Truth and Error

We've been getting firewood for the last few days on Ft. Greeley.  It's burned over wood, so it is very hard and dry and burns very well.  Anyway, Mom pointed to two trees to cut down, and I cut down the first one and then turned to the second.  But Mom made motions to forget that one.  Wondering why, I looked up and realized that it was scarcely 6 inches taller than me!  Looking down towards the bottom where I would have been cutting, it looked like any other tree, but as I looked up, I realized that it was very short.  I immediately thought of a practical application.  The Bible warns us to be ware of false teachers.  But how can you tell who speaks truth?  A lot of things people say sound logical, but as we compare it with the Word of God and look up to Jesus, truth shines forth and falsehood stands out in all its bitter ugliness.

Later on, we were on the other side of the tree and I noticed something else.  The tree which looked so solid on the other side was actually hollow.  This reminds me that we should be careful that we don't just appear like good Christians while on the inside we are empty and worthless.  Let us each pray that God will fill us with His love and grace.  He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and will perfect us each until we are fitted to enter heaven.

Thoughts on trust...

"Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,

      Trust Him when thy faith is small,

            Trust Him when to simply trust Him. . . 

                   Seems the hardest thing of all."

                               ~ Author Unknown

Set Me Free

This is an original skit performed by Delta Christian Drama Association, based on the songs "Set Me Free" by Casting Crowns and "It's a Beautiful Sound" by Geoff Moore.  It powerfully portrays a simple yet all too common story of bondage and yielding to sin that everyone can relate to, and yet at the same time brings to view the spiritual side that most people are totally unaware of.  There ARE demons and they ARE strong, but we have a Savior Who is stronger than all the demons put together!!!!



WARNING: Due to graphic portrayal of the battle between good and evil, this video is not recommended for young children to watch.  Parental discretion is advised.

Reminiscings...

I untied my belt and slid out of my robe for the last time, then hurriedly began taking down the curtains that make up the backdrop for the stage.  The "Set Me Free" skit was in the past.  We had performed it six times in front of a life audience at the fair and then filmed it 7 times.  But now it was over.  But yet, it wasn't over.  My mind went back over the priceless memories I had had over the last couple of months of rehearsals.  The fellowship that we as a cast had had.  The times when things were looking good and the times when Mrs. Hosier was close to pulling her hair out.  The time Philip demonstrated how to laugh using body language and had us all in tears we were laughing so hard.  There was the time Mr. Hosier had all the demons practice slinking around and cowering like scared dogs.  And the time that Caleb was in his hippy wig and stood behind the door scaring people as they came to practice.  Heidi running over to me every single time, grabbing my hand, and dragging me over to be ready to make our entrance a full ten seconds before we had to.  And then my famous line to Bekah as I handed her the keys for the next time through - "Here are MY keys I'm loaning to you".  The mad rushes back stage while everyone was struggling to get out on time.  These memories and so many more flooded my mind as I put everything away for the last time.

And then there's the message of the skit.  No matter where we come from or what problems we may have, God does not deem us as hopeless.  In fact, He will empty heaven to guard us from the demons that are constantly at our heels and to protect us from Satan who is always snarling in the background.  This is love, that God should send His only begotten Son to this earth so that whosoever should believe in Him should be saved.  “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17  This is the message of the entire Bible, the scarlet thread of redemption making it's way from the Garden of Eden clear through to the time when Christ Himself shall ride down the heavenly passageway attended by countless millions of angels to take His children home.  And that is the message of this skit.  It will live on and on until soon, very soon now, that day will come.  May He find us each faithful.




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If anyone is interested, this film should be uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube in the next couple of days, so keep your eyes open for a link.

Contrasts

For the last week and a half, our family has been on a trip through Canada and Washington.  Today we were driving through the northwestern part of Oregon and into Walla Walla, Washington.  As we were driving, the landscape drastically changed.  From tree-covered slopes and beautiful grassland, it changed to the brown of the high desert.  Now this is my favorite type of scenery.  I absolutely love the high desert, with it's sand and scrub brush.  As we were driving through it today, I was trying to figure out why I like it so much.  Is it just because it reminds me of warmth, and cowboys riding horseback and watching the cattle on the plains?  Or could it be the contrast that the brown has with the green?  I can't think of anything that looks more picturesque than a large, southwestern house, with large, beautiful, vibrant green lawns surrounding it, with sprinklers watering it, and beyond, the dry, brown, scrubby brush high desert.  It makes the green seem so much more green, the lush seem so much more lush, and beauty seem so much more beautiful.  That is probably the reason why I love this type of landscape so much.

And as I was thinking about this, something else came into my mind.  The world is so barren, so stark and dry and ugly.  But because of it's "brownness", because of it's death, because of it's ugliness, it makes the Christian stand out all the more.  It makes the "greenness", the life, and the beauty of the Christian so much more apparent and appealing.  And that's the way it should be.  We are called to be lights, set on a hill.  What makes the light so inviting but the blackness of the night all around?  So it is with the Christian.  The blacker the night, the more barren the landscape, the more brilliantly we will shine forth.  When the people of the world will see us, they will "take knowledge of (us), that (we) have been with Jesus".

God Alone

Dear friends,

For worship this morning we were reading the story of the children of Israel as they journeyed from Egypt towards the promised land.  As they were nearing their destination, suddenly the cloud turned South and led them towards the Red Sea ~ and away from the land of Canaan.  The people murmured, but God had a lesson He wanted to teach them ~ and us.

God changes our plans, leads us in the "wrong" direction, and brings us into a hopeless postion so that we can learn that He is our shepherd, our leader, and our deliver.

He wants to make the situation so hopeless that He, and He alone, could have delivered us.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

Of Runways and Faith...

Knowing that I am interested in flying, a friend recently forwarded an e-mail to me with pictures of some of the most challenging runways in the world. The pictures reminded me of my own experience as a 4 year old flying into the old Hong Kong International Airport. It was night as I recall, and I remember sitting in the 747 as we made the final approach. The pilot banked the plane sharply to the right, the wing nearly touching the skyscrapers below us. I don't remember much else from the landing, but one thing that I have remembered is the fact that it was one of the most challenging runways in the world. I actually just looked up some information about it, and stumbled across a newsletter and pictures from a pilot who used to fly into that airport. He says that the runway was incredibly short and that you had to do a hard bank to the right and dive. That's about how I remember it. :) But one thing about it, we had to have confidence in that pilot. Almost all of us have done it at one point in our lives or another. Even when we can't see the outcome, we still have to ahve trust in the pilot.

This whole topic has made me think about how we need to trust our heavenly pilot. Even when we don't see what the outcome may be, we need to trust Him. He knows what is best in our lives. And even when we are so banked in with fog and clouds of doubt, He is still leading and guiding us, and we will make it to the other end safely. God had promised that He will not lead His children in any other way than the way we would have chosen ourselves if we could but see the end from the beginning! What a blessed promise! So even if we're struggling with decisions that will affect our futures, we can rest assured, knowing that God is leading and working everything for our best good, and someday, someday soon, we will be able to stand on the sea of glass with the redeemed of all ages, and falling on our faces before Jesus, thank Him for guiding us safely home! What a day that will be!

Keep courage, my friends! The end is just in sight!