Into the Fire

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

There are times in life that we find ourselves captive to our circumstances. We can see the peril ahead of us, but deliverance doesn’t come. Maybe you’ve been there, praying for a way out, but instead you find yourself headed straight towards the thing that is going to ruin your life.

The Biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fits this profile:

Daniel 3:19-27 (NASB)
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
20 And he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
22 For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he responded and said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.”
25 He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.
27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew that staying faithful meant they would have to refuse the King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to worship an idol. They also knew the consequence of refusing this command could be death.

Once these three men made their choice to stand firm, they found themselves with no options but to follow the course of that decision. They were bound up and thrown into a blazing furnace…a punishment that surely meant the end of their lives. Something miraculous happened at that furnace. Unlike their captors, they survived the heat of the furnace and once inside were no longer bound, but free to move around. It was also in the midst of these flames that they found their deliverer. He met them at their point of need and brought them through what seemed liked certain destruction. God even went a step further…no singed hair, no charred clothing and not even the smell of smoke.

There are times that God chooses not deliver us before the uncomfortable situations of life, but instead He allows us to enter into the flames of refinement. It is in those flames that we find ourselves set free and accompanied by the very presence of God Himself.

Today you may be wondering why God isn’t removing you from your circumstances. I want to encourage you to begin looking around in those circumstances for the presence of God. Once you see Him, you will experience freedom in the flames and you will come out on the other side without a hint of char or smoke.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

At the end of belief

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

As we go through life, we at times encounter places where our faith is stretched beyond its limits. These are the crossroads and crisis times where our trust in God’s ability to deliver us seems to be less than sufficient. These are the hours of desperation in which a person gropes for even the dimmest ray of hope to enter the picture.

Scripture gives us a picture of a father who was at this point. Mark chapter 9 describes the account of a boy who was possessed by a demon. The demon rendered the boy unable to speak and would often seek to drown or burn the child. The father of this boy saw a glimmer of hope when he encountered Jesus’ disciples, but he found only disappointment in their ability to deliver his son.

During this frustrating and desperate hour Jesus appears and the boy’s father makes a desperate plea for the sake of the boy. The father calls upon the compassion of Jesus, but at the same time reveals his uncertainty of there being any resolution. Take note of this father’s plea. It is both a heart cry that is transparent and the petition of a man who has not other answers:

Mark 9:23-24 (NASB)
23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

Today you may find yourself in a place where your faith is being stretched thin. The solutions you have pursued to date have been only dead ends. You would trade the world for a change in circumstance, but you are not sure how much longer you can hold on. If this describes your situation, I encourage you to make this father’s cry your own: “Jesus, I believe you can deliver me, but help me in my unbelief!”

I leave you with one of my favorite promises of scripture:

Psalm 34:17-19
17 The righteous cry and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Lonely Times

Good morning! I hope you had a tremendous weekend.

Have you ever spent an extended period of time alone? Most of us are surrounded by the touch and input of others. We can hardly imagine a day without the cell phone, television or conversations with others. I have taken a few extended times in silence and solitude, but never more than a few days, and those were of my choosing.

The times of silence and solitude that push you to the limits are the ones you don’t choose. These are the times when your support system falls apart; the times when no one needs your services; the times quite frankly when you are out of sight and therefore also out of mind. It is during these times that we find out what we are truly made of. We discover whether our faith has foundation and stability.

Some of the darkest hours of life come when the resumes go unnoticed, the social invitations stop coming, those who once journeyed with you are no longer present and the circumstances remain unchanging even after continual fervent prayer. It is in these dark hours that voices declare that hope is lost and shout at you to quit, give up or move on.

The Bible reveals that these dark times are not unique to us. Take note of Joseph’s life:

Genesis 40:23 (NASB)
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Joseph had been sold out by his brothers, sent to a foreign land as a slave, raised to a place of prominence in his master’s home only to be falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Joseph’s life of favor has now been replaced by a life of confinement and solitude. His only hope was a flimsy promise from the king’s cupbearer that he would remember Joseph once he was set free, a promise that went unfulfilled for another two years.

We don’t know Joseph’s private thoughts during that time, but we can only assume they were filled with doubts, despair and a questioning of God’s love. What Joseph didn’t see was the larger plan. He needed to be in prison to meet the chief cupbearer, who would ultimately bring him before Pharaoh. It was his interaction with Pharaoh that would bring him into a place of prominence making famine provisions that would ultimately save his people. A difficult path indeed, but each step was necessary to bring forth the carefully orchestrated plan of God.

