Faith

Seeing Through Brick Windows

No Comments 07 April 2009

Press the arrow to listen to Darlene Zschech sing “Call on Jesus” as you read this devotion about brick walls.

Scripture
Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

Observation
Life has brick walls. With our nose rubbing in the ungiving, red clay of opposition it tempting to slide down the wall and mope at the bottom. Walls of brick can be built with debt, hardship, sickness, conflict, misunderstanding, and disappointment. These walls are pock marked from our attempts to blast and to hammer them down. There is graffiti of frustration sprayed over them. But still the brick walls stand without a window to give fresh air from the other side.

There is blue sky beyond the red brick. Freedom cannot be seen, unless we choose to see it. Faith can make brick as translucent as glass. Faith is not pretending that the wall is not there. The bricks are real. Faith, however, can hold in tension two realities. First, it can see the world we live in full of impossibilities, and second it can see the realm where God lives where all things are possible.

Faith knows a secret: bricks crumble. The wall of discouragement is just a passing phase. Walls are real, but they are not not forever. Promises are always permanent; obstacles never are.

Application
I choose to have bifocal vision, to hold in tension the things that are seen and the things that are unseen.

Prayer
Father, in a world of impossible, I ask for the liberty to taste the atmosphere that surrounds you where all things are possible. Amen.

Disappointment, Endurance, Faith, God's Will, Pioneering

Don’t Fear to Believe for Even More

No Comments 02 April 2009

Press the arrow to listen to Leeland sing “Count Me In” while reading today’s devotion about hope.

Scripture
“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” But his wife answered, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.” Judges 13:22-23

Observation
Life can go well. God can answer a prayer. But we can still assume the worst.

Manoah was in that boat. God called at his door and gave a promise of a child to their empty home. But he feared the worst. He thought that God would kill him for opening the door.

I love Mrs. Manoah. She is nameless in the Bible but priceless. With earthy pragmatism she pointed to all the good things that God had done for them and concluded: would God have brought us so far to kill us?

Application
There are days I fear the worst. There is a residual fear that comes from our days without Christ that lingers on us like smoke smell in our clothes. But when I consider all that God has done for me in the past twenty-nine years of following him, it is hard to imagine that he has brought me thus far to embarrass me. There are many more glad and happy surprises that he has in store for my life. I’ve opened the door and seen the face of God and I believe that he won’t kill me for it!

Prayer
Father, today I dare to believe even better things are to come. Amen.

I'm Phil McCallum, a husband, father and most of all one of the people Jesus loves. I'm privileged to serve Evergreen Community Church in Bothell, Washington as Senior Pastor where people love enough to believe "it's all about relationships." In 1982 I made a vow to read God's word daily and apply it to life. Each day I write out my reflections. Some days I post those on my blog. It's a little personal but it's my hope it will stir you to go deeper still. Learn how I do my devotions. These are my thoughts and not necessarily those of the ministry I serve. By the way check out the computer study Bible Glo. I highly recommend it.

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