter had his faith tested multiple times. He succeeded in walking on water. He owns the record of water walking by a human. He only sank into the water after he questioned his faith. Of course Jesus was there to save him but up until that point Peter had walked on water. So that takes us to today’s scriptures I want us to look at.  Luke 22:31-34, Luke 22:54-62 and John 21:15-17

         Here we find the Apostles and Jesus reclining at the Last Supper. Jesus lets Peter know that Satan wants to test him. Well of course Peter says he ready to follow Him anywhere no matter the cost. Well Peter had the faith to say that but was his faith strong enough to actually follow through on it? Jesus looked right at Him and told Peter that before sunrise that he would even deny knowing Jesus. I am sure Peter was doubtful because he was so comfortable in his faith. Now one of the things that has always amazed me about this scripture is the phrase in in Luke: 22:32 where Jesus gives a bit of two sides of the coin to Peter.

“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

         Jesus breaks Peter down here. Jesus speaks to Peter and tells him without a doubt that he is going to stumble in his faith. He is not going to fail because Jesus has prayed for him but he is going to stumble. Then Jesus builds him up by telling Peter that when he returns to his faith to strengthen his brothers. Jesus knows that Peter is going to deny Him. Jesus knows the pain and agonizing that Peter is going to go through by denying Him. Jesus, as only Jesus could do, gives it to Peter straight that he would stumble but would return and be able to further strengthen the brothers. Now if we look ahead, we know Peter does indeed stumble and deny Jesus. He is terribly upset with himself and had to be frustrated too. Here he is having denied Jesus and now Jesus has been crucified and is dead and Peter is left with no way to be restored. It is here that we come to one of my favorite stories of Peter.

         The disciples were out fishing after Jesus resurrection and a man walking along the shore tells them where they can find fish. They cast their net and do indeed find fish. Peter then recognizes that this man is Jesus Christ. Peter demonstrates that he has learned a lesson. Instead of making his way back to shore on the boat, Peter goes overboard into the sea and is swimming back to shore. Why? He so wanted the Lord, so wanted to be forgiven that he just jumped. So Jesus restores Peter by asking Peter three questions.

1.   Simon Peter son of John do you love Me more than these? Yes, Lord.  “Feed my Lambs”

2.   Simon Peter do you love me? Yes. “Then Shepard My sheep.”

3.   “Simon Peter, son of John, do you love Me?’ Yes, Lord, You know everything!” You know I love You. “Feed My sheep.”

This is what the Lord Jesus wants to do in your life. Restore you, refresh you and love you. Jesus knew Peter would stumble. Jesus knew he would suffer emotionally. Jesus knew He would die and rise again. Jesus knew that He would restore Peter. He also knew how Peter would die. He also knew that Peter would affect the Gospel being shared to this day and until the day of the return of Christ.

More Than We Can Handle?

"You know God will not give you more than you can handle." This is a piece of advice that I have heard over and over. I was in the car and heard it during a song and it got me to thinking. I began to wonder if it was true or whether it was just an overused phrase inside the feel goodish religion of the day. So as my mind turned this subject over and over I came to a couple conclusions. 

First thing to ask is that a true statement. Will God only give you what you can handle? Or, will He give you more than you can handle? I find this to be a false statement. I came to this conclusion based on my personal past and upon observations I have made of other people’s lives. There are things in this world that happen to us that we just are not capable of handling. I am not just talking about death, cancer, divorce, sickness or that type. I am looking at the day to day things of our lives. The financial, work, personal and all of those things. God does not call us to be a comfortable Christian. He gives us these things as ways to move us out of our comfort zone. We move out of these comfortable spots based solely on faith. Well, here we are at that sticking point. Having faith. Believing that God is going to be there to help and fulfill His end of the bargain. Its where the rubber meets the road. Sure the preacher on Sunday does a great job, the music is great, my spot is always available, we give to missions but when God speaks and says believe, what then? Do we go outside of the comfort zone? Do we talk to those around us that are lost? Look at this list and see if any apply.

1.  Are you attending church without an expectation of God "showing up and showing out"?

2  You are no longer concerned with the spiritual condition of your family, friends, neighbors or those people in your life.

