Advice for when you’re stuck in the mud!

 

Jay, my son, bought himself a Jeep Wrangler when he was 19.  He took his sister ‘for a drive’ in his new vehicle and somehow decided that it was a good idea to attempt some “off-roading.”  He chose a trail that was not really for large vehicles; Mistake #1. Mistake #2 was over-estimating the ability of the Jeep to navigate a muddy hole. It is not hard for me to imagine Jay’s frustration and desperation as he gunned the engine and just dug in deeper!   The Jeep was soon buried to the axles. 

Christine and Jay faced a long walk out of the woods and when they finally showed up that evening long ago, tired and muddy after their misadventure in the woods, I was relieved and aggravated. The next day, with help from a friend who knew the ‘woods’ well, the Jeep was recovered with great effort. That adventure is a memory we share, one of those family stories that we love to laugh about. Thankfully, he knew when to quit and go for help.

We all find ourselves stuck in the mud sometimes, don’t we?  We cruising through life, singing our songs, our self-confidence growing - and then -  we drive into a hole. Those bogs take many forms – sickness, business failure, relationships that get difficult, fear or uncertainty, doubt, temptation …. And we can get stuck!  We can thrash around, trying our best to dig out, only to find that all of that effort has done nothing but make the mudhole deeper.

The wise know when it is time to stop struggling – in a faith-filled way. I am not describing surrendering and resigning to hardship. I am not talking about waving the flag of defeat. There is great wisdom in knowing when to say, “I need help!”  It reveals maturity to know one’s limits and to be able to face personal places of weakness.

I am so thankful for the wonderful people who have come alongside of me over the years when I have become stuck in the mud!  During that time of awful depression in mid-life, there were allies who stood with me, pouring encouragement into my heart, reminding me of God’s goodness, praying with me when my own prayers were silenced.  When Bev, my late wife, was on her long journey with cancer, there were people who braved the sorrow and held us up on that pathway.

Then, too, we must remember to “look up” abandoning self-sufficiency as we seek the wisdom of the Spirit. We can, we must, ask for wisdom, pray for an infusion of courage, and faithfully trust Him to reveal the resources we need to get out of the hole.  That might seem to be oh so easy, but it’s not!  There is that thing called – pride.  Millions stay stuck refusing to admit, “I’m in over my head.”  Who wants to admit he can’t get himself out of the pit? Who wants to ‘let go and let God?’  We say it and it sounds good, but the doing is much, much harder.

Joshua, leading Israel in the conquest of Canaan knew a great victory at Jericho. Not long after his army was routed and defeated at Ai. As I read the prayer he prayed, I see a real man struggling in a mudhole.  “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!  O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies.”  (Joshua 7:7) There it is …  Panic! Blame! Loss of perspective!  But, God was faithful, revealed the sin of Achan to Joshua, and led Joshua to a new victory.

A few days after the Exodus, Moses, was stuck between the Red Sea and the army of Egypt.  After he prayed, he called on the people of Israel to “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, NLT)  Just stand still. This was not giving in to fate. This was resting in faith!  His admission that they could do nothing was paired with his faith in God’s promise to show the way. And He did. Only as the faithful and courageous Moses was willing to obediently do what God said, extending his staff over the sea, did the Lord open up the sea. The solution was amazing, unforeseen, and a lesson in greater faith.  

Is the mud flying, the hole getting deeper?
Is your desperation growing?

Give up! Look up!
Ask for help. There’s no shame in that.
And, my Christian friend, place yourself anew in the hands of God. Sometimes He changes our situation, sometimes He changes us.

Here’s a word from the Word. "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; " (Psalm 46:1-2, NKJV)  "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10, NKJV)

______________

Lord I Need You

Lord I come I confess

Bowing here I find my rest

And without You I fall apart

You're the one that guides my heart

 

Lord I need You oh I need You

Ev'ry hour I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

 

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

And where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

Where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

 

So teach my song to rise to You

When temptation comes my way

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

 

Lord I need You oh I need You

Ev'ry hour I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

 

Christy Nockels | Daniel Carson | Jesse Reeves | Kristian Stanfill | Matt Maher

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The Judgment of God

 

“COVID is the judgment of God for our sins.”  Some are coming to that conclusion, certain that God is angry with humanity who has rejected Him.  I am not naïve about the spiritual bankruptcy of the world in which I live. Greed, materialism, violence, unending war, exploitation of the weak and the poor, and sexual promiscuity are everywhere.  21^st Americans, even many who claim to be “Christian,” have pushed God to the edge of life, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’  It is an insult to the Lord of Glory but to think of God as an exhausted parent who just loses His temper and makes everybody pay is not only wrong, but something like blasphemy.

