It's ON!

May you experience God's joyful presence in your life today!

Over the last couple of months we've had a visitor come and go at our house quite frequently. But now, it seems, this visitor is here to stay. About three months ago I was in our garage minding my own business when I was surprised to see and hear movement in the area by our trash can. Being the type of person that doesn't like surprises from unknown and unwanted varmints, I was startled and quickly went inside without any further investigation. Call me a sissy all you want, but visions of Caddyshack come to my mind and I'd rather not put myself in the position of removing an animal from my face!

I could have sworn the animal was only there for the night and by the sound it was making I had envisioned it to be a large animal. Come to find out, the culprit is a cute little mouse with a voracious appetite for dog food. Every now and then we would catch a glimpse of Speedy Gonzales as he scurried from one part of the garage to another. The other day I caught him back in the dog food and this time he was more bold as he paused for a moment, looked at me, as if to say, "catch me if you can!"

I had found some mousetraps that didn't require one to look at the dead mouse, but they never seemed to work. Finally, my wife got frustrated that her "man" lacked the necessary hunting skills that would take care of the problem. So, she decided to go to the store and get some real mousetraps. She loaded them up with everything a mouse could desire...and we waited.

The next morning I went out to the garage expecting to see a mouse, 1/2 dead, writhing in pain which would require me to finish the act (something I did NOT want to do). Instead, I saw the two mousetraps sitting there, trap ready to be sprung. Only this time all of the bait was gone! Speedy was at it again. I envisioned him running around our garage yelling, "Andale! Andale! Aribba! Aribba! I'm the fastest mouse in all of Colorado!"

The last three nights we have gone through the same routine. We put more bait out only to find that this rascally rodent (say that with an Elmer Fudd accent) steals the bait again...never springing the trap. Yesterday Mandy said to me as she made the discovery, "It's ON!"

While this story has yet to meet its final conclusion, I wonder if there is a faith lesson in all of this? As I think about my own faith journey I have a vision of how I want my life and my relationship with Jesus and my family, friends, etc. to be. I also know that when I take stock of my life and look in the mirror I notice the things I thought I offered to God have been snatched back up again. I also tend to notice that the things that brought me joy have been removed from my life - either by my own choices or situations that are beyond my control.

When I come to these times, I realize that I have often lost the boldness of faith in my life. When I come to this realization, there is a part of me that looks at those traps in my life and I say, "It's ON!"

"We are in a relentless, violent spiritual battle against an enemy who doesn't want us to fulfill our calling, either individually or corporately. The obstacles and opposition that come against us take numerous forms—frontal attacks against our faith, adverse circumstances in our lives, "friendly fire" from other Christians, subtle erosion of our understanding of truth, distractions from sensing God's presence, and more. Most Christians go through long seasons of feeling extreme pressure from life's trials. Our struggles can be intense. Whether we have been persecuted like Christians in a hostile culture or not, Peter's words to the persecuted still ring true for us." (adapted from A Walk Thru the Life of Peter: Growing Bold Faith)

The 1st and 2nd books of Peter offer us some wonderful words of encouragement, strength, and hope. They offer us warnings and caution against the lies and deceptions that can steal away our vibrant faith in Jesus and lead us down a path that takes us away from God. If you get a chance, read these two letters in the New Testament of your Bible. May the words inspire within you a boldness of faith and encouragment to continue in the way of God.

"A Christian focused on his or her true identity and on God's truth will be indestructible - maybe not as the world defines "indestructible," but certainly as God defines it. In a crisis, whatever form it takes, there's no truth more reassuring than that."

When we face the struggles and challenges of daily living, let's live with bold faith in Jesus Christ. Let's look at the world dead in the eye and say, "It's ON!" As we avoid those traps in life that try to keep us from our freedom in Christ, may we say with boldness, "Andale! Andale! Arriba! Arriba!, " meaning "Go on! Go on! Up! Up!"

Faithful, Almighty, God, give me strength when I am weak. Instill deep within me a bold spirit that is able to look the struggles and challenges of life in the eye and keep moving forward. Give me a faith that doesn't back down, but always looks up! Give me a spirit of strength and not of fear. Help me endure and never give up! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Take Care & God Bless,

Pastor Don