“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.’” – John 12:12-19 (ESV)

This isn’t an original sentiment.  Far from it.  Still, it bears repeating: we have our holidays backwards.  Culturally speaking, everybody loves Christmas (or, as the world prefers to call the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, “the holidays”*).  Christmas gets celebrated with great abandon and historical inaccuracy that makes the notion of Columbus discovering America and George Washington chopping down an cherry tree look like fact.

By comparison, Easter seems to come and go without as much notice.  But – as Christians – shouldn’t Holy Week be commemorated and celebrated with an even greater fervor than Christmas?  I mean, talk about gift giving…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” – John 3:16-21 (ESV)

You can’t buy salvation at Amazon.com, ship it, wrap it up and toss it under a tree.  “Billy, what’d you get for Christmas?”  “A new fire truck!  What’d you get, Tommy?”  “Eternal Life!”  “Cool!  Is that for PS3 or Xbox?”

The problem (as if we have only one problem) – and I am speaking culturally here – is the same problem that existed 2000 years ago. 

We just don’t get it.

If you roll your eyes upward from your Bible a bit when reading the opening passage, you’ll see John 12:9, where we learn why “the large crowd of Jews” had gathered in the first place.  “They came not only on account of (Jesus) but also to see Lazarus” (ESV).  They came to see the formerly dead guy, and the man who had raised him.  They were amazed, they were astounded.  They were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow the government and take over.

But they just didn’t get it.  These were the same people who, by week’s end, would be calling for Christ’s execution.  Some came for the curiosity.  Some came for the show.

Many of us come for the show.  I believe God calls us where we are.  Our problem, as I said, is the same as the first century Jews’ problem: we come with our ideas, our preconceived notions, our God-in-a-box, our hopes of Who we want Him to be.  And then discover that he is Someone quite different than our creation of who God should be.  In truth, He is far greater than we could ever imagine. 

Take a moment and read John 12 for yourself.  These people could not see Jesus for Who He is.  They declared him King of Israel.  We get so wrapped up in our earthly lives that we do not truly stop to see Jesus in eternal terms.  Not like we should.  We understand the concept (to varying degrees), but we want to simply apply what we know of God to our pains and needs in the here-and-now.  And – do not misunderstand me – we need to do that!  We need to see God at work in our lives, meeting our needs and the needs of others, caring for His people, loving us, guiding us, directing us… But we also need to have an appreciation and right understanding of the eternal God.  This life is a blink of the eye in comparison to eternity.  And God spans all of eternity!!

Here is my point: I am thankful there is no Easter tree.  I’m not prepared to skin the Easter Bunny, but I think we need to be far more thoughtful and reflective about Holy Week.  Not just the celebration of Easter, but the events of the week.  Try to figure out the depth of what it means that God became man, walked amongst us, and died for our sins that we may have eternal life.  Understand how, in less than a week, the palm-waving throng of admirers would turn on Jesus.  Understand how Peter, who had walked intimately – perhaps most intimately of the twelve – with Jesus for three years, could turn his back on His Savior by denying Him three times in one night. 

I’ll be prayerfully spending the week in the last 10 chapters of John, asking the Lord for a deeper, more meaningful walk with Him.  This week more than any other, I sense a deeper desire – need – for more of God in my life.  This week is the perfect time for us to seek Christ in our lives, and seek a deeper understanding of what Jesus did for us, what it means to be a Christian, and what we each need to surrender in order to see Him more clearly.

*By the way, this week (Holy Week) is also Earth Week.  Anyone else see the irony there?

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” – Hebrews 3:12-14 (ESV)

There is a reason wild animals often travel in packs (or flocks, or gaggles, or schools, or what have you…)  Simply put: there is safety in numbers.  The first Christians clung together because they had to.  It was a survival tactic – safety in numbers.  These people knew persecution, particularly from the ruling Romans.

Here in the United States, we do not truly know persecution on the scale the early church experienced.  We are free to worship where and how we please, comfortable in the knowledge that our government is not going to crack down on us for openly praising Jesus.  (Please… no political comments.  Not gonna go there…)

However – and can we be blunt here? – being a Christian isn’t always easy.  We meet plenty of opposition from the enemy on many fronts in many ways (and, as a side note, we must remember that ‘we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” [Ephesians 6:12, ESV]).  At home, when we don’t let the kids watch the trendy TV show or wear the trendy clothes because of the immortality of it all.  At work, when we refuse to laugh at the dirty joke or get involved in the office gossip or – forbid it! – we slip up in a moment of stress and say something we otherwise would not have uttered.  At social functions, when we refuse to tip a drink like everyone else.  At any setting where we dare to mention Jesus to an unbeliever who is less than receptive to the Truth.

