Streams in the Desert

As dying and behold we live (2 Cor. 6:9).

I had a bed of asters last summer, that reached clear across my garden in the country. Oh, how gaily they bloomed. They were planted late. On the sides were yet fresh blossoming flowers, while the tops had gone to seed. Early frosts came, and I found one day that that long line of radiant beauty was seared, and I said, "Ah! the season is too much for them; they have perished"; and I bade them farewell.

I disliked to go and look at the bed, it looked so like a graveyard of flowers. But, four or five weeks ago one of my men called my attention to the fact that along the whole line of that bed there were asters coming up in the greatest abundance; and I looked, and behold, for every plant that I thought the winter had destroyed there were fifty plants that it had planted. What did those frosts and surly winds do?

They caught my flowers, they slew them, they cast them to the ground, they trod with snowy feet upon them, and they said, leaving their work, "This is the end of you." And the next spring there were for every root, fifty witnesses to rise up and say, "By death we live."

And as it is in the floral tribe, so it is in God's kingdom. By death came everlasting life. By crucifixion and the sepulchre came the throne and the palace of the Eternal God. By overthrow came victory.

Do not be afraid to suffer. Do not be afraid to be overthrown. It is by being cast down and not destroyed; it is by being shaken to pieces, and the pieces torn to shreds, that men become men of might, and that one a host; whereas men that yield to the appearance of things, and go with the world, have their quick blossoming, their momentary prosperity and then their end, which is an end forever.
--Beecher

"Measure thy life by loss and not by gain,
Not by the wine drunk, but by the wine poured forth.
For love's strength standeth in love's sacrifice,
And he who suffers most has most to give."

Feeding the Fire..... by Ryan Duncan

 Feeding the Fire

by Ryan Duncan

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. - 1 Chronicles 16:11

Earlier this year I went fishing with my family up in the boundary waters of Minnesota. Ironically, the first day we pushed out onto the lake in our canoes, the weather was ideal. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and it was warm but with a nice breeze to take the edge off. Then, like something out of a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, the weather made a sudden shift. The next morning we got up to find a cloud had descended over the lake.

It wasn’t raining per say, it was more like all the moisture in the area had gotten together and decided to smother our campsite. It was cold, it was damp, and all we could really do was huddle together for warmth. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer, I was going to build a fire. We had all tried earlier that morning, but the damp wood was nearly impossible to burn. With no lighter fluid and only a couple of matches, I realized I was going to have to do this the hard way.

First I started off with small kindling, pine needles, leaves, twigs. Then I moved on to sticks and paper. It took a long time, but at last I got a decent sized flame that would burn the big logs despite the fact that they were damp. You can be sure, now that we finally had a roaring fire there was no way we were going to let it go out. I bring this up because I believe the concept of building a fire is similar to building a relationship with God.

When a friend of mine recently said he didn’t want to lose “the fire” God had given his spirit, I couldn’t help but remember that cold morning in Minnesota. The Holy Spirit will give us the passion and endurance to live Godly lives, but like a campfire, it will eventually burn down to embers if not supplemented by our own actions. It can be hard work at times. You’ll need to start with kindling like daily prayer and scripture reading, follow up with something bigger like volunteering at Church, and then maybe apply a large commitment like ministry. It won’t be easy, and there will be times when it all seems useless, but in the end the Holy Spirit will burn all brighter.

Remember the words of Matthew,

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Intersecting Faith and Life: Look for ways to build up your faith in daily life. What actions can you take to make a difference?

Further Reading

1 Corinthians 12

Teach Your Thoughts..... By: Amanda Idleman

 Teach Your Thoughts

By: Amanda Idleman

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. - 2 Corinthians 10:5

The battle for a joy-filled life starts in the mind. When we are living a spirit-filled life, it is then we can more easily see when our attitudes or thoughts don’t align with the instructions of Christ.

In other words, in order to find joy, we have to be dialed into the Holy Spirit. We must allow the Spirit to convict us when our thoughts don’t align with the truth of God’s Word found in 2 Corinthians 10:5 and begin to “capture every thought.”

The temptation to let our thoughts spiral out of control is hard to overcome! All it can take is reading one article about some scary new study finding or come across a piece of news that hits a little too close to home, and the mind can start to race with fear. We must use wisdom about what information we allow into our lives and how we let it affect us. These are the seemingly tiny choices that make a huge impact on our spiritual health, peace of mind, attitude, and ability to have joy even in the midst of a storm.

