Surviving the Storm!

It has been a while since I wrote on this blog and I better get everyone caught up on what is happening with us.  It has been a storm of activity (isn't it amazing how I can get in a reference to the story of Peter on a stormy sea in a blog about a move?) here since the move on the day before Easter.  We had to move things into the new house, finish cleaning the old house, finish moving odds and ends from the old house, continue to organize things in our new house, and do two youth fund raisers.  We also were continuing with school and jobs and ministry.  So the past three weeks have been very busy.  And tonight is only the second night when I have had the chance to sit and write something about the storm (I don't want to let you forget about the miracle in all this).

The miracle has been the love we have been shown by our friends and family!  We had so many people show up to help us move, we were able to split forces and have some at each house doing cleaning and moving jobs.  We had a large U-Haul truck rather than a bunch of smaller trucks because of the generosity of our friends.  We had family come and give us money to help pay for incidentals.  We had friends roll up their sleeves and clean our kitchens and bathrooms.  We had fun, quick work, and joy in seeing how we have been blessed by many good friends.

So Brenda and I want to say thank you to all those who have helped us since the move, to get settled during the storm and say that you have been part of our miracle!

Thanks to:

Ken and Maryanne Eversole

Ron and Dot Layton

Candy Zangle

Jenny and Brian Forney

Ron, Annette, Caleb, and Caitlin Frey

Vic Kelly

Ray and Rebecca Oltman

David and Gigi Frazier

Evelyn Drost

Vern and Penny Yarbourough

Bob and Gloria Culp

Jalen, Shea, and Samara Holloway

You are all rocks in the time of storms!  Peter had his friends too in the boat but they were nothing compared to the friends and family God has blessed us with!

All Hands on Deck

Okay, here is the good news.  We signed a lease on a new rental house last Thursday!  And here is the bad news, we are moving out of the house this week!  We are calling all our friends to help us this Saturday make our move.  If you are available, please come by our present house 3933 W. Gelding Dr. at 9am.  We will begin loading cars, trucks, and vans and work a continuous caravan from Gelding to our new home on Hatcher which is about three miles away.

If you can join us for the day please add a comment to this post or text or call me and let me know you will be helping out.  If you have a vehicle we can use also, let me know.

When the disciples found themselves out on the sea and the storm hit, they all worked as hard as they could together to row to shore.  They were a band of brothers who cared for each other.  Brenda and I have found that we have a great group of friends who also help us out in stormy times.  We are greatly blessed by God with a band of brothers and sisters who have prayed and supported us through thick and thin.  I thank God for all of you!

Closed Doors

As I have written in a previous blog, I recently have taught the youth group at my church about how God communicates with us.  One of those ways is through circumstances.  God opens and closes doors to give us indications of what His will is in a person's life.  The most obvious example from Scripture is when Paul is prevented from going into Northern Turkey during his second missionary journey.  Instead God opened the door to go to Europe by giving Paul a vision of a man from Macedonia.

In this water walking experience that my family is going through we have had to look for a new home to live in.  Our landlady called us in February and told us that she needed to move back into her home.  So we have been looking for a cheaper rental home.  It needs to be cheaper because we are not sure what our income is going to be in the future.  A cheap good home for rent is very hard to find.  We want a home that hasn't also allowed roaches to be tenants, and big enough for our children to live in the house instead of in the back yard!

In the past month we have found 4 homes that fit our criteria.  Each time we approached the rental agents we were told that the house had just been rented out to someone else.  Over twenty homes looked at, 4 homes were possibilities and 4 slammed doors!

It is interesting that Jesus also experience the same thing.  Matthew 14 starts out with the story of the beheading of John the Baptist, then tells of the feeding of the 5,000, and then the walking on water event.  Jesus hears about His cousin John being violently executed and tries to go to a solitary place to be alone with His disciples.  But instead He is met by a crowd of 5,000 hungry people!  Slammed door on solitude.  He then sends the disciples across the lake and stays behind to dismiss the croud and get some alone time.  He is able to have some alone time but sees His disciples in trouble on the lake and must go help them.  Slammed door.  He then gets to the other side and according to the Gospel of John, the crowd finds Him again!  Slam!  Slam!  Slam!

But it was after this event that Peter reassures Jesus that the chosen disciples are with Him and are not going anywhere!  John 6:68,69  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”  Jesus has had a number of closed doors to solitude and instead is rewarded by God with promises of companionship.

Walking on Water means trusting God when doors are slammed that there is something better right around the corner.  I am looking forward to the mansion He has picked out for us!!

Delighting in God

Last Sunday night Gene Zigler reminded me that we are to delight ourselves in the Lord at all times.  The stress of no job and needing to find a new rental home had in the past few weeks caused me to focus on the waves rather than on Jesus.  My delight was not in the Lord.  In fact I was not delighting in much of anything.  But Gene's words were an encouragement to me.  And so I began to think about HIM more often.

This past Tuesday, Brenda and I were suppossed to go look for more rental homes.  But we had a few small jobs to do first.  My job was to reinstall Norton 360 on all three computers at home.  This should have taken an hour at the most to do.  It took 5 hours!!!  Caleb's computer was so bad that I had to restart it over 20 times.  Finally the work was done and the day was over.  And we had not been able to go out looking for homes.  So at the end of the day I posted this update on Facebook:

Frustrating day today. No news on a new job. No news on a new house. Computer repairs soak up too much time. And yet my God is still good, So good night everyone!

I was able to realize that the day was frustrating but still remind myself that God is good.  I tried to delight a bit!

On Wednesday I got a call from a good friend of mine who is a former youth pastor.  He now runs his own business that helps youth ministries run big event trips and missions and outreaches.  It is called Eventsource Ministries and can be found here.   Kenny May is a great guy and when I told him that I was looking for work he put his mind in high gear.  His call on Wednesday was to ask if I wanted a part-time job with a company that he also works for called Sundance which delivers lost baggage to customers of Southwest Airlines.  So I said I would love to have a job and he called his boss and based on Kenny's recommendation I was given the job!

Then on Wednesday night I spoke to the youth about how God still speaks to us today.  Primarily He uses Scripture and it is the only authoritative way that we can be sure God is speaking.  But God also speaks through wise counselors and circumstances and to our spirit in meditation and contemplation.  We then spent 10 minutes in contemplation.  I asked the youth to think about this verse:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

We had a great time of just thinking and contemplating what these commands mean.  I found myself delighting in God all the more!  On Thursday morning I woke up early but didn't get out of bed.  Instead I lay there and thought about how much God loves me and I desire His presence with me.  Later that day I rode along with Kenny as he taught me how to do the new job.

Today I spoke with the owner of Sundance and set up a face to face with him tomorrow at 1pm to go over details of the new job.  We also checked Craigs List again for rental homes and we may have found our new place!  Amazing how things are falling into place and it all started with a reminder to delight myself in the Lord.  How does the rest of that verse go?

A couple of blogs ago I wrote how I envision Peter being emboldened by Jesus' offer to have the disciples enter the miraculous by telling them to feed the five thousand.  They wouldn't, but saw the great opportunity they missed.  Peter saw another opportunity as Jesus came walking on the water towards him.  He asked to be invited into the miracle and Jesus said, "Come."  I bet as Peter stepped out of the boat he was delighting himself in the Lord.

What do you think?  How do you delight in the Lord?  Can we choose to delight in Him even when things around us are not so delightful?

Does Risk Equate to Trust?

Risk is relative isn't it?  Not that any of my relatives are risk takers.  In fact the biggest risk taker I know is my son who is in the army as a special forces engineer (that means he uses explosives).

But my son is adopted so he didn't get the risk gene from me.  I shy away from risky behavior and situations.  I love my couch and bed and office chair!  My son seeks to be in the line of fire, he has a desire to maim his body in some way every day.  Usually he is doing this by wrestling with his three young sons who hold nothing back when wrestling with daddy.

But that isn't really what I am talking about when I say risk is relative.  What I mean is that I have an aversion to some things that most people would say are risky but no aversion to other things that others see as risky.  I'm not being very clear am I?  Take a look at my list of risky and non-risky things and ask yourself if I have some items in the wrong list.

