Today I was reading in Matthew 14, and N.T. Wright was talking about the story of Jesus walking on the water.
When Peter asks to join Jesus on the water, I wonder if he really thought Jesus would tell him to come to Him.
I think about that in my own life. How many times have I prayed or thought something, but not really been sure if I was capable of actually going through with the action?
But the beautiful thing here, is that Jesus does call Peter out onto the water, and Peter obeys.
He keeps his focus on Jesus and starts to walk on the water towards his Savior.
Then the reality of the situation comes crashing in. The world around him is complete chaos, and he realizes what is happening. He starts to sink.
If we take our eyes off of Jesus, we start to get dragged down by the things around us.
The world reaches out and pulls us down.
But there is hope.
Just like Peter, we can cry out, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus will reach down His hand and pull us up out of the depths of our despair.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Lent day 19
Today I mainly want to share a song with you. It is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time.
It’s “Come As You Are” by Crowder.
The message of the song is so beautiful.
That we can come to God as we are. Not that we have to perfect our lives before we come before Him.
We can lay our burdens down at His feet and fall into His arms.
It’s a song that I’ve been listening to a lot lately, because it’s something I’ve really needed to hear.
May it speak to you also.
It’s “Come As You Are” by Crowder.
The message of the song is so beautiful.
That we can come to God as we are. Not that we have to perfect our lives before we come before Him.
We can lay our burdens down at His feet and fall into His arms.
It’s a song that I’ve been listening to a lot lately, because it’s something I’ve really needed to hear.
May it speak to you also.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Lent day 18
As I was reading Matthew 13 today, I found it interesting that even Jesus’ disciples didn’t always understand everything He said.
I think I like to think of them as these geniuses who knew everything about the Torah and God’s will because they were in the presence of Jesus.
But even they had to pull Him to the side sometimes and be like, “what did you mean when you said this? Why are you always talking in parables?”
It’s refreshing to know that we don’t have to understand everything to believe.
We can believe and still struggle with what some things mean.
It is ok to ask God what He means when He says things. It is ok to ask God why things happen the way they do.
God is big enough to take our questions.
We may not always get the straight easy answer that we want, but hopefully we will get some deeper understanding of how much God loves us.
I think I like to think of them as these geniuses who knew everything about the Torah and God’s will because they were in the presence of Jesus.
But even they had to pull Him to the side sometimes and be like, “what did you mean when you said this? Why are you always talking in parables?”
It’s refreshing to know that we don’t have to understand everything to believe.
We can believe and still struggle with what some things mean.
It is ok to ask God what He means when He says things. It is ok to ask God why things happen the way they do.
God is big enough to take our questions.
We may not always get the straight easy answer that we want, but hopefully we will get some deeper understanding of how much God loves us.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Lent day 17
Today the N.T. Wright devotional that I’ve been doing, was looking at Matthew 12. One of the main things he talked about, was the passage where the Pharisees heard what He was doing and said that He must be doing these things by the power of Beelzebul not God.
Jesus responds to them by saying no house can stand if it’s fighting against itself, and that you could say anything you wanted against Him and be forgiven, but to speak blasphemy against the spirit would not be forgiven.
Wright says that it’s not so much that the blasphemy is such a bad sin that it can’t be forgiven. But more that if you are speaking against the spirit, then your heart is not going to be able to accept anything coming from the spirit.
So, when God does come to these people, they have already closed off their hearts to the point that they don’t even see that it is God in front of them. They have completely walled themselves in and cannot be reached by God’s grace and mercy.
That is something I’ve felt in my own life. At times when I’ve turned my back to God, it’s not that He’s gone anywhere.
He’s right there waiting for me to come back to Him.
But it’s that I have hardened my own heart to His words of love and grace.
It’s something that I fight with everyday. To open myself up to hearing His voice and feeling His love.
Jesus responds to them by saying no house can stand if it’s fighting against itself, and that you could say anything you wanted against Him and be forgiven, but to speak blasphemy against the spirit would not be forgiven.
