Digging Deeper

     “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  -Matthew 11:28-29

It is difficult sometimes to put into words the relief that I experienced when Jesus saved me. It’s hard to fathom the act of grace that God has shown through His son. I also found it very hard to accept. While Gods grace is free to those who ask for it there is an exchange that needs to takes place in order for you to grow in Him. That is a shedding of your old self and obedience to our Father for a life that is not only better for us but better for others around us. We must cast off the chains of sin and lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus. Pretty good trade if you ask me. His grace is amazing and it still blows my mind.

In every letter that Paul wrote in the Bible he opens it with Grace and Peace to you. In the same way I often end my correspondence with Grace and Peace. I’m not sure why Paul came to do this but I use it to remind myself of the grace He showed me and I need to emulate to others.

Last Sunday we sang Chris Tomlin’s version of Amazing Grace and I believe it is an awesome way to express the exchange of our pressure for Gods peace. I leave you this week with that.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

AMEN

by Rick Phillips

 ”What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” -Mark 8:36

When you choose to follow Christ there needs to be life change. You cannot go from being a person of this world to being a follower of Christ and continue doing what you did in your former life. You will find you need to adjust your values some. This does not mean you have to automatically give up everything of your former self but as you progress on your spiritual journey you will probably discover things you will begin to cast off. As you grow in Christ some things may not seem as important or even right for you. Things such as drinking. It does not say in the Bible that you should not drink at all but it does warn of doing anything to excess. You may start to re-evaluate the reasons you drink or the amount that you consume. You may even decide to give it up entirely.

You will start to weigh things against what would be pleasing to Christ. Such as your use of profanity. You may begin to talk more positive about others and show more care and concern.

You may find yourself spending time with different people and less time in places you may not need to be in the first place. What you watch on TV or read will probably change.

I am going through an adjustment period myself right now. I am trying to adjust my sleep habits. I have found that if/when I wake up earlier I can have more time to be in prayer and in The Word and I value that more than the late nights of mindless TV or web surfing. This adjustment is not easy for me but I feel it is a big step in my walk with Christ.

These adjustment periods will occur throughout your walk and they can be very difficult times. You will need to be in God’s word and seek the counsel of God and others that have been there and made it through. But, as you begin to re-determine your values you will find yourself making the necessary adjustments and as you make these adjustments you will find yourself growing closer to Jesus.

Lord, reveal to us the adjustments we need to make in our lives and how to make them. Father, guide us in the path that leads us closer to You and the life You want us to lead. Amen

by Rick Phillips

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” -Mark 2:27

God created us in His own image and while He seemed to be pretty busy those first six days He did take a rest on the seventh. It’s not like He needed a rest, He is God, but He wanted to set an example for us. If God rested what makes us think we shouldn’t? He created enough days to get what we need done and one to rest on.

I used to be quite the workaholic mainly because I didn’t understand my worth or how to enjoy what I had (see the last two days posts). I’ve been getting better about resting, I think. I had a huge epiphany recently while my wife and I were planning a vacation. We decided to take a trip for two to Tampa Florida for a little rest and relaxation. We realized one evening during a discussion about the trip that in twenty years of being married we had never been on a vacation for just the two of us for longer than an over-night since we had met. Now, that’s a long time.

Well, we had a wonderful time reconnecting and spending quality time together with none of the normal on-goings of life to interupt. But we also experienced a renewal of faith in our Lord. During this week we had numerous “God things” that occurred. Actually, the money that funded the entire trip came from a total “God thing” too. I believe that we were blessed with the chance to take this much needed vacation and because we obeyed, reluctantly at times, the Lord blessed us for our obedience. I say reluctantly due to our concerns over the current economic environment.

 This also applies to the usual work week. If we are obedient to the plan God has laid out for us He will bless us for that obedience.

 Father, give us the courage to trust in You and Your plan for us. To accept the gift You have given us in the sacrifice of Your son and the gift You have given us in a time to rest to enable us to renew ourselves in You and Your word. Amen

by Rick Phillips

“Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”  -Ecclesiastes 4:6

In Ecclesiastes 4:6 the author, Solomon, recommends moderation in work as a way to tranquility in life:  Tranquility comes from contentment with “one handful”; it is the chasing after “two handfuls” that costs tranquility. We always seem to want more and to achieve that we think we must work more hours to earn more money to buy more stuff. I’m here to tell you after many, many years of trying all the stuff in the world will not fill the hole in our hearts. That hole can only be filled by Jesus Christ.

