Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

The Most Wonderful Christmas Gift of All

December 24, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: 2 Corinthians 9:15, born in a manger, Christmas Gift, forgiveness, God's love, grace, Jesus, Jesus Christ | Leave a comment

Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NLT)

It’s amazing to me that as bad as the economy is, spending this Christmas Season has been very, very good for many retailers. Maybe you’ve seen the news reports on TV. Perhaps you’ve noticed, as I have, that the carts people are pushing to the check-out counters are full of high-ticket items such as TV’s, Computers, Video games, and other fancy techno-toys.

I love Christmas. I love to watch the wonder and excitement in the eyes of the kids as they open the boxes and giggle or shout with glee over the gift they’ve been given. I’ve chuckled at the times when the actual toy was set aside and the box it came in became the favorite ‘toy’!

In a few short hours we’ll be attacking the pile of gifts under the tree. There are a few gifts that I’m sure will cause quite a stir. I can’t wait to see the faces of the girls when they open that one particular box. Times are tough, but God has blessed. This Christmas will be a good one.

But with all the tinsel and all the glitter. In the midst of the food and the gifts and the hugs and the thank-you’s. Nothing compares to the first Christmas gift ever given to us, the birth of Jesus Christ.

Every gift opened this year across the world will someday break, become worn out, grow out of style or for some other reason become unusable. Not Jesus! This gift was given to last for eternity. It was given to a person (me) who was the last person on earth to deserve such a gift. It was given to me long before I knew I needed it and in spite of my unworthiness.

A little babe born in a manger, a King come down to show us the way to forgiveness and eternal life. The perfect one who lay down his life so I could live. Ah, Jesus. My Savior. My Lord. My Friend. You have been, you are and you will be the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received. There are not enough words in all the languages of the world to express my gratitude for your grace, mercy, forgiveness, patience and love you have given me.

PRAYER: Father God, I thank you and praise you for this gift most marvelous gift you have given me. I am so unworthy. I am without words. Alleluia. Amen.

Finding God’s Favor

December 23, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: agnostic, atheist, God, God's favor, grace, Jesus Christ, legalism, man's wisdom, Proverbs 8:35, religion | 1 comment

“For he who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD.” Proverbs 8:35 (NASB)

How does one find favor with God?

To the Atheist or Agnostic the answer is simple. We are on our own. By sheer human effort we will make the world a better place because there is nothing other than what we see here. Mankind’s determination, education and provision (of money) will eventually see the eradication of violence, illness and death. Not a very promising future. Over the centuries we can see that man’s efforts to make life better have been fruitless, and, frankly, if this life is all we have to look forward to we are hopeless indeed. I love life. I love the beauty of this world, but my passion is for a better place.

Religion tells you that your best bet is to live morally. Morality, of course, is what you make it at the time. “I can live with my boyfriend/girlfriend as long as I’m faithful. God will understand. My parents went through divorce and I don’t want that to happen to me so I won’t marry.”

Statistics show, however, that rationalization like this about relationships doesn’t work. And morality that is dependent on our own standards leads to anarchy. Mankind has proven that he can not govern himself without standards that are ‘divinely ordained’.

Religion of another flavor will tell you that you have to jump through certain hoops to gain God’s favor and eternal life. Things like baptism or church attendance or community action or a whole list of other things are laid out for you. Follow the guidelines and you’ll have a chance. No thank you. I can play the lottery and have a chance at winning millions too. I’ll waste an occasional dollar on a lottery, but my eternal life is a little too important to play Russian roulette with, thank you.

Even ‘christianity’ (small c intentional) will tell you that accepting Jesus isn’t enough. To be a good Christian you need to follow a particular dogma, worship in a certain tradition, sing approved songs, read a certain version of the Bible… (The list is endless).

Bottom line is this. Man’s wisdom will lead you to frustration, confusion and anger. God’s wisdom leads to favor with God. So what’s the secret to finding favor with God? Jesus Christ. That’s it. Nothing more.

Let that sink in a moment. Having the Creator God look upon you with favor? Can there be anything more amazing than that? All your struggling, all your striving, all your activity to try to make you better, the world better or your neighbor better won’t bring you any closer to finding God’s favor. It’s not about activity, it’s about grace. Godly wisdom teaches us that relationship trumps activity every time. Don’t sell out to those who say you have to do something in addition to Jesus. He’s all you need.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I get so tired of trying to please others, please myself and please you. Help me to live with the wisdom that teaches me that all I need for your favor is Jesus. Thank you for that awesome truth. Amen.

