A Mighty Fortress

Did you know that just a few Sundays ago was Reformation Sunday? Yes, I'm sure you did. That was the Sunday before All Hallows Eve, better known as Halloween. Reformation Sunday is in celebration of Martin Luther's nailing the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg church door. You'll remember Luther was protesting the sale of "indulgences" meant to free the newly departed from purgatory to be released to Heaven. Of course, Luther was right - no one has the ability to forgive sins except God, Himself.

Can you imagine the trepidation Martin Luther felt, the struggles he endured, in writing and then posting those 95 Theses. He had to know this was not going to sit well with the Church fathers. Life was immediately going to get interesting. Talk about throwing the gauntlet down; he was announcing to the Church and to the world at large what he thought was wrong with the Church and how it should be fixed.

I was recently privileged to attend a theological educators conference in Turkey. I must admit, I was a little apprehensive. We were a long way from any of the trouble that's been happening over there, but still my mind found a way to conjure up some of the worst images imaginable of "what could happen" while we were there. I'm not the only one. In a Facebook post, one of the conference attendees from that region tried to calm concern by stating that the troubled areas were really quite far away. He concluded, "Looking forward to our time together even if we share a sense of fear and anxiety we are then feeling united with many of our sisters and brothers in many parts of this troubled world." Wow, thanks for the encouragement. Nothing like throwing fuel on the fire!

The truth is that terrorists are just people who traffic in terrorism. Their whole intent is to produce fear. Sounds like another's view, right? Satan wants to make us afraid. He specializes in it. Just to be clear: I believe there is a devil, Lucifer. He has his own minions whose job it is to work to damn each of us, to dissuade us from following after God. He will do all in his power to drive us from God. If that means making us afraid, he'll do so. He's a master at fear. He is a terrorist, the chief of all terrorists. Fear works.

You may not be stepping into a physically unsafe place, but you may be fearful of your circumstances. You may even be telling yourself that you just can't do the task laid out before you. "What if I fail?" "What if I just can't get my head around that task?" "If I fail, I'm washed out. I'm useless. I can't do what God has called me to."

I don't know what Martin Luther experienced by way of fear. However, if you read one of his best known and beloved hymns, you have to wonder. Listen to these words:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill; God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.
(from Hymnsite.)

Friends, whatever battle you are facing, whatever fear is rising, we are the children of THE great King. We can trust Him. We know this, that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 37-38 NASB)

He's in the boat

I've been a believer for a very long time. Over these 40 plus years, I have experienced many great things and some not so great. I can look back over my life and see God's hand at work in my life. I can see many blessings and many wonderful things that have come my way. God is truly good ... all the time! In spite of this, there are times when it seemed like I was all alone, like I was waging the war all by myself. Eventually, the battle concludes and I discover I'm not alone, that God was there but I didn't sense His presence during the battle itself.

Have you ever felt that way? Perhaps you do right now, like this thing of serving God is an uphill climb and that you're pulling the weight on your own. You might even be praying, "God, I need your help. Just a little help, that's all. Can't you see I'm struggling here? Please?" You feel no answer. You continue to struggle. You may even be feeling "it" slip away, like you're losing the battle.

Not long ago, I was privileged to hear Dr. Javier Sierra preach. His sermon was about the time when Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. (It's found in Matthew 8, Mark 4 and Luke 8.) Dr. Sierra did a masterful job of preaching about the calming of the storm. However, I must confess, I got a little derailed by his introduction and I'm still enjoying it. My imagination is somewhat active, so I can picture the scene. It goes something like this:

Jesus has been teaching for quite some time. He's tired, as is the rest of the disciples. "Let's go to the other side of the sea. We can rest over there. Actually, we can rest on the way." Everyone is agreeable. I imagine they don't just pick a boat, that they probably choose one of their own. Again, my overactive imagination picks Peter's boat. Peter says to himself and perhaps a few others, "He's in my boat. He picked MY boat. Jesus is in my boat." Great "victory" and bragging rights, you know?!

So, they set out across the sea. Jesus, quite tired, goes to the back of the boat to get out of everyone's way so he can just relax and promptly falls fast asleep. In the middle of the sea, a storm arises. That's not uncommon, but this time feels frantic. The seasoned sailors try to manage it on their own. Orders are shouted to pull in the sail, bail out the boat, hang onto the lines, "All hands on deck". Yet, Jesus is asleep in the boat. He's there. He's powerful. He can do great things and has so many times already in the past. Yet, he's back there sleeping. What's up with that? Can't he sense that they are in trouble - desperate trouble? Finally, someone stumbles back to him and wakes him up. "Jesus! Hey, Jesus! Wake up, for crying out loud. We're in trouble. Don't you care that we're seconds from disaster. We're losing. Come on, help us!" Jesus stands up, rebukes the storm, and then turns to his disciples and says, "Why are you so afraid? Where's your faith?"

Ah, much can be said about this. I want to leave it at this one point. Jesus is in the boat, but he's asleep. Have you ever felt like He was in the boat, but asleep? Yep, you have him, but what good does it do you? He's there, but the storm is still threatening to run you over. What good does believing in him do? Well, at least you'll die trying, right? Then, Jesus says to you, "Why are you so afraid? Where's your faith?" What do you mean, where's my faith? I have you in the boat, don't I? I'm doing what I'm supposed to, right? How come I still have the storm?

The scripture doesn't really explain Jesus' remarks here. Was he telling them they should have called him sooner? Was he saying that they didn't exercise their faith and rebuke the storm themselves? Was he saying they should have relaxed because, when He's in the boat, they have nothing to fear?

Honestly, I don't have the answer. It could be one of these, all of these, or none of them. But, sometimes I feel like I'm doing my part but Jesus is asleep. What's up with that? "Hey, Jesus, wake up here! Can't you see that I'm struggling?" He's in the boat but it doesn't look like he's an active participant in my life at the moment. What am I to do in those times? In spite of the slight rebuke, I think the story holds the key. We are to go to Him for help. Keep asking Him to intervene. Sometimes, he'll rebuke the storm and all will be well. Other times, He'll give us the strength to endure. Still other times, he'll work miracles through us. In the end, we just need to turn to him in full trust.

Does it feel like Jesus is in your boat and yet he's asleep, seemingly unaware of your situation? Hang on. Trust Him. Believe in and on Him. Allow Him to work in you, for you, and through you. I wish I could say that, unequivocally, your storm will cease. It doesn't work that way. I can't predict that. What I can tell you is your trust will not be misplaced. Eventually, the struggle will cease and you will come out on the other side a better person, a deeper Christian than you were before.

Remain ...