Digging Deeper

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.          1Thessalonians  5:11 (NLT)

 Such simple words: you can do it, good job, well done, and I’m there for you. So simple and yet so profound. They can give a tired swimmer that extra strength to reach the wall first, or help a struggling student reach a little farther for that better grade. They also encourage a Christian Brother or sister to “keep fighting the good fight.” (Hebrews 3:13)  But encourage one another, day after day.

    Our Heavenly Father knew just how important encouragement was. So much of scripture is words of encouragement. Our God cheering us on,  (Isaiah 4:10 NAS)  “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am Your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

    I don’t know about you but I find a great deal of encouragement from such personal God involvement.

    How often in my life as I’ve weathered storms, the encouragement of Godly friends gave me that much needed extra strength to carry on. 

    What does a cheerleader look like you ask? It’s the one who demonstrates the character of God. It’s the offer of encouraging words, a shoulder to cry on, and sometimes just the freedom to vent. This loving care helps put life in perspective. We don’t have to have the answers because we can faithfully point them to the One who does. Some times it takes just a simple dried flower bouquet to let a hurting person know they are thought of, they are loved. Amazing things happen when we encourage others.

  We begin to grow, and take on the characteristics and strength of Christ. Being a cheerleader is an important part of being a Christ follower. Never underestimate the power of encouragement. It can be the difference between giving up or hanging on.

    So wherever you are in life take courage for the Lord, your Creator has called you by name. When you pass through the waters He will be with you; when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched. Nor will the flame burn you. For He says ” I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD!”   (Isaiah 43: 1-3). You can do it, I know you can. For nothing is impossible with God.

 Read Isaiah 46: 3-4

  Father God, thank you for cheering us on. Help us not get so wrapped up in our own affairs we forget to cheer each other on.

by Becky Hutzel

  But to keep me from being puffed up, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud.  2 Corinthians 12: 7b (NLT)

   Being a Christ follower is a challenge. Paul, a powerful minister of the gospel knew this long before I did. He faced many different hardships on a regular basis. But there was one specific thing God allowed to afflict him.

   We don’t know what the problem was, for sure. Some think it was poor eyesight (Gal. 4:13-15) some suggest malaria or epilepsy. We just can’t say because Paul doesn’t tell us. What we do understand is it was chronic, and debilitating. Even though he prayed for its removal, God saw fit that he kept it, though at times it was a hindrance to his ministry. It must have been difficult for Paul to own a weakness in the flesh. But, it helped him grow in grace, kept him humble and reminded him of his great need for constant contact with God. This “thorn” was a tool in God’s hand. It not only benefited Paul but those around him as they saw God working in his life.

   We may not want such a thorn but when placed in Gods hands it is a tool that brings about spiritual growth.

   I know from personal experience the times I grow the most are when I’m facing a challenge of some kind.  During one of the most difficult and frightening times in my life I met God on a personal level. I had prayed for healing. I received a grace sufficient to carry me through, because God said no, I saw Him work in amazing ways. Now I thank Him for that thorn.

  Since then new ones have come but I know His grace is sufficient for when I am weak then He is strong.

Father God, growing up is painful. Thank you for providing me with Your sufficient grace. I am weak but you are strong. Praise Your Holy Name!

by: Becky Hutzel

“she broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head” Mark 14: 3b

There was an expensive, large, ornate vase that had been handed down through generations of a particular family in Connecticut. Shortly after the wedding which was the tradition to hand the vase down through the family, it was place in a prominent place on the families’ mantle over the fireplace. The vase stands unmoved for years. The vase is unique in the fact that some seventy years earlier, the matriarch of the family, during a move, chipped the lip of the top of the neck and a piece was missing. During an indoor game of football, boys will be boys, (read Wild at Heart), the vase was knocked off and shattered. The mother was decimated and cried for days about the incident. Her husband carefully scooped all the pieces together and took them to a pottery house to see if anything could be done. Painstakingly, the potter fashioned the piece back together from pictures and delivered it within a few weeks. The husband delivered the prize to his wife and she was ecstatic. However something was different. It was totally complete..no chip out of the top. You see, the piece that great grandma had broken off had fallen down into the jar and because the neck was so narrow, it couldn’t be seen or reached. Not until it was broken and put back together could all the pieces be fit back together by the master potter’s hand. Most of us have pieces missing and until we are broken and poured out can we be fixed. Sure you can tell where the broken places were but they are whole now. As the woman broke the perfume bottle over the head of Jesus it symbolized for all of us the sweet perfume for the Lord when we are broken and poured out. Don’t know what that exactly means for you? Seek out an older Christian so you can figure it out and learn how to be broken and used for the service of the kingdom.

