That Sinking Feeling

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Matthew 14:29-30

During our journey through this life, we will encounter events which can overwhelm us and leave us feeling helpless, devastated, or at a loss as to how to continue. If we look only at the situation, we will feel overwhelmed and we will be tempted to shut down.  Let's face it, if a computer's circuits get overloaded, the computer will shut down and burn out.  That's the same type thing that can happen to us.....if we let it.

Take a look at today's passage.  The Disciples had been sent across the Sea of Galilee ahead of Jesus.  Jesus had told them He would meet them on the other side.  Little did the Disciples realize that He was going to walk right past them on the water!  But, sure enough, the Disciples saw Jesus walking on the water and their sense of "normal" became overwhelmed and the only explanation they could fathom was that Jesus was a ghost.

Even when Jesus told them it was Him, they still doubted.  Peter even said, "Lord IF IT IS You, let me walk out to you."  Jesus told him to come on over.  So Peter stepped onto the water and began to walk toward Jesus.  However, when Peter saw everything else that was going on, he became overwhelmed again and began to sink.  In desperation, he called out to Jesus, "Save me, Lord!" and Jesus reached down and saved him.  

So what can we take from this?

      * We WILL have encounters when we feel overwhelmed! Nothing will make sense and we will feel like burning out.

     *  Jesus has promised that He will ALWAYS be with us, keep that relationship as a priority! 

    * When those times come, don't be afraid to call out for help.  You are not the only person to ever feel overwhelmed and you will make it through this time.

    *  It is not a sign of weakness to let your emotions flow at the appropriate time.  Hold it in will cause more issues than you want to deal with.

    *  Keep breathing!

 

"And THEN the donkey said....."

²⁸ Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
²⁹ “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
³⁰ “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.
³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.
³² “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. ³³ Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”
Numbers 22:28-33

Balaam had made God angry by doing something God has specifically told him not to do.  But, being the stubborn person he was, Balaam decided his way was better than God's and off he went riding his donkey into the situation God had told Balaam not to go.  So....God sent an angel to stop the donkey from making the journey.  Every time the donkey saw the angel, the donkey would try to get out of the way even to the point of just stopping and laying down.  The donkey did this three times, and Balaam took his staff and beat his donkey three times.  So God decided to let the donkey have a conversation with Balaam.

Before we get into the rest of the story, if your pet began having a discussion with you about the way you treat them, how stunned would you be?  I would be speechless, probably much to my dog's amusement.  Balaam was apparently SO angry with his donkey that it never truly dawned on him that he's having a conversation with a donkey.

You see, strong emotions tend to blind us to actuality.  Strong emotions like anger, fear, grief, love all can blind us to the reality of the situation.  And so it was with Balaam.

The donkey asks Balaam, "What have I done to deserve you beating me these three times?"  After all, the donkey was apparently unaware that Balaam didn't see the angel.  But when God finally opened Balaam's eyes, and Balaam saw the truth of the situation, he was ashamed.  Especially when the angel of God demanded to know why Balaam beat his donkey these three times.

The point of this story is simple, strong emotions tend to blind us.  We must be careful and listen when others try to help us instead of verbally beating them up. 

Anger.....Not Always A Good Thing!

Commit everything you do to the Lord.
    Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
    and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,
    and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
    or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸ Stop being angry!
    Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
    it only leads to harm.

Psalm 37:5-8

I have a confession to make...I have anger issues.  No, not the kind where I will end up in a slasher movie.  But I tend to let things get under my skin and eventually they reach the point where I can't take anymore and the explosion is resounding......and my anger explosion gets me in more trouble than if I had just kept my mouth shut.  

There have been many times when I wondered what could God possibly be thinking!  I tried to follow the rules, color between the lines, keep to the Standard Operating Procedure, yet someone else always managed to step in and get recognized or given the credit or didn't get punished or even flourished.  And I got angry!  Guess what my anger got me?  