Folks, true Christianity is tough.  Our values are completely at odds with those of the world.  And, get ready, because stepping up in your faith is going to bring some opposition your way.  Be prepared to be treated differently.  Accept that there will probably be some who call you a “Jesus freak,” “hypocrite,” or “narrow-minded” (some openly, but most behind our backs). 

This is why it is so important to be part of a community of believers.  By this, I do not mean merely attend church services on Sunday.  I mean plug in.  Get involved.  Serve.  Get involved in a small group and build meaningful relationships.  We need one another – for growth, for support.  If we’re going to follow Christ – in reality, not just playing lip-service to the notion of being a “Christian” –  we need to be surrounded by people who have our backs.  We need to “exhort one another every day.” 

I love that word “exhort.”  It comes from the Greek term παρακαλέω (parakaleō) which Strong’s defines as “to call near.”  As brothers and sisters in Christ, as fellow believers in community with one another, we are called to draw near to one another as a support system, to help keep one another on track.  And with all the opposition and temptation we face as Christians – and, trust me, the enemy is not going to let up until his defeat is complete – we need each other.  We need to be in community with one another.  We need Godly influence and help on a daily basis.

Today, I want to encourage you – to exhort you – if you are not plugged in a church somewhere, get plugged in – involved, active in the community of believers, serving the body of Christ.  The blessings of being plugged into a small group or other ministry within the church far outweigh the stuff that is stopping you.  Don’t let past hurts or hang ups or busyness stop you from getting involved.  Make being an active part of the body of Christ a priority in your life.  Rephrase: the priority.  After all, when everything else is gone, what is left?  God.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” – John 15:5-7 (ESV)

I love a good campfire.  And I love toasted marshmallows.  There is just something about a sticky lump of processed sugar stuck on a dirty stick and burnt to a black crisp (on the outside) over a smoky, open flame that just makes my mouth water.  That’s great for me.  And, really, I would think the ultimate destiny for a marshmallow – outside of its usefulness as a yam topping – would be to find fulfillment as a child’s campfire snack, only bettered if used as the essential binding element of a Smore. 

But, the stick…. that poor stick…. This wasn’t what he had in mind.  The stick used to be a branch.  It used to support life, hold leaves, maybe fruit.  It was once part of something greater.  Now, its kindling.  It’ll end up broken and burnt, sticky with marshmallow resin.  In the morning, it will be ash. 

We can do nothing apart from Christ.  For some, that is an easy truth to accept.  But for many – I would argue most – the truth of that statement can be difficult to take.  After all, we’re only human.  We want achievement.  We want accolades.  We want to be somebody.  Isn’t that what we were taught as kids?  “You can be anything you want if you just work hard enough and succeed!”

The problem is simple: we put the responsibility for results on ourselves.  The outcome, in our minds, is entirely dependent upon our performance.  If we succeed, we feel pride, elation, a sense of inner well-being.  But. when we fail…

I was listening to a sermon by James MacDonald last night and he commented that a branch removed from its vine is a stick.  And John 15:7 tells us what happens to sticks.  They become tinder.  They are kindling for the fire.  It strikes me that this is exactly what happens when we are success-driven.  We push and push and push, shoving our agenda ahead, making goals, working hard, plugging forward. 

Then comes the inevitable burnout.  We become self-reliant and blinded by ambition and drive.  And we drive ourselves right into the ditch.  We get sidelined by something we never even saw coming.  We took our eyes off Christ (if they were ever really there) and start drowning.  We fall off the vine and end up a marshmallow stick.

Today, as we start a new week, I want to encourage you: don’t be a marshmallow stick.  Don’t end up roasted and tossed in the fire.  Abide in Christ and trust Him with the results in your life.  Abiding is simply following, staying connected.  So abide in Christ and stay connected to The Vine.  This is where true success and life are found.

