Streams in the Desert

 Streams in the Desert

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass (Ps. 72:6).

Amos speaks of the king's mowings. Our King has many scythes, and is perpetually mowing His lawns. The musical tinkle of the whetstone on the scythe portends the cutting down of myriads of green blades, daisies and other flowers. Beautiful as they were in the morning, within an hour or two they lie in long, faded rows.

Thus in human life we make a brave show, before the scythe of pain, the shears of disappointment, the sickle of death. There is no method of obtaining a velvety lawn but by repeated mowings; and there is no way of developing tenderness, evenness, sympathy, but by the passing of God's scythes.

How constantly the Word of God compares man to grass, and His glory to its flower! But when grass is mown, and all the tender shoots are bleeding, and desolation reigns where flowers were bursting, it is the most acceptable time for showers of rain falling soft and warm.

O soul, thou hast been mown! Time after time the King has come to thee with His sharp scythe. Do not dread the scythe--it is sure to be followed by the shower.
--F. B. Meyer

When across the heart deep waves of sorrow
Break, as on a dry and barren shore;
When hope glistens with no bright tomorrow,
And the storm seems sweeping evermore;

When the cup of every earthly gladness
Bears no taste of the life-giving stream;
And high hopes, as though to mock our sadness,
Fade and die as in some fitful dream,

Who shall hush the weary spirit's chiding?
Who the aching void within shall fill?
Who shall whisper of a peace abiding,
And each surging billow calmly still?

Only He whose wounded heart was broken
With the bitter cross and thorny crown;
Whose dear love glad words of Joy had spoken,
Who His life for us laid meekly down.

Blessed Healer, all our burdens lighten;
Give us peace, Thine own sweet peace, we pray!
Keep us near Thee till the morn shall brighten,
And all the mists and shadows flee away!

Victory Over Unforgiveness..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Victory Over Unforgiveness

Dr. Charles Stanley

Daniel 6

Immediately after teaching His followers to pray, Jesus gave a warning about allowing unforgiveness to reside in the heart. He said that those who refuse to forgive others won't be forgiven by the Father.

Do not misunderstand Jesus' meaning here. Believers don't lose their salvation when they refuse to forgive. Rather, they break fellowship with God because their unrepentant attitude gets in the way of regular confession and repentance. The Lord cannot ignore sin, and His Spirit will bring wrong behavior to the believer's attention until he or she deals with it.

Forgiveness is an act of the will more than an act of the heart. Often people don't feel like being merciful to someone who has wronged them. But a resentful spirit grows into a terrible burden. The Lord knows that forgiveness is best, even when it is difficult.

You won't deal with a sin until you see it as God does. So assume full responsibility for your unforgiving attitude, and acknowledge that it is a violation of His Word. Claim the divine mercy He offers, and ask Him to enable you to lay aside anger and resentment against the other person(s). As part of the decision to move forward in grace, make a habit of praying for those who hurt you. And if God so leads, seek their forgiveness for your wrong attitude.

A bitter and resentful spirit doesn't fit who we are in Christ. Nor is it healthy to carry an angry attitude through life. That's why Scripture emphasizes the need to forgive. Choose to be liberated from your burden--Jesus promised to make us free when we release our sins to Him (John 8:36).

Missing the Most Important Part..... ANGIE SMITH

 Missing the Most Important Part

ANGIE SMITH

“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:40-42 (NIV) 

It’s always the same word for me: overwhelmed.

I walk into my house and see the floor covered in dog-hair tumbleweeds and the sink stacked with dishes despite the fact that it was empty when I left two hours prior — and I’m pretty sure no one else has been home (I am still convinced we have a pixie who has been sent to ruin my life).

Everywhere I turn, there are things that need to be done, people I need to respond to, obligations I agreed to and approximately 100 other things that have popped up in the moment.

I feel like I live in a constant state of whiplash, always bracing myself for what could happen next. It's all too much. Why do we believe we can organize chaos? No wonder we feel so defeated. We’re trying to catch lightning in a bottle, friends.