It's amazing how many times Scripture reminds us to "Be Still" and "Don't Worry" yet we can't seem to follow those simple instructions.  When I am thinking about something and concentrating, I am either walking or pacing (depending on how much room I have).  If I find something disconcerting, I have the tendency to worry.  And guess what all my worrying helps?  

God is the one in control!  All our worrying; all of our anger; all of our discontent; all of our rage; all of our impatience does not negate the truth that God is in control!  We have to learn (yes I am talking to myself) to go through our lives remembering that God loves us; is in control of all things; and everything He does has a purpose that we may never see.  

I pray, even now, that God would teach us to be still and know Him! 

Won't You Help Your Neighbor?

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.

Romans 15:2 

 

We all have those friends who our parents thought were a bad influence on us.  And to be honest, there were times I really enjoyed the bad influences.  Not that I am getting older, some of the results of those bad influences are beginning to take a toll.  

 

Now....consider this: Attitudes are contagious!  If you're angry, in a bad mood, and critical of everyone how long will it take for everyone else to leave you alone (avoiding you)?  If you are laughing and having a good time and encouraging others, how long will it take for people to want to be around you?  

 

Let's make it even more personal: Would you rather be around someone who encourages you or demeans you?

 

Attitudes are contagious, make yours worth catching.

Want To Know A Secret?

This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord: Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

Jeremiah 33:2-3 

 

We LOVE hearing secrets!  Secrets are tidbits of information that few other people know.  We like being in the know and some people get a feeling of euphoria when they know something the rest of us don't.  Sometimes we hurt others by sharing their secrets. Why is that?  We ALL have secrets!  Some of them could ruin us and some of them are just things we want to keep to ourselves.

 

Even God has secrets He's kept from us!  Just think about it....Has anyone ever seen God's blueprints for the universes?  Has anyone ever truly figured out what a Leviathan or a Behemoth really look like?  How about whether Jonah was swallowed by an actual whale or another large fish?  There has GOT to me a secret reason why God created mosquitoes and gnats, but He has yet to decide to let me in on that secret.  Why are we all similar, yet different?  Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things happen to bad people?  

 

The fact is.....on this side of Heaven, we will only glimpse the smallest bits of God's plan.  When we reach Heaven, knowing the secrets won't be so important to us.  Meanwhile, if you want information follow God's instructions: "ASK ME and I will tell you remarkable secrets you know not know about things to come."  Talk with God and you will begin to see things differently and you will learn things you never thought possible.   

What Do You Need?

Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
Matthew 9:20-22 

Please allow me to be honest, I am exhausted and frustrated with no end in sight as yet.  I won't go into all the details of the causes because they are a culmination of many incidences that, would not normally bother me in and of themselves, as a group they feel overwhelming. It was as if I was in the Army again with shovel in hand and my First Sergeant yelling at me to "SUCK IT UP! SOMEONE has to dig the pit so all can enjoy the latrine!" Ever have that kind of Job life sequences when everything seems to go wrong no matter how hard you try?

I felt like giving up; escaping to a place where there would be a chance to recoup and think and take each storm on one at a time.

Whilst studying this morning, I had music playing in the background, as per usual, when my mind latched on to a song by Mike & The Mechanics, "All I Need Is A Miracle."  Like a lightning bolt, it hit me, that was my heart's prayer to God.  I need a miracle to make it through this string of raging storms.

The same was true of this woman who had suffered for TWELVE YEARS!  She had run out of options. she had run out of doctors. She needed a miracle!   And Jesus was in town.  She knew that if she could get just close enough to just touch a string of the hem of his robe, that would be enough.  

Somehow, through sheer determination or God pulling her along, she managed to touch the robe of Jesus and was healed.  God is the God of miracles! And sometimes I forget that.

When You're Backed Into A Corner...

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.

