Remember the Power You Have
One of Obi-wan Kenobi’s most difficult tasks in training Luke Skywalker to be a true Jedi knight was to help him access all his resources. “Use the Force, Luke!” Obi-wan would exhort him.
We all know that this talk of “the Force” is just space mythology cooked up by George Lucas, right? You don’t have a Force within you.
Or do you? George Lucas was perhaps closer than he realized to a powerful truth of authentic Christianity: the third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, comes to live within the hearts of all believers when they are baptized. Scripture promises that your baptism is a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is power from God for thinking, saying, and doing things that are pleasing to God.
The Spirit brings you God’s wisdom from heaven through his wonderful word. The Spirit also brings you God’s power to act on what you know. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding … and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).
Use the Force.
September 7, 2009
Jump!
You step to the edge and feel the updraft wash over you. The ground and trees below look far too small for comfort as you edge out with your toes hanging over the abyss. You look down one more time at the rubber band (euphemistically called a bungee cord) tied around your ankles and then you jump into the void. That’s trust.
Isn’t it amazing how much we trust people and things. We trust a bungee cord. We trust a plane manufacturer and pilot. We trust doctors. We trust government and our army. But what about God? What if we were standing on top of a building and Jesus stood on the pavement 4 stories below and yelled out, “Jump, I’ll catch you.” Would you do it? Let’s say we have been with Jesus and seen him raise the dead and heal the sick and then he told you to jump and he would catch you. Could you step out into the empty space?
Lord Jesus, I thank you for being there for me on that cross and taking my sins away. Help me to trust you. I thank you for being with me in my daily life and watching over my steps. Help me trust you. Thank you for being there for me in sickness and when healthy, in need and on top of the world. Help me trust you. And thank you Lord for promising me a future with you in joy and glory, a world renewed and restored, a life without end. And thank you for helping me trust you more and more.
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” Psalm 118:9
August 6, 2009
Swimming Lessons
By Bill Hunt
A former Olympian helps Sri Lanka’s children face the water following the 2004 tsunami.
Beginning at five every morning, Julian Bolling paces poolside at his family’s aquatic complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, coaching a generation of the island nation’s Olympic hopefuls. At a whistle blow, they splash poolside, rapt brown eyes focused on “Coach Jubo.”
Nearly 42, Julian rarely enters the water since competing in his third Olympics at the ’92 Los Angeles games, but the young swimmers swallow every word because their coach is a legend in Sri Lanka. Julian never placed at his three Olympics, but won 15 gold medals competing at four South Asian Games. Even policemen at roadblocks still recognize him: “You’re that swimmer guy!”
It took a man with Julian’s reputation to influence a generation of children to get back in the water after the 2004 tsunami killed more than 35,000 Sri Lankans. Many died because they didn’t know how to swim, but Julian’s influence helped persuade more than 13,000 children to attend mobile swimming clinics set up on the island’s beaches.
“These kids needed to be able to survive in water,” he says. “The beach was their playground, but after the tsunami most families decided never to even walk on the beach. We helped them become familiar again with what they were used to before the tsunami.”
An outspoken believer with a compassionate heart, Julian quips that a swim instructor “saves souls from drowning.” His spiritual journey began at age 14 when he left for training in Australia with his parents’ divorce proceedings “at a point of no return.” Then Julian’s mom wrote to him that the couple were reconciling because she had become a Christian. “God did something beautiful for my family, and it opened my eyes,” Julian says. “I couldn’t run away from the incredible thing God had done in my family.”
It’s still a bit risky talking about Jesus in predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka, where priests continue to press for laws that would make conversion a crime. About 12 of the 800 swimmers at the academy attend a weekly Bible study, and Julian looks for opportunities to tell the kids about the peace he knows. “I struggled a lot in my swimming career, highs and lows,” he says. “You realize how unworthy you are and that God is still there for you. It makes you want to know God even more.”
July 25, 2009
Fear, Guilt…and then Forgiveness & Peace
So, what makes you nervous? What brings fear to your heart, or anxiety? I would think that the possibility that your life could be in danger would make you afraid. Of course, guilt is powerful, too. A guilty conscience can cause lots of anxiety, lots of nervousness.
On Easter Sunday evening, Jesus’ followers had both issues. First, they thought their lives might have been on the line. After all, the Jewish religious leaders had put Jesus to death – how hard would it be for them to get the disciples? Additionally, they were struggling with guilt. For whatever reason they hadn’t quite gotten it, hadn’t paid attention when Jesus told them He’d rise from the dead. Now they’ve gotten several reports that He HAS risen. If He really has, how would He deal with them? In anger and judgment? Let’s find out.
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:19-20 NIV)
In the place of fear, there’s now forgiveness. Why? Because of the reality that Jesus had really died, Jesus had really risen. The sight of Jesus’ nail-scarred – but risen! – hands drove fear out of their hearts!
So picture Jesus: He’s standing in front of you, smiling, hands outstretched. You can see the nail scars on His hands. He says to you, “Peace be with you.” There in His Word of peace, in His nail-scarred, risen hands – is the antidote to fear, all fear. For there, in the hands and words of Jesus – there’s forgiveness.
Prayer thoughts: Jesus, my risen Savior, often I’m nervous and afraid. Forgive me! Focus my attention on Your nail-scarred, risen hands, that I might see clearly that my sins are forgiven, and that I’m at peace with You. In your name I pray. Amen.
April 29, 2009
