.....holding

 

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD — Psalm 27:14

---

Sometimes a plane is fully fueled, fully airworthy, and ready to land — but the runway isn't clear yet. So air traffic control puts it in a holding pattern: a long, racetrack-shaped loop above the airport, circling the same airspace again and again while everything on the ground gets sorted out. From inside the cabin, it can feel like nothing is happening. From the tower, it's the opposite — the same controller who's been guiding the flight the whole way is still watching, still timing it, still planning exactly when to call the plane down.

This is the part of the flight nobody enjoys and almost everybody experiences: waiting on an answer that hasn't come yet. Not turbulence, not fog — just circling, seemingly going nowhere, while the thing you're waiting for stays just out of reach. David wrote from inside exactly that feeling: "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" Psalm 27:14. Notice he says it twice — because waiting is hard enough to need saying twice. Isaiah promises what happens inside the loop, not just after it ends: "they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles" Isaiah 40:31 — the renewal happens *during* the circling, not only once you're finally cleared to land.

Habakkuk was told something even more specific about delay itself: "the vision is yet for an appointed time... though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry" Habakkuk 2:3. An appointed time isn't a missed time. A holding pattern isn't a lost flight plan.

Ellen White wrote about this exact frustration — the ache of praying and not yet seeing the answer — with a reason most of us don't reach for on our own:  "The delay is for our special benefit." —  The Ministry of Healing, p. 230

Not a forgotten request. Not a distracted Controller. A delay that is, somehow, *for* you — testing whether your trust holds when the runway still isn't visible, and often preparing something on the ground you can't yet see needs preparing. The same voice says "this is the way, walk in it" hasn't gone silent just because today's instruction is "continue holding." Holding is still an instruction. It still comes from someone flying the whole picture, not just your slice of sky.

So if you're circling right now — the same prayer going up lap after lap, the same waiting room, the same "not yet" — you haven't been forgotten by the tower. You're being held by the same hands that fueled you, guided you, and cleared every flight in this series so far. The runway will open. Keep circling in faith, not because you can see the ground crew, but because you know the Controller.

---

Father, thank You that a holding pattern is not the same as being lost or forgotten. When the waiting feels endless, remind me that You are still watching, still working, still timing this perfectly. Strengthen my heart to wait on You today, and give me the patience to keep circling in faith until You call me down. In Jesus' name

.....box

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." — Psalm 103:12

---

Every commercial aircraft carries a flight data recorder — the "black box" — that quietly logs everything: every input, every altitude change, every deviation from course, second by second, for the whole flight. It exists for one reason: so that if something goes wrong, investigators can pull the recording and know exactly what happened. Nothing is too small to log. Nothing is forgotten. The box remembers what the pilot might rather it didn't.

If that's how your life worked before God — every wrong turn permanently logged, replayable forever, held as evidence against you — grace would have very little to say. But this is precisely what the gospel claims is different. David didn't say God reviewed his transgressions and filed a lenient verdict. He said God removed them: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" Psalm 103:12. East and west never meet, no matter how far you travel in either direction — it's not a distance you close by trying harder. It's a category of removal, not a review process.

Micah pictures the same thing with an image just as final: God will "cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" Micah 7:19 — not into shallow water where the tide might wash them back up, but into the depths, gone. And Paul draws the conclusion this actually means for you, today, mid-flight: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1. Not "reduced condemnation." None.

Ellen White described this as a record so completely dealt with that it can't even be recalled by the one it belonged to: Their sins have gone beforehand to judgment, and have been blotted out; and they cannot bring them to remembrance — Ellen G. White, *The Great Controversy*, p. 620 Read that last part again: *they cannot bring them to remembrance.* Not "they choose not to dwell on it." The recording itself is gone — not sealed, not merely marked "resolved," but erased in a way that can't be replayed even by the person who most wants to torment themselves with it. That's what it means that the record was nailed to the cross instead of nailed to you.

So if there's an old flight logged somewhere in your memory that you keep pulling up and replaying — a failure Satan loves to queue back for you at 2 a.m. — know what you're actually holding. It isn't the black box God kept. That one was emptied at Calvary. What you're replaying is a copy you made yourself, and grace has already told you that you're free to stop pressing play.

