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March 28 Devotional

Today we’ll be looking at Psalm 78:1-7:
 
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
    that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
    but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done.
He established a testimony in Jacob
    and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
    so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
    but keep his commandments.
 
This Psalm contains one of the longest historical summaries of Israel’s history in the Psalms. If you continue reading beyond what we will look at today you’ll see the repeated summary that Israel did not believe, that they forgot about what God had done, and that in the midst of that God continually forgave them, blessed them, and continued to work for their good. One of the things we see in the midst of this Psalm is the command to teach God’s truths and God’s ways to our children and our children’s children.
 
The primary point I want you to take away from this Psalm to wrestle with and think through today is: what kind of memories are you instilling in your regular family rhythms to help you, your kids, and your grandkids not forget the works of God? The ways He was worked in your family. We’ve talked about these at church before, the need to regular build some form of an Ebenezer, as in the song ‘Come Thou Fount’ where we sing “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” What we’re saying is we’ve built an altar of remembrance so that we do not forget how God has provided for us. In times like we’re in now, it seems to be easy to forget all the ways God has worked in the past to provide for us, to ensure our safety, even the fact that we’re alive today is because of His grace! So your assignment today is to find some way to build regular patterns in your life for you to remember how God has abundantly provided for you! I’d also encourage you to read this entire Psalm and see how God provided for His people in the past, as an encouragement that He will continue providing for us today!
 
SONG:
Today’s song  is an updated version of the hymn ‘Come Thou Fount’ sung by Chris Rice! The second verse contains new words that I love! You can listen to it on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
FREE STUFF:
I’m not the only one who’s enjoying all the free things people are giving away during this time! One of my favorite bloggers has an ongoing list of things he’s found that you can access HERE.
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by mikethestrand on March 28, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Music, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 28, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/28/march-28-devotional/

March 27 Devotional

Today we’re going to take a look at the the beginning of Hebrews 11:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Most people when they hear faith detach it from anything grounded in reality. In fact, even some Christians I know separate their faith from from fact. Think of the song from the show Oklahoma “O what a beautiful morning, O what a beautiful day, I’ve got a wonderful FEELING, everything’s going my way.” What is that feeling based in? Not in reality or facts! Yet for many of us, we can use those two words interchangeably. But the author of Hebrews is here reminding us that faith is true, and assured. We know from 1 Peter that we were born into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3), and thus our faith is grounded in the reality of the empty tomb. Now it’s true, we didn’t see it, and it’s also true that we won’t see the complete ramifications of that until Jesus’ glorious return, but we also have evidence to back up our faith.
It’s also true that we’re not the first generation of God followers to need faith, as the next verse reminds us everyone at every time in human history has either been commended or condemned for their faith. Which leads us even further back in history to the very FIRST thing, the creation of the world! It is faith that reminds us and gives us the encouragement we need to trust that God is in complete control of everything we see. All of the created order bows its knee to him. Now, we don’t currently see that reality (see Romans 8:20-22), but we know that someday our faith will become sight. So my encouragement for you today is to take some time to think about your faith. Thankfully it’s not dependent on you, as Hebrews will go on to remind us, our faith is as assured as long as Jesus is on his throne (spoiler alert, that’s forever), so we can trust that He is continuing to work all things out. Trust in Him!
 
SONG:
Today’s song picks up that very theme of the need to cling to Jesus, it’s an older song by a guy named Rich Mullins that you should go check out, it’s called ‘Hold Me Jesus’ and you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
 
Don’t forget, I’ve got all the songs together in a playlist HERE.
FREE STUFF:
One of my favorite ways to listen to the Bible has been through a new app I found last year called Dwell. They have different translations, different readers, with different options for background music to listen to too. You can also do plans, listen to a verse repeatedly to help you memorize it, or do themed plans. They are giving away 60 free days to anyone interested, and I’ve signed up our church HERE. If you like it, I’d encourage you to get subscribe to them to help them continue releasing new content, and if you don’t like it, then it was free 🙂 Let me know what you think of it!
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by mikethestrand on March 27, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Music, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 27, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/27/march-27-devotional/

