Finding God

By D’Ann Davis, Women's Ministry Director

“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

Psalm 145:18

“But I spent time with the Lord, and He did not meet me.” There are few things in the Christian life that feel more defeating than when we have taken the time to seek the Lord’s face, and we walk away feeling stood up. We read, we prayed, we journaled, we cried, and we came out on the other side just as discouraged, confused, and empty as before. Sometimes we feel worse off than before we spent time with Him at all.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers as to why sometimes God seems to tarry in His nearness. Sometimes we simply must keep going, trusting in the truth of Jeremiah 29:13 that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our hearts. But Psalm 145:18 gives us some insight into why we might find the Lord not picking up our phone call; maybe we are dialing the wrong number.

“The Lord is near to all who call on Him,” the psalmist tells us, “to all who call on Him in truth.” The qualifier provides us clarity. There are countless times in which I have called upon the Lord, but not in truth. I have called on Him in my feelings, in the lies I believe, in accusation, in anger, and in bewilderment. When I base my view of God on those things and not the truth, I find it difficult to hear from Him. When I call on Him in truth however, even in the midst of great sorrow, confusion, or despair, I’m far abler to hear clearly from Him. Thankfully even as we fail in this, God is gracious. God is not threatened by our negative feelings; instead, He asks us to share them with Him (Psalm 51:6). He is also not needing for us to have a cleaned up view of Him before approaching Him, as Jesus has paved the way for us to be near to the Father and sympathizes with our weakness in this area as well (Hebrews 4:14-16). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, ‘made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved’” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Thankfully, it is the blood of Jesus, and not our ability to see God perfectly at all times, that saves us and reconciles us to the Father.

So God has made the way for us already, and He is inviting us to walk in it. When we are hitting a wall with the Lord and are finding it impossible to hear from Him, we would be wise to ask ourselves, “Am I calling on Him in truth?” Quite possibly we are not feeling near to Him because we are not calling on Him in truth, but are instead nursing the lies we believe in the throes of self. In this verse God is graciously exhorting us to call on Him in truth. When we root our view of life and circumstances on the solid rock of His character, it totally transforms how we approach Him and the intimacy we can share with Him. Conversely, when we insist on viewing Him through the lens of our life and circumstances, we will continue to hit a wall with Him.

So let’s be people who call on Him in truth. Psalm 73:28 tells us the nearness of God is our good. God is near when we call on Him in truth; the nearness of God is our good; calling on Him in truth is our good. Let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence as Hebrews 4 encourages us to do, knowing that when we seek Him, we will find Him.

Dear Lord, thank You that You are near to ALL who call on You, to all who call on You in truth. Lord, we are broken people and we have a hard time seeing You as You are as we fight our flesh and brokenness. Please continually reveal Yourself to us that we might know You better and love You more. Please help us call on You in truth. Thank You that You are good and faithful to respond. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

What Do You Expect?

By Samuel Parrish

“After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

Matthew 2:9-10

Advent carries with it a sense of expectation that we find no other time during the church calendar. It is a season of beginnings, of promises fulfilled, of hope in the midst of great darkness. The promised Kingdom of God is finally here, and according to Matthew’s account only a handful of scholars from the east were even looking for it. The entire Roman world was churning with activity as two million men and their families traveled back to their ethnic homeland for the Great Census. While the world was looking for a hotel room, these men were looking for God.

The magi from the east knew what they were looking for. The prophets were clear: a king would be born in Judea in Bethlehem who would be the great shepherd for the nation of Israel. Their studies pointed to a star that would rise over the place where the king was born. In the Matthew account, they saw the star after their meeting with King Herod, and rejoiced that they had found what they were looking for. Their joy quickly became generosity as they presented Mary and Joseph gifts fit for the king in their midst. Expectation. Fulfillment. Joy. 

So then why does the Advent Expectation end in sorrow for so many of us year after year? Maybe it’s because that’s all we expect Christmas to be. It’s one more year of watching people’s perfect lives on social media as they decorate Christmas cookies and go look at neighborhoods lit up for the season. It’s one more year of family gatherings with those same people who hurt you years ago, and never apologized. It’s one more year alone because you can’t hang out with “those people” anymore after you started following Jesus. We expect to be forgotten, to be hurt, to be alone. And every year that’s what we find. 

What would it take to look for something else?

God has promised us that if we look for him, we WILL find him. Proverbs 8:17 says “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” He says the same thing in Jeremiah 29:13. Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 7:7.

The wise men went on this journey two thousand years ago, and their journey ended with joy and extravagant generosity. 

As the daylight fades and the nights get colder, let’s go on a new journey this year that’s really several millennia old. In faith, let’s expect to find God this Advent season. Let’s expect to find glad tidings of great joy for each and every one of us. And then, let’s diligently seek him knowing that he will be found!

Am I Going to Make It?

By Samuel Parrish

^“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 24:12-13

For the individual just rescued by Christ from the kingdom of darkness, and now a part of the saints of light, the future is a bright and wonderful thing. His heart is full of gratitude for the weight of sin that has been lifted. Her soul sings for the freedom given without measure, overflowing. Joy promised now, and for eternity. 

And then we fall the first time. 

It isn’t the first time we’ve sinned since coming to Christ, but it probably is the first time we’ve given in to that thing that we found freedom from in the first place.

And doubt begins to creep in. 

Am I really his?

Was this some religious experience or passing feeling?

If I’m “saved” why do I keep doing the same kinds of things he supposedly saved me from?

