Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

Birthday Thoughts

July 8, 2013 in Uncategorized | Tags: believing in myself, divorce, failure, forgiveness, grace, Job 19:25, never give up, value of friendship | 6 comments

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Job 19:25

Yesterday I spent my birthday doing something I’ve had a life-long love for which was instilled in me by my father at a very young age. I’ve always loved preaching. I remember lining up the kitchen chairs and inviting my brothers to ‘church’. Sometimes they came. Sometimes I just spoke to empty chairs.

The lesson for the day was how we should always be ready to tell others of what Jesus has done in our lives. Growing up in a pastor’s family I have to admit that I always admired the testimony other people had. I enjoyed listening to how Jesus had saved them from the pain of abuse and the power of addiction. I envied their stories because, in my shallow way of thinking at the time, I saw my life as boring, uninteresting and void of anything to share.

Now, at the age of 59, I look back on that thought process and wonder what I was thinking. I also look back over those years since then and marvel at God’s wonderful grace.

If you had told me ten years ago that I’d return to a position in which I’d be able to teach the Word of God I’d have scoffed at you. I was divorced, fighting legal problems and on the edge of bankruptcy. It seems in most church circles legal problems and financial issues are forgivable. Divorce is not.

Maybe that’s why I’m so much in love with a Lord and Savior who consistently brought people into my life individually and through the written word to show me that although man’s grace is limited, God’s grace is unconditional and unlimited.

Maybe that’s why I’m so thankful for my wife and best friend as well as a few other people in my life who refused to give up on me; refused to let me give up on myself.

Maybe that’s why I’m so thankful for my church family at ZionLutheranChurch. They know I’m not perfect. They know I’m flawed; that I have bruises and weaknesses. They know they have the same struggles. And so we travel this journey together seeking the Divine Guidance we need to draw other like-minded, wounded people to a savior, a redeemer that lives.

The older I get the more I realize I don’t know. But I know my redeemer lives and a living redeemer is enough. Today I begin a new year of pilgrimage. I don’t know where it will lead, but I know who will lead me through it.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, while others may mark my life as a failure or question my walk with you, I thank you that you love me as I am. Give me strength to walk with you in the days ahead. Amen.

Conquering Inadequacy

July 6, 2013 in Uncategorized | Tags: 1 Corinthians 1:7, fear of failing, grace, inadequacy, insecurity, spiritual gifts, successful thinking, trust | 2 comments

Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7 (NLT)

Feeling inadequate?

One time I was coaching basketball. It was one of the first games of the season and the first game of ‘school ball’ for the girls on my team. Early in the game one of the kids who’d shown some real potential in practice got the ball just outside the lane. She had an open shot at the basket, but looked to pass the ball off to one of her teammates, all of whom were well guarded. I called to her from the bench and said, “Shoot the ball!”

It was as if the thought had never occurred to her. She looked at the basket tentatively and then threw up a shot that hit nothing but net. That was over 15 years ago now and I still remember the look of jubilation, shock and excitement in her face. Later she told me she didn’t think she could make the basket. She went on to be one of my top scorers.

So what kept her from shooting the ball in a game when she did it often in practice? A feeling of inadequacy. I knew she had the skills and ability. I’d seen it in practice. She on the other hand had herself believing that her skill level wasn’t adequate.

The most successful people in the world are those who overcome their feelings of inadequacy and move forward in spite of them. They see a problem as a challenge, not an obstacle. They have no time for the reasons that something can’t be done, the look for ways it CAN be done.

When Jesus left the disciples on the hillside outside Jerusalem he reminded them of their challenge while he was gone. They would be his witnesses. This bunch of uneducated, obscure men and women were left with the challenge of starting a whole new movement. But he didn’t leave them without power. He didn’t leave them without the gifts they would need to accomplish the task of building relationships and teaching about him.

Paul says, “Now you have every spiritual gift you need.”

Few outside ministry realize the huge feelings of inadequacy we in ministry face every week. Our reminder, whether our ministry is up front or in the corner; at the church or in the workplace; as a career person or a stay-at-home parent is this. You have all the gifts you need to accomplish your task. Go in the power of the Holy Spirit and act within your giftedness to do the work of reconciliation.

