What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? When The Going Gets Hard

Softly & Tenderly - Happily married and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son—who he wants her to help raise—Jade’s life is turned upside down. She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There—while her mother’s health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger—Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn’t rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God’s tender mercies. 

House of Mercy - Beth has a gift of healing—which is why she wants to become a vet and help her family run their fifth-generation cattle ranch. Her father’s dream of helping men in trouble and giving them a second chance is her dream too. But it only takes one foolish decision to destroy it all. Beth scrambles to redeem her mistake, pleading with God for help, even as a mystery complicates her life. The repercussions grow more unbearable—a lawsuit, a death, a divided family, and the looming loss of everything she cares about. Beth’s only hope is to find the grandfather she never knew and beg for his help. Confused, grieving, and determined to make amends, she embarks on a horseback journey across the mountain, guided by a wild, unpredictable wolf who may or may not be real. Set in the stunningly rugged terrain of Southern Colorado, House of Mercy follows Beth through the valley of the shadow of death in the unfathomable miracles of mercy. 

Like Sweet Potato Pie - As a new Christian, former journalist Shiloh Jacobs has plenty of problems. But money, or lack of it, tops the list. Her redneck country house in rural Virginia that was left to her in her mom’s will is the last place on earth Shiloh thought she’d find herself. As soon as the house sells, she can’t wait to flee back to big-city life. But now the IRS is threatening to seize the house for back taxes while her half sister is contesting the will. And nobody’s offering the big bucks Shiloh needs for the house. To make matters worse, Shiloh finds her life unexpectedly entangled with a man who’s all wrong for her and just as financially strapped. Plus, he’s a local—settled in the one place she can’t wait to leave. She wouldn’t have noticed him before, but after giving her life to Jesus, everything looks different. When other more “suitable” men show up, can Shiloh lean on her new faith to see who’s right? Or will circumstances overwhelm her fragile faith and budding romance? 

Where do you go when life punches you in the gut? Perhaps you have lost a family member. Or maybe you’ve been financially tight and there aren’t many options for. Divorce, getting fired from a job, hospital bills after a wreck…The list can definitely be longer, but I’m sure you get the point. You want to know where I go when I’m confused or sad? There will be nights when I just can’t sleep, and I need to clear my head. On those nights, I go out to my front porch and I find a spot on the front steps. When I’m comfortable, I look up at the stars in all their beauty and sometimes I look for the constellation Cygnus (the Swan!). Then I take a deep breath and I talk to God. I thank Him for creating the stars, and for the ways that He has blessed me. But then I ask questions and completely open up to the Father who created me. It sometimes takes me too long, though. Before I find myself on those front steps. But it does feel good when I bring everything to the Father. Our main characters in this week’s books seem to take a while too. In Softly & Tenderly, Jade loses trust in the husband she loved, and upon that discovery, she goes to Iowa and ends up finding God. While in Like Sweet Potato Pie, Shiloh is a new Christian who is ready to serve the Lord. But as the story moves along, Shiloh finds out that being a Christian is one of the biggest challenges of her life. These 3 books actually reminded me of the song, “When Mercy Found Me,” by Rhett Walker: 

I can't count the broken roads I've been down

But all I know

Something had to give

Something had to give

'Cause living my life so wild and free

Finally caught up

Oh it left me broken, left me hopeless

But that's where I met Jesus

And in one moment everything changed

Who I was got washed away

When mercy found me

My Savior's arms were open wide

And I felt love for the very first time

When mercy found me

When mercy found me

If you are able, I highly recommend that you look this song up and listen to the whole thing. When you find yourself on those broken roads, tired and worn, go to the Lord in prayer and even open up His word. Difficult journeys are best taken when we have someone along for the ride. Jesus is ready for you to take Him along on that ride with you. So come on in to the Cross Reference Library for heartwarming stories and good morals.

Parenting and Disciplining Your Children

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Kiley Callaway, Tyson Lambertson, John Mulholland and Jon Simpson.

Jon Simpson
So, last time we discussed parenting and specifically discipling your kids. We want to kind of continue in that with that topic. And so we're gonna tackle a passage found in the book of Judges, again in the Old Testament. Pastor John's gonna read for us again from chapter two of the book of Judges.

John Mulholland
Yeah, "After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them, and Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua. And the leaders who outlived him, those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land he had been allocated at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for them. The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight and served the images of Baal." And then it continues down a really lousy path throughout the rest of the Book of Judges.

Jon Simpson
Just one generation.

Kylie Calloway
That did not acknowledge the Lord.

John Mulholland
Why didn't they acknowledge the Lord?

Tyson Lambertson
Well, first I think we have to give Joshua some credit, because his legacy was substantial and very, very important. Cause he kept Israel on task. He was a father of the nation. He really did a wonderful job. And his kids followed. Then they split up and went and possessed land. And I think a lot of times it's easy to lose focus and we're seeing in our own generation, people walking away from the things of the Lord and being carried into a culture that is full of demonic influence. So it makes sense that it could be one generation away.

Kylie Calloway
We've got something up on our refrigerator and how we acknowledge the Lord. I mean, acknowledging the Lord may be different in each home. But I'll share them with you, cause I don't memorize them. But we call them connecting habits and disconnecting habits. So I think people use them, and I think this is what drives away kids. So the disconnecting habits would be: criticism, blaming, complaining, nagging threatening, punishing, bribing. Basically, all of those are to control. So anytime those go on in our home, we kind of go to the refrigerator and say, "you know, that's not the way we wanna be, because that's not who God is." But we want to be these habits, because these connect us to one another, which is: supporting, encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting and negotiating differences. And for us, that's birthed out of love of who God is. So when we have those moments together as a family, we feel like in those times we're acknowledging who God would want us to be. So I have to keep going back to that, being, right? Is that we try to teach our kids that it goes deeper than just church attendance and serving in a church. Yes. Prayer is good, studying the Bible is good. But at the essence is: this is who He wants you to be. And so that's our way of acknowledging the Lord. Of course, we acknowledge Him every Sunday in our worship and in our prayer, but further than that. Of our day-to-day life with one another, getting to the core of who we are is acknowledging the Lord for us. And hopefully for our home, that will teach our kids to continue to acknowledge the Lord in their family lifestyle.

John Mulholland
I really like that difference that you explained. What I heard you say was, "there's a difference between being and doing." And we went through Judges several years ago. You know, if we were to read through Judges and we were to read into the rest of the Old Testament, we would see a people who were doing all the right things. You know, all of the things that are taking place here in the book of Judges, in the midst of that, there are people who are still celebrating the Passover. They're still doing all of the right behaviors. But what they've missed is that being and not acknowledging the Lord, not remembering the mighty things that He had done for Israel. So, back to what we talked about last time, just kind of like, that verse 10 is a key text because it tells us; like, when the kids ask their parents, "what is the reason we do these things?"

John Mulholland
They were supposed to say one thing. And my guess is, they made it about the doing, "Well, we go to Temple because we always go to Temple at this time. It's always the Sabbath. It's always the Passover." And they've forgotten the reasons why. And they've forgotten that they were set apart to be a certain kind of people. So I think our challenge is, "what does it look like for us to be a certain kind of people, and then model those behaviors to our kids? And how can we encourage the people and our bodies to do that?

Kylie Calloway
Right. And that's how we're set apart from the world, so to speak. Those disconnecting habits are ways of external control. I can control you with my complaints, but we teach our kids an internal locus of control, that there's something deeper inside of them that they can choose to be other than externally controlling. Cause if I control you, I mean, that's really a form of witchcraft. So, you know, we're not trying to control in those connecting behaviors, which are birthed out of love. It's hard to do with young kids, but the more---I just had to do it yesterday, but the more consistently we do it, we're finding that that's who our kids truly, at the end of the day, want to be. They know who they want to be. It's just our job to kind of guide them towards that direction. And they can choose not to be that too.

Jon Simpson
Yeah. It also seems like, it's interesting that what happened here was that the people were led into the land and they occupied it, right? They got their inheritance. And once they did, they got busy living and taking care of their family and doing the thing that you do. And the mission or the sense of, you know, conquest or accomplishment or purpose, I think it's easy to lose that. And I think of, in my lifetime now, I've been alive long enough to see and hear about, you know, those movements of God, those hay days of either ministry or God moving. And I know I've heard those stories here in this valley, of God. And you know, sometimes there might be some lament about what's happening, or there's nothing. And I'm like, "well, you know, that sense of mission has to continue," and I think every generation has to grab hold of it and move with it and have a sense of, "we've gotta build." Like, why do we have, you know, churches? Why do we do what we do? Certainly in part, it's to raise our own families, but it has to also be to reach the people around me and to, you know, make a difference in the region. And I think that that sense of mission, as I look back, part of the reason for maybe those where something springs up and there's something really incredible going on, people grab a hold of that, you know?

Kylie Calloway
Yeah. As soon as you said, "they got busy living," I heard in me, "but they didn't get busy dying." And I think that's what you have to do, is die to yourself. Right? We do get busy living, but we're not in the business of dying. And we have to die to our flesh and die to ourself to truly show our kids how to truly live the gospel life.

Tyson Lambertson
I think the text lends to the dichotomy of Joshua leaving a legacy. And/Or living your own life. And I wanna live a Joshua legacy for my kids, so it doesn't fail in the next generation, or generations following that. I wanna live that long obedience in the same direction, so that our kids have a good foundation.

John Mulholland
Yeah. So what does that modeling look like? I think last time, Kylie, you said, "we are doing things that our kids are picking up on." So how can we make sure that they're picking up on the right things? One of the pastors I've listened to frequently says, "we are making disciples. We are discipling our children." The question is, what are we discipling and made to?

Tyson Lambertson
I think it's every day. I think, how I respond to certain circumstances, situations. How I talk, how I model, how I love their mom. How I talk about the scripture, how I apply it to my own life. When somebody does something to me, how do I respond? I mean, it's all the time just modeling the weight all the time. Trying to live a godly life in front of them all the time.

John Mulholland
That's an incredible weight that people have on them. And we, I think as pastors, and as the church, have to help people understand that the way around that incredible weight is through, like, Christ bears that weight for us.

Tyson Lambertson
Grace.

John Mulholland
Because I think people can hear this. You gotta be on all the time. Man, for some people that's grounds to not even try. So how can we communicate that their help is in the Lord, not in their own efforts. Other than saying that, that sounds great.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library?

