Spiritual Troughs (Buckets)

This week Avery spoke about filling our spiritual buckets. And you know a place that has its buckets full? Coastal! They have not just buckets, but troughs full of chicks and ducklings.

This week I was walking through Coastal and I heard the familiar peep-peeping coming from one end of the store. The sound pulled me closer until I found myself peering over the lip of one of those metal troughs. Inside I saw brown ducklings, all peeping and waddling around.

I was tempted to hurry on to the next place I was headed. Instead I paused and squatted down next to the trough to get a closer look. As I watched the ducklings, one looked up at me and I could see its tiny eye and little feathers.

And I was reminded of Jesus saying “A sparrow is so small, it isn’t worth much, yet God cares so much that he knows when each one falls. You are worth much more than a sparrow, so don’t ever wonder if God cares about you.” (Matthew 10:28-31).

My spiritual bucket was filled when I stopped my hurry for a second and considered the little things that bring so much joy. What little things are you passing up that could fill your bucket?

 - Pastor Kristen

Struggle and a Screwdriver

The grill of my car pressed itself into my leg as I leaned over the open engine bay and strained to keep from completely flopping on the engine. With one arm wrapped around a pipe coming from the air filter I struggled against the plastic clip imbedded in the metal frame of my car that held the wires I was replacing. My legs ached from the holding the odd angle. My dad stood to the side watching and I wished he would step in so I wouldn’t have to struggle anymore.

But he didn’t. “You got this.” he said.

“It won’t come out.” I told him.

“Try prying with this screwdriver,” he said, handing one to me.

The screwdriver helped, and after a few more pries and angle tries, the obstinate plastic broke off. Suddenly the frustrated feeling melted away as I was filled with pride that I had done it on my own.

Could my dad have easily taken over? Yes. But he let me struggle.

My dad is always preparing me for life. He lets me struggle sometimes, but always stays close by to encourage me and offer wisdom. When he teaches me how to do things like fix my car, he becomes part of me. And I become more like him. If I ever come across that problem and he’s not physically there, he still exists in the knowledge that is now apart of me.

There are things that God lets us struggle on too. (For example, forgiveness.) While we may feel abandoned by God, he’s always nearby to offer encouragement and wisdom. In the process of struggling he becomes apart of us and we became like him. And the result is that he is there wherever we go.

So lean into the struggle, whatever yours is, as the refining process of becoming more like God and know that he is standing right next to you.

Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

 - Pastor Kristen

A Call to Pray for All

1 Timothy 2:1-6 says, "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people."

Paul preaches a life of peace and quiet, godliness and holiness for all who profess faith in Jesus Christ.  That sits well with our souls, but what might be more shocking to the system is his call for intercessory prayer and thanksgiving for kings and all those in authority.  Kings and authority figures in his day weren't often likeable and ruled with power to provoke fear.

How could Paul call all to prayer for personalities like these?  Paul formerly was one who persecuted Christians, even approving of them being put to death.  But Paul saw the light of Jesus Christ and accepted His forgiveness and wonderful ransom paid by Jesus on even his behalf.  Why not pray today even for the most difficult, powerful and fearsome folks?  God can save to the uttermost!

 - Pastor Michael

Greater than Golden Lions

2 Chronicles 9:17-20 says, "Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.  The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it.  On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.  Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step.  Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.  All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.  Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day."

The riches and glory of Solomon's splendor were breathtakingly beautiful.  His throne and house were garnished with gold.  Nothing had been made quite like it before.  Up to that point, it was the greatest spectacle the world had ever seen.  Imagine seeing all those golden lions...

The Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ has a far greater, more beautiful and elaborate kingdom coming.  His kingdom is filled with such beauty that gold will merely be what we walk around on as the streets in that kingdom's city will be paved in pure gold.  Heaven will be wrapped in gorgeous greatness, but its true beauty will not be measured in gold and jewels.  God, His love, and the fellowship of all His creation will be our priceless and eternal treasure!  Let your heart roar with confidence in all that is coming for you!!  He is coming for you!!

 - Pastor Michael

Unless the LORD

One of my greatest fears is reaching the end of my life and realizing that everything I did was in vain—that the days I lived, the decisions I made, the work completed, and the things I invested my time and energy into were ultimately futile and worthless.  Not only is this a fear, but it is also a real possibility.  We can spend our entire lives chasing things that don’t last.  Or, we can live in a way that ensures each day carries meaning and purpose. 

Psalm 127:1-2 teaches us how to be intentional in pursuing a meaningful life instead of one lived in vain.  The psalm opens with these words:

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 

Unless the LORD.

Those three words mark the difference between a life lived in vain and a life filled with meaning. 

The key to a meaningful life is living it with God–inviting Him to be at the center of everything we do.  We welcome Him into our work, our families, our conversations, our grocery trips, and our vacations.  Every part of life becomes significant when it is lived in His presence. 