March 26 Devotional

Today we’ll be taking a look at one of Jesus’ interactions with his disciples in John 6:60-69:
 
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
 
This section follows right after a lengthy exposition where Jesus has been telling his followers he was the bread of life. Large crowds had been continuing to follow him around because they’d heard how he fed the 5,000 and wanted their needs supplied as well. Earlier, the Jews had been grumbling because he said he is the bread of life, and none of them were cannibals! So then we zoom in Jesus’ closest disciples, those with whom he’d be living, walking, and eating. They’d heard his teachings and mostly believed in him. Until now.
 
The disciples first response is one of incredulity. Jesus words have cut them to the heart and they’re struggling to believe. Augustine of Hippo once said of Christianity, “I believe in order to understand.” There are some things in the Christian faith that we don’t and won’t ever understand, so in the midst of that we believe that God is still good and working everything out for our good (Rom. 8).
 
One thing I want to focus on today is Jesus’ response. There’s a temptation for anyone when they’re reading the Bible to leave these people as two dimensional characters instead of remembering they were real flesh and blood people who really lived, experienced the same things we experience, yet in this case Jesus is God! So because of that temptation I think we can miss that Jesus experience emotions. How do you think Jesus felt in the midst of this story? Right in the middle it says “MANY of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” Those that he had given so much time and energy to just abandoned him, so (I think) in an act of desperation, he looked at the twelve and asked them the same thing.
 
Peter, who gets it wrong as often as he gets it right, hits a grand slam with his response! Jesus alone has the words of eternal life (we sing that together at church in the song ’Show Us Christ’). What are you doing to feast on his words? The only place we can find these eternal words is in God’s Word! I’d encourage you to spend some time while you’re at home digging in to it! Spend time praying through the Psalms, or using one of the resources I’ve sent out to learn more about God and connect with him in some new ways!
 
Today’s song is an exposition of the pain many of us as humans experience, yet in the midst of that God is good and true. It’s by one of my favorite artists, Andrew Peterson, and it’s called ‘Always Good’ you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
 
FREE STUFF:
Ligonier Ministries, the organization founded by the late R.C. Sproul is giving away all their teaching resources through June 30. I’d strongly recommend pretty much everything Sproul does (with the exception of his view on baptism!). But you can see the resources available HERE.
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by mikethestrand on March 26, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Relationships, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 26, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/26/march-26-devotional/

March 25 Devotional

Today we’ll be reading from James 4:13-17:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

This passage always brings me comfort in the midst of the uncertainty swirling around me because it reminds me how small I am and how big God is. James begins by reminding us just how uncertain all our plans are. As we looked at on Monday, one aspect of The Lord’s Prayer is praying that God’s will be done on earth, just the same as it is in heaven. Not our will, but God’s will. I fear so often we’re so focused on our will that we completely forget to think of God’s will in our lives.

One of the ways the Puritans (the early Christians in the USA) tried to ensure everything they did was submitted to the Lord’s will was by writing the Latin phrase Deo Volente (meaning “God willing”) on many of their letters, and many early Methodists also picked this idea up and would write “D.V.” on their letters. I’m not trying to say we need to begin signing our letters the same way, but I do want us to begin thinking about tour lives that way! 

James goes on to remind us how fleeting our lives are. In the scope of eternity, the 78.69 year life expectancy average we have in the United States is just a blink. And what we do with our time on earth will determine where we spend that eternity, so don’t waste your time here! Because our lives are so short and we don’t know how long we have, we are to rely completely on the Lord, and submit everything we do to him. Then we can be confident that He is working in us that which is pleasing according to His will. This leads us to the last phrase, we cannot be believers only by listening and growing smarter. We must be hearers and doers of the Word, people who are putting what we learn into practice, and now is a great time to do that! I saw an article on the Times Call this morning featuring someone from church who has put together a supply kiosk at his house! That is a great example of not just believing in God, but putting that belief into practice. 

