i don’t know about you, but sometimes…sometimes i am just so very tired of struggling. Oh and how often it just seems my days are filled with one little struggle after another….. just tedious …. so many things in a row are “almost but not quite” and it’s so very irritating. It’s like whenever i’m in a hurry the world around me goes into slow motion….. maybe i’ve got to duck into a store to quickly get something, and it feels like everyone is taking forever to decide even the smallest decisions…. if they are going to get this brand or that brand all the while their cart is blocking the isle and you’re thinking to yourself, “They are all virtually the SAME! Just pick one!” But we can’t do that, so we smile and just practice our virtue of patience, all the while we are broiling inside.

We are “the strugglers”. i fully believe where there is no struggle, there is no progress, and there is no strength; where there is no struggle there is no maturity, no learning to endure and persist which are two very important functions if we plan on continuing to breathe air. i believe most people who never have to struggle with life and everything is handed to them are typically very immature ….without struggle in life there would be no empathy, we couldn’t relate to other people’s trials, their rejection, abandonment, or not being loved.

i hope you will all take to heart some of what is shared … sometimes all we need is a little place to set our feet against in order to make course adjustments for important changes over the long run.

The topic is struggling and those in the Kingdom of God who struggle forward, whom i’ve dubbed “The Strugglers” for their valiance and passion to find some way to wrap their fingers and hands in the robes of God Himself. We struggle to get up a hill and not fall backward, and then we struggle to get down the same hill trying to not fall forward. Even so, the value of struggle is immeasurable and valuable.

Psalm 95:8, “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,” …..a more literal translation of the words  “harden your hearts” is a picture of a yoke with teeth that is heavy and oppressive biting into the very core of Israel’s heart… there was an argument between them and the Lord….it was a struggle of epic proportions while wandering in the wilderness. To harden your heart would mean to refuse to hear and see…. and if you did hear and see, you would refuse to do the wisdom….all born out of the poison of bitterness and iniquity while resenting God for the struggle.

Having wisdom and doing wisdom are often very, very different things. i think to myself sometimes about how often the Lord extends me wisdom and i don’t listen…i have no idea why i don’t listen…i really don’t know …. even so, my unbelief that God is speaking to me or my rejection of His wisdom always complicates my daily struggle. HA! You’d think i’d know better by now, you know?  God extends us wisdom to relive some of our struggles, not only that but He often simply clears the path in front of us providing us times of easy progress for a bit. In fact, for all we do NOT see and hear, there is no telling the obstacles the Lord removes from our path which we don’t know about. In His kindness, He helps us through our struggles.

The Bible is chock full of strugglers…. those who made, in one fashion or another, forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction. It would be easy to point out general things like war because everyone in every war is obviously struggling over something. But i’d like to be a bit more focused on significant individuals whose struggles made an eternal impact on our lives today.

Elijah always struck me as this incredible tower of courage, exercising such confidence in God. In 1 Kings 18, he acted with such certainty…..it’s as if he knew exactly what to do, where to do it, and with whom…..he seemed to have such assurance as to how everything was going to work out, going forward like a man who was so sure of his steps….it was downright majestic.

In 1 Kings 18, he did that whole thing with the prophets of Baal….it was like, no problem, he was the perfect God’s-man in the moment. But, when the prophets of Baal were all dead, and he heard that Jezebel had decreed that he would be dead by the next day, it says in 1 Kings 19:3-4, “….Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life…”

There was a terrific struggle going on inside him. On one hand, he was determined to accomplish the intent of God’s heart, but on the other hand, he was gripped by fear and ran away to the wilderness and lay crying under a tree for God to kill him. Elijah was one of the strugglers, just like you and me.

By and by, the Lord sent an angel to get him up and give him food…. in his struggle, the Lord made a way. Elijah was strengthened and found the courage to rise again and continue on. “Continue on” is the key phrase.

Douglas MacArthur said, “The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle: the roar of the crowd on the one side, and the voice of your conscience on the other.”

The path of least resistance is one of the greatest lies we will ever believe. We live in a world that makes so many things easy for us, that we begin to live as though the easy way is the best….always. If i’m sitting in a coffee shop with a cup of caffeine, a computer, and a cell phone, and can access any information or contacts I need without moving, i think i’m happy. I can listen to any music in the world that I want to with just a few clicks, see what any person or organization is up to with just a few more, order anything I might need online, or watch whatever I want to watch.

In a world where so much is so easy, the deciding factor in what I do becomes what I WANT. And let’s be honest if given the choice between doing what I want and what I don’t want, I’m always going to lean towards what I want.

What I have come to realize though (sometimes quite painfully), is that what I WANT is usually not the same as what i NEED. In fact way too often, what i NEED is exactly what I do NOT WANT. So what becomes one of the most regular and life-defining choices is the choice between taking the easy path to what I want versus the difficult path to what I need. Struggle becomes an active choice rather than a life necessity. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes disaster hits and we are thrown into struggle without any say in the matter, but day-to-day, struggle is usually something we have to choose.

i realize that you, like myself, get so, so tired of struggling with everything it seems. For example, i have to go to Walmart, and i have to park so very far away, and it’s so hot and my feet hurt and i’ve got a headache, and, and, and…. just choosing to get up and walk to the store is a struggle. Once i get inside it seems it’s a day of all days when everyone seemed to need to return stuff, get their prescription filled, or had to bring the entire family to the store….as if the entire city came to THAT store at THAT moment….just incredible; some people stand in the aisles as though they are the only people shopping on the planet, their kids are screaming, and it seems everyone has a bad attitude, not to mention the old guy on a little go-cart who is running into people on purpose because they are in his way. It is nothing short of a struggle just to be there. Sometimes i think it would be easier to go deer hunting with nothing but a short rope than to struggle with people.

