Bad Weather Doubts

School has been closed for the last two days due to ice and snow. My office follows the school schedule so I have been making myself useful working around home, clearing the street in front of my house, writing, and making plans for when the ice finally leaves.

That it will leave some day I am assured. What it will leave behind is another matter. Though the plants stored in my garage in anticipation of the spring have been protected from the snow, they have not been protected from the worst of the cold air. If the snow and ice melt too quickly, some flooding will occur. Single digit temperatures are mild compare to what some people are facing this winter, but all such cold is hard on people and machinery.

When the disciples of Jesus faced bad weather, they may have been experienced fishermen, but they had their fears nonetheless. We have no idea how many of their friends and fellow fishermen may have been lost in a sudden storm on the Sea of Galilee. They had seen these men go out in the evening and seen the storm clouds form. In the morning hours they had waited with anxious family members for boats that never returned. They may have had real reason to be afraid.

In the Gospel of Mark Jesus assured those with him in the boat they had nothing to fear. Was it because he was a better sailor than they? Was it because he understood boats better than they? No, it was because he knew his heavenly Father better than they.

Mar 4:38  Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?"

Mar 4:39  Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, "Be quiet!" and he said to the waves, "Be still!" The wind died down, and there was a great calm.

Mar 4:40  Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus heard the doubts and fears of his disciples. The world said they had reason to be afraid. He called them to see their situation through different eyes. He called them to see their situation through the eyes of faith. Where there is faith focused on the right Person, there is no place for fear.

When the Apostle Paul found himself a prisoner on a ship bound for Rome, he went knowing God planned for him to give his testimony in the capital of the empire. He saw himself in the hands of God. Neither the power of nature nor the Roman Empire could prevent him from carrying out his divine commands.

When a great storm appears to be ready to sink his ship, Paul tells the crew that once again God has confirmed his plans for the prisoner apostle. He will go to Rome. He will arrive safely, and he will give his testimony of faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. His assurances to the crew are recorded in the Book of Acts.

Act 27:23  For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship came to me

Act 27:24  and said, 'Don't be afraid, Paul! You must stand before the Emperor. And God in his goodness to you has spared the lives of all those who are sailing with you.'

Act 27:25  So take courage, men! For I trust in God that it will be just as I was told.

Bad weather can cause us to have doubts, even fears. Troubled relationships and a society desperately seeking to crush our witness to Jesus Christ can also cause doubts and fears. Jesus was in the boat with his disciples. God was present with Paul all the way to Rome. Storms will come. We live in a world filled with storms. We have God’s promise we need have no fear. He is with us to the end of the age.

Got Faith?

Every believer needs to check out the power center of life as we begin this new year. What will keep you going when things get a little rough, or disappointment sets in, or you hit that proverbial brick wall? Will you be depending upon human resources you can control or divine assistance which you can neither control of even understand?

When I decided to become a Christian minister after my freshman year in college, my father was both proud and pleased. He also told me I needed to consider what kind of college major I would have since I would need something “practical” to fall back on. He was a great believer in the old saying, “Put your faith in God, my boy, but keep your powder dry.”

You might call this practical faith. You can say you depend upon God for all you need, but just in case he doesn’t come through, you have Plan B upon which you can fall back. It is a faith that sounds good, but is focused as much upon human strength and ingenuity as it is upon the providence of God.

What worked for you last year? Did God fail you in the plans you made? Did you ask him what he thought of your plans before you initiated them? Did you always have your eye on Plan B just in case God didn’t do what you expected?

Faith has power when it is seen as a tool of God rather than our way to manipulate God into doing what we want. Our faith is a measure of our relationship with God. He has little regard for our Plan B’s. He wants to know how much faith we place in him even when we cannot see him in action.

Pro 3:3  Never let go of loyalty and faithfulness. Tie them around your neck; write them on your heart.

Pro 3:4  If you do this, both God and people will be pleased with you.

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.

Pro 3:6  Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

Faith is critical to living the Christ-centered life. The writer of these words from Proverbs urged his readers to make these qualities of loyalty (love, lovingkindness) and faithfulness such an integral part of our lives they would shape our way of thinking and be apparent to anyone who met us.

Verses four and five are the most familiar as they speak of trust (faith) in God and being willing to turn everything over to him. The preceding two verses should become just as familiar as they show the foundation for a trusting relationship. God is a part of our lives.

When Jesus taught the importance and power of faith, he used an illustration that revealed not how much faith was needed, but how powerful faith could be even in its smallest form.

Luk 17:5  The apostles said to the Lord, "Make our faith greater."

Luk 17:6  The Lord answered, "If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!' and it would obey you.

In future days the faith of the apostles would be revealed. After a mission trip they would report they had performed cures and cast out demons. After the ascension of Jesus back to the glory of heaven, the apostles would experience an expansion of that power as they practiced their faith in Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

On a wall in our home there is a plaque with the saying, “Faith makes things possible, not easy.” Living through whatever 2015 may bring will be possible with faith. Some may always try to have a Plan B. Faith says that is not necessary. In fact it can hinder what God has in mind for you. As an individual, as a church, discover what even a little faith can do.

Faith as a Mustard Seed

The early disciples had a legitimate request when they asked for greater spiritual strength. Jesus didn’t tell them the request was silly, only the limitations they currently faced.

Luk 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Make our faith greater." 6) The Lord answered, "If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!' and it would obey you.

We could see this as Jesus belittling his followers for their lack of faith, or we could see it as an important teaching moment. It may be Jesus was trying to instruct his disciples in the power of the faith they had. They weren’t using what little that was there! A pastor friend once pointed out in a sermon Jesus was illustrating what even a little faith could do at a time his disciples were asking for more.

