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I love to write and this Blog (Built with Grace) is near and dear to my heart. However, in praise to our God, my ministry hasn’t allowed me the time to write as often as I’d like. On those days when I’m unable to write I’m going to try to share blogs from other brothers and sisters in Jesus. May you be blessed by these other writers as well. God Bless you all.
Our ward goal for January 2014 is to study about faith. One of the great stories about faith is Abraham being commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac. I’ve always admired Abraham for his faithfulness and also been very troubled by the story. Why would God use that situation to prove Abraham’s faithfulness? I’m sure he could have chosen another way. Regardless of the answer to that question, I’ve learned something about Abraham that has impressed me even more than I was already impressed with him. Abraham had received a promise, that among other things, his posterity would number the sands of the sea and the stars in the heavens. All blessings being predicated upon obedience, he also knew that he would keep every commandment that God would ever give him. So how could he rationally think that he could keep the commandment to not take the life of another…
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For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19
It’s a new year! This past week I read a headline that stated something like, “Pollsters report that people are hoping for a better year in 2014.” I smirked when I read it. I have this (perhaps) weird habit of wondering if the opposite headlines are ever written. Ever seen a headline that read “The latest survey shows people hoping everything get’s tanked in the next 12 months?” Of course not! We always hope for a better tomorrow.
As children we hoped the new school year, or new school would be better for us. As parents we work hard to try to make a better life for our children and grandchildren. Many have sought new relationships, new careers or relocation to make for a better life.
As we enter the New Year, the prophet Isaiah gives us some guidance worth looking at. He’s writing to a people who are exiled from the country promised them by Jehovah God. Imagine how parents felt as they told their children, “Yes, YHWH promised us a new land. He miraculously delivered us from Egyptian captivity. When King David and Solomon were in control we enjoyed prestige, power and prosperity. Those were the years.”
Then the question. “But what happened Father? Why are we exiles now? Why did God abandon us?
With hung head the father would say, “Because, my son, we failed. YHWH told us that if we refused to follow his ways we would endure exile. Then, in tears he repeats, ‘We failed and now there is no hope.”
It’s to this situation that Isaiah writes, [YHWH states:] For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)
What an encouragement to a people who were beaten up, stomped down and hopeless. God’s plan was already working. It was something not easily seen to the casual observer perhaps, but it was happening.
When we focus on our weakness and our failures we fail to experience God’s grace. Dwelling on the past deprives us of the future God has in mind for us.
Whatever has happened in the past needs to be left behind. Whatever situation you are currently in needs to be handed over to a merciful Father whose main desire in life it to give us freedom. He is a God who is even now preparing the road we must follow to make it through the wilderness of our future.
Focusing on the past or our current situation won’t allow us to see how God is using those very things that entangle us to give us victory. Everything we are doing now is preparation for what God is doing for our future.
PRAYER: Father God, I ask that you would help each of us see our past and current situations as mere stepping stones to seeing your plan unveiled in the future. Help us to enter what lay ahead with confidence knowing that you are going to do something new in our lives. Amen.
I pray that the Lord, who gives peace, will always bless you with peace. May the Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
True Peace begins with me, is empowered by Christ and thinks eternally.
This is the phrase that came to me as I was pondering what it meant to be truly at peace. We live in a world where peace is merely spoken of as a wish, a dream, a hope we know deep inside of us will probably never come. We have just come out of the Christmas season in which we speak of “Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards Men”. We look forward to a new year in which we always hope for life with a stronger economy, more solid relationships and better health.
True peace, the kind of peace God promises us isn’t dependent on circumstances, nor can it be taken from us by other people. True Peace begins with me, is empowered by Christ and thinks eternally. True peace, God’s peace is best exemplified with the Hebrew word SHALOM. SHALOM peace reaches to the very soul. SHALOM peace encompasses the seen and the unseen, the things I can control and the things I can’t.
True Peace begins with me, is empowered by Christ and thinks eternally. While True peace is initiated by God, I must make a decision to make that peace a part of my life. The great enemy of our souls wants us to believe two lies. One is that we can’t do anything to change ourselves. The other is that the only way we can get better is to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and try harder. Both lies have partial truths in them. We must make decisions in our lives that will lead to healthier living spiritually, emotionally and physically. One day Jesus met a young man who was unhappy with life. Jesus told him the best way to gain the fulfillment he sought was to give away all he had and follow Christ, Christ alone. The man had a decision to make. He chose to walk away.
True Peace begins with me, is empowered by Christ and thinks eternally. The false part of the enemies lies is that the outcome depends on us. The outcome never depends on us. If it does we are destined to failure. The power to change our attitudes, actions and reactions can’t come from us. It must come from the power of Christ in me. The Apostle Paul tells us “Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. (Philippians 4:7) Our minds are guarded from defeat not because of our own power but because of the power of Christ that protects, strengthens and guides us.
True Peace begins with me, is empowered by Christ and thinks eternally. The ‘eternal thinker’ realizes that the trouble of this world, no matter how devastating, is temporary. Everything we can see, touch, hold, hear and taste ends at death. But our heart, our soul lives on eternally. The ‘eternal thinker’ spends his/her energy on things that build for eternity. Jesus says, “I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.” (John 16:33)
PRAYER: Father God, as I move into a new year, let me live a life of true peace. True Peace that begins with me, is empowered by Christ and thinks eternally. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 