John 6:16-21

John 6:16-21 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

The Sea of Galilee is an inland, freshwater lake, fed by the Jordan River. It lies almost 700 feet below sea level. The surrounding hills rise about 2000 feet above sea level, with the peaks beyond rising even higher. After nightfall when the air at higher elevations cools, this cooler air races down the slopes to the warmth of the low-lying lake. Strong winds are common and often stir up storms unexpectedly. Because the lake is relatively shallow, when storms strike, the wind whips up high waves that can easily swamp a small boat. This is the situation the disciples found themselves in. The men rowed until almost dawn. (the fourth watch of the night). The fishermen in the group would know how dangerous their situation was. They were afraid and struggling.

This story is in 3 of the Gospels, so it’s an important story. And there’s a reason it comes right after feeding the 5000 which is in all 4 of the Gospels. These 2 miracles are nature miracles. People were given more miracles back then to show that Jesus was God’s Son. He only had 3 years for his mission. He had to grab people’s attention. Plus, they didn’t have CNN or in-depth interviews like we do today.

Nature miracles reveal the character of God. Nobody could do either of these, but God Himself. You might be able to explain away healing, but it’s impossible for anyone else to calm a storm or feed 5000 from the little He started with.

The story is a little different in each Gospel. John doesn’t mention Peter walking on water out to Christ. And there’s a whole lesson in Peter’s part of the story – how he took his eyes off Jesus and started to sink, but he still had a flicker of faith and called out to the Lord to save him and Jesus did. But I’m only going to talk about the John story.

And to understand it we have to go back to John 6:15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

They wanted to make Him king because He miraculously fed them. There are a couple things we can say about this. One is they were caught up in the excitement – like crowds, especially big crowds often are. But also these people were ruled by Rome and they didn’t like that. They were Jews who only wanted God as their ruler. So there was kind of a resistance group at this time always looking for ways to overthrow the Roman’s hold over them. If they could have unlimited food, that would be a help, it would be one less thing they would have to depend on Rome for.

And I already mentioned that they may have remembered how Moses wrote in the Torah about the prophet (or Messiah) coming who would feed them manna. Well, Jesus just fed them manna. So maybe Jesus was the Messiah.

But again. God’s plan was never an earthly king. And Jesus is already the king over every believer’s life. Remember Satan tried to tempt Him with this very same thing.  “I’ll give you the kingdoms of the earth.” Now the people were trying to tempt Him and He resists by going off to pray.

Jesus didn’t come to earth to be popular or even to make people’s lives easier. He came to be Savior of the World!

One mistake people often still make is seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons. To get them out of a fix or to give them something they thing they need, instead of having a relationship with Him, believing he is who He says He is.

We should praise and worship Him, yes! But we should also just talk to Him. And listen to Him. And try to be more like Him.

Verses 16 and 17 again - When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.

So Jesus sends the disciples away. He didn’t want them to get any ideas about making Him king too! We know from other places in the Bible they didn’t always understand His mission either and at least one time the mother of James and John came to Jesus asking if her sons would have prominent places when Jesus came into His kingdom. They could have easily gotten caught up in the crowd.

So he sends them in the boat back to where they came from and He goes up the mountain to pray. Jesus often went somewhere to be alone in prayer and because it’s written about in the Bible it’s an important lesson for us.  We need to get away and be still with God at times. We need to pray – just God and us.

Then the storm kicks in. And the disciples were 3 and a half miles out which would have been about dead center in the lake. There was no going back. They were rowing with all their might.

The disciples straining against the oars can represent Christians today trying to do what is right. They were out there because Jesus had sent them. Yet, they still ran into trouble. A couple things to learn from this – Christians are not promised a life with no trials. And we can almost always expect them after a mountain top experience.

The disciples had just witnessed a huge miracle. They were probably ecstatic! They had chosen the fight guy to follow! They were doing exactly what Christ told them to do. And then…Boom! Big trial!

It will happen! Sometimes because Satan will go after you if he sees you victorious, sometimes it might be God humbling you, “Hey, don’t let all that go to your heard!” “let me bring you down to earth where you belong!” And sometimes you’re just on a spiritual high and you let your guard down. Maybe even sometimes God is doing a little test on your faith. Not that He needs to know how much you have, but to show you how much you have!

