Christ in the Boat

“Christ’s presence confers success.” - Spurgeon

"Spurgeon sparked a great thought from Luke 5:4 where Jesus tells the fishermen to let down their nets for a catch. They had toiled all night but only out of obedience do they act. The result is miraculous. Peter falls at the feet of Jesus asking him to depart for he confesses he is a sinful man. Jesus rejects to offer to leave and stays giving a statement of His purpose that he will make them fishers of men. They forsake all and follow Him. We look forward to the day of Pentecost and see how Jesus purpose was accomplished when the many thousands are saved. What made the difference was Christ in the boat. The Holy Spirit in the heart makes the difference. With Him we can do all things. Without Him we can do nothing."

The question I would ask you is "What are you looking to be successful at?" Is it in business? Then Christ should be your Boss and partner. Is it in Marriage? Then let Christ be the strength of the threefold strand that is not easily broken. Is it in ministry? Then follow the Chief Shepherd and serve as He did. 

The difference is the presence of God in the middle of the endeavor. One of the greatest examples of this is when Jesus and the disciples are crossing the sea and a storm comes upon them. Here is Christ in the bow asleep. Even thought the disciples were straining against the oars and were concerned for their lives they were in the most secure place they could be as long as Jesus was in the boat. 

We often feel the same way when straining against the winds and currents of our life struggles. It feels as though God is asleep and doesn't care if we perish. The moment we approach and bring our need to Him He speaks to the storm and calms it completely. 

If you haven't involved God or if He is outside of your endeavors it is time to re-prioritize. Make Him your all. He should not only be a part of your endeavors but the reason for them. When you do success is assured. 

Have you seen this principle at work? What factors come in to play when determining motivation and if Christ is truly in the boat? 

Day 290 - Do Overs

"It was better this time around."

When my wife and I were running the young adults ministry at our church we tried a lot of things. Beach trips, dances and events were regular events for us. We have some stories of fights with flying rocks, socks filled with flour being whipped on people (not a good game idea), exhaustion and sunburns. And that list was just one trip! 

Something happened that made us stand up and take notice. We did a dance and it flopped. We had one girl on the dance floor and about five people watching. We decided right then and there we would never do a dance again. 

Years later we had a few interns that wanted to do a dance. We told them of our failure and how it wouldn't work. They persisted and told us they would own the flop if it failed. We reluctantly agreed with a caution to guard their hearts in case it didn't work out the way they thought it would. 

We were surprised that the night of the dance there were roughly thirty people dancing and a bunch more hanging out, talking and enjoying the night. We had a realization that it was the right time for this idea. 

For all of us we have had things we tried that failed or didn't have the success we thought it would. It may be that the timing was off. If you are open to a second try and not afraid of a second failure you may find success the second time around. 

Have you seen success the second time around? What do you think made the difference?

Day 157 - Missed Opportunities

"I took all the kids home and then prepared for the wedding I had tonight. The wedding was at a golf course. The groom was a nice guy. While we were waiting to go to the lakeside for the ceremony he saw a golfer he knew that was a doctor. The doctor asked him why he was there and he replied it was for his wedding. The doctors response was “Thanks for the invite!” All I could think was that it was a missed opportunity."

The old saying that hindsight is 20/20 is true. We all could look back and see missed opportunities. I know I have wished I would have dove into an opportunity or a deal. I have regretted staying silent when I could have spoken or wished I would have shut up instead of talking too much. 

Whatever the case may be how do we deal with missed opportunities? Are they final?

To some degree we have to accept that a missed opportunity is just that; missed. Oh well. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. But we can't sit and cry over spilled milk. We have to be mature about it and move forward. But now we have wisdom. 

Learn from the mistake. Looks or opportunities. Be in tune with the Holy Spirit and listen for His voice. Part of His job description is that He will show you things to come. If that is the case then you never have to miss another opportunity again. All you have to do is listen and do what He says. 

Have you missed an opportunity? How can we take advantage of when opportunity comes our way? 

Day 104 - Getting it right

"The moon rose full over the Yucaipa ridge. It is supposed to be red at around midnight or 2 am tonight. I want to see it so I will either stay up or set an alarm. Or both!"

I should have went with both! It turns out that the website I was looking at to determine the time of the eclipse that would cause a blood moon that night was showing me Eastern time. I am in Pacific Standard time so I ended up getting up at 2 am and stood outside looking at the moon and waiting to see a total lunar eclipse that had already happened. 

Thankfully we are in a season of four blood moons in two years and just this past weekend I had another opportunity to see a blood moon. This time I checked and double checked the time for Pacific Standard. I woke up early and was able to see the blood moon and even got the cool picture at the top of this page. (My Instagram friends have already seen this @roth_dan) 

The lesson, and there is one today, is that if you mess up once it is not the end. Don't quit at failure. Move forward and get it right the next time. I have heard of so many successful people who used failure to get stronger and learn forward. Thomas Edison was asked about his failures in making a filament for the light bulb and responded by saying "I have not failed 700 times. I've succeeded in proving 700 ways how not to build a light bulb." Abraham Lincoln was defeated at the polls more than he succeeded. And yet he is one of our nations greatest leaders. 

So measure twice and cut one, take your time and learn the lesson. Don't stop at failure. Failure is where we grow from. 

Have you ever had an epic failure that you were able to learn from? What other examples of failure from history or the Bible do you know of?