Blind Spots

 

 “Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:22-23 (NIV)

I have been teaching some of our older residents at the TN Baptist Children’s Homes (where I work) how to drive. I instruct them to avoid hanging out in others’ blind spots. How many times have I myself been sure that it was safe to change lanes only to see a car in my mirror at the last second?

We all have blind spots that have nothing to do with driving. We don’t think we do, because we cannot see them. We are literally blind to them. I don’t think any of us want to be unkind, negative, critical, disobedient, disrespectful, selfish, prideful, etc. And isn’t it difficult to accept it and not become defensive when someone else points out our faults, our blind spots? It’s painful and embarrassing to realize that we are not okay – that we need a little work.

God has been using the book, “Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely,” by Lysa TerKeurst to show me how I have allowed past rejections to impact my life. This has been a blind spot for me. I am growing and learning still even in middle age. You would think I would have sorted these things out by now, right?

Are you brave enough to ask God to search your heart and point out any offensive ways in yourself? With trepidation I did, and He answered with this helpful resource. He never seeks to hurt me but only to bring healing. He can be trusted with my vulnerable places. He is loving and gentle (often gentler than people). You can allow Him into your most secret and closed off spaces.

I want that healing, don’t you?

joyce hague

What VBS Showed Me Once Again

 

This past week, there were multiple evenings in which I would look across the church auditorium and walk the building’s halls and see into its rooms in amazement. I wish you could have seen what I did. (Some of you probably did.) It was VBS week so, of course, there were a lot of kids. But beyond the large number of kids who attended (over 100), there were so many volunteers -- all necessary, all playing a part to make this week a success. I really think there is no ministry that our church does that shows off the variety of willing volunteer servants in our church like VBS does. Let me try to paint the picture in words.

               In the auditorium during the “all-together time,” I saw middle-school and high-school kids getting the younger kids excited and making them feel welcome. I noticed that there were college kids who were giving up this time during their summer break to serve the church even though they’ll move back away in the fall. I saw both single and married adults serving, ranging in ages from their 20s to perhaps their 70s or 80s. There were moms serving who had already spent all day at home with their own little ones; there were dads volunteering who had barely gotten off work for the day and yet still managed to show joy in being there. I saw grandmothers and grandfathers with all their experience of raising children, who could well say that they’ve “done their time” in children’s ministry, yet here they were again – another year. There were several workers from our Hispanic church serving alongside the rest. Some volunteers have been at our church for decades, others for less than a year. And here they all were, working side by side for the faith of the gospel (Phil. 1:27), the gospel that would be communicated to these kids.

               There were so many ways that these church members were serving: Some helped parents check kids in with our computer and sticker system. Many of the volunteers were assigned to one of the four different age groups as they helped with crowd control and individual kids’ needs. Each group had a leader and a Bible teacher as well. There were those who served by preparing snacks, from bagging individual serving sizes of popcorn to putting grapes on skewers. Some planned and helped with game times, others with crafts. One lady led the singing and helped teach the memory verse; several were running the song videos and sound, and a few took parts in skits. We even had a church member who is a nurse available if needed.

               And here’s what I can’t get over: How beautiful is the body of Christ that serves together! What a picture of God’s people, concerned about reaching the next generation with the truth, sacrificing their time and energy with joy (!) for children to have a fun and safe place to learn about God’s love for them and the salvation that Christ provides.

               I understand that many of our church members had other things going on this week or weren’t there for any number of other reasons. This is in no way meant to shame anyone. But I do want you to be caught up with me in the joy of brothers and sisters in Christ of various backgrounds and ages serving together. VBS is not the only place to serve; there are many opportunities. To the many of you who serve in various areas of the church: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Your effort and service is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). Keep it up. To those who maybe have not gotten involved in serving yet: There are so many opportunities. Where can you help? What gifts has God given you? We need you. You too are vital to the flourishing of our body. May we continue to show forth the beauty of Christ and His design for the church as we serve Him together and seek to further His Kingdom.

--Amy O'Rear

A Look North

Nine hundred sixty-four miles northeast of Grace Baptist Church a group of our brothers and sisters in Christ gathered this morning. As members of Open Bible Baptist Church, they assembled for the same reasons we in Chattanooga did: to obey, worship, and proclaim Jesus Christ. You may never have met them, nor they you. Nonetheless, we share a bond with them that runs deeper than what the average person would guess: we are part of the redeemed family of God, and, as such, we will spend eternity with Him and each other.

The village of Cambridge, New York, has about 2,000 residents, and the pictured building was constructed in 1844. Notice the bell tower at the top. Every Sunday morning a large bell is rung to announce to Main Street and beyond that the eleven o'clock hour of worship to the Living God is at hand. Cambridge Baptist Church of the Open Bible began in 1947, and later purchased the building and shortened its name to Open Bible Baptist Church.

There are two reasons I chose to feature OBBC for my Cup of Grace rotation. The first is that it does our souls good to know that there are other believers genuinely devoted to knowing and living for Jesus Christ. In a world increasingly hostile to all that Christianity represents, there are still many scattered pockets of disciples who "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" day in and day out. You are not alone in your devotion to Him. Your family is not alone. Your church is not alone. The Lord used this fact to encourage Elijah, and it should encourage us as well...no matter what is happening in our nation.

The second reason to feature OBBC is that last Sunday my husband accepted the invitation to be their new pastor, so our family will be moving to Cambridge as soon as possible. Bill has long had a desire to minister in the Northeast, and the backstory to how the Lord has opened this specific door is beautiful. We are excited about the opportunity to join the believers there in shining the light of the gospel.

Thank you, dear friends at Grace Baptist Church, for all that you have meant to each of us! We will miss you, but look forward to seeing you anytime we're visiting Chattanooga, and will seek to keep abreast of all that God does for you here. Please pray for the Lord to continue to guide all the aspects and timing of our transition. Know that we will continue in prayer for you as well.

Susan Warner, a native of New York who became the first American author to sell more than a million copies of a book, once wrote a child's hymn that encapsulates the goals of both Grace and Open Bible. I conclude with her lyrics, simple yet profound:

"Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light,
like a little candle burning in the night;
in this world of darkness we must shine –
you in your small corner, and I in mine."

Amen, may it ever be.
-MaryBeth Hall

Why Doesn't God Just Talk to Us?

 

I was spending some time with granddaughters recently when one of the six-year olds asked, “Why doesn’t God just talk to us?” This is an honest question that is not so very different from what I’ve thought myself but didn’t have the boldness to say out loud. Of course I believe God has talked to us in his word, and that was my answer, but I have to admit that this answer doesn’t completely cover all the questions.

However, two times in recent years I have had what seemed to me to be direct responses from God to my own inner ponderings. Some of you may have heard this first story before, but it fits here, so I’ll repeat it.

I had been attending a meeting on Broad Street in Chattanooga and was ready to head home about 9:30 in the evening. There are many ways home from downtown, and I wanted to take the most efficient way but was feeling tired and maybe not up to dealing with I-24 traffic. I began talking to God about the best way to go as I started the car and headed up East Main Street. I wanted him to show me what to do.

If I were to take the interstate, I knew I’d need to turn on South Kelly and use the ramp there, and I was quickly approaching the turn. Then some inner skeptic said, How’s God going to stop me from taking the interstate? I’m driving the car. So I turned right on Kelly to take what seemed the best way to get home quickly.

As I came within sight of the ramp where I-24 passes over Kelly, I should have been seeing the roadway, but I couldn’t see it at all. It was as if there were a high wall just beyond the traffic light at East 23^rd. I continued down the street in wonderment. When I got to the light, I saw the problem: a large truck was stopped dead on the street, completely blocking the way to the interstate. With a wry smile, I turned left on 23^rd and took an alternate route home!

I shared this story with folks at church one Sunday night, and it has stayed with me as a recurring reminder that God can direct my path even if I can’t hear an audible voice. Another reminder came just last Saturday.

I put on a pot of beans (beans again!) and took a cup of coffee and my Bible and another book out to the front porch. I was reading about Moses and his struggles with the people of Israel, and I stopped to think about what Moses’ life was like—how he got an excellent education in Egypt that made him a fit person to write the early history of the world. I have seen a chart showing that Moses could have known someone who knew Noah, and thus had a good source of information for the flood narrative. But then I started thinking, How did God communicate with Moses about the earlier days? What reliable source did Moses have? Did God just talk to him? That seems a little hard to believe. About that time, I thought of my beans, jumped up and ran into the house and lifted the lid to find a pot almost dry. In another minute or less I’d have had burnt beans. I got to them just in time. Why? I recalled with some chagrin the question I'd just been asking when God said to me, Beans! I believe God was showing me that he can, indeed, communicate needed truth when he wants to.

I did not hear God’s voice in my ear, but I certainly heard him in my mind. Can God just talk to people? Yes, he can.

More than once in scripture, God poses the rhetorical question, Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27), and in Luke 18:27, Jesus asserts, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

I don’t know what kind of struggle you face. Maybe it’s as simple as lost keys or as momentous as a health crisis, but God can and does intervene in the lives of his people. Perhaps you don’t have that inner skeptic that rises up in me, but if you do, let these examples give you courage to believe.

--Sherry Poff

 

Step By Step

In recent days I have been thinking, no, fretting about certain decisions and events that concern me for the future. I have worried about things that might happen, not even “sure things”. A poem had crossed my memory and I knew I needed to make sure I had it in the front of my mind. The poem is “Step by Step” by Barbara C. Ryberg. While I thought about this poem a step came that I was not expecting. My dear Aunt Joy slipped into glory. I had expected her husband to slip away as his cancer progressed. But I wasn't ready to let go of Joy. But my dear Lord Jesus knew what was coming and allowed it. And I can see now that His way is best. So I am going to refresh my memory and my heart.

STEP BY STEP

By Barbara C. Ryberg

He does not lead me year by year

Nor even day by day.

But step by step my path unfolds;

My Lord directs my way.

Tomorrow’s plans I do not know,

I only know this minute;

But he will say, “This is the way,

By faith now walk ye in it.’

And I am glad it is so.

Today’s enough to bear;

And when tomorrow comes, His grace

Shall far exceed its care.

What need to worry then, or fret?

The God who gave His Son

Holds all my moments in His hand

And gives them, one by one.

Do I still have questions about the future? Yes, I do. But I am going to accept each day, each step of the way, from the one who know the future.





~~Faith Himes Lamb

The Crying Out

 

Some days are ordinary days. We forget about the fallen world we live in. We make socially acceptable sins. We forget our need for our God and begin to slip into the lie that we are doing just fine. We don’t see that we know so little and need so much until…

 The circumstance hits in which we have no control. The grief and separation, searing loss and searing pain. We cry out, “how long, oh Lord.” We beg the question, “Why, oh God.” Our brains scramble for the answer that we do not know.

 We remember that our God intimately knows grief on a human level. And we need Him to. He knows that. Because we can’t carry what sin has done to the world and our hearts on our own. We crumble under the weight of it all. He carries that weight - before, now and always.

 It turns into anger as our fists beat against our hearts. There are so many things that make no sense. Oh the ache of death, of loss, of broken relationships, of hurtful words, of struggling bodies.

 “I cry out to you Lord for help. I cry out, God, please hear me. When I’m in distress I seek you, Lord” (Based on Ps. 77)

 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Ps 34:19)

 My God, help me when the grief turns to fear, mistrust, closed fists. Help me to believe that You are good. There is hope. There is salvation. Sometimes I say the words and I need you to make them true to my heart.

 I do know this: we are not alone. You are not alone.

Lord I need you, Oh I need you.

Every hour I need you.

My one defense, my righteousness.

My God, how I need you.

--Sandy Gromacki

Mountains or Beach?

This is a common question on get-to-know-you either/or lists. Up until a few years ago, I was a firm member of team mountains. Having lived in Tennessee all my life, I have been surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. In high school and college, I had the privilege to take a few trips to Alaska and a trip to Hungary with a brief stay in Salzburg, Austria. On every trip, I was in awe of the sheer beauty and grandeur of the mountains, much taller than I had ever seen in the eastern United States. On the other hand, when it came to the ocean, I only had vague childhood memories of scary waves and sand that got everywhere.

In 2021, my family took a trip to the beach to get away and relax after the stress of 2020. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect and mainly looked forward to reading by the pool where we were staying. But from the moment I walked onto that beach, I was mesmerized. Everything from the vastness of the ocean, the unpredictable pattern of the waves, to the feel of the wet sand beneath my toes captivated me. After a long year of staying indoors with limited travel, it was wonderful to be awed by such beauty. My whole family loved that vacation, and we have made that location a regular visit. Now I have a hard time choosing between mountains and beach. Both are magnificent in completely different ways, and I have had amazing experiences surrounded by both. 

Why is it that the mountains and the ocean captivate us so? Why do we often choose to visit places that feature one of the two? As human beings designed in the image of God, we are drawn to appreciate beauty, but I think it is more than that. There is greatness in the height of the mountains, mystery in the depths of the sea, and power in the might of both. The mountains and oceans point us to God.

In Romans, Paul writes that all creation points to God: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20 ESV). But not only does creation point to God, His power is demonstrated through His command over creation. Throughout Scripture, the mountains and the seas are used to demonstrate the power of God. The following is a sampling:

“The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth” (Ps. 97:5).

“May the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!” (Ps. 104:31-32).

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains” (Is. 2:2).

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (Is. 40:12).

“The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing” (Is. 55:12).

“O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves” (Ps. 65: 5-7).

“Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty!” (Ps. 93:4)

“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ’Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” (Mark 4:39-41).

“When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened” (John 6:19).

The greatness, mystery, and power of mountains and seas point to God, but their great power is unmatched by the power of the Creator who formed them. Whether you’re going on vacation to the mountains or the beach this summer or staying here in the hills of Tennessee, let yourself take a moment to take in the majesty of creation. Stand in awe of beauty you cannot understand, then let it remind you of the unmatched power of God. 

--Concetta Swann