The Slowness of God (Devotional)

The Slowness of God:

"In the spiritual life God chooses to try our patience first of all by His slowness. He is slow: we are swift and precipitate. It is because we are but for a time, and He has been for eternity. Thus grace, for the most part, acts slowly. He works little by little. Sweetly and strongly He compasses His ends, but with a slowness which tires our faith because it is so great a mystery. We must fasten upon this attribute of God in our growth in holiness. There is something greatly overawing in the extreme slowness of God. Let it overshadow our souls, but let it not disquiet them. We must wait for God, long, meekly, in the wind and wet, in the thunder and the lightning, in the cold and the dark. Wait, and He will come. He never comes to those who do not wait. He does not go their road. When He comes, go with Him, but go slowly, fall a little behind; when he quickens His pace, be sure of it, before you quicken yours. But when He slackens, slacken at once: and do not be slow only, but silent, very silent, for He is God.”

                                                                                             Written by: Fredrick Faber

Identity

        Identity.

       Yikes, what a word!  And it's something that we hear talked about everyday in one way or another.   We raise our children to become the person that God wants them to be.  Our friends talk with us as they work out the issues in their lives that are unique to them.  Our celebrities strive to be known for who they are, and not the character or position that they play.  Our media paints a constant picture of who they think we ought to be...but what does Jesus say?  

        Have you ever had one of "those days"?   The kind of day where it's difficult to remember WHO you are...WHY you are here...WHAT you stand for?  

        It's good to have a reference for days like that.   Something you can glance at, or study, to remind yourself how God views you if you are a born-again Child of His.  

       Jesus, and His Father - God, take their identity very seriously.   They set a holy example for us to follow...we should take our identity seriously as well.

Resource taken from Pinterest

On a High Note....October 2017

From Brad:
    Homecoming is one of my favorite times of the year.   Fall is in the air, Christmas is just around the corner, and many memories abound of years gone by.   Friends and loved ones that have passed on, childhood memories of 'dinner on the ground', those long afternoon singings.  My Sunday summers were filled almost weekly by being at a church somewhere singing.
    Homecoming also reminds us that sometimes we need to come home.  Even if we are just down the street.   Your church body should hold a very special place in your heart, and I think you should long to see her and be with her church "relatives" whenever possible.   If there is no desire to be 'home' for you, why is that?   As the years pass, the memories you make now, and the habits that your children see in you....will formulate what they write in columns such as this one day.


A Note About Choir:
     We need more folks to commit to the choir at our church.   Over the years choir members have passed away or moved away, but most have not been replaced.   A vibrant choir is a tool for the growing and worshipping church.  Many that used to sing in the choir no longer do so, and we have a lot of singers that sit in the congregation but never come to choir.   I would humbly ask that you pray and consider being a part of this ministry.  A lot of churches are completely eliminating choirs because they cannot get enough church members to commit - I sure do not want Wolf Creek to be faced with that dilemma.  Would you pray about it?

Prayer in the Face of Evil

By: Joni Eareckson Tada
Oct. 2, 2017


Our country has suffered, yet again, an act of pure evil and civil unrest – and as Christians, we are dropping to our knees, asking for God's mercy, healing, and grace.
This morning I woke up to the news that at least 58 people were killed, and over 550 were wounded in a horrific shooting in Las Vegas. A gunman turned a concert into a killing field Sunday night from his perch on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, using at least 10 guns to rain down a steady stream of fire in the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history. I was still in bed when I heard this – my two girlfriends who got me up this morning shared it at my bedside when they came to help me get ready for the day. I was stunned. Shocked. And the first thing we did was to stop and pray.
But how do you pray at such a time? First, you grieve – just as God grieves, just like His heart breaks. You mourn and lament over the devastation that sin has brought into this world. You feel sorrow and sadness and cry out to God for mercy, for His healing and help. And so, as I was still lying in bed, my friends and I did just that. And I am still praying, as I know you must be. In fact, join me now and together let’s go before God humbly, mournfully, and ask for His healing, not only on our deeply troubled nation, but for the families and loved ones. Let’s pray…

God of all mercy, we are heartsick over the ruin and desolation that sin has brought upon our world, upon our nation. Have mercy on us. And please, have mercy on the families of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy. Comfort them in their grief, and show yourself to be the God of consolation that you are. You are the healer of broken hearts, and families and loved ones are utterly crushed by this senseless tragedy – draw them to your side, and show yourself to be the answer to their anguish. And please touch the lives of the many hundreds who lie wounded, and yes, even those who survived. Quiet their anxieties and fears, and heal their wounds. Cause them, as they lie on their beds, to seek you and turn to you with their concerns. And please, Lord, restore them and heal them.
Finally, Lord, we do not attempt to search for meaning in this massacre. You are sovereign, and you are the only one who can bring good out of this wretched evil. So, bind families together; unite Christians in prayer; help churches be salt and light in their neighborhoods; aid us in overcoming evil with good. Help us be vigilant in promoting peace, demonstrating love, and helping to change the divided climate in our homeland. We praise you for your sovereignty, even over this awful tragedy. For you have judged it better to bring good out of evil than to arrange it that no evil should exist. Men cannot be made good by laws; good can only spring from a change in peoples’ hearts. So please turn hearts toward Jesus Christ, the only one who can save us from ourselves; the only one who can rescue us from ruin. May this historic tragedy turn the history of this country so that one day we may, indeed, be crowned in brotherhood from sea to shining sea. In the powerful name of our Savior, Amen.

© Joni and Friends 2017
www.joniandfriends.org
Used by permission of Joni and Friends