My King

By Susan Klein

 

"Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty..."

Psalm 24:8a (NIV)

 

The late Reverend S. M. Lockridge was not only a Baptist preacher, but also held doctorates and honorary degrees from a host of colleges, was a well-sought after public speaker, and was passionately engaged in the civil rights movement. He delivered his messages at crusades, revivals and conferences around the world. His "most listened to" message is a six-and-a-half minute description of Jesus Christ as his King. Whenever I need a good spiritual boost, I refresh myself with these power-packed words. (If you've never heard this message, you must take a few minutes to listen to it here.)

 

In today's casual society, I fear we sometimes misplace His crown on the back shelf of our closets and forget the royal perspective of who Jesus really is. Even our Christian music more often refers to Him as exclusively a "friend" than a king. We go to Him as our Savior, our Defender and our Comforter in times of need, all of which Scripture verifies He truly is. But, how often do we intentionally think of Him as our reigning King? In the United States of America, where we've never experienced a government ruled by a king, it's hard to truly comprehend "kingship"  and all of its implications.

 

The Collins English Dictionary defines "kingship" in two ways: the position or authority of a king, or the skill or practice of ruling as a king. Scripture says Jesus is (present tense):

1) the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16),

2) the King of Israel (John 1:49),

3) the eternal, immortal and invisible King (1 Timothy 1:17),

4) the King of righteousness (Isaiah 32:1),

5) the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-8),

6) the King of the ages (Revelation 15:3).

 

Jesus is our ruling King, and we have been granted the privilege of being His royal heirs. Though He will come back to rule over the earth one day, He is already reigning over us at this very moment, sitting at the right hand of God who has established His kingship. Other earthly kings and rulers may try to take His place of honor, but they will be made a footstool for His feet (Hebrews 10:12-13). King Jesus is the only One to whom every knee shall one day bow.

 

Is Jesus your king?

 

GOING DEEPER:

1.  Reflect on Jesus' kingship. Set aside some time regularly to worship Him as your King.

2.  To cement this concept even further, try adding the title "King" before the name "Jesus" every time you read it in Scripture.

 

FURTHER READING:

Daniel 7:14; Revelation 1:4b-7, 17:13-14

 

Susan enjoys teaching Bible studies, writing and mentoring. She and her husband Mark enjoy opening their home to those in need, and are currently co-facilitating an on-site small group studying 1 Corinthians at Oakwood's Wednesday Night Community.

The Fitting

Becci Terrill

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)

I recently did something I’ve never done before. Now, I’m finding my “garments” just weren’t fitting right, so when I walked by a well-known store and saw a “SALE” sign, I decided to try some on. As I entered the fitting room, an attendant asked if I would like to have a fitting. I hesitated, as pride almost got the better of me, and then decided to take her up on her offer. The next ten minutes were so informative! Not only did she help me find the right size (I’m embarrassed to say how much I was off!), she also helped me find the right style for my body! What a difference the right choice can make! 

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience, and can laugh with me. As I thought about this example, however, I couldn’t help but wonder what other areas of my life needed a “fitting.” Had life and schedules changed so that Bible study, prayer and personal time with the Lord didn’t “fit” as well as they had at other times?  Were areas of service for the Lord “fitting” for my current season of life? I still needed all of these pieces in my life, but perhaps I needed an updated “fitting” to continue growing spiritually.

Just because I’ve always had devotions in the morning, doesn’t mean that’s the only time, or the best time, for this period of my life. What time of day would allow the most undisturbed fellowship with the Lord? Are there new areas where the Lord may want me to serve as He stretches me and I grow spiritually?

The young store attendant suggested that I come in for a fitting every six months, as everyone’s body changes. It sounds like a good idea for my spiritual life, too. Not to see IF spiritual activities fit, but what “fit” will allow a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus and glorify Him with my life.  

Who knew such a visit could prompt valuable spiritual reflection?!

GOING DEEPER:

1.  What area of your life isn’t “fitting” anymore? What adjustments need to be made for a proper “fit” and deeper relationship with the Lord?

2.  Consider what training and/or a spiritual mentor might play in your life, helping you discover how your unique design “fits” in service to the Lord. 

FURTHER READING:

Ruth 1-4

Becci Terrill is a wife and mom to two adult daughters. She is the Children's Ministry Director at Oakwood Church. 

The Terrible Typo

By Lexi Ellis

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness...”

Isaiah 43:19a (NLT)

I love being a part of the Fresh Start ministry. Part of my “job” is to format and edit devotionals. It’s a joy getting a “sneak peak” at how God works in our writers’ lives and then uses them to share it with others. But sometimes, I miss a typo or mess up the format. Often, it’s caught by another team member before the devo goes out, but sometimes it’s not.

Recently, I missed a letter. There was a word without a vowel and this teacher-by-profession didn’t see it. Man, I felt like kicking myself. I read the sent-out devo - - now too late to change it - - and just felt defeated. While a small mistake, it felt huge at the time. Critical thoughts flooded in: Are you serious? You’re clearly not qualified for this. How did you miss a mistake in the title…it’s bolded?!

Realizing this was heading in a dangerous direction, I imagined laying my mistake down at the Lord’s feet. God, help our readers be encouraged despite this typo. Help them sense Your Presence and continue to strive towards an active, ongoing and vibrant relationship with You. Help me depend on Your strength rather than my own ability and keep things in perspective.

Aren’t you thankful God has chosen to use imperfect people to do His perfect will? Scripture is filled with people who really messed up or had awful circumstances, but God used them when they chose to be obedient…in the midst of their mess. I think of Abraham and Sarah, Miriam, Gideon, David…all imperfect people whom God used in spite of their mess. We - - as believers - -  also get to be involved in His plan! While I am very aware of the mistakes I make, I realize God can use me when I trust and surrender to Him.

And despite our un-perfect-ness, God has gifted and wired us uniquely for our role in this plan. There are countless examples of this in Scripture, like when God put Aaron’s gift of communication or Deborah’s gift of leadership to good use. In the New Testament, Paul writes about the importance and diversity of spiritual gifts and how vital these gifts are to the Church (1 Corinthians 12). The strengths we possess are by no accident.

While I’d like all words to have vowels, I’m thankful for the reminder that God uses us - - despite the terrible typos and imperfections - - and that each of us is uniquely gifted.

GOING DEEPER:

1. What imperfections do you need to lay at the Lord’s feet?

2. How has God uniquely designed you for His Kingdom?

FURTHER READING:

1 Peter 4:10; Romans 12:6-8

Lexi and her husband, Andrew, have an adorable puppy named Calvin. She teaches sixth grade at Silver Lake Intermediate School. Lexi serves with Children’s Ministries and is the Fresh Start Coordinator.

Light in the Darkness

By Peggy Kleckner

 

"While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

John 9:5 (NIV)

I am really tired of darkness. The news blares it. Facebook is full of it. It is in our newspapers, in our magazines. It feels like a tidal wave crashing across all of life.

I can get so focused on what is wrong here that I forget about the light. My ears are full of doom and gloom, my eyes are fixed on the broken, my mind is consumed with endless painful trials. I am weary and crying out, "God, don't you care? Where are you?"

I am so like the disciples. I read in Scripture that they were out on the lake, a place they were used to, and a storm came up. I am sure they were used to storms as well, but this one seemed to be winning against them.  Where was Jesus?  "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion" (Mark 4:38).

Imagine you are rowing your heart out, working with others to keep the boat upright and where do you see Jesus? In the back of the boat asleep! 

They asked what I myself have asked Him recently, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" What did Jesus do? He acted and then He spoke. First, He calmed the sea that was causing them all the trouble, and then He addressed them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Ouch. Essentially I hear Him ask me, "Do you still not trust who I am or know what I am capable of doing?"