BUT!  Without struggle, it is impossible to grow. Muscles do not grow or strengthen without stress and without being pushed to their limits, and neither do people. We need struggle … as bad as we don’t want it, we neeeeeed struggle in order to become stronger … without it, we slowly deteriorate….we literally have dystrophy.

i think to myself occasionally, “But Lord why oh why do i have to struggle THIS much and for so long it seems?” In the middle of struggle, it seems time slows down to a torturous tick for someone’s delicious thrill of watching us struggle. Of course that isn’t true, but when in the middle of struggle, our conflicts just seem amplified.

Mark 4:36-38, “Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “We are going to die here! Don’t you even care?”

Those guys were in such a struggle, trying to be considerate and not to wake the Lord up while simultaneously trying not to die at sea. And don’t you know they struggled against their thoughts of asking for help or not. Obviously, they believed Jesus could rectify the situation, but the panic in them…” Don’t you even care?” indicates a terrific internal struggle. The Lord is aware of our struggles and just because we don’t necessarily see or hear it, He is moving mountains and shifting the Heavens on our behalf.

i believe Herman Melville was correct when he said, “Hope is the struggle of the soul, breaking loose from what is perishable, demonstrating its everlastingness.” Jesus was the real deal. He was, is, and will be the standard of authenticity, and everyone who met Jesus met with their own incredible internal struggle, thinking, “Who IS this guy?”, “When He’s around it just upsets my little world.”, or “Why is He here? Who does He think He is?” John 7:11-12, “Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” They were people who struggled with who Jesus was and what He represented. His straight-up honesty and authenticity was unnerving to those who lived an inauthentic life, spoke non-credible words, and were unconvincing in their actions. He was authentic, real, honest, trustworthy, and lived with His entire heart committed to the purposes and values of the Father.

i read somewhere that authenticity has a high price. It could cost your career. It definitely costs you the path of least resistance. Authenticity dooms you to a life of struggle; to a life of risk; to a life of uncertainty, rejection, and danger. It takes the spoon full of sugar away from the medicine so that you have to taste the bitterness of what you need when it goes down. It takes the disguises away so that you see the monsters in the darkness around you as well as the ones in your own mind. It feels the sting of trial and the bloody sweat of conflict rather than the comfort of the cushioned facade, and it makes you stare failure in the face rather than avoid it.

So as painful as it is, being authentic and real brings struggle, and struggle brings growth. When life is easy, growth is a struggle, but when life is a struggle, growth is easy. You may be in a place where life is smooth sailing, or you may be in a place where life is incredibly difficult for reasons outside of your control.

Yet, even so, we the people, are the strugglers. We struggle to be convincing in a very unconvincing world. We struggle to be credible in a very non-credible world with a very non-credible government, doing very non-credible business. We struggle with illness and go to doctors who often see us as dollars rather than people who are ill. We go to schools where the entire facility is often no more than a business and when they tell us they care, we struggle, because we, so often, find them very not believable.

i can assure you, the Lord is the most authentic and genuine person in the universe. He is trustable, believable, and faithful light years above anyone or anything on this mud ball we call Earth. Where there was no way, God has made a way. When we were bound, slaves to sin, chained in darkness, Jesus made a way. Without struggle, the little chicken would never live past the breaking out of its shell, without struggle we would have no heroes or champions. Without struggle, we would just be cruisers and posers with no character content. Friends, God has given us the courage to struggle and win. We, the strugglers, who believe in Christ as Savior, are more than conquerors, and to be a conqueror requires struggle.

Listen for the struggle in this scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, “But in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

Do you hear the struggle places, the places of conflict and the victory? How often do we, like Paul, find ourselves in situations where we are pressed to have patience? Constantly. When Paul was in heartache, in grief, in desperation for food and shelter, when he was beaten and incarcerated he struggled with life and people, yet he was more than a conqueror. Through God’s gift to us of strength, wisdom, and perseverance, instead of responding like a spoiled little kid who had never faced adversity, Paul exhibited not bitterness and wrongness of character but as it says in Galatians 5:22-23, he lived out the life of a righteous example, “….the fruit of the Spirit….love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

2 Cor 12:7-10, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” Then Paul writes, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong”

Friends, we are the strugglers, living through a life that sometimes is so very trying. And oh isn’t it easy to say that if we didn’t struggle we wouldn’t be strong, but then how much more difficult it is to actually get strong because we struggle. We all have days where everything seems just tedious.

Enduring and persisting in the face of struggle are crucial to learning, because learning is a hard and messy business.

Consider the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914, wow, now that’s got to be one of the most heroic survival stories of all time.