More than the Angels Sang

December 22, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: angel choirs, babe in the manger, creation sings, God's love, Jesus Christ, joy to the world, Luke 2:11, true meaning of Christmas | Leave a comment

Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. Luke 2:11 (NCV)

Jesus is born! The Messiah! The Savior! The Lord! He’s here! Right now! The promised one!

Can we even really imagine the excitement of that night on a lonely hill outside the small town ofBethlehem? We are told the angels sang, that they announced the birth of the savior. But who else was singing?

Years later when Jesus rode intoJerusalemamong the cheering crowds he was rebuked by the Pharisees and told to keep the crowd from praising him. His response? “If these people keep quiet the rocks themselves will shout out praise!”

Later, Paul would write, in Romans 8:22, that ‘creation groans’ awaiting the salvation that Christ would bring on his return.

So, were just the angels singing that night? Angels, remember, aren’t omniscient. They watched this spectacle unfold like the rest of us. This was their king. This was the one who they tended to in Heaven, now he was gone for a few years to walk among the humans! To mingle with this creation that the Bible tells us was made for him and by him. He was THE Lord!

Did the rocks struggle to contain themselves when the angels sang? Did the sheep in the pasture feel an unexplained joy when they heard the news? Were trees of the field stretching just a little closer to heaven that night as they rejoiced?

In the manger scene we see symbolized around the world, were the animals struggling for position to see this one whom they knew as Lord? Did even they feel something we humans didn’t understand?

This was something new! This was something unheard of! The creator of the world would now walk in his creation. The Lord of the universe left his throne to mingle with the very ones he formed from the dust. The master had returned to his home.

Today as I contemplate this verse I think it was much more than an announcement by an angelic choir. That one night all of creation stood in amazement and awe. The master designer was back to walk physically where he hadn’t walked since the day he created the world. To walk once again, side by side with the sons of Adam and Eve.

This Christmas season let us not lose sight of the awesome miracle that took place that night. The earth rejoiced in his coming. We would never be the same.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus. Amongst the glitter and lights, nestled in with the brightly colored packages and the joyful music, as I enjoy the company of those I love. Let me not forget that this night, long ago, would change all of us forever. Thank you that as my creator you also came to be my Lord and Savior. May I never lose sight of your extreme love for me. Amen.

Things that Bump in the Night

December 21, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: being decieved, Daniel, Daniel 2:22, faith, fear, fear in the darkness, God, Jesus Christ, trust | 2 comments

He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and light is all around him. Daniel 2:22 (NCV)

I love to camp. There is just something about the great outdoors and falling asleep to the soft noises of the night…most of the time. Several years ago I was camping alone in a favorite, nearby state park. At that time I had a small two man tent, just big enough to be cozy and warm in. The site next to me was occupied by a couple of young men. I watched them occasionally from my campfire as I read. In a word, they were strange.

They arrived shortly after I did on Friday night and set up camp. From the start it was obvious they didn’t camp much as they didn’t look prepared to camp at all. Shortly after their arrival they put up pieces of paper on the trees in their sight and then walked away. My curiosity overwhelmed me so I went to check on the paper. They were just a bunch of weird designs. Nothing made sense about these two the rest of the evening.

That night I was awakened by a strange noise. It sounded like someone fighting. No yelling, but the sound of punch after punch finding its mark. Then…silence. A few moments later I heard something that sounded like a body being drug through the woods. Had there been a murder? Was I fully awake or partially dreaming? I didn’t know. I knew one thing though. I was scared!

The sound came closer to my little tent and I froze. I didn’t dare look outside, and didn’t know if I was in danger or not! Then a new sound. The sound of a nearby tree cracking and slowly falling to the ground. I braced for impact. Then, nothing. Complete silence. As you can probably imagine, I didn’t sleep much the rest of the night.

The next morning my friends next door left. I noticed a small tree had fallen on the other side of my campsite, several yards from my tent. To this day I have no idea what I heard or what went on that night. As I thought through things the next morning I ascertained that most likely the thumping sounds were made by a passing bear and the tree could have fallen victim to that bear or just fallen from natural causes.