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (ESV)

My four year old loves to travel.  His big thrill: he likes to stay at the hotel.  We’ll be driving along the freeway, he’ll see a Holiday Inn or Comfort Inn (or what have you) and yell out, “Someday I go to hotel!”  It’s an experience we all enjoy: the pool (my son’s favorite part of the stay), not having to make the bed, coffee available 24/7, the continental breakfast… even just the newness of staying somewhere with different scenery.

But, ask just about any business person who spends a lot of time traveling and they will tell you: the hotel experience gets old.  The chlorine burns the nose.  The bed is not as comfy as yours at home, nor is the coffee as good.  And, really, who wants a dried up donut and half a banana for breakfast?  The newness dulls, and you realize how much you miss home.  Family.  Love. 

As Christians, we are sojourners on this earth.  This isn’t home – we’re just traveling through.  Maybe that’s why it can feel so awkward and ill-fitting, even “at home.”  Our values aren’t the same.  Our goals don’t mesh with those of the world.  We are strangers who have grown tired of the continental breakfast and long to be home, where we are surrounded by love. 

No pain. 

No sorrow.

No worry. 

No greed. 

No grieving.

No privation.

No selfishness.

No anger. 

No anxiety. 

No loneliness.

No hunger.

No homelessness.

No hate.

No war. 

No death. 

No sin. 

It is the stuff of countless Christian songs.  But it is reality.  God even guarantees His promise of Heaven with the Holy Spirit, who guides and enables us through this life.  We have a great and precious promise to hold tight to, secure in it’s truth:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” – John 14:1-7 (ESV)

This we have to look forward to: as believers, we will all be home one day.  But, for now, we are weary travelers, on the road and far from home.  And longing – deeply longing – for the day when we can be “at home with the Lord.”  This is why evangelism is so important: this promise is to precious not to share!  This is why small groups and church involvement are so important: we need each other, we need to build the body, we need that encouragement for the road ahead.

Today I am grateful for the great and precious promises of God.  He owes me nothing.  I deserve nothing.  And yet, His love for me is so great that He has made a way to rescue me and bring me eventually home – to a home I cannot fully imagine with my limited human mental faculties, but I take on faith in Jesus. 

C’mon guys.  Off to the next stop.

Monday, April 4, 2011

5:00 am

I don’t know about you, but I have had it.  I am tired of all fluff and stuff, the detritus, the unimportant junk that litters my life.  So much busyness, so many distractions, all that time and talent and treasure that gets wasted on the meaningless, the useless.  I no longer care to major in the minors.  I have no desire to be so concentrated on things that have no eternal value.  I am ready to prioritize and rightly align my life.  I need to build my spiritual muscles.  I need to chuck the junk and get down to what is important, what is vital – in God’s eyes.

Personally, I need the spiritual equivalent of chef Emeril Lagasse’s “BAM” factor.  And I’ll bet I’m not the only one who feels that way.

So… I’m tossing out this challenge – the Essence Challenge – a chance for a bunch of us to strip away the old debris, toss out the garbage and waste and get to the heart, the essence, of what is important: God, spouse, kidlets, job – in that order.  This is an opportunity for us to find true meaning in our lives and begin growing ever deeper in our relationship with Jesus, and others.

How does the Essence Challenge work?  Well… I’m not 100% sure.  We’re going to start with small steps. 

STEP ONE: Set your alarm clocks 30 minutes earlier than you normally would.  (I know… ugh…).  Yes, that may mean cutting the “Friends” marathon on TBS short by one episode.  And, yes, it may be tough if you have a kidlet like my little man who refuses to go to sleep before 11pm that night. 

Now, how to spend that extra half hour before the sun rises?  Prayer.  Scripture.  Repeat.  Specifically, ask God to show you the areas in your life you need to ditch.  Where are your priorities askew?  How can you impact others by changing your life?  Most importantly, just seek God.  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8, ESV). 

STEP TWO: Now, this one may hurt a bit for some of us, but here goes… turn off the TV.  For one week, beginning next Monday (April 11), turn off the TV.  And leave it off.

For one week.

No “Sports Center.”  No DVDs.  No VOD or TiVO or Internet streaming episodes of “30 Rock.”  Only turn the tube on in case of an emergency where you need to find out info vital to the safety and needs of you and your loved ones (i.e.: is the tornado heading toward my house?).  No, Charlie Sheen updates do not qualify as an emergency, despite how the media treats them.

How do we spend that time with no television?  Read the Bible and pray with your family.  Spend time with your spouse.  Serve – help others in Christ’s name.  Be creative.  The most important thing is to seek God – how would He have you spend the time?  At the risk of sounding cliché, act as if Jesus were in the room with you (after all, He is). 

The goal of all this is to act as a bit of a reset: to rejuvenate our spiritual walk, realign our priorities and remove the useless from our lives.  And these two steps – rising 30 minutes early and turning off the television – are just the first two steps, the clearing of the deck. 

So… how about it?   Are you up to the Essence Challenge?  C’mon… it won’t hurt that much.  And, we’ll all be doing this together.  Drop me a quick e-mail at: christophercourtney@comcast.net and simply say, “Yes!  I am up for the challenge!”

Each day, I will post little encouragements and updates on this blog, readable via Facebook and Twitter as well on the blog website – https://bouvillediarist.wordpress.com/.  You can also receive them via e-mail by subscribing to the blog (see the website for details – it is really quite simple!)

Join me in taking the Essence Challenge!  Let’s grow together and see what God has in store for our lives as we seek His will for a greater impact on the lives of those around us.

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.  The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”  Proverbs 16:3-4 (ESV)

“…God is love.” – 1 John 4:8b (ESV)

The past few months have been a bit of a struggle, with more than one disappointment dropping onto my path.  It hasn’t been any one big event as much as a series of smaller discouragements.  Now, I write this very cognizant of the fact that what I’ve been facing is miniscule when compared with what a lot of other people I know have been dealing with.  Still, I find no comfort in the old line, “Buck up – there are people who are going through a lot harder time than you are!”  Come to think of it, there are a lot of lines I’ve heard over the weeks and months that really did nothing to help:

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!”

“It’s gonna be alright.  Where is your faith?”

“Why are you struggling?  Didn’t you get a degree in studying God?”

“Don’t sweat it.  God is in control and He has a plan for you.”

Okay, that last one I should have stopped and listened to.  It is one of those facts that most believers know, and tell others with ease. But, when we have to apply this truth to our own lives… that is a different matter all together.

The truth is God is actually in control.  The Bible points it out.  Everything – every created, tangible thing – is created with purpose.  In God’s economy, nothing is wasted.  Even God’s Word is incredibly economical – there is not one idle, useless word in all of the Bible’s 66 books. 

And what is God’s most prized creation?  We are. 

Humanity. 

People.

And what is our created purpose?  The simple, corporate answer is this: to bring glory to God.  While that is our ultimate purpose, I believe each of us is created with a specific, God ordained purpose as well.  We are each blessed, gifted and talented in special ways, and wired in a manner that makes each and every person unique.

Consider trees.  What is their function?  Trees take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and replace it with oxygen, which we need to breathe.  They are remarkable air cleaners.  But, specifically, some trees also perform unique functions.  Some provide fruit and nuts for nourishment.  Some provide shade.  Some provide lumber.  Some provide a nesting place – and nesting material – for birds.  Some provide syrup.  And on and on…

Here is my point.  You are created with a purpose.  And it is easy for us (easier moreover for some) to get sidetracked with our own plans and ideas and goals and strategies.  We have to remember to “dedicate” what we do for God, without concern for the outcome.  We have to be willing to fail – even fail big – because, as the apostle Paul wrote:

“(Jesus) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, ESV).

When disappointment and discouragement come, don’t sit around drowning in lemonade.  Let God work through the hard times to make you stronger and bring Him glory.  Keep doing what God has called you to do, knowing that God is omniscient (He already knows everything, including the struggles you face – He is able to take care of every detail [Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 55:9]), omnipresent (He is always with you, wherever you go, and will never abandon you [Hebrews 13:5]), and omnipotent (there is nothing too hard for God! [Luke 18:27]). 

Most importantly, God is love.  You can’t lose God’s love by messing up or falling short (or by any other means).  If God’s love was fickle, hanging on our worth or work or merit, it wouldn’t be love.  It would be earnings.  It would be works. 

But God’s love is a gift of grace.  And God’s love enables us to set aside the embarrassment of failure, the fear of imperfection, the pain of disappointment and the exhaustion of discouragement.  In faith we can see that God can and will do great things through each of us.  What we need to do is be faithful, and commit our ways to God.  “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21, ESV).