Have we wept over our sin? Do we cry over the sinner? Where am i willing to go if God requests it of me? Am i willing to yield my self-indulgence to God in order to gain Christ? Those are all points of choosing and struggle. A man assured me, vehemently, not too long  ago that it is not God’s desire that i be poor, and in fact, God wanted me to be wealthy and if i was poor it was my miserable lack of faith that made it so. Oh my, what a lie! What a struggle because, often, most of us don’t find ourselves being filthy rich and are living regular lives. We are not the focus. God’s point is HIS SON and that the Lamb would have the reward of His suffering….and this  bloodsucking, vampiristic doctrine of prosperity breeds listless complacency born on the wings of fatness to take up an issue against God when our agenda doesn’t happen…even to the point that a pastor of a large church told me, “you can’t go to church if you don’t have any money, and if you don’t have any money, you might as well just not go.” and he was serious, all jesting aside. What a struggle in us those words can cause. This is not good! i have been witness to hearing another pastor stand up and rebuke the spirit of indebtedness on his congregation, city, state, and nation and then 10 minutes later inform everyone that the church was “now able to put your tithes and offerings on your credit card if you’d like.” What??!! This is incredible! i was thinking “am i really hearing this?!” While people were struggling against being slaves to debt, they were being called back to enter into debt. Even so, we struggle against all odds to be the people of God, never-the-less.

There were men of God many years ago who left their homes to go with God where ever He would lead. Many got on a ship to a destination in April of one year only to arrive at their destination in May of the next year… and that was only just getting there. (would i do that? Probably not. Am i even willing to hear it?)  They didn’t have any books written, no support base of people pledging money, no tape or CD ministry, no booking agent, no advertisements no posters or schedule of meetings for when the “great man of God who holds many titles” would arrive. They didn’t have a marketing committee to promote them. Many were rejected by the local board of deacons, many had no “mission board” endorsements, no one knew them in the place of their destination most of the time, many times they didn’t even speak the language, and they suffered cannibals, disease, insect hordes, bad and poison water, repetitive rejection, slavery, imprisonment for no reason that made sense many times, they were burned out, burned down, beaten, whipped, and even thrown into holes under the city which were then closed up and they were forgotten, and that’s just a start. But yet these early examples of the carriers of the gospel message pressed on with the call of God on their  lives. They struggled forward and today we call them heroes of the faith…and for me, they truly were. Yet, standing out as THE reason among many reasons, they considered that Jesus Christ was more important than they were…they knew we don’t deserve Christ but He deserves us, and they went forward that the Lamb who was slain from the foundations of the world would have the reward of His suffering. Amen.

i am proud of my struggle for the Gospel to go forward with the call of God on my life. And you? Where are you in this? Stand up church, it’s time to stop feeling sorry about your struggles and stand up in the name of Jesus. Be strong and courageous!

Friends, In the middle of all our struggles let us not lose heart. i’ve said before that i believe that one of the biggest difficulties in America is loss of heart.

2 Corinthians 4:15-18, “For all things are for your benefit, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary struggles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

We are the strugglers, those who endure and persist in the Lord regardless of the struggles and conflicts. Don’t lose heart, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and remember, strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord. Wanna be strong?… then you’ll have to learn to wait, but while you’re waiting you’re getting stronger and stronger.

Breathe man, breathe, after all, you are in the grip of His grace. Drive carefully and watch out for your neighbor. i’ll talk to you next time. Amen.

A few years ago, in our home fellowship, a continuing topic of discussion for a while was about the attributes of God, why we need them, and how they are a life-giving imperative in the lives of all Christians everywhere – all day, all night, all the time.  One man occasionally commented that we needed to spend our time only in intercession and prayer.  He eventually just came straight out and asked, “Why are we spending our time talking about this?!”

i suppose he didn’t exactly see the value of knowing God’s qualities nor did he seem to have an interest in understanding the value of the Lord from another facet besides intercession and prayer.  Either way, due to his comments, i was motivated to not only discover as many of God’s attributes as i could, but to also make a list of what was under God’s banner of intimacy, and what our King imparts to us if we’ll take the time to be involved with Him.  The Lord shares Himself with us so that we can come into the likeness of the Son.  According to Romans 8:29, those who believe in Christ are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ, and being conformed to that image means we take on His attributes.  Incidentally, the word “conformed” means to be “pressed and squeezed into shape” … meaning coming into the likeness of the Son of God is not always moonbeams, merry-go-rounds, and candy canes.

One of the things God gives to us of Himself is, what i would call, modeling.  God models for us how to act, when and how to have grace, what is His idea of kindness, courtesy, obedience, sacrifice, timing, integrity and privilege to name a few.  Also, in the Bible is a host of other characters who model how we should NOT act, what we should NOT do, attitudes we should NOT have, and even some subtle discussions of detrimental intent which opposes righteousness.

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          God’s view of things is radically different than ours!  Instead of using Christ as our model, i believe a large part of our country listens more to the bland and shallow “beautiful people” which our culture promotes in order to sell us on ourselves.  More often than taking advice from God Himself and His written word, many seem to listen more to any and every celebrity who might appear on a television or radio talk show.  Ahhh yea, the media seems to have become, what i call, the great “discipler”.

But if we’ll listen to and follow after the Lord, being diligent to study the Bible, God has indeed extended us all sorts of models: role models for example.  The Lord gave Paul as a role model.  Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”  Paul urges us to take note of those whose lives imitate Christ as is pointed out in Hebrews 6:12 – “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Above that, though, Jesus is the ultimate role model.  He modeled how to surrender to being obedient to every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. He is THE model whom we should ultimately fashion ourselves and lives after.  He is the self-emptying, humble, and obedient Christ of God.  Jesus modeled right relationship with God all the way to the cross.

Most of us have parents whom our lives have been modeled after to one degree or another.  How many of us have said, myself included, “I’ll never be like” her or him?  Regardless of our declaring who we won’t be like, whoever raised us has imprinted on us their life habits, thinking patterns, goodness and badness, for better or for worse.  i think to not have any of our parents’ attributes is probably inescapable, short of God doing a mighty work in us.

