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SubscribeAfter leaving Mammoth Cave we went to the Corvette Museum. A few years ago a massive sink hole opened up right in the middle of the main showroom of the museum. It swallowed up 7 or 8 collector Corvettes. Where did this sink hole come from? A cave that was deep under the structure, one there long before the museum. This dark cavern lay dormant for so long and yet eventually ate away at the life above it.
How do we gain clarity in the spiritual realm of life? One of the songs we sing at church has the line “a sound mind so that I can see clearly.” How do we move toward a sound mind? For us, the starting place is the Word of God. It’s through God’s Word that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and guides and directs us.
Henri Nouwen in his book on the story of the Prodigal Son says it this way, “It often seems to me that the more I try to disentangle myself from the darkness, the darker it becomes. I need light, but that light has to conquer my darkness, and that I cannot bring about myself. I cannot forgive myself. I cannot make myself feel loved. By myself I cannot leave the land of my anger. I cannot bring myself home nor can I create communion on my own. I can desire it, hope for it, wait for it, yes, pray for it. But my true freedom I cannot fabricate for myself. That must be given to me. I am lost. I must be found and brought home by the shepherd who goes out to me.”
Last week I ended the midweek letter with a thank-you and a prayer request: Thanks for helping in the search for Lynn Murray, and a request for prayer that he would be found soon. Less than thirty minutes after that email went out, the call came in that Lynn had been found and was alive! I guess I should have asked you to pray sooner!
Rob was the first guy I heard talk with passion about comic books. I liked comic books but he LOVED comic books. This was in middle school, back when comic books and magazine racks were in every gas station and grocery store. Rob was so passionate about collecting comic books that he had learned the day and hour when deliveries were made to each store in his area. I went with him one time to meet the delivery truck at one stop, then watched him carefully, reverently, sift through the stacks to find the copies in the best condition. Watching him and listening to him talk about comic books made me want to know more about them. I wanted that kind of excitement. I wanted to be like Rob.
Our memory verse for February is John 15:13-14. Verse 13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus is primarily referring to his coming death in this verse, yet also the general principle holds true that the greatest act of love one can show is laying down their life for someone else. And there’s another application that points to the active and intentional living of a life of sacrifice, day after day, year after year, living your life to serve others, saying no to self and yes to Christ and his plans. Behind all of those selfless Sunday School teachers I encountered was a person who was giving leadership to them and our Children’s Ministry for all of those years: Eddie Lee Brooks.
Sunday we wrapped up our four part series on developing strong Spiritual Habits. In fact, we focused on ten habits for building spiritual life in 2024. You can revisit all four messages on our website, and also on our Youtube page. You can also listen to our church podcast feed.
The year was 1876, the end of U.S. Grant’s second term as president and, from his perspective, the country was on the brink of another Civil War. The man who committed every fiber of his being to ending that war now made it his mission to be the prince of peacemakers. He would see this election through with a unified nation, even if his party didn’t win.
I was at the Southern Seminary bookstore recently, a place I visit once a month or so to see what new books are out and what books might relate to the current needs of our church. When I brought my modest stack to the cash register, the young man working there asked if I was a pastor. We talked some about Valley View and then he asked where I went to seminary. I told him Phoenix seminary, and he asked, “Did you know Wayne Grudem?” I said “Yes, in fact he mentored me while I was there.” Then he asked, “What is something about him that not everybody knows that you really admire and respect?” Right away I knew how to answer this: “It’s his prayer life.”
Sunday I shared the story of my Great-Great-Great Uncle Emory Reese. He and his wife Deborah served as missionaries in Western Kenya from 1898-1923. Early in his work as a missionary Emory wrote his Dad a letter asking for advice. His Dad replied, “Do the littles. Do them well and watch them multiply in thy hands.” Luke 16:10 echoes this sentiment. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.” The little things we do every day really do matter. It may not seem so in the moment, but over time they add up and make a difference. This was true on the mission field one-hundred years ago, and it’s true today.
