New Year, New Me?

Every year we celebrate Christ's birth by looking back then we begin to look ahead. Each year for probably the last 10 or so I've began to write down my goals for the coming year, some of them I'm able to complete and some I haven't. The point of this is to see where I have come from and where I hope to go. This year I am going to do something so different, this year I have one Goal in mind, that is to know Jesus more fully, I want to be quickly obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit, just like the Apostles in 

Acts 5:18-21 

18 So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.” 21 Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

My desire is that in doing this that my marriage would be a reflection of Christ and the Church, that my parenting would be the same and the ministry that God has placed me in that I would be faithful in leading each person that I come in contact with closer to Christ. 

God has big plans for me and my family this year. If I am going to be able to do them I need to know Jesus more fully and be obedient to His voice.

Blessings

Nick

Waiting with purpose

 Advent; The arrival of a notable person, thing or event.

Brought out of Egypt

 This story starts with God who heard saw the of the oppression of His people.

Exodus 3:7-8

⁷ And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their ^[a]sorrows. ⁸ So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 

As with most of my posts they are very personal and based on what I am going through. This one started at the beginning of this year when I began to feel the need to pray for God to open a door to move me from one job to another. We prayed and prayed, this was not the best place for me, it was if you will my Egypt, a place that was not good but comfortable because I knew pretty much what to expect everyday. In praying for God to open the door He sure did, He moved me out of our Egypt and on the journey towards our promised land. Where that land is I have an idea but there is a journey that goes along with it and this is where I am at right now on that journey.

Exodus 14:10-12

¹⁰ And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ¹² Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

You see it would be really easy for me and it has been to complain about God moving me from that comfortable place of hurt and pain, I had grown so used to. Why Lord would you move me out of this job/ Why into this wilderness where I don't know where my next paycheck is coming from? There are many reasons as to why God brings us out of a particular place, the biggest one is for HIS glory. You see God does not work in a vacuum, He knows exactly what He is doing. For me there are a number of reasons as to why I believe God moved me from my last job, ultimately, I truly don't know, but what it boils down to is God's ways are not my ways and He has a plan that is going to cause Him to get the glory, it will cause us and others to worship Him.

 Exodus 14:13-15

¹³ And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation^[b] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold^[c] your peace.” ¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

 You see as with the people of Israel, God had to take them to the end of themselves, God does the same thing with us, when there could be any sort of claim that we did something God won't get the glory, over and over again we see this throughout the bible. Here as we are discussing in Exodus, the people were locked in and couldn't go forward or back, Joshua at Jericho (Joshua 6), Gideon and God's defeat of the Midaneites (Judges 6-7), probably the most well known story of being saved, the virgin birth of Jesus (Luke 2), there are even more stories, the Apostles walking out of Jail, Jesus feeding the 5000. Do you see where I am going? God wants all of the glory. Here is the best part of this story, when God came to save His people He was right on time, not late but look at something here really closely, they walked through on DRY GROUND! you see God cared about them so much He even made the ground dry, they could have I'm sure walked through on muddy ground, or even damp sand (dirt) but they didn't THE GROUND WAS DRY!  don't miss that part, because in all my years of studying these verses I've missed that part. When God comes to save us He doesn't just save us halfway, He does so beyond all that we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20-21). 

As I was praying this past week I really felt the Lord impress upon my heart to seek Him first, but not just the first part of Matthew 6:33 Seek first the Kingdom of God... but the second half as well and all these things will be added to you. Throughout the bible over and over God promises to take care of us. We are to seek His kingdom first, and let God worry about the rest. Easier said than done. I pray that for those of us reading this, including myself, that I would trust that when God parts the Red Sea that He will give us dry ground to walk on.

Blessings,

Nick

 

Brokenness

“And he went out and wept bitterly.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭62‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The last couple of months has more than anything become about brokenness in my life, I feel so broken, I have been trying so hard to fix my problems that I guess this is the point I’ve had to get to. I had to become so broken like Peter when he denied Jesus that only Jesus could restore me, fix me, provide for my needs, He needed to take me to a place of complete reliance on Him and His provision. I am waiting for an open door, I don’t know what it looks like or when it will open, what I do know is that in God’s timing it will open and I will see it. God is using this time for me to find joy in Him and His provision, I don’t just want God to give me what I ask for but for Him to provide that door for me. The last couple of weeks I have been taken from what I thought was relying on Jesus to an even more broken place, I think in a sense it is like what I have been told recruits experience at basic training, they are broken of what they thought they were and built up into something so much stronger and better than they could ever imagine. We see this same sort of thing in how Jesus was training the disciples and in particular Peter.

