The Blue Church

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way  and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam  and the mountains quake with their surging.” – Psalm 46    

This past week I wrestled with what it means to have faith. I have seen examples as of late of people stepping out in faith and doing things that many people would consider foolish or impractical. When questioned as to why they were doing this, they replied that they were trusting God for a desired result and they believed that He would come through.

On my drive to work this morning I was thinking about how blessed I am. In particular, I was thanking God for his grace and mercy towards me, and how He has blessed me with such a wonderful family and life. When I arrived at work, I pulled into my parking spot and started my devotional time which featured the following verse:

I recently read about how monasteries came about. It was fascinating to learn how they were instituted primarily out of a need to keep certain Christians safe. The account spoke of how before there were monasteries some Christians would subject themselves to a prolonged period of isolation in a desert so that they would experience suffering and build their dependence on God.

I recently watched a movie that was based on a book I had read several years ago. It is called “The Shack” and it has been the subject of much opinion since its release. I went into watching the movie with some hesitation because the book left me questioning some of the theological underpinnings that were presented.

Can you identify the lost person in this list?

• The alcoholic who now lives on his own because his family kicked him out.
• The teenage girl who just learned that she is pregnant and who is contemplating an abortion.
  

want to encourage you today to think about renewal. It has been on my mind a lot lately and I believe it to be an important subject. What I am really addressing is daily renewal. This is the type of renewal where we wake up every day knowing that much awaits us and that we are still “carrying” burdens from yesterday and that we need God to renew us.

^{Emmanuel – God with us. Jesus came to be with his creation. He came to be with us. The incarnation is hard to fathom, even for those who are mature in the faith. For me, there are several verses in the bible that really bring home the significance of Jesus coming to earth. Here are some of them}

 ¹⁴ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.¹⁶ 

salm 9:1 1I
will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your

With Thanksgiving now in our rearview mirror I have had a little more time
to reflect on giving thanks to God. Perhaps the few thoughts I have shared
below will help you to see that we have so many reasons to express gratitude
to our Creator: