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No matter how big or how small, we are all children of God!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

The big problem for me is that often I don’t see the storm coming and find I’m in it before I can prepare. Of course that’s the way it always is anyway…who sees a storm before it hits? Most of the time we seem to be “flying blind” when we find we are in the middle of a big storm!

But really, who can be ready for a storm? Who can prepare for the crisis of life? Jesus said we can prepare. He told an amazing story in the gospel of Matthew…

Mat 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Mat 7:25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
Mat 7:26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Mat 7:27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall.” 

It’s an amazing story because Jesus said that storm preparation is simply this- hearing HIS words and acting on them. That’s all you need to get ready! We try to prepare by stocking food, getting flashlights ready, buying batteries, and a hundred other things. Many of you made these preparations in anticipation of the Y2K “disaster.” But Jesus gave a completely different course of action to prepare for a storm. His disaster preparation course is this- listen to him, and do what he says! That’s it.

What a bold statement! All I need for life and godliness is to listen to Jesus words and act on them. That reality still amazes me, still challenges me, still inspires me, and still humbles me because I forget it so easily.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

The angel Gabriel appears to Daniel near the end of the book and near the end of his life. In this encounter, planned by God, Gabriel tells Daniel, “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.” In the 45 verses to follow Gabriel unfolds the entire end-time history of the world. A history we are living in right now.

What caught my attention as I read was one little word. A word repeated more than 116 times in this one chapter. It’s this word- will. This king will do this, that king will arise and do that…. On and on, more than twice a verse, the word will is used by Gabriel to talk about future days. There is a certainty to the word “will”. It’s not “might” or “maybe”, but it’s “will”. These events told more than 3,000 years ago will happen.

It caught my attention that this little word of just four letters tells me something very important about God- He is in charge of the events of our history. He’s unfolding a plan to save men and women and glorify himself. All of history will unfold as he describes it through Gabriel. That does at least two things for me. It gives me peace that God is in control when it feels like everything is out of control. And, it gives me confidence that God has a plan he is moving the events of history towards. We are seeing the unfolding of God’s grand plan to save mankind and glorify his name.

All of this could cause me to be a fatalist, but in reality it brings me great peace that as I see what seems to be a world out of control I’m really seeing the unfolding of God’s grand plan with everything completely in control…HIS control.

This morning I’m blessed by a little word and a big God.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

There is a rest for this weary race of man. There is a rest from the unceasing quest for peace, for calm, for a feeling of being good with God. Most religions of the world offer a never ending treadmill of works to attain heaven with no assurance of ever having done enough. These are brutal faiths. Faiths based on our works, our efforts to be good enough, to push all the right buttons, to look just right so our eternity will be a good one. These are religions that offer no rest.

But there is one faith, only one, that offers a place of rest. It’s a rest from the works of man to please God. In this faith, and this one alone, there is a place of rest….a rest based on the works of someone else. It comes only to those who put their faith in the works of another, Jesus Christ, to have done all that’s asked of God for us to be accepted. It brings those who believe to a place of rest where all self-efforts are done. Finally, for those who trust rest is available. Finally all efforts are finished, there’s nothing more for us to do, it’s all been done.

Imagine all of mankind standing on one side of the grand canyon with God on the other. Our quest is to reach God and with our best efforts we jump to bridge the chasm. The fate of all who do this in their own strength is inevitable and is found at the bottom of the canyon. But imagine that spanning this grand chasm is a moving bridge. All you have to do is step on it and it will carry you to the other side. Most around you would say it’s too easy, you have to do something, you can’t please God without doing something! And yet, this bridge is the only way to the other side.

While all around you men and women are trying to jump the chasm and falling to their death you can simply take a step of faith and, like the moving walkways in the airports and malls, you find yourself being moved to the other side…effortlessly! It’s a result based on a step of faith and a rest in the God’s only provision to bridge the chasm. “It can’t be that easy!” some would say. “You’re just not trying hard enough.” others declare. And they’re right. It’s a rest, a rest in the work done by another to accomplish something none of us can do on our own.

Why do so many refuse to take the bridge (faith in Jesus Christ) and choose to try to jump the chasm on their own? For some reason many think their salvation depends on their own works, but the chasm is much too wide for us to bridge by our own works, in our own strength. We need help!

As the author of Hebrews writes, “only those who believe can enter his rest.” Are you resting in him or trying to work your way to God? Only one will bring you to your desired destination.

Only one choice will give you rest from the quest for God’s acceptance.

All others find their end at the bottom of the chasm.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

Listen to the testimony of those who have found out what the joy of putting Jesus first is all about!

And yet we long for security. We want to know we have enough in the bank to be ready for that rainy day when we will need it. We have the strange idea that we are in this by ourselves. In fact, for the man in the world I understand this need for security, but for the Christian who lives and moves in and with God it’s an idol to hold onto and seek after wealth as a security. God meets daily needs so that our trust and focus will be on him and not on our own ability to meet our needs.