Wright says that it’s not so much that the blasphemy is such a bad sin that it can’t be forgiven. But more that if you are speaking against the spirit, then your heart is not going to be able to accept anything coming from the spirit.
So, when God does come to these people, they have already closed off their hearts to the point that they don’t even see that it is God in front of them. They have completely walled themselves in and cannot be reached by God’s grace and mercy.
That is something I’ve felt in my own life. At times when I’ve turned my back to God, it’s not that He’s gone anywhere.
He’s right there waiting for me to come back to Him.
But it’s that I have hardened my own heart to His words of love and grace.
It’s something that I fight with everyday. To open myself up to hearing His voice and feeling His love.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Lent day 16
I had a realization yesterday as I was taking my anti-depressant pill.
This pill that I need to take every day is truly a lot like prayer and Bible study.
It may not seem obvious to anyone who doesn’t have to take a pill like this, but they really do the dame thing in some ways.
If I don’t take my pill for a while, and I have found that I do this often, my brain gets messed up. My thinking gets scrambled and things start to change. My behaviors change. My thought patterns change. The things I should be doing, just don’t seem to matter anymore. I have a hard time feeling the love of my family and those around me.
But when I do remember to take my pill, I find that my brain works better. I can see things clearly. Maybe most importantly, I can feel the love of my family and friends.
I think I’ve talked before, about when I was off of my meds for several years. At first I thought I was doing pretty good. Things seemed pretty normal. But then, it was like part of me was watching from outside myself and I could tell that I wasn’t living the way I should be living. Then when I got back onto my medication, it was like I was waking up from a long dream. I was in a place that I didn’t fully understand or know. But I knew that I was awake now and surrounded by people who cared for me.
I’ve found that over the last 16 days, as I’ve focused some of the first hours of my day to Bible study and prayer, that it has some of the same affects.
When I’ve spent long periods of time not praying, it feels like God is distant from me and may not even care about me.
At those times it seems that God wouldn’t even care if I prayed. So why bother?
My brain starts to think of things in a very bad way, and I start to give into the habits that I know are harmful to me and those around me.
But as I’ve made this a habit in my life, I’ve found that my mind is working in a much better way. I think I’ve been able to show my love to those around me in a much better way. I’ve noticed that, most of the time, I’m more patient.
I’m not saying that I’m perfect. Only that the love and time I’ve been spending with God is starting to spread into the other parts of my life.
I can only pray that God would continue to draw near to me and teach me how to live my life in the way He would have me live it.
This pill that I need to take every day is truly a lot like prayer and Bible study.
It may not seem obvious to anyone who doesn’t have to take a pill like this, but they really do the dame thing in some ways.
If I don’t take my pill for a while, and I have found that I do this often, my brain gets messed up. My thinking gets scrambled and things start to change. My behaviors change. My thought patterns change. The things I should be doing, just don’t seem to matter anymore. I have a hard time feeling the love of my family and those around me.
But when I do remember to take my pill, I find that my brain works better. I can see things clearly. Maybe most importantly, I can feel the love of my family and friends.
I think I’ve talked before, about when I was off of my meds for several years. At first I thought I was doing pretty good. Things seemed pretty normal. But then, it was like part of me was watching from outside myself and I could tell that I wasn’t living the way I should be living. Then when I got back onto my medication, it was like I was waking up from a long dream. I was in a place that I didn’t fully understand or know. But I knew that I was awake now and surrounded by people who cared for me.
I’ve found that over the last 16 days, as I’ve focused some of the first hours of my day to Bible study and prayer, that it has some of the same affects.
When I’ve spent long periods of time not praying, it feels like God is distant from me and may not even care about me.
At those times it seems that God wouldn’t even care if I prayed. So why bother?
My brain starts to think of things in a very bad way, and I start to give into the habits that I know are harmful to me and those around me.
But as I’ve made this a habit in my life, I’ve found that my mind is working in a much better way. I think I’ve been able to show my love to those around me in a much better way. I’ve noticed that, most of the time, I’m more patient.