He doesn't sound angry, just hurt that I don't trust Him. Sometimes, I have to stop and look in the back of my boat. He is still there and He is still sovereign. I can rest in that knowledge though the storm is at fury stage.

I wonder if perhaps Christ's question was more like "Why didn't you call on me sooner?" Perhaps the disciples didn't think they needed him for the mundane, normal part of life. Perhaps we don't think so either, but then the storm comes up where we weren't expecting it.

I think it comes up for a reason, to show us that we are not capable of doing life on our own. We really do need a Savior - -  not just for the BIG issues of our lvfes - - but for the everyday, every-moment parts of our lives.

He is the light that comes into us and lights the world.

 

GOING DEEPER:

1.  Have you watched for His answer when you asked, "Don't you care?"

2.  What story from your life can you share with someone about His "showing up" in your darkness?

 

FURTHER READING:

2 Samuel 22:29; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John1:7

Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.

When Victory Walked out the Door

By Elin Henderson

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our LORD.”

 1 Corinthians 15:57(NIV, emphasis added)

Can you remember a day when victory walked out the door? The people you were counting on let you down. The money you desperately needed never came in. The armies you had built up were slowly demolished and there you were left standing, alone. “Impossible” just got ramped up to a new level!

Did you find yourself chasing after the defectors, begging them to return? Filling the gaps with whatever resources you could dig up? Barring the door so they couldn’t escape? We find many ways to try and make up the difference between our current difficulty and what we consider “victory.”

Yet, God is always challenging us and finding creative ways to get rid of the human element, in order to show us a better way to victory. This “letting go” of our human resources, our well-made plans, our “victory” stash is never easy, is it? Whether we are the widow with the last bit of oil and Elijah asks for some bread (1 Kings 17:8-16), or Gideon when God pares down his army of tens of thousands to mere hundreds (Judges 7:1-7), God has His ways of bringing us to the end of ourselves and our well-planned resources. It appears that victory is walking out the door, but God is waiting to bring in a better, more incredibly victorious plan!

It is in the faith-filled surrender, which willingly lets go when all of your being is screaming to hang on tighter, that we find true victory. So, keep the doors open. If people desert you, your resources dry up or your plans fall apart, don’t lose heart. Let them go, resting in the fact that God will use that same door to usher in a victory unlike one you have ever seen.

           

GOING DEEPER:                                                       

1. Are you facing any difficulties right now?

2. What can you do to keep reminding yourself to keep the door of your heart open for God’s plans?

FURTHER READING:

Genesis 50:20; 1Samuel 12:16; Psalms 44:3

Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa.  Elin is mother to fourteen-year-old Callie and twelve-year-old Elias.

Unbridled Passion

By Susan Klein

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire”

1Thessalonians 5:19 (NIV)

I just finished reading, Kisses From Katie [1]. If you’re not familiar, it’s a book about an astounding young woman who walks away from her affluent American life to submit to God’s calling: ministering to the destitute in Uganda. Why would a senior class president and homecoming queen, with a steady boyfriend, college plans secured, and her whole future ahead of her, give it all up to live in poverty and be a mother and mentor to hundreds of orphans on a different continent? Unbridled passion!

                                                                                                                      

God first ignited the spark in Katie’s life as a high school senior while on a short-term mission trip. As she loved on those dear orphans, many who were starving and suffering from failing health and horrific living conditions, God continued to kindle the small flame within her heart. On her second visit, the initial spark fanned into a flame, which quickly ignited into an all-consuming fire.

It burned so deep within her soul that she could literally think of nothing other than caring for and sharing the love of Jesus with these dear little ones. Returning to her home in the states once again (she had promised her parents she’d come back after one year to attend college), Katie’s passionate fire for those children could not be contained as she longed to be with them. She knew her passion was from God, and that it must be allowed to burn brightly for His ultimate purpose.

Katie writes, “I realize that since I have chosen an unusual path it is easier for outsiders to look at my life and come to the conclusion that it is something extraordinary. That I am courageous. That I am strong. That I am special. But I am just a plain girl from Tennessee. Broken in many ways, sinful, and inadequate. Common and simple with nothing special about me. Nothing special except I chose to say ‘yes.’ ‘Yes’ to the things God asks of me and ‘yes’ to the people He places in front of me. You can too.”

Katie returned to Uganda fueled by the intense passion to serve, and to love and to mother amidst seemingly impossible circumstances. She writes, “Every morning, as I wake up with some impossible task in front of me, I know that God will meet it with impossible strength and love.” He who calls, not only equips, but also gives us the passion to serve with our whole hearts.

GOING DEEPER:

1) What flames of passion might God be kindling in your heart?

FURTHER READING:

James 1:27; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7; 1 John 3:16-18

Susan is married to Mark, and has two adult children. She enjoys teaching Bible studies, writing, and tutoring with the Literacy Council. She is a member of the Peace Team at Oakwood and also co-leads a Wednesday Night Community small group.

[1] Kisses From Katie, Howard Books/Simon and Schuster, Inc., 2011, by Katie Davis

(https://amazima.org/about-us)

The Finish Line

By Karen D’Amore

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?

Run in such a way to get the prize.

1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV)

It’s become a familiar scenario at every race! In that final mile, as my lungs gasp for air, my legs buckle with weariness, and I wrestle with the temptation to quit the race…the moment I get a glimpse of the finish line, “something” compels me to dig deep, kick into high gear and sprint to the finish. Personally, I believe that “something” has to do with seeing the “light at the end of the tunnel.” In a race, the FINISH line serves as a marquee, denoting the conclusion of the race…advancing the runners to their awaiting prize. Every race has a prize, be it a t-shirt, a medal, a trophy, cash or the thrill of victory in the applause of the crowd.

Throughout Scripture, the believer’s life is likened to a long-distance race resembling a marathon. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to run with the resolve to win an eternal prize: the crown of life. When my friend Pam was diagnosed with terminal cancer, we spoke candidly about her eternal prize…the hope of heaven! Not knowing how many miles she had left in the race of life, she prayed for a marathon. A bucket list of final wishes spurred her to persevere, to stay in the race.

For eighteen months, Pam maintained a steady pace, running her cancer-hurdled course with grace and endurance. Once her body lost the ability to leap the increasing hurdles, she was diverted into hospice care. Knowing she was running her final mile, within a few days of hospice placement, she sprinted across her eternal finish line. As a metaphorical spectator, I’d like to believe that as Pam laid in that hospice bed…once she got a glimpse of her eternal FINISH line…and saw “THE LIGHT at the end of the tunnel,” the reflection of God’s shekinah glory compelled her to sprint to the finish.

With Scripture revealing “THE LIGHT at the end of our eternal  tunnel,” believers have an everlasting glimpse of The Finish Line!  “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away - -inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4: 16-17, NIV).

In the race of life, when hardships and hurdles obstruct the course, don’t quit!  Stay focused on THE LIGHT.  Persevere to the FINISH.  This is where your eternal prize awaits; a prize gloriously surpassing any medal or trophy this world has to offer!

GOING DEEPER:

1.  What prize are you running for?

FURTHER READING:

 2 Timothy 4:8; 2 Corinthians 5:2; Hebrews 12:1

Married to Dan, Karen, a retired police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at Craig Berns Salon and Foot Care Specialist at Shorehaven Senior Facility. She’s on the Oakwood Women’s Ministry Special Events planning team.

A Lesson in Re-Membering

By Brita Crouse

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.”

Lamentations 3:21-22 (NIV)

It’s a cold November morning. The sun has yet to make an appearance and all signs of life are quiet except for the few, like me, out on the road. I drive faster than I should, but I’m realizing how precious time is. I arrive and walk into a somber house, finding family members sleeping, curled up closely to a great man in his final moments.

So I assume the role of watchman and I savor the stillness and let them rest. I write and I try to be thankful. I pause and watch him, monitor his breathing - - in and out and in and…out and in and out - - acknowledging he is now only a sliver of who I know him to be. I write until my ink-stained hand is sore and my eyes grow tired. I finish with: I am thankful for the ability to hold onto hope. And the heaviness of it all weighs on me. So I switch rooms, blackest coffee in hand, and open the Word, craving its healing.

“I am the [wo]man who has seen affliction…He pierced my heart…He has filled me with bitter herbs…My soul is downcast within me.” [1]

The words of the lamenter reverberate within.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” [2, emphasis added]

I have hope?

God’s breathed Word says so.

“This fallen world never stops dis-membering who we are. We’re all breaking a bit more every day…And there, even as we ache, is the gentle whisper of God. With the quiet urging to give thanks anyways…But why in the world give thanks?…Because we remember how He blesses, loves us, when we recollect His goodness to us, we heal - - we re-member. In the remembering to give thanks, our broken places are re-membered - - made whole. When we re-member all His blessings, we re-member all our fractures, and in giving thanks in the assembly it’s our very souls that re-assemble.” [3]

Sometimes it hurts and life dis-members us, breaks us down.

But there is joy in giving thanks, in having hope… in the re-membering.

GOING DEEPER:

1.  How are you re-membering and giving thanks despite your circumstances?

FURTHER READING:

James 1:2-4; Romans 8:18-24

Brita is currently working toward her Master’s in Counseling at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She has called Oakwood her home church for the past seventeen years.

[1] Lamentations 3:1, 13, 15, 20

[2] Lamentations 3:21-23

[3] Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) 172.

Don’t Look Back!
By Carolyn Hulliberger

“…Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop…”
Genesis 19:17 (NIV)

Lot’s wife is a little-known but tragic figure in the Bible. One dark night, she found herself caught in the crossfire of sin and redemption. The wife of Abraham’s nephew, she and her family lived in the wicked city of Sodom. God was angry with the city’s depravity and had vowed to destroy it. That was the bad news. The good news was that her family received a warning of the destruction to come by God’s representative. His specific instructions were: “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere…or you will be swept away!”

Can you imagine the fear? She is told to uproot her whole family with no time and no planning. Sodom was home…she had lived there many years; her daughters were engaged to men from this city…there were weddings to plan! But Sodom was the original “sin city” and God had had enough. How blessed Lot’s wife was to receive a reprieve from the judgment that God was handing down.

Lot’s wife did as instructed…to a point. She fled with her husband and two daughters, leaving before dawn and reaching a small town just as sulfur rained down on Sodom. She was safe! Then she did what she had been told NOT to do. Clinging to the past, she looked back at the city. And she became a pillar of salt.

It would be easy to point to Lot’s wife and judge her. But haven’t we all been stuck in a desperate place between needing to focus only on moving forward to where God wants to take us, and the overwhelming desire to go back to the familiar...even when it’s bad for us? Maybe your “Sodom” is an addiction, an unhealthy relationship, or moral compromises. This story illustrates that in those places we mustn’t turn back. All ties have to be severed. We can only be saved from the place of ruin by putting one step in front of the other to get away from it…and never looking back.

In Philippians chapter 3, the apostle Paul tells us the way we are supposed to take: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (NIV). Lot’s wife missed out on the prize of freedom when she chose to remember what was behind her. Let’s not make the same mistake ourselves.

GOING DEEPER:
1. Do you find yourself in a personal “Sodom” place? Resolve today to move away from it and toward what God has in mind for you. Pray for strength and seek help, counsel and accountability.

FURTHER READING:
Genesis 19:1-29; Luke 9:62

Along with caring for her family, Carolyn works as an insurance representative, serves in Oakwood Church as a Community Group leader and a High School home group leader.

Your Password Will Expire in Five Days

By Lisa Boyer

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are!”

1 John 3:1a (NIV)

I don’t know about you, but I have a LOT of passwords. In fact, I have six different passwords at work alone, and for security reasons, one of those passwords has to be changed every three months. I hate getting the “your password will expire in five days” message because it’s so hard to think of a new password that means enough to me to remember it.

Once, when I got the dreaded “your password will expire in five days” message, I decided to try something different: an abbreviation of a phrase from a song. It was my favorite song at the time, so I thought I would easily remember it. But the next morning, I sat at my keyboard struggling to remember my password once again. I remembered what song I had been thinking of, but had to remember what words I used and whether I used the whole word or just the first letter of the word, etc.

As it turned out, my new password was the hardest password to remember ever! It was really frustrating until I came up with a phrase to clue me in to what my password was. Each morning, I would sit at my keyboard and quietly say to myself, “Hello, child of the One True King,” concentrating on each word as I typed the password I had coded out of that phrase. Saying that phrase made me smile every single morning!

About a month later, I noticed that my attitude was changing at work and realized it was because of my new password! Concentrating on those words “hello, child of the One True King” was reminding me that I wasn’t just a child of the One True King at church and at home, I was a child of the One True King at work, as well. Each morning, I was being reminded by my password of His love for me as His child. My Father - - God - - was in charge and I could trust Him, even at work.

Three months passed and “your password will expire in five days” appeared on my computer once again. I was sad to think of how much I was going to miss that password... but then my new favorite song came to mind and I knew that a password about God’s great grace was going to be a wonderful way to start my mornings!

GOING DEEPER:

1.  Is it time to add a new positive phrase to your morning routine?

FURTHER READING:

Philippians 4:8; Proverbs 4:23

Lisa has been married to Ted for 23 years and they have two sons in college. Lisa serves in Quest 56 on Sunday mornings at Oakwood.

How Great…in all Times

By Lexi Cole Ellis

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 12:6 (ESV)

As I was planning our wedding several years ago, I spent a lot of time choosing our wedding music. I searched and researched…reading playlists from Google, scouring YouTube for songs and reading all the bridal magazines for ideas. I wanted something meaningful but something different. For one of the songs, I ended up picking Chris Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God.” The first thing we wanted to proclaim after we said our vows was that God is great.

How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
And all will see
How great, how great is our God [1]

The song ended up being poignant, representing a dualism of emotions. A month before my wedding, after most of the details had been finalized and deposits had been made, my dad unexpectedly lost his job. Our family didn’t see it coming and it ushered in a season where I had the privilege of watching my parents trust God in ways they hadn’t needed to before. In the midst of pure joy with our wedding, there was a continual choice of needing to trust God for His timing in revealing His plan for my dad and his future employment. It was a weird combination of emotions...after dating Andrew for almost six years, there was the excitement and the absolute certainty that this was what I wanted. But I also had to deal with my anger at what I considered an injustice for my dad and uncertainty at what would be next.

As I listened to the song over and over again to plan out the timing for lighting the unity candle, I started studying the words. I realized that this was a song that could be sung in the heights of joy and the depths of unknown. God is great….in all times.

Though our circumstances differ, though our emotions at this present moment may vary, He is the “name above all names, worthy of all praise.” [1] Despite the trial or blessing, despite the pain or rejoicing, we have the opportunity to make a conscious choice, one that cries (in tears or in joy), “my heart will sing, How great is our God.” [1]

GOING DEEPER:

1.      Think of life at this present moment. If you had to pick one or the other, is it more joy or more tribulation?

2.      What do you need to do today to confidently sing of God’s greatness despite what’s going on?

FURTHER READING:

Jeremiah 10:6; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 96: 4

Lexi Ellis is married to Andrew and has an adorable dog named Calvin. She teaches sixth grade at Silver Lake Intermediate School. She serves with Children’s Ministries and is the Fresh Start Coordinator.

[1] http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/christomlin/howgreatisourgod.html

[2] http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=YL7Z7WNX