So Jesus comes out walking on the water. And the disciples thought they saw a ghost! It’s amazing that some people are more ready to believe in ghosts then the Creator!

The disciples were in the dark…very symbolic because they were without Christ right then! And when they were without Him, first they were afraid of the winds and waves, and then they thought they had a ghost to deal with! At least the storm was natural! One thing you can take from this is, our real distresses are often increased by our imaginary ones.

So Jesus had been up on the mountain praying. For a long time. From sundown til between 3 and 6 a.m. Anyone in here ever prayed that long? And He saw the disciples. One thing about being God – He can see in the dark! Not sure if you knew that!

We can use this picture for today. In the story, Jesus is on the mountain praying. Today He is in heaven praying. In the story, He sees the disciples struggling and needing help. Today He sees us struggling and needing help. In the story did he come right away? No, they managed to get half way across the lake before He came (after 8 hours). But, we know He came at exactly the right minute! He is the on-time God. Many times when people have gone through bad times you’ll hear them say, “You know, I just don’t think I would have lasted one second longer! God showed up in the nick of time!”

God watches us. When we’re alone, when we struggle, when we run out of support, when we don’t know what to do. When we row and row and row and just don’t seem to be getting anywhere. He has His eyes on us! We may not be paying attention to Him, but He’s paying attention to us!

Later in John you’ll see Jesus considers us His love gifts from God! Don’t you think He’s going to take care of those gifts? We are never out of His thoughts and He is going to bring every one of those gifts home to His Father.

Jesus tells the disciples “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Sometimes people will tell you not to worry, but you still do because there’s always the chance they don’t what what they’re talking about! Or they have no control and there are certainly a lot of things to fear in life! Whether someday some doctor will tell us we have a terminal illness or someone we love and needs does, or we lost our job, or terrorism, tornados, so many things,, but Jesus is more powerful than anything on earth or in the universe! We have no reason to fear when we rely on Him. And He will come to us even when our faith is imperfect. When we have doubt. All we need is just enough faith to call out to God to save us. And He will.

In the Bible there are 2 stories about Jesus and storms. One time He calmed the storm and another He calmed His children. That’s the same with our trials. Occasionally He might resolve our problem for us. More often than not though He’ll just be with us through it. Because our trials have a purpose.

It might be to teach us patience. Or to trust in God. To be humble. It might be to teach us about His priorities, to focus on Him instead of worldly things. To be more compassionate, how to help others in their troubles. How to be grateful for what we do have. Or to stop us from doing something we shouldn’t be doing.

This story is teaching us the only thing that calms our fears is faith. Faith in the Lord who comes to us in the midst of the winds and waves of life. Who speaks to us and says, “Take heart, it is I: do not be afraid.”

He said it to the disciples then and says it to us now. Earthquakes, Aids, Mindless senseless killings, fears that wake you up in the middle of the night and weigh you down during the day – it may not look like He’s in control, but He is. And you know how we know that? Because all of these things were prophesied in the Bible. He foretold them since before the beginning of time. So there is a purpose in them. And He can and will make good things come from bad. Faith overcomes fear. Faith that Jesus is the Son of God sent for our salvation. He has overcome death. When He says be not afraid it is I – He’s saying “it is I, JESUS! THE SON OF GOD! Able to do all these things!!

Whenever we have any kind of trial, particularly those into which we know God directed us, we can remember 3 things promised in 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempte] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1. Trials are common to all people. We think no one has it as bad as we do – no one has suffered as much as we have – that no one understands what we’re going through, but we have to face our trials with courage. Even as Christians, maybe especially as Christians, we can’t avoid trials. In this situation Jesus actually sent them into the storm.

2. God is faithful. He will never let us be tempted or tried beyond what we can bear. Jesus stands by God’s throne in constant intercessory prayer for us and remember the story of the 3 men thrown into the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel? How the king looked in and saw 4 men – and one like an angel? And no one ended up being hurt? That was Jesus. The worse times we are going through – the closer He is.

