"Carried"

 

“and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.” – Deuteronomy 1:31

The Book of Deuteronomy begins with Moses recording the events from the Israelites' exodus from Egypt to where they found themselves at the time of its writing. on the very threshold of the promised land!

The wilderness was quite the trek for God's people. What's sad is the experience was completely avoidable. If they had only trusted God at His word when they first approached Canaan, the land would have been occupied not only forty years earlier, but without such suffering and loss of life.

You may presently find yourself in a wilderness, a valley, or a desert. We find ourselves in these places for a myriad of reasons,  but let's not focus on the why right now, but rather on God's character - even if He is disciplining, as was the case with Israel. This verse reveals God's steadfast, never-wavering, love for us. All of His children, even in the wilderness. 

Moses writes that God carried them "like a man carries his son, in all the way that you went..." a father carries his child for lots of reasons. Children get weary. Children get injured, or sick. Sometimes, we pick up our children simply to be close to them. Or maybe, God carries us because He knows that home is still a bit further away and it is impossible for us to safely arrive there without Him.   

Also, be encouraged. Keep in mind God created the wilderness, the desert, the miry swamp, and the dark jungle with borders. They have both a beginning and an end. He'll get us there safely.     

“He Gets Us”

​

You may have seen the ads during the Super Bowl from the folks at “He Gets Us”. “He” being Jesus. I have not performed a comprehensive study into the ads myself, so, I will refrain from offering either my approval or disapproval. In fact, even though it is the heading of this article, I won’t be including it very much at all. 

What did come to mind was instead, “Do we get Him?” I believe we run the risk of making expressions of worship and our spiritual engagements more self-focused that God-focused. Even though “He Get Us” refers to Jesus, isn’t the focus actually on us? 

I get it. We are a sinful and fallible people in need of a God who understands us. We hurt. We fear. We doubt. But before we concern ourselves with whether He gets us, we should make “getting” Him the priority. 

God transcends, well, everything and everyone. The Creator of all is the Greater of all. So, “getting” Him doesn’t equate to fully understanding Him or His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9, Ecclesiastes 8:17). 

What can we “get” about Him? We can get a deeper understanding of His grace, a better grasp of His forgiveness, a deeper knowledge of His will, and a greater awareness of His love! Where? In His Word. We can find all of this in His Word and through prayer. 

Before being too wrapped up in whether He gets us, let’s first focus on us getting Him. 

Much Love!  

 

Bad News - Good God

​Many years ago, there was a health scare involving my beautiful bride, Kim. Praise God that what could have been… wasn’t. But during the days while we were waiting, I needed peace. I clung to hope. 

As He has done so many times before and since, God provided both through His Word. His timely, perfect, infallible, and eternal Word. In my reading plan one morning I read the following. 

“Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

‭ - Psalms‬ ‭112‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬

Over the last several months, it seems I have shared these verses several times, praying for and with people who find themselves in a season of waiting. 

The Lord doesn’t call you His own only to forget you. He didn’t save you to one day forsake you. You will be remembered (thought of, considered, “seen”) forever. Be it physical, relational, or vocational may your heart be steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 

Much Love in Christ. 

When the Night Closes In

This past Sunday we sang a new song, "Praise Your Name" which includes the lyric, "In the tension of the night, speak Your word, my guiding light; I will trust, I will trust You, Jesus." It can feel like the pressure of our responsibilities and our fears can come rushing up on us. The tension of the night is real. 

What should be our most physically and mentally restful time can become the loudest and most restless. During the day, as we are working and running at a break-neck pace, we can be more of a "moving target" than we are in the stillness of night. When the lights go out and when our heads hit the pillows and silence invades the room, there is still noise that can ring in our minds and our spirits. 

"In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety." 

                                                                                                                                         - Psalm 4:8

Take a moment to read all 8 verses of Psalm 4. Written by David, he closes with the verse above and by this we can confidently assume he was experiencing one of these "tense" nights. In verses 1-7 we see his anxious thoughts and fears that were keeping him awake. Keep in mind that, for him, even going to sleep was risky, especially while on the run from Saul. 

