Crosswalk.com--The Devotional

[Judy Harder]

You Can Do This
By Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. – Luke 6:30

Every other day, just after finishing with work, I head to the gym and spend some time exercising. I like to work out. It's a great way to stay healthy and burn off stress at the same time.

My routine is pretty simple. I start by running on a treadmill, then I wander around the free-weight section for a variety of exercises. Finally, I try to finish off by swimming a few laps in the pool. When it's over I always feel tired and sore, but good that I completed such a full workout.

One day, I was invited to work out with a friend of mine. As we made our way around the weight room, my friend stopped at the bench press and placed two huge weights on the side of the bar. Immediately, I became nervous. I had done the bench press before, but never with that much weight. I wasn't sure I'd be able to lift it. Pride got the better of me though. Instead of saying something, I just braced myself and lifted the bar with all my strength.         

To my surprise, it wasn't that heavy. Sure, it took more effort than usual, but I realized my continuous workouts  had made me a lot stronger. I had underestimated my own strength. 

I think Christians can sometime have the same problem when it comes to their faith. We keep telling ourselves we are not ready, that we need just a little more time to prepare ourselves. We underestimate our ability to be of service to God. Take a moment to read this excerpt from the book of Acts.

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. – Acts 18: 1-3   

Acts continues to explain that while Paul ministered in Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla opened their home, helped with his teaching, and even followed him on some of his travels. Now read the verse again. Aquila and Pricilla weren't anything special, they were tent makers. If anyone had an excuse to think they weren't ready for ministry, it was them. Instead, they gave what they had while serving where they could and God did amazing things through them.

So, instead of wondering if you ready to serve, ask yourself what could you do to serve?

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Take a moment to review your strengths. How can these be used to serve God?

Further Reading


Proverbs 21:26

[Judy Harder]

I'm Ready for My Close-Up
by Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24, NIV 

"I'm ready for my close-up."

How often have you heard people repeat this phrase from the 1950 American film noir, Sunset Boulevard?  It's usually said in jest, but it refers to the storyline's aging silent-movie star, Norma Desmond, who says it as she is trying to make a comeback to the big screen. 

No doubt she spent some time in front of a magnifying mirror so that she would look just right and perhaps cover up a wrinkle or two before the cameras came in too close.  And if you're a woman, then you can certainly identify. 

We of the female species want to look good, and we sometimes need a magnifying mirror to help us out a little.  Either you've got to see up close to pluck your eyebrows or perhaps you need some sort of triple magnification to make sure you don't poke the mascara wand in your eye.  And if you're a man, well, I don't know why you would need one.  So that's between you and your mirror. 

For us ladies, however, a magnifying mirror can be a blessing and a curse.  It's blessing in that it helps you to see what you can't see normally with the naked eye.  But the mirror is also somewhat of a curse in that you may not like what you see or you might see something you don't want to see—as in wrinkles, blemishes, or random hairs.  When that happens, well you just hope to goodness that no one else has seen what it's taken a magnifying mirror to point out to you!

As believers, we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) under a most divine magnifying mirror—whether we realize that or not.  David refers to God's continual examination of our lives in Psalm 139:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me ... Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence? ... For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb ...All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be ... Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Who of us in our sinful states welcomes this kind of scrutiny?  Who of us wants someone to get that close to us, to see every single thought and motive and the ugly pride and selfishness that we try to keep covered up in our lives?

Now, reread all of Psalm 139 and think about this type of close examination once more.  How do you see it now?

This is really a love letter, my friend.  David understood and got how much God truly loves us—no matter what.  He is the one who created our "inmost being" and saw our "unformed body" when it was woven together.  He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.  He knows us better than we know ourselves!

David welcomed his close-up with his heavenly Father, and he responded to God's unchanging, unconditional, unmerited love.  So why do I fear letting God examine me?  Why do you?

If we truly want to be obedient to our Master and our King, then we will always be ready for our close-ups and will want him to see into every area of our lives as we seek to live for him. 

