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The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum 1:7
I would venture to guess that not many of us turn to Nahum regularly in our times of devotion. That’s a pretty easy guess to make because in the book, God gave Nahum a strong message to the city of Nineveh, warning of destruction and then predicting its fulfillment (1:1,8). The city that once had repented and turned to the Lord at Jonah’s preaching now had turned back away from Him. At the same time, God was now setting His people free from bondage and calling them back to Himself (1:12-13). In fact, He knows those who are His, those who have turned to Him as their refuge as we see in Nahum 1:7, and He cares for us. There are 3 things that show God as refuge in this verse that are worth unpacking.
So, now that we have unpacked this verse, I think the only thing each of us has left to do is to do just what the verse talks about: take refuge in Him! Thankfully, He’s made provision for us to have that refuge in Christ. Let’s take refuge in Him today. On Christ the solid rock we stand, Pastor Andy Questions for Reflection:
“…walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8b Y’all, I’ve been thinking about how that verse captures the heart of the prophets. When asked what comes to mind when thinking about the prophets, I would imagine people would think of God communicating His displeasure with Israel, God foretelling future events through the prophets, and God sharing that condemnation will be coming if they didn't repent. I would tend to agree with that assessment. However, I think the heart of the prophets was to call the people back to loving the Lord with all that they had. Amazingly, God wants a relationship with us. He doesn't want our religious offerings or our sacrifices to earn favor with Him. I would imagine that would feel like an insult to the God of the universe! Amazingly, beautifully, and filled with grace, Jesus came to teach us, to show us, and to be the Way. So, I think that means we should walk with Him! To walk with the Lord means:
It looks like walking weather to me, have a good walk with God today! Pastor Andy Questions for Reflection:
Hello fellow Jonahs –
As we reflect on the Book of Jonah, be reminded that this book gives us a view into our own selves and how similar to Jonah we all are – and not for the good reasons. God is asking us if we believe it is okay for God to love our enemies. Are we excited and genuinely happy when our enemies are loved by God? Reflect on God calling us out to love those we don’t love. Our love for them doesn’t come easy and He wants us to start seeing them how He sees them. Blessings to you all and may we all be reminded that at one time, we too were God’s enemies. Pastor Kyle Questions for Reflection: Here are some questions to ponder. Take some time, have the Book of Jonah open and go through these questions on your own or in a group.
Hello NewLife,
As I think back to Obadiah and God's message through this prophet, I am reminded of our need to be on God's side and not in opposition with Him. So what does that mean? As believers, we can get in God's way. We can gossip, ignore, hurt or really anything to a fellow Christian. If we are going against God's people, we are breaking His laws and being disobedient. The ten commandments let the Israelites know what God's basic laws were, but Jesus took them a step further while on earth. Anger towards someone is no different than murder and lusting is no different than adultery. (Matthew 5) NewLife, we need to make sure that we are building the body up - and not tearing it down - both at NewLife and with all of God's people wherever they worship. God is the ultimate Judge. We don't have to do His job for Him - actually we are called not to judge. (Matthew 7). Church, as we move towards the fall and a new season - let us choose to forgive, to reconcile when able or healthy - and let us let go of the burden of hurt and unforgiveness and may we live out a life Christ has always wanted for us - peace - joy and unity. Blessings to you all. Keep looking to see where God is on a regular basis - then tell someone! Kyle Questions for Reflection:
Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law. Ps. 94:12a (NIV)
Reading the prophets can be difficult because we see God calling His people into account for their sin and disobedience. I think what makes it difficult is that we see ourselves in Israel. But God’s intention was not to be mean. He actually was wanting His people to come back to Him and back to the covenant they had made with Him. He was desiring their best, not delighting in their destruction, as God’s lament shows us beginning in Amos 5:1. So, He disciplined Israel to put them in their place, humbling their conceit (2:13). As found in Amos, here are some methods God used with Israel that He uses to put us in our place too.
