Category: faith

Herb’s Last Words

Old Testament: Isaiah 19 & 20

Poetry: Psalm 68

*New Testament: Hebrews 13

     Chapter 13 closes out the book of Hebrews. Here Herb (my name for the author of Hebrews, for simplicity) states concerns for his audience, along with a blessing. Without this last section it would be difficult to see Hebrews as a letter, rather than a sermon. But he comments about the needs of the people he is writing to, and gives a benediction, as is the normal pattern for New Testament letters. Herb’s comments show that false teachings were affecting the people the letter went to, “varied and strange teachings” that must not be allowed to carry them away (v. 9). The specifics are not made very clear for us.

     Before Herb raised the issue of false teaching he advised: “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (v. 7). We aren’t told the roles of these leaders, they could be everyone these people ever encountered who guided them and have died, whether apostles, traveling missionaries, disciples in their own congregations, etc. (The term “led” here is a different form of the Greek word translated “leaders” in 13:17 and 24.) They spoke the word of God to them. They told them the truth. So now the idea is to consider the outcome of these people’s conduct – the end of each one’s life – and based on that imitate their faith. In a way Herb is asking for his audience to work out Hebrews 11 on a small scale, thinking about the faithful of the recent past who they have known. We can do the same with people we have known, evaluating if they held true to the end, which was a big concern expressed by Herb in his book, and if they did hold true we should imitate their faith.

     “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (v. 8). Jesus Christ doesn’t change. The truth about him doesn’t change. Those who were trustworthy about him before would be trustworthy now, were they alive to still be saying the same things. The faith they held in Jesus before was well founded before, and it would continue to be well founded if they were still alive to continue advocating it. So, you can take up that belief and take up that faith for yourself and hold firm in it. Jesus Christ doesn’t change. And, to the extent that we have obtained to the Christian maturity we ought to hold, neither should we change.

     Lord, let me have proper firmness. Let me care deeply. Let me be willing to give the sacrifices of praise and of doing good. Please help me to be who I ought to be, with faith like that of the loving leaders I have known. Please guide me with your Spirit, and work what is pleasing in your sight. And may your blessings also go to the readers of these words who seek your guidance. In the name of your blessed son Jesus, I pray these things, Amen.

-Daniel Smead

Reflection Questions

1.  What do you figure happens if a whole congregation of people take up the faithful attitudes of their leaders (or former leaders)?

2.  Perhaps most of us had some familiarity with Hebrews before we read it these last weeks, and anyway we were able to back up and re-read sections if we wished to. Most of Herb’s audience was first exposed to his letter when it was read aloud. Probably it was then repeated so they could go over it again. Perhaps a group of leaders read it first to understand it better so they could address questions for the group. They may have wanted to look at related Old Testament texts, as well. Thinking about these scenarios, how many times through do you think it would take before they “got” the message of Hebrews?

3.  Do you expect that Hebrews succeeded with encouraging its first audience and bringing them to a new commitment? Has it succeeded in encouraging you?

On a personal note, I wanted to ask for prayer because I have been suffering from migraine issues for just over 48 months. Basically, a constant migraine began in August 2019. I had suffered from migraines before then, just not so badly. Yes, I’ve been seeing a neurologist. Yes, I’m on drugs for this (several drugs). I’ve made lifestyle changes, including ones to reduce stress and relieve eye strain (like hardly reading from paper books anymore). The pain is not as bad now as it was three years ago, though it fluctuates, but I would appreciate it if the headache stopped at some point. Thank you.

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A Better Promise

Old Testament: Isaiah 15 & 16

Poetry: Psalm 66

*New Testament: Hebrews 11

     Hebrews chapter 11 is very well known and a powerful and beautiful piece of writing, maybe on a level with 1 Corinthians 13. What Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 about love is more often quoted in wedding services, out of context, than used to discuss the situation at Corinth. Something similar may be true with what Hebrews 11 says regarding faith. Good use is made of the passage to discuss faith, but perhaps comparatively not much of the time in the context of what Hebrews is about. It is extremely easy to break this passage away from the rest of what was written by Herb (my name for the author of Hebrews, for simplicity).

