You the Lord and Who?

 

Pro 11:14  Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.  ESV

 

 

 

I don’t need to go to church, I don’t need to read the Bible, I don’t need anyone to help, I can do anything all by myself. Do you know anyone like that? Maybe to some degree you are like that…actually if we are honest with ourselves I think we can say that on some level we all are guilty of feeling this way. We have Jesus, and that is all we need.  Get out of my way because here I come.

 

While it is true the with Christ in your life there is nothing that you need that He will not provide………but read that statement again, there is nothing that you need that He will not provide.  One of the things that we overlook is the fact the Christ is constantly working in our lives. HE works out in the open where we can see, but He also works behind the curtain, where we have no idea what is going on. One of the most important things the Lord does for us, is to move people in and out of our lives, at a time when we need them, and they need us. Think of it as a huge clock, each wheel, arm, cog, and axel totally dependent on the other. There is not one piece in that clock that can fail to work, there is not one piece that can reach its full potential on its own.  This is how the Lord keeps us from failing. We stay together, we stay in sync, and we stay safe.

 

When we come to the highly popular idea that we do not need to go to church (I used to be one of those guys) we are setting ourselves up for failure. Church is not a place to go to hear a book report, punch your attendance card, then head back out into the world. It is a place of safety, it is a place where you can recharge your batteries, and most importantly find guidance, strength, and true friendship. Church is a building where we can find the living body of Christ inside. To say we do not need it is to rob ourselves of one of the safety nets that the Lord has provided us.

 

To say that you do not need to read the bible, is the equivalent of saying I know how to build a space shuttle, so I do not need the directions. Christ told us He would send the great counselor after He left the world, and He did just that. He sent the Holy Spirit, to reside in each of us. You will never hear the counsel more clearly that when you are reading the Word of God. Within the word you will find the counsel you long for, the direction you need, and the conviction to carry on, even when the rest of the world tells you to stop.

 

Most importantly, when we say we can do this all by ourselves, we would do well to remember God himself saw, and stated that it was not good for us to be alone. You can read throughout the Bible and see many examples where God specifically brought people together to go out and spread His word. Why do you think that is? We are not meant to walk alone, even with the Lord at our side, we need earthly help. The encouragement that can only come from a friend, the intimacy that can only come from a spouse, the guidance that can only come from a mentor, the call to righteousness that can only come from an enemy. We cannot walk this world alone, and this is what this scripture is reminding us of. Alone we will fall, but with God,  Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the love and support of friends family, and a solid Church body at our side, we surround ourselves with the safety that can only come in numbers.  To borrow a phrase from our lovely Government we truly become too big to fail!

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ

 

Straight not easy

Isaiah 45:2  "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,

 

 

The KJV reads “I will make the crooked places straight” to read this passages it is easy to see that the Lord is promising to make the high places reachable, the crooked places straight, break down barriers, and cut through excuses. Many people read this and think, “oh yeah, I am in!” I follow the Lord, and the Lord will make my life easy……..sorry to be the one to break it to those people, but that is not what was just promised in this passage. Another idea taken out of context is the idea that the Lord just promised me to take me where I want to go on this easy new road…….yeah…..here again….no so much!

 

There is no doubt that the Lord will make the way clear by leveling and straightening the road, but He did not promise that He was going to remove all of the obstacles along the way. He said He would break down barriers, and cut through bars, those would be things that we might not be able to do on our own, however the day to day stuff, the interactions with others, the hard choices we make, the difficult times, and seasons of doubt. Those are all still there, and they are all still ours. Furthermore, often once the path does become clear, it becomes very evident that where the path leads, is nowhere near where we wanted to go. 

 

I say these things not to discourage, but to encourage you. You see God is with you, He is working right now on your behalf, but you have to have faith that if He has left something in your path, then it is something that you can deal with, overcome, and destroy.  If you see where you are heading and it is not where you wanted or expected to go, you have to realize that what you thought would bring you happiness, will be eclipsed by the true joy that the Lord has in store for you. To give you some examples. I am a pretty fit guy. I try to eat pretty healthy, go to the gym regularly, and lead a generally healthy lifestyle. I expect that I will have a pretty healthy life to come…..nope, wrong answer, despite my best efforts I have found that I still have health issues, ones that will require even more effort on my part. Not exactly what I had planned. I have a friend that started off with a degree in psych, and is now a lawyer for a non-profit, a friend that went to school for engineering, and is now a Minister. You see God made the road straight, but it is still a though road, and the destination changes to where He needs you, not where you want to go. 8 years ago, I would have laughed had you told me that I would be writing this today. Yet, as it stands now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