Physical darkness can be fearful for us, but physical darkness is nothing like the fear we in broad daylight. Those times when we wonder what is going on in secret before our eyes. Evil surrounds us. We question the motives of friends and foe, family members or co-workers.

Making it through the times of emotional or spiritual darkness involves trust and trust, on the human plane is risky at best. We trust our lover and then find we’ve been cheated on. We trust our employers until we hear our jobs are on the line. We trust our children until the police car pulls into the driveway.

Daniel was faced with a challenge. His life depended on the answer he would give. I don’t think Daniel was worried. He didn’t trust the King. He didn’t trust the men surrounding him. But he did trust his God.

You may be going through a period of time in your life when you are confused or scared by what you see around you. You may be nursing the wounds of being cheated on, lied about or deceived. You may have lost faith in all mankind and even started questioning God. During times of fear and confusion trust is the hardest thing to grasp ahold of and the most important thing to cling to.

We may not always know what is going on in the ‘darkness’ of our lives. We can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our loving, gracious and merciful Father knows. We may have to endure a few times when we don’t understand what is going on around us. But he is a God of light. He doesn’t give light. He IS light. In his perfect time all things will be exposed. You can trust him to see you through the darkness.

PRAYER: Father God, I know these words are true, but it doesn’t make it much easier right now to be honest. I’m scared. I’m worried. I’m hurt. Everyone I’ve trusted has failed me, but I ask that you would empower me to trust you in the darkness. Amen.

Prerequisites for Grace

December 20, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: forgiveness, God, grace, humiliated., humility, James 4:6, Jesus Christ, patient | Leave a comment

But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 (NCV

I have a friend I’ll call Jim. Jim is one of the most kind, gentle and wise men I know. He’s got a very demanding job and even though it gets stressful, I’ve heard him comment on the struggles of his job, but never the people he serves. I’m guessing from the way I see him interact with his wife of 30 years that he’s a good husband. They still hold hands, still talk openly of their love for each other, still respect the opinions of each other. Looking at his children, he must be a good dad. Family time is frequent and even though they all have families of their own, joint family vacations are an annual event. Watching the glee with which his grandchildren scramble to him, he’s a good grandpa too.

On a spiritual plane, Jim not only knows the Bible, he has the uncanny ability to take some of the most complicated truths of God’s word and bring them to a level even a child could understand. He’s a great teacher in his words as well as his actions. He doesn’t get into meaningless arguments and when he speaks, his words are hard to refute.

So why to I give you all this information? Because Jim is constantly talking about his need for grace and how undeserving he is of God’s love! I still shake my head on that one. He’s the most humble and faultless man I know. Sure he’s human, but compared to some others I know (especially me) he’s the most deserving person I know to receive God’s grace.

Human logic would agree with me that people like Jim are deserving of grace and receive more grace because of the way they act. James 4:6 would even appear, on the surface, to support that notion.

The problem with that argument is that God has given each of us the full measure of his grace available. People that are humble don’t receive more grace, they are more aware of their need of grace.

Too often people confuse being humble with being humiliated. To be humiliated means that my opinion of myself, or the opinions others have of me tells me that I’m completely worthless and hopeless. I have no future. I am of no earthly value.

Being humble, on the other hand, means I’m well aware of my inability to live the life I desire apart from the power of God. I have worth. I have ability. I have gifts and talents the benefit mankind. But I have them simply because of God’s grace. Humility simply means we realize our need.

The more humble we are, the more we realize our need for forgiveness and the effect our weaknesses have on our relationships with God, others and ourselves. The more we realize our need for forgiveness the more willing we are to forgive those who don’t deserve our forgiveness. The more we realize our need, the more patient we are with the faults and shortcomings of others.
Does God favor the humble more than others? Certainly not! The humble person favors God more because he realizes that without God he can never realize the potential he has through God.

The more we realize our need for God’s grace, the more that grace becomes available to us.

PRAYER: Lord God, I thank you for who I am. I thank you for my gifts, my talents, my abilities. I thank you that I am your masterpiece. But most of all, I thank you for your grace that empowers me to live to my fullest potential through your power, not my own. Help me live grace-fully in the presence of others so they are drawn to you. Amen.