Today you may find yourself in a lonely place; a place that in many ways seems desolate and nearly abandoned. You may be questioning why God has allowed you to be cut off and wondering what heinous sin you’ve committed to deserve such a punishment? This is the place where the foundation of your faith will be tested to its limits as you trust in things which at this moment are unknown and unseen. It is upon this foundation of endurance and faith that God will display the beauty of His workmanship in your life.

If you find yourself in a place of isolation this week, I encourage you to spend a few moments thanking God for seeing the bigger picture. Acknowledge that He sees the things that you don’t and as best you know how articulate your trust in His greater plan.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Preparing for the Unseen

Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family.

The talk on the lips of the American public these days is the economy. I’ve been chuckling every weeknight during The Tonight Show as Jay Leno breaks into a short burst of one-liners that begin with “The economy’s getting bad I tell you…” The forecasts for the next 18-24 months do not look good for the American economy to say the least.

So the question becomes this, “what preparations have you been making with the resources God is making available to you?” This question got me reflecting upon the story of Joseph this morning. Joseph was sold into slavery, jailed under false accusation and generally mistreated, but Joseph never lost sight of God. Joseph’s faithful service to those who held him captive ultimately led to his rise to prominence in Egypt. It was through this rise to prominence that Joseph was able to provide for his people during 7 years of famine. Look at Joseph’s words as recorded in Genesis:

Genesis 45:5-7 (NASB)
5 “And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
7 “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.

Sometimes in life we get so self-absorbed with what is wrong in our own piece of the picture that we fail to step back and look at the bigger picture. Joseph heeded the warnings of famine and made adjustments in the land of Egypt that ended up being the provision for the inhabitants of the land when food was scarce. He got beyond the “wrongs” of the past and turned a negative into a positive.

So what has God been doing to prepare you and your family for the things that lie ahead? Perhaps it is time to step back and look at the greater picture. God may have allowed you to go through a job change you didn’t want, because your industry was getting ready to fold. He may have moved you to another part of the country, where the provisions of life are not as difficult to come by. He may have denied you the loan, so you wouldn’t be weighed down by a debt you couldn’t maintain. Of course the preparations are not all negative. Perhaps the bonus or raise you received was given so you could build a cash reserve if things get lean. Maybe that same windfall was given so you could provide more fully for those in need.

Whether the worst fears of the economic forecasters come to pass remains to be seen, but no matter what the outcomes may be, God is already putting the resources and people in place to see His people through the lean times. Today, I encourage you to evaluate the tools that God has given you for provision and care. Thank Him for already making the adjustments in your life that are needed to whether the storms of the future.

Until next Monday may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Being Transparent

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

This past week, I was asked a question that on the surface didn’t seem that penetrating, but in the end was life changing for me. The question was simply: “What do you need from me this week?” Now this wouldn’t seem like a difficult question to answer, but for me it was. After a few seconds of thought I gave the standard surface answer: “You can pray for me.”

It was from this exchange that God began to unravel my inner wiring and identified a short circuit in the system. The friend who had asked me the question seized the opportunity to speak truth into my life. He elaborated that his prayer for me was a given, but that his question was an offer to walk beside me as a brother.

GALATIANS 6:2 (NASB)
Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.

My friend was seeking to help me carry the burdens of my life, there was just one problem. I was not allowing him to walk with me through my journey of life. The truth of the matter was that I had many needs. Let’s be honest, I just left a salaried ministry position to start a church and live by faith. The problem was, I didn’t want to be totally transparent. Something inside of me wanted to hide the fact that I had needs…some of them pressing in quickly.

When I got home that afternoon, my wife could see I was grinding on something deep within me, so she asked. I told her about my interaction earlier in the day and she immediately informed me that I had taken the easy way out. She elaborated that God was trying to provide for our needs, but I was allowing my pride to thwart those very provisions. Ouch! She was right; my pride was hindering the very thing I was seeking from God. I wanted to simply tell God all of my problems and sit back and wait for the provisions to flow in.

Unfortunately, that is inconsistent with the way God chooses to work in our lives. He has joined us with others who were put into our lives to help us carry our burdens. The channels of blessing are those who walk along side of us. We are truly dependent upon the other members of Christ’s body, if we are to function at a peak level.