In grateful response, may we all aim to magnify the Lord today and let our lives reflect his glory.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

What are you afraid of letting God see in your life?  Do you know that he already knows about whatever it is you're trying to keep from him?  Be like David and praise the Lord for knowing you better than anyone else ("such knowledge is too wonderful for me") and ask him to "lead you in the way everlasting."

Further Reading:

Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV
Jeremiah 17:10, NIV

[Judy Harder]

The Truest Friend
By Anna Kuta
News and Culture Editor at Crosswalk.com

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).

Recently, one of my good friends did something that betrayed my trust. I'm not going to lie, her action and the fact that she knowingly chose to do it was pretty hurtful. I asked the Lord to help me show grace to her and be a good friend myself, and after a few weeks of a lot of prayers and struggles, I was able to reach a point of forgiving her. But because of the details of the whole situation, I don't know at this point if our friendship can ever be quite the same, and that's something that makes me really sad.

When it comes down to it, one of our strongest human desires is to have deep, lasting relationships with others. But we are sinful human beings, and even those closest to us will at some point do something that hurts us or lets us down.

There is one friend, though, who's the best friend we could ever have – a friend who gave His life so we could be saved from our sin.

I'll admit, the concept of Jesus as a friend used to seem pretty weird to me. But Jesus said to his disciples in John 15:14 that we are His friends if we do what He commands – and He will never leave or forsake His friends. Even if all your earthly friends desert you, Jesus will remain. He can be trusted 100 percent of the time, and He wants nothing more than for you to pursue an intimate relationship with Him. God created humans to enjoy fellowship with Him, and through Jesus we are able to do so.

Jesus is the perfect model of what friendship should be for all of us. Let us strive to follow His example, yet realize that while our friendships with others on this earth can add incredible joy to our lives, the only thing that can truly satisfy our hearts' relational desires and ultimately fulfill us is knowing Jesus and following Him.

Intersecting Faith & Life

Ask the Lord to help you realize that He is the greatest friend you could ever have. Ask Him for the desire to seek Him more. Pray that you can strive to follow Jesus' example of friendship in your relationships with others.

Further Reading

John 15:14-15

Proverbs 17:17

[Judy Harder]

Live Like You Were Dating
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

Let marriage be held in honor among all..."
Hebrews 13:4

I heard the Tim McGraw song Live Like You Were Dying in the most unusual of places the other day - my head as I slept. Normally that's a huge annoyance, a song looping through my brain while I toss and turn. This time, however, I think I was so relieved it wasn't something by The Wiggles or VeggieTales that I went along for the ride.

Only thing is, I began to dream along with the music. As weird as that sounds, the dream varied just a bit from the theme of the song, which is: in order to make sure we don't take life for granted, we should check off that list of things we've always wanted to do, and do not go gently into that good night, but rather sit on top of angry bulls. Or something like that. Basically, you should act like you don't have much time left, because really you don't.

But the montage that played upon my closed eyelids wasn't about me, important moments, my death, or things I want to accomplish. Instead, I was treated to a slide show of moments from my courtship with Valerie (1995-1998). What fun life was then! The things we did, the places we went, the way we treasured each other and every moment together...

I awoke in a very good mood, even if I was confused about the connection between the song and the dream. On my drive to work some of the words from the song slapped me upside the head:

"... and I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying..."

Ah, I see... that sentence sounded a lot like the guy I was when I was putting the moves on the tall, big-eyed, opinionated babe who liked my jokes. It did not sound so much like the ten-year married version of myself, who has been going through the motions.

Still I wondered: how can I live like I did then, when I have none of the freedoms afforded me during those years? Unless I'm mistaken, the very word "dating" implies occasionally going on a date...

I interrupt this devotional because at this point Valerie calls me from her cell phone saying she can't get the car to start. The ignition won't turn because the steering wheel is also locked, and she can't jiggle the keys or wheel enough to get either to turn. She's embarrassed, and I can hear her banging and straining away on the dashboard components. She thinks she's gonna be stuck in someone's driveway all day. I suggest looking in the owner's manual to see if there are suggestions. There aren't. We decide she'll have to call a Toyota dealer or Triple-A because I'm too far away to help. 10 minutes later I check in on her because I read online that she might want to use the parking break from now on to prevent this from happening again. Turns out that wasn't the problem. It was that she was trying to start her Camry with the key to my Corolla...

