Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

I Can’t See You but I Hear You

October 19, 2015 in Uncategorized | Tags: forgiveness, going through the valley of death, grace, Jesus the good shepherd, John 10:27-28, losing faith in myself, Losing sight of Jesus | 2 comments

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, John 10:27-28

Have you ever been in a large crowd of people and heard a voice you recognized. They weren’t shouting to be heard above the crowd. They weren’t trying in any way to get your attention. In fact, they may not have even been talking with you. But you heard their voice and your attention was turned to the sound at least in your mind, if not physically.

I find that happening often with my wife when we are in a situation where we are in a large gathering but not necessarily together. It might be her laugh that catches my ear. It might be just her voice. But when I hear it, even if it doesn’t change the conversation I’m in, I am comforted by her presence.

When we are in tune with someone spiritually and/or emotionally it’s like that. There may even be times we aren’t in the same place, but we hear a voice in our heads that reminds us of the one we love.

I would imagine that’s what Jesus was likening his teaching to in John 10. He is in the middle of a discourse in which he likens himself to a good shepherd and his followers to sheep in his flock. The sheep grow so accustomed to the voice of their shepherd that when he calls them they automatically respond.

In the hill country of Israel, shepherds would often join together to watch over the sheep in the middle of the night. When morning came, they would call their sheep, many of whom had intermingled with other flocks. When they heard the voice of their own shepherd they would respond because they knew him. His voice was the voice they knew to provide them with cool streams and green pastures. His voice was the one they recognized as being the calming voice when they passed through the valley of the shadow of death. His voice was the one they relied on when they were helplessly and hopelessly surrounded by the enemy.

The same is true for us today. Are you in the midst of a crowd of struggles and temptations that have separated you from your faith? Has the darkness of worry, frustration or broken dreams caused you to lose sight of the one you once relied on for strength? He’s still calling for you, you know. He’s not calling you out of anger or disappointment. Your failures aren’t a surprise to him. He’s calling you as a loving Father, a concerned friend, a compassionate lover. Nothing you have ever done will snatch you out of his hand.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I confess to you that I’ve lost your voice in the crowd of voices that desire to pull me away from your protection and destroy my faith in you and myself. Draw me into your arms. Empower me to hear your voice above the din of this world. Thank you for loving me enough to seek me out. Amen.

A Little Longer

October 18, 2015 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Great reminder to never ever give up.

THE RIVER WALK

As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. (2 Thessalonians 3:13)

Read: Jeremiah 26:1-27:22, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18, Psalm 85:1-13, Proverbs 25:16

Relate: What is perseverance? What do you say it is? Some say perseverance is a habit. It is the habit of getting up in the morning when you would rather hit the snooze button. It is the habit of doing that extra pushup, taking that extra step, and running one more block. It is the habit of going a little further and not stopping until you know that you are done… and then doing a little more just in case.

Some say perseverance is a personality trait. Whether it is created through nature or nurture, it is a temperament that some people just have. They are the type of people that just cannot quit. They don’t know the meaning of the word. Maybe it is perfectionism in…

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Wake Up Calls

October 15, 2015 in Uncategorized | Tags: 2 Chronicles 33:12, God's love, God's Patience, grace, obedience, rebellion, repentance | Leave a comment

But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. 2 Chronicles 33:12

Maybe it’s a guy thing, but I tend to try to do everything on my own. For example, when the instructions say, “Use two people for the next step in assembling your new back-hoe.” Not a chance. I’ll break my back before I’ll ask for help.

Why, you ask? I could give you a variety of reasons. Some of them may even be half-way intelligent. But the reality is, I’m full of pride. Pride comes in various shapes and sizes. Sometimes it comes disguised as “There’s no one to help me.” Other times it comes deceives me by saying, “this isn’t big enough to ask for help on”, or “I’m big enough to handle this, I don’t need anyone.”

wake up call Manasseh was a King in Israel in need of a big attitude adjustment. He ignored the lessons learned from those who went before him and followed other gods. He rejected the teachings of the most high because he was sure he knew better…until the Assyrian Arm
y came and led him away in shackles with a ring in his nose. The, all of the sudden, he remembered what he never should have forgotten. He remembered that the God of heaven warned him about rebellion.

Rebellion against God is really saying “I know more than you, I know better than you, my way is better than yours.” God is a patient, loving, understanding father. Because of this he is more than willing to let us try our own way in an effort to prove ourselves. But also, like any good father, he has his limits. There will come times when he’ll finally pull the plug and let our actions fall victim to the natural consequences of our rebellion. When that happens we become like Manasseh. We see the error of our ways and how much better it was to follow God’s way.

“I did it my way” may have been a great song, but it’s not the way God intends of us to live. Before you blame or question why, reflect on where you have been, what you have done, how you have treated people, what you have taken for granted. Your Father in Heaven may not be ignoring you, he may just be calling you back to himself.