3  When's the last time you have talked to a lost person about Jesus?

4  Does your Bible have a coat of dust on it? When is the last time you dug deeper into a subject?

5  Your happiness on Sunday morning is more important than the amount of work it takes to reach the unchurched.

6  The poor, homeless and needy just doesn't concern you.

7  The foreign mission field is in another country, not your own backyard.

8  It’s hard to let go of that tithe check each week. Are you tithing sacrificially?

9  Your prayer life is very still and stale.

10          You don't even recognize the fact that God wants to do great things through you and in your life.

Secondly, if we going to be given more than we can handle, how do we handle it? The Christian must come to realize that Jesus Christ lives in us!! The same man who walked on water, healed the sick, loved the poor, took an enormous beating, suffered a crucifixion, died, rose and defeated death, ascended to Heaven and is coming again, lives within you. That’s awesome. That’s powerful. That is life changing and should change our perspective on how we live this life! Then just to top it off God sent the Holy Spirit to help guide us and help us deal with these things.  

So there is the answer. God does give us more than we can handle. He does it to move us out of our comfort zones. He does it to test our faith. He does it so that we will rely on Jesus Christ who lives in us. He does it so we will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and rely on Him. 

Holding onto the past.

People love to hold onto the past. It is a comfort to them. Holding grudges, withholding forgiveness, being bitter, being resentful and so on, are just examples of holding onto things that only slow us down. The Bible tells us that we are running a race.

" 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."- Hebrews 12:1

So we are going to run with this idea, no pun intended. If we are running a race, then how can we hold onto all that baggage and expect to make headway? Lets say those things listed above are 5 pounds each. Imagine trying to run a race with all that weight in a backpack you are wearing. It is possible but the toll it takes on you mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  The next problem is that you continue to look backwards at the past and all the things that happened there. It is impossible to run forward and constantly look backwards.  You can but you will end up falling and hurting yourself. 

So the best way to run a race is by running lightly and by being streamlined.  Let go of the past that holds you back. Put down those weights that are dragging you under. Throw off all these issues. Be free. We are designed and commanded to run this race in such a manner that we could win it. That is impossible when we are looking back, bearing the heavy burden of the weight of these issues. So my advice to you is this, lay those weights, burdens and all your troubles down at the feet of Jesus Christ. The very next verse in Hebrews chapter 12 tells us how to put it all down and leave it in the past by "fixing our eyes on Jesus."

     

Check The Radar

Things going good? That's great news. We all run into sunny and smooth weather in our life.  There are always smooth patches in our life, when everything is going right. Now I am not going to throw a wet blanket on that time. I want to use Jesus's words to help keep your eyes upward and looking towards the future. We all have the issue of getting comfortable. When things get routine and the pressure drops, we look to get comfortable. That is not the message that Jesus had for us. During the smooth times in life, is when we need to prepare for the next storm that is guaranteed to blow into your life. Jesus gave us ample warnings about being prepared. Revelation 3:2 says "Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain;"  Here Jesus is saying be watchful, keep an eye out and strengthen the things which are left. I think we can all agree that we need to be watchful. The second portion is a very important part. Imagine the scene after a bad storm has blown through. This is the time to repair and reinforce the things that were damaged. You can not put storm shutters up during the storms. These smooth times are when we survey the damage and take steps to fix the issues. For example, your marriage. During these smooth times is when you can grow your intimacy. Spend time building that relationship. It is only going to be as strong during the storms of life as you make it during the sunny days of life.  That is just one example and there are plenty others. I see people getting comfortable as a sign of not being engaged in a purposeful ministry. Sure you come to church every Sunday. Sure you participate in worship. You have a study plan. You are reading a christian book. The question is; Are you ministering to someone? Are you investing in the lives of others? Are you telling somebody about Jesus Christ everyday? Are you taking all opportunities to witness to people? Are you comfortable where you are? If so that could be a bad sign.
  

Come in and I'll give you shelter from the storm.....

For some years now I have been laboring on writing a book called Storm Fronts. It has been a labor to say the least. I have had hot and cold spurts, moments of inspiration and moments of uninspired writing and thoughts. I have decided to put some of the fruits into a blog format in order to offer a little positive light into the lives of folks around me. So let me introduce the concept behind Storm Fronts.

We have all been outside when an unexpected storm rolled up quickly upon us. Remember the panic and surprise that went with that? Running to find shelter? Unaware of what kind of storm was coming? Just that you needed shelter from the storm. The idea that these storms in life can come just as quick as a rain storm. Look around you and see how peoples life's and maybe your own have been affected by the words cancer, divorce, death, depression, suicide, abuse, break up, abortion, unplanned pregnancy, financial disaster, broken homes, lost way, fired and many more that affect us daily.  So to cut right to the heart of the matter let us look at Isaiah 4:6. : And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain. 

The previous verses are in reference to Jesus and that he will offer you a shelter in the storm. Pretty simple, yet a complicated thought too. As we go forward I hope to offer encouragement and answer the question, "Why do bad things happen to god people?"