In the Storm for His Purpose

Posted on May 8, 2015 by dkoop

Jesus QuestionsIn the last post we examined, Jesus Question, “Why are you so Afraid?”  We saw that we are in the storm with His Presence.  Now we will see that “You’re in the Storm for His Purpose.”

You’re in the storm with His presence and you’re in the storm for his purpose. Think about this. Jesus said, “Let’s go to the other side“. Who’s idea was it?  Jesus.  Why was he taking them to the other side? Jesus was God in the flesh and he knew on the east side of the sea was a guy that was hurting himself because he was possessed with an evil spirit. And Jesus was taking the disciples to the other side and Jesus was going to bring healing into this guy’s life.  Jesus being God in the flesh knew that there would be a storm that blows up.  Jesus knew that he was taking the disciples on the boat into and through a storm.  So from that line of logic, we can say that they were not in the storm because they were out of God’s will they were actually in the storm because they were in God’s will. Some of you will get mad at me right now and think, “So you’re telling me that God caused the storm? God brought the storm?”  I can’t believe any human being has the ability to one hundred percent of the time understand God’s ways so I’m not pretending to.   “His ways are higher than our ways.” Isaiah 55:9  Did God cause the storm or did God, in His sovereignty, allow the storm? I cannot tell you exactly that God caused the storm but since he is all powerful, He did allow the storm.  But what I can tell you with certainty is that God always uses the storm to do work inside of us. I believe with all my heart, that’s why James the brother of Jesus, could say something so powerful,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

“Consider it pure joy,” in other words, move to the state of worship within your soul. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Wait a minute! That sounds just ridiculous that you rejoice in the middle of storms. But that’s what James said. Why?  “Because you know that the testing of your faith,” Somebody right now, guess what?  You are in the middle of a test and a good teacher will always have a test. Why does a good teacher test you? To pass you and promote you.  That way, you know you passed.  At the end of the year you take a final exam and if you pass the test you move to a new level.  God in his love is allowing you to experience something that tests your faith promotes you to another level of belief!  And this faith “produces perseverance” A vital attitude that lives inside of you. James says, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The reality is I just have to call it like it is.  In our church we have a lot of people who are very young in their faith and we need some maturing.

How does God mature us? In a lot of different ways: He matures us as we get to know his word which renews our minds. He matures us as we discover our spiritual gifts and we make a difference in someone else’s life. He matures us as we go through certain storms. Why? So that God does something in us.

For some I would say the difference between where you are and where God ultimately wants you to be is the storm that you have yet to endure. I don’t know how many of you know somebody who is just rock solid in their faith.  What I can promise you is that they’ve been through some storms with Jesus!

They know His faithfulness. They know His presence. They’ve learned that there is a purpose in every single storm but God is often doing something in us and teaching us something in the middle of the storm that we couldn’t learn it in any other way. Did He cause it or did He allow it? I can’t say with complete certainty, but know but I do know He always uses it.

Jesus was on the boat. Jesus had a plan.  And the disciples had not yet gotten there yet. They’re panicking, “Jesus, we’re going to drown. Wake up, Jesus, wake up.” And what is Jesus do? I love this, verse thirty nine:

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:39-41

“He got up, rebuked the wind,” I don’t know what that looks like – Bad wind! Bad, bad wind! Stop it wind! You’re in timeout! “He got up, rebukes the wind and he says to the waves ‘Quiet! Be still!” that’s cocky. I love that!

“Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” then Jesus looks at his disciples, “What are you guys afraid of? Don’t you remember me opening blind eyes, healing deaf ears?  Don’t you don’t you remember that I the author of life is with you? “Why you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified. And ask each other all “who is this even the winds and the waves obey him!” What happened? Notice what they call him at the beginning. “Teacher, teacher, do you care if we drown? Teacher, teacher.” at this point, Jesus was just their teacher. What did they call him AFTER the storm? Lord.