     New Testament Greek had no chapter breaks, or even paragraph breaks. When authors of that time wanted to establish a change in topic they needed to do so with their words. Herb does a lot with inclusio, also called bracketing, which used repeated words to emphasize a section of text. The presence of these repetitions helped people who were following along with a work while hearing it out loud – and those attempting to memorize it. For hundreds of years very few people had access to written copies of these works and often they depended on listening to them spoken aloud, perhaps even from memory. (In seminary I had a teacher who assigned students to memorize a Psalm and recite it. Part of the point was to gain some sense of what it was like to hold scripture in your mind and speak it aloud. He was pleased and surprised when a student took up the challenge of learning Psalm 119 and succeeded.) There is an inclusio in Hebrews 11:2 and 39 created with the Greek for “to witness” which sets apart that chapter and shows our chapter break to be reasonable.

     But Herb did not discuss “faith” only in chapter 11. The Greek word for “faith” appears in Hebrews a total of 32 times: in 4:2; 6:1, 12; 10:32, 38, 39; then in chapter 11 (24 times); 12:2; and 13:7. Outside chapter 11 the references to faith almost all involve Herb expressing concern about believers having proper faith in Christ. You can also see a cluster of four references around chapter 11 which show how Herb set up that chapter and then picked up from it to move into the next part of the letter.

     For these devotions we generally read a single chapter but if you wish after reading this devotion you could reread the text, backing up a few verses to include part of chapter 10 as a lead-in to chapter 11. First, I want to highlight a few more words to pay attention to that appear in both Hebrews 10 and 11.

     In Hebrews 10:34 a Greek word for “better” appears which Herb uses 13 times in Hebrews. That is far more than elsewhere in the New Testament, but It obviously fits with the tone of the book, which keeps saying that Jesus is better than one thing or another. The word then gets used in 11:16, 35, and 40.

     In Hebrews 10:36 a Greek word for “receive” appears for the first time in Hebrews. It will be used twice more, in 11:19 and 39.

     Also in Hebrews 10:36, a Greek word for “promise” appears, the eighth of 14 uses. The remaining six times are in 11:9 (twice), 13, 17, 33, 39.

     Breaking down the list, “faith” is mentioned in the end of chapter 10, all through chapter 11, and at the start of chapter 12. Three other words connect the end of chapter 10 to chapter 11, suggesting that Herb set up points he was going to make in the faith chapter: “receive,” “better,” “promise.” You could back up to Hebrews 10:32 and read on through 12:2 to see how these words are emphasized together.

     If you choose to, you could also do a second exercise, for a different way of looking at things, considering these facts:

     In Hebrews 10:32 a Greek word for “endured” / “endure” appears. It is used four times in Hebrews, here and in 12:2, 3, and 7.

     In Hebrews 10:36 a Greek word for “patient endurance” or “perseverance” appears. It is used only here and 12:1.

     So two words about ‘endurance’ bridge the end of chapter 10 to the start of chapter 12, for a total of six appearances. This suggests that while Herb didn’t choose to emphasize endurance on the part of the Old Testament figures chapter 11 discusses he wanted to emphasize endurance on the part of the Christians he wrote to. This will become very clear if you try another read through starting at Hebrews 10:32 perhaps, but this time skip over chapter 11 entirely and read to 12:7.