Risky

• Parachuting
• Climbing El Capitan
• Eating extremely spicy Indian food
• Confrontation
• Applying for a job that will cause personal and professional growth
• Walking alone into a situation where animosity toward my group of friends is high
• Attacking a well armed mob with one sword
• Telling Jesus that He is wrong

Not Risky

• Sitting on a comfortable couch
• Swimming in the ocean
• Snow Skiing
• Speaking before a large group of people
• A job interview for which I am over qualified
• Wearing bluejeans to morning worship
• Praying in front of others
• Driving across country with a bunch of screaming, car sick teenagers

Risk is relative because of our individual experiences, training and personalities.  What I find to be risky you may not.  And what I find to be safe you might avoid at all costs.  I had a friend in Tucson who was very chatty and outgoing.  I thought she would be perfect for a skit in front of the youth group.  She tried to tell me that she could not do it.  She was afraid of being in that kind of position.  I pressed and she relented.  I never asked her to do that again.  Her fear was so paralyzing she couldn't even read her lines!  Something I found so easy was a tremendous risk for her.

Sometimes I wish I were more risky.  I wish I were more like Peter.  He stepped out of the boat!  He knew the risk and asked for the permission to walk on water.  In fact Peter did a number of risky things.  When Jesus explained to the disciples in Matt. 16 that He would be killed by the chief priests, Peter told Him "Never, Lord!  This shall never happen to you!"  Peter had no problem with confrontation!  It was an incredibly stupid thing to say but it does show that Peter did the risky things.  Later, Peter attacked the mob that came to arrest Jesus in the garden.  I would have been the poor guy running away naked!  And even after the garden fiasco Peter followed and went into the High Priest's courtyard, the very den of the enemy!  Peter took risks!

Now every one of those risks (even the walking on water event) ended badly for Peter.  But still he took the risk.  And if you look at Peter in the Acts of the Apostles you see Peter taking other risks that glorify God and lead the church to growth!  He met with Cornelius taking a social risk.  He healed the crippled man under the watchful eye of the authorities and preached boldly the gospel risking religious persecution.  Peter spoke above his training before the Sanhedrin and told them they could not stop preaching the Name of Jesus, thus risking death.  Peter welcomed the murderer Paul into the church!

Yep, I wish I were more like Peter.

But does risk automatically equal a situation where trust in God is needed?  I would think not.  Some people, like my son, just love risk.  Could it be that God calls us to trust Him even in the safe places for a time.  Were the disciples who stayed in the boat wrong for staying there?  We have no indication that the safety of the boat was wrong.  In fact when Jesus entered the boat they all worshiped Him.  That in itself was a risk of another sort!  Worshiping a man!

I am reminded of the joke about the Christian who was shipwrecked and floating in the ocean praying for God to save him.  Just then, a fishing trawler comes by. ''Climb on board'' yells the skipper. ''No, no, no,'' says the drowning man. ''The Lord will save me.'' ''OK,we will be on our way, then,'' replies the captain. 
Two minutes later a rescue helicopter landed along-side the poor chap, and the pilot threw a rope into the fierce waves. ''I do not need any help,'' cries the breathless man, ''The Lord will come and rescue me.'' 
Moments later the guy drowns, and finds himself in heaven. On meeting God, the man weeps: ''Lord, I was waiting for you to rescue me from my watery tomb. Why did you not save me?''  God replies:  "My child, I sent you a boat and a helicopter!''

Today I received a call from a secular company that is looking at my resume and may offer me a job.  It is a temporary full-time job.  It doesn't pay much compared to my present income and I am over qualified for it.  There is certainly no risk (other than financial) involved and I could easily do the job.  It would also allow me to continue to minister to Desert Hills during the duration of the job.  So here is the dilemma.  Has God sent me a boat for a time before asking me to walk on water again?  Am I showing a lack of trust or a trust of a different type in taking the job?

I think, based on the account of walking on the water there is a time for risk and there is a time for safety and in every time there is a need to trust God.

What do you think?

You of Little Faith, Why Did You Doubt?

Last Sunday the Elders of Desert Hills surprised me with a plaque, a gift card, and a framed picture to thank me for my "dedication and faithful service".  Here is what the framed picture looked like:

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When I look at the picture I can almost hear the Lord's words, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"  Look at the picture.  Doesn't Jesus look a bit upset?  I wonder how Jesus really felt at that moment.

