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!

Strength In Weakness

7. Be available for God to use your weakness as a strength

Hebrews 11: 32

“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.”

The idea of allowing God to use the areas that we are most ashamed to glorify Him and bring life instead of death is one of the most bewildering concepts to understand. Where the enemy of your soul would like to bring shackles and tie you down, the Lord plans to use those short comings to set others free from their constraints. The dedication of walking forward in our weakness is not natural. When we are hurt and wounded, whether it was self inflicted or not, most of us would rather curl up in a ball and lick our wounds. Think about it… The Lord longs to take someone who is a thief and use them to bring blessings. He has goals of taking the promise breaker and liar and turning them into a solid example of purity and integrity. Think of the worst sin and pain that you have created and after you are done wanting to hide and cower away, think of how much glory can be brought to the Kingdom of God when He is able to use you in your brokenness to bring life. There are many things in this life that I am ashamed of, and do not like to even think about. The Lord has asked me to not only face those horrible memories of pain, but, to allow him to cleanse them and then use them as a testimony of how great His love is. It has never impressed me to watch someone love a person who is perfect and has it all together. They are loveable! However, it amazes me when someone can look directly into the pit of sin and stench and make a decision to love in spite of everything they are seeing and feeling. That is the love of Christ. He looks even

deeper than the junk that everyone sees and He takes a look at the core of our heart. He looks at our motives. I believe that my motives and attitudes are the sewer pipes of my life. These are areas that I don’t want anyone to see or to know about. The Lord not only sees all of that-- He died for all of that!

Dear Lord,
I thank you for not closing your eyes to my sin but for embracing my sin and loving me for the broken person I am. Thank you for not giving up on me. Please use my life to honor you and help me not run and hide from my past. There are times that I feel if everyone knew what was going on deep down in this prideful heart of mine that they would want to throw stones. Thank you for not throwing stones. Please help those that read this teaching allow you to perform the miracle of taking their brokenness and use it as a guide and a support to help others avoid the same pitfalls. Help them use their failures to bring you glory instead of allowing the enemy of their souls to keep them chained.
Amen

Complete Joy

6. Make it a point to tell others about what God is doing to repair the brokenness

Acts 20:24
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”


Why is it so important to allow others in to see our scars? I call them scars because they have been healed and cared for and although there may still be moments where memories sneak up on you, the pain of the open wound is no longer present. These scars must be shown for three main reasons: 1) To remind yourself of how the Lord has taken your broken self, reassembled your life and given you a future once more. 2) To encourage others and show them that the hands of God are amazingly skilled at the healing process. 3) To worship God.

In 1 John, chapter 1, the scripture is speaking of sharing the wonderful things about the Lord and how, in the end, they do it to make their joy complete. There is something about the dynamic of sharing our life, broken and scarred, with others that will solidify our own personal hope, peace and joy. It reminds me of my relationship with my wife. Over 16 years ago, our friendship began and we fell in love. What if I did not tell anyone of our love for each other? That would have been a short-lived relationship and probably would not have lasted more than a few months. As I tell people about who she is to me, show people her picture, tell of our story and how God is a wonderful guide for our marriage—it is then that what I am saying settles in my heart and begins to cement. Yes, I also have the choice to focus on difficult conversations and desperate times, but why would I want those things to cement and take residence in my heart?

I am here to proclaim to you that God has taken a broken man and is healing him. Where there were wounds, scars are forming. God is taking my life, my marriage, and my family and leading us into a place where we will be more whole than we have ever been before. As I am typing these words, there is a gleam in my eye and a smile on my face. Not because the wounds did not hurt, but because God is amazing and has used the healing process to confirm His hand in my life. I share this with you to make my joy complete.

Thanks for listening…

I challenge you to take a step of faith and share about the scars in your life. I think you will like the results!

Uncovered and Exposed

5. When you feel the problem re-growing quickly expose it for others to see
John 3:21
“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

What is it about darkness and things that are hidden that have so much potential to bring spiritual disease in the life of a believer? I remember one time when my wife and I were in the jungles of Panama and it became necessary to use the restroom. For those who are faint of heart, you may want to skip this part of the story, but the visual is too perfect for what it is we found in the darkness. As it was, my wife was a little frightened to use the restroom because of all of the horrible stories I have told her from around the world. So she already was holding on to my arm to protect her, even though she had no idea what I should had been protecting her from. This particular bathroom was an outhouse and was set back in the jungle a few paces. We had to walk about 100 feet from the room that we were going to be sleeping in that evening. It was dark. Now when I say dark it is a different dark than we experience when we turn the lights out at night. It is the kind of dark when you are in the middle of nowhere and you know you could not turn on the light if you wanted to. Maybe it all is the same in some scientific way but emotionally it is just not the same. So…we take our walk to the bathroom. We walk on boards that create a bridge from where we are at to the small outhouse hut. As we begin walking down the pieced together bridge, I am shining my flashlight all over the place to try and let Melissa see that there is nothing to fear. I was also laughing a lot, but I tried with all of my might to hide my giggles since Melissa felt there was nothing funny at this point. I walked her all the way up to the door, gave her the flashlight and was going to sit in the dark as she took care of the important issues in life. When she opened the door and shined the flashlight inside of the 3x3 hut used for the toilet, there were all sorts of critters trying to escape the light. Some ran down the floorboards and many of them went right down the toilet.

