Shelter From the Storm

We started out backpacking on a beautiful cool sunny August day in the gorgeous Grand Tetons. About five miles in the sun gave way to a light nonstop rain which turned into a very heavy snowfall. The puddles on the trail were beginning to freeze. Slipping on the icy trail, we were wet and our toes were going numb.

It would be getting dark soon and too late to turn back. We looked to pitch our tent anywhere possible, but the terrain was way steep and rocky. We had heard there was a big cave along the trail and hoped it was just ahead.

While quickly hiking and almost sprinting up the trail we came to an abrupt stop by encountering a huge adult moose right near the trail. We quietly sat behind a rock whispering, freezing and waiting for the moose to leave hoping that the cave would be just be around the bend. We were asking, “Are we there yet?”

We all need shelter from the storm. We all need someone. We all need some place we can go when life takes a turn we didn't ask or plan for. 

We all inevitably come to place where we ask the same kind of question. How long will this ache of disappointment last? How long will I have to go through this? How long do I endure this relationship? Will this sickness ever go away? How many resumes do I need to send out before I’m offered a job? How long until we get to the cave for shelter from the storm?

Within a few weeks after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt the Israelites began to complain about their condition. It was very dry in the desert, but very fertile for complaining. They had had enough. They were done. They made it very clear that they were sick of their situation and the manna protests broke out, cars were overturned and people were arrested. It wasn’t pretty.

It wasn’t the best of Israeli history, but there are two truths we can learn from their wilderness journey. When we’re struggling it’s easy to play the blame game, so the Hebrews blamed Moses.

Breakdown Happens
Have you known someone who had a breakdown when they’ve been discarded or treated like thrash? It seems all of us will inevitably come to this place. Moses was deeply exasperated with the incessant complaining of his fellow Jews. He didn’t ask for this. After all, it wasn’t his fault. It was intolerable. He just couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe you can’t either?

He asked the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors?

Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”  Numbers 11:11-15

Can you relate to Moses’ heavy heart? How am I going to make it through this? While it’s dry in the desert it’s also fertile ground for God to provide.

God’s Provision Happens
By the way, when we finally found refuge in the cave we discovered there was already twenty people keeping each other warm around a huge fire. Gods knows what we need and when we need it and He does provide.

The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.”  Numbers 11:16-17

How will you provide Lord? Sometimes God provides financially through our diligence at work or by telling us to scale back. Some of us need to grasp that certain luxuries that use to be normal are now out of the question. Sometimes God’s provisions come from a place we least expect, but God can provide you contentment.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  Philippians 4:11-12

A Better Way in 2018

TV networks are looking back at the top stories of 2017. While the top story of my life or yours’ in 2017 didn’t make the national or local news we know what it was. Perhaps it was an event, an encouraging word, a memory, a celebration, a disappointing loss, or a lesson learned?  Maybe you learned more about your limitations and in the midst of it you became more aware of God’s gracious provision.

The New Year provides an opportunity for pause
This time of year many look back by getting out their mental calculators keeping score of their victories and losses. Most of us hope this year will be better than last. Others approach the New Year with mixed emotions hesitant to let go of the past. Others make overly optimistic and unrealistic plans of how their New Year will look.

Some believe that a good intention means a new beginning, that on their own they can make a new start whenever they want. That would be nice if it was that easy. 

What treadmill are you on?
Change is inevitable, but what kind of change? Maybe we need to look at the treadmills we’ve been on? Do we need to change our perspective from ‘this is the way things ought to be according to me?’ Or, look at how we measure success or how we control people and circumstances or maybe it’s living for the approval of others.

These treadmills don’t just distract us from a satisfied life they can consume us
These perspectives can unknowingly trap and rule us. They can suck the energy right out of us and leave us utterly empty. It’s not easy to let go of all the mental stuff we insist we need for our tomorrows along with all the stuff we continue to haul with us from our yesterdays.

One thing that we can all count on this New Year is change
Some changes we gladly choose and others we don’t. Yet, more often than not, despite our high hopes and best efforts we fail to change in the ways God desires. We can’t just grit our teeth and force ourselves to act with compassion. It’s not about trying harder on our own.