It seems that those words would have been more appropriate for the other eleven still in the boat than for Peter. But the text doesn't allow us to make that judgement.  It is obviously a singular "you" in the sentence.

That phrase is used three times by Jesus.  In Matthew 6:30 and Luke 12:28 Jesus is telling us not to worry about what we will wear as the Father is aware that we need to be clothed and He will clothe us better than He clothes the grass of the field.  In Matthew 16:8 Jesus is chiding the disciples for their focus on bread rather than the devious teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  The last time is His statement to Peter after failing to continue trusting Him as he walked on water in Matthew 14.

In each of these passages the "little faith" has to do with a concern of life overshadowing the work of God.  Worried about clothes when God has promised to supply our needs, is an indication of little faith.  Worried about food when God's truth is being corrupted, is an indication of little faith.  Worried about the wind when God's power is being miraculously displayed, is an indication of little faith.

So "little faith" is not a statement about the amount of faith someone has, but more a statement of the duration and tenacity of that faith!  Perhaps that is why faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain.  It has little to do with littleness.  Little faith is faith that gets distracted easily from the truth.

Peter had little faith because he let the strong wind distract him from what God was doing in his life.  So this brings me back to the original question of this post.  How did Jesus really feel when Peter stepped out of the boat, walked on water and then looked at the wind and began to sink?

I'm thinking that His original emotion was elation that Peter had the faith to ask to come out on the water.  He was probably thrilled to see Peter entering into the miracle and moving closer to Him.  And then He was sad to see Peter's faith get distracted by the wind.  A wind which was a reality when Peter was in the boat.  A wind which was a normal part of sailing on the Sea of Galilee.  The normalcy of the wind overshadowed the work that God was doing in Peter's life.  

Although Jesus was sad that Peter's faith was little (distracted), He was there to save Him and continue to work with Peter.  Later in the training process Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift the disciples like wheat but Jesus was praying that Peter's faith would not fail. (Luke 22:31,32)  Jesus was well aware of Peter's little faith and never gave up on him.

This is my last week as the pastor of Desert Hills.  God has invited me to step out of the boat and walk on water.  May my faith not be little!

Lord, give me a great faith as I walk on the water.  Teach me to keep my attention on the work you are doing in my life and in the lives of those around me.  Don't let me be distracted by the normalcy of life, job, home, food.  Count me in on the miracle You have invited me to live out in faith.  Let my faith be pleasing to You!  Amen

Why Get on the Water?

What I think is most amazing about the story of Peter walking on the water is that HE ASKED TO BE INVITED!

Why would anyone ask to do what was so dangerous and unbelievable?  And remember he makes that request soon after thinking Jesus was a fearful ghost!  Notice that none of the other disciples were that foolish!  The boat meant safety.  The boat was the prudent thing to do.  When trying to cross a lake during a storm you SHOULD use a boat.  Why would you want to get on the water?  That is foolishness!

Rob Bell in one of his Nooma videos (Dust) talks about the roles of master and disciple in the first century.  Rob says that the Rabbis were like rock stars today, that a disciple wanted to become just like his rabbi.  I think he is right but this event in the life of Peter goes beyond that.  The other disciples also wanted to be like Jesus but they didn't get out of the boat.

Others would say that Peter asked to join Jesus because he was impulsive and didn't really know what he was saying.  He saw something cool and wanted to be the first to experience it also.  I can see the truth in that as well but I think it goes deeper still.

Perhaps Peter's love for Jesus was so strong that he just had to be closer to Jesus.  It is interesting that the Gospel of John, written by the "beloved disciple" talks about the trip across the lake but does not mention what Peter did.  Is it possible that Peter's love upstaged John's in this event?  That is purely speculation, but I do think Peter had a great love for Jesus.  But still there is more in Peter's motivation in asking to come out to Jesus on the water.