Exodus 14:13-14 

 

Picture it: The Israelites have just been led out of the land of Egypt (after the 10 plagues) and have made it as far as the Red Sea.  Pharoah (ruler of Egypt) decides he wants the Israelites back in Egypt and takes his army to chase after them.  The Israelites (led my Moses) now find themselves with the Egyptian Army on one side of them and the Red Sea on the other side.  They don't know how they're going to get out of this one (insert cliffhanger music here).

 

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you just could not see how a good outcome?  I have.  What happens when we encounter these situations?  We panic!  We complain! We blame! None of which are helpful to our situation.

 

But look at what God told the Israelites through Moses: "Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today."  Somehow I can hear the people of Israel shouting, "ARE YOU KIDDING? 'STAND STILL and WATCH'? Are you insane?"   We don't do very well at sitting still, do we.  We want to fix the situation.  We want to make a way out.  WE want to find a solution.  

 

I used to chuckle at the old Lifesavers advertisement where the child who is squirming in church is given a Lifesaver and immediately calms down.  My thinking was, Lifesavers are candy.....candy is made of SUGAR.....giving sugar to a child will, most likely, create an situation whereby the squirming ceases.  But I could be wrong.  Regardless, we don't like to sit still.

 

Have you ever been so upset that you couldn't even see straight and someone told you to "calm down"?  How well did that work?

 

However, when we stop trying to do God's job and we let God be God, it's amazing the solutions He brings.  So when you find yourself in a situation where you aren't sure there IS a solution...give it to God and let Him be God all over your situation!

"Hey Ya'll Watch This!"

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
    and then are angry at the Lord.

Proverbs 19:3 

 Have you ever done or said something that was completely boneheaded?  You see, in our minds, we have this idea of how everything is going to turn out.  Then reality has this habit of smacking us in the face.  

We have warning labels on items that, when you read it, you wonder "Who kind of idiot does this?" 

 Think about it: 
     * Found on a tube of Preparation H - "Do not take internally"
     * Found in a manual for a chainsaw - "Do not use while naked"
     * Found on the fence of a power substation - "Touching the wires can cause instant death"
     * Found on a gas pump - "No Smoking"

Doing and saying foolish things can ruin our lives, and yet when we do them, we have the nerve to get mad and blame God?  God's not the one who said or did the foolishness.  I am convinced that God will allow us to face the consequences of our foolishness to remind us that we need Him.

May God bring us to the point where we are willing to study what He has to say and think before we carry out our own foolish plans and ideas.

Can You Do It All?

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2 

 

You know the routine:

  *  wake up before the sun

  *  put the pet

  *  garb up for the gym

  *  grab drink, power bar, and run to the door.

  *  workout for at least an hour trying to do better than before

  *  quick shower

  *  quick change into work attire

  *  head to the car with gym bag in one hand, power drink in the other, and phone glued to your ear.

  *  stop for coffee on way to meeting.  Fume about having to wait.  Phone still glued to ear.

  *  Dash in to meeting and spend the entire time listening with one ear while checking schedule, sending texts, etc.

  *  Dash off to next meeting.  Wonder why the speaker is taking so long.

  *  Run by office to get some files and scamper off to do "good works" activities.

 

And on and on this goes.  Remember when technology was supposed to help us slow down and have more free time?  Instead, not only have we gotten busier but we actually believe that we STILL aren't doing enough.

 

And we wonder, in all our busyness, why we are crabby, irritable, stressed, have insomnia, and other health issues. 

 

And sadly, many people do are doing "the work of the church" are among the most guilty.

 

How many jobs did God give Adam and Eve?  One!  Tend the garden.

Did Jesus and the Disciples jump into the fast lane to go from place to place?  Nope, then walked.

Did God command us to "be constantly busy"?  Nope. He tells us several times that we are to 'Be Still.'

Take time to slow down and enjoy the gift God has given us of life, family, friends, and this Earth!

 

The Lord your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;
he renews you by his love;
he shouts for joy over you.

Zephaniah 3:17 

 

I don't know about you, but knowing that God is not only with us always, He fights for us better than anyone else could.  He's also happy that we are His and He loves us without bounds.  He even shouts for joy because He cares so much about us!

 

When was the last time you shouted for joy over someone you cared about?  Who makes you so happy that you almost can't stand not shouting it out?

 

God loves you more than we can ever imagine.  It's just that simple!

Are You Done Yet?

“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

Luke 14:28-30

 

 

When I was a child (my bride claims I still am a child in many regards, but we'll leave that right here), I had grand dreams of what I wanted to become when I grew up.  As I grew older (but not up - shout out to Jimmy Buffett), I began to pay closer attention to the people who worked in the fields in which I had an interest.  What I noticed was that there was a cost involved, whether personal, scholastic, emotional.

 

How sad is it to spend the wads of money to attend college and then decide going to class is not something want to do?  Yes, I speak from experience. Count the cost of that decision and you'll begin to see that my four year degree ended up taking me 5 years.  

 

Suppose you are building a house and you find out, in the middle of the project, that you hadn't counted on the roof costing so much?  

 

My Grampa told me, "When you plan to do something, expect it to cost 3 times what you thought and you'll probably be able to make it."

 

You see, God has given us a mission in life (sometimes more than one mission) and there is a cost involved that we must be willing to pay in order to complete what God has for us to do.  It may be that we have to sacrifice "fun time" in order to study.  It may mean that we have to sacrifice vacation time to help someone who needs us.  It might mean that we must sacrifice our great day so we can comfort someone in sorrow.

 

The point is, we are commanded by Christ to take into account the cost and finish what we start.  

 

Ruh Roh!

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
    nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

Psalm 103:8-11 

 

In case you haven't figured it out by now, the reason we have three names (first, MIDDLE, and last) is so we can determine, by the tone and inflection, how much trouble we are in.  When I was in elementary school, I had a bad habit of talking when I wasn't supposed to and I had to stand in the hall for 15 minutes for each infraction.  But that wasn't the worst part.  You see, my Mom was a substitute teacher at my elementary school.  So.....imagine how I felt when I was in the hall for talking and seeing my Mom turn the corner!  First, I got "the look" which melted the paint off of the wall behind me.  Second, came the discussion with my teacher (with me present to make apologies for misbehaving) about how I had disrupted the class.  Then came the uncomfortable ride home with Mom after school. Then, came the spanking for being disruptive.  Finally, when Dad got home.....came the "first I'm going to GET your attention, then we will DISCUSS the problem."  And each time I was addressed by my first, middle and last names.

 

Many of us have the misconception of God as some cranky curmudgeon who watches what we do and listens to what we say and is always ready to push the SMITE button to rain down punishment upon us.  But this is just not true.  God is not out to smite us.  God loves us.  

 

Does God discipline us? Absolutely! A good and loving Father does that.  Does God spend a lot of time thinking up ways to punish us? I seriously doubt it.  I do believe that every decision has consequences (good or bad) and God will allow us to reap the consequences of our decisions.  But when all is said and done, God's love for us NEVER fails and is so much deeper than we can ever imagine!  Today might be the day you start a conversation (talking and LISTENING) with God remembering that He really does love us!

Not From Around Here

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

Philippians 1:27-30 

 

Did you know that we are not permanent residents of Earth?  We are merely aliens traveling on a tour for a while (if the Gilligan's Island theme song just hit your brain, stop and sing along).  

 

I remember hearing a story about a man from London who wanted to travel around the American South in the early 1900s.  On one of his ventures, he encountered some difficulty when his car ran out of gas.  He saw a farmer in his field and asked him where the next "petrol" station might be along this road....the farmer scratched his head and thought for several minutes and finally told the man it was about 8 miles up the road.  The Englishman began his trek and after some time later he arrived at a diner with a gas station attached.  To his surprise, his car was already there.  He went inside the diner and asked how his car managed to get to the station when the farmer said the nearest gas station was 8 miles away.  The man behind the counter said, "Ya'll ain't from around here, are you? It's 8 miles when you walk along the road, but when you take the logging trail it's only half a mile."