This is where the story ends and my teaching begins. Partly because neither of us had the need to use the restroom for a few days after that and, well, let’s just say that my wife had no intention of stepping foot into that outhouse again for the rest of our stay.

What would happen if we came up to your life? Walked across the bridge that took us to the crap that is hidden in the darkness and shined a bright flashlight revealing the truth about what was hidden behind the secret doors? All of our lies, falsities, broken promises, hellish habits, bad attitudes and anything else you can fill in the blank with, would try to flee. They would run and try to find a new place to hide. This is why once you have decided to submit your life to Christ and allow Him to transform all of you, not just the places that people can see; you must keep the lights on and the doors open. Sometimes, it takes years to convince oneself to allow the Lord, or anyone else for that matter, to know that we even have these dark areas of hidden sin. Once we have them exposed, they do not disappear forever unless we are active at keeping the doors of our outhouses open and the lights on. I am not talking about enough light to meander around the room. I am speaking of the intensity of God’s holy light formed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and God’s word.

My Personal Goal
I hope to live a life that is exposed for all to see. Not just in the areas of public service, but also in my private life. This is a goal for me because I have made a stand in my marriage, to my children, with my friends and to this world, that I am a man who will live for my God. I hope and pray that others can look to each part of my life and have an example of a genuine walk with the Lord. Please do not be confused. There are times when what is exposed is ugly and is crawling with bad attitude. At times my heart is infected with unforgiveness and pride. The example I hope to be for those God has put in my life is that of a real person, with real problems, who really lives for His God. May my ugliest parts of my life forever be exposed and tell the world of God’s love, hope, and grace.

Forgive me...

Ask for forgiveness to those you have wronged
Matthew 5:23-24
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

From my earliest recollection of getting in trouble this part of the equation is the worst. It was always so much easier to not have to look into the eyes of the wounded and remind myself how badly the bomb that I dropped hurt them. One of my childhood memories was when I was a young teenager and my brother and I went to a Chucky Cheese all-nighter. It was awesome! They gave us all of the coins we wanted. We ate pizza, drank soda and played video games all night long. I think we were in heaven; except for the fact that this large mouse bigger than my dad, named Chucky was running around the place. I don’t think there will be large creatures like that in heaven. As the sun was rising and we had to start cleaning up our mess, they made an announcement for us to bring all the coins to the front desk and to return them. It was at this point that I knew what I had to do. My brother and I looked at each other and without saying a word we started collecting everyone’s extra coins. I would like to say that we were being helpful, but, in truth we had no intention of giving this treasure back. We stuffed all of these coins into our backpacks so no one would see them, and waited for our parents to pick us up. What an incredible opportunity we had before us. We were going to come back and play as many video games as we wanted. This was when Chucky Cheese had some of the best video games in town. Our plan worked well and we made it all the way home. That is until our mother decided to help us clean out our backpacks; without our permission, I might add. She found this huge stash of coins and started asking us silly questions, like, “Where did you get these?” Well of course we were intelligent enough to come up with a story of how they were extra and they said we could have them. At the time I didn’t realize that my mom was smarter than we were and already knew we were lying. As she called around and found out the truth, we were busted-- which wasn’t that big of a deal, because my brother and I always got into trouble. We would get punished, feel bad, and then life went on. This time was different though-- she went crazy on us! She made us go and meet with our Youth Pastor Rick Ouimet and with the manager of Chucky Cheese and tell them what we had done. I had to face these people with tears flowing down my face and tell them we had stolen at least $500.00 dollars in coins. It is funny because for the life of me I cannot remember what punishment we received from my parents but the scar of having to face those I had wronged has never left me.

So now the questions that we all ask come to the surface… Was it really necessary to go and meet with my pastor and the manager? If the Lord forgives me, why do I have to go back and remind that person of the wrong I have done? Haven’t I already caused enough damage? For sure there is timing in all that we do and depending on the offense maybe it is good to give some space to the wounded. Those details will need to be worked out with much prayer and wisdom. However, in time the Lord will show each of us when the moment has arrived to step up and face the wounds we have created. I assure you that the Lord’s heart for you and me is to find reconciliation with one another. I have to pause right now and become brutally honest with you. There is nothing about this part of the equation that is easy or is possible without strength from God. I do not even like writing this segment of my thoughts down! However, this ingredient of the forgiveness process is crucial- not so God will forgive us, but, it will allow life to flow once more.

Hard Truth #1
If you are the one wounded it is important to find resolve to
avoid bitterness and poison to the soul.

Hard Truth #2
If you are the one who caused the damage, then, before you
can truly move forward and offer all that you are to God, you must
take this final step of humility.

Lord, please help us as we deal with wounds and infections in our hearts. Some of these wounds are self inflicted and some have been caused by the carelessness of others. The cause of the wound will never change the plan you have to make each of us whole and complete once more. Please help us learn how to lay our life before those we have wounded and ask forgiveness and allow us to forgive those who damage us. Not one of us deserves forgiveness, but, you gave your very life to assure that each of us will have the opportunity to find healing and health. Please forgive us for our stubbornness and give us strength to face the unfaceable. Show us how to look past all the pain that we feel to be able to see what you see when you look our way.

I love you. Amen