Peter had to come to a place of complete brokenness before he could be used by Jesus. This is the place where we see that “weeping is but for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. Ps 30:5b Peter spent a could of days in sure renewing what Jesus had said about denying Him, what I don’t think Peter understood and as that his boldness would be in his own flesh, he needed to come to a place of complete reliance on Jesus. “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?””
‭‭John‬ ‭18‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬
Peter here reacts according to his own flesh, I’m sure I would have done the same thing, you see your Rabbi being arrested and Peter in his boldness also had just come from a place of telling Jesus he wouldn’t deny Him, this is an understandable reaction considering he had even told Jesus, He shouldn’t go the the cross and Jesus rebuked him then, however, again, this time Peter is still reacting in the flesh. After all of this went down we begin to see the beginnings of the breaking of Peter, the fire, and he first denial, the second, and then with a finality one of the relatives who was with the mob when they arrested Jesus called Him out, Peter denied Jesus, realizing what he had done he wept bitterly. (He was broken)

Here is the great part if about this, on the day that Jesus rose from the grave we see Gods merciful grace from when the Angel tells Mary to go get Peter this is the amazing grace of our Lord and Peter even understanding that grace “and both of them running together” John 20:4 Peter knew of the Lords grace already just from having spent three or so years with Jesus, he knew of Jesus’ love, His grace, His mercy. Now comes Peters restoration John 21:15-19 This is where we see Jesus restore Peter to His service and not of his (Peter’s) flesh, Jesus found Peter exactly where He knew He would Peter returning to his old ways, fishing. Jesus still had to do some work in Peter, who I’m sure was feeling pretty low at this point. Jesus asks him a few questions, and it is at this point that Peter finally get’s what it means to be completely reliant on Jesus. We see that from this point on Peter pretty much does everything in following after Jesus and not by His strength, Jesus even tells Peter that he is going to go where he does not want to signaling his death.

What does this mean for us? Well I cannot tell you what it means for you but I can say I know what it means for me…God had to take me to a place of complete brokenness a place where I’ve had to completely rely on Him and His saving grace to get me and my family through this situation we are in. I am still very much trusting in God’s grace and waiting on Jesus to restore me, in many ways I am seeking Him so much deeper than I ever have, I am having to trust Him for everything, I have nothing to give, I bring nothing to the table other than my trust. It is not easy and yet I am completely reminded that the Battle Belongs to the Lord 2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do no the dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but Gods

Rambling Thoughts and Reflections

I've spent a lot of time the last few months thinking about how I live for Jesus, do I reflect Christ in my everyday actions? I've been striving to make everyday count in my actions, the decisions I make, and how I respond to situations or even things not happening the way I thought they would. I have been studying through Paul's letter to the Philippians, for young adults, and over and over throughout that letter Paul talks about how to overcome anxiety, it is by living for Jesus, and even more so being satisfied in Him (Jesus), rejoicing in every circumstance, living with humility as He lived. I must confess this is something I struggle with on a daily basis, I mean I live for Jesus but do I really live for Him? The last few months I have come to realize that I get so wrapped up in what is going on around me, the situations I am in, the work that I do, my status amongst people, or even who I know or don't. I like feeling important (who doesn't).

Even more in last month or so, God has taken me really, really low, to a place that I do not think I have ever been, this is the place where God can really begin to work, I have nothing, I have nothing to give, I have nothing to offer, I do not bring anything of value to the table when it comes to my relationship with God. I have even had to look at the gifts that God has given me and say that they are not of my own doing, but rather God's. Everything I had worked for these last years was seemingly taken away. I've struggled with finding joy in something I have actually prayed for. You see I actually prayed for this, I prayed and others too for a door to open and for God to provide an opportunity for change. So you might ask why am I so down, anxious, unhappy? I have to be honest with myself and say I do not have a good answer, I asked for God to move and yet now that He has I am unhappy with how He has chosen to do it? I repent, that is a fact, God has answered my prayer in His timing and His way and I need to rejoice in the fact that His plans are better than mine. Frankly, speaking I need to be grateful that God moved us from a situation that was not the best for my faith.

If you have stuck with me and I hope that you have, there is a bright side. In being brought low, brought to a place where I am at the end of myself, I have come to the realization that I need God in every area, not just the areas I want to let Him in. This past year God has done an amazing work in my personal walk, my marriage, my parenting, even ministry's I am a part of. BUT there is still more, I am more emotional it seems like I'm crying everyday, today is was because I am so thankful for my wife, we have been through a lot together, she has stuck by me through so much, she sees me and loves me in spite of my faults, she is the epitome of a Proverbs 31 woman. I really believe that God has taken me here for a number of reasons, the biggest reason is it is making me more like Him. I am supposed to live like Him, I am supposed to emulate Him, to live as He has called me to live, this is a process and it hurts to be stretched in this way, I've been stretched to my max and beyond and that is the best place for me to be. God is faithful to take care of us, to comfort us, to give us what we need to get through whatever we are going through. When I hear people talk about not having hope I can completely understand, especially becasue without Jesus we can only see what is in front of us. On the flip side here Jesus offers a hope that never changes, even when life really sucks. Check out some verses from the Bible; Philippians 4:11-13; Romans 8:1-2; James 5:7-11 You see Jesus offers us a hope that is beyond this world, so it doesn't matter what is going on in the world around us because He never changes.

