The Danger Of Shortcuts

and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. John 6:17

We've all seen the ads

"Learn a instrument in 30 days"

"Teach yourself a new language in a month"

"Lose 20 pounds in a week and keep it off"

And so on and so on.

Most of us are looking for shortcuts, the easy way to accomplish something. Yet the irony is, whatever we have accomplished we know it didn't come easy. We are full of ironies. When someone tells me they bought a book to learn guitar in 30 days, I know it can't be done, and yet, I will look for a shortcut to accomplish something I haven't accomplished yet.

The above scripture comes from a time when Jesus withdrew from the crowd had sent the disciples away and told them that He would meet them later. But as how life goes it begins to get dark and Jesus hasn't shown up yet . Not only that, the Bible says:

The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. John 6:18

I think this is something we can all relate to. The situation is getting rough we are counting on Jesus to show up to help, but even though things are getting worse He hasn't showed up yet. Our lives at times can read like the above scripture: 

It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. John 6:17

There aren't shortcuts to the meaningful things in life. There aren't any "overnight" success stories. It's especially true in our spiritual walk. Sadly, there are many books in the "Christian" market that promise shortcuts. They may help, but they don't get us to the deeper places in life. 

The truth is life is hard. There is death, loss, heartbreak, unfairness, and the list goes on and on. They are all a part of the human experience. We can't escape them. Oh we try to, but in the end our plans don't work out. 

Some have asked me," but if you are following God with your life isn't He supposed to keep that stuff away from you?"

I simply reply, "No. I wish that were the case but when I read the Bible I see that it is not."

The people in the Bible went through the same junk we go through. I feel this is important to share with people, because many believe that if they are experiencing problems there must be something wrong with how they are living, or how strong their faith is. Granted, sometimes we do experience problems because of our lack of trust or how we are living, but it is not the reason all the time. Many times having problems shows we are on the right path.

In this incident with Jesus and the disciples, Jesus does show up. But He shows up in a way the disciples weren't expecting. In fact, the disciples almost missed Him. Again, isn't that so true of our lives ? We can miss Jesus even when He does show up. Why? Because He shows up in a way we weren't expecting.

How did Jesus show up for the disciples? Walking on the water!!!

They definitely weren't expecting that.

The disciples were expecting Jesus to show up in the daylight before the storm. Instead, it got dark and there was a storm and no Jesus. And though the disciples didn't know it, it was all part of the plan. 

If things had gone the way the disciples wanted they would have missed out on the chance to see Jesus walking on the water. But by going through without the shortcut they learned Jesus was faithful. They learned Jesus had power and glory that they never realized. Because of that there was given to them an opportunity for their faith in Him to grow. 

Looking for growth without the experience is tempting but in the long run its not the same as getting the experience. As humans we are tempted to escape all hardships. Though I don't like hardships I do realize that some are necessary. 

Shortcuts can be helpful at times, but if we find we have to go through without the shortcut may we trust God knows what He is doing even though we may not understand. He has a plan.

Just because God hasn't shown up yet, it doesn't mean He won't . Let's also remember He may show up in a way we aren't expecting.

Troy

Letting Go Of Our Agendas

We woke up today with a plan for the day. We have a plan of how to get through the day. In some ways we have an intentional plan, while in other ways we operate out of habit. Even though we have things all planned out and are prepared to face the day, may I suggest that we remember to let go of our agenda and leave room for God's agenda. Sometimes we can miss what God wants to do in our lives because we won't allow Him to disrupt our plans. When God wants to let us in on His agenda often it looks like an inconvenience to us.

I'm reminded of the story of Moses. It's says one day he was walking and noticed a bush burning and not being burned. The Bible says the following .....

So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." (‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ NASB)

Moses could have kept walking. He could have stuck to his plans for the day, but no, he allowed his plans to be interrupted. He turned aside.

Look at what the Bible says happened next...

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." (‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬ NASB)

Notice when God saw that Moses turned aside, God began to speak to him. This whole scenario was the beginning of God telling Moses that he was the man who was going to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let God's people go. And it all started with Moses turning aside.

Be encouraged today, if God interrupts our plans it's a good thing, and there is probably a good reason. I can't guarantee that everything in your life will go smooth and you won't have any problems in your life by allowing yourself to be open to God's agenda, but you can go through life having peace knowing you are trying your best to follow what God wants to do in your life. 

Troy

God Loves Us At Our Worst

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)


 There is a huge misconception when It comes to following Jesus with our lives. Generally, most of us feel that we aren't good enough. We have thoughts like, "I need to clean my act up first",or "God would never accept me the way I have lived" and so on and so forth. What we don't realize is that what we are really saying is that... at some point we can be good enough for God. Somehow we feel that we can earn Jesus dying on the cross for us. We somehow forget that our sins have separated us from God and that we needed Jesus to restore the relationship.

 

 Basically I have found we usually fall into one of two camps when it comes to our sins:
1. the idea that they really aren't that bad or,
2. the idea that our sins are so awful that even God can't forgive them.

 We are wrong on both accounts. Romans 5:8 shows us that we are sinners, but the good news is that it shows us that even though we have sinned, Jesus still died for us. He didn't wait until we cleaned up our act. While you and I were doing those things that we are so ashamed of, that is when He died for us. As the verse says this is how God has demonstrated His love towards us.
In my 20 + years of following Jesus I have studied all the world religions and
beliefs etc... One thing that separates following Jesus from every other religion is that in the other religions we have to become good enough to be accepted. We have to attain to some level. We have to reach up to whatever the diety is. In following Jesus, we find that we are accepted not because of what we did, but because of what Jesus did. He came to us!!!

 Be encouraged today, God has demonstrated His love towards YOU!!! He sent Jesus to die for YOU!!!. And He didn't wait until you were "good enough" He already did it !!! Remember, God doesn't just love us when we are at our best, He also loves us at our worst!!! "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Troy

Jesus: Friend of Sinners

When we think of Jesus, because he is the Son of God, we tend to think that he hung out with the morally good people. Now I am sure He did at times, but the Bible shares with us one group of people who enjoyed being around Him.....sinners!!!  Whaaaaat?

Look at a couple of passages:


 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
Luke 15:1-2

"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Matthew 11:19

In fact, as you read the Gospels it was the "religious" people, the people who "thought" they were morally good who Jesus would confront. It's what led to His crucifixion.

Now let me add a few thoughts here:
1. Jesus wants us to be good moral people
2. If we are fortunate enough to be good moral people, Jesus doesn't want us thinking we are any better than someone else.
3. It's only because of God's help that we aren't commiting the same acts that others do that repulse us.
4. You see the problem with "religious" people is they are in danger of forgetting that they are sinners also.

There is a truth that has always blown my mind:
Somehow Jesus was able to hang out sinners, not participate in their sin, and yet be accepted and liked by them. That is so amazing to me I think I will write it again in bold type:
Somehow Jesus was able to hang out sinners, not participate in their sin, and yet be accepted and liked by them.


All of this talk is leading to the thought that we should follow Jesus' example.
I personally think Jesus was able to make the connection with people because there was something about Him that they were attracted to. I believe it was love. I believe we should be people who practice love to people, even the people we don't agree with. I'm sure Jesus didn't agree with the lifestyle the "sinners" were practicing, I'm sure He didn't condone it, yet, He loved them.

Here's a good test of how well we love: Are other people glad to be with us? Somwhow Jesus attracted the people the "religious" people looked down on, and yet those "sinners" liked being with Jesus.
                                    

Rather than looking down on them, Jesus loved them, and in the process brought to them the truth they were looking for. Think of the woman only described as a sinner in Luke 6:36-50, the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11),  Zacchaeus, the tax collector (19:1-10), The woman at the well (John 4:7-42), Matthew the tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13). The list goes on to even you and I ......we were drawn to Him by His love. Let's go do the same for others.

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him. 10Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.13"But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:9-13

 Troy

Great Prayer from Proverbs 30

Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God. 

