Beauty in the Dark..... Streams in the Desert

 Beauty in the Dark 

Streams in the Desert

I will give you the treasures of darkness (Isaiah 45:3).

In the famous lace shops of Brussels, there are certain rooms devoted to the spinning of the finest and most delicate patterns. These rooms are altogether darkened, save for a light from one very small window, which falls directly upon the pattern. There is only one spinner in the room, and he sits where the narrow stream of light falls upon the threads of his weaving. "Thus," we are told by the guide, "do we secure our choicest products. Lace is always more delicately and beautifully woven when the worker himself is in the dark and only his pattern is in the light."

May it not be the same with us in our weaving? Sometimes it is very dark. We cannot understand what we are doing. We do not see the web we are weaving. We are not able to discover any beauty, any possible good in our experience. Yet if we are faithful and fail not and faint not, we shall some day know that the most exquisite work of all our life was done in those days when it was so dark.

If you are in the deep shadows because of some strange, mysterious providence, do not be afraid. Simply go on in faith and love, never doubting. God is watching, and He will bring good and beauty out of all your pain and tears.
--J. R. Miller

The shuttles of His purpose move
To carry out His own design;
Seek not too soon to disapprove
His work, nor yet assign
Dark motives, when, with silent tread,
You view some sombre fold;
For lo, within each darker thread
There twines a thread of gold.
Spin cheerfully,
Not tearfully,
He knows the way you plod;
Spin carefully,
Spin prayerfully,
But leave the thread with God.
--Canadian Home Journal

Letting Go of the Illusion of Control (Psalm 37:4)..... By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 Letting Go of the Illusion of Control (Psalm 37:4)

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

Today’s Bible Verse: Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

I used to think the Christian life was a very mysterious formula. I’d interpret Scripture such as Psalm 37:4 and John 14:13-14 as instructions; if I could figure them out, I’d finally have it made. I’d finally have everything I wanted, or at least thought I needed.

John 14:13-14 (ESV) Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Deep down, I knew those verses in John 14 didn’t apply to getting a pony as a child, or catching the attention of my latest crush as a teenager, or anything else petty or innately selfish. But I still believed, as I came into my adult years, that if I just prayed hard enough, my former mother-in-law would wake up from her coma. If I just prayed long enough, maybe using a particular set of Scriptures, my husband would find a new job immediately after getting laid off. If I just said the right words in the right order, my ex-husband would have a heart change and come back to our marriage.

If I just… If I just…

I put it all on me.

When I talked out that process logically, I could see the ridiculous nature of it. But that was the way my heart was operating and how my prayers were driven. I would fly in an airplane to a writer’s conference and deep down, feel that my prayers were ultimately responsible for keeping the plane in the air. I would pray with a measure of panic and guilt every time a friend or acquaintance asked me to pray for so-and-so or this-and-that. I would feel a burden of responsibility to stop everything and pray right then, because if I didn’t, something bad would happen.

At the end of the day, that type of anxiety is still pride at its root. It’s making it all about me and my effort and my ability.

It wasn’t until these last several years that God began to grow my heart out of that type of burden. I didn’t have control, I wasn’t sovereign, and no amount of praying certain ways at certain times in certain places was going to change that. I wasn’t keeping the plane in the air. I wasn’t responsible for my husband’s heart and life choices, or my mother-in-law’s health, or anything in between.

Don’t get me wrong - prayer is vital. Prayer matters! The scriptures urge us to pray—but not because the world is going to flip off its axis if we don’t. God answers prayer and uses the prayers of His people to bring about things He’s ordained and planned from before the beginning of time. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

He uses those prayers to shape us and mold us and encourage others through us. Good things are born of prayer. God gives us the desire to even pray in the first place! But ultimately, prayer is about changing our heart, not ruling the world. Prayer is about surrender, not control.

As the Psalmist says in 37:4, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, we’re being changed and shaped to be more like Christ. When the Scriptures and the things of God delight our hearts, our hearts are changed so our desires become Christ’s (not the other way around!) It’s not a reward program, or a formula. It’s a miraculous life change.

When you pray today, remember Psalm 37:4. Open your heart and ask the Lord to fill you with a fresh delight in Him. The Holy Spirit will start to mold your desires to fit His, and the things you desire will reflect God’s desires. He’ll turn those prayers into a divine cycle of generating even more delight in your heart for Him.

And that is something we could never do ourselves.

The Joyous Paradox of Advent..... by Katherine Britton

 The Joyous Paradox of Advent

by Katherine Britton

"Come, Thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free…
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart"

"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him." - Luke 12:35-36

Like so many Christian doctrines, the Advent season represents a bit of a paradox. I have to thank my colleague Sarah Phillips for expanding my understanding of the tradition, as the three purple candles and one pink candle were mostly a Christmas countdown to me. But Advent has a greater richness if we have eyes to see.