Searching for You - For years, Sophie Neumann has been running from the orphanages of 1850s New York City. Tasked with caring for two younger children, she’s determined not to let them be taken from her, and not to abandon them the same way her older sisters did her. But times are growing desperate, and when she falls in the wrong crowd and witnesses a crime, she realizes fleeing the state is her only option. Disappearing with her two young charges into a group of orphans heading west by train, Sophie hopes to find safety and a happy life. But when the train stops in Illinois, she faces an agonizing decision as the orphans will be placed in new homes. Afraid she’ll lose them forever, she finds help in a familiar face she never expected to see so far from New York. Reinhold Weiss has finally purchased his own small farm in Illinois. With mounting debts, a harvest to bring in, and past scars that still haunt him, Reinhold is in no position to give his heart away…but can he say no when his long-lost friend shows up on a nearby farm pleading for his help? 

Why Make Man With The Choice To Sin? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Cline Johnathan Hernandez and Gary Schick.

Gary Schick
Well, today's question, I think it's really a great one because it's one that I've been asked as a pastor. Maybe you have too. I guess there's different ways of phrasing it, but the way it was worded here is, "why make man with a choice to sin? So in other words, when God made this great big, beautiful world, we see what a mess we've made of it. I mean, why give us the option, you know? Why not just make a perfect creation that couldn't go wrong? You know, that's what we're trying to do with all of our, I don't know, our computers and our AI, and I think we're pretty sure it's gonna end the world or something. No, I mean, God's got His plan. He knows when the world's gonna come to its close. I don't think it'll be AI. You know, so I think it is a good question. Because there's a lot of hurt and heartache in the world. Wouldn't it just be easier, better? Could we give God some advice? What do you think, Ben?

Ben Cline
Yeah. Could we, you know, go to God and say, "if you could go back and do something over again?" No, this is a question that really goes back to the reason why God created everything in the first place. You know, why did he do all of this work to put the universe together? Why did he do all this work to put the earth together and make the earth work the way that it does? You know, why did He create man? Well, He created man, and He created the entire universe to bring glory to His name. I mean, I think that's the overarching reason why He created everything. But I think that one of the main reasons that you see in scripture why God created mankind is because He desires relationship. And, you know, this question goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. You know, it's a question of when sin entered into the world. And, you know, you look back and understand that in God's creation, He put Adam and Eve into the garden, and then he put this tree in the middle of the garden called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And He gave them a command, he told them, "you shall not eat of this tree." And he gave them a whole garden full of trees that would've provided everything that they needed. But this one tree was something that would create an environment where it would give them a choice, right? And so, that choice was whether or not they were going to obey His command. And, you know, we see this even in that creation, even in placing them in the garden with that choice, that God is all about relationship. You know, He made mankind in order to, you know, enter into a relationship with His creation. And, you know, the choice is there. Um, what God wants from us is, is obedience. We all have that choice, just like Adam and Eve had that choice. Though, you know, we are are born with that sin nature that carries on from Adam through all generations. But what God still wants from us is obedience. And if you think about it, if God had created mankind and then not given us, you know, a choice of whether or not to obey Him or whether or not to follow him, that turns into, very quickly, a one-sided relationship, which we know is no relationship at all. Cause relationships are two-sided. They're very much two ways. And, you know, it's really important in this to point out a couple of things. You know, number one: God knew when He put Adam and Eve into this set of circumstances, He knew what the outcome was gonna be. Because God knows everything. However, that does not say that God wanted Adam and Eve to sin. That's not what He wanted for them. He gave them the choice to obey Him or disobey Him. And that's, you know, the choice that they made. It's not what He wanted, but He knew that that was gonna be the outcome. You know, and this is a question where we run into the free will of man and the sovereignty of God. And I don't know if we're gonna dive very deep into that today, but, you know, the fact that God gave us the choice to sin just shows us how much He loves us. It shows us that He wants us to desire the relationship with Him that He desires to have with us. And, you know, it's a difficult question to grapple with, because we think that it would've been as easy as just, you know, not giving the choice in the first place, right? But that's not what God had in mind at all when He created us. So those are some of my thoughts.

Gary Schick
No, I think those are really good thoughts, you know? So, the passage really is Genesis 2, "the Lord God," verse 15, "Lord God took the man, put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, 'you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die." You know, people have asked a kind of related question, "what was it about this tree?" You know, I don't absolutely know that there's anything specific about the fruit on it, other than it could have been just a random anything, but that God was basically giving them a rule. A point of obedience for no other reason than, "I am the Lord, and you are my creation." And I think you pointed out rather well, is that, you know, the big picture is that we are made for God's glory. But when He made us, really He made us and gave us a very high position in creation for at least four things. 1. we've already touched on for just the aspect of relationship with Him. 2. we're told that we're created in His image, so we reflect Him. 3. so that we might rule under Him. We were created to rule, you know, rule over the creation under Him. And then finally, so that we would continue to rely on Him. And just kind of unpacking those one by one. You know, I think you touched on it rather well. God certainly could have made a bunch of automatons, you know? You know, like a computer program. We've kind of touched on that. So you put the information in and you know what you're gonna get out. It only can do what you have given a license to do. Why did God give us license to do these random things, you know? Other than the fact that you don't have a relationship when there's no one out there to relate to. And so that, just by definition it creates, in a sense, the necessity of some kind of a free agent to who can freely respond. We would be responding to God out of automation, but not out of real love. And well, scriptures say God is love, the triune God. He's lived in all eternity in relationship. When He created, He expanded the possibilities of that. And the angels had the same choice. You know, some of them have fallen. The difference is, we don't read about the redemption of angels. But for some reason, God has smiled on man in a way that we can be redeemed through Christ, which is so exciting. So yeah, there's a relationship aspect, but let's also not forget, you know, God says, "then let us make man in our image, in the image of God, He made them male and female." So what is that about? God is spirit. So, you know, physically, are we in His image? No, God's not sitting up there with gray hair and a beard or whatever. Nor is He a beautiful woman or something, you know? He is a spirit. He is not male, female, physical. But we reflect him. We are created in His image in terms of things like character. And again, a part of that is an aspect of freedom. We aren't able to create the environment we're in, but we are able to be creative within it in a godlike way. And He intended this, He intended that we would reflect him in this created order. And so part of that, again, comes to a certain freedom of not only freedom of choice and freedom of will, but just part of what it is to be a being with thought. And then, why were we put here, you know? To subdue and rule over, you know, and fill the earth. So we were put, you know, to care for the garden. We were put in this world to be God's overlords under Him in it. But again, what does that entail? He didn't just say, you know, "go do whatever you want here. Here's a creation for you. Go be the God of that creation." No, he says, "I'm putting you here to take care of it. You have free reign." But again, this one point of contact, this simple rule is a reminder that, "in everything you are under me. I am the overlord, and you are free. I have made this for you to enjoy, but in relationship to me." It all comes back to the relationship to God. And then finally, and this is ongoing even today. As forgiven children of God in Christ, we absolutely, in order to obey Him in any meaningful way, we have to rely on Him. In order for Adam and Eve to sin they, in a sense, had to first, take a step away from Him. They had to go about their own thoughts. They had to turn away from Him. They had to turn away from what He had commanded. They had to turn away from what they knew. They had to turn away from what they knew was right so that immediately afterwards, they're hiding in the bushes. You know, what is that about? Well, they chose to rely on faulty information from someone else. Satan. They chose to rely on what appeared to appeal to them. They saw that the fruit was good to eat and pleasing to the eye and all of this. And they chose not to rely on God. So, you know, as Christians, our sins have been forgiven through faith in Christ. We've been given new life. How are we doing, friends, at living the life? I'll be honest, there's days I just really struggle. And a lot of times, when I'm struggling, it's because I'm stupid enough to be trying to do it in my own strength. We are never meant to do that. You know, we read about Adam and Eve walking with God in the cool of the day. We are called to walk with Him, rely on Him, draw our strength from Him. You can't, listeners, you can't live to God's glory on your own strength. In fact, that won't glorify Him at all. That would just glorify you. "See what I can do?" But see what you can do in and through Him. Now that's a whole different story. And so, you know, as we seek to live a life, to give glory to God, let's think about those four things. Those four precious gifts that are newly ours again in Christ. They're restored to us through faith in Him. What is it that we could jeopardize, could actually lose in sinning? It's these things. What are the things that are restored? It's relationship, it's reflecting the creator, it's acting as ambassadors for Christ. In the creation, now under him, ruling under Him and representing His kingdom. Representative, I guess that would be. And then finally, it teaches us moment by moment by moment to rely to look to Him who is our life. Jesus didn't just say, "I will bring you the way. I will teach you the truth. I will give you new life." He said, "guess what? I am these things. I'm the way, I'm the truth. I'm the life. You can't have it apart from me. But in me, you have it all." So, Ben, you wanna, any more thoughts?

Ben Cline
No, I think that's great. This is such an important question and such a good one to be able to, you know, go all the way back to the beginning of the pages of scripture.

What's New in the Cross Reference Library? A New Karen Kingsbury Novel

A Distant Shore - She was a child caught in a riptide in the Caribbean Sea. He was a teenager from the East Coast on vacation with his family. He dove in to save her, and that single terrifying moment changed both their lives forever. Ten years later, Jack Ryder is a daring undercover agent with the FBI and Eliza Lawrence still lives on that pristine island. Only now she’s the untainted princess in a kingdom of darkness and evil, on the brink of a forced marriage with a dangerous neighboring drug lord, a marriage arranged by her father. This time when Jack and Eliza meet, both their lives are on the line, and once again, the stakes are deadly high. Can they join forces in a complicated and dangerous mission, pretending to have a breathtaking love…without really falling for one another? Sometimes miracles happen not once, but twice…on a distant shore.

We have dreams. There’s the kind that you get when you fall asleep. 

Like, the other night I had an interesting one where I was packing my bag and preparing to jump into a small plane and fly it across the world. 

Then there’s living dreams that can come true. One of mine is to write a novel (and maybe to have my own dog one day!). 

But the opposite of a dream, I would say, is a nightmare. According to Google, the two definitions of a nightmare are #1, “a frightening or unpleasant dream.” 

Once, I had an unpleasant dream where I was being chased down by a bloodthirsty cannibal and my body took forever to wake up. But I was relieved when I finally did, and that it was never real. The second definition of nightmare is, “a terrifying or very unpleasant experience or prospect.” In Karen Kingsbury’s A Distant Shore, Jack doesn’t have the luxury of waking from the nightmare of losing his brother. And unfortunately, it was 20 years before Eliza could escape from her father’s sex trafficking ring. A couple weeks ago, I went to the theater with my family to see the film, Sound of Freedom. It’s the incredible true story of Tim Ballad, a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers. Before walking into that theater, I knew of sex trafficking and that it was a horrible thing. But the way that film put into perspective the absolute hell millions of children have gone through, literally brought me to tears. A child can be picked up off the street, believing someone to be nice, trustworthy, or good, only to find out later on what horrors were in store for them. But in Karen Kingsbury’s fictional story of A Distant Shore, God uses Eliza to continue to help the FBI, by going and stopping kids from being taken. 

