stevenrealife

Throughout my life I have been blessed by God to have godly mentors. Two of these godly men are Bob Salstrom and Harold Berry. Both have left a lasting imprint on my life. One nugget of truth that Harold implanted on to my heart was the principle found in Colossians 3:15a, “Let the peace of Christ rule in  your hearts. . . .” (NASB). While this charge is addressed to the church, the principle can be applied individually. Barb and I have tried to apply this verse to our lives in making decisions or when faced with forks in the road, life-changing crossroads. Do we sense peace from the Lord? If not, we should not move forward. The creator and sustainer of the universe, the One who created these lupines in rural Maine, is a big enough Lord to give us peace in our hearts. So we pray! We ask God to clearly guide and direct us and to give us His peace.

This morning one of my accountability buddies shared with me how Isaiah 30 has been meaningful to him. I read through the chapter during my noon prayer time. In the chapter God confronts Judah about striking an alliance with Egypt instead of trusting Him. The southern tribes of Israel seek the shelter of Egypt instead of the shelter of the Lord. Isaiah 30:15 really struck me, “For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.’ But you were not willing” (NASB). This picture of my bride on the back porch of a B & B on Ocracoke Island, NC (on the outer banks) reminds me of “quietness and trust.” So often I tend to think I need to immediately take action instead of immediately taking shelter in the Lord by coming to Him in prayer. Our deliverance comes in depending on Him. Lord, help me to rest in you through the remainder of this day and this week. You are the shelter of your people. You are the One upon whom I can depend and find rest.

Wow! Did I have fun yesterday sharing the Good News of Jesus with almost 100 local high school students in two separate sessions! Our area FCA director had a last minute mix-up of schedules with a speaker and asked me Friday afternoon if I could cover. It was my day off! I need down time! But I said “yes.” Am I glad I said yes! My spiritual bucket was full as I left. I talked about how we can trust God even when things in our lives don’t work out as we planned. These students were respectful and attentive as I talked about Jesus for 20 minutes. It is so exciting to see Jesus proclaimed by FCA in local high schools all across our area. Thanks Eastern Iowa FCA for a great day off!!!

Christmas Eve night we were standing at the front door talking about who was going to carry our 19 month old granddaughter out to her parents’ car. In her little voice she said, “Let Gampa take her.” What a special moment for me! This Christmas season, as I reflect on the Father sending His one and only Son to earth for the sole purpose of dying for us, my heart takes me to my granddaughter. We love her! How could the Father send the Son He loves to die for people who didn’t love Him! Romans 5:7-8 says, “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (NASB).

(Grandma built our little sweetie this cardboard house!)

As I drove across the North Dakota plains Thanksgiving morning and saw this isolated farmstead out in the middle of the prairie, I thought, “Life is hard.” Just think how hard it would have been when that house was built to actually live out there, in many ways in isolation. Acts 14:22b says, “They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations” (NLT). James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (NASB). Many of my friends are experiencing tough times right now. Life is hard. As Christians, we hang on to the knowledge that God is in control and that nothing enters our lives apart from His permissive will. He is the great Deliverer, sometimes “now” but many times “not yet.” The Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (NASB).

This noon, as I opened my healthy Liberte yogurt, the quote printed on the inside of the foil lid caught my attention: “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth” – Walt Whitman. The yogurt company wants us to see their lemon yogurt as satisfying the soul. Whitman, basically understanding himself to be divine, most likely meant to define truth as anything he found fulfilling in his own life. If I were able, I would ask Whitman, “For how long? How long would something need to be satisfying in order for it to be classified as ‘truth’?” Ultimately, there is only one source of truth, one source of truth that brings satisfaction to the soul forever: God. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6b). We will only find lasting satisfaction for the soul by being in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We often try to find satisfaction for our souls through cheap substitutes. We only find true satisfaction through the most costly substitute, our substitute on the cross: Jesus Christ.

This week I read Psalm 62:1, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation” (ESV).  The Psalmist continues in verse 5, “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” I asked myself, “How often am I living this out?” A year ago as I stood on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with no people around, there was only the sound of the Atlantic Ocean. No clutter. No calls. No media. Silence reminds me of how often I try to
fill the void of my soul with everything except God. When “stuff” happens, it is so easy to try to fill the void apart from Him. The Psalmist reminds us that it is to Him and Him alone that we must come. Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

I recently ordered “Pray for the World” which is simply an abridged edition of “Operation World” (7th Edition). I have found it a valuable prayer tool, easily carrying it with my Bible. Less than 1/3 the size of “Operation World,” this little work provides a quick country overview and then goes straight to prayer requests (i.e., abbreviated requests adapted from the 7th Edition of “Operation World”). Recently I have prayed for Cuba, Liberia, Bhutan, Nepal, and Congo, all countries currently represented at Faith Bible Church. I have been encouraged taking these nations to the Father, asking Him to work mightily.

I just did the funeral for a man who just two weeks before his death, in a moment of clarity in the midst of his dementia, told his son, “We don’t praise the Lord enough.” David, as he looked back over his life, wrote, “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised” (2 Samuel 22:4a). When David wrote that the LORD is “worthy to be praised,” he was thinking of the countless times God had broken through the heavens and helped him. God faithfully provides for those who depend on Him. David recounted those times of God’s provision, stacking them up like firewood. When we step back and stack up the times that God has provided, we are moved to declare His faithfulness. It reminds us that He is worthy of our trust. It reminds us that He is our rock. It gives us joy.

Every Tuesday noon I join my fellow pastors, and any elders who are free, in our prayer room here at Faith Bible Church. Someone will read Scripture. Another may read a section out of Operation World for one of the countries represented by immigrants in our ministry. We might pray for some of the names written on our prayer wall of those who have not yet placed their trust in Jesus Christ. We praise the Lord for His attributes. We declare our desperate need for Him. It is good. It is what we need to be doing. I have been thinking the last two weeks about a portion of 2 Samuel 21:1, “. . . And David sought the face of the LORD” (ESV). It is good to seek the face of the LORD. It is good to seek the face of the LORD with brothers in Christ.