Jesus isn’t interested in us being changed into people who only become nicer and more agreeable. God does not ask us to accommodate Him, but to live for Him. He has something far more different in mind for us this New Year. God can change your life story this New Year. There is a better way.

Live for what matters to God
All of us who have attempted change and failed know if this year is going to be any different we need a new approach. Becoming what God desires of us is not a quick fix formula. It’s a heart change.

There are certainly things we cannot change, but there are changes we can make that can leave a lasting impact in other people’s lives if we choose to live for what matters to God. God has been changing hearts and minds of people and nations for thousands of years and He desires to change yours’ and mine too.

Here’s the deal: God significantly changes our lives when live out our heart's cry of, “Not my will, but thy will be done. What do you want me to do for You Lord?”  And that will be enough.

The God that changes not, changes everything! 
Be grateful that His love for you will never change. That’s one thing you can count on today and forever!

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness. Psalm 26:3; 33:22

Learning From Open Doors

We all can learn from open doors. No door is so small or ordinary that they cannot be one of God’s open doors. The doors available to us can often confuse us. We think our work, our accomplishments, or our family should turn out a certain way, but unfortunately they seldom do.  But life depends less on which doors you go through – your expectations, your plans, or your desires than on how you go through them.

Open doors can reveal ourselves
In choosing doors wisely you must be an expert on you, but not in a selfish way. You need to be aware of how God has wired you, your interest, your values and skills. You also need to become aware of those parts of yourself that you wish most to avoid. Discerning open doors requires an awareness of the world inside of you. A lack of self- awareness is a crippling handicap that no amount of talent can overcome.

Strengths and weaknesses
If I’m going to understand which door God is likely to set before me I need to have some sense of what are my strengths, weaknesses and interests. Knowing these things will help prevent a lot of detours. Author Marcus Buckingham notes that your strengths are not simply what you’re good at and your weaknesses are not simply what your bad at. You’ll have some activities in your life that you might even be pretty effective at doing, but they drain you.

Marcus goes on… “What do you call that?  Something you’d been blessed with lots of ability to do well, but cursed with no appetite for it… You call that a weakness.  A weakness is any activity that leaves you feeling weaker after you do it. It doesn’t matter how good you are it and how much money you make doing it, if doing it drains you of energy, you’d be crazy to build your career around it.” ‘The Truth about You’ p.41

It is better to acknowledge that I walked through a wrong door than to spend the rest of my life in the wrong place. Ouch. The Apostle Paul said, “We are what he made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” Ephesians 2:10 (NRSV).

The God who made you also made the doors for you to go through and the things for you to do.  Generally, he will give you not only the skills, but also the interest to do what he asks you to do over the long haul.

The Best Decisions in Life

If you want to know how to make the best decisions in life consider…

Stop waiting for an outburst of passion

Many people have the illusion that there is some passion out there just for them. If they discover their passion then every day of their life would be filled with exhilarating emotion and effortless motivation. Don’t wait for passion to lead you some where you’re not. Start by bringing passion to the place where you are now.

Ask wise people to help you
If you need wisdom don’t try to obtain it all by yourself. Get around wise people whose character you trust, who love you and who care about your welfare. Bounce things off of them. Often we see God’s direction better through the rear-view mirror than the windshield with the help of wise counsel.

On our own we can miss open doors. We can seek out information that confirms what we already want rather than looking for the real truth, “Should I buy that or not?” But rather, we could say, “What’s the best way I can use this money.”

Learn by experiment and your failings
Does God ever have guidance for a particular decision? Yes.  Does God give guidance for every decision? No. Sometimes God’s guidance is not so much about what he wants to do through me as what he wants to do in me. Discerning open doors is never the same as guaranteed success.

Having second thoughts about going through a door is not unusual. You might have buyer’s remorse about a choice you made, but there is a better way to go through the door and that is with all your heart. The way to go through one of God’s open doors is with all your heart.  That means that sacrifices are involved - choosing one thing means not using another.

The ultimate door
Wisdom is wonderful. Wisdom makes for better relationships, better workers, better citizens and better parents. But wise people still get cancer, wise people get betrayed and wise people die. Wisdom in the Bible reveals that there are limits to wise human decisions.

All that the Apostles loved and prized and cherished about wisdom they found in Jesus. Wisdom loved and suffered on the cross. Wisdom died and wisdom was raised to life again .Wisdom is far more than common sense and practical advice. Wisdom is alive today and can walk with you through the doors you face. The ultimate door is a person!

“I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.”       John 10:9  

Facing Your Giants

As we saw in our last blog we can overcome our Goliath by how we respond to the challenges of opposition and everyday choices. Thirdly, it’s the…

The challenge of resisting conformity
King Saul told David, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. I Samuel 17:38-39 

Saul’s armor didn’t fit David; it was like Andy DeVito in Shaquille O’Neal clothes. It looked ridiculous. Saul assumed that what worked for him would for David. Maybe someone has tried to put their armor on you too or you have tried to put your armor on someone else?  David received no help from the King or his family.

Many times we face our Goliath alone. At the end of the day you got to choose who you will battle.  You can read all the books on a particular subject and listen to all the experts. You may want someone to choose your armor for you and make the decisions for you.  It doesn’t work that way.  No pastor, teacher, boss or mentor can choose your armor for you!  Your passion, gifts, time and possibilities are yours.  Rom.12:1-2

The challenge of the crisis moment   I Sam. 17:41-50
Everybody is watching this scene in the ravine! It’s reality TV. Verse 47 sums up all of our four challenges.  What are you facing today? It’s nothing the lord can’t handle. Imagine the shock of Goliath?  This was nothing but God! 

Have you been successful in fighting your battles on your own?

God can strengthen our faith in the midst of fear and doubt. Goliath wasn’t ready and in fact he never saw it coming. He didn’t get it until it finally sunk in. Nothing like this ever entered his head.

We all face fear and anxiety.  What Jehovah did for David he can do for you!  Whatever the giant you face God will meet with you there!  Fear is can actually enable us to overcome. Courage is having the right amount of fear directed to the right object for the right reason.  Do you fear your future? I suspect there’s a bigger fear in many of us, a much deeper fear. That is, does God really care about me? Do I really matter to him?

When push comes to shove maybe you think someone is more worthy of God’s love than me? If I believe that circumstances or people will ultimately dictate my life rather than God’s love and grace I won’t overcome the giants in my life.  Your Goliath will intimidate you and convince you to cower and run, but if you runaway day after day you’ll die a little each day and lose heart.  Life is way too precious to go down that road!

When you face Goliath with the stone of faith Goliath doesn’t stand a chance. One stone of God is stronger than anything else thrown at you. Don’t trust in your strategy, ingenuity or in your power. The battle is the Lord’s. This was not about David skills, strategy, but about God and how He operates. He is glorified when we’re weak.

There is no need to be eloquent, brilliant and good looking when we place our trust in God. Will you trust in your own strategy or trust in God? I don’t know how big your Goliath is, but it is not bigger than God. Don’t try to control your Goliath either, but surrender to God. If you commit yourself to believing in God’s grace and His ability to overcome your Goliath you’ll be glad you did.

Doubt and Faith in Suffering and Evil

Christian Reger, spent four years as a prisoner in Dachau. His crime? He had belonged to the Confessing Church, the branch of the German state church which under the leadership of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, opposed Hitler. Reger, turned over to the authorities by his church organist, was arrested and shipped to Dachau.

During the final winter in that horrid place, when coal supplies ran low the ovens were finally shut off. Prisoners no longer had to put up with the constant stench of burning comrades. Many died of exposure, however and the bodies were stacked naked in the snow like cordwood, a number stenciled in blue on each. Reger will tell such horror stories if you ask. But he never stops there. He goes on to share how faith, and how even at Dachau he was visited by a God of love.

“Nietzsche said a man can undergo torture if he knows the Why of his life,” Reger told me. “But here at Dachau, I learned the Who of my life. He was enough to sustain me then, and is enough to sustain me still.”

It was not always so. After his first month in Dachau, Reger, like Elie Wiesel, abandoned all hope in a loving God. From the perspective of a prisoner of the Nazi’s, the odds against God’s existence seemed too great. Then, in July 1941, something happened to challenge his doubt.

Each prisoner was allowed only one letter a month, and exactly one month from the date of his incarceration Christian Reger received the first news from his wife. In fragments of the letter, which had been carefully clipped into pieces by a censor, she chatted about family and assured him of her love. At the very bottom Reger’s wife printed a Bible reference: Acts 4:26-29.

