I wrote a post a couple of days ago inspired by a book I am reading, Cries of the Heart.  In one of the chapters, the author – Ravi Zacharias, is discussing the revelation of who God is to humanity.  The Scripture passage he uses in describing how God reveals Himself to us is one of my favorites, so I wanted toshare it with you.  There never is a bad time to focus on the person of God.  It helps keep our perspective correct and our reverence of His character fresh.

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood since the earth was founded?  He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.  He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.  He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.  No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.”

“To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.  Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing…”

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  (Isaiah 40:21-26, 28-31 NIV)

Have a wonderful day and make time to spend with the One who sacrificed so much because of His unending love for you.

Marissa

I am reading a book entitled Cries of the Heart by Ravi Zacharias. In this book he outlines God’s answers to the cries of the human heart. Those things which sidetrack us or drive us off course, those things which cause us private pain which we may never share or even let on we feel like we are dying from on the inside. I am not very far into the book, but there was a passage which caught my attention. I wanted to share it with you because it ties in with something I have been thinking about recently. What do you do when you feel like giving up? What do you do when you feel completely overwhelmed and see no sunlight or way of escape? Have you even ever felt that way?

We all have questions which are difficult to answer. “Why do I not feel God to be near when I have done all that I know to be right? Who are You, God? Why is there suffering? Why am I suffering?” “If anything unites our cultures today it is the unanswered questions we face that have a felt reality. The loneliness of an unloved life is the same in Bombay as it is in Barcelona. The life tormented by guilty is the same for a movie icon in Hollywood as it is for a schoolteacher in Havana. How do I chooose a life that has pleasure without living a life that is immoral?

These gnawing questions were underscored by a grim and dreadful incident that took place in New York City some years ago, the culmination of a series of almost indescribable events that had befallen a young woman. The story is too heartrending to repeat. Feeling the silent pain of a whole city, a state senator agonized, ‘How can so much go wrong in one life and nobody be aware of it?’ After days of pondering that obvious question, a city councilman gave the only plausible answer. He said, ‘Life is too busy and complicated for me to hear the cry of every person in my community. As a matter of fact, I struggle to find time to even hear the cries of my own family. If I had to listen to the cry of everyone in New York City, you may as well ask me to listen to the sound of every blade of grass growing and to the heartbeat of every squirrel. The noise would be deafening on the other side of silence.’ I doubt he overstated his point. If the cries of the heart in any community were to be cumulatively sounded, the noise would indeed be deafening.

Where, then, can we go?

There is a place where there is an aggregate of human suffering and questioning. That place is the heart of God.”

I found the answer of the councilman saddening. I don’t know that he meant he didn’t care, or wouldn’t take the time, but I think this is the attitude of too many people in our world today. I think this includes Christians as well. I don’t disclude myself from this statement. I know I am guilty of it. The answer to the problem may seem obvious, but it isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Our old nature gets in the way. Satan knows our weaknesses and knows exactly what fear to feed, thought to place in our mind or doubt to cultivate in our heart. I see in my mind the picture painted in Pilgrim’s Progress when Christian is being bombarded with flaming arrows. Are you in that kind of a situation right now? Do you know someone who might be drowning silently in their own private nightmare? It is hard to reach out for help. It is hard to admit you need something outside yourself to take the next step.

So what am I getting at? Pick your head up out of your PDA, cellphone, book, etc. and see who is around you and what they need. Ask God to lay someone on your heart who He knows needs a lifeline. God wants to use you in His plans. He doesn’t need you to accomplish His purposes, but He does want to use you. Is someone around you in need?

Guten Morgen to all! The week is more than half over, and with the end of this week January is also half over.  Can you believe that?  I hope it has been a good week for you so far. If your life is like mine, you notice the calendar is starting to fill up again after the “lull” we sometimes experience during the season between Thanksgiving and New Years. Weekends are packed and weeknights seem to fill up quite quickly as well. Most of these activities are focused on our needs and the needs of our families. There is nothing inherently wrong with taking care of these needs, but when they become our sole focus, this is where the problem begins. We tend to develop tunnel vision and forget there is a big world out there full of people who need something from us. They need to know what has created “the hope which lies within” us. They need to know what Christ has done in our heart to make us a new creature. We need to pick our head up out of our own “fishbowl” of a life and look around at the needs which exist around us. When you do look around you and see the plethora of needs, it can be very daunting and somewhat discouraging. Where do I start? Does my one little act really make a difference? What is the best form of giving for my lifestyle, financial ability, etc. Here is one way to attack the issue without feeling overwhelmed. Take a baby step, acclimate to that and then take another step. Before you know it, it won’t seem so overwhelming, and it will become a normal part of your everyday life. Keeping our eyes focused on Christ will help develop the desire and keep it from becoming just another “to do” on our long list. It will become a fulfilling part of your walk with Christ. Demonstrating the love of Him, who loved us first and reached out to us first.