And so it occurs to me - not only can I count on my wife to spice up our life with a good laugh once in a while, but maybe our dating engine simply has to be redefined. It still exists, but it's not going to be started with the same set of keys that got it running 10 years ago. That doesn't mean it's not a reliable vehicle for shuttling us to all of life's events in a manner befitting our faith. If I could find a way to regularly appear as outwardly joyful as I inwardly feel whenever I reflect on how blessed I am to have such a mate, I'd go a long way towards helping fulfill the purpose for this marriage, which Valerie and I long ago decided was to be better for the Lord than we are apart. That felt easier when we were dating. So with a cue from Tim McGraw, here are some ideas...

Loving Deeper
"Love does not seek its own..." (1 Corinthians 13:5)

In Colossians 3:18-19, and again in Ephesians 5:24-25, we are quite simply told by Paul how this marriage thing is going to work. Unfortunately, I've heard the first half of those verse pairings - the "women submit" part - quoted and exercised far more often than the equally important "husbands love" portion. Remember how much easier those commands seemed back then? This was the most wonderful person in the world. They communicated well, never sought their own way; it would be so easy to submit to or actively display love for them. Then time, comfort, bad habits, and the daily grind got a hold of you both. Satan tossed clutter everywhere. Threw in some doubt. Sprayed super-green paint on your neighbor's lawn and spouse. Marriage, it turned out, was complicated. I'll be the first to attest to that, although the Bible doesn't really think it's so complex if you go by the fact that it's not dripping with verses on how to navigate the maze. You leave, you cleave, then you love/submit. Those simple instructions don't seem to get us very far down the path. In fact, they seem to take us happily up to the vows and leave us there. Perhaps that's the point. Perhaps there is no "trick" to loving deeper, you just need to get in touch with what it is you fell in love with this person for in the first place, and act on it, since it's not a feeling anyway.

Speaking Sweeter
"If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal..." (1 Corinthians 13:1)

This is where I have a problem, being gruff by nature. I'm pleasant enough to co-workers and strangers. I've even earned the nickname "Small-Talk" from one of my buddies, but for some reason, those I love the most are sometimes blessed with a symphony of grunts, groans, and snippy comments. Not only is that gruff nature part of the "former self," but I recall that it did not dare rear its head during our dating days. That's not just because I was trying to sell this woman on my finer qualities, but because I truly felt the love and respect for her that I was dishing out. I therefore gave no place to impatient or intellectually-superior speech. In the words of James, there were, when I was dating Valerie, precious few times when the same fountain sent out both fresh and bitter water. But gradually, as I failed to guard my tongue, I lazily allowed that small amount of bitterness to befoul the whole cistern. I don't want to give the impression that I stalk the grounds of my house grumpy and cursing when I'm actually a pretty decent husband and father, but this is where I need the most improvement in my relationships, and I know it. Harkening back to the days when I wrote poetry, quoted scripture, wooed from afar, and encouraged about the future has helped me to remember the importance of bridling my tongue. James says horses and great ships are steered by very small bits and rudders. Likewise, the direction of my marriage may be steered by brushing up on the language I spoke when dating.

Giving Forgiveness
"Love does not take into account a wrong suffered..." (1 Corinthians 13:5)

Do you often hear people saying, "I'll forgive, but I won't forget"? It's an especially popular thing to say with the camera in one's face on a reality TV program. Thank goodness that's not how the Lord defines forgiveness. He instead wipes out our transgressions, turns crimson to snow white (Isaiah 1:18), and divides us from sin as far as East is from West (Psalm 103:12). Which way is your marriage M.O. regarding wrongs done to you? Do you refuse to go to bed angry, do you grant mercy every morning, or do you have a little file drawer in the back of your brain that lists All the Stupid & Hurtful Things He's/She's Done to Me? Once again, think back to your courtship, and ask yourself how many little foibles, faux paus, and thoughtless words you let slide with little more than a tiny reprimand just because you were so in love.