Maybe Peter had been ruminating over what he had just experienced a few hours earlier.  Jesus and the disciples had been on the far shore of the Sea of Galilee with a great multitude of people.  There were over 5,000 people and they were hungry.  Jesus said to the disciples, "YOU give them something to eat."  Jesus had invited them all to do the miraculous, and they refused!  So Jesus proceeded to feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.  They ended up with twelve baskets of leftovers!!!!  Peter had seen one miraculous event that day and now out on the water he was seeing another!  He wondered if the invitation to do the miraculous was still open and so he asked Jesus to call him out on the water.

Peter stepped from safety to incredible fear and uncertainty because he wanted to live in a miracle!

Last Tuesday we wrote our rent check to our landlady and I felt we needed to include a note saying that our future is up in the air right now.  Although I am looking for a local job, we are not sure I will find one and may have to move to another state.  I have been guaranteed enough $ to pay rent for March and April and so I promised our landlady that we would be around through April at least.  I felt bad writing that note because I know she depends on our rent check to make ends meet.  She has been very kind to us and I know how hard it is to find good renters.

On Wednesday I received a phone call from our landlady.  She was a bit hesitant as she began and said, "I hate making this call, but I need to move back into my home."  I laughed!  I told her about my note which hadn't reached her yet.  I told her I was relieved that she needed to move back in to her home.

Now we have to move by the end of April.  It is no longer a maybe.  I guess some people would look at the news as bad news.  Maybe the other disciples looked at Jesus' invitation to Peter as bad news, "Peter!  Don't you know that you are stepping out of the safety of the boat?"

I, along with Peter, choose to look at the news as an invitation to join my wonderful, loving, exciting Savior to live in a miracle!

Weary and Wet

The story of Peter walking on the water in the Gospel of Matthew is a mere 11 verses long.  It takes less than a minute to read the whole story.  I wonder how long it felt to Peter?  How many minutes did Peter and the disciples battle the storm before Jesus showed up?  How much time were they arguing about whether it was a ghost or the Loch Ness Monster?  How long did it take for Peter to work up the courage to ask to be invited out on the water?  Once on the water how long did he walk before he cried out for help?

I won't really know the answers till my walk on water is done and I walk on solid streets of clear gold.  But the current walk is getting old!  I feel bad saying that since I am not really in desperate straights yet.  I still have a job for two weeks and even after I leave my position here the church will be paying me a severance package.  But the role of "lame duck" is much harder than I expected!  And ducks float on water!  I am weary with constant concern over where I am heading even though I know God holds my future.  I am wet with the spray of possible futures which have no solid substance.  It seems that the walk is so long!

As I write those words, I also realize that Jesus is watching over and blessing my walk.  The severance pay is twice what I was expecting, the work I am doing is satisfying as I finish it, and the people of the church have been very encouraging.  Last Thursday I had one saint tell me that she was praying that I would be blessed by God in the same measure that I had blessed the church.  I quipped that a prayer like that can be taken two ways, but I was truly encouraged by her love.  On Sunday morning another member of the church encouraged me with words of appreciation and love.  Yesterday I was told that my sermon on Sunday was powerful and very helpful by two separate people.

In writing the above paragraph, my load seemed to get lighter.  I am not as weary or wet as I was in starting this blog.  It reminds me of the hymn "Count Your Blessings".  I just looked it up.  Here is the first verse:

Count Your Blessings

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

I guess I'm not the first person to walk on water and get weary and wet!  Suddenly the duck isn't so lame anymore!

Rogue Waves

I guess when you are walking on water you should expect to be hit with some waves.  What concerns me is that the waves are strange waves.  You think you are walking on the "sea of trusting God for a job", when a wave from the "sea of relationships" hits you.  And then while trying to work through the shock of that cold wet blast a wave from the "sea of finances" slaps your legs from behind.  The variety of waves makes it very difficult to continue walking towards the Savior staying focused on Him.

It would be nice if the walk on water was a bit more predictable.  If I could anticipate the next wave I could prepare myself better for the oncoming splash.  I could prepare my mind for the shocking chill.  I could brace my legs for the force of the wave.  I could put on rubber high-top boots so my pants wouldn't get wet.  I would be able to handle the waves if I knew they were coming.

But then again, perhaps the point of walking on water is not that I prepare myself for every uncertainty.  In fact I am sure that the very purpose of water walking is that I be in a place of uncertainty so that my vision would be focused on the ONE certain thing in my walk, Jesus Christ.