And here is one of the worst parts: We’re so caught up in trying to maintain the status quo that we can miss opportunities God puts in front of us.

It's hard to think about being generous when you're so spent.

The other day, I sat down on the couch, curled up and cried until I shook. Every worst-case scenario that crossed my mind felt like a confirmation of my failures and shortcomings.

Everyone else can keep a kitchen clean.

Everyone else has dinner on the table.

Everyone else has a "budget."

I guarantee everyone else doesn’t have unidentified objects stuck to their walls (I have just now realized it is chewed gum, but that is the extent of my understanding of the situation).

As I write, there are at least 15 teenage kids in my kitchen waiting to surprise my daughter on her 15th birthday. I am overcome by the fact that I have never met half of them, was given approximately a 30-minute warning and have not had time to scrape gum or sweep tumbleweeds.

I panicked and started scrambling to get everything hidden, self-consciously greeting everyone with half-curled hair and a handful of dirty dishtowels.

And guess what? No one is paying attention to any of the things I hold a magnifying glass to. They're laughing and popping balloons and constantly checking the kitchen window to make sure she isn't back.

I almost missed the important part because I was consumed with the wrong thing.

Angie. This is not a crisis. This is a messy room filled with food, furniture and love.

I'm going to confess something: I guarantee that less than 5% of what I call "crises" are actually crises. It's the classic Mary-Martha situation found in our key verse:

“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:40-42).

And I also confess that I am so consumed with my own life that I rarely spend my worry on people who are actually in crisis.

The thing is, I have no excuse. I've traveled with Compassion several times, but somehow when I can't find my phone, I forget the preteen girl on the side of the road, waiting for a stranger to use her body so there will be food for dinner.

I don’t remember the room, no bigger than 8 feet by 10 feet, where a family of six lives.

I’m running late to the doctor! Who can think about the baby, curled up and unmoving on a bed, her mother helplessly rocking back and forth and explaining that he has had a fever for four days?

Who on earth moved the remote? And the phone charger? I’m go

In that moment, I have forgotten the file cabinet in the room directly above me in my house, the one where we keep all the letters from our sponsored kids.

Like the one where Fernanda told me she had been baptized in the Lord.

And the one where *** [name omitted for safety] showed a picture of himself — smile as wide as his face — standing by the first mattress he ever had.

Meanwhile, I’m snapping at my kids about not making their beds.

I’ve missed it. More times than I want to admit.

So here’s the deal: Every time I catch myself in a panic, I'm going to remember it’s likely not something worth panicking about. I'm going to remember that there are real children with toothy grins and knobby knees who can't imagine what it’s like to go to school. I will close my eyes and remind myself that I can either waste my time complaining that no one is helping me prepare for the guests, or I can lay at the feet of Jesus and pray for the kind of heart that breaks for the right things.

I’m so grateful for the files of artwork, the photos of new clothes and backpacks and the scribbled words that get better with every letter. What a gift.

There are kids who need our voices, investment, love and knowledge of Jesus as much as our own do.

I refuse to be so busy that I can’t remember them. Because when I do, there’s a shift in my spirit. A realignment that brings a deep sigh and a grateful spirit.

Lord, let us be the kind of people who love the way You do and push through the chaos to reach what matters. And remind us, Father. We so easily forget. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us n all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (NIV)

Proverbs 11:25, “A generous person will prosper whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (NIV)

The Lesson of Lasagna..... by Katherine Peters Britton

 The Lesson of Lasagna

by Katherine Peters Britton

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far has the LORD helped us.'" - 1 Samuel 7:12

Life in the Peters household produced a frenetic Christmas just about every year, but that year eclipsed them all. I was eleven years old when two game-changers happened in quick succession. First, in early November, my youngest sister was born. My twin brothers hadn't yet turned two, so daily life included diaper changes for three kids in addition to the newborn routine. Just a month later, my dad was ferrying me home from a Christmas cookie exchange when a truck broadsided us. Multiple injuries kept Dad laid up for a couple of weeks, right in the midst of Christmas parties and preparation.