One of our main purposes at Pathfinders, besides helping individuals become more like Christ, is to minister to the community. The adage “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” really does hold true. “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:15-17 NIV) We demonstrate the reality and vitality of our faith by our actions! People will not want to hear about the life changing relationship available through Christ if they do not see a real difference in you from the other hundred people who pass them by.

So, in an effort to help each of us develop this area of our lives, we have developed a ministry team which will schedule opportunities for our class to put this principle into action. Pam Austin has been communicating with the Denver Rescue Mission to schedule a time for us to go down there and help serve. Below are the specifics of the activity for February. Please block off some time to come and put your faith into action! I encourage you to not wait just for these “formal” activities, but to look for what you can do on your own time.

We have an opportunity to serve meals at the Denver Rescue Mission on Saturday, February 3rd from 7:30pm-9:00pm. I need to give them an estimated headcount so please let me know if you’re a “definite-yes” or a “maybe-yes” no later than Jan 25th. You can reach me at 303-503-6894 or npaustin@msn.com . For more information on the Denver Rescue Mission you may visit: www.denverrescuemission.orgThanks!Pam AustinBlessings to you, and have a great rest of the week!

Marissa

We are now ready to define contentment from the Scripture: Contentment is being satisfied with Christ, nothing less and nothing more. So what does Christ offer us to help us in this area of contentment?

The first thing Christ provides for us is new desires. One of the basic ways that unbelievers and believers can be distinguished is by transformation. For the believer, once “in Christ,” everything becomes new, including our desires. However, believers live with the flesh and often succumb to the old desires.

I think that one of the most misunderstood verses dealing with contentment is Psalm 37:4.

“Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” While many use this verse to show that God will grant our wishes, the verse is really teaching that, if we delight in Him, He will provide our desires for us-the right kind of desires. When we stray from these right desires, we must delight in Him to get them back which takes us to this principle: Contentment is conditional upon our relationship of love/obedience to God. How do we delight ourselves in Him? I would suggest it is by obeying Him. According to Jesus, the greatest command we are to obey is to love God; the supreme form of love is obedience. This circular process will result in our desires becoming God’s desires and contentment is one of the byproducts of this process. Paul expressed this in another letter as well:

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6, NKJV)

Great gain in our Christian life is godliness with contentment. The lifestyle is inseparably linked to the mindset.The second provision of Christ for our contentment is His strength. (Philippians 4:13) Do we really need to elaborate on this one? Any child of God who has known weakness has also known the strength of Jesus Christ.

A third provision of Christ which helps us to be content is His presence. (Philippians 4:9) Because He is everywhere with us, no temptation is without escape. (1Cor 10:13) We can do “all things” because of His abiding presence and help.

Gaining a right perspective on Christ and His provision help us to learn contentment, but so many people build barriers to contentment by holding onto a wrong perspective about themselves. Think about it.

Contentment is conditional upon self-denial. I am nothing in myself. Christ is all in all. I deserve nothing, except Hell. R.C. Sproul says, “In our partly sanctified lives, there lurks the godless temptation to assume that God owes us a better condition than we presently enjoy. Such is the misery of sin, which misery is defeated by the triumph of God’s saving and providential grace. It is in this grace that Christian contentment may be found.” I can do nothing. (John 15:5) I am so vile that I cannot of myself receive any good. I am not only an empty vessel, but also a corrupt and unclean vessel. My heart is deceitful above all things. I can make use of nothing, if God withdraws Himself from it. Even if in His grace, He bestows upon me a gift, I cannot use it as intended without Him. We are worse than nothing. Sin makes us to be more vile than nothing. We are not empty pitchers in respect of good, but we are like pitchers filled with poison. If we perish we will be no loss. God can raise up someone else in my place

John Bunyan knew this concept well and wrote a brief poem about it:

He that is down needs fear no fall; He that is low, no pride; He that is humble, ever shall have God to be his guide. I am content with what I have, little be it, or much; and, Lord, contentment still I crave, because Thou savest such. (From Anthology of Jesus)

Why should we go through this humiliating process of self-denial? Everything in the world tells us the opposite. “You’re worth it!” “You’ve earned it!” But in God’s plan, a man who is little in his own eyes will account every affliction as little, and every mercy as great.