3. In every trial God will provide a way out. Just as Jesus didn’t let the disciples struggle on the sea indefinitely. He will come to us – but like this example of Him walking on water, it may not be as we would expect Him to. The way out may be a helpful friend God sends us. A promise we read in the Bible, an offer of a job, a good book to read that ends up inspiring us or giving us hope or even a solution. It could be a sense of His presence when you’re praying, or the knowledge that, hey this thing I’ve been going through has actually helped me! It’s made me stronger or opened doors to me in ways I would never have thought of myself. Like kids going through cancer and deciding to become a doctor after.

We should never just wallow in self-pity. OR try to get others to pity us. We should never become bitter or resentful. We shouldn’t even choose to feel we’re alone because it’s not true. We always have Christ. When He sends his help, like the disciples we need to reach out and pull Him into the boat with us. The saying, “Jesus never promised it would be a smooth ride, just that He would get you to your destination and that it would be worth it” may have come from this story!

Jesus is greater than anything that happens to us. Whatever His purpose for us, whatever He’s told us to do – even if it takes us into a storm at sea – He is responsible for us – we are His love gifts from His Father.

Look at verse 21 again: Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Did you notice? They had struggled for 8 hours to get half way. But, once Jesus was with them they got immediately to the other side!

Going Through Seasons

I’m reading the book Reckless Devotion by Heidi and Rolland Baker. A page a day.

Yes, it’s that good.

I wanted to remember this paragraph: “In life we go through bumpy patches. It’s inevitable. But it does not need to be unfruitful. Suffering connects us to the heart of God like nothing else. Instead of becoming bitter about our circumstances, we can ask the Father to birth a deeper compassion in us. Suffering is a season. Seasons come and go. When you move into the next season of your life, take compassion, not bitterness, with you.”

My Breaking Point, God's Turning Point

I just finished reading Pastor Ricky Texada's book, "My Breaking Point, God's Turning Point."

This is an extremely helpful book for anyone who is going through any kind of trial. While Ricky went through one of the worst things I can imagine (the unexpected death of his spouse), what he shares with his readers can be applied to any trial.

He shows us step by step what we as Christians need to do to: get through the problem while maturing in our faith and glorifying God in the process.

We learn from his story to keep moving forward, trusting God with each step. To keep worshipping Him every morning and to communicate with Him openly and honestly. Ricky says when we carry the heavy baggage of anger, resentment, unforgiveness, hatred and bitterness inside us; we don’t have room for God’s peace.

This book inspires us to view things through God’s eyes and to trust He is always working behind the scenes to grow us! I recommend getting this book for someone going through a trial, or getting it in advance for yourself. At some point we will all need it!

I was given this book by Bethany House to review.

Angels in the Fire

I just finished reading a book called Angels in the Fire by Dann Stadler. The author and his wife were in a horrific car crash in 1989 on their 4th wedding anniversary. The book tells about the crash and their many injuries in painful detail. (Painful meaning I could feel what they went through myself!)

Tracey, his wife, was saved from the wreck by an angel. True story. In fact, we learn later in the book that she has had other contacts with angels in her life.

What we as Christians can learn from this book is first how to get through a trial in a way that glorifies God. These people never complained. They never asked "why me?" They were patient and shared God's love with people and just did the very best they could every day.

The other thing we can learn is: we can see Angels and have encounters with God too. All we have to do is look for them!

I'm going to do that!

Lessons about Trials from Job

Job teaches us how to help a friend going through trials:

Job’s wife and friends did a lot of things wrong during Job’s trials, but here they did something very right:

Job 2:11-13 ¹¹ When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. ¹² When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. ¹³ Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

We don’t always have to say anything. Just be there with them!

Job teaches us how to get through a trial ourselves;

Job 1:22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job did not blame God, he did not sin and he did not lose his faith!

Satan is alive and well on the planet Earth:

Job 1:6-7 ⁶ One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

God knew where Satan was. He said this so WE would know that Satan roams the earth! To keep us on our guard!

Trials set us free from pride and cause us to turn to and depend on God.

