Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

Grace in the Wilderness

December 14, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: addictions, Deuteronomy 8:3, God's love, grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, my past, second chances | 2 comments

He took away your pride when he let you get hungry, and then he fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever seen. This was to teach you that a person does not live on bread alone, but by everything the Lord says. Deuteronomy 8:3 (NCV)

Imagine what it must have been like being ripped away from everything you’d ever known. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect situation. The environment was getting more hostile all the time, abuse and murder were becoming common. But at least you had great food, a warm bed to sleep in and a relatively good idea of what tomorrow would be like.

Now, every day is an adventure. Sure, the first few days were okay, even exciting. But the excitement has worn off, patience has worn thin and you can’t bear the thought of one more night in that tent! The beauty of your surroundings has been replaced by wilderness. Not just physically, spiritually too.

This was the plight of those leavingEgyptfor the Promised Land. They were yanked from a situation that was dangerous, yet predictable; secure, yet confining; familiar, although they were foreigners in a far off land.

The wilderness wanderings of God’s people are a beautiful love story of grace. While inEgyptthey were not forgotten. The worse things got for them, the more they called out to a God they barely knew. The beauty of it all is that he heard their cries and delivered them from their enemy.

But deliverance never comes without struggle. Those who struggle with addictive behaviors; are trapped in abusive relationships; are struggling with illness or financial disaster will tell you that. Deliverance doesn’t mean you get to waltz gracefully from imprisonment to freedom without some struggle. The enemy doesn’t give up that easily.

Stuck away in the story of the wilderness wanderings is the story of manna. The story of God’s provision. The story of giving just what each person needs at the time it’s needed.

Manna appeared daily on the floor of the wilderness. It was new every morning to remind the Israelites that God’s love was new every morning as well. Each day was a fresh start.

Manna taught God’s people that yesterday’s failures and victories were to be left behind. Each day was a new chance to see God’s work. In fact, if you tucked manna (your past) away for later use it turned rotten! Yesterday is gone. Today is a new day of God’s grace.

Manna met each persons need individually. Those who gathered too little found that the amount they gathered was just enough for the end of the day. Those who gathered much found that the excess was gone by the end of the day.

Manna, like grace, was personal. I get what I need from God. You get what you need from God. There were no rules, no discussion on who gets what or why. Manna was available to the ‘good, God fearing Israelite’ as well as the rebellious and struggling one. Just as grace through Jesus Christ is available to all regardless of their situation.

With Jesus there is no lack.

There was, of course, a downside to manna, just as there is grace. Not a flaw in grace itself, but a flaw in human thinking. God’s provision was essential for their survival. Yet, soon the Israelites were complaining about manna. They began to take God’s provision for granted. May we never take the grace he’s given for granted. May we never forget the price paid for our freedom: the death of Jesus for our sins.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for the lesson of manna. Help me to see your new provision every day of my life. May your grace always inspire me to live with hope and expectation for what you have for me. Amen.

From Orphan to Child of God

December 13, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: Chosen by God, God's love, grace, Jesus Christ, John 1:12, my past, orphan, trust | 8 comments

But to all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (NCV)

Several years ago some friends of mine adopted a child from a foreign country. As they neared the top of the waiting list they were told by the host country that they’d have 48 hours to arrive at the orphanage once their names ‘were up’. In a sense everything was on hold in their lives knowing that at any moment they would be hopping on a jet plane and flying around the world to meet their new infant.

In talking with the prospective father he told me how excited, nervous and scared he was…all at the same time. Even though they had three children of their own, the excitement of being able to share their love and family stability with this new little life was ‘a chance of a life time.’

I’d forgotten that conversation until recently, when I ran across John 1:12. ‘We’ve been given the right to become children of God.’ Take time to think about what being adopted means in the life of an orphan. They have, for whatever reason has lost parents and family and everything that was stability to them.

There’s the waiting game. Every day seeing other children meeting ‘new people’ who take them away to a new life;
Depending on how long they’ve been an orphan, they may have no concept of parents or family;
Many are victims of some sort of tragedy or trauma;
Most are lonely. Even though the orphanage or foster parents may do their best to offer comfort, there is no comfort like the comfort of the loving arms of mom and dad.
They lack positive role models. People who are in their lives consistently, offering love, stability and direction;
They have no real understanding of a relationship built on love for the reason of love alone;
They don’t have any cheerleaders in their lives. No one to give them a ‘high-five’ and encourage them when the going gets tough. No one to celebrate their victories or stand by them in defeat.
Even after adoption some struggle with the fear that these ‘new parents’ will abandon them.

You may be able to think of other struggles of someone who’s lived the life of an orphan. Now imagine that day when someone walks through that door, looks you straight in the eyes and says, “I choose you. For better or worse, with all your faults, for all time.” Imagine the joy and relief to think you’ve been chosen.

Each and everyone one of us has, to some degree, felt the pain of an orphan. The loneliness, the failure, the desire for someone to come alongside us when we are afraid, we’ve failed, we are sick or lonely. Our Heavenly Father came into our lives, scooped us up in his mighty, powerful and gentle arms, looked us straight in the eyes and said, “I choose you. Period.” It was nothing you did. There was nothing you that made you deserve this love. There is nothing that can take this love from you.

Your heavenly Father is someone you can count on to be there when you are lonely, be your cheerleader in victory or defeat, and to guide you through the rough and tumble journey of life.

PRAYER: Father God. Daddy. Thank you for loving me when I’m unlovely, for supporting me when I fail, encouraging me when I struggle to go on. Thank you for choosing me to be your child. Amen.

A Shelter in the Time of Storm

December 12, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: God, grace, Holy Spirit, James 5:13, Jesus Christ, Job loss, prayer, rebellious children, storms of life, unbelieving spouses | 11 comments

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. James 5:13 (NLT)

The words of an old hymn:

The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, A Shelter in the time of storm;

Secure whatever ill betide, A Shelter in the time of storm.

The words speak of comfort; of protection from life; of security and hope. For every person that calls Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord these words offer us the promise that regardless of how bad things go in our lives, we have a place where we can go to have our needs met.

Imagine climbing a mountain trail. Suddenly a violent storm encloses you. In the distance you see a large hole in a rock wall that is big enough for you to ‘hide’ in. You run to the rock and watch the storm crash around you. The thing that once brought fear (the storm) no becomes a source of awe as you see God’s power unleashed in nature.

Each of us has encountered storms in life. Perhaps you are going through one now. The storm of having a spouse that doesn’t believe in Jesus; a child who is in rebellion; financial pressure; unemployment; health issues or the inner struggle to forgive and let go of bitterness. Prayer should be that rock in which we hide from the storms that surround us.

When people encounter the storms of life they tend to seek advice from others, look for ways of escaping the pain or blame other people for the problem. They’ll try new relationships, new ‘adventures’, different jobs or circles of friends. But those are only temporary fixes. Some will seek books or counselors or even conferences to help weather the storm. But even though these may help, the most powerful thing we can do is pray.

Those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers know that. Some of us even preach that. But do we pray? Talking about prayer may give us some emotional satisfaction.Readingabout prayer may give us insightful information. Going to prayer conferences and ‘prayer houses’ may allow us to see awesome acts of God. But for change in our own life, pray.

Prayer. It’s the most powerful weapon we own as believers. It takes no training to learn its use. It can be done by the youngest and newest believer or by the ‘veteran believer’ steeped in years of experience.

I often have people ask me to pray for them. Sometimes they will say things like, “God listens to you” or “I can’t pray as good as you can.” Prayer isn’t graded. God doesn’t ‘listen’ more to a pastor than he does anyone else. The power of prayer comes from practice and persistence and the presence of the Holy Spirit, not from knowledge.

Prayer. It’s our shelter in the time of storm.

PRAYER: Father I thank you for the shelter you have given me in the midst of the storm. Forgive me for talking about prayer and talking to other people. Help me remember that coming to you is the best weapon I have against the storms I’ll face today. Amen.

Winning!

December 11, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: anxiety, fear, Gods power, Jesus Christ, nations in turmoil, power, Psalm 2:4, worry | 4 comments

In heaven the LORD laughs as he sits on his throne, making fun of the nations. Psalm 2:4 (CEV)

I’m always amused at how some animals don’t get the whole ‘pecking order’ thing. One example that comes to mind is a dog I used to have. My Chocolate Lab/Chesapeake Bay Retriever weighed in around 90 pounds. He was a muscular, fast dog, yet docile as they come. He’d rather play fetch than fight.

Next door to our house was an elderly lady with a small toy poodle. This dog probably weighed in a little over a pound. Yet when she was out in the yard she would come over and bark at my dog, run around him, try to pick a fight. It was obvious she was angry and ready to defend her territory to the end…obvious except perhaps to Charlie, my Lab.

One time in particular ‘the rat dog’ saw Charlie sleeping in the shade. She came flying across the yard barking like a banshee. I watched as Charlie opened one eye to look directly into the barking face of a little dog no more than six inches away. He lifted his head for a moment (maybe to focus?), then, seeing who it was put his head down and went back to his nap.

My dog could have put an end to the confrontation in an instant, yet he chose to ignore the aggressor. The poodle continued its barrage of verbal assault until her owner ‘called her off.’ The smaller dog trotted victoriously across the yard, apparently convinced she’d defeated the threat.

Psalm 2 talks about angry nation’s intent on destroying God, or the concept of God. They throw all sorts of ‘attacks’ heavenward. Yet our Father looks on with a smirk on his face. We as Christ-followers get angry at the way our faith is attacked. We worry about how God’s name will be hurt by this, or religion will be destroyed by that. We look at politicians and economic systems as being a threat to our existence.

In the meantime, like my Lab Charlie, God looks down from heaven and shrugs his shoulders. Nothing to worry about. In fact, the scripture implies he is even somewhat amused by man’s attempts to thwart his plan.

Our heavenly Father isn’t worried about terrorism. Our almighty God isn’t fazed by the economic uncertainty and the predicted upcoming collapse of the world economy. He’s not overwhelmed by the complexity of the global political climate. There is nothing in the seen and the unseen world that will detract from the fulfillment of his plan. You can trust him.

PRAYER: Almighty God and heavenly Father. There are many things in this world that worry me right now. My own finances, my relationships, my physical strength to carry on. Help me to remember that nothing that is going on around me worries you. Nothing I’m going through will keep you from fulfilling your plan. Empower me with your Spirit to walk bravely with you. Amen.

The Source of Our Anger

December 10, 2011 in Uncategorized | Tags: anger, anxiety, fear, God's love, grace, Jesus Christ, Psalm 2:1-3, slavery to God | Leave a comment

Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” Psalm 2:1-3 (NLT)

We live in an angry world. That’s no secret to anyone who is paying any attention at all to their surroundings. On a global level nearly every nation in the world is feeling the effects of unrest, from peaceful protests to violent exchanges resulting in 1,000’s of deaths.

Within the home anger thrives as well. Husbands and wives clashing because ‘rights’ and ‘needs’ aren’t being met by the other. Anger that drives them to affairs, divorce, violence or even murder and suicide. Children rebelling against the ways of their parents. Casting off the ‘old, irrelevant religion’ of mom and dad for a new way of thinking that places their own ability at the center of the quest for meaning to life. Their search for that meaning leads to apathy, frustration and…anger.

We don’t verbalize it of course, but the foundation of our anger is the need for meaning in life. The catalyst in our quest is Satan. He put the seeds of doubt in the mind of Eve in the garden and has been doing so ever since. Satan, the great enemy of our souls, blamed God for harsh rules then, he’s doing it today.

As humans we are slaves to one power or another. There are no choices in that regard. We can choose to be slaves to the devious plans of the enemy, or we can choose to be slaves to the power of God. The former leads to frustration, hopelessness and anger. The latter leads to hope, faith and a life of fulfillment that started this quest in the first place. The former says, “I’m in charge of my own destiny. My success and happiness is my own responsibility.” Jesus says, “Your happiness and protection are my responsibility. I bring all the power of the almighty, loving God into our relationship for your good.”

The world says “Let’s free ourselves from slavery to God” but Jesus says, “Let me take the chains of slavery that cause your anger, fear and frustration from you.” The choice is yours. Will you continue to fight against God or will you choose to live in the freedom only Jesus can offer?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m surrounded by angry people. I feel the effects of my own anger rising up as I deal with the frustrations of life. Within me I want to fix it myself, but in reality know I can’t. Forgive my anger and rebellion. Empower me to live in the freedom (not the chains) of your love. Amen.