Streams in the Desert

"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord" (Phil. 3:8).

This is the happy season of ripening cornfields, of the merry song of the reapers, of the secured and garnered grain. But let me hearken to the sermon of the field. This is its solemn word to me. You must die in order to live. You must refuse to consult your own case and well-being. You must be crucified, not only in desires and habits which are sinful, but in many more which appear innocent and right. If you would save others, you cannot save yourself. If you would bear much fruit, you must be buried in darkness and solitude.

My heart fails me as I listen. But, when Jesus asks it, let me tell myself that it is my high dignity to enter into the fellowship of His sufferings; and thus I am in the best of company. And let me tell myself again that it is all meant to make me a vessel meet for His use. His own Calvary has blossomed into fertility; and so shall mine.

Plenty out of pain, life out of death: is it not the law of the Kingdom?
--In the Hour of Silence

Do we call it dying when the bud bursts into flower?
--Selected

"Finding, following, keeping, struggling,
Is He sure to bless?
Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs,
Answer, 'Yes."'

The Powerful Practice of Fasting..... Dr. Charles Stanley

The Powerful Practice of Fasting

Dr. Charles Stanley

Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah's brother arrived from Judah with some bad news: the Israelites living in Jerusalem were in great trouble. After hearing about their plight, Nehemiah fasted and prayed to the Lord for several days. During this time, he discovered God wanted him to ask the king of Persia for help.

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that helps us center our attention on the Lord and discover His will so we may act according to it. People fast in different ways: some abstain from food while others refrain from various activities. The period of time can vary as well. But the focus in each case is to be the same—to seek God and know His will.

When we begin to deny ourselves, several things happen. First, the Holy Spirit will enable us to set aside earthly matters. Relationships, work, and pleasure will take a lesser place in our mind as we concentrate on Him and His purposes. Second, our attention will shift from ourselves to the Lord. Thinking will become clearer, and our ability to understand God's plans will sharpen because we are not distracted by other things.

Third, the Lord is probably going to do some spiritual housecleaning in our lives. His Spirit will convict us of sinful attitudes or behavior. Upon confession of our sin, we'll be forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9).

When unexpected news greets us, we—like Nehemiah—may find our emotions in turmoil. He wisely sought the Lord through fasting and prayer. This powerful practice can also help us to hear clearly from our heavenly Father, who knows the best way through every situation.

Holy Leftovers and Apple-Cinnamon Tea..... KAREN EHMAN

Holy Leftovers and Apple-Cinnamon Tea
KAREN EHMAN

“Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” 1 Thessalonians 2:7b-8 (NIV)

I met Jesus over a cup of apple-cinnamon herbal tea.

Oh, I don’t mean He and I sat down at the local coffee house and sipped on hot beverages purchased with a buy-one-get-one coupon that was about to expire.

I mean that a cup of spiced tea — served to me by a believer with a heart for hospitality in her oh-so-ordinary home — was the means God used to draw me to Himself, setting in motion my spiritual walk of faith.

When I was a junior in high school, a new family moved in across the street. Their white ranch-style house sat next to the country church that stood guard over the four-corner Midwestern intersection I called home. The mom and preacher’s wife, Ms. Pat, made it her mission to get to know me.

She invited me to hang out at her home when I finished my after-school activities. There wasn’t a fuss made. She didn’t pull out all the stops to impress my teenaged self. She would pour me a steaming cup of apple-cinnamon tea and offer me a snack, often fashioned from leftovers.

At this house, I felt welcomed and safe. Which led to something even more crucial: I felt loved and known.

As our friendship grew, Ms. Pat told me the gospel story. How Christ took my place on the cross, paying the penalty for my sin and purchasing my way to heaven. My mother had told me the story many times before. But up until that time, I kept Jesus conveniently closed up in the pages of the Bible on my shelf.

Ms. Pat started inviting me to church. Soon I responded to the Spirit’s whispers and placed my trust in Jesus at a youth group campfire one September night. My life has never been the same.

The New Testament is full of accounts of people coming to faith in Jesus. In the book of 1 Thessalonians, we find a very important fact about this phenomenon. The transformation of lives didn’t happen merely because facts about Jesus were shared. A catalyst for conversion is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:7b-8 where the Apostle Paul writes about the spiritual growth of church members:

“Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

Did you catch it? Paul, and others who’d explained the gospel, didn’t just share their words. They shared their lives as well.

In the original Greek language of the New Testament, the word lives doesn’t just indicate day-to-day happenings. It goes further. The word used, psuché, is derived from the root word psyxõ, which means “to breathe, blow.”

Does it make you think of any English words? If you guessed psyche or psychology, you are correct. This word encapsulates what we know as the human soul (or psyche). It refers to one’s distinctive personality or unique personhood. It is who someone is at their very core.

As we, like the Apostle Paul, open our hearts, connecting our souls with another’s through the sharing of life, we create a safe space where the gospel can be displayed and God’s table expanded. Others can come to know Christ through this simple soul sharing.

Even if you can’t host anyone in your home during this season of social distancing, God can still perform miracles in a soul through a text conversation, a phone call or a video chat.

Are you ready to watch God work, fetching souls and knitting them to Himself? If so, watch with eager anticipation for whomever God sends your way and however He sends them.

Father, may I seek to use my ordinary life to share the gospel with others, introducing them to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
1 Peter 4:9, “Be hospitable to one another without complaining.” (CSB)

Pushing the Red Button By:..... John UpChurch

Pushing the Red Button
By: John UpChurch

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. - Matthew 5:9, ESV

Up till then, we'd crushed the competition. Granted, this wasn't a sporting event. In fact, the most physically taxing aspect involved pressing a red button. But we had other skills—scholars' bowl skills. We could answer questions, rack up points, and bury other teams with our wit and finely honed memorization. In fact, we'd rarely been challenged.