Even though this novel by Karen Kingsbury contains made-up characters, sex-trafficking is very real and very active in our world and in our country. I do recommend A Distant Shore to any of our Cross Reference Library patrons, or anyone who is interested about the story itself. But I will say that it is not for the faint of heart, either. While I’m at it, I also recommend that anyone that can, or feels so inclined, go see Sound of Freedom. Sure, it will make you sad for the children it is happening to and mad at the men who do it to them. But that film is extremely powerful, and one of my favorite lines from the movie is, “God’s children are NOT for sale!” And that is absolutely true. I recommend them both, because, though serious, the themes and occurrences need to be addressed and not ignored.  

For Those In Ministry What Would You Say To Your Younger Self?

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Cline and Johnathan Hernandez.

Jonathan Hernandez
So this morning, I guess we're gonna kind of hit on a topic that is maybe a little bit more for pastors or people that are in ministry. But I know the listeners would enjoy hearing some of these things and also as listeners, and maybe you have a new pastor that's stepping into the role as a pastor. Maybe you can hear some of these things and know, "okay, well maybe they may experience some of these things, so let's help them along the way and give them a little bit of a hand." So our question is, "what would you say to your younger-ministry self if you were starting all over again?" And so one of the first things that popped into my mind as, you know, as I was looking this over and just remembering. So I started as a senior pastor at River of Life Church on December 1st, 2012. And so, that was a little over 10 years ago. And stepping into that role, I was just, "what do I do!? How do I do this?" You know, this was my first ministry role. And so it was fun, but it was also a little hectic and a little, "I don't know what to do." And so I remember thinking back, you know, years later, and somebody had said this to me, he said, "Jonathan, your first calling is to intimacy with Christ." And I was like, "Wow, that makes so much sense." You know, and then your next ministry, or your next calling, is to your spouse. And so for me, it would be my wife and then my family, and then the ministry. And I think we know this, but as you start getting into ministry and you start all the busyness of life, what happens is you start trying to flip that around and start pushing ministry first and then everything else. And then your wife's like, "whoa, wait a minute, what about me?" You know? And then obviously, God too is like, "Wait a minute, you're forgetting me." So we gotta make sure that we keep that in order. You know, make sure that we're having that time with Christ and making sure that we are spiritually healthy. You know, cause if we're not spiritually healthy, it's hard to help other people get to that point.

Ben Cline
Yeah, that's right. And that's funny that you say that cuz that's similar to something that was on my list too. You know, make sure that your personal time with the Lord doesn't get pushed aside for: studying for Sunday or, you know, doing other ministry things. And, you know, that seems counterintuitive because you're a pastor, right? You should be fine. But that's not true. You know, we need to take that time to have a close walk, a close relationship with Jesus so that we're spiritually prepared for handling whatever it is that might come through the doors. And so that's a great one to start out with. Another one that I was thinking of as well is, and this would especially be to my young ministry self is, you don't know everything and you never will. You know, my path into ministry was a little bit different than yours. But, you know, we went to Bible school for a few years and we had decided early on that we wanted to go into church planting ministry. And so we took some time praying about it, you know, visiting the place where we wanted to go. And, you know, by the time that you finished Bible school, and they really do warn you against this, but you know, you're young and impulsive. So they warn you against this. But, you know, you go out onto the ministry field and feel like, "I got this, you know, I can handle anything that comes my way." And then you're humbled very, very quickly. So, you know, that's something that I would try to get my younger self to listen to is, you know, "just realize that, you know, the ministry is not something that you step into knowing how to handle every situation." It's something that you're actually going to be learning in for your entire life.

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah. That's definitely good, cause I remember those moments. "Oh, I know it all." And then, "Nope. I don't know that." You know, and that's such a good one too. You know, the other thing, you know, one of the other things I wrote down, it's kind of along those same lines too. Is, you need to be in the word for yourself, not just for your sermon. You know, you kind of hit on that too. And, you know, there's so many times that you're looking at the week and it's like, "where do I sit?" Things like, "how do I schedule my week when I already know that there's so much stuff going on?" And I know people are like, "well, pastors only work 45 minutes a week. On Sundays." Well, no, there's so much more to it. And then if you're bi-vocational, you know, there's even more to it. Trying to squeeze everything in, you know, on top of already having work and home and stuff. And so, you know, I knew that there was weeks that I'm like, "gosh, how do I get both of those going?" And so those were tough. So my next one would be, "people will leave and it will hurt, but it's not always your fault." Right? Cause we always blame ourselves if somebody's leaving. "It's because of me." And that's not always the case, you know? There's times, you know, I remember people leave and it was after I had preached a sermon and, you know, and I was like, "oh, well maybe I shouldn't have preached that." And then I would sit back and I was like, "okay, did I preach what God wanted me to preach?" If it was a yes, then obviously you're preaching what you're supposed to, right? If the Holy Spirit's leading you to that, that's what you're supposed to preach. And so, you know, people will leave and it's going to hurt. And I think that's why it's important for pastors to have a tough, you know, a tough skin in a sense. You know, because people leave for all kinds of reasons. You know, it could be the smallest reason. It could be your fault. You know, there's multiple things and, you know, the best thing for us to do is to bless them on the way out. And just pray for them and pray that they will find a church home where they can grow and that they can mature in Christ. And so those are always tough moments, you know, cause I'm like, "oh, I want you here," you know, and the different things like that. And so, you know, I remember my pastor saying, "Jonathan, just keep praying for them," you know, bless them on their way out." You know, "you'll be fine. God will provide." And He always did.

Ben Cline
Yeah. And that's the thing about the body of Christ is that, you know, God has made us all a little bit differently. We all deal with things in different ways and we all feel like we have different needs for our families. So, you know, as a pastor, yes, it does hurt when people walk out the door and say that they're not coming back. But, you know, and that's something also, you know, that you experience as a new pastor in a church that you had not been the pastor for before. But there's gonna be people who just decide that it's not for them. For whatever reason, who knows. But, you know, that's a really good point and, you know, maybe a good reminder to our listeners who are our churchgoers. To, you know, really understand that these are things, you know, decisions that really do affect people.

Jonathan Hernandez
We're pastors, but we still have feelings.

Ben Cline
Yeah, exactly. And another one that, you know, I wish I would've taken on and really tried to understand, as you know, a younger pastor in ministry, is the importance of rest. You know, that's something that will catch up with you every time. And, you know, I'm not even a type of person who has a lot of energy in the first place. But I think I can tend to be a little bit of a workaholic and say, "oh, I don't really need to worry about resting this week." And then it just builds up and builds up and builds up and then you hit a wall and you're just like, "I can't do this anymore." And so, you know, resting is extremely, extremely important. You know, I know that people have different ideas about the application of the Sabbath. About that Sabbath rest that God has had set up in the Old Testament. You know, Jesus dealt with it as something that the Pharisees were, you know, kind of using to condemn other people with. But, you know, rest is something that's still extremely important for all of us as believers to have rest that is scheduled. And I really wish that's something that I would've done, you know, earlier on in ministry, because it's extremely beneficial. And that rest time is not just to, you know, sit around and do nothing all the time, although that might be what it calls for sometimes. But that rest time, is to really take time to, you know, not necessarily focus on the things that are going on around you, but to focus on Jesus. And so, yeah. That's definitely something I would tell myself.

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah, for sure. And that would kind of go along with the thought process I had with the power of "No." You know, knowing how to say, "No." Cause, you know, there's so many times I think, you know like, I'd always seen my pastor doing something and so I thought, "well, if he can do all that, then I should be able to too." Not realizing that he had said, "no," to a thousand other things. You know, that he was like, "does this align with the vision of the church?" If it doesn't, well, you know what, maybe if we have time at some point, then yeah, we can do it. But if it's not, then we're gonna have to say no. You know? Is that taking away from my family time? Okay, well then that has to be a, "no." You know, I need to guard those times with my family. And so, you know, that was something that, gosh, it was such a hard thing to learn early on. Cause I'd seen, you know, pastors doing 60, 70, 80 hours a week and, you know, I'm like, "okay, well that's the norm." Right? Well, here I am also bi-vocational. I was like, "well, how do I fit---

Ben Cline
How do you do that?

Jonathan Hernandez
Both of those 40 hours a week?" Plus, you know, 60, 70 hours at the church? You know, how does this all work? Well it works because there is this word that we can say, "no," you know? Obviously we need to be led by the spirit, you know, and knowing which directions we go. But also knowing that, you know what, it's okay to say, "no," to things and you're gonna be empowered when you're able to say, "no," to things that you shouldn't be doing anyways. You know? And so knowing those things, I think's always powerful to be able to step into what you're called. Instead of stepping into things that I just don't know how to say, "no," to it. You know, cause there's many things early on that I was just doing because, well, "I want to be a good person. I want to, you know, I want help people." Not realizing, "well that's not the calling that God had called me into." So here I am doing something that, you know, I'm not even equipped, you know, in a sense, to do those things. And if I could have just said, "no," you know? And also, I think that's where, you know, maybe with this next point would be having connections. I think if you look throughout scripture, everywhere you see community, you know, I mean if you look through the Old Testament, look through the New Testament, every story is connected to somewhat of a community of people. And so, you know, I think we think our community is just within our church, and that's a great community that you should be growing and maturing in. But there's also this wider community, you know? As pastors, sometimes we get so zoned in only our church, you know, and that's all we're looking at. But gosh, we're missing out on so many relationships if we could just learn how to, "hey, you know what, now I have great friends with Gary and with you." And so it's like we can grow in a community outside. And so if I know, "hey, this isn't what our church is called to, but I know that that's what your church is called to." "Hey, let's help you guys, you know, jump into that," and be able to grow in that too. And so, learn how to work within a community. I think that would've been something great that I could have known early on, you know? Cause, you know, I think you always hear people say, "well, they're not part of our church, and so we don't want to go be a part of that." And it's like, "whoa, that's so backwards," you know? Thinking like we should be, "Hey, if that church is doing something amazing for the kingdom, why don't we support it?" Why don't we, you know, gosh, we could even just, even if it's just a simple posting on Facebook to help somebody else see it. Maybe we can't go to it, but you know, let's help each other. We're all part of the kingdom. Like, you know, we're all gonna be worshiping in heaven together, so why don't we help and worship with each other here on earth?

