Relapse / Stalled Recovery

God Waits for Us to Draw Near to Him

When all the fighting and protesting is done, God waits for me to draw near to Him. I think that I make more trouble for myself than my own circumstances ever do. I try to control, to manipulate, to manage. And all that is so painful because I am working in a realm where I have no ability and certainly no talent. When I’m honest (which I’m finding isn’t nearly as often as I’d like it to be), I can admit that I’m really not very good at decisions. Many of the ones I’ve made have been simply horrible with drastic results. But when I wait on God and allow Him to make the decisions, things work out so much better. He’s really so much better at decisions than I am, and rightly so, because He sees the future and knows what’s best for me.

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Where Are You Going?

I once knew a guy who went on a road trip with the express purpose of traveling rather than arriving. He was determined not to be driven by a destination, so whenever there was a choice of which way to go he turned left. I suspect it was a politically motivated scheme, but he had a pretty interesting trip anyway. He probably missed some interesting sights, but he also saw some things he might have otherwise passed up.

This week our pastor (Jeff Lucas) talked about “the God of the journey.” He observed that God is always about moving, going somewhere, and that He doesn’t just sit back and point like a celestial traffic cop. In Jesus He actually journeys with us.

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No Matter How I Feel, Christ is My Righteousness

Galatians 6:12b
“…the cross of Christ alone can save.” (NLT)

David Wilkerson, in the World Challenge Pulpit Series of April 26, 2010, writes:
“No matter how I feel, Christ is my righteousness. No matter how many doubts may arise, Christ is my righteousness. No matter how many accusations I hear from the devil during the day, I stand on this: God sees me as righteous in Christ!”

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Little Slips

“Whoever is faithful in very little–is also faithful in much; and
whoever is unrighteous in very little–is also unrighteous in much.”
Luke 16:10

We are apt to under-estimate little failures in duty.

It seems to us, a small matter:
that we do not keep an engagement,
that we lose our temper,
that we say an impatient or angry word,
that we show an unkind or harsh spirit,
that we speak uncharitably of another,
that we treat someone with discourtesy, or
fail in some other way which appears trivial.

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Don’t Be Afraid

The disciples were sitting in a boat. [Matthew 14:26-32] After a long night battling the wind, they saw a man walking toward them on the water. Tired and bleary-eyed, they imagined that a ghost approached from the mist. They cried out in fear.

walk-on-water

It was Jesus, and He said, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Don’t be afraid.

Really?

Wouldn’t you be afraid? Did Jesus seriously expect them to suddenly stop feeling fearful?

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Backsliding

There is a danger in what my grandmother used to call “backsliding.” I don’t hear the term much these days. In fact, to be honest, sin in the life of the Christians isn’t addressed much these days. We talk about self esteem and relationships and getting our finances in order. I rarely hear a preacher talk from the pulpit about the things in our lives that we shouldn’t be doing. And perhaps our preachers should begin to preach such things with boldness. There seems to be great weakness within the American Church today. We would benefit from such great preaching.

Hebrews 6:1-6 NASB

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The Gospel – Key To Change

by Tim Keller

The Greek term “gospel” (ev-angelion) distinguished the Christian message from that of other religions. An ‘ev-angel’ was news of a great historical event, such as a victory in war or the ascension of a new king, that changed the listeners’ condition and required a response from the listener.So the gospel is news of what God has done to reach us.It is not advice about what we must do to reach God. What is this news? God has entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation that we could not achieve for ourselves which now:

1) converts and transforms individuals, forming them into a new humanity, and eventually

2) will renew the whole world and all creation.

This is the ‘good news’—the gospel. And it is good news in three important ways.

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Coasting – The Importance of Rest

If you’re coasting, you’re either losing momentum or else you’re headed downhill.

I suppose that’s true.

Cyclists don’t get stronger or faster by coasting. The only way to increase performance is to pedal as hard as possible, even on downhill stretches. When you coast, you don’t improve.

But I don’t think coasting is always negative. I think we’re making a mistake to always equate coasting with laziness and waste.

We can get awfully focused on productivity and efficiency, working hard, maximizing potential gains. Nothing wrong with that.

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