Jesus

May 25, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Embracing the Brown

Embracing the Brown

How easy it is to praise Jesus when things are going right. In fact, we equate smooth sailing with God’s will. When things are good, we’re sure God has us in that great place. When things are bad, we question whether we’re in God’s will.

Unfortunately, it’s the Western way of thinking. Not God’s way. We equate success with God’s blessing; hardship with his punishment. I know that’s a pretty harsh statement, but it’s true.

“I got a new job! Praise God!”

“I lost my job today. Lord, please help me get out of this mess.”

My lawn turned brown this month. From lush green to dead and gone in just a few weeks. I was really bummed. In fact, it occupied my thinking a lot during the day. It became my focus. I enjoy green grass and pride myself in the way I take care of it. So you can imagine the negative thoughts that crept into my mind.

Then it hit me. Why was I complaining? It’s not a big deal. In fact, I realized that God wanted to use my brown lawn to build his Kingdom. “C’mon, Jon,” you say, “that’s going a bit too far.”

Let me explain. We had just moved into our neighborhood and had asked God to give us opportunities to share Jesus with our neighbors. Our lawn soon became a conversation piece with everyone we talked with, including random people who strolled by for an evening walk. It has provided for some great interactions! 

We prayed and God answered with the gift of a brown lawn. Maybe this will become a neighborhood project!

What’s your brown lawn? Don’t see it as God’s displeasure with you. Embrace it as God’s gift. 

The brown lawns of life test the depth of our relationship with Jesus. When we are rooted in him, the storms above ground don’t sway us. When we aren’t rooted well in Jesus, we get yanked around by circumstances and hardships. 

Rooted firmly in Jesus, we see things as he does. We understand that Jesus hasn’t abandoned us in hardship. In fact, he is right there with us. Hardship strengthens our fellowship with him. Our roots go deeper in tough times if we embrace them with Jesus.

Having an eternal perspective is so important when serious, difficult and trying situations hit your life. Jesus is the source of that perspective. Lean into him and drive your spiritual roots deeper.

Have a talk with Jesus today about the brown lawn in your life. Ask him to use it for his glory.

(From my new devotional Your Life With God: 30 Days With Jesus. Available in Kindle and paperback formats on Amazon).


May 10, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Jesus and Solitude

Jesus and Solitude

Solitude was important to Jesus. He was one of the busiest men on earth and needed time away from the crowds. He loved people, but even he had to protect his emotional health and his relationship with the Father. 

Luke tells us, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16 NIV)

Mark describes, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’” (Mark 1:35-36 NIV). Despite the constant demands of people, Jesus got away from it all.

He knew when he needed to send everyone away, even his closest friends. “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” (Matthew 14:22-23 NIV)

Before one of the biggest decisions of his life, Jesus chose to spend extended time alone with the Father. “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.” (Luke 6:12 NIV)

Being alone with God feeds our relationship with him. It revitalizes our spirit and re-centers our life. It clears our mind to listen to God in prayer. Jesus had one-on-one time with the Father. You and I can’t ignore that for our own life. Along with the Father, we get Jesus, too, in these times of solitude!

One-on-one time with Jesus allows us to push out the action from our lives as we slow down in quietness with him. It’s about settling our spirit and communing with our Savior. 

It’s easily said, but rarely done. I think we’d admit that it isn’t a hard thing to do. So why don’t we do it?

  • We are in the midst of a spiritual war. The enemy wants to distract us and keep us from Jesus.
  • We live too fast. Slowing down is unusual. Stopping is rare.
  • Let’s admit it. It’s boring. We approach solitude with God and want something to happen. We want action. Time with God is just the opposite. We have to change our thinking on that and realize that we are in the presence of the Lord of all. What a privilege. It’s not boring at all.

What can you push away today to carve out time alone with God?

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days With Jesus. Available now on Amazon).

May 4, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Jesus my Friend

Jesus my Friend

Last summer, our kids hosted a good-bye reception for us before we left Colorado for North Carolina. Spending more than seven years in the Rocky Mountain state, we had developed many good friendships. 

I was feeling down with the thought of celebrating our departure. I just wanted to slip away rather than go through the pain of saying good-bye to many people we had done life with all those years. 

It was also the last day with my brother and his family, who lived just an hour away. We’d be giving up family get-togethers with them. Then there was our son and family, who hosted the open house. We had lived in the same town for three years, developing a strong bond.

Saying good-bye isn’t easy. 

If you’ve moved away at some point, you know what I mean. I was sad to leave family and friends.

Then I remembered Jesus. He’s a great friend. He would be going to North Carolina with us, just as he had done in our move from California to Colorado several years earlier.

Jesus told his followers, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends.” (John 15:15 ESV)

When I think of Jesus as my friend, a warmth soothes my soul. Maybe it’s because I picture this King of Kings and Lord of Lords stepping down off his throne and sitting beside me. Friends sit next to each other or across from each other and this is what Jesus does with us.

The great hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, goes through my mind:

“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit;
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!”

Jesus is a friend who has done much more for you than any other friend you have ever had. He has borne your sins, grief, anxiety, pain — everything that weighs on your heart! 

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 ESV)

Jesus is a friend who has given his life for you. He continues to be there to bond with you as you do life together. He’ll celebrate your victories and put his arm around you in your losses. 

I’m not sure if you’re going through separation, loneliness, betrayal, grief, anxiety, suffering or some other pain right now. I do know that Jesus is your friend. He sits beside you. He is your faithful friend who gave his life for you and continues to give and give and give.

If you feel like you need a friend these days, you’ve got one. Jesus. Thank him for his friendship.

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days With Jesus. Available on Amazon.

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