     Hebrews 11 has a remarkable message about many great examples of faithfulness from the past who trusted God to be reliable and now serve as examples to us. Many people speak of the great acts of faith that these people engaged in, but that is not how the chapter describes them. It says that they “gained approval” from God for their faithfulness (v. 2, 39). In terms of Herb’s actual message these figures from the past are case studies in endurance, people who did not shrink back. Herb finally emphasizes not what they received through faith but what they did not receive, because none of them got what they were waiting for, which is interesting as it shows their common understanding of what to expect and that they did not allow thousands of years of waiting to throw off their patience (v. 39). We also see that the list of named figures stops with David and Samuel, in the time of the tabernacle. Some of the other figures are identifiable as from later times, such as the reference in verse 33 to “shut the mouths of lions,” which is plainly Daniel, but they remain unnamed.

     Verse 40 is the kicker for this chapter, of course. “God provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” This is now the twelfth of fourteen uses of this language about perfection in Hebrews (the next will be in 12:2, the last in 12:23). It is remarkable the lengths that have been gone to in some interpretations to have this language make sense, without having the return of Christ and the resurrection hope be significant for the Old Testament saints and the church, together. But the repeated (and, in my Bible, underlined) words of the chapter prompt us and we can’t ignore them – receive better promises – there is no reasonable explanation where some part of the Church has already inherited what God planned to give us. We are a body, undivided, faithful, and patient. “Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:23).

     Lord, you have made lovely poetry, and remarkable prose. Yours are the greatest inventions, incredible art, the purest flavors, colors and lightning. I praise your creativity, and I await the wonders of the more perfect world that awaits when your son returns to earth. All I know now is the damaged version of what you intended. Some of what you first made still shines through, and it is amazing to me. Let me grow in faith in you always, for you are almighty and perfectly trustworthy. Amen.

-Daniel Smead

Reflection Questions

1.  Imagine if chapter 11 really were not in Hebrews. What would we be missing?

3.  Have you ever tried to memorize part of Hebrews 11? With its repeated pattern about “faith” it seems set up for that purpose, but modern Americans don’t tend to try memorizing much. What advantages do you see to memorizing scripture? How do you decide what scripture to memorize?

3.  Do you expect that faith is easier to hold to if you have people encouraging you to be faithful? How have you tried to be encouraging today? What things do you find encouraging?

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Be a Good Guard

*Theme Week: Review of Paul – 2 Timothy 1

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 10-12

Poetry: Psalm 53

Have you ever been asked to guard something?  If you’ve ever played a team sport it’s likely that you guarded someone or something.  When you play defense in basketball or hockey you guard someone.  In basketball and football, there are positions called guards.  In baseball, the catcher is responsible for guarding home plate.

We encounter lots of guards in life- prison guards,  security guards, the National Guard.  Celebrities and politicians and other rich and powerful people often have bodyguards.  If you’re out with a friend at a busy place and they go to buy food or use the restroom they might ask you to “guard my seat”.  

To guard something means that you have been entrusted to protect someone or something that is valued by another.  In today’s reading of 2 Timothy 1, the Apostle Paul has written to Timothy and reminded him about all of the goods that have been entrusted to him in his life.  He speaks about the sincere faith that began in both Timothy’s grandmother and mother now in him.  He describes this faith as something that has been entrusted to Timothy and must be guarded.  I have the image of going to the bank and bringing my paycheck and giving it to the bank officer and asking her to guard my money until I needed it.  I am entrusting my deposit with the bank.  Here, Paul is entrusting his spiritual deposits to Timothy.  Just as Timothy’s grandmother and mother made spiritual deposits in his life, Paul too made spiritual deposits.  Now it’s up to Timothy to both guard those deposits and also put them to good use.  Paul freely changes metaphors to that of fire.  A fire that has started often needs to be fanned, given more air, until it grows enough to really burn.  Protect the deposit and fan the flame.  This is Paul’s counsel to Timothy.

You’ve undoubtedly had many people make faith deposits in your life.  For some, like Timothy, it was a grandparent or parent or other spiritual teacher or mentor.  Maybe it was a Sunday School teacher or youth leader, maybe it was a pastor or a counselor at Church camp.  For many, it was likely a combination of many people who taught by words or actions what it means to know Jesus Christ and follow him as a disciple.  I know in my nearly 60 years of life there have been countless people who have made faith deposits into my life, and who have helped me with my spiritual formation.   These people have shared incredible gifts of faith with me.  I feel a particular responsibility to not allow those gifts to go by the wayside, to be left unvalued,  unused, and unguarded.    I take the deposits of faith that have been entrusted to me and put them to work for Jesus Christ and for the Kingdom of God.  This is an incredibly important responsibility and one that I do not take lightly.  I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those who made faith deposits in my life and so I want to “pay it forward” by making faith deposits into the lives of others.  This is why 45 years after I first attended Youth Camp (Now FUEL) I’m still trying to make faith deposits.  I hope and pray that you guard what has been entrusted to you and fan into the flame the gifts that have been given to you so that God’s word will continue to spread like wildfire into a world that needs more faith.

Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1. Take a moment to write down the names of people that you can think of who have made faith deposits into your life.   Say a prayer of thanks for them, or send one of them a note and say “thank you” for the faith deposits they’ve made in your life.
  2. What are some ways that you can fan into flame the gifts that have been given you?  What specific things will you do to help spread the faith in Jesus Christ shared with you?
  3. How can you best guard what has been deposited into your spiritual bank account by others?
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How Deep is Your Love Jesus?

Theme Week: Review of Paul – Ephesians 3

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 50

            As I was driving home today listening to my favorite oldies station (All the best rock music was in the 60’s through 80’s, everyone knows that) I heard “How Deep is Your Love?”  by the Bee Gees. (Disco, but still better than today’s stuff).  “How deep is your love how deep is your love, I really need to learn?”

            Isn’t that THE question we all ask constantly throughout our lives?  “Do you love me?  How much do you love me?  What are the limits of your love for me?”  We all want and need to know that we are loved. 

            One of the foundational needs of every human being from the moment of birth is to know that they are loved and securely attached to a loving caregiver.  “If I’m cute, do you love me?  If I cry do you love me enough to pick me up and comfort me?  If I make a stinky mess do you love me enough to clean me up and put a fresh diaper and clothes on me?  If I take a pair of scissors and cut holes in your suit jacket will you still love me Daddy?  (Extra points if you figure out which Fletcher kid actually did than when they were 4).”  The answer is, “Yes, I still love you.”  And I love you when a tree somehow jumps in front of the car as you’re driving (A different Fletcher kid, at age 16).  “Will you still love me when I disobey you or when I reject your values and beliefs?”  “Yes, even when you break my heart, I will still love you.”

            In Ephesians 3 Paul shares something for which he is earnestly praying for his readers.  Paul is praying that they might ask Jesus “how deep is your love” and that God might give them the power to comprehend just how much Jesus loves them.   He writes in vs. 17-19 “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…”(ESV).  Essentially, Paul is saying that he wants them to know the unknowable, the unlimited love of Christ for them in all of its dimensions.  How high, how wide, how long, how deep is the love of Jesus Christ for us?  As you read through the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life you can see his love in action.  Jesus touches the untouchable leper, love in action.  Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman caught in the act of adultery, love in action.  Jesus feeds 5,000, love in action. Jesus turns water into wine to save the wedding celebration and spare the father shame, love in action.  Jesus undergoes betrayal, rejection, and false accusations, and is spit upon, mocked, beaten, scourged, and crucified, all love in action.

            How do we begin to understand this love according to Paul?  By Faith.  We have to trust Jesus enough to allow him into our hearts so that we may begin to experience that love and be transformed inside out.  Paul says that like a tree we have to sink down our roots into that love (vs. 17).  Jesus referred to himself as the vine and his disciples as the branches. (John 15:4-6)  In order to bear the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control- Galatians 5:22-23) we need to maintain a continuous connection to Jesus.

            “Do you love me?”

Jesus answers a resounding “yes!” 

“How much do you love me? “

Jesus answers, “I love you so much I died on the cross for you.” 

“What are the limits of your love for me?”

