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Storm Lessons

One day [Jesus] got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out. Luke 8:22

You’re probably familiar with the account. Not long after they set sail, a violent storm arose, causing even the most experienced sailors among them to fear for their lives. In those moments, Jesus taught His followers some important lessons, lessons we’re still learning today, things we’ll never grasp standing on the shore.

Storms don’t surprise God.
Jesus sent His disciples into that storm. The trip across the lake was His idea. He knew the storm would come and He sent them into the teeth of it. Let that sink in for a moment.

They didn’t go alone.
He went into the storm with them. God doesn’t throw us into a situation with the hopes that we’ll swim rather than sink. He is right there– before, during and after.

Kingdom living can’t be all theory.
Jesus had just finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount challenging the conventional wisdom on what it meant to honor God and live a life of faith not works. When storms hit, they raise difficult questions. Things like how could God let this happen to me? Don’t you care that we perish? Where is your faith? It is in the storms where we decide if we are going to live the kingdom life or just recite the platitudes.

The storms reveal His true nature.
Jesus was in control the entire time. The storm didn’t surprise Him. It didn’t last an instant longer than He allowed. When it was over, His deity was unquestioned.

What have you learned through the storms?

Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

By Paula Leave a Comment

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.

Let me at thy throne of mercy
find a sweet relief;
kneeling there in deep contrition,
help my unbelief.

Trusting only in thy merit,
would I seek thy face;
heal my wounded, broken spirit,
save me by thy grace.

Thou the spring of all my comfort,
more than life to me,
whom have I on earth beside thee?
Whom in heaven but thee?

Refrain:
Savior, Savior,
hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.

Fanny Crosby, 1868

Read 1 Chronicles 17:16-27

(This is another hymn that might be passed over because it primarily speaks of a salvation experience. But I doubt any of us have “arrived” yet. Don’t we still experience days of needing His mercy, seeking His face, and longing to hear His voice? Yes. It would be worth pausing at the spring of all our comfort. Take a few moments for that even now.)

Not Just Work, Good Works

By Paula Leave a Comment

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

God is a God who works, and His people are designed to imitate Him that way. And it begins at salvation. God didn’t save us for nothing.

But because we’ve chosen to follow God, to accept His commission, we become the enemy’s target and a whole host of issues can interfere with our work and service.

We are underappreciated. Often we work alone or unnoticed. No one knows how many extra hours we put in, how many times we are the first ones at church or the last ones to leave.

Become each other’s advocates. Be a blessing and an encouragement to someone else. This goes double for your pastor and other leaders. So much of the time the only feedback they receive is negative.

We get tired. In an age when we have more comfortable beds, better, safer surroundings than ever before, we are less rested than we have ever been.
God modeled rest for us as well. While the Bible never encourages laziness, Scripture does confirm our need to rest. Start by resolving to go to bed early one night a week or to take a Sunday afternoon nap. Rest is good. God said so. If we don’t rest…

We burn out. We’ve had periods where it seemed like we had church functions 5 out of 6 nights a week and 3 on Sunday. If that’s your life, you can’t sustain that.

The best way to tell if you’re careening towards burnout is to check your level of JOY. If your joy has faded, then it may be time to do some objective evaluation of what you’re doing, and why.

Refocus on God. Worship and service are about that one-to-one relationship. Try getting away for a weekend, a day, or even an afternoon. Leave your phone and spend some time alone with God and rediscover the JOY of your relationship.

We get stuck doing things we were never meant to do. Bless you for being willing to step in and work outside your giftedness, but that’s an indication that someone else should be stepping in.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your leadership and work with them to identify and train someone to take over. Don’t let yourself feel guilty or lazy. When we take on things we weren’t meant to do,

We start to believe that if we don’t do it, it won’t get done. We become ministry hogs. We start get a little full of ourselves and start to believe God is really lucky to have us on His team. Worse, we prevent other people from using their gifts, from working and serving. We send the message – “There’s no place for you. You aren’t needed.”

Look at the Biblical model – Paul and Peter were always pulling a young guy along with them. They were constantly turning the reins of ministry over to somebody else. We need to approach work with the mindset of working ourselves out of a job rather than settling in for life.

We mistake success for God’s favor and so we put tremendous pressure on ourselves. We feel like we have to do everything, and do it to perfection or we’ll be letting God down.

Let me give you two radical words – Good enough. Trust God to bless your FAITHFULNESS, and not the results. Trust God to use what you’ve offered and let it go. Be like the kid with the loaves and fishes. What he had was totally inadequate to do the job of feeding the crowd, but he turned it over to Jesus – he LET GO of it – and because he did, Jesus did miraculous things with it.