Well, this is by no means a thorough treatment of biblical contentment. But I hope for many of you that this will be a start of a journey to learn the process of contentment. You can have this “complexion of the soul” regardless of your circumstance or complaint. May you find both the peace of God and the God of peace.

Pastor Brian McCrorie

Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked. “Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman. “Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’ the rich man asked.”What would I do with them?” “You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.” The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?” “You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist. “What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea. (From Our Daily Bread, May 18, 1994)

I have to admit: contentment is not easy. It seems that, in my family, whenever we finally get caught up in bills, when we’re just about over the flu season, when we think one of our children has finally grasped an issue of character-that’s when God seems to delight in taking trials to the next level. I often struggle with achieving contentment in my personal life. Maybe you do too. That’s why it’s comforting to read in the Scripture that even the great Apostle Paul had to learn contentment.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:10-13, NKJV)

Paul first teaches us that contentment is something that is learned. It doesn’t come and go; it’s a habit of the soul that comes with time and experience.

Paul also teaches us that contentment does not depend on circumstance. This is a confrontation with the sovereignty of God. God has wisely designated a path for each one of us. Notice Paul’s response to circumstance:

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, NKJV)Paul next reveals the secret of his contentment, the Person of Jesus Christ, through whom we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)

Look back too at verses 7 and 9 of the same chapter:

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Here is the difference between the carnal man and the believer in relation to contentment. The carnal man is content when he has outward peace (not the peace of God); the believer must have both the peace of God and the God of peace, both the Cause and the Effect. David expressed this best in his song:

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. (Psalm 73:25, NKJV)Aristotle, in his Rhetoric, distinguishes between colors in the face that arise from passion and those that arise from complexion. The pale face may look red when it is blushed, but this is only a passion. He is said properly to be ruddy and sanguine who is constantly so; it is his complexion. He is not a contented man, who is so occasionally, and perhaps when he is pleased, but who is so constantly. It is the habit and complexion of the soul.

Spurgeon adds a great thought here on the sovereignty of God at work in our lives: “There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children ought to more earnestly contend to than the doctrine of their Master over all creation–the Kingship of God over all the works of His own hands–the Throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne…for it is God upon the Throne whom we trust.”

We are now ready to define contentment from the Scripture: Contentment is being satisfied with Christ, nothing less and nothing more. So what does Christ offer us to help us in this area of contentment?

Pastor Brian is the pastor in charge of music and children’s ministries here at RRBC.  He has five children and a loving wife who teaches K-4 at Silver State.  If you would like to read more articles written by him, check out his personal blog at http://bowingdown.wordpress.com/.  I know it will be a blessing to you.  Look for the continuation of this article later this week.

Marissa

Wednesday night, Pastor Heinze gave a message on leadership.  It impacted me on several levels, and I wanted to share his points with you.  Whether you are in a titled position, a youthworker, a pastor or “just” a church member, you are a leader of some sort or another.  People watch us whether we know it or not and we need to be aware of what they see.  Hopefully these points which are gleaned from biblical principles will help you shape your life after the greatest leader ever known to man, Jesus Christ.

I.  The Definition of Leadership:  Influence

1. Leadership is not necessarily attached to a position.  Real leadership is influence, i.e. – mothers, teachers, fathers, etc.
2. Every time you influence someone you are assuming leadership.  1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no man despise thy youth but be thou an example (leader) for the believers in speech, lifestyle, in spirit in faith and in purity.“  Age and experience have their advantage, but you can be influential at any age – for good or for bad.

