Everybody Needs Jesus

 So when they were together with him, they asked, "Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:6-8

Sadly, Jews and many non-Jews are still looking for what some of Jesus' disciples were still looking for just moments before Jesus ascended back into heaven.  People whose eyes are fixated on this world continue to miss the Messiah.  

Jesus is the Messiah.  He is the Son of God.  He is the Passover Lamb whose blood saves from death and damnation.  We can be sure that Jesus is the Savior because he fulfilled every Messianic prophecy of the Old Testament.  

The Bible gives no prophecy, or promise, about God restoring the earthly kingdom of Israel.  What Jesus did say was, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews.  But now my kingdom is not from here." (John 18:36)

This is vitally important to understand.  The kingdom of God is not an earthly physical kingdom.  It is a spiritual kingdom.  That is why Satan works so hard to keep people focused on this world.  This life.  While Jesus' kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, he has given his disciples work to do in this life.  In our physical world.  We are to be his witnesses to the world.  It is the job of every Christian to tell people about Jesus, and what he has done for them.

Don't get distracted by geopolitics and social agendas.  This world, and all the nations in this world, will pass away.  Stay focused on the mission, the commission.  Be Christ's witness.  That is going to look different for each individual because we have all been given different vocational callings, but that is still the mission nonetheless.

Notice that the Great Commission was given to all of Christ's disciples of all time.  It wasn't just given to the 11 Apostles.  Being a witness of Christ and his gospel isn't the work of just pastors and those called into the public ministry.  It is the work of every Christian.  We all have been given a mission field.  There are numerous people in your life who need to hear about Jesus.  They are on their way to hell because they don't believe in him as their Savior.  They desperately need you!  

Tell them!

Talk to them!

They are dying!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)

Thankfully, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live out this commission, this calling.  You are not alone when you witness Jesus to a family member, friend, or coworker.  The Holy Spirit will help you and guide your words.  This is also why it's so important to be in God's Word everyday.  God's Word is the means by which the Holy Spirit works.  

Know God's Word.  Speak God's Word and let the Holy Spirit work how he will.  We know that God's Word will not return to him empty.   It will accomplish its purpose.  So use it.

Now go with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit and be Christ's witness in your world.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

Fresh Starts

The end of August and the beginning of September is often a time of fresh starts for people.

A new school year at every level is just beginning.  

The season is about to change from summer to fall.

This is one of those waypoints during the year when it makes sense to stop and think about what you're doing in life, and why you're doing it.

This is also a time to take stock of your year so far.  

How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions?

How close are you to hitting your big goals for the year?

Christmas is coming.  Have you started making plans for the holidays yet?

I don't know if you are effected by any of these things, but this year I have been.

Over the last month, my family has embraced a turning point in our lives and we are in the middle of a fresh start.

    My son has begun high school.  Not just any high school.  He is at a boarding school.  This school year he will live more than 100 miles from my wife and I.

    

    In June I accepted the call to serve as the Minister of Mission Support at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Downers Grove, IL.  That means three weeks ago my family and I picked up and moved more than a hundred miles from the area we have called home most of our lives.

Fresh starts come in all different packages.  They enter our lives for many different reasons.   They can be frustrating at times (moving certainly is).  They can be heart-breaking at times.  It's tough to put distance between yourself and people you love.

But, fresh starts can also be highly rewarding.  Fresh starts open us up to new opportunities.  Often, they are the result of taking advantage of an opportunity.  They also put us into contact with a whole new world of people.  People we would have never known had we not exercised the courage to make a fresh start.

I don't know where you're at in life, but I do know that sometimes a fresh start is exaclty what the doctor ordered.  It gets us out of our familiar zone.  It puts us in contact with an entirely new community of people.  It can help us wake to the life we are supposed to be living.  Not settling for the one we have settled for.

I won't tell you what to do with your life.  That's your responsibility.  I would encourage you, though, especially if you are frustrated with your current situation, to think about a fresh start.  

Maybe that means moving.  Maybe that means changing where you work.  Maybe it means changing your career field all together.  However, I am not talking about scrapping your marriage.  You need to fix that if that's the source of your frustration.  A fresh start could mean distancing yourself from negative and destructive relationships in your life.  

You know you.  I don't know you, or your situation.  You know what it would mean to make a fresh start in your life.  I encourage you to take the leap.  A fresh start today could make all the difference in the rest of your life.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

Today's the Day!

Everyone is called upon to lead in some capacity sooner or later in life.  Some of the issues involved are big, some are small.  Sometimes the responsibilities requiring leadership last a lifetime, and sometimes they are needed only for a moment.  Leadership, then, is something each of us should strive to understand better and utilize more fully.  Whether in a corporate setting, a business of our own, a church environment, a volunteer organization, or in the home, improving our leadership abilities through the development process described in this book [Launching A Leadership Revolution] is key to unleashing the potential hidden within.  Helping to guide others through the same process is the secret to collective greatness and organizational victories.  (Launching A Leadership Revolution, Woodward/Brady, pp.XI-XII)

If you take a moment to stop and think through the premise that Woodward and Brady begin their leadership book with,  you will quickly realize that this statement is undeniable.  In many situations leadership boils down to taking responsibility.  As stated above, "Everyone is call upon to lead in some capacity sooner or later in life."  With that being the reality of life, the questions to answer then are: "Will you be prepared to lead when life demands it?" and "Will you have the courage to answer the leadership call in that moment?"

The sad reality is that most people will fail on both of these questions.  Most people aren't preparing for their leadership moment.  Most people don't want to take responsibility for anything in our society.  Many people are looking for "Them" to fix every problem.  "They" need to do this, and "They" need to do that.  Sadly, for most people, the answer is never, "I need to fix this."  It's much easier to play armchair quarterback and second-guess everything the person who steps up to the leadership challenge does.

In our dumbed-down entertainment-driven society most people are preparing themselves to be part of the mindless masses.  Few will actually turn off their electronic entertainment and read a book, an actual book.  One that you can mark up with a highlighter and a pen.  Reading is the foundation of leadership development because the only way to improve your thinking is by improving the quality of what you're puttig into your head.  Read-Listen-Associate.  That's the success formula.  That's the leadership developoment formula.  