We all get caught in those lulls in marriage where the wind isn't blowing, the air gets stale, and nothing new happens. And it's admittedly a tad trite to think living out some song lyrics is going to lift the doldrums, but it's worth a try. After all, one thing all married folks have in common is fond memories of meeting and dating our spouse; otherwise, hopefully, we never would have bound our lives to theirs. Looking back is a good way to appreciate all those things that led to the commitment.

Intersecting Faith & Life: If you've been married a while, try living like you were dating, even if actual dates are few and far between, and see if remembering your first love doesn't translate to renewing your first love.

Further Reading

Communication in Marriage

[Judy Harder]

A Stubborn Intolerance for Joyless Christianity
Alex Crain, Editor, Christianity.com

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation."
Habakkuk 3:17-18

Should one's relationship with the infinite and personal living God be joyless? Francis Schaeffer didn't think so. Yet there he was, a joyless man. Technically, he was theologically sound, but there was no denying that he had become a completely joyless Christian man. If that had continued, no one would be speaking of Schaeffer or his writings, or his legacy today. Thankfully, he was stubbornly intolerant of joyless Christianity. 

In True Spirituality, Schaeffer tells how the spiritual reality, which would become the hallmark of his life, came about only after a time of great personal crisis. It was 1952. Schaeffer had become a Christian from agnosticism years before. After that, he had been a pastor for ten years in the U.S. and was now a missionary in Switzerland living with his wife and young children. Over a period lasting several months, Francis worked through the disturbing gap that he saw between the large amount of Bible data he claimed to believe and the lack of genuine spiritual joy in his life. 

One significant and challenging question that caused Francis to ponder long and hard is recounted by his wife, Edith, in her book, The Tapestry, p. 356 ff.)... 

"I wonder what would happen to most of our churches and Christian work if we woke up tomorrow morning and everything concerning the reality and work of the Holy Spirit, and everything concerning prayer were removed from the Bible? I don't mean just ignored, but actually cut out—disappeared. I wonder how much difference it would make?"   

Apparently during that period, it was making no difference in Schaeffer's life. His doubts had cut the nerve of faith. And over those months as he walked in the mountains, Francis re-thought the doctrines of the Bible, the reality of the Holy Spirit, and each of his reasons for being a Christian.   

At last, he declared...

"Gradually the sun came out and the song came... I saw again that there were totally sufficient reasons to know that the infinite-personal God does exist and that Christianity is true.

"In going further, I saw something else which made a profound difference in my life. I searched through what the Bible said concerning reality as a Christian. Gradually, I saw that the problem was that with all the teaching I had received after I was a Christian, I had heard little about what the Bible says about the meaning of the finished work of Christ for our present lives. 

"Interestingly enough, although I had written no poetry for many years, in that time of joy and song I found poetry beginning to flow again—poetry of certainty, an affirmation of life, thanksgiving, and praise. Admittedly, as poetry it is very poor, but it expressed a song in my heart which was wonderful to me."

          (from True Spirituality, p. 196 in The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, vol. 3 © 1982 Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois).

That time of crisis—and more importantly, his rediscovery of the meaning of the finished work of Christ for his present life—settled the crucial issue of spiritual reality for Schaeffer. Francis saw and believed that the finished work of Christ really is the source of the Christian's life. Rather than pursue the trappings of Christian leadership while personally being a joyless Christian, he determined to wait for a greater reality of knowing God. With such a solid spiritual basis for his own life, he went on to become a great source of help for countless others.

Intersecting Faith and Life: 
Are you stubbornly intolerant of joyless Christianity in your own life?

What would happen if you woke up tomorrow morning and everything concerning the reality and work of the Holy Spirit, and everything concerning prayer were removed from the Bible? Not just ignored, but actually cut out... How much difference it would make in the way that you live?

How can you grow to become a greater source of spiritual help for others?

Further Reading:
John 6:68
Ephesians 4:17-24
Ephesians 5:18-21

[Judy Harder]

Bread and Stones
by Ryan Duncan, Editor at TheFish.com

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." – John 16:33

I have always had trouble with the following verses in Matthew 7,

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"- Matthew 7:7-11

I first heard this verse when I was a little kid, and like most children, I tried to take full advantage of it. I prayed for toys, for snow days in winter, or that I'd get to watch an extra hour of TV that day. As you might expect, these prayers didn't always get positive results. As I got older, my prayers became a little more mature, only they still didn't always get answered. These weren't selfish prayers either.

I would pray that my friend's dad would find a job, or that sick members of our congregation would be healed. So why did my prayers go unanswered? Some groups would say that if you just have enough faith God will make your life perfect, and nothing bad will ever happen to you again. Well, if you look at the lives of the apostles, you'll see that philosophy doesn't hold water. They were Jesus first disciples, and they spent their lives in prison, beaten by mobs, or facing execution under the Roman Empire.

So what does this mean for us? I think it means we live in a world full of Sin, and bad things are going to happen. It means that sometimes when God answers our prayers, what is needed turns out to be much different than what we wanted. Maybe you prayed that someone would find a job, but instead God asks you to be a friend in a tough time. Maybe you asked for an opportunity to serve abroad, but instead God tells you to serve the people next door. Sometimes we pray for healing, but what God gives us is a shoulder to cry on.

Life will always be hard. At times, we will be tempted to believe that God either doesn't exist or doesn't care. But though our ability to understand God's purposes is limited, we can take comfort in the knowledge that his love is limitless. God never abandon us, he is there for us in our times of joy and to help us in our times of pain, if we only let him.

Intersecting Faith and Life

Are there unanswered prayers weighing on your heart? Take a moment to reflect on Christ and know that he loves you.

Further Reading

Psalm 23     

[Judy Harder]

If You Can't Take the Heat . . .
by Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
Daniel 3:24-25, NIV

In the past few years, I feel like I've really come into my own as an at-home cook. In fact, I've proved to myself that I can take the heat and stay in the kitchen!

But, as those of us culinary rangers know, getting your sauté on doesn't come without a price: a little pain.

Recently, I remember the timer going off and needing to take something out of a hot oven when it was finished baking. So I got my two handy-dandy potholders and proceeded to pull out the top rack from the oven. But no sooner did I touch the rack than did searing pain shoot through my finger. For the love!!!

I looked down and saw that a small hole had worn through the potholder—exactly in the spot where my finger was gripping onto the hot rack. For days afterward I had a throbbing sensation. My finger was hot, and it blistered. I didn't forget that experience, and every time I've reached for the oven rack since then, I always always double-check my potholder.

I guess life is a lot like these kitchen adventures as well. Some days everything just comes together: a little of this, a dash of that and voila! Everything has turned out just tasty and great. More please!

Then there are the days when you feel the heat and get burned. You have the best of intentions and feel like you're trusting God and obeying his instructions for holy living. But then you try this or reach for that, and BAM. You find yourself in the fire. It's hot. It hurts. And you're pretty sure you don't see Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego walking around with you, let alone the comforting presence of the Most High God in your midst.

I went through a particular painful trial like this recently, and I instinctively looked around and wondered where God was in all of it. Why was he letting this happen? Didn't he know? Didn't he care? Couldn't he see how hard it was and how deeply wounded I now was as a result?

A few days later, thankfully, God gave me some much-needed perspective. From his Word (1 Peter 4:12-13, NIV), and also amazingly from someone I was interviewing for an article who wasn't even talking about anything spiritual whatsoever, he spoke to me:

I am here. I see your pain. I know what you're going through. When you are weak, I am strong. I will make something good out of all of this. You will learn and grow from this experience as you are being refined and becoming more and more like me.

I wept when I realized what God was saying to me. He wasn't far away at all. I was the one who had shriveled up into a little ball and blocked out his Truth from my ears with my tears. And when I looked up, the Father was there with arms open wide, ready to lift my head, comfort my heart and give me peace.