II.  The Test of Leadership:  Followers

1. If you want to know whether you are a leader or not, simply look over your shoulder, look in your rearview mirror.  John Maxwell says, “He who thiketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.”  If you have to remind people you are the leader, you aren’t effective.  You can lead by fear for a short time, but long term, you must lead by example.
2. Remember the story in Judges of Deborah and the prophetess?  (Judges 4 & 5)

III.  The Foundation of Leadership:  Character

1. Your behavior is determined by one of three factors:  the crowd around you, the circumstances influencing you, or the character within you!  “When one’s visible behavior contradicts one’s stated character it creates insecurity for the followers.  When one’s stated character compliments one’s visible behavior it creates integrity.”  Charisma without character will eventually lead to the “bottom dropping out.”
2. Proverbs 20:6 “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:  but a faithful man who can find?“

IV.  The Challenge of Leadership:  Growth

1. When you stop learning you stop leading.  Learning to be a leader is a lifetime commitment.
2. Philippians 4:9 “Those things, which ye have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do:  and the God of peace shall be with you.”  Leaders must DO!
3. Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.“  This verse does not mean the people of the day thought John and Peter were stupid, it means they were quite surprised at their leadership capabilities since neither men were formally educated.  It was because they had spent so much time in the company of Christ and put into practice what they had learned from Him.  We need to do the same.  You are influencing someone, develop and exert your leadership for the glory of God.

I hope these notes will be of help and encouragement to you.  In this fresh period of the new year, most of us are intent on making some change or changes in our lives.  We must take the right steps in making these changes stick.  These principles will go a long way in helping each of us be more Christ-like in everything we do.  Remember, someone is watching!

Marissa

I must apologize for not getting a post up first thing Monday morning.  I am sorry.  To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what to write.  Have you ever had so much going through your heart and or head that you when you tried to sort it all out it all came out in one big gobbledy gook of a mess?  Or when you tried to write a post for your class’ blog the faucet that is your brain just dries up?  O.k. so maybe that was me.  In some ways this is a problem because I have a responsibilty to fulfill, but that is not my biggest problem.  Mostly because I consider this a privilege, not just a responsibility.  Really the reason this is a problem is because I am pretty sure I have been avoiding dealing with some things in my spiritual life lately.  Am I making sense yet?  Bear with me.

The last three services of this revival week have been excellent.  I hope you did not miss them.  God has been working in lives.  There have been people who have seen their need for Christ and come to accept Him as Savior!  Praise God!  There have been Christians who have confessed sin.  I am one of them.  There have been Christians who have decided to take the next step in their walk with the Lord.  I am one of them.  Where are you?  What is the next step God is prompting you to take?  I told the Lord tonight I had sinned against Him.  I had stopped trying.  I had stopped hoping in Him.  I had stopped looking to Him for my daily sustenance.  I told Him I knew I had turned away from Him to avoid dealing with more painful or difficult situations in my life.  It was all just too much!  God, I can’t handle anymore! 

My life has had some significant health challenges over the last two years.  There have been some very high spiritual peaks for me, but lately it has been a dark valley.  It has been a desert of discouragement, and the saddest part is it is most of my own making.  So, I made a choice.  I shut down.  Now, there have been some good days.  I have tried to share with you some of those in my past posts, but tonight after Mr. Pettit’s sermon, I had to admit “out loud” what I have known in my heart for sometime now.  I knelt before the Lord and confessed my self-reliance.  I confessed that I had stopped working on my spiritual life.  Praise God for forgiveness.  O.k., stick with me, the faucet is starting to flow a bit more. 

Where did all this realization come from?  It has been building through lots of occurrences,  but it culminated tonight.  Let me share with you just a few points from the sermon tonight.  I pray it will be speak to you as it did to many others tonight.  First we go to Romans 7, “Paul’s Autobiography” as Mr. Pettit titled it.  Starting in verses 14 & 15 we see Paul say, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  Does this mean Paul is unsaved when he wrote this?  Backslidden?  A carnal Christian?  No.  Look at what he says in v.22, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;”.  A sinner does not delight in God’s law.  A backslidden Christian does not care what God’s law is.  Paul is a mature Christian when he penned this passage.  The more spiritual you become, the closer to God you grow, the more you see your sinfulness.  Have you experienced that?  I know I have.  You come to a point where you cannot ignore what you are on the inside and you can no longer be indifferent.