The big question is not just about how He puts us in our proper place, but how we respond to His work. The Psalm I quoted above speaks of the Lord teaching someone from His law. Let’s make sure we’re having the mindset and heart attitude to learn from Jesus and follow the directions of the Holy Spirit! Anyone else craving Famous Amos cookies? Pastor Andy Questions for Reflection:
We had the Community Worship Service on Sunday. Many thanks to those of you who were able to join us at the Fredericktown stadium and worship with other Fredericktown churches! For those of you who were unable to attend, we missed you! I had the privilege of preaching and used Philippians 1:3-11 as the basis for our conversation about “Unity”.
Here are a couple of main points that I made: 1. The letter was written to the saints “together with the overseers and deacons.” (1:b). This was for all the believers, not just some. It was the “togetherness” of the church that Paul was addressing and it was the “togetherness” of being together as THE church in Fredericktown that drove the Community Worship Service. 2. Grace and peace come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:2). Grace is the foundation of our unity and we are united by our mutual need of the grace of God in Christ. 3. We are united by the fact that God is at work in us and that He’ll keep working in us until the day of Christ Jesus (1:6). This gives us confidence as we go through life that God is continually shaping us into the image of His Son and will make us ready for Christ’s return. It also helps us have grace for one another, when we acknowledge that we are all “works in progress”. We are united in our humanity and our need for God’s patient work in our lives. 4. Paul prays for the believers in 1:9-11, asking God to deepen their love with knowledge and discernment, helping them to be ready for the day of Christ and to be filled with righteousness. Again, Paul is concerned that these believers would be ready for the day of Christ’s return. So, he prays that their love will abound more and more. The Greek words back to back mean filled and filled to the point of overflowing. That’s love of righteousness, love, and discernment being poured out! If you were at the service, perhaps you remember my illustration of this. (“We need more Mo-Mento of the Holy Spirit!”) I’m thankful for each of you (1:3), my fellow works in progress! Pastor Andy Questions:
NewLife family, In the book of Joel right from the beginning, God tells the people to “Hear” and “Give ear” (1:3). It's almost easy to miss, isn't it? As we move through the book, we observe that God wanted genuine relationship and repentance from His people. And all of that comes back to hearing and being attentive to Him, with the idea of putting into action what He tells us. Now, if that doesn't hit close to home, I'm not sure what will! Israel got themselves into such trouble simply because they wouldn't listen to the commanding voice of the Lord. And for that, they suffered great consequences. Let's make sure that we are people of His word and walking in His spirit so that we can hear Him speaking to us! Let us give ear to our Lord Jesus, Pastor Andy Questions for reflection:
     
What a hard call that God put on Hosea’s life! He was to marry a prostitute as a way to show Israel’s utter unfaithfulness to God (1:2-3). This was a “Living Metaphor”. It’s actually pretty hard to read and think about, isn’t it? I can’t imagine how difficult it was for Hosea to live it out. He even had to go so far as to buy his wife back out of prostitution/slavery to bring her back home (3:1-3). Hosea’s heartbreak mirrored that of God’s heartbreak. Plus, Hosea’s kids’ names were a reminder to Israel as to how far they had moved away from God.
God had a list of complaints against the people that He spoke through Hosea. Remember, a prophetic complaint is telling the people what they had done wrong and where they had sinned, not just complaining about them. Here’s a partial list of the things Israel had done:
While these things were true of Israel, they serve as stark examples for us to examine our own hearts against to see whether there is hidden sin in our lives. Thankfully, we live in New Testament times, so as the Holy Spirit reveals these things to us, we can turn to Jesus, our sympathetic High Priest, and find compassion, forgiveness, and restoration. In fact, Hosea closes his book with the picture of God as an evergreen cypress, that through Him Israel could bear fruit (14:8b), just as through Jesus we can bear fruit as Christians (John 15:4-5). As a reminder, apart from Him we can do nothing! Grateful for Jesus, Pastor Andy Questions for Reflection: What do you think it was like for Hosea to hear God’s call? Think about or share a time God called you to a difficult task, job, or season of life. Hosea’s list of sins helps us examine our lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to search you and lead you in personal examination of this list or in general (Ps. 139:23-24). Respond as He prompts you. What does it mean to abide in Jesus? How do we do that? Are there areas in your life where it’s not lining up as it should? Turn to Jesus now and ask for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). 
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful. Ps. 18:25 (NIV)
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah chose to honor God and not defile themselves by eating the king’s assigned food but they ate vegetables and drank water instead (Daniel, chapter 1). In so doing, they showed themselves to be faithful to God and this determined the tone of how they would walk as exiles in a foreign and hostile land. How do four young men who have just been ripped away from their families and homeland decide to make such a stand? I think it was two things: Someone, either their families or other close folks & friends, invested in them so that they would know and serve the God of their fathers. God, in His faithfulness, honored them for such a bold and confident decision in the face of direct indoctrination by King Neb. In fact, we can see three things that God did in the first chapter: He granted them favor (1:9) to carry out their resolve not to defile themselves. He sustained them (1:14). He gifted them for the purposes He had for them (1:17). As we noted on Sunday, this was just the preparation phase for these four young men! In chapter two, Daniel interpreted the dream the king had, something no other person could do. It was God who revealed the dream to him, after he’d prayed with the other three guys about it. In chapter three, the three friends do not bow to the golden statue the king set up and they were thrown into the flaming, fiery furnace. Daniel would go on to have other dreams and visions having meaning about the kingdoms of the time and the kingdom of God. Daniel also would continue praying three times a day to the God of Heaven, in the face of the king’s edict that anyone praying or inquiring of someone else other than the king would be thrown into the lion’s den. Even in being thrown into the lion’s den, Daniel survived because of God being faithful to him and sending an angel to shut the lion’s mouth. So, we see that these young men walking through such difficult times in 600 B.C. have given us a model on how to live as sojourners in a land that is not our home (1 Peter 1:1-2). Perhaps even more so, they remind us that God is faithful to His people as they seek to live faithfully for Him. May we do exactly that through His power (2 Peter 1:3)! Pastor Andy Questions for Reflection: When did you make a decision to put your faith in Jesus? Daniel resolved to honor God in this situation. What resolutions have you made to honor God? How has Jesus been preparing you to serve Him? Where do you currently see Him at work doing this? Where/how have you seen God’s faithfulness in your life? List some examples. 
God frequently called the prophet Ezekiel by the name “son of man.” In fact, He calls him this over 90 times in the book of Ezekiel. The “son of man” moniker was to remind Ezekiel that he was a human servant of the Lord God Most High. It also served to be a prophetic picture of Jesus that was to help Israel recognize Him as the Son of God. Of the many visions that God gave to Ezekiel, we looked at one in particular on Sunday.
God showed Ezekiel four things in the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, found in Ez. 37. God, by the power of the Spirit, put Ezekiel in the right place to see what He was going to do, v.1-2. God showed Ezekiel the reality and, in this case, the impossibility of what He was going to do, v. 2-3. God told Ezekiel what He wanted him to do, v. 3-6. God waited for Ezekiel to obey His instructions and then He started bringing the bones together, v. 7. As the “son of man” was obedient, God started putting the bones back together. That’s a picture of what God does in our lives through the Son of Man, Jesus. Jesus was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). In His obedience, Jesus brought us from death to life. We see a parallel of those four things God showed Ezekiel. God has put us in the right place to see what He has done for us in Christ. He’s shown us the impossibility of obtaining salvation apart from Christ (John 14:6). God the Father has shown us what He wants us to do, which is to listen to His Beloved Son, (Matt. 17:5). Now it is God who waits on us to be about the things He’s shown us, spoken to us, and revealed in His Word. I think we might just be amazed at how He brings our lives together as we act on His instructions and Word to us (Ez. 37: 7-10). Let’s be thankful that the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for us! Pastor Andy 
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