Faith in Difficult Times..... Streams in the Desert

 Faith in Difficult Times 

Streams in the Desert

The hill country shall be thine (Joshua 17:18, RV).

There is always room higher up. When the valleys are full of Canaanites, whose iron chariots withstand your progress, get up into the hills, occupy the upper spaces. If you can no longer work for God, pray for those who can. If you cannot move earth by your speech, you may move Heaven. If the development of life on the lower slopes is impossible, through limitations of service, the necessity of maintaining others, and such-like restrictions, let it break out toward the unseen, the eternal, the Divine.

Faith can fell forests. Even if the tribes had realized what treasures lay above them, they would hardly have dared to suppose it possible to rid the hills of their dense forest-growth. But as God indicated their task, He reminded them that they had power enough. The visions of things that seem impossible are presented to us, like these forest-covered steeps, not to mock us, but to incite us to spiritual exploits which would be impossible unless God had stored within us the great strength of His own indwelling.

Difficulty is sent to reveal to us what God can do in answer to the faith that prays and works. Are you straitened in the valleys? Get away to the hills, live there; get honey out of the rock, and wealth out of the terraced slopes now hidden by forest.
--Daily Devotional Commentary

Got any rivers they say are uncrossable,
Got any mountains they say "can't tunnel through"?
We specialize in the wholly impossible,
Doing the things they say you can't do.
--Song of the Panama builders

Accepting God's Gift of Love Dr. Charles Stanley

Accepting God's Gift of Love

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 John 4:7-12

Many people simply can't believe that the Lord loves them. Others believe that He loves them, but only when they are pleasing Him in some way. Why is it so hard for us to accept His unconditional love?

One reason is that we have a hard time loving others without condition. We might say the words "I love you" to our spouse, children, friends, co-workers, or fellow believers but all too often are calculating in our mind whether or not they've lived up to our standard. We sometimes excuse ourselves from loving certain people because their behavior upsets or annoys us. The fact that we place restrictions on extending favor causes us to wrongly assume that the Lord does likewise.

Another reason is poor self-image. Considering ourselves unworthy, we refuse to accept God's love. You know what? None of us are worthy of the heavenly Father's goodness and mercy—so you can let go of that excuse once and for all. We're not coming to Him based on our worth. Rather, we're coming to Him based on His grace, and our position is secure in Christ. To put yourself down as "beneath His grace" is to trample on His loving, generous gift. God arranged an awesome divine way for us to be reconciled to Him, and His greatest desire is for relationship with each of us.

If you feel unloved or struggle to accept yourself, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of our heavenly Father's love for you—and to sink it deep into your heart. Receive the truth that He reveals. It will be a completely different story about your value as an individual.

How to Prepare for Heaven (1 Timothy 6:19)..... By Lynette Kittle

 How to Prepare for Heaven (1 Timothy 6:19)

By Lynette Kittle

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life—1 Timothy 6:19

Later in her life, my Mom began asking us what items of hers we would like to have when she went to be with Jesus. Of course, this wasn’t something we wanted to discuss or even think about at the time, so we tried to dodge her questions and change the subject.

But she was excited and looking forward to being with Jesus. Just as many plan for their future on earth, Mom was preparing for her future in Heaven by distributing her earthly possessions.

Because Jesus tells us He is preparing a place for us (John 14:3), there wasn’t anything wrong with her looking ahead and preparing in practical ways for her new life with Him. She was looking up, as the song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" encourages:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light o His glory and grace.”

If we think about it, life on earth really is all about preparing for our future. It’s about accepting God’s gift of Salvation, recruiting others to go with us, and storing up treasures in Heaven.

It’s true what Matthews 6:21 explains, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Even the happiest place on earth doesn't compare to the ultimate place of peace, joy, love, and more waiting for all of us who receive God’s gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

How to Prepare for Heaven While on Earth:

Because Heaven is our future destination, how can we prepare on earth for living there?

1. Receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. As John 3:16 explains, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

What could be more wonderful than to receive eternal life and live with Jesus?

2. Leave fear behind. Hebrews 2:9, explains how Jesus suffered death so that He might taste death for everyone. Because He died for our sins, we don’t have to fear death.

As 1 Corinthians 15:54 describes, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ’Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”

3. Recruit as many people as possible to go there, too. We truly can’t take any earthly possessions with us when we leave but we certainly can recruit loved ones and others to come with us.

Jesus encourages us to preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15), and when we do tell, others will receive eternal life with Him and never perish (John 10:28).

4. Store up treasures in heaven rather than earth.  Isaiah 51:6, describes how the earth is set to wear out like a garment. So rather than spending our time, energy, and resources storing up earthly treasures, Jesus urges,  “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).

Unlike things we collect in the world, God’s treasures are made to last an eternity. 1 Timothy 6:18 encourages us to store up this kind of treasure by doing good, being rich in good deeds, and being generous and willing to share.

As 1 Timothy 6:19, assures, “In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Whereas treasures in this life are temporary, treasures in Heaven build a strong foundation for our lives to come.

Who Cares about Leviticus?..... by Katherine Britton

 Who Cares about Leviticus?

by Katherine Britton

“You are to be holy to me, because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” – Leviticus 20:26

Like most evangelicals, I haven’t devoted much time to parsing Leviticus. After all, we live under the new covenant ushered in by Christ’s death and resurrection, and we’re Gentiles to boot. Leviticus was written for a particular people at a particular time, and vast sections of the book have been demoted to historical curiosities at this point. The fledgling kingdom of Israel – really, a collection of tribes that had more in common with their pagan neighbors than today’s Christian enclave – were on the other side of history’s turning point. For this emerging nation the Lord dictated incredibly detailed ceremonial law that has since passed away, as we have a new and perfect high priest.