So, you do what you don’t want to do, and you don’t do what you want to do.  Now what?  Paul says this is classic in the life of a Christian.  He is sharing, in Romans 7:14-25, with us two unchanging principles he has observed in the life of a Christian and a plan to deal with them.  Put very simply, good and evil.  Good is delighting in God and His Word.  Evil is the law of sin which wages wars within us.  There is a civil war in each of us.  So what is Paul’s conclusion about this situation?  Look in v. 24a, “O wretched man that I am!…” (KJV)  This is the cry of a man who recognizes the truth of the law of sin which operates within him,  within each of us.  He knows he cannot change by self-effort.  “…who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (v. 24b/KJV)

Who indeed?  Hopefully this is an obvious answer to each of us who call Christ our Savior.  Paul points us to Christ.  “Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!…” (v. 25)  Christ not only died on the cross to save us from the penalty of sin, separation from God for eternity, but He also conquered the power of sin over us in our life!  Have you ever thought of this in those terms?  I am not sure I had until tonight.  That was a comfort to me.  How many times have you tried to change a habit or a sinful pattern in your life?  It works for about two days, huh?  This is because we are depending upon our own power to bring about the change.  We will never succeed this way.  We don’t have the power to save ourselves from sin, what makes us think we have what it takes to conquer something as sinister as sin?  Real, lasting, true change does not come until I am desperate to change and I turn my heart to God, cry out for His forgiveness and beg Him to change me.  I must ask Him continually for the strength to carry out the change.  But beyond Paul’s desperation to change this pattern in His life, he was desperate to avoid the result if he did not!  In the end of v. 24 in the KJV he uses the terminology “…this body of death.”  Mr. Pettit gave us some insight into what this meant in Paul’s day.  (Beware, this is graphically icky, but it does show what sin really does to a person.)  The Romans were quite barbaric in some of their punishments for crimes.  If you have ever read the entire account of the crucifixion, or seen the images portraying it in The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson, you know what torment and torture those people went through.  Well, if a man murdered someone, the Romans would bind the murderer to his victim.  Face to face, chest to chest, leg to leg.  Then they would throw them into the heat of the Mediterranean desert heat.  As the victim’s body would start to decompose in the heat, the decomposition would begin to eat into the body of the murderer.  I don’t share this with you for shock value, but to get across a point of how dangerous uncontrolled, unconfessed, continual sin is in a person’s life.  It is a powerful enemy.  We need a more powerful Ally in our battle against it.

So, since these verses are the end of Chapter 7, does that mean Paul just leaves us hanging?  NO!  He leaves us with a battle plan.  But first he makes it clear to us that total deliverance from this battle will not happen until we see Christ.  Don’t be discouraged.  God is the God of hope!  He never leaves us without the weapons to fight.  Go to Chapter 8.  “Therefore is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death, For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (vs. 1-4)  So here is our weapon!  If the law of sin is our enemy, the law of the Spirit is our weapon, our shield, our ammunition.  We do not have to be held captive by the law of sin!  If we operate under the power of the Holy Spirit, we will have what we need to effectively fight temptation and sinful habits. 

So let me conclude with the three points Mr. Pettit summed up this plan with.

1.  8:14 – You must come to the place where you want/desire His help.  You must choose to obey God.  “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (KJV)

2.  8:5 – You have to change your thinking/feelings/disposition/attitude.  This comes through the Spirit and the Spirit works through the Word of God.  Therefore we must consistently, continually be in Scripture, studying, memorizing and applying. (Our inconsistencies in the Christian life come mostly during our day-to-day where we are not thinking Biblically.)  We must literally change our brain processes!  “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what he Spirit desires.”

3.  8:13 – “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:  but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”  To mortify means to put to death, and deeds of the body means our choices.  So we must put to death our sinful choices.  We must make choices to avoid things we know will cause us temptation.  People, places, events, etc.

So to sum up, in short, we do not have to be slaves to the law of sin!  We must depend upon the power offered us by the Holy Spirit, we must be in His Word to learn His ways, and we must daily ask Him to change us.  We do not have to be prisoners of war to the tyrranical dictator of sin!  God gives us the tools, He gives us the strength, He gives us the desire and He will give you the victory!

Hope to see you during the rest of the services this week!! It is worth making the time!  I hope the Lord will use this in your heart as He did in mine.  Have a great week!

Marissa 

(Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses were quoted from the NIV.)

Please take a moment before you read the following article to read/pray through the following passage from Psalms.  Hopefully it will prepare your heart, as it did mine, for what is to come.  Please don’t skip over it.  It is the most important thing I could give you. 

“O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me, Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thoughts afar off.  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:  if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as the day:  the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.  For thou hast possessed my reins:  thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully make:  marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in the secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.  How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!  how great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand:  when I awake, I am still with thee.  Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God:  depart from me therfore, ye bloody men.  For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.  Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?  and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?  I hate them with perfect hatred:  I count them mine enemies.  Search me, O God, and know my heart:  try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139)

I love this passage.  I love it thoroughly.  It speaks to me in such a personal and almost musical way.  I don’t mean to in any way make light of it.  I chose to use the KJV version of this passage because of its lyrical beauty.  It is a beautiful arrangement of words, but more so it is the amazing thoughts straight from the heart of my Creator.   He created me.  He formed me.  He loves me.  He thinks about me.  He saved me.  He will defeat the wicked.  He will teach me how to walk in His path.  What could be more wonderful than that?

Several years ago, while studying this passage in more detail, I went through the passage and outlined every active verb which describes action from God towards me.  There are by my count sixteen.  That may not sound like many, but it is their content which is most important.  They are strong and very personal words like searched, known, compassest, acquainted, knowest, laid, lead, hold, possessed, see, fashioned.  These words show us the extent of God’s involvement in the life of His child.

These verbs give me confidence that God knows me, made me, is aware of what is occuring in my life/heart, He is watching out for me.  He is active!  So, what is my point?  Well, I could leave it at that.  To me, that is enough.  But what I really would like to focus on, besides these things, is using this passage to get ready for this upcoming week.  I mentioned in an earlier post about the revival meetings at RRBC this week.  To say that you can schedule revival for a church or person is a misnomer.  What this week is about is, if you will, “re-centering” yourself in the Word of God and in His Person!  Revival is up to you, in certain ways.  The power of the Holy Spirit must be active in your heart first.  You must look into your heart and see what is obstructing your relationship with The Almighty.  This is why I urged you at the beginning to take time to read through the passage. It is most important to be in the Word.  It is the only way to truly know the heart of God.  But, like Pastor Heinze said in his message last Sunday morning, just reading the Bible will not automatically change you.  It most certainly does plant the seed, but you must ask the Lord to change you through it, to reveal the truth to you!  You cannot do it yourself.  He must water, cultivate, weed and feed what Scripture plants in you. 

I will give you a personal example.  I have had trouble sleeping this week.  Lots of trouble.  I hate being awake in the middle of the night.  I feel so alone.  So vulnerable.  After several days of this, and not feeling well in the daytime–last night, I lost my temper.  My cat likes to get a snack several times during the night then come climb back into bed with me and begin to purr.  Loudly.  Usually right near my head!  Usually I can go right back to sleep after she awakens me, but I had only been asleep for about an hour when it happened last night.  That was after being asleep for an hour, awake for another hour and then a fitful hour of “sleep.”  So, what is the point you may say?  Well, I allowed my frustration to boil over and I started to well, I won’t get too descriptive.  But in a nutshell, I lost my temper against my cat.  How silly is that?  She can’t understand when I tell her to stop purring.  She can’t understand me when I tell her to please be quiet since I can’t sleep with her making so much noise.  But I lost it anyway.  I sat on the edge of my bed and simmered for a few minutes before making my way to my “La-Z-Boy” in my living room.  I was ashamed of myself.  I was ashamed God had seen me act in that manner.  I was ashamed I had allowed something so small and relatively insignificant to set me off.  Now, I could blame it on my lack of sleep, my pain level at that moment, etc., etc., ad nauseum.  But the truth of it is, it was just plain sin.  If I am to grow this week, if I am to take the next step in my Christian life, I must admit that what happened was wrong.  I was wrong.   These are the kinds of things, which if allowed to accumulate in one’s life, will cloud your view of Christ and your growth in Him.

So this is my challenge to you.  Before this week begins tomorrow, make time to take inventory of your life.  What is out of whack?  What is not aligned with His Word and commands?  What enemies of God are you allowing in your heart?  What do you need to change?  Open your heart to Him, to speak to you through the music and preaching this week.  There is no better time than right now.  As it says in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart:  try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  He has the power, tap into it.

Marissa