Little Pilgrim's Progress

 

When I was young, I borrowed the 1978 animated vhs of The Pilgrim’s Progress from our church library. I think I must have watched it fairly often because some of the details from that movie are etched in my mind. There are some pretty intense scenes: one where Christian and his companion fall into a swamp, one with a large black toothed creature trying to attack him before he gets to the Palace Beautiful. Right after he leaves the Palace he has to fight off a winged demon with his new armor, sword and shield.

         I remember when he arrives at the foot of the cross and his burden rolls off. The moment that sticks out to me most often, and is the origin story of why I love this verse so much, is when a loud, confident voice speaks to Christian in the midst of turmoil and says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b) Even as a young child, I found such hope in that line.

My kids and I just finished a 9-month read-aloud of The Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor, a delightfully illustrated version, written for kids where all of the characters are animals. It follows the steps that Christian takes in the original, but makes it conceptually simpler for young minds. My three were excited to listen to it and tracked the story well, understanding much of the imagery of “The Good Prince,” Theia often referring to him as Jesus as she asked questions about where the story was going.

I think about the little hearts that are beginning their own journeys of faith that are in my own home, or the kids in our church that are figuring out their relationships with the Lord. Some have faced major obstacles at a young age. Others have normal hurts and difficulties, but much of the way has been smooth. But all are just beginning this journey with the Good Prince, traveling through Vanity Fair or climbing the Rock of Error or facing The Giant Despair. All silly little names for real life challenges. But they’re also learning that they have Great Heart walking beside them, or the Messages from the King instructing them, and the cross removing their burdens.

 As we look at our own paths, we face the foolish directions we choose to take, or the arrows of the enemy we need help fending off, the peaceful meadows, and the houses of rest. It is something to look back and see what God has done, review the story He has written for our own life. To know that “He isn’t safe.” He’s the slayer of the giants, the ruler over all and the defeater of evil, “But He’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

 Then we look ahead to what is shining before us. We love the stories that tell the end of the journey where the hero reaches the next shore. The one that takes him home. The elves crossing the sea sailing West, Reepicheep coming to the end of the world and crossing into Aslan’s country, and Christian crossing the deep dark water to the city shining and glorious.

 “The little pilgrims had now reached the threshold of the palace, and as the doors were thrown open they heard a sound of the sweetest music. The Good Prince Himself was waiting to receive them, and He smiled upon them and took their hands in His own. Then he led them into the palace and the whole City was filled with joy because their pilgrimage was over and they had been brought safely through the Dark River into the presence of the King.” (The Little Pilgrims Progress pg 171)

 We read these stories because of the common grace they point us to. The reality that life can be hard and sinful and has loss and grief, but that our God has overcome this world. This world that is not our home, but it points to the next. So I hope for the children who are learning of the Good Prince. I pray they do come to know Him and know Him well. And I have hope for the rest of us that while we continue to learn and fall and rise and grow and dwell in the truth, our journey too points us toward the grace and goodness that we have now, but also will experience a thousand times greater in the Celestial City.

 

-Sandy Gromacki

 (In addition to John Bunyan’s tale, stories by C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are also referenced. Feel free to ask what they are!)  

May Jesus Christ Be Praised!

 Several weeks ago on a Sunday morning as I drove to church the radio played May Jesus Christ be Praised.  I sang along.  When I left church that morning the radio was again on, playing May Jesus Christ be Praised.  This time I said, “Wake up, Faith! May Jesus Christ be Praised!”  I remembered a Saturday night more than fifty years before when I paced the aisle of a church as a bridesmaid in a wedding.  As we passed down the aisle that song May Jesus Christ be Praised played over and over as the processional.  That’s when that phrase, May Jesus Christ be Praised, took on a life for me.  I wanted that to be the story of my life.  So once again I heard that phrase. Since that Sunday morning I have been thinking again and again, is it true in my life?

The book of Psalms is full of praise.  Psalm 44:8 says, “In God we boast all the day long, and praise Thy name forever.  Selah.”  Selah means to think about it.  So I have been thinking about it..

Here are the words to the song.

                    When morning gilds the skies,

                    My heart awaking cries:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    Alike at work and prayer

                    To Jesus I repair:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    When sleep her balm denies

                    My silent spirit sighs:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised.

