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God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and can give you great joy. Jude 1:24 (NCV)
I sat and watched a group of rock climbers one day as they tried to scale a sheer rock cliff. From a distance it seemed impossible for them to be able to make it to the top safely. It was apparent from my observation which climbers were novices and which were the ‘veterans’ of the group. The novices moved very slowly and tentatively. Some got half way up and came back down by the safety ropes to regroup and try again. One by one the group made it from the bottom to the top safely. With each person’s successful climb you could hear a cheer erupt from the onlookers.
Later, I had the opportunity to ask one of the climbers what he thought were the essential ingredients to a successful climb. He told me that, in his opinion, there were three things each successful climber needed to make it to the top. One was faith in your equipment. The climb I watched was pretty minor but especially on the big climbs you needed to have good equipment and trust that equipment to do what it says it would do.
The second ingredient was remaining focused. He referenced the few ‘novice climbers’. Their biggest problem was that they focused so much on the danger and the possibility of falling and getting injured that they lost their grip. On this climb it was okay because there were safety ropes to lower them to the ground. In a real climb one slip can mean death. “Most climbing accidents are the result of improper use of equipment and/or climber error” He told me. Equipment failure is rare.
Lastly, he said, good climbers don’t climb alone. They would prefer to climb in groups because the support of the group helps them, especially during the tough climbs and during inclement weather. Group support is indispensible when it comes to making it to the top.
As I left I thought about the application to our spiritual lives. When we first start our walk with Christ we are careful to do the things that will help our growth. We read his Word, we pray, we seek every opportunity to make our way up the slippery slope of life.
As we ‘grow older’ in our faith we may tend to lose our focus on the task before us. We may have more faith in our own ability than to trust the equipment. We may be so intent on looking back to our past that we lose sight of the task before us. We may look towards our goal and wonder how we will ever make it to the top. When we lose our focus we increase the chances of losing our footing and falling.
Along with the focus we need to have in our climb, we need to have faith in our equipment. Climbing equipment rarely fails. The word of God and his presence in our lives NEVER fails. But falling is a possibility when we fail to have faith that our God is strong enough to see us to the top.
Lastly, when climbing the sheer rock wall of life, we need each other. Fellowship with other Christ-followers encourages us on the way, reminds us who we are, and gives us another vantage point to see our way to footholds that help us advance.
Proper equipment (Faith in a living and powerful God); Focus (relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us through the daily tasks of life); Fellowship (surrounding ourselves with people who can help us along the way). Three ingredients to making it up the slippery slope of life.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many times I’ve lost focus on you or relied on my own power and ability to make it through life’s challenges. Empower me with your Spirit to climb the slippery slope of my life relying on you to conquer to obstacles before me. In Jesus name, Amen.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14
After one of my speaking engagements a man came up to me to talk. He was, perhaps in his mid sixties. He told me that he had been a Christ-follower for as long as he could remember but he had always struggled with his salvation.
As we talked more he told me that during my session he’d realized that his issue wasn’t really so much about his salvation as it was the concept of a loving forgiving God as ‘Father God.’ When he was growing up his father was non-existent for the most part and when he was around he was angry, demanding, unforgiving and, at times, abusive physically. He came to the realization that God wasn’t like any earthly father he’d ever known. God did love him. God was forgiving. God wasn’t harsh or abusive.
I left the conversation wondering how many of the rest of us struggle with what it means to have God as our Father. Personally, I’m fortunate to have an earthly father who loves God and his children. He wasn’t perfect, but we kids knew he loved us. I have no problem seeing, in my father, what a compassionate, forgiving and loving God we have.
Many of us don’t have that luxury. Earthly fathers fail us. Some are abusive emotionally, physically or even sexually. Some are so caught up in making a living and providing physically for us that they fail at their most important job: building relationships. Some are absent completely, having checked out emotionally or physically from our lives. The demise of the family also hinders our view of father hood. More than half of our children are being influenced by two or more male figures that could be called ‘dad’, such as step-dads and foster dads.
Then God comes along to say he is a compassionate father? Two terms put together that describes someone we can’t relate to. We see compassion as passion and we see fathers as someone to be feared and avoided!
If you are struggling with your view of God as Father then it’s time to rethink what a ‘father’ is supposed to be.. Your Heavenly Father, Lord of all creation, doesn’t love you as earthly fathers may. He knows you are frail. He knows you will struggle and fail miserably at times. He won’t demand that you do things that will harm you or harm others.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be struggles in your life for a compassionate father knows that struggle is required to gain strength. When you are learning to ride a bike he’ll allow you to fall, but he’s there to clean up the scraped knees and help you get back on again.
Don’t allow the failures of earthly fathers to hinder your view of a loving God who will stand by you in the good times and the bad. You may not always understand your Heavenly Father, but he always understands you. Rules aren’t the important thing to him, relationship is! He gave us a picture of himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that the idea of you being a father isn’t particularly comforting to me. My father here on earth didn’t leave me with a very good feeling about fathers. I ask that you would show me what a truly compassionate father is. Help me to learn to trust you and grow in relationship with you as I learn to walk with Jesus. In your name I pray, Amen.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)
During a very difficult time in my life I was unemployed and unable to get work in the area of my training. It was a very difficult time for me. Few jobs were available in the first place. Secondly, there were some jobs that I’d have liked to have, but I didn’t have the training. Other jobs required experience that I didn’t have. In an act of desperation I even tried to get a job at McDonalds and was told I was too overqualified.
Needless to say it was a very tough time for me financially, but it was even more damaging emotionally. I ‘realized’ at that time that I wasn’t able to meet anyone’s standards. I felt defeated, worthless, and hopeless.
When we don’t feel like we measure up it affects our entire outlook on life. We can give up on relationships; bury our frustrations in food, drugs or other addictive behaviors and activities. That kind of behavior leads to a negative spiral. We do something stupid and feel guilty about it. We look for relief for our actions which usually leads to more activity of the same, which of course makes us feel guilty so we find some way to comfort our feelings of failure by…yep, engaging in some inappropriate activity of feelings.
Rehab centers and counseling offices are full of people who have, at some time in their lives, felt they didn’t measure up. ‘New religions’ and changes in church policies are put in place to try to make you feel better about your lifestyle. Nothing is working though. We continue to struggle with ourselves.
Part of the problem is we try to meet up to people’s standards. But that’s a losing battle because some people are impossible to please. Others standards are much lower than your own or fickle. What we need is to find a standard which will show love and acceptance. A standard that will make us feel fulfilled no matter what life throws at us. A standard that will lead us to eternal life.
Sound impossible? You are right, it is. That level of standard only comes from God. His standards are perfect. His standards are loving, kind and full of mercy and understanding. So to feel good about yourself and what you do the trick is to live up to the standards of a Holy, Perfect God.
Sound impossible? It is. We are all human. Whether you are gay or straight, pro-choice or pro-life, regardless of your political persuasion or religious affiliation, you have fallen short of the standards God requires for a good life here and eternal life with him.
So what’s the solution to not meeting up to the standards God demands? Jesus. There is nothing you can do in and of yourselves to meet up to Godly standards. Only through the free gift of Jesus Christ can you find the success to live the life God and you desire. It’s not your power. It’s not your striving. It’s accepting the fact you can’t and living according to the grace given through Jesus.
Stop depending on your own actions to succeed. Stop striving to kick the old habits. Let God take that away. Through Jesus you can meet his standards.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank and praise you for your gift of salvation through Jesus. I’m tired of doing the same stupid things over and over again. Forgive me for the things I’ve done to hurt myself and others. Empower me with your Spirit to live free because of Jesus. In your name, Amen.
But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
“I can’t wait until I’m old enough to do what I want!” I love hearing kids say this. On occasion (and depending on who says this) I’ll respond by saying something like, “Me neither! I’m xx years old and still can’t do what I want!
Reality is, we rarely get to make choices about things we feel important. For example we were born to parents not of our choosing, into a family that wasn’t our choice. Our hair color, DNA, eye color and country of origin are beyond our control! We didn’t choose our date of birth nor do we choose our date of death. Fact of the matter is, very few of life’s most important decisions are within the real of our control.
There is, however, one choice we can make that is of eternal consequence. We can choose to believe in the God of Genesis or not. Joshua states it very plainly as he gives final instructions to the Israelites. ‘You must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve’. Notice there is no choice as to whether we will serve someone. The question isn’t IF we will serve a god, the question is which god we will serve.
People try of course. We choose careers. We choose relationships. We choose religion. Some even choose non-religion to fill the void in their lives. Non-religion, of course, is a religion in and of itself. I may ruffle a few feathers here on both sides of the fence but I personally don’t believe there are any atheists or agnostics. Those people who call themselves Atheists or agnostics are in reality people who have been disappointed or abused by so-called christians or empty religions.
Who will you follow? The God of Genesis leaves the choice entirely up to you. You can choose Him by accepting the forgiveness of sins offered through the death and resurrection of Christ or you can choose some other god that will never satisfy the longing in your soul. The choice is yours simply because the God of Genesis loves you so much he won’t force anything on you, even if it is for your good!
PRAYER: God, I have to admit I’ve been pretty disappointed with religion and people who call themselves Christians. I’ve been verbally, physically and emotionally abused by their attacks on me. I’m empty. I’m frustrated. I’m scared. If you are real, please help me believe in you. I ask you to forgive me for my doubt. I hereby confess that you are my God. I will, with your help, follow you as the true God. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 