My grandson took his first steps last weekend.  He walked 3 wobbly steps toward me before he fell down.  I was excited.  I picked him up, carried him into another room where his parents were and asked, "How long has he been walking?"

The reaction probably should have been expected.  His mother looked at him and me and shouted, "WHAT?!  NO!!!"  Apparently she wanted to see his first steps.  His father simply said, "I don't believe you."

When Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem on that 1st Palm Sunday, the crowd shouted, "Hosanna in the highest!"  They called Jesus "king" and shouted about the Son of David and about His kingdom.  They hoped that Jesus was the king who would deliver them.  And He was.

In fact, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the people were quiet, the stones would cry out.  Now wouldn't that have been something to witness!

But the people had it wrong.  On the way into Jerusalem, we see Jesus weeping for the people who would proclaim Him king.  To understand why, it is important to understand the word "hosanna".  Hosanna was a word used at Passover.  It means "Save us, [we[ pray."  

At Passover, the Jewish people remember being delivered from Egypt.  They remember being saved from the Death Angel who killed the first born of every household that didn't have the blood of a lamb on their door mantle.

At that time, God told the people to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and to pour the blood over the door.  The Death Angel would "pass over" because the people inside were covered by the blood of the lamb.

Jesus agreed with the word "hosanna" on Palm Sunday.  In fact, His desire was for "Hosanna in the highest".  He came to save the people, but not from Roman rule.  He came to save them from their sin.  He came to heal their very souls.  Jesus knew that the highest healing is for our spiritual sickness. 

He loves us so much that He would rather die for us than live in heaven without us.  He came to save us in the highest sense possible.

Jesus, who John the Baptist called "The Lamb of God", truly would take away the sin of the world.  When He died on the cross, He became our sin, experiencing the hell of separation from God the Father for the first and last time in all of eternity.  

Why did He do it?  So that we can believe in Him, experiencing His new life in us.  But that is just the beginning.  He calls us to walk with Him, giving our lives to Him so that He can live His life through us.

You may say you believe, but are you walking with Jesus?  In John 14:24 Jesus said, "Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.

He is calling us to walk, whether anyone else follows.  Your friends might not believe that your life in Jesus is real.  But keep walking.  If you do, one day everyone will notice.  

In the case of my grandson, they will say, "Hey!  You really ARE walking!"  But as you walk with Jesus, they will say, "Hey!  I notice the way you are walking.  Is that because you have Jesus?"  

Then you can invite them to walk with Jesus, too.

I have been thinking lately about my identity.  I have many titles.  There are several answers to the question "Who am I?"

Often we base our identities on what we do.  I was educated to be a high school teacher, and became a camp director.  Now I am a pastor.  But who I am is more than what I do.

I am a husband, a father and a grandfather.  That says a lot about who I am and what I do.  But at the core, is that my identity?

I have an identity that goes deeper than what I do, and even deeper than my relationships with my family.  My identity is based in my new life.

The apostle Paul knew his identity.  He wrote in his letter to the Galatian church (Galatians 2:20):  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

My identity is Christ.  My life is not my own, but it belongs to Him.  Why?  Because He is the only one who could die to save me.  Being a sinner, I could never work my way to heaven.  But His death on the cross paid the price for my rebellion.  Because of Him, I have a new life that will result in being with Him in heaven forever.

All of this leads me to one question.  What is your identity?

Isaiah 9:6 says, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

That's a nice verse, often quoted at Christmas time.  But what does it mean? What did Isaiah mean by "a child is born" and "a son is given"?  What's the difference?

A child is born any time.  In fact, as I write this we are waiting for our daughter to call and tell us that she is in labor.  A child will be born, just as thousands are every day.  But what was important about the Christ's birth?

"A child is born".  Not just any child, but THE Child.  The One Israel had been waiting for since their national origin.

He was born.  He was born into a dirty stable, and laid to sleep in a feeding trough.  "A child is born".  Jesus came as a baby, in the midst of blood and animal smells.  He came in the most humble surroundings imaginable.  He came to be a human, to identify with us in our human weakness, and to be one of us.  Without this child being born, He could never have experienced what we experience. 

But He went even farther.  He died a horrible, excruciating death by hanging on a Roman cross.  He feels what we feel.  He knows our pain.

But that isn't the end of the story.  Because not only is a child born, but "a son is given".  That's different.  Children are born all the time, but this Son was given.  Who gave Him?  Who was He given to?  And why?

Jesus himself gave the answer to these questions when he was talking to Nicodemus one night.  It is found in John 3:16:  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God gave his Son to us.  God the Father gave God the Son to us so he could die for us, paying the penalty for our sin.  He did this so we can have eternal life, if we will only believe in him.

To believe in him means to put our trust in him.  It's like me trusting a boat to get me out to the islands.  The real test of my faith, my trust, is whether or not I really step foot in the boat.  That is what it means to trust Jesus.  Are you willing to step into the boat, to follow Jesus and to let him lead you?  He came to die for you.  He came to give you his life, and to rise again so you  can experience life with him forever.

Do you know Jesus as the child who was born, the one who identifies with us in our struggles?  Do you also know Jesus as the son who was given, who died on the cross, rose again, and is calling you to trust him?

He is the best Christmas gift you could ever receive.  He is the best Christmas gift you can ever share with someone else.  Will you trust Him today?  Will you tell someone the good news that Jesus came to give them life?  He is the reason for Christmas.  He is the reason for living.  Trust Him!

As we look at an Old Testament prophet like Elijah it is easy to think that he had a power we could never achieve, that he lived a life we could never attain.  It is easy to think that we could never be victorious in our lives as he was in his.  But today we will see Elijah at his weakest moment.  In fact we will discover that only God could bring him up from the depths of his despair.  

It is after our greatest victories that our enemy comes to steal our joy, & to tell us it didn’t really happen, or it just doesn’t matter.  He wants nothing more than to stop us from living victorious lives.  But if we are, as Paul said, “more than conquerors”, how are we to live in that truth?

Last week we looked at the prayer of Elijah at Mount Carmel.  He didn’t pray for his own vindication or to demonstrate his own power, but his prayer was for the people.  1 Kings 18:37   Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.

We see that Elijah’s power came from God, & his mission was to draw the people back to God.  The same is true of us.  James said Elijah was just like us:  Weak in his own power, but strong in the power of God.          1 Corinthians 12:10   For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So Elijah prayed his prayer for the people, that they would know that the Lord is God, and that He has turned their hearts back to Him.  And God answered.
1 Kings 18:38-40   Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
 
You may have a problem with Elijah killing the false prophets.  That’s natural.  But it was necessary.  To let them go was to risk sending the people back into the darkness of apostasy.  Raymond Dillard tells us to keep in mind that Elijah’s battle points us toward the final conflict with evil.  “Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal was a mini-enactment, an anticipation, of that great battle when God will intervene in history to vindicate his name completely and to eradicate idolatry from the world.”

You see, the plain of Jezreel, where Elijah killed the prophets, has another name that you would know.  The main highway linking 3 continents runs through the plain of Jezreel, making it the most contested piece of ground in the world.  Joshua, David, Solomon, the Philistines, the pharaohs of Egypt, kings of Assyria, Babylon & Persia, Alexander the Great, the Romans, the armies of Islam & the Crusaders, Napoleon, the Turks, the British & the Israelis have all fought for this land.

6 miles south of Mount Carmel was a city named Megiddo.  The hill of Megiddo & surrounding plain  is described in Revelation.  It is called Armageddon.  The most strategic spot in the world was the site of Elijah’s great victory, & it will be the site of the final victory when all the enemies of God are destroyed.

Elijah had to kill the prophets.  Charles Swindoll gave us an illustration.  If the doctor said you had cancer, would you be satisfied if he said, let’s beat it, but let it live?  No.  A good physician would remove all the cells and the surrounding area.  “That’s not extreme.  That’s essential.  That’s wise.”

The timing of Elijah’s sacrifice is interesting.  He re-built the altar using 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel, laid the wood, prepared the bull, and had people run to the nearby sea to bring enough water to drench the wood & fill a trench.  Then he prayed, just at the time of the evening sacrifice, when a lamb was presented to God in Jerusalem.  As a lamb was sacrificed for the sins of the people in Judah, Elijah offered up a sacrifice to turn the people’s hearts back to God in Israel.

vs. 38-39   Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 

God answered the prayer of Elijah.  Not only did He send down fire, but He turned the people back to Him.  What a powerful victory!  Elijah had to feel great!  But Elijah wasn’t done yet, because God wasn’t done yet.

1 Kings 18:41-46    And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

This time we don’t hear the words of Elijah’s prayer, but we see the posture of his prayer.  S.D. Gordon wrote in book The Bent-knee Time:  Emergencies call for intense prayer.  When the person himself becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch.  Elijah bowed to the ground on Mount Carmel with his face between his knees, and he became the prayer.  Spoken prayer is not always needed, for prayer can be too intense for words.  In the case of Elijah, his entire being was in touch with God and was aligned with him against the powers of evil.  And Elijah’s evil enemies could not withstand this kind of prayer in human form – something that is greatly needed today.   

Tony Evans has said that Elijah was in the position of a woman in labor in Elijah’s time.  He was pregnant with the potential of something great that God would do.  When we allow God to permeate our being, we will see what God will bring forth in us and through us.

David knew this kind of trouble & this kind of prayer.  Psalm 109:1-4   Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.

v. 4 in the original language literally says, “In return for my love they accuse me, but I am prayer.

Have you ever prayed so deeply for something that you become the prayer?  Your entire being is caught up in the prayer, & you become less as Christ becomes more in your prayer & in your life?  At those times you can be sure that God is birthing something in you.  He will bring it to happen through you.

7 times Elijah sent his servant to the edge of the mountain to look for clouds.  In the Bible 7 is the number of completion or perfection, & the 7th time there is a cloud small enough to be hidden by your hand.  Fire signified acceptance of the offering, but rain was the completion of God’s promise.

Elijah was working fully in the power of God.  He prayed, & God sent fire.  He prayed, & the people declared the Lord to be the one true God.  He prayed, & God sent a cloud.  It would surely rain!  Elijah had confidence that God would complete what He had begun.  God said it would rain.  It would rain.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  But Elijah told Ahab to hurry, because I hear rain.  Nobody else could hear it, because only Elijah was attuned to God.  Only Elijah could hear the rain, because he knew that if God said it was going to rain, it was the same as if it was pouring right now.

Elijah had sent Ahab to eat and get ready for the rain.  And Ahab did.  When the cloud appeared, Elijah told Ahab to prepare his chariot, so he wouldn’t get bogged down when it rained.  & Ahab believed Elijah.  So when the king was ready to go, Elijah found Ahab, hiked up his robe & ran before his chariot all the way to Jezreel.

This is an often-misinterpreted passage.  The text says that Elijah “ran before Ahab”.  It does not say that Elijah outran Ahab.  The IVP Bible Background Commentary says this about v. 46:  This verse does not speak of outrunning but of running before the chariot of Ahab until he came to Jezreel.  Those running before the chariot of a king or prince constitute his entourage.  Elijah, under the power of Yahweh, was playing the role of prophetic herald, apparently proclaiming the changed attitude of Ahab and his loyalty to Yahweh.

Elijah was not running to beat Ahab to Jezreel.  He was running to announce Ahab.  But he wasn’t shouting the usual “Make way for the king” but I picture him shouting what the people shouted, what Ahab now could no longer deny, “The Lord, He is God!  The Lord, He is God!”

No wonder Jezebel had such a reaction when they reached Jezreel.  Not only had Elijah killed all the prophets of her god Baal, not only had God used Elijah to turn the people back to Him, but Ahab himself was allowing Elijah to run before him proclaiming the truth of the One True God.  In fact, Ahab couldn’t wait to share all that he had seen & now knew to be true.

1 Kings 19:1-4   Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

I don’t know what Elijah expected.  Did he really think Jezebel would hear the news & say, “Oh, my mistake!  Now I know that the Lord, He is God!”  She was mad!  She wanted revenge!  She told Elijah, “You killed my prophets.  Sometime in the next 24 hours I’m going to kill you.

And Elijah ran.  He had run in the power of God the 20 + miles from Mount Carmel to Jezreel.   Now he ran to the southern border, as far away as he could get from the influence of Jezebel, not in the power of God, but in fear.  Isn’t it amazing what a difference a day can make!  From taunting Baal’s prophets, calling down fire from heaven, & proclaiming God to the nation, to running for his life.

But Jezebel was not the enemy.  She was enslaved to a false god.  It was a declaration from hell that Elijah would die.  & Elijah ran for his life.  You see, Elijah really was a man like us.  He took his eyes off of God & put them on his circumstances.  Instead of continuing to trust God, in his weariness he faltered.  He ran.

Elijah left his servant & went alone into the wilderness.  He sat under a tree & said, “I’m done.  Let me die.  I’ve done all I can do.  Who did I think I was, anyway?  I’m no better than anyone who ever lived.”

He needed encouragement.  He needed Sabbath.  & God gave him both.  Elijah slept.  Then God fed Elijah again.  But there were no ravens this time, & no widow.  An angel was sent with a cake & water to give him strength.  & Elijah slept again.  Then:  19:7-8   And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

God led Elijah on a 40 day wilderness experience.  He had led the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness to prepare them for the Promised Land.  He would later lead Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days to endure temptation as preparation for His ministry.  Elijah’s 40 days of despair in the wilderness led him to Mount Horeb, “the mount of God”.  This mount had a different name at times.  This was Sinai, where Moses met God & received the 10 commandments.  Elijah would also meet God there.

1 Kings 19:9-12   There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

Then God asked Elijah a 2nd time:  What are you doing here?  Elijah gave the same answer.  I have done everything you wanted, but the people have rejected You & now they want to kill me, too.

It wasn’t quite true, though.  The people’s hearts were being turned back to God.  The altar on Carmel was standing.  The prophets of Baal were killed by the people.  It was Jezebel who killed God’s prophets and was seeking his life.  God was saying, Elijah, do you think I am big enough to take care of you?  I can send wind strong enough to break the mountains, earthquakes to shatter kingdoms & fire to destroy at will.

But just listen to my voice.  Don’t get distracted by the noise & lightning & wind around you, the circumstances that you are going through.  Just listen to the whisper of My Spirit, & you will have the power to go where I send you & do what I have called you to do.

Then God sent Elijah to anoint kings & to anoint Elisha who would be the next great prophet.  Elijah went, not because of the wind, not because of the earthquake, & not because of the fire.  Elijah obeyed because he heard the whisper of God.

What does it take for you to hear God speaking into your life?  He will come in power if He needs to, but He prefers to whisper.  Are you attuned to Him?  Are you taking the time to listen for His gentle whisper that is only for you?  He will send you to do His work, but only if you are still enough to hear His voice.

Psalm 46:1-3, 10   God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 
 10 “Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
​
When you are still enough to hear the whisper of God, you can’t help but proclaim, “The Lord, He is God!  The Lord, He is God!”  Listen to the whisper of His Spirit, & you will have the power to go where He sends you & do what He has called you to do.

This past weekend was the annual Apple Festival here in Bayfield, when our town of under 500 has 50-60,000 visitors.  Yes, I wrote that correctly.  People park out of town and either walk or get shuttled for miles to go downtown.  Hundreds of vendors, including food vendors selling apple dumplings (don't forget the special sauce), cider, apple brats, wopples (home-made waffle cones with yogurt, cream, apple sauce, caramel... you get the picture... as well the 14 orchards and berry farms, and of course the local shops and restaurants all get into the action.

The police chief recruits off-duty sheriff's deputies, retired officers, and whoever else he can to be his security team for the weekend.

Our church had a special concert to invite the community and visitors in.  Then one of the local restaurants bring their float to wait in our parking lot, because it is too big to wait anywhere else.  Oh yes, I haven't mentioned that we all eat lunch at church, so we are able to keep our parking spaces and reserve our spots on the church lawn to watch the parade.

Bands from schools all around our region and even from the north shore of Minnesota come in to march, and the finale is always a "mass band" comprised of all the bands together.

It was a nice weekend overall, considering that my first "Apple Fest" saw sideways sleet and bitter wind all weekend.  Sunday was short-sleeve weather, and with 2 of our kids and 5 grandkids here, we had a great time!

But walking in the crowd, with everyone going somewhere, it struck me that most people didn't know where they would end up.  They just kept walking the blocks of vendors, or through the carnival until they were tired enough to find their motel or home, only to do it all again the next day.

I think that is how most people walk through life.  We walk with the crowd, buy food, maybe play a carnival game, or go on a fun ride for a while, but we can't live there.  We need to know where we are going, and where we belong.

When Eve handed Adam that apple (okay, probably not an apple, but it fits the weekend), suddenly that first couple no longer knew where they were going, and the discovered that they no longer belonged in paradise.

But Jesus came to be the answer to that question.  Paul said in his letter to the Romans that since sin came into the world through one man, another man came into the world to take away that sin.

Jesus came to give us life.  He is the answer to our questions.  He gave Himself for us when He died on the cross, taking our sin.  If we follow Jesus, we won't get lost.  He shows us the way, and we know our destination.  We know we belong with Him.

Do you know Him?  Are you following Jesus?  He is the cure for the poisoned apple of sin.  

​Would you like to know more?  Contact us today!

​Romans 8:28-30   28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.   (ESV)
These, to me, are the key to the Calvinistic movement.  I took these verses to mean that God predestined us to salvation…until today.  It is a backward progression from being glorified, to being justified, to being predestined.  But there is one more step back:  Being foreknown.
This verse ought to end the debate over the foreknowledge of God.  The One who is “the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” certainly knows the end as well as He knows the beginning.  He foreknew us.  He knew that we would choose Him.  Therefore, He predestined us not for salvation, but according to this scripture, He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His son.
This is not to say that God is not sovereign.  He has orchestrated events, and will continue to bring our world to its God-ordained end.  (See Isaiah 46:8-10)  We trust Him for the future because He is the future.  He is in control, and nothing surprises Him.  We don’t have to worry about a cosmic statement of, “Oh-oh.  Didn’t see that coming.  Now what should I do?”  He knows the future of the world, and He knows you and me better than we could ever know ourselves.  That is a great comfort!
These verses in Romans tell us that He chose to make us who believe in Him to be in the process of becoming like Jesus, so that He can call us to service, justify us in holiness and glorify us both here and in heaven.  Notice that just as He foreknew us, He has already predestined us to conform to the image of His Son, He has already called us, He has already justified us and He has already glorified us.
This is the work of God.  We should be encouraged that He does all the heavy lifting.  Our part is simply to walk with Him.  Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Keeping in step doesn’t mean running to catch up with the Spirit.  It has more of a connotation of slowing down, of not running ahead of the Spirit, but watching Him and stepping as He steps.  Picture being a part of a marching band, sometimes moving forward, but other times doing a slow step, a side step or even marching in place.  Our place is to stand beside the Spirit, following His leading, not moving until He does, but then stepping out in faith as He steps forward.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you are a Calvinist or Armenian. What matters is that you have put your faith in Jesus, and that you are living your life for Him.  What matters is that you are keeping in step with the Spirit.  Are you marching to His music, or are you running to your own?  Which one do you think has a better outcome?  When you come to your destination, will you like where you have gotten to?
If you keep in step with the Spirit, the outcome is up to Him.  Only He knows how to lead you to the place that is best for you.  He leads one step at a time, never showing you the next step until it is time.  You can trust God for every step.  After all, He knows the end from the beginning. 

What would you say if you could buy a car, drive it for 5 years, and sell it for $200 less than you paid for it?  That is exactly what I just did.

We bought what I affectionately called "The Beast" for $500.  I drove it, my dog co-piloted it, we hauled more stuff than I can think of, used it to pull down a tree and drove it as our winter car to get us out when nothing else could for 5 years.  And I just sold it for $300.

You would have been impressed if I had been talking about a $20,000 or even $2000 car.  It all depends on the value of what you are talking about.

I love Red Green.  I love it when he said, "I want to talk to all you middle-aged guys out there."  Because you always knew that whatever he was going to say, you could relate to it.  It had value because it fit your life.

The Bible fits our lives when it talks about depreciation.  No, it doesn't give advice on your asking price on your next vehicle.  It won't tell you blue book value.  It's another kind of depreciation that the Bible talks about.

"I want to talk to all you middle-aged guys out there."  You will understand biblical depreciation.  You have lived long enough, endured the wasteland of sin long enough, and hopefully experienced victory as you have lived for the One who calls Himself "Living Water".

Jeremiah 17:5-8 says:
5 This is what the Lord says:  “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future.  They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

God says of those who don’t trust in Him, but instead trust in other things:  You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water.   (Isaiah 1:30)

But you don't have to be. You don't have to wither, or depreciate.  You can have a life that flourishes, a life with joy, a life filled with peace, and what Jesus called Abundant Life.  

Have you placed your trust in Jesus?  Would you describe your life as a tree by the river bank, with your roots going deeply into the Living Water that is Jesus?

Or are you dry, barren, with withered leaves, and in search of the water that will revive and refresh you?  Do you need a drink of Living Water?

Trust Jesus.  He will make your life fruitful.  Come thirsty to the well and drink deeply.  And find Jesus waiting there for you.

Have you ever noticed how you can take a vacation, and then spend the next week at work resting up from your vacation?  Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time.  But vacation is not rest in the sense of Sabbath.

Mark Buchanan, in his book The Rest Of God, makes the statement that leisure gets in the way of Sabbath.  We're not talking about the day called Sabbath, whether that is Saturday or Sunday.  We are talking about resting as Jesus said in Matthew 11:29:  ​Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Learning to rest in Christ is a daily thing.  There is discipline involved as we take His yoke which is made for two, and we pull with Jesus in the way Jesus chooses, in the direction Jesus chooses and for the purpose Jesus chooses.

You see, He does all the hard work.  We simply follow His leading and pull with Him.  I am just beginning to realize all that Sabbath can mean in my life.

I want to encourage you to take this journey, too.  Discover Sabbath in your own life.  In the meantime, I have some resting to do...in Jesus.  But I promise to give more insights on this at a later date.

Red Green used to say, "Remember, I'm pulling for you.  We're all in this together."  But I will say to you, "Remember, pull with Jesus.  He's in this with you."  And He came to give you rest, not physically, but rest for your soul.

It is the middle of June, and we have had 90 degree weather already.  Summer came on a weekend this year, and we are grateful!

This week is cool with highs in the 60's, but the lupines and irises are blooming, the lilacs are just about to pop, the cherries are green and the apple blossoms have become tiny fruit.  

Not only that, but road construction is in full swing.  It has been nearly impossible to get in and out of church during the week (and one day it was literally impossible, with both exits blocked and me waiting in my car).  It is tough when the church entrances are on two parallel streets, and they have them both dug up!  But they tell me our street should be done on Friday.

It is the time of year to get things done.  I have done more work on the parsonage lawn and garden, and on the lawnmowers, than any other year we have been here.

This is a good time to reflect on the beauty of creation, and remember the One who created it.  Jesus said, "Consider the lilies."  They don't make or buy their finery, they don't work for their nourishment, and they don't concern themselves with the future, and what will happen to them this fall.

All the lilies and the lupines concern themselves about is going deeper. Lupines have a tap root.  I transplanted a few last year, and if I hadn't dug up the whole tap root, they would not have survived.  And as you can see, they are strong and healthy today.

What are you concerned about today?  Whatever it is, I have an encouraging bit of advice.  Go deeper.  Sink your roots into Jesus, and drink up all that He has to give you.  Indulge in the Living Water that is Christ, and let Him nourish you, fill you and sustain you.

As Jesus Himself said in Matthew 6:28-33,  "And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Today as you drive past a field of flowers, consider the lupines.  They don't worry about anything.  They simply send their tap root deep into the life-giving earth.  

Seek the kingdom of God first.  Follow Jesus before anything.  Send your tap root into the source of Living Water, and relax.  He will take care of you.

Happy May Day!  It is a rainy, sometimes snowy, windy and cold day here today.  Our high will stay in the upper 30's and we won't see the sun.  It is a good day to reminisce and relfect on one's life.  

Monday is my day off, so I worked on inside things when the grass already needs mowing.  Our lawn will be wet for at least a week, and once again it will be more like haying than mowing when i get out for the first time. 

So here I sit, watching the mist fly past the window from north to south, as the Lake has her effect on our lives once more.  I think about the book I would like to write, I think about the church I am pastoring, I think about my family, and I think about summer coming.

When I consider all these things, I realize they have one thing in common. They are all in God's hands, under His control, and yet they are all given to me as gifts.  It is my choice what I will do with each.

Will I finally write the book I have thought about for so long?  If I do, will it be worth reading?  The most frightening thing is to walk into the dollar store, see books lining the shelves and think, "One day I could walk in here and see my book on the shelf of the dollar store.  And then one day I could walk in and they would be all gone, recycled because they didn't sell."

Will I be an effective pastor to my church?  What does that even mean?  Can I find ways to impact their lives?  Will I inspire them through my words and my life to be transformers of our community?

Will I finish well as the father to my children and the grandfather to my grandchildren?  What will my legacy be?  A friend at church has said that the best thing they could write on his tombstone would be "His Children Walk With The Lord".  I like that!

What will the summer bring?  Our church is unlike most.  We grow in the summer months, while other churches see their people leave on vacation. This is a very popular vacation destination.  

​We will probably take vacation time in the summer, too.  Will I find ways to make quality time while I am away, and can I be efficient with my time doing yard work and church work to spend time with the people around me?

Will I be an effective minister at home, at church, with my family, and in my community?  It is all in God's hands, and yet He has given it to me to do.

What are the pieces of your life?  Will you entrust them to God, and then be faithful to accomplish all that He has for you?  I pray today you will take the time to rest before God, to know His peace, and to give yourself and your life to Him.  And I pray you have the courage to be the person He wants you to be as you live every part of your life.