God is not a vengeful Being who set a virus loose in the world because He is fed up with us! He is not a weak God unwilling to challenge our sins, however.  HE does work to bring us to our senses, to invite us to re-consider our ways, with a corrective LOVE that desires, above all, our reconciliation to Him.  

People famously complain about the awfulness of eternal judgment wondering how a good God could possibly send anyone to Hell, or allow anyone to experience misery. The fact is that we (both individually and as a society) choose our Hell!  When people live as He directs, they will find life. When they choose to live for Self, in sin, the seeds of death are sown – physical and spiritual death. God grants us the freedom to choose to align ourselves with His will or to ignore it.

• In the opening chapters of Genesis God gave a direction gave a simple direction: “Don’t eat or you’ll die.” They ate. They died.
   
• In Deuteronomy He invited His people to remember to revere Him: "Look at what I’ve done for you today: I’ve placed in front of you Life and Good Death and Evil. And I command you today: Love God, your God. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess. But I warn you: If you have a change of heart, refuse to listen obediently, and willfully go off to serve and worship other gods, you will most certainly die. You won’t last long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess." (Deuteronomy 30:15-18, The Message)  The long history of His people, cycling through repeated times of obedience and blessing and rejecting Him and suffering the consequence, confirms the truth of His words.
  
  
• Christians, who know the Grace of Jesus Christ, are STILL challenged to obey and find the fullness of life. Jesus said, "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:10-11, NIV)  

• Paul’s inspired words are clear: “Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good.” (Galatians 6:7) 

No one can say with certainty where this plague came from but I can absolutely say that our response to it has been anything but LIFE-GIVING or GOD-HONORING.  We have become less loving, more selfish, and many have used the virus as an excuse to avoid worship and service. Our response has only made a terrible thing worse. While I would be wrong to say God judged the world with a pandemic, I unapologetically state that it is an invitation to this world (and me!) to reconsider the pride that has caused us to reject or marginalize Him. Our illusions of self-sufficiency should be shattered.  IF we will humble ourselves, He will stand with us, keep our hearts at rest, and grant us His powerful salvation.  

Alas, I see little humility – among Christians, in our nation, in our leaders. We have not prayed for His mercy. We have not loved others above ourselves in His Name. Thus, we remain in the grip of fear and/or denial as if those were the only responses possible.

So this morning, may I invite you to humble prayer?

If confession is needed, let’s do it – with the full expectation of His grace to cover our failures and sins and to restore us to our place near His heart. 
Then, let us go on to bold prayers for the release of His power,
first in the invisible realm, praying that He will curb the power of the Evil one who seeks to ‘kill and destroy,’ and,
second in the presentation of ourselves as servant warriors who love others to wholeness- body, soul, and spirit- as we give ourselves in selfless service.

The word from the Word is an excerpt from the prayer that Solomon prayed at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Make it a model for your own prayers today.

“If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you,
and then they pray toward this Temple and confess your name and
turn from their sins because you have punished them, then hear from heaven and
forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel.

Teach them to do what is right, and send rain on your land that you
have given to your people as their special possession.

“If there is a famine in the land, or plagues, or crop disease, or attacks of locusts or caterpillars,
or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever the trouble is—
and if your people offer a prayer concerning their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive.

Give your people whatever they deserve, for you alone know the human heart.
Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors."  (1 Kings 8:35-40, NLT)

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Great Is Thy Faithfulness

(Focus on HIS faithfulness and be called to His side.)

 Great is Thy faithfulness
O God my Father
There is no shadow
Of turning with Thee
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning
New mercies I see
All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me

Summer and winter
And springtime and harvest
Sun moon and stars
In their courses above
Join with all nature
In manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness
Mercy and love

Pardon for sin
And a peace that endureth
Thy own dear presence
To cheer and to guide
Strength for today
And bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine
With ten thousand beside

Thomas Obediah Chisholm | William Marion Runyan

© Words: Public Domain

Gentle Shepherd!

 

Are you confident of God’s care? It is NOT a rhetorical question. It is one that begs an answer of us especially in these troubled times. The world is shaken by a pandemic that is causing a terrible impact on millions of people – sickness, sometimes death; job loss, anxiety about the future.  Whatever your opinion about the ways we ought to be dealing with it, we cannot deny that our lives are being significantly changed by this virus.  And, yes, many are stressed by politics. A week from today we will have elected a new government.  People from the Right and the Left fear the outcome, what the result will be for this nation in the years ahead.  Your concerns may be much more personal – a wayward child, a disintegrating marriage, a chronic illness.  