Perhaps right now you’re in a storm. If you’re a follower Jesus, I’m going to asked you this, “why you so afraid? Have you forgotten you’re in the storm with the presence of God and he is for you, with you, working in all things to bring about good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose?  You’re in the storm with His presence and you’re in the storm for His purpose. So why you so afraid? And as you get to know him and he matures you as you grow through some storms and you endure some storms with him. Suddenly here’s what happens: in the middle of the storm you can be afraid. The boat looks like it’s going to sink.  Suddenly your hope is no longer in the boat. But your soul is anchored in the lord. And that changes everything. I used to be so afraid of many things, paralyzing ongoing fears.  But my hope is no longer in the boat you see my soul is anchored in the Lord because he is on my boat is in my house he dwells within me. He is with me and he is for me. Therefore, “He has not given me a spirit of fear. But of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Why are you so afraid when Jesus is with you in the boat?

Some of you today, He is not in the boat because you have not invited Him in your life.  Storms will come.  But with Jesus you will not be alone. Everything will have new meaning and purpose with Jesus.

http://www.RidgeFellowship.com

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Why Are You So Afraid?

Posted on May 5, 2015 by dkoop

Jesus QuestionsIf you are in the middle of the trial or a a storm in your life, Jesus’ question will speak to you. “Why are you so afraid?”

In Mark chapter four we see Jesus teaching from a boat.  The boat is pulled up on shore and a lot of people are gathered around.  Afterward he says to his disciples, “let’s leave the crowd and go to the other side of the sea.” The boat that was just used to teach the crowd will now be used to teach the disciples!

Mark 4:35-37  “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.

Now I don’t know if any of you have ever been in a boat that you thought was going to sink before. If I haven’t but have been in a plane that I thought could crash. If you’ve ever been in a plane where there’s  massive turbulence you might not be a believer but you suddenly believe in prayer! “Oh God if you are there, help me out!” This is  that type of situation where the disciples think the end is near.  “We’re we’re going to drown!”  But look at what Jesus is doing…

Mark 4:38-41  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

“Why are you so afraid?”

I’m not a meteorologist,  but I discovered that the sea of Galilee is about six hundred eighty feet below sea level and is surrounded by mountains.  It’s very common for a storm just to explode onto the sea of Galilee with very little warning at all.

And what’s interesting is that as you go through life, all seems good and normal and then out of nowhere a storm explodes into your life!  Maybe you’re having the best sales month of your career and then you find out your company is laying people off because you’re one of the newest people on the team.  Out of nowhere things were great and then boom you could be out of a job.

It could be your marriage is better than ever and you think, “we’re finally smooth sailing.” Then your spouse goes to the doctor to check something out and suddenly you got horrible news. You feel like the rug has been pulled out from under you.  You don’t even know how you going to make it.  Or you think your child is doing good. You have prayed so much and worked with your child you think,  “Finally, they’re on the right track” and then you find out that your child is making bad decisions.  It doesn’t matter what else in your life is going well, you’re in the middle of a storm.  I’ve discovered that church people are the best at hiding the storms that they are in.  Some of you right now, you look totally fine but behind your smile you’re in the middle the storm and nobody even knows about it

I’ve seen times where people are jealous of other people thinking, “I wish I had their life” “I wished I lived in that house.”   But they are thinking “I’m 2 payments behind and I may lose this house and nobody even knows the private storm that I’m going through!” Sometimes people look on and say, “I wish I have a marriage like that, they seem to get along so good.”  But in reality they are thinking, “You have no idea how we can fake it on the outside but on the inside we’re barely hanging on by a thread!”

Sometimes you look good on the outside and nobody else would know that you go to sleep afraid and you cry yourself to sleep. You feel alone.  Even the pressure of a lot of good things feels like way too much.  Even though you’re moving in all different ways you know there’s no way you can keep going at this pace.  You put on a smile and yet on the inside you’re in a emotional storm and nobody knows about it

Many of us are in the middle things that we just didn’t see coming.