Here are 3 helps for handling trials:

1. Prayer brings peace: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

2. The Word brings wisdom; Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.

3. When enduring a trial truth must govern your life – not your feelings.

4. Trials train us. Job learned about God’s sovereignty through His.

God’s Purpose in our Trials

I’m reading the book “Just Give Me Jesus” by Anne Graham Lotz and what she said about trials is something I want to remember:

Bad things will still happen to people God loves, but when they do they have a greater purpose than the physical or the temporary or the material or the visible. Sometimes it’s to bring us to absolute helplessness and hopelessness so that we put all of our faith in Him, His power and grace and total sufficiency for our need.

When He delays it’s never because of indifference or preoccupation with other things or an inability to act. His delay has its purpose the development of our trust in Him and Him alone for our own good and His glory.

Come to Jesus

Matthew 11:28-30 ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
 

Some of our burdens are self inflicted. But God has allowed the others to happen to us so that we will feel the weight of this world. And when we come to Christ in weariness of the world He promises us eternal rest.

This passage is a description of becoming a Christian and what it means to follow Christ. “Come to me”. We come to Jesus and are born again. And then He tells us how to walk with Him: “take my yoke, learn from me”. We follow Him step by step. There is a freedom to being yoked to Him because He’s leading us in the right way; the good way. He knows what to do, what’s ahead, and we are safe with Him. When we are yoked with Him our burden is light because He is carrying the load!

“Not my will, but Yours, Lord.”

God’s Story, Your Story

Pastor and author, Max Lucado has written another wonderful book. This one is called God’s Story, Your Story, and in it he talks about embracing God’s plan for your life.
He says God is up to something big! Here’s what Max says it is:

“He’s up to building a new kingdom that will take place not in this life but in the next in which he will restore this universe to its original splendor. And he will populate that kingdom with human beings who have on this earth voluntarily signed up to be a part of the new kingdom. They will have been redeemed by the death of Christ.

Their bodies will have been restored to their intended state by the power of God and they will reign with God, we will reign with God forever in the new kingdom.”

He adds, “If God’s goal is just to make this life comfortable and happy then either there is no God or he’s failed miserably. So if however God’s goal is to not just prepare a kingdom for us but to prepare us for a kingdom then he’s going to use difficulties to prepare us and to equip us so my struggles have a purpose. They have a reason. They’re not just distractions. There’s something in these tests and struggles that can prepare me for what is yet to come. So then I begin seeing the challenges of life not as some accident or random happening. No, I begin to see them as really from the hand of God used to equip me for something in the future, something that I’ll need to serve him in the kingdom.

Trust Jesus, he says that this world is not the end, that this world is just the beginning. He endorses all of scripture so I try to trust all of scripture and I’m just trying to live my life according to his will.”

How a Christian Should Act In Trials

1 Peter 2:21-23 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Christ is our example. He committed no sin, but He never opened His mouth to hurl back insults or defend Himself. He made no threats, but trusted in God. We need to keep quiet, keep going and keep trusting.

Keep reading the Bible. In fact read it more! Keep serving, keep close to God. God wants us to come to Him as our refuge. If we hold on long enough we’ll see Him meet our needs. He will either make the suffering go away or support us through it.

1 Peter 5:6-10 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Ask what is God trying to teach me in my present suffering? Sometimes it may be to see consequences of our actions so we’ll turn from sin. But, we should always continue to praise Him and love Him through it all to show people Christ in us. That our faith is strong and not dependent on “happenings”, but on the knowledge that we are saved.

God Wants You to Grow

Our associate pastor, Mark Schmitz, preached on James 1:2-4 Sunday. It’s a popular topic for sermons, but one I feel I need to hear over and over!

James 1:2-4 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Pastor Mark began by reminding us that we believe in the sovereignty of God. That His hand is in everything that happens in our lives. He went on to say that healthy things grow and that God wants us to grow.

Our faith shows up when we face the unplanned events in our life. People watch how we go through trials. In order to get through them the right way we need a firm foundation. We need to know God, His promises and have a relationship with Him.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

We also need to ask ourselves if we are truly saved.

2 Corinthians 13:5 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

Once we are saved and in a relationship with God, He begins to grow us. To perfect us. To fill us with the spirit. Being filled with the spirit is letting God have free reign over our lives. Being spirit filled is confirmed by our service to others.

God also wants us to be submissive.

1 Peter 2:13-15 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

And God wants us to have a positive attitude no matter what we are going through, because it reflects our faith in Him. His goal is not our happiness, but our joy and our joy is based not on our circumstances, but our relationship with Him. Our attitude is a choice!

Know upfront that trials are inevitable, but they are an opportunity to show how strong our faith is. The more we depend on God, the stronger it is.

Always remember James 1:12 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

To read more on these verses visit: James 1

The Red Sea Rules – Part 2

Exodus 14:3-4 3 Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.

The author says this is Rule #2 - Be more concerned for God’s glory than for your relief. Sometimes we can’t find the answers to our dilemmas because we’re asking the wrong questions. Say we’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness or have a child in crisis or lost all our money. Our natural instinct is to ask: “How did I get into this mess? And how can I get out of it?” Or, “why me?”

These may be natural questions, but they are the wrong ones. The right question results in an entirely new way of looking at our difficulty. The right question is “How can God be glorified in this situation?”

And it changes everything.

In these verses in Exodus we see God deliberately orchestrated these events to demonstrate the power He wields over both His enemies and the elements. He parted the seas and it was written about in the Bible so generations later we know that our God can do anything!

Remember the story in John 7 when Jesus’ disciples met a man blind from birth and they asked, “How did this man get into this situation? Why did it happen? Who sinned, the man or his parents, that he was born this way?” And Jesus told them they were asking the wrong question. That “this man was born blind so that the power of God could be displayed in his life.” Jesus healed him so we would know who Jesus is!

God doesn’t waste suffering. If He leads us into impossible spots, He will deliver us in His own time, in His own way and for His name’s sake. Our job is to say, as Jesus did during the week before he was crucified:

John 12:27-28 27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!"

That is, after all, what our lives are all about. To Him be the glory!

God will deliver His people from every trial and trouble. It may not be my way or your way, but in His own way, He will deliver for His name’s sake. In this Exodus story the Lord intended from the beginning to gain glory for Himself by saving His people at the last minute. If you think about it God often saves us in the nick of time. Just when we think we can’t hang on anymore, He’ll provide an escape route. And His way is the best way. And it leads to worship.

Psalm 50:15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

Psalm 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

I think when He gets us through something we need to give Him the credit. To thank Him and tell others what He did.

2nd Thessalonians – Part 2

2 Thessalonians 1:5-12 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This section talks about God’s righteous judgment. Paul says that the believers were being prepared through their suffering for membership in the coming kingdom. He also leads us to believe we may never see justice in our lifetime, but we will when Christ returns. The reward for Christians will be eternal fellowship with the Lord and the punishment for the unbelievers will be eternal destruction, which is the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

Most Jews believed that problems were the result of some sin or lack of faith and occasionally they can be. And sometimes they are just a consequence of living in a fallen world. But Paul teaches us that they also may be part of God’s plan for believers. Our problems may help us look to God. Or at least beyond ourselves.

Philippians 3:13-14 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

They can build strong character.

Romans 5:3-4 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope.

They can provide us with opportunities to comfort others who are also struggling.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Our troubles may also be an indication that we are taking a stand for Christ.

I’m afraid that some people may hear this, see all the trouble so many people have and say, “It’s not worth it.” Or “I think I’ll just wait till I’m old to get saved.” But Paul tells us in all his letters it will be worth it! And in fact it already is because we are storing up treasures in heaven with our attitudes and actions and our faithfulness and obedience. He also says that someday can be too late. Christ will return unexpectedly and even if it’s not in our life time, who knows when our last day on earth will be?

In verse 11 it says our calling is to become like Christ, whatever it takes. When I think of His outstanding traits I always think of His compassion and humility. It’s hard to become compassionate or humble without going through some kind of trial. I also think of His strength and courage; there’s a saying, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. Again – every time we come through a trial with the right attitude we are stronger people.

Youth Worship Service for Senior Sunday

This is a youth worship service we did on Senior Sunday and I wanted an “advice” type message for the seniors that was still meaningful to every age present. It was also outdoors so had to be “low-tech”. I used information from The Purpose Driven Life, Christianity Today and also just my own studies.

My husband was holding up a frame picture that we had used crayons to draw an image of a person where half the face was a girl and the other half a boy. Under the glass was a picture of Jesus and John (my husband) was scraping small bits of crayon off as I shared the message slowly exposing the face of Jesus.

The message:

There are 2 things really important to God. First, more than anything, He wants His lost children back. That’s why He sent Jesus to earth. He wants His children, who He created and loves, to spend eternity with Him and as Christians it’s our job to help Him by spreading the Gospel. I get that.

The other thing that is really important to God is that we become like Christ. And according to 1st Corinthians by the time we stand in front of Him in heaven we will be like Jesus. When we die some of us will be only 10% like Him and others may be 90% like Him. But, He will make up the difference then.

Our goal in life is to keep moving in that direction and becoming more and more like Christ. What I wished I had learned earlier is – think about what Jesus was like. He was humble, compassionate, strong in His faith and determined to live out God’s will. What does it take to become like that?

Trials. Problems.. People who have been through a lot of health problems will have more compassion on others going through illness. People who have been lonely are often the first to reach out to other lonely people. People whose hearts have been broken tear up when they see other people hurt. People often have to get knocked down a bit to become humble. Some – more than a bit!

Romans 8: 28-29 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose..”

A lot of people misquote and misunderstand these 2 verses. It doesn’t say, “God causes everything to work in the way I want it to.” And it doesn’t say, “God causes everything to have a happy ending on earth.”

These verses were written to believers. Those who love the Lord. What is our good according to God? To become like Christ. What’s it going to take to become like Christ? Trials, problems, things that will test our faith, things that give us the opportunity to show other people how God and our faith can help us get through bad things without becoming bitter or giving up.

How do you know you have faith if it’s never tested?

There is a wonderful story called ‘The Refiner’ that is based on a verse, Malachi 3:3. “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” and also on Isaiah 48:10 which says, “Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver, I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.” God is the silversmith and we are the silver. The story goes, “I heard a silversmith talk about refining silver. He said, “I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace. The silver is too precious to risk losing. If the time necessary for refining were exceeded by the slightest degree, the silver will be injured. If I take it out of the furnace too early – it won’t be purified. When the silver is in the furnace I must focus on it and not let anything distract me, waiting for the exact moment to take it out. I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected there.”

That’s kind of a heavy thought. Being put through trials to become refined. And don’t take this wrong – most things that happen to us are because we live in a fallen world and it’s either our sin or someone else’s sin that cause our problems. But, you’ll learn when you study Job, that they are God-filtered. And He will use them for His purposes and His Glory. He will also give us the strength to get through them and come out better if we have the right attitude.

Some of us have a long way to go before we can be as humble, compassionate, loving and sacrificial as Christ. How many more problems will it take for us to be like Him? What’s it going to take in our lives to cause that?

The author of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, says, “We are like jewels, shaped with the hammer and chisel of adversity. If a jeweler’s hammer isn’t strong enough to chip out rough edges, God will use a sledgehammer. If we’re really stubborn He uses a jackhammer. He’ll use whatever it takes. The more difficult the problem, the greater the potential for building muscle and moral fiber.”

Paul wrote, “We know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character.” What happens outwardly in our lives isn’t as important as what happens inside us. Our circumstances are temporary, but our character will last forever.

Peter wrote, “These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold.”

And James wrote, “Under pressure, your faith life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.”

See? They all talked about it. So we’d know!

Since God intends us to be like Jesus, He will allow us to go through the same experiences Jesus went through. These include: loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection and a lot more. The Bible says, Jesus learned obedience through suffering. And that He was made perfect through suffering.

In order for us to come out like Christ from all these trials we have to respond as Jesus would. Some people do become bitter and good doesn’t come from it. In order to respond like Jesus would we have to remember that God’s plan is good. God knows what is best and He has our best interests at heart.

Joseph “got it” when he told his brothers who had sold him into slavery. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” In order for Joseph to become the Prime Minister of Egypt – God had to get him to Egypt! His brothers sold him as a slave to a group of Ishmaelites who (just happened?) to be on their way to Egypt!

It helps to remember what Hebrews 12:10b says, “But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.”