---

Father, thank You that my record isn't filed away as evidence against me — it's been removed, as far as the east is from the west. When I catch myself replaying what You've already blotted out, remind me that recording no longer exists in Your books. Thank You for the freedom of a truly clean record, through Christ crucified. In Jesus' name

.....de-icing

De-Icing

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness — 1 John 1:9

A thin layer of ice on a wing doesn't look like much. It's not a crushed fuselage or a failed engine — just a light, almost invisible film. But that thin film is enough to disrupt the airflow a wing depends on for lift, which is why no aircraft is allowed to leave the gate with it still there. Ground crews spray de-icing fluid before departure even when the ice looks harmless, because in aviation there's no such thing as "a little ice that probably won't matter." It's removed completely, every time, before the plane is cleared to fly.

Sin behaves the same way in a life that's otherwise trying to fly straight. It rarely announces itself as catastrophic. It looks thin — a small compromise, a private thought, a habit that seems too minor to mention. But even a thin coating disrupts the lift a soul needs to stay airborne in fellowship with God. That's why Scripture doesn't treat confession as damage control for the big failures only. John writes it as the ordinary, expected rhythm of walking with God: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9. Not "if we manage to clean ourselves up first" — confess, and He does the removing.

David knew this same need after his own failure went far deeper than a thin film: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" Psalm 51:10. And God's own invitation through Isaiah pictures exactly what de-icing fluid does to a frosted wing: "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" Isaiah 1:18. Not scrubbed to merely acceptable — made white. Made new. Made fit to fly.

Ellen White described this same tenderness in the moment a soul finally admits what's there to be removed: Jesus loves to have us come to Him just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent... It is His glory to encircle us in the arms of His love and to bind up our wounds, to cleanse us from all impurity — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 52

Notice what de-icing is not: it isn't punishment for having ice, and it isn't something you're expected to handle yourself before you're allowed near the pump. The ground crew doesn't wait for the ice to melt on its own, and God doesn't wait for you to arrive already clean. Confession isn't the price of admission — it's simply naming what needs to come off before takeoff, and letting the One who's faithful and just do what only He can do.

So if there's a thin film you've been flying with — something you've told yourself is too small to mention, or too shameful to bring into the light — bring it to the pump today. He's not waiting to see if you can scrape it off yourself. He's already standing there with exactly what you need.

Father, thank You that You don't wait for me to arrive clean before You'll receive me. Search me today and show me what needs to come off before I fly further — even the parts I've told myself were too small to matter. Thank You for being faithful and just to forgive, and for making me new. In Jesus' name

.....voice

 The Voice on the Radio

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. — Isaiah 30:21

In low visibility, a pilot doesn't just fly on instruments alone — she's also listening to a voice she can't see. Air traffic control, watching from a screen the pilot will never lay eyes on, calls out headings, altitudes, and corrections in real time: *turn left heading two-seven-zero, descend and maintain three thousand.* The pilot didn't design that route herself. She listens, and she obeys, because the voice on the radio can see the whole picture — other traffic, weather cells, terrain — in a way the cockpit window simply can't.

This is what it means to be led day to day, not just kept safe in the big picture. Every part of this series so far has been about the flight as a whole — the horizon, the fuel, the destination. But today is about: which way to turn, right now, when you can't see far enough ahead to know for yourself. Isaiah promised Israel exactly this kind of moment-by-moment voice: "thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" Isaiah 30:21. Not a map handed to you once at departure — a voice, active, present tense, correcting you turn by turn.

Jesus told His disciples who that voice would be after He was gone: "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth" John 16:13. And Paul makes it personal, not just theoretical: "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Romans 8:14. The relationship with the Pilot who saved you doesn't go quiet after takeoff. He keeps talking. The question is only whether you keep the radio on.

Ellen White described this same guiding voice as something that cuts straight through the static of everything competing for a soul's attention: "The Spirit of God will be a guide and a shield to those who have not resisted the evidences of truth. He silences every other voice than that which comes from Him who is the truth and the life." — Ellen G. White, *Ye Shall Receive Power*April 24

Every cockpit has more than one channel of noise — other traffic chatter, static, distraction. Flying well isn't about eliminating all sound; it's about staying tuned to the one voice that actually knows the way through. The same is true of a day full of competing voices — your own anxiety, other people's opinions, the enemy's confusion — all crowding the frequency. The Spirit's voice doesn't shout over them. He simply stays clear enough, for the one who keeps listening, to be told: *this is the way, walk in it.*

So today, don't just trust that you're generally headed home. Keep the radio on for the next turn. He's still talking.

---

Father, thank You that You don't just set my course once and go silent. Thank You for the Spirit who speaks, corrects, and guides me turn by turn. Quiet the other voices competing for my attention today, and help me stay tuned to Yours. In Jesus' name,

.....refueling

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. — Lamentations 3:22-23

No aircraft carries a lifetime supply of fuel. Even long-haul planes built to cross oceans still land, refuel, and take off again for the next leg — because yesterday's full tank doesn't fly today's flight. This is such a basic fact of aviation that no pilot resents it. Nobody stands on the tarmac frustrated that they have to refuel *again*. It's simply how flight works: you draw what you need for this leg, and you come back for more before the next one.

Grace works the same way, and it's easy to forget that. We tend to want grace the way we'd want a fuel tank the size of the ocean — filled once, sealed shut, never needing another pass by the pump. But that's not the promise God actually makes. Lamentations puts it with startling honesty: God's compassions are new *every morning* Lamentations 3:22-23 — not stockpiled from last week, not rationed from a reserve you're expected to make last a lifetime on your own strength. Jesus told His disciples plainly where the fuel line actually runs: "I am the vine, ye are the branches... for without me ye can do nothing" John 15:5. Cut from the vine, even the strongest branch is just dead weight with yesterday's fuel already burned off.

This is also why Paul didn't ask God to remove his thorn once and be done with needing anything further. He asked, and the answer he got was present tense, not stockpiled: "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:9. Sufficient — not "was," not "will eventually be." Right now, for this leg of the flight, sufficient.

Ellen White described this same rhythm as the ordinary shape of the Christian life, not a special arrangement for hard seasons only:  "We are to keep close to the Source of our strength day by day." — Ellen G. White, *Our High Calling*, reading for April 29

She doesn't say: fill up once and coast. She says *day by day* — the same unremarkable, repeated action a ground crew performs before every single flight, whether the weather is calm or the forecast is rough. If your gauge is reading low today, that's not a sign grace has run out or forgotten you. It's just the ordinary reading before a scheduled stop at the pump — the same stop that's always been part of the plan, since the day you first believed and were kept by grace through faith in Christ crucified.

So don't try to fly today on a tank you filled last month, or last year, or the day you first gave your heart to Jesus. Pull up to the pump again. He has never once run dry, and He has never once turned a plane away for needing to refuel again.

Father, thank You that Your grace isn't something I stockpile once and ration for the rest of my life. Thank You that Your mercies are new again this morning. Fill what's empty in me today, for today's flight, and remind me tomorrow's supply will be waiting when tomorrow comes. In Jesus' name

.....balance

Weight and Balance

Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith Hebrews 12:1-2

Before any aircraft is cleared for takeoff, someone runs the weight and balance numbers. It isn't optional and it isn't a formality — an overloaded plane, or one loaded unevenly, may not get off the ground at all, and if it does, it won't handle the way it's supposed to. So ground crews weigh the cargo, calculate the fuel, check every hold, and one rule governs all of it: you don't fly with more than you were built to carry.

This is where the whole series has been quietly headed. We've talked about the horizon, the turbulence, the landing, the beacon that never moves. But underneath all of it sits a simpler question: what are you actually carrying onto this flight? Hebrews 12 pictures the Christian life as a race, and its first instruction isn't about running harder — it's about setting weight down before you run at all: laying aside "every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us," then running "looking unto Jesus" Hebrews 12:1-2. Grace was never a heavier bag to carry. It's the ground crew removing the ones you were never meant to lift.

Jesus said it even more directly to a crowd worn out from years of trying to carry their own righteousness: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" Matthew 11:28, 30. He doesn't offer to help you carry it. He offers to take it. Peter tells believers to go further still — not to manage the weight quietly on their own, but to hand it over entirely: "casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" 1 Peter 5:7. That's not resignation. That's a cargo hold being emptied by someone who actually has the authority to unload it.

Ellen White described how carefully God handles what we're asked to bear: "The Lord does not press on anyone burdens too heavy to be borne. He estimates every weight before He allows it to rest upon the hearts of those who are laborers together with Him." — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 100

He isn't careless with your load. He calculated it before you ever boarded, and grace through faith in Christ crucified is what clears you for takeoff carrying only what you were built to carry — not your sin, not your guilt, not the exhausting work of trying to earn what He already paid for at the cross.

So before today's flight, check the manifest. If you're hauling guilt that was already nailed to Calvary, or the old exhausting weight of trying to earn a seat you were already given by grace — set it down at the foot of the cross. That's not extra baggage. That's the ground crew doing exactly what they're there for.

Father, thank You that Jesus doesn't just help me carry what I can't lift — He takes it. Show me today what I'm still hauling that was already dealt with at the cross. Clear me for takeoff carrying only what grace intends for me to carry. In Jesus' name

.....beacon

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

Every instrument in a cockpit needs something outside itself to stay honest. A compass can drift. A gyroscope can slowly wander off true over hours of flight. That's why aviation still relies on fixed ground beacons — stations that broadcast the same unmoving signal every day, from the same coordinates, whether the plane above is on its first flight or its ten-thousandth. Pilots don't invent a new reference point for each trip. They tune back into the same beacon, over and over, because the beacon never moves even when the instruments reading it start to drift.

This is the piece underneath everything we've covered in this series. We've talked about trusting the instruments over our feelings, about turbulence, about being kept safely to landing, about carrying that comfort to others, about the destination waiting at the end. All of it depends on one thing staying fixed: the cross. Paul told the Corinthians he had decided, deliberately, to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified 1 Corinthians 2:2. Not Christ as a general idea. Christ crucified — a specific, fixed, historical point that doesn't shift no matter how the years or our feelings drift around it.

This is also why the whole series has to be repeated, not just remembered. Feelings drift like a gyroscope left uncorrected — a little each day, until a soul that started level is badly off course and never noticed the slow lean. Paul again: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" Galatians 2:20. That's not a one-time coordinate you log and move on from. It's a beacon you tune into daily, because grace through faith was never a transaction completed once and filed away — it's the fixed station every other instrument in the Christian life still has to be checked against Ephesians 2:8-9.

Ellen White described the cross this way — not as old information to be filed, but as a theme too vast to ever finish studying: "The theme of redemption is one that the angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity." — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 88

If eternity itself won't exhaust this beacon, one lifetime certainly won't either — which means returning to it isn't a sign you haven't learned it yet. It's simply how the flight is flown. Every day, tune back to Christ crucified. Every day, let that fixed point correct whatever drifted since yesterday. The instruments only stay trustworthy because the beacon they're calibrated against never moves.

Father, thank You for the fixed, unmoving beacon of the cross. Where my feelings, my confidence, or my sense of standing before You have drifted, correct me today by that same signal — Christ crucified. Let this not be old news I've already logged, but the reference point I return to every day of this flight. In Jesus' name.

.....destination

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ — Philippians 3:20

Every flight has a destination printed on the ticket before the wheels ever leave the ground. Whatever the weather does along the way — however much fog rolls in, however hard the turbulence shakes the cabin — the destination on that ticket doesn't change. The pilot isn't improvising where the plane ends up. She's flying toward a runway that was fixed before departure.

That's the last piece of this series, and it's the one that gives the rest their weight. We've talked about 

• trusting the instruments over our feelings, 
• about turbulence not meaning we're off course, 
• about a Pilot who lands the plane and keeps us the whole way there, 
• about becoming, ourselves, a calm voice for someone else's fear. 

All of it only matters because there's an actual destination. Paul reminds the Philippians of exactly this: our citizenship — our home address, really — is in heaven, and we are waiting for the Lord Jesus to come from there and bring us the rest of the way Philippians 3:20. Jesus said the same thing to His disciples the night before His death: "I go to prepare a place for you... that where I am, there ye may be also" John 14:2-3. The room is being prepared. The ticket is already written in your name.

John gives us a glimpse of what's waiting at that destination: "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying" Revelation 21:4. Ellen White pictured this same arrival with simple, physical clarity "There will be no more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning." — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 676

No funeral trains. Read that slowly if you've stood at one recently. Whatever grief you're carrying right now, whatever loss made this year harder than the last — the destination on your ticket isn't just "somewhere better." It's a specific place where that particular grief has no more entry, ever again.

So when the fog rolls in, when the turbulence hits, when you're comforting someone else through their own hard flight — remember why none of it gets the final word. The plane isn't wandering. It has a destination, fixed before you ever boarded, held by a Savior who is coming to bring you home Himself. Every hard mile of this flight is still a mile closer to a place with no more tears.

Trust the instruments. The runway is real, and you are cleared for the whole way home.

Father, thank You that this flight has a destination, and that You fixed it before I ever had reason to doubt it. When grief or fear tries to convince me the plane is lost, remind me of the home already being prepared for me. Thank You that Jesus Himself is coming to bring me there. In Jesus' name

.....boarding

Boarding Call

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." — 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

We've followed the same flight from fog to turbulence to a safe landing. But land, and something happens that nervous first-time flyers rarely expect: the passenger sitting three rows back, the one who gripped the armrest through every bump, is often the calmest voice for the next anxious flyer she meets. She's not calm because she never felt the fear. She's calm because she's already flown through it once, with someone steady beside her, and she knows the plane makes it down.

That's the last stop in this series, and maybe the most important one. Assurance was never meant to end with you landing safely. It was meant to turn you into someone who can sit beside the next person white-knuckling their armrest and say, honestly, "I know. I've been there. Let me tell you what got me through it."

Paul opens his second letter to the Corinthians with exactly this shape of comfort: God comforts us in our troubles *so that* we can comfort others with the same comfort we received 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Notice the comfort isn't hoarded — it's handed forward. You weren't just kept from falling for your own sake Jude 24; you were kept so you'd have something real to offer the next person who can't find the horizon. Jesus said it plainly to Peter after his own turbulent failure: "When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" Luke 22:32 — not "if you never fail," but *when you've come through it*, go help someone else through theirs.

Ellen White captured this same principle in a short, practical line to believers who felt too weak or discouraged to be of use to anyone: By comforting others, they themselves will be comforted Review and Herald*, January 27, 1903

She wasn't describing a reward system. She was describing how grace actually works in a person — it doesn't sit still. The same comfort that steadied you in the fog and carried you through the turbulence keeps its strength only as you pass it on. Hold it only for yourself and it grows stale; give it away and somehow there's more of it than when you started.

So if you've made it through the fog and the turbulence and the fear of the runway — look around the cabin. Someone near you is still gripping the armrest. You don't need a perfect testimony or a flawless flight record to help them. You just need to say what's true: *I know this feels like it's going down. It isn't. Trust the instruments. I'm still here to prove it.*

Father, thank You for carrying me through the fog, the turbulence, and safely to the ground. Now use what You've taught me to steady someone else. Give me the right words, at the right moment, for whoever is still afraid today. Let the comfort You gave me become comfort I hand forward. In Jesus' name

.....all

And he said, ‘Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: "˜Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's'. 2 Chronicles 20:15

A wide Bible teacher once said, "sooner or later God will bring self-sufficient people to the place where they have no resource but Him - no strength, no answers, nothing but Him. Without God's help, they're sunk."

He then told of a despairing man who confessed to his pastor, "My life is really in bad shape."  "How bad?" the pastor inquired. Burying his head in his hands, the man moaned, "I'll tell you how bad - all I've got left is God."  The pastor's face lit up. "I'm happy to assure you that a person with nothing left but God has more than enough for great victory!"

In 2 Chronicles, the people of Judah were also in trouble. They admitted their lack of power and wisdom to conquer their foes. All they had left was God!  But King Jehoshaphat and the people saw this as a reason for hope, not despair. "Our eyes are upon you," they declared to God 2 Chronicles 20:12. And their hope was not disappointed as He fulfilled His promise: "The battle is not yours, but God's" v. 15.

Are you in a position where all self-sufficiency is gone? As you turn your eyes on the Lord and put your hope in Him, you have God's reassuring promise that you need nothing more.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace.  

"When all you have is God, you have all you need."

- jonie yoder

.....knowing

But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord... Jeremiah 9:24

It's one thing to know about God, but it's quite another to know Him personally.  Let's see how this distinction applies when considering some of God's attributes. The thought that God is present everywhere is staggering. But to be aware of His presence in times of need brings comfort and hope.

The thought that God knows everything is mind-boggling.  But to have the confidence that no detail of our lives escapes His attention is to enjoy a peace that endures through every trial.

The thought that the Lord is all-powerful makes us marvel at His greatness. But to have Him actually work in, through and for us encourages us to rest in His mighty arms.   The thought that God never changes is a reassuring truth.  But to commit ourselves to the care of this never-changing one is to know the stability of His faithfulness.

The thought that God is love is wonderful to contemplate. But to know Him as a living redeemer through personal faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, brings the joy of sins forgiven.  The writer of Psalm 96 knew God, and that relationship was reflected in his words. His heart poured out praise, and he longed for others to know the Lord and worship him as well.  

Knowing about God is fascinating; knowing God personally is life changing.  

Do you know about Him or do you know him personally?

- richard de haan 

.....true

In the last hours of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke with His disciples and gave a command which was considered new: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" John 13:34

Should this command really have been new? Shouldn't the disciples have known they were to love one another? Or is it possible to spend three years with a Master Teacher and yet not understand that learning must translate to action, and that we teach truth by first being an example of truth? If we desire to teach love, we must first be loving; to teach the concept of grace, we must first be gracious; and in order to "make disciples of all nations"  we must begin by first being a true disciple!

Our spiritual growth must never be measured by how much we know, but by how much we are transformed - by how much the Word penetrates to the innermost part of our heart. We have all been blessed by God's love far more than we deserve. We must now better understand this love and then learn how to become His expression of love to others.

The ultimate expression of love was that God gave His Son to an undeserving world so "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is a love we will never fully understand.

Let's pray for a greater understanding of His love and then return His love through a devoted life of worship. Let's make His love real by demonstrating love to those He places in our path. Let's begin to grasp, and then give back and share, the true love of Christ.

.....peace

But the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy James 3:17

The heart of Jesus was pure. The Savior was adored by thousands, yet content to live a simple life. He was cared for by women Luke 8:1-3, yet never accused of lustful thoughts; scorned by his own creation, but willing to forgive them before they even requested his mercy. Peter, who traveled with Jesus for three and a half years, described him as a "lamb, unblemished and spotless" 1 Pet. 1:19

After spending the same amount of time with Jesus, John concluded, 'And in him is no sin" 1 John 3:5

Jesus' heart was peaceful. The disciples fretted over the need to feed the thousands, but not Jesus. He thanked God for the problem. The disciples shouted for fear in the storm, but not Jesus. He slept through it. Peter drew his sword to fight the soldiers, but not Jesus. He lifted his hand to heal. His heart was at peace.

Be at peace in your heart today.  

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

- david langerfeld

.....hill

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might, He increases strength. Isaiah 40:29

Researchers at the University of Virginia have found that most people perceive a hill to be steeper than it really is, especially if they're tired or carrying a heavy load. When asked to estimate the slope of a hill. test participants consistently misjudged it, thinking a ten-degree slant was about thirty degrees, and rating a five-degree slope as nearly twenty degrees. Hardly any of them believed they could be that far off.

When we're burdened and exhausted, even a minor problem can seem too big for us to handle. As we encounter we're tempted to sit down at the base of that difficult hill and stay there, convinced that the grade is too steep for us.

That is why we need the encouragement of God's Word. It draws our attention to our untiring God, who knows our need. Isaiah wrote, "The Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength" Isaiah 40:28-19

Because we so easily misjudge life's difficulties, we need courage to keep going when we are tempted to quit. Take a step of faith today and join those who depend on the Lord, who run and are not weary, who walk and do not faint. (v. 31) In His strength. you can conquer any difficult hill. 

Remember, God always gives us enough strength for the next hill.

- david langerfeld

.....arms

Recently, some days have been "toughies", but I keep thinking about something I saw the other day.   I had to go to a store way on the other side of town, and I was in a hurry to get back home to make sure my mom was okay.  It seemed like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Taking care of her is my honor and joy, but some days are just harder than others.  Then I saw something that changed everything.

I had to stop for a school bus to let the children off. A little boy, about 5 years old, needed to cross the road in front of me and his little back-pack was so heavy it was sliding off his shoulder. He was groaning and struggling a lot. But there to meet him, on the sidewalk... kneeling down with arms outstretched, was his dad.

All of a sudden, the child shouldered his burden and ran to his father with the most joyful expression and not a care in the world. His dad lifted him up and swung him around and back to the ground. They ran to their front door, hand in hand, sharing the heavy load. 

It made me think how God is like that. Just when we can't take much more stress or bear another burden, He opens his arms and takes us in and lets us know that our burdens are shared. 

- ginger nielson

.....error

Many years ago a senior executive of the then Standard Oil Company made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. John D. Rockefeller was then running the company. On the day the news leaked out, most of the executives of the company were finding various ingenious ways of avoiding Rockefeller, lest his wrath descend on their heads. 

There was one exception, however; he was Edward T. Bedford, a partner in the company. Bedford was scheduled to see Rockefeller that day, and he kept the appointment, even though he was prepared to listen to a long harangue against the man who made the error in judgment. 

When Bedford entered the office, the powerful head of the gigantic Standard Oil empire was bent over his desk busily writing with a pencil on a pad of paper. Bedford stood silently, not wishing to interrupt. After a few minutes Rockefeller looked up. 

"Oh, it's you, Bedford," he said calmly. "I suppose you have heard about our loss?' Bedford said that he had. "I've been thinking it over," Rockefeller said, "and before I ask the man to discuss the matter, I've been making some notes."  

 

"Across the top of the page was written, 'Points in favor of Mr. Bedford.' There followed a long list of the man's virtues, including a brief description of how he had helped the company make the right decision on three separate occasions that had earned many times the cost of his recent error. 

I never forgot that lesson. In later years, whenever I was tempted to rip into anyone, I forced myself first to sit down and thoughtfully compile as long a list of good points as I possibly could. Invariably, by the time I finished my inventory, I would see the matter in its true perspective and keeping my temper under control. There is no telling how many times this habit has prevented me from committing one of the costliest mistakes any executive can make -- losing his temper.

I commend to it anyone who must deal with people. "Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love." Ephesians 4:2

"Lord, you guard and protect us from all evil. Help me to stand firm in your word and to trust in your help in all circumstances. May I always find rest and refuge in the shelter of your presence." 

- david langerfeld

.....cast

The disciples walked and talked with Jesus, but they still faced many challenges with faith and obedience. One morning after fishing all night without a catch, Jesus called from the shore. "He said, 'Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.' When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish."John 21:6

The disciples were successful that morning, the large number of fish did not define their success. They would have been successful even if the net remained empty. The disciples were successful the moment they were obedient and cast the net on the right side of the boat, the moment they walked in step - walked in relationship - with Jesus.

In any task we undertake for God, it's easy to become discouraged by our apparent lack of success. We often feel inadequate, and those feelings increase when our goals seem to be elusive. But we must remember that the outcome of the task is minor compared to our obediently walking by His side. 

We have no ability to determine how our efforts fit into God's plan. God doesn't need our fish! He can accomplish His plan with the rocks if He chooses, but He desires our willful obedience and loving trust, though He knows our obedience will never be perfect and our trust will never be complete. 

Our Father desires a people who will bring Him glory as they love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Let's take our eyes off the accomplishment of the "catch" and what we can produce. Rather, let's focus on walking each step according to His leading. Let's love Him with an uncluttered heart and concentrate all our effort on obeying His call to cast out the net.

.....do

 "But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like." James 1:22-24

A man walking into church late one day asked one of the ushers, "Is the sermon done yet?" The usher replied, "The sermon has been preached, but it has yet to be done." What a great answer this was! The Word of God is not meant only to be preached to us Saturday after Saturday It is meant to be done by living it out daily. Once we hear the Word of God, we are responsible for doing what God is asking us to do. 

I often encounter fellow believers who spend countless hours listening to sermons and audible Bibles because they want to know more. They criticize others who are not spending every minute learning from God's Word, and find it easy to base a person's faith, and salvation for that matter, on how much they "know" from the Bible.

While it is extremely important to read and mediate on God's Word to grow in faith and go deeper in our relationship with Christ, that is only the first part of what we are supposed to do. Today's scripture says it clearly, "Don't just listen to God's Word. You MUST DO what it says." You can have hundreds of verses memorized, but if you can't love your neighbor, then it means nothing.  You can listen to sermons all day long, but if your heart is full of pride, your ministry to others will be limited because you are not able to practice all you have heard. 

You don't have to be a Bible scholar to be used by God. He is looking for people who are willing to surrender themselves and submit to His will. He is looking for hearts full of humility, mercy, and love. He is looking for people who want to be used, not because of what they know, but because of what God can do through them. 

If you know one verse, great! Put it to practice and move on to the next verse. If you know every parable in the Bible by heart, that's awesome! Go and do like Jesus did. Our success in God's work is not determined by our human knowledge, but rather by our ability to listen and do. Obedience to God will open the doors for unimaginable opportunities. 

 - david langerfeld

.....red

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Revelation 12:3

One of the many delightful friendships God gave me in my ministry was a church member named John White. John was in IT sales, and was very good at what he did. But his greatest heart was for worship. When God called our church to begin contemporary worship, He called John to be the worship coordinator. 

All the years we worked together I tried to get John to accept a stipend from the church for his work, but he refused. He volunteered fifteen to twenty hours every week, coordinating every aspect of the contemporary service... and God blessed his ministry beyond words. Lost people came to the service off the street, and came to faith in Christ. Marriages on the road to divorce were redeemed. Drug addicts were healed. God moved in mighty power. Worship was led by the Holy Spirit. And all of us were transformed by his love and grace. 

Each week, John led the worship team in prayer before the service began. And nearly every week he included in his prayer the phrase, "Lord, please paint the dragon red."  I'd never heard it before, but I have used it many times since. It means, "Lord, please show us where the enemy is at work. Show us what he is up to. And give us your wisdom and power to stand against him in your name." God honored that prayer. He still does. 

Know this fact: the dragon is indeed red. Blood stained. Malicious malignant. Here's the good news: the help you need is as near as a prayer! 

- james c. denison

.....will

We are reminded that God is the Creator, we are the clay being molded by the loving hands of the Potter; "We are all the work of Your hand" Isaiah 64:8. Our Father is shaping us into the likeness of His Son

Our transformation begins the moment we believe in Jesus, and we learn that our Salvation is never earned by "doing" anything; "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith" Ephesians 2:8. We also learn that eternal life is for those who do God's will; following Him as a part of the Christian walk. We cannot truly accept Jesus as Savior without also beginning a journey of trust while walking in His steps. Faith means trusting Him enough to follow!

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever 1 John 2:17 There is no Salvation without a willful transfer of ownership, and we need to face this truth that this means a transfer of control.

Giving up control is never easy. It can be extra scary to face the unknown from the passenger seat, and it can be an offense to our pride to allow someone else (even God!) to take the lead. The roots of "self" go very deep! But as we learn to completely trust, God brings us to that wonderful place of peace. Though sometimes challenging, there is great joy in a complete surrender to the will of our Heavenly Father.

As we give Him control over every area of our life, He will show us how to use ALL for His glory; "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" Ephesians 2:10. He will give us the tools to accomplish His will and, in the process, meet every need and fulfill our deepest desires.

He is the Potter and we are the clay. He is the Creator and we are "the created." 

But we have been created with an awesome purpose. We have been given gifts, talents, and abilities, which when given back to God are used to bring Him glory and honor. This IS our purpose! We have been created to glorify His Name as we love Him and trust Him with all our heart. 

Let's bring Him glory and honor as we walk in the understanding that we have been created to do His will.