Me and My Shadow

Murphy’s Law states that what can go wrong, will go wrong. Almost, Mr. Murphy, almost. What he should have said was “What could have gone wrong, did go wrong.” The fall, in the Garden of Eden, cursed all of creation. The choices of Adam and Eve were against God’s will and brought sin into man’s life. Some people theorize that Peter stands at the gates of Heaven, welcoming all the Saints home, but I bet it’s really Adam and Eve saying “I’m sorry” to everyone that enters. Poor Adam and Eve!

Throughout the Bible we see clearly that the world we live in, the physical and spiritual world, is fallen and under the curse of sin. We can see the death, disease and disaster that thrive in the world around us. Because of sin, mankind was separated from God and in need of redemption through our Savior. Jesus died on the cross and rose again because he loves you immensely. The redemption that he offers restores our relationship with our Father and completely pays for our sin debt. We are born again, new creations! However, as Paul explains in Romans, even after we are reborn in Christ and are freed from the curse of sin, we still carry the effects of our sinful nature while in this life. This ‘body of death’ is like our shadow – it goes everywhere we go and is always lurking around behind us, trying to pull us back into the dark. God told Cain to watch out – sin was lying just outside the door, waiting to pounce! We can’t escape it. Where ever I go, my shadow follows. I catch myself making some of the same old mistakes, choosing the wrong path, even when I know better. I have quoted Paul’s words many times – “I don’t do what I want to do. Instead, I do what I hate. I do what I don’t want to do.” The bible also calls it the “earthly man” vs. the “heavenly man” or the “old man” vs. the “new man” (not to be confused with your husbands, ladies). Either way, we see the struggle we all face as believers, the tug-of-war, the potential Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde syndrome, the 9-round shadow boxing match going on in our lives.

Hans Christian Andersen wrote a story called “The Shadow” in which a good man’s wicked shadow separates from him and becomes fatter and richer than his former master. The shadow attributes this to his realistic acceptance of evil in the world as opposed to the man’s naive faith in good, beauty and truth. The shadow tempts the good man to become like him but the man refuses. The story ends with the evil shadow having the good man executed. Fortunately for us, the real story has the opposite ending – God will do away with sin and we will be transformed, to live forever in the presence of the light of Christ - no shadows allowed! The bible makes it clear that we will be victorious because Jesus has already won the fight for us:

• 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

• Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

• Philippians 3:21 (Jesus) who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

• 1 Corinthians 15:49-50 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

• 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do you get rid of a shadow? You turn up the light! The more we live in the Light (Jesus), the less effect our sinful nature will have on our thoughts, our feelings, our motives and our decisions. But this takes time and maturity so keep up the good fight! Remember, shadows hide behind you when you face the Light!

May God richly bless you – Jesus loves you and so do I!

Ref: Romans 7:14-8:2

Trust Me

Ref: Mark 4:35-41

In my bible, the title of this section is “Peace, be still” – how sweet. A lovely, wonderful, happy title. It should be titled “Buckle up and hold on for dear life and bring a change of underwear!” Verse 35 begins “And the same day, when the evening was come, He said to them… Let us pass over to the other side.” In geometry there is a theorem that states – the shortest distance between two points, A and B, is a straight line. Now, that doesn’t mean the easiest way to get from A to B is a straight line. What if there is an obstacle, a problem, a storm? Sometimes it is easier for me to go around the obstacle. If I travel a straight line, I run into it and have to overcome the problem.

It’s interesting that Jesus said to the people following Him, “Let’s go over THERE.” He says that to you – Hey, let’s go over there. Sometimes your mission, your ministry, your calling, your purpose, your destiny, your goals, your healing are all “over there.” At first this sounds exciting! Yay! Road trip! As a kid did your parents ever say get in the car, we’re going somewhere? But when you would ask where you were going they would say, “You’ll see when we get there.” Their answer was “Over there.” It may have meant a wonderful surprise, like going to get an ice cream… OR… your parents were tricking you into going to a horrible place, like the dentist! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I like dentists… sorta. When Jesus says to you, “Let’s go over there” it might be exciting or it might be scary. “Trust Me.”

God says that all things work together for your good so we know that He is leading us somewhere toward our destiny, even if we aren’t sure where that will end up. We start moving from point A to point B, but then run into an obstacle. When the disciples started on their trip the Bible says “there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” What is your storm? Your obstacle? What happens when you run into a problem? Have you had direction from God, a vision, a dream, a calling and the first obstacle, the first storm that popped up, you stopped dead in your tracks? Maybe you had a dream of feeding the hungry by opening a soup kitchen, and the first thing that popped into your mind was “I don’t have any money to do that.” End of journey. Jesus said “Let’s go over there” and you said “But I can’t. There’s a storm.” Or maybe, you started your journey and during the trip a great storm of wind arose and started sinking your ship. I experienced this after the first year of starting the children’s charity Isaac’s Friends. God opened doors immediately to get the charity going. We had great success and helped a lot of children. But then, the need for money grew and the supply shrank... drastically. No one was donating, no one was sponsoring, no one was granting. I had second thoughts about the charity, even wondering if I was supposed to start it in the first place. Maybe I didn’t hear God right or maybe I wasn’t the right person. Every time I prayed about it, God would remind me very clearly that He had shown me that particular need and given me a vision of how to help people. He had definitely asked me to start it, but had not once asked me to stop. I am so thankful that I stayed in the boat and didn’t turn around and give up. Isaac’s Friends is still serving children and their families and headed toward a new season of growth.

There is another interesting part of this story that tells us an important aspect of our calling. Verse36 - “And there were also with him other little ships” – these are the benefactors of your ministry, your calling, your dream. These might be the hungry, the lonely, the sick, the lost – they might be your wife or husband or children or the people you work with. When you give up on your journey, the benefits of your God-given purpose for others are lost as well. Don’t give up on your family just because the storm is rough or because the obstacle is great. Don’t give up on the lost and needy because it’s hard. Keep going forward – walk by faith. Jesus is right there in the boat with you. “Trust Me,” He says.

George Herbert expresses it:

When winds and waves assault my keel,

He doth preserve it, he doth steer,

Ev'n when the boat seems most to reel.

Storms are the triumph of his art;

Though he may close his eyes, yet not his heart.

Gone Fishing

When I was about 4 or 5 years old my grandfather made me catch my first fish. That’s right, I said “made.” He had taken me fishing since I was born and had helped me catch many, many fish (I had a catfish mounted in my crib, j/k - sorta) but this was the first time he wouldn’t help me. The fish on my line was so large that it was about to pull me in! I screamed, “Papa! Help me!” but he just laughed and said, “You can do it.” Finally, the fish was subdued. I was the champion. That was the biggest 2 pound fish I ever caught!

The Bible says that when God forgives our sins it's like He sends them to the bottom of the ocean:

Micah 7:19 - You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

We shouldn’t be fishing them back out. We are called to be fishers of men, not fishers of sin. Stop punishing yourself and/or others for past sins. You may have a difficult time accepting God’s forgiveness because what you have done was especially shameful or detrimental to yourself and others. There may be constant reminders like consequences, negative thoughts or the reproach of others. Here’s what God says about that: if you are in Christ Jesus, there is now no condemnation for you. None. Listen to some of the terms used by God to describe you now: free, righteousness fulfilled, spiritually alive, at peace, dwelling place of His Spirit, sons & daughters, heirs of our Father, glorified, hopeful, delivered, saved, saints, lovers of God, called with a purpose, justified, more than conquerors and loved by God. Wow! That’s just in one chapter! Imagine what He says in the rest of the book (shameless plug to get us all to read the Bible more).

All of these apply to you… and to other brothers and sisters in Christ. Not only do you need to trust in God’s forgiveness for yourself, but also for them. Jesus shed His blood to pay for their sins and we need to accept that, honor that and set them free just like He did.

Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

I hate to say this, but… sometimes church can be the worst place for this. There are those, including some preachers, who want to constantly remind God’s children that they are sinners, unclean, failing, broken, weak and corrupt. That’s not how God sees you and that’s not how we should think of each other either. We need to uplift one another, encourage one another! The Bible says that our love for each other will be one of the things that attracts the lost to Christ. Isn’t that great? When Jesus called us to be fishers of men that’s the bait He wanted us to use – LOVE. If you feel a tug on your line and it’s something bad from your past just tell that stinky old fish what God says about you now and you’ll have that sucker for dinner! And if it’s a temptation to remind someone else about their past transgressions, you need to throw that fish back in the sea and never reel it in again. Instead, go up to that person and give them a hug and tell them you love them and appreciate them. You’ll be amazed at the change in your relationship. God’s favor and blessings to you my brother or sister – you are free! Now, what’s for dinner? I'm having tacos! :)

Ref: Romans 8

Peter do you love me?

Before He was crucified, Jesus told Peter that he would deny knowing Him three times. “Not on your life!” exclaimed Peter. I’m sure most of us, as followers of Christ, would make a similar statement. We would never deny knowing Jesus, the one who loves us and gave His life for us. But you all know how the story goes… Peter did indeed deny knowing Jesus. He even cursed the third time. Kinda like when I get pulled over for speeding, lol. “No, officer I was not speeding!” (choice word, choice word, choice word…) Ok, so it was a little more serious than that but the point is this, Peter did what we all do in some way. We all make mistakes and find ourselves regretting the choices we made. Peter was crushed. He was devastated. He wore his guilt like chains and shackles around his hands and feet. He gave up on his calling and went back to his old lifestyle. In John’s Gospel, chapter 21, we read that he went fishing in the Sea of Tiberias. He went back out into the same old boat he was in when Jesus first called him.

So, what did Jesus do to Peter for denying Him? Did He strike him with lightening? Did He plague him with leprosy or boils or chicken pox or extreme hair loss? Oh, wait, He showed up and went off on Peter like Madea! No. No, He didn’t. Jesus came to where Peter was (very important) and cooked him breakfast. Jesus never once rebuked Peter or reminded him about his bad choices. He showed up to say I love you and I have a purpose for you in my kingdom. Wow! Did you know that even though you may have made some horrible mistakes, some terrible choices, Jesus comes to you and says “I love you, I forgive you, now let’s move forward together because you are mine, my son, my daughter!” We, like Peter, sometimes carry our guilt around and have a hard time shaking off those chains. We think God wants to brow-beat us and torment us over our mistakes. He doesn’t. Your sins have already been paid for – in full. Leave those mistakes you have made in the boat. Jump back into the water. God has chosen you to be a part of His family and to have a positive impact in His kingdom. Jesus is smiling and saying “Good morning, my friend! Today is a new day. I made you breakfast. Would you like coffee?” Yes, Lord, I would. :)

Ref: John 21