Burning to put God's promises to work

2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

I read this story tonight and it got me thinking.

When a power plant in a tiny village in Alaska caught fire one evening, a local fire truck stood, unused, in perfectly working condition as the plant burnt to the ground. Damage to the plant was great. And why did this state of the art firetruck go unused? So sad... simply nobody in the town knew how to operate it.

It made me think. Amidst the everyday fires we face in our lives, God has given us precious, perfectly good working, state of the art promises. Unfortunately, it seems that either we are ignorant of them or fail to know how to operate them!

D.L. Moody says that many of the promises God has given to His people, to us, "seem to be pretty pictures of an ideal peace and rest, but are not appropriated as practical helps in daily life. And not one of these promises is more neglected that the assurance of salvation. An open Bible places them within reach of all, and we may appropriate the blessing which such a knowledge brings.”

Are you burning to put God's promises to work in your life today?? I know I am! Let's get into God's Word, get to know the depth of His commitment to us, and put His wonderful promises to action! The fires are raging and there's so much work to be done!

Dear Lord, help us be on fire for You. Help us dig into Your Word so that we may know what You have for each of us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

God's miracle

Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

Tundra, Glacier and Juneau sit atop a white furry rug tucked into an old fashioned red baby sleigh. These beautiful Inuit babies, all snug in their beaded, fur trimmed parkas, pants and boots look and feel just like the real thing even though they are only dolls. Designed and handmade by an artist from Alaska they radiate pride of workmanship, love and skill. Each one is so uniquely different from the other, yet so much alike with their liquid brown eyes, tawny skin and thick black hair. What a wonderful gift to be able to create such lifelike models of the real thing, what a feeling of fulfillment and joy each one must have brought to the heart of their craftsman.

As you look at those three dolls it reminds us of the fact that each and every one of us is a miracle. A miracle meant to radiate the pride of workmanship, love and skill emanating from the likeness of God within us. I am awed by the thought of how God must have felt when He created the first man and woman, and how He must rejoice and be glad beyond compare each and every time a new baby is conceived, carried to term and born. For He who created our inmost being, He who knit us together in our mother’s womb, He who viewed our frame when we were being made in the secret place, He is the one who loves us more than life itself. Therefore should it not make sense that when we who are created by the Lord God of all creation, choose to accept and love ourselves for the wonderful miracle which we are, should this not be one of the greatest praises of all which we can offer up to our Heavenly Father? And yet how often do we despise our humanity, our failures, our bodies, our minds, our personalities and our genetic make- up? How often do we forget that it was for this our Savior died; for fallen, fragile, yet still gloriously god-like humanity?

Today we each have a brand new opportunity to share in a miracle: the miracle of the creation of us. We have a fresh start to offer God the highest of praises as we choose to embrace the joy He feels in each and every one of us, with whom He shares his life giving breath. Today we get another chance to praise or reject the workmanship of our creator’s hand. Let us choose wisely.

Dear Lord, thank You for the way You fearfully and wonderfully made each one of us. Give us joy in the life you have breathed into us, that we might in loving both You and ourselves learn to love our neighbors with the same love You have for them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Lesson We can Learn from Salmon

Hebrews 12:1b-2a  (New International Version)

 Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  

As I went through the freezer looking for something to fix for dinner I came across a package marked Salmon on it. This nice piece of fish came straight from Alaska via my brother who is a missionary to the many people who live there in the cold regions of Alaska.  As I pulled the Salmon from the freezer it reminded me of the show I once watched of the Salmon swimming upstream against the current. I thought of some lessons that we, as Christians, could learn from them. 

Each fall, adult sockeye salmon return to their natal stream, river, or lake, to spawn and bury their eggs. Salmon have the determination and perseverance to keep on going until they reach their final destination -- their spawning ground. Their journey is upstream against the strong current, which pushes them back many times. Sometimes they get caught, and then thrown back in, because of the “Catch and Release law”. 

Our Christian walk is like that of the salmon. We are battling against the evils of this dark world -- often going against the crowd. Many times, we, too, come against strong opposition, but we who believe in Jesus, when we die, will inherit eternal life. We, too, at times, get caught by Satan, and, although Satan doesn't release us, Jesus does. He is always with us, showing us how to be free from our sin. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could win the victory over sin and death. 

God has a plan for our lives, just as He has a plan for the salmon. Let us persevere, then, as the salmon do, year after year, and run the race marked out for us. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus until, at the end of our journey, we have reached our final destination -- heaven. 

Dear Lord we thank You that You have prepared a place for us, and that You have a plan for each of our lives! We pray today that we wouldn’t get weary and discouraged. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Are you Rooted in Christ?

Ephesians 3:17-18 (New International Version)

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

The Inside Passage of Alaska has the highest annual rainfall averages in the country. Ketchikan, for example, receives 150 inches of precipitation annually, close to three times Juneau's total, and ten times of what Anchorage receives. But no town gets more rain than Little Port Walter with averages of 220 inches! Rubber boots seems to be the most popular shoe, and they are worn so frequently that they're called "Alaska tennis shoes" and "Sitka slippers".

Snowfall isn't any better, ranging from 36.9 inches in Ketchikan to 122.6 inches in Haines. Someone in Juneau told me they got up to 150 mile an hour winds in the winter. The Internet only recorded winds up to 41 miles per hour, however this is still significant!

Let's imagine for a moment that you are a tree. (I could think of far worse comparisons!) The soil in most coastal areas is only two to six inches deep. Not much for even ideal climates, but combine this with heavy precipitation and strong winds, and one can only wonder how trees can survive in such hostile environments.

It is true that some fall down, especially in the wintertime, but many remain standing tall, facing the inclement weather with confidence. What is the secret to their success? Their root systems are intertwined with one another. The more roots a tree has that are intertwined with other trees, the more the tree can resist the challenges of the weather. The weather does not phase them because there is confidence and strength in unity.

The same is true for us. If we face hostilities on our own, these turbulences will eventually tear us down. Only by being intertwined by faith with our families and friends, with fellow believers, and especially with our Forever Friend, can we stand tall and face the storms of our life. We can't make it on our own!

May we learn to depend more and more on Jesus and on our fellow believers so that we can face the challenges of life with a smile. The storms of life are learning opportunities! Instead of bringing us down, they can lift us higher and higher in our dependence upon the One who can calm turbulent waters!

Dear Lord we pray that we would allow ourselves to be rooted in You, so that when the troubles of live come we can stand strong. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Is the Power of God Showing in Your Life?

There is an amusing story about an Army mineralogist who happened to be stationed in Anchorage in 1964 when that year's great earthquake hit. Joe was in his bathroom, and his first inkling of trouble came when the water in his toilet suddenly shot up seven feet and splashed all over the ceiling. Joe didn't have to think very long about the implications of this before running out of his house into the street.

By then, the earthquake was going full tilt, so to speak, and the street was full of people. One young mother, Joe's next-door neighbor, had a toddler under each arm and a terrified look on her face. She staggered up to him and cried out, "Joe YOU'RE a geologist! For god's sake, DO something!"

Well, poor Joe was in a bind. He may have studied earthquakes, but he had no power to actually prevent one or stop one after it was started.

The Bible is absolute. It says to us that Christ has power over both life and death. Will you allow his power to work through your life?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Romans 15:13

Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, show us the way to allow your power to work through us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.