how to face an unexpected crisis…

we have been looking here about some facts about crisis now let’s look at how to face an unexpected crisis.

first of all we need to refocus on GOD’s closeness.  when you’re going through a crisis, in order to not be afraid, you stop and you get your eyes off the problem and onto GOD.

matthew 8.23 (niv),  then JESUS got into the boat and HIS disciples followed HIM.

when the disciples were in the middle of the storm, who was in the boat with them?  JESUS.  if you were in a boat and GOD was in the boat with you, would you be afraid?  no.  they forgot who was there.  they forgot that GOD was in the boat.

i read a story the other day.  charles colson who we lost this past year, was saying that during the nixon administration, he and henry kissinger and richard nixon were in air force one flying somewhere.  they got in a violent storm.  the plane was rocking back and forth.  and kissinger looked over to colson, pointing at nixon and said, “i feel a whole lot better because he’s on the plane.”  that was a false sense of security!  especially during watergate.  that did not guarantee anything.  nixon was not god.  he was not invincible – watergate proved that.  if the plane had gone done, what could nixon do about it?  zip! 

now if kissinger had looked over and saw GOD setting there, then he had a legitimate reason to not be afraid.  there would be no reason to worry.

steve brown is a pastor in florida of the key biscayne presbyterian church and steve hates to fly.  he says he especially hates to fly in the big jumbo jets because you don’t see anything that’s going on.  “you can't see the pilot or the cockpit or anything.  all you see are the stewardesses saying, ‘calm down. don’t worry.’  they don't know anything.  i want to talk to the guy who’s in control.  i actually prefer the little planes over the big ones.  i like the single engine planes.  you’re only one seat from the pilot.  i actually feel more comfortable in little planes because i sit there and watch the pilot, especifically his upper lip.  if no beads of perspiration are there, i know he’s ok.  and if he’s ok, i’m ok.”

that is a perfect illustration of keeping your eyes on the LORD.  HE’s the pilot in life.  if HE’s sleeping in the boat, i don’t have to worry.  if HE’s in my boat and HE’s not concerned, i’m not concerned.

just a thought from the front porch…

maybe that’s what you need…

i don’t know what your day is like but you might be feeling pretty desperate right now, and wondering how am i going to make it because of my inadequacy or my guilt within.  GOD says, “I know you better than anyone and I love you better than anyone and I’ve got a plan for your life.”  lean on that truth.  that’s a rock that we need in our lives.  GOD is our rock.  if you depend on anything else, anyone else and eventually they’ll feel like jell-o.  GOD’s the rock that we need. 

i’d encourage you to write down, GOD is bigger than… what?  what problem are you facing?  write it in. it’s your step of faith saying i realize i need to put this in perspective and realize GOD’s bigger than even that problem.  maybe you need to write, GOD’s bigger than me.  maybe you need to write, GOD’s bigger than some success that you just had in your life.  GOD is bigger. 

in the old testament, there’s a book by the name of job.  it’s a pretty long and depressing book for most of it.  at the beginning job has a lot of problems.  everything in his life falls apart.  the middle part of the book, the larger part of it, is job’s friends giving him bad advice about what to do about those problems.  it reminds us that friends don’t always give good advice. 

but at the end of the book job meets with GOD.  he’s been asking GOD all throughout the book, why is this happening to me?  and at the end of the book job meets with GOD and GOD never tells him why.  HE never answers his question.  GOD just comes and says, “listen job.  I want you to hear how great I am.”  and GOD tells him about HIS greatness.  and that was enough. 

that’s what job needed to hear.  that satisfied his heart.  in the end he didn’t so much need to hear the answer to his questions as he needed to meet the person of GOD and realize how great HE was.  how great HE is.  at the end it wasn’t so much getting the answer to why as seeing the who. 

and maybe that’s what you need – to realize GOD’s greatness.

just a thought from the front porch… 

tell HIM what you feel about HIM…

we happen to be in a series here on bill’s front porch looking at the way JESUS taught us to pray and we are spending some time looking at the prayer that JESUS gave HIS disciples and gave to us.   it is the LORD’s prayer.  and we are continuing looking at the phrase, hallowed be YOUr name. 