Jesus answers- “Put your complete trust in me and ask God to show you the full dimensions of my love, it’s a love beyond human comprehension.”

            To summarize Paul, we need the faith to believe in the reality of Jesus’ love and be willing to trust and sink our roots down into that love to draw on the love of Christ and maintain an ongoing connection.

            My prayer for you today echoes the prayers of Paul.  May you have the power to know the breadth and length and height and depth of his love so that  God can fill you to overflowing.

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1.  How important is it for you to know that you are loved?
  2. Reflect on your life, can you name some ways that Jesus has demonstrated his love for you?
  3. How does God, as our Father, ultimately reveal his love for us through the love of Jesus?  If you are not sure, take some time to pray and ask God to show you today.
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Who Gets the Credit?

Old Testament: Job 30-31

*Poetry: Psalm 44

New Testament: Titus 2


Most people love to claim credit for themselves on any project that went well.  They may choose to neglect telling others that there was a group working on the project, and instead claim all the credit for themselves.  They may acknowledge the fact that a couple other people helped them, but downplay their contributions to the project.  Very few people are going to say that they were part of a group who did something great and emphasize the other people’s contributions to the project.


In Psalm 44, the psalmist says that they heard from their fathers what God did in the past.  Their fathers could have easily claimed that they did it all with their own skill.  They could have claimed that they drove the people out and possessed the lands by their own power.  But, they didn’t.  Their fathers could have also easily said that God helped them some, but it was still mostly by their own efforts that they did these things.  But, they didn’t.  Instead, they said to the Lord their God, “You with Your own hand drove out the nations;  Then You planted them;  You afflicted the peoples,  Then You spread them abroad.  For by their own sword they did not possess the land,  And their own arm did not save them” (vs 2,3a).  They fully acknowledged that God was the one who did all the work.  Without God, they could not have done any of these things.


God also works in our lives, like He did in the fathers’ of the psalmist.  Most of the time He’s not driving out herds of people before us or possessing lands for us, but He’s still working to do something great in us and for us.  When God does something in your life, do you acknowledge that He did it and that it was not by your own strength?  When people ask about it, do you tell them it was fully by God that these things happened, or do you briefly acknowledge it but claim you did most of it?  We need to acknowledge that God did something great and that it was not by our own power.

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Reflection Questions

  1. Who do you most often give the credit to when something goes right in your life?
  2. For what events of your personal past can you give God glory? What did He do? What did He save you from? How did He show His strength, power and wisdom?
  3. How can you do a better job of giving God the credit and telling others (including children) what He has done for you? How can this help others, including the next generation?
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Being Refined

Old Testament: Job 22-24

Poetry: Psalm 41

New Testament: John 21

The process of refining gold or silver is very long and tedious, as they, when mined, are found with many impurities. To get rid of these impurities, these metals are heated to the extreme temperatures of the metal’s melting point. This allows the impurities to rise to the surface of the gold or silver, as the impurities are much less dense than the actual metal. The impurities can then be removed from the metal to the best of the ability of the refiner. After doing so, this process is restarted to continue trying to get rid of even more impurities that remain within the gold or silver.


Throughout the Bible, the testing of people’s faith is constantly compared to the refinement of metals, such as gold or silver. We all face many trials within our lives as we try to live out a life of faith. In James 1:2-4, it says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James tells us all that we must take joy in knowing that our trials and testing of faith produce a good result in us. For these difficult times create endurance, and endurance creates in you perfection and completion. Note that James did not say that we were going to encounter a singular trial to produce endurance, but instead stated that we would encounter various trials to achieve the result of perfection and completion.


Job knew the same thing that James did. He knew that the trials that he was facing were going to bring him forth to be more perfect and complete from his endurance. While we do not know the exact length of time Job suffered, we do know that he must have had great endurance to face all of his trials. In Job 23:10, he said, “But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job knew that he was going through a process of refinement. He was being made more perfect and complete, becoming a piece of gold with fewer impurities. Knowing that he was going through refinement didn’t make any of the trials less for Job, but it did give him hope for the end of them at which he would be a refined person, more like God.


