Fearing the Future..... Streams in the Desert

 Fearing the Future 

    Streams in the Desert

And, lo, I am with you always (Matthew 28:20).

Never look ahead to the changes and challenges of this life in fear. Instead, as they arise look at them with the full assurance that God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. Hasn't He kept you safe up to now? So hold His loving hand tightly, and He will lead you safely through all things. And when you cannot stand, He will carry you in His arms.

Do not look ahead to what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you His unwavering strength that you may bear it. Be at peace, then, and set aside all anxious thoughts and worries.
--Francis de Sales

The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 23:1

Not was, not may be, nor will be. "The Lord is my shepherd." He is on Sunday, on Monday, and through every day of the week. He is in January, in December, and every month of the year. He is when I'm at home and in China. He is during peace and war, and in times of abundance or poverty.
--J. Hudson Taylor

He will silently plan for you,
His object of omniscient care;
God Himself undertakes to be
Your Pilot through each subtle snare.
He WILL silently plan for you,
So certainly, He cannot fail!
Rest on the faithfulness of God,
In Him you will surely prevail.
He will SILENTLY plan for you
Some wonderful surprise of love.
No eye has seen, nor ear has heard,
But it is kept for you above.
He will silently PLAN for you,
His purposes will all unfold;
Your tangled life will shine at last,
A masterpiece of skill untold.
He will silently plan FOR YOU,
Happy child of a Father's care,
As if no other claimed His love,
But you alone to Him were dear.
--E. Mary Grimes

Whatever our faith says God is, He will be.

The Fruitful Giver..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Fruitful Giver

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

If you've ever visited Israel, you have no doubt experienced the contrast between the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The banks of the Jordan are surrounded by trees and greenery, but nothing lives around the Dead Sea. The reason is that there is no outlet. When the water flows into that sea, it stays there. Eventually the salts accumulate and poison the water.

This is a vivid picture of two different financial plans. The Dead Sea compares to the world's system, which is based on accumulation and preservation of wealth. The goal is to get enough so you can have enough, but this approach results in self-centered stagnation. Christians who follow this plan mistakenly believe it's the path to security. But what they fail to understand is that hoarding makes their lives spiritually unfruitful and hinders the good works God wants them to do.

The Lord's financial plan is like a river that moves continuously. As His provisions flow into our lives, we pass them on to others. This results in a fruitful life centered on building God's kingdom. Perhaps you've realized that He promises to supply "bread for food" to those who give, but did you know He'll also provide "seed for sowing" (v. 10)? He supplies enough to live and enough to give.

Have you hindered your spiritual growth by sowing sparingly? If you become a generous giver, God promises to "increase the harvest of your righteousness" (v. 10). There are needs in the church and the world that He wants to meet through your generosity. Let His blessings flow through you.

Holding Tight to Hope..... SARAH GERINGER

 Holding Tight to Hope

SARAH GERINGER

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)

Even on the grayest late-winter days, I find signs of hope at the base of a mighty oak tree.

Because I battle a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder, the last thing I want to do on a freezing February morning is venture outdoors. I’d much rather stay bundled up with my hot tea, Bible, blanket and fuzzy socks. But since my dog, Memphis, nudges and paws at me while begging for his daily walk, I put on my cold gear and clip on his leash.

Memphis and I travel a familiar path passing by a oak tree whose gnarled roots are covered in ferns — a welcome bright spot against the dry, dead leaves.

Since the ferns’ root systems are shallow, they cling to the tree’s base for strength against chilly northern winds. Their fronds look delicate, yet these ferns are resilient when battered by rain, ice and snow. They are a testament of strength in harsh elements.

Those tightly clinging ferns remind me of our key verse: “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23).

In this chapter, the writer of Hebrews is referring to an eternal picture of hope: the Most Holy Place in heaven, where we can boldly enter God’s presence through prayer and receive a fresh infusion of hope as often as we need it.

But if you’re like me, maybe hope has eluded you most of your life. Though I have always believed in God, I spent many years in survival mode against some personal challenges. I was fighting so hard to stay afloat emotionally, I had no room to let hope in. When I dared to look toward the future, I saw cloudy gray, but very little evergreen.

