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Our Music Director, Rhonda Jones, wrote this short devotional on the ridiculous faith of Noah. He stood out because he lived his life to please the Lord. Because of his faith, God gave him a seemingly ridiculous mission. Yet Noah continued to stay strong in his faith even when he was mocked for his unrelenting trust in the Lord. |
This morning as I was driving to work I heard a pastor on the radio sharing about Noah. Now, we’ve all heard the Bible story and within the past few years. We've maybe even watched a comedic movie about Noah and his willingness to obey God at all costs - especially after being mocked by his peers (for inordinate amounts of facial hair and his unethical biblical dress code).But did you realize Noah worked on the ark after receiving a vision from God…and that is took him 120 years to complete the building of the ark? 120 years! A flood of questions ran through my mind:
Noah stood out among everyone else because his life pleased the Lord…enough that God thought of a way to save the human race and keep a few copies on hand of each of the animals (anything that could breathe air) for procreation. I don’t think God wanted to have to create a whole new earth again. It hadn’t been that long since He’d put it all together in the first place (at least it seems that way-the story of Noah takes place in the 6th chapter of the very first book of the Old Testament).
And in the beginning of Genesis it says that God saw what He had made and it was very good (Genesis 1:31)! No wonder God's heart was sick…He longed for the fellowship of the human race and only one man and his family even acknowledged His existence! Everyone else was too involved in their sin to see the heart of God. Oh, my soul yearns to see the heart of God, doesn’t yours?
“Lord, give me the courage and wisdom to pick up the nails and hammer and begin to build the things in my life that need creating or rebuilding. Remove the rusty nails that have become embedded in my heart and give me a refreshing that can only come from touching the heart of Jesus. I love You and want to be the best me I can be for this Great Caring Network as you continue to build up this moving, living, breathing body of Christ. Amen.”
| All kidding aside, Noah was an amazing man. God was ready to do away with the entire human race. It says in Genesis 6:6 that the Lord’s heart was filled with pain because of man’s desire to sin. Our God is so righteous He can’t be in the presence of sin…our sin makes Him sick in His heart. In thinking it over, I don’t want my behavior to make the Lord’s heart sick. I’d rather He “dance over me or sing over me” (read Zephaniah 3:17-18) because what He sees is pleasing in His sight. |
“No wonder God's heart was sick…He longed for the fellowship of the human race and only one man and his family even acknowledged His existence! |
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Part two of Pastor Rey's reflection on his trip to Africa. There he had a chance to meet amazing people and to be reawakened in his faith. He saw the light that shines in the many people working to help overcome the darkness and suffering in African slums. |
The scope. The gravity. The magnitude. The sheer monstrosity of it overwhelms.
I could never have imagined. As far as I could see in either direction, I was surrounded by the ‘Mathera’ slum. It has a million people packed into indescribable living conditions, and it is not even the largest slum in Nairobi! Researchers have estimated about two thirds of the 3 million inhabitants live in slums. The slums are full of darkness according to any measure: poverty, HIV, drugs, orphans, and gangs.
Yet in the midst of the darkness is a light. There is a school led by a saint named Richard, who has started a church in the ‘Mathera’ slum. He noticed that after church, many of the children would have nowhere to go, as they were orphans. So he started a school called Patmos.
Currently, there are 88 children, most of which are orphans from nursery to sixth grade. The entire school structure is made of old tin makeshift walls and is no bigger than a 15ft x 15ft. The classrooms are all combined as they only have 4 teachers who can works months without receiving payment. The first thing Richard told me was "I love God and I love these children. And I know God loves these children too."
At Patmos the students receive an education, a meal and a family. And through it all they receive the love of God.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5 NIV)
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Pastor Rey continues the sermon series, Tales of Ridiculous Faith. Looking at the life of Elisha, Rey reminded us how easy it is to lose our spiritual edge. We must be aware of spiritual health and with God be restored when we've dulled. |
Main Idea: God can help you find what you didn't mean to lost. Our God restores.
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What do you do when you're swinging away and you lose your spiritual edge? 1. Be honest as to where you lost it. 2. With God's help take back what you lost.
It is not too late to be the person you could have been. It is not too late to get back what you lost... with the power of God.
Like what you see but want more? Check out Washington Cathedral's website for more information.
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Pastor Rey recently returned from Africa where he had a chance to meet amazing people, to be reawakened in his faith. He was shown miraculous acts of God and was inspired by the people he met. |
None of us would settle for those odds. In almost any arena of our life, 75% is not good enough especially when it comes to our children. I wouldn't accept a 75% survival rate for my children, family or friends. That would mean 25% would not make it. That's not good enough. I'm sure anyone of us would do whatever was necessary to ensure the number increases so that our loved one would survive.
I met a man named Nehemiah who would gladly exchange a 75% survival rate than what he experienced in his childhood. His mom and dad had 16 children. Only 4 survived. The other 12 children died of malaria, a preventable and treatable disease. The cost of the medicine was a few dollars, but it might as well have been millions of dollars for Nehemiah's parents. So Nehemiah being the fourth youngest buried his three younger siblings. His family's survival rate was 25%, a tragic figure that is sadly common for many in Africa.
Nehemiah did survive, through many miraculous acts of God. As he recounted his story to us, tears flowed from his eyes. He explained how as an orphan he felt powerless, vulnerable, and headed for a life of misery. He saw it in his older siblings and in the children all around him. What chance could he have to escape? When he lost his father, he wasn't even allowed to go to the public school so he would sit outside by the window listening to the teacher 'stealing education.'
By the grace of God, he was able to receive a first class education in Nairobi, which led to a great paying job far away from the misery of his past. But God called Nehemiah to return. To start a school and several orphanages and to care for the children who are now facing what he faced as a child.
Now Nehemiah wants to serve God by changing the survival rate. He wants children to experience the love of their Heavenly Father. So he has started a school in the Soweto slums with 3 orphanages. He has also started a school back in his village with 1 orphanage. In total he is serving close to 2000 children. And he is not settling for a 75% survival rate. He is chasing after Gods best for each and every child.
Like what you see but want more? Check out Washington Cathedral's website for more information.
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We all want to know God's plan for our lives, but sometimes God's plan doesn't feel very close to our lives. This week, pastor Ben showed that it just takes is a small change in perspective to be able to see it. |
The story of Naaman and Elisha shows us that God's providence is always near, usually closer than we realize. God had used Naaman to liberate Israel from the wicked king, Ahab. Later, when Naaman fell ill with leperousy, God used a servant girl in his house bring him to Elisha; he sent another servant boy to show him the wisdom in the Elisha's words; and the Elisha himself made Naaman go through the steps to be ritually clean so that he could worship God.
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God was evident in so many ways that Naaman couldn't see:
Naaman expected to be healed from a disease, but he left having been cleansed so that he could worship God. Elisha was a great prophet, but even Elisha wasn't willing to speak to Naaman, much less touch him. Jesus shows us a better way. Jesus was willing to touch lepers and remind them of their human dignity.
Jesus heals us, but he also cleanses us. It is through Jesus that we're able to find wholeness and comfort, but it is also through Jesus that we become cleansed of our emotional filth and our past wrongs so that we can come to God freely. We know that we are loved by God because Jesus says that we are forgiven.
God's plan is underneath every little piece of our lives, the problem is that we can't see it most of the time. Just like rebar is to construction, God's plan is there underneath the surface, holding us together and making us stronger. It is God's providence that makes us capable of the great things that we do in our lives; it's also the thing holding keeping us from falling apart when our world goes bad.
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So what do we do when God's plan isn't as clear?
Listen to someone from that you don't normally listen to. Maybe your kids. Maybe your spouse.
Tell the rumor! Share about what God has done. Share on facebook, in your work, to your family.
Take a day off to pray and ask God what his mission for your life might be.
Like what you see but want more? Check out Washington Cathedral's website for more information.
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Pastor Tim begins the new series about ridiculous faith, centering around Elisha. Like the prophet Elisha we all have risk in our lives. The only way to have anything is to have risk in our lives- to live to the fullest. Risk and faith, resulting from that risk, makes life more beautiful. |
““If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24 (NLT)
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it."
Michelangelo
Wouldn't it be nice if we could say that faith was a no risk proposition? But life is all about taking risks; if you're afraid of taking risk, then you're afraid of life.
On our Board of Directors we have a Mathematician by trade, B.J. Eliason. He has been an incredible blessing to our church. He is a strong quiet man. You might know him because he has run the math tutoring class at our church for years. I don't know how many kids in our church have passed Calculus because of him (not to mention the adults going back to school).
His job is in actuarial mathematics. He helps companies mathematically figure the risks of projects. He and I were having coffee the other day and discussing the lessons that we have learned over the past several years at our church. He told me something quite shocking. You can never completely eliminate risk- every mathematician and businessperson probably already knows this and deals with risks on a daily basis. You can try and predict the outcome and you can try and learn from it but eliminating risk it is impossible.
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I had the chance to meet Peter Drucker, the dean of American Business, more than once and had the honor to sit under his teaching. He had a calling to teach pastors the art and science of business, so he invested his time hanging out with the pastors of Churches Uniting In Global Mission. Peter Drucker said, "People who do not take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” That can leave us to the conclusion that we will make mistakes, no matter whether we are risk-takers or not.
Now in scripture we are taught to seek wise counsel and engage in two-way conversations with those who are mature enough to be involved in it. It is not always so easy to find wise counsel in a world where everyone thinks they are right and just want to throw rocks. But when you do find them it is all the more valuable. You will benefit from reason, wise loving advice, and those willing to get involved in the process to make the best decisions.
Then there is risk. It is a part of faith. But when your goal is so beautiful that even your failure is a success then you have a winning combination. Risk is tough but when you are sincerely following Christ - walking with him faith still moves mountains.
“Either life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
Helen Keller
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Pastor Tim concludes the "Can You Hear Me Now?" series, diving into prayer life and growing closer to God. He looks at the last few verses of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and the importance of forgiveness from God and between ourselves and others. |
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Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. As we close the series on the Lord's Prayer, it ends with the issue of forgiveness being a two way street. Resentment is a poison we drink thinking it will impact the person we are struggling against, when in reality, we are the ones to suffer. Prayer allows us space to get away from the busyness of life and to work on giving and receiving forgiveness. When we give up resentment that is a big step, because when we do so, we are giving up our fruitless hopes of a perfect past. Only God can help us in this all important area. Through Jesus' teachings in Matthew 6:5-15, we are able to experience a sense of freedom. Freedom from our past. Freedom from our mistakes. Freedom from bitterness and resentment. Freedom to joyfully let God work in mighty ways in our lives.
Want to know more?
Please visit us by checking out our website, or you can email us if you have more questions.
Have you ever celebrated lent with your family? Maybe not at all? Well, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Check out some ideas Pastor Becca has for how your family can celebrate Lent together this year.
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Becca McCaryBecca is a children's pastor and part of the preaching team at Washington Cathedral. She writes on motherhood, spirituality, and biblical interpretation. She also has her own personal blog with resources for mothers and Sunday School teachers. |