PRAYER: Father I confess to you that many of the sleepless nights I endure are the result of worry caused by the consequences of my actions. Forgive me for those times and allow me the privilege of sensing your presence once again. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

To help or not to help?

October 8, 2015 in Uncategorized | Tags: anger, drunk driving, forgiveness, grace, hate, judgmental attitudes, Proverbs 3:27 | 2 comments

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. Proverbs 3:27

help1 I have a friend who has been a nurse for over 30 years. It’s always been interesting to sit and talk with him about his work. He’s seen a lot of things few of us would hope to see. He has one of the most compassionate hearts I think I’ve even seen. Soft-spoken, understanding, kind and respectful are all words I would use to describe Ben (not his real name).

Although been would rarely talk about individual patients or their situations, he’d tell about general situations that would tug at his heart. One of these was a life-changer. Ben had always considered himself to be non-judgmental towards other people but one shift taught him a valuable lesson about who he really was.

A patient had been brought up from ER and placed in his ward. Two police officers were stationed outside his room. When he inquired about the situation he found out that the patient assigned to him was the drunk driver in a fatal collision that took the lives of a young mom and two children. It was a sad story indeed, and one that is played out hundreds, if not thousands, of times every day. The drunk driver survived, the innocent did not.

As his shift progressed he knew it was time to go in and check on ‘the patient in #302’ but he kept putting it off. Finally, he could put it off no longer. Begrudgingly, he entered the darkened room to check on his patient. He was surprised to see a small dark form in the recliner beside the bed. As his eyes adjusted to the light he could tell it was a young girl. He asked the officer standing guard about her and found out she was the man’s only daughter. She’d been there since he was admitted and refused to leave for even a minute. Her mother had just died of cancer the week before.

My friend Ben removed himself and found an empty room where he could weep for a few minutes and regain his composure. His ‘hatred’ of the ‘drunk’ changed markedly when he realized the loss this man must have felt and the pain the little girl in the recliner felt. Why had he not checked on him sooner? If he had he could have perhaps offered some comfort to the little girl.

Proverbs 3:27 is one of the hard sayings of the Bible. On the surface it looks easy enough. If you have the means to help, help those who deserve it. Then the question comes. Who deserves it? In our humanness we can answer that question. If we look at others the way God looks at us, none of us deserve any help at all. But when we look at others the way God looks at us through the lens of Jesus’ love, then all of us are on equal footing. The man making a stupid decision to drive drunk is no better or worse than the self-righteous nurse refusing to care for him.

Who do you know that needs your help today? Perhaps just a prayer, a smile or a helping hand is all that is needed to show the love of Jesus. The key to this verse is that ‘when it’s in your power’ to help, help is required not optional.

PRAYER: Father God, every day we are surrounded by people in need of our help in various ways. When we encounter them give us the wisdom and strength to help them to the best of our ability regardless of their circumstance. In Jesus name, Amen.

Is That Your Final Answer?

October 7, 2015 in Uncategorized | Tags: consequences of lying, forgiveness, grace, Hebrews 4:13, lying, tell yourself the truth, Truth | Leave a comment

Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth. Hebrews 4:13

A friend of mine is an investigator for a local law enforcement agency. We were talking one day about how dishonest people can be and I asked him how he could tell if a person was telling him the truth or not.

“There’s no way to tell for sure of course, but usually I have a pretty good idea by the third story.” He stated with a slight smirk on his face. “You see,” he continued, “the first time I ask a person of interest anything about a case he generally denies any involvement or even any knowledge of the situations. I’ll generally leave the topic at that point but then I’ll ask him again and he’ll admit to having some information. The third time I ask him questions I’m pretty sure I know if he’s the person I’m looking for or not. Sometimes they make it easy for me by confessing on the third interview!”

All one needs to do is perform an internet search on the topic of lying and you’ll find a wealth of information on how to determine if someone is being truthful or not. Truth can be determined if the story remains consistent, the person can look you in the eyes, behavior doesn’t change when you ask them questions, and a variety of other tips. Sadly, some are very accomplished at what they do and one can never be sure about the truth.

lies US News published an article in 2012 on how lying affected a person’s health. The article was based on a study done on honesty by Notre Dame University. The study found that people were healthier when they told the truth!

That should really come as no surprise. Adam and Eve had no shame until they tried to hide the truth of their sin. While some people are very good at lying, there will come a time when all your lies are revealed. God has promised that nothing will be hidden forever. That’s the bad news. The good news is that God has also offered a way of escape from the tyranny of guilt associated with lying.

Forgiveness comes through faith in Christ. You may not be able to escape the ‘earthly, temporal consequences of lying’, but you can experience the freedom of knowing that God knows your heart. Only he can clean it for eternity.

Oh, and one more thing. Those lies that are being told about you? He knows about them too. What a refreshing truth that is!

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to realize that the truth about us will be revealed through your grace. Forgive us for those times when we knowingly shroud the truth. Empower us to be honest with others, honest with ourselves, and most importantly, honest with you. Amen.