Job is not the only human who has and will face refinement of their faith. Each and every one of us will go through trials that test our faith. In Isaiah 48:10, it says, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Job was not put in an actual furnace of fire to be refined, and neither will we. But, we will all face the furnace of affliction in a way to refine our faith. Job was confident in the end result of his refinement by suffering. Are you as confident as Job that when the trials come you will stand in the end as a piece of refined gold?

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Reflection Questions

  1. Is there a trial you have emerged from more “refined” than you were before? What did you gain through the difficult process? Can remembering that process and result help give you joy when you encounter the next trial?
  2. Sometimes, rather than being refined in a trial, people just melt, or the impurities seem to multiply. What makes the difference? How can you work towards using difficult times to improve and become more godly?
  3. What role does God take in your refining process?
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Restoration in God’s Time

Old Testament: Job 19-21

Poetry: Psalm 40

New Testament: John 20

There is an expression about starting a family that has passed down from one generation to the next that goes something like this: “If you wait to start having children until you’re ready, you will never have them.”  There is much truth in this.  While you can prepare for being a parent by accumulating wealth, knowledge, and supplies, no one can really be prepared to take care of a tiny, fragile human 24 hours a day without on-the-job training.  Being that my wife and I’s first experience of inexperience was with twins, we felt conservatively confident that we could manage it when we found out child three was going to be a singleton birth.  However, I wasn’t ready for what would happen prior to Violet being born.

As I mentioned in the first blog in this series, my health spiraled out of control a couple months ago, which culminated in a scary visit to the ER.  Out of all the doubts and worries that penetrated my mind, I wondered how I would be an effective father when my heart was beating rapidly and I couldn’t catch my breath putting my children in their car seats. God, why now? My Heavenly Father and I talked a lot about it, and He gave me peace in my restlessness. How I see it now.  He placed me there to deliver me.  He broke me then to prepare me for my present. He worked through the people around me to heal me for my growing family. His timing is always perfect, and I wish I always saw it this clearly.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” – Psalm 40:1,3

Throughout the course of this week, we have focused on Trusting God’s plan. He will most certainly take us where we need to go to align our steps closer to His.  It is possible we need to spend time in the desert to clearly focus on what God is calling us to. Sometimes, we need a season of mourning to remember His promise of the life to come. It could be that we need our possessions removed to see every good and perfect gift. God makes it clear He will deliver us, but He sets the schedule. He does not hang healing over our heads so we learn a lesson.  He helps us to see Him more clearly, and He uses both our struggle and restoration as a testimony to Him.  The words of Job ring true with this when he states, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. Yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-27)  While this speaks of a promise to come, literal restored men and women being with their God, we can also see God as He works in us in the seasons of feast and famine.

“‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’… Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!'” – John 20: 11, 16

God has promised to hear our cry, so why are we bemoaning? Why are we crying?  We don’t grieve like those who have no hope.  There is nothing that can be taken away that God cannot restore one-hundred-fold. Our Rabboni, Jesus Christ, is the firstfruits, and we will be restored like Him at the hour the Father has set.  We cannot accumulate enough wealth, knowledge, or supplies to be prepared  for every downfall or pitfall set before us, but in our dire circumstances, we can wait on the Lord for He will renew our strength in his perfect time.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. As part of your personal testimony, can you tell of a time God has used both your struggle and your restoration to draw you closer to Him?
  2. What does waiting patiently on the Lord look and sound like?
  3. From God’s word and/or from your own life, what have you learned about God’s timing?
  4. What has God shown you about Himself in your Bible reading today?
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Holding Fast to Hope

Old Testament: Job 17 & 18

Poetry: Psalm 39

New Testament: John 19

The world is filled with a great deal of uncertainty and challenges, much like a battlefield.  At many times, life is so filled with ambushes and snares that we should abide by the military mantra, “expect the unexpected.”  Consequently, if we live our lives dodging bullets and treating everyone like they are the enemy, we may survive but we aren’t following orders.  You can desert God’s plan and work on one of your own but the glory of God cannot be yours without taking his marching orders.  Whatever unforeseen opposition comes our way, we shouldn’t change our battle plan.  We have to expect the expected, meaning what we hope for does not change by any circumstance that is thrown our way.  Our hope only grows closer in these circumstances, and our faith brings clarity in tumultuous times.

“Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.” – Job 17.9

In the midst of Job’s trials and sufferings, Job speaks that the righteous are true to their pledge.  The same hope exists in times of peace and times of war.   However, when we are battle-tested and endure, our faith is made stronger, much like tree roots that dig deeper into the soil during a storm. There will be waves of doubt and despair that will combat our hope, but when we are firmly planted in the ground with a source of Living Water, there is nothing that can make us shakeable, to lose the fruit of the Spirit that we bear.

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” – Psalm 39:7

Conversely, in the fog of war, there is confusion.  The next step can seem unclear. In the midst of doing ministry, fighting off sin, or disciplining your children, we must look to the Lord. His solutions are not based in our fleeting circumstances.  His answers are not temporary solutions to momentarily cover our wounds. His resolution will be based in eternity.  Our hope is in the one whose hands hold the world. We are secure in seeking Him because He is unchanging.  He clears the fog and leads us by our faith and not our sight.

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30

We must always bear in mind that Jesus Christ completes this hope.  He believed, he hoped that His death on the cross would not only lead to resurrection for himself, but resurrection for us all who put our faith in Him.  He fulfilled the hope of so many who were looking for a Messiah in the Old Testament, and he completes the hope of us all who desperately need a Savior.  What a great hope is this that while we still struggle with our sins, Christ has already died for us as an offering, so we can be in His kingdom.  The cross defeats addiction.  The cross defeats abuse.  The cross defeats poverty.  The cross defeats shame.  The cross defeats sin.  The cross defeats every power in this age, including the enemy of death.  It is in the power of the cross that we have a hope, so we can march on with our banner held high proclaiming the hope that we have and instilling fear in our enemies.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Where do you put your hope? How would you describe it to an unbelieving neighbor?
  2. What can someone who feels they are in a hopeless situation learn from Job, David and Jesus?
  3. What do you learn about God from today’s passages?
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Transcendental Wisdom

Old Testament: Job 9 & 10

Poetry: Psalm 35

New Testament: John 15

I have never been mechanically minded.  I really don’t have a clue how engines or electronics work.  I know gas goes into a car and electricity goes to a TV, but I don’t really know what happens after that.  Inevitably, as a lower middle class family, something is bound to stop, break, and make a questionable noise. In these moments, I really don’t have a clue on where to begin. Thankfully, I live in the information age.  Some saints out there have encountered the same problem and recorded a video of him/herself repairing it.  Time and time again, I follow their instructions step by step, and, with a pretty good success rate, I make the repair without truly understanding every element along the way.

“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” – Job 9:10

“How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.” – Job 9:14-15

God makes it clear that we neither have the capacity nor the clearance to know all the inner workings of what is to come.  Job comes to this realization turned revelation that he isn’t, nor can he be, on the same level as God.  God not only created the universe and its governances, but also actively works in it, ordaining His will upon man. His work is endless, infinite, and interconnected through the story of salvation. So when we are faced with trials, decisions, and repair, He alone is the expert that we turn to.  Through His scriptures or through petition in prayer, God offers insight into a wisdom that transcends all others.If we want to know more, we, the branches, must stay connected to the vine, Jesus Christ. He has already given us revelation in the Gospels and through John, detailing the events leading up to the return of Christ.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

“So my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation. All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You, who rescues the afflicted from one who is too strong for him, and the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?” – Psalm 35:9-10

Conversely, we don’t have to understand it all.  We can’t, at least not right now on this side of the Kingdom of God.  We have to follow the Fixer in faith, knowing that picking up the correct part number and knowing the specific function are less important than the repair that needs to take place in our hearts to get us back up and running.  In Psalm 35, David demonstrates this to us by calling upon the promises of God to sustain him and defeat his enemy.  He doesn’t ask to know how to move the pieces, He only wants to know the Mover better.

He knows what is on the other side of the mountain, therefore the steps He chooses for us lead us to His Kingdom. If we never received a new revelation and if God never revealed His specific will for us, we already have access to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, alongside the prescription to live a life for Him. This is eternal, transcendental wisdom, and thank you God for revealing it to us.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you spend enough time contemplating the majesty and greatness of God? What wonders and miracles can you thank Him for today?
  2. How often do you try to raise yourself to God’s level – or lower God to yours? What are the dangers of each?
  3. What wisdom has God already shared with you and how? What is currently beyond your capacity and clearance? Praise God for being who He alone is.
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The Illusion of Control

*Old Testament: Job 7 & 8

*Poetry: Psalm 34

*New Testament: John 14

It is not unusual for me to carry around a Ziploc bag full of fruits and vegetables as I meander across the cafeteria crunching through school lunch. A few years ago, I made changes for the sake of my health, improving my diet and exercising regularly.  I dropped some weight, I felt better, and I was healthier in my late 30s than in the whole of my 20s.  I had finally mastered my body once and for all; however, this control was an illusion.

Early this summer I experienced significant changes to my health.  My heart was beating out of control.  I went from marathon running to huffing and puffing up the short flight of stairs at my house.  I was sweaty, panicked, and dropping pounds no matter what I ate. I was heading, as I now know, full-throttle into a thyroid storm and quickly losing the gains that I had worked so hard to maintain. It was then I was given this sobering reminder: I’m not in control; not even a little bit.

Throughout the course of this week, my goal is to focus on trusting God’s plan.  The rain equally falls on the just and the unjust, but we often fix our gaze on our wet shoes in the puddles and mud. This is where we find Job in Chapter 7.  He ponders the calamities that befall him, and even torment him in his sleep.  He is looking for a reason that God has placed him in this circumstance and even “targeted” him (v.20), removing his wealth, health, and happiness.  In what looks like an ironic spin of Psalm 8, Job asks “What is mankind, that you make so much of them? That you give them so much attention?”  It is a fair question.  Why would God place so much attention on my life, seemingly ruining it, especially when I have put in so much time, effort, and energy into making something good?

We find our focus in the lens of eternity. When we surrender our lives to Christ, our possessions, our status, our health, and the whole of our lives are assets of the Gospel message.  There is profound peace in the perfect plan of our Heavenly Father, but it requires us to relax the white knuckle grip we have over the course of our life.  We must surrender in faith, fully trusting that our storm, our season, our suffering is for the glory of God.   Psalm 34 states when we seek the Lord, our fears are quelled (v. 4) and in His time, he will deliver us (v. 6, 17, 19, & 22). While it is hard not to let our hearts be troubled (John 14:1), God is still good in our struggle, and for many of us, more present to taste and see it, when we are broken, poor, ill, hungry, or in peril.

When things seem out of control, we have to realize they were never in our hands.  Thinking we have the power to redeem or fix our struggle alone means we are intoxicated with our own glory, one that will ultimately fail.  Conversely, if we hand our lives over to Christ, declaring our lives are forfeit for His glory in faith, God will use us in a way that will infinitely diminish what we can accomplish by ourselves.  Thank God, I am not in control, and His perfect will can redeem us all.

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.” – Psalm 34:1-2

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you think and feel when you hear you are not in control?
  2. What evidence do you have to prove you are, or are not, in control?
  3. How can you bring glory to God, even if your feet are in (or have been in) a muddy puddle?
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