If you are thinking to yourself that you're not a leader, and no one cares what you think about anything, it's time to go to work on yourself.  It's time to start the development process.  God has created you to do great things and influence people.  You need to get to work to develop the gifts that are already inside of you.  This will take time.  It's a process.  But it will never happen if you don't get started.  Get started today by clicking on the "Let's Read Together" page in the menu bar.  Get the first two books on the reading list and get to work.  

The time to start preparing for you leadership challenge is right now!  Get the books.  Start reading.  Start growing.  Turn off the electronics and don't look back.  Your leadership journey begins today!

God bless 
Jason Fredrick

God's Ways Are Not Our Ways: Abraham

 Abraham: Faithful Obedience

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.  At that time the Canaanites were living in the land.  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I give this land.”  So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

-Genesis 12:2-3, 6-7

            When Abraham received his call from God, he had no idea what God had in store for him and Sarah.  God told him to go, and he went.  He trusted God.  He trusted that God had a plan, and it would be revealed to him whenever God chose to reveal it to him.  When God told Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his family (Genesis 12:1) there is no indication that Abraham questioned God and pushed for an explanation.  We are told, “So Abram left, as the LORD had told him…” (Genesis 12:4).

            Abraham simply picked up and left, trusting God’s promises from vss.2&3.  Abraham had a lot of reasons to question God, but he did not.  Those questions would arise later when God’s promises were not being fulfilled in Abraham and Sarah’s timing, but initially Abraham obeyed God’s command and picked up and left trusting God would show him where he was to settle.

            Abraham’s life demonstrates that our timing is not God’s timing.  God revealed his plan to Abraham.  He directed Abraham throughout his life.  But God never told Abraham the timing of the fulfillment of his greatest promise: The promise of a son.  The son which was necessary for Abraham to become a great nation and through whom “all nations would be blessed”.  It is reasonable to think that Abraham would have expected Sarah to conceive shortly after God gave this promise.  After all, they were both already old and well past the age of having children: Abraham was 75 and Sarah was 65 and barren.

            It was only after Abraham and Sarah had made several mistakes trying to “help” God fulfill this promise that God revealed the timing of the fulfillment of the promise, 24 years later.  Sarah would give birth to a son one year later, when Abraham was 100 and she was 90 (Genesis 16,18,21).  God’s timing is not our timing.

            Abraham began to question God’s promise because he had placed his own arbitrary timeline and expectation on God for when this promise should be fulfilled.  This is the same mistake that we so often make.  We know that God has promised to care for us and provide for us, but we want to dictate to him how that promise should be fulfilled and what the timing of our demanded fulfillment should be.  When we place demands on God we display a lack of faith, and we demonstrate that we do not trust him to live up to his promises.

            Abraham was given an incredible promise from God.  And then he faced decades of testing before that promise would be truly fulfilled.  The time in which Abraham received his call and promise from God to its fulfillment on Mt. Moriah, where he was in the process of sacrificing Isaac to God, spanned more than 40 years. 

            Abraham lived for 175 years.  Genesis 12-25:11 tells us about ~60 years of his life.  That is a little more than 1/3 of his life; yet these six decades are clearly the defining years of Abraham’s life.  God’s plan for Abraham did not play out over days or weeks.  It took decades for everything to come together.  Abraham could only really understand God’s plan at its completion when he could look back over time and see how God worked everything out.  That is how it is for us, as well.  When we are in the beginning or middle stages of carrying out God’s plan, we cannot reasonably expect to know exactly how it will come together.  We just need to trust that God will bring it all together.

            Also, it is foolish to think that anything in life will come together in a few days, or a few weeks.  Even a few months is an unrealistic expectation in most situations.  Any worthwhile endeavor in life will take years to bring to fruition.  It is our responsibility to keep working and trust that God will bless our efforts and make them work out exactly how they need to, to bless his church and the world.

            God’s timing is not our timing!

A Portrait of Peter: Leadership

 There are, then, three peaks, or highpoints, in the period of Peter's leadership of the church.  First, there was the role Peter was allowed to play in the founding of the Jewish congregation in Jerusalem at Pentecost.  Second, there is his role in establishing the important principle that Samaritans, who by a generous estimate might be called half-jews, could have a place in the church.  And finally, Peter was allowed to demonstrate that even full-blooded Gentiles  could be accepted into the Christian church. (A Portrait of Peter, Panning, p.30)

Peter's life is incredibly instructive for us today, especially for those of us in Christ's church.

Peter's leadership journey had distinct phases of prominence, influence, and anonymity.  He is the prominent apostle throughout the first twelve chapters of Acts, but even here, several chapters are already laying the foundation for the early church moving beyond him (Acts 6-9:31).

There is no doubt Peter was the rock of the early church.  His leadership was crucial in keeping the apostles together after Jesus' ascension.  It is his sermon that Luke records on the day of Pentecost.  We are told of several times that he was arrested for proclaiming the message of Christ crucified.  He was crucial to the original church in Jerusalem.

Peter also played an important role in the church's understanding that "all nations" meant Samaritans and Gentiles as well, not just Jews.  Peter's time living and serving in Joppa and Lydda, and his visit to the house of Cornelius emphatically demonstrated to the early church that Samaritan and Gentile believers were just as much a part of Christ's church as any Jew.  This may be where Peter's leadership was most important.  We are still blessed by the ripple effect of this part of Peter's ministry.  Most of you reading this are likely Gentiles.  This part of Peter's ministry opened the door for Paul's minsitry to the Gentiles to be accepted and celebrated by the early church.  Paul had an ally at the meeting of the Jerusalem council (Acts 15) in Peter making the point that the Church is made up of all who have faith in Jesus Christ as their savior, not just those who can trace their lineage back to Abraham.

Let's look at three important leadership lessons from Peter's ministry and life:

Somebody Needs to Take Responsibility

Peter stepped into this role right away.  When the all the dicsiples returned from the mount of ascension it is Peter who stands up before everyone and declares that they should appoint someone to take the spot vacated by Judas.  He recognizes this need and takes responsibility for making sure the situation is handled sooner than later, immediately.

Throughout the first chapters of Acts, Peter seems to be the one giving the infant church its organizational structure.  Luke records Peter as the one who addresses the crowd at Pentecost defending his congregation.  It is also Peter's sermon on Pentecost that Luke has recorded for us.  (Panning makes the point in his book that it is likely that all the apostles would have been preaching on Pentecost since they were each given the ability to speak in different tongues.)

Leaders Act Courageously

There are two distinct groups with whom Peter had to demonstrate courage: The Sanhedrin and his own church.

Peter continued to preach in public despite constant persecution by the Jews.  Several times Peter was arrested, flogged, and brought before the Sanhedrin.  Every time they warned him, and whoever was with him, not to preach in the name of Jesus.  Every time Peter refused to capitulate: "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God." (Acts 4:19)  Peter evevtually had to leave Jerusalem because both the Jews and King Herrod wanted to kill him.

The other group Peter had to act courageously with was his own church.  One form this took was him rebuking the sinful actions of his members: specifically Ananias and Sapphira.  That rebuke led to their immediate death and judgment.

 The other group within the church was the council.  After Peter visited Cornelius, at God's direction, members of the Jerusalem council were not happy that he had visited the house of a Gentile.  Peter had to instruct them about God's declaration that no people are unclean.  God wants all people to be saved.  

Often times, a leader's fiercest battles will be fought against people who are supposed to be on his side.  Peter was incorporating change within the church and this was a problem for the Jewish believers who had strong preconcieved notions of what the church was.  Leaders have the courage to make the changes that need to be made.  Leaders attack the status quo and long-entrenched paradigms about "this is how it's done because this is how we've always done it."

Never be suprised when you are attacked and criticized for changing the status quo.

Leaders Are Humble Enough to Pass the Torch

Yet we also notice that Peter's stature declines in direct proportion to the church's movement away from Jerusalem. (A Portrait of Peter, Panning, p.18)

This is a hard lesson for many leaders.  Sadly, many never learn this lesson and their organization pays the price.  

A leader's true job is to develop other leaders.  If that's true (which it is) then the whole purpose of leadership is to replace yourself.  If you care about the mission more than personal glory this isn't difficult.  It's what supports your long-term vision.  To me, the most tragic loss a leader can experience is the death of his organization the day after he leaves.

There is nothing in Scripture that tells us Peter ever suffered from jealousy of Paul, Philip, or any of the other apostles and early evangelists.  Peter cared about Christ's church and leading people to heaven.  He didn't seem to care whose preaching was accomplishing this work.  Peter understood team ministry.

It is sad to me that so few churches today focus on leadership development within their congregation.  Then they complain that no one will step up and take leadership positions within the church.  If the men who have held those offices for decades won't step down, and if the church is doing nothing to help its members develop their leadership skills and abilities this church will die within the next twenty years.  They probably don't really have that long.

The apostles were constantly developing the next generation of leaders as a matter of course.  They never carried out the ministry of the church alone.  Their discipleship is what prepared the next generation of pastors and church leaders.  Maybe there's a lesson in the pages of Scripture for the church today...maybe.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.- Luke 10:1

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Take Jesus at his Word

John 4:46-53

Once more he [Jesus] visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.  And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.  When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

Jesus replied, "You may go.  Your son will live."

The man took Jesus at his word and departed.  While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.  When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him at the seventh hour."

Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live."  So he and all his household believed. 

Do you ever have trouble with taking Jesus at his word?  Jesus has made a number of promises to us in his Word, the Bible.  He has promised to provide for our every need.  He has promised to take care of us.  He has promised to be with us always and never abandon us.  Do you find it difficult to remember and trust these promises when you're experiencing great challenges and difficulties in your life?

What if you stopped worrying about every little thing in life and trusted Jesus to take care of it?  

What if you stopped giving into your fears and starting trusting Jesus to carry you through that situation that is scaring you?

While it can be difficult to let go of fear and worry, you can.  You can lay it all before Jesus and trust that he will take care of it.  When you turn to Jesus and stop worrying about possible outcomes to situations, you find that things rarely work out as badly as you had been imagining.  Jesus is able to work in and through other people to resolve problems in simple ways that you have overlooked. 

When you let go of fear and trust Jesus you find that those things you have been fearing aren't that big of a deal.  Whether it's stepping outisde your comfort zone to take on a new responsibility at work or having a difficult conversation with your spouse; Jesus is able to give you the ability to handle it.  And often you will find that fear creates scary monsters out of situations that you are capable of handling.  You can do an excellent job making that presentation at work.  Your spouse loves you and wants to have that conversation with you because they want to strengthen your marriage.  

Do not be afraid that others will react negatively toward you when you step out of your comfort zone.  Even if you mess it up on your first try most people are gracious enough to appreciate that you did try.  Too many people won't even take that first step. 

Fear and worry are birthed out of a lack of faith.  Fear and worry hold us back from so much in life.  The only way to truly kill fear and worry is to take Jesus at his word:

Matthew 6:31-34

So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?"  or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kindgdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.

You can lay your fears and worries at the feet of Jesus with confidence, trusting his love for you, because he has displayed his love for you by laying down his life for you.  He is the atoning sacrifice that paid the price for all your sins.  Because he has redeemed you with his blood, you can trust his love for you.  You can trust his greatest promise: all your sins are forgiven and you have eternal life through faith in him.  Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you.  In Jesus, you have nothing to fear.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

The Storms of Life

 The lectionary readings for this week are:

Job 38:1-11
Acts 27:13-26
Mark 4:35-41

In all three of these readings there are some common threads: Storms and major life challenges will come.  Also, God is faithful, he honors his promise to protect and provide through those challenges.

Mark 4:35-41

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee]."  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.  There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet!  Be still!"  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?"

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him?"