Ben Cline
Yeah. It makes you think of, you know, Jesus and his ministry and in establishing the early church. You know, we didn't have all these denominational differences and whatever you want to call them. But, you know, the course of time has really kind of drawn some lines that get in the way of us having that community of fellowship as fellow Christians. And, you know, it's important to stand for what you believe doctrinally. But, you know, God just wants us to be a community of believers and that's true. Like, you know, we're all gonna be in heaven together and worshiping God together. So why don't we start practicing that now? It's interesting. One of the things that I just look back and I feel like I was really, really bad about this: when I was a young, a much younger pastor, is that I would always worry about all of the little things that were going on. And, you know, you hear the phrase, "don't sweat the small stuff." Well, it's really true. Like, you really just gotta let that stuff roll off. And, you know, that's something that I wish I would've done as a younger pastor. You know, if I could go back and say, "don't worry about that stuff." Like, there's all this stuff that just, you know, when you think about why you're doing the work that you're doing. You know, why you're doing the ministry that God has called you to. It's not so that you can worry about, you know, why somebody did this or that or whatever, and or why somebody's making the decisions that they're making. The small stuff is small stuff. If we're gonna focus on what we need to be focusing on, it really should be about, you know, making sure that we understand the gospel and that we're living our lives for Christ. And that we're, you know, out there witnessing to the world that is lost. And, you know, those are the big things and we should really be worrying about those things instead. So that's another thing that's on my list.

Jonathan Hernandez
Yep. Oh, I think I was still not the best at that all way up in time. You know, now as a youth pastor, things are a lot different and I'm trying to learn how to even balance the small stuff there, right? That's what some of the, you know, small things that, you know, I'm trying to learn. I went from being a senior pastor to a youth pastor, and a lot of times it's the opposite way, you know? You've been a youth pastor or children's pastor, worship pastor, something else before the lead role. And so, you know, here I am, the lead role right off the bat and now, you know, transitioning to youth pastor and it's just like, well, this is a lot of different things. And some of the things are similar, but just on a smaller scale. And so I think for me, the last one, at least for today, would be really with the finances. I think in a small church sometimes the pastor's doing everything. And with the finances, I would encourage, you know, cause I know I had to do finances pretty much the whole time I was the pastor of the church, you know? So it's like trying to find somebody that can do it, I think. You know, we weren't a big enough church to be able to pay someone outside of the church to do it. So a lot of times, it was me and then someone else trying to help. So that way, you know, we're not having one person do it by themselves, you know, for integrity reasons and stuff. But, you know, make sure that there's multiple eyes on the finances and not just yourself. You know, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble. And we're human, we make mistakes. You know, not saying that we're gonna steal anything, but, you know, just not being able to do the accounting software, right? You know, so if we have multiple eyes on it, you know, I know I'm not an accounting major. I took accounting in high school and that was the extent of it. So thank the Lord that he had me go through that in high school to know how to do it now. So make sure that we have multiple eyes on those things. It's something I would tell my younger self is, you know, make sure that you're having people and just training people up. You know, there were people that could step into it but, you know, I was just always like, "well, it's easier, I'll just do it myself."

Ben Cline
It's too much work.

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah, you know, I can get this done in half the time that it would take to train. And so instead of, you know, and that's the whole thing about the, "no" earlier. You know, knowing that I can say, "no," to myself. "Okay, John, you're doing enough. Allow someone else to step into these roles." You know, all those who are attending all the churches that are out there, just know that your pastor's not perfect. And he needs grace just like everybody else does. And, you know, these are things that we are all learning as pastors in ministry and will continue learning for the rest of our lives.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? A New Jody Hedlund Series

With You Always - One of the many immigrants struggling to survive in 1850s New York, Elise Neumann knows she must take action to care for her younger sisters. She finds a glimmer of hope when the New York Children’s Aid Society starts sending skilled workers to burgeoning towns out west. But the promise of the society’s orphan trains is not all that it seems. Born into elite New York society, Thornton Quincy possesses everything except the ability to step out from his brother’s shadow. When their ailing father puts forth a unique challenge to determine who will inherit his railroad-building empire, Thornton finally sees his chance. The conditions to win? Be the first to build a sustainable community along the Illinois Central Railroad and find a suitable wife. Thrown together against all odds, Elise and Thornton couldn’t be from more different worlds. The spark that ignites between them is undeniable, but how can they let it grow when that means forfeiting everything they’ve been working toward?

Together Forever - Determined to find her lost younger sister, Marianne Neumann takes a job as a placing agent with the Children’s Aid Society in 1858 New York. She not only hopes to offer children a better life, but prays she’ll be able to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train so they can finally be reunited. Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing-out trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children, firm but tender and friendly. Underneath his charm and handsome looks, though, seems to linger a grief that won’t go away—and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden. As the two team up, placing orphans in small railroad towns of Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer…until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever.

Prayers of the Bible: Part 2

A Parable Comparing Self-righteous Prayers to Humble Prayers

Context: Jesus told this parable in order to teach his followers a lesson about who their confidence should be in. In this parable the Pharisee put his confidence in himself and his own self-righteousness, while the Tax Collector was humble and believed he needed a Savior. The Tax Collector’s confidence was in God’s righteousness, not his own. Likewise, we should all put our confidence in God’s ability to save us and not in our own actions.

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

-Luke 18:9-14 (NLT)

  King Hezekiah’s Prayer with the Enemy at Their Gates

Context: Sennacherib, the King of Assyria has been conquering nation after nation and he has now brought his army to the gates of Jerusalem. He tells King Hezekiah that he should surrender and he uses every other nation he has defeated as an example, claiming that their gods could not save them from him so Hezekiah would be foolish to think his God could do any better. Instead of surrendering, Hezekiah takes his concerns to God with this prayer. 

God responded through His prophet, Isaiah, letting Hezekiah know that He had heard Sennacherib’s blasphemies and that Hezekiah had nothing to worry about. God promised to make Sennacherib return home where he would be destroyed by the sword. God did exactly as He promised. Sennacherib got news which had him return to Nineveh, and, then, while he was worshiping his god, Nisrok, in his temple, his own sons killed him with their swords.

And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste to these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

-2 Kings 19:15-19 (NIV)

Jonah’s Prayer for Deliverance

Context: Jonah was a prophet of God. When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to them, Jonah refused. Nineveh had a history of being very cruel to other nations, including the Israelites, so Jonah didn’t want to help them out at all. He knew that God is a God of forgiveness and he didn’t want to give them a chance to repent because he didn’t want God to forgive them.

Jonah tried to run away by getting on a boat heading away from Nineveh. But, you can’t run away from God. God sent a bad storm. Jonah knew it was his fault, so he told the people on the ship that he needed to be thrown overboard if they wanted to survive the storm. When he was thrown overboard, God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, but Jonah didn’t die, God kept him alive in the fish. While Jonah is in the fish he prays this prayer. 

It’s interesting to note that this prayer is in the past tense. Jonah prayed as if God had already saved him. Jonah knew what God wanted and knew if he asked for help and forgiveness he would be granted it and saved. Sure enough, after this prayer God had the fish spit Jonah out onto dry land, and Jonah made his way to Nineveh.

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,

    and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

    and you heard my voice.

For you cast me into the deep,

    into the heart of the seas,

    and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

    passed over me.

Then I said, ‘I am driven away

    from your sight;

yet I shall again look

    upon your holy temple.’

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

    the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

     at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

    whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

    O Lord my God.

When my life was fainting away,

    I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to you,

    into your holy temple.

Those who pay regard to vain idols

    forsake their hope of steadfast love.

But I with the voice of thanksgiving

    will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

-Jonah 2:1b-9 (ESV)

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

Context: Solomon had recently become the new king of Israel, succeeding his father, King David. Instead of trusting in his own ability to lead, he turned to God for help. God offered him anything he wanted. This prayer is Solomon’s reply to God’s offer. 

Instead of asking for riches or fame, Solomon asked for the wisdom required to be a good leader. God was pleased with the fact that Solomon’s heart was focused on taking care of his people instead of on selfish endeavors, so He granted Solomon’s request for wisdom but also promised him riches and fame.

To this day, even in secular settings, Solomon is known as the wisest man and king to ever live. 

Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant, my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.

“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

-1 Kings 3:6-9 (NLT)

The Prayer of Jabez

Context: This is a short prayer that is stuck right in the middle of a genealogical record written by Ezra about the Israelites who returned home after their Babylonian exile. Jabez’s prayer shows that he understood God’s promises to the nation of Israel. Jabez asked God to grant him exactly what God had already promised to do for the Israelite people if they would simply come to Him in prayer (Jeremiah 29:10-14).  Jabez did precisely what God wanted all of the people listed in this genealogical record to do; he chose to follow God and God kept His promises. 

We are not living during the same time Jabez was--we are not Israelites being brought back to our homeland from our exile in Babylon--so we also don’t live under the same prophetic messages and promises which Jabez lived under. However, there are still truths which we can learn from this: God always keeps His promises; and it is wise to learn which promises are meant for us and then to pray in line with them.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

-1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (ESV)

Paul’s Prayer for the Believers in Ephesus

Context: The book of Ephesians is a letter Paul wrote to the faithful followers of Christ in the church of Ephesus. He started out praising God for the grace He has given through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Paul also said they should praise God for giving believers the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation and spiritual inheritance. Then he prayed for the believers to grow in their wisdom and knowledge of God and to understand God’s power and everything He does and has done for the people who have believed in Him.

We may not be Ephesians; however, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and trusted in His sacrifice on the cross to pay for your sins, then the truths found in this prayer can also be applied to you. It is a prayer for believers (those who “belong to His dear Son”) during the church age, and we are also believers during the church age.

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

…

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

- Ephesians 1:6-8; 13-23 (NLT)

---

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

What's New in The Cross Reference Library?

Doing Life With Your Adult Children - If you have an adult child, you know that parenting doesn’t stop when a child reaches the age of eighteen. In many ways, it gets more complicated. Both your heart and your head are as involved as ever, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. In Doing Life With Your Adult Children, parenting expert Jim Burns helps you navigate the toughest and the most rewarding parts of parenting your grown kids. Speaking from his personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to questions such as these: 

• Is it okay to give advice to my grown child?

• What’s the difference between helping financially and enabling? 

• What boundaries should I set if my child moves back home?

• How do I relate to my grown child’s significant other?

• How can I support my grown children when I don’t support their values?

Including positive principles for bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every season, Doing Life With Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends. 

God’s Not Like That - A faulty view of God will always be a barrier to a satisfying spiritual life. In this interactive book, Bryan Clark takes us on a step-by-step journey to help us understand: 

• Why even a loving and faith-filled family can inadvertently pass on false representations of God. 

• Specific ways our childhood influences our beliefs today. 

