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For the strengthening of your faith and the encouragement of your walk with Christ.

Roadblocks to Faith

10/30/2015

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How to overcome the barriers that hinder our walk with Christ

There are many things in this life that Christians must encounter in their walk with Jesus. All of them are either handholds or hindrances to faith. That is to say, all of them will either cause us to look to Jesus for help, guidance, reassurance, strength, courage, and a host of other needs that come from living in the midst of untenable circumstances or they will cause doubt, fear, frustration, antipathy, anger, resentment and many other excuses why we can’t go forward with Christ. The choice is ours. We have the opportunity to stay faithful or to abandon faith.

There are some roadblocks to faith that are common to every person who strives to follow Christ. From Matthew 14:22-33 we read the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. However, in the midst of this story are clear examples of real roadblocks and the means by which we can overcome.

Roadblock #1 – A Faulty View of Jesus

While the disciples fought through the night against the buffeting winds as they tried to cross the sea, they looked and noticed a figure upon the water. “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:25-26).

Understandably, they were in the midst of a storm and no one, ever, had walked upon water up to this point! What else were they to think? But to use this as the first example, I want to point out that there are many people in the midst of storms who only see Jesus as some apparition – a ghost like companion who has no power to do much more than walk past and observe. With a faulty view of Jesus we descend into a failed faith.

I wonder what would have happened in the boat if there was one person who, before Jesus mentioned anything, would have said, “Oh, wait! That’s Jesus! We’re going to be just fine.” Jesus, Himself, asks the question: “Who do you say that I am?” (from Matthew 16:15). This is critical—and the most important reality—to have a correct view of Jesus, a view built from His own revelation of Himself.

Solution to Roadblock #1 – A Correct View of Jesus

What did Jesus do? He cried out: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (v. 27). It’s not a ghost; it’s not an apparition; it is the Lord Jesus Christ who walks upon the water. It is impossible to have a view of Jesus that lends itself to accurate faith if that view is only built upon the foolish and failed understanding of human reason.

There is only one place to gain a correct view of Jesus Christ and that is the Word of God. Yet, how many Christians place their faith in their own understanding? Do not trust anyone’s thoughts of Jesus Christ who does not draw their understanding from the Word of God—including your own.

Roadblock #2 – A Fearful View of Circumstances

After they understood it was Jesus on the water, and Peter stepped out of the boat at the Lord’s command, Peter looked around at where he was. “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:29-30).

Again, it’s understandable that Peter would be disquieted by the fact that he was walking upon the water. Who wouldn’t be! But, as the nature of all endeavors that require faith in Jesus Christ, the moment he took his eyes off of the Savior and placed them upon the environment around him, he became afraid and began to sink.

Isn’t that the way most of us go? The life that God has called us to live is not measured by our own skills and expertise, but by the requirements of faith—a faith that rests upon the power and person of Christ Jesus. He does not call us because we are already built for such-and-such a task. Peter was a fisherman, aware of the water and knew how to swim. He did not have the means of his own to walk upon the water! What God is looking for are those who are willing to step out of the boat of personal comfort and security and trust Him by faith in obedience to His commands.

Solution to Roadblock #2 – A Confident Reliance on Jesus

As Peter began sinking into the depths of the sea, his only recourse was to cry out to the one who was still walking on the water. It might seem a bit obvious, but there were other options. He could have tried to rely on his own strength and swim back to the boat. He could have begged for help from the others in the boat. He could have just let himself drown in despair, perhaps even blaming Jesus for calling him onto the water in the first place. He didn’t do any of those things – he simply cried out to the only One who could save him.

Even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances, when God calls you to the impossible, you can have absolute confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us have found ourselves called by God to the impossible, and many of us have tried to do what God has given us in our own strength and wisdom. Then, when the way is rough, the storms are strong and the winds are against us, we tend to turn to human ingenuity to stay above the circumstances. For example, God has called us to evangelize the world through the preaching of the gospel and discipling believers. When the way gets rough and people don’t respond – even becoming hostile – we change tactics. We turn to clever schemes and worldly strategies to do God’s work. Instead, we must simply cry out to Jesus and walk with Him as He holds us up above water.

These two roadblocks are common to everyone. You’re not alone. But the solutions are simple if you’re willing to take them to heart. Walking in faith with Christ Jesus means you must know Him as He has revealed Himself and you will have to trust Him and His word, even when the circumstances around you demand that you abandon all hope.

©2015 Michael Duncan

For further reading on learning to walk by faith in Jesus Christ, pick up the workbook: Starting Out: A Study Guide for New Believers available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482694328


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Iron Sharpens Iron - 2015

10/25/2015

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I want to welcome all of those who have recently joined this blog from the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference! Your comments are always welcome and I hope that you will be encouraged in your faith and strengthened in your walk with Christ. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together and appreciated the stories that you shared in our break-out session, "Running on Empty."

For all the followers of this blog, in early November I will be posting a link for leadership training. It will be four audio messages along with downloadable guides. Feel free to share this with your friends and contacts and watch for the link. Anyone who signs up for my blog will have access to the training.

God bless! And always remember to make sure you anchor your life to the Word of God.

