Staying the Course

by Keith Gardner

The story of the Israelites journey from the bondage of Egypt to the land long promised to Abraham, the father of our faith, is the story of our birth into new life and our passage into maturity in Christ. The trip is not an easy one. Like the Hebrews of old, our journey has victories and failures, faithfulness and rebellion. There are those moments our hearts follow hard after our Father God and our time in His presence is an unquenchable thirst; and there are those moments when we so easily choose to go our own way, forgetting our promises and the lessons recently learned.

Enjoying the Present

 by Keith Gardner

Philippians 4:11-12 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

As we live out our spiritual journey, growing from new born babes in Christ into mature faith walking believers, we come face to face with many challenges, pit falls and road blocks. During these difficult times we are forced to question who God is, who we are, and what we really believe. It is in the wrestling that we, more than any other time, discover God.

Provoked

by Mark Michalak

"It is the duty and responsibility of Christian leaders(who are therefore responsible for what is!) to stop the wholesale paganization of Christian youth. We should take our lessons from the Catholics of the 1850s who realized that they had no choice but to abandon the public schools for educational institutions of their own if they were to preserve Catholic culture for the next one hundred years.

What About Me?

by Keith Gardner

Are you like me? I think even if you are you would not say so out loud. Sometimes when I see God moving in someone’s life, in some supernatural way, I take notice. Several years back, this guy I knew worked in construction. He fell off of the roof of a house; shattering both legs. The legs healed, but he was not the same. Each step was debilitatingly painful. He was unable to work. He also played the piano with a great deal of natural ability. Even that was difficult. You use your foot to play the piano. God supernaturally healed him completely. And I asked; “what about me?”

The Promised Land

by Keith Gardner

From the end of Genesis through Joshua we read the story of deliverance to destiny. A chosen people are moved from slavery to promise. These are real people on a real journey. The lessons they are to learn serve as our lessons; their fears, their fights, their loss of faith and their facing the promise is fodder for the imagination. It is in the telling of the story, the real and active hand of God guiding and meeting the needs of a stubborn people, that we see ourselves. It is here in this story that a very real journey, gives birth to a very real spiritual application. Our journey from salvation to maturity is mirrored in the Israelites journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

by Keith Gardner

Can I tell you something about sin? This may be new information to you, then again maybe not. We are steeped in it. We are covered from our head to our toes and all in between. All too often we see ourselves as good. We think we are winning the righteousness game when in reality we are not. I know what you are thinking; “but what about forgiveness? Aren’t I forgiven?” Here’s the thing, our definition of sin is too narrow. We usually define sin as a deliberate and rebellious act in opposition to some predefined rules of wrongness. You know what I mean; the Ten Commandments and the like. While that is sin, sin goes much deeper and broader. We walk around with wrong ideas and attitudes all the time. Some of our longest held beliefs of right behavior are really unrevealed sin; we just don’t know it yet.

Going for Second Best

by Keith Gardner

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.'  I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." –Exodus 33:1-3

Do you see the sadness with me? The People of Promise going to the land foretold without their God. God so tired of the stubbornness, the rebellion, the bickering and complaining, and the unbelief; decides to send an angel ahead, instead of Himself. I often wonder how much of my life, my Christian walk, is filled with God’s second best. Do I miss out on all that God wants for me because of my not listening; not learning? Why is it that I, too often, think I know best? How can I ever imagine that I can see around the bend in the road from my straight line perspective?