The first, and most important, response to the tossing and turning is discerning if it is from God. Is He trying to speak to us in the stillness as well? But if we know the thoughts are from our own struggles with accepting forgiveness or from the enemy, may we  stand on the Word of God and find the peace that David did. 


Much Love in Christ!

The Last Days and The Last Day

In Matthew 24 Jesus reveals the signs of the end of times, or "the last days". Many Christians believe we are living in these last days, myself among them. In fact, not as a formal title, but rather as cause for serious contemplation, I have recently asked our choir to think of the possibly of being part of the global "choir of the last days". That's a pretty heavy thought. The point is that we should be diligent. We should be sober-minded. We should be ready.  Read the similarities Jesus revealed between life just before the flood in Genesis and life now, before His soon-coming return. 

"But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." - Matthew 24:37-39

For those of us at Grace Baptist Church, we are currently listening to Pastor Bobby's messages on this very subject (I recommend going back and listening to "A Storm is Brewing" parts 1&2, "Be Prepared", and "The World is Underwater" parts 1&2". You can find them here). 

But what about the last day? My last day? Your last day? What does my current, normal "post-rapture" day look like? If I am living life as "usual" when it is demanded of me, what will it look like?

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?'" - Luke 12:20

There is immediate proof of God's grace in action this very second. For me, that I am writing this. For you, that you are reading this. If we have breath, we have hope. If you are in a place of knowing you have drifted from the Lord, His grace is your anchor. Return to Him. If you are in a place of knowing you are abiding in Him, praise Him for it. He is your ark. Remain in Him. His mercy, love, and justice call for our response. 

Will you pray this with me? "O Lord, whether it be the splitting of the eastern sky or the stopping of my mortal heart, may you find me living a life of worship that honors and pleases You."

Silence isn't Always Golden

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation” - Psalm 95:1”

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”‭‭ - Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ 

This (Sunday) morning, I experienced a brief, yet powerful, reminder of that privilege. I did some work around the house yesterday which included knocking out some drywall. Apparently, I inhaled a good amount of dust which really affected my ability to sing during rehearsal. In order to be able to sing for the services, I “saved it” and vocally laid out of the choruses of the songs that were a bit high. 

To be standing amidst others who were freely lifting their voices of praise while not doing so myself was strange, uncomfortable, and revelatory. I realized, just in those few moments, what I would be missing deep within my soul if I were to ever be unable to sing my praise, adoration, and love for God and to God. Take a moment and ask yourselves how you may feel. I encourage you to remember it next time you lift your voice in praise. What a privilege! What an honor!

Conversations with God

 

There are moments when God speaks so clearly it calls for me to stop everything and share it as a testimony of what is true. How do we hold a conversation with God? Of course, Jesus and the prophets clearly showed us. We converse with God through prayer. But how else does He speak to us today? First, we must understand that He doesn't speak to us now exactly as He did in the past.

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..." - Hebrews 1:1-2a

Keeping in mind that his Son, Jesus, is Himself the Word (John 1:1), we know that now, God communicates through the Word. Understand that this does not negate the fact that God also speaks to us through the Holy Spirit:

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come". - John 16:13

So, here is part of my conversation with God this morning. As I was reading in Exodus 30:22-38, I came across God's "ingredients" for the holy anointing oil to be used by Aaron and his sons in the tabernacle. This included myrrh, cinnamon, sweet-smelling cane, cassia, and olive oil. As I read, I began to think to myself, "Wow! I wonder if these spices and elements are still available today? To be able to experience that holy aroma of the tabernacle!"

Only a few verses later I read:

"...nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy; and it shall be holy to you." - Exodus 30:32b

Even more specifically, in reference to the incense:

"Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people." - Exodus 30:38

First, God takes holiness very, very seriously. These aromas and scents were not created for our pleasure, to simply "smell" in order to experience it. Like all worship, they were for His pleasure. These were for God and God alone. But the fact that He told me this through His written word specifically, directly and immediately - perceiving my thoughts - was a reminder of His presence, power, and intimacy.

He desires conversation with us. Much like the door to the heart upon which He knocks, our bibles, too, must be opened.