Several of the disciples were professional fishermen.  They knew the Sea of Galilee well.  This most likely was not the first time they had been caught in the middle of the lake when a storm suddenly blew in.  There response was interesting, though.  We're not told how long they tried to fight the waves themselves, but it doesn't seem like they fought the storm for very long before waking up Jesus.

Reading through the text, it doesn't seem like Jesus was mad that they woke him up.  He rebukes them for their lack of faith.  That was displayed with their accusation toward him, "Don't you care if we drown?"  They accused Jesus of not caring about them.  It is a ridiculous accusation, but how often are we guilty of the same thing?  We get overwhelmed with the storms that hit us in our life, we panic, and turn to God, "Don't you care about me God?  How could you let this happen?"

This is obviously a ridiculous question.  God loves us.  He has demonstrated his love for us in so many ways, it is total arrogance to even ask such a question of God.  Here Jesus gave a short, but strong rebuke to his disciples.  In Job 38-39 God gives Job a lengthy and crushing rebuke.  Job quickly recognized that he had been a whiny baby about his challenges and God didn't owe him an explanation.

God doesn't owe us an explanation for the challenges we face in life.  In faith, we know that the storms of life are the result one thing- sin.  We live in a sinful world so sometimes bad stuff happens to everybody.  We also know that God uses those storms for our good (Romans 8:28).  

Sometimes the storms of life are of our own making.  They are the natural effect of sinful behavior or bad decisions.  Sometimes they are the natural side-effect of living in a sinful world.  Whatever the case, God always uses them as an opportunity to draw us closer to him.  In all three readings above Job, Paul, and the disciples turned to God to see them through the storm.  This is the same place that we must turn during the storms of life.  Only Jesus can carry us through.

You never need question Jesus' love for you like the disciples did.  Jesus cares about you.  Jesus loves you.  His greatest statement of just how much he loves you was made on Calvary.  He gave up his life that you may live.  Despite being totally innocent of any sin, he took all of yours on himself and paid the price for all of them on the cross.  No matter what happens in life, you can be confident of one thing: Because Jesus lives, you also will live.  God's got it all worked out all ready.  He is not suprised by the storms you face.

So do not worry, but seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all good things will be added to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)  That is God's promise to his children.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

A Pastoral Vacancy

 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the the truth.  Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:

God appeared in a body,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

was taken up in glory.

The previous thirteen verses of 1 Timothy 3 are Paul's instructions for deacons and overseers in the church.  Paul wanted to make sure churches understood how to conduct themselves in the absence of a trained pastor.  One underlying point here is that the ministry of an individual congregation can't stop because of a pastoral vacancy.  The leaders of the church have to be prepared to step up and lead.  Every member of the church has to be prepared to act on, and live out, their Great Commission calling.

Notice how Paul calls the church "the pillar and foundation of the truth."  The church is all of God's people united in individual congregations all over the world.  The church is not the pastor.  While it can be frustrating and scary for church members to carry out the ministry of Christ's Church without a pastor, they must.  That is what they have been called to.  Pastor or not, it is the call of every Christian church to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into their community.  While the mystery of godliness is great, the Holy Spirit empowers God's chidlren to be able to understand it a little, believe it totally, and share it generously.  That is what every Christian has been called to do.

God's grace be with you.

Jason Fredrick

Are You Protecting Your Family?

 Genesis 3:6-7

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Notice in this account, The Fall of Man, when Eve was being tempted to sin Adam was right there with her.  When she finally took the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil she didn't have to go searching for Adam.  He was close enough that she could just hand him some.  It seems that Adam was standing right there the entire time Satan was working to deceive his wife and lead her into rebellion against God.

Why would Adam just stand by and allow this attack on his family, on his wife?  

We don't have the answer to that question, but there is a similar question you can answer:  Why do you stand idly by and allow the world and Satan to attack your family?

Why don't you intervene?  Why don't you do something about it?  Why do you passively sit and watch as your family is attacked every day?

Odds are you have been lulled into complacency by the world.  You allow yourself to be distracted by all the shiny objects and empty promises Satan makes to you every day through marketing and social media.  You are too busy (distracted) to educate and arm yourself for battle.  You are right where Satan wants you: Dazed and confused!  You have given into the world's demand for a more feminized man.  You even try to justify your apathy by saying things like, "My family has the right to make up their own minds.  I don't have the right to tell them how to think and how to act."  

Once you start making idiotic justifications like this Satan has already conquered your family.  He has successfully deceived you into giving up your God-given call to leadership.  Leaders stand on truth.  They understand that there is only one source of truth: God's Word.  Truth is not subjective and open to an individual's feelings.  Leaders understand that they have to fight in this life because of sin.  It is not a sin to fight for your family.  It is not a sin to fight for what is right.  It is not a sin to fight against evil.  Anyone who has set themselves against Jesus Christ and his Word is evil.  You must fight their lies and defend your family against their constant attacks.  They want to drag your wife and children to hell with them.  You must fight for them!

Thankfully, Jesus fought for us.  He was not some wimpy little guy who shrunk in the face of challenge.  He ferociously confronted sinful behavior in society and aggressively defended the Holy Scriptures every time they came under attack by Satan's servants.  Thankfully, Jesus did this perfectly for us because he knew we would fail at it constantly.  We are forgiven for every time we fail to do this because of Jesus' perfect life and sacrifice on the cross.  He has payed the price for all of our sins and now empowers us to fulfill the commission he has given to each of us.  He even gives us the armor for the battle.  The only question is: Will you man up and get in the fight?

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but the against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Why Are You Downcast, O My Soul?

 Psalm 42:5-6

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

My soul is downcast within me; 

therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,

the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar.

Do you ever feel like this at times?  Do you ever wonder why you can't just be happy?

This is a tough place to be.  You can tell yourself, "Just be happy.  Stop being so depressed and grumpy," but that approach never works.  If you have ever been in the same place as this Psalm writer you know that it's not that easy.  You would like it to be.  People around you would like it to be.  But it just isn't.