This is a trick that is played on us by the enemy. Satan wants us to believe that stuff can make us happy. If only I can afford that car, maybe if we had a bigger house, better clothes, better jewelry and on and on and on. But it turns out to never be enough. We just can’t seem to be content with what we already have and that is the love and forgiveness of an almighty God. It’s there for anyone that asks for it. Many of us already have but are still not content. There is no greater treasure than an eternity with our Lord and Savior. Once you have come to terms with this and accepted Jesus and His gift to us you can begin to learn how to truly enjoy life and enjoy what you have instead of what you don’t have. And there is nothing better than the peace that comes with that.

 Heavenly Father thank You for everything You have given me but especially for the gift of eternal life through Your son Jesus. Amen.

by Rick Phillips

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” -Mark 6:26

Our worth, in this society, is often determined by what we have or what we do for a living. A job or title do not define you. and neither does stuff. Have you every tried to spruce up your job description? “I’m a telecommunications specialist” – (I answer phones) “domestic engineer” – (housewife). And have you ever seen a U-Haul behind a hearse? You can’t take it with you.

I’ll let you in on a little secret… everyone of us on this earth is going to die. That is the pay off of this human life. But there can be more. 1 John 5:11-12 says “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” You see God has already determined we are worth spending an eternity with if we just choose Him. An eternity? Anyone and everyone? Really? That’s a long time, I don’t know about you but I can’t say that I value everyone that much. But maybe that’s why it’s not up to me.

What will be said at your funeral? “He was so dedicated to his profession” – “She had a huge family but was so giving of her time to charities” – “how much do think he left behind?” – “I heard she was worth millions.” The first thing I would want to hear is “Look, I think he’s still alive!!!” But, if that wasn’t said it would be “He sure did love God and his family.” Or “he was always busy trying to introduce others to Jesus.” I’m afraid that may not be what’s said but I am trying.

God creates and values each and every one of us. You may not feel valuable sometimes. But I always remember that little saying “God don’t make no junk.” Well, it’s true. People don’t just randomly occur. It’s like what God said to Jeremiah “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” He’s done that with all of us. We all serve a purpose in God’s plan but we first need to accept Him through Jesus Christ and then we need to discover and accept that purpose. Then we’ll discover our true worth when we hear “well done, good and faithful servant”

Lord, give me eyes to see the worth in myself and others. Empower me, Father to reveal that worth that You place on all of us through my witness to others. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

by Rick Phillips

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” -Matthew 21:22

As some of you may know I own my business. This can be very stressful at times. Bills to pay, employees to pay, building upkeep, marketing, more bills to pay and so much responsibility on your shoulders. It can be very scary especially if money is tight. A little over three years ago now I received a bit of a wake up call. I had made a series of difficult and what appeared to be wrong business decisions. It was a very stressful time for me and I let it manifest itself in a pattern of very self-destructive behavior. This not only affected my business decisions but it affected my relationship with my wife and daughter. I was under extreme pressure and often dreaded going to work because then I had to face this surmounting problem.

One morning as I was shaving and preparing for work I felt a presence with me. It told me I needed to pray. My first thought was “oh, great now I’ve finally lost it!!” But, the voice persisted and I felt a wave of emotion come over me. I woke up my wife and I asked her to pray for me (I had no idea how to pray at this point). I’m not sure but at first I think she too thought I had lost it. This did not come close to resembling any behavior I had ever exhibited in the past. Then she realized what was happening. We laid there and prayed together. I can’t tell you for sure what all was said in that time but I felt a weight lift from me. I realized, then and there that this Jesus stuff she was always trying to drag me into was real. That worry brought me to my knees and opened my heart and mind and Jesus became part of my life.

