Thursday, July 30, 2015

Tough Questions / Tougher Answers - Part 1 - Crisis


Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”

Michael writes this week: Jesus took three years of his precious life to disciple twelve men – the Apostles. They had the honor of walking with Him to witness up close and personally the way, the truth and the life. You're most like the ones with whom you spend time ... the ones with whom you associate. The Lord had the twelve apostles, but Peter, James and John were His “inner circle”. Who are your three and who are your twelve? With whom are you doing life? What I mean is, with whom do you spend time hanging out and talking about the deepest things of life?

When Jesus taught his disciples, he asked them the hard questions ... penetrating questions to see if they understood “the walk” and “the talk” of being a dedicated and devoted Follower. The lesson of Matthew Chapter 8 is that when the crisis comes, and courage is required, God expects His disciples to be His reliable ones, who stand strong in the Lord, in the face of the storms of life.  This is the essence of life in a “fallen” world. The crisis reveals our character and our faith. The crisis is our training to test our faith so that our faith may grow.  Adversity and failure prepare us to trust not in the power of our own might, but rather in His strength alone. The child of God is the one who is faithful to rise to the challenge and to learn from the lessons of adversity. 


The account of the storm in Matthew 28 occurs after Jesus healed the Centurion's servant. Jesus marveled at the faith of the Centurion because he said to Jesus, “you don't need to come minister to my servant, just say the Word, and he will be healed.”  In Matthew 8:23 Jesus was asleep in the boat while the storm raged across the Sea of Galilee.  The disciples were terrified and awoke Jesus.  Jesus said, "why are you so afraid, O ye of little faith?"  Is the storm you confront, bigger than the God whom you profess to believe? God always proves Himself in the midst of the storms of life. Don't tell God how big your storm is, rather, tell the storm how big your God is. The more helpless we are, the more God's grace and mercy covers for our weakness. We must become child-like in our believing: Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." On our own there is no way that we can approach the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Turning from my own strength unto his strength is the meaning of repentance. I must decrease that he may increase. 

We’ll pick up right here tomorrow with the remainder of Michael's through-provoking message: Tough Questions / Tough Answers.

In Christ, Brian

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