Tag: Trusting Jesus

Digging in Deeper: Habakkuk 3:17-18

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“Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When you are the pastor of a church in a small town, you wind up getting to take part in a whole lot of the normal rhythms of the community. It’s really one of the things I enjoy most about serving in the kind of community where God has planted us. As an example of this delightful part of the job, this afternoon I get the privilege of giving a short devotion to a great group of students before they go to their activities for the evening. When doing this kind of thing, there are all kinds of approaches you can take. I decided on a little different approach than most guys will take. These kids live in a world that is beset by anxiety. Most of the fault of this lies at the feet of social media and a rapidly declining engagement with a genuine faith community. I’m not going to tell them to go to church. But I do aim to give them a little bit of hope in the midst of a world that is often dark and discouraging. As something a little different than our usual Friday fare, here’s what I’m going to say to them.

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Morning Musing: Matthew 8:26

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“He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Our weather yesterday was gross most of the day. Today’s not promising to be much better. It wasn’t particularly cold, which was nice, but it was rainy and windy and overcast all day. Then, yesterday afternoon it got foggy out of nowhere. It was the kind of thick pea soup fog you usually only see in the morning except it was at 3:00 in the afternoon. Driving toward on particular intersection, I couldn’t see the traffic signal until I was almost through the intersection itself. It reminded me of another thing in thankful for. Today I’m thankful for not being able to see tragic signals.

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Morning Musing: Matthew 6:31-32

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“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Do you really know who God is? How well do you know Him? Do you know what His character is? Those are all questions you may answer instinctively if you’ve been around the church long enough to be programmed to answer them in a certain way, or they may prompt a bit more reflectiveness in you. I’d like you to really give it some thought today. Yesterday at camp we talked about having a trusting heart. This is a heart that has a grasp of God’s character that goes beyond the surface. There are several places in the Scriptures that call us to have this kind of a heart. Here’s one we talked about yesterday.

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Morning…or Afternoon Musing: Ephesians 6:13d

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“…to take your stand.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We often imagine spiritual warfare in terms that have generally been set by Hollywood and popular media more broadly. The trouble is, that is almost never what it is really like. As we finish up breaking down the theme verde from camp this week, we’re going to focus on a word that Paul comes back to three times in this section and which gives us a better picture of what our real task is. Let’s talk about standing.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 5:15, 17, 20-22

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“So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: ‘Why are you treating your servants this way?’ . . . But he said, ‘You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, “Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.”‘ . . . When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them, ‘May the Lord take note of you and judge,’ they said to them, ‘because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials – putting a sword in their hand to kill us!’ So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, ‘Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We like stories that have a happy ending. Just nearly all of our stories do too. In order to get to that happy ending, though, there is often a journey involved. And while sometimes that journey is short and smooth, there are other times when it is anything but that. Sometimes, in the beginning, it looks like there won’t be any journey at all. Instead, it appears that we are simply bound for failure, and everyone around us is worse off for our efforts. Let’s talk today about Pharaoh’s reaction to Moses and Aaron, and when our best efforts just seem to make a mess of things.

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