Yes, unless the LORD is the foundation in our lives, all we do will ultimately be in vain. 

Closing Prayer: 

“Jesus, I open my life to YOU today.  Be with me in my work, my busy schedule, my rest, and my relationships.  May my life be centered on You.  Amen.”

- Pastor Evan Davies

A People Who Visit

Last words matter. If you knew you were having one final conversation with someone, what would you say? In Genesis 50:24, we hear some of Joseph’s last words to his family: “But God will visit you…” These words carry a profound message of hope. Joseph essentially says, “Yes, we have experienced pain, betrayal, famine, and heartache, but God is coming. He will visit us to heal, to restore, and to redeem.”

This theme of divine visitation echoes throughout Scripture. Again and again, we see that when people are hurting and broken, God shows up. He visited Sarah and Abraham in their longing, Hannah in her grief, the enslaved Israelites in their oppression, and Naomi and Ruth in their sorrow. Ultimately, God’s greatest visitation came through the incarnation of Jesus, when God stepped into humanity to bring healing and salvation.

Reflecting on this, I’ve found myself pondering three key questions, and I invite you to do the same:

1. Do I need a visitation from God?

2. What areas of my life are in need of healing?

3. Is there someone in my life who is hurting? Someone I can visit, encourage, and support?

As people who follow a God who visits, let us also become a people who visit. Carrying His love and presence into the lives of those around us.

 - Pastor Evan

Belay-tionship

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.  - Isaiah 26: 3-4

“I’m falling!”  Jed called out from near the top of the climb. “Gotcha!” I yelled back as I took in an armful of rope and held it firmly, waiting for the upward jerk as all the slack was pulled taught at his fall. It was the first week of summer camp, and Jed and I were working together to set up some climbing routes for our campers. A few minutes earlier as we had looked at the wall in front of us, Jed pointed to one route and said, “This route is rated harder than I usually can lead climb, but it doesn’t look too bad. I’m willing to give it a go. Will you belay me?”

In a basic rock climbing setup the belayer is the person on the opposite end of the rope from the climber. As a climber moves up the route, the belayer feeds the rope through a device called an ATC, which allows them, with the help of physics, to catch the climber via the rope if the climber was to fall. In a lead climbing situation like Jed and I were in, there’s potential for a longer fall than in a basic top rope set up. A climber can sometimes fall ten, twenty or even forty feet down. In a fall, not only can the climber potentially hit the ground, the belayer can get yanked up against the wall. A climber must trust that the belayer will pay attention and react smoothly if the climber falls. And the belayer must trust that the climber will do all they can to not fall. The relationship between the belayer and the climber involves a lot of trust both ways. Thankfully long falls are rare and most of the time injury is prevented.

While Jed and I had both done a lot of climbing on our own, it was still the beginning of the summer and since we had only known each other for a few days we didn’t have much climbing experience together. Yet to accomplish our job we had to trust each other. I had to trust that Jed was going to climb the climb and Jed had a trust that I would fulfill my duties as a belayer.

And so here it was that we found ourselves on the brink of Jed falling and myself being pulled up against the wall he was climbing. I watched as he peeled off the wall and fell. Thankfully it was only a short fall and I didn’t get pulled up against the rock. After a brief rest Jed tried again and was able to make it to the top of the route and set the rope for the campers. Both of us were a bit shaky when he got back down to the bottom, and gave each other a chalky high five. “ I guess we have started our belay-tionship.” Jed said.

This Sabbath Alyssa talked about the importance of relationships. When humans want to get to know someone new, we don’t usually start off by sharing our whole life story and everything that is important to us with that person.  We don’t know if the other person will hurt us or let us down. To get to know them we might start by sharing something small that is important to us or asking help with a simple thing. In the climbing story above, Jed and I trusted each other to climb together. Over the course of time, if these moments of trust are met with good results, then  a strong and trusting relationship is built. 

In the same way that human relationships require trust function, our relationship with God requires trust. For some of us who are just starting to explore the possibility of a relationship with God, we may have wondered how people who have known God for a long time can just trust that He exists. This is a valid feeling to have since we have had only a few interactions with God so far. There hasn’t been time for trust to be built up. The next step for us may be to take a look around our life and see if there is something that we can trust God with. It doesn’t have to be the big thing yet. Just something.  Then look for how he responds to us.

For others of us who have known God for some time and are looking for a way to take our relationship with God to the next level, trust is an important part in our relationship with God too!  The next step for us may be to take a look around our life and see if there’s anything that’s important to us that we haven’t trusted God with yet. This will take some deep soul searching and brutally honest conversations with ourselves. Then based on our experiences of trust with God in the past, trust him with this too. And look for how he responds.

The start of my belay-tionship with Jed was an important part in building trust for the rest of the summer. We went on to have many more fun adventures together because of that trust. I hope that this week you will be able to find your next level of trust with God.

 - Pastor Kristen