The Risk and Reward of Getting Out of Your Rut

The church I serve in just finished a month long series called "Un-Stuck", go to www.southbrookchurch.com to listen to all 4 sermons. Before the series kicked off I had this storyboard in my mind of what this looks like for most people, (see the picture below). There are two ways of getting out.  The first way to get out is to steer left or right, hang onto the wheel as hard as you can and not the wheels pull you back in. You have to sustain the direction by holding tight, and before you know it, you are unstuck. The other is to have something/someone bigger and stronger pull you out. 

 But most people fail. Why?

1. It's comfortable and easier.

2. No courage is required, no adventure to be gained either.

3. Everyone is headed in the same direction anyway.

4. Don't like asking for help, or admit we need help.

I find myself getting stuck every so often, sometimes I may not even know I am unless I get perspective/counsel. This year I am sensing God calling me to a year of risk. It's scary to me but exciting at the same time. I love what I am doing, where I live and my life in general. However, Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have it to overflow." John 10:10. I want my life to really matter, to not be boring or safe or even comfortable. I admit my flesh wants comfort, but my Spirit knows better. The beginning of John 10:10 says "The thief comes to rob, kill and destroy." I totally believe that and realize that we can be lulled to sleep and lose out on the full life God wants for us. But it takes courage!

 The path most American Evangelical Christians live is too safe and too much like the world. Nice paying job, spouse, kids, comfy house, nice church, friends that are congenial and so on. This is NOT THE LIFE OF JESUS, nor those who live all out for God. I want to desperately steer out of the rut that keeps me living all out for God. Risk is scary to me and I have no idea what this looks for this year, but what looks even scarier is looking back and knowing that I stayed in the Lane that led to an easy life where Jesus might have a hard time saying, "well done good and faithful servant."

The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away - Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

  The title of this post is a quote from from Job 1:21 and it describes my life this past year. Life is full of change. Some changes are more dramatic than others but change is one of the few constants in our lives isn't it? As the church I serve in has been in transition I have seen many people and staff leave the church.  It's been hard to say the least, I treat church like family and I hate it when people leave for whatever the reasons. If you love others, than you hurt when they are no longer a part of your life on a consistent basis. But the Lord has brought more new people in and is bringing a new Lead Pastor. I am excited for the people and staff of Southbrook as this new era of Godly Leadership begins.

  Tears of joy and tears of sorrow.  Just in the past month I saw my dear Mom pass from this life into the hope she had in Jesus for a life in Heaven. My brother, sisters, my Dad and my wife Karyn were surrounding her when she breathed her last breathe.  It was so very peaceful and I am so glad she is no longer suffering. I miss her and so do the many who knew her.  But tears of sorrow were replaced with tears of JOY as I was literally flying home from my Mom's Memorial Service in Illinois. While I was in the air my oldest daughter Brittany delivered Noah Thomas Rivera into the world as her husband Thomas coached and encouraged her through the birth of their son, which makes me a Grandpa! Talk about the circle of life. As we landed I couldn't hold the tears back, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

  It's the season of family and friends gathering together to sing and celebrate, to participate in passed on traditions or create new ones.  It's also a time to reflect as we look back on one year and head into the next.  I am an optimist to be sure, but honestly I am not sure where anyone can place their hope other than God.  I get it that religion and church politics have turned many away, the holier than thou smugness, the fact that all Christians are hypocrites and that many a Pastor has become a captive to the same form of pride called entitlement that many celebrities, sports figures and politicians get sucked into.

   But....and this is the point to this blog - it is the Lord who gave you life, gave you much to make a great life. And it is the sin of this world that also damages and destroys. Put your hope in God, He is faithful, people are not.  People come and go but the Lord is full of love, compassion, mercy and grace.  Whatever your experience with church or God has been in the past, please know this He is waiting with His arms wide open for you because He is crazy about you. Next year I may not be around to write this blog, you may not be around to read it. Make the most of the days you have!!!  The Lord gives and the Lord takes away - blessed be the name of the Lord!

When Hope Seems Far Away

Hope is one thing we cannot live without, but often hope seems fleeting, or we have placed it in the wrong places/people. I am 100% sure that everyone reading this right now either has great need of hope, has needed it or will need it in the future.

I'm writing this on the Saturday of Easter weekend and on this day in history the followers of Jesus struggled the most. The 11 remaining Disciples had invested the last 3 years of their lives with Jesus and what they hoped for was a new era for Jews everywhere and that there place in it would be huge! Now it was replaced with a deep sense of hopelessness, a "what are we going to do now?" period.

Are you there? Does it feel like the clock is at 11:59:59 in a specific area of your life - job/career, finance, marriage, relationships, health or something else?

"May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick/ache, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

Reading the promise God has in Romans 15:13 is not false hope, God promises that you will be overflowing with joy, peace and hope AS YOU TRUST IN HIM. The Holy Spirit will make you overflow with those three things, your part is to trust in Him. The more you let go and trust in Him, the more you will experience Joy, Peace and Hope. I am not sure what the followers of Jesus felt like on that Saturday, but no one seemed ready to take on the world, or was anticipating the resurrection of Jesus even though He promised it. Instead they were hiding out in a room hoping not to be arrested and trying to figure out next steps. JESUS CAME THROUGH THEN AND HE WILL NOW. He is trustworthy! Put your hope and trust in Him fully and watch what happens next!