Today’s song was sent to me by a friend, and is called ‘All Things Together.’ You can listen to it on YOUTUBEor SPOTIFY. And don’t forget, if you want to listen to all the songs I’ve sent out, I have a playlist that gets updated everyday with the new song, you can listen HERE.

 

FREE STUFF:

The Gospel Coalition has a list of 30 things to watch to help you pass the time! Most of them are free, but a couple you have to rent. Almost everything is on either Amazon Prime or Netflix. Some of my favorites were: A Quiet Place (don’t watch if you don’t like intense movies!), Christopher Robin, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Hook (yes, this is the classic Robin Williams film!), Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings trilogy (if you haven’t ever seen them PLEASE do your duty to your fellow human and watch this!), Mary Poppins Returns, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, The Riot and the Dance (if you like Planet Earth but would prefer it from a Christian perspective, watch this!). 

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by mikethestrand on March 25, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Movies, Relationships, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 25, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/25/march-25-devotional/

March 24 Devotional

Today we’ll look at another Psalm, Psalm 42:
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.
The primary question that should jump out to you as you read this Psalm is: what are you longing for? As the days are continuing on, and as the shelter in place orders continue to spread, I find myself increasingly drawn to want to be out there doing something. There’s something weird in the American psyche that has a knee jerk reaction to disobey whatever we’re told to do 🙂 And I confess that I find myself drawn to the same thing! 
 
Notice as well, what is it that the writer is missing? Meeting together as God’s people to focus exclusively on Him! I find myself missing the same things right now! I miss being able to get coffee together, to sit down and chat as we practice music together, to meet for lunch, all the things that make up being a part of the body of Christ. There should be a sense of longing in the midst of this season where we can’t meet. Yes, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts can do in a pinch, but they’re a poor substitute for actually meeting together. 
 
Lastly, notice how the write speaks to himself, or as I’ve heard others say, he preaches to himself. He says “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” I would imagine that (like me!) many of you are feeling that way right now too. My retirement portfolio is not looking too hot, I can’t go in to work, my kids are going stir crazy already, and we’re probably going to be confined to our houses by the end of the week, if things continue to progress as they have been. Yet in the midst of the questioning, we can also urge ourselves on, as the writer goes on to say “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Even in the midst of what’s going on around us, we are commanded to hope. Hope is the byproduct of the Christian life, where we can put our full confidence in God, because He has proven Himself faithful over and over and over again. So today, put your hope in God, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7).
The song to listen to today is called ‘Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42)’ by the Gettys which you can listen to on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
BONUS SONG: Sandra McCracken also has an arraignment based on this Psalm called ‘My Help, My God’ which is fun to listen to and compare the two versions and what they emphasize. You can listen to this one on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY as well!
Don’t forget, if you want to listen to the ongoing playlist in it’s entirety, you can listen to it on SPOTIFY.
 
FREE STUFF:
If you’ve got kids, Adventure in Odyssey is offering a FREE 4 week trial to listen to every episode they’ve ever created. When I was growing up I measure road trips by how many episodes we could get through, so they are VERY good! You can sign up HERE.
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by mikethestrand on March 24, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Relationships, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 24, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/24/march-24-devotional/

March 23 Devotional

Today we’ll be looking at Matthew 6:9-13, The Lord’s Prayer:
 
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
 
The first thing of note is the communal nature of this prayer OUR Father. This is a corporate prayer that we all participate in together. And, this is the first time in Matthew’s Gospel where we are included in referring to God as Father. He’s not only distant and “in heaven” he’s near and close as our Heavenly Father. And because of that we hallow, or honor, or respect His name. This beginning is vitally important, for it reminds us to focus or gaze on God instead of ourselves. It’s a reminder that He is in charge and we are not. And part of our submitting to him is the next part of the prayer, that His Kingdom will come and be established here and now. This is what theologians call inaugurated eschatology, that is, the end times have already begun, but they have not been completed. Jesus is the King on His throne already, even though we don’t see right now the outworking of that reign. 
 