If you want to know more, please reach out.

Nick

What are you doing?

 I know that these are super inconsistent with being posted. I try to post as often as I can. 

I got this email a few weeks ago it is from Spurgeon. As I think about life and often wonder what God has for me, this quote is what comes to mind. 

 "The first sign of the heavenly call is an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work. If any student in this room could be content to be a newspaper editor, or a grocer, or a farmer, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or a senator, or a king, in the name of heaven and earth let him go his way; he is not the man in whom dwells the Spirit of God in its fullness, for a man so filled with God would utterly weary of any pursuit but that for which his inmost soul pants. If on the other hand, you can say that for all the wealth of both the Indies you could not and dare not espouse any other calling so as to be put aside from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, then, depend upon it, if other things be equally satisfactory, you have the signs of this apostleship."

I can say without a doubt that there are a number of jobs/careers I could do, none of them will fulfill me in the same way that my calling will, there is not enough money in the world to make me want to do anything else. I have known for nearly 25 years what I want to do, I will be patient until God opens that door. God has often called us to be fruitful where we are planted and I believe that is something we are supposed to do and be faithful to where God has planted us. So in reality it is just like the Apostle Paul writes below, serve where you're planted, when God is ready to make a change He will

 1 Corinthians 7:17; Only let each person lead the life[fn] that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.

There are many gifts in the body, some people are called to many different things, each gift is a blessing it is what makes the body of Christ unique. 1 Corinthians 12:12, 28-31; Ephesians 4:11-13

 

Be faithful to where God has planted you, God in His grace and mercy is preparing you to serve in His kingdom.

 

Blessings,

Nick

Everyone deserves a participation Trophy

But it's not what your thinking...

 Some years ago my daughter played T-Ball, growing up playing sports I felt that it was important for her to learn to win graciously and when she lost to learn to work harder to improve and give it her all. She loved being on the field and cheering on her team...and the other team too. We quickly realized that maybe sports wasn't for her. At the end of the season all the teams got together and had a valley wide pizza party where everyone got a participation trophy. It's the proverbial thanks for showing up there's no reason they deserved one, they didn't do anything to earn it, if I remember correctly they didn't even keep score, and at that age I don't think they should, but to get a prize just for showing up? 

 

But that's not what this post is about. I want to share with you a couple of verses from the Bible that give us some insight why we all deserve a different kind of participation trophy.

2 Peter 1: 3-4 according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  (4) whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  (NKJV)

 

Did you see that? Let's go a little deeper...and dive in to

 

v 3. talks about a Divine power that has been given to us, it includes all things that are associated with life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him. Let's start with the Him, who is that? verse 2 tells that that He is Jesus. Let's look a little deeper here, we see that all things that pertain to life and godliness. You see when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are saying that we commit our living our life for Him and His glory. We no longer live for ourselves. We need to remember that it is not because of anything that we do but that redemption comes from Jesus alone. When we try to be godly on our own we can't it only comes from Jesus. He called us. The Bible says that He knew us before we were even born.

 

Let's now look at what has been given to us that allows us righteousness. Divine Power the word that was used in the Greek for Divine is Theios~ the meaning of this word is of Christ, the Holy Spirit, or the Father.  It is referring to our God, it's not saying that we're going to become gods but we get to participate in His power. Let's look at what happened when Jesus sent the disciples out. Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. The disciples of Jesus were able to do the same things He did, but that's not completely what Peter is referring to here, it's eternal. This divine power Peter is referring to is the same eternal life we receive when we follow Christ.

 

How does that sound? Salvation isn't just about fire insurance, what it is about is spending eternity with Jesus

 

Here is the good part. Verse 4 is where we learn how to get that participation trophy. Let me let you in on a little secret...it is FREE! We so often go through life trying to do things on our own, as Christians there are times that others will tell us that if we are not good or mess up that we will lose our salvation, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The first part of this verse confirms this, our salvation is granted by Jesus, it’s nothing that we can get apart from God. It is a promise as written in the Gospel of John 3:16-18.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world,^[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

 

Being a Christian isn’t just about being a good person, that is a byproduct, but it is about being able to spend eternity with Christ, there are several things that happen when we accept Jesus as our Savior, the first thing is we get that participation trophy, that is the Divine nature that allows us to escape the corruption that our sin brings. The second is that when the time happens, we get to partake in the glory of a redeemed body and spend eternity with Jesus, I can tell you this I don’t want the alternative. I love that when we receive the divine nature that we are freed from the sin and corruption of sin in this world. 

 

In closing let’s review.

 

·      Divine Power-In all things

·      Called by Him-Who? Jesus

·      To what? His own glory and excellence

·      Who gave us our trophy? Jesus

·      Are we able to earn it? Nope, its free can’t do anything to get it and can’t do anything to lose it

·      What does it bring us? The ability to live in the new life that Jesus has given us freed from the bondage of sin and in the peace of God. That’s something that I want to shout from the rooftops!

 

Blessings,

 

Nick