Far Better Than All My Fears

By: Morgan Martin

I am not a big worrier. I am usually very go with the flow and laid back… but that isn’t always the case. If I let myself start thinking about future things, my mind starts wondering and planning. I suddenly turn into a control freak and begin to go crazy trying to work and plan towards what I feel is best for me.

I am so thankful that I don’t have to take control of my life and the future. I am so thankful that I have a God that is big enough that He can guide, direct, and lead me to what is HIS plan for my life. All I need to do is cling to HIM. Today, I was encouraged by this word from Spurgeon:

He was better to me than all my hopes,

He was better than all my fears;

He made a bridge of my broken works,

and a rainbow of my tears.

The stormy waves that marked my ocean path,

did carry my Lord on their crest;

When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march

I can lean on His love for the rest.

He emptied my hands of my treasured store,

and His covenant love revealed,

there was not a wound in my aching heart,

the balm of His breath has not healed.

Oh, tender and true was His discipline sore,

in wisdom, that taught and tried,

till the soul that He sought was trusting in Him,

and nothing on earth beside.

He guided my paths that I could not see,

by ways that I have not known;

the crooked was straight, and the rough was plain

as I followed the Lord alone.

I praise Him still for the pleasant palms,

and the desert streams by the way,

for the glowing pillar of flame by night,

and the sheltering cloud by day.

Never a time on the dreariest day,

but some promise of love endears;

I read from the past, that my future will be

far better than all my fears.

The Lord of Compassion

By: Chris Leuck

In Mark 6, we find that Jesus has called his disciples and sent them out, two by two, to the surrounding villages. His charge: Take nothing with you… do not worry about what you will eat or where you will sleep… go and preach the gospel of grace and repentance to everyone you encounter. If they will not receive you, shake it off and keep going.

Upon their return, both Jesus and the disciples must be completely “spent.” After all, the disciples have just returned from a long journey of preaching, persecution, and performing miracles, staying with strangers and eating only as food was available. And by this point, Jesus’ nomadic ministry has also been underway for quite some time. Tired and hungry… it is time to rest. Jesus says, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”

The next series of events is amazing to me. As they went away to rest, relax, and replenish, the crowds “saw where they were going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them” (Mark 6:33). I can just feel the frustration mounting.

Don’t we all tend to be a bit more irritable when we are tired and hungry?

All the disciples want is a little down time, but here come the NEEDY people… in droves! They look to Jesus and say, “C’mon man! It is getting late… ‘Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat’ (6:36). Get them out of here… We can’t handle this right now.” All the disciples want is a little down time!

What does Jesus say? “No, they are hungry… let’s feed them” (paraphrase). If ever there was a time for Jesus to respond in anger and frustration, this is it. He has gone away to rest and enjoy food and fellowship with his disciples. But they are rudely interrupted by thousands of NEEDY people.

What does Jesus do? He saw the great crowd and “had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” When anger and frustration may have been warranted, Jesus had compassion. He fed the five thousand.

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on compassionate hearts…” (Colossians 3:12)

Holy Scripture, Batman!

By: John Ottley

Todd McDevitt of Ellwood City, PA saved his money for over 20 years. For a comic book. He saved his money for a comic book and, when he found the right one, with great joy he went and bought that comic. He bought one of the most valuable comic books in all the land-- a near-mint condition copy of Detective Comics Vol. 1, No. 27, “The Case of the Criminal Syndicate,” introducing, for the very first time… Batman!

Mr. McDevitt said the issue is worth about $250,000. McDevitt’s “comic of great price” now lies in state in an airtight bag in a bank vault. Sometimes he takes it out to show customers and friends. “I’ve been toying with the idea of reading it, but I haven’t yet,” he said. $250,000 for a comic book. An unread comic book.

In the Psalms, David said God’s Word is “more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold” (119:72). Those reading this will agree with David that, in light of eternity, comparing God’s Word to Batman is, well, comical. King David didn’t just pull the Torah out every once in a while to impress the royal entourage. He read it. He thought about it. He wrote poems and worship songs about God’s glorious Word. He measured every aspect of his life by it.

Those who regard God’s Word (both written and incarnate) as more valuable than “silver and gold”—or the original Batman comic book-- will take the time to read it, feed on it, pray it and obey it. May God give us all an ever increasing passion for Holy Scripture!

Depression and Reminders

By: Dr. Jimmy Young

A story is told of Charles Spurgeon, who was subject to black bouts of depression. One time he felt so crushed in spirit that he simply could not carry on with his commitments in his home church. Hurriedly he arranged for another pastor to fill in for him and then left town for the weekend. That Sunday he attended a tiny country church, where the sermon that was preached had such a dramatic effect upon him that immediately his depression lifted and he felt totally refreshed and eager to return to his ministry. At the door he introduced himself to the young, unknown preacher, thanking and praising him mightily. The poor man seemed dreadfully embarrassed, however, and finally he had to confess that the sermon he had just preached was in fact one of Spurgeon’s own.