Several years ago, God began reorienting my vision. Through daily Bible study, He taught me how much He loved me, no matter what lies I believed about myself. In the counselor’s office, He helped me work through the hurts of my past, which took me out of survival mode. In new friendships with godly women, He healed my wounds from broken relationships. Then God showed me how to thrive in prayer, using hope in His promises as my anchor.

Just as the little ferns cling to the much-bigger tree for strength, I have learned to cling to God when I need hope. He’s always waiting for me in my prayer room, delighting to wrap me in the embrace of His presence. He renews my vision with hope, which is green with abundant life in every situation.

Sometimes I imagine God planted those ferns at the base of the oak tree just for me. He uses them to remind me to fill my mind with the truth of His Word each day.

God wants me to delight in the hope they represent … the promise of spring even on the coldest days. He uses the ferns to direct my praise toward Him, the One who uses anything He wants to draw us closer and give us new hope.

Father God, I praise You for tucking signs of hope into this season. Open my eyes to see them, Lord. Help me hold tightly to hope in Your promises when I’m tempted to worry about the gray areas in my life. May Your hope be evergreen in my heart and mind. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Romans 15:13, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NLT)

What to Do with Wayward Thoughts..... By: Joe McKeever

 What to Do with Wayward Thoughts

By: Joe McKeever

“We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” - 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Everyone has errant thoughts from time to time. If we handle them well and send them on their way, in no way should we feel shame or guilt.

Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building nests in your hair.” You thought that line was original with your grandma? I have a hunch Luther didn’t make it up either, but was quoting something he had heard all his life. No telling where it originated. But it’s the solid truth.

Thoughts of all kinds flit through our minds. We reject the bad ones and go forward. But we should not feel guilty that they appeared, if only momentarily. Only had we welcomed them inside and let them entertain us with their juicy (scary!) scenarios should we feel that we have done wrong.

No one should ever rationalize that “Well, it was just a thought and thoughts are harmless.”

They are not harmless. The thought is the preparation for the act.

Every wrong deed begins with a wrong thought. And seriously wrong deeds are almost always preceded by a full-scale onslaught of impure thinking, planning and daydreaming.

As serious disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we fill our minds with thoughts proper and healthy, godly and edifying. “Whatsoever things are true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things”(Philippians 4:8).

This is not a new idea, but consistently taught throughout Scripture…

“His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in that Law doth he meditate day and night”(Psalm 1:2).

“Thy word have I treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11).

“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Never mind the television commercial that asks, “What’s in your wallet?” Better to ask, “What’s on your mind?” What are you thinking about? What are you dwelling upon? Where does your mind go to rest and when it settles down? What is it feasting upon?

“A man may not be what he thinks he is, but what he thinks, he is.” – Anonymous and true.

“Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8).

Unhappiness: A Tempting Choice?..... by Sarah Phillips

Unhappiness: A Tempting Choice?
by Sarah Phillips

"And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." Acts 13:52

"Always be happy. I see you out there with your solemn faces and hands folded like this, and perhaps you think this is holiness. This sad, solemn-ness is not really holiness. Always be happy wherever you go; God is good."

These are words spoken by a priest from India at a recent retreat. No doubt, this priest is well-versed in the theology of redemptive suffering, so his words gave me pause. What does he mean by this? Is it even possible to be happy like this?

Later, in a discussion with my father, he mentioned that family counselors like my stepmother often encounter challenging clients who are married to their unhappiness. In other words, these individuals are so comfortable with their misery and dysfunction (born out of very real hurts, no doubt) they don't even want to be happy anymore.

Pondering all this has rearranged some of my thinking on faith and happiness.

Perhaps you've heard this common saying in Christian circles: "God doesn't promise us happiness here on earth." From what I've encountered in my studies of the Bible and theology, the statement is factual.

I used to interpret this fact as an indication that God just doesn't have happiness in his plans for some (and I was likely one of those people, right?). But as I am reflecting on Fr. Andrew's words and my stepmother's clients, it hits me. Perhaps God doesn't promise happiness because it's not his place to give it. In other words, perhaps happiness is part of God's plan, but it's something we also must choose on our end. 

Think about it. Have you ever met that person who "has everything" but isn't happy? I knew a person like that. He possessed uncommon intelligence. He had a loving family, wealth, and opportunity. But he seemed gifted at finding the dark side to everything. And I mean everything. He suffered from incredible cynicism and depression. Let's put the possibility of a chemical imbalance aside for a second and ponder this truth: God has the power to bless us, but it's up to us to be happy about it.

