From the desk of Pastor Ben
God of Heaven’s Armies, you find so much beauty in your people! They’re like lovely sanctuaries of your presence.     (Psalm 84:1) NLT

When my mother passed away a couple of years ago, my wife & I went to Pennsylvania for her funeral. We were staying in a motel in my hometown. One morning we were eating a continental breakfast at the motel, we got our food and sat down to eat. As usual, we said grace before we ate. As we ate, I noticed a woman at another table. She was eating alone and every time I glanced her way, she was smiling at me. I smiled back at her and we continued to eat.
Eventually, I got up to refill my coffee. The woman who’d been watching us & smiling at me followed. “Excuse me,” she said. “I couldn’t help notice that you prayed before you ate. Are you a Christian?” “Yes,” I said. I went on to tell her that we were in town for my mother’s funeral. She said that she was in town for a funeral as well; her sister had died. We expressed our condolences to each other and the woman said, “My sister’s last words were, ‘I love Jesus, and Jesus loves me.”
In those moments, a familiar and special bond formed even though we had just met. That bond. A Jesus bond had knit us together in a random hotel breakfast room. We were part of a family; God’s family. That bond formed because His people are lovely sanctuaries of His presence and joy magnets. What a gift!

Faith Step:    Watch for moments of unexpected Jesus bonds today. Celebrate each one as a joyful gift.

He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.     (Zephaniah 3:17) ESV

I have been an achiever my whole life; at least I think I have been. I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my life. From early in life, I rarely got into trouble, I played a little baseball & softball and I was pretty good. I got good grades when I tried to. I went to college and had the opportunity to sing in some groups and met some interesting people. I felt the call to the ministry and have been in ministry for almost 40 years. During that time, I married, had kids and now grandkids. I have done everything I thought I should do. Life has gone pretty fast but now, with my adult children launched with lives of their own, I have started to ask myself, “What’s next? What should I do? What’s my purpose for the rest of my life, other than to love my wife completely and love my kids & grandkids for the rest of my life?”
Then I came across this quote by Brennan Manning in his book Abba’s Child. “Define yourself as one who is radically loved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” That was just the reminder I needed to hear — I am radically loved. In fact, Jesus loved me so much He died for me!
I can’t really undo my past, but I can move forward with confidence because I am loved, not because of what I do, but because of whose I am! I don’t have to strive to impress anyone because Jesus rejoices over me with gladness, quiets me with His love, and exults over me with loud singing. When I find myself struggling with my identity, I just look at today’s Scripture verse, and my spirit is quieted and content because of His love for me.

Faith Step:    Write down 3 ways your life would be different if you lived your life truly believing that Jesus radically loves you.

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
                    (Ezekiel 36:26) NLT

Because I am going to have surgery in a few weeks, I had to be cleared for that surgery by my cardiologist. I had an echocardiogram and he wanted to do a stress test as well. A medical stress test helps diagnose problems with our physical heart (nothing serious in my case).
In life, an emotional stress test often pinpoints problems with our spiritual heart. It might be easy to put on a good front when things go smoothly, but under the pressures of trials, hurts, and disappointments, what’s really in our heart usually comes out. Sometimes, it’s not a pretty sight. How we respond to stressful situations mirrors how we respond to Jesus as Lord. Do we trust Him to work out the circumstances of our lives? Are we willing to submit to His plans and obey His commands? Do we really believe He is always good and has our best interests in mind?
Even if we fail a spiritual stress test, there’s good news. Jesus is always ready to align our hearts with His so that we can respond to negative situations with a Christ-like attitude that honors Him. The process begins when we ask for His healing touch.

Faith Step:     Think of the last time you faced a highly stressful situation. How did you respond? Ask Jesus to make your heart more responsive to Him, regardless of your circumstances.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
                        (Romans 1:16) NIV

A common experience for Christians, either as individuals or as a church, is the sometimes often approach by people who are in need. Another common experience is that when you do help someone, either as an individual or as a church, word seems to get out, and the requests for help seem to multiply. As a result of that, decisions have to be made on who to help because whether you are an individual or a church, funds are not limitless. But, as Christians, we still hate to turn away people who are needy. It’s something we as people and churches struggle with.
What can we do for people when we can’t possibly give them monetary help? How about this: Tell them about Jesus! Of course. We can always share the good news of the gospel with people, even when we can’t help them in any other way!

So, when someone comes to you needing assistance, maybe even before you can determine whether you can help them or not, briefly tell them how you became a child of God through placing your trust in Jesus Christ. Maybe you can share with them a pamphlet or a Testament or may be you can even pray with them to find work or receive healing. End if they don’t leave with a gas card or a sack of groceries, they still may receive the best gift we have to offer them: the joy they can experience through knowing Jesus.

Faith Step:    Write down a brief account of how you came to faith in Jesus. May be you will be able to share it with someone who needs joy in his or her life.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!  (Psalm 30:11-12) NLT

There is a deep joy — the sort of meaningful, overwhelming, heart-swelling sort of joy — that can’t be expressed in words alone. I think that’s why there are so many verses in the Bible that mention dancing as a way of expressing praise to God, including the above verses. I’m not really that sort of expressive person, but I know a lot of people who are and they express their praise by raising their arms or even spinning across the room when the Spirit leads them.
Whether we use song or dance or whispers from a timid heart, there are many ways to rejoice in the presence of our Savior. But as I read the above verses, I realized that David’s psalm is not speaking of a care-free happiness; his praise comes out of a heavy mourning. What a strange concept! It seems that the deepest and most heartfelt joy is born through what we learn from Jesus in times of loss, grief, and pain.
Each year I spend on this earth, my list of friends and loved ones who have gone ahead to heaven grows longer. Yet daily, Jesus brings joy into sadness. All that He has done for me means that one day my joy will be complete. Mourning will be over for good. He will ultimately clothe me in joy, and in the meantime, He daily invites me to a dance of celebration — anticipating in faith what is to come.

Faith Step:    Lift your arms in praise to Jesus today. If you are mourning, meditate on today’s verse and believe that He will transform that pain into joy.