JESUS began the LORD’s prayer found in matthew 6.9 (niv) with, this then is how you should pray, “our FATHER in heaven, hallowed be YOUr name.”

please note: if you want peace then what does it really mean when we honor GOD’s name.  how does that bring peace into my life?

honoring GOD’s name means i acknowledge that GOD is greater than my biggest problem.

just think of the biggest problem that you’re facing in your life right now.  GOD is bigger.  HE is greater, much greater.

JESUS teaches us when we pray, HE says, “when you pray first of all start out and call GOD your FATHER.  realize that that’s the relationship that you have with HIM.”  then right after that you say, “GOD, i want YOUr name, who YOU are to be honored in my life and in this world.” 

that’s not how we usually pray.  often times when we go in we’ve got our list.  “here it is GOD.  i need this, this, this and this…  see you later, GOD.”  and i’m out of there. 

do you ever pray like that?

now understand, GOD listens to every one of our prayers but we’d have a lot more peace in our lives if we prayed the way JESUS encourages us to pray. 

sometimes in our prayers, we tend to focus only on our problems.  but JESUS here is reminding us, that “I want you to talk to ME about your problems but before you do that just take a minute to realize that GOD is your FATHER, that HE loves you no matter what problems you have in your life and HE’s never going to stop loving you.

and also realize that GOD is greater than any problem you’re going to talk to HIM about right now, if you take just those few seconds to do that, the stress level will dramatically decrease in your life.”  it’s a lot better relationally to talk to GOD that way, to begin by actually talking to HIM, telling HIM what you feel about HIM. 

just a thought from the front porch…  

a fresh start…

if you’ve got a problem with your tongue, it’s much more serious than you think.  you have a heart problem.  a person with a harsh tongue has an unsettled heart.  a person with a boasting tongue has an insecure heart.  a person with a filthy tongue has an impure heart and a person who is critical all of the time has a bitter heart.

but on the other hand, a person who is always encouraging has a happy heart.  a person who speaks gently has a loving heart and a person who speaks truthfully has an honest heart.

so what is the solution?  the  solution is get a new heart.  get a new heart.

listen you’ve got to get a new heart, that’s the problem.  ezekial 18:31 (niv), rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit!

painting the outside of the pump doesn’t make any difference if there is poison in the well.  i can change the outside externals, i can turn over a new leaf, but what i really need is a new life.  what i need is a fresh start, i need to let go of all the past and be born again and start over.  i need a new heart.

so how do i get a new heart?  2 corinthians 5.17 (niv), therefore if any one is in CHRIST, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

new life, new heart, new spirit.  when you come to JESUS CHRIST, HE wipes out everything you’ve done in the past.  HE says, “you’re starting over”.  it’s like being born again.  you need a new heart.

we need to pray like david prayed in psalm 51, create in me a clean heart because what’s in my heart is going to come out in my mouth.

just a thought from the front porch…

it's serious business...

james is saying, people think favoritism is such a small sin but he says, if you break GOD’s rule, you break GOD’s rule.  be careful, it’s serious business.

james 2.11 (niv),  for who said, “do not commit adultery” also said, “do not murder”.  if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

what is he saying?  he is illustrating his point about being unloving.  if i come to your house and say, “i really respect you a whole lot.  the way i’m going to prove how much i love you is i’m not going to commit adultery with your wife.  however, i reserve the right if you tick me off i’ll murder you.”

are you going to thank me for that?  will you appreciate my love?  of course not, how absurd.  it’s ridiculous.  “i don't smoke or cuss or chew or run around with girls who do.  what does GOD care about if i’m partial to certain kinds of people?”  no.  GOD says it’s all the same; it’s all important.

james 1.12 (niv), speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom because judgment without mercy will not be shone to anyone who has not been merciful.  mercy triumphs over judgment.  love treats people with mercy.  love gives people what they need, not what they deserve. 

james here is probably thinking about his half brother JESUS who said in the sermon on the mount, blessed is the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

that’s the problem.  it’s unCHRISTian, it’s unreasonable, it’s unloving to show favoritism – to be a snob.

just a thought from the front porch…