Two Truths to Remember When You’re in the Storm, 

1. You’re in the Storm with His Presence

Jesus is there! Verse thirty seven and thirty eight shows us that, “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” But we see in verse thirty eight Jesus was where?  “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.” Where was Jesus? Jesus was in the stern. Jesus was in the boat!

Here’s what happens so often. I believe a lot of people think, “wait a minute if with Jesus is there. There shouldn’t be a storm!”  “I gave my life to Christ therefore it should be smooth sailing for the rest of my life!”  And I need to tell you, that is not true. In fact Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I’ve overcome the world.’ John 16:33 Jesus never promised that if you come to him, life will be easy and it will be storm free.  The reality is often the opposite. When you move from darkness to light suddenly you step into the middle of the spiritual battle! You see Christianity is not a playground but a battleground.  It’s a battle ground between the forces of darkness and forces of the light. When you step on the side of the light suddenly darkness is against you and you will face opposition. You will face temptation and there will be spiritual warfare and to think, “Just because I’m with Jesus nothing should go wrong” is a major misunderstanding.  God never ever promises you that just because Jesus is on the boat that the storm will never rock you.  The promise is that the storm will never sink you. Because if God is for you and God is with you and there is nothing that can take you out of the presence of God.

Jesus was in the stern and he was on the boat. And that’s the total game changer.  I recently read this really interesting article that older people actually live longer if there’s something else living in their house. This is so interesting.  You live longer when there’s anything else living in the house.  Anything at all, it can be an old deaf guy that doesn’t even talk back to you. It can be a house plant. It can be a cute little dog, or big, ugly dog. It can be a goldfish, a ferret or a gerbil.   You live longer when there’s something living inside the house.

A day may come when you’re going to be in the middle the storm and it’s going to get really bad and people are going to look on and say “How are you getting through that?” “How are you an enduring this?” “How come your world falls apart and you’re not falling apart?” “How come everything’s going wrong and yet you still have this quiet confidence?” “Why is it that?”  It’s that you know in the middle of the storm, there’s this deep assurance, you have this this peace in the middle of the storm.  What you’re going to be able to tell them is, “Because there is someone living in my house.  There’s something in the house and it’s not just a life but is the author of life, Jesus.”

“Jesus is in the boat and he’s in my life and house and because he is with me I can sense his strength. I can sense his presence and I can sense his power and I can sense his comfort because he is with me!  He is in the boat with me. Just because I’m in a storm doesn’t mean that he’s not with me.”

Never let the presence of the storm cause you doubt the presence of God.

I like to personalize scripture. I like to take Psalm 46:1 and personalize it: “God is my own refuge. He is MY strength. He is my ever present help in a time of trouble.” He has been with me in the storm. I like to personalize Hebrews 13:5 “Never will my God leave me. Never will he forsake ME.”  I want to personalize Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of doubt” you see I’m not staying there but I’m walking through and what I’m walking through I will feel no evil, why? Because my God is with me.

He never promises that the storm wouldn’t rock you. He promised that the storm wouldn’t sink you. He’s in my house, he’s in the boat with me.  I’m not alone in the middle of the storm. I pray that you find comfort, no matter what you’re going through but you’re in the storm with His presence.

In the next post we’ll examine the 2nd truth, you are in the storm for His purpose….

http://www.RidgeFellowship.com

 

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Do You Want to Get Better? Part 2

Posted on April 24, 2015 by dkoop

Jesus QuestionsJohn 5:6 “6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him ‘Do you want to get well?’”

Why would Jesus ask him that?  Perhaps it’s because Jesus knew, you can’t just help someone who needs help.  You can only help someone who wants help!  “Do you want to be made well?”