Then we see verses like Matthew 10:22, 24:13, James 1:12, and others that seem to say that how we end of this race is just as important as how we began. Sin seems just a big now as it was before and we despair. 

The Apostle Paul helps us on both sides of this question as we struggle through what it means to really be in Christ, and the chances we have of “making it.” 

In Philippians 2, Paul urges believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. In light of who Christ is and what he has done for us, indwelling sin should cause us discomfort. And gloriously we find out in the very next verse that this discomfort for indwelling sin is in fact a holy one.

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Paul says it even more directly in the chapter before. 

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

How can Paul say this with such confidence while at the same time writing to Timothy that he is the chief of sinners? Simply, because Paul cherished something about grace that many of us just give a passing nod to: we did not deserve it in the first place. Paul’s confidence in the Philippian church enduring to the end had nothing to do with their ability to do it, and everything to do with God’s faithfulness to keep those that he calls. Our working out of our salvation is not a paying back of God for the gift of salvation, but a deeper and deeper understanding of how the grace that saved us is needed daily to keep us. 

So what do we do when what we know about grace doesn’t line up with what we see ourselves doing day to day?

Instead of despairing, take hope in the same way that one of our brothers did almost 600 years ago. 

“One day when a certain man who wavered often and anxiously between hope and fear was struck with sadness, he knelt in humble prayer before the altar of a church. While meditating on these things, he said: "Oh if I but knew whether I should persevere to the end!" Instantly he heard within the divine answer: "If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure." Immediately consoled and comforted, he resigned himself to the divine will and the anxious uncertainty ceased. His curiosity no longer sought to know what the future held for him, and he tried instead to find the perfect, the acceptable will of God in the beginning and end of every good work.”

-Thomas à Kempis “The Imitation of Christ” pg. 25

Repent Small

By D’Ann Davis

“When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath!”

Psalm 39:11

Little by little sin, like yeast, leavens the whole dough. Few of us make one big decision to build our lives on sin. Most of us make little decisions here and there as we increasingly harden ourselves to the Spirit’s call. Little decisions turn into big ones, and before we know it, we have built our lives around our idols.

In the midst of our sin, God is still merciful and compassionate, wishing none of us to perish (2 Peter 3:9). In His kindness He leads us to repentance, Romans 2:4 instructs. Our loving Father intervenes and disciplines us for our sins as He draws us back to Him. In this process, the psalmist tells us, He “consumes like a moth” what is dear to the sinner. What a severe mercy this is! Merciful in that He is bringing us home at all. Severe in that what we hold dear is consumed. The more we have built our lives around sin, the greater this devastation is.

One thing I try to continually preach to myself and to our ministry participants is to repent small so that we do not have to repent big. Daily repentance is painful. It is a crucifying of the flesh, a dying to self. But no daily repentance sting hurts as badly as a life dedicated to sin that must be consumed to be corrected. When we forgo our healthy relationships for sinful ones, reject time with the Lord for time with our sin, sacrifice our ministry and witness for the thrills of instant gratification, and arrange our lives in a manner conducive to our idolatry, then the rebuke and discipline required are of a far greater measure. We paint ourselves into a corner where now all ties must be cut, assets divided, phones rendered, numbers changed, jobs forfeited, areas of town avoided, or marriages devastated by disclosure. This pain can be excruciating, but it is soul-saving.

The psalmist comments on the fact that man is a mere breath. We are not God, our idols are not God, and our sinful pursuits will not last. They are not greater than God’s power to remove them or His will to redeem us from them. If we are so finite that we are a mere breath, how much more fleeting and vain is our sin! Let’s be a people who understand the folly of serving any master other than the Lord our God, Alpha and Omega. Let’s trust His hand as He removes that which keeps us from Him, even that which is dear to us. Let’s repent small that our lives might be founded on the cornerstone of Christ and not the sinking sand of sin. Let’s trust His goodness when He lovingly disciplines us, knowing that despite the pain it is for our good. He is a perfect Father who assures us, “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives” Hebrews 12:6.

“Dear Lord, thank You for Your gracious hand that wounds us to heal us. Please help us repent of our sin daily that our lives might not be built around sin, but around You. Please consume that which is dear to us if it keeps us from You. Help us to trust Your hand, knowing You are good. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.”

The Love in the Law

By Samuel Parrish

"For I find my delight in your commandments,
    which I love.
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
    and I will meditate on your statutes."

Psalm 119:47-48

Have you ever tried one of those “Read the Bible in a X” plans? By now, I think there is an app for every possible way through it. Some have you reading in ten different books that seamlessly work together to tell the work of God and eventually make up the whole thing. The ones I started with early in my walk with Christ were always straight through, Genesis to Revelation. I would get through the first half of Leviticus just in time to want to scream “I get it! You want them to do what you say!” and then give up. 

These yearly treks through the first 100 or so chapters of the Bible would leave me baffled when I would read other places in the text. Psalm 119, for example, is a love song about the laws of God. A song about rules. The imprints of my spiral notebook on my forehead were a pretty good indicator of how far I was away from singing about rules. 

I had seen the Northern Lights on a cold night in the Scottish isles. I had watched my sisters grow up and marry wonderful men. There were impossible healings, miraculous births, rescues from certain death, and overwhelming moments in God’s creation. Those were the things that made me want to sing. Not Leviticus. 