If you’re of my generation – you know, the people who remember when MTV played music videos – then you know Tom Petty’s song “The Waiting.”  I have to tell you, he was right about one thing: the waiting is definitely the hardest part. Trust me, I’m not very good at it.

A lot of us aren’t very good at it.  Some people are just too type-A to wait well.  Some of us are too spoiled by a culture of instantaneous gratification (I still can’t believe I don’t have to drive to the record shop to buy my favorite music or the bookstore for a great book).  Our on-demand lifestyle has dulled us to one of God’s great promises:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV)

Have you ever watched an eagle fly?  My wife and I love to drive to different refuges and parks to witness these majestic birds in flight.  They glide effortlessly in great swoops across the sky.  They don’t struggle or flap frantically.  They move with great ease and focus, keeping their eyes on the goal (which, for eagles, is usually lunch on the ground below).

Here’s a lesson for all of us who are impatiently waiting for something in life, whatever that “something” may be: think about what your true goal in life really is.  Be honest with yourself.  Are you striving for success, or earthly gain, or some tangible improvement?  Or can you honestly rest and say, “God is sufficient.  Jesus Christ is enough for me.”  Consider the apostle Paul’s life goal: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV). 

For those of us who find waiting so difficult, it would do us well to trust in God’s timing, rest confident that His will is being done in our lives and simply let the Lord be our sufficiency.  I write this feeling somewhat like a hypocrite.  After all, as I mentioned earlier, I am Type-A and things like letting go and waiting on God do not come easily.  (That may explain why God, in His infinite wisdom, seems to let me wait as much as He does.)  In the end I have to accept that I am not the master of my universe.  God is God and I am not.  Jesus is my Lord and Savior, God’s Word is Truth and His will and wisdom are utterly perfect.  If God says “wait,” I will wait.  When I surrender all to the Lord, I find great freedom and strength.

Yes, waiting is tough, painful… sometimes downright excruciating.  But it is in waiting and focusing on the Lord that I find my true strength, and soar.

“’Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ he said.” – Matthew 14:28-29 (NIV)

The scene wasn’t entirely new to Peter and the disciples.  They had found themselves here before – out on the water as a storm came up, tossing their boat around.  The last time, Jesus had been on board with the disciples, sleeping peacefully as the storm raged.  That time, Jesus gently rebuked their lack of faith and calmed the storm.

Now, here they were again.  Another storm whipping these disciples around at sea.  But, this time, Jesus was not in the boat.  It’s little wonder that Peter was so excited to see Jesus out on the water.  He knew that, if anyone could save them from the maelstrom, it was Jesus.

He had done it before.  He could do it again.

The psalmist knew this as well:

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
   make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
   tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
   seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
   his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the LORD our God;
   his judgments are in all the earth. – Psalm 105:1-7 (NIV)

When trouble comes – when the chips are down or we can’t see a way out of the storm that rages around us – it is easy to get dragged down by our problems.  Let me encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus, and remember what God has done for you in the past.  Dwell on His Word and think about the times in the past when God has rescued you.  Consider what He has done for others as well.  Be encouraged, be refreshed, and look to the Lord – not the troubles. 

He’s been there for you before.  He’s here for you now.  He will never abandon you, for if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are a child of God, adopted firmly into HIs family.  Rest easy in the knowledge that the Lord God is never out of reach, never out of earshot of your prayers.  Even in the midst of the storms, remember what the Lord has done and look for Him.

“Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” – Matthew 14:28-29 (ESV)

Have I ever told you about Mike?  Mike goes to out church, and he is on fire for Jesus.  I mean absolutely 100% sold out for Christ and not shy about it.  He reaches out to guys in jail, homeless folks, people society would just as soon not have to deal with.  And he does it with great boldness for God.  If you ever have to ask Mike how he feels about the Lord, you weren’t in the same room with him. 

Or we’re not talking about the same Mike.

When I asked Mike what inspires him to be so bold, he shared with me the storms in life that Jesus brought him through.  And he quoted from Jeremiah:

If I say, “I will not mention him,
   or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
   shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
   and I cannot. – Jeremiah 20:9 (ESV)

Then he reminded me of Luke 7:47, which says that those who are forgiven much, love much (and vice versa). 

