Streams in the Desert

"And the Lord said . . . Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:31-32).

Our faith is the center of the target at which God doth shoot when He tries us; and if any other grace shall escape untried, certainly faith shall not. There is no way of piercing faith to its very marrow like the sticking of the arrow of desertion into it; this finds it out whether it be of the immortals or no. Strip it of its armor of conscious enjoyment, and suffer the terrors of the Lord to set themselves in array against it; and that is faith indeed which can escape unhurt from the midst of the attack.

Faith must be tried, and seeming desertion is the furnace, heated seven times, into which it might be thrust. Blest the man who can endure the ordeal!
--C. H. Spurgeon.

Paul said, "I have kept the faith," but he lost his head! They cut that off, but it didn't touch his faith. He rejoiced in three things--this great Apostle to the Gentiles; he had "fought a good fight," he had "finished his course," he had "kept the faith." What did all the rest amount to? St. Paul won the race; he gained the prize, and he has not only the admiration of earth today, but the admiration of Heaven. Why do we not act as if it paid to lose all to win Christ? Why are we not loyal to truth as he was? Ah, we haven't his arithmetic. He counted differently from us; we count the things gain that he counted loss. We must have his faith, and keep it if we would wear the same crown.

Satan's Strategy..... Dr. Charles Stanley

Satan's Strategy

Dr. Charles Stanley

Luke 22:31-62

All of us make tracks through the valley of failure. The question is, How are you going to respond? Plenty of people give up and exchange a vibrant kingdom-serving life for a defeated existence. But failure need not be an end. It's a chance for a new beginning living in Christ's strength.

Peter had a life-altering failure. Jesus warned that Satan had asked permission to "sift" the disciple like wheat (Luke 22:31)—vigorous shaking is required to separate wheat kernels from debris. The Enemy wanted to shake Peter's faith hard in hopes that he'd fall away from Jesus like chaff.

Peter fervently believed the promise he'd made to Jesus: "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not" (Mark 14:29). But Satan knows a few things about the power of fear. What's more, he realized that the disciple would be wounded by his own disloyalty. A man with tattered pride can't help but question his usefulness.

When Satan sifts believers, his goal is to damage our faith so much that we're useless to God. He wants us shelved far from the action of the Lord's kingdom. Therefore, he goes for our strengths—the areas where we believe ourselves to be invincible, or at least very well protected. And when the Devil succeeds, we are disappointed and demoralized. But we don't have to stay that way.

If we are willing, God can use failure to do spiritual housecleaning. Peter laid down his pride and instead put on the Holy Spirit's courage. Thereafter, he risked humiliation, persecution, and death to proclaim the gospel. Failure was the catalyst that brought forth greater faith and true servanthood.

Extra column

On the Enemy

"The Devil often transforms himself into an angel to tempt men, some for their instruction, some for their ruin."
—Augustine of Hippo

"The deceit, the lie of the Devil consists of this, that he wishes to make man believe that he can live without God's Word."
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The existence of the Devil is so clearly taught in the Bible that to doubt it is to doubt the Bible itself."
—Archibald G. Brown

"The Devil can counterfeit all the saving operations and graces of the Spirit of God."
—Jonathan Edwards

"The Enemy will not see you vanish into God's company without an effort to reclaim you."
—C. S. Lewis

"For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel."
—Martin Luther

"That there is a Devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influences of the Devil."
—Cotton Mather

"The more God uses us, the more Satan will attempt to harass us."
—Dr. Charles F. Stanley

"The Devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still."
—A. W. Tozer

"The Devil does not tempt unbelievers and sinners who are already his own."
—Thomas à Kempis

Forgiveness: The Double-Edged Word..... LYSA TERKEURST

Forgiveness: The Double-Edged Word
LYSA TERKEURST

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)

Do you ever find yourself defining life by before and after the deep hurt?

