Contingency Plans

Day 3

      

Dave Montgomery

Contingency Plans

A contingency plan is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan.  It is often used for risk management when an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences.

 Contingency plans are often devised by governments or business.  For example, suppose many employees of a company are traveling together on an aircraft that crashes, killing all aboard.  The company could be severely strained or even ruined by such a loss.  Accordingly, many companies have procedures to follow in the event of such a disaster.  The plan may also include standing policies to mitigate a disaster's potential impact, such as requiring employees to travel separately or limiting the number of employees on any one aircraft.

During times of crisis, contingency plans are often developed to explore and prepare for any eventuality.

What happens when the unexpected happens in the life of a Christian?  Maybe you find out you have cancer or you loose your job or someone close to you dies and your world around you collapses.  It is at these times that we find out how strong our faith in God is.

God has a contingency plan for Christians it is.  Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart   and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

It sounds simple doesn’t it?  It is simple but it takes effort on our part to be able to implement it.  There is no such thing as instant Christian maturity.  Our part of the contingency plan is to develop and implement a life long habit cultivating our relationship with the Lord.  As we grow in our faith and our relationship with the Lord, we are able to trust Him for greater things.  We learn to lean on Him.

God’s contingency plan for you has never changed.  It does not need to be updated.  It does not need a crisis for it to be implemented.  You can apply it to your life starting today.  As we submit the strongholds of our life to Him, we learn that the promises in the Bible are true, for example; Philippians 4:19 says and my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.  Another example is Philippians 4:7 and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

God is our contingency plan.

Personal Reflection or Discussion Questions

When has your faith ever been tested almost to the breaking point?  (1 Cor. 10:13)

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How did your faith grow during that time? 

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Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God.

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Tipping Points

Day 3

Life Shapers (tipping points)

Dave Montgomery

Most of us have had experiences or events happen in our lives that changed our lives forever, something that caused us to live our life differently.  They are called tipping points.  If you think back on your life, you will be able to identify them.

As I reflect back, I can identify many tipping points that changed the direction of my life.  Probably the most radical tipping point was at when I was 32 years old.

I though t I was a Christian, we attended church every Sunday.  Marge was involved in church.  I just attended.

The Church decided to have a Lay Witness Mission.  That is when a group of lay people come to the Church and give their testimonies about how God worked in their lives when they accepted Him as Savior and allowed Him to be the Lord of their life.

I was reluctant to attend but my wife, who was on the committee, convinced me to try it.

 The first night started with a dinner.  After dinner, some of the wittiness gave their testimony about how their lives had changed when they had accepted Christ as their savior and allowed Him to be the Lord of their lives.  The testimony of one man in particular spoke to me.  His life, before he turned it over to the Lord, was just like mine.  He had accepted Christ and been baptized when he was 13 years old.  After that, he attended church but never got overly involved.  He was a Christian, he looked like one, he talked like one but actually, it had little effect on his everyday life. 

After he allowed God to be the Lord of his life, his whole life changed.  God began to transform him.  He had a greater appreciation and understanding of what Christ had done for him, the bible seemed to come alive and he understood what he was reading, his marriage improved, and his relationship with his children was better.  That man’s testimony convinced me to participate in the rest of the weekends events.

The last event was Sunday morning and they ended the service with an alter call.  I was reluctant to go forward but I saw a friend of mine that I thought was a committed Christian go and I thought “if she needs to let go and let God” then I do too.  So I went too and prayed,” Lord, I don’t know what you want to do in my life but here I am, be the Lord of my life”.    

That was a major “tipping point” in my life.  God began a transformation that continues to this day.  I would like to tell you that I immediately transformed into a mature Christian but that is not what happened.  It is a lifelong process that continues day by day.  We will never reach perfection in this life but we must continue to work toward it. 

We need a plan that keeps us heading toward the vision God has for our life.  We need to reflect on our life up to this point and discover the things that have shaped us into the person we are.  Why do we do what we do?  It helps us understand what causes us to react in a certain way.  What things have shaped your life?  Do you need to change some things in your life, as I had to?  All tipping points are not good.  Sometimes we have had things happen in our life that cause us to react to things in a negative way.  God will expose those things and give us the ability to overcome them if we are obedient to His leading.

Set up an “Upward Training” plan today, one that will continue to lead you to spiritual maturity.    

Can you identify some key tipping points in your life?

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Think about your current circumstances.  How could some of them become tipping points?