PRAYER: Father, even though I ‘know’ you have empowered me, I still feel weak. I still fight the false feelings of inadequacy. Help me to live in the power of your Spirit and the realm of my giftedness in Jesus name, Amen.

Trust During Distress

June 15, 2013 in Uncategorized | Tags: accepting rejection, dealing with distress, dysfunctional families, Genesis 42:21, guilt, Joseph sold into slavery, Trusting God | 3 comments

They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.” Genesis 42:21 (NIV)

It’s a story I have heard from my youth. Joseph, just a boy of perhaps 18 was a dreamer. He was the favored son of his father and a source of contention among his brothers. So much so that when the opportunity came, these brothers sold their brother into slavery and told his father that he’d been killed by some unknown, but savage beast.

The disadvantage to seeing the end of the story is that you forget to contemplate what was going on emotionally for those involved. Judah, the ringleader of the brothers wanted Joseph out of the way once and for all. Rueben fought for the integrity of family and his father.

Imagine for a moment, if you will, the anguish of Joseph that day. We remember him more as the good looking and wiser ruler that led Egypt through famine and won the safety of his family. But that day near the old well, it was a different story.

Don’t forget for a moment that the story of Joseph, like any story in the Bible or any other book is a story about real people with real feelings and real emotions. These were the guys Joseph played football with on Sunday afternoons. These were the guys that Joseph learned tending livestock from. These were the guys who helped him put the first worm on his hook and cheered as he pulled in his really big fish.

As Joseph was led away behind the caravan of camels it wasn’t just his brothers he saw disappear over the horizon, it was everything he remembered. He left the arms of his father to deliver food and to the best of his knowledge would never see dad again. Some of us have an adventurers’ heart. Launching out into the great unknown has a certain romance to it. The adventurer chooses to leave the well-known for the unknown. That can’t be said for Joseph. As he was led away he saw his very future being ripped from his hands.

Fast forward now twenty years into the life of Joseph. Somewhere in his life Joseph made a decision to trust God. Read his story in Genesis and you’ll see the presence of God in his life mentioned repeatedly. Whether it was before he was sold into slavery or after, somewhere along the line Joseph made a decision to make the best of every situation and to realize that regardless of what happened God was in control. Because God was in control his ‘duty’, so to speak was to serve this God to the best of his ability.

Like Joseph, there are those times when life deals us a horrible hand of cards. There are those people and those events that seem destined to ruin us and destroy us. But we don’t see the end of the story. We must focus on a God we can trust to know better than we do how life should go. We must rely on the one who sees the end of the story to get us through the middle chapters.

PRAYER: Father, during those times when life seems hopeless and I’m not sure I can continue on, help me remember how you used the abuse Joseph suffered to save the lives of his family. Help me serve you faithfully during my distress. Amen.

The “You Are” Statements of Jesus: You are Witnesses

June 14, 2013 in Uncategorized | Tags: Accepting Christ, Acts 1:8, faith, grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, testimony, the YOU ARE statements of Jesus, witnessing | 4 comments

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The ’YOU ARE’ statements remind us of the great love the Father has for us. Our Heavenly Father is a relational God. By that I mean that he earnestly desires relationship. Since we are made in his image, we too are relational beings.

Jesus said we are salt and light to those around us. He says our complete dependence on him is crucial for our existence. We are intimate friends of the Almighty God and creator/sustainer of the universe. Today, we look at one final ‘YOU ARE’ statement that Jesus makes regarding us. That statement is found in Acts 1:8. Jesus and his disciples are gathered on a hillside outside Jerusalem.

Imagine the emotions of his followers at this time. They had walked with Jesus for about three years. They’d seen the power of God manifest in him through healings and his teachings. They’d experienced the power of God in their own ministries. Then, in a whirlwind of activity, Jesus was brutally murdered only to rise again three days later! I can’t imagine how they must have felt.

Then Jesus utters the words of Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After saying this, he ascends into heaven. Amazing. Simply amazing.

His final words to us leave us with both a description of who we are and a challenge for how we should be. We are his witnesses. In order to understand what that really means we need to think for a moment of what Jesus is NOT telling us.