 

Several years ago, the Doobie Brothers did a song called "Rockin Down The Highway" which describes the freedom of the open road.

 

You see, we aren't from around here.  We are merely passing through.  And here's the main point I want you to remember, when it comes right down to the brass tacks:

 our disagreements don't really matter; 

our anger doesn't matter;

our hurts won't follow us;

our stuff won't go with us;

SO when we keep our eyes on the prize and remember that we are just passing through...we are free to live as Children of God!

Are You Courteous?

When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.

Colossians 4:6 

 

When you think of courtesy, what comes to mind?  Is it someone hold the door open for those who follow?  Perhaps it is someone who has enough groceries to plan an expedition up the Amazon allowing the person with three items to go ahead of them.  Perhaps it is the person who offers to help someone out who is short of cash.

 

I am an observer of people.  Something that has struck me, with great force, is the mortal wounding of this thing called courtesy.  Care to witness a lack of courtesy, hit the road and drive in rush hour traffic.  Or try walking from your car to the store in the rain; those in their cars don't care if you get wet as long as you don't get in their way.  What happened to courtesy?  

 

What happened to saying "Please" and "Thank You" and "You're Welcome"?  

 

In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson: "The greater man the greater courtesy."  If one is to be great and respected, be courteous!

True Friend or Sneaky Enemy?

An open rebuke
    is better than hidden love!

Wounds from a sincere friend
    are better than many kisses from an enemy.

Proverbs 27:5-6 

 Do you have friends that you trust without question?  True friends are those who will be truthful with you whether you like it or not.  They have earned your trust and respect, so they have also earned the right to speak the truth to you without fear.

I have a friend who is in no way afraid to tell me when I have said or done something wrong, and I can do return the favor.  If I go to my friend complaining about some situation, I will usually hear something along the lines of "stop being a jackass" or "how DARE they".  True friends aren't afraid to tell the truth.

Now....I am HIGHLY suspicious of those who are tell me just what I want to hear all the time (most of the time I figure they are trying to sell me something or trying to get money out of me).  I would rather you tell me the truth than tell me sweet lies!

 

Life...It Goes On

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

When a tragedy strikes, the question that will ultimately be asked is: "Where Do We Go Now?"  That is a difficult idea to consider because out tendency is to withdraw from everyone and hide from the world.  We hide in dark rooms with curtains drawn.  We hide within ourselves losing ourselves in the routines of existence.  But let's take a look at a few things that help the Grieving, as well as the ones seeking to help:

 

1.  Grieving is a process and processes take time. 

2.  There are no short cuts to grieving.

3.  Understanding that the pain of grief can be intense helps us temper our attempts to "move things along."

4.  Accept that the person who is grieving may have setbacks.

5.  Understand that grieving is NOT wrong.

6.  If you are strong enough, walk the journey with the grieving and listen to them.  "A burden shared is half as heavy, and joy shared is twice as bright."

7.  Try to remember what helped you when you were grieving, and share that.

8.  Pray! Pray! Pray!  Remember that God let His own Son die on our behalf!  God knows better than we do what it feels like to grieve.

9.  Not every silence needs to be filled with words. Sometimes just sitting quietly with someone helps them know now much you care.

10.  Celebrate the baby steps of movement from grieving to living.  Don't go overboard with it though.  Use phrases like "thank you for coming with me to the store" or "Sharing with walk around the park with you made the stroll so much better."

 

Finally, don't give up on the person who is grieving.  Wounds of Grief can be VERY deep.

 

When Grief strikes, and it will, point to the Father who understands and loves without question.