Prayer: Father, mold me, make me, break me, use me for your service….. 

by: Rick Drake 

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many”  Matthew 20:28

Some months ago we asked a lot of “Why” questions. Why serve? That’s why we were made the way we are, for God’s own pleasure. When we seek to be served, service given us is never quite good enough, too slow, too impersonal, always too something. When we seek to serve, it is from a heart of gratitude. In Stephen Covey’s book “Seven habits of highly effective people”, service is at the height of what makes us effective. Restaurants, doctors offices, businesses, car dealerships, hospitals, and yes, even churches must give impeccable service to be effective in this society we live in. Our electric companies recently found out how people really feel about them and possibly you can’t read this yet because you internet is still down. We expect things to work instead of being grateful for the level of luxury that we live in this country. The example of our Lord is seen over and over again as he served those that were without service to the point of giving his life for us who could not serve ourselves when it comes to eternity. My grandmother Drake who was a lay preacher in our church told me that when we serve others we are actually making an investment in our own eternal life. We are gathering building blocks in the house in which God lives. See Ephesians 2: 19-22 for the scripture reference to this. Are you making an investment in eternity or cashing your chips in before all the cards are on the table? Take a chance. Service is good for what ails you.

Prayer: Father, help me serve the way you did.

by: Rick Drake

“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve…. Being examples” I Peter 5:2 (emphasis mine)

Have you ever noticed resurrection of the dead? Where I work it happens about 20 minutes before the end of the shift. People get energized and suddenly you wonder where all this hustle is coming from? There have been all kinds of studies done about quality in the workplace and when that brand new, super slick, beautiful thirty or forty thousand dollar SUV rolled down the assemble line. Was it Monday when people really didn’t want to be at work, or Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday when everyone was focused, locked in, well rested and looking to build a great product or was it Friday when everyone was distracted about the big game, fishing or golf tournament, long weekend or other distraction? Motivation is everything! Junk yards and repair bays are full of the ones made on Monday and Friday. I have a cousin who designs Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He tells me that they don’t really have those problems at his plant because nearly everyone who works there is also a rider and owner. They have the reputation of making the best motorcycle in the world and to suggest otherwise is the makings of a good fight. They take ownership in what they are building. God calls us to take ownership in the flock of God. This is my church, my friends, my people and I will not sit by while they struggle, are hurting, or need help. Peter tells us to be eager to serve. Put me in coach, I’m ready to play. When I played football in college and high school for that matter we lived for the game. When the lights came on, all the pain from two-a-days, the weight lifting, the running…ugh! The running I thought would kill me. I survived. All the conditioning I dreaded, was now worth it all and forgotten. Many of you have gone through a great deal to get where you are right now. You may be asking how you can serve after all that. God’s promise to you is that no suffering goes unused. God will take that suffering and turn it into service. God bless!

Prayer: I love you Father! Take all that I am and make me eager to give all that I have to help all that I meet….

by: Rick Drake

“So you are no longer a slave but a son (or daughter): and since you are a son, God has made you an heir”

 Perspective is everything! This week we are talking about service and the long term effects of not doing it and the effects of doing it and doing it well. I have pondered this for many years. Grasshopper speaks “Tell us, oh, wise one”. I digress! That line is from a tv show called “Kung Fu” if anyone cares besides me and Darrel.  When looking at service and more particularly service to God, it is truly a matter of perspective. When we serve do we do it out of sense of obligation or a sense of wanting to take care of the family business? Many Christians I know serve out of a sad case of the guilts. You have been guilted in to doing something you really didn’t want to do but now you are stuck until Jesus returns or you check out and the sooner the better. What an awful way to go through life. In our scripture today, the apostle Paul writes that we are no longer slaves (to the law) but have received adoption as sons and are therefore privileged to be heir to all our “daddy’s” fortune and his house. Slaves were set apart from the household, only called on when needed and had no stake in the family business but through our relationship with Christ, he has ushered us in the board room with full voting rights, stock options and our name written into the last will and testament of Almighty God. Wow! (He owns the universe you know) Since I know many of you readers are women, let me explain about the son thing. Women had no stake in family matters at this time and regardless the intelligence or hard work she might have put into the business, it always went to the son in the event of the patriarch of the family passing on. If there was no son then everything went to the eldest male relative. Good news though! God being the first “equal rights fighter”, ladies, fear not! In God’s economy, we are just children and therefore heirs to his vast fortune. So ask yourself the question “Do I serve out of a sense of obligation or because of my love for my Father and the family?

Prayer: Abba, Daddy, help me hold my head high and know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am your child. I love you…

by Rick Drake

“Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else”

 I have been a part of the Christian community for nearly 50 years (dude you are really getting old) and I have observed that there are those who do stuff and those who watch. There are many different reasons for this but let me just elaborate on a few. Many people feel that they don’t have anything to offer. The scripture tells us that “God places the members in the body for service”. You are here for a reason. Maybe you are afraid to ask, go ahead and ask. It is very much like swimming, you have to jump in the pool to get wet. So you don’t think you are such a good swimmer huh? Start with floaties (poly stuff you blow up and put on your arms so you don’t drowned) and ease yourself into the shallow end. AOK’s are a good way to start. Doing something in the name of Jesus. What a concept! If everyone does something, a lot of good stuff gets done. It is called the law of large numbers in business terms but you get the picture. Take the spiritual gift inventory and find out where your gifts may lie, choose one and go after it. You don’t have to understand the Roman redaction theory of Pauline literature to do something for the kingdom. I have been studying this stuff since college and it really doesn’t mean a hill of beans to the eternal gospel anyway but it was a way for my Bible professors to feel superior. I digress! There are thousand little jobs that need to be done and one is just your size. There is tremendous benefit for you too. You see the scripture for today. (look up) It says that men will praise God because of what you give, that little thing that you didn’t think you could do, remember? See service is not about you, it’s all about God. Have a great week and find your niche!

Prayer: Father, use me today for your good and in the process change me to be more like you……………

by Rick Drake

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.

Psalm 99:1

Sometimes we feel so familiar with God that we forget how great He truly is.  He is the Creator and ruler of the entire universe, the first person of the holy trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  He reveals Himself to us through the natural world, the Bible, and His Son Jesus Christ.  God is infinite in being and character:  omnipresent, all powerful, perfect in holiness, and infinite in mercy, wisdom, and truth.  God is also active in the history of salvation.  He promised to make Abraham a great nation and to make the Hebrew people a blessing to the rest of the world.  He called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.  He promised a Savior to rule Israel and this promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, God’s love gift of salvation to the world.

God’s spirit convicts unbelievers of their sins and gives us the opportunity to know Him through faith in Christ.  And I still can’t get my limited understanding around the idea that this awesome God welcomes our worship and fellowship.  We should tremble humbly before Him if we only had a notion of the greatness of our God.

Bible Reading: Psalm 99:1- 9

I worship You and praise Your Holy Name, my God, Jehovah, Yahweh, my Lord, and Redeemer.  Forgive me when I minimize Your greatness.

by Dianna Brisco

Oh, clap your hands, all you people!  Shout to God with the cries of joy!

Psalm 47:1

One way to worship God: give Him adoration and praise, is by telling others of His marvelous deeds.  Not too long ago I received this letter from our daughter at college.  She worshipped God by sharing her “God Moment” with me and then I get to worship Him by sharing it with you!

I had my CAD (Computer Automated Design) class last night until really late and I was getting so frustrated. I felt so stupid and we were doing really hard stuff that I just could not understand. Usually I stay after class awhile to get my homework done, but I left as soon as I could last night! I was walking back to my dorm and with every step I was getting more and more frustrated! It was really cold and windy outside. All of a sudden the wind started blowing really hard…like harder than I have ever seen before! But the weird thing was that it wasn’t cold wind…it was so warm, pressing on me from all sides! It felt like a giant warm hug and my frustrations just melted away….in its place I felt peace and calm and happiness! I just stopped in my steps and lifted my head and took it all in, thanking God for how awesome He is, and for being there for me and letting me know that I was loved and going to be okay!  It was an amazing feeling! Nothing like that has ever happened to me. Sure I see God when I look at the world around me, but never have I felt him on my skin!  But I did tonight, without a doubt! Wow! I cannot even describe in words how it felt! God is AMAZING!!! Just wanted to share this with you!

Anitra

Bible Reading: Psalm 47:1-9

I praise You for giving me other believers!  Together we can worship You and exalt Your Holy Name.

by: Dianna Brisco

Lord, accept my offering of praise…

Psalm 119:108

When we bring our gifts of money to God, we are worshipping Him. When we give, it’s also a good example to our children.  They are watching what we do even when we aren’t aware of it.  Since our children were old enough to deal with money without eating it, they have given money to the church.  I love to watch them gather up their gift, count it carefully, place it into an envelope, scrawl their name and amount in large child-manuscript across the envelope, and tote it off proudly to church. Giving feels good because we were created to give, and everything we have belongs to God anyway!  God instructs us to give and blesses a cheerful, obedient giver.  But an offering can be so much more than monetary gifts.

Prayer is an offering and an act of worship.  In Matthew 6 we are instructed to offer our prayers sincerely without trying to impress others. We are to praise and honor God, give Him our lives, worries, guilt, fears, temptations, hurts, and sins.  We have a choice.  We can panic or we can pray!

Our Spiritual gifts and talents can be used as an offering as well. James 1:17 states that, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…”  It thrills me to see someone use their God given gifts to glorify and worship Him.

And last but not least, we can make an offering of our time.  How we spend our time reflects where our priorities lie.  I know people at the Ridge who stop by the church regularly to give their time.  I’ve seen people of all ages clean, pull weeds, paint, hang and finish drywall, work in the office, and many other thankless jobs.  They are serving and giving their time not for recognition but because they see something that needs to be done and they don’t hesitate to jump right in.

So now let us “Fear the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly…” Joshua 24:14

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:105-112

Take my life and make it pleasing to You, oh Lord.