Reger who had smuggled in a Bible, looked up the verses, which formed part of a speech delivered by Peter and John just after their release from prison.

“The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. Indeed Herod and Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

That afternoon Reger was to undergo interrogation, the most terrifying experience in the camp. He would be called on to name other Christians in the confessing Church outside. If he succumbed, those Christians would be captured and possibly killed. But if he refused to cooperate, there was a good chance he would be beaten with clubs or tortured with electricity. He knew firsthand about “rulers gathering together against the Lord,” but other than that, the verses meant little to him. How could God possibly help him at a time like this?

Reger was moved to the waiting area outside the interrogation room. He was trembling.  The door opened, and a fellow minister whom Reger had never met came out. Without looking at Reger or changing the expression on his face, he walked over to him, slipped something into Reger’s  coat pocket, and walked away. Seconds later SS guards appeared and ushered Reger inside the room. The interrogations went well, and they were surprisingly easy and involved no violence.

When Reger arrived back at the barracks, he was sweating despite the cold. He breathed deeply for several minutes, trying to calm himself he crawled into his bunk and covered himself with straw. Suddenly he remembered the odd encounter with the other minister. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a matchbox. Oh, he thought what a kind gesture. 

Matches are a priceless commodity in the barracks. He found no matches inside, however, just a folded slip of paper.  Reger unfolded the paper, and his heart beat hard against his chest. Neatly printed on the paper was this reference: Acts 4:26-29

To Reger, it was a miracle, a message directly from God. The minister could not have possibly seen the letter from Reger’s  wife-the man was a stranger. Had God arraigned the event as a demonstration that He was still alive, still able to strengthen, still worthy of trust?

Christian Reger was transformed from that moment . It was a small miracle, as miracles go, but sufficient to anchor his faith in bedrock that could not be shaken, not even by the atrocities he would witness over the next four years in Dachau.

“God did not rescue me and make my suffering easier. He simply assured me He was alive and He knew I was here. We Christians drew together. We formed a church here, among other convicted pastors and priests and became one Body. I can only speak for myself. Others turned from God because of Dachau. Who am I to judge them? I simply know that God met me. For me, he was enough, even at Dachau.”

Adapted from Philip Yancey's Where Is God When it Hurts p. 157

Is God Unreasonable?

The way we interpret the things that happen to us can determine whether we become better or bitter. The interpretations of our experiences become our assumptions about our present and our future, but are those assumptions true or are they myths? What kind of myths do we have about God?

The way we see God impacts the way we see ourselves. Do you see yourself as a beautiful unique creation designed by God or a product of lucky mud? If you have a warped view of God you just might have a distorted view of yourself. False assumptions about God not only impact you, but those around you. Myths about God can drive us crazy.

The various answers to what is God like have provoked countless philosophies and diverse religious thought with tragic circumstances. From the crusades to modern day Islamic terrorism assumptions about God are all over the map.

The Apostle Paul warned believers that, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8

Jesus exposed myths and stereotypes about God. He wanted others to know that His father was not a distant, uncaring, disengaged God, but a personal God who desires a relationship with His creation. When we have false beliefs about God it messes us up. When someone says, ‘I don’t believe in God’ what they’re really saying is ‘this is the kind of God I don’t believe in.’ There are four very common myths about God.

Myth #1 - God Is Unreasonable
Millions believe that God is a killjoy with too many demands and unreasonable requirements. That He wants me to be good and boring. That he waits for me to have fun and then says, ‘no, no.’ This first myth was what the devil used on Adam and Eve.

Originally, God told them to enjoy paradise with all its’ pleasure and delight. Eat everything, but there’s just one thing I don’t want you to do. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."  Genesis 2:16-17

Notice that God didn’t say you can’t enjoy what you see and that 95% of the garden is prohibited, but there is just one thing. There are 99 things you can do, but not this one thing. Is that one restriction unreasonable? Why this one prohibition? God wanted man to choose to love Him willingly, not because there was no other choice.

Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Genesis 3:1

Satan perverts the truth into a lie making it appear that God is unreasonable, a sadist. Is it unreasonable for a parent to tell their teenager as they hand them the keys to the car, “have a good time, but be home by midnight.”? But we hear,“you never let me have a good time.”