Sometimes though you just need to keep reading. Verse 21 says that those who forget the law are judged. 37 says that the law filters what is treasured and what is worthless. In 61, the law is comfort during times of suffering and despair. How does a bunch of rules cause so much joy in the heart of the Psalmist? If you’ve ever worked with babies, you already know the answer. 

The number one way to get a newborn to sleep is a really tight swaddle. From the outside, having your arms and legs all bundled up looks unbearable, but for that child, it is the ultimate comfort. The world is new, loud and scary, and that blanket represents safety and care. And now I think I’m just about ready to sing about Leviticus.

The newborn isn’t wrong: the world really is loud and scary. Sin in our hearts and in the world calls louder and more creatively as we journey through this life. Many of us who have chased those voices have seen first hand how empty the promises of sin are and desperately want something else. Something more. 

And we have a Father who has exceedingly and abundantly more for us if we follow him. 

In that moment, Leviticus ceases to be a list of annoying no’s and explodes into the infinitely beautiful YES of a Father who wants our best and sacrificed his son so that we would have the promise of something more. 

So, do you see love in the Law?

Is the call of obedience still a burden for you or is it the source of joy and comfort the Psalmist shows us it can be?

The same God who gave us his word wants to give us a love for it; we just need to ask. 

Hardened Sinners

By D’Ann Davis

“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.”

Hosea 5:4

Ephraim and Israel were guilty of grievous sin against the Lord. They had exchanged the truth of God for a lie and had worshipped the creature over the Creator, much like what is described in Romans 1. Instead of being a light to other nations representing God’s holiness, love, deliverance, and sovereignty, God’s people had jumped in bed with the idols of the other nations. Throughout the book of Hosea God continually compares Israel’s idolatry to whoredom. Like an unfaithful spouse, the people had forgotten their first love.

Israel had gone so far in their sin that they were now operating under the noetic effects of sin. This effect is the distortion of thinking and hardening that happens when we sin against the Lord. The more we sin against Him, the less we see the grievous nature of it, the less godly sorrow we have, the less we care, and the more shame we feel. In our ashamed and hardened posture, we find it difficult if not seemingly impossible to return to Him. The deeper this hardening runs, the less we care about it. We find ourselves in a nasty cycle of apathy, sin, and shame. Our deeds do not permit us to return to the Lord.

We are lost without Him as it is, but when we consider the noetic effects of sin, it is a wonder any of us ever returns to Him. Thankfully though, we are loved by the God of salvation. In our worst state, He loves us still. “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Knowing we needed a sacrifice and propitiation for our reconciliation to Him, He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him and be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). God not only saves us from our sin, but He also saves us from our blindness and apathy toward the weight of that sin! He takes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh, according to Ezekiel 36, and He puts His Spirit within us that we might keep His commands. We truly serve a loving, initiating, compassionate God.

So let us know Him and seek Him while He may be found. Let us cast aside the sin that so easily entangles and run the race set before us as Hebrews 12:1 exhorts us to do. Let us surrender our sin and our apathetic understanding of it in exchange for a godly sorrow that leads to life and repentance instead of death (2 Corinthians 7:10). Let us repent of our whoredom and return to our first love.

Dear Lord, we have all sinned against You. We pray that You would continually draw us close to You and convict our hearts, that we might not be hardened toward You and Your love. Thank You for making a way for us to be reconciled to You through Jesus Christ Your Son. Restore to us the joy of our salvation oh God, that we might love and serve You all of our days. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 3

By Ricky Chelette

“…his father saw him… and ran and embraced him and kissed him… But the father said to this servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a rung on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and lets eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” 

Luke 15:20b-24

Have you ever been celebrated by your father, really celebrated? Can you remember a time when your dad was so overjoyed in seeing you that he beamed with pride? If that ever happened to you, it was likely a red letter day in your life. There’s something about a father’s approval and blessing that is uniquely powerful.

If you remember the first part of the prodigal story, the son has asked for and received his inheritance. He has wasted his inheritance on wild living and sensual delights. Reaching the end of himself and realizing the err of his way, he now knows that what he had was better than anything he was seeking. He repents for his sin against God and against his loving father. While he was still a long way off his father, eagerly anticipating the return of his son, sees his son making his way home. The father’s response is instructive for us as we encounter those we love who have been in the far country. The father’s example gives us at least three responses to those who on their way home: 

• Love unconditionally. Notice that father doesn’t ask for his money back, doesn’t ask for an accounting of how/where it was spent, and doesn’t lecture the son on his irresponsibility. He simply runs to his son, embraces him, and kisses him. When we love like Jesus loves we rejoice when those in disobedience choose light over darkness and good over evil. The one that was lost had found his way home. This was not a time for lecture or conjecture. He was already aware of his sin. He had already been disciplined by his Heavenly Father and experienced consequences for his actions. Now was the time for love to be demonstrated through a hug and a kiss. 

• Forgive lavishly. Forgiveness is so powerful because it always costly to the one who forgives. The father instructs his servant to kill the fattened calf and prepare a feast. Though the son had taken a significant portion of wealth from his father and wasted it on irresponsible living, the father gives even more to put on a feast. Forgiveness costs. When Jesus demonstrated his love for sinful humanity He didn’t do it by posting a sign or overlooking a misstep, He gave up His very life. 

• Give praise to God. Celebrations always have purpose and focus. There is something to be celebrated and someone to be thanked. Though the text does not explicitly indicate the praise of God, the son’s realization that his sin was first “against heaven” and the father’s statement of his son being “lost and now found,” “dead and now alive,” would give us strong indication that Jesus was intending his audience to see this family as a family of faith. When God works miracles, people of faith respond with praise and worship to the Giver of good gifts! If you read between the lines you can almost hear the praises being sung, the prayers being offered, the miraculous deeds of God being gloriously recounted. 