So, let me ask you, Christian, again:  Are you confident of God’s care?

In my prayer today, remembering the needs of the congregation, my family, the nation, and the world, I called to mind the familiar words of David’s Shepherd Psalm, focusing on one line.  "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want … Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4, NIV) In that phrase David references two sides to the Lord’s care for us.   

The ‘rod’ of a shepherd was a stout stick, a club that could be used defensively. David, who shepherded his father’s sheep, knew the usefulness of the rod! When he was talking to King Saul about the challenge of facing the Philistine champion, Goliath, he said, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth." (1 Samuel 17:34-35, NIV)  

I need a Defender. There is an Adversary who seeks my destruction. He is actively going after me. Peter said that he “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour." (1 Peter 5:8, NLT)  Do I cower in fear? Not when I remember that my Shepherd is my Defender.  It’s not just spiritual foes that attack. Ezekiel spoke of the threat that can come from those who exploit the powerless. "Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They increase the number of widows in the land." (Ezekiel 22:25, NLT)  When we feel powerless, when those who are ‘bosses’ threaten our well-being – we go the Shepherd’s side.

The ‘staff’ is a more familiar image to us. The shepherd carried a longer, more slender, stick that had a shaped crook at the top which fit nicely around the neck of a lamb! He could use the staff to reach out to pull a sheep to himself where he could administer care. The shepherd used his staff as his walking stick, as well. The staff has become a symbol of benevolent authority.  Micah writes "Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance." (Micah 7:14, NIV)

I need One who provides Care! Sheep, by nature, are dependent on the shepherd. Domesticated sheep cannot thrive without constant care. They have no natural defense for predators. Their wool must be trimmed. Parasites must be removed. They must be led to new pastures. Sheep are timid, cautious, living in flocks, and generally not aggressive but it is unfair to call them ‘stupid’ just because they need a shepherd. Yes, I sing with the Psalm, "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." (Psalm 95:6-7, NIV)  

Let's Look to our gentle Shepherd, friend. Trust His defense and His care so that you will live with confidence in times of trouble.

Here is a word from the Word. Jesus, our Shepherd, offers us comfort. "The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." (John 10:2-4, NIV)

“I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:11-15, NIV)

____________

 

Gentle Shepherd
(a simple song that invites His care)

 

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us

For we need You

to help us find our way

Gentle Shepherd come and feed us

For we need Your
strength from day to day

 

There's no other we can turn to

Who can help us face another day

 

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us

For we need You

to help us find our way

 

Gloria Gaither | William J. Gaither

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Do you like me?

 

It is the rare person who cares nothing for the opinion of others! We learn, early in life, to fit in. We find people with whom we can identify, that give us a sense of place and belonging. That is not a bad thing, entirely, unless we allow the ‘group’ to think for us, surrendering our own identity.  Part of maturity is coming to know who we are, what is truly important, and gaining the ability to choose the influencers in our life wisely.  

Some persons never mature emotionally beyond the teen years. Remember being a teen, when the approval of your friends was paramount in life?  Whatever your ‘group’ valued - their style, opinions, music …. it all really mattered because you wanted acceptance. That’s natural, but how sad it is to see a person who has reached mid-life who is still allowing how she lives to be defined by her peers. That person is a puppet on string, dancing on life's stage – tugged first this way, then that.

Persons who live for approval of others will constantly be adjusting their image, trying to conceal those parts of their life that they think are unacceptable.  

Christians find a life in the Spirit, centered in God's amazing love,  a love unrelated to our natural beauty, brains, or brawn.  His love flows out of His grace! In God's love, shown to us in Jesus Christ, we gain security and a sense of identity that allows us to live openly and honestly.  A Christian can live authentically in this world when she has found who she is in Christ. 

Paul, when criticized for his message that ran counter to tradition, declared: "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10, NIV)  His statement was NOT born of arrogance, but of the most profound submission of his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Are you able to live authentically because you have grasped the extent of God's acceptance?  Or, are you investing a lot of time and energy to conceal failures, incapable of acknowledging your fears or feelings of confusion?

When you share parts of your life story, do you carefully edit out those episodes that you think are too ‘awful’ to be told?   When I find myself in the company of someone who feels compelled to put on a lot of spiritual ‘make up’ trying to look more ‘Christian,’ I just want to hug them close and whisper - "God loves you, warts and all. It's OK to be real!"