I sometime wonder exactly what prompted Peter to come up with the idea of asking Jesus to call him out onto the water.  While that is the subject of another blog piece to come, I do know this much – it required boldness on Peter’s part.  Try to imagine being Peter, sitting on that rocking boat, the waters swelling and churning all around him, the winds screaming, all his friends fearing for their safety.  What boldness it must take to think one could possibly walk on water.  The audacity! 

And yet… he did just that.  Peter sought the Lord, and Christ beckoned him.  And Peter walked atop the choppy seas. 

Well… briefly.  Alas that, too, is for a future blog. 

For today, I simply want to encourage all of us to be bold in doing God’s will.  Love boldly.  Serve boldly.  Pray boldly.  Seek boldly.  Share boldly.  Believe boldly.  Don’t let the world tell you “no.”  Don’t let circumstances (or your perceptions thereof) dictate your every move.  Don’t let doubts sway you.  Simply be led by the Holy Spirit and go where He leads, do what He instructs.  Boldly.

We are called to follow Christ, to do His will.  And that requires boldness.  How is the Lord leading you to be bold for His Kingdom today?

“Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’” – Matthew 14:22-27 (ESV)

As a child, I was afraid of storms.  Terrified is a better word.  One rumble of thunder, and I would spring from my bed and into my parents’ room.  One evening – I must have been around my son’s age at the time (four or so) – I remember a storm rolling in.  The thunder rumbled and pounded in the distance, the summer sky darkened as the clouds rolled in.  My dad took me out on the front porch, lifted me up and held on to me as we watched the storm move in across the field opposite our house.  “See, son,” Dad said.  “It’s only a storm.  There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Here is a fact believers may as well accept: as we mature in Christ, storms are going to come – probably more frequently and perhaps stronger than previous.  If you read Matthew, you see the process of growth unfold through the disciples – especially Peter.  (Rabbit trail: the accounts in Matthew are probably not written in perfect chronological order.  However, I believe strongly that there is not one wasted word or intention in Scripture, including the order in which things are recorded.  In our modern thinking, we are more concerned with data and quick, easily digestible facts.  To ancient writers, accuracy and info was important.  But, the lesson to be learned, the context, the reason behind the account, was of greater importance.  “Why” superseded “what.”)

So, let’s take a moment to walk through Matthew and see what Peter saw.  First, Peter is called by Jesus to be a disciple (4:18-22).  He sees Jesus’ notoriety and reputation grow.  As people are healed and delivered, the crowds following Christ swell.  He hears the teachings of Jesus through the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) and a lot of parables.  Most telling (at least in this lesson), we need to look at Matthew 9:23-27:

“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’” – Matthew 9:23-27 (ESV)

As Yogi Berra once famously quipped, “It’s déjà vu all over again!”  Here Peter and the disciples are again, out on a boat in the midst of a raging storm.  The first time, Jesus was right in the boat with them – unruffled and fast asleep.  The second time, He was not.  In fact, look closely… Jesus sent them right into the storm.  As they are riding high on the participation in the great miracle of feeding the five-thousand, before the crowds have even dispersed, Jesus sends the twelve off immediately into seas that will soon be roiling and choppy.

Yet… and here is the lesson (at least for today), Jesus is right there with them.  Even though He is not sitting in the boat this time, He has never left them.  The faith of the disciples was still solidifying.  They had witnessed much, heard much, learned much.  But the events they had witnessed and teachings they had taken in – often with great difficulty – needed to become reality.  In school, we are given tests to measure how well the root of our learning has taken.

So it is in life.

I could go on with the classic examples of a diamond being formed from a lump of coal under great pressure, or gold being refined by fire, but that might belabor the point.  Simply put, we need storms in our spiritual life to help us grow, because we need to learn to get out of our own way and see God in all circumstances.  God doesn’t send us into a storm because He needs to see how our faith-walk is going.  (He already knows.)  He does it because we need to see Him in every circumstance and grow deeper in our reliance – our utter reliance – on the Lord.  He does it because every storm we successfully go through strengthens our faith, steels our resolve to follow God, prepares us for the next storm.  As James wrote:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” – James 1:2-4 (ESV)

Today, I want to encourage you to face the storms in your life with boldness, knowing Jesus is with you and God is in control and through this hardship – no matter what it may be – hold fast to your faith in Christ and let Him be your strength.  Through your faith, God will receive glory.  And that, friends, is why we were created in the first place.

See, son, it’s only a storm.  There’s nothing to be afraid of. Your Father is with you – always.