                    When evil thoughts molest,

                    With this I shield my breast,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    Does sadness fill my mind,

                    A solace here I find.

                    May Jesus Christ be praised.

                    Or fades my earthly bliss,

                    My comfort still is this,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    In heav’n’s eternal bliss,

                    The loveliest strain is this:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised.

                    The pow’rs of darkness fear

                    When this sweet chant they hear:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    Let earth’s wide circle round

                    In joyful notes resound;

                    May Jesus Christ be praised.

                    Let air and sea and sky,

                    From depth to height, reply,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised.

                    Be this, while life is mine,

                    My canticle divine:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    Be this th’ eternal song

                    Through all the ages on:

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    The night becomes as day,

                    When from the heart we say,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    The powers of darkness fear,

                    When this sweet song they hear,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    In heav’n’s eternal bliss

                    The loveliest strain is this,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

                    Let earth, and sea, and sky

                    From depth to height reply,

                    May Jesus Christ be praised!

The book of Psalms is the book of emotions.  Every emotion, both positive and negative, is recorded within its pages.  When combined with the instructions to praise the Lord, there is hope.  Psalm 42, both verses 5 and 11, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?  And why art thou disquieted in me?  Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”  Here is the promise that though I am discouraged and at my wit’s end, I will praise Him.  I may not be able to praise Him just now, but I will.

Though most of the references to praise are found in Psalms, one of the most significant verses for me is found in Hebrews 13:15.  “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.”  Sometimes I choose to praise Him, when it feels like a sacrifice.  

When my grandmother was in her 90s, not long before her death, she was still memorizing Scripture.  The last passage I knew she was memorizing was Psalm 150. That passage begins, “Praise ye the Lord.” and ends with “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.  Praise ye the Lord.”

May my life be a symphony of praise to the Lord!  Praise the Lord with me. 

                                                                                            ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Be Strong

 

In a 2013 study of military effectiveness, a captain in the 82^nd Airborne Division wrote: “The Soldier’s Creed demands professionalism from every individual that it guides. [ . . . ]  By definition, the military is a profession in that it is ‘a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.’ The Army bases its doctrine on the assumption that the organization is professional and that those individuals who are soldiers and whom Army doctrine guides champion its principles.”

As I read and re-read these words, I was struck first by the level of commitment the members of the United States Army give to freedom’s cause. I began to understand firsthand the level of commitment to academic preparation, to specialized knowledge, and to professional competence needed, especially by its leaders—to champion its principles. The individual soldier’s integrity to The Soldier’s Creed principles, then, is a deciding factor when the soldier is found in the moment of decision: battle.

Second, I was taken back by the parallels to Christian living that immediately came to my mind. As a believer, especially in the twenty-first century, I have access to so many sources that can assist my academic preparation for Godly living and service: to the Scriptures, to commentaries, to the teachings of other believers who “out rank” me in the leagues of believing soldiers of Christ, to the examples of those who have gone before and have been found faithful to the cause, and to the leadings of the Holy Spirit in my heart. The strong doctrinal emphasis and immediate attention to life practice found in Scripture pointed me to the specialized knowledge I need to live for Christ. Professional competence, then, seems to be the outworking of a life of faith girded in the knowledge of and hope in the Captain of our Souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, who went before us. “For it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” Hebrews 2:10.

I thought, third, of Joshua and drew immediate parallels to his life, his military command, and service to the call each of us receive to serve in the Lord’s Army.

Firstly, Joshua spent many continued years in intensive academic preparation for the work God had required of him. He was Moses’ aide-de-damp, his personal assistant, his logistical manager, and his confidante. Joshua, born in Egypt and of the Tribe of Ephraim (Ephraim is Joseph’s second son who received Israel/Jacob’s blessing), spent forty years in preparation for the work God had for him. Moses taught Joshua. Note that this preparation is both in the Law of God--Joshua went part way up the Mount with Moses--and practical. Both types of preparation are necessary to complete an individual’s skill set. Through Moses, God prepared Joshua. Perhaps, then, the most noted words of Moses to Joshua are those of his charge: “Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt . . .” (Deuteronomy 31:23). Joshua submitted himself to a forty-year period of preparation for the work to which God called him.

