All of you

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" John 20:26-28

Thomas was skeptical and had no qualms about doubting his peers. But in his awesome love, Jesus met Thomas where he was by appearing to him and allowing him to see and touch the wounds in his hands and side. But look at how Thomas responds in John 20:28 above. I think it's safe to say that once Thomas got it, Jesus had all of Thomas. This week we are praying that Jesus has all of us. Not just a part… Not just some areas of your life… Jesus wants the whole thing. What areas of your life haven't you surrendered to Him? What doubts are keeping you from selling out completely?

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Doubts

Take a look at Exodus 3 and 4. This is when God calls Moses to go back to Egypt to bring His people out of slavery. Look closely at how Moses responds to God:

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Exodus 3:11 ("But God, I'm not qualified.")

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'what is His name?' Then what shall I tell them?" Exodus 3:13 ("But God, I don't have all the answers.")

Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?" Exodus 4:1 ("But God, it might not be easy.")

Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." Exodus 4:10 ("But God, I'm not a good public speaker. I might make a fool of myself.")

But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." ("Once again God... I don't think I'm qualified.")

Essentially, God's answer to each of these arguments is that He will be with Moses. Too often, when God starts calling us to do something for Him, we think about the probability of success from the perspective of our own abilities. We forget that God is with us and He has all abilities. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone. Stepping out into a new area of service requires faith… and succeeding requires humility and surrender to make it a work of God. In the end, the act of service blesses others… and the servant is blessed by a closer relationship and better understanding of utter dependence on God.

I think back to a men's ministry meeting over 2 years ago now. Some of the ministry leaders were talking about a small group of men who were fasting every Wednesday. They asked if anybody was interested in helping these men expand the group. I remember raising my hand. Yet like a split personality, I also remember silently yelling at myself, "What are you thinking?!? You can't write!! Besides, you can barely fast for 24 minutes… much less 24 hours. Where are you going to find topics? You are getting way in over your head...". I thank God for pushing me through those doubts. I have learned way more from leading this list than I could ever verbalize.

So this week, we are praying about our doubts. Is there something God is calling you to do that you keep talking yourself out of? Do it and you might find that the thing God was doing all along, was a change in you.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Unshakeable faith (10/17/04)

In the book of Daniel, I'm sure you've all read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Read Daniel 3 to refresh your memory of the story. It's a short story but it portrays unshakable faith in a manner that is hard to comprehend. I want to have faith like these 3 men. I want to trust God even in the blackest periods of my life. I don't want to just have fair weather faith. So it raises the question - how do we go about getting this kind of faith - unshakable faith?

When we spend a lot of time with somebody, we normally start to see their flaws. Even more so if we live with that person (just ask my wife). Now think about the 12 who lived, ate, traveled, and spent enormous amounts of time with Jesus during His 3 year ministry. They had 3 years to find kinks and flaws. 3 years to poke holes in their own faith. Yet all these 12 saw was the perfection that is our Lord. Most of them died martyr's deaths defending their faith. Just thinking about the reality of this gives me faith. In short, realizing Jesus is who He said He is should make our faith unshakable. And spending our own time living, eating, walking with Him allows us to see the perfection that is our Lord.

In a similar way, if I believe the bible is truly the word of God, my faith should be unshakable. We talked a lot about this in last week's message. Once again, I think experience is the key. The more time we spend in the word, studying it, getting to know it, and living it, the more we realize its divine nature. I heard a pastor this week who put it this way - "the bible has more than 40 writers but it only has 1 author".

So this Wednesday, as we fast, let's spend some time walking with Him, praying for unshakable faith. Faith that's just as strong in the lowest lows as it is in the highest highs.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob