There’s an old recipe for rabbit stew that begins, “First, catch the rabbit…” Though it may seem a bit obvious, at least the writer of the recipe understood the importance of keeping first things first; and when it comes to exercising faith, it’s important to make sure first things really are first in our own hearts.
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This is what the LORD says: “In the time of my favor, I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will rescue you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!'” Isaiah 49:8-9a
You and I have the awesome privilege of living together in the time of God’s favor. How do I know? Because rescue has come through Jesus and we have received the Holy Spirit. We live in the midst of what countless generations yearned for!
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image: ricky_artigas @flickr
In the last post, I shared how we so easily label individuals or groups as ‘them’–those for whom hope and renewal seem impossible…at least in our estimation. But “even to them, God has given…life.” As mentioned in that post there’s a catch, though, and here it is in a nutshell:
So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view…We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:16a, 20a)
Not only can God reach, but he desires to reach the ‘them;’ more than this, he has designed you and me as the simple vessels to take the majestic message of hope to them. Continue Reading…
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my savior.
~ Habakkuk 3:17-18
The expression of praise and trust we find at the end of Habakkuk is at once life-giving and convicting, especially when we consider the opening line of the book just a few chapters before — “How long, LORD, must I call for help but you do not listen? Or cry to you…but you do not save?” (Hab 1:2)
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courtesy of Alain Limoges/Flickr
They warned us it would happen. It was almost guaranteed.
In our birthing classes, those of us who were active as ‘support people’ were given instruction on how to help an in-labor mom move beyond that point in the labor/delivery of a baby when she wants to quit. The gist was that it gets too hard, too exhausting, too much for mom to keep going and she will become convinced that the birth can progress no further.
I know my wife wanted to quit at points, but the funny thing about delivering a baby is it’s kind of hard to stop part way… I can’t blame her for wanting to stop; while I don’t have first-hand experience, giving birth sure looked like a lot of work (something about why it’s called ‘labor’). After about three and a half hours of pushing (and many more hours of hard labor) in the process with our daughter, my wife felt like she couldn’t do it any more. But she had to. At that time she needed someone, a ‘support person,’ to help assure her she could do it.
That was my whole job in the process of labor and delivery: being a ‘support’ person. I existed to support and encourage–fail in those things and I had no reason to be there. Sarah was doing the hard work of labor. The nurse was doing all the medical stuff. The doctor showed up every now and again to sound all doctor-y. And I supported.
There are times during the church planting process (and ministry and life in general) when you will want to quit…
when everything tells you it’s too hard, too exhausting, too much to keep going. In those moments you need someone in your corner with a different perspective; someone not overwhelmed with pain and exhaustion, someone who isn’t there in a technical capacity, someone who isn’t a pro, but someone who can remind you that you were made for this and that the place you’re in where you feel the need to quit is a natural place to be–they’ll tell you to keep pressing on and the One who called you to this has prepared you for this and will be faithful.