There are difficult days. There are times when the economies of the world struggle. In those times those around us fear, panic and struggle….how will we survive? What will happen with our retirement? How will we have enough? We have this sense that all of this is up to us to hold onto, to provide, to save. If that is true we should be afraid! No one can be secure in the evil days. If we don’t trust in God for our daily needs, our daily provision, we will be fearful, worried and will struggle with the world around us.

But, imagine a man or woman who lives in the reality of a sovereign God who has promised to meet our needs and is fully able to do so. Imagine having nothing, but possessing everything. Imagine trusting God as your provision rather than your own ability. Imagine a rest, a trust in one who will provide no matter what the world around us is doing. Paul described it this way, “My God will provide all your needs according to his riches in glory.” What are his riches in glory? He owns everything, he possess all. If he lacks anything then he can’t be God, but he is! He has everything we need, everything. As you put your rest and trust in him you lack NOTHING.

In that trust we find ourselves to be wealthy paupers, possessing nothing, but having everything. We might walk about with empty pockets, but living as children of the Father who possesses the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns everything and promises to provide for us as we trust him. This is a whole different kind of life….a life of trust, of peace, of freedom from the news, the world’s fears, the crisis of the moment. It’s a life lived in dependence on a Father who has promised to provide all we need each day, our daily manna, the bread for the moment. We find we are the richest of men while in the moment we possess nothing at all.

The man or woman who trusts God finds they are the ultimate paradox- a wealthy pauper.

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to HIS riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

True security is not in the possession of things, but in the possession of someone…the great God, the wonderful Father, the source of all we need for the moment even as we walk about with empty pockets, a company of wealthy paupers.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

You are the light of the world. Yes, YOU. It’s part of your job description as a Christian….to be light in dark places. How’s that working for you? How are you doing with the light you have? Honestly, I don’t like the questions this generates at all! If people are looking to me for a little light to find their way I wonder if I’m any help to them at all.

Most of us want illumination for ourselves, for our own lives, but we are described by Jesus as illumination for those around us, light for others. Being the light of the world is a big task. It’s the task of helping those in the dark find their way, helping them find the right path and discover the light that illuminates us. Being the light of the world is a heavy burden and for the most part we do not wear it well. Frankly, at least for me, I think I’m a master at hiding my little light under a basket. I’m not good at helping others see the way with kindness and grace. I wish I was better at this thing called being the light of the world, but I’m still working on it.

And then Jesus goes even further and says this, “let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Part of the illuminating work of the believer is how we live our lives, our good deed. Let your good deeds shine out for all to see….why? So people will praise God. Our lives are meant to direct the world in praise to God for what they see because of us. How often does that happen? I think we have missed something in this job description of being lights in the world. Something has gone horribly wrong in the church! Instead of being lights to illuminate the way we have become spotlights in the eyes to blind the lost as they seek to find their way.

I think the thing we have lost is the very grace we received when we came to Christ. As I read Matthew and see Jesus interact with the world in darkness he doesn’t turn up the wattage to blind them, he gives them just enough light to make them want more. I still have much to learn about being a light in a dark world. I sure don’t know how to do this well, but if I am a light for those around me how is that supposed to work? How should I live so that, like the proverbial moth, those around me are drawn to the light that shines from me? I’m still working on this…..

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

It’s a much quoted verse, but I think we miss so much that it’s trying to say. May I rewrite it in Mike’s paraphrase?

“Hush, be quiet, stop, rest, don’t move….just pause for a moment and know that I am God.

That I am God over your joys and over your sorrows.

That I am God when you are at peace and when you are afraid.

That I am God when your health is good and even when it isn’t.

That I am God when you have food and when you are hungry.

That I am God when there is abundance and when there is nothing.

That I am God when you have a job and when you don’t.

That I am God when you have hope and even when you are in despair.

That I am God over everything.”

The one theme I see throughout the bible is this very important truth- The Lord is God, He is Lord of everything, both good and bad, both smiles and tears.

He’s Lord and you can trust him, he’s got it all under control. So, be still, rest, relax, let down your frown, exhale, stop worrying, stop trying, stop everything and rest in the Lord who simply wants you to know that HE is LORD.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 29:10. In this short verse is a very important truth. Here it is, “The Lord sat as king at the flood, the Lord sits as king forever.” At the worse time in human history God was seated on the throne fully in charge. At the worse time in your life God is seated on his throne fully in charge of your life. Relax, he’s got it. Stop, cease, be still. The God of the universe loves you and is Lord of your everythings. Trust him. “Be still and know that HE is God.”

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

Part 1

There is a passage of scripture that I often go to for comfort and reminder. It’s a very strange place to go for such things, but it has proven to provide them to me. It is part of the story of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. They have left Egypt, crossed the sea on dry land, and are being led by God with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In the middle of this odyssey we come to this passage, Exodus 17:1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD….. . Day by day, led by the cloud and the pillar, they are following God’s leading…following him and trusting him. Then, in this short verse we find these words, and they camped at Rephidim… . They camped here by God’s leading! But you must see the end of the verse to understand how important this passage is,and there was no water for the people to drink. When this passage first became clear to me this last phrase stopped me, and my response was, “WHAT?!?! You took them to a place where there was no water? And you took them there ON PURPOSE!?” Yes he did. And he will lead us to places like this….places in the desert where there is no water. Dry places, places where we ask, “why did you bring me here?” That will become clear in a moment, but you need to know that dry places are in God’s plan for our lives. When you find yourself at your Rephidim know that it didn’t happen by accident, God has led you there. He’s working in your life….he has a plan.