Then came the county tournament. I grew up in a sparsely populated county. As far as scholars' bowl competitions, this was it. Sure, we traveled outside the area and competed for exhibition prizes, but the county tourney meant validation at home. And we knew we could win.

In the two-bracket competition, each team in the county usually played every other team. That only worked because it amounted to playing around three games apiece (as I said, a small county). At the end, the last team standing in the winners' bracket played the last team standing in the losers' bracket.

Match one involved our team pressing those little red buttons into submission. We outscored the other guys by something close to a two-to-one margin. In other words, we cleaned house in our nerdy way.

And then came match two against Maury Middle School. We went in glowing; we came out stunned. Let's just say that they completely trounced us—wasn't even close. Afterwards, we rebounded to an easy win in the last match, but that only meant we had to play Maury again in the championship.

What happened? If you guessed the underdogs roared back to take the trophy, then I would love to confirm that. But, no. In front of our families and teachers, we got beaten even worse than before. In fact, I remember the match being out of reach soon after it started and all of us feeling powerless to do something.

We'd practiced, studied, and prepared ourselves. We'd won match after match prior to the tourney. But still, we couldn't overcome this one team—even when given two shots. Our superiority turned into inferiority in a single day.

Intersecting Faith & Life:  If there's one thing I've learned about human effort and human ability, it's that there's always someone better. Someone can always write better, think more creatively, or hit the ball farther. Someone can always outscore, outplay, or outcompete. And, yet, we humans spend so much effort trying to overcome, overwhelm, or just plain win. We compete, and we fight to prove ourselves.

Jesus brushes all that aside in a single sentence: Blessed and happy and satisfied are those who seek peace with God and peace with others. This isn't a condemnation of competition, but it is a blunt reminder of the point of our lives. We're not here to see who's the best at sword swallowing or chicken juggling. God calls us children when we seek the good of other people above our own good.

If we win or if we lose (or if we get completely whipped twice by the same team), God's blessing on our life doesn't increase or decrease based on the score. Instead, He expects us to love Him and other people—even the ones who are better than us at something.

How is Jesus “the Word”?..... By R. C. Sproul

How is Jesus “the Word”?
By R. C. Sproul

In Greek philosophy, the logos remains an impersonal force, a lifeless and abstract philosophical concept that is a necessary postulate for the cause of order and purpose in the universe. In Hebrew thought, the Logos is personal. He indeed has the power of unity, coherence, and purpose, but the distinctive point is that the biblical Logos is a He, not an it.

All attempts to translate the word Logos have suffered from some degree of inadequacy. No English word is able to capture the fullness of John's Logos when he declared that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Attempts have been made by philosophers to translate Logos as logic, act, or deed—all of which are inadequate definitions.

God's Logos does include action. The Logos is the eternal Word in action. But it is no irrational action or sheer expression of feeling. It is the divine Actor, acting in creation and redemption in a coherent way, who is announced in John's Gospel.

That the Word became flesh and dwelt among us is the startling conclusion of John's prologue. The cosmic Christ enters our humanity. It is the supreme moment of visitation of the eternal with the temporal, the infinite with the finite, the unconditioned with the conditioned.

Reflect on this truth: God became flesh to accomplish your redemption. Have you accepted His gift of salvation?

For Further Study

John 1:1-2: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

John 1:15: "John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, `He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"

A Prayer for Loved Ones Who Are Far from God..... By Debbie McDaniel

A Prayer for Loved Ones Who Are Far from God
By Debbie McDaniel

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

God’s hope for us this season is this: He is able. Keep on praying my friends, for all those you love whose hearts seem far away. Don’t ever give up.

There may be friends and family we love who have pushed away any need of Him, they’ve chosen another path. And maybe others we hold dear, have bought into the lie; that other things in this world can satisfy. Broken relationships, hurt, or harsh words may lead many to stay distant. And at times, there seems to be such a deep rift, it feels almost impossible that they’d ever be drawn towards the love of Christ.

Yet no matter what the reason, or how far gone our friend or loved one seems to have traveled, it doesn’t change this assuring fact. God’s love reaches. It’s never too short to save, and He’s never too weary of extending more grace. His power is limitless. His forgiveness is endless.

The very reason Christ came was to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to reach. It’s what He does best. And the arm of the Lord is mighty and strong.

Dear God,

 We’re thankful that you know our hearts, you hear our prayers, and you care about all that concerns us. Thank you that you understand these burdens we carry and how we want, more than anything, to see our loved ones come to you. Help us to remember that you love them more than we ever could. And that you desire to extend your great love and forgiveness to the deepest part of their soul. We are forever grateful for your healing power, for your gift of mercy, and your message of hope.

Father, we ask that you would stop every plan of the enemy over those we love as we bring them before you right now. We pray that you demolish his schemes and that your plans for good, for a future and hope, would prevail. Please open up blind eyes that they might see your truth. We believe in you to rescue those walking in darkness, and to heal the deep wounds of all who have been hurt. We pray for the miraculous intervention of your Spirit to draw them to yourself, to work strongly on behalf of our loved ones who are lost and wandering.

Lord, forgive our unbelief. Please forgive the times we’ve doubted that you could ever change a distant heart. Forgive our hard-heartedness, our weariness, or forgetfulness to pray continually. And thank you God, that you never give up on us. Remind us again of how you’ve changed our own hearts; how your miracle of life and hope has sprung up deep within our souls.

We love you Lord; we need you today and every day. We thank you that you hear our prayers and believe that you are at work even now. Powerfully. Faithfully. And miraculously. Doing what only You can do.

Thank you again for the most wonderful gift of our Savior, God with us. Thank you for your great goodness and love.

 In Jesus’ Name, Amen.