Prayer is something that is complex and simplistic all at the same time. I would like to share some principles from Augustine that can help with prayer, and then you and I can see the wisdom of this prayer from Proverbs 30.

Augustine, who lived back in the 400 is considered one of the great Christian thinkers of all time. Augustine taught that before we can know what to pray for or how to pray for it, we must become the kind of person who accounts ourselves as "desolate" in this world, however "well off" we may be. We have to be able to see that no matter how great our circumstances are or can become, that they can never bring us the  lasting peace, happiness, and consolation that are found in Christ.

Augustine taught that our heart's loves are 'disordered'. out of order. Things we ought to love third or fourth are first, and our love for God, which should be supremely, is third or fourth on our list of importance. Unless  we recognize this heart disorder and realize how much it distorts our lives, our prayers will go array. Let me give you an example, If we think being in a relationship or financial security are the main sources of safety and confidence in life, then when any of these are in jeopardy, we will cry out to God for help, but our prayer will be nothing more than worry directed to God.Prayer won't bring the healing and comfort we need because relationships or financial security is our security instead of God being our security.

So once we see the truth of our hearts being disordered Augustine would say we are ready for the "next level' of prayer. He would tell us to pray for what we like, because now we know that comforts and rewards and pleasures in themselves only give fleeting fulfillment. Augustine points us to Psalm 27:4:

 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

If God is our greatest love, and if knowing and pleasing Him is our highest desire and joy, it transforms both what and how we pray.

This is where Augustine cites our prayer from Proverbs 30. The prayer from Proverbs 30 reveals a proper motivation. If we don't realize our hearts are disordered then our prayer may be, "Make we wealthy." But the prayer from Proverbs 30 is asking, "Lord meet my material needs, and give me wealth, yes, but only as much as I can handle without it harming my ability to put you first in life. Because ultimately I don't need status and comfort- I need you as my Lord."

Isn't that the attitude we need with any prayer that we pray? We only get to this attitude by realizing our hearts are disordered, and coming to the realization that only God can give ultimate fulfillment in life. Then we can apply the principle from Proverbs 30 to our prayer life.

Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God

Troy

Grace

People often ask me ,"how have you been able to be a consistent follower of Jesus for the past 20 years? As I have thought on that, I could give a lengthy answer, I could go into a lengthy discussion on theology, I could quote Church Fathers, give a long treastie on the doctrine of salvation. But when it's time to simplify, I simply say, Grace.

 

Grace started me on the journey, Grace has sustained me on the journey, and Grace will help me reach my destination.

 

 

 

 

It's interesting to me how many people I meet who feel they aren't "worthy" of grace. But isn't that the whole point of grace? If I deserved it, it wouldn't be grace. It would be something I've earned, and guess what.....we can't earn grace!!!

 

Isn't that part of the reason why we are uncomfortable when someone does something nice for us, especially if we know we haven't been really good to them? We feel we don't deserve it. On the other end of the spectrum, isn't that why we get upset with others when we have done a favor for someone, but they don't do a favor for us when we are in need?......We think we have earned the favor and it's proof we aren't operating out of grace.

 

I pray this upcoming year will be a year of grace for you. I was reading a blog post from Perry Noble and I would like to close with his words: 

 

Grace is for the person who has messed up somewhere in life and believes the lie that, because of their failures, God can never do anything significant with them.

 

Grace is for the person who wrestles with trying to not find their identity in what they did on their worst day.

Grace is for the person who is tired of trying to keep all of the rules and regulations associated with religion.

 

Grace is for the person who really does believe God is mad at them.

Grace gives us the strength to forgive when we believe that forgiving someone else is an impossibility.

 

Grace gives us courage.

Grace gives us strength.

Grace allows us to keep going when we want to give up.

Grace shatters the shackles of sin that have dominated our lives for years.

Grace allows me to stop being a victim of what happened to me.

Grace gives us hope.

Grace is available to everyone.

I know – it sounds too good to be true.

It’s not!

 

Troy