Let me also add, that in following Jesus, getting to know Jesus, listening and being obedient to Jesus, using the life of Christ as our pattern for living, we slowly come into the likeness of the Son.  And let me certify, the change that comes with following after the Lord can be radical.

Speaking for myself, i’ve even had people ask me if i am actually related to my brother or sister because they say i am nothing at all like them.  At that, all i can say is God has made me different and my likeness is more of my Savior, and not after my biological family … and for me, i don’t know about you, but i do know about me … i consider that miraculous and a wonderful thing.

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In the entire New Testament, Jesus modeled unity for the Body of Christ.  i heard a man say once, “Unity in Christ was the absolute necessary evidence of the gospel at work.  Redemption that does not redeem, that does not cause a Philemon to accept the runaway slave Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, is merely soft, ugly mush.  Redemption that does not actively practice forgiveness, that does not crush ‘complaining’ against and ‘arguing’ with one another in the Christian community, mocks the word of the Lord.”  Philippians 2:14-15, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

God extends to us a model of how we should behave ourselves.  Jesus modeled the importance of forgiveness by forgiving us who believe; then He takes it further by saying in Matthew 6:14 – “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”  The Bible also extends to us models of how we should not act.  Like in Luke 20:20, there were those whom are shown to be of disrepute, where it says, “they who pretended to be honest.”  Friends, i’m absolutely worn out on pretend honesty and the facade of genuine sincerity where there is no genuineness to it.  Jesus modeled honesty and it wasn’t for nothing.  If we want to live in a culture of honor, it would seem honesty is absolutely a main ingredient.  Not only did Jesus model grace and honesty for us, He also was the perfect example of good boundaries.  Good boundaries make for solid relationships, in fact a distinct lack of boundaries is usually what destroys friendships, and inspires criminal thinking.

In Luke 10, Jesus tells a story with six different character types.  All are examples of people of today as well as at that time in history. Which one are you, the victim in the ditch, the exploiting thieves, the priest and Levite who were concerned some of the victim’s bad ju-ju would get on them, the Samaritan who extended himself to help the victim, or the inn keeper who would help the man, but only for a fee?  Which one are you?  Can you be honest about that?  Which one have you modeled your life after?  In the overview of the entire parable, Jesus was also one of the characters, doing more than just helping, but literally giving His life for us.  Be honest now … which one of those characters do you think your life is modeled after?  After all, the idea is to come into the likeness of the Son.

One of the most significant models God has given us is the model of marriage.  This model starts at Genesis, “In the beginning,” and concludes in Revelation with, “The grace of Christ be upon all God’s people, AMEN.”

God gave us the model for those who get married in Mark 10:6-9.  He gave us a model of what NOT to do once we ARE married as shown in the decline of Solomon in 1 Kings 11:1-13.  Jesus modeled commitment, love, and devotion … God’s love and commitment are most amazingly revealed in the four gospels, in the stars, in all the earth, and from cover to cover in the Bible.  God knows the end from the beginning.  The character of the cross was worked in the heart of the Son from before the foundations of the world was laid, so from the beginning to the end God models for us marriage as seen in His actions toward us whom He loves.

The Lord gave men a model to draw from on how to treat their wives in Eph 5:25, in fact all of Eph 5:25-30 IS the model.  “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”  Now, let me add the unspoken rest of the story.  The wife ought not to take advantage and manipulate her husband while he’s busy laying down his life.

1 Timothy 3:2-3 gives men the model on how they should conduct themselves within the marriage and outside the household.  Prov 12:4 models for women a vision of God’s intent on who she should be to her husband and where it all goes if she is a disgrace.  And, of course, we can’t leave out the model woman of Proverbs 31.  The story of Ruth is a wonderful study of how women should model themselves.  In fact, the same word Boaz used of Ruth’s character – calling her “worthy” or “noble” in Ruth 3:11 – is the same used in reference to the Proverbs 31:10 woman, naming her character as someone of great virtue, strength, and courage.

James 1:27 gives us a model of how to act towards widows and orphans, and that we should help the helpless, the orphans and widows.  The Lord is generous and we should be as He is.  Instead, we often model ourselves after other people instead of the Lord, who modeled a standard for us that we should act like Him.  Eph 5:1,“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”  Jesus revealed to us how children should treat their parents in Luke 2:51-52.  We see it outlined again in Eph 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”  A poetic model of how to treat our parents is also seen in Prov 1:8-9, “My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your fingers.”

Oh my, do you see it all?!  God has so amazingly laid out for us the models of how we should conduct ourselves in business, in marriage, in righteousness and holiness.  The Lord God Almighty did not commission the book called the Bible to be written just so we could ignore His models for our conduct, character, and conversation.

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Above the models of modesty spoken of in 1 Corinthians, or of wisdom in Proverbs and in Matthew … above Paul’s model of stewardship in Colossians, and above multitudes of scriptural models of persistence, diligence, righteous justice, mercy, creativity, faith, and fairness … Above all of these and hundreds of others God has given us so we would know what to do and how to act … above all that, the Lord has called us to be models ourselves; models after Jesus.  We are to be image AND reflection, meaning not only how we look, but also in how we act.  Not that anyone can become Jesus, but we can certainly set our eyes on being like Him.  He calls us to become role models for the world.

Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Letting your light shine before men doesn’t mean we go around slamming people with the gospel.  It means, and hear this:  it means to live a life which has a constant upward pointing to the sovereignty of God.

N.T. Wright wrote:  “the path to  God himself is seen in Jesus Christ!  That of giving yourself away, of generous love which constantly refuses to take center stage.”  You’d be surprised how far your work in the Kingdom will go if you’ll stop putting your name all over it.

God has also revealed to us other models – models of those whom we should NOT act like:  think Balaam, Ahab, Jeroboam who made Israel to sin, or Korah, or Cain.  It is very important that we know who NOT to model after, but i believe more importantly, we need to know to whom we SHOULD.

God gave to us His only Son, who was, in the flesh, the reflection of the Father in Heaven.  Jesus said in John 14:9 – “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”  And John 8:19 – “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”   In other words, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen Him, and if you know me, you know Him.

Who are your heroes?  Who have you modeled your life after?  Do most of us even know?  If we don’t, what can we do to help ourselves become all that God has called us to be?  And right there is a big AMEN.  Think about it…

John 13:14-15, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”  Washing feet is more than a towel, pan of water, and scooping the water across someone’s feet.  That’s too small and falls far short of what the Lord intended.  Go over and mow their lawn, bring your wife coffee in the morning, do the dishes, go clean someone’s house or weed their garden, be consistently kind and graceful to your parents.  Tell others about the goodness of God instead of the badness of men. That kind of stuff is washing feet.  That is modeling the character of the Lord.  Condemnation never liberated anyone from immorality or depression.

Jesus is our model and frame, the singing light who lived and died on our behalf.  He gave Himself for us and asks us to give ourselves to Him, to model His heart and life, accomplishing the Heart of the Father that all those who believe in Christ, would come into the likeness of His dear Son, Jesus.

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Thank you for taking a few moments in time and space to consider with me the possibilities of God’s infiniteness living in us.

Be strong and courageous, pray for your neighbors, drive carefully, and step into the model of righteousness God has given you the power and authority to do.  Be blessed my friends, be blessed.

Faith vs Risk

Faith is the eternal optimist, risk is the eternal pessimist.

Today, the word “risk” is used in everyday speech to describe the probability of loss, or maybe the likelihood of accidents of some type. Risk has everything to do with actions, investments, or attitudes which could result in a negative outcome. Risk assessment has everything to do with measuring that negative outcome and deciding alternate courses of action with a lesser probability of loss. And one more, risk management is about making strategies to manage negative outcome, and to control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events. A good example of a risk management team is in Dan6:2, “And over these 120 princes were three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king might not suffer any loss.”

Risk has become a common word, and is used whether the risk in question is quantifiable or not. The word seems to have originated with the Arabic, (pronounced then spelled out) “rizq”; Italian seamen used the word (pronounced then spelled out) “risco”, in reference to the danger of uncharted areas of their maps. The French also used a variation of the word, (pronounced then spelled out )“risqué” in reference to a metaphor meaning, “difficult to avoid at sea”, or “sailing into uncharted waters.”

As we discuss risk reality, i’d like us to see further than what the world understands of risk to what God means of “risk”, how faith relates to risk, and how our skill at navigating risk gets better as we mature and gain experience….well, at least, it should get better. Also in the mix is the contrast of faith and risk, and no, they are not the same.

i don’t know about anyone else, but for me, i really don’t have a lot of sequential words in me, contrary to popular opinion. Sure i can ramble on like a marble rattling around in a box, but still, the words only qualify as rambling. So, one day the Lord told me something, He said if i would be diligent and apply myself, if i would do what i call the “dig and sift” of His Word, meaning dig it up and sift through it for treasure, He would be faithful and give me words and topics that would speak to people about three inches below the surface of where they live, and that’s exactly what He’s done.

Tonight’s topic is faith and risk. How do we act in faith and risk together? What is risk to you and what parts of your life do you feel are your biggest risks? If you know the truth, is there any risk involved? And, what is your idea of a necessary risk, responsible risk, irresponsible risk, and how does your choice of risk affect you and the people around you?

Sit tight, keep your peace and i’ll be right back.

A friend of mine won the West coast 500 Pro Class Motocross many years ago, so he seemed like a good first candidate for a deeper discussion of faith and risk. In our discussions, along with other racing strategies, one phrase which really caught my ear was his use of the term, “controlled crash”. He won by pushing everything to the absolute edge – once he was on the track, everything – every curve, every shift, every jump, every slide – from start to finish, it was all a controlled crash, always on the edge of winning it all or losing it all. It’s when everything is pushed to the edge of the envelope, and when things are pushed slightly beyond that edge is when the controlled crash occurs.  He was never damped by the possibility of failure, he said that an over focus on the “failure potential” skews our risk assessment. Even though quite a few years have gone by, he still lives life in sort of a controlled crash, the only difference is that his maturity and experience have highly influenced his risk assessment, therefore he has a greater degree of success in all he does. Here it is again: maturity and experience highly influence our risk assessment….or at least it should.

We can easily get lost in models, procedures, and plans but in the end it is imperative to follow the leading of the Lord rather than an outline. Don’t get me wrong, outlines are good, of course, but at some point we must stop following the lines, per se, and “step off the page” of “how the model or procedure mandates” and flow with God. Can you hear that?

