Refocus

In John 1:30-34, John the Baptist continued introducing his audience to Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. He made it clear that although he always understood his ministry was about preparing the way for the Christ, as late as the previous day he had no idea who He was, where He would come from, or when He would arrive. But God had told him that he would recognize Him by the sign of the Spirit descending and remaining on Him.

And by the next day, John had witnessed this supernatural phenomenon. He described it as so substantial it was as though he had seen the Holy Spirit take on physical form. He said it was like a dove had landed and stayed on Jesus.

The three other Gospel writers – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – recorded that this happened at Jesus’ baptism and that the VOICE of God was also audibly heard on that occasion declaring Jesus to be His beloved Son. So, it’s not surprising then that John bluntly said, “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

His testimony was not based on wishful thinking, self-delusion, or metaphysics. It was faith for sure, but it was also empirical. It was a statement of belief tied to a personal experience. And he had no alternative. He could do nothing else but proclaim the reality of what he’d seen and heard.

And I get that.

I became a Jesus-follower on the basis of my faith in what the Bible reveals about Him. But my believing is also tightly connected to my experiencing. I too have seen and heard. My relationship with Christ is first and foremost a spiritual thing. But it’s more than that. He has revealed Himself to me in tangible, measurable, amazing ways. And I can’t deny it. It’s my story.

And our stories are powerful. That’s why Revelation 12:11 says the Devil is overcome by the blood of the Lamb – or the sacrifice of Jesus – AND the word of our testimony. John the Baptist had a testimony, and that testimony – that story – is what God used to introduce His Son to a needy world.

And God wants to do the very same thing with your story. He wants to reveal the Savior to those in the circle of your influence who need Him and to use your testimony – the story of what you’ve seen and heard – to do it.

Don’t discount the value of what you’ve experienced in Christ. You may not consider your testimony to be very dramatic. Maybe you haven’t seen the Spirit descending like a dove or heard God’s audible voice. But that’s not the point. It’s your genuineness that matters. People are hungry for faith that’s real. And yours is. Jesus has changed your life. And simply sharing THAT with someone can have eternal impact.

Salvation is never based on someone’s story, but it’s often the result of hearing that story. I encourage you to share yours with someone today.

I remember the kid song about this passage and the hand motions to it from when I was a little girl. Though I hardly doubt that I truly understood their meaning back then. As a Christian, my firm beliefs give me a place on God’s rock. I have that firm foundation underneath me and when the junk of life comes I can stand firm because of who my trust is in.

However, sometimes I jump off the Rock, dip my toes in the sand, and get a little comfy there. I’ll pull up a chair, kick my feet up, and more than once I’ve even built a little hut there. When I’m living out of God’s will or I’m listening to my fear or my selfish side or my angry side or my totally messy human side I might take a little vacation right there in my beach shack.

My house is still on the Rock, my firm foundation, but I have my little sand hut to visit.

And maybe you’ve done this too. Found yourself, up to your own devices and desires, facing a storm. The rain pours down the floods come, the winds beat you up mentally and spiritually and emotionally and you are helpless to fight it. It’s too overwhelming.

But as a Christian, I certainly know the difference in how it feels to face a storm my own way and facing it on the solid Rock of Peace God gives me. My way is me scrambling and hustling to fix it. I can just picture myself right now in this analogy on the sand, my chair and my little hut breaking to pieces and me grabbing at them uselessly trying to keep it all together. It such a clear picture to me of because I do it often.

During this interesting time in our lives of covid-19, I’ve had some trouble sleeping. As a child and young girl, and then into adulthood insomnia was a nightly thing. I’d wake my parents several times each night because I wanted someone else to be awake in the misery I was in. As far back as I can remember I could not sleep. My brain would not shut off. And because of this, I had many migraines.

As I got older, I was put on medicine for this and it was amazing for me. I mean, it was super strong, the kind that once I took it I better head straight to bed or I was bound to wake up the next day flat on the floor, having no recollection of the night before.

And then about 15 years ago, God began to completely change my life and one of the millions of things He freed me from was insomnia. I stopped taking my medicine and I would lay down and be straight into deep sleep.

So here we are, over 2 months ago and my entire non-essential world changes. And I find myself up all night. Tossing and turning and playing the what-if game. It’s my least favorite game in the world. You know like, “what if there is no food at the stores, we will starve” “what if we have no money to pay our bills, we will be homeless” and on and on. What if, what if, what if.