While I still have an emotional scar from the heat of that trial, I also have the healing joy that results in growing closer to the Lord. And I'm pretty sure no baked goods' comforting aroma will ever be able to compare. 

Intersecting Faith & Life: When your life "heats up," what do you do? Where do you turn? How do you cope? Think about the fiery trials you've experienced lately. How did you respond? Now, ask God to help you see him there—and how he is working in you—in their midst.

Further Reading:

Isa. 53:5
2 Cor. 4:8
James 1:2

"Beautiful"
Words & Music: MercyMe

You're beautiful; You're beautiful
You were made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful, you're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are his

[Judy Harder]

Potholes
Anna Kuta, Crosswalk.com Editor

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5b

I was driving home late the other night, rolling down the winding, two-lane country road I've been down so many thousands of times I could probably drive it in my sleep. I had the radio turned up and one hand on the wheel, and then — CLUNK! Before I knew what was happening, my front right tire thudded through a gigantic pothole that came out of nowhere. The whole car jolted and I just knew a noise like that had to have done some damage.

"Oh, please don't let me have a flat tire," I said out loud. Cringing, I pulled over at the next road and worked up the courage to get out and look ... and to my surprise, my tire was still intact. I stared at it for a few minutes, waiting until I was sufficiently assured that it wasn't going to deflate in front of my eyes, and then I breathed a sigh of relief and continued my drive, albeit a good bit slower and more cautious this time.

Isn't life just like that? You're going along smoothly, and all of a sudden something turns your world upside down. A loved one gets a cancer diagnosis. You lose your job. Your best friend moves halfway across the country. Someone dies too young. You're making your way down the road just fine and then you crash into a pothole that almost derails you. We all know the feeling all too well.

I was having one of those weeks where every single thing seemed to be going wrong, and then I heard a sermon illustration that stuck with me. It was the story of a gravel lane leading to a farm and a huge pothole that appeared after a rainstorm. Before anyone had a chance to fill it in, though, a bird laid her eggs in the pothole. She hatched her chicks there and stayed with them until they left the nest. All the locals warned their families and friends to avoid the pothole, and everyone drove slowly by to see for themselves the little birds thriving in a place that no one would expect.

How often do we look at the potholes in our lives and curse them? Yet, from a rocky, ugly place, little birds sang and took flight.

God did not promise that our Christian walk would be easy, but he did promise he would never leave us. His presence, His love and His peace are the only things that can fill in the holes in our lives. He smoothes out the roughest of roads with His strength and comfort. And above all, He grants us grace sufficient to make it through whatever may come. The Lord will never leave our side.

If not for the pothole on that gravel farm lane, the travelers would never have been able to witness a small miracle taking place there. If not for the pothole on my drive home the other night, I probably wouldn't have slowed down and I might have had an even worse encounter around the next bend – with a herd of deer in the middle of the road.

In the midst of a week where I thought my world might crash down, I cried out to God to help me through, and it was only when I had nothing left to rely on but Him that I felt His presence more clearly than I had in a long time – and it was exactly what my heart had been yearning for. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you," as James 4:8 says. Only God can fill our potholes, and he fills them with Himself. May we never miss the little blessings hidden along a bumpy road.

Intersecting Faith and Life

When you hit a pothole, pray for God to give you strength and remind you of His presence. Seek a closer relationship with Him and remember that He is your refuge and strength.

Further Reading

Deuteronomy 31:5-6

Psalm 46:1

Psalm 55:22

Psalm 73:23-24

Isaiah 43:2

[Judy Harder]

The Dip Swimmer
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 
James 4:4-6

August is often monsoon time in Tucson, Arizona. The rains can come quickly, bringing flooding to dry ground not primed to soak them up. He always looked forward to that time of year, to the brief respites from the scorching zephyrs. But not this year. This year was his "nowhere year," the one between high school and college, the one where he lost sense of self, God, and purpose. Most of his friends had gone to school or summer projects. He himself would finally do so in just a few weeks. There was excitement in that knowledge, but also much apprehension. All he had known was Tucson. All he had was there. His best friend and his girlfriend and his family -- he'd be leaving them behind.

