Take the Leap

Take the Leap

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

My son posted a video of his two buddies and him bungee jumping. The song ‘Let it Go‘ played as I watched the first young man being harnessed in and clasped to the long, elastic rope. The employee carefully checked the straps and guided the friend through the gate to the launch pad. The jumper shifted his weight and swallowed hard as he inched closer to the edge. He surveyed the deep canyon below, looked at the camera, and then said to the attendant, “Will you, will you push me?” The reply: “No, you have to jump.”

My son’s friend had safety-sealed gear secured around his middle, the company possessed a solid reputation and a group of friends cheered in support. Perhaps it was the survival instinct within that rendered him pale! As I watched the video, I imagined that span between his feet leaving the platform and the point of rebound. A leap of faith never looked more tangible!

Over and over, I am led to the precipice of uncertainty or change and given the option to jump, by faith, into a vast unknown. Sometimes the free-fall is terrifying. But the adrenaline rush of living by faith is balanced by the solid foundation of God’s unchanging nature and promises.

Lord, please remind me daily to walk in the confidence that you are my constant guide and protection. Amen.

Thought: Take time to review the ways God has protected and guided you through difficult times and thank Him, in advance, for how He will continue to do so in the future.

By Shelaine Strom

View from Back of the Desert

View from Back of the Desert

There are three classes of people: those who have been in the desert, those still in the desert, and those who have your day coming in the desert!  If you have been there, you need no explanation from me.  If you haven’t been there, no words of mine will explain it to you.  It is not a popular topic, and God’s people perish for lack of knowledge.

Being “on the backside of the desert” is not a self-inflicted inconvenience or a detour because of our spiritual slackness.  It is one of God’s major destinations for those He wants to take deeper.  He is deliberate in leading us into the desert to speak tenderly to us and to make our trouble a gateway of hope.  God says, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope” (Hosea 2:14-15). There we give ourselves to Him in a new way, and He affirms to us that we are bound to Him forever in righteousness, justice, unfailing love, and compassion (Hosea 2:19-20).

God has purposes and blessings for us in the desert and afterward.  From there, we will know Him as Lord more deeply.  He wants to sharpen our listening skills to His voice alone.  He wants us to know that the only proper response when there is nothing we can control is to trust that He is in control, and He can’t get it wrong.  He wants to show us that there are only two places to go: down and out, or right up into His lap.  He gets us where we can’t move in our flesh, because He must do everything of eternal significance by His Spirit.  In the heat of the desert, He burns up or blows away all the wood, hay, and stubble of our pride, confidence, and striving.

The Bible says that John the Baptist grew strong in spirit in the desert (Luke 1:80). There, he preached the message of the new entrance of God into the affairs of earth (Matthew 3:1).  The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert (Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1).  Luke 4:14 tells us that Jesus came out of the desert in the power of the Spirit and preached his first public sermon: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).  This was His mission statement for the three years of His earthly ministry and His ultimate ministry to us and for us.

What lies ahead?  Based on the experience of the Israelites, we can expect more giant obstacles, more resistance by the heathen and hell itself, fiercer battles, and more confrontation with the forces of darkness.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that there are great things to come: more positioning as the Body of Christ to move corporately, more victories, more blessings, more light, more power in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, more of His presence, and more of His glory made manifest in our world.  For the joy set before us!

by Sylvia Gunter

Grizzlies Charging

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Grizzlies Charging “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him firm in your faith … the God of all grace … will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:6-10 A friend was hunting for elk with a few buddies when they spotted four adult grizzly bears charging down a ridge toward them. Fear gripped their hearts. There was no point in running; there was no place to hide on the open landscape. Their only hope was to stand their ground and make a lot of noise. Even with high-powered rifles the odds of dispatching four adult Grizzlies was slim. They could soon smell the stench of the bears; it wafted down on them from behind a line of trees. But the bears never came. They must have entered the trees and proceeded down the creek bed to the valley below. My friend understood in a new way the dangers of the wilderness. This story made me ask, “What are the deadly beasts that could destroy me if they took hold of my life?” adultery, addictions to alcohol or pornography, love of money and possessions? More subtle sins like pride, bitterness, laziness and jealousy? What are your grizzlies? What steps can you take to make sure you’re out of harm’s way? Action Step: Take a practical step to guard your heart, such as setting a new boundary about what you allow your eyes to see or scheduling a time to prayer through something that’s frustrating you. By Mike Woodard