Sometimes people ask, “What is the greatest hindrance to faith?  Some think, “Doubt is the biggest obstacle to faith.”  Some think, “Fear is the greatest obstacle to faith.”  Some think, “Worry is the greatest obstacle to faith.”  All good answers …

I believe that “the familiar” is the biggest obstacle to faith.  People say, “But you don’t understand, I’ve tried everything possible!  They start to accept what is, rather than believing what could be.  “Don’t you know, I’m just an average student.  I knew that in the second grade, and I know it today.”  “Our family – we’ve struggled financially for years.  My parents did, I do, my kids probably will.  That’s just the way it is.”  “We’re just all overweight.  It’s genetic, it is what it is.”  “You don’t understand.  I’ve tried to overcome this addiction, but I just cannot seem to do it.”

Our desire must be bigger than the disability.  Do you want to be made well?  Are you compensating by making excuses?  Yes, you’re discouraged, but you’re simply used to living where you are.  I believe the Spirit of God today would ask you, “Do you really want to be well?”

Do you really want to be out of debt?  Is shopping your drug of choice?  You may say you want it, but your actions do not.  Do you really want to overcome the addiction?  Some people are more comfortable in the known.  You think, “I know what it’s like to be in this prison, and I may not like it, but at least I know what it’s like.”  Do you really want to find healing in a relationship?  Do you really want to be made well?

You can’t help someone who just needs help.  You can only help someone who wants help.  We cannot change what we’re willing to tolerate.  Until your desire becomes bigger than your disability, you will not start to find healing.  So, Jesus asked a question, “Do you want to be well?”

tx_leander_theridgefellowship_3DPromoCover At our church we see people change all the time. Just get a copy of our book, “Dark side of the Soul,” seven stories of life change from our Leander location.  It’s free for every guest in Leander and we mail them out.  For years something persisted in these seven people’s lives then by the power of God, they changed.

That which was their greatest misery is now their greatest ministry.

That will speak to somebody, because there is something that’s holding you down, or holding you back, and you’ve been miserable with it for years.  And when God heals you after all that time He get’s the glory.  “God healed my headaches.”  “God healed my cancer.”  “God helped me overcome my fears.”  And the longer that it’s persisted, the more glory you’re going to give God, because you’re going to realize you couldn’t do it on your own!  You needed a power greater than that which you had, and the Risen Christ came on the scene.

The guy says, “I’ve got no one to help me.”  And Jesus looks at this guy and says this: “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.”

Jesus heals the guy, supernaturally.  Notice three things:

  1. The sick guy didn’t even ask to be healed.
  2. He did nothing to earn it, or deserve it.
  3. The healing did not happen in the way he thought it would. This is going to speak to somebody.  Jesus did for him what he didn’t even ask Jesus to do.

This is one of the million reasons why your greatest priority in life is to KNOW Jesus Christ  This is part of our mission at The Ridge.   As you KNOW Christ as you get close to Jesus – He will do things for you, you didn’t even ask Him to do!  He’ll bring healing in your life, in areas where you didn’t even know you needed healing.  He’ll change your thought processes, in ways that you didn’t even know you were dysfunctional.  He’ll bring forgiveness and healing into your heart, in areas where you didn’t even know you were sick.  When you get close to Jesus, He will do things for you, you didn’t even ask Him to do.

Notice, the guy didn’t deserve it.  He didn’t earn it.  Jesus did not heal this man because he was good.  Jesus healed the man because Jesus was good.  And that’s His grace!  We can’t earn it.  We’re not good enough for it.  We can’t give our way to get it.  We can’t work our way to get it.  He gives us blessings untold because of His goodness, and because of His grace, and for His glory He did this.

Lastly the healing didn’t come in the way the man thought it would.  He thought, “If I can just get in the water, I’ll be healed.”  The healing didn’t come through the water!

Perhaps, you’ve been searching for the healing in a particular way, and it may not come that way.  It may come through the Living Water, Jesus, who does something in a way you did not even expect.

Perhaps, you’re in financial trouble, and you keep buying lottery tickets.  Thus sayeth your pastor:  “It’s not coming through lottery tickets.”  You expect it through one way, and God may bring you a blessing, a healing, a transformation, in some way that you never, ever even expected it before.  That’s the power of our good God.