Matthew 6:34 says, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Focus your minds on the now. Engage with what we know today to be real and true. Only God knows what the future holds, it is not ours to worry over.

We defend against negativity that so easily creeps into the mind by kicking those thoughts out and replacing them with more grace-filled meditations. How then do we take it to the next level and begin to go on the offensive against joy-killing thoughts? By purposefully meditating on the good. Here are some great ways to feed ourselves with positive messages that will push out the negative.

1. Write a daily gratitude list. Thank God for the ways He has provided for you each and every day.

2. Create a list of verses that uplift your heart and mind. Commit as many as you can to memory. Read through them when you find yourself feeling frustrated or overrun with anxious thoughts.

3. Choose a Christian Bible study, podcast, or Devotional to read through. Let the principles you are reflecting on that take the place of the negative messages that want to flood our thoughts.

4. Limit your use of media and carefully vet the shows, books, social media, and music that you consume.

5. Evaluate your closest relationships. Are they encouraging you in your faith or reinforcing the negativity of the world? Set boundaries when necessary to help preserve joy in your life.

Paul tells us we have to actually “teach” our thoughts to obey Christ. We cannot be passive about what’s going on in our minds. The way we win joy in the day-to-day is through training our minds to expect it.

A Prayer to Submit to God and Resist the Enemy..... By: Alisha Headley

 A Prayer to Submit to God and Resist the Enemy

By: Alisha Headley

“Submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Many times, the things we are dealing with in our daily life are none other than the enemy having his way with us. In our flesh, we tend to fight another person, fight our circumstances, or fight with ourselves. Perhaps, we focus solely on the problem itself attempting to put it all in our own hands as we frantically try to control it with the hopes of diminishing it altogether.

But have you ever thought it might not be the person or problem you are actually needed to take control of? Perhaps it’s the enemy itself whom you need to control and put in his place?

Remember, we are fighting a spiritual battle daily as we are taught in Ephesians 6. The enemy wakes up with the same goal each day and that’s to keep us from walking in the Lord’s provision and purpose for our lives. Satan has a great day when he accomplishes to discourage us in any way he can.

This leaves us feeling hopeless, helpless, and often times we are left feeling defeated.

Looking at today’s passage, an important part of “submitting ourselves to God” means taking everything back from Satan. We do this by “resisting him”: to no longer give him footholds and power in our lives. When we begin to remove all influences of the enemy and take back our power, the issues we face will either disappear or downsize to a workable level. The enemy no longer has the control.

Once we “submit to God, then resist the devil.” The result is that the devil will “flee from you.”  So, in order to have this beautiful promise come to pass where the devil leaves your situation, we must do our part first: submit all our issues to God, then resist the enemy.

Rest assured that we have the power to overcome whatever it is we are facing. We have the power through submitting all to God to overcome the enemy. God already overcame and defeated the enemy for eternity when our Savior bore the cross. Satan is already a defeated foe.  But while we are here on earth, before the enemy’s eternal destruction comes to pass, we can resist him in our daily lives, and he will leave. Scripture promises this.

What a relief that we have the power to defeat our issues and the enemy behind them daily. Therefore, let us remain in that promise today. We have the victory in the middle of this earthly battle.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for giving us the power to command that the enemy flee from us anytime we recognize the need to. Thank you for your promises that we don’t have to be a slave to sin and all the issues the enemy tries to entangle us in and keep us trapped in. Through submitting them to you, and resisting the enemy, he is commanded to leave. Thank you for this promise. 

We ask for the Holy Spirit to slow us down and remind us every time we are battling something, that it’s not the problem or person itself we are battling, but rather the enemy behind it. Remind us that you are bigger than any problem. Remind us to hand everything over to you as we take everything back from the enemy by resisting him. 

Thank you for the secret weapon of victory to submit and resist. Thank you for being the greatest leader in this spiritual battle we face. We thank you in advance for your provision and guidance in this daily fight. We submit to you this day, and every day, and are so grateful for your power and victory that has already been won. The power to overcome the defeated foe and all of the enemy’s tactics. We love you Lord and are grateful for your mighty power.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen