Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Filed under: fear

My Will Be Done?

Sunday at Creekstone we prayed the Lord's Prayer together. One line that we tend to recite without thinking too deeply is, "Thy will be done." Are we sure we know what we are saying? Thy will? To be honest, I tend to be tenaciously committed to the fulfillment of my will. It is that commitment that sows the seeds of worry, anxiety, fear, drivenness, control and self-protection, among other things. So to pray for the Father's will to be realized is a strong statement of humility, faith and dependency upon the all-sovereign, all-wise and all-loving redemptive plan of God. Humility, faith and dependency cannot co-exist with the idol of my playing the role of Lord of my own life.  And as someone has said, being God is way above my pay scale. I'm simply not equipped for that task. After all, if I were God, I never would have planned to rescue the unworthy from their sins  — especially through the heinous death of my own son. Yet, as Isaiah 53 says, "It was the Lord's will to crush him" because "All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all" (NLT). Eternal love. Ungraspable grace.  Thank you, Father, that Jesus prayed "Thy will be done," and followed through with the plan. Now help me trust your sovereign, wise and loving will with humility, faith and dependency as I journey this day on the paths you have laid out for me.

 

Tomorrow's Message: Fear vs. Faith • Matt. 14:22-33

Tomorrow (Sunday) night's Creekstone message is going to be one of those "when the rubber hits the road" messages.  Looking at Matthew 14:22-33, we are going to talk about what it means to live by faith rather than by fear. The reality is that we are faced with many reasons to fear. However, when we embrace the truth of the gospel and live in the context of God's sovereign, grace-filled agenda, we are able to let go of our fears, control, and despair, and live with the trust of a child who has a really strong Daddy. It is a faith that sets us free to walk through the valley of the shadow of death (or job loss, or failure, or embarrassment, or whatever)... without fear... because He is with us. This just might be a life-changing message.  Hope to see you then— 6:00 p.m. at the Park and Rec Center in Dahlonega. Here is a map. 

Getting Out of the Boat

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The other night over dinner several friends and I discussed the distinction between fear, foolishness, and faith. As a personal confession, I tend to live by fear rather than faith. Although I am a church planter (which is by definition a major vocational risk), my nature is to play it safe. I like to have all the facts and answers before launching out from the harbor. Yet, when I look at passages like Joshua being called to cross over the Jordan in order to take the Promised Land from the enemies of Israel, or Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus, I realize that living by faith requires a willingness to risk in order to follow the call of the Savior. However, I know that it is possible to justify my foolishness by calling it faith. So, how can I know the difference? It appears to be a very fine line. So, take Peter. What got him out of the boat and onto the water? Foolishness, or faith? Without the presence and power of Jesus, his act was sheer foolishness. With the presence and power of Jesus, his act was sheer faith. Sometimes it is practically impossible to know whether what I am doing is rooted in foolishness or faith. But if I am willing to step out, sink and cry out to Jesus for rescue in my failure, then maybe it is faith that is propelling me out of the boat. Indeed, I will begin to live by faith when I realize that I can't to it by myself, but that he can. After all, that is the essence of my entire salvation, from justification, to sanctification, and all the way to glorification—all to the praise of God's glorious grace.