Still, the apostle Paul insists that “all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching” (2 Timothy 3:15). Remember, this is Paul speaking, the same apostle who vilified the Judaizers for insisting the law must be upheld in its minutae to achieve salvation, and who wrote that “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.” The resolution of the paradox might be a bit more apparent through the example of Park Street Church in Boston.

Pastor Daniel Harrell convinced 19 members of his congregation to join him in an experiment in “living Levitically,” despite the drastic changes they had to make in their daily living. The group grew out their beards, kept kosher, cleaned their homes meticulously, observed the Sabbath, and even stopped wearing clothes made from blended materials. One of the few exceptions to the experiment was animal sacrifice, as the group intended not to break any U.S. laws while observing the ceremonial ones.

The group found it absolutely impossible to obey every tenet. But the Park Street Church says that wasn’t the point. Seeing firsthand that they couldn’t perfectly fulfill the law, they realized the need for grace in a whole new way. As Romans 5:20 explains it, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

Could it be that, in ignoring Leviticus as a whole, we forget how awesome grace is? True, not every ceremonial law (washing your feet? Wearing blended materials?) is also a moral law. But God still told the Israelites to keep it as his law. Reading about the church’s example reminded me of a couple things:

First, God’s people are supposed to be set apart. The Israelites were supposed to look different, act different, worship different, and spend their time in different ways than the nations around them. It was an integral part of their calling as God’s people. The manifestations aren’t quite the same, but Christians have the same calling today.

Second, we aren’t set apart enough. As Park Street Church rediscovered, the law points out our insufficiencies. Even if the law were just a set of external rules, we still couldn’t keep them perfectly. We just can’t measure up to following the law or Christ’s example.

Third, only in Christ can we find rest from the law and a new identity that really sets us apart. The writer of Hebrews notes that the law is “only a shadow of the good things that are coming.” And yes, the law is a good thing – it makes us realize how much Christ had to atone for on our behalf. Not only that, God has adopted us as sons and daughters through Christ to really set us apart. And then he gives us the grace to live it. Sure, we’ll still fall, and that will remind us to run to grace. But the power of the law is gone through Christ.

Intersecting Faith & Life: This week, take time to read Hebrews 10  Notice how beautifully Christ not only supersedes the law, but fulfills all of its demands. That ought to inspire the worship that God desires more than the Israelites’ burnt offerings.

A Prayer to Stand Firm in Spiritual Battle..... By Debbie McDaniel

 A Prayer to Stand Firm in Spiritual Battle

By Debbie McDaniel

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12

We face an enemy here in this life. It's more than what we can see before us. It's more than another person who we think has wronged us. It's more than our own struggles and weaknesses we deal with or the negative self-talk we sometimes battle.

This enemy is real and fierce, and will stop at nothing to try to bring you defeat and destruction. Maybe you've noticed too. Because if you're a believer who is living like salt and light in a dark world, you won't go for long without encountering obstacles and attacks he'll hurl your direction.  God's words are true, this battle is real, and intense.

If you're facing this today, please know you're not alone, neither are you left to fight alone. Many of us are in the battle with you, and God is the One who fights on behalf of His own, constantly shielding, protecting, strengthening, even when we're unaware. We never fight alone. He's with us. Always.

He's given us His words that are true and powerful, so that we'll have the wisdom to stand against the enemy. The reality of this powerful chapter is that Paul wrote these words while in chains, in prison. Yet the truth is - the enemy, no matter how vicious his schemes, can never chain our spirits that have been set free by Christ. Paul was not silenced by the cruel attacks from dark forces. Neither should we be.

We do not have to walk in fear. For when we belong to Christ, the enemy never has the final word.  We are secure in God's hands and He tells us to "stand firm." Whether in life, or in death, we may always be found standing firm for the cause of Christ.

Focusing here today, staying alert, and praying, that God will equip believers everywhere to "stand strong."

Press on – courageous and free – never held back by fear or defeat.

For God has the final victory over our lives...

Dear God,

We thank you that you hold the victory over sin and death in this world. We thank you for your redemptive work you’ve done in our lives.  We thank you for freedom and the hope you bring.

Your word says to “stand our ground,” and that’s what we will do, in the power of your Name. The enemy has no control over us, and we bring your word of Truth as weapon against his schemes. We know that we do not fight alone, for you are constantly at work on behalf of your children, shielding, protecting, strengthening, exposing deeds of darkness, bringing to light what needs to be known, covering us from the cruel attacks we face even when we’re unaware.

 We ask that you would give us wisdom and discernment to recognize the schemes of the enemy in our lives and to stand strong against his work.

We ask that you would remind us to pray, constantly, for all believers.

We ask that you would help us to stay alert in a dark world that tries hard to make things look “not so bad.”

We ask that you would equip us to be salt and light, that we would be loving and gracious, yet unyielding to sin.

We ask that you help us to remember to put on your armor daily, for you give us all that we need to stand firm in this day.

We thank you that though you remind us in your word that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one, you are still far greater and we have overcome, because you have set us free.

We thank you for your truth, “no weapon formed that is formed against you will prosper,” and that you tell us this is our “heritage” in you, our inherited blessing, place of possession, and gift straight from your hand.

We love you Lord. We need you.  We stand together in your great and powerful Name.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.