The body of Christ carried many burdens for my overwhelmed family during the crazy season that followed. Friends cleaned the house, washed laundry, babysat so my exhausted mother could nap, put lights on our Christmas tree, took us kids Christmas shopping, and more. Even as a kid, I noticed how many people set aside their holiday bustle to lend a hand.

What I remember best, though, is the lasagna.

Church members consistently supplied us with hot meals when we would otherwise have eaten cold cereal, given the circumstances. I remember lots and lots of casseroles during the Christmas season, and - I must embarrassingly admit - my childish tastes invited me to turn up my nose at many of them. Especially the lasagna, which I barely tolerated in the best of times. During those two months, we choked down veggie lasagna that I thought tasted like printer paper, picked at lasagna surfeited with cottage cheese (I still despise cottage cheese), rejoiced over meat-lovers lasagna, and tried to get away with eating just the garlic bread someone brought as a side dish. Lord bless the folks that brought us that signature casserole, but after New Years I never wanted to see lasagna again. Ever.

Of course, the years have chugged along, I swapped out my last name, and I reticently reversed course on lasagna. The casserole has that sweetly sentimental quality of Grandma's cookies now, always reminding me of those crazy two months that began with a birth and closed with a year's end. It's my "edible Ebenezer," if you will. I know that might sound flippant, but I can't help but remember how God provided for my family during a rough patch when I smell that smell. To me, lasagna will always be synonymous with a church's love.

Intersecting Faith & Life:
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, when food and memories intertwine so closely, look around for the Ebenezer stones in your own life. What past events can you point to and say, "Yes, the Lord helped us there." Tell your family and friends the stories of God's grace and provision, so they too will "forget none of his benefits" (Psalms 103:2). We serve a faithful God - let's remember to look back on those markers.

How Do We Know What Love Is?..... By Lynette Kittle

 How Do We Know What Love Is?

By Lynette Kittle

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” - 1 John 3:16

What is love?

Most of us think of love like the Hollywood version, as a pleasant experience, something easy to give away to others, always feels good in the process, and is painless to express.

Sadly, our human version of love is often offered to others by how it makes us feel rather than for the benefit of the ones we say we love.

Interestingly, when asked why they are marrying their future spouse, engaged couples often list the ways their fiancée makes them feel, mentioning how they help them to be a better person and the ways they make their life better.

It’s a very rare couple, the ones who are looking out for the interest of their future bride or groom more than themselves, wanting to marry the other person because they want to make their future spouse’s life better.

Like Luke 6:32 explains, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.”

Yet Jesus showed us how to love those who don't love us, by loving us before we loved Him (1 John 4:19).

We as Christians talk much about Christ's suffering on the cross, of how He died for us, but not as much about His selfless sacrifice of loving sinful people, of facing their rejection, hatred, and mockery on a daily basis. No wonder He is referred to as a Man of sorrows.

Isaiah 53:3, paints the picture of His existence on earth, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.”

Jesus took on the penalty of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23), suffering public humiliation, unbelievable sorrow, excruciating pain, and separation from the Father through an agonizing death.

Isaiah 53:4 explains, “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.”

So why would Jesus take on the sins of the world, suffering all the humilities and agonies known to man, bearing all our sinfulness, sicknesses, pain, and sorrows?

Unlike the world’s selfish idea of what true love is, real love selflessly sacrifices for others.1 John 3:16 explains, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

And contrary to what some believe, Jesus’ life wasn’t taken from Him but rather, He freely laid it down. In John 10:18, He said, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

A Prayer for Veterans..... By Debbie McDaniel

 A Prayer for Veterans

By Debbie McDaniel

Freedom is powerful. It is a gift to be thankful for and to treasure.

Sometimes we forget the preciousness of our freedoms. It’s easy to take them for granted. We may not be fully aware of just how many men and women have paid dearly for the freedoms we enjoy today. For all those who have protected our nation, for the men and women in uniform, together, we say "Thank You."

A Prayer for Veterans: for Our Men and Women in Uniform:

Dear God,

We thank you for the ultimate freedom from you have given to us, better than any earthly freedoms we have. Christ paid the wages of our sin through his death, so that we may be free from death and have hope of everlasting life with you. For that freedom from our sin, we thank you.

We thank you also for the brave who have fought, and continue to fight, so courageously for our freedoms in our nation. We ask for your covering and blessing over them and their families. We pray that you would be gracious and encircle them with your peace. We pray for your great favor and goodness to be evident in their lives.

Please be with the men and women in uniform, who serve our communities and nation every single day. We ask that you provide your protection, that you would be their guiding force, the one who leads the way, and also their rear guard who keeps them safe from behind. We ask that you would draw them to yourself amidst the dangers they face in a dark world, for you are the Truth, you are the Way, you are the Light.

When the voice of hate rises up against them, we ask that you would silence it. When the plans of the enemy rise up to cause them to stumble, we ask that you would thwart it. When the forces of evil rise up to strike them down, we ask that you would stop it. Lord, we know how powerful you are, all have heard of your Great Name, and we ask that you would indeed be the wind beneath their wings, the power behind their efforts, the heart behind their service, as they are on the front lines against evil in our world today.

Help them to walk wisely. To stay covered in your armor. Give them godly discernment. Make them constantly aware of what lurks close by. Help them to be men and women of prayer, realizing that this is where their greatest help comes from. Help them to stay united and strong, bold and resolute, determined and unwavering.

Lord bless all those who wear the uniform, who serve our cities, our nation, our people. Bless their families. Bless those they love. Give them your great favor, this day, and every day.

Thank you that in our nation today, we are free to worship. We are free to pray. We are free to read your Word.  We are free to speak.  We are free to share. For this, we are incredibly grateful. Yet, we understand how quickly these freedoms can be taken away. Give us an increased awareness of the spiritual battle we're in. Help us to stand strong in you and for your purposes.

Thank you that as believers, we can be assured, you never leave us, and you are with us always, in this life, and the next.

In the Powerful Name of Jesus,

Amen.

THE THANKSGIVING FACTOR..... Pastor Jeff Schreve

 THE THANKSGIVING FACTOR

Pastor Jeff Schreve

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 
1 Thessalonians 5:18 

In the classic autobiography, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells of her sufferings at the hands of the Nazis during the evil reign of Adolph Hitler. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, were incarcerated at the Nazi concentration camp, Ravensbruck, and experienced terrible atrocities there. On one occasion, they were forced to disrobe before the German soldiers. In that awful, humiliating moment, an amazing discovery came to Corrie's mind: "They took Jesus' clothes too. He hung naked for me." When she relayed that wondrous thought to Betsie, she gasped and said, "Oh, Corrie, and I never thanked Him for it." 

One of the things that made Corrie and Betsie such dynamic Christians was the fact that the chose to see life from God's perspective. In the worst of situations, they found new insights to praise and thank God.

The Bible tells us that we are to give thanks in everything, the good things AND the bad things. In Psalm 50:23, God says, "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me." In the hard times, thanksgiving is difficult. It is definitely a sacrifice to thank God in a Nazi concentration camp, but it is so very necessary. Thanksgiving honors God, and when you and I honor God, He honors us (1 Samuel 2:30).

How is your thanksgiving factor? Are you facing tough times? Have you been griping and complaining about the things in your life that are hard, lonely and frustrating? Why not try praising and thanking God for your difficulty.  He knows about it, He is over it, and He cares for you. Without question, He has a purpose in every trial and tribulation. Start today to live a life of thanksgiving. If you will do it, I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, your attitude will change, the people around you will be blessed, and Jesus Christ will be glorified and honored.