Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

The Healing Touch

January 16, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: healing, Jesus, Jesus Christ, relationship, Restoration, second chances | Leave a comment

She was thinking to herself, “If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well.” Jesus turned – caught her at it. Then he reassured her: “Courage, daughter. You took a risk of faith, and now you’re well.” The woman was well from then on. Matthew 9:21-22

It had been twelve long agonizing years. Nothing the doctors could do to help. In her day medicine was far less effective than it is today. Not only was there physical fatigue from the constant blood loss, there was the religious and social stigma as well. She may as well have been a leper! According to the Law she was unclean.

We only know her as the woman ‘with the issue of the blood’! A few short verses and she’s gone. Just a blip on the screen of Scripture. But there is something that I admire about her and that is her tenacity. I’m not sure many of us can really comprehend the social, emotional, spiritual and of course physical struggle this woman must have endured throughout those 12 years.

It would have been easy to give up. No one would have blamed her if she had turned into an angry, bitter woman, yet we see none of that. It would have been completely understandable if she’d turned her back on God in anger for the ‘injustice’ that fell upon her.

Something drove her to that street that day. Something deep down inside her never let her give up hope that someday, somehow God would heal her. That’s courage. That is quiet strength. The refusal to let anything keep us from pursuing God’s best for us, even when all the odds seem stacked against us.

Don’t give up. John Eldredge talks about ‘the great wound’ as being that event or events in our past that have hurt us deeply and can keep us from trusting God completely. Just as He did with this woman, Jesus has come to heal the wound that each of us bears. By His touch the wound can be healed.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I thank you that you know the pain that I’ve been bearing for so long. I thank you that even during those times when I feel all alone you are there, waiting for me to come into your arms. I reach out to you today. I touch the fringes of your robe and ask you to heal me. I love you. Thank you for loving me. Amen

Move Out of the Box!

January 15, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: freedom, relationship, Restoration, second chances | 1 comment

“Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, the pour new wine in to new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 5:17

Ok. I admit it. Change comes hard for me. I like consistency. I like to know things will be the same for me today and tomorrow and the next year! Familiarity breeds comfort. But, alas, familiarity can also breed boredom! A life of ‘same-ness’ oozes boredom and stagnancy.

When Jesus came on the scene in Israel, the religious community was pretty comfy. The Priests and Pharisees had put together a secure list of do’s and don’ts so that everyone would know exactly what was expected of them and of how God would act in each situation. The people knew who to be with, when do be with them, what to do when they were with them and where to go. It was a pretty safe, sterile environment. Comfy. But it was also empty.

Then Jesus came along and ‘messed everything up’! Things changed when He entered a town, talked and ate with sinners and broke the rules about the Sabbath. The old ways wouldn’t work anymore. The rules mad had made up would be replaces by relationship. RELATIONSHIP TRUMPS RULES EVERY TIME!

One day, Jesus was confronted about his radical ways. He reminded those in attendance about the ‘rule of the wineskins’. The rule of the wineskins went like this. Wineskins were made of leather. When the wineskin was new and supple it would expand as the wine fermented, thus preserving both the leather and the wine.

Putting ‘new wine’ into an old wineskin was a recipe for disaster. As the wine fermented it would expand against the brittle walls of the old leather and cause it to burst. Both the wine and the wineskin were ruined!

When we ask Jesus Christ into our lives He makes everything new. He’s the ‘new wine’, we are the new wineskin. We are new creatures. As new creations we don’t need to operate under the old system of guilt, shame and feeling like we are failures. We can leave all that behind and move on to the great things God has in store for us.

It’s time for new thinking. It’s time to dream big. This new way of thinking starts by realizing who we are. We are children of the Heavenly Father, the King of the universe and He has new, exciting plans for each of us. You are loved by Him more than anything, just because you are who you are.

Our Heavenly Father has given us everything we need to succeed. Success God’s way isn’t measured the same way the world measures success. Success God’s way is on the inside. It’s the contentment we feel knowing who we are. It’s the peace and joy we feel as a result of our salvation and relationship with Him.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank you for showing us a life without limits. Forgive me for my lack of belief in your desire and ability to empower me to live life to the fullest. Help me to live daily in your peace. Amen.

Life isn’t learned in a Vacuum

January 14, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: addictions, anger, anxiety, blindness, changed lives, church, compassion, death, denial, devotional, divorce, embarrassment, failure, fear, freedom, God, guilt, understanding | 1 comment

Love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Learning how to ‘do life’ isn’t done in a vacuum. Who would feel comfortable with a surgeon who told you just before you enter the operating room that “I’ve never really seen a surgery or done one before. but I’ve read lots of books on it and watch Grey’s Anatomy on TV so I think we should be okay.”

How comfortable would we be as airline passengers if the pilot came on and said, “Okay, now. This should be fun. As soon as I can figure out which button to push to turn the engines on I think we’ll be on our way. I’ve never flown a real plane before, but I had a radio controlled one as a kid. How hard can it be?”

None of us would go to surgery or fly a plane with the above mentioned situation. We are putting our very lives in their hands. We want to know that they will be fully equipped and experienced to handle every situation that may present itself. While not many of us will be pilots or surgeons, the experiences of our lives can have profound effects on those around us without us even being aware of it.

One of the reasons Jesus was such an effective teacher is that He used life experiences to teach eternal truths. It’s in the everyday events of life that we can show those around us the Christ-life. Too often we tend to separate our ‘real life’ with our ‘Christ-life’ but that isn’t reality. Jesus came to live among us to show us that the journey can be long and hard, but that with His power in us we can change our world.

Every situation doesn’t need to have an accompanying sermon or a lecture. As one person said, “Preach Jesus every day and when necessary, use words!” We can show others much more by how we react to situations than they will learn in an entire year of sermons and Bible Studies. The words you speak, the attitudes you show, and the non-verbal signals you send can be used of God to show others His love.

Each of us has a story. We make mistakes and poor, or just plain stupid decisions. We hurt people. We break relationships. We acquire debt. Don’t dwell on the mistakes you have made in life. Use them as lessons learned; lessons that can be used to lift others up who are struggling, are discouraged or have fallen. The mistakes of our past can be used to help others learn how to walk.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I know life is a journey and I’ve taken many side trips and detours that have hurt me and others. Forgive me for the poor choices I’ve made, the people I’ve hurt and the relationships I’ve broken. Help me to use these lessons to lift those who need you. Help me to show them your love. Amen.

Dealing with Distractions

January 13, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: addictions, anxiety, blindness, changed lives, church, compassion, denial, devotional, divorce, embarrassment, failure, fear, forgiveness, freedom, God, grace, Jesus, Jesus Christ | 2 comments

When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the LORD instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do. Numbers 15:39 (NLT)

After over 400 years in captivity and 40 years of wandering aimlessly in the wilderness, they were about to enter ‘The Promised Land’! The Lord God was giving His people final instructions before their long journey came to an end.

Of all the many lessons’ the Israelites had learned, the one God hoped they would remember the most is that God’s blessings are hindered by sin. After all, it was sin that forced God’s chosen people to take 40 years to complete what should have been an 11 day walk! It was doubt that caused them to turn back when those sent to ‘spy out the land’ gave them a bad report. It was a lack of trust that sent a bunch of snakes swarming into camp.

If they would walk by faith in God the people of Israel would experience peace and prosperity. They were God’s people. They were set aside by Him to be His chosen ones. He didn’t choose them because of their size, or their strength or their ability to obey. He chose them because He loved them.

In Numbers 15:37-41 the Lord gives His people instructions concerning the clothes they would wear. The garments of the Israelites were to have a fringe sewn on with tassels hanging from the fringe. These would serve two purposes. On the one hand it would be a public symbol that these people were God’s people. Secondly, the tassels would hopefully serve as a reminder to the Israelites that they were to follow God’s laws.

I like the phrasing of the New Living Translation: “instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves as you are prone to do.” The word prone means ‘to have a tendency or inclination to do’. The Father knew his children. He knew they would be distracted. He knew that the desires of the world would constantly pull them away. Even though He knew they would fail, and fail miserably, He remained faithful to His promises.

Our heavenly Father is the same today. He knows we will fail. He knows how hard it is four us to live without discouragement, hate, anger, worry, frustration, doubt, addictive tendencies, and the list goes on. But still He calls to us and begs us to come to Him for healing.

What a great and awesome God of love and mercy we serve.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me even though I’m so easily distracted by the world. Keep me in your arms. Empower me to follow your ways. Protect me from temptation and distraction. Help me to live as though there were tassels on my garments that would remind me to follow you and testify to others of your great love. Amen.

Lift your eyes up to the healer!

January 12, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: addictions, anger, anxiety, blessings, blindness, church, compassion, denial, devotional, divorce, embarrassment, failure, forgiveness, freedom, God, understanding | Leave a comment

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then, when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. Numbers 21:9

The trip through the wilderness had gone on now for 40 years. The people were growing restless. They were tired of manna, tired of quail, tired of having to set up camp and tear down camp. The kids were restless, Grandma and Grandpa were crabby and it was hot! Now, to make matters worse the nation headed back towards the Red Sea! It seemed like they were just going in circles.

Soon grumbling began. Where was this ‘promised land’ that God had given them? Did Moses really know where he was going and what he was doing? Wasn’t it easier in Egypt? At least they had homes and great Egyptian food!

When God had heard enough of their complaining he sent snakes among the people. The snake bites killed many of the Israelites. When they realized what was happening the Israelites cried out to Moses for help. God instructed Moses to make a snake out of bronze and put it high on a pole. Anyone who looked to the snake was healed.

For years afterwards the snake was an icon among the Israelites. It reminded them of God’s deliverance. Jesus speaks about Himself as being like that snake. Anyone who looked on the snake in the wilderness was healed. It didn’t matter who they were or what they had done. The past didn’t matter. The important thing is that they had faith to look to the snake. It was true for those close to the pole and those far away.

The same is true for us today. Our past doesn’t matter. It’s not about gifts and talents and money and all the other things that society tells us we must have to be successful. It’s about looking to Jesus. He alone can heal us from all that afflicts us.

Are you wandering in the wilderness? Does the journey seem long and hard? Do you feel you have wandered to far from God? Look to Jesus. He longs to heal you.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Just as the Israelites complained during their wilderness I confess that I’m tired of the wandering. Help me to look to you, to keep my eyes above the trials of life and believe you for deliverance. Amen