 

All of this is to simply say that we cannot afford to live on our timeline, by our rules, heading to our destination. God will straighten the path, and clear the “impossible barriers” but then we must walk by faith. Knowing that anything left in our path, we can handle, any difficulty we come up against is nothing more than The Lord leaving the light work to us. When our lives don’t go the way we planned, it is not the Lord making it difficult, it is the devil trying to knock us off the path. Living by faith, is not just saying “oh sure I believe in the Christ. You see…..even the devil believes in Jesus Christ. Living by faith is not just saying I trust in God, as we continue to fight against His will. Living in faith is standing in front of the Goliaths of the world with nothing but a sling. It is walking square into the difficulties in our life knowing that not only will we survive, but we will be victorious. He has brought the high places down, He has straightened the crooked places, and broken down doors, and cut the bars…now all we have to do is walk in faith, and if we can’t walk, then we crawl, and if we can’t crawl, then Christ himself will lift us up and carry us. Know this, God did not go through the trouble of straightening the road, only to make this life harder on you. He did not send His Son to die for us, only to turn around and say that you are not worth the trouble. You are important, you are loved, you are needed, and you are stronger, faster, and more worthy than what you give yourself credit for. Take on the hardships that come, walk through the season of doubt. Know that even though you might not have seen yourself going in the direction that path might lead….that is exactly where the Lord needs you…..and yes, yes you can do it.   

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ

 

If It Is Not Good

1Thessalonians 5: 16-18 16Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing,  18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

 

 

Give thanks, and rejoice? Pray without ceasing? I know I can hear some of you now….really Brian? Do you know the year I have had? Do you know the struggles, the disappointments, the tragedy, and the fix I am in right now? You are saying that I should still give thanks? I should still rejoice? I am telling you unequivocally, yes give thanks. At the moment when you think you have nothing to give thanks, is the moment you should realize there is someone (most likely in the same town, if not neighborhood) who would love to trade places with you. In all things, at all times, give thanks and rejoice. Think of the years that Joseph spent in jail (for a crime he did not really commit no less), think of Noah and the doves that came back with nothing to show. What about Paul in Prison? Time and time again throughout the Bible we see people in dire positions. Things are not looking good, as a matter of fact most of the time they are looking pretty grim. Yet we do not see despair, we do not see isolation, we do not see  then throwing in the towel, or starting up a pity party. No, we read of them praying, singing songs of praise and worship, we see them giving thanks for their lives, even though it is not the way they want it to be right then…….and there it is, the bottom line, and the brass tack. All of them had a couple of things in common, they were not where they wanted to be, but they had faith that it was not where they would end up. Romans 8:28 tells us that God works for the good in the lives of those who love Him. Do you know what that means? If it is not good, then God is not done. That my friends is a cause for eternal optimism. What can’t we endure for a short while?

 

Time is something we created. There is not an eighth day where it is written that God created the 24 hour day. I am convinced that it is one of the biggest hindrances to our relationship with Christ. You see our time is nothing to Him. As a result it seems like we are always “waiting an eternity” when it is really just a blink of an eye.  The storm you weather now is worthy of thanks. For it is that storm that will draw you closer to the Lord. Now I am not by any means saying that God makes bad things happen to us so we will love Him more. That would make the Lord a pretty petty God. However bad things happen in life, by our choosing, by our actions, the actions of others, sometimes we really can’t see why. If you survive it in one piece will largely depend on if you believe this is the end or not. I remember when I was a kid, and a F was the “end of the world” then later when a girl dumped me, that was “the end of the world” later in life the loss of a job, or a missed promotion was “the end” Until one day it finally clicked, this can’t be the end, because this is not good. That tells me two things, it is going to get better, and no matter how much this hurts, it will not last a lifetime. That my friends is worthy of thanks. And you can bet I was praying through the whole time, then praying some more after just, to say thanks again.

 

Oh yeah, I know it is easy to say, but hard to do, it is hard to find the voice to give thanks when the boot of life seems to be crushing your windpipe ….but let me ask you this, what have you ever received in life for free that was worth having?  Your home?  Your spouse? Your job? Life takes a lot of hard work, so why would we think that our spiritual life would be a walk in the park? The closer you get to the Lord, the harder the devil will work to pull you away.  I offer up this challenge, your next hardship, perhaps that is right now, give thanks, give thanks that it is not worse, give thanks that it is short lived, you pick what to be thankful for, but give thanks, then pray, offer up your troubles, give Christ the chance to show up, let Him know that you depend on Him, and then here is the hard part…… rejoice. If for no other reason than you know that the end of this storm must be coming. Make it a point to rejoice. Yes I do know how hard that can be. I have been there and done it……and I want you to know, it will work. God is not a liar, Christ will not leave you, the Holy Spirit will not subside. If it is not good, He is not done, and that is a huge reason to rejoice, pray, and give thanks.