Now i suppose it would be easy to perceive the phrase, “controlled crash” as an oxymoron – or that it is a self-contradictory phrase, like saying something was a “cruel kindness”, but here’s what is meant by “controlled crash”: when something slips out of our initial plan, it speaks of the action taken to minimize the damage. Like when riding a horse at a full gallop and somehow your feet come out of the stirrups. You knew it was possible that this could happen, but in order to have a little control over the potential catastrophe which could easily follow, you already thought about what to do next. We see bull riders who do it all the time. They know the risk is high that they will get thrown off, but in the moment they are becoming dislodged, they are keeping their cool and thinking, not about the failure to make the ride to the buzzer, but about how to best dismount with as little damage as possible.

Acts 27:15 says, “And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.”

It was a controlled crash meaning they couldn’t get out of the storm, it was all out of control, they picked a course of action that might minimize any potential damage, so they went with the wind, and “let her drive.”

A “controlled crash” takes into account that it’s possible things will not go as planned and dedicates some planning over what to do next. Some would call it “Faith with a contingency plan”, which is something we’ll get to shortly.

Gambling addicts bet the house, but rarely have a back up plan in case they lose it all, whereas a good stock investor may risk a great deal on an investment, but almost always has an exit plan. Becoming part of a limited liability corporation is a risk, but the smart business man always has a larger, more detailed exit plan than the entry plan. Is your life just a crash waiting to happen with no strategy in the event things don’t go as initially planned, or is it a controlled crash where you’ve made a contingency plan built of “if this, then that”?

As with other topics, there is also the other side of risk which must be considered, and that would be “safety”. People who risk little have a high need for safety therein is a fear of failure which prevents many of us from many things. Frequently we tend to “overcorrect” when we’ve navigated life poorly, so i can also assume that “overcorrection is a fear of failure”. As example, possibly a person’s life style was too loose, so they overcorrected by becoming too severe and stringent. Pilot’s often over shoot or miss a runway because the airplanes attitude was incorrect, and rather than make a small correction, for fear of not correcting enough, they over correct, and then overcorrect the overcorrection, etc, etc. For fear of not correcting enough they corrected too much, thus, they must pull up, circle the runway, and try again.

Like the story Jesus told in Matt25 about the three investors. One received five talents, the next two talents, and the last one talent. The first investor risked big by investing all, he risked big and it paid off; the second investor also risked big and it paid off big; but the third was gripped by fear of loss, fear of the master, fear of … well …. just fear….he had a greater need to be safe than to take a chance, therefore he risked nothing. The servant who chose to be safe rather than risk, could, i imagine, have possibly declined to be the investor, it is possible he didn’t absolutely HAVE to take the challenge. But after he accepted the challenge, he blamed the master as to why he did not risk an investment saying, “’Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’”

The servant’s fears were unfounded and what’s worse, he blamed the master for his own faithlessness and fear.

What the servant thought was safety by not risking, did not prove very safe at all. Here is the next insight: The need to be safe tightly governs our ability to risk.

In the process of developing the idea of faith and risk, i woke up one morning and the Lord gave me the bright idea to do some interviews. He said go to business men, individuals, missionaries, street people, asking them what their idea of risk is and what is an area in their lives which they considered to really be on the edge and risky. Out of those who responded, there were a few who felt being a leader was a risk which they didn’t feel willing to take. Their need to be safe exceeded their ability to possibly take up a leadership role in a fellowship of believers, even though they were completely qualified.

Can we conclude then, for some people, their fear of failure, maybe even their fear of success, coupled with a need to be safe, can actually exceed their ability to be obedient? Obedience is a thing of faith, and i believe that sacrifice is a thing of risk.

Luke 19:26, “”He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.” This scripture has many meanings … like most parables it is multi-faceted, but one way to read it is Jesus is speaking about those who risk with God, and those who play it safe. Here is a different view of the same scripture from the Message Bible, “”Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.”

i believe most people who would rather “play it safe” are so worried they might get it wrong, might be seen as foolish or stupid, or judged harshly by others, so much so that they never move up and out into God’s destiny for them. Always playing it safe is such a fear filled lifestyle. Most believers really do have something to say, but very few of them actually get around to saying it. It is safe to just be quiet, and risky to voice what’s on your heart. Many in leadership seem to rarely encourage others to exercise their faith and take a chance. It’s almost as if they just want the congregation to attend, listen, do what they’re told, leave their money, and go home. Sounds more like a business plan than expanding the Kingdom of God, … i don’t know…maybe, maybe not. This is another insight: the need to be safe, not only tightly governs our ability to risk, but maybe even prevents our obedience to God.

Risk, in and of itself, includes fear perception – as in what we might lose, what might not happen, or what may not be fair according to someone… but …. faith is the opposite of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

In light of that, is risk even a part of our spiritual vocabulary? i believe, yes, but not as the world presents it. When we trust in God, take Him at His word, and let faith have it’s way, risk changes and becomes obedient to the rule of faith rather than the rule of possible loss.

Yet faith is about the probabilities of increase and is anchored in hope and the kindness of God, it is intrinsic to trusting God. Martin Luther King said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Faith is not having answers.

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Faith is the eternal optimist, risk is the eternal pessimist. Faith is an enthusiast; risk is the critic of enthusiasm. Faith is a grace maker, risk is full of “yea but”. Faith thinks in probabilities, risk thinks in improbabilities. Risk says there is a 20% chance of failure, faith says there’s an 80% chance of success.

Being safe though is not acting in faith nor acting with risk. But isn’t living without faith in Christ a risk in itself? Some would say, “Well what if there is no God?” i say, “What if there is and all things are as Jesus said they are?” What if the Bible isn’t true? Ok, what if it is? Isn’t living without faith in the finished work of Christ the biggest risk of all? To play it safe and not believe or disbelieve is also a huge risk, not choosing IS choosing.

Playing it safe is about incurring no loss, and also incurring no gain; playing it safe seems like a freedom from danger, but really is danger masquerading under a facade of calm; playing it safe means not being rejected, but also means not being accepted. Playing it safe means never stepping beyond the possibilities of loss or gain, never falling in love and never falling out of love, maybe never being completely miserable but also never being completely happy either. Playing it safe seems to me to be, just nowhere with a big nothing in your pockets. Giving up fundamental things in life just to feel safe, to me is actually being a slave to fear, as fear steals a little more and a little more from you, all with the promise that “now you’re safer than you were before.” …. Until one day, there’s nothing left, and you are safe in a prison cell of your own making, with all scary things walled out, and you are walled in, alone in the dark.

Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

We are not called to live a life of risk but a life of faith, but yet, there are times we must count the cost of possible losses. Being people of faith does not mean there is no such thing as risk you know. i believe Luke 14:31 addresses the idea of counting the cost of potential loss or gain. It says, “…. what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”

The scenario of Luke14:31 isn’t acting in fear, it’s having faith and also having a contingency plan, and there is nothing wrong with a contingency plan.

Faith is the correct governor for risk, and when risk comes into subjection to faith, suddenly risk is not so much about measuring the failure potential, but more about a contingency plan as faith outlines it. The just shall live by faith, not by risk. 2Cor5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.” The phrase “by sight” there means we don’t live by what we can observe and measure. Faith is the officer and manager of risk. Learning to count the cost is a part of life and we all try to employ ideas and actions which curb the potential of unfortunate circumstances.

When we go on a trip, we check the air in the tires and the engine oil. Some would say that is not faith but fear, i say it is wisdom to make an effort to check the air and oil. It is wise to have a contingency plan, if possible. It isn’t born out of fear but wisdom. And yes, it is possible to go crazy making contingency plans, but easily we are back to a fear thing. Faith is the correct governor for risk, not fear.

Faith says that i’m going forward and going back is not an option, and….my contingency plan is that i also carry with me a can of Fix-A-Flat in-case of a flat tire, some extra engine and transmission oil in-case one of the two run low, or maybe a little extra gasoline in-case i’m nearly out of fuel and there’s not a gas station around. Maybe part of my contingency plan is to take a few tools in-case i need to work on something on the way. Faith says we’re going forward because going back is not an option, so position yourself and make the necessary contingency plans, because either way, we ARE going forward.

Faith is better than risk, thus obedience is better than sacrifice. Obedience is an operation of faith, but sacrifice requires a loss. Paul incurred personal loss, but his spirt was ever profiting. Obedience should outweigh our sacrifice. Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” Abrahams obedience out weighed the possible sacrifice of his son, thus there was no need to incur the loss of his son because he was obedient. Under the governering power of faith, risk comes into it’s right relationship with our lives.

Let’s talk about King David for a moment. In 1Sam17 we see David going forward in the name of the Lord, on behalf of Israel to face down an obnoxious, arrogant, loud mouthed giant. David was a man of faith, so when he’d set his mind to face Goliath, going back was not an option. *But*, just because he was going forward in faith, didn’t mean he didn’t have a contingency plan. i would guess David was a crack shot with his sling and an amazing warrior with just a staff in his hand, however, he had thrown enough stones and had enough experience that he knew better than to go meet a giant with no contingency plan. Verse 40 reads, “Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” As it turned out, one stone did the trick, but he had a contingency plan of four other stones just in case. Actually, Goliath had four brothers, and the Jews hold to this day the five stones were to kill Goliath and his four brothers, if they showed up. So in that case the other stones weren’t a contingency plan but each had a destination in mind. It wasn’t fear, it wasn’t a lack of faith, it was wisdom. Faith says “going back is not an option”, wisdom says “if possible, make a contingency plan to make an assurance of success”.

Recently, a man said to me, “It’s foolish to go to a funeral until the day of the funeral,” to which i feel it’s important to add, “That’s true, but it’s equally foolish to wait until the enemy is attacking to circle the wagons.”

What did other people in my interview process think of faith and risk?

When i asked one fellow about his idea of risk, he replied, “I guess if I had to sum it up, I’d say that the greatest risk that i see is in that which we can’t see, or perceive.  People, even believers, go about life in this world and don’t believe, or don’t care, that there are unseen forces in a constant struggle around them.  These forces greatly impact the physical properties around us, and yet we can’t “see” them.”

i wonder, does that mean that because we can not see the “unseen forces” around us that we believe we will suffer a loss of some sort?

Many believers are willing to risk in what they can not see, and i consider it an unreasonable risk to NOT believe in the unseen, spiritual realm. i think it an irresponsible risk to NOT let Jesus be the Lord of my life. Believing in the unseen, having faith in what we hope even when we don’t have any answers, believing our words can speak to circumstances many continents away….is it risk or is it faith?

If we speak of risk, as believers we must also speak of faith. As believers, we are called to a life of faith. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Daniel walked in faith and stepped out in huge risk by refusing to bow down to idols in Dan6, even though there was a decree which would call for the death of anyone who did not. He was sure of what he hoped for and was certain of what he could not see. He would not have normally gone down to spend the night with a bunch of hungry lions, but when the time came, he rose up as a man of faith choosing to believe that God would deliver him. Faith is the eternal optimist, risk is the eternal pessimist.

Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Matthew Henry wrote that, “Noah knew his neighbors would ridicule him for his confidence, and he would be the song of drunkards; his ship-building would be called “Noah’s folly”. But Noah got over all that, and a thousand such objections. His obedience was ready and resolute: Thus Noah built in faith and obedience, willingly and cheerfully, without murmuring and disputing.”

Noah exercised his faith, preferring to be obedient to God, rather than to be paralyzed by the risk of losing the respect of men.

One person whom i know said her idea of risk was, “The risk of loosing your job because you’re too vocal in your workplace, or the risk of coming under ill-will in your church because you have an opinion and state it.”

i’ll bet you something though, that if the Lord told her to speak out in her work place or church, she would be obedient and speak up in faith. True, in her mind she would certainly weigh her options, but i’m fairly certain she would choose obedience to God over the possibility of loss of her job or the approval of her church.

One man said risk to him was “the uncertainty and probability that I’ll be found out as an ignorant nincompoop who doesn’t even have the smarts of fish caught in a net. Then to be tossed aside as unimportant and not worthwhile.” Yet everyday, that man steps out in faith, taking a chance on relationships or being considered as frivolous and unnecessary. Everyday. Why? Because in faith he knows that God validates him and to God he is never irrelevant and unimportant. His faith and obedience out weigh the risk which is set before him.

Another fellow said he felt a huge risk for him was “believing he hears God.” That may seem an irresponsible risk to the world, but for conscientious and arden believers in Christ who go forward in faith, often on nothing more than whispers, dreams, and visions, it is an an irresponsible risk to NOT believe they can hear God.

A pastor in Covina, California told me a story about how living like Jesus was a risk. He wrote, “In the 16^th century in Holland a group called the Mennonites were outlawed, and when found they were often executed.”

“One of them named Dirk Wellens was being chased across an ice field when his pursuer broke through the ice and fell in. In response to his cries for help, Wellens returned and saved him from the icy waters.  His pursuer was grateful and astonished that this man would do such a thing for him.  Nevertheless, thinking it was his duty, he arrested Wellens.  A few days later, he was executed by being burned at the stake in Asperen Holland. It was precisely because of his Christlikeness that he was executed.” Dirk Wellens acted in faith and considered being obedient to the call of God to be far more important than the risk of dying. His obedience and faith far outweighed his sacrifice.

And lastly, a short list of irresponsible risks, or hazardous liabilities which costs too much would be: coasting, or “listlessness” and “idle hands” are an irresponsible risk; not reading my Bible is an irresponsible risk; becoming apathetic is an irresponsible risk; not going to God for discernment but taking the word of someone who makes hours of Youtube videos which sound really good… is an irresponsible risk; beliving i don’t need God and can succeed on my own is an irresponsible risk; pretending i am more than i am is an irresponsible risk; to me, being disobedient is an irresponsible risk; kindling a small, cozy flirtation, while fueling an acceptable/manageable/secret lust is a very irresponsible risk. Those are just a few, so what would your idea be of an irresponsible risk?

Where are you on this weighty subject of faith and risk? Is the risk of being ridiculed for speaking up, rejected for being honest, persecuted for standing for the gospel of Christ, is the risk so large to you that you’re willing to be disobedient to the call of God? Are you willing to risk the betrayal of your conscience, is that a betrayal you’re willing to live with? Is the love of God and the apprehending of Jesus important enough to you that when the Lord calls you, you’ll catch that plane, move to another place, or speak up against injustice?

Hebrews 11:6, “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” At that i say to us all, Selah, or “stop there and consider a little.”

Faith is better than risk, and obedience is better than sacrifice. As we focus on Christ, our skill at navigating life’s possibilities gets better as we mature and gain experience. As we grow in faith, we learn to see the faithfulness of God, not over focusing on the “failure potential”, which skews our assessment of what’s in front of us. As we allow Jesus to teach us about life, we become strong and courageous and our need to be safe, which tightly governs our ability to step out in faith. In light of allow Jesus to teach us about life takes on a new diminsion where we are more willing to try, metaphorically, walking on water believing Jesus will give us a hand up, rather than being safe while staying in the boat.

If you’re facing down the giants in your life, by faith in Christ, they will fall before the Lord, but don’t think it weakness to put a few extra stones in your pocket, in other words, there’s nothing wrong with having a contingency plan – it is wisdom.

Faith is the eternal optimist, risk is the eternal pessimist.

It has been my pleasure to present the 100^th edition of Outposts, let me thank you for listening. Each edition has been a product of the diligence of Living In His Name Ministries, Paul at White Knuckle Studios, Area 22 Guitars, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven. i’d also like to thank Evelyn Whitaker, Kevin and Molly Knox, Dave Johnson, Jerry Price, Sandy Thornton, Jerry Werner, and Jon Ojala for all the time they gave in conversation about this evenings topic…those folks are absolutely brilliant. Most of all, thank you Jesus for loving me….how can it be, how can it be, that God would love a man like me.

All music was by Bill Douglas, Jimmy Wahlsteen, Didier Malherbe, Joe Magnarelli, Paul Hanson, Billy McLaughlin, Plas Johnson, Andreas Vollenweider, and Joe Sample. All music use is licensed by BMI.

Be strong and courageous this week and exercise your faith in Jesus. It’s time to walk on water, so take a chance with God and step out of the safety of your boat. Amen!