Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

Powerful Gentleness

April 23, 2014 in Uncategorized | Tags: depression, forgiveness, grace, healing, Isaiah 42:3-4, Jesus Christ, oppression, smoldering wick | 2 comments

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”Isaiah 42:3-4

Our family loves to go camping every opportunity we can. There’s something about hooking up the camper and heading into the woods to get away from it all, even if for only a couple days. On one such camping trip we stopped at the gift shop of the campgrounds we would call home for several days.

While we all love camping, my daughter enjoys it the most. She like the conveniences of a full service campground with playgrounds and pools, but she is equally enthralled with escaping to the remotest places in the world (our world anyway) to enjoy the barest of facilities.

On this particular occasion she saw a fire-starting kit complete with flint and steel. Now, mind you, I am NOT a Boy Scout. My idea of starting a fire in remote areas is making sure my Aim & Flame is fresh and ready to go! However, we bought the kit and proceeded to our campsite to start the fire that would cook our supper.

The task was quite a challenge for one novice and a young child. We tried over and over to get the flame started. A couple times we got a small piece of leaf to smolder but time and again it would die out and we’d have to start over. I confess to you that we gave up. Hunger proved more of an incentive than rustic living!

When Isaiah was writing to the nation of Israel they were a tired nation. Largely due to their own rebellion, they were suffering under enemy rule as God’s judgment of their idolatry. They were tired. They were full of hopelessness. They saw no easy solution to their problems. Many died never seeing the deliverance promised them.

Later, Matthew would quote Isaiah in his gospel. Not many things had changed for Israel. They were still a people under bondage. They were still a people in hopeless despair. They were economically depressed, politically oppressed and religiously distressed. Then Jesus came.

Isaiah’s description of the Messiah was just what the people needed in his day, during the time Jesus walked this earth and today as well.

We need a Savior who will understand the delicacy of a smoldering wick. We need a Savior that understands our fragile condition. We need a Savior that realizes that just one more puff of wind may put an end to our ability to cope.

As we feel the life ebb from our emotional souls it’s easy to look for the easy solution, to look at what I like to call the three R’s of life: Religion, Riches and Relationships. The problem is that we have learned, or are learning the hard way that none of these help. All of them may seem to fan the flame for a time, but eventually they snuff us out.

Jesus didn’t come to snuff out our flame. He didn’t come to break us into submission. This God that can calm the storm; this God that hangs the stars in their place; this God that casts out demons, is also a God of gentleness. He comes to shore us up in our weakness, to fan the flame that has all but died out in our souls.

Regardless of what is attacking you now, realize that Jesus Christ came to gently, but firmly rekindle the flame within you. It may take time, but he has all the time in the world.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you this morning for the power you showed in the storms of Galilee; how you healed the sick, the lame and those hounded by demons. Most of all, Lord Jesus I thank you that in my weakest moments when I feel the flame of my hope about to be snuffed out, you come to me to fan the flame once again in my soul. Amen.

Night prayer

April 8, 2014 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

♥️ Take heart!

Night prayer

* In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8; NIV).
* On my bed I remember you (Psalm 63:6; NIV).
* For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8; NIV).
* This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10; NIV).
* Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12; NIV).

Father God,
Thank you for today –

For every breath I’ve taken,
And each beat of my heart;

For my senses and emotions,
The ability to think, speak and act.

For my…

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Obstacles Below!

April 1, 2014 in Uncategorized | Tags: digging deep, forgiveness, grace, hidden pain, Matthew 13:5, parables of Jesus, patience, the sower and seed | 1 comment

Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn’t very deep. Matthew 13:5

A friend of m obstacles below ine was relating how he managed to shut down a sizable portion of the electricity in his neighborhood. He told how he was working on a yard project his wife had been asking him to complete for a long time. (Most of us men will be able to relate to that).

One of the last things he had to do was to plant a tree in the corner of the yard. As he tells the story, he completely ignored the sign in the corner of his yard warning that there were cables underneath the soil and no digging should happen without calling diggers hotline.

“I wasn’t going to be digging that deep, so I didn’t think that sign applied to me,” He smiled, “But on the fourth or fifth prod with the shovel I felt something solid. Thinking it was yet another rock I slammed the point of the shovel deep and pried up. It was getting late, I was getting tired. I wanted to be done and I was tired of rock! That’s when the spark happened.”

Within minutes his wife yelled out the window that they had no power. Further investigation revealed that nearly half of the houses in the subdivision were also lacking power. Needless to say, my friend learned a valuable lesson about digging. Always know what’s below. Always.

The same can be said in our spiritual lives I think. The ‘Parable of the Sower and the Seed’ tells of seed that is thrown on rocky ground. The seed sprouts and grows quickly, like the rest of the seed. However, when the sun came out and the wind blew the roots were not able to stand firm and the plant withered.