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Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Signature Sins

Day 4

Signature Sins

Dave Montgomery

Signature Sins are the ones that seem to plague us throughout our life.  We all have them.  We struggle with them repeatedly.  No matter how hard we try, they come back again. 

Worry was one that I struggled with for years.  Everyone experiences some anxiety in his or her life that is not what I am talking about here.  I am not talking about a little anxiety, I am talking about the kind of worry that consumes your life, when your stomach ties up in knots, worrying about things that were never going to happen, “if this happens what will I do” type of worry.

Signature Sin is part of who we have become, or rather who we were before we accepted Christ as our savior.  As part of our “Upward Training”, we need to discover what triggers our signature sin. 

There are root causes that cause them to be hard to overcome.  My root cause was the fear of failure.  I did not want to look like a failure so I would worry what was going to happen “if” whatever I was worrying about happened.  It was never the same thing.  As I grew from childhood to being an adult, the focus of my worry changed but it was the same problem.   

 I accepted Christ as my Savoir when I was 13, but it was not until I was 32 that I decided to let Christ be not only my Savior but also the Lord of my life.

I did not surrender the worrying over to Him at that time, I continued with that same “Signature Sin”.  I was not able to overcome my worry until I decided to apply the command In Philippians 4:6-7. 

Philippians 4:6-7 says,” Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

As I read that passage one morning, I realized Philippians 4:6-7 was not a suggestion but a command.  If I was worrying all the time and if I was continually living with the fear of failure, it was a sign that I really did not trust God.  It was a lack of faith.

1 John 1:9 says, ^“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.

That is what I did.  God is true to His word, He not only forgives us He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us live obedient lives.

My victory over my “Signature Sin” was not instant.  I learned that I needed to develop a closer relationship with the Lord.  It is a lifelong effort, and I would not trade it for anything in this world. 

Jerry Bridges, in his book “The Pursuit of Holiness”, gives us an example of our responsibility to walk in holiness; Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer.  The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do.

We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian.  No one can attain any degree of holiness without God, working in his life, just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part.  God has made it possible to walk in holiness.  But He has given us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us.”  

I learn something every day as I take the time to read His Word and meditate.  Try it; you will be surprised with what you will learn by taking a few minutes out of each day.  Develop a plan; set aside a time or several short breaks during each day, what ever works for you.  A farmer does not plant, cultivate and harvest his crop without a plan.  Without a plan, you will most likely fail in your pursuit of Holiness. 

What might be your signature sin?  What do you find to be a recurring and intense struggle for you to overcome? 

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How has this sin impacted your life? 

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What strategy do you have to overcome this signature sin?  What would it take?

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Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tangleweed

When I trimmed the shrubbery around the house this spring, I realized that, while it looked lush and green it had become so thick and out of shape that it was not letting enough sunlight into the middle of the bush to allow for any new growth.  I had to do some radical, cutting back to get it in to the shape I wanted it to be.  When I finally got it cut back, I was able to see that the English Ivy (In Britain, called “tangleweed”) that surrounds the bushes had wrapped its self around the inside of the bushes choking out any chance of new growth even if the light was getting in.

 I began to think how this is a good example of how it is with our Christian life.  We begin our new life with the Son light shining on our soul and growing in His image.  Over time, we fit into the “Christian image”.  We look good on the outside.  We talk the talk.  We even walk the walk, but we are doing it in our own power.  We fail to let the light of the Word and communication with God light up our soul. Just like the English Ivy crowded out the sunlight, we allow the things of this world to take the time we were spending with God.  It is not that they are bad things we are doing; it is just that they are getting in the way of our spiritual growth.  Just as I had to do with the bushes, we also need some radical trimming to get back to where God would want us to be. 

2 Peter 1:3-8, 10 says,

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.  For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.

That is why we need to get back to the basics.  1Timothy 4:7 says we are to “train ourselves to be Godly”.  If we allow the “Son” light to shine on our souls, it helps us to grow into the person God wants us to be.  Studying the Word, times of meditation, prayer, seeking God, fellowship with other Christians, are just some of the “tools” we can use, that we will be studying deeper, and looking at in a whole new way in the weeks to come.

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Personal Reflection or Discussion Questions

What is the difference between fitting in to the “Christian image” and godliness?

What are some of the “Tangleweed” factors getting in the way of my spiritual growth? Are these things intrinsically wrong?

What are some ways I can begin trimming these things back today that will let in some more Son light? How will I track my progress?

Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God.