We begin to compare ourselves to others and we get embittered toward our fellow believers, our fellow laborers, and maybe even God Himself.
Rather than use other believers as our measuring stick, try answering these two questions. Did I do what God asked me to do today? Did my interactions with other people reflect and glorify Jesus Christ?

So when frustration is high and energy is low remember this. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Hebrews 6:10

God sees. You are NOT laboring in the shadows. If no one else notices, God does and He is keeping records. And one day you will hear Him say, “Well done.”

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice

By Paula Leave a Comment

I hear Thy welcome voice
That calls me, Lord, to Thee,
For cleansing in Thy precious blood
That flowed on Calvary.

Tho’ coming weak and vile,
Thou dost my strength assure;
Thou dost my vileness fully cleanse,
Till spotless all, and pure.

‘Tis Jesus calls me on
To perfect faith and love,
To perfect hope and peace and trust,
For earth and heav’n above.

All hail! atoning blood!
All hail! redeeming grace!
All hail! the gift of Christ our Lord,
Our strength and righteousness.

I am coming, Lord!
Coming now to Thee!
Wash me, cleanse me in the blood
That flowed on Calvary!

Lewis Hartsough, 1872

Read Jonah 2:1-9

(Sometimes the hymns that are in the “invitation” section of the hymnal are easy to pass over. We’ve believed in Jesus for salvation, so we don’t need them anymore, right. No, but yes. We don’t need salvation again. But this hymn calls us to repentance, to a recognition that we need cleansing. Daily. Even believers. So the only question then, is will we be humble enough to ask for that cleansing? He is calling. How will we answer?)

God’s Got You

By Paula

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

Restore – katartizo – Think of it like mending nets (Matt. 4:21) or well-prepared (Luke 6:40)

Confirm – sterizo – Think of it as established permanently (Luke 22:32)

Strengthen – sthenoo – It’s the opposite of sick and weak.

Establish – themelioo – Think of it as having a firm foundation (Matt. 7:25, Col. 1:23)

God Himself will do all of these things.

When you want to worry, remember…

God’s got you.

What Is Our Salvation Doing For Us?

By Paula

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

When each of the kids was very young, we set up a special account for them at the bank. In exchange for a better interest rate on their deposits– almost double the regular rate–they can’t get any money out until they turn eighteen. Especially starting out, it was hard for them to see the bank account as much more than a black hole.

Sometimes I think we treat our salvation that way, as if it were some glorious thing held in reserve for us until we die. Which it is, but it is so much more. Jesus intended for us to benefit from our relationship with Him now, in the course of our normal everyday lives.

So what is our salvation doing for us?

It gives us unlimited access to the King of the Universe. There is no limit to the prayers we can offer, the requests we can make, the time we can spend in His presence. (Hebrews 4:16)

It gives us the indwelling Holy Spirit. The mind-blowing reality is that God Himself comes to live inside us, taking over the reins of our lives, directing us in ways that never would appeal to us before we became believers. Those acts of kindness we do, those brilliant flashes of insight, those times we step out on faith, the Holy Spirit is behind all those. (John 14:16-17)

It gives us the ability to overcome temptation. Oh, we fall for it plenty of times, but there are so many temptations we resist every single day because our salvation is at work. (Romans 6:16-19)

It gives us a purpose and the power to accomplish it. No more floating along wondering what in the world is going on and why we’re here in the middle of it. God has a unique kingdom work for every one of us, and He promises to provide all the resources we need to carry out that mission. (John 15:16)

It gives us freedom from performance. No more trying to earn God’s favor. We have it. Forever. Pressure is replaced by peace. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

It gives us the status of beloved child. We are immediately adopted into God’s own family. Not servants. Not guests. Family. Beloved family. (Romans 8:15-17)

And on and on… Here’s the thing– when we treat salvation only as a past event or even as a future hope, we miss the great work going on in our lives each and every day. Let’s make the most of it. Like Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:19-20

On a personal note – we are in the process of moving. August 12 is the day. My son starts college August 15 and my husband reports to his new position August 19. I’ve got a great new series lined up when things settle down a little, say… early September-ish. If you want to pray, pray for our church, since the relocation means Jon has resigned as pastor. Thank you.

Storm Lessons

Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

Not Just Work, Good Works

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice

God’s Got You

What Is Our Salvation Doing For Us?

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series