The parent didn’t say you can’t have a good time and that the whole world is off limits, no, just be home at midnight. Many teenagers think it’s unfair to have restrictions. Why do we? It’s because we love them.

Truth - God is a compassionate Father
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. Ps.103:13 Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 145:9; Lamentations 3:22

God is motivated by love. He wants us to enjoy all the things he has given us, just don’t misuse or abuse them because you’ll get hurt and probably hurt someone else.

No good thing will he withhold from those who walk along his paths…Put your hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Psalm 84:11: I Timothy 6:17

Things would be a whole lot better if we did things God’s way. When God says no to us it’s not because He wants us miserable, but because He loves us. Satan deceives us into thinking that obeying God and having fun are opposites. God doesn’t know best, we do, so go with it.

We like to give gifts to those we love. In contrast, God’s gifts to His kids are always motivated from love and concern knowing what we truly need. For every no there are a thousand yeses! Hopefully we do not see God as a God of prohibitions, but a God of blessings. God is not unreasonable, but is a compassionate Father. Father knows best.

Love Can Break Your Heart

Has your love ever been rejected or not believed by a close friend or a family member? If so, you know it breaks your heart and leaves you feeling deeply dismayed. 

Don't they get how much I love them? What must I do convince them of my love and concern for them? I don’t deserve this after all I’ve done for them. In times like these we ask questions like:

Why is this happening? How did this come about? What have I done? What words have I said or things that I’ve done to bring this about? How did our family dynamic and history play a part? And we wonder…

If you’ve experienced this sadness you’re in good company and God fully understands.

Joseph experienced all these things. Being raised in an extremely dysfunctional family (who’s exempt here?) and being his dad’s favorite among his large family his deeply jealous brothers sell him to slave traders and he ends up in Egypt. While living there with integrity he is unjustly accused, convicted and sentenced to prison.
 

During his twelve years of making license plates for chariots he is seemingly forgotten, yet the Bible says, “The Lord with Joseph.”  Now that’s something to always keep in mind for you too. Supposedly dead and forgotten Joseph miraculously becomes the next in line to the Pharaoh (Gen. 41:43).

During a severe middle-eastern famine Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt in desperate need of food. Over a period of time Joseph meets all their needs while keeping his identity hidden. After keeping his emotions in check for quite some time Joseph can no longer control himself and breaks down in tears and tells his brothers, “I am Joseph, your brother.”

OMG! What? Say that again? They are absolutely terrified! Despite his brother’s fears Joseph meets their needs and is finally reunited with their Father Jacob. Joseph graciously takes care of his brothers’ families during the famine years.

When their Father Jacob dies the brothers fear the worst now that their Dad is dead. We’re going to get what coming to us. So they sent word to Joseph saying, your father left these instructions before he died: “I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins they committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of your brothers.” When the message came to Joseph he wept. (Gen. 50:17).

His brothers came and threw themselves down before him and pleaded, “We are your slaves.” But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. So then don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your families.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Gen.50:18-19 Amazing love how can it be.

Joseph wept when he heard the message from his brothers. It broke his heart that they did not believe that he had already forgiven them. Had he not already shown his forgiveness to them by his actions? He could have meted out anger and justice, but he knew love was a better way.

Joseph is a picture of God’s amazing love for us. Like Joseph, God’s heart is saddened when we don’t really believe that we’re forgiven in Christ when he has declared it to be so. Like Joseph, God has forgiven us and has spoken kindly to us. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t give us what we deserve, but what we need?

If your love has ever been rejected, not believed or misunderstood you’re not alone in that sadness. God knows what that’s like too. After all, His love has been rejected for thousands of years. Yet, His love for you has never changed and it never will. Grab hold of it and don’t ever let go!

markskalberg: We all need help don’t we? We all have moments of ...

markskalberg: We all need help don’t we? We all have moments of ...: "We all need help don’t we? We all have moments of awkwardness. Speaker David Edwards calls them ‘goober moments’. Most of my goober mo..."

Public, Private and Core Convictions

We all need help don’t we? We all have moments of awkwardness.  Speaker David Edwards calls them ‘goober moments’. Most of my goober moments take place in bathrooms.