Jesus says to him, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.”  Jesus essentially said, “No need for excuses.  I want to see your faith.  Don’t you tell Me what you can’t do and what other people will not do for you.  I want to see you stand up, and you walk.  I will do for you what you cannot do, but I want you to do what only you can do.  I’m going to touch you.  I’m going to heal you.  But I want to see your faith do what, for 38 years, you have not been able to do.  I want you to have the courage and the faith to step away from the familiar, because the familiar is often the greatest hindrance to faith.  And you’re going to have to have faith to stand up, when you think your legs are not capable of supporting you.”

This may speak to you because you’re going to take a step of faith to overcome a problem that you gave up on years ago.  I don’t know what it’ll look like for you.  You may drop your cigarettes in the garbage can as you walk out the door.  You may confess to your Growth Group a problem where you need help and ask for prayer.  James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed” Revealing is the beginning of healing. You may check yourself into rehab, or call a counselor.  It will take a significant step of faith, because you’re a bright person.  If some small tweak would have helped you overcome this problem, you would have done that years ago.  God is going to touch you, and you’re going to take a step of faith, and for some of you, you will experience healing through that step.

Or you may be on the beginning process of a journey that leads toward healing.  You thought it was going to come through the water.  You had no idea the presence of God was going to meet you, and you were going to be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit, and it would spark something in you that only God could do.  And other people are going to ask, “Why do you have such hope?  Why do you have such freedom?”  You will say, “I can’t explain it, but God was with me and spoke to me.  You see, I experienced Christ on this day.  I felt His love on this day. I have hope, because I’ve been with Christ.”

Do you want to be well?  Do you want to overcome the addiction that has held you hostage?  Do you want to be free of worry, and anxiety, and fear that keeps you up at night?  Do you want to be free of an angry spirit that hurts every relationship you’re ever even around?  Do you want to overcome the inability to trust people, so that you can begin to trust and have intimacy once again?  Do you believe that God is able to do anything, and heal you of any physical sickness?  Do you want to be made well?  Because God isn’t just going to help someone who needs help, He helps those who want help.  Do you want to be well?

Let me pray for you, “Father, I pray that Your power, Your love, Your Spirit, and Your presence would minister faith, hope, and healing. Thank You for Your healing power through Jesus.  God, I pray that, by Your power, You would do miracles, just like you have done in so many others lives. Now, God, I know that You’re going to work, I also know that You don’t want to hear our excuses.  You want to see our faith.  I pray, God, that we would take steps of faith, appropriate steps of faith, as You lead us, and God, You would see our faith, be pleased by it, And we thank You, God.  You may do them in a way that we do not expect.  And we’ll give You all the glory because You are the only One worthy of praise.”

In Jesus Name Amen.

www.RidgeFellowship.com

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“Do I Want to Get Better?” Part 1

Posted on April 24, 2015 by dkoop

Jesus QuestionsThink about this question through the lens of any ongoing long-term problem that you might have.  We all have different problems, but which ones persist and stay with you?

You may have ongoing medical issues or an ongoing problem with overspending, or overeating, or overcommitting.  It might be an addiction that just won’t go away or an ongoing challenge in a relationship.  This is the context of today’s passage.

John 5:1-9 says, “1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.  2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.”

A pool by the Sheep Gate?  I don’t know who the master planner was for this community, but I don’t want to swim or drink from a pool by the Sheep Gate.

This isn’t a regular pool, this is a natural body of water, and a gathering place.  Verse 3 says, “Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, [and] the paralyzed.”

You may think, “What were they doing there?  Were they all getting a suntan?”  There was a tradition that an angel would stir up the water, and whenever the water bubbled up, they believed that whoever got in the water first would be healed.

They might wait days, or weeks, and then as soon as the water bubbles up, it’s a free-for-all to see who can rush and get in the water first.

Verse 5 says, “One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.”   He’s been there for 38 years!

“6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him ‘Do you want to get well?’”

