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

 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.

"What are you going to do for the LORD?"

That was the question I received from the pastor when I walked the isle at the church to confess my faith in Christ. I was three days old in my new-found faith and it seemed that all-of-a-sudden I had to "get a job" for Jesus. I remembered that I mumbled some potential directions for my life, but I was uncertain and too young in my faith for such a question.

Not too many months after that moment, I ultimately switched churches, was baptized in Christ, and began to discover that being a Christian was more about my relationship with Jesus than my "employment" for Him. Yet, I find, that many take their Christian faith and morph it into work rather than embrace as their life.

Let me explain what I mean...

Have you ever heard the phrase concerning your job, "Don't take your work home with you?" This is a very real and time-honored reality for those who have stressful jobs. They want to leave their work behind when they go home - and understandably so. Home should be that place where you find the rest and repose needed to recover from a hard-day's work. Home is a haven, a respite of love and peace, a place where you can shut out the rest of the world for a time and simply exist without the pressures of work. So most people don't take their work home.

But what about the Christian life? After more than two decades preaching and teaching God's word, I'm coming to discover that many people view their Christian life as a "job." That is, they go to church and get involved in some task. Perhaps they take on a project or do a ministry--but their work for the LORD is just that: work. And no one wants to take their work home with them! They got saved, got a job for Jesus, and that is the entirety of their Christian life.

Being busy, then, becomes the means by which the level of the Christian life is measured. There are workaholics, steady employees, part-time workers, temps, and the spiritually unemployed. I don't know if you see the proverbial "red flag" in this, but I do: BURNOUT! The Christian life becomes less and less about having a growing, vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus and it descends into the muddled tedium of having to do your job. Dull, lifeless, banality is the Christian life for some--but it's not meant to be that way!

Jesus said He came to give us life - and that, abundantly! John 10:10 reads, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

So, a simple question for you... Have you let your Christian faith become little more than your church job? You may be a pastor, Sunday school teacher, missionary, custodian, musician, etc., or maybe you're just one who attends on a regular basis - but there is little life in what you do. You go to church, do your part, and that's it.

If that's the case, I want to encourage you with the words of Jesus from Revelation 2:4-5, "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first."

Do you remember the day you became a Christian? How about the day you were baptized? Do you remember the joy and enthusiasm, the life and love that you had for the Savior? Has it waned in the work-life of your Christian walk? If so, take time to remember. Listen to those Christian songs that you heard at first. Re-read those passages again, slowly and thoughtfully, that brought you to deep communion with Jesus. Recall the great love you have for Jesus and be brought back in grateful repentance to the one who saved your soul.

© 2015 Michael Duncan

For further reading: pick up the book - A Life Worth Living
Available in Kindle and print at Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVI3XTY/

Oh the agony of defeat!

Israel, in their war against the Philistines, suffered a great loss at the hands of their enemy. What was their solution? Bring out the ARK! Yes, that's it... the Ark of the Covenant of God remained behind in Shiloh and was brought up to the battlefield in order to defeat the Philistines.

However, there was just one problem (okay... there were many problems, but this one in particular), the Ark of God was not a talisman to be used as a means of some "magical" support from God. Here's what it said in 1 Samuel 4:3, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

So that "IT" may save us? Really? It? Not "So that God may save us?" No, not that, we just need the Ark, we just need the talisman, we just need to look the part and then it all will happen automatically! What comes next is devastating. If they thought the battle had gone bad before, now it goes horrendously wrong.

But, my friends, don't we do the same today? Don't we simply bring out the functions of worship and the perfunctory expressions of devotion to God without any desire to seek the LORD? How many churches are missing the power of God in their great battles? How far down has our society declined in morality and virtue and the church seems powerless to change it? When was the last time someone said they had a great experience in the worship service and what they meant was a deep conviction of sin and a desperate desire to bring their lives into conformity with God and His word?

So, what do we do? We ramp up the volume and sing songs that drive the emotions so that people will have a great experience in church. We hype up the VBS and the children's programs so that it's more exciting for the kiddos and preach sermons that are more agreeable to the masses.  We “bring out the ARK” and hide behind the talisman of religious expressionism, behind the bouncy-houses and baubles, the trinkets and tricks, and never truly seek the face of God. Let's face it - the prayer meeting is dull compared to the great performances happening on many Sunday mornings! But the power of God may just be found waiting for us in the prayer meeting.

While our sermons are preached and music is sung our communities fall prey to the steady encroachment of the enemy. Instead of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ being the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Romans 1:16) we now must make sure we are seen as "culturally relevant" despite the fact that the culture is lost and without hope in a wicked and depraved world. Evangelism becomes more about demographic research and market analysis rather than the proclamation and presentation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Even as Spurgeon said, “That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors the most.”

Isn't it time that we begin to ask: "What does GOD want us to do?" Are we prepared to become so completely consecrated to the Lord Jesus that the very steps we take are ordered by the LORD? 

There is an answer - and it took Israel 20 years to get to it.  1 Samuel 7:2-4 speaks to this turn-around. In verse 3 we read, "And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, 'If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.'"

The continual strengthening of the enemies of God in our culture and our communities comes from the willingness of God's people to put aside God's ways for worldly methods. But think about it this way: If imitation is the highest form of flattery, how long will churches across our land continue to flatter the world? We imitate the culture when we need to influence it. We entertain when we must entreat. We participate in programs and plans that have no touch of the direction of God because that's what we always do - we bring out the Ark - and hope that somehow God will be motivated to respond to our expectations.

The solution has already been given above. Return to the LORD with all your hearts and divest ourselves of all worldliness and religiosity that has no mark of the direction of God. I hope and pray it will not take another 20 years for us to get there.

©2015 Michael Duncan