Secondly, Joshua built within himself and those with whom he served specialized knowledge. That which we read about warfare and Joshua’s role as Commander of the Lord’s Army teaches us that special knowledge and understanding are necessary skills to complete God’s work. Joshua was a leader of men, a commanding officer, a servant of God. All that he did required courage—especially to march around Jericho with all of Israel the way he did. Joshua’s most important military campaign was waged God’s way: with special knowledge. Remember that even before the marching began, Joshua submitted to God’s authority when the captain of the Lord’s host told him, “loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy” (Joshua 5:15), Joshua did. Joshua had a relationship with his God and submitted to God’s authority and worshipped. All he knew about warfare was placed on the altar of obedience. We can know God that well.

Thirdly, Joshua exhibited professional competence in the way he conducted Israel’s business. He waged war, gained land, allocated that land to the tribes as God wished, and he continued in and renewed his commitment to God and Israel at Shechem. I believe his most profound act as a professional was to reiterate to Israel God’s requirements and Moses’ instructions as he was about to die. “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served” (Joshua 24:14). Professional competence based on courage and wisdom from God marks Joshua’s ministry. “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9, KJV).
          The study on military effectiveness concludes: “Professionals earn the trust of those they serve and maintain a higher standard of moral fortitude.  This makes the occupation of ‘Soldier’ a profession requiring commitment to more than simply drone-like execution of tasks.  It is for this reason that the Soldiers who live the creed, champion the oath that they swore to uphold, and ultimately are professionals.” We are each a member of God’s army—and family. We have differing roles, yet we have the same responsibilities before God. Joshua’s reverence for God’s law was prominent (Joshua 1:8), and his leadership model was grounded in a belief that authentic spirituality and Israel’s prosperity derived from faithful devotion to Yahweh. Through all challenges--internal disputes, war, and the need for communal solidarity--he exemplified prayerful reliance on God. We can do likewise—even as women—in the place, in the time, in the way God requires.

“Be strong and of a good courage!”

--Janet Hicks

Look Around

 

Are you looking around? I mean really looking? 

When I was young, I didn’t know that one day I would wish that I had paid better attention to the people around me and even my surroundings. Things I thought I would never forget, I have forgotten. I wish I had just paused and looked with intention like I was taking a picture with my mind. I have forgotten classmates and friends from our youth group. Our family moved a lot, so I’ve forgotten about some of those homes. Does it matter that I cannot remember everything? I suppose not. But I want to.

Life blurs when we do a lot of the same activities over and over. So many things are similar. But occasionally, something out of the ordinary will stand out and stick. That’s why, if we want to remember, we must be intentional in the mundane to pause and focus our attention.

My family members are subtly changing right before my eyes. I’m changing too. Our surroundings are changing. The church I attended growing up burned to the ground a while back. It was a large church with many halls and connectors to other buildings. I have since forgotten so much about the layout and how it all looked and even so many of the people. As a young person, I had such fun exploring those corridors, but now I cannot recall how it all went.

We will soon be moving into our new building. I’ll miss the time we’ve had at the Adventist facilities. You can bet I’m looking around. I want to remember the beauty of that place, the special times there, and the kindness of those people. But I also want to look into the faces of those attending our church and remember you all. Impossible, I know. But I plan to try.

One day, in a generation or two, we will all be forgotten. Hopefully, the fruit of our lives lived walking in the Spirit will live on even in those who don’t remember us.

 Forgive me. I’m waxing nostalgic today, but seriously, look around.

 joyce hague

The Poetry of Psalm 23

             Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, Psalm 23 is surely the most well-known. My guess is that most of our church members can recite it by heart and name several songs based on these famous words. This psalm also happens to be the theme of this week’s VBS program at our church. Sometimes we can become so familiar with something that we are in danger of not letting it amaze us as it should. My prayer for this week, as well as for this blog post, is that we would feel the beauty of the truth of this psalm in a fresh way.

Psalm 23, like all of the psalms, is actually a poem, or a song. The beauty of poetry is in its unique way of communicating a message. Well-known British poet of the 19^th century, Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote the following about poetry: “It awakens and enlarges the mind itself by rendering it the receptacle of a thousand unapprehended combinations of thought. Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.” Did you catch that? Poetry makes that which seems familiar sound unfamiliar so that we can see it in a new light.

If we took the poetry out of this psalm, we could say something like this: God cares for us and provides for our needs. He brings refreshment to our souls and leads us according to His law. Even when we go through difficult times in our lives, we do not need to be afraid because He is with us, guiding and comforting us. God brings great blessings to our lives; his goodness and mercy will always be with us. One day we’ll be in heaven with Him forever.

Aren’t those incredible truths? Praise God for doing all these things for us! David could have listed those truths out in prose like that, but instead He chose the metaphor of shepherd and sheep and included the image of a banquet table to paint a beautiful picture of these truths about God. Familiar concepts are shared in unfamiliar ways, and we see things in a new light and often with greater understanding.

I hope you take some time to read through this well-known psalm again this week. Think deeply about the word choices David made (inspired by the Holy Spirit) and what they mean for your spiritual journey. And pray for the VBS kids and workers that we, too, would grow to love and trust our Shepherd more as a result of this week.

-- Amy O'Rear

A Prayer for Our Home

 

We have just celebrated an auspicious anniversary in the United States. Two hundred fifty years feels like a long time, and it is—for a person. For a country, however, two and a half centuries is not yet a mark of longevity. I am so glad we have lasted this long, however, and I pray for our leaders and decision makers to have wisdom and courage to do the right thing.

 But certainly the United States does not have a corner on God’s blessing. Believers everywhere are instructed to pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (I Timothy 2:2).

On my journey through Psalms, I have come to #144. In this psalm, David acknowledges God as his “fortress,” his “deliverer,” and his “shield.” He asks God to make Himself known and to deliver him [David] from enemies. It’s a beautiful prayer that has echoes of other well-known passages, bringing comfort and peace.

Then, starting with verse 12, there is a meaningful four-verse passage that makes a perfect prayer for our country—whatever country we might live in. Here it is in two different translations:

¹² That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters

 may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

¹³ That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:

¹⁴ That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.

¹⁵ Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord. (KJV)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

¹² When our sons in their youth are like growing plants,
And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace,
¹³ Our granaries are full, providing every kind of produce,
And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
¹⁴ May our cattle be bred
Without mishap and without loss,
May there be no outcry in our streets!
¹⁵ Blessed are the people who are so situated;
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! (NASB)

Do you see what the writer is saying here? His request is for the nation’s children to be strong and productive. He’s asking for plenty of food from gardens and pastures--for enough to feed the nation’s people and some to share with others. He’s asking for peace, contentment, and safety in the cities. The final verse of the chapter implies that such people recognize where their blessings come from, that they fully acknowledge God as their Lord and source of all good things.

I submit to you that this prayer is a good one for us to apply to our own homes—to our town, our state, and our country. Other scriptures instruct us to pray for those in authority. I am asking for them to have the right priorities as mentioned here and to listen to good counsel. God knows how to use our prayers to bring about His will, and it is He who brings good to His people wherever they live.

--Sherry Poff

Finding Treasure

 

When we were getting ready to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband, Jim, booked an Alaskan Cruise. The cruise was one of the most beautiful I’ve taken and revealed so much about the beauty of God’s Creation.

While on the cruise, we scheduled several onshore excursions, and one was a train ride up to the Canadian border when we arrived at Skagway. Unfortunately, on this day, Jim had contracted the nasty stomach illness common on cruises and was quarantined, so I decided to do the excursion alone. As the train traveled up through the mountains, we were told to look in a specific direction and find the trail that went up through the mountains. We were told that this trail was the path taken by gold-diggers during the gold rush era. The path was extremely steep and narrow.

In his devotional, “Living in His Light,” David Jeremiah made the following comment: “Hungry for wealth, prospectors traveled from all over the United States –and many from other parts of the world –to search for mineral treasure buried in the ground. No sacrifice was too great relative to the treasures to be found.”

Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (ESV) Many prospectors for gold and silver gave up their lives for treasures that they never found. King Solomon used the seeking earthly treasures as a metaphor for seeking spiritual treasures, mainly wisdom. In Proverbs 2:1-5 we find a guide for seeking spiritual treasures which include: “receiving, hearing, applying, asking, seeking, searching – all things necessary when looking for something of value.” (Jeremiah). In Proverbs 3:15 we are told that “wisdom is more precious than rubies.” I Peter 1:7 says that “our faith is more precious than gold that perishes.”

The early prospectors sought treasures that were valuable but temporal. As believers, are we seeking temporal or eternal treasures? Is your heart focused daily on God, or are you looking to find treasures and pleasures in the things of this world?

Remember: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

--Bonnie King

Praying for Our Adult Children

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalm 127:3)

I wanted to be a mother when I was still a child myself. I began babysitting very early and expected to have a large family someday.  But life does not go the way we expect it to. So I found myself in my mid-twenties with no husband and no children. Then came physical problems and major surgery.  After the surgery, my doctor told me there was only a slim chance I would ever have even one child. I grieved but left it in God's hands. There was nothing I could do about it. Several more years  went by. I married, and now was the time to see what God would do.  And God was gracious to me. Fourteen months after the wedding, my first little girl was born. Psalm 113:9 says, "He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord."  Yes, I did praise the Lord.  And in the next six and a half years I had three little boys and another little girl.  I had my big family, five children. Those were good years, busy ones.  The year my fifth child was born I began home schooling.  And life became even busier.

Those years passed and now my children are grown, four of them married, three grandchildren. Nothing prepared me for the reality of parenting adults.  Still a mother, but now a different role.  In these years I have discovered that my role as the parent of young adults has narrowed. Two things now take priority:  I must love them and I must pray for them. Jodie Berndt reminded me that "the same God who watched over my children's lives when they were young is still looking out for them today."

I found that I could love these grownups, but I did not know how to pray effectively.  Praying for adult children is hard, the issues are more serious and the consequences more profound.  I don't care who you are, there is no such thing as a perfect family, untouched by challenges and sin. And perhaps I should add here, there is no perfect mother who has done it all right. I found that I wanted to tell God how He should answer my prayers, what He needed to do in their lives.  I am working at releasing that desire to tell God what my children need.

Author Jean Fleming in her book, A Mother's Heart, recommended these steps as we pray.  "Acknowledge God's hand on their lives, even before they were born.  Admit any areas we resent in the way God put our children together. Accept God's design for each child, thanking Him for how he or she is made. Affirm God's purpose in creating our children for His glory. Ally ourselves with God in His plan for their lives." Now allow God to direct your prayers.

Jodie Berndt's book is helping me with my adult children. It is entitled Praying the Scriptures for your Adult Children: Trusting God with the Ones You Love. She wrote that we must "learn to see our kids through God's eyes--and align ourselves with His plan for their lives." The chapters in her book divide into areas our children struggle with: relationships, milestones, health, safety, and well-being, and victory over temptation. She shows how to pray God's words back to Him. Remember that Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord." I do not automatically understand what God is doing in my children's lives.  But I can trust Him.

I want to recommend this book to you. It is Praying the Scriptures for your Adult Children by Jodie Berndt, published by Zondervan Press.  Perhaps your children are not yet adults.  She has also written Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens  and Praying the Scriptures for Your Children.

I want to share this prayer for you.  It is found in Colossians 1:9-12.

We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power,  according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father.

                                                                ~~Faith Himes Lamb

I Have Called You Friends

 

Jesus said, “I have called you friends”. “…come unto me all ye that are weary and

heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 

Memorial Day – for all of its rain this year – has passed; school has finished for the summer; church activities, small groups, and meetings have been placed on a hiatus; and life is settling into the pattern of “the lazy, hazy days of summer.” Routine is settling around us. Perhaps, after the rush and busyness of changing seasons, hurried activities, and whirlwind schedules, we may find an empty hollowness, a hole, a feeling that something is missing. We may also feel the weight of being the planner, the executor, the giver in so many ways lifted from our shoulders, but – in its wake – comes dryness of heart, a need for peace and rest.

 

Sometimes, when all the activity ceases, even for a short time, the weight of burdens can come, the stretch of finances overwhelms, the loneliness of empty days pervades, discontent with life’s situation drains energy. Our hearts, then, turn to Jesus – our Savior, our Friend – in, perhaps, a different way. We seek His peace in the stillness. Sarah is recorded in Hebrews as a woman of great faith. She too, however, had to learn peace in the inactivity—in the long days of waiting and wanting. She was unhappy with her state: childless. She manipulated the situation and sought her own solution by giving her maid Hagar to Abram. We know the story well. However, as we look deeply into the situation, we see two disenfranchised women. Hagar conceived. Sarah did not and found she was despised by the very woman who was her slave. Sarah took out her frustration on Hagar in such a way that Hagar ran. We soon realize that taking matters into her own hands did not bring Sarah peace but a dryness of heart.

 Sarah longed for a son, yes, but she also in those days of waiting needed to learn to be still in the wake of all the activity around her. She needed God’s gracious peace and rest to be hers. She needed to trust God’s Word and promises to her. She needed to see her God in a different way—a way that would bring quietness to her heart. Sarah had fourteen years of stillness before her. She had no notion as to how God would work. She had struggled, and continued to struggle, with her own inadequacies. She needed God’s peace. Sarah needed, but did she fully seek God’s way and peace?

 Our sister in the Lord teaches us that God’s peace comes in the stillness. God works in our situations to supply what we need when we need it. She exemplifies for us a woman overcome by her burdens who had to give them back to the God who promised. She had to learn that the dry seasons of life should drive us to closer dependence upon God. Sarah learned that in God’s time, in His way, and in His merciful love, He would act on her behalf. God rewarded her not only with the promised son but by recording her as a woman of faith in the face of obstacles.

 And we, too, need to cling to the promises of God. The old hymns teach us “Jesus what a friend for sinners, Jesus lover of my soul . . . He my Savior makes me whole.” “I’ve got peace like a river, peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river to my soul,” claims the African-American spiritual. The Isaiah 26:3 hymn speaks to “peace, perfect peace”and Spafford’s “When peace like a river, attendeth my way/ When sorrows like sea billows roll/ Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say/ It is well, it is well, with my soul.”  These speak to those who have gone before us who also needed God’s peace and rest. They are part of “the great cloud of witnesses” who encourage us.

So, before the activities of summer take over our lives, allow God to step into our period of drought. Activity will not bring satisfaction. Simple trust, sometimes hard-fought, supplies the peace we need in an over-stimulated world. To God be all glory.

 

--Janet Hicks

Disappointing Fruit

 

What disappointing verses! Check it out!

 Isaiah 18:4-5 (ESV), For thus the Lord said to me:

“I will quietly look from my dwelling

like clear heat in sunshine,

like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,

and the flower becomes a ripening grape,

he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,

and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.

 In context these verses are about God’s judgement upon Moab. The Moabites were going to be working hard planting, watering, tending their grape vines (literally or figuratively), but in the end, God just lops off the fruit of their labor. Snip!

 How discouraging that they would put forth all of that effort only to have the Lord thwart their plans. (But this was judgment, and God had His reasons of course.)

 I began to reflect on the fruit of my own labors after reading these verses. (If you read my previous post, you know I struggle with feeling inadequate for the work God has given me to do. Thankfully, He’s working with me on that. This is a sort of part 2.) I am learning that we do our part, He does His, but it’s also our responsibility to acknowledge our need for Him in everything we do if we want our efforts to produce good fruit instead of being lopped off or just withering away.

 Take a fresh look at these familiar verses:

 Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (emphasis mine)

 One more, and then I’ll tie it together.

 Psalm 90:17 (ESV), "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!"

 Every day we go along the way with our to-do lists clutched in our hands. thinking of all that needs to be done, likely without acknowledging God’s role in assigning us our good works or of our desperate need for Him to bless our work. If He chose, He could lop the fruit right off of our endeavors because of our failure to acknowledge His will or to seek His direction.

 It’s better to ask for the Lord’s favor to be upon us as He establishes the work of our hands. Maybe that’s why some of us feel so fruitless? Maybe we are pursuing tasks not assigned to us? Sometimes He impresses upon on us creative ways to serve Him that might be unusual – ways that might be unique to us or our situation or personalities. It’s best that we acknowledge and submit to His direction in this. The good fruit might be surprising.

Maybe we are not asking for God’s favor upon our works? Maybe we’re leaning on our own understanding and not realizing that without Him we really can do nothing!

For example, recently I had an eye surgery. My doctor is supposed to be the best in the country. Guess what? He can do his expert thing of replacing part of my cornea, but only God can make it heal and be successful.

 Another, I can faithfully attend my body pump classes and give it my all, but only God can cause my body to develop muscle and protect my bones.