• The difference between a grace-based value system and a performance-based value system. 

• How to distinguish truth from fiction when it comes to personal beliefs. 

• What the Bible says about how God intended Himself to be depicted in the home. 

Abundant life starts with a right view of God: a God who sustains, comforts us, and satisfies us through every season.

Prayers of the Bible: Part 1

Jesus’ Prayer for Believers

Jesus’ Last Supper in Watercolor

Context: This is a part of Jesus’s prayer during ‘The Last Supper’ when He prayed for all of us who choose to believe in Him.

“My prayer is not for them alone (the Disciples). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” ­ -John 17:20-23 (NIV)

 A Song of Praise by Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites

Context: Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to the bank of the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army pursued them there, trapping them. But, God split the sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. Pharaoh’s army tried to pursue them through the sea, only to have God return the waters and drown them. Once safe on the other side of the Red Sea; Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites sang a song of praise.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.

“The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
    the Lord is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
    he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters have covered them;
    they sank to the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
    shattered the enemy.

“In the greatness of your majesty
    you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
    it consumed them like stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils
    the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
    the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy boasted,
    ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
    I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
    and my hand will destroy them.’
But you blew with your breath,
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.
Who among the gods
    is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
    majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
    working wonders?

“You stretch out your right hand,
    and the earth swallows your enemies.
In your unfailing love you will lead
    the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
    to your holy dwelling.
The nations will hear and tremble;
    anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people[c] of Canaan will melt away;
     terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
    they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
    until the people you bought[d] pass by.
You will bring them in and plant them
    on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
    the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

“The Lord reigns
    for ever and ever.”

When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.”
- Exodus 15:1-21 (NIV)

Hannah’s Prayer of Thankfulness

Context: Hannah had been desperately praying for God to grant her a child. He answered her prayers, giving her a son. She named him Samuel which means, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” This is her prayer of thanks after God granted her a child.

Hannah dedicated Samuel to God.  Samuel became a priest, a prophet, and the last judge for the Israelite nation. He anointed Saul and then David, to be the first and second kings of Israel.

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I delight in your deliverance.

“There is no one holy like the Lord;
    there is no one besides you;
    there is no Rock like our God.

“Do not keep talking so proudly
    or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
    and by him deeds are weighed.

“The bows of the warriors are broken,
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.
 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
    he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.

“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

“It is not by strength that one prevails;
    those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
    the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king
    and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

-1 Samuel 2:1b-10 (NIV)

 Asaph’s Prayer about His Despair

Context: Asaph, from the book of Psalms, is one of the Levites whom King David assigned as worship leaders in the Tabernacle choir. This Psalm was meant to be sung to the Lord in praise. In it, Asaph was suffering from extreme depression. He sang about his struggle and explained how he would combat that struggle. He did so by remembering everything God had done in the past. Through considering God’s actions as a whole, Asaph was reassured about who God is and how powerful He is. Then, instead of focusing on his despair, he chose to focus on the historically proven truth that God is always faithful.

I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.[c
You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

- Psalm 77 (ESV)

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King David’s Prayer of Repentance

Context: King David was walking on his roof when he saw Bathsheba bathing. Bathsheba was married to a man named Uriah who was one of David’s inner-circle known as his “mighty men”. Even so, David called Bathsheba to come to him and he lay with her. She became pregnant. After trying and failing at a couple of deceptive tactics in order to get away with his actions, David plotted to have Uriah killed in battle. Then David married Bathsheba in order to try and cover up their infidelity. Of course, nothing can be hidden from God. God sent his prophet, Nathan, to confront David about his actions. When confronted, David was struck down with grief. This is his prayer to God when he asked for forgiveness.

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

- Psalm 51:1-19 (ESV)

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This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? The Dead Sea Squirrels!!!

Squirreled Away - Ten-year-old Michael and his friend Justin sneak into the Dead Sea caves near the archaeological dig where Michael’s dad is working. Michael finds two 2,000-year-old squirrels petrified in sea salt. Hijinks ensue as Michael tries to bring them back to the US, hidden in his backpack. What Michael thinks are just cool souvenirs may turn out to be something much more! 

Boy Meets Squirrels - Michael can’t leave Merle and Pearl to be discovered by his parents (or the cat), so they stow away in his backpack. At school, they meet Edgar, the bully who’s been after Michael for years. Can Merle and Pearl use ancient wisdom learned from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to help Michael face his enemy? Or will Michael get into a stinky situation when he tries to take care of the problem his own way? 

Nutty Study Buddies - One boy trying to avoid his math homework plus one skating rink plus two ancient squirrels equals a failed test, a second chance, and a lesson learned. The always hilarious (and sometimes helpful) Merle and Pearl Squirrel teach 10-year-old Michael that a little hard work can go a long way. 

You are on a Journey! (A lesson for kids about God's design.)

For this journey you are:

• given information about who God is: all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present.

• offered forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ payment for sins by His death on the cross.

• given a relationship with God, and an identity as a child of God, if you accept Jesus’ payment.

• given instructions to, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:19-20).

---

God knows every twist and turn which you will have to make on your own personal journey.

So, God also built you a body which is specially formed to help you on your specific journey.

---

Some people might look at you and not understand why you were given the body you have.

They may even laugh at you and make fun of you for the ways your body is different from how they think bodies should be.

You might also look in a mirror and think BAD things about your body.

Perhaps you’d rather have a different colored one, a different shaped one, or a different sized one. Maybe God made you a boy but you want to be a girl. Maybe you’d rather be an animal.

You may not understand why God chose to make you the way He did.

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But, someday something will happen. Something God knew would happen.

And you will realize that God planned for your body to be the exact one you needed to deal with that situation.

The body you hated will turn out to be the perfect tool for you to use to serve God and to spread the truth of His Gospel.

God made you perfect just as you are.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

— Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

“Dear God,

Thank you for making me the way I am. Thank you for giving me the body I need to live out your plan and purpose for my life. Thank you for loving me, for staying by my side, and for helping me during my journey through this life.

In Jesus name,

Amen.”

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“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

- Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV)

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You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “On a Journey/Designed by God (Kids Booklet)”.

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This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more stuff written my Amanda Hovseth.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? Books 1 & 2 of the Wingfeather Saga

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness - Andrew Peterson spins a riveting tale-for-all-ages, following Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby, and their trusty dog, Nugget, as they escape from the vicious Fangs of Dang who seek the lost Jewels fo Anniera. Quirky characters and their world of wonders—from the edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness to the deadly Glipwood Forest and beyond—set the stage for this epic adventure. 

North! Or Be Eaten - Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby thought they were normal children with normal lives and a normal past. But now they know they’re really the lost Jewels of Anniera, heirs to a legendary kingdom across the sea, and suddenly everyone wants to kill them. In order to survive, the Igibys must flee to the safety of the Ice Prairies, where the lizard-like Fangs of Dang cannot follow. First, however, they have to escape the monsters of Glipwood Forest, the thieving Stranders of the East Bend, and the dreaded Fork Factory. But even more dangerous are the jealousy and bitterness that threaten to tear them apart, and Janner and his siblings must learn the hard way that the love of a family is more important than anything else.

What Is The Rapture? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Mike Clement and Michael Glebb.

Michael Clement
But we're gonna continue on where we were. And I got a little long-winded last time. It was a hard time stopping. And we were talking about the person in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we were talking about the fact that Jesus is coming again. And then related to that, there are two other issues that are greatly debated by just, you know, not just little weird groups in one sense or another, but churches that are Orthodox and hold to the gospel and hold to the Bible. But they look at things differently. They understand things differently. And we were talking about the rapture, first of all, and not every group holds the same position on the rapture. Jesus said he would come again, but he, in the book of 1 Corinthians, it says, "that the dead in Christ will be raised first and that we who are alive will be caught up together with him. And so shall we ever be with the Lord." That may not be 1 Corinthians, but it's living believers that are caught up. And we go to meet the Lord in the air. And if you take a literal interpretation of the Bible, and if you recognize the idea that Israel are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And that the church is made up of Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, male and female, and had its beginning pretty much at, on the day of Pentecost, and is a very unique entity. So there's a difference between Israel and the church. If you hold to those truths, take the Bible literally, difference between Israel and the church, you're gonna come up with a pre-millennial or a pre-tribulational rapture. Now, there is what's become popular today, brother Mike, and you probably have heard this, is the pre-wrath view. And the pre-wrath view used to be called Mid-Tribulational. And there was a fellow who was the head of, I believe it was Friends of Israel. And, in fact, he's been to this area. And he wrote a book on the pre-wrath rapture changed his position, stepped down from his position in that organization, because that was a pre-tribulational view that they held. And they became very popular talking about the pre-wrath rapture, mid-tribulational. Now, the tribulation period recorded in the book of Revelation is a seven year period. And when you look at it, there are a number of references to that mid-period, three and a half years. Something pretty interesting happens at that three and a half year period. And that comes outta scripture, but it's not clear that that's when the rapture takes place. But there are many that hold to that position today. And then there's a post-tribulational rapture. And what you have in the Book of Revelation, you see at the end of the book of Revelation, there's a great resurrection, and it's called the First Resurrection in scripture. Well, and, and many have said, well, that's the rapture. You know, because obviously something takes place there. It says that people are raised, but it doesn't make reference to the translation of living believers. That living believers are now, their bodies are changed to the same body that Jesus had when he was raised from the dead. But those three views are found in Christianity with regards to the rapture. Now, there's also the whole area of, when is the second coming supposed to take place in relationship to the millennium? The millennium is a period of how long Brother Mike? A thousand years? That's what millennium means. And the Bible talks about this millennial period. It's a period when Jesus will, again, if you take it literally, that Jesus will physically rule and reign from Jerusalem over the entire Earth. All kinds of things will be changed. People will live through that whole millennial period. There will be true justice. And that's just a lot of things that'll be exceptional during that period. So there are those that have debated in Christianity. Well, when will Jesus come in relationship to the millennium? And there was a view that was very popular at the turn of the last century in the early 1900's. It was called Post-millennialism. And post-millennialism was the idea that Christians would gradually have such an impact on the world, that the world will become Christianized. That it will get better and better and better. And one of the evidences of that was, World War I. Do you remember what World War I was called? The Great War. The Great War was also called "The War to End All Wars." And in fact, at the end of World War I, our government took a lot of battleships and sunk them because that was gonna be the last war that the world ever had. Because Christianity was making all these changes, and people just held on to the idea that things were just gonna get better and better and better. And we're not gonna need all this. Right. Because, and that was a byproduct of Post Millennialism. Well, World War II, Korea and Vietnam pretty much killed that idea, at least for a while. But interestingly, it's coming back. There are people that are holding to the idea, that in fact, Christianity is gonna change the world. And that eventually, it'll be just like what the Bible calls Millennium.

