Hero Training

I have read about the lives of the faithful men and woman of God in scripture since I was a very young man. I have longed to be like them and hope to think that my life somehow will encourage others in a similar way. At times, I start thinking of all of my times of doubt and questions that I have, and think that it is such a mistake to try and compare my life to the lives of these heroes depicted. While I was reading the Bible, the Lord spoke something into my heart that did not bring me to the level of a hero, but brought the heroes to the level of this human. In Hebrews 10, there is a call to persevere that begins in verse 19. It speaks of confidence through Christ, drawing near to God and walking in faith and purity. Then in verse 23, the author of this inspired book begins letting us in on the truth of the humanity of the early church and what it means to live for Christ.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25

Why do you think this portion of scripture is written?

Is it because these people always walked in faith and hope without falling?

Is it because they always loved others and did good deeds?

And do you really think it was because they were always faithful to meeting together and sharing life with fellow believers?


I believe this is written because it was as much a problem then for the humans trying to serve the Lord as it is for us today. Think about it! When I leave the house in the morning, if my children are still asleep, I will write them a note and remind them of all of the things that they so easily forget. I have to tell them to turn off the lights, watch the dog, do their chores, flush the toilet (they are gross boys), and oh yeah, don’t ever forget that your daddy loves you. Scripture is written in much the same way.

The Lord is using the author to help the Christians of time past have a checklist of how to persevere though the journey of life.

• Hold on to hope because, if we don’t pay attention, it will slip through our hands.
  Don’t forget--God is faithful!


• Make sure you kick your brothers and sisters in the butt every once in a while and challenge them to do the right thing. If you don’t, you will notice that they get lost very easily. You will also need to find a friend or two to give you a kick every once and a while.


• Make sure that you consistently spend time with other believers. When you get down and depressed, you will want to avoid everyone, but don’t! It is one of the main life vests that God has given you to keep you floating when you grow tired and weary.


• Jesus is coming back! Don’t get distracted between now and then!


• Never forget how much God loves you and what He has done to give you hope and confidence.


• Keep your head high. You are His child.

You see, we are not so different than the heroes of the Bible. They were on a journey of a lifetime, allowing their God to lead them, break them, heal them, complete them, and hold them up in difficult times. The next time you look at your life and think that you are so low and that maybe somehow God has given up on your case, take a look at the ones He calls his beloved. He constantly found ways to redirect them, save them out of their messes, and remind them of who He is and what He has planned for their lives. You are a hero in the making on the same obstacle course and training regiment they were on. Keep running to Jesus and allow him to lift your countenance. He is faithful!

Made New

This week I am late posting my blog and it was not because I have not tried working on it. It seems every time I would sit down to write that there were good ideas to share but nothing that I could say I wanted to put in writing from the Lord. Yesterday, my wife and I were reading our daily devotion out of Walk with God by Tie Green, and this portion of his writings struck my heart and caused me to reevaluate my approach to the Cross.


“The beauty of the Cross is its ugliness. God left us no aesthetic religion to idolize, no self-effort to perfect, no Law to fulfill. He completely undid us by doing it all Himself. The way to become godly now is not to become godly; it is to declare our ungodliness and cast its cost on Another. The way to become pure now is not to be pure; it is to declare our impurity and ask for the heart and mind of Another. The way to live is not to seek life; it is to die and let Another live in our place. We thought the wisdom of God would be to make us better people—through works, service, intellect, philosophies, religion, and more. But in His wisdom, Jesus did not come to make us better. He came to do away with the old entirely and to birth something new. We take hold of that by embracing the ugly, ignoble Cross. Only then can newness come.” Tie Green

In all honesty, this year has been a year that has tested my faithfulness and trust in everything I have ever believed, taught, and attempted to live out. As the parts of my life that I thought were solid began to shift and look like they were crumbling it caused many new emotions to form in me; some that I truly never new were so strong and controlling. I think for the first time in many years, I could say that I was afraid. Being a “good” man of God, I am very aware that fear is not from God, but is weakness and lack of faith. So, to combat that, I tried to walk in faith and make decisions that would battle that fear that lingers inside of me. Just this week I was talking to my sister about my families future and all of the options we were looking at. I did not tell her I was afraid. Who admits that? We were just talking and encouraging each other and later that day she sent me the scripture out of Isaiah 44:1-10.

Verse 2 This is what the LORD says—
he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

The whole scripture spoke directly into my heart and she picked up on something that I was trying to mask. She saw the fear in our conversation and the Lord used her to speak into my life. When Melissa and I were reading this devotion I knew the Lord was speaking to me again. Here is what He said to me. God may not talk to you like this, however, He is pretty straightforward with me and this is how one of our most recent conversations went.

God- Kristopher. Kristopher! KRISTOPHER! (I am hard headed and it usually takes a moment for Him to get my attention.)

Kristopher- Yes- You talking to me?

God- Why are you afraid? Have I not been faithful to you all the days of your life? Why are you trying to hide that you are scared? Do you think that you will be less than? Do you think I won’t love you and maybe I will only fulfill my promise to those who can fake me out? Son, I have an amazing future for you and your marriage, for you and your family, for you and your finances, for you and the ministry you put your hand to. Quit trying to fake me out. It will never work. You cannot even fake out your baby sister. I do not need you to find a way to not be frightened. All I need you to do is to admit your fear and run to me. I will not alter your fear or even make you strong enough to handle it. I will make you new! I will give you a new perspective and a new faith. Like the manna that I gave to the Israelites, I only gave them what they needed for the day. They were not allowed to take more. You are in the same situation. The faith that you have had for the last 36 years of life is no longer enough to get you through this next season. You must come to me- run to me- and be made new again. You must receive the faith that I will place in you that will sustain you for today-- a Faith that will allow that fear to dissipate. Then tomorrow, you need to come back and do it all over again.

Kristopher- (tears)

God- I love you boy and have the best for you.

Kristopher- Help me believe. Make me faith new. I am scared.

God- I know. Your fear does not scare me. Here is your portion of faith for today. It will be exactly what you need.

Kristopher- Thank you.

God- Now, I do expect to see you tomorrow. There is something new that is going to happen tomorrow and what you have today is only there to help you face the challenges of today.

Kristopher- ☺

No More Fear

Matthew 28
1-4 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned; Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.
5-6 The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.
7"Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."
8-10 The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

One of the most debilitating emotions we have is fear. So many times I have believed that if I could just have Jesus standing here in the flesh all of my problems of lacking faith and walking in fear would subside. As we read scripture this obviously is not true. Jesus and His angels had a clear message to Jesus’ disciples, “Don’t fear!” I like how it is worded in this translation of scripture, “Don’t be afraid like that.” There is a healthy fear of danger, fear of falling, and fear of the Lord that should always be in place. However, none of those fears bring us to the place of frozen debilitation. Those fears keep us safe from harming ourselves and those we love.
What are you scared of? What is causing you to stop in your tracks and decide to not take any more steps forward into God’s promises? Is this distraction really too big for the Lord to handle? I have noticed in my own life that I will always worship what I think is the biggest and strongest. In other words, that which I fear the most gets my attention and energy. Think about it. Who or what gets your best attention? Is it the damage in your life or the one that can heal the damages? Is it the state of the economy and the promises of our nation’s leaders or the truth that has been written from our Creator?

Dear Lord,
Help me run to you and trust you. I long to be a man of faith that does not fear the past, present or future-- Teach me to take that that next step of faith even though everything inside of me tells me to turn tail and run. Your resurrection was only the beginning of the wondrous life you have for those who call on your name and follow your voice.
I love you Lord!
Amen

Looking To The Future! You Can DO IT!

Philippians 3:12-15
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. “

I have heard this scripture thrown around in many teachings and devotions. I have personally used this verse to try and give hope to people who have difficult past experiences with the goal of them replacing the sadness I see with a smile of joy. However, there is a portion of this scripture that is as sobering as a bucket of cold water on a hot day. When Paul is writing to the Philippian church he is not trying to gloss over their lives with a coat of paint and trying to brain wash them into thinking that the damage in their lives never happened. Paul is reaching deep down into the hearts of his audience and challenging them to press through their past, focus on the future, and withstand the pain that it takes to strain toward what is ahead.

About a year and a half ago I had the opportunity to run in a half marathon. The training was a bit gruesome and took a lot of time, but, nothing compared to the strain that was on my body for the last 4 miles of the race. For the first 9 miles I truly felt invincible. I was passing people and keeping a pace that I thought for sure would break world records. OK, not really! But I was going faster than I ever practiced. I remember thinking at the 7 mile marker, “If this is going to be this easy than I will do the full marathon next time. “ It was not 20 minutes later that I was pleading with my God to stop the pain, help me breath and let me be finished. It was not until I hit that threshold that I began understanding what it means to strain forward. Every step I took was painful and all I wanted to do was disappear or take some really strong pain relievers.

My muscles were beginning to cramp, my joints were screaming at me and my poor feet felt like they lost a slapping match with the pavement. It was time to stop thinking about the finish line and focus on taking each step that was in front of me. All I wanted to do was to stop! No more steps, no more straining!

I am not saying that the rest of our days have to be as painful as the last 4 miles of my half marathon race, however, there are times that this journey will bring pain. There are times that running after what God has for our future and forgetting about things in our past is arduous and painstaking. It is also worth it!

If you have fallen and are trying to get back up… Do it! If you are running forward and the past seems to be haunting your next step… look to your Creator and He will give the strength to go forward! Don’t give up! Don’t give up! You can do it! Just a little farther! When I think of this scripture I see it cheering me forward and telling me that God has great plans… Don’t give up!