The horrific season. The conversation that stunned you. The shocking day of discovery. The divorce. The wrongful death so unfathomable, you still can’t believe they’re gone. The breakup. The day your friend walked away. The hateful conversation. The remark that seems to now be branded on your soul. The day everything changed.

That marked moment in time. Life before. Life now. Is it even possible to move on from something like this? Is it even possible to create a life that’s beautiful again?

I deeply understand this kind of defining devastation in such a personal way.

Like you, I wish I didn’t have such an intimate understanding of those feelings. But I do.

If you read my book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, you know of the shattering discovery of my husband Art’s affair and the long road of uncertainty I was still walking at the end of that book. The four years of hellish heartbreak that followed the discovery did eventually take an unexpected turn toward reconciliation. I’m grateful, but I have not been spared the slow and grueling work of finding one’s way again after experiencing something that forever marks your life.

When your heart has been shattered and reshaped into something that doesn’t quite feel normal inside your own chest, the word “forgiveness” feels a bit unrealistic to mention.

But friend, can I whisper something today I’m learning?

Forgiveness is possible, but it won’t always feel possible.

It’s a double-edged word, isn’t it?

It’s hard to give. It’s amazing to get. But when we receive it so freely from the Lord and refuse to give it, something heavy starts to form in our souls.

It’s the weight of forgiveness that wasn’t allowed to pass through. And for me, that’s mainly because I’ve misunderstood something so incredibly profound about forgiveness.

Forgiveness isn’t something hard we have the option to do or not do. Forgiveness is something hard-won that we have the opportunity to participate in.

Our part in forgiveness isn’t one of desperation, where we have to muscle through with gritted teeth and clenched fists. It isn’t sobbing through the resistance of all our justifications to stay angry and hurt and horrified by all they did. This is what I once thought forgiveness was, and after already being the one who was hurt, I couldn’t imagine having yet another process to work through.

But when I wrongly think forgiveness rises and falls on all my efforts, conjured maturity, bossed-around resistance, and gentle feelings that feel real one moment and fake the next, I’ll never be able to authentically give the kind of forgiveness Jesus has given me.

My ability to forgive others rises and falls on leaning into what Jesus has already done, which allows His grace for me to flow freely through me. (Ephesians 4:7)

Forgiveness isn’t an act of my determination.
Forgiveness is only made possible by my cooperation.

Cooperation is what I’ve been missing. Cooperation with what Jesus has already done makes verses like Ephesians 4:32 possible: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Forgiving one another just as Christ forgave you. God knew we couldn’t do it on our own. So, He made a way not dependent on our strength. A forgiving way. A way to grab on to Jesus’ outstretched arms, bloody from crucifixion and dripping with redemption. He forgives what we could never be good enough to make right. He makes a way for us to simply cooperate with His work of forgiveness … for us to receive and for us to give.

That person or people — they’ve caused enough pain for you, me and for those around us. There’s been enough damage done. And you don’t have to be held hostage by the pain. You get to decide how you’ll move forward. If you’re knee-deep in pain and resonate with the feelings of resistance I have felt too, let me assure you: Forgiveness is possible. And it is good.

So, I want you to just sit here for a moment today and consider the possibility around this double-edged word, “forgiveness.” Not because your pain doesn’t matter. Not because what they did was right. Not because it fixes everything. But because your heart is much too beautiful a place for unhealed pain. And your soul is much too deserving of freedom to stay stuck here.

God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus so we don’t have to do life alone. Thank You for caring about my pain and meeting me in this place. Show me how I can cooperate with forgiveness today, even when it’s hard. Help me continue to take steps in this healing journey with You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (NIV)

Beyond the Chariots..... by John UpChurch

Beyond the Chariots
by John UpChurch

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1:13-14

If you've heard of Eric Liddell, you probably know him as the Chariots of Fire guy. The Scottish Olympian famously turned down what most people thought was his best chance at a gold medal, the 100-meter dash. He did so because the trials for the race fell on a Sunday and he wouldn’t budge on this matter of faith. Instead, he entered the 400-meter event, qualified, and then stormed to the finish line with a new world record. Although the theme from the movie wasn’t playing back in 1924, the whole thing makes you think it should have been as he rounded the turns with his flailing gait.

Credits roll, end of story… right? Hold your chariots. Liddell’s faith carried him far beyond a single Parisian race. After the Olympics, Eric gave up running completely—at least the type of running done on a racetrack. Instead, he focused on a much greater race. A year after standing on the platform in triumph, he arrived in China as a missionary and, later, as a pastor. No endorsements or bling, just an impoverished country and a chance to share the good news.

During the worst days of World War II, Liddell chose to stay in Japanese-controlled China to serve the people he’d come to love. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese military became more and more suspicious of foreigners and forbade them to preach or teach. In 1943, the Japanese sent Eric and many others to an internment camp in Weihsien. Even there, though, the preacher continued leading others in worship and being “Uncle Eric” to dozens of orphaned children.

He also made an incredible sacrifice.

During the war, Japan and Britain made a prisoner exchange deal, a deal that included the famous Scottish runner. Liddell had a wife and children waiting for him in Canada. He had every reason to go. But instead, he gave up his spot for a pregnant woman—a fact unknown even to his family until the Chinese government revealed it over 60 years later. Eric himself would never tell either because he died of a brain tumor in 1945, not long before the war ended. His friends at the camp didn’t remember him as the Olympian; they remembered him as someone who did what God called him to do.

Liddell realized that this world has nothing on the kingdom of the Son. We can win accolades, money, fame here, but none of it can touch the far, far greater rewards of Christ. In Him, redemption makes earthly recognition nothing more than dust. In Him, forgiveness makes even the greatest fortunes seem empty.

Intersecting Faith & Life: As Christians, our address has changed—and with that changes our whole way of putting value on things. If there’s nothing beyond this world, then by all means we should live to pile up accolades and plaudits. We have nothing else to live for. But if we’re focused on Christ and His kingdom, everything else just fades out. We’re no longer running for the things we can see.

Remember the Sabbath Day by Keeping it Holy..... By Betsy de Cruz

Remember the Sabbath Day by Keeping it Holy
By Betsy de Cruz

Do you ever start your week on Monday even more tired than you were the Friday before? Many of us dread Mondays not only because it’s hard to get back into the swing of work after a break, but also because we exhaust ourselves all weekend long.

God must have known our “Do It All” tendency when He chose to rest.

Something tells me the Glorious Almighty God didn’t need to rest. But He knew we would. So he set a pattern from the beginning of creation: six days of work, followed by a day of rest. He blessed this day and made it holy. Later in Exodus 20:8-11, he made this pattern into a command:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

The word “Sabbath” is related to a Hebrew root that means “cease” or “stop.” God commanded His people to cease from their labor, so they could rest, refresh, and refuel. He had set His people free from slavery in Egypt. As children of God, they were no longer bound to work non-stop like slaves. God gave them the gift of rest, a day to cease from working and to honor Him. In the Old Testament, Jews followed the pattern of setting apart the seventh day to keep it holy.

Most Bible scholars agree that today God also desires to give his children that same gift of rest, and Christians all around the world now observe the first day of the week, Sunday, as a day to honor God. There’s no biblical basis for changing it from the seventh day to the first, but scholars cite the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day as a possible reason for this change observed in the New Testament.

Since God included the Sabbath in the 10 Commandments, He must have thought it was important. Of course today we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not by following commandments. However, as people who want to honor and obey God, we still accept these 10 commands as a guide for how God wants us to live.

When we set aside Sundays for rest and worship, we follow the healthy rhythm God established for us, and we can start a new week on Monday refreshed instead of exhausted. If your job requires you to work on Sunday, ask the Lord for creativity and discipline to set aside another Sabbath time during your week. Whether our Sabbath is Sunday or another day, we can trust God to bless our time of rest and make us effective when we return work.

