Pastor's Weekly Musing
Hey everyone!
All throughout Jr. High and High School, classes were never a huge difficulty for me. I usually caught on to what we were learning fairly quickly, and didn't have to study particularly hard to get A's and B's. I would study for a big test once -- the night before, and that's it. I knew how to get good grades. It was my thing.
Then I got to college. All of a sudden, classes were way harder. There were papers to write, often 10-15 pages in length. There were assignments every day. There was reading -- oh, how there was reading! -- hundreds of pages of required reading every week. And yes, there were tests that I couldn't simply skate by.
After my first couple semesters, I was drowning, and I really had no idea how to make a change. I had to admit that what I had always done for school wasn't working anymore. I found a tutor -- multiple tutors, actually -- and had to ask them to show me how to study. Like, actually study.
It wasn't easy. By the way, I'm not referring to the studying (although that wasn't easy either). It wasn't easy to ask for help, especially in something that I was convinced I was an expert in.
That's probably a little how Peter felt in Luke 4, when he met Jesus for the first time. After He preached while standing in Peter's boat, Jesus gave him some really specific instructions regarding his fishing business.
"When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'" Luke 5:4-5 (NIV)
Think about how hard it must have been for Simon Peter to admit failure to Jesus. He was a professional fisherman, and he was good at it. It was how he made his living. But sometimes even the pros fish all night and catch nothing.
Does your life sometimes feel the same way? Sometimes your best isn't good enough, and sometimes you face situations out of your control. You can't control the economy. You can't control the weather. You can't control a lot of things that affect your life.
So what do you do when you keep trying hard in your work but just don't have much to show for it? What do you do when how you've done marriage isn't working anymore? Or how you do work, or child-raising, or handling finances? What do we do?
First, you need to get Jesus in your boat. In other words, let Him be the center of your job, your family, your life. Then, once you've asked Jesus to come into your boat, you need to admit your way isn't working so you can let Him take over. The Bible has a name for "admitting your way isn't working." It's called confession, and it can be tough.
Why is it so hard for us to admit our way isn't working? Here are a few reasons:
1- Pride. We don't want anybody to think we can't handle it. Instead, I want to look like I'm in charge and like I've got it all together. We think we can handle everything by ourselves, even if it means working 12 hours a day.
2- Stubbornness. We're unwilling to change the way we do things. Did you know the greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is often yesterday's success?
3- Fear. You can't admit you've fished all night and caught nothing. You're afraid people will think less of you. You're afraid to let Jesus into your boat because He might steer it in a direction you don't want to go. Where will He take me?
It's time to confess that your way isn't working. Let go of your pride, stubbornness, and fear. Then see how Jesus can take your boat and fill your nets to overflowing. It's the only way to bring real life-giving change, because only He knows the way. He IS the way.
Confession to a holy God is always good for us, good to us, and good through us. Invite Him into your boat today!
All throughout Jr. High and High School, classes were never a huge difficulty for me. I usually caught on to what we were learning fairly quickly, and didn't have to study particularly hard to get A's and B's. I would study for a big test once -- the night before, and that's it. I knew how to get good grades. It was my thing.
Then I got to college. All of a sudden, classes were way harder. There were papers to write, often 10-15 pages in length. There were assignments every day. There was reading -- oh, how there was reading! -- hundreds of pages of required reading every week. And yes, there were tests that I couldn't simply skate by.
After my first couple semesters, I was drowning, and I really had no idea how to make a change. I had to admit that what I had always done for school wasn't working anymore. I found a tutor -- multiple tutors, actually -- and had to ask them to show me how to study. Like, actually study.
It wasn't easy. By the way, I'm not referring to the studying (although that wasn't easy either). It wasn't easy to ask for help, especially in something that I was convinced I was an expert in.
That's probably a little how Peter felt in Luke 4, when he met Jesus for the first time. After He preached while standing in Peter's boat, Jesus gave him some really specific instructions regarding his fishing business.
"When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'" Luke 5:4-5 (NIV)
Think about how hard it must have been for Simon Peter to admit failure to Jesus. He was a professional fisherman, and he was good at it. It was how he made his living. But sometimes even the pros fish all night and catch nothing.
Does your life sometimes feel the same way? Sometimes your best isn't good enough, and sometimes you face situations out of your control. You can't control the economy. You can't control the weather. You can't control a lot of things that affect your life.
So what do you do when you keep trying hard in your work but just don't have much to show for it? What do you do when how you've done marriage isn't working anymore? Or how you do work, or child-raising, or handling finances? What do we do?
First, you need to get Jesus in your boat. In other words, let Him be the center of your job, your family, your life. Then, once you've asked Jesus to come into your boat, you need to admit your way isn't working so you can let Him take over. The Bible has a name for "admitting your way isn't working." It's called confession, and it can be tough.
Why is it so hard for us to admit our way isn't working? Here are a few reasons:
1- Pride. We don't want anybody to think we can't handle it. Instead, I want to look like I'm in charge and like I've got it all together. We think we can handle everything by ourselves, even if it means working 12 hours a day.
2- Stubbornness. We're unwilling to change the way we do things. Did you know the greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is often yesterday's success?
3- Fear. You can't admit you've fished all night and caught nothing. You're afraid people will think less of you. You're afraid to let Jesus into your boat because He might steer it in a direction you don't want to go. Where will He take me?
It's time to confess that your way isn't working. Let go of your pride, stubbornness, and fear. Then see how Jesus can take your boat and fill your nets to overflowing. It's the only way to bring real life-giving change, because only He knows the way. He IS the way.
Confession to a holy God is always good for us, good to us, and good through us. Invite Him into your boat today!
_______________________________________________
Saturday, March 27: Coffee & Shirts!
What's better than free shirts? Free shirts AND free coffee!
We will be distributing your pre-ordered shirts this Saturday, March 27 from 8-11 AM. In addition, we will have a coffee truck serving up free coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts! You're welcome to come and hang out, grab and go, or take advantage of our curbside pick-up. Whatever works best for you! If you did not order shirts, we'd still love to have you stop by and enjoy a coffee on us.
Sunday, April 4: EASTER SUNDAY
We are planning on having THREE services on Resurrection Sunday:
8, 9:30, and 11 AM
Because of capacity limits still in place, we will need everyone to register for their seats. Register HERE today: seats are going FAST!
The 8 AM has the most availability, while the 9:30 and 11 AM services are almost full.
There will be Kids Church AND an Easter egg hunt at the 9:30 and 11 AM services! It'll be an awesome day: mark your calendars!
What's better than free shirts? Free shirts AND free coffee!
We will be distributing your pre-ordered shirts this Saturday, March 27 from 8-11 AM. In addition, we will have a coffee truck serving up free coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts! You're welcome to come and hang out, grab and go, or take advantage of our curbside pick-up. Whatever works best for you! If you did not order shirts, we'd still love to have you stop by and enjoy a coffee on us.
Sunday, April 4: EASTER SUNDAY
We are planning on having THREE services on Resurrection Sunday:
8, 9:30, and 11 AM
Because of capacity limits still in place, we will need everyone to register for their seats. Register HERE today: seats are going FAST!
The 8 AM has the most availability, while the 9:30 and 11 AM services are almost full.
There will be Kids Church AND an Easter egg hunt at the 9:30 and 11 AM services! It'll be an awesome day: mark your calendars!
_______________________________________________
Thanks to everyone who donated clothes to our Project 150 clothing drive! The huge box that we had in our lobby was filled multiple times over. In fact, we filled up an entire truck's flat-bed -- and then some. Thank you for being such a generous church! Las Vegas Metro and Project 150 send their thanks as well. I love this church!
_______________________________________________
This Sunday, we'll continue our series Q & A: Questions Jesus Asked.
As we head into Holy Week, we'll take a close look at a passage in Mark that took place right before Jesus headed into Jerusalem for the last time. And during chapter 10, Jesus asks a question twice: to two very different people.
The first people He asked were His closest disciples, and the second person He asked was an outsider -- yet He asked them the same question. And like all of Jesus' questions, it was tailor-made for each individual person and their specific need.
Join us this Sunday for Part 8 - What do you want me to do for you?
Click HERE to register for this Sunday, and you can click HERE to get connected to our Sunday service online.
Looking forward to seeing many of you on the walkway and the rest of you in the YouTube comments!
Pastor Ronnie
As we head into Holy Week, we'll take a close look at a passage in Mark that took place right before Jesus headed into Jerusalem for the last time. And during chapter 10, Jesus asks a question twice: to two very different people.
The first people He asked were His closest disciples, and the second person He asked was an outsider -- yet He asked them the same question. And like all of Jesus' questions, it was tailor-made for each individual person and their specific need.
Join us this Sunday for Part 8 - What do you want me to do for you?
Click HERE to register for this Sunday, and you can click HERE to get connected to our Sunday service online.
Looking forward to seeing many of you on the walkway and the rest of you in the YouTube comments!
Pastor Ronnie
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