I don't say these things to cause pain or make anyone feel guilty for not feeling happy. Trust me, I've had plenty of dark periods where happiness seemed like a joke. I firmly believe it's okay to feel unhappy sometimes. Jesus didn't always feel good either, and it's safe to say there was nothing wrong with him.

Still, it's important to remember that there is a danger in wallowing in darkness for too long. There is a great temptation to become attached to our sadness, our victim-hood. Our cross, instead of drawing us closer to life in Christ, ends up bringing us closer to spiritual death when we do this.

In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis explores this idea that we can become too attached to our brokenness. He sets up a fictional scenario where souls in hell get a second chance at heaven. But they ultimately do not choose heaven - they can't even enjoy heaven - due to their excessive attachment to hell.

This seems downright crazy, but it's not any different than the clients my stepmom sees every week. And it's a very real trap we fall into every time we hold too tightly to our hurts and sorrows instead of releasing them to God.

Lewis warns, "If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."

But then what do we do with all the bad things in life? Certainly, we will feel sorrow and loss - we should feel sorrow and loss when bad things happen. How then do we avoid getting trapped by tragedy? How do we let go of the comforts, the "intimate souvenirs," of life's little hells? Lewis has more to say about that, and I will end here to ponder his words:

"'Son,' he said, 'ye cannot in your present state understand eternity... That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, 'No future bliss can make up for it,' not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say 'Let me have but this and I'll take the consequences': little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why... the Blessed will say 'We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven,': and the Lost, 'We were always in Hell.' And both will speak truly."

Intersecting Faith & Life: Have you held on to unhappiness for too long? Is your sadness, guilt, anger, or bitterness tempting you to sin or obscuring your faith? Ask God to help you let go of destructive thoughts or behaviors.

Further Reading
1 Peter 1:8

A Prayer for Ushering in New Seasons..... By: Chelsey DeMatteis

 A Prayer for Ushering in New Seasons

By: Chelsey DeMatteis

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. - Ephesians 3:20-21

Isn’t it interesting how at the end of every calendar year, most people excitingly invite in the next season? It seems as though the “newness” of a new year brings anticipation, but the newness of a new season in our lives brings on unwanted feelings. Feelings of worry, doubt, fear, and apprehension. The apprehension of what will change, fear for what will no longer be, and worry about what is to come with the new set of circumstances that stands before us.

As I’m entering a new season of life, I’ve been in deep conversation and prayer with the Lord. What if you, me, and all believers around the world ushered in new beginnings with hearts full of wonder and trust in The Lord? The wonder of what God will change, trusting in what God will remove, and hoping in all God will bring forth in our lives with His new sets of circumstances for us. While this wouldn’t exempt us from trials it would prepare us with hearts that are willing to fully surrender to Him and see what He will do.

You see, everything changes when our perspective goes from earthly to eternally. Our hearts are challenged, changed, and shaped when we set our eyes on The Lord and not what lies ahead of us. Paul writes to us in Ephesians 3:20 that God can do, will do, and is doing more than we could ever ask or imagine. God is doing things that bring He and His Church glory.  While there is much mystery in that passage, we find a powerful promise. A promise that we must cling to as we navigate our time here on earth.

If the Lord promises us He will do more than we could ever ask or imagine, we need to believe Him. I deeply believe within this promise, we should be ushering in new seasons with great anticipation of what God is going to do. We serve the everlasting God; the One who sent His son to defeat the grave, and the One who knows everything about you and me, yet loves us anyway. For me, and I pray for you, that our hearts will desire these things in the new seasons to come: that we will openhandedly, willingly, with full anticipation usher in whatever God has for us. With that comes a deep trust, firm faith, and unwavering hope because sometimes The Lord leads us into things that look difficult on earth but are woven with great eternal reward.

Pray with me…

Heavenly Father,

As we begin prayerfully ushering in new seasons with anticipation of what you will do, I pray for peace. I pray we would have a perspective that sets our eyes on you and not on the world. Lead my heart to experience you more deeply, help me seek you more intentionally, and grow my faith as I trust in you confidently.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.