Michael Gleb
There's a movement now, and you can see this with social media sort of gearing us and turning us towards Christian nationalism. And I think that a Christian culture is a good culture. I think that is obviously the right culture. But nothing changes the heart outside of a personal relationship with Christ. And you can be in a Christian culture and not know Jesus. And so that's the biggest issue that I see with that. But that's coming back. You're right about that. And I didn't make that connection, but there is now a lot of talk about Christian, sort of, nationalism. We talk about America in terms of a Christian nation, because of its foundation, and that's a good thing. But again, being born in America is not saving anybody.

Michael Clement
It gives you a better chance.

Michael Gleb
That is true.

Michael Clement
A better chance of hearing the gospel here in America than anywhere else in the world. I just came back from a trip to my son and his family down in Brazil. And that is a whole different culture. I think every American should spend at least a week in a third world country. And they would get off the plane and get on their knees and kiss the ground and thank God for the country that they have the privilege of living in. Anyway, post Millennialism has the idea that there'll be this, in bringing in of the millennial kingdom by the church, by missions. And then eventually the world will be Christianized, and at the end of that, Christ will come, and then he'll judge the nations, and eternity will begin. Then there's a millennialism, and sometimes that's been called realize millennialism. And there's a number of ideas, and I really don't want to misrepresent it, but one of the ideas is that, what happened in 70 AD with the fall of Jerusalem, that was the tribulation. That all the things that are said in the book of Revelation, about the judgements and all that, that took place in 70 AD and now, since 70 AD we've been living in the Millennium. The millennium is a time when Christ reigns, but it teaches, well, Christ is reigning in the hearts of men. He's reigning through the church, he's making his influence known through the church. And that there will come a time in the future sometime when Christ will physically return again. But this is the millennium now, which means Satan is bound now. And there's a lot of people, including me, that have a hard time wrapping their heads around that idea. So anyway, there's all these different views of the individual details, timing. One of the things that scripture encourages us, is that we need to be ready. You know, we always need to be ready. When I was first saved, there was a lot of talk about the second coming of the Lord. I mean, oh, there was just, you know, the signs and Israel became a nation and, oh, there was just all this talk about the second coming of the Lord. There were prophecy conferences and a group of churches in northern New Jersey had a round robin prophecy conference. And they got guys like John Walford and some other guys who, they would be at one church one night and another church another night, and they just rotated these guys around. And boy, everybody was talking about it, and everybody was excited. Well, I came home, we lived in this trailer court, and I came home from a youth group activity, and I'm walking through the trailer court and I happened to look up in the sky, and the moon had a ring around it. I had never seen the moon with a ring around it. And I didn't know a whole lot about the Bible, but I remembered something about there being signs in heaven before the second coming of the Lord. And I thought, "my goodness, Jesus is gonna come! What do I need to do?" And right nearby was the trailer of a friend of mine, and as far as I know, they didn't know the Lord. And I ran over to their door, and I pounded on the door. And this friend's mother came to the door, she said, "mike, what's wrong?" And I pointed up in the sky and said, "Look, look, look!" And she looked up and she said, "oh yeah, ring around the moon. Haven't you ever seen one of those before?" "No, I haven't."

Michael Gleb
Jesus is coming back!

Michael Clement
That's what I'm saying. I was expecting any moment to hear the trumpet. I heard a pastor one time say that, you know, "scripture says that in the twinkling an eye, at the last trump, that Christ would come." And he said, "scientists have actually tried to figure out how quick the twinkling of an eye is. And it's, like, nanoseconds." You know, just instantaneous. He said, "but the sound of a trump will take a few seconds," he said, "so I got a two second message." He said, I hear a trump and I'm gonna say, you better all get saved right now, I'm going to heaven." And boom, off he goes.

Michael Gleb
And it's interesting when you think about, when we talk about this, I've always been kind of same with you as we had a lot of talk about prophecy. And some people wanted to camp on prophecy. And there was maybe this over-emphasis on it. And some people, I think, really just wanted to scare people. I really, truly, think that was what they desire to do. And the return of Christ should not scare any Christian. It shouldn't be a frightening thing. It should, matter of fact, I think it's Paul that writes and he says, you know, "comfort one another with these words." And this is a comforting thing, but you know, what are we to do? Well, it's simple. You know, I've told our church before, I said, "there's the wake up walk with the Lord." Commune with Him. Love the people that God has placed in your life; abstain from sin. That's a pretty good day in the life of a Christian. And so that's what we do. And if you can tell somebody about Jesus, I mean, that would be another important thing to do, because every single day, it's a day closer to that day.

Michael Clement
And John Walford once made the comment, and it was back in the early 60's when all these conferences were going on. He said, "isn't it sad?" He said, "if we have a prophecy conference, tons of people will come out. If we have a conference on holiness, on prayer, on evangelism," he said, "you don't get the response." And yet that's the reason for prophecy. You know, that these things should motivate us in our Christian life.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? A New Joel Rosenberg Book

The Libyan Diversion - The world’s most wanted terrorist is dead. Marcus Ryker recommended the drone strike himself. The intelligence was rock-solid. But what if it was wrong? Abu Nakba―the man responsible for lethal attacks in Washington, D.C., London, and Jerusalem―is finally dead. Marcus Ryker has been tasked with hunting down and destroying what’s left of the terror group Kairos. But before Ryker can mobilize his team of CIA operatives with their new assignment, a disturbing report from Libya suggests all may not be as it seems. The U.S. bombing that should have taken out Nakba’s headquarters now appears to have been a disastrous mistake―and Ryker himself may be responsible. With Kairos gearing up for a major retaliatory strike against the U.S., time is short, and terror cells may already be inside American borders. But Ryker won’t be able to stop this threat until he clears his own name, and his closest ally inside the White House can no longer help him. The Libyan diversion threatens to leave Ryker on the sidelines just when his country needs him most.

What Did Synagogue Worship And Teaching Look Like?

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Cline Johnathan Hernandez and Gary Schick.

Gary Schick
So here's the question that came our way: "We are doing an overview of the New Testament in a Bible study. The subject of synagogue worship came up and someone asked what that involved, assuming there was teaching that took place. Who did the teaching? Was it a scribe, a Pharisee, or a member of some other Jewish religious sect?" Jonathan, what were you able to come up with on this question?

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah, so I guess we kind of see in the New Testament that they record 10 occasions on which the ministry of Jesus took place in synagogues. The gospel records, you know, as we read through those. And it's a good, you know, good place to kind of start and think about looking back at all those occasions and what took place, what happened. But as we get into the question, you know, what is the synagogue? You know, how's it differ from the temple? You know? The temple itself, you know, only the Levites and the priests could enter into the temple. But here in the synagogue, it was more of a community center, so to speak. And so all members of the Jewish community could participate in community life within the synagogue. And so that, you know, was one of the big differences for me to look at. Some of the traditions hold that this was a place of assembly for a study of the Torah. You know, during their services, we would see the service take place on the Sabbath. And then also, I believe it was on Mondays and Wednesdays, I think it was, where the city markets were to take place. And so when all the people from outside of the town would come in to the markets, then they would spend time in the synagogue also. And there'd be times of, the same thing of teaching out of the Torah and then out of the prophets. And then also, they would have the prayers of benediction, I think that's how you say it. They would have those moments. And so as we look through this, you know, the adult males of the Jewish community could be part of the synagogue, but only males from the age of 13 and up could be elders within the synagogue. And so they would have the opportunity to be able to read out of the Torah and then read out of the prophets and also say the prayers. If we were to see that take place, I guess they would have a seat, which they would've called the seat of Moses. And I think we hear, you know, as we look back at some of these passages in scripture, we'd see where Jesus sat down after he read the, you know, read out of the Torah. And that he would take that seat, and then he would teach. And usually the teaching would take place, but it was never really, like for us, you know, we have a sermon in our Sunday services. And a sermon could take, you know, I don't know how long you guys preach, but there's some that I've seen that are 15 minutes and some that are an hour and a half, you know? And so, from my understanding is most of the time, the teachings were quick, you know, a few minutes long. And so they would read through whatever they were reading through, and then just have a few words afterwards. So that's kind of what you would see take place during these times. And so one of the things I really liked about, you know, as I kind of just dug through this, is how they really, everything in the synagogue was about relationship. It was about community, you know? The school would, you know, the school was usually within the synagogue. The community events were there. Obviously, the services were there for reading the Torah, you know, reading the law. You know, all of that stuff was there, the government things were there. And so everything was wrapped around this ideal of community. You know, and I still love that thought process, and hopefully that would, you know, for us as believers now, how do we? But the big thing that I got out of this was, how do we maintain, or how do we keep that atmosphere of community within our churches? You know, within our community here? How do we, you know, even here with us, you know, we have two kind of separate camps that we come out of in a sense, you know, in some areas. But we can continue to have community. And so, how do we have community as other churches coming together too? So, yeah.