I guess there are two things I would like to say about that story. First, do you see how necessary is the ministry of community… the task of “one-anothering”?

Second, sometimes all we need is someone to remind us of things we already know and believe.

Do You Hear The People Sing?

By: Erin Pearce

I know we all have certain seasons of life, but I feel like I have several friends, family members, etc. who are going through some extremely difficult situations. I am reminded in these moments how important it is to have community. Think about when you have gone through something so gut wrenching, that it makes it hard to think clearly about the situation. How beneficial is it for us to have people around us that know the truth and will speak the truth to us in these crisis situations. We are all fighting for something. Hopefully we are fighting to glorify the Lord and bring truth and light into dark places. As I watched Les Miserables last night, my soul was moved as I saw people band together to sing about their crusade. What an impact we could make if we joined together to push back the curse.

Check out these lyrics and think of the sin we fight, how Jesus paid for our sins and made us free and that heaven awaits us.

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade

Is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight

That will give you the right to be free!

Longing for Home

By: Kim Killebrew

I love having a busy home. We have four kids of our own and get to live in a neighborhood with many, many more. There are kids in and out of my door all of the time. It’s lots of fun, and I love it! I especially love spend-the-nights! Movies, pallets, flashlight tag, night swimming, pizza, and special breakfasts! Fun, fun, fun! However, with all of this activity, there’s bound to be an issue or two.

Since my kids range in age from 10 down to 5, the 5 year old doesn’t know that he’s only 5. He wants to actively participate in all of the “big kid” stuff, too - especially the spend-the-night ritual. So when it’s his turn to ask someone, I try to limit it to a friend that lives close to home. Of course, you know why. Most five year olds are not ready to spend the night away from home, and it’s much easier to walk them across the street than drive them around town late at night when they are ready to go.

The other night we had one of these experiences. My son, Ben, invited “John” over to spend the night. Both boys were so excited and couldn’t wait to enjoy their movie-watching, cookie-eating time together. Well, around 9 o’clock “John” decided he was ready to go. So he sneaked away and called his dad for rescue. No persuasion from the Killebrews could convince him that he was as safe and sound at our house as he would be at home. He just wanted his Daddy. By 10 o’clock “John” was out the door and back home with his mom and dad in his own home.

As I thought about “John” the next day, I wondered about my own heart. Why doesn’t my heart ache like “John’s” for my heavenly father? How peaceful, reassuring, encouraging, and comforting it is for me to be with the Lover of my Soul. It is where I belong, and yet I dare to go a day or more without spending time in the word, praising God’s name, and worshipping him? I was made to worship him. There is nothing that should take precedence over that.

I hope and pray that each year my heart will be drawn more and more to my heavenly Father’s, just like “John’s” was to his earthly father’s.

9/11 and Your Feelings

By: Jim Umlauf

In these last days leading up to the ten-year anniversary of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon, there’s a New York Times interactive map of where people were when they heard the news. Along with pinpointing one’s location, one must choose one of the following current emotions: angry, fearful, hopeful, secure, or unmoved.

As Christians, we might (aside from being unmoved) feel some of each of those things.

Anger: The reason we feel such things is there’s an ultimate standard of justice that’s not merely the byproduct of cultural mores. Jesus was angry without sinning because the rightful use of his Father’s house was being desecrated. God himself is angry about sin; the theological term is “righteous indignation.” It’s ok to feel that about 9/11, as long as we remember that justice is the LORD’s to be meted out.

Fear: It’s a scary world. Sin makes it that way. We also live with the reality that we’re all terminally ill patients—in other words, we will all physically die. The Bible speaks many times of the fear of the LORD. That’s not a cowering, craven fear. Rather, it’s the healthy, wonderful fear that trumps all other fears. The idea is, if we view God as he truly is, and relate to him in Christ as sons and daughters, no ultimate harm can possibly befall us. It’s a happy fear, and the beginning of knowledge.

Hope: If all we did was keep a positive attitude, or try to cloak our hearts in an isolated concept of hope, it would be empty indeed. The great thing about a truly biblical faith is that there’s an object. (It would be more accurate to write, “Object.”) We believe in a living, reigning, real, historical Christ. Because he has defeated sin and death, and now rules dynamically and forever, we can—by his substitutionary curse-bearing on our behalf—be hopeful and free. We have been rescued from sin’s bondage and the heavy weight on our consciences, and also look forward to the hope beyond this life.

Secure: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Not even the most scary, rattling, tear-producing, tumultuous, darkest of sins. Or a terrorist attack.

How to Celebrate Justice

By: Jim Umlauf

The video below is a compact message about the death of Osama bin Laden, and the way a Christian can reconcile the celebration of justice with loving one’s enemies.

VIDEO: Is it ok to be happy about the death of Osama bin Laden? (Jim Umlauf)