The next time you are asked “what do you need from me?” Don’t pass off the question with a quick “pray for me.” Choose instead the route of transparency; allow others to see you needs and burdens. You will find that their presence beside you brings God’s comfort and blessing. God never intended for us to walk alone, so take joy in those who care enough to ask the “tough” question.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

In Christ,
Carl

It's all in how you look at it

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

This week all eyes will be on the American economy, in particular the financial markets. Over the past several weeks the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen nearly 2,000 points. For many this has led to a state of panic as they are overtaken by fear, worry and host of other unpleasant emotions. Their current state of emotion is of course grounded in their choice of perspective. For many, this downturn of the market is no different than a red-tag clearance sale at the local department store…a buying opportunity.

Ephesians 5:20 (NLT)
And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A few weeks ago I attended a 3 day guided prayer retreat. One of the exercises we went through went something like this. Our leader asked us in 2 minutes to write down everything we were thankful for. The list flowed with things like friends, family, health, etc… When the 2 minutes was up, the leader asked us to go to another page and now for another 2 minutes list the things we were not thankful for. This list didn’t flow quite as readily, but there were still many things listed. When the time was up, the leader inquired why we weren’t thankful for the things we had just listed. My list of unthankfulness was marked with such things as pain, loss and circumstances that I couldn’t control.

The more I studied that list, the more I realized that there were many issues to be thankful for, but it would require a change of perspective. With God’s help, I made an adjustment to the picture in my soul. This internal cropping of the frame helped me refocus the image of the experience. For example, a time of loss is now seen as a time of knowing God’s miraculous provisions. A time of deep pain is now seen as a time of experiencing the depth of God’s love. A time of failure has now become a great teaching experience.

You get the idea. The experience itself is permanent, but the angle and perspective I view it from are fluid. Today you may find yourself flooded with a sea of emotions over the circumstances in your life and the world around you. I encourage you to step back from the canvass and readjust the frame. Once you bring the lessons, strength and presence of God back into the picture; the picture will take on a whole new appearance and meaning.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Drowning in Circumstances

Good morning! I hope you had a terrific weekend.

Each of us has encountered situations in our lives that were “over our heads.” More clearly stated, we at times are faced with circumstances that are beyond our ability and resources to change. Life has been moving along at a normal pace when all of the sudden your reality changes. The doctor says the tests came back malignant; the boss gives you a pink slip on Friday afternoon; the police show up at your door; you come home to find your house full of water and in those moments your whole world changes.

Our positive outlook now makes a sharp 180 degree turn and our confidence quickly becomes helplessness. We’re no longer interested in achieving; prospering or winning…surviving has now become the order of the day.

Today I want to encourage you with Peter’s story from Matthew 14. The disciples were out in a boat late at night fighting hard to row through the waves. About 3AM they observed a figure walking towards them on top of the waves. As the figure came closer they learned it was Jesus. Peter called out and asked Jesus to verify His identity by commanding Peter to come to Him on the water. So Jesus did just that.

So out of the boat Peter goes. Not sinking, but walking towards Jesus on top of the waves. This was truly a milestone moment in Peter’s life and most certainly a story that would trump any other. Unfortunately for Peter, his circumstances changed. He began to notice the churning sea around him. As his eyes shifted to the waves and away from Jesus, he began to sink.

Matthew 14:30-31a (NLT)
But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
[31] Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him.

So what does this have to do with you? If you are like me, when crisis hits, you are frantically searching for a way out. How can I get away from the danger, pain, turmoil, etc…? Peter gives us a great pattern. He didn’t pray a long flowing prayer. He didn’t try to justify how he got into this mess. He simply shouted (literally yelled) “Save me!”

Save me, these two words are probably the most powerful words anyone could ever pray. These are words of complete helplessness and complete dependence. In these words is an acknowledgment that you need something greater than yourself and your resources if you are going to make it. These words also bring about a refocusing. Peter knew his help could only come from the one who was walking on the waves. His circumstance required him to once again fix his eyes on Jesus.

Take not of how Jesus responded. The word “instantly” or “immediately” is used in this verse. Jesus didn’t make Peter wait until the Coast Guard could send out a rescue boat. Jesus didn’t tell Peter to swim back to the boat or tread water. Jesus didn’t even tell Peter to “hang on.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and grabbed Peter, lifting him to his feet again.

Today you may find yourself sinking in circumstances. Perhaps you need to follow the example of Peter and simply yell out to Jesus, “save me!”

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl