Hope As Strength

By Brooke Momblow

 

 “Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.”  Psalms 27:13

 

In Laura Story’s heart gripping song “Blessings” about the hardest trial and breaking in her life… she asks the question: “What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life, is the revealing of a greater thirst, this world can’t satisfy?” That revelation leads her to another question: “What if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?”

 

Suffering always brings us to a dead stop. Everything stops. Yet the world goes on around us. And we’re expected to continue operating in it. At our core it seems cruel that others celebrate while we grieve, others flourish while we wonder if we’ll survive. We question the meaning of life and we question God and his role in it. Theologians, you and me, we have all wrestled with these questions. 

 

Nothing and no one escapes the brokenness of this world. Even the Earth, the beautiful trees, bees, and very air we breathe, they break and groan and suffer and are corrupted under the curse of separation from God.  It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Scientists say the human body is a scientific wonder.  Our design is so perfect that we should live forever. The body is made to heal itself and to adapt - but it doesn’t. For some reason unknown to scientists, it starts to breakdown and die.

 

On more than one occasion I’ve answered a hurting friend’s “why” with “it’s not supposed to be this way”. That’s why it hurts, that’s why it happens, and we can’t seem to keep from touching each other with the shards of our own brokenness.

 

God in his goodness walks with us in it.  He takes what was meant for evil and redeems it for our good. That doesn’t mean it turns out the way we want. Because God is patient with every one of us, we won’t get to see the full joy of how he redeems our circumstances until he makes everything perfect.  In the meantime our joy comes from how he is redeeming us, and our relationship with him. 

 

In my own life I’ve frequently spoken that while I would never want to go through my hard things again, I also would not trade what God has done because of it.  Knowing this helps to give me hope for the future.

 

A friend of mine who has suffered in a very long season of unbearably hard, said to me not too long ago, “you know, somebody wrote a book about that, about how ‘it’s not supposed to be this way’”. Tears were shed as each of us discovered the excellent truths and encouragement the book had to offer.  My friend’s story still has a long way to go and we are hoping and praying together to see the amazing ways God is redeeming her story while we are still in the land of the living. 

 

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalms 27:14

 

You have a story and part of your story includes the hard and evil you’ve encountered. God wants to redeem it. He wants to redeem you. He wants good for you, his good. He wants joy for you, his joy.

 

It’s my experience of knowing the Holy Spirit in my life that confirms to me God is real and so affirms Jesus Christ is the Son of God. No other god offers this love or assurance. It is this assurance that keeps me clinging to faith when the road is so dark I cannot see the way to go, the pain so great I cannot feel his presence, the trial so long that hope appears foolish. The Holy Spirit comforts and reminds us, of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

 

In the book Unexpected the author advocates becoming a prisoner of Hope so that the unexpected trials of life lose the power of fear to control us, allowing us to move forward in faith. When we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness we can become disillusioned about the promise, but God has a hope and a future for us if we’ll follow his directions.  God restores in ways we can’t design. It’s time to dare to hope, to trust God.

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

 

Names of God*

 

-Adonai: Master Over All

Verse: O Lord God, (Adonai) You have begun

to show Your servant Your greatness

and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven

 or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?

Deuteronomy 3:24

 

-El Roi: The God Who Sees

-Yahweh Yireh: The Lord Will Provide

-Jehovah Rapha: The God Who Heals You

-Jehovah Shammah: The Lord is There

-Elohim Chaseddi: The God of My Mercy

-El Simchath Gili: God My Exceeding Joy

 

-El Emunah: The Faithful God

Verse: Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;

he is the faithful God (El Emunah), keeping his covenant

of love to a thousand generations of those who love him

and keep his commandments.

Deuteronomy 7:9

*credit: Tony Evans

 

 

Out of the Canoe and Onto the Rock

By Marilyn Travis

  

Pray with me. 

O Lord, to whom all hearts are open and every thought is laid bare, guide the little vessels of our souls across the sea in a far better way than we ever have. Command the stormy wind and the troubled waves to be still, and we will look up to you in peace, undisturbed and at rest in union with you. Do not let our thoughts be carried hither and yon by every spirit of this world, but let us see and hear you alone.

 

Forgive us when we display anger, jealousy, ambition or pride which give rise to discord and bitter feelings toward others. Let your Holy Spirit displace all other spirits in our souls so that we may always be filled with your heavenly thoughts and guided by your divine light.

 

I lament my impudence and beg from your hand the comfort, strength and peace of your forgiving and transforming grace. Have mercy that I may rejoice when I am numbered among the peacemakers who are called the children of God. For your glory alone. Amen

                                    Taken from the prayers of Johann Arndt

 

Do any of you feel kind of like you’re navigating agitated waters while standing up in a canoe? Our church is in transition, we’re not sure who will be leading our country, Coronavirus is sharply rising once again. Stress is rising, uncertainty abounds.

 

We each have a choice in how we react to this stress. I pray we will choose to be Spirit filled.

Ephesians 4:1-6, 32 

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  

(32) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 We don’t have to ride this out in an unstable canoe!  

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:1-3.

 In closing, join with me in listening to this beautiful choral rendition of One Faith, One Hope, One Lord by The Woodlands UMC Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD7oXJrIZWk 

Discipleship, Part 2

By Cathy Ramsey

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been studying discipleship during the coronavirus. Because of my health issues, we’ve been extremely careful about leaving home during these times, so I’ve had lots of time for prayer and study. An article written by Jeannette Hagen, a doctoral student, forms the basis for the following study of discipleship. I hope it helps if you are also interested in discipleship to Jesus.

 1.     Discipleship is about a relationship with Jesus.

Michael Wilkins in Following the Master, A Biblical Theology of Discipleship has defined a disciple of Jesus as one who “has come to Jesus for eternal life, has claimed Jesus as Savior and God, and has embarked upon the life of following Jesus.”  

 

His constant presence in my life, and His promise to never leave nor forsake me, encourages me to daily follow Him.  When I felt lost in early 2013, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to come back to Him and to put Jesus in the forefront of my life. He never gave up on me and it changed my life. While my journey seems to be moving slowly, it feels like it is definitely moving in the right direction for which I am very grateful. I have so much more joy and peace in my life. At the heart of following Him is this undeserved relationship I have with Him.

 

2.     Discipleship is enabled and empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit who transforms us into the image of Christ.

The Holy Spirit indwells and fills believers (Eph. 5:18), guides us into all truth (John 16:13), brings forth fruit in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23) and empowers us for ministry in the church and in the world. The Spirit is God’s presence within us (Rom. 8:11) to confirm that we are indeed children of God (Rom. 8:16).

 

The Holy Spirit speaks to us to convict us of our sins to enable the continuing process of conforming us into the image of Christ.  Understanding the role of the Holy Spirit encourages our response of submitting to His sanctifying work. The more I listen for the will of God and seek His guidance, the more I hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

 

3.     Discipleship is grounded and guided by the Word of God.

The Bible is our authority in all areas of life.  “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Consistent nourishment from God’s word is a vital component of one’s spiritual growth (Psalm 1, John 15). The more I read the bible, the more I understand about God and grow into my relationship with Him.

 

4.     Discipleship is nurtured in community.

 

Community with other believers is a vital part of our growth as disciples.  We were made to be in fellowship with one another.  The imagery of the body of Christ portrays how vitally linked we are to one another.  In such community, we are able to fulfill the command of loving one another and, with this community, to love the world. Worship service, Sunday School, the Spiritual Formation workshops and retreats, bible studies with others, the Spiritual Formation Team and Group, Deacons, and just talking with other believers has enhanced my journey in trying to live in the Kingdom of God more than anything. It has led me to pray more and study the Bible more. While we’ve been very isolated physically due to COVID, there have been so many opportunities to meet with our fellow believers via Zoom meetings. Not nearly as good as being able to hug each other and be in the same room, but much better than not seeing each other at all. I am so grateful for these opportunities at EPC.

 

5.     Discipleship is a continuing process of being transformed from the inside-out.

The ultimate goal of the believer’s life is to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). Jesus described a radical way of life in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7).  In a world in which righteousness was very much regarded by one’s outward actions, Jesus emphasized the transformation of the heart.

 

6.     Discipleship produces spiritual fruit.

As the Holy Spirit works to transform the individual and change is made from the inside-out, the characteristics of God become evident in the believer’s life:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

 

7.     Disciples of Christ who are in the process of inward transformation, yield to the Spirit’s leading in service and mission. 

Spiritual formation is both about the inward change of heart and the outward manifestation of that changed heart.  Christ modeled the life of service for His disciples and commands us to serve in humility and love while proclaiming His truth in a lost world.

 

8.     Disciples are called to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.

As we live in a sin-cursed world, we bear the effects of sin on a daily basis.  With the presence of Christ and the promise of future hope with Him, we are able to endure the pain and even be transformed in the process. Paul writes of this truth in 2 Cor. 4:17: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”  God invites us to suffer for His sake, for living to honor Christ in a world that is hostile toward Him.  In this, we share in his sufferings and bring glory to Him.

 

9.     Disciples must count the cost.  

Following Christ as His disciple means letting go of one’s own will and seeking the will of God in all things (Luke 9:23).  Nothing must take the place of Jesus as the “focus of allegiance,” as Michael Wilkins explains in his book, Following the Master, A Biblical Theology of Discipleship.

 

10.   Discipleship is a life-long journey.

In my own life, describing my faith and discipleship in terms of the journey metaphor has been vitally important on many different levels.  As I come to different forks in the road, or experience difficult trials, knowing that Jesus is my trustworthy Master and Leader, is my comfort and motivation to continue in this journey of faith and as I continually attempt to take the right path.  I must continue to realize I am a child of God, trust in Him, and endeavor to endure the trials of faith that come with renewed commitment to following Christ on a daily basis.