It’s not that we need to move trees; we need to understand what having the right relationship with God can mean for our lives. This is just as true for a church as it is for an individual. We walk by means of faith OR we walk by means of the world.

Jesus would continue to be with his disciples for only a few more weeks. During that time they would see him at his greatest moments and also when his faith in his heavenly Father would be stretched. Through all of it he would be teaching those who had ears to hear and eyes to see lessons in faith.

God granted those early disciples the faith to launch the Church into the world. They were already in trouble with the Jewish leaders for claiming to have seen the resurrected Jesus. Forming a community that would become independent of the Jerusalem Temple just made matters worse.

Each member of that community was drawn into it by faith that was also a gift from God, separating them from the perspectives and morality of the world. (Ephesians 2:8-10) Their faith made them different from the world and be either shunned or praised by the world. Faith in God through Jesus Christ leads not only to salvation but must also lead to a walk through this life that honors God and supports the work of his Kingdom in this world.

By faith each follower of Jesus Christ is a catalyst for change in the world. By faith each church or family of faith is an outpost of the Kingdom of God. As individuals and as congregations, our faith calls us to be different and make a difference where we live and in the world as a whole.

Prayer is a mark of a life lived by faith in Christ. It is the mark of a relationship. You give little attention to what has little value to you whether it be material object or relationship. You think about and spend time with what you consider of value. It demands your attention and your resources.

That’s prayer. The more we pray the more it reveals about our relationship with our heavenly Father. The more our prayers allow God’s priorities to shape our lives and influence our actions, the higher the value we place upon that relationship and the more faith undergirds it.

Service is another mark of faith for the believer in Jesus Christ. Effective prayer will not leave us in a prayer closet. It will lead us to the hurting and dying. Faith-filled service will lead us to walk beside the lonely and the lost. Through it we will offer hope to the hopeless, compassion to the oppressed, and love to the outcasts of the world.

Service empowered by faith in Jesus Christ will lead us out of our comfort zones, away from areas of safety, out of the familiar and into a messy world that is crying for someone to show it something better exists. Faith empowered by the Spirit of God sacrificially serves to transform.

Our prayer should be far more, “Lord, help us walk by faith,” than “Lord, increase our faith.”

Do I Threaten You?

Jesus said his followers are the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt changes the taste of food, kills grass, and makes a mess of snails. It preserves meat by killing the bacteria that would spoil it. If you use a small amount of salt in food, you may get no results at all. Use too much and you make the food inedible. Gargle salt water and it helps a sore throat to heal. Drink sea water and you may sicken to the point of death. Salt can accomplish a lot. What it accomplishes depends upon how and where it is used.

Light wins against darkness every time. A small light may only reveal the key hole to unlock your door. A lot of light brings a city to life at midnight. Light shows us what might be sneaking up behind us in the shadows. Light reveals to the world those secrets we thought were hidden. Light can reveal. Bright light can blind. The intense, focused light of a laser can destroy. Light can accomplish a lot. What it accomplishes depends upon how and where it is used.

Salt threatens bacteria. Light threatens those who would keep their actions hidden. Jesus might ask all his followers, “Does your faith threaten anyone?” He warned his disciples as he sent them out to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 10) that they would be persecuted and imprisoned because of their connection to him. They wouldn’t be harassed because they were Galileans in Judea, or because they were fishermen far from the sea, or because they had funny accents. They would run into trouble because they were connected to Jesus.

Their connection to Jesus made them a threat to the authorities and social structure of the day. To the extent they were salt and light according to the definition of Jesus, they would be a threat to the people who had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. That relationship represented change, transformation, a rejection of the old pattern of the world. That connection to Jesus explicitly called for a different set of values and a different foundation for relating to God and his creation. That relationship represented a major threat.

Is my faith a threat to the authorities of my day? Does my relationship to Jesus Christ represent a threat to the values of my society and its foundations for social interaction? Does my faith represent salt that will improve society even while it destroys the bacteria that is seeking to destroy society? Does my faith represent light that shines in the darkness and reveals the Truth that is the nature of God? Does my faith point to a better way of life now and a hope for life beyond this life? Does my faith threaten anyone or anything?

We live in a sinful and fallen world. The news headlines offer us death counts and the depths of betrayal. The “facts” sent to us consist of theories of conspiracies and speculations on the extent of greed and corruption. We hear of rumors of war, the progress of war, and the results of war. These represent the macro conflicts between nations and the micro destruction of families and individual lives. We tally deaths by bombs on the battlefield and by doctors in abortion clinics.

Jesus said his followers are to be as salt and light in this diseased and darkened world. To do so will be to threaten the accepted way of life. To do so will be to act as catalysts for change and transformation. To do so will mean living out the teachings of Jesus without regard to cost or consequences.

My faith ought to be a threat to anything that is counter to the nature of God. It should be, but is it? A congregation of Christ followers should be a threat to the society in which it exists. Its example should be a threat to the values of the surrounding society. Its teachings should be a threat to those of its social context. Its efforts at reformation and transformation should be a threat to the standards of those already in control.

The faith and standards of the Church of Jesus Christ are founded upon the two great commandments (Matthew 22:34ff). Loving God is our highest priority and the dynamic that should shape every decision made whether by a local congregation or by an individual follower of Christ. Loving our neighbors as ourselves becomes a reflection of the love Christ had for us as he died on the cross, an innocent individual for a guilty world.

God's kind of love threatens the powers of this world. Yet we are called to operate out of his kind of love, foremost for God, but also for our neighbor. Only then can we be the salt and light we have been called to be. Only then can we transform our society. Only then will our faith be the threat it should be to our sinful world.