In those few hours of tossing and turning in my bed, I jumped off the Rock ran as quickly as I could to the sand, dug my toes in, and resurrected my chair and my hut and I stayed up all night trying to fix it with my worry.

The next morning, I went straight to my Bible, flipped it right open to the exact page God needed me to hear, and had instant peace.

These verses say the fall is great, but the great news is that I can scramble back to my Rock, my God, in repentance and be calmed in any storm.

That’s not to say I haven’t had sleepless night of worry since, it doesn’t mean that I always just stay home on the Rock, I’m still totally me and sometimes I think I can do it alone. And I know the answers and all my worry is going to make things better because I will figure it out. Which is of course a lie. But how often and quickly we forget.

So, let’s be reminded today, during this uncertain time that we have a Certainty. The Rock of Jesus Christ. He is our firm foundation. He is our protection in the storm. Turn to him…run from the sand as fast as you can and let Him deal with your storm. Come home to the Rock.

Do you talk to yourself? I’ve heard it said that crazy people talk to themselves. Well, that may be true, but not-crazy people do too, and I’m one of them.

King David talked to himself… many of his conversations are recorded for us in the Psalms. They can be very helpful.

Psalm 43:5 is part of one of David’s conversation with himself which gives us great insight and help.

David said to himself…

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in disturbed within me?

Why are you depressed? Why are you troubled and why are you growling?

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?

David could have responded to his first question to ‘self’ by outlining a number of problems he was facing… but he didn’t go there.

In the very next line of this verse David spoke to himself in a rebuking and directive way…

Hope in God; (Put your hope in God)

Fix my eyes on God…

This is good advice… “Fix my eyes on Him” - There needs to be a refocusing of our attention from our problems and situations to God, trusting in Him and waiting on Him – with confident expectation.

He goes on to say… For I shall yet praise Him, yes, I will praise Him again—

My Savior and my God!

When my focus changes from my problems and my moods, to my God, my internal ‘growl’ turns into ‘praise.’

For… He is “My salvation and my God.”

Psalm 23:4a • Challenge #6

by Matt Kladnik - Lead pastor, Vintage Faith Foursquare Church in Culver City, CA (Vffchurch.com)

Hello! Welcome to my walking trail. I’m showing you a little bit of the view, its right behind my house, it’s just a little fire trail.

What I love the most about it, is there is a portion of it that I get to let my dog off leash for just a little bit. And, I can’t get too far behind, and I can’t let him get too far behind. He gets to sniffn’, I get distracted, and if I am my phone I lose sight of him, and that is not good because I can’t protect him. I wish I could be in both places, I wish I could enjoy a walk right beside him too, but in my human-ness, I can’t.

But it does remind of God’s promise in Psalm 139:5-6 “You go before me, and follow me, You place Your hand of blessing on my head, such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.”

In this season right now, we can barely plan a week ahead. I just got done trying to plan a vacation. I had a week off and it’s impossible to be sure of our plans. Hotels are cancelling. I know that’s a little thing…I can do without a vacation, but some people are trying to plan their future, like the graduation class of 2020 woo-hoo! Congrats! And I know it’s difficult right now for you guys to make any plans. Some people are on the edge of retirement, others are just beginning their small business, and it’s hard, you can’t plan ahead.

I think this is a season where we as God’s people, God’s children, God’s church, God’s bride to be able to trust in His word, and in His promises. A simple promise, but really huge, a promise we may have taken for granted before, right now we can really press into it and claim it and know that He has gone before us, and He has made a way already, He knows what’s ahead.

But what I don’t want to miss during this season, is not just being able to trust Him with my future or have comfort in that He has protected me from things in the past, but this present time…of Him being able to lay His hand of blessing on my head. And that’s such a tangible presence.

It’s so different from being comforted of our future and our past, but laying His hand of blessing means I can’t keep running forward or moving around. I need to sit still long enough to feel His presence, to sense His presence and to know that He wants to lay His hand on me. He wants to comfort me, He wants to give me revelation, He wants to give me peace and joy. I don’t’ want to miss this blessing during this season.

I just pray that we would all be able to sit and come out of this season knowing that we’ve been able to experience that hand of blessing in His presence. So read Psalm 139:5-6 if you have a chance. You might as well read the whole thing! And claim His promises, enjoy what He has to say about you, His child, and how He loves You and how He has so much for you, even now, even during this time.

