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KLOVE/Air1, Awakening Events and Altrua HealthShare Join with Salvation Army to Meet Needs in Local Communities
Nashville, TN… (February 19, 2020) – TobyMac’s HITS DEEP TOUR is giving back to cities across the U.S.. In partnership with tour sponsors KLOVE/Air1, Awakening Events and Altrua HealthShare, they have been working with the Salvation Army to meet needs in each local community. With 34 shows on Hits Deep 2020, hundreds of individuals and families will reap the benefits of this special partnership for years to come.
“Since the beginning of The Hits Deep tour in 2016, we have had a desire to give back to each community we visit,” commented TobyMac. “Thanks to our Partnership with KLOVE/Air1, Awakening Events, and Altrua HealthShare this dream is a reality. We have joined with the Salvation Army to identify the underserved in each community with specific needs. Each night a check is given for needs such as mattresses and beds for individuals in recovery programs, scholarships for music lessons for children, gifts to help children with an incarcerated parent celebrate special occasions as well as transportation for veterans.”
TobyMac kicked off the HITS DEEP TOUR, which also features features Tauren Wells, Jordan Feliz, We Are Messengers, Ryan Stevenson, Aaron Cole, and Cochren & Co. on January 30 in Beaumont, TX. TOBYMAC THE THEATRE TOUR, as well as four Canadian tour dates will follow througout the spring. For all dates see below, and additional tour info, click here.
The HITS DEEP TOUR 2020
Fri, Feb 21-
Denver Coliseum – Denver, COSat, Feb 22-
Denver Coliseum – Denver, COSun, Feb 23-
Vivint Smart Home Arena – Salt Lake City, UTTue, Feb 25-
ExtraMile Arena – Boise, IDThu, Feb 27-
Abbotsford Centre – Abbotsford, BCFri, Feb 28-
accesso ShoWare Center – Kent, WASat, Feb 29-
Toyota Center – Kennewick, WASun, Mar 1-
Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Portland, ORThu, Mar 5-
Baxter Arena – Omaha, NEFri, Mar 6-
UWM Panther Arena – Milwaukee, WISun, Mar 8-
Sprint Center – Kansas City, MOThu, Mar 12-
Mississippi Coliseum – Jackson, MSFri, Mar 13-
Simmons Bank Arena – North Little Rock, ARFri, Mar 20-
TaxSlayer Center – Moline, ILSat, Mar 21-
BOK Center – Tulsa, OKSun, Mar 22-
INTRUST Bank Arena – Wichita, KSTue, Mar 24-
Bell County Expo Center – Belton, TXThu, Mar 26-
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, TXFri, Mar 27-
The UTEP Don Haskins Center – El Paso, TXSat, Mar 28-
AT&T Center – San Antonio, TXSun, Mar 29-
UNO Lakefront Arena – New Orleans, LATOBYMAC THE THEATRE TOUR DATES:
Sat Apr 25-
Montgomery Performing Arts Center – Montgomery, ALSun Apr 26-
Tivoli Theatre – Chattanooga, TNTue Apr 28-
Johnny Mercer Theater – Savannah, GAThu Apr 30-
Peoria Civic Theater – Peoria, ILSun May 03-
Tennessee Theatre – Knoxville, TNMon May 04-
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium – Asheville, NCWed May 06-
Coronado Performing Arts Center – Rockford, ILThu May 07-
Embassy Theatre – Ft Wayne, INFri May 08-
Aiken Theatre – Evansville, INMon May 11-
Koger Center For The Arts – Columbia, SCMon May 13-
Cincinnati, OH – Taft TheatreThu May 14-
Gillioz Theatre – Springfield, MOTOBYMAC CANADIAN TOUR DATES:
Tue Jun 04-
First Alliance Church – Calgary, ABWed Jun 05-
Christ City Church – Edmonton, ABThu Jun 06-
Christ City Church – Edmonton, ABFri Jun 07-
Elim Church – Saskatoon, SK###
About TobyMac:
With more than 12 million units in career sales and a whopping seven GRAMMY® Awards, TobyMac’s career continues on the fast track. His 2015 RIAA Certified Gold studio album, THIS IS NOT A TEST garnered a GRAMMY® Award and Billboard Music Award nomination on top of debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200. Each of his six studio solo projects have achieved Gold certification, a first for any artist in the history of his label, Capitol Christian Music Group. Among those is 2012’s EYE ON IT, which debuted atop the Billboard 200, only the third Christian album ever to do so. The Elements, his awaited newest collection of music, is available now boasting “Everything,” “Scars,” “Edge of My Seat,” and more alongside the chart-topper, RIAA Gold Certified “I just need U.”About Awakening Events: Awakening Events produces over 300 Contemorary Christian concerts and events nationwide in America and is consistently ranked in Pollstar’s “Worldwide – Top 50 Promoter” lists each year, reaching as high as 9th in North America, and top 20 in the world. For more information please visit https://www.awakeningevents.com.
Get Connected With TobyMac:
Website // www.tobymac.com
Facebook // www.facebook.com/tobymac
Twitter // www.twitter.com/tobymac
Instagram // www.instagram.com/tobymac
YouTube // www.youtube.com/TobyMacVEVO
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He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
– Revelation 22:20
Have you ever wondered why Jesus used the concept of a bride and groom to describe His relationship with the Church?
It was not an accident that Jesus is referred to in Scripture as the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride. The Bible did not merely paint poetic word pictures for the reader. In His Word, God has told us that Christ and the relationship to His people would be symbolized by the Jewish wedding. The similarities to the Galilean marriage traditions of Jesus’ day to His plan for the Church are breathtakingly similar:
- The groom’s father sent his son to the bride’s house to pay her dowry and arrange the betrothal.
*Father God sent His son Jesus to earth to pay the redemption cost to make her His Bride. In doing so, He entered a new covenant with His people.
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’ -Luke 22:20
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. -Acts 20:28
- After the betrothal, the son returned to his father’s house to prepare a home for the couple.
*Jesus returned to heaven after His resurrection.
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. -John 14:2-3
- While the bride awaited the groom’s return at an unknown hour, she cleansed herself in a ritual bath to be presented as a pure bride. She lived and slept in her wedding clothes so she would be ready to leave at his call.
*God’s people remain in our earthly home, purified by the blood of the Son of God, and await His return for us. We don’t know the day or hour of His return, only that He has promised to come for us.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. – Matthew 24:36
- The groom’s return was preceded by a shout to alert the bride.
*Jesus will come for us with a shout of victory.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. -1 Thess. 4:16-17
This sudden appearance of the Christ for His Church is known in the Bible as harpazo, which means to snatch, seize, or pluck up. In the Latin, this word is rapturo, from where we get the term Rapture.
The Rapture of the Church is not an outdated myth or outrageous escape plan. It is the consummation of a love story written by God Himself. Be on the lookout, for the Bridegroom is coming.
He who testifies to these things says,
‘Yes, I am coming quickly,’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus
– Revelation 22:20
Sources:
https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G726/harpazo.htm
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And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him.
– Luke 15:20
Hello. My name is Pam Thorson. I am a parent.
A parenting book entitled, Parenting Is Hard and Then You Die was released in 2019. After forty-six years of parenthood, I, along with millions of others, can relate to that title. But no one warned me when I became a parent for the first time. I have truly loved being a mom. I didn’t realize, though, how much of my heart it would take and break.
Being parents makes us vulnerable in ways nothing else can. Everything good and bad that happens to your children happens to you. Your life is never your own again. They can complete you and reduce you to ashes (sometimes in the same day), because your children are literally a part of you.
Last year, the popular rapper Toby Mac lost his 21-year-old son Truett. We who have followed Toby’s music over the years have been devastated by his loss and have seen his soul-scouring grief. Those of us who have lost or nearly lost our own children understand the pain. It is a fellowship of suffering to which no one wants to belong.
It is also our reminder of another father, our Father in heaven.
God made Himself vulnerable to this same pain when He made us His children. He didn’t need to do that. He could have lived in eternity just fine without us. But He didn’t want to live without us.
We matter to Him, in a deep, soul-shaking way.
He emptied heaven to pay for our redemption. His heart is broken when we reject Him; He watches the road for our return. He hurts for us and with us. No one knows our pain like He does.
You may feel like your life doesn’t matter to anyone. You may feel worthless. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Watch Toby Mac’s video. See the pain in his eyes. Feel his tears. In his grief you will see the reflection of our heavenly Father’s broken heart for us. A parent wants nothing more than to have his child whole and happy and in a healthy relationship with him.
One day it will be too late to turn back. It will be too late to say, “I love you.” The Father will stop watching the road for your return. Go running to His arms, to His safety. Today.
I promise you; He is waiting.
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God said: ‘I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.’ And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.
– 1 Samuel 15:11
For years, I slept like a log.
The demands of a growing household often left me exhausted at the end of the day. I often collapsed into bed and fell immediately asleep. Now I’m older, and our household is shrinking as our grown children have moved on to new lives. I’m in the season where the night has become the time to think and worry and pray for those I love. It has all become more intense, as well, the thinking and the worrying and the praying. The days are still filled with exhausting duties, but now my life feels more out of control, the burdens heavier.
Jesus often spent nights in prayer. His night watches, unlike mine, surely consisted less of thinking and worrying and more of communication with His Father. Losing sleep is frustrating, but it can be a time of fruitful communion with God if we do it right.
So, what should we do when night descends, and sleep doesn’t come? When the enemy whispers in the dark, how are we to respond?
Remember whose child you are, and the name you wear.
O LORD, I remember Your name in the night….
– Psalm 119:55
Praise Him in gratitude for all He has done.
I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders.
– Psalm 77:6
At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You.
– Psalm 119:62
Recognize His many qualities and divine nature.
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
– Psalm 63:6
Soak in His Word and listen for His direction.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
– Psalm 1:2
I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
– Psalm 16:7
Wait patiently for His answer.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness….
– Psalm 77:2
My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
– Psalm 130:6
At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit seeks You diligently.
– Isaiah 26:9
Sometimes the night is the only time the Spirit of God can reach us through the noise of the day. In the darkness His voice whispers to our souls what we can’t hear in the light. Perhaps, when sleep escapes us, and the pain and desperation for answers closes in, we can simply respond to His call with the words of the prophet:
Speak, for Your servant is listening.
– 1 Samuel 3:10
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Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
– Ecclesiastes 7:9
Blood-thirsty mobs have always existed.
But revenge was a simpler act to carry out in the days before computers. People just stoned the offenders. The wounds were physical and usually fatal. It was not supposed to be a quick death. The element of slow suffering was inflicted as part of the punishment.
Today it’s a bit more complicated. Today’s mobs draw blood through what my son calls a “social media stoning.” It invokes the hysteria of the Salem witch trials and the brutality of a lynching. These are the unspoken rules:
Pick up an offense.
Any offense will do. It doesn’t matter if the transgression is accidental or purposeful.
Give it a name.
Slap a toxic label on the offender, conferring upon him all the sin that goes with it, thereby rendering him guilty by supposed association.
“Out” the offender.
The more public, the better.
Take no prisoners.
In a social media stoning, the focus is on a swift takedown; to hear the satisfying thud of stone against flesh. The more vicious the attack, the better.
Go up to your house justified.
All that’s left is to scroll through the praises heaped upon the victor.
Every one of these actions is diametrically opposed to the Word of God.
God says:
Love…is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.
-1 Corinthians 13:5
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.’
– Revelation 12:10
If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
– Matthew 18:15
For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
– Matthew 6:14
Jesus said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone….’
– John 8:7
In today’s polarized atmosphere, it’s easy to demonize others.
It’s much harder to exercise discipline and discernment on social media. May God give us the power to be slow to anger and full of grace toward those who speak in ignorance. We are called to praise others in public and reprove them in private whenever possible. Especially, we should be using our time in pursuits honoring our King instead of administering our own brand of justice.
If we don’t, every day might as well be Halloween.
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This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.– Psalm 34:6-7
Rescue is such a beautiful word.
It acknowledges the complete and utter dependence of someone in trouble upon another for relief. It alludes to the dire predicament of one; to the frantic cry for help to be saved from the destroyer. It screams of weakness, of being overwhelmed, of plunging headlong toward certain annihilation. It is washed in the immediacy of the crisis.
For the rescuer, the compulsion to save is immediate and overwhelming. He has heard the call, and he is in the right place at the right time to act. He has the training, the equipment, and the duty to respond.
Understood is the acknowledgment that deliverance involves sacrifice. A rescuer may be injured or lose his life in the process of reaching out to someone in distress. For some, the choice to act is a lone one when an emergency arises. For others, the choice comes with the acceptance of the duty conferred with the job: soldier, firefighter, police, first responder, nurse.
For one, it came with a title: Savior.
Throughout history, there has been just one person who had both the ability and authority to be our true rescuer.
Only He could deliver us from perils deeper than the physical ones we encounter on earth. He alone even understands the spiritual death from which we need to be saved. But He wants us to know that there is no pit, whether physical or emotional or financial or spiritual, that lies beyond the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes His tactics seem harsh. Sometimes it feels as if He will never hear our desperate cries in the night.
But answer, He will. He knows what we need and when we need it. He has already made the ultimate sacrifice that bought our deliverance and demonstrated His power over our enemy.
If you need rescue today, look no further than the Cross and the empty tomb. Call upon God; trust and wait in His perfect timing. Believe that He is coming with the perfect answer.
He has heard your cry. He will rescue you.
Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.
– Psalm 91:14-16
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Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
– Hebrews 12:1-3
Jesus got His hands and His feet dirty.
He ate with drunkards. He touched the unclean. He spoke to harlots and the demon-possessed and dead people. He chose to be with those from whom others ran.
Why? Because He came for the broken. He arrived on earth to heal the sick. He did not come to build a cutting-edge ministry. He did not care what others thought of Him. In fact, He took no thought for Himself at all. Not only did He not care about His reputation, the Bible says He purposely became a man of no reputation.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
– Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV)
Christ Jesus left His crown behind when He walked this earth. He had it all, but He did not want to live in heaven without His creation. He was beaten, mocked, hated, and treated like dirt by the people He came to save. He could have walked away at any time.
But He did not.
He took the abuse and allowed His body to be tortured. He allowed His captors to strip Him and scourge Him. He allowed them to place upon His head the crown we deserved. He let them nail Him to an executioner’s cross. He wore our shame, and He paid the price for our crimes.
As He hung forsaken on the cross, He offered only forgiveness, sealed in His blood.
Jesus saved us and cleaned us up and gave us a future. If we step over the bodies of those suffering around us because we don’t want to be soiled by their brokenness, we have betrayed the Master who bought us and commanded us to follow Him.
All. The. Way.
This Easter, as Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, pray about doing more than learning a new worship song. Ask God to open your heart and your eyes to someone who will die alone and unloved without you. It may tarnish your reputation to sit with the kid no one else likes or visit an elderly man with dementia. You might have to give up a Saturday to mow the grass for someone who probably won’t understand the sacrifice of a precious weekend.
God is calling you to a deeper ministry from which you have been running for years.
One that would demand sacrifices you haven’t wanted to make. But His words have reverberated in your soul:
“Preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” -Matthew 10:7-8
Your Master walked where men feared to tread. He left with lives changed forever. He calls us to do the same. Do not wander in blindly; proceed with wisdom and prayer.
But do it. Despise the shame, lose your reputation, and gain a life.
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Listen to this article
Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;
For the LORD will be your confidence
And will keep your foot from being caught.
– Proverbs 3:24-26
Our son’s pet Solo is a street dog adopted from a local humane shelter.
Solo makes up in sweetness, though, for what she lacks in social graces. She has gratefully accepted our offer of room and board in exchange for her companionship.
As with most dogs, she employs a set of mystical rules by which she categorizes other objects, both living and inanimate, into friend or foe. She fearlessly defends her turf against stray coyotes, cows, deer, skunks, and raccoons. But she runs trembling when she hears the closet door under the stairway open. Under the stairway, evidently, lurks the stuff of rescue dog nightmares: a broom and vacuum cleaner. She has never been assaulted by either of these objects. But a dog never knows when it might happen and must always be prepared for the worst.
Lately, a new and frightening threat has consumed Solo’s fertile imagination. After endless mornings filling the dog’s food and water dishes, I decided to get a set of those self-feeder/waterer contraptions. I got a little carried away and bought the large size of each, imagining the heady feeling of freedom I would have each morning as I lurched past the dog dishes on my way to fetch my first cup of coffee.
Solo accepted the new dog food dispenser. But the water dispenser was an entirely different beast. This dish made a sound. Specially, it glugged as water flowed from the dispenser into the bowl below. She was so afraid of being frightened by the sound that she developed an aversion even to eating from her food dispenser. Finally, I had to put The Glug outside in the cat kennel for our well-adjusted cat.
As we contemplate Proverbs 3:24-26, one wonders how often God shakes His head at our timidity. We cower at a new challenge because we’re afraid of the unknown, terrified not of what has happened to us, but of what awaits in the shadows of our imagination.
Sometimes, our fears are rooted in past trauma.
Whether the threat is real or imagined, the enemy finds our panic button and pushes it.
Satan has only to glug and watch with satisfaction as we run trembling.
God, on the other hand, wants us to understand He is the Blessed Controller of all things. Whether the onslaught of the enemy is a threat or a reality, God is our strength. We are safe in His hands. We can walk confidently through any storm, any darkness, any stronghold of the enemy.
The wicked flee when no one is looking, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
-Proverbs 28:1
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For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
– 1 Corinthians 3:11-13
A musty odor had been coming from the vicinity of my husband’s man-cave for months.
I chalked it up to his collection of memorabilia; a menagerie of old books, records, and magazines sitting among his box of candy, a fake raccoon skin cap, and old baseball glove. Man-cave stuff. Since I only go in there for the occasion dusting and vacuuming, I didn’t think too much about it.
Then one day, we discovered the real reason for the mustiness: Rain had been leaking into our log home around a log joint. Small amounts of water had been slowly rotting the carpet from underneath for some time. The joint has been cleaned out and resealed, but now we face pulling everything out of the room, tearing up the old carpet, and replacing it with new flooring.
Sometimes it’s necessary to tear things up to get to the root of a problem and fix it.
In the case of our house, the foundation is fine. But an unknown leak in the wall had been quietly creating rot on the inside. Now we will need to invest some work into restoring the interior of my husband’s den.
God has laid a foundation of faith for believers that cannot be moved. But each of us is responsible for what we build upon this foundation. More than that, we must be ever vigilant against the leaks, small and large, that seep through our walls. They may be seemingly insignificant compromises to the integrity of our beliefs. We may not notice the damage for days, months, or years. But the rot eventually becomes evident. Then we panic when He guts out our comfortable hangouts.
Restoration will come at a price.
Christ plans to present to Himself a Bride without blemish.
For the sake of salvation, our sins were cleansed at the Cross through His sacrifice. He will present each of us spotless before Him, and for the sake of His name and our testimony, He works tirelessly to build His house, the church. No unclean thing, no rot, nor any unholiness will stand before Him. The painful process of cleansing is necessary as He perfects His temple during our journey through this earth.
One day, His dwelling place complete, He will take us to the mansions that will be ours.
How can we make the process of spiritual remodeling easier?
Trust it is Him at work.
Surrender to the process.
Understand what He is asking from you.
Actively work with Him for change.
Rejoice that He cares so much!
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My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
– Psalm 62:1-2
One striking aspect of Christ’s time on earth is how little He revealed of His own struggles.
We know little of His sorrows and disappointments. Fully divine and fully human, He surely felt the full range of human emotions. But He chose to spend his days serving others, his nights talking to His Father in heaven. He surrendered His life to God’s will for Him and trusted Him completely.
When trials fall upon us, our human response is to find an escape. The bigger the emotional storm, the more frantically we search for something or someone to rescue us.
And yet, the example Christ set for us is to wait in silence for God alone.
As the beautiful words of the old hymn remind us, all other ground is sinking sand. If we put our hope in teachers, friends, or even loved ones, we are likely to be disappointed. All these things, although they are good, are not perfect. Science and human love have limits, and our deliverance takes a power beyond the natural realm.
It is not fair to expect others to meet all our needs. A long illness, continuing financial struggles, or some other devastating heartache can suck the life out of our relationships. Sometimes we just have nothing left to give each other. Sometimes, there is just no path ahead out of our circumstances. When we have exhausted all other avenues of relief, we come to the door called Surrender, beyond which lies the empty room of the soul. There, in a place devoid of schemes and strategies, we find a chair and a Bible.
In this place, we wait.
It is not until we silence the voices in our heads that we can listen for the voice of God.
It is not until we have stopped talking that we can hear what He wants to say. It is not until we have taken our eyes off the storm and lifted them heavenward that we can see His face.
Ironically, this emptiness is where we can finally find safety, where the Holy Spirit has room to fill the vacuum left by our own devices. He wants to be the one to whom we run when we are in pain.
If others have let you down, remember that they are just frail humans going through their own struggles. If you are hurting today, know that God hears your cries. He wants to comfort you and heal you. He is waiting for you in the quiet place beyond the veil of tears.
‘Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,’ says the LORD; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he longs.’
– Psalms 12:5
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In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people….’
– Luke 2:8-10
The ham sizzled in the oven; the cookies sparkled in festive dishes next to the miniature Christmas village.
The Christmas tree sparkled with rows of red and white lights. Nearby, the nativity glowed in the humble light of a single bulb, set carefully behind the angel who kneeled before the Babe. All was calm. All was bright.
I was a wreck.
The holidays capped a year of hardship and stress. The ghost of Christmases past shrouded my soul as I tried with all my heart to recreate the warmth and nostalgia we usually enjoyed as a family in December. We had so much to celebrate, and yet my heart was still raw from the spiritual warfare we had endured. Christmas reminded me of all we had lost and had fought so hard to regain.
It would be a couple of hours before I had to mash the potatoes and welcome guests to Christmas Eve dinner at our house. I grabbed the opportunity for some quiet time. In the solitude behind closed doors, I began to pray and weep. I was tired, despondent, empty. I had been a Christian for many decades and had never felt so lost.
I knew the Bible. I believed that God was near and that He cared. It just felt like day after dreary day for an entire year had presented challenges too daunting to conquer. I knew I wasn’t alone. But I felt that way.
Unrefreshed by the break, I was trying to pull myself together to finish dinner when the phone rang. The caller asked if she had the Thorson household. When I assured her that she did, she responded with a resounding, “Thank God! I have been hunting for you all day.” She was calling for an elderly friend of ours, one with whom we had lost contact after her move to another town.
She put the friend on the line, and the two of us had a lovely conversation. We talked of old times at the church we once attended together. I thanked her again for her many kindnesses to our family over the years. We laughed and chatted and exchanged addresses, so we could keep in touch.
When we had exhausted the memories, she said, “I’m so glad I got ahold of you. I just had to find you today.”
Could she hear my heart skip a beat on the other end of the line? How could she have possibly known how much I needed to be found at that very moment?
Life tends to make spiritual Darwinists of us all. Days stretch into weeks which stretch into months. Years may go by without seeing a change in our landscape. But what we see outwardly is deceiving. God walks each mile with us. He works quietly, behind the scenes, changing us and working out His will in our lives. The process is costly and slow by our standards, but necessary.
The promise of a Deliverer was given to mankind in the book of Genesis. But it took thousands of years for mankind to be ready to receive its King. While earth waited, God worked the thread of redemption throughout history for the moment He would be revealed.
On a night somewhere in Bethlehem, He arrived suddenly to an unsuspecting world.
He came in humility to break our pride, in tenderness to heal our sorrows, and in sacrifice to break our chains. To every generation since He has offered life in eternity, comfort in our suffering, courage to overcome our fears, and strength to carry us throughout the journey home.
The night Jesus was born, the world was filled with darkness. But the heavens were alive with light and glory and angels’ songs. Suddenly, an angel arrived with the news that a Savior breathed the same air as His creation. In a moment, the divine had invaded the mundane. In an instant, everything had changed.
We were found. May that reality keep you and give you hope every day of this new year.
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From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’
– Matthew 16:23 (NASB)
Just ignore the facts.
Recently, researchers Mark Stoeckle of The Rockefeller University and David Thaler of the University of Basel in Switzerland published their findings of a study of five million DNA barcodes from 100,000 animal species. Their research revealed that 9 out of 10 species alive today came into being roughly the same time. They also discovered that animals have distinct genetic boundaries. This lack of “in-between” species was clearly distressing to the scientists, and Thaler admitted to being troubled at the conclusions found by their research. An evolutionist, he quickly added that none of this changed the truth of the millions of years of evolution.
He believes.
He believes that impersonal forces slowly forged an entire world into being because to give in to the preponderance of evidence in a special creation would require admitting to a Creator. If such a sovereign exists, then this being would have to be acknowledged and His claims examined.
God is real, His claims are true. He intervened in the formless void and created the universe and earth in a breathtaking display of His power. It did not take millions of years or a big bang. He only had to speak the Word.
But that wasn’t all. God had a plan for His creation, and throughout history, God has invaded nations and lives to bring that plan to fruition. He intervened after Adam and Eve’s rebellion in Eden. He cleansed the first world with water and rebuilt civilization with Noah’s descendants. He took down kingdoms and rescued his people over and over in the Old Testament. He parted seas, destroyed the living, raised the dead, and halted the sun.
With His arrival on Earth, He split time in two. He crushed the spiritual forces of darkness with His death and electrified generations of believers with His victory over the grave.
When Jesus told the disciples of His imminent death, Peter disputed it, because it didn’t fit his narrative.
He wanted Jesus to lead Israel to victory over their Roman rulers. But God had a much bigger plan for deliverance and rebuked His own disciple for his unbelief.
It has been two millennia since His resurrection. Although He promised His soon return for His people and warned of a cataclysmic coming judgment upon the world, His lingering at the door has fed a Darwinian view of the future. Everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation, and although we talk about Christ’s return, we tend to live in a way that belies our hope. Our words proclaim His soon return, but our lives whisper, “Where is the promise of His coming?”
Be assured, His promise is living and true. He is right on time. As lightning splits the sky, so His return for His people will occur in a moment and set into motion the events that will end the unholy rebellion of the ages.
First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come scoffing and following their own evil desires. ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’ they will ask. ‘Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.’
– 2 Peter 3:3-4 (Berean Study Bible)
https://phys.org/news/2018-05-gene-survey-reveals-facets-evolution.html
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God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
– C.S. Lewis
It’s deep into the football season.
Some players have been sidelined with season-ending injuries, while others limp through the games. In a 2016 ESPN article entitled “How NFL Players Play through the Pain,” staff writer and veteran football player Matt Bowen asserted that nobody on the field after October is truly healthy. The players maximize their ability to play through careful management of their injuries during the week and an injection of Toradol, jokingly referred to as “Vitamin T,” on game day. They know that the pain will come back with a vengeance afterward. The next day may be more brutal, in fact, than when the injury first happened.
For the players, it’s about managing the pain and making it through the important days. For them, the goal is to earn a win for their team and a healthy paycheck for themselves.
For those of us who are not athletes, it may be hard to understand those willing to put their bodies through all that just for a game. It feels wrong to purposely play through a sensation that keeps warning you to stop.
Physical pain, after all, is the body’s messenger, informing us that something is wrong. In that respect, it’s also our friend, because if we didn’t have pain, we would be constantly injuring ourselves. Pain tells us to stop what we’re doing and make an assessment. Sometimes it’s the wake-up call that inspires us to totally change our lifestyles.
Emotional pain may have different causes, but it, too, is God’s shout to us. It’s jarring and perhaps harder to bear than physical pain. It can’t be managed with something as simple as “Vitamin T.”
This kind of pain makes us ask the questions God wants to answer.
It takes us down and makes us look up. Suffering is the taskmaster that drives us to the Deliverer. In the same way physical pain sends us the urgent message to look for the source of injury or illness, emotional pain sends us an unmistakable message that it’s time to search out our Comforter and Healer.
Pain is a good thing when it awakens us to a new understanding of who we are and what we need to do to find healing. Life is more precious than any game. The stakes are higher, the victory sweeter.
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
– 1 Peter 5:10
https://www.kevinhalloran.net/best-c-s-lewis-quotes/
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/14564481/how-nfl-players-play-pain
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I will remember the works of the LORD: yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.
– Psalm 77:11-12 (Berean Study Bible)
The voice on the other end of the line sternly lectured me.
“Pam,” the doctor scolded, “You’re in denial. Accept the fact that you have MS.”
My mind raged in rebellion at his certainty that I had multiple sclerosis, but I sat numbly and listened as he detailed the next steps. We would have to make a trip to Seattle, a day’s drive away, to get the diagnosis confirmed. He would schedule the tests immediately.
I hung up the phone. My world had just fallen into a pit. We had a young daughter, four other children, and no insurance. I was so sick I didn’t even know if I could make the trip. Despair rolled over us in waves as we prepared for the long drive to the coast. The older children would care for the younger ones. My husband and I would go over alone.
As I often did in times of distress, I found myself searching through the Bible for comfort. As I read, I was moved by God’s command to Israel to build altars along their journey through the wilderness in remembrance of His deliverance. Now, on this dreary journey in the face of a daunting enemy, it occurred to me that we should embrace remembrance instead of giving into fear. My husband agreed, and as he drove, we spent the next hours recounting every act of deliverance and kindness God had bestowed upon us during our marriage.
The miles melted away as we took turns unearthing each precious memory and lovingly rebuilding the altars that had fallen through neglect. I was struck by how much beauty lay dormant in the dust of my ungrateful heart, just waiting to be revealed. God had been so good to us over the years. How much I had forgotten as I dwelt instead on my problems.
We arrived at our destination tired, still anxious, but renewed in hope. I spent a day undergoing tests, including an MRI. At the end of the day, the results were