How are you at loving lavishly those who may have hurt you, taken something from you, or failed to live up to your expectations of them? Do you really love unconditionally or is your love based on others’ meeting your expectations?

Who is it that you need to forgive? Are you willing to pay the price or exact a price? Jesus says that we will only be forgiven to the degree that we have forgiven others (Matt. 6:14-15). 

Who gets the credit when God does the impossible? Do you praise God and celebrate His goodness or do rush in to try to see how you made a difference?

The story of the prodigal is a story of all of our lives. We have all wandered from the Father, squandered our inheritance, and have experienced the consequences of our sin. But the glorious good news of the Gospel is our Heavenly Father is watching and waiting for our slightest turn toward home. He is waiting to run to us, embrace us, and love us. He has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still in the far country, Jesus, His only Son, would die for us (Rom. 5:8). Our sin has exacted the greatest price of forgiveness upon Him - the sacrifice of His only Son. With such magnanimous grace and forgiveness lavished upon us, how can we do any less? How can we resist such a Father - such a Savior?

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 2

By Ricky Chelette

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

Luke 15:17-22

“But when he came to himself.” Verse 17 may be one of the most powerful verses for any individual. No one makes any progress until we take an honest look at who we are, where we are, and what we are doing. The son had been living in the far country enjoying money he hadn’t made and living a life he hadn’t earned. But pleasure never replaces people. Desperate, alone, and hungry, he was at the end of his rope. Friends who partied with him when he was buying drinks are long gone. A Jewish boy, he now competes with pigs for discarded food. He is humiliated. It is hardly the life he had once lived or imagined.

Sometimes our clearest vision comes at our darkest hour. Rarely do we appreciate what we have until it is gone. The prodigal remembered his former life - the kindness, the blessings and privilege he took for granted - and longs for what once was. No work of the father, no manipulative scheme, no well-placed word of guilt eventuated this reality. God was at work and He always is.

The prodigal realizes the gravity of his actions and their consequences. He knows against whom he has sinned and longs for reconciliation (verse 18-19). His movement is God-motivated and God-directed. Only when he realizes the spiritual significance of his actions does he know to reconcile the earthly relationships he has wounded.

Philippians 1:6 says, “that he [God] who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” We can’t control the lives of others, but we have a Father who is faithfully working all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). God is faithful! We have no idea how long the prodigal was in the far country. It may have been a few weeks or a few years, but however long, He was never alone and never out of the sight of God.

But don’t miss what Jesus says about the father: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Great fathers pray with expectancy. The prodigal’s father allowed the wishes of his adult son, but was praying expectantly that the son would soon come home. “While he was still a long way off…” what amazing words! Do we pray with that kind of expectancy – with that kind of faith? The father knew God was at work even when he could not see God working. He kept looking with hope for His son. Good fathers not only believe God’s truth, they live it.

“His father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” No condemnation. No judgment. No correction or even instruction. Just compassion and love. Was the father weak in his position on truth? Absolutely not. The son knew the father didn’t approve of his choices as evidenced by his acknowledgement of sin against his father. But the consequences of the son’s sinful choices were enough for the father. Instead of demanding acknowledgement of the father’s right beliefs, the father was simply compassionate and loving. Good fathers leave the conviction and judgment to God alone.

Do you know a prodigal in the far country? Can you trust God’s promises for them? Are you praying expectantly for them and their return?

Are you in the far country? What will it take for you to come to the end of yourself? Are you really willing to experience the consequences of your choices or is today the day you come to the end of yourself? Come home to the Father. He longs to embrace you, kiss you and love you as His beloved son/daughter.

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 1

By Ricky Chelette

The story of the prodigal son is a parable of loss, love and redemption. We often think the story is only about wayward children, or a kind father; but we couldn’t be more misguided. 

We will spend the next few weeks looking at this powerful parable shared by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32. 

“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.”
Luke 15:11-16

I’ve always been amazed by the beginning of this story because the son makes a serious request with no apparent resistance from the father. Simply put, he asks for his inheritance, gets it, and leaves the security and protection of his father’s home. It doesn’t take the son long to make poor choices and soon quickly depletes his inheritance on wild living. Alienated, alone, without meaningful employment, and begging for food, the son is in a new dilemma.

But notice the father’s response. Do you see it? There is none. You see the Father didn’t go where the son was. The father stayed home, looking to the horizon; praying for the return of his beloved son. 

I believe what the Lord is trying to communicate to us is the father will indeed allow us to do what it is we want to do if we insist on doing it. But when He allows us to receive what we want, he also allows us to experience the consequences of those poor choices. 

Do you really want God to give you what you desire? Is your desire in line with His will or in direct opposition to it?

If you are a parent with a child who has taken their inheritance and moved into the far country, are you willing to surrender your prodigal to the Lord’s care, knowing that He loves them even more than you do? Are you willing to allow them to experience the consequences of their actions even if those consequences result in your child competing with pigs for food? Or are you chasing them and joining them in the far country, hoping to somehow lessen the pain you know is inevitable?

The truths from this passage are sobering but sanctifying: 

• Sometimes God will give you what you want even when it is not what you need. 
• Rebellion has consequences and God allows us to experience those consequences. 
• Sometimes the bottom of the pit is the place God’s voice is the clearest.
• Good parents trust God and don’t always rescue. 

What lessons have you learned from your time in the far country?

Afraid of Heights

By Samuel Parrish

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14

A few years back, I got the opportunity to go stand on the skydeck of the newly renamed Sears Tower. There were several places where, after looking over the city of Chicago, you could walk up to an extension of the building and look straight down through the transparent floor below you. I had never been in a building that tall before and was amazed at the view. My travel companions on the other hand were not so amazed. No amount of poking or prodding could get them to stand up there with me, and so we left with our group, grabbed some deep dish pizza and went about our trip. One of them came up to me before the trip ended, and softly confronted me about my lack of patience with the group. You see, he really wanted to try out the skydeck and my nagging magnified the anxiety he was already feeling and shut him down completely. 

Paul didn’t have the Chicago skyline in mind when he wrote 1 Thessalonians, but I do think he included this warning as a way to keep people from missing out on the heights that the Lord promises us as we walk in obedience. 

Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we have been created for good works prepared before we were ever born. God has chosen you to join with him in moving his kingdom forward on Earth! He also knows that fear and uncertainty will keep us from ever doing those works and has given us some instruction on how to get going. 

Many of us just need to do something. Anything.

Paul’s instruction to the idle sounds ridiculous to many of us with schedules that keep us running from before the first cup of coffee in the morning till well after dinner. But how many of us are taking thousands of steps a day just to keep from taking that one step God is asking of us? 

Some of us are just plain scared. We see the work God has prepared and the implications of obedience in today’s world just seem too much. Be encouraged brothers and sisters! He who has begun this work promises to see it to completion. He has given us his Spirit to work in and through us, and promises to never leave us alone or betray us! 

So does this give us permission to look for all the lazy, scared, weak people in our churches and remind them of how far they have to go?

No, but it does mean we have the privilege of patiently walking with people just as Christ has shown incredible forbearance with us. God has not called us into action by reminding us of how far we have to go. He has called us through a radical outpouring of love and grace through the cross. 

“God, may you give us the eyes to see the work you have for us to do, the grace to do it with joy, and the patience to walk with others as we seek to make you known.”

God's Portion

By D’Ann Davis

“But the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted heritage.”
Deuteronomy 32:9

God created the world and everything in it. He did so by speaking it into existence. This all-powerful God could have anything He wants to have at any moment in time. Yet for His portion, He has chosen His people. He has chosen us. This good news that a God so holy, so just, so righteous, so beautiful, and so powerful wants to be close to His people, expands even more to the fact that He invited Gentiles into relationship with Him as well. That God would tolerate us, us(!), is a mystery unto itself, but that God has chosen us as His portion and His heritage is truly a gift abundantly beyond all we could ask for or think.

Grasping this is easier said than done. How would it impact our hearts and lives to know that God wants us that much? We, who have nothing to offer Him but our fallen, broken selves, defiled by sin and shame? God was so bent on closeness with us that He sent His only Son to reconcile us to Himself. We know this theologically but often fail to rest in this functionally. It is easier to believe in a distant God who is mad at us than it is a tender Father who is near and wants to be close to us.

Oh that we might be renewed by the transforming of our minds, and believe His words to us in Deuteronomy 32! It is not just that God wants us to want Him. It’s that He wants us. So much so that He has made a way to Himself through Jesus Christ. We can take heart in this reality and know that in Him we are not condemned, we are wanted. We are not merely tolerated, but we are desired. We are not squeaked in, but we are celebrated. We are not needed, but we are redeemed. We are not His problem, we are His portion.

Dear Lord, thank You for loving us far beyond what we know and beyond what we could think or imagine. Thank You for sending Your Son to die on our behalf and reconcile us to You. Thank You for caring for us. Thank You for reaching us. Help us to know Your love and heart for us today. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

A Timely God

By D'Ann Davis

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)

Timing. God has perfect timing. The persecuted church in the first century might have struggled with this statement from Peter. Amidst struggle, death, tribulation, and pain, these believers knew the angst of waiting for Christ’s return in a way few American Christians do. Our perspective can be so limited that we read this verse and think it applies to whatever transient circumstance change we are awaiting that will elicit resolution and end discomfort. Our lives are so privileged that we miss the meaning of this text at times, that Jesus is coming back, and He will come back when the time is perfect.

Those in Peter’s day looked for Jesus’ return with great anticipation. Times were hard, and Christ was the only hope. A delayed return might have seemed to evidence an apathy or disinterest from the Father. Peter wanted them and us to know that God was not delaying out of slowness or ineptitude. He was (and is still) delaying that more might come to repentance. When Jesus returns and we face the final judgment, there is no more chance for repentance, no other shot at redemption. There are still people left whom Jesus will save, and because He is patient, He is kind to wait until those come to Him.

In His waiting, He is not slow. The Lord is perfect and patient, and He is always true to His word. In our waiting we can take heart. Our waiting is not in vain. He will stay true to His promises and promptly return when the time is right. Let us hope in Him and trust His hand, and in the meantime, let’s share this hope with all we know, that we might see them welcomed into the kingdom with us.

And We All

By Samuel Parish

And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

I don’t see very well.

At least part of me doesn’t. My right eye is significantly worse than my left, but you would never know it when I wake up in the morning. After a full night’s rest, I can see the smallest mosquito across the room in my South Carolina home, but give me a few hours looking at a computer screen and I can’t tell you if that speed limit sign says 40 or 60. It slipped away slowly over the years, and it wasn’t until I hopped a curb driving late at night that I realized I needed some help if I was going to continue my post-dinner errands.

If you have grown up in the church you are probably familiar with Paul’s proclamation in v.17 (Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom). We all want to be free; we all want transformation; and Paul says that we have both of those in the Spirit. But how? Paul ends the chapter though with a beautiful vision of what we are becoming, if we will only have the eyes to see it. 

Paul’s assertion here is bold. When you see the Lord in his glory, you will be changed. Why is it then that so many of us following after God seem to live unchanged lives? Paul would say that we have a sight problem. 

Maybe you’ve see Jesus, but not as Lord. 

Our sin nature hates to come under authority. Even the light of the glory of Christ is a painful and ugly thing to the heart that is unwilling to bend in grateful submission to the work of the Spirit of God. If you read the word and find your heart cold to the things of God, do not walk away as if it’s the Bible’s fault. Cry out to your good Father to send his Spirit to bring the light of repentance to your soul.

Maybe you are still under the veil. Paul says that the law came in such glory that Moses had to cover his face because it was so overwhelming for the Israelites. But its glory was coming to an end. 

Are we so caught up in the truly beautiful things that come from God that we are missing out on God himself? God has endless pleasures for his children, but we will not be changed if we exchange the eternal glory of the giver for the fading glory of the gifts. 

Maybe….you’re just like the rest of us. 

Paul says that when we see the Jesus we will be changed from one degree of glory to the next. If you are still reading this, I’m assuming that your continued breath is a sign of the Lord’s unfinished work in your life! Because of the blood of Christ, we stand justified before the Lord. His declaration of pardon is a precious promise as we journey onward. If you aren’t yet who you are supposed to be, take heart! He who began the work will be faithful to complete it. He promises us that we will be changed!

Sated or Famished

By D'Ann Davis

“A sated man loathes honey, but to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet.”

Proverbs 27:7

Proverbs is full of practical life truisms that communicate life-giving wisdom and principles to us. In this Proverb, Solomon is using the physical body to relay a spiritual truth to us. When we are sated, or rather when our stomachs are full, we loathe even the sweetest treat. When we are famished though, we will find even the bitterest thing sweet.

Likewise, when we are filled up on the Lord, the sweetest of temptations will seem disdainful to us. We will have no space within us for the temptation to fill because we are satisfied with the Lord. However, when we do not find our fulfillment in the Lord, our souls will be starved and we will take what we can get, even if what we are partaking of is full of bitterness and death.

The bait of sin can lure us because it is seemingly sweet in the beginning. It is usually only in the aftertaste that we realize our folly.

Let’s be a people who are so full of the Holy Spirit, so satisfied in Christ, so trusting of the Father, that even the perceived sweetness of sin will hold no sway over us. Let’s leave ourselves with no emptiness, no vacuum to fill. In doing so, we will find ourselves less drawn to our ways of old because we will have found something better in Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, we invite You to fill us with Your Spirit that we might love and serve You with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strengths. Please help us see the folly of sin and give us a distaste for it in the pursuit of You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

What Does Healing Look Like

Adapted from Ricky Chelette's article "What Does Healing Look Like?"

You can read this article in it's entirety in the "Article" section of your app, or at http://livehope.org/resource/what-does-healing-look-like-2/

By Chris

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

What does healing look like? A question that most of us have probably asked at one point. We know what it means to heal physically, but what do we think of when we talk about healing emotionally, relationally, or spiritually?

In short, real healing looks like Jesus.

We live in a fallen world, where brokenness and struggle and sin are present. Just as this sin separates us from God, it also causes consequences in life like brokenness, hurt, and pain. But Jesus died to be a bridge, bringing us back into relationship with God and to redeem all the broken parts of life.

But as the process of sanctification helps develop a right perspective of sin, it also leads us to become more like Jesus. When that happens, we can begin to understand what God says in 2 Corinthians 12:9; “[God’s] power is made perfect in weakness.” It is this ability of Christ to come in and fill the brokenness that allows real healing in our lives!

But what does that look like on a day to day basis? It looks like obedience.

Real healing takes time and discipline. It requires seeing sin and temptation for what it is – a momentary pleasure to medicate a long-existing, real need – and deciding choose the greater good of obedience to Christ and submission to His will and His way.

Healing is not the absence of a struggle, but rather it is the ability to choose to no longer be slave to the wounds of the past.

This is not to say that God doesn’t miraculously heal some people of their struggle in an instant. He is God and can do what He pleases. But when He chooses not too, it is an invitation to walk through the valleys of life while learning to look for Him to be the perfection that fills brokenness and brings healing along the journey with Him.

Adapted from Ricky Chelette's article "What Does Healing Look Like?"

You can read this article in it's entirety in the "Article" section of your app, or at http://livehope.org/resource/what-does-healing-look-like-2/

To Be Truly Free

By Ricky Chelette

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)

I am often asked what is the key to recovery from any kind of sexual struggle, but particularly that of same sex attraction. The answer is loaded with nuance and complexity on some levels, but at its heart, it is likely more simple than we think. 

In over thirty years of ministry I have come to believe the real secret to faithfully following Jesus is a matter of Lordship. Do we really believe that God is who He says He is and has done what He says He has done? Do we really believe that He is a sovereign Lord, Creator of the heavens and earth and all that is in it? Do we really trust He is good and just and loving? 

Paul appeals to us, not by law or rules, but by the “mercies of God.” Paul painfully recognizes the sinfulness of man throughout all of Romans (see 3:23), and knows that the just penalty of our rebellion against God is truly deserving of death (6:23a). However, though we deserve death, God, in His magnanimous mercy and love, has given us life and life abundantly (Jn. 10:10). Paul calls upon this realization to encourage Christians to then entrust their lives and earthly bodies to the One who could have easily destroyed them, but chose to redeem them instead! Oh what a merciful God we serve. 

In response to the mercies we have received, Paul says that we should “present our bodies as a living sacrifice.” Sacrifice was immediately understood by almost everyone in the first century as it was a common practice in the worship of various gods. Sacrifices were the way that man appeased the gods and objects of veneration. But Paul was not speaking of such sacrifice. He knew that Christ had died once and for all for the forgiveness of sin (Heb. 10:10-14; 1 Peter3:18).

So why does Paul mention sacrifice? The sacrifice Paul is speaking of is not the blood sacrifice that was so common in the first century; Jesus has clearly paid that price for us. What Paul is speaking of is a “living sacrifice” – one which is concerned with how we actually live our lives. 

In a day when many advocate an almost Gnostic separation of body and soul, Paul reminds us that we are human beings inhabiting a fleshly body that must be submitted (sacrificed and offered) to the control of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit. Such surrender is Paul’s definition of spiritual worship!

Though we often consider worship that which takes place when we sing praises to God (and it is one part of true worship), Paul reminds us that our everyday, walkabout living, can be worship if we are doing it in a way that is fully submitted to God.

Practically speaking this means despite the desire our flesh may have for satisfaction, connection, and pleasure that is outside the design of our Creator, we must sacrifice those desires to the Lordship of God’s will for us. When we are a living sacrifice we are worshipping God with our whole self. When we worship in this way, we find the fullness of joy and true pleasure at His right hand forevermore (Ps. 16:11). When God is sovereign in our lives, we are obedient to Him. Sin has no place. We are free indeed!

How are you at presenting your mind, soul, and body to the Lord? Does He truly have full reign in your life? Have you truly worshipped Him this week? 

When Hate is Good

By Ricky Chelette

Hate. We hear a lot about that word in our world. It has all kinds of negatives associated with it, and rightly so. We should never hate people and too often we do. This is evidenced whenever we see crimes committed against people or when we fail to defend and protect those who are unable to help themselves. 

But is hate always wrong? Scripture says, "no." In fact, it uses a very severe word "abhor." 

Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. (Rom. 12:9)

I believe that one of the reasons we, as a culture or as a Christian, have such a difficult time understanding love is that we have aversion to hate. From Paul's perspective, there cannot be real love unless there is genuine, appropriately directed, hate. The first part of verse 9 says, "Love must be genuine…" and then gives a two statement summation of how that genuine love lives itself out: 1) hating evil. 2) clinging to what is good.

How do we hate evil? Evil is the inclination to oppose the Creator and His Kingdom. Evil is most often manifested in acts of sin we commit. We sin (literally miss the mark), because we, like Adam, fall short of the glory of God. The Good News is that when Jesus died on the cross He freed those who would believe in Him from the power of sin in our lives. Romans 6 speaks specifically about this. When He was put to death, we, who are now in Christ, were also put to death. As a result, we no longer have to allow sin to rule over us, though we are still subject to the evil of this yet unredeemed world. We have died to sin in Christ, and dead people don't sin. 

Then why do we sin? I believe one of the reasons is we don't hate evil or our sin. Sure, we hate evil in the world, but rarely enough to change the way we live. We generally hate other people’s sin most of the time. That is easy. We see the speck in another's eye and are quick to be offended, repulsed, and even outraged while all the while, the beam that is in our own eye is seemingly undetected (Matt. 7:3-5). 

But we are so acquainted with evil and our sin(s) that they have become like our old friends. They feel familiar, comfortable, predictable and dependable. We visit them regularly and give us pleasure. That pleasure temporarily fills the angst in our lives, but ultimately leaves us hungry for more sin. 

Not only does Paul encourages us to abhor (detest, hate, be repulsed by) what is evil in order to love well, but also admonishes us to "cling to what is good." Paul understands the human predicament to want to have something/someone to connect to in our lives. We were not created for isolation, but community. Paul knows that when we cast out an evil mechanism used for support and comfort (our sin), we must replace that evil with something with Someone -- that Someone is Jesus. In order for real love to flourish, we must hate evil in all its forms and continually cling to author of love, Jesus. The only good there is comes from God perfectly realized in Jesus (James 1:17). When we cling to Jesus we cling to what is good!

Do you hate evil? Have you purposefully done everything you can to keep evil and sin out of your life? Have you learned to cling to what is good – Jesus, His Word, His people, and His Church? Have you found Jesus to truly be better than your sin? If you haven't, then your problem isn’t hating too much, it’s not loving and clinging to Jesus nearly enough.

I Want To Know What Love Is

By Ricky Chelette

“Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV)

I want to live this verse out in my life, don't you? I want people to know I deeply love them, care for them, and desire to see them thrive. 

The problem is, however, that few in our world have a real definition for love. The group Foreigner made famous the lyrics, "I want to know love is. I want you to show me." The lyricist is on to something that points to the real meaning of love. Love is not merely or simply a feeling. Love is an action. 

Love as an action is very confusing for moderns. We live in a world that considers love that which brings the highest level of pleasure or happiness to me. When love’s center is me, it can never really be love at all, but a veiled form of self-deception and ultimate selfishness. This kind of love originates from within me and has no objective reality outside itself from which to gain evaluation or direction. 

