Through the Fires

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.

Because His compassions fail not. They are new

every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, says my soul,

therefore I hope in Him! 

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him. It is good

that one should hope and wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.”

    Lamentations 3:23-26 (NKJV)

Last week, there was a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California and the next day, terrible wildfires swept through that town and neighboring cities, as well as in Northern California.  The last place I lived in California was Thousand Oaks and it was heartbreaking to see the devastation wrought. I heard of harrowing escapes through flames and frightening traffic jams as neighborhoods and cities raced to evacuate from the fires. A friend told me of the wall of fire that was across from my apartment and although the buildings were not destroyed, the park there was completely blackened.

I’ve given thanks to God many times for making a way for me to move back to Minnesota last November, but never more than during those fires.  I’m so grateful that I was not there and yet God’s faithfulness was shown in the midst of that awful experience. God graciously spared so many lives; He strengthened and helped firefighters; He provided a way for many to escape.  A church I attended was still under evacuation last Sunday, but the pastor held a service at his home that day. I listened to part of his message online and he said what a blessing to be able to gather with God’s people at a time like that and they gave thanks and praise that God was with them.

Yes, some lost their lives and many homes were destroyed, and that is undoubtedly hard. But those who trust in Christ have hope despite the circumstances. We know that the earth is passing away but there is eternal life to come.  We have peace from the assurance that God is sovereign and He is good.  This is the perfect time to share that good news with others.  The world doesn’t have answers; only Christ can save.  Amen!

Thursday Devotional - Daunting Delay

By the 6^th day marching around Jericho, I think I would have had my doubts about victory. My daunting and uncertain future might have overwhelmed me in fear, unless I truly kept my trust in God. Plus, couldn’t the delay give the people of Jericho more time to plan for our attack??? God was in charge, though, and what He had planned would work perfectly. The Israelites were called to follow His lead, His timing and His instructions carefully.

Joshua 6:15-21, 24-25        On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. ²¹ They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys…

²⁴ Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. ²⁵ But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

What a miraculous first victory in the promised land! God delivered totally! The Israelites were to act, but only after God moved first. They were also to act according to His specific instructions in His time.

There are times I get frustrated with God’s timing and His seeming delay (like the 3 times in an eight-month period the parental rights termination hearing was postponed for the birth parents of James and Sarah). God’s in control. He has a plan. He is always right on time. Waiting can be daunting, but it’s a time for God to grow our trust in Him.

Where are you and I still waiting for direction, a victory, or an answer to prayer? Let’s prayerfully, patiently, and expectantly trust His plan!

Alice

Love & Fellowship

“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.”

1 John 3:18-20

Recently, I felt like something was missing in my life, and found that I had not been connecting with my spiritual friends.  So, I was able to unbury myself from my day to day work rituals, and make time to reconnect with one of them.  We had lunch, and it was such a wonderful reminder of how God works in all of us.  You see, I believe we are at our best when we are connected with others.  Additionally, the bond between our friends are made stronger with God as the intermediary for Jesus said, ““For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”” Matthew 18:20 NLT. A part of me wonders why this is so true?  The answer lies in today’s verses; love.

It is that genuine love that we have for God that makes our spiritual connections with others authentic.  We think of love as this intangible thing that we cannot ever fully understand.  However, if we truly are a child of God we have a full understanding of what love is.  It is that which God gives freely and unconditionally.  We feel it when we walk down the street.  We feel His assurance in each step we take and protection when danger may embark upon us.  It at times overwhelms us, and other times emboldens us.  It is His love that goes well beyond words.  In fact, the mere mention of it from someone who truly represents it is the most encouraging word.  This is where 1 John is trying to emphasize its authenticity.  Therefore, it is crucial that we connect with others who share that same kind of understanding.  I am not saying it is just the love between husband and wife nor that between parent and child.  Those are bonds are indeed special on their own.  However, when two or more bond in fellowship with Christ there is an energy that cannot be either explained or described.  It can only be experienced, and once experienced, it simply becomes not only part our common language but also and more importantly the driver of our actions. One feels it in prayer or is motivated to make a difference in the lives of others.  This is something we must seek continually because without it, we are lost in the wilderness.

We are made to fellowship with others through Christ.  Many will argue they can have it without anyone else, and others may claim that people are flawed and thus corrupt the goodness of that relationship.  However, as today’s verses point out actions always speak louder than words.  Those who we have found true fellowship through Jesus Christ will always connect us closer to God.  Let us be tireless in our pursuit of both God and those who similarly seek Him.  What are your key indicators of your connection with God?  How can you build authentic relationships through Christ?  My prayer is that we focus on building relationships that lead toward greater love and fellowship in Christ.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Faith step

Hebrews 11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called.’ He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. ” (NASB)

Hello,

I have been thinking about acting in faith quite a bit lately. What is our response if (when) God puts something in front of us where we feel uncomfortable, or don’t for sure see the end result? We have 2 things we have to deal with:

1. The action – making the choice to do it
2. The attitude – how we go about the choice/choice process

I think that the writer of Hebrews in talking about Abraham gives us some insight into the mental model of faith Abraham used. The good thing, it is very simple….Abraham simply compared his scenario against the strength and ability of His God. Here with his son Isaac, he figured that ‘hey – God can always just raise him to life again, so I’ll just be obedient’.

What a challenge for us! Tough to be disciplined to do, but simple to execute. We need to stop comparing our choices against our control, but rather the unlimited power of God. As we stay in His word and in touch with prayer – we can boldly take those steps of faith, trusting Him – not ourselves.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Faith and Works

James 2:14-17

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

We have been studying James lately and I really like this section in James that makes really makes it very clear for us to see that we are not going to make it to Heaven by faith or works alone.  The two must go hand in hand.  You can do all kinds of good deeds however if you do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, you are not going to Heaven.  James tells us that at the same time, if you say you believe yet you do not live it, your faith is dead.

So I challenge you today brothers and sisters to evaluate your heart and life.  Do you proclaim your faith and then live it out as well?  I want to encourage you today to proclaim your faith then live it out with your actions.