Have You Ever Been Really Scared?

First I need to apologize for taking so long between posts, it has been hard to write anything these last few months for several reasons. Second, I don't know if this post is for anyone except me but I had to write it. Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and I promise I will try to be more regular again. God bless.

     Have you ever been scared, I mean really scared? Not horror movie scared or thrill ride scared, but afraid to take the next step scared? I feel like I have been living that way for the last 6 months. I know I don't show it, but that is because I am good at hiding things like that. Now, I am not in any danger or anything like that, it is just life situations that have kept me in fear.

     I have learned an interesting lesson through this, faith is a strange thing. I have discovered that faith is easy to have when you don't really need it, but as soon as things get dicey faith becomes really hard to have. These last few months have been fraught with all kinds of challenges for me, chief among them have been finances. I have discovered that financial problems are great for your prayer life. My budget is extremely tight. My expenses basically equal my income and I knew there were some things coming up that were going to cause my expenses to increase. This was when God challenged me to look at my tithing, or lack thereof. Now, I have a degree in math. I know that if 100% of my income barely covers my expenses, there is no way 90% will even come close. God, however, was not impressed with my math and continued to push me to tithe. So I started tithing. Every time I write the check I am scared to death, it is a struggle to put it in the plate, but I have for the last  months.

     I would like to say that money has just poured in and I have no money worries. I would like to say that but I can't. I can say that every bill has been paid, but it hasn't gotten any less scary. This brought to wonder, is it still faith if you are scared while doing it? This is one of the biggest steps of faith I have ever taken. I know it is what God wants me to do and I know that He will see me through everything that arises, but I am still scared. Then I realized that that is what faith really is. Faith is being scared but still taking that next step because you know that God has you by the hand and He won't lead you to destruction.

     So I guess the answer is yes, it is still faith if you are scared. It stops being faith it the fear keeps you from taking the next step. So keep walking even if you are afraid, God will uphold you with His strong right hand.

Turning Wine Into Water

     I think most everyone is familiar with the story of the first public miracle that Jesus performed. He and his mother were attending a wedding when the wine ran out. As the host family scrambled to figure out a way to avoid the embarrassment that was sure to follow, Jesus' mother said, "Get my son, he can help." They bring Jesus over and tell him of the situation. Jesus tells them to bring him some containers of water and he turns the water into wine. The wine wasn't just any wine either, it was the best wine any of the guests had ever had. Jesus had taken ordinary water and turned it into extraordinary wine. I think this is what Jesus does in our lives. He takes our ordinary, sinful lives and turns them into extraordinary righteous ones. What a glorious miracle that is.

     Unfortunately, many of us then spend the rest of our lives trying to undo what Jesus has done. We may not be doing it consciously but we are still doing it. Once we encounter the risen Lord, we should live a victorious life, instead many continue to live a defeated one. We should be different, we should be changed, we should be wine, not water. Stop trying to turn your wine back into water.






This video was filmed at a church in South Bend, Indiana, insert your town and state.

     

Test the Door.

This post is what happens when a student's chapel at our school passes through my mind. In this case, I must thank Mary Kate Arnold, a senior at Heirway Christian Academy, for the inspiration for this post.


     We are all born into sin, and for this sin we have been sentenced to death. We live our lives chained to the wall of a jail cell; left to wallow in the filth of our sin, waiting for the day that our captor will come to carry out our final sentence. When the day comes that we must pay the price for our sinful life, we will face the executioner. He will draw back his arm to deliver the blow that will end it all.

     It is at this moment that Jesus steps into the gap before us and the blows meant for us will fall on Him. As the blows land, the blood of this innocent man will splatter on us. As the blood falls on us, the filth of our sin is washed away and the shackles fall off.

     For all too many Christians, this is where the story ends. Their shackles are released and their sins are washed away, but there they sit in that jail cell still, the filth of their sin all around them. Jesus doesn't free us to continue sitting in the filth of our sin in that jail cell. He calls us to get up and check the door. If we do, we will find it open with the whole world outside of it. Becoming a Christian isn't a one-and-done event, it is a process that continues every day. We need to stand up and push that cell door open and exit into the life that God has laid out before us.





She used this video to open up her chapel and it is very powerful. It is a little long, but please take the time to watch it.