Jesus said, " greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends." And then demonstrated that love by dying on the cross for the redemption of man. Jesus demonstrated a new kind of love – self-sacrificing love. A love that seeks to give rather than get. A love that considers others more highly than ones’ self. 

Love is sacrificial -- doing what is best for others without regard for what we get out of it. This kind of real love originates from a God who first loved us so much that He gave His only son (John 3:16). If love originates in me, then it is subject to the sinful desires which emanate from my fallen, corrupted nature (Romans 5:12,19). If it originates from a holy and loving God who demonstrated His love for us, we have a hope for something wonderful and beautiful.

Encouraging people to live into their personal pleasures is not real love, it's a lie. In verse 13 of 1 Corinthians 16, Paul writes, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith…" we don't love by abandoning the teachings of the One who is love, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We do the most loving thing when we consistently point people to the Truth of God's revelation revealed in His Word and live that truth out in our daily lives. 

As the world stands by and watches others heading down a path the Bible clearly outlines as destructive, Christians have an obligation to not only speak out, but help out, extending a hand and heart for the hope that is only found in the liberating truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Does the way you love and live point people to be more like Jesus? If it doesn't, you might want to use another term for what you do. It's not love. Does the way you live invite others to share in community with you; community that is most fully realized in a shared celebration and appreciation of the author of Love, God Himself? May we be found as people who truly LOVE in all we do!

Empty Pursuits

By D’Ann Davis

“And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.”

1 Samuel 12:21

Surrounded by nations with kings, Israel felt envious and requested a king for themselves. This was grievous to the Lord as He wanted His people to want Him as their king. In His displeasure He had Samuel rebuke the people of Israel and called them to something better. Samuel instructed the Israelites in verses 20-21, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.”

Leviticus 20:7 tells us that God is holy, and thus we must be holy. Failure in this separates us from the Father (Romans 3:23). Thankfully though, God sought to reconcile us to Himself through sending His Son Jesus on our behalf, as a propitiation for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 4:10). We became the righteousness of God in Him through His sacrifice on the cross per 2 Corinthians 5:21. However, in our disobedience, we also reap the fruits of our sins. We see in this passage that empty things cannot profit us. They do us no good. When we try to find life in our sin and apart from Jesus, we will find ourselves continually empty. He is the only Deliverer. Our empty pursuits do not fill us and make us whole, but instead drive the wedge deeper between the Living Water and our thirsty hearts. Our emptiness and despair will inflame, and our desire to pursue Him will weaken due to the hardening effects of sin.

Instead of foolishly pursuing the things we know will not satisfy us, let us be a people who wisely repent of our folly. Let us heed Samuel’s initial word and not live in fear but instead sharpen our focus to following the Lord. Let’s not swerve to the right or to the left, but let us serve the Lord with all of our hearts. Empty pursuits equal emptiness. Pursuit of the Lord equals life, peace and joy. Let’s choose the right pursuit.

Dear Lord, thank You for affording Your children Christ’s righteousness through His death, burial, and resurrection. Help us to pursue lives in right response to Your sacrifice on our behalf. Help us to see the emptiness of our sin. Help us to feel the weight of it that we might turn to You in our pain. Thank You that You are sufficient to fill all voids we have. Thank You for loving us. Help us to love You in return. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

To Binge, or Not to Binge?

By D’Ann Davis

“In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, ‘Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.’ But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.” 

2 Chronicles 28:22-23

Times were stressful in the life of King Ahaz. He was designated as a king who did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord earlier in verse one. As a result, the Lord gave the nation of Judah into the hands of the Syrians and the Israelites, and He had allowed the Philistines and Edomites to invade and win victories throughout Judah. Continuing in his sin, Ahaz did not humble himself and seek help from the Lord, but instead sought help from the Assyrians, a nation that would ultimately be a tool of the Lord to bring down Israel.

Verses 22-23 give some insight into the mindset of Ahaz as he responded to the extreme stressors in his life. He figured since the gods of Damascus had defeated him before and seemed to help his enemies, then he might as well bow down to those gods as well. This refusal to repent and seek the Lord led to his downfall.

A shallow reading of the text might tempt one to judge Ahaz as more foolish than one’s self, but it would be negligent not to realize that anyone can fall prey to this mindset. A fall to a habitual sin does not lead to getting up and walking in repentance, but a further indulgence in the sin. A minor defeat leads to a major acquiescence on the sinner’s part. It is not a minor fall to fantasy, lust, or pornography. It’s a three-day binge. It is not a failure to ignore an ex’s text, it’s a weekend-long or years-long return to sin and death.

As believers we have got to remember that losing a battle to the enemy does not excuse turning to worship that enemy and looking for our salvation from the one who got the best of us in that particular battle. A loss calls for a return to our Deliverer. It calls for repentance to the one true God and King. Let’s stop returning to sin because we took a few steps backward. Let’s get up, move forward, and seek the Lord with all of our hearts and souls, knowing that we have a Great High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. Let’s stop binging and start repenting. Let’s find life in Christ and avoid ruin. Let’s learn from King Ahaz’s mistakes.

Dear Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace that You freely offer us in our times of need. Thank You that it was for freedom that You set us free and thus we need not seek salvation in the slavery we fell prey to in our sin. Help us to only worship You and to love You with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength. Help us not turn away from You to serve other gods but please keep our eyes on You, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Thank You for Your forgiveness and grace dear Lord. We love You. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.