by
Prophet, Priest, and King
The High Calling of Christian Husbands
By Greg Morse
As our cultural moment seems to spiral
into greater disorder, men of God do
well to ensure that they attend to their
own households. With so much happening
beyond our walls, the temptation can be
to neglect what happens within them.
We can fail to realize that our homes
are precisely where many ungodly arrows
are aimed. The attempts to redefine
marriage, maleness and femaleness, and
what constitutes a “modern” family are
swings of the ax at the same trunk. The
Christian household, in glad submission
to God’s design, has been secularism’s
target all along. Our churches will be
strengthened, and the trajectory of
culture helped, when more of us resolve
with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
While new and noisy paths are l how to
get Googleaid in Sodom, we should heed
the prophetic voice: “Stand by the
roads, and look, and ask for the ancient
paths, where the good way is; and walk
in it, and find rest for your souls”
(Jeremiah 6:16). Progress, for us, will
look like a return to an ancient path:
the path of rebuilding a spirit of
worship in our homes, of reclaiming and
defending the Christian household. And
godly men will lead the way.
As for My House
Men, no one influences the spiritual
climate of our homes like we do. If we
are lukewarm and careless, we send a
spiritual draft throughout the
household. If we burn as a furnace for
the Lord, even the most antagonistic
child within our walls will not but feel
the warming influence.
“Our great aim is to lead our families
in a way worthy of God. Why else are
they put under our care?”
Our great aim is to lead our families in
a way worthy of God. Why else are they
put under our care? To help us think
through how to do this, I believe it
helpful to borrow from the classic
categories applied to Christ: prophet,
priest, and king. We are prophets who
speak the word over our households;
priests who give ourselves to
intercessory prayer, speaking to God on
behalf of our loved ones; and kings who
govern, defend, and provide for them.
PROPHET
As prophets in our homes, we have the
great privilege to speak the words of
God to our family. We are spiritual
shepherds. Too few today know the joys
of hearing a father earnestly, joyfully,
humbly giving voice to the words of God
in Scripture. But what many of us did
not experience as sons, we can give as
fathers, God helping us.
We speak to exhort, encourage, and
charge our children to a life worthy of
God. Paul recognizes this when he says,
“Like a father with his children, we
exhorted each one of you and encouraged
you and charged you to walk in a manner
worthy of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:11–
12). We not only exhort, but encourage.
Not only encourage, but exhort. This
extends to our most beloved companion as
well, as God charges us to love her like
Christ did his church, washing her with
the word (Ephesians 5:25–27).
PRIEST
As priests in our homes, we get to
intercede for our family before God. In
a heart-stirring account, John G. Paton,
the great missionary among cannibals,
recalled his upbringing:
How much my father’s prayers at this
time impressed me I can never explain,
nor could any stranger understand. When,
on his knees and all of us kneeling
around him in Family Worship, he poured
out his whole soul with tears for the
conversion of the Heathen world to the
service of Jesus, and for every personal
and domestic need, we all felt as if in
the presence of the living Savior, and
learned to know and love him as our
Divine friend. (21)
Kneeling together, pouring out our souls
in supplication for our family, our
churches, our nation, and the lost world
— this is a mighty inheritance to leave
our children. Whether before them or in
the secret place, we get the high
privilege to labor in prayer to God on
their behalf.
KING
God has firmly written into the nature
of every man to lead, provide for, and
defend those in his charge. As societies
descend into ungodliness, this category
of the three is the last to depart. It
is a groveling existence for any man —
Christian or non-Christian — to abdicate
his kingly duties; indeed, “If anyone
does not provide for his relatives, and
especially for members of his household,
he has denied the faith and is worse
than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).
Though under attack from all sides, the
man, as head, makes decisions for his
family (both popular and unpopular).
Because he loves those affected by his
choices, he considers their perspective
before steering to the left or to the
right. He does not micromanage, but he
does actually drive from the driver’s
seat. He leads his children and his
queen as he follows Christ, his head (1
Corinthians 11:3). Mature masculinity
governs its household well (1 Timothy
3:4).
He also leads in ways many kings of the
world, untutored in the lordship of
Christ, wouldn’t dare. He doesn’t just
take up the privileges of authority, but
its responsibilities, bending low to
carry physical, emotional, and spiritual
burdens for the family, and doing so
with joy. His sacrifice extends, if it
is necessary, even to a cross in the
imitation of his Savior. And he leads
his family in other unflattering tasks
such as confession and repentance. His
glorious crown is one of thorns.
Three Men in One
Considering these categories, I find it
all too easy to play to my strengths and
avoid the discomfort of being seen as
weak in the other areas. Isn’t being a
prophet of the home sufficient? I have
found that those around me are affected
when I am weak in any of these three
callings. None can be safely neglected.
Consider, then, what we need to hear if
we simply content ourselves to operate
in one office to the neglect of the
other two.
Word to Prophets
What happens when we speak God’s word to
our families as prophets, but do not
take up the mantle of king or priest?
We might seem faithful in teaching the
word. The atmosphere in our homes will
be filled with godly content. We will
remind them of the immortality of their
souls, the great danger of sin, the need
for Christ’s righteousness and
regeneration, the bliss of union with
our Lord, and the joys of a coming world
with him in glory. But the great danger
for us, if we teach much but pray and
govern little, is to lose spiritual
power and respect in the home.
First, we will lie in danger of becoming
a teacher lacking unction. Our words
will lack the heavenly taste, the
gravitas, the indescribable influence
required to make your teaching most
profitable. Teaching good theology while
praying little is akin to a heavy bird
flapping with small wings. The word of
God will not return void, yet do not
forget, “The kingdom of God does not
consist in talk but in power” (1
Corinthians 4:20).
Second, we will risk not being taken
seriously in the home. If we do not make
decisions to govern well on behalf of
the family, how can we really oversee
souls? “If someone does not know how to
manage his own household, how will he
care for God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:4–
5). For the bookish among us, what if we
learned how to do things around the
house, how to be more decisive? What if
we worked to attain competencies beyond
our study? If we spend more time on our
knees and more time engaged in the
concerns of daily life, might our
excellent words be better received?
Word to Priests
What happens when we pray much, but fail
to lead and instruct?
It cannot be denied: if we pray, we do
well. But if we seek only to bless them
with secret words in our closets or with
hurried prayers before meals, will we
not soon find our prayers becoming
shallower and our exhortations weaker
(if we attempt them at all)? Would you
be a man “praying at all times in the
Spirit,” yet stripped of the Spirit’s
sword (Ephesians 6:17–18)? We will not
be content to merely exhale our family’s
concerns to God, but also inhale God’s
word and speak it to them.
“Whether before our families or in the
secret place, we get the high privilege
to labor in prayer to God on their
behalf.
And if we neglect governing, perhaps we
will fail to see how we can be the
extension of God’s arm in our family
beyond prayer. Their concerns are our
prayerful and practical concerns. We do
not send them off to be warmed and
filled elsewhere, but we pray and then
turn to do what we can for them. We take
our wife on dates, throw the football
around with our son, listen to our
daughter’s anxieties and dreams. We
endeavor to bless their minds and bodies
along with their souls — inside our
closets and out.
Word to Kings
What happens when we serve as king, but
not as prophet or priest?
We may govern an orderly home. We may
labor admirably for our family and pride
ourselves in our self-discipline. But
ours will be a spiritually impoverished
household. For all our earthly
forethought and provision, we will have
left those under our care exposed to
unseen foes — the most dangerous enemies
— and failed to fill their plates with
what Jesus calls “the good portion”
(Luke 10:42).
And if we are not given to prayer and
God’s word, our self-resolve will grow
thin, our strength will fail, for “even
youths shall faint and be weary, and
young men shall fall exhausted” (Isaiah
40:30). We will not know what it is to
“mount up with wings like eagles”
(Isaiah 40:31) because we won’t wait on
the Lord, nor cry out like that king of
old, “We do not know what to do, but our
eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).
But add to our kingliness the speaking
of God’s word over our family and
prayerful intercession for them, and we
will rain down blessing upon their heads
and fortify them against the evil one.
We will grow in stature in their eyes
and be kings worthy of the name.
Of Prophets, Priests, and Kings
Acting as prophet, priest, and king in
our homes is a simple way to consider
what it means to be a Christlike head of
the household. We imitate (not replace)
Christ, who is our mediating Prophet
after Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), our
Great High Priest who intercedes for us
(Hebrews 4:14–16), and our Anointed King
of Psalm 2, to whom all must bow and
kiss his ring.
Lastly, then, I commend family worship
as a great place to exercise the two
most neglected offices of our day:
priest and prophet. One simple structure
for family worship is to pray
(priestly), read Scripture and share a
thought from what you read (prophet),
and pray again. Consider also singing a
song of praise together. This could take
ten minutes, or you could linger longer.
Consistency is key.
As unbelievers go from bad to worse,
both society and the church are in need
of God-fearing, Christ-loving, and
Spirit-filled households. And men, it
has been given to us to be Christlike
leaders — in the word, on our knees, and
over our homes — as we care for the
immortal souls entrusted to our
headship.
Reprinteed with permission from Desiring
God.
The Living of God’s Word
By Sharon Stuart-reidenbach
Interrupting scripture is tricky. Some
concepts we understand. But others make
us ask, “How can this apply to the
circumstances I’m facing?” For example
Ephesians 5:15-21 teaches us to walk
wisely, avoid undesirable influences,
make the most of our time, discern the
will of God, be filled with the spirit,
give thanks in all things, and submit to
one another in the fear of God. It’s
that last part that sends shivers up our
spine—submitting. We fear of someone
else controlling us. But the Bible
defines submission as a military term—
willingly to arrange oneself under
another—not “unthinking” obedience.
We make plans and choices and think what
we are doing is right. Sometimes,
however, these innocent plans sideswipe
us and we’re laid back on our heels
wondering, “What happened?” Through the
movie, The Horse Whisper, I will
illustrate how God’s word applies
outside of the Christian academia-where
most of us live.
In the movie a young girl and her friend
plan an early morning horse ride. It’s a
beautiful, frosty day. All goes well
until they make an unwise choice to go
up a steep, icy bank, resulting in a
tragic accident. The horse is mutilated
beyond recognition. The star of the show
loses her friend and her leg, and is
also mutilated mentally. Her mother
won’t put the horse down. When the horse
can travel, she takes these two broken,
untrusting creatures, out west to a man
with a mysterious talent – talking to
horses.
The mysterious man, Robert Redford,
watches and observes them. He knows
there isn’t much time before they both
go under. Does he realize he’ll follow
the instructions in Ephesians 5? I don’t
think so. But gradually Redford’s unique
gift works wonders with the girl’s heart
and the horse’s spirit.
With us too, the Lord places people in
our path to help transform us. Here,
Redford is the one the Lord used. He
creates an atmosphere of hope that there
is still a life to live. The girl and
the horse take the first step—they chose
to listen. The second step is trusting
this unusual man. Their final hurdle is
submitting—willing to place them self
under his authority for wellness.
Did Redford consciously say, “Lo, I come
to do Thy will, O God (Hebrews 10: 9)?”
No, but God used him for His purpose: to
bring life back to two of His dying
creations.
Let’s walk through Ephesians 5: the
girls made unwise choices; the mother
listened to her heart instead of to
destructive influences; Redford
understood time was a premium; He didn’t
shy away from using the filling of his
gift; and finally, the horse and girl
voluntarily submit, and finally the
praise of healing.
Is this a stretch? Perhaps. But it’s
real. Be encouraged. As we place
ourselves under God’s protection, He
rewards our submitting with His
outpouring love that meets us in our
common, daily lives.
Seeing With Eyes of Faith
By Sandra Moats
Sight is a precious gift from God, but
there is a gift of sight that goes
beyond the natural seeing eye. This gift
ventures into the spiritual realm of God
where you can see with the eyes of
faith. Those bound in the natural seeing
realm cannot enter the avenue of faith.
Man’s way is to see and believe, God’s
way is to believe and see; God’s ways
are higher than ours. (Isa 55:9) Those
who see with the eyes of faith have been
released from the anchor of unbelief,
just as a boat is set free to sail when
the anchor is raised.
What is faith? It is a gift that is
intangible in the five senses of sight,
touch, taste, smell, and hearing, but in
the spiritual realm, faith is like a
solid brick in the construction of the
life of a believer. Faith according to
Webster’s means, “confidence; belief;
trust; reliance”. According to the
Bible, “Faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, and the conviction of things
not seen.” (Heb 11:1) There are varities
and degrees of faith. (Rom. 1:17; Rom.
12:6) There is saving faith that brings
you to salvation through Jesus Christ.
(Eph. 2:8) There is everyday faith to
walk through life and go to your
heavenly home. (Hab. 2:4; Gal. 2:20;
Heb. 10:38) There is miraculous faith in
Christ that leads you to walk through
the impossible into triumph. (Luke 17:6;
Heb. 11:7)
Confirmation deepens your faith. Before
stepping out you must be certain that
God has truly spoken a word of His
leading. There must be confirmation.
(De. 19:15; Mt. 18:16; 2Co. 13:1) Before
traveling to China, God confirmed
through His Word, my husband, and the
elders in our church that the journey
was of His leading. With each
confirmation, God deposited a deeper
gift of faith within, that the mission
would be completed successfully. When
God gives direction and confirms, you
are responsible to step out with your
face set like flint to obey. (Isa 50:7)
My mission in China was to locate and
adopt a girl in an orphanage. This was
not just any orphan girl, but a specific
girl that God showed me in a daytime
vision. I saw her face, and then He gave
me information about her age and
location. He spoke into my spirit
loudly, “Go get her!” When I heard those
words within my spirit, I laughed. I
didn’t even know where China was!
Through many miracles and numerous trips
to China over the next four and a half
years, our daughter Faith and I came
together, and my husband and I were able
to adopt her.
During those years I learned how to walk
with the eyes of faith. Christian
friends and three of our four grown
children thought I had lost my mind. One
of my closest friends asked my
forgiveness just before we left for
China to bring Faith home. She said, “I
thought this was just something of your
own doing.” She didn’t have the gift of
faith because God had given that gift to
me. It was my responsibility to walk
without wavering. Faith involves an act
of your will to step out through the
pathways of doubt. Faith is a Kingdom
principle requiring action to release
God’s power, whether it be by knocking
or receiving. (Mt. 7:7; Jas. 2:17-18) By
faith I knocked on the door of China in
search of our daughter and found her, by
faith we received our son Christian
after a call came to us. In both cases
it was faith in action.
Faith defies rationality based on reason
or evidence, but thrives on revelation
and inspiration. Many have told us that
we are crazy to be adopting children at
our ages but the evidence is in that
this is a God thing. Living faith
actively and progressively enables the
believer to complete his goal or
calling. In faith, though always without
the finances, we proceeded with every
adoption, learning that the smallest
measure of faith can release miracles.
(Luke 17:6) Faith peers into heaven and
sees it done on earth, though it has yet
to happen. It calls those things that
are not visual as though they were.
Faith is God’s vehicle by which heaven’s
plans become earth’s reality. Faith is
the core of obedience to the divine will
of God. (2 Th. 1:11) Two years ago,
after adopting four Chinese daughters,
we thought our family was complete, but
God spoke into my heart that He had two
Chinese sons for us. We all prayed and
within one year two sons joined our
family.
Faith gives us the ability to see
through the eyes of God. It developes
within a separation from unbelief and
brings confident trust in God. Faith
never lets go, knowing that with God all
things are possible. (Mt. 19:26; Mr.
9:23) We have one more daughter left in
China. We have tried to bring her home
to our family for over four years. China
adoption laws changed, and it is now
impossible with man, but with God it
will happen.
A believer may walk in a gift of faith
in one area yet struggle in another. It
is no problem for me to have faith that
God will provide finances to pay for an
adoption, yet I struggle over having
enough to pay for my continuing
education working through my doctorate.
Faith is joined hand in hand with God’s
power. (Acts 6:8; 2Th. 1:11) Laced
throughout the Old Testament we read
about saints who walked with the eyes of
faith. Noah built the ark by faith
according to God’s instructions, and it
saved his whole family. (Heb. 11:7)
Abraham was called out by God, he obeyed
and settled in the promised land. (Gen.
12:1; Heb. 11:8,9) By faith Sarah bore
Issac, the child of promise, when she
was 90 years old and Abraham was 100.
(Heb. 11:11) In our first church, a
young woman gave her life to Jesus. She
and her husband had been in a tragic car
accident that left her badly disfigured,
and she not able to carry a baby. On New
Year’s Eve one year we were invited to
their home. Before we left to visit, the
Lord spoke into my spirit a word of
promise for the young woman that she
would bear a child. I wrote out the
promise and gave it to her. She took
hold of that promise in faith. Months
later she became pregnant. The doctor
told her to go home and expect to abort
the baby as she had done many times
before. Several months later she called
the doctor and asked if he would like to
see her as she had not aborted. He was
amazed and told her to come right in. In
her time, by faith, she birthed a
beautiful baby girl.
By faith Moses was birthed and hidden by
his parents. Not only was he spared, but
he was raised by Pharoah’s daughter to
later become the deliverer of Israel.
(Heb. 11:23) By faith the Israelites
heard and obeyed in marching around
Jericho seven times. Miraculously the
walls fell down and they were
victorious. (Heb. 11:30)
In the Bible we are instructed to walk
by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)
With our natural eyes we see earthly
things, but with our spiritual eyes we
see heavenly things. Faith is immoveable
when secured in the believer’s heart in
the place where God intends it to grow.
Some years ago, a Christian brother who
suffered from asthma and a serious back
problem, knew by faith that God called
him to compete in the Western States
Race. He faithfully trained for almost a
year, and set his eyes toward to the
goal of completing the 100- mile race in
less than the twenty-four hours allotted
to buckle. I will never forget pacing
him on the last part of the race. It was
the wee hours of the morning as we
neared the finish at the high school in
Auburn, California. He almost shut down
in the last mile, but then he caught
sight of the lights in the stadium he
entered the arena leaping and yelling
like a man going to war. As he reached
the finish line he made one last leap
before collapsing. By faith Duane
finished the race in a little over
eighteen hours and buckled.
Faith does not waver in the face of
opposition or comments, but walks past
with eyes set on the goal in Jesus. By
faith you know that somehow, someway,
someday, what God has revealed will
happen. Talking to one man in an
adoption agency about our daughter Faith
before she was found, I said, “I know
this will happen, I don’t know how or
when, but I know it will.”
He said, “Sandra, let me pray about this
and get back to you. The next week he
called and said, “I believe that God is
in this, lets keep praying.” His agency
was instrumental later in helping us
bring Faith home.
A gift of faith is the outcome of the
believer’s union with Jesus Christ,
knowing that apart from Him we can do
nothing. You cannot manufacture faith
because it comes to you as a gift from
God. (Eph 2:8) When the gift of faith
comes, it is up to you to step out. The
Bible says, “Faith without works is
dead.” When we step out in faith, as God
leads, our faith is perfected. (James
2:17,18,22) May God have His perfect way
in you
I am Jesus’ Beloved
by Samuel Hughes
“Woman, behold your son!” Then He
[Jesus] said to the disciple [John],
“Behold your mother!” And from that hour
that disciple took her to his own home.
~ John 19:26-27 (NKJV)
As Jesus hung on the cross, dying for
my sins and yours too, His heart and
hands were still extended to help those
He loved.
In the first part of John 19:26, it
says that Jesus saw His mother and the
disciple whom He loved standing by. The
disciple Jesus loved was His disciple,
John.
On Good Friday 2021, I was blessed to
play the part of John, that beloved
disciple in a drama portrayal of Jesus’
betrayal, trial, and crucifixion at
Spokane Dream Center.
In that moment when Jesus spoke from
the cross, “Woman, behold your son!” and
to me, “Behold your mother!” something
changed inside of me.
As John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, I
now had a mother in my life and I was
trusted as a son to take care of her.
Me, Samuel Hughes, a man who had come
to Jesus in filthy rags, living on the
streets, choosing the world and its
vices rather than answering Jesus’ call
to have a relationship with Him that
would bring abundant life, portrayed
Jesus’ beloved disciple, John.
It was Jesus’ love that restored me.
Jesus welcomed me back with open arms
and with one word offered healing to my
broken and shattered life, “Forgiven.”
That’s how Jesus sees us. He paid the
price for our sins on the cross; our
debt has been paid in full.
After being homeless for three years,
living on the streets of Spokane
addicted to drugs and alcohol, I checked
myself into ABHS, a rehab program. But
the truth was that I just told them what
they wanted to hear, and left after 63
days, no different than when I arrived.
Two weeks later, I was sick and tired
of being sick and tired… and high. As I
went to the hospital, I cried out in my
soul for God to put people in my path to
help me.
I believed in God, I just wasn’t
following Him.
At the Stabilization Center, I met a
member of Spokane Dream Center who told
me about their Men’s Discipleship
program, a one-year life recovery
program to help me get back on track
with God.
Even after entering the program, I
still struggled. In fact, at one point I
walked away, but then came back because
of God’s love for me.
Zechariah 2:13 says, “Be still before
the Lord.” It reminded me of the story
in Mark 4, when Jesus is asleep in the
boat and a storm arrives, and the
disciples wake Jesus up, trembling in
fear. In Mark 4:39 it says, “He got up,
rebuked the wind and said to the waves,
“Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died
down and it was completely calm.”
Jesus calmed the storm in my life
too. He spoke peace to my heart.
I had a heart of stone and Jesus was
offering me a new heart – a heart of
flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
Like Joshua in Zechariah 3, I was the
burning stick that was pulled out of the
fire. In verses 3-4, even as the angel
commanded Joshua’s filthy clothes to be
removed and his sins taken away and he
was clothed in new fine clothes, God did
the same for me.
As I entered the Men’s Discipleship
program, my filthy clothes from living
on the streets were taken away and with
hands of love, new fine clothes,
symbolizing the new life God had for me
were freely given.
Today I am a staff member at the Men’s
Discipleship. I continue to learn more
about living the Christian life and what
a more intimate relationship with Jesus
means. It’s not about me, it’s about
Him. It’s about the greatest gift of all
– a new life in Christ.
Just as John and Peter ran to the tomb
at the news Mary brought them that Jesus
was no longer dead, but alive, so too I
run to the feet of Jesus, and thank Him
for the new life He has given me.
If you’re tired of making bad
choices, choosing religion over a
relationship with Jesus, He is waiting
for you to say “yes” to Him. “Call upon
the name of the Lord and you will be
saved.” (Romans 10:13)
My heart is filled with joy as I see
others enter the Discipleship program
and experience new life in Christ, just
like I did.
If you want more information about
this new hope that I’ve found in Christ,
contact Spokane Dream Center,
www.spokanedreamcenter.org and the
pastors would love to answer your
questions.
Whom the Son sets free is free
indeed! (John 8:36)
A Split Second From Eternity
By Jane Aldrich
A Split Second From Eternity
Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the
number
of my days; let me know how fleeting is
my life.
You have made my days a mere
handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing
before you,
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Psalm 39:4-5
Have you ever been so close to going in
to eternity that you held your
breath....and was afraid it would be
your last? And....the things that go
through your mind is not, “what a
terrible place this world is becoming”
or, “what is in my bank account, will I
be able to pay this or that bill?” Or,
“I’ve really messed up that
relationship, how will I ever fix it?”
No - because there is no time.....it’s
running out - this could be it -
forever! The only thing that came to
mind was, “Dear God!” That’s it - a
simple prayer - but one that worked!
I had just met Dave, my husband, for
dinner before his meeting at the church
and was on my way home. I stopped by the
store briefly to pick up a few things,
then, as usual, headed on home to do a
few chores to prepare for the next day
and await Dave. I saw the light was
green but as I entered the intersection
at Flora and Sprague Avenue, it changed
to yellow, when suddenly a car came out
of nowhere, obviously running a red
light and was right in front of me! I
hit the brakes, practically standing on
them as I called out “Dear God....” when
the car zoomed past within four or five
feet of me! I sat in shock for a moment
realizing I had almost t-boned that car!
Everyone at the lights waited for me to
clear the intersection, so I did and
headed home! Everything along the way
looked the same; same road, same
driveway, same house. Yet, something had
changed.
For some reason I didn’t mention it to
Dave when he got home, I guess I didn’t
want to worry him, and he had other
things on his mind, so we sat and
chatted about the things of the day.
But, the next morning when I had coffee
and sat down to read my devotions, it
finally dawned on me how close I had
come to not being here this morning to
have coffee, to chat with Dave about our
day, to pray for the children and to go
about our day doing what we do. The
normal and sometimes mundane things,
preparing breakfast, throwing in laundry
before heading out to work, and planning
other events for the week. I had almost
missed this! I would also have missed
our trip to Oregon in a couple of weeks
to visit our daughter and family; our
vacation to Indiana this summer to see
our son and his family, to celebrate
with our grandson, Ben, as he graduates
from high school, or grandson Caleb play
football; to cheer for grandsons Logan
and Levi at soccer games. We were
looking forward to seeing our newly
married grandson, David, and getting to
know our sweet granddaughter-in-law
better. So much, so much I’d miss! The
thought of not seeing our children and
grandchildren’s faces, enjoying our
times together and making memories that
carry us from one time to the next,
getting together with friends, praying
with others at church, enjoying those
special times in the morning with the
Lord - just being there! What
if.......what if God had not intervened
in that split second - I hardly had time
to see the other car traveling so fast -
at least 50-60 mph - and if I had been
in the intersection a nano-second
earlier....I would have been the one t-
boned and probably thrown into eternity!
But God.....
He had heard my prayer...small as it
was.....and answered!
Why did He do it, I wondered? To give me
longer life, naturally, but what shall I
do with this precious time He has given?
I thought about it and wondered have I
told those closest to me, my family,
close friends, my church family, my
pastors, just how much I love and
appreciate them. How much they have
contributed to my life and blessed me by
being a part of my life. Why do we wait
to do this? Why not tell them today?
I also realized this was a golden
opportunity - a not-to-be-wasted
opportunity - to tell others about Him
and His wonderful love and grace; to
tell them that although their decision
to accept Jesus into their life might
only take a split second - it would be
the most important second of their life
and change their whole eternity.
I know that I want to spend this gift of
time He has given me wisely, not wasting
a moment; to love Him more fully,
spending quality time deepening my
relationship with Him and with those
that I love so dearly! What a precious
gift!
Obedience Brings Life
By Barbara Hollace
“I am wonderfully, marvelously
fantastic. Thanks for asking.” That is
how Pastor Vince Martin greets those who
ask how he is doing. The light of God’s
love that graces his face is testimony
that this is the truth, Jesus lives in
him.
Today Vince is the Program Director at
Spokane Dream Center’s Men’s
Discipleship program, a place where men
with broken hearts and shattered lives
have an opportunity to find their God-
given destiny and start over again. But
that wasn’t always the case.
Vince was born and raised in St. Maries,
Idaho. After making some not-so-wise
choices involving drugs and alcohol,
that lasted from his teenage years into
his mid-thirties, he lost it all. There
were consequences to his actions that
resulted in health issues and even some
jail time. But that is not the end of
the story, that’s where the real story
begins.
When he was 35 years old, Vince
recommitted his life to the Lord and
asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior.
And Jesus embraced him as a new man in
Christ and the road to restoration
began.
In early 2000, Vince was living with his
mom right across the street from
Foundation Ministries (now Spokane Dream
Center). Vince began attending this
church and on his second visit, Pastor
Alice asked him to be part of the drama.
In fact, he played the part of a
Pharisee, which he has continued to do
for 15 years.
As I spoke with Vince, he told how the
drama rehearsals helped teach him
structure, how to be on time, follow
directions, not to talk back and how to
get along with others. Playing the part
of a Pharisee and a conversation with
his nephews drove home the point that he
was never going to go out and defame the
name of Jesus Christ again in the world
because he didn’t want anyone looking at
him and saying, why are you killing
Jesus over and over again in your
lifestyle? This year, Vince will portray
Pontius Pilate in Dream Center’s drama,
Behold Jesus at the INB Theatre on April
4.
The drama was a key part of his growth
as a new Christian but God had more in
mind. God began rebuilding every area of
his life. His children were brought back
into his life to raise with godly
principles. He got a job and over the
years was blessed with promotions, a
company vehicle, paid vacations, all
blessings from the Lord.
Vince also found a place of leadership
in the church. In 2007, he was ordained
and became an Associate Pastor. He has
the privilege of teaching the adult
Sunday School class and ministering to
people during important times of their
lives – weddings, memorial services and
even water baptisms. The ability to
touch the lives of so many people,
including family members, brings a smile
to his face as he gives all glory and
honor to God.
Then two and half years ago, God asked
him to lay it all down, to trade his job
with all its perks for a position in the
ministry and become the Men’s
Discipleship Program Director.
God is so good. What better man to lead
this program than someone who has walked
in the darkness where so many of these
men have lived, but now Vince knows what
it means to walk in the light and be an
example to others. “There’s nowhere in
the world I’d rather be. There’s no
higher calling in life than to be a
minister of the word of God. I know what
God did in my life in giving my mom her
son back. And then I get to talk to
mothers and they get to have their sons
back. God gets all the glory. God gets
all the honor,” Vince said.
The Key to Service
As a pastor, Vince faces many challenges
on a daily basis, what is the key to
overcoming them? He was quick to tell me
that his quiet time with the Lord early
in the morning, every day, is the only
thing that has sustained his heart. His
favorite Bible verse is Psalm 27:4, “One
thing I ask from the Lord, this only do
I seek: that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord all the days of my life, to
gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to
seek him in his temple.” (NIV)
His eyes light up when he speaks of his
time with the Lord often before the sun
rises. As the birds begin to sing, God’s
morning symphony joins Vince in praising
the Lord.
“Don’t take the time with the Lord, make
the time for Him. It is a no option
deal. It’s life or death.” Vince reminds
us that our hope is in the Lord Jesus
Christ but along with that we need to
have accountability through a Christian
friend/mentor with whom you can share
your burdens, sins and struggles. Pastor
Dave Darroch has been that friend/mentor
for him. If you don’t have a Christian
friend/mentor, pray that the Lord would
help you find someone.
Men’s Discipleship Program Vince’s
vision for the future of the
Discipleship Program is that as the
disciples walk together in unity, with
confidence and boldness, this community
will reap the benefits through healing,
restoration, miracles and deliverance.
May this city once again be a City of
Refuge, a place chosen by the Lord.
Pastor Vince had these closing thoughts,
“Obedience brings life. Being in the
Word and letting the Word be in us,
we’re open books for all the world to
see.” God has called each of us to be
salt and light to a hurting world.
Drawings of Spring
TIMOTHY LAMB
I read that spring is optimism
personified. If this is true, I would
say faith is staring at winter fearless
and hopeful. Faith has dark and cloudy
days and flowerless landscapes but it
feels the hope and the reward of
perseverance.
I have today, on the board behind my
computer monitor, a picture titled
‘Spring Daffodils’. Green leaves on a
blue background with one pink and one
dark blue flower. It wouldn’t win any
awards but today I would rather have
this crayon drawing than any Rembrandt.
It was a gift to me from two girls on my
bus route and when I no longer have the
picture I will still cherish the memory
of receiving it.
I have not had a beautiful spring day.
It was a “one foot in front of the
other” day. Small conflicts and minor
disappointments and a chilly-breezy day
left me less than inspired. The kind of
day that would never be remembered
except for this one little kindness.
We are told we must come to God as a
child; innocence of a child and faith of
a child; trusting as a child. Today
reminded me that sometimes God comes to
us as a child. When we are at our worst
God takes the form of innocence and
vulnerability and hands you a flower
picture and softens your heart.
I watched a video about a police sketch
artist who took a group of early/middle-
aged people he had never seen and asked
them to describe themselves while hidden
from his view. He sketched them as they
saw themselves.
Each person in the group then met
someone else in the group and was later
asked to describe that person to the
sketch artist as he made another drawing
based on their description.
Each person was permitted to see the two
sketches of themselves. Many got tears
in their eyes because the picture of how
others saw them was much more beautiful
than how they saw themselves.
How do you see yourself? Do you look at
yourself every day and keep putting
yourself in this box of second rate
goods? Do you slander the Creator
declaring yourself flawed or simply
generic humanity? Or do you avoid
looking at your reflection because what
you see in the mirror somehow diminishes
what you are?
Here is the question…Is it possible to
walk closely with God and like the way
you look? I think it is not only
possible I think it is imperative. How
can you say you trust and rely totally
on God and look in the mirror and not
like what you have been given? The
scriptures say to love your neighbor as
you love yourself. If you are critical
of your own appearance you will most
likely think critically of your
neighbor’s appearance.
In the video, the sketch most people got
from their own description was far less
happy and warm than the one that came
from the description of others. I think
when we look into the face of others, we
see, not so much who they are but who
they love. People who truly love their
neighbor as themselves are a blessing to
be around because they remind us we are
lovable…God has truly made you lovable
so walk closely with God and light up
the place!
My face in the mirror is not better nor
worse than any other face in the mirror,
but it’s mine and it smiles back at me.
Sometimes my face is filled with
springtime optimism and other times it
is wintery and it is then it finds hope
in the drawings of a child.
Begin to Hope Again
By Scott Hubbard
“I’ve come to see that part of my
calling here is simply to be a person of
hope.”
Our car bounced down a dirt road in a
small Middle Eastern town, seven of us
packed into a five-seat sedan. A dim
moonlight lit the blues and oranges of
ramshackle gates guarding small
properties.
The town sits on the northern edge of a
“developing” country. But intermittent
terrorist attacks and a limping economy
make “disintegrating” seem like a more
apt word at times. When locals meet a
Western expat like the one driving our
car, their surprise often breaks into a
question.
“Why are you here?” they ask. “This
country will never be fixed.”
Broken Hope
This country will never be fixed. You
don’t need to live in a broken country
to know something of the same
hopelessness — the desolating sense that
some aspect of your life can never be
fixed.
For many of us, pervasive, day in and
day out brokenness has turned our
youthful boast that “nothing is
impossible with God” into a weary
“nothing is ever going to change.” You
might not voice it out loud, but you’ve
come to expect that God will not answer
prayer, much less “rend the heavens and
come down” (Isaiah 64:1), and that
brokenness will dominate your life’s
headlines until your obituary takes its
place.
It might be a broken country, where
terrorists’ bombs explode every attempt
at systemic development. Or a broken
marriage, where mistrust has evicted
tenderness from the home. Or a broken
ministry, where the word seems to land
only on the path with the birds. Or
perhaps just a broken soul, where
darkness has extinguished the last
shreds of light.
In the wreckage of that kind of
brokenness, we feel entirely justified
as we adopt a hopeless view of our life.
We might even call our hopelessness
realism.
Despair Banished
Scripture has its share of such
“realists” — cynical characters who run
life through the grid of despair. The
Bible has its Sarahs who laugh at God’s
promise (Genesis 18:12), its Elijahs who
have eyes to see only God’s enemies (1
Kings 19:14), and its Thomases who
resign themselves to death (John 11:16).
But more properly, the people of God are
a people of hope. They’re the sort who
lock eyes with our world’s fundamental
brokenness, size it up from head to toe,
and still step into the ring.
Abraham looks at his barren wife and “in
hope he believed against hope, that he
should become the father of many
nations” (Romans 4:18).
Ruth turns her eyes from a dead husband
to a new country, and tells Naomi,
“Where you go I will go, and where you
lodge I will lodge” (Ruth 1:16).
Habakkuk sees the Babylonian hordes
coming to destroy his people, and still
he sings, “I will rejoice in the Lord; I
will take joy in the God of my
salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).
Micah collapses under the weight of his
own sin, and yet he boasts, “When I
fall, I shall rise; when I sit in
darkness, the Lord will be a light to
me” (Micah 7:8).
Each one of these saints knew what it
was to stand neck-deep in brokenness.
They felt the tension between God’s
promises and their seemingly hopeless
circumstances. And yet they still chose
to hope that God could give “life to the
dead and [call] into existence the
things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17).
By faith, they banished despair as they
grasped onto “the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
In other words, they were people who saw
reality as it really is.
Heart of Reality
Each of the stories shows us that, when
we welcome hopelessness and cynicism in
the name of “reality,” we are not being
realistic enough.
If you peel back the layers to get at
the heart of reality, you won’t find a
black hole of brokenness; you’ll find
“the God of hope” (Romans 15:13). You’ll
find the God who gives children to
barren women (Genesis 21:1–2), the God
who welcomes young widows (Ruth 2:20),
the God who fills disillusioned prophets
with joy (Habakkuk 3:18), the God who
pleads the cause of his sinful people
(Micah 7:9). And if you keep on looking,
you’ll find the God who entered the very
dungeon of hopelessness in Jesus Christ,
and three days later shattered the door.
This world is not a Shakespearean
tragedy, where fate wields his merciless
scythe and leaves the stage full of dead
bodies at the curtain’s close. No, this
world is more like a comedy — not
because it’s so full of laughs, but
because it’s headed for a happy ending:
a marriage and enough food to go around
for eternity.
Christian hope, then, is not the kind
that blindfolds itself to reality. It’s
the kind that looks at a newly sealed
tomb and says, “This story’s not over.”
People of Hope
Of course, the hope that sits at the
heart of reality does not guarantee that
all of the brokenness we feel will heal
quickly — or even at all in this life.
Your country might take decades to
develop, or it might disintegrate
further. Your marriage might take years
to thaw, or the cold might settle in
deeper. Your ministry might grow
incrementally, or it might wither and
die. Your soul might brighten by
imperceptible degrees, or the darkness
might linger until the end.
But the hope at the heart of reality
does guarantee something: change is not
only possible, but surely coming.
Jesus’s empty tomb stands as a solid,
immovable witness that brokenness is
beaten. With the God of hope running the
world, the risen Christ at his right
hand, and their mighty Spirit living
inside you, no brokenness can stand
forever. One day, our hope will reach
its fulfillment in the coming of the Son
and the dawning of eternity, and he will
speak the final word that exiles
brokenness from the earth. No more
splintered countries, no more icy
marriages, no more floundering
ministries, no more depressed saints.
And when we reach for that hope with the
fingers of faith, we will live in
today’s brokenness differently. We will
straighten our backs, lift our chins,
square our shoulders, and remain
“steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians
15:58) — even in this world’s most
hopeless circumstances. Our default
response to brokenness will not be
“nothing is ever going to change,” but
instead “nothing is impossible with
God.”
We may still be a sorrowful people —
burdened, broken, and beaten up — but we
will not be a cynical people. We are a
people of hope.
Spring
By Elijah Raines Good News Northwest
Spring is almost here. Spring is time
for plowing up the ground and planting.
In Genesis chapter 1 we read the story
of creation. On the third day of
creation God said, “let the land produce
vegetation: seed-bearing plants and
trees on the land that bear fruit with
seed in it, according to their various
kinds.” (Genesis 1:11) As we consider
planting a garden, we know what harvest
to expect from the seed that we sow. All
plants have seeds; some plants we work
hard to keep out of our garden. These
are the weeds that will choke the plants
you want, and if they are not dealt with
can steal your harvest. Weeds spring up
from the ground wherever they can. The
good seeds we water and fertilize so
they can grow and produce a harvest. See
what it says in Proverbs 11:18 b
“He who sows righteousness reaps a sure
reward.” Sowing righteousness and giving
good to each other is more rewardingthan
holding back the good that was meant to
be given. We read in 2 Corinthians
Chapter 9 verse 6,
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will reap generously.”
This statement is not limited to one
area of our lives but can be applied to
every area.
Seeds,with patience and cultivation,
produce a harvest of fruit. The fruit of
the Spirit is recorded in Galatians
chapter 5 verse 22, “The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness,goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.” The fruits
of the Spirit are the evidence of a life
that is being changed. Fruit takes time
to mature and grow, just like the
plants.
Keep those weeds in check and cultivate
the Spirit of God in your life!
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