January 10, 2024 — “Encouragement or Fear?”

“Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 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 like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.”  He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” 1 Kings 19:1-12

Elijah, even the great prophet Elijah feels defeated – and he stands before the Lord a beaten man – or so he thinks. Just 40 days removed from defeating the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel in such dramatic fashion, he stands on a mountain allowing fear to seize him. He stands on Horeb, the mountain of G-d, feeling defeated. How quickly he went from victory to fear – from triumph to retreat. But then, he learns another amazing lesson from the Lord. He is told to stand up, for the Lord was about to pass him by. Elijah feels a great wind, an earthquake, and a great fire, before he experiences an immense silence. He is told that the Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. Instead the Lord was in the silence.

You see, when he felt as if G-d had withdrawn, in fact the Lord was ever-present in the silence. What that silence is, is what C.W. Naylor calls “calm confidence”. We experience fear in windstorms, earthquakes and fire storms. Some might point to such events and say “that is the power of G-d”. Scripture tells us that we feel the power of G-d most in the silence – in being led to the still waters – in following the Lord who keeps us from evil. Calm-confidence does not come from the earthquakes of our lives – calm-confidence comes from the way we deal with the recovery. The Lord can take everything we face that shakes us to our very core – and give us the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, we seek your peace and comfort daily. When life gives me earthquakes, I pray your love will calm every storm I encounter.

Pastor Dave

January 9, 2024 – “Stumbling-Stones, Or Stepping-Stones?”

“Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” Luke 17:1-4

Have you ever walked with someone who was in constant pain? I have. It hurts just to think of it. My mother lives with constant pain. It affects her mood – it impacts her faith. No one wants to be in constant pain. She talks about her affliction and the depression she feels because of it. My father must offer my mother his utmost patience to help her deal with her pain. I know my father has difficulty knowing that he cannot help her get rid of her pain – and his mood is also affected.

Life will give us all kinds of stumbling stones – the challenge is to see each one as a stepping-stone for our faith. Yes, these epiphanies will not always be immediate, but the longer we endure, the more we trust G-d’s wisdom and plan, the more intimately we rely on the guidance of the light of Christ in our lives, the more each struggle will become a strength. When life gives you a stumbling-stone – ask yourself, “How can I use this as a stepping-stone?”

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, help me to be less a stumbling stone to people’s faith and instead to be a stepping stone to sharing your love.

Pastor Dave