Michael Duncan

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The Bleach Principle

10/13/2015

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The other day my son was set upon to do some laundry. A load of bath towels to be exact. Because of an accidental overflow of some bathroom equipment there was a needed clean up and afterward the towels were in a desperate state. My wife spoke up as he was navigating his way to the laundry room: “Make sure you add bleach to the wash.” Certainly a wise precaution for the situation.

Well, off he went and began the load. “Did you add the bleach?” inquired my bride? His answer was in the affirmative and so nothing more was thought of concerning the towels. That is, until I removed them from the dryer to fold them and put them away. By now, most of you reading this have already assumed what happened, and you would be right. The towels were clean, dry, and… spotted with bleach stains. He willingly followed his mom’s command to add the bleach. However, he never followed the directions into the proper application of that bleach.

Why do I tell you this? Because I believe that it is possible to apply the right tools in the wrong way.

I believe there is a “bleach” principle that we, as Christians, must take to heart. I have heard, and perhaps you have too, that to overcome the overflow of sin in our lives we need to read the Bible more, we need to pray more, get more involved in church and so on. But how? Well-meaning Christians give commands with no direction to their proper application. So, then, the struggling sinner is left to figure out how to apply the command without any instruction. What comes out is a mottled and distorted saint who has nothing more than bleach stains upon their life rather than a process of cleansing and growth that will purify and mature their lives.

Someone comes to you with a desperate problem and your response is, “You should pray about it.” Okay, how? The disciples asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Maybe you were set upon by a stumbling sinner and your response was, “Just obey the Bible.” But how? Paul reminded Timothy of his own approach, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings… But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it” (2 Timothy 3:10-14).

We leave people in the dark about the proper application of God’s word, expecting that they will intrinsically know what to do. I’m teaching my daughter how to drive. I do not, however, just hand her the keys and say, “Go for it!”  We cannot simply hand someone the Scriptures and say, “Figure it out.” Let us walk with and guide our fellow believers on the road of faith so that they can learn to walk with Christ.

Or, as Paul said to the Colossians, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:28-29).

This, my friends, is the bleach principle.

©2015 Michael Duncan

For further reading on Spiritual Leadership and Development, pick up the book From Vision to Victory, available here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1496030532 in both print and e-book formats.

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Exodus and Salvation - the Story of Deliverance

10/3/2015

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 I have, of late, been reading the story of Moses and the deliverance of the people of Israel from the hand of the tyrannical Pharaoh. With great power God sent a deliverer and brought forth a people for His very own. Years of wandering and struggle finally brought them to the Promised Land where they crossed a mighty barrier and entered.

All the Bible points us to the person of Jesus. He stated this fact when speaking to the crowds, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). There are so many parallels between the story of the Exodus and the story of Salvation that I wanted to give you a quick glance at some of the commonalities.

  1. Identified with His Own People
    The one who came to deliver the people was completely identified with the people. Moses was once part of Pharaoh’s court, having been adopted into the palace. He refused identification with the world and chose, instead to be identified with the oppressed and enslaved. Jesus, also, left His glory and became one of us – except without sin.

  2. Displayed Great Power
    With great power, by God’s command, Moses commanded plagues upon the nation of Egypt. These signs testified to the truth of who he was and why he had come. So, in Christ, the power of God was manifest through Him and gave not only credibility to who He was, but also signaled why He came.

  3. Only the Blood saved from Death
    It was at the command of Moses that the captive people covered their doorframes with the blood of the chosen lamb. Only the houses with the sign of blood would be spared from the angel of death. Each house had to choose to put the blood on the door. And so is it in Christ. Only those who come to faith in Jesus and surrender to Him in repentance will be covered by His blood. It is those who choose faith in Christ that will have their sins atoned for by His sacrifice and will be spared eternal death and final judgement from God.

  4. Crossed over, Never to Return
    The Exodus commences and the people of Israel are led to the Red Sea. By God’s power, the waters part and Moses leads the people across to the other side. The water’s rush back into the seabed and the way back is blocked. So, in Christ, we cross over by faith and are taken out of slavery to sin and led by God’s word through this world—never again to go back into slavery.

  5. Led for Years
    It took time, 40 years to be precise, but eventually the people of God were led across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. The years of wandering in the wilderness changed them forever, and Moses never left them the entire way. So, in this life, we wander in this wilderness—sometimes for years—before we enter the Promised Land. We grow, mature, and see the old life die off as we wander – all the while being led by Jesus through everything.

  6. Entered the Promised Land
    There came the time when, finally, the people crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. All the years of waiting… all the years of strife came to a singular moment when God stopped the waters of the river and they entered. All who follow Jesus will, someday, cross over to that blessed, Promised Land called Heaven. We will cross the river of death, that great barrier that separates us from this life and the next, and God will deliver us safely to the golden shores of eternity.

I hope this is an encouragement to you. Don’t fear the journey you're on as you follow Jesus. He will lead you out of sins captivity, through the wilderness wanderings of this life, until you reach securely that Heavenly Shore.

If you’re not a Christian, why wait? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and know that no matter what avails in this life, you have been secure for all eternity by the Mighty Hand of God. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
 
©2015 Michael Duncan

For further study, pick up the book: "Starting Out: A Study Guide for New Believers" from Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482694328.



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