The secret to endurance is to remember our pain is temporary, but our reward will be eternal. And we don’t ”just get through it without becoming bitter.” We are also told to give thanks in all circumstances. That’s in all circumstances, not for all circumstances.

We can thank God that He will use our problem to fulfill His purposes. And we can thank Him for His love. His wisdom. His power. His faithfulness. Etc. And we know God doesn’t leave us alone in our suffering even though it may feel like it sometimes. He is with us always. He said that and He doesn’t lie.

Like Jesus we must refuse to give up. We must be patient and persistent. Character building is a slow process. When we grasp the eternal consequences of our character development, we’ll pray fewer “comfort me” prayers and more “use this to make me more like You” prayers.

We know we are maturing when we begin to see the hand of God in the seemingly random circumstances of life. Instead of asking “Why me?” Ask, “What do You want me to learn?” Then trust God and keep on doing what’s right.

Even if you don't believe you can become more like Jesus, even if you can't see any way the old you will ever fade away, even if your friends don't believe this Christianity deal is anything more than a passing fad with you and that you will fail...Even if no one else believes in you...God does.In fact, He can already see you changing, already picture you becoming more like Jesus.

The Bible says"...those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..."He knows you can do it. And he's planning on your seeing it through - walking with Him, relying on His Holy Spirit to guide and direct your paths while he is working everything together for your good. See, the thing is - He's planning a BIG family reunion for His lost children.

Christianity is not for wimps! But, God’s love is everlasting and His patience endures forever. Ask Him for the power to do the right thing and then expect Him to provide it.

We then led the kids in the song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and closed in prayer.

Thoughts from the book of James

“Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

Life is constant testing. God is always watching how we react to things: whether its major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism and even senseless tragedies. Nothing is insignificant. Every day is important, every second an opportunity to grow.

How much pleasure is God getting watching my life?

God gives us peace in times of trial

I heard a story on Christian radio today about a man who had lost just about everything and if he didn’t find some money before the end of the day he would lose what was left.

He prayed about it and while he was praying he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and joy come over him. Later that day a letter was found at his front door with a check in it. His reaction to this is what was so profound. He said, “I was so glad I felt the peace and joy before the solution to my problem.”

Suffering is a blessing because of the opportunity it gives to testify to God’s grace both by words and by life.

Never Let Adversity Get You Down

I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light.

“Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way.” Ps.23:4

You should never let adversity get you down – except to your knees. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things, present, nor things to come…shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38,39

When Christ comes into a man’s heart the evil dross is purged away. Sometimes that has to happen through painful experiences. But if a man throughout all the experiences of life believes that God is working together all things for good he will emerge from them with a character, which is cleansed and purified, until, being pure in heart, he can see God.

The one way to complete satisfaction is the way which has learned complete dependence on God.

Christians, Trials and Jesus

Christians are not promised a trial free life. If they were, people would flock to Christianity for all the wrong reasons. Also a trial free life does not allow faith to grow. If we know for a fact that we would never get sick, or that if we did it wouldn’t be serious, or that we would live to a ripe old age and then die in our sleep, or never have financial worries, we wouldn’t lean on God to get us through however He pleases.

People find it especially hard to understand when something happens to a person who seems to be doing exactly what God wants: a missionary killed on his way to a mission trip, someone trying to save someone’s life and himself dying in the process.

This is where we can go to the Bible and find comfort and meaning.

Most people have heard the story of the three young men who were thrown into the fire for refusing to worship the king and instead only worshipping their God. Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego were doing God’s will and God could have kept them from the furnace. He could have had the king change his mind or even have all the people involved totally forget about it, but He didn’t. He let them be thrown into a furnace that was so hot it killed some of the guards close by. Later, when other guards looked in, they saw not three, but four men. What does this tell us? God didn’t keep them from the furnace, but He came down into it with them!

And when we are at our lowest and most miserable, we should look around, because that’s when God is closest and He will be with us every step of the way!

If the family worships together and trusts God for guidance, God will surely bless each member with the wisdom and courage to meet all problems that arise.

“No perfume is more costly and more aromatic to God than the faithfulness of believers who are suffering.”