While taking my golden retriever for a walk in a park I decided to take her into the men’s restroom with me. I told her to “Sit.”, and immediately heard from the stall next to me, “I am sitting.” “Sorry Sir.” I replied. “Oh no problem,” he said, “Sure wish my kids would obey like your dog.”

We all have goober moments like that.

We all have times when we need help, don’t we? Really smart people disagree with each other. It seems everybody thinks they’re right, which means when a lot of people die they will find out they were wrong. People a lot smarter and better educated than me cannot agree with one another.    

Nonetheless, neutrality is not a good option. We have to make choices in times of doubt. I may be trapped in a burning building and my only escape is to jump into a blanket a few stories below. But what happens if I don’t believe the blanket or the guys holding it will save me? I may die up here, but I am not jumping.

Now, jumping out the window is rational because it is my best shot for survival. So what is more rational now; faith or doubt? I have to make a decision; this is the best shot of survival I got.

Abraham was a man of faith and doubt. In Genesis 12 we see Abraham leave everything

he had ever known in his home country to go to a place he had never been. You think he had doubts? You bet.  Abraham went to the land promised to him by God. He decided to trust God in the midst of his doubt.

Like Abraham, our trust is determined by the convictions we really have. You and I may believe in something, but do I have convictions about it? I saw a bumper sticker that said, Everyone has to believe in something, I believe I’ll have another beer.

We all have public convictions, like the political candidate’s PR person’s statement, “He really did not mean that.  What he really meant was…” The same ole impressing people in public with a convincing tone kind of thing.

We all have private convictions that we think we believe until they are tried. Abraham, fearing for his life lied to the Egyptians that his wife was his sister. Can we hear him say, “Works for me.”? It worked well enough to do it again later.

John Ortberg says, “I believe that a lie is a bad thing, but it might be necessary for me to avoid pain.” (“A lie is an abomination to the Lord and a very present help in time of trouble.”) We all have certain convictions, but our lives can reflect something different.

Then, there are convictions of the heart, things that matter most. Just knowing that there are different levels of conviction doesn’t necessarily change our hearts. The disciples saw first hand the consistency between what Jesus said, what He thought and what He did. He was absolutely consistent with His convictions.

He believed in His Father who was always present and always loved Him. By His example the disciples began to believe truths for themselves. They not only had faith in Jesus, but then had the faith of Jesus.

They trusted Him with their very lives. Faith involves certain convictions and hope, but at its’ core, it is trusting in a person. Jesus never said, “Believe in a concept or an argument,” but rather, “Believe in Me and I will give you LIFE!”

 May we embrace Him and live what we believe. It changes everything!    

Worship and Doubt

Have you ever harbored questions about your Christian faith? I heard Michael Ramsden speak in Colorado Springs this weekend. Michael is the European Director of the Ravi Zacharias Ministry and joint Director of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and Lecturer in Christian Apologetics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, England.



The Q &A time with Ramsden reminded me once again that believers harbor doubts and questions about the Christian faith as well as atheists, agnostics and skeptics. Unfortunately, as Michael mentioned, many believers experience reluctance whether to voice their doubts and questions. They wonder, What others will think of me?
Yet, not honestly processing questions only troubles believers even more down the road, especially if it involves suffering. Why is it that when tragedy hits some people they lose their faith, and for others suffering births their faith?


You know what? We are not God. We do not know all the answers, but we contemplate questions. Deuteronomy 29:29a (NIV) tells us that, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God.”


Here’s the big secret. Face it. We all struggle with doubts. Throughout Scripture men and women doubted in the midst of their faith. Even after Jesus’ resurrection some disciples entertained doubts. "When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful" Matthew 28:17 (NIV).  This gives us confidence that it’s okay to wrestle, and to process our deep questions.

Can we possess faith in the midst of our doubt? Yes. Rather than our doubts pulling us away from God, they swing open doors to exercise our faith. Like the disciples, we can worship in the midst of doubt, and that doubt can lead us to deeper truths of God’s faithfulness. God uses our doubts and experiences to reveal Himself to us.

Many years ago God revealed Himself to me through many ways. However, the birth of my son provided the catalyst jumpstarting my faith journey. At the moment of his birth in that delivery room I was incapable of believing he was a “product” of conception or an accident. I could no longer believe he was a random choice or lucky mud or whether it mattered if I cared or not. As John Ortberg says, “Every child is a testimony that God wants the world to go on.”

From the injustice in Libya to the tragedy in Japan, most of us witness or experience deep trauma sometime during our life time. I don’t have the all the answers or the right responses to resolve all the difficult issues of life, but I do know some wrong ones. You probably do to.

Sometimes believers offer overly simplistic answers. Like Job’s miserable comforters, some preachers with bad theology heap even more pain onto our lives.

Best-selling professional doubters express certainty that God doesn’t exist and then sling  their anger towards Him. It seems that God is their readily available scapegoat. History proves that professional doubters keep dying and worship right alongside doubt continues spreading.

Atheist, skeptic or believer - we all have doubts and uncertainties. Doubt right along side of faith is common to all. If we are honest we struggle with a mix of faith and doubt.


But questioning in the midst of our suffering can point us to a hope much deeper and beyond ourselves. I invite you to join us on our new blog journey entitled Worship and Doubt…

How Big Is Your God?

The way we live reflects our perception of God—doubts about who He is or trust in what He can accomplish. How big is your God?

Pushing through my day with a little God produces consequences. Living with fear and anxiety. Enslaved to insecurity. Everything depends on me, my mood, my reactions. Obsessing about what others think about me rather than embracing God’s big acceptance of me.


When I believe in a small God I worship without awe and suffer without hope. Not a good place to be, a life of fear, stagnation, and an inability to persevere. Scripture declares God is bigger than our circumstances.

Israel experienced a big problem—the Midianites. The Hebrews cried out again to the Lord for help against their debilitating oppressors. God reminded them that He delivered them from their Egyptian slave masters and will deliver them again.


In the midst of their suffering, God tells them not to cave in and worship the small gods of the surrounding culture. They failed to listen. May we not respond the same.

God so often chooses the most unlikely people. Gideon receives a surprise visit from God. Gideon feared losing what little crop he had left to the Midianites. God tells Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon’s response? “You’ve got the wrong guy, I’m nothing.” Not exactly an action hero. Not a confidant Terminator.

What did Gideon believe about his God? Distant, uncaring and not powerful enough to intervene. When we live with a small god, we exist with no dreams or possibility of change. Tomorrow will be just like today, same ol’ same ol’. Our ingrained habits, failings and flaws will never change.

Like Gideon, we fear our own Midianites that seem too big for us too.  Like Gideon we rationalize self-occupation and passivity. We say “No” to the greatest call on our lives. God did not say to Gideon, “You’re weak, but hey, you possess good people skills and you’re good looking.” No. God said, “I will be with you.”

Although still afraid, Gideon embraced God’s presence, and then Gideon performed an unconventional act and tore down the local places of idol worship. The locals wondered, What’s gotten into Gideon? Is this the same neighbor from before?


Is this preparation for something bigger?Gideon’s biggest  test? The upcoming battle with the joined oppressive forces of the Midianites and Amalekites. Gideon rallies all the tribes and clans for the confrontation.


He tells God, “I’m laying out a fleece to confirm this decision to save Israel.” We hear, “I’ll set out a fleece to discern God’s will.” This fleece idea? Not exactly a positive thing here. Why? God already told the Israelites that He’d save them through Gideon.


The fleece was not an expression of faith, but represents an immature manipulating of faith. Have you ever tested God? Gideon tests God twice. Sound familiar?


God commands Gideon to reduce his fighting force. The Midianites outnumber Gideon’s band of men by 450 to 1. Good job, God, just what I would have done. God’s reason for this? The battle was God’s—not Gideon’s. Fear not Gideon, because I’m with you. God showed up with an unexplainable deliverance.


Feeling anxious? Worrying about the uncontrollable stuff in your life? You know what? God is bigger than all your regrets and all your problems.

God intimately understands your doubts, challenges, and worries. He knows about your kids, what you’ve lost, your pain, your broken relationships, your hopes and dreams. And God desires better things for you.

If you ask Him, He’ll be a bigger presence in your life than you’ve ever known. That is what you and I really need. Now, will you worship Him in the midst of your doubt?