Monthly Archives: April 2016

Jesus and the Boat

faith

“Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (Luke 8:22-25).

What strikes me about this passage is where Jesus was positionally during this scenario. He was the one who charted the course across the lake and was ‘present’ and ‘all there’ at the beginning. It is easy to go on a voyage when your leader is visibly in front. But note what happens, during the voyage trouble arose with a windstorm. Now remember, they are committed to being in the boat since they are in the middle of the lake. They can’t just hop out on shore if the waves get too big for them. This is often the case with trials, God charts the course and once you’re in it, you can’t necessarily get out of it. Since you are now committed, it would be nice to have God’s presence always there in a way you can feel it.

But this was not the case in this situation because Jesus fell asleep, so his presence was not felt by those battling the winds. They must have felt that everything rested on them now. And things were not going well. Continue reading Jesus and the Boat →

What Banner are You Operating Under #4

banner, grace

The Banner of Grace and Love

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).

The true way to operate is to stand under the banner of grace and love which is found at the very heart of the gospel.  What does this banner look like?

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the age to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, and not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:4-9).

Notice the above highlighted words? How very different the characteristics of this banner are from the characteristics of the other banners. The underlying premise is one of sacrificial love, not condemnation. It means we are accepted and loved by God even in our imperfect, mortal state. We are included, on the inside, loved down to the very core with nothing being able to separate us from the love of God, not even our own failings and sin.  Continue reading What Banner are You Operating Under #4 →

What Banner are You Operating Under #3

banner, Training the mind

The Banner of Accusation

There is also the banner of accusation whose motives can color the way we interact with people when something has gone wrong.

It can be very subtle, communicating with a look, a sigh or a word that something is wrong somewhere and someone needs to be blamed, someone besides the one doing the blaming. It is the transferring over onto another the burden of responsibility for some perceived evil whether specific or vague. This can happen without any words being exchanged. It is just felt.

Or it can be out in the open with an actual accusation. With this underlying motive, after a person has been accused of some perceived short falling or crime, what is felt by the accused is that they have been tried, sentenced and hung in a kangaroo court with little option of ever crawling out from under the verdict of rejection. The accused becomes a marked person for as long as the accuser chooses which is usually a very long time. This is called ‘holding a grudge’. It is a type of condemnation where the accuser is acting as divine judge and basically throwing the person out because he has now been labeled as ‘bad’. Continue reading What Banner are You Operating Under #3 →

What Banner are You Operating Under #2

banner, Training the mind

The Banner of Shame

The banner of shame is another banner we can operate under, whose underlying premise is one of condemnation. How do you know you are operating with this motive? Well, one of the subtle ways to know is if you fear man. Why? Because he might condemn you down to the very core of who you are. As humans we all have a way of ranking who is acceptable and who is not. Having standards, opinions, likes and dislikes is not the problem, it is the motive behind them that causes the problems. How does it work? When someone makes a critical statement about you or you make one about another, it conveys a message that the other has not met up to the required standard or expectation which conveys the feeling of shame. Shame means you have missed the mark and are unworthy.

Shame motivated statements say, “How could you….” or “You should be…” The underlying premise is that you are a bad person for failing to meet up to the approved standard. There is no acceptance unless you can meet the standard. The standard may be good but operating with this motive, the statement turns into the voice of condemnation of the entire person who consistently is falling short. This means there is a subtle rejection of the person in the process. How does God view this whole question of one of His children not being good enough at a foundational level? Continue reading What Banner are You Operating Under #2 →

What Banner are You Operating Under #1

banner


We speak every day by our actions and words. But are we speaking the truth about God or lies? It depends on what banner we are operating under when we speak. All of us operate under some kind of banner even when we are not aware of it. Everyone has presuppositions and a practical theology which gets worked out into our daily thoughts and actions. This practical theology drives the motives behind what we do and think, and sets the tone for how we treat others in any given moment. We all fly these colors without even realizing it. So we need to ask ourselves, what banner are we operating under at any given moment? What types of banners are there?

The Law

The first banner I want to consider is the banner of law, which is the old way of trying to earn approval by the works of the law. Continue reading What Banner are You Operating Under #1 →

Jesus in the Boat

faith, resting, Training the mind, trust

“Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (Luke 8:22-25).

What strikes me about this passage is where Jesus was positionally during this scenario. He was the one who charted the course across the lake and was ‘present’ and ‘all there’ at the beginning. It is easy to go on a voyage when your leader is visibly in front. But note what happens, during the voyage trouble arose with a windstorm. Now remember, they are committed to being in the boat since they are in the middle of the lake. They can’t just hop out on shore if the waves get too big for them. This is often the case with trials, God charts the course and once you’re in it, you can’t necessarily get out of it. Since you are now committed, it would be nice to have God’s presence always there in a way you can feel it. Continue reading Jesus in the Boat →

His Footsteps our Pathway

faith, Training the mind, trust

“Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway” (Psalm 85:13).

Picture a deep snowfall on a mountain pathway that is so deep that it is difficult to walk through for a child. Now picture a father plowing on before, with a little child right behind him holding onto his waste. The father breaks the snow and eases the way with each step as the child puts his feet in his father’s footsteps. What would have been an extremely difficult or impossible task for the child is now made possible because he walks right behind his father. He will get to the desired end one step at a time.

That is how we get through life. God goes before us breaking the way and we follow behind, making His footsteps our pathway. We don’t have to look down the pathway wondering how we’ll get there, we just have to follow right behind our guide, one step at time.