February 22, 2020 Verse of the Day In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalms 4:8 NIV
Held together in Jesus By Pastor Dave Scharf “You’ve got it so together!” Has anyone ever said that to you? If you’re like me, when you hear those words, your first thought is, “If only you could see what’s going on inside of me!” Truth be told, sometimes I have things anything but “together.” Is it the same for you? The Bible says, “For in him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16,17). You see, we can’t hold anything together. We need only look at our frailties and insecurities and failures to realize that we can’t hold “it” together. But Jesus can. He’s the one who made all this. In him, it’s all held together. Have you ever heard of laminin? It’s a glycoprotein that promotes cell adhesion. It’s not an overstatement to say it’s the glue that holds us together. Without it, we would literally fall apart. If you look at it under a microscope, you’ll see that it’s shaped like a cross. Isn’t it cool that the protein that holds us together physically looks just like the cross that holds us together spiritually? Feeling unraveled as you look to the future? Remember that the One through whom all things were made is also the One who loved you enough to die for your sins. He’ll hold it together for you today.
February 23, 2020 Verse of the Day “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 NIV
Free lunch tomorrow By Pastor Matt Ewart On one occasion I saw a clever sign that a restaurant had posted in its window. It read: Free Lunch Tomorrow. There was a moment of excitement as I thought through my schedule for the next day and realized that lunch was wide open. And a moment later that excitement vanished when I realized that this sign was permanent. Every single day they promised free lunch tomorrow. And tomorrow would never be today. Sometimes it can feel like God is the same way. We hear promises of a better future and healed relationships and hope for tomorrow. But tomorrow never seems to get here, and that can be frustrating. Tomorrow loses all hope when you think about the certainty of death. The apostle Paul knew that frustration well. He wrote, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (1 Corinthians 15:32). But what Paul brings out so beautifully in the rest of that chapter is that the dead are in fact raised. When Jesus entered into death, he did so to take away its claim on you. Death cannot keep you, just as it could not keep him. So if today is one of those days when it just seems like your life isn’t leading anywhere, remember that the distress over tomorrow has been taken away. And as long as your Savior gives you a today, he still has a divine purpose for you
The trouble with doing nothing is that you never know when you are finished. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Birds find it very hard to catch millenniums because these insects have so many more legs than a centennial. Birds have a difficult time catching grasshoppers because they have two pair of wings propelling them; anterior and bacterior. Many birds follow waterways in their emigrational navigation. This has been proven by tracking them across the Red Sea and to the Mediterranean Sea by way of the Sewage Canal. Many birds, like the swan, have but one mate for life. This is called monotony.
February 24, 2020 Verse of the Day Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalms 100:2 NIV
Strong and weak By Pastor Mark Jeske How great the power of sexual desire! How little we understand it. How hard it is to control. Sex has been making money for people for millennia and is a boom industry today—prostitution, pornography, escort services, and strip clubs just keep proliferating. Sexual desire can make a man’s brain into mush and his muscles weak. Samson was chosen to be a judge in Israel, i.e., a charismatic military and social leader who would unite the people in faithfulness to the Lord. Though gifted with incredible divine strength, he carried around also serious weakness: “Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, ‘See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him’” (Judges 16:4,5). Delilah made a puppy out of this mighty man. Entire platoons of Philistine soldiers could not subdue him, but his sexual weakness caused him to lose his powers. (Think I’m making this up? Read Judges 13–16.) Every child of God today in these troubled times needs to be alert to Satan’s terrible sexual assaults. Society today no longer helps us resist adultery and respect marriage. Guys, be aware that your desires can make you brain-dead. Women, be careful with your sexual power. Remember who gave it to you
February 25, 2020 Verse of the Day Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2 NIV
Restored to normal By Pastor Matt Ewart When you look at Jesus’ miracles recorded in the New Testament, they all have one thing in common. They all restored what sin had stolen. In the Garden of Eden when sin was introduced into a perfect creation, the results were catastrophic. Yes, the creation we see today is beautiful and majestic. But this is just the broken version. Sin broke God’s creation, and that brokenness extends to you too. But this is a brokenness that our Lord Jesus has the power to heal. People who were blind, deaf, mute, crippled, paralyzed, bleeding, diseased, and even dead were brought to Jesus. Humankind’s brokenness was brought into the presence of the Son of God. And quite often when he brought healing, the Scriptures refer to it as Jesus “restoring” them. He wasn’t giving them some new power. He was just restoring what sin had stolen. What has sin stolen from you? What brokenness do you struggle with? Maybe what you need to know today is that Jesus knows about it and he knows what it is like. You see, he willingly entered sin’s brokenness so that he could heal it. His resurrection proves that your sin is taken care of and your death has been undone. And one day he will restore everything—including you—to the way it was originally created to be. On that day you’ll get to witness a wide-scale miracle that begins with this declaration from heaven: “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” (Revelation 21:5)
Lots of wild birds and animals have been watched for years for forecasting weather patterns. For example: Birds singing in the rain means the rain will stop soon. Owls hooting in the daytime means a stormy night. Gulls following a farmer when he is fitting fields means the ground will be blessed with ample moisture. An early nest means a dry spring. If you see a bird flying along the coast of Washington, it will soon rain. One of the greatest differences between birds and man is how birds can build and yet leave the landscape looking basically the same as it was before their nest was built. A day without sunshine is like night. Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo. The best cure for insomnia is sleep. When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem resembles a nail.
Nine leper syndrome By Jason Nelson Those ingrates! Isn’t that how we’re supposed to feel about the nine lepers who didn’t say thank you? Isn’t that why Jesus asked this loaded question? “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” (Luke 17:17,18 MSG). Or is Jesus doing what he always does—sending the rest of us a message through a not-so-isolated incident? Before the healing miracle, Jesus was discussing faith with his inner circle. They wanted the right thing, didn’t they? “Give us more faith” (Luke 17:5 MSG). But Jesus didn’t just hear the question. He saw what was behind it. He knew those guys too well. He knew they wanted to be among the select few in the big faith group. So, he said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith” (verse 6). Any amount can move a mountain. And then these lepers showed up. Jesus healed them. Not because he wanted a thank-you but because they needed to be healed and they all called out for God’s mercy. I’m sure they were all grateful not to be lepers anymore. But it was a recognized outsider who came back. It was the man least appreciated by everyone watching who didn’t just say thank you. He adored Jesus. “He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough” (verse 16). We all suffer from nine leper syndrome. There aren’t enough ways to thank Jesus for what he has done for us.
February 26, 2020 Verse of the Day Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 NIV
Why does a cowboy need two spurs? If one side of a horse is made to go, the other side does too. What was sliced bread the greatest thing since? Exaggeration is a million times worse than understatement. The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up. For their weight and delicate construction, feathers are one of the strongest structures formed of living tissue. Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.
February 27, 2020 Verse of the Day My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalms 121:2 NIV
Overcoming personal baggage By Pastor Mark Jeske Some children show up for school each day with some pretty heavy life baggage: depression, sexual abuse, parental conflict, poverty, inadequate sleep and nutrition, violent talk and actions in their homes and neighborhoods, and terrible peer pressure. One of the things that great teachers do for their students is help them overcome their personal baggage. It’s not that the excuses the kids bring are nothing. They are a big deal. But children from stressed backgrounds will never get anywhere in life if they habitually use their baggage as their free pass from personal responsibility. Jephthah had a terrible family background. His mother was a prostitute. But Jephthah didn’t let that shame keep him down: “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. ‘You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,’ they said, ‘because you are the son of another woman’” (Judges 11:1,2). Jephthah’s talent and drive lifted him to the position of Israel’s commander-in-chief. He channeled his shame into positive energy. His embarrassing personal past helped him to be comfortable around other outsiders and outcasts, and he made them feel important. So—which pieces of your past have you used as excuses for mediocrity or failure? Which young person in your life, burdened by personal baggage, needs your encouragement?
If all who hate would love us and all our loves were true. The stars that swing above us would brighten in the blue, If cruel words were kisses and every scowl a smile, A better world than this is would hardly be worthwhile. If those who whine would whistle and those who languish, laugh, The rose would rout the thistle, the grain outrun the chaff. If hearts were only jolly, if grieving were forgot, And tears of melancholy, were things that now are not. Then love would kneel to duty, and all the world would seem, A bridal bower of beauty, a dream within a dream. If men would cease to worry and women would cease to sigh, And all be glad to bury whatever has to die; If neighbors spoke to neighbors, as love demands of all, The rust would eat the saber, the spear stay on the wall. Then every day would glisten, and every eye would shine, And God would pause to listen, and Life would be Divine.
February 28, 2020 Verse of the Day The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Psalms 19:7 NIV Chvymn99 hovlandhomestead
Explore your wilderness By Jason Nelson “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19). Can God provide what we desperately need when we feel lost and dead inside? We don’t want to give up. Our instincts tell us if we keep going, eventually we will make our way out of our private wastelands. With God at our side, we can exit the great unknowns in better shape spiritually, physically, and emotionally than when we went in. The largest designated wilderness in the United States is the Wrangell-St Elias Wilderness of Alaska. It covers over 9,000,000 acres. It has vast expanses where no human has set foot. But some people have gone there on purpose. They want to live off the grid. They want to depend only on the resources God places around them and discover what human resourcefulness he creates within them. There is only one way to survive. They must constantly explore the wilderness. Those of us on the grid also face intimidating challenges. It’s a jungle out there. Jesus knows all about it. He resisted evil in the wilderness and went to the wilderness to get away from it all and pray. He guides us in exploring our wilderness. He says ask the right questions and they will be answered. Seek the right things and you will find them. Knock on the right doors and they will be opened (Matthew 7:7,8). Then the wilderness becomes a land of God-given opportunity.