Let me make this one thing clear- they were led to a place where there was no water. There were 2,000,000 of them with millions of animals, and God led them to Rephidim on purpose….to a place where there wasn’t any water. Did I make that part clear yet? Why? That’s a most important question to ask. Go back with me a few chapters to a shepherd in the wilderness who comes upon a burning bush. It’s the same Moses who now comes to this same wilderness with the nation of Israel in tow. Why did God bring them here? Here’s the reason, Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb (Rephidim), the mountain of God. Let’s skip down the visit with God a bit to this verse, Exodus 3:12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” God led them to this very place to meet with him, to worship him! But here is what they saw, Exodus 17:2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” Exodus 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” All they saw was a desert with no water in sight. What they missed was the fact that God was there waiting for them! In the next few verses God resolves their water problem, Exodus 17:5 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Exodus 17:6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. This Horeb is the rock that was split in the middle and from it came water to quench the thirst of millions for months. God provided water, but they had missed the opportunity to ask a really important question, “Lord, why are we here?” They completely missed God in their thirst for water! How often I do that. I miss God in the midst of my “needs.”
…
So, as an expert in wilderness spirituality, let me suggest that when you come to a spiritual desert and find that you have no water the next thing you say is most important. Having been here many times let me suggest this as your next response, “Hello Father, I see we are in the desert without water. What are we working on today? How can I best glorify you through this time in the wilderness?”

When you find yourself out of work, hurting, wounded, left alone, discouraged, depressed, unhappy or simply thirsty for God and find that he has brought you to a dry place don’t fall into the trap of focusing on your need. Look around, God is there waiting for you….he has brought you to this place on purpose!

Part 2

Yesterday I left you in the middle of the desert with the nation of Israel in a place where there was no water. They were led there on purpose by God. Let me make this clear- they were led to a place where there was no water. There were 2,000,000 of them with millions of animals, and God led them to Rephidim onpurpose….to a place where there wasn’t any water.

Did I make that part clear yet?

Why?

That’s a most important question to ask. Go back with me a few chapters to a shepherd in the wilderness who comes upon a burning bush. It’s the same Moses who now comes to this same wilderness with the nation of Israel in tow. Why did God bring them here? Here’s the reason,

Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb (Rephidim), the mountain of God.

Let’s skip down the visit with God a bit to this verse,

Exodus 3:12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

God led them to this very place to meet with him, to worship him!

But here is what they saw,

Exodus 17:2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”

Exodus 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

All they saw was a desert with no water in sight. What they missed was the fact that God was there waiting for them! In the next few verses God resolves their water problem,

Exodus 17:5 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
Exodus 17:6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

This Horeb is the rock I posted in part 1, the rock that was split in the middle. God provided water, but they had missed the opportunity to ask a really important question, “Lord, why are we here?” They completely missed God in their thirst for water! How often I do that. I miss God in the midst of my “needs.”

So, as an expert in wilderness spirituality, let me suggest that when you come to a spiritual desert and find that you have no water the next thing you say is most important. Having been here many times let me suggest this as your next response,

“Hello Father, I see we are in the desert without water. What are we working on today? How can I best glorify you through this time in the wilderness?”

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

What I know, having been in the business world myself, is the reality that we simply don’t have enough time! Life is simply insane! We acknowledge the need to read God’s word, to pray, to spend time with family, but how do we fit it all in? We can’t, and sadly we don’t.

After my friend left the man at the next table turned to me and asked, “You’re a pastor, aren’t you? I was listening to your visit and…….”

He then proceeded to talked about how busy his life is, how hard it is to do the things I was talking about. I didn’t realize I was speaking to two men, but I was. I told him I understood, having been in his world for many years. He admitted that it’s hard to fit it all in and I know that is a reality.

I think the best victory of our enemy is to keep us so busy that we have no time for the truly important things.

Paul wrote these words, that fit best in the world we live in today, “make the most of your time, because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:16

The days dictate a different approach to time, a different way of dealing with a clock spinning so fast that we feel out of control. How do we slow this thing down? How do we recapture our lives, our time? We all have to work, but in those moments that are ours how do we live, how do we use the seconds that we claim as our own and use them well?

It demands clarity about what is most important to us. What do we want to invest our lives in? In twenty years will you be glad to say, “I am so glad I spent those hours watching The Bachelor.” It demands we decide what’s important to us and act like it!

I’m a chronic couch potato. When I get home from the day all I want is my chair, some ice tea and some time to do nothing, but is that how I want to be remembered? I think my grand kids will remember me best in my recliner. Without thinking I’ve used my moments and communicated what’s important to me. In the warp speed days we live in, at least for me, I think I need to be more intentional about how I use my moments. Might I invite you to join me in this different look at our use of time in these last days?

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.