Thomas answered and said to
Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28
{CHAMBERS} ““Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How
many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be
satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings,
not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8).
That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord
Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us. Beware of
anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest
competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier
to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of
God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are
not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we
more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?”
{ELGIN} As I was walking down
the hall after getting a cup of coffee – morning motivation – I had the image
of a little bird sitting on a wire calling out in the midst of a
hurricane. To what avail does the bird
sing? How can it possible stand against
the storm. How can it possibly be heard
above the wind and rain and thunder. It
can’t but God can through its obedience in fulfilling its purpose .. the
purpose for which it was created. It may
seem to you that the “cultural” storm that rages about us is too much. The light that shines from us .. the song we
sing .. is drowned out by the force of the storm – will have not affect. Not so.
When the nation of Israel finally reached the river Jordan the first
time, (Numbers 13-14) 10 of the 12 spies
saw the “storm” – Giants in the land and a great fear came over the
people. They refused to continue to
follow the spiritual leadership of Moses.
They would not cross the river. And so they missed a blessing – the very
purpose for leaving Egypt. They did not
fulfill their purpose by trusting in God and not themselves. So they died in the desert. They missed God’s best. True, they were no longer slaves, but they missed God all the same.
The second time the nation approached
the river … the same storm was raging .. and more .. the river was at flood
stage … impossible for men .. but possible for God. When they stepped into the water by faith …
the river backed up and they occupied the land.
Fulfilling God’s plan. I was
sharing how Pathfinder became Pathfinder with some friends yesterday. Before Martie and I submitted to God’s
leading to start this ministry, we talked with my mom about it. We told her about what God was leading us to
do. About the problems. Our hesitation. We had not gone to Mississippi with the intention
of staying there and certainly not starting a ministry. She said “Charley, the river Jordan did not
back up until they stepped out into the water.”
My response was “Got it Mom!” We
had to step out in and by faith. Put our
trust in God. She asked, “What are you
going to call it?” We had not thought that far ahead .. we were still trying to
get our socks and shoes off before we stepped in! She said “What about Pathfinder?” Pathfinder was the name of the youth ministry
that my folks had started in Peoria, Illinois.
So we decided to go with it .. Pathfinder on Mission. Pathfinder Mission. A work of faith.
Each of us is called to step
into the water. These are dark times
spiritually .. but I suspect they are not the darkest times that have ever been
.. just the darkest that we have seen.
When I flew helicopters in the Army, I sometimes flew at night in the
desert. It was very, very dark. No visible horizon, meaning you could not see
where the sky and earth met. Hard to
keep oriented. But then someone would
light up a chem-stick. In all the
darkness, I could see it from far off.
One light in the midst of the darkness.
Pointing me to my destination. My
encouragement to you … Be the light!
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