Even in writing this blog I can see the uncertainty of it all.  I had an idea that I was going to write about how Satan wanted to get my eyes off Jesus by sending unfamiliar waves my way.  But now I can see that perhaps these new waves from unexpected seas are not from Satan but probably from God.  He knows my tendency and desire to prepare myself for rogue waves.  But that is the problem isn't it?  In preparing myself I take my sight off the one who must have my gaze.  I must begin every moment focusing on my Savior.  I must completely surrender to His training and leading.  I must surrender, follow, and repeat on a regular basis.  The rogue waves are just His reminder that He is preparing me to walk the water of faith in Him.

This is not to say that I don't learn from the rogue waves that He sends my way and walk on water in such a way that the waves do not swamp me.  I do learn from these waves and place even more faith in the One who leads me.  And I now know that the waves, as unexpected, wet, and cold as they might be, are part of the walking on water that my wonderful Savior has called me to experience with Him.

Walking on Water
Rick

There is a Storm Brewing

In the accounts of Jesus walking on water, there was a strong wind that was creating a difficult journey for the disciples.  These were seasoned fishermen who knew the sea of Galilee well.  There is no sense in the passages that the disciples are afraid of the wind as they struggle against the oars.  Their fear comes when they see Jesus walking on the water.

So why is it that the Matthew passage points out that Peter started to sink when he saw the wind?  Obviously he had increased his vulnerability by stepping out of the boat.  He no longer had the protection of the fishing boat.  He had left the familiar and now was trusting in only Jesus to keep him safe.  His cry, "Lord, save me" is evidence that he knew where his safety resided.  I imagine he could have just as easily cried, "John, (or Andrew, Phillip, Judas) save me".  I mean, they were right there in a safe boat weren't they?  Perhaps they were even closer to Peter than the Lord was.

Peter sees the wind and cries out to the Lord for help.  Before stepping out of the boat he was well aware of the wind, but stepping out heightened the fear and need for a strong savior.

Stepping out in faith will not make things easier or safer.  But it will heighten the awareness of a need for a savior.

I knew twelve months ago that a storm was brewing in my life.  I felt the winds of change at Desert Hills.  It was obvious to me that with the coming of a new sr. pastor there would not be any financial possibility to keep me on full time as the Christian education pastor.  But trusting in God meant that I could head into the storm knowing things would be fine.  Sure, the wind is difficult to row against, but I am a seasoned child of God.  I have seen Him step in time after time to save me.  I am doing all I can to continue walking on the water.  But I am sure the journey will get more intense as I get further from the boat.

Right now I have my resume in at a couple of churches and with some secular opportunities as well.  The winds are getting stronger but my Lord is still there calling me to come to Him.  And although I know the situation will get worse before it gets better it is wonderful to know that I can cry out "LORD, save me!"

Back to the Beginning

In 2003 I was asked to plant a new church in the South Mountain area of Phoenix Arizona.  At that time I had just read If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg.  It had a profound effect on my thinking.  As part of my desire to demonstrate my willingness to do faith stretching action I started signing all my email correspondence with the salutation; Walking on Water!

Planting Desert Mosaic was a water walking experience.  After three years of hard work, fun ministry, amazing surprises and new wonderful friends, the church closed.  I found myself trusting God in even bigger ways.  I was working at Target and going into debt and losing my house.  It seemed that I was sinking.  Then a hand reached out to me on the water and helped me stand again on the water.  I was called to serve at Desert Hills, a position I didn't even know was available.

This reminded me of the phone call I recieved from Phoenix Christian High School after graduating from seminary.  They also offered me a job which I had no idea was available.  After working at PCHS for three years, I was offered a job at First EFC in Tucson and although this time I knew about the job. I didn't think I had a chance of getting it.

All through my life I have seen God provide for me in extrodinary ways.  And now again I find I must walk on water again!  Desert Hills has hired a new senior pastor and does not have the finances to keep me on the payroll as well.  I am awaiting God's hand to reach out to me.  I am not sinking yet and hopefully won't come to that point but I am walking on water and waiting to see what God will present to me.

He has always provided and I know He will this time as well.

Still Walking on Water,
Rick