I found a parallel to the Advent paradox on a recent trip. A couple weeks ago, four of my college friends and I met for a rare weekend together, as we live hundreds of miles apart today. We made pizza, giggled, and spent hours "sharing and caring" like we used to in college, despite the fact that half of us are now married and one of us had a toddler in tow. We were delighted just to be with people who once shared so much with us. As I prepared to leave, I was certainly a bit nostalgic for "the good old days." And yet, I was also thinking about the family and friends awaiting me back in Richmond. I think we all felt a similar tension - not unpleasantly - as the goodbyes rolled around.

Advent represents a coming rather than a going away, but holds a similar tension. On the one hand, we look backwards to Christ's first coming in the manger. On the other, we look forward to the Second Coming and the fullness of our reunion with the Lord. And here we are, stuck between the two in the 21st century.

Advent encompasses so many human feelings - hopeful longing, wistful remembrance, renewed wonder, and more. We are twice waiting, first with the nation of Israel waiting for the Messiah, and then with Christians around the world waiting for the time when "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev. 7:17). As such, this season is much more than a tradition. It's a season that every person can relate to, because we've all experienced longing. And only one thing can truly fulfill our longings.

That's part of the beauty of celebrating Christ's birth at this dark time of year. We just experienced the winter solstice yesterday; now the days begin to brighten, just as Christ comes to be "the light of men." Our longing for brighter days is literally at hand. The dark night of sin's reign ends as we repent, and joy comes to the world.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Dig a little deeper into the Advent traditions, such as the Advent wreath. We'll light the white Christ candle before you know it - are you ready?

A Romans 8:28 Prayer..... By Lori Hatcher

 A Romans 8:28 Prayer

By Lori Hatcher

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28

This Scripture brings comfort, direction, and hope to Christians every day. Sadly, it’s also one of the most misquoted and misunderstood verses in the Bible.

I’d like to share two things about this popular verse you may never have noticed.

First, Romans 8:28 doesn’t mean we can live any way we choose, and God will fix our messes.

To understand the truth of Romans 8:28, we can’t just quote the part of the verse we like: “And we know that in all things God works for the good...” and skip the rest, “of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 is a promise for believers. Real believers. Those who are living for Christ. Not those who claim to believe in God but are living like the devil.

This verse says to those who love God and are doing their best to obey his commands, “Even though bad/sad/evil/wicked things will touch your life, I (God) will use them to ultimately bring about good, both in your life and in the world."

Second, Romans 8:28 tells us God can use all things together for good. He doesn’t say all things are good.

No matter how rose-colored our glasses are, there’s nothing good about cancer, sex trafficking, or death. Until Jesus returns and conquers Satan once and for all, sin will continue to drag its poisonous tentacles across our world, damaging and destroying everything in its wake.

The truth of Romans 8:28 reminds us that although sin and Satan are powerful, God is more powerful; He is able to redeem and restore anything for our good and his glory. All things may not be good, but God can and will use all things for good.

As long as we live in this world, people will attempt to reconcile God’s sovereignty with humanity’s suffering. Verses like Romans 8:28 assure us that no suffering is wasted, and God is always at work for our good and his glory. When we cannot comprehend why trials come and struggle to imagine that anything good can come from them, we can rest in the security that God is in control.

Because of this, we can have hope.

Please pray with me:

Father,

Sometimes I can’t understand how you can bring beauty from the ashes of my life. I struggle to trust you with the broken pieces. You say in your Word that without faith it is impossible to please you, and I want to please you. I want to trust you. I want you to make me more like Jesus and use my trials for my good and your glory. Help me believe the promise of Romans 8:28.

In the strong name of Jesus I ask,

Amen.

The Man Who Tried to Stop Christmas..... Pastor Greg Laurie

 The Man Who Tried to Stop Christmas

Pastor Greg Laurie

Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. (Matthew 2:7 NLT)

King Herod was the man who tried to stop Christmas. With all his wealth and power, he came to complete ruin. Historical writings tell us that in the final year of his life, his body was infected with disease.

Ironically, Herod pretended to be a worshipper. He said to the wise men, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” (Matthew 2:8). Yet Herod was a false worshipper. There are people like him today. They say they believe in God, but they live a life that contradicts what the Scriptures teach.

Herod wanted to be the king of his own life, but he really was a slave. He ended up being not the King of the Jews but the king of fools. Herod ended up on the ash heap of history like dictators before and after him, reminding us that those who live wicked lives eventually will reap what they sow. Adolf Hitler went into his bunker and shot himself as his nation crumbled around him. Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole and was eventually executed by his own people. Muammar Gaddafi was hunted down by his own people, beaten, and shot to death.

All those who blaspheme God, fight with God, or try to stop the work of God eventually will fail. Yet God’s Word ultimately will prevail. Philippians 2:9–10 says, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

One day, everyone—every man, every woman, every believer, and every nonbeliever—will bow before Jesus Christ.