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ

 

Expectations

1Johnn 3:1  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

 

 

We are all called children of God, we are assured of that throughout the Bible. Let us not confuse being children of God, with being perfect like the Son of God.  AS we surface form the Christmas season, and embark on a new year, we should take time to really look at where we want to go this year. It is the time of the resolutions that will last all year…or maybe a month…or maybe a week…..or maybe they have already died. When we look at things we want to change about ourselves, and the world around us this year let us make it a point to resolve things that we see to be imperfections, not necessarily what the world tell us are imperfections. We would do well to remember this verse. We are children of God, and the world does not know us.

 

It is important to remember this verse because what the world sees and what we know to be true often tend to be different things. The world tells us that we are fat, and that it is the upmost important thing to get skinny so that we might be accepted. However God loves fat people, just as much as he loves skinny people. The world tells us that to be successful we must become rich, but here again God loves the rich, as much as the poor. The world tells us that being popular, and outgoing is important, yet we know that the meek shall inherit the earth. As we ponder the coming year we would do ourselves, and the Lord the most justice by resolving to change what the Lord tells us is important, and not worrying too much what the world sees.

 

You see the Lord does not care if you are fat or thin, yet he does hate the sin of lying. The Lord does not care if you are successful in the business world, but He cares deeply in the success of your relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. God is not too concerned with how outgoing you are, He Himself used a man with a stutter  to free a nation. He does care how outgoing you allow the Holy Spirit to become in your life. You tell the world these truths, and you will be laughed at, but you see their expectations are not the same as yours, for they do not know you, and they did not know Christ when He came.

 

When Christ came to Earth it was expected that He would be a King in every sense of the word. It was expected that He would arrive in style, with His birth shouted from the rooftops, and His entrance into this world marked with a festival of epic proportions. Yet He entered this world in much of the opposite fashion, so the world could not see Him. Much in the same way this year, the world expects you, me, all of us to rally to the call of the same old lame resolutions…the perfect image, the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect life, they will expect you to resolve to be the perfect worldly person that they think you should be. As always we have a choice to make, will this be a year of conforming to the world, or to God? Will we strive to make this life better for now, or will we work to make our lives and the lives of those around us better for eternity?

 

My resolution this year is to make it through the Bible twice. Of course when I share my resolution with some folks they ask why…or my favorite…for what? That is ok though, they do not know me, the One who does, knows all too well why, and for what. As you kick off this year, what shall you resolve to do? Will it be to make simple changes that effects your life today and tomorrow, possibly the year? Will it be the ones the world expects? Or will you step out in faith, will you make it a year that your resolution can impact eternity? Many will not understand, and they will not expect it, but that will be ok, the world does not know us, because they did not know Him.

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ

 

The Gift

Luke 2:10 -11 10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The gift, the miracle, the undeserved answer to our prayers. The Christmas season is here, and 5 days from now we will join in unison to give thanks for the gift of life that was given to us by God. I have to share with you…..it happened today…..it happens every year, and I never know when it will show up…….but this morning there it was. Today I find myself filled with the Christmas spirit. I feel the overwhelming undeniable feeling of joy, and the need to tell people in my life how thankful I am for God, For His Son, and for having them in my life. It is truly a season of JOY!

Each and every year I promise myself that I am going to hang on to this feeling. I am determined to be this thankful, this joyful, this over the top happy to be alive, and have the chance to reach out to everyone I come across……I think I made it to about the end of February last year…….yeah, pretty dismal I know, but next year I know I will be making a run for it again! It does beg the question, how long do we stay grateful for the gift. Oh I know, don’t get me wrong here, I know most people are thankful throughout the year, but being thankful, and being full of joyful thanks, is not the same thing is it?

Let’s say you wanted a Porsche, fully loaded, free and clear, yours, tax title and licenses, you want it, you dream about it….and one day you open your door, and there it is! You are excited, you are joyful, you think you are the luckiest person on the face of the planet. Matter of fact the first month you have it you run in and pull people out of stores, movies, and work, just to come look at it, next month you are still pretty excited, matter of fact the first several months you remain on cloud nine…..then it happens, you jump in one day, crank the engine over, and it is just a Porsche. When people ask what you drive, you get a little gleam in your eye, you are thankful, but you simply respond, Porsche. We humans are bad about this, we get used to having something, and we go from appreciation, to more of an expectation mindset.