As the whirlwind of the next few weeks started to settle I was able to make decisions with clarity. I learned to pray about my business and ask God what He wanted me to do and how He wanted me to do it. Over the last few years I have listened to what God has told me in these prayers and He has blessed me for that obedience. I have been able to accomplish things that should not have been possible. I have pulled my business out of potential financial problems and have been able to survive in the current economic downturn when other small businesses have not. I’m not sure where the Lord is leading me or the business in the future but I know I don’t have to worry about it because His will be done. So as you can see a little worry can be a good thing.

The thing that still blows my mind is that the prayer that was answered that day was my wife’s long running prayer for my salvation and not so much the prayer for the situation I was in at the time.

Heavenly Father thank You for taking our little worries and using them to teach us and lead us in our spiritual journey… Amen

“So don’t be anxious about tomorrow, God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.”
- Matthew 6:34 (LB)

Do you wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and start worrying about something that may be happening the next day? I used to do this a lot but since Jesus saved me I tend to do it less. I still wake up this way occasionally but I’ve found that praying can lull me back to sleep. Not just praying about what I’m worrying about but praying for other people and situations. I have learned more than once that particular people just happened to need prayer at those exact times. Isn’t that cool!! I love it when God does that. I used to worry about it being disrespectful falling asleep during prayer. If it’s during a church service or before a meal it probably is but what a great way to fall asleep, in a conversation with God.

Matthew 6:34 says a mouth full in many of the Bible versions. I really like The Message it says “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”Have you ever experienced this? You start to freak out over something that hasn’t even happened yet and of course satan gets a hold of that and reall twists it up in your gut. So your even more freaked out. You begin to pray about it, you have others praying for you too and then the moment of impact comes and… nothing. It says right there “…don’t get all worked up over what may or may not happen” emphasis mine. We’re freaking out and God’s got it all under control and what happened while we were in our little panic session? We did not “Give our entire attention to what God is doing right now…”. Do see the problem here? We’re over here stressed out over something that may or may not happen and we take our eyes off God and His work around us. Who’s the winner when this happens? The enemy! He thrives on stress and panic. He uses it against us and makes us ineffective for the Kingdom. And since God’s in control anyway what is supposed to happen, happens!!! Funny how that works isn’t it.

So, remember the next time you feel that little stress ball building in your throat or a freak out is gaining momentum in your life God gives us one day at a time, take it and do your best with it with Him in your mind and heart and let satan be the big loser that he is.

Heavenly Father we thank You for each and every day You have given us on this earth. Lord we ask that You use us for Your purposes in each one of them. We will stand strong in Your word and leave the worry behind so that we can shine You light as an example to those that don’t know You yet. Amen

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…” -Matthew 6:34

If you die tommorrow are you going to Heaven? If you said “I hope so” or “I think so” and you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then I’m sorry to inform you that you have A.D.D. (Assurance Deficit Disorder). If you are saved you are going. If you continue to worry about that you can not be used effectively to reach others with Gods word. I have seen a lot of believers that worry about their salvation. I’ve been there too. The enemy will use this to his advantage all the time. He will exploit this to it’s fullest. He will tell you over and over again that you are not worthy. Well, rest assured… you’re not. None of us are worthy of the gift God gave us but all we need to do is accept it then move on with what He is calling us to do.

Another worry we can’t seem to get past a lot of the time is the whole forgiveness thing. We find it so hard to believe that we can be forgiven. Oh we pray for forgiveness “Heavenly Father please forgive me of sin xyz, amen” Did you mean it? Are you truly sorry? Are you going to try to do better? If the answer is yes then move on! But more often than not we pray again “Dear God I’m still sorry please forgive me of sin xyz, amen” and God’s response is “what sin?” You see, the problem here is that He has already forgiven you, your slate is clean and that is sufficient. He has moved on (at least until you sin again) but you have not. You are now living in the past and worrying about something that He has forgiven you for. Been there, done that too. This is usually because we have so much trouble forgiving ourselves. Well who do we think we are? Are we better than God? Well we must think so because He forgave us and if He did that who are we not to?

Worrying over these two things can not only damage our witness to others but can cripple our effectiveness in serving God. If we appear or claim to be unsure and worry all the time over our own salvation or forgiveness how do you think a person that doesn’t know Christ feels about that? If we can’t stand firm in our faith, belief and trust in Gods ability to forgive us and the fact that Jesus saved us by dying on the cross why should they put any stock in it?

So, stand up, put on your big boy/girl pants and stand strong with a smile on your face and confidence in your heart because our God is an awesome God and He has chosen you and forgiven you and He wants you to reach out to others the same way He had someone reach out to you.

Heavenly Father make me strong, and make me dangerous to the enemy. I know that You are an all powerful and all knowing God that has saved me for a purpose and forgiven me because You love me. Use me Father wherever, whenever and for whatever you need. Amen.

by Rick Phillips

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs… If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”  - Philippians 4:6-7 (LB)

The term “stress” was first used by an endocrinologist in the 1930s to identify physiological responses in laboratory animals. He later broadened and popularized the concept to include the perceptions and responses of humans trying to adapt to the challenges of everyday life.  So, stress is a man made term to explain the response to a man made crisis.

As a licensed massage therapist for 11 years I have seen the effects of “the perceptions and responses of humans trying to adapt to the challenges of everyday life” manifests itself in people in so many different ways. I have also seen many types of treatments for stress over the years. The one thing in common they all have is that they only temporarily mask the cause or treat the symptoms of stress, they don’t prevent it. There is one thing I have found that can prevent stress, a total trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Stress is not only mentally and physically destructive but also spiritually destructive. It strains our relationship with Christ because it shows a lack of trust and faith.

Let’s break down Philippians 4:6-7:

• “Don’t worry about anything…” – Not most things or the big things it says ANYTHING.
• “…instead, pray about everything…” –  EVERYTHING! Often we feel like we shouldn’t bother God with the little stuff. Like we have a limit on prayer time and we should only use it for the big ones. Our God is an awesome God and He is there nothing too big or too small He can’t handle.
• “…tell God your needs…”  - The funny thing here is that He already knows our needs but this is His way of making sure we are distinguishing our needs from our wants and that usually puts a little perspective on things.
• “…If you do this, you will experience God’s peace,” – Often times when I have laid my stress at His feet I have received an instant relief, like a massage of the soul, but I also experience a prolonged relief that is impossible to achieve without trust and faith in Him.

 It’s not easy but when we take the time to apply it rather than freak out first it really is that simple. Through trust and faith in God and His promises to us we can stop masking the cause or treating the symptoms and we can remove the stress completely.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for so often freaking out first instead of turning to You first. Lord, we come to You right now with our stress and we lay it all at Your feet. We seek not to understand it all but to simply, trust in You and to have faith that Your will be done.  Amen

by Rick Phillips

“Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do as I say?”  Luke 6:46

The other day I was baking a delicious gluten free torte.  I carefully followed the recipe which called for almond meal as a replacement for wheat flour.  It was difficult to find and expensive, but hopefully it would be worth it!  I separated the eggs, added real maple syrup, and all the other ingredients.  As it baked, I watched it anxiously.  The aroma alone was enough to tease my taste buds.  Finally my masterpiece was done. The fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries were washed and waiting patiently to adorn the top of the torte. Not being able to wait one second longer, I sliced it, heaped on the berries, and drizzled on maple syrup.  This dessert looked like it had walked into my kitchen from a gourmet magazine.  I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.  I raised my fork and selected my first, perfect bite.  Just then the torte rose up just a little bit, looked me right in the eye and defiantly stated, “Why didn’t you use blueberry syrup? You baked me 3 minutes too long! Blackberries would have been a nice addition.  A true chef would have used a round pan.”  Needless to say I dropped the plate and stared.  How dare it question my authority.  I am the creator!  It is my creation! Without me it wouldn’t even exist…don’t you think God feels the same way when we question Him or complain about His plan?  He is our Creator.  We are the created.  Is it truly realistic to think we know better than He? 

Disclaimer:  The torte really didn’t talk back me, but neither should we talk back to our Creator.

Bible Reading:  Luke 6:46-49

Forgive me Father when I become arrogant and disrespectful.  Teach me to honor You.  I give You all the praise and glory.

Dianna L. Brisco (Original idea taken from June 7 Ridge Message)