 I can plan, shop for, and prepare healthy meals, but only God can use those nutrients to help me thrive.

 I can pour out my heart telling others about Jesus, but only His Spirit can draw and save people.

 I can invest countless hours serving the residents at the TN Baptist Children’s Homes, but only God can do a special work in their lives for healing. hope, and happiness.

 These are some of the things I spend my time doing. Think about your typical day. Are you allowing God to establish the work of your hands? Are you acknowledging your dependence on Him to hold it all together, to cause it to flourish? I know I need to do more of that. What’s not going well? Have you asked Him if you need to be doing something different? Have you asked him to bless it or to give you wisdom in doing it better?

 I’m depending on Him right now as I type this Cup of Grace to make it fruitful. I have no impact or influence in my own power – and truthfully, that’s probably for the best.

 joyce hague

The With-ness of God

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” — Psalm 23:4

 

As I was preparing for a trip to Alaska with Aiden and thinking about all the uncertainty that lay ahead, I heard someone mention something I had never really considered before: the with-ness of God.

 

Of course, I knew in my mind that God is with us. I had read it countless times throughout Scripture—how God was with His people, with the prophets, with those He called. Yet hearing it described as the with-ness of God made me pause and think more deeply about what that truly means.

 

I once heard Beth Moore describe it this way: the with-ness of God is like the handprint of His presence—His effectual presence leaving evidence that He has been there. That image stayed with me. God does not simply observe our lives from a distance. He is actively present, leaving His fingerprints throughout our journey.

 

My relationship with my Heavenly Father is essential to my spiritual growth. Yet it is far too easy to become distracted. Life gets busy. Responsibilities pile up. Social media pulls for our attention. Before we realize it, we can drift away from the quiet awareness of God’s presence.

 

I know this struggle well. I am right there with you.

 

One morning, while hurrying around the kitchen preparing breakfast for the teams in Alaska, I overheard a gentleman sharing a story that caught my attention. He said he had gone into the bank one day when he felt God gently tug at his heart to step into the office next door and pray with a woman who worked there.

 

He hesitated for a moment but eventually asked her, “Would it be okay if I prayed with you?”

 

She replied that she was a Christian but that she could not openly talk about it in her workplace. Still, she agreed to let him pray.

 

After the prayer, he turned to leave. As he walked away, the woman noticed he was limping. She asked him to shut the glass door to her office and then asked about his leg.

 

He explained that he had been struggling with pain from his sciatic nerve.

 

“Can I pray for you?” she asked.

 

He agreed. She prayed, and when she finished and said amen, the pain was completely gone.

 

He shared that he had been telling people about that moment for months because he was so amazed at what God had done.

 

As I listened, I couldn’t help but think about something. I asked him, “What if you hadn’t been willing to do what God asked you to do in the beginning—to step into that office and pray for a stranger? What if you had said, ‘Not now . . . maybe another time . . .  I’m in a hurry today’?”

 

Sometimes obedience opens the door for blessings we never expected.

 

Moments like that remind me that when God asks us to do something, we are never doing it alone. His with-ness goes before us, walks beside us, and sustains us in every step.

 

Later, I asked my SWAG group—if you've read my first book, you'll remember that the wonderful group of ladies I grew to love during my time in Alaska were my SWAG (Sassy Women at Grace)—what they think of when they hear the word with.

 

One woman said, “Together… like rice with gravy.”
Another responded, “Accompanying… like two are better than one.”

 

Their answers made me smile because they captured something simple but powerful: with means we are not alone.

 

As I was finishing writing these thoughts, my sweet elderly friend called. She asked if I would pray for her son, who was about to have surgery.

 

I immediately said, “Would you like to pray right now over the phone?”

 

“Yes, please,” she replied.

 

So we prayed together.

 

When we finished, she said softly, “Thank you, Anna. I just needed to talk about it. You really encouraged my heart.”

 

After we hung up, I felt that familiar nudge again. It was as if the Lord gently reminded me, Now send her a message and remind her that I am with her—and that I will continue to be with her.

 

The with-ness of God.

 

It shows up in unexpected phone calls.
In simple prayers.
In quiet obedience.

 

And it reminds us that wherever we walk—even through valleys—God is already there.

--Anna Creed