Back to the Basics: Jesus is the Answer

Each Friday morning I get the great privilege of leading my department in a prayer meeting. It is not your typical prayer meeting in that we do not generally gather in a sanctuary, put on music, pace, worship and pray. Rarely do we even ask specifically for prayer requests; though on occasion we share them and pray over them. What we do do, however, is meet on the back side of what we call the "Living Room" (New Life’s main sanctuary) chit chat a bit as we stair out the windows over the morning sky and the beauty of Pikes Peak and then discuss a topic that God has placed on my heart or in the heart of one of the others and then pray the scriptures and ideas of the topic. It looks a little different each week but that’s the basics.

Upon showing up this morning and preparing to speak what was on my heart it became apparent that only guys were going to be present and thus something seemed awkward to me about sharing the original message. It seemed right with both ladies and men present but with just the guys it seemed better to let the testosterone out of its cage a little bit. So, we shifted gears and had a little "man discussion" instead. It was good and well needed for each of us, as it generally is for guys, to get things off our chest, tell stories and laugh a bit. We still prayed, for the day, for the team and for each other before concluding. When we finished, however, I still had this topic on my heart. So, I’m blogging about it.

What I wanted to do was get back to the basics of our faith; to encourage everyone by reminding them that Jesus is the answer. The reason being is that sometimes its just good to be reminded of things we already know. I actually was reminded myself after I purchased a new CD and listened to one of its songs about how Jesus is the answer. It basically says that any time we have a question or need direction or life is simply getting out of hand then we can always look to Jesus. It was good to listen to its words and be reminded that the God of the universe is on my side and His promises at my fingertips.

With this knowledge and idea running through my mind I was also quickly reminded that the one danger in thinking this way was that people may begin to think of Jesus as simply a problem solver or police officer we can call when trouble comes along. Therefore, I want to also point out that we should never place Jesus on a shelf and only go to Him when life seems unfair or things aren’t going our way. On the contrary we should continually pursue Him so that we are increasingly growing in our relationship with Him during both the good and difficult moments. Then, when life does get crazy, He is already there, already working and already providing for our needs. We won't have to dust Him off after taking the time to search for Him amongst the many other items on that same shelf He is sharing space with. When we came to know Him as our savior we all became acquainted with the fact that He is truly the answer at all times.

In quickly looking for some scriptures to use I found two that I thought spoke to what I was going to say. The first was John 10:10 which says in the NIV, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." You see Jesus gave and gives life. The enemy takes but the Lord gives. When we find ourselves confronted with the enemies schemes we can take heed that the Lord's life is still in us and that we can live to the fullest measure possible.

The other scripture was 2 Pete 1:3-11 (emphasizing on and I'll quote only verse 3). In the NIV it says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Here we see it again. We have everything we need for life, even when darkness is upon us. He is there. His promises do not cease when things go haywire. If anything His promises become all the more visible, we just need to stop focusing on the negative so that we see and hear His spirit working them out in our heart.

From time to time we all go through moments where we are tempted and even fall into the temptation to forget the very basics of our faith. We get clamped down with the worlds worries and struggles and forget that all the promise of the great God are in us, active through our own relationship with Him and reachable through His spirit. When we focus on Him and our relationship with Him we begin to see through the junk and remember that He is our healer, our strength, our courage, our hope, our joy, the author and perfecter of our faith, our source, our provider, our refuge and on and on and on and on. He is the answer.

So my point is to encourage you today with a little of the basics. Remember today that God is the answer. No matter what you are going through He is there and capable. Always pursue Him, always seek Him, always stay in tune with His spirit. Listen intently and respond in obedience. Never forget. He is our answer, our salvation, our overcomer.

Have a great week!!