Christ (and I don’t have to tell you this) is not a Porsche. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to the magnificence of the Lord, there is nothing that comes close to His power, His glory, or His presence, yet somehow, someway, in the middle of life, with all the hustle, and bustle, all of the trials and tribulations that come with just living this crazy life, it happens. Oh we don’t like to talk about it, we don’t like to admit it, we don’t like to say it out loud, and like it less when someone else does, but Christ becomes that Porsche. We are thankful, we know we should….but. We really want to…..but. We have the time….but……well we just are not as happy, or as joyful, or as thankful as that first day our Savior entered our lives!

That is what is so great about this Season. It is a chance to rekindle that fire into a blaze! It is an opportunity for us to recognize just how awesome of a gift that we have been given, and we get that gift not once a year, or once in a lifetime, but that gift walks with us each and every day. I am extending a challenge to each person that reads this. For at least the next five days, commit to be joyfully thankful. Write a letter, or an e-mail to someone who deserves thanks, but most likely does not get it. Tell the people you come in contact with just how great it is to have them in your life. Share the good news with those who have not heard it, and revel in the happiness with those who have. Make the next five days a reason for those who know you to take pause. Let them see what joyful thankfulness looks like. Then five days from now, see if you can make it another five, try to carry it into the new year. Write letters, make phone calls, drag people out of the stores, movies, and work, shake hands, pat backs. Let the world know to “fear not, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people”

Merry Christmas to all, and may God bless each of you this Christmas Season!

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The Ridge Fellowship

Psalm22

The Workweek With Christ

Two Way Street

Romans 8:32  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

 

 

I know that we hear all of the time from our friends, our loved ones, our co-workers, “hey, I am here for you” . “whatever you need, just let me know”  “whatever I have is yours”….however most of the time this old saying holds true. We will be friends through thick and thin……but when it gets thick….I am going to thin out! That is the way most of our relationships go. As a result we become jaded, we become untrusting, we start to think that the only person that is willing to give 100% for us….is us. It is no surprise that we take those feelings and throw them right on to the Lord.

 

The Lord will not help me, I am all alone, God does not care. All of these feelings have little to do with what the Lord is doing in our life, and a lot to do with the fact that this is the expectation that we have experienced from the world, so we project it onto God. Romans 8 is a great chapter, we all know verse 28 that reads that God works for the good in the lives of those who love Him. This verse (32) is even more to the point. God loves each one of us so much that He gave His only Son. He did not spare Him, He did not hold anything back. He gave the most important thing any of us could think of….His own Son. Do you really think God would make that kind of commitment, then turn and walk away? Bring that thought into your own life. Think of something you have worked on, something that you have poured your heart and soul into. Did you reach a point where you just said forget it, before it was completed? Highly doubtful. Now what if it was something that you felt so committed to that you leveraged your house, your car, and all of your savings? Would you just throw in the towel when it got hard, or looked difficult? No, of course not, you have gone all in, you will give whatever is needed to make sure it works. Now think if you had to give one of your children. The only way you could see this thing through would be for you to give up one of your own…..would you quit? Would you be willing to walk away? If it was something that you loved so much that you killed one of your own children, what would it take to make you stop giving to that cause? NOTHING.

 

That is where God is at in your relationship. There is nothing that can separate you for God loving you, there is nothing that can come between you and Christ…..except yourself. You see all too often, God does not run out on us, we run out on Him. God gave His Son. What did we give? What do we continue to give? Have you ever given any thought to the idea that God has not quit giving, we have just quit accepting? You might think “whaaat?” no way, no how have I quit taking anything offered by God. What about the love of your spouse? Do you accept that every day, or are there many days that it is taken for granted to the point that it is just an expectation? What about your family, your job (or the time given to you while you do not have one), your friends, those that come in contact with you every day? What do we do with these things? Anything? anything at all? Do we accept these gifts that are given daily, or do we just expect them to be there? As a result, we do not truly accept them, we set them on a shelf to collect dust, and miss the spectacular gift that has been given to us.