A Prayer for the Teachers, Mamas, and Anyone Who Wants to Give Up .....By: Maggie Meadows Cooper

A Prayer for the Teachers, Mamas, and Anyone Who Wants to Give UpBy: Maggie Meadows Cooper

"Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest, if you do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

I received a letter from a former student a few weeks ago. It made my heart smile because of the precious one it was from. He was a handful. Smart as a whip, but a challenge many days. Listening comprehension, imagination, creativity, math...he knocked it out of the park. But reading and his behavior were another story. He came in tired most days, and I let him nap for short periods when he needed to. His mom worked late at a couple of different jobs, and he said he would wait up for her a lot. Sometimes sleep and a hug are what matter most. I recalled these memories as I read his letter and smiled. But my eyes filled with tears when I read these words, "I appreciate you never giving up on me." 

Wow. I didn't. I haven't. And I won’t. But the truth is, there were a lot of days I might have wanted to. He was not the only challenging student I had in that class. He was not the only one with not enough sleep, and there were days I was just plain weary. Weary of it all. Teaching all day only to come home to my own kids, husband, housework, cooking, and then more papers to grade later is exhausting.

Every teacher knows what I'm talking about (the stories we could tell). Every mama knows what I'm talking about (yep, stories here too). And honestly, anyone who has ever chosen to keep on believing when everything inside you says it's time to give up, knows what I'm talking about. 

There are students you feel like you will never reach. There are children who, it seems, will never learn to follow directions. There are relationships and jobs and dreams that seem to be dead ends. Sometimes it looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

I know all of that. But I also know that the Lord places people and situations and tasks in our lives for His purposes, no matter how challenging. When we seek His will and His plan above our own, sometimes we end up in places we might not necessarily want to be. I know, I've been there. But I know He will give us strength to keep pushing anyway, and here are a few reasons why I believe it's worth it:

1. There will be a harvest...if we do not give up.

"Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest, if you do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

This verse sits on my desk at work and hangs in my home. It is an everyday reminder. When I am tired and frustrated and out of ideas...do not grow weary. When I say I can't wait one more day because "it's" never going to happen...at the proper time you will reap a harvest. When I am ready to throw in the towel...if you do not give up. 

We may never get recognition for the time we put in. We may never be noticed and applauded by the crowd. We may never even receive a "thank you" for our efforts. But, there is One who sees us. And He matters most.

2. We are to do everything with all our hearts... for the Lord.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people." - Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do. Teaching, changing diapers, grading papers, cooking dinner, going to work, driving car pool, paying bills, disciplining, whatever it is...do it with all your heart.

And do it for the Lord...not people. That is so stinkin' hard! Because the Lord isn't visible. It doesn't feel like He's right there beside me all the time. And people...are people. They are selfish and demanding and difficult a lot of times. 

But this isn't really given as a choice. On the days you feel like it. If you have time and it doesn't interrupt your plans. Nope. As those who love Jesus, we are to work at whatever we do, with all our heart, for the Lord. Period.

3. And most importantly, Jesus hasn't given up on us... so we shouldn’t give up on others.

"I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway...Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 7:18, 24-25 

I mess up every day. Every. Single. Day. And it's not looking any better for tomorrow. I want to do what's right.  I want to be like Jesus. But somewhere between my brain and my mouth and my actions and my heart...some signals get crossed. Words come out wrong. My selfish nature takes over. I work for me instead of others.  I complain. It is not pretty some days. 

But, thanks be to God, there is one who can save me from this life... Jesus. And because He forgives me, loves me, gives mercy and grace to me on my worst of days... I will try my hardest to do the same for others. 

Dear Jesus,

I am so weary, and honestly, ready to give up some days. Please place people in my life to encourage me and point me to you as I seek to love others as you do. Help me choose to be hopeful, faithful and persistent in seeking you every day, but especially on the hard days. Guide my steps and allow me to see that my hard work is not in vain. Help me to give grace and mercy...to myself and others...as you give it freely to me. Thank you for all you have done and all you are going to do.  

In Your Mighty Name,

Amen.