"Rescue" - A Devotional for Tuesday

Some time ago there was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the enormous whale’s tail could kill a rescuer. Still the brave rescuers worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time. Eventually they were able to free her.

As soon as she became free, the divers say she began to swim in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

Somewhere there is a friend of yours that is trapped. Going in to rescue them will be dangerous and will be risky.

At some point in the rescue process...you will want to give up...but they are watching you.

Don't give up. Never give up. It is times like this...when they are helpless and tangled that they need you the most.

You are a Christ-follower. You are a rescuer. You bring hope. You represent Hope.

The day that they escape what is holding them...they will thank God...and they will thank you...and it, too, will be beautiful.

See you tomorrow,
Pastor Brian

"The Clog" - A Devotional for Wednesday

Matthew 5:8 (TM): “You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”

Last night around 11PM I looked up at the ceiling. Now I don't normally do this, but fortunately for me...it was a good time to do so. I noticed a large water spot about the size of a softball had formed and was starting to drip water onto my tile. I knew that it could only be one thing...my air conditioner. Sure enough, I headed upstairs, opened the unit, and discovered that all of the water that normally drips outside had been collecting in the drain pipe...thus backing up and spilling into the ceiling. I instantly went outside and began to clear the drain pipe with my shop-vac.

You'd never believe what came out of that pipe.

I'll spare you the grim details...but let's suffice it to say it was nasty. Old algae...gross slime...enough to easily stop this pipe from doing what it was intended by the builder of my house to do.

Sound familiar? Do you have some old stuff that's blocking your ability to do what God made you to do? If so...I have news that will make you happy...you can do something about it.

Situations from our past can have such an effect on our current way of thinking...they can make us fearful of it happening again...they can cause us not to trust or love...they can trick us into thinking we aren't protected or valuable to God. Problem is that you can't see what's ahead of you on the road of life by driving with both eyes on the rear-view mirror.

Here's the way to get past your past:
1) Forgive the person that caused it - Notice I didn't say forget it happened...We need to release them from the hold they have had on our mental state. Many times we are holding onto things that the other person involved has forgotten about long ago...Forgive them and allow the healing to begin both in you and in your relationship.

2) Allow God to heal you - Once you have forgiven the other person, God can begin to heal your heart. He will bring people into your life that are there to help...not harm. He will reveal scripture to you that you may have read many times before...but you will read it differently. God is ready and waiting for your first move...

3) Forgive yourself - The final (and perhaps hardest) step. Once you've asked for forgiveness from God you need to let it go. I know...easier said than done... but this step is essential for your future. Don't forget that God is a God of grace, peace, and love....not condemnation. He loves you and doesn't want you to hurt anymore...

Ready to unclog your life? Ready to find God's blessing and a life of happiness? Get past the past...take out the trash...and allow yourself to live the life that God designed for you long ago:

Jer 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

See you tomorrow,
Pastor Brian

"The Question" - A Devotional for Tuesday

Matthew 5:3-4,6,10 (TM): “You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule. You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you...You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat....You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.”

I talk to so many people that ask me the same question: "Pastor, why am I going through this? Have I made God angry with me? Am I being punished for something that I've done?" Challenging situations...financial ruin...relational collapse...emotional train wrecks... I've seen (and experienced) many of these. If this is you this morning, I have happy news...you have a choice.

I don't mean that you have a choice in your circumstances...many of us don't. Life happens and we are tied to the consequences of our choices directly. However, you get to choose your reactions to these events...should you grow bitter and never trust again? How about jaded and skeptical about the presence of God? C'mon let's get honest...have you ever doubted He's there?

I have

But time and time again...God reaches down and pulls me back up. I am allowed to go to the bottom...because the only place to look is up. Toward God. Towards hope. Towards happiness.

Want to live a happy life? Start today. Commit yourself to looking to God when you feel driven down, starving, beat up, forgotten, ignored, hurt, or just plain lonely. We get to choose our perspective...you can either focus on the end of the rope...or the beginning of hope. Remember that God is ALWAYS there...no matter how we feel...no matter how we are treated...no matter what we are facing...He is there. We can't do it all. We don't need to do it all.

Hang on. Stay faithful. Never give up hope. Sometimes the crisis that we are in is exactly what we need. Does that sound strange? Remember...

Less of us means more of God. Our weakness...His strength.

Feast in His power and glory...Accept His warm embrace...Trust Him...You'll be much happier...and much closer to peace.

Pastor Brian