This is not to encourage any of us to revel in sin or to excuse our bad behaviors. Some, in immaturity, make God's grace into a license for sinning. "If He loves me as I am, then I can go on living to suit myself." That's always been the response of some to the message of God's love. When we live openly, honestly before the Lord, we will be transformed to become more like Jesus.  

The Word teaches us to desire a life that pleases the Lord. "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 know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." (Romans 12:2, NLT)

The motive for that change is of highest importance.

Are we trying to change ourselves to win the approval of our church or family, or are we loving God and being changed by love?
We cannot be a Christian just by ‘acting like one’ our image defined by our church or pastor.  We must become a child of God, through faith, given a new name, a new identity. He writes His love in bold letters on our hearts which changes us, inside out.

Are you insecure? Defeat that fear praying to KNOW the depth of the love of God.  
The One who knows you best loves you most!

Here's a word from the Word. Keep it in your mind and meditate on it today – "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God. And other people will approve of you, too." (Romans 14:17-18, NLT)   That’s a win-win!

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The Love Of God

(MercyMe sings of God’s great love!)

 The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell

The guilty pair bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin

O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song

When years of time shall pass away
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fallWhen men who here refuse to pray
On rocks and hills and mountains call
God's love so sure shall still endure
All measureless and strong
Redeeming grace to Adam's race
The saints and angels song

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

 Frederick Martin Lehman | Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai
© Words: Public Domain

God's preparations for ME

I value preparation! How about you?  Am I a ‘control freak?’ Perhaps, but life works best for me when things are in order, when I have the sense that there are plans and preparations.  As I awakened this morning with a prayer for the week on my lips, the Spirit whispered to me His assurance that He has already made preparations for my every need. Yes, nothing hidden over the horizon of my life’s timeline will catch God by surprise. There are resources readied for me, grace plenty available, and strength for the journey.  

The story of Jonah is about a man who refused the call of God. He took a ship in the very opposite direction.  The Lord sent a storm to grab the errant preacher’s attention. Recognizing that he was the cause, Jonah asked to be thrown overboard.  And, even there, we learn of God’s mercy! "Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. " (Jonah 1:17, KJV)  He found himself in awe of God’s plans and had a moment of transformation!  “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:7-9, NIV)

On the cusp of this new week, you may be wrestling with real challenges, facing some pain, trying to work through heartache. You may feel the uncertainty of our times in a way that brings anxiety. You may wonder what the future holds if …  God promises that He has already made preparations! His promise stretches into eternity.

Jesus, on the night before His crucifixion, sat with His friends over dinner and talked of their future. He assures them of God’s care.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:1-2, NIV)  

 He also told them of the gift of the Spirit that was prepared for them. "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17, NIV)

When we choose to live in God’s provision, we discover a quiet strength for life.  IF we are kicking and screaming about life, if we are cussing and complaining about our situation, we reveal a failure of faith, a refusal to accept what His has prepared for us. I know how easy it is to slip into a default mode of complaint.  The coffee is not brewed correctly.  We read our spouse’s face as critical. Our boss becomes an idiot. That driver in front of us needs to step on it.  IF we allow ourselves to complain, Self consumes us and we become less aware of God’s Presence and provision.  

The people of Israel, during the Exodus, had their every need fully provided for by the LORD, and yet, for them there was not enough, no contentment.  Forgetting the plight of slavery they griped about missing the food of Egypt, despite miracle manna that showed up each morning! Their endless griping eventually caused them to reject God’s invitation into the Promised Land. The whole generation that left Egypt ended up dying in the wilderness, living far beneath the perfect plan of God!  

Paul, who might have understandably complained about the difficulties of his life, choose faith. His practical counsel is that we choose to "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! … Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse." (Philippians 4:4,8, The Message)  

 Our Lord does not ask us to become dishonest or to deny the reality of a broken world but He does invite us to be aware of His Presence. He says that He is at work, to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph 3:20) and that is a source of security and stability in a crazy, mixed up world, isn’t it?

Here’s the word from the Word.  "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

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Way Maker

(Let this song move you to worship and praise for God’s preparations)

 

You are here moving in our midst

I worship You I worship You

You are here working in this place

I worship You I worship You

 

Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper,

Light in the darkness, my God that is who You are

 

You are here touching ev'ry heart

I worship You I worship You

You are here healing ev'ry heart

I worship You I worship You

 

You are here turning lives around

I worship You I worship You

You are here mending ev'ry heart

I worship You yeah I worship You Lord

 

That is who You are

That is who You are

That is who You are

That is who You are

 

Even when I don't see it You're working

Even when I don't feel it You're working

You never stop You never stop working

You never stop You never stop working

 

Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu

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