Posted on August 26, 2008 at 5:52am.
Peter, James and John were all experienced fishermen. They had gone out on the Sea of Galilee many times. I wonder what it was like the day that Jesus told the wind and they waves to be still? Who would have believed that anyone could do that? I watched my grandson yesterday stand in the ocean, put his hand up and tell the waves to stop. I smiled as time and time again he repeated his command and the waves kept on coming. It really was a picture of how weak our human effort is.
“Father, how grateful I am that you the all powerful God hold not only all of nature in your control but also my life.”
Posted on August 25, 2008 at 12:03pm.
I found myself today thinking about two very different ideas - disappointment and the Gospel. The more I thought about it they actually fit together. Everyone of us knows what it feels like to be disappointed. We bring expectations into a situation or relationship only to have reality fall below our hopes and the result is disappointment. String enough disappointments together and you end up with the loss of hope, the sense of - what’s the use. It is at that moment I believe the Gospel provides hope. The message of the Gospel is all about redemption and restoration. God reached down to us in our absolute hopelessness and provided redemption. As our lives embody the truth of the Gospel it means that we can overcome disappointment, particularly with others, with the hope of redemption. If the Gospel is true it should make a difference in our everyday lives.
Posted on August 24, 2008 at 7:04am.
One of things that age has taught me is that all of us need help from time to time. The more of life I live I realize that I need the help of others more frequently than I once thought I did. When you are young you think you can do it all. My grandson will tell me - “Pop, I can do it myself!” He says that whether he can or not. Young people think they are invincible and young adults believe if they just try harder they can do it. Somewhere along the way most of us come to realize we need the help of others. Israel went up to Jerusalem once a year and while going they sang songs of ascents. In one of those they asked the question of where their help came from? Listen to the answer -“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” The Lord is our help, not just for the old and not just once a year but for all of us and for each day.
Posted on August 23, 2008 at 6:07am.
I have never been a morning person, especially when I was younger. I always found those “Good Morning” happy, happy people way too perky. As a result I would find an excuse to push my personal time with the Lord to another part of the day. I would argue that you didn’t have to be legalistic about it being in the morning, that God could speak to you at any time of the day and so on. I am coming to learn however that there is something unique about meeting God in the beginning of my day. I was reminded this week of a verse in Isaiah that says it so well.
“He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears,...” (Isaiah 50:4,5)
I always have my cup of coffee (OK 2 or 3) to get me moving in the morning. I am learning that my time spent with Jesus is better than coffee.
Posted on August 22, 2008 at 8:15am.
I love the book of James. One of the reasons is it is straight forward. You don’t need to spend much time guessing as to what James is saying. Where you spend the time is in figuring out how to make the truths part of everday life. As we get ready to study this book together in a couple of weeks, I want to focus in on what I believe to be the key verse of the book. In chapter three and verse thirteen we read: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” The challenge - to live in humility. One of the rarest qualities of life is humility yet James tells us it is a necessity for living wisely.