Gary Schick
Really, really good stuff. Yeah, the words, "church," "synagogue," we think of them as places. But actually, synagogue means, "gathering," and church actually comes from the Greek word εκκλησίασμα, which means, "congregation." So it's really about people. And I think one of the questions that you kind of delved a little bit back into is, you know, the difference between synagogue and temple. Of course, throughout the Old Testament, the temple is the heart of the nation. But the synagogue, which we read about in Jesus' time, actually has its roots to the time when the nation was in exile in Babylon. And so during that time, they couldn't have temple worship. There was no sacrifice going on. In fact, there was a real risk that the Jewish faith, which was so centered in the temple worship, could be lost. And so how was this to be preserved? And it was preserved on the Sabbaths, particularly. But as you mentioned, at other times as well, in the gathering of the Jewish community for essentially the reading of the word, prayers, fellowship. Those three things: prayer, scripture and fellowship. And of course, praise of the Lord, singing would've been all involved. And as you pointed out, not only Jesus, but also Paul utilized the synagogue worship. Because the temple, once again, it's in one place, it's in Jerusalem, even once the people are back from exile. This idea that had caught on of taking the Lord's day to gather together in the synagogue, if you weren't going to the temple, became important because this is the place where little ones are trained up on how to read the word and so forth. And where the men of the community would take turns in reading and expounding upon the word, and where the educational process continued to take place. Luke 4 I think, is a great passage illustrating Jesus and his ministry in the synagogue. It says, "and he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has appointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'today, the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." So as you pointed out, really the reverse of today. The preacher stands up to preach while the people sit and listen. In those days, the people stood to listen while the preacher sat down to teach. And he was sitting symbolically in the seat of Moses, which is the place from which the word of the Lord had come. And so here we have Jesus, one greater than Moses, sitting down to teach. And we see that again in the Sermon on the Mount. "And he sat down and began to teach." He wasn't just, oh, sitting down casually with the guys, "and by the way, here's some thoughts," then ended up being the Sermon on the Mount. No, no, no. This is a very specific symbolic act of, "Okay, pay attention. Jesus is getting ready to teach," when he sat down. We have from the Mishnah, five actions that were performed in synagogue and probably go back to the time of Jesus. And before, apparently you needed 10 male adults to have enough of a quorum to have synagogue, worship. Women and children would've also been present, but in a different section. The men worshiped up close, and the women and the children were kind of back behind a screen. The recitation of the Shama hero is, "the Lord our God, the Lord is one." There's recitation of the fefela, which was prayer, which was done standing again. We do it so differently. We are praying, sitting down, heads bowed, hands folded. The early Christians followed the tradition. They not only stood standing, but heads uplifted and hands raised in anticipation of the Lord's return. The priestly blessing, "the Lord bless you and keep you," from Leviticus. The reading of the Torah, the law, and the reading of the prophets. Well, and then as you pointed out, basically anybody who had been to the Jewish version of confirmation, you know, had been through bar mitzvah. Had been trained in the law, was now accepted as a man in the community, even at the age of 13. Could hopefully rightly handle this, as Paul would say, the word of truth. And there are so many parables in the Christian community, because of course, the Christians just naturally followed the pattern that had begun in Judaism. And how appropriate, because we are outside, we are in exile from the heavenly temple from the place where we will meet with the Lord in all eternity. And so we have the Christian Church, it's kind of a Christian version of synagogue. A place of instruction, a place of prayer and praise, a place of fellowship. Where we continue the reading of the, you know, they read the law and the prophets, you know, we would add the gospels and the letters. And some churches are more formal about that. They actually have specific readings from every part of it. Some churches are a lot looser. I tend to read the passage I'm going to preach on and make that the focus of the day. But you know, there's no wrong answers here. There's no commandment, "and this is how you do synagogue worship." That wasn't in the Old Testament. There's not a commandment, "this is how you do Christian worship," in the New Testament. But these are the natural ways that we gather for really these three purposes: prayer and praise, hearing and expounding of the word, fellowship and mutual encouragement, and building up of one another in the Lord in Christ. So, great to spend a little time being built up with you as we've dug into the word today.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? The Treasures of Nome by Tracie Peterson

Forever Hidden - For Havyn Powell, growing up on her grandfather Chuck Bondrant's dairy outside the 1904 gold-rush boomtown of Nome, Alaska, offered all she needed. She had the love of her mother, two sisters, and grandfather. But now, at 23, Havyn realizes the stability of her life may soon vanish. Havyn is determined to find a way to keep the family together, but her grandfather's health is declining and everyone seems to be holding secrets from each other, including the handsome, dark-haired stranger who recently arrived. John Roselli arrives in Nome looking for a steady, consistent job. He has grown tired of the promises of getting rich quick and just wants an honest job with honest pay. His grandfather once knew a Chuck Bondrant, and so when John arrives at the dairy, he's quickly offered a job - and a path to more if he wants it. Havyn's plan for helping out the family means using her beautiful singing voice and her sisters' musical talent at a local roadhouse. They're an immediate hit, and it looks like her plan will be a success. But the spotlight brings with it dangerous eyes that covet Havyn and are jealous as she and John grow ever closer. But will they realize the peril before it's too late?

Endless Mercy - Madysen Powell has always been a forgiving person, but when her supposedly dead father shows up in Nome, Alaska, her gift for forgiveness is tested. With the recent loss of her mother, she searches for answers, leaning on Granny Beaufort, a neighbor in town, who listens with a kind heart. Still, Madysen is restless and dreams of performing her music around the world. The arrival of a traveling show could prove just the chance she needs, and the manager promises more than she ever dreamed. Daniel Beaufort arrives in Nome, searching for his own answers after the gold rush leaves him with only empty pockets. Still angry about the death of his loved ones, he longs to start fresh but doesn't have high hopes until he ends up helping at the Powell dairy making cheese. Drawn to the beautiful redhead with big dreams, will deceptions from the past tear apart any hope for the future?

Ever Constant - On the surface, Whitney Powell is happy working with her sled dogs and welcoming the new additions to her family through her sisters' marriages and an upcoming birth. But her life is full of complications, including an estranged father, that have her on the edge of losing control. Growing up, she was the strong sister, and she can't give that up now. When some villagers in outlying areas come down with a horrible sickness, Dr. Peter Cameron turns to Whitney and her dogs for help navigating the deep snow, and they become close, traveling to minister to the sick together. Peter quickly recognizes her finer qualities but also notices her troubling way of coping with her struggles. He does what he can to help but questions if she is more of a risk than his heart can take. As sickness spreads throughout Nome and another man courts Whitney, she and Peter will discover that sometimes it is only in weakness that you can find strength.

How Should We Battle Spiritual Attacks?

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Gary Hashley, Tim Hebbert and Brad Kilthau.

Gary Hashley
If you were to ask, I believe the average believer today, who at least is really striving to walk with Jesus and serve Him well, they would probably say it seems like the attacks of the enemy have grown. Whether Satan himself, whether it's society that Satan has a vast influence in and he will use against us. Whether it is our own sinful flesh that he stirs up and attacks us through ourselves. Maybe it's other believers that he can use at times to attack us. The question that we're going to talk about over these next few minutes, in knowing that we as Christians are experiencing many spiritual attacks, "how would you counsel believers in the ability to battle the spiritual attacks?" Well, my mind immediately goes to Ephesians 6 where Paul says that we're to, "be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might." We're to, "put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation and the sort of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication to the end, that you keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." That's the English standard version, if you're wondering, "what is he reading from." It's the one I prefer, and the one I preach from. But I think one thing we get, and I'm gonna start with this and then turn it over to Brad and then to Tim. One of the things in answering the question is, yes, there are great attacks. So yes, we need to be prepared. And Paul talks about the armor of God. You know, you think of a soldier, and I never was one in the sense of being in the military. But they enlist, they train, and they fight. You know, I enlisted when I put my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior. I became a part of God's team, or as we would sing, one of his Christian soldiers. You know, I've been trained in the word in church, Sunday School, Bible college, studying on my own. And then of course, fighting is involved. And, you know, soldiers train their bodies and their minds. They go through basic training, they do the calisthenics. They work their bodies hard, running and carrying and all those things to build up their strength. They build up their minds, they learn their jobs that they'll be doing as soldiers, and then they gear up for battle. They put on the equipment and they get ready with the equipment to fight the battle. And here in the armor of God, we find how to gear up. And I, at the cost of sounding simplistic, basically the gear that Paul talks about is truth (the belt of truth), righteousness (the breastplate of righteousness). Something to do with our solid footing, because he talks about footwear of the gospel of peace. He talks about the shield of faith. He talks about the helmet of salvation on our heads. He talks about, you know, the sword of the spirit (the word of God or scripture). And then he talks about prayer. So really, if we're gonna gear up as those who are soldiers in the army of Christ, so to speak, we need to commit ourselves to truth, God's truth. Not man's truth, God's truth. Living out our faith in a way that is in accordance with the standards we learn, that God has given us in His word. We need the solid footing of being on the solid rock, and having our feet shod in such a way that we are standing solid and not being tripped up by everything the world is throwing at us. We need to be committed to people of faith, to be people of faith, no matter what is happening in and around and the attacks that are coming. We need that helmet of salvation, cause I don't know about you, but Satan plays games in my brain, and I need to have that mental commitment to the assurance I find in the truth of the word of God. Of course, we need scripture, which that kind of fits with truth to start with, and then we need prayer. And I guess if we are going to be ready to battle the attacks of the enemy, we need to train and we need to gear up. And as someone has said, we need to decide ahead of time where we're gonna stand. We need to decide ahead of time how we're gonna stand and what we're gonna stand for. And so, yeah, if we're going to be ready for battle against the enemy, like a good soldier, we need to gear up with truth, righteousness, the right footing, faith, assurance, scripture and prayer. We need to be prepared because the enemy's out there, and Brad, talk to us about another aspect of this.

Brad Kilthau
Well, if you're gonna be a soldier that's prepared, which is very good and obviously clearly stated in the word of God, as you alluded to already, Gary. We also have to be alert, very alert. You know, we can be equipped, we can have a knowledge of the word, we can have, those parts of our life that were involved in the church and committed to the church. But if we're not alert to the attacks of Satan, he's gonna sneak up on us and he's gonna cause a lot of harm. And you know, I think about sometimes the thought as Christians. We can come along and think, "well, you know, God's got this. He's our sovereign God. It's all in control." We've read the end. We know he's gonna finish and be victorious over Satan, and the enemy and all of that. And I think sometimes as Christians, we can get into that gear of confidence, which is okay in a sense, but then use that as an ability to say, "well, I don't need to really, really worry about my daily time in the word. I don't really need to worry about walking this way and that way because God's got it handled and it's all gonna work out." But that's what Satan wants us to do. He wants us, as Christians, to not be alert to his schemes. He wants us to get kind of wrapped up in what we're doing on planet earth and not worry about the spiritual aspect of things. And I think as Christians, sometimes it's easy for us to do. We can get involved in being at everything that our kids are doing. We can be involved in politics, we can really get involved in raising our status and our job or making money. And then as we're focusing on that, we don't realize, that our peripheral vision is not working very well. And that's what Satan wants. He wants to sneak up alongside of us and to hit us with something that we're not prepared for, because we have been just nonchalant walking along as a Christian. We've gotta be, not preoccupied with the things of this world, but we've constantly got to be in prayer and in the word. And, you know, some of those illustrations that you were giving, Gary, we always teach those to the kids, don't we? We always talk about teaching them the armor. And we love to do that because it's easy to put on the outfits, and that really kind of gets the kid's attention and that's good. But we also always have a verse that we kind of throw in front of the kids. And that's Psalm 119:105 that says, "your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." And we've gotta have the word. I'm thinking, described here as a light that you get, you need to have the word to tell you what your next step is gonna be. Because if you're not looking down, if you're not alert, you'll step in something that Satan has got; that snare that's out there waiting for you. And then I think another thought, before I turn it over here to Tim, is I was thinking about 2 Corinthians 10, and also Paul talks about spiritual battle. But in verses 3-5 he says, "For though we walk in the flesh and we do not war according to the flesh," he said, "for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds and casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Just something that I want to throw in here is, Paul is primarily telling us that the battle that, usually we are fighting, this spiritual battle is in our mind, it's in our heart. It's not a hand-to-hand combat with Satan. It's not a hand-to-hand combat with demons. And so what do we need to do?