I’m not saying that I’m perfect. Only that the love and time I’ve been spending with God is starting to spread into the other parts of my life.
I can only pray that God would continue to draw near to me and teach me how to live my life in the way He would have me live it.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Lent day 15
Today I was reading in Matthew 11, and I was struck by the last few verses in the chapter.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.”
I think so many times, we as humans, try to make Christianity about all of these rules and does and don’ts.
But the beautiful thing, is that Jesus called us to Him promising an easy burden.
This does not mean that our lives will be easy or that nothing bad will happen to us. In fact our lives will never truly be easy until we are in heaven, and Jesus tells us that bad things will happen to us.
Instead, I believe, that He is telling us that coming to Him and putting on His “yoke” is easy, because of His grace and mercy.
Becoming a Christian should be hard. It should involve pain and sacrifice.
But because of God grace and mercy, all we have to do is ask and we are forgiven.
Jesus has already paid the heavy price for our salvation.
All we have to do is accept it.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.”
I think so many times, we as humans, try to make Christianity about all of these rules and does and don’ts.
But the beautiful thing, is that Jesus called us to Him promising an easy burden.
This does not mean that our lives will be easy or that nothing bad will happen to us. In fact our lives will never truly be easy until we are in heaven, and Jesus tells us that bad things will happen to us.
Instead, I believe, that He is telling us that coming to Him and putting on His “yoke” is easy, because of His grace and mercy.
Becoming a Christian should be hard. It should involve pain and sacrifice.
But because of God grace and mercy, all we have to do is ask and we are forgiven.
Jesus has already paid the heavy price for our salvation.
All we have to do is accept it.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Lent day 14
In Timothy Keller’s book Prayer, he talks about how we should start off our prayers with praising and thanking God for who He is and what He has done in our lives.
This has sometimes been a hard thing for me. For one thing, at times, it’s been a hard thing for me to see the good in my life. I have struggled to see anything for thanking Him for at times and have really only used prayer as an answering service for my petitions to God.
Keller points out that the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, starts off with praising God and calling Him holy. It is only then that we begin to rightly ask for the things in our lives.
I don’t believe that if you aren’t praying “correctly” that God won’t hear your prayer and that He won’t be able to answer your prayer.
I believe that God can and does answer our prayers even if we are just crying out to Him for help.
Keller says that it has more to do with the orientation of our heart and our life. If we come to God with praise and thanksgiving first, we will see how great He is and all of the things that He has already done in our lives.
Then as we begin to place our burdens at His feet, we will see and understand that He is able to help us with these things and that we need not worry so much about them.
Also, Keller says that through rightly ordering our loves and desires with God first is the only true way to best love the other things in our lives.
I can only love my wife and kids best, if I have placed God first in my life and have shown Him the love and respect that He is worthy of.
Then out of the overflow of my love for Him, my family will be blessed with my love.
This has sometimes been a hard thing for me. For one thing, at times, it’s been a hard thing for me to see the good in my life. I have struggled to see anything for thanking Him for at times and have really only used prayer as an answering service for my petitions to God.
Keller points out that the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, starts off with praising God and calling Him holy. It is only then that we begin to rightly ask for the things in our lives.
I don’t believe that if you aren’t praying “correctly” that God won’t hear your prayer and that He won’t be able to answer your prayer.
I believe that God can and does answer our prayers even if we are just crying out to Him for help.
Keller says that it has more to do with the orientation of our heart and our life. If we come to God with praise and thanksgiving first, we will see how great He is and all of the things that He has already done in our lives.
Then as we begin to place our burdens at His feet, we will see and understand that He is able to help us with these things and that we need not worry so much about them.
Also, Keller says that through rightly ordering our loves and desires with God first is the only true way to best love the other things in our lives.
I can only love my wife and kids best, if I have placed God first in my life and have shown Him the love and respect that He is worthy of.
Then out of the overflow of my love for Him, my family will be blessed with my love.
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