 

Now let me ask you this. If you have children (and if not think of when you were a kid) what do you do when you give your child gifts and the do not use them, or they waste them, or they take them for granted? Don’t you want to find a way to get them to use what has been given before you give more? Why give them another bike, when the one they have is not used? Why give them a new glove, when they will not even go outside to play ball? Starting to see the point? There is nothing that God will not give you, if you need it. There is no length that the Lord will not go to make sure you are taken care of. He is all in, He has invested His most precious asset. He has made the full commitment. Now it is up to each of us to utilize what we have been given. We have to accept the gifts given each day, we have to make the most of every day. I can promise you that you have been given a gift today….what will you do with it? Will you set it to the side while you wait for the “good” gift? The one you have been praying for, the one that YOU really want? Or will you choose to take each gift and celebrate it, cherish it, and make the most out of it? Yeah I know if we do that with every little gift we are given we will be pretty tired, and we will be pretty busy…….and we will realize that we are pretty blessed. God does not hold back, so make it a point to not hold back on God. He will flood your life, but you have to turn on the spigot. He Gave the first gift, He gave the big gift. Will it go to use, or go on the shelf? There is nothing God will not give, can we say the same about what we are willing to give back to God?

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ

 

Whatever You Wish

John 15:7-8  7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  8By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

 

This is a tricky verse, that is why included the verse after it for clarity. SO often we read the first verse, and when I say read, I mean skim over. The problem with doing that is many people read this verse, and are left with a feeling of less than more. We tend to miss the first part (if you abide in me, and my words abide in you) and really hone in on the second (ask whatever you wish, and it will be done).  I bring this up because I believe this Christmas season there will be many disappointed “Christians” . When we take care of the first verse, the next verse takes care of itself. Am I not making sense? Let me point to it this way. Could you imagine Christ during prayer bargaining with His Father? “Father, I know you love me, and I have been working very hard down here in Your name, so how about you hook me up with a new house, you know I don’t own one now, and it would be great to have a home base to do your work”.  Maybe He would have asked for God to “give” Him that new flashy tunic that just came in, or the new sandals with the sole that allows the bottom of your foot to breath…..of course just saying those things out loud is laughable, It would be hard, if not impossible to picture Jesus like that. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, are we not all like that to some degree this time of year? I hope I get, I really want, you know what I need?

 

Don’t get me wrong here, I do enjoy getting gifts, just as much as, and in some cases more than the guy next to me (he got socks). What we have to be careful of is that we do not start to confuse love of any kind with the newest shiniest thing. We have to make sure that while we all have worldly desires, those desires are taking a back seat to God’s. What is more important, that your father gave you a car for graduation, but missed it, or that he gave you a 10 dollar watch, but was there to hug you and tell you how proud he was of you? Do you want your spouse to hand you that perfect gift on Christmas morning, or would you rather them have nothing to give, but that look of love and desire that they had for you the first year you were together? I guess what I am getting at is that the fancy wrapper, and the cost of the gift is what the world wants us to pay attention to; but the love, the intent, the true gift is found in the one that has given.

 

The Jews were waiting for that flashy gift to show up. They are still waiting today. They wanted a king, we were given a commoner. They were looking for a savior from the Romans, we were given a Savior from death. You see the gift God gave the world might not of looked like much. There was no golden palaces, no expensive linens, no grandeur surrounding this gift from God. This simple gift however would change the world, He would in fact change our lives, and eternity.  The gift did not look like much, but the love, the intent, the desire behind that gift was beyond comprehension.

 

You see that is the difference between asking for a worldly gifts, and wishing for Godly desires. It is hard to glorify the Father when we are more worried about glorifying ourselves. It is hard to bear fruit if you are not watered with the life giving Word of God, It is hard to be a disciple of Christ, when we are disciples for ourselves.  When we align ourselves with the Word of God, when we work to live our lives chasing after the Lord, our desires turn from what do I get to what can I give. When we abide in the Lord, we will begin to see more worth in the gift giver than the gift itself. Oh don’t get me wrong, we all have lists (an Orvis reel with a 8 – 9 ft. graphite fly rod if anyone is asking)  but what we must remember is hopefully in the end we have given more than we were given, and no matter what shows up….if anything at all. We know we are loved, we know that the true gift has already been given, and it is one that while it might not of looked like much, turned out to be one of immeasurable worth. Christ did not ask for much, but always had what He needed. He was always ready to give, even when love was returned with hate. Jesus did not ask for new sandals, He asked for love. Love for Him, and for us to love each other. As we enter into this season, that is my wish for all of us. May we feel the love of the Lord, may we seek to love those around us, even if it is not returned. Way we all have a blessed Christmas season.  

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