That seems like an insulting question, doesn’t it?  That’s like asking a broke guy, “Do you want a hundred bucks?”  It’s like asking a hungry guy, “Do you want to go to an all-you-can-eat buffet?”  It’s like my wife asking me, “Do you want to make out?”  This is an obvious question, “Do you want to be made well?”   “Yes, I want to be made well!”

The man says:  7 “Sir,” the invalid [replies], “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.  While I am trying to get in, [somebody] else goes down ahead of me.”  8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.”  9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

A moment in the presence of Jesus changed everything for this man.

I want to look at problems that persist.  For 38 years, this man was sick.  A moment in the presence of Jesus changed everything.

I see at least three significant challenges for problems that persist,

1. The longer a problem persists, the more discouraged we become. Some of us, we’ve had an ongoing problem – it just won’t go away.   You’ve prayed about it for a while, but nothing happened, and you tried what you thought might help it, and nothing worked.  You become discouraged.  You tried to work on your marriage, and you prayed about it, and you were nice, and you maybe went to church together, but your marriage is still bad.  And years later, you think, “I don’t believe anything’s going to help.”  You prayed about some physical problem you have, and you went to some doctor, and you tried another doctor, and you tried another doctor, and you prayed some more, and nothing got better, and you just get very discouraged, even to the point of thinking, “Maybe this is just what God has for me.”

I cannot even imagine what people I know and love, who have real challenges that last not for few months, but for years …  It can be incredibly discouraging.

2. The longer a problem persists, the more excuses we make. Why? Because, ultimately, it’s going to make us feel better if we put the blame somewhere else.  And that’s what this guy does.  He says, “Jesus, I have no one to help me get into the water.  When I try to go in there, I can’t walk, and they all run by me, and I’m just left there, completely helpless and hopeless.  No one can help me.”

Now, I don’t want to be hard on this guy, at all, because I’ve never been disabled, and, certainly, it would be difficult.  But let’s be honest.  There might have been a way for him to get close to the water.  He couldn’t walk, but he might have been able to crawl.  Or scoot, or do the Inchworm or whatever it takes to get there.

This guy gets to the place that we often get: “No one will help me out.  I can’t do anything about this.  Oh, my marriage, it is never, ever going to get any better.”  “I’ve been to the doctors, and I’ve tried.”  “And I can’t ever get a good job, because I don’t have a college degree.”  “I went to counseling once, and it didn’t do any good.  I even tried church, for two weeks straight, and nothing happened!  I’ve tried everything, and I can’t get any better.”

3.  The longer a problem persists, the more we compensate for that problem.

Are you compensating for an issue in your life?  Perhaps, you are highly functioning alcoholic.  Sure, it puts a stress on your marriage.  Yes, it’s a challenge for your children.  But, professionally, you’re highly functioning.  People don’t know, and if they do know, they don’t really care, because you figured out how to manage around it, and you’re highly functioning, even though you have a significant addiction.

Perhaps in your marriage, you’ve just learned to exist in a dead marriage.  You don’t like it, but you accept it – just the way it is.  You’ve tried everything you know to do, and yet, you have no common vision.  There is no intimacy.  There’s no spiritual movement.  You’re not trying to invest or impart anything significant into your children.  It’s more of a business relationship, a partnership: “We’re just going to stay together for the sake of the kids.  This is all we have.  We don’t really like it, but we know how to manage it.  We’re just going to stay in this.”

Perhaps you’ve learned to compensate for a pornography problem.  You tell yourself, “It doesn’t really matter that much” and you’ve learned to erase the traps.  You’ve learned to stay away from getting caught, and you think it’s not that big of a deal.  But you’re just compensating.

Perhaps you’ve learned to compensate for your overspending.  People look at you and think, “you’ve got it going on!”  They have no idea you’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for so long, you don’t even know how you’re going to get out of trouble.  And you’re the master at maxing out this credit card, and that credit card.  You’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, and you’ve learned to compensate for it.

Here’s the issue.  We cannot change what we are willing to tolerate.

In the next post we will examine, How to get better.

www.RidgeFellowship.com

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