Whatever you're going through that has put you in this emotional and spiritual funk just has to be gone through.  There is no short-cut.  You have to deal with whatever is causing this "spiritual depression" and learn the lessons along the way.  The problem that makes this so difficult to work through, and help others work through, is that no two situations are the same.  What triggers my soul to be downcast is not the same thing that triggers yours.  Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to working your way out of this funk.

I would love to be able to tell you how to snap out of it as soon as you recognize this onset, but I don't have that answer.  I have been battling this myself, on and off, since September.  There are good days, and there are not-so-good days.  There are days when I feel like I have made peace with my current situation, and there are days when I struggle hard because I am frustrated because I am so far away from where I want my life to be professionally and ministerially.  I am sure some of you reading this know exactly what I'm talking about.

The only way I have found to deal with this and keep searching for what's next is found at the end of the first paragraph of the Psalm above:  "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."  I know that ultimately, this I why I am going through this struggle right now- God is drawing me closer to him.  I need to learn how to rely on him for everything and trust his plan, even when I can't see it.  Even when it doesn't make any sense to me.  I will trust it.  I will trust him.

Psalm 46:10-11

"Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The best advice I can give you when you're struggling with a "downcast soul" is: Be in God's Word more.  Double the amount of time you spend reading Scripture everyday.  Double up your prayer life as well.  Bible reading and prayer is the best way I have found to deal with this situation.  

Finally, you need to act.  There is probably something that you know you need to do.  Do it!  Step out on faith and do it.  The more it scares you the more you need to do it.  Faith is displayed by our actions not our words.  If you truly trust God's love for you then you need to do the things you know you need to do. 

I know for me, this is typically what causes a downcast soul- I'm not doing the thing I know I need to be doing.  This leads to incredible frustration and depression.  I know I said above that their is no easy solution to this condition, but the best thing you can do is to start doing that thing you've been avoiding.  The thing you've been too scared to deal with.  That thing that you know would change everything for you.  Do it today and trust that God will bless it how he chooses.  Doing nothing will only make your funk worse.  Trust me.  I've tried that before too.  Doing nothing never makes anything better.

The Lord Almighty is with you.  Do it!

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Fear of Man is Dangerous

 Proverbs 29:25

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be kept safe.

The fear of man is a great roadblock for many people.  Worrying about what others will say, what they might think, or if they will approve keeps people living in fear and is an obstacle to accomplishment.  When you have a big decision to make in life, one that requires serious deliberation, what are the factors you consider as you think through your decision?  I am willing to bet that at some point you come to, "What will so-and-so say if I do this?", or "How will so-and-so react if I decide to make this change?"

There is nothing wrong with considering other people when making big life decisions, but fear of what they might say or do cannot stop you from making the right decision for you and your family.  No matter what decision you make someone will criticize you.  No matter what you accomplish in life someone will criticize you.  Guess what, criticism is the byproduct of doing something with your life.  That's why Solomon writes in the Proverb above that it's dangerous to let "fear of man" run your life.  It all comes down to one decision: Are you living for God, or are you living for your critics?

If you're living for God the only question that needs to be answered is, "How can I best serve Christ and his Church?"  This is what the second half of the verse is talking about.  When you have a big decision to make seek first to honor God and his will, and he will bless your decision however he sees fit.  It often ends up being even better than what you had envisioned.  Submitting to God's will is always the safe choice because he loves you more than anyone else can.  Submitting to man's will is dangerous and puts you at risk of living a meaningless life or doing something stupid that will ruin your life and possibly even lead you to hell.  Which option sounds better?

I understand that most decisions in life aren't that cut and dry.  We don't know the mind of God and it's futile to try to guess it.  The best strategy for making big decisions is to read God's Word everyday and pray about it.  Then after taking a reasonable amount of time to consider all the known aspects of the situation, make a decision.  Choose whichever option you feel allows you to serve Jesus best and you are confident is in line with God's will based on what you have been reading in Scripture.  The most important thing is to let God's Word be your guide, not the fear of man.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

God Tests His Children

 Genesis 22:1

Some time later God tested Abraham.

Why does God test us?  Why doesn't he just talk to us like he did with Abraham?

These are good and valid questions.  Questions that all of us have asked at different times in our lives.  The answers to these questions aren't always easy, or easy to hear, but we do have the answers to these questions.

Why does God test us?

There are several reasons that God tests us:

1. It's a way to help us refocus our attention on him.
2. It's a way that he hones us to develop and grow in character, patience, wisdom, etc.
3. It's a way that he snaps us out of arrogance or apathy.
4. It's part of what he uses to help guide us on our life's journey- opening and closing opportunities.
5. It's a way that God shows us to ourselves.  A test can help us recognize what we really want and what is most important to us.

These are some of the reasons.  If you think of one that I don't have listed share it in the comments section below.

Most of God's test in life are to remind us how much we need him.  They are designed to bring us back to him and refocus on him and his Word.  Throughout my life I can look back and see that the main reason I have been tested is to snap me out of arrogance or apathy.  When life is going well, I find that I tend to bounce back and forth between these two ditches.  It's funny, because usually for me tests are an answer to prayer.  I don't pray to be tested, but I do pray for more wisdom, or courage, or boldness.  Tests are the ways that God usually answers these prayers.  

God's tests are the ways that opportunities are created to grow and develop these traits.  Tests are also the way that your marriage gets better and stronger.  Tests open doors to increase your income.  Whatever you are praying for, and about, tests are often the way those prayers get answered.  But not always.  God can answer your prayers however he chooses.  Just don't be surprised or upset when your prayers are answered with a test.  Often, the reason for the test is so that you will pray more and continue to turn to God for help to get through this test.

God may not speak directly to us like he did with Abraham, but he does still speak to us.  He has given us his Word, the Bible, so he can speak to us every day.  Prayer is how we speak to God.  The Bible is how he speaks to us.  As you look for how to navigate your test in life make sure you spend time in God's Word every day.  God's Word is what gives us the guidance we need.  God's Word is where we find answers to many of our questions.  God's Word is the way to properly understand and navigate the tests of life.

God tests you because he loves you.  He wants you to turn to him and rely on him for everything, every day.  When you are faced with tests in your life, don't get frustrated get humble.

Psalm 46:1-3, 7, 10-11

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Another Turn

 On Thursday September 9 my life took another turn (you may recall my article from last year, Turning Points: When Life Gets Real).  This is one I didn't quite see coming like I had with the Covid shutdowns back in January 2020.  This one caught me off guard a little, but I am not devastated by it.  

The "turn" that I have come to is my position at Chaplains in Schools was eliminated.  

Now I am faced with decisions, opportunities, and choices.  This is the challenge with some turns in life: I can't see what's around the corner.  This turn came up much quicker than I could have anticipated.  I look at potential options and try to navigate the next few weeks and months by asking myself some clarifying questions.  What do you do in times like this to figure out your next move?

Here's what I've been doing:

1. Praying.  I have been praying a lot asking God for guidance and patience.  
2. Routine.  I have taken this opportunity to rebuild my morning routine.  The foundation of this routine is daily Bible study and Catechism reading first thing in the morning.
3. Reading.  I have used my open days to read more than I have in quite some time.  I am rebuilding the habit of reading at least one hour every day.
4. Exercise.  Three days-a-week I work out first thing in the morning.  I am physically feeling better than I have in quite some time.  I am working to get my "Energy Pyramid" (p. 210, The Power of Full Engagement) back in order.

The great thing about Turning Points in life is that they don't have to be scary and stressful.  If you are learning and growing daily, turning points just open the door to the next chapter.  They help us to remember that, ultimately, we are in control of nothing in this life.  Turning points should remind you to turn back to the Lord and trust in him.  He is the One who's "Got this".

My hope is to take full advantage of this turning point.  I will keep reading, keep working, keep learning, and keep trusting in God.  I don't know where this one is going to lead, but I want to be prepared for wherever it might be.

Jeremiah 29:11-12

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Name Change

 Greetings faithful readers.

You have already noticed the name change of this blog.

As of Thursday Sept. 9, I am no longer part of the Chaplains in Schools and Christ for Disciplers ministry.

As I work to figure out what's next for me, I would appreciate any suggestions or feed back you may have.  Also, I am open to different ideas for the name of this blog.  Please share your thoughts.

I pray that I am able to continue to add value to your life and help you grow closer to the Lord.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

It's Time to Stop Complaining and Start Leading

 Exodus 1:8-10

Then a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.  He said to his people, "Look, the Israelites are more numerous and more powerful than we are.  Let's come up with a wise plan to prevent them from increasing in number.  Otherwise, if war breaks out, they would join with our enemies and fight against us.  Then they would leave the land."

This is an interesting cycle that repeats throughout history.  Unfortunately, in our fallen world, marred by sin, bad rulers are the norm not the exception.  You don't have to look very far back into our current history to see that this is the case.  You may even be thinking, "Tell me about it.  Tyrants rule most of the world today--including my city and my state."  That may be true.  It may not be.  But the reality is that without God and his Word, rulers will be wicked and oppressive.  The corollary is also true: Rulers who reject God and his Word will always be wicked, oppressive, and self-serving. 

I know you are already thinking of specific people who fit this description.  That's okay.  That's not sinful.  Recognizing sin our world is not a sin, but how you respond to it once you recognize it is the key.  If your response is to belittle and verbally attack your governors at every opportunity, then you are sinning.  That is breaking the Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, and the Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.  Even if what you are saying is true, your motivation is to slander and destroy that person's name and reputation which makes it a sin.  Also the Fourth Commandment is the command to honor all those God has placed in authority over us in our lives.  Honoring people we don't respect, like politicians, can be tough.  That doesn't mean we have license to break God's commandments in this instance.  It is God's will that we obey all of his commands.  Even the ones that we don't like or the ones that are tough to live with.

God didn't give us his Law to make life difficult or boring or laborious.  He gave us his Law to show us what his expectations are, and so we understand how we honor him.  We honor God, and the First Commandment, by striving everyday to live according to his commands.  Obviously, we don't succeed at this any day, but out of love for our Lord we continue to strive for it every day.  That includes honoring those in authority--even when they are wicked and oppressive.

Why doesn't Jesus just come back to earth to rule as an earthly king like the Millenialists want, and falsely teach?

First, Jesus never promised to rule as an earthly king.  That was never the plan.  This is what so many missed in Jesus' day: His kingdom is not of this world.

Second, God has a plan for when all of the pain and suffering of this world will end.  It is called Judgment Day, and only God the Father knows when it will be.  For now, God is still exercising his patience with this world extending the time of grace for all who don't believe, and reject Jesus as their one and only Savior.

Finally, God has a plan for our world and he doesn't need our advice on how to carry it out.

Then the LORD answered Job out the storm.  He said:

"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?

Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?

Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--

while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,

when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,

when I fixed limits for it and set its bars and doors in place,

when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?

Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,

that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.

The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this.

What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside?

Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

Surely you know, for you were already born!

You have lived so many years!

--Job 38:1-21

This is only part of God's response to Job after much banter back and forth between him and his friends.  You can read God's entire response to Job, and his friends, in Job 38-41.  The point is: God knows what he's doing.  He is omniscient, not you.  Nothing that happens in our world takes him by surprise.  Much like he did with Pharaoh in the opening verses, God uses everything for our good, and to his glory.  Pharaoh's oppression of the Israelites would motivate them to want to leave Egypt and go back to Canaan, the Promised Land.  Likewise, God uses wicked and oppressive rulers in our day to motivate his people to get off their butts and start living their Great Commission calling!

When will you stop complaining and start leading with the power of the Holy Spirit living in you?

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Be Faithful...Like Joseph

 Genesis 39:9-10

"No one is greater in this house than I am.  My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.  How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"  And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Have you ever done the right thing, and things still didn't go well for you?  What are some of the temptations that you face day after day?  Are you able to withstand them every day, or do you lose that battle some days?

Joseph was faced with constant, daily, temptations and attacks on his faith and faithfulness to God.  Joseph recognized the favorable position God had given him despite being a slave.  His response to Potiphar's wife shows a level of maturity that we wouldn't expect from Joseph at this point of his life.  In the previous chapters it seems like Joseph, a young man of 17, was a spoiled brat.  This response to Potiphar's wife reveals that Joseph had a level of maturity that his brothers lacked: spiritual maturity.

Despite Joseph's shortcomings as the "favored brother", it seems that he loved God and tried to live according to his commands.  He would have been well schooled in the covenant and commands that God gave Abraham.  He would even have been familiar with the history of Noah and Adam.  After all, they were his descendants.  His response to Potiphar's wife shows clearly the depth of Joseph's faith and his dedication to the one true God, because I don't know many 17 year-old men who would have turned down this opportunity.

How about you?  When is the last time you resisted temptation because you realized that to give into it would be to sin against God?  This response of Joseph is so powerful for us, if we will remember it and use it, because this is how we should answer every temptation that comes along.  All sin is wicked and it is something we do against God.  

Unfortunately, all of us sin every day.  We do not stand up to it like Joseph did in this situation.  Usually we are more like Joseph in Genesis 37:1-11, indulging our selfishness.  Thankfully, God knows that we can't stand up to sin and temptation on our own.  That's why he sent Jesus.  Jesus did resist every temptation.  Jesus lived the perfect life that we can't live.  He died the death we deserve.  And he raised from the dead, in the flesh, on third day to conquer death for us.  Because of Jesus we are no longer slaves to sin and death.  We have been redeemed by God through Jesus.  Therefore we have been reconciled to our heavenly Father for all eternity.  It is all because of Jesus.

Hebrews 2:14-18

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.  For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Guard Yourself Against Negative Associations

Genesis 37:21-22

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands.  "Let's not take his life," he said.  "Don't shed any blood.  Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him."  Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

Have you ever been part of group sin?  It can be easy to get caught in this trap when a group of people decide together to do something wicked, illegal, or hurtful to another person.  

The time in my life when I was most susceptible to this was in high school.  It seems like those high school years are when most people have their worst ideas.  When I remember back to "going along with the crowd" and doing something stupid in high school, I also remember having the thoughts, "What are we doing?  Why are we doing this?"  Unfortunately, I usually didn't have the courage to speak up like Reuben and try to stop what was going on.

Reuben probably wasn't more forceful in trying to rescue Joseph from the schemes of his brothers because he knew how much they all hated Joseph.  He probably reasoned that they wouldn't listen to him and  they might even turn on him.  Despite being the oldest, he was probably right.  He knew what his brothers were capable of.  Jacob's sons were not delicate little flowers.  They were hardened vicious warriors.  That was necessary for them to survive and and thrive in the harsh climate in which they lived and worked.  If you want to gain a better understanding of Joseph's brothers read Genesis 34 and how they avenged their sister after she was raped by Shechem.  They valued vengeance above justice.

What about you?  Have you ever displayed courage in a situation like this?  Have you ever been part of a group that schemed to carry out some vile sin and had the courage to say something, or at least walk away from the group and not be a part of what they were planning?  (Share your experience in the comment section below.)

As you have grown up and become an adult, hopefully, you have chosen your friends with more discernment than I did in high school.  You probably don't have to think very hard to see how associations have influenced you in your life.  Both for good and for bad.  I encourage you to eliminate the associations in your life that are negative and destructive.  Sometimes this is difficult for different reasons:  they're your family, they're your coworkers, they're your softball team, you've been friends your whole life, etc.

If you have thought of someone who is a negative influence in your life, but they are also one of the people that I just listed above, you have some tough decisions to make:

1. End the relationship immediately.
2. Have a crucial conversation and change the nature of the relationship.  Become the influencer instead of being the influenced.
3. Stop going along with stupid ideas.  Take a stand and refuse to be a part of group sin.  Most people won't carry out stupid ideas without a partner-in-crime.
4. Apologize for the part you have played in enabling that person to indulge their sinful nature.  Then stop being that enabler.
5. Continue on the way it has always been and stay trapped in a life of sin and rebellion.

While some of your negative associations need to be ended immediately, not all of them do.  If you are courageous enough to have some difficult conversations and take a strong stand on not being a partner to willful sin, you can work to turn those negative relationships into great and meaningful friendships.  You have to lead.  You have to be the one who measures every idea and decision against the guage of God's Word.  You have to be the one who teaches others to think through their actions in the light of Scripture.

A good starting point is to be like Reuben.  The ultimate goal is to be like Jesus.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Stay Focused on Your Calling

 Matthew 17:25-26

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak.  "What do you think, Simon?" he asked.  "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes--from their own sons or from others?"

"From others," Peter answered.

"Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him.

In this short section, Jesus is making an observation about earthly governments that still exists today:  When government is involved, there will be special deals for select groups of people.  It may be worse today than it has ever been, but it certainly is nothing new.  Historically the most obvious special deals were for the family of the ruler, or the ruling class.  Today, in the United Stated and elsewhere, it certainly extends beyond just the ruler's family.

Today the additions to the families of the ruling class that benefit from favoritism are Special Interest groups.  These groups include, but are not limited to, Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, and the LGBTQ.  (I'm sure you can think of a dozen others.)  Notice just in these examples that these groups don't add any value to society, instead that are constantly working to undermine and destroy society.  I will let you decide what their motivation for that would be, but the reality is that that is what Special Interest groups do.  They lobby and fight for government favor to fund their personal, political, and social agendas.

In this section of Matthew we once again see Jesus honoring the ruling authority by paying taxes.  When the Bible tells us to honor the governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7) it doesn't give conditions of when this applies.  It  always applies, even if your government is evil and oppressive.  We are commanded to honor those in authority, because there is no authority on earth which God has not established (Romans 13:1).  

The Bible doesn't say we have to like our political situation.  It doesn't even say we have to like the current rulers.  But it does say that we must honor them.

Jesus and St. Paul were very well acquainted with oppressive rulers and ruling classes.  They were both tortured and killed by the ruling class of their time.  If Jesus willingly submitted himself to an oppressive ruling class, then you have no excuse for not doing the same.  It is not our responsibility to determine who should be ruling where.  God already has a plan for that.  It is our responsibility to submit to the governing authority and carry out our Great Commission calling no matter what the political environment may be.  All we have to do is trust God's plan and his faithfulness.  Nothing that we go through is a surprise to him.  He already has it worked out how our trials and challenges are going to work out for our good.

God is faithful.  He never forgets his children.  He already has his plan all worked out.  You can rest assured that the evil things in our society that make you angry, make him angrier.  Lets let God be the judge, and we can focus on doing the work which he has called each of us to: the proclamation of the gospel to all nations (Mark 16:15-16).

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.  To him be honor and might forever.  Amen. -1 Timothy 6:11-16

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Are You a Closet Christian?

 Matthew 10:32-33

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."

This is part of Jesus' sermon when he was sending out the twelve.  This comes toward the end, after Jesus had gone through many warnings that people would reject the disciples because of him.  He was preparing them for the rejection they would face by many because of their attachment to Jesus.  This warning, however, is for the disciples- all of his disciples, of all time.

This warning is still just as relevant for us today as it was for the disciples 2000 years ago.  Jesus doesn't want us to just "be Christians" on Sundays.  He doesn't want timid disciples who are more afraid of what the world thinks of them than what their Heavenly Father thinks of them.  Who's opinion matters more:  God's or the world's?  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

The Great Commission doesn't say anything about making disciples only when it's comfortable, or when it's convenient, or when you feel like it.  God's Word doesn't give us that out.  In fact it says the opposite, just look at the verses above.

Here's how Paul says it:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. -Romans 1:16

Fear of the world is a great temptation.  Everyone wants to be cool, to fit in.  No one wants to made fun of and persecuted.  But the reality is that when you value the world's opinion over God's, you have made the world your god.  You have broken the 1st Commandment.  The world has become your idol.  The irony is that when you disown God to try to fit in with the world, the world will still hate you.  Without Jesus, no one is truly capable of love.  The world will still hate you, because hate is the by-product of sin.  Those who are still dead in their sins are not capable of love, despite how much they mouth platitudes of love and equality.  Their ideas of love and equality are hating and persecuting anyone who disagrees with them and their worldview.

That's the world you trying to please and fit into when you disown Jesus for their approval.  The reality is that if you are truly a Christian the world is going to hate you because you are no longer of this world.  The world hates Jesus, so it's going to hate you for following him.  This is not a justification to be a "closet Christian", but it is the knowledge that should empower you to boldly live out your faith in the light.  Shining Jesus into the world in everything you do and say.  

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." -Romans 1:17.

Jesus love you.  He saved you through his death and resurrection.  He wants all people to be saved by coming to faith in him.  Let us share that good news everyday, in everything we do and say.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

Who Do You Turn to in Tough Times?

 Matthew 8:23-27

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We're going to drown!"

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

When the winds and waves of life pound against your boat, and it looks as though you're going to sink, who do you turn to for help?  Do you work to make your way through the storm, or do you just give up and say, "Well, whatever happens, happens.  It's out of my control."?

There is one thing you can be sure of.  In life, you are going to have to deal with some storms.  Some are worse than others, but they always come.  That's the reality of living in a sinful world.  The only thing you have to decide is:  How are you going to handle them when they come?  

This is something you had better be clear on before they hit.  You need to decide today how you're going to handle life's storms.  Are you going to attack them head-on, and learn the lessons from each one; or are you going to quit when life gets tough?

There is one thing for sure: if you attack life's storms and learn the lessons, they get easier to deal with over time.  Not because the storms get weaker or easier, but because you become stronger and are more prepared to deal with them.  

Conversely, you only have to quit on yourself one time to make quitting a habit in your life.  Don't make quitting your default mode when life gets tough.

How do you thrive through life's storms?

Do what those disciples did- Turn to Jesus!  They knew they were overmatched by the winds and the waves.  We aren't told how long they battled the storm before waking up Jesus, but once they realized it was too much for them, they turned to the only one who could help them.  They woke up Jesus.

The good news for us is that Jesus has been exalted from his lowly human state so he never sleeps.  He is always watching; waiting and ready to help us as soon as we are willing to turn to him and ask.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you."  Jesus wants to help.  In fact, he is the only one who truly can.  Every storm in life is our opportunity to turn to Jesus and submit ourselves to his power and authority.

The great thing about Jesus is that he solves our problems in ways that are way better than we would even think of.  We have no way of knowing what the disciples expected Jesus to do when they woke him up.  They just knew that he was powerful and they were not.  They knew that Jesus was their best chance for survival.  We do know that they never in their wildest dreams imagined he would solve the problem by displaying his authority over nature.  He got up, rebuked the winds and waves, and "it became completely calm."  Jesus is the only one who can give us the peace we are looking for, even in the middle of life's most violent storms.

Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith.  Their lack of faith was displayed by their extreme fear- they were terrified.  Fear comes from a total lack of faith.  When we trust in Jesus we have nothing to fear.  We don't have to fear the storms of life because Jesus will help us through them.  We don't have to fear death, because Jesus has conquered it and reigns over it.  If we no longer have to fear death, why should we fear anything?  Where, O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?  

Jesus has defeated Satan.  He has conquered death and hell.  He has redeemed us and forgiven us all of our sins.  What do we have to fear?  Nothing!

Take your eyes off yourself and your challenges, and look to Jesus.  With man everything is impossible, but with God nothing is impossible.  You can't do it alone.  If you do choose to go it alone in life and become a "self-made" man or woman, you will get to go it alone in eternity as well.  If you turn your back on Jesus in life, he will turn his back on you in eternity.  You will be cast into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  You will spend eternity completely separated from Jesus, in hell.  

That's not what he wants.  He died for you.  He wants you to be saved.  He is holding out his hand to help you through this storm.  Take it!

"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." -Isaiah 45:22

God bless

Jason Fredrick