The leaving was becoming even more difficult because there were rifts growing. His girlfriend had requested a break because, among other things, he had begun to put on weight. Things weren't good between them. In fact, things weren't good anywhere. This was supposed to be one of the best times of his life, but all he felt was lost, left out, and lethargic. The weather wasn't helping. Neither was the fact that his Triumph TR6 convertible, the one he had received from his dad, the original owner, had finally died. He'd gone from driving that prime machine to a hand-me-up, dented Volkswagen Dasher from, insult of insults, his younger sister. His parents had opted to provide her a more reliable vehicle, a shinier, newer, cuter Honda Civic. It took him a long time, sad to say, to get over that.

On this night, he was also house-sitting for a friend of his mother's. It was a depressing apartment, containing two very depressing dogs. One was very old and mostly blind, and would spend each night spookily wandering from room to room. He would wake up and see it stalking the halls as if in trance. Freaky. The other one was a three-legged little mutt who was so scared of him that the very reason he was housesitting became obsolete! Every gentle attempt to let the dog out created so much fear in the animal that it would do its business in the process of running out the door, meaning he not only had clean-up duty, but still had to convince the frightened critter to come back inside!

So basically, he was bummed. Bummed and lonely. And the last thing on his mind was the Lord, even though he'd known Him for 10 years. He knew he had to get out of there and gain some perspective. Maybe Jay was around. His house wasn't too far away from Dog Central. He decided to try his luck in the monsoon.

As soon as he got to the Dasher, he should have known it was a bad idea. He'd left his windows down. He sat down anyway, right in the puddle of rain and dog hair and his sister's ancient cigarette ashes. At least the car started. He pulled it out onto Alvernon Road, and headed south toward Grant.

Grant Road, when he got there, no longer looked like a street. It was a rivulet. I don't know why, but he pulled out into it. For a while, the old wheezy car made its way slowly through the water. But eventually, it could go no more. He'd killed it. He stepped out into knee-deep water and looked to the heavens. A couple guys who were standing uphill in a shopping center watching the action helped him push the Dasher out of the street and up into the lot. Suddenly he heard shouts of joy and glee. He turned his head in time to see two kids in an inflatable raft cruise down a side street and out onto Grant, laughing all the way. Nice. Did anyone else want to mock him?

Well, what next? He had no cash, no coins. No cell phones in 1989. No ATM nearby.

There was only one thing to do: walk the rest of the way to Jay's house. Why not? He couldn't suffer much more, could he? It was a good 25 blocks. He'd gone about 24 of those in the rain when it was finally starting to let up. But through the parting drops he saw that he made yet another error in judgment. Rather than staying on the main road, where there was a bridge that crossed over a wash, he had taken a side street that dipped right down into it. It was going to mean another half hour if he backtracked, so he made his umpteenth stupid decision of the night. He tied his shoes around his neck, waded into the dip... and swam to the other side (kids, don't try this at home. He got lucky the current wasn't strong).

Emerging, he imagined himself as the creature from the black lagoon. Only several more houses to go. He knocked on the door. Jay's mother answered. She looked confused, then concerned, then sprang into action. "Oh my goodness! Get in here!" She got him towels and something hot to drink, and let him know Jay wasn't home yet. He was out on a date. She was going to bed, but he was welcome, as always, to wait up for Jay.

He sat in a dark corner of the living room, wondering how in the world he had sunk to this. He heard a key in the lock. He saw his best buddy enter, saw him notice a blob sitting in the corner, saw him realize he'd seen no car outside. When Jay recognized his pal, he paused, looked more closely, then... burst into laughter.

What happened next was an all-night conversation that would change both their lives. The gist of it was, "We've been giving lip service to our God and our church for a long time now. We've been part of this great youth group, but at heart we both know we love the popularity more than the fellowship. We've talked about the guys in our group who we know are authentic, who really study, really live the Word. Maybe it is time for us to be that, too? Maybe it's time to stop sinning and start taking Christianity seriously?"

Yes. We decided it was. In the morning the mercy was palpable and freeing. We went to the bookstore and bought a study guide on James. We drove up to Mount Lemmon, just outside the city, praising the Lord on the way and praying once we got there. With James's help, we decided to begin with practicality. We put away childish things. We took our eyes off ourselves, and we recognized that God had been active in answering prayers we'd prayed over a year ago (flippantly though they were spoken) that God would get our attention, develop in us humilty and patience, and a genuine idea of what following Jesus was about.

Relatively speaking, we didn't suffer much, though our achings were deep and real for the time. God put us on our knees, gently but firmly, and turned us around, which is the essence of humility, repentance, and restoration. The Dasher was definitely dead... but we were alive.

Only a couple years later, God gave me a gift, an incredible, forever reminder of that night and what I learned and how it would carry me through the future. It came in the form of a song by Rich Mullins. To this day, I believe that Rich must have been there, must have seen what transpired. For he wrote:

I see the morning moving over the hills
I can see the shadows on the western side
And all those illusions that I had
They just vanish in Your light.

Though the chill in the night still hangs in the air
I can feel the warmth of morning on my face
Though the storm had tossed me
'Til I thought I'd nearly lost my way

And now the night is fading and the storm is past
And everything that could be shaken was shaken
And all that remains is all I ever really had

What I'd have settled for
You've blown so far away
What You brought me to
I thought I could not reach.
And I came so close to giving up
But You never did give up on me.

I see the morning moving over the hills
I feel the rush of life here where the darkness broke
And I am in You and You're in me
Here where the winds of Heaven blow.

And now the night is fading
And the storm is through
And everything You sent to shake me
From my dreams they come to wake me
In the love I find in You
And now the morning comes
And everything that really matters
Become the wings You send to gather me
To my home
To my home
I'm going home...

Intersecting Faith & Life: 1. If a storm were to shake your life, and "everything that could be shaken was shaken, and all that remained was all you ever really had," what would it be that remained? 2. What would you have settled for that God has blown so far away? What has He brought you to that you thought you could not reach? 3. What does it mean to go back "to my home," even if you're actually about to start a journey? 4. When was the last time you shared your testimony? Make an effort to write it down or share it today.

Further Reading

Closer to You Than to Me, David Jeremiah
The Finger of God, Os Hillman
Lamentations 3:22-23

[Judy Harder]

That Small Voice
by Ryan Duncan, Editor at TheFish.com

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." – Matthew 11:28

Sometimes I just get very, very tired. I have been a Christian all my life, starting from an early age when my parents taught me about Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. As I've grown older however, my confidence and faith have been tested in ways I never expected. I've seen Christian friends get bored with their faith, and eventually discard it. I struggled with questions that have no real answers, and I've watched as the Church moved from a place of respect in our society, to a place of mockery and disdain.

In moments like these I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle for a cause no one cares about, so I can certainly empathize with Elijah in 1 Kings 19. At this point, Elijah has just conquered the prophets of Baal, and is slowly leading his people back to the Lord. Then a message from Jezebel sends him fleeing into the desert, and he eventually turns to God and says, "That's it. I'm done. I give up."

Take a look at what happens next, 

"The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet." – 1 Kings 19:11-16     

At first, I really didn't get this passage. Elijah came before God looking for comfort, strength, and encouragement, but instead God just gave him more orders, not exactly the response he was looking for. After reading the passage a second time though, I began to understand. You see, Elijah wasn't ready to give up, he had given up. After everything that had happened, he had decided it was a lost cause and that there was nothing left to do but die.

But God showed him it wasn't over. God showed Elijah He was still there, he had a plan, and he would never be beaten. The world is a tough place, and there are times when every Christian wonders if staying true to God is really worth it. So in those moments remember the story of Elijah, and hold on to the still, small voice of Christ in your heart which says, "It's not over. I'm not done yet. There is a reason to keep going."

Intersecting Faith and Life

Are you feeling overwhelmed by life? Take some time alone with God and let him know your fears.

Further Reading

Matthew 7:7-12