For years I’ve heard sermons on the negative aspect of the rocky ground. Sermons that spoke of not letting emotion get in the way of growth. Sermons about how vital it is to get ‘rid of the rocks’ in our lives so that we can grow our roots deep. All these sermons had important lessons for us to learn. However, maybe the story has a different twist for us as well.

Any good farmer knows the importance of working the soil before planting; of knowing what lay below the surface so that when you plant you know what you are up against. Understanding and preparing the soil is just as important as planting the seed.

I see the rocks of the story as those things in people’s lives that keep us from really turning over everything to God. It could be an abusive childhood. It could be the struggle of divorce or an unhappy marriage. It could be the realization, in later years, that the dreams of our childhood will never be realized.

Those of us on the surface can look with disdain on those intent on focusing on the emotional and not the deeper things of the spiritual life, or we can take the time to help those struggling with ‘rocky soil’ to withstand the penetrating and painful rays of the sun and destructive winds of life’s pain.

Perhaps the focus in the emotional and the surface things of life are all they can handle for the moment until they are able to remove some of those rocks hidden from view.

That’s what grace is about. Grace is about realizing that everyone we meet has some hidden burdens. It’s about patiently helping to remove the rocks before we can expect roots to grow deeper. Before you dig into someone’s life, know what’s below.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lift up to you those I know who may be struggling with things below the surface I never realized existed. I ask that I might have the insight and patience to help clear the rocks before being concerned about deeper roots. In your name, Amen.

Gifts

March 29, 2014 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

♥️ Take heart!

Gifts

* This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10; NIV).

* In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! (Philippians; 2:5-8; NIV).

*Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13; NIV).

Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the Living God,
The Magi brought you gifts of
Gold, frankincense and myrrh.

We too bow down before you,
Acknowledging your…

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Softened by Grace

March 28, 2014 in Uncategorized | Tags: compassion, Dealing with hate, drought of the soul, gentleness, grace, hardened hearts, Jesus Christ, Matthew 13:4 | 5 comments

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Matthew 13:4

It had hardened soil been a dry summer. The ground was hardened and cracked by the lack of moisture and the penetrating rays of the sun. Then the rain came. It wasn’t just a shower, it was a downpour. Raindrops pelted the ground viciously. Lightning and thunder joined in the onslaught. The ground became a river of mud. Then, it was gone. The sun came out, the skies cleared; the ground dried and once again was hardened.

I talked with an old farmer later that day. I mentioned how nice it was that we finally got some rain. I was surprised by the look of disappointment on his face. He took his hat off and rubbed his scalp.

“Didn’t do much good.” He mumbled as he replaced his hat, “Grounds to hard. Just ran off. What we need is a couple days of soft, gentle rain to soften up the ground so the moisture can get in.”

His words weren’t even out of his mouth when I remembered the story of the Sower and the Seed. Personally, I think the title is misleading. The seed really has little to do with the story. The Sower has some impact of course, but the main emphasis is on soil.

Hardened soil has something in common with hardened hearts. Hardened soil, in particular the hardened soil in this story, became hard because it was part of the roadway. Know what happens with a roadway? It gets trampled on. Day after day, week after week, month after month donkeys and horses and oxen and people walked up and down the path.

Our hearts are like that sometimes aren’t they? We all start out with hope and joy. Watch the wonderment and excitement of infants and toddlers if you don’t believe me. Every event is new. Every object is a chance to explore (and perhaps attempt to eat!)

But something happens to our heart. People, places and events walk all over our soul. At first it hurts. But the more we are trampled the harder we get until we lose all feeling. Then nothing seems to matter anymore.

Hardened soil reminds us of two dangers of hardened hearts. One is a warning of sorts not to become hardened in the first place. Soil, like the heart, never becomes hard when it is nurtured. The only thing I’ve found to keep my heart soft is the realization of how much I am loved by Jesus Christ. People fail me. I fail people. Jesus never fails.

The second danger concerning hardened hearts is the assumption that once a heart is hardened it can never become soft again. This is a tool of the enemy of our souls. Hardened hearts become soft the same way they stay soft, with nurturing. If you pour a bucket of water on hard ground it runs off with little penetration and you may think the situation hopeless. But slowly run a garden hose over the area and after time the water stops running OFF and it runs IN. It takes time, patience and gentleness to soften hard ground. The heart requires it even more.

The same thing is true of a hardened heart. You may not think your kindness is doing any good but time, patience and gentleness, empowered by the love of Christ, can do wonders on a hardened heart.

PRAYER: Lord, I confess to you that my heart has grown hard by the things others have done to me. At times I’ve even blamed you! I’ve grown weary trying to love those you love because their hardness seems impenetrable. May I experience the gentle, penetrating and softening rain of your love in my heart so that I can share it with others. Amen.