I’ve been listening to a podcast recently called ’This Cultural Moment’ that was turned into a book called ‘Reappearing Church’ in which Mark Sayers (the author) states that what most people want today is all the benefits of being a part of God’s kingdom without submitting to Jesus as the ruler. Or to quote him directly: they want the kingdom without the king. So people look to other things (politics, economics, education, science) as the end in and of themselves, and what we find in all of them is the same thing God has commanded us to do! In so many of these areas, we as Christians should want the same thing others want, but our means and justification of those desires are vastly different. 
 
With all that background focusing on God, we then finally turn to ourselves, where we are to ask for our daily needs. Notice it says bread, not cake! One commentator I read once said: we are to ask for our needs not our greeds! Trust that God will provide what we need for each day, especially in this time of difficulty we’re experiencing! Look for ways that you can be generous to those around you with what God has given to you! We also need to ask forgiveness for our sins and actively forgive those who have sinned against us. A lack of forgiveness means we don’t truly understand the gospel message. Who may you need to forgive today? 
 
Lastly, we are to ask for God’s provision to not give in to temptation, but through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we are to daily fight against our sins! We also are to pray that God will deliver us from evil, or another way of translating that is the evil one, which creates interesting bookends to this prayer! We begin with a focus on God, and end with a focus on the evil one, and we live right now in between those two. We know God is supreme and has already won the war, but the daily battles are still difficult, which is why we need to pray this prayer! So take some time today to pray this prayer, not just for you, but for all of us as church, that as we bunker down in our homes we can remain faithful in our calling as Christians!
 
Our song for the day is called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is a fun arrangement of the Lord’s Prayer! You can listen to it on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
 
FREE STUFF: 
Crossway (a Christian publishing company) is also giving away some free ebooks, podcasts, and other resources on their website that you can find HERE. The price is right, so why not give it a try?
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by mikethestrand on March 23, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 23, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/23/march-23-devotional/

March 22 Devotional

Today, we’re going to take a look at Hebrews 10:23-25:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
I wanted to dive in to this one today as it’s the first Sunday for at least a couple Sundays where we AREN’T meeting together! So are we being disobedient to the Bible? But let’s start at the very beginning of these verses. The first exhortation here is to hold fast to the confession of our hope. This hope is seen back in Hebrews 6:19-20 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inter place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” This hope is Jesus, and our confession is in Him. Think of the role that an anchor plays in a boat. I’m not much of a sailor myself, but I know how anchors work! They keep the boat anchored in the midst of the storms and trials going on around them, just as Christ does for us! And the reason He can be our hope is because He is faithful. So even in the midst of the coronavirus spreading around us, God is faithful because He cannot change. I was messaging a friend last night about his area going on lock down for the next 30 days on Tuesday, meaning he’s not allowed out of his house! But in the midst of that he’s still hopeful!
And that hope is contagious, as the author goes on to say “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” When we’re hopeful we can remind each other to remain hopeful! And that is made manifest in our love and good works toward each other, which is most evident in our gathering. So what do we do with that verse of not neglecting to meet together? One thing this reminds us is that what we’re experiencing now is not normal. The church has met regularly for millennia, and not meeting is not the norm! But what we need to remember is that we’re not willingly choosing to forego the corporate gathering. There should be a sense of mourning today that we can’t meet together, and create a longing in us for the day when we can finally meet in person again!
And beyond all of this, because of the access we have to technology, we can continue encouraging one another. I’d encourage you today to reach out to the people you normally see at church and see how they’re doing. Find someone you can pray with and for, and continue encouraging them to continue clinging to Christ as the anchor of their soul in the midst of the storm swirling around us.
Today’s song is called ‘We Will Feast in the House of Zion’ which talks about the day we can all look forward to where we will see Jesus face to face and never be separated by sickness or death again! You can listen to it on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
One other note today, many organizations are giving content away to keep you busy during this time, so I’ll occasionally recommend some as I come across them. One that I use often is all the study material that Crossway gives away at esv.org. The English Standard Version is the translation we preach from and use at Grace and is my favorite for studying, and they’re letting anyone anywhere access all their study materials (commentaries, notes, etc) for free here: https://www.crossway.org/articles/free-digital-resources-during-coronavirus-9-study-bibles-original-language-resources-and-more/ I’d strongly recommend using them for the next couple months to dig in to God’s Word!
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by mikethestrand on March 22, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Relationships, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 22, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/22/march-22-devotional/

March 21 Devotional

For today’s devotional, we’re going to look at one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 19! David writes: 
 
The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
   which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
I love the way this Psalm begins, because it’s a reminder that everything we see should point us back to God! Creation itself is the canvas upon which God painted his creation, which He described as good way back in Genesis 1. As I’m writing this it’s pretty foggy out, so I can’t see either the sky or the mountains that I love seeing so much, but I know they’re out there! And the fact that I know that reminds me that God’s love and faithfulness will similarly always be there. The fact that we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the sun will rise tomorrow points to the consistency of God. One commentator stated “If you are a believer, God has surrounded you with a hymnbook. Wherever you are, day or night, you can look up and see the majesty and power of your God. And you can praise him.” (James Johnston, Preaching the Word: The Psalms Volume 1) As of now, we’re not confined to our houses, so if you’re able to, I’d encourage you to take some time today and walk outside (keeping at least 6 feet between anyone you run in to!). But don’t ignore them or pretend they aren’t there 🙂!
 
But that’s not the only thing God has given us! The Psalm tells us that we have two things that point out the grandeur and goodness of our God to us: the skies and the Scripture. David says “The law of the Lord is perfect.” What word! Perfect. Yet all around us we see things that aren’t perfect. We see the brokenness of sin, we see the way today that this virus is running rampant around the globe. A tiny little virus that we can’t even see is completely changing the way we function. Yet over all that, God’s law is perfect. This was one of the first theological truths I remember being taught as I was growing up! God’s revelation has 2 parts: general revelation and special revelation, and this Psalm has both of them! General revelation is the created order, which this Psalm tells us points us to God, but it’s not enough for salvation (Rom. 1:20). That’s where special revelation enters the frame. Special revelation is God’s Word, and the Word became flesh (John 1:14). This special revelation is so critical to the life of the believer that it is described as “reviving the soul,” but not just the soul, the body as well where David goes on to compare God’s Word to be more desired than your favorite desert! (Mine isn’t honeycomb, I prefer a delicious cake, but that’s besides the point!) Jesus even reminds us that we don’t live by bread alone, but by God’s Word. Therefore, if we aren’t spending time in God’s Word we’re anemic Christians, missing out on a feast the Lord has given us. During this time of social distancing, Pastor Ben is having his students read a chapter of Hebrews a day and use the SOAP method to study the Bible. SOAP is an acronym that stands for: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. If you’re a normal human being who struggles to dig in to God’s Word, I’d encourage you during this time of a forced new schedule, to commit to reading through a book of the Bible. Hebrews is one of my favorites, but the Gospels are another great place to spend time, particularly John! And as you’re reading, if you have any questions, please let me know! I love learning more and studying the Bible together!
 
Today’s song expresses gratitude for how God has created everything we see, it’s called ‘All Shall Be Well’. You can listen to it on YOUTUBE or on SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on March 21, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Music, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on March 21, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/21/march-21-devotional/

March 20 Devotional

While there are no passages of Scripture that specifically address COVID19, there are some passages that give us great comfort and strength no matter where we find ourselves! We’ll begin our devotional looking at Philippians 4:4-7:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
 
Joy is one of the unique markers of Christians. It’s even included in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5! Let’s think about where Paul was when he was writing this exhortation. He wasn’t (as I am!) sitting in a comfortable chair at his house drinking a delicious cup of freshly brewed coffee. No! He was under threat of persecution, not knowing if or when he’s be killed for his Christian faith. Yet in the midst of that, he exhorts Christians throughout the centuries to be JOYFUL! How joyful are you right now? As you perhaps wrestle with your kids at home 24/7 now, or with trying to figure out what “social distancing” looking like, or worrying if you’ve got enough toilet paper stocked up, are you able to rejoice in God’s goodness?
 
Paul goes on though, and his second exhortation is “let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” Another way of translating that is gentleness. This is another marker of Christians! Being gentle no matter how people may malign you! What do you think being gentle looks like right now? Maybe it’s bringing your extra toilet paper over to a neighbor. Maybe today it’s shoveling their driveway or sidewalk! (Yes, I realize it’s heavy!) But look for ways that you can be gentle today!
 
Next, we see a pretty short phrase that I don’t want you to miss! Paul said “The Lord is at hand” God NEVER has to practice social distancing! We’ve seen that a couple times as we’ve been studying the Gospel of Luke together on Sundays. Jesus didn’t have to distance himself from anyone, his cleanliness abolished the uncleanliness of those he came into contact with. Now, I’m not advocating we then run into places where the COVID19 is known to be affecting people, that would be foolish! But we trust a God who is sovereign even over viruses, so while we’re being careful, wise, and obeying the governing authorities God has placed over us, let’s pray that God will bring an end to this current global crisis. 
 
So with these three things in place, we then can read the rest of these verses. We’re commanded to not be anxious. If there ever was a time I’ve lived in to start being anxious, this is it! My retirement accounts are NOT doing well. I can’t find paper towels anywhere (I’ve looked at 4 stores so far!). People are holding toilet paper, some states are even forcing people to stay in their homes! Yet in the midst of that, we don’t need to be anxious! Instead we can pray! God is with you and will continue guiding you.
 
Then, the outworking of that is a sense of peace that the world will never know. We have peace because God has saved us from spiritual death, which means death no longer holds power over us! The Lord has numbered our days from before we were born, thus we can trust Him implicitly! 
 
An almost brand new song I’ve been listening to gets to this hope we have in Christ. It’s called ‘Christ Our Hope in Life and Death’ and you can listen to it HERE.
And if you’d like to hear the story behind the writing of this song, you can listen to it HERE.
I’ve been posting songs regularly on Facebook and Instagram as a way to encourage people during this time, I’ve been compiling them into a playlist on Spotify that you can listen to HERE if you’d like!
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by mikethestrand on March 20, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Life, Music, Theology, Worship
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Posted by mikethestrand on March 20, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/03/20/march-20-devotional/

Christianity Is About More Than Signs

I read a fascinating article today on the so called “oil producing Bible” in Georgia that got me thinking about what we as Christians look to for support of our beliefs. At the end of the article, someone interviewed said, “It has brought people closer to God, it has brought people healing, it has rekindled people’s faith and curiosity even if one day it’s proven that all this was a sham.” That’s not the kind of faith I want! I don’t want to be reliant upon external signs and random happenings to trust that God will keep his promises to us. Nor should any of us! Yes, God often works through common means of grace (thankfully) to encourage us, but so often we want something miraculous when the miraculous has already happened.
I immediately thought of Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 15 when as I was reading this. Paul reminds us:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”
The resurrection is a verifiable historical fact. There’s no argument greater for our faith than the empty grave. And if that grave isn’t empty, then we should be pitied, according to Paul.
Our entire faith hinges on that empty grave. We don’t need any more evidence to support the truth that Jesus was the Son of God and bore the penalty for our sins, and because of that we are now his ambassadors to the watching world! That gives us hope in the midst of our long obedience in the same direction, the obedience that is impossible apart from the Spirit at work in us through the support of our family in Christ. So let’s not forget to keep Christ at the forefront of our minds and lives as we rely on that sign of the empty grave.
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by mikethestrand on February 28, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on February 28, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/02/28/christianity-is-about-more-than-signs/

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