Brad Kilthau
Well, we need to be trained in a way as, even we learn in the word to defend our faith. In this day and time, we have to have a biblical worldview too, because, you know, they were accusing him of using human tactics to draw people into Christianity. And he's saying, "no, I don't use those. I use the power of the Holy Spirit." But that's what they were using. And most times when we come into conflict or issues and spiritual attacks, there is a human element, a human argument that we need to address. We can't ignore that. And we need to be knowing how to defend that this Bible is true. We need to know how to share that Satan's true hell is real. Those kinds of things. We have to be equipped, in that sense, to defend our faith. And especially in the world we have today. Because so many people can just Google, you know, and they've got all their arguments from Google. Well okay, good for them. But why don't we have our argument ready to defend our faith from the word of God? And so we have to be constantly, like you were saying, training and equipping ourselves as those soldiers. So that's my 2 cents on that. I hope our listeners can take in their ability to fight against those spiritual battles. What do you wanna say to us, Tim?

Tim Hebbert
I wanna go back to that very first verse in that passage, guys, "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power," Ephesians 6:10. I think in the world we're living in today, and I think you guys would agree with me in that, I don't think in the day and age we're living in, spiritual attacks aren't going to do anything but increase. So, what's our answer to that? Are we going to, pull the covers over our heads, so to speak, and either wait to pass away or wait for the rapture? Or are we gonna be strong in the Lord and in not our power, but His mighty power? I got to thinking as we were preparing for this, when I was a young grade schooler, I think I was afraid, other than being at church, I was afraid of everything. But when I was with my dad, and you guys knew my dad, my dad was a big imposing figure. I had no fear when I was with my dad. And that's the relationship that our Father God wants to have with us. "I'm not sending you out there by yourself," I love that passage. First chapter, one of my dad's favorite chapters in all the scripture was that first chapter of the book of Joshua. "Be strong and courageous." And if you really analyze that, He doesn't say it to him once. He doesn't say it to him twice. He says it to him three times. But each time, He increases what he's saying. "Be strong and courageous." This is why, "be strong and very courageous, because here's what I'm gonna do." But then at the end He says, "This is my command. This isn't a suggestion. 'Be strong and courageous,' for I'll go with you wherever you go." And He gives us assurances in the Old Testament. Isaiah 52:12 says, "you won't ever be alone, for the Lord will go ahead of you. Yes, the Lord God of Israel protect you from behind." He not only goes before us---God was the very first one ever to say, "I got your back." He also promises that no matter what the devil throws at us, in terms of a weapon, it will not prosper in our lives. Isaiah 54:17, "but in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord. Their vindication will come from me. I the Lord has spoken." That's a powerful passage. But I want to end on this, Gary, this whole passage is one of my favorites. And it reminds me of why, one of the several dozen reasons I love the Apostle Paul's writings, but he's the master of metaphor. He takes something that you understand, and he teaches you through it. And the thing that everybody in that world would've known at the time was the Roman army. So he uses the Roman army, the soldier, the foot soldier and what he's wearing, to prepare himself for battle. He uses those as his indicators. And I want to close with this passage, it's from Romans 8:37. In the time, they would've known what a conquering army looked like, because they saw the best one the world had ever seen before. And he tells us in Romans 8:37, "knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." He's basically saying, "you see that army over there? When you have the power of God in you, be strong. Be courageous. Don't be afraid, because God is greater than anything that this world can throw at you." And I guess, before we close today, if you're listening today, I just ask you to ask yourself this question, "are you living today as a victim or are you living in victory?" God didn't call his people to be victims. He called them to be courageous, to be aware, to put on the armor and to do things through Him, for Him and because of Him.

What’s New at the Cross Reference Library? Some New Karen Kingsbury Novels

Someone Like You - Maddie Baxter West is shaken to the core when she finds out everything she believed about her life was a lie. Her parents had always planned to tell her the truth about her past: that she was adopted as an embryo. But somehow the right moment never happened. Then a total stranger confronts Maddie with the truth and tells her something else that rocks her world—Maddie had a sister she never knew about. Betrayed, angry, and confused, Maddie leaves her new job and fiancé, rejects her family’s requests for forgiveness, and moves to Portland to find out who she really is. Dawson Gage’s life was destroyed when London Quinn, his best friend and the only girl he ever loved, is killed. In the hospital waiting room, London’s mother reveals that London might have had a sibling. The frozen embryo she and her husband donated decades ago. When Dawson finds Maddie and brings her to Portland, the Quinns—her biological parents—welcome her into their lives and hearts. Maddie is comforted by the Quinns’ love and intrigued by their memories of London, who was so much like her. Is this the family and the life she was really meant to have? Now it will take the love of Dawson Gage to help Maddie know who she is...and to help her find her way home.

Forgiving Paris - In Indiana, Ashley Baxter Blake and her husband are about to take an anniversary trip to Paris, but she is hesitant. More than two decades ago, she made her most grievous mistake in that same city. She has never forgiven herself for what happened there, and she still harbors secrets that she’s afraid will come to light. Just before the trip, Ashley gets a call from her niece. Jessie explains that her French boyfriend’s mother remembers working at a bakery with an American named Ashley. “Could that be you?” When Alice and Ashley meet, a flood of memories comes for both women, taking Ashley back to a reckless affair and an unexpected pregnancy and Alice to the night she nearly ended it all. Can this reunion bring healing and closure? Maybe it is finally time for Ashley to forgive herself...and Paris.

Truly, Madly, Deeply - When 18-year-old Tommy Baxter declares to his family that he wants to be a police officer after graduation, his mother, Reagan, won’t hear of it. After all, she’s still mourning the death of her own father on September 11, and she’s determined to keep her son safe from danger. But Tommy’s father, Luke, is proud of Tommy’s decision. He would make a kind and compassionate cop. Meanwhile, Tommy is in love for the first time. His sweet relationship with Annalee Miller is almost too good to be true. Tommy begins seriously thinking about the far-off day when he can ask her to marry him, but she hasn’t been feeling well. Tests reveal the unthinkable. While his girlfriend begins the fight of her life, Tommy is driven to learn more about the circumstances surrounding his birth and the grandfather he never knew. Secrets come to light that rock Tommy’s world, and he becomes determined to spend his future fighting crime and bringing peace to the streets. Or is this just his way to fight a battle he cannot win - the one facing Annalee? Blending romance and family drama, Truly, Madly, Deeply shows us that, in the shadow of great loss, the only way to live with passion is truly, madly, deeply.

The Metaphysical Search

When nothing in this world can satisfy…

Who am I?

Why am I here?

What is life all about?

“Life and the universe refuse to remain silent, and they trigger a thousand questions in us. For those with ears to hear, and for those who dare to pay attention, the universe is alive with sounds and signals to suggest that there is a wider world than we see—a world of warmth, color, and brilliance, lit by the reality of the sun and the author of it all.

Do you already “know what you see and hear,” in the sense that you have already made up your mind about what there is to be seen and heard, so that you can see and hear nothing else? Or do you “see and hear in order to know,” in the sense that you are open to the surprise of new insight and fresh perception?...This is the way of a mind and a heart that are open to a breakthrough.

Whoever has ears to hear let him hear.”

- Os Guinness “Signals of Transcendence: Listening to the Promptings of Life”

“Throughout the ages mankind has sensed that there is something deeper than physical reality. Things like the spiritual, the mental, and the emotional. These are realities that cannot be seen or sensed with the five senses, yet they are realities nonetheless.

The study of what is really real is called metaphysics. Metaphysics deals with the reality behind the reality that we see. The metaphysical explains (accounts for) the physical. As an analogy, think about your smartphone. What you see on the screen is not the whole story. There is advanced circuitry and a whole network behind that screen. That is like the metaphysical behind the physical.”

- The Think Institute

A Metaphysician’s goal is to find the reality behind the reality that we see.

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Metaphysics is not the end game; its existence is not the answer. It is merely a path taken—the name of the search—to discover the ultimate reality.

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“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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Inventions and their Inventors

When the first hairdryer was invented by Alexandre-Ferdinand Godefroy, people didn’t walk up to the large heater and metal pipe and ask it what it was or what its purpose was. Instead, they went to its creator—Godefroy—and asked him to explain the purpose of his creation’s existence.

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“Who am I?”

“Why am I here?”

“What is life all about?”

When it comes to these questions, we are the hairdryer in the equation. We did not choose to bring ourselves into existence or decide on why we should be brought into existence. So, if we want the answers to these questions, we have to ask the right being. We have to ask our creator.

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself. ”

— Pascal “Pensees (10.148):1"

God draws us to seek Him. We are all born with an emptiness inside, which no other human can fill. Neither spouses nor parents nor friends can be 100% what we need 100% of the time. But God can be. Only God’s love can fill that emptiness inside.

An all-powerful, timeless being like God could have created anything he wanted to create. He could have made us like robots that would do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to give us free will (the ability to act according to one’s own discretion).

God wants to have a real relationship with us, to interact with us, to love us, and to, hopefully, have us love him back and also love each other. 

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.  But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. - 1 John 4:7-11 (NLT)

In order for us to be able to have a genuine relationship with God, we had to have been created with the ability to love. In order to make it possible for us to love; God had to give us the ability and option not to love—because love means nothing if it is not freely given.

When people choose not to love God and not to love each other, they often choose to be selfish and do things God doesn’t want them to do. Or things which go against his design, which we call sin. Sin hurts people and causes bad things to happen.

The good news is, even when we do bad things, God still loves us and he refuses to give up on us. God knew when he created Adam and Eve that they would mess up and choose not to show him love. Yet, he also knew that he could fix the problem if he was willing to die on the cross to pay for our sins. So, despite knowing he would have to suffer and die for us, he still chose to create us. Jesus came down to earth and died on the cross to pay for our sins and fix our relationship with God. This means, even though we mess up we can still have a relationship with God.

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Now you have a choice.

-    You can choose to pay God for your sins yourself. This will mean you cannot make it into Heaven.

-    Or you can choose to admit that you cannot be good enough to get into Heaven on your own, and don’t want to pay the consequences of your sins, yourself. Then, you just need to accept the payment Jesus already made on your behalf for sin, and enjoy the free gift of a relationship with God and entry into Heaven.

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Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us...overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:34, 37-39 (NLT)

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You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “The Metaphysical Search”. For more information related to this topic you can also download “Metaphysics and God” tract and go to the blog post titled “Metaphysics and God”.

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This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more stuff written my Amanda Hovseth.