First of all, he tells us we are witnesses, not judges. Judges determine what is right or wrong. Judges determine our guilt or innocence. Judges have the power to sentence us for our sin, to condemn us. Yet when Jesus was face to face with the adulteress in John 8, he says, ‘neither do I condemn thee.’ John 3:17 states that Jesus didn’t come into the world to judge or condemn the world but to bring life to those who need forgiveness. In the same way, we are not called to condemn others for their sin, but to show them the way to life and forgiveness.

Jesus didn’t call us to be lawyers either. A lawyer spends his or her time defending the one position or another. They scrutinize the law and try to prove or disprove one’s guilt. In some cases they aren’t really concerned about what the truth is, they are more concerned about proving their position.

Jesus didn’t call us to be judges or lawyers. He calls us his witnesses. In reality, a witness only has one job and that job is to tell what they have seen or experienced. Like the old line says, “Nothing but the facts”, that’s the job of the witness. An expert witness is one that knows a great deal about the subject to which they testify.

In Luke 24 Jesus says, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

A good witness isn’t responsible to evaluate motives or analyze a situation. They simply record what they have seen and experienced. Our job as witnesses is to simply show others by word and deed what we have seen and experienced with Jesus Christ. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t understand everything about God. There are many questions I have regarding how he works in this world; why some prayers seem to be answered and some don’t; why world tragedies happen and innocent people die.

I can’t answer a lot of these questions, but what I can tell you is what Jesus Christ has done for me. I can tell you about the peace I have in the midst of my failures. I can tell you how I have experienced forgiveness when I didn’t deserve it. I can tell you how, when I’m afraid or worried, he comforts me.

When Peter and John were brought before the religious leaders, they were told to stop healing people and stop talking about Jesus. Their response was, “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) That should be the motto for each of us as we make our way along the path we call life.

Being Jesus’ witness doesn’t mean we are super-evangelists like Billy Graham or other great preachers. Being Jesus’ witness doesn’t require special training. It certainly doesn’t mean you need to be a pastor. In fact, people are more likely to listen to you as a witness if you AREN’T a pastor or evangelist. What people really want to know is what Jesus has done for you.

Peter tells us we should always be ready to give an answer for why we have hope in Jesus. Again, not a well polished sermon, just a word of hope. He says in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Jesus says, “When (NOT IF) you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12). In other words, I believe one of our prayers every day should be that we will have opportunities to tell others what Jesus has done for us, and that the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say.

Jesus says we ARE witnesses. It’s not a question of IF we are a witness, but how good of a witness are we? It’s not a question of how good you are, it’s a question of how good he is! It’s not about having all the right answers; it’s about knowing what he’s done for you.

My prayer for us today is that we will live in such a way that others notice a difference in our words, our actions and our attitudes, and that when they ask us why we are different we will have the words to testify, to witness what Jesus has done for us (Matthew 5:16)

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the opportunity I’ve had this week to share the ‘YOU ARE’ statements you have made about us. I pray now for my brothers and sisters in you. I ask that we might go forth as living witnesses to your grace, mercy and forgiveness. I pray for anyone who has not experienced your touch. I ask that they may find the peace only you can offer. In your name I pray, Amen.

The “You Are” Statements of Jesus: You are my Friend

June 13, 2013 in Uncategorized | Tags: forgiveness, friendship, grace, John 15:15, loyalty, trust, You are Jesus friend, You Are statements of Jesus | 4 comments

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

We’re looking at the ‘YOU ARE’ statements of Jesus. The ‘YOU ARE’ statements of Jesus remind us of the identity we have through our faith in Christ. Jesus never indicated in his teaching that his followers would be obscure and unprepared for the challenges before them. Quite the opposite. We are the salt that brings out the best in the world; we are the light to guide the world to fulfillment; we are so intertwined with the Son of God that others would be hard-pressed to see the difference between us and Him.

Now, Jesus moves further yet. Salt, light and abiding in him bring us into a friendship like none other. The fourth of our ‘YOU ARE’ statements is one that we tend to forget most often. Jesus tells us in John 15:15 that, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Think about what that verse is really saying. Jesus, the Son of God, the one who stood beside the Father and helped him create this beautiful world we live in calls us friends. Too often we get wrapped up in religious tradition and focus on the theology of scripture and, in so doing, lose the significance of the fact that God wants to be friends with you.

What must it have been like in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool evening air. The human couple, no doubt, had so many questions to ask their friend, and he enjoyed their company immensely.

That friendship was lost when Adam and Eve fell into sin. The whole story of mankind is God’s attempt at regaining the friendship he lost with us as a result of sin. That’s why Jesus came to die on the cross. It wasn’t just to forgive our sins. It wasn’t just so we could live in eternity with Christ in Heaven. It was because he wanted to restore a lost and cherished friendship with us.

When I was about 6 years old, my family spent an entire summer living in a small, borrowed cottage on a lake. A few cottages down from us, another family moved in to spend the summer as well. I was excited because this family had a boy my age. My new found friend and I played from sunrise to sunset exploring the shoreline, walking nearby trails, having all sorts of adventures.

One day we got into a horrible argument. I don’t remember to this day what it was about, but I do remember spending the next two or three days without my friend because we refused to talk with one another. I remember the loneliness. I remember the sadness. When good friends fight it cuts a part of you out.

I also remember reconciling the relationship. We both said we were sorry. There were a few moments of awkwardness, and then, as if nothing had happened, we were off on some new, exciting, great adventure. Our friendship was restored!

When Jesus says, I no longer call you servants, I call you friends, what he’s really doing is calling us back to the relationship he’d always wanted to have with us. A relationship that sin has kept us from having with him.

Sin isn’t a very popular term in our society. We like to call it poor choices, bad decisions or any number of other things. But the fact is, sin is sin and it separates us from a God who wants to befriend us but simply can’t outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

So, what does friendship with Jesus look like? I want to leave you with an acronym that reminds us of true friendship in our earthly realm and, especially with God through Jesus Christ. The acronym is the word CRUSH. Now, you might think it’s an odd acronym because usually we associate this word with passing feeling temporary infatuation, but bear with me on that part.

The C in CRUSH stands for Confidant. Jesus says, in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

A good friend is one who is willing to confide in you about their deepest, darkest secrets. They are comfortable telling you their true feelings because they know they can trust you and that you won’t think less of them for how they feel.

Friendship with Jesus means he is willing to listen to our struggles, but not only that, he wants to help us understand life, others, and God himself. The deeper our friendship with Jesus, the easier it is to understand life.

The R in CRUSH stands for Reliable. Proverbs 18:24 says “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Reliable friends are friends you can trust. They won’t lead you into things you shouldn’t be in. They won’t drag you into gossip or other activities that tarnish your relationship with family, God or others. You can trust a reliable friend to think of your best interests. You can trust Jesus to think of your best interests too.
The U in CRUSH stands for Understanding. Proverbs 17:17 tells us that “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” Loyal friends understand your feelings. They may not agree with them, but they will stand by you. Who better to understand you than Jesus? He was there when you were formed in your mothers womb. He has watched you grow up, been there through the struggles, sees your pain, your emotional scars, your fears, your worries. He will always be there for you.
The S in CRUSH stands for Sincere. Proverbs 27:5-6 tells us, ‘Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.’ This verse reminds us that good friends are sincere. When they see you on a slippery path to destruction they will warn you of the consequences; they may try to show you the error of your ways. But they will always do so in love. They will always stand by you even if you make the wrong choices.
The H in CRUSH stands for Healing. The ultimate sacrifice is the sacrifice of one’s life for another. Jesus said, in John 15:13, ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’

We celebrate the heroes of our lives, but the greatest hero of all is Jesus Christ. He gave his life so we can live, not only here on earth, but in eternity with him. By giving his life for us we can be healed or forgiven of our sins. He is a friend we can count on, and he earnestly wants to have a deepening friendship with us.

My prayer for us today is that we will remember that Jesus wants to grow deeper in friendship with us. There is nothing you have done, or will do that will cause him to longer be your friend. He offers you forgiveness and strength to face the battles ahead.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m amazed that you would choose to be my friend. Thank you for giving your life for me and that you base your love for me on who you are and not on what I can do for you. In your name I pray, Amen.