In the last chapter of Joshua, we find that the Israelites have just conquered the Promised Land. God speaks to the Israelites through Joshua summarizing all the great works He has done for them from Egypt, the wilderness, and then the Promised Land. And God warns them of the other idols and commands them to only serve Him.

In the events after that, found in the book of Judges, they disobey Him and serve other gods. God allows other nations to conquer them, and when they are in trouble, they cry out to Him. He rescues them, they repent, and then the cycle continues.

What we can learn from this is that the Israelites only went to God based on their circumstances. When they were in trouble, they cried out to God. When He rescued them, they turned their backs on Him. We can do this all the time. In times of struggle, we cry out to God for rescue. In times of comfort, we turn our backs on Him and the cycle continues.

Our circumstances will always go up and down, but God’s love and pursuit for us will not. The same goes for us. In good times and bad times, the truth that we need God remains the same. It’s similar to how our bodies need oxygen. No matter what season we are in, good or bad, we will always need oxygen to breathe.

Despite the season we are in and the season we are heading into, let us always seek the presence of God with integrity and no more and no less than any other season.

I love to hike and there are times, I use trekking poles to help me when I walk. I keep a firm grip as my poles pull me forward and keep me balanced especially when I walk on uneven and difficult ground. My poles keep me from slipping and falling down when there are holes or rocky areas.

In the same way God's promises help pull me forward and keep me balanced in my walk with Him. Just as I rely on my poles for my journey in uncertain terrain, I can rely on the promises of God for the challenging days of life!

With every planting of the pole, or every promise of God, I am able to keep going, stay steady, and balanced, and continue my journey with confidence, faith, and find renewed strength from God.

One of my favorite promises of God is Isaiah 41:10:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Another promise I’m holding onto is Isaiah 52:12:

For you shall not go out in haste,

and you shall not go in flight,

for the Lord will go before you,

and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Working as Staff Chaplain at the hospital during this difficult time of the COVID 19 virus has been challenging. Face masks, goggles, hat, and gloves. Social distancing. But I know that God will go before me, and that He will be my rear guard. He leads me - and He’s also got my back! How comforting and reassuring is that?

I’d love to hear from you – let me know what promises of God you are holding onto today.

Psalm 23:3b • Challenge #5

by Matt Kladnik - Lead pastor, Vintage Faith Foursquare Church in Culver City, CA (Vffchurch.com)

Listen to this quote: “Satan, on his divine leash, cannot hurt us without God’s permission.”

Job 1

You know Job’s story. Him being tested/tried/ put through the

Fire’. He had everything and lost everything…

But, do you remember Paul’s affliction – 2 Cor 12 – “I must not be too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me. So, a painful problem was given to me—an angel from Satan, sent to make me suffer, so that I would not think that I am better than anyone else. 8 I begged the Lord three times to take this problem away from me. 9 But the Lord said, “My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.”

How about this…

Remember what Joseph said to his brothers? “As for you, you meant evil against me, but GOD meant it for good.” Gen 50

Did you See that – it DOESN’T say ‘God used it for good or turned it for good.

He ‘MEANT it for good.’

His brother had evil in mind.

God didn’t start halfway through – “oh I better clean this up.”

He had a purpose, a meaning from the beginning.

From the start He meant it for good!

There is real comfort here when evil men and Satan compound our suffering.

But in Christ we can say –You meant it for evil. BUT GOD meant it for Good.

Here’s the thing – Only God is sovereign – no one else – not us, not Satan.

Jesus expresses this – Matthew 10: 29 Easy to read – 29 “When birds are sold, two small birds cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it. 30 God even knows how many hairs are on your head. 31 So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.”

Not one sparrow falls but by God’s plan

Not one virus moves but by God’s plan

This is meticulous sovereignty.

What does Jesus say next – YOU are more valuable than many sparrows.

The hairs on your head are numbered – FEAR NOT!

Why NOT fear?

Because of God’s meticulous sovereignty – whether we live or die – serves His holiness, His goodness and wisdom.

See, In Christ we are not dispensable pawns.

We are His valued children

You and I are way more valuable than a sparrow.

This is what sustains us – God could stop this virus but doesn’t –

Okay, that means, He’s got this.

We can rest in that. He’s God and I’m not.

He will see to it that the bitter and the sweet work together for good.

So, today, take a big deep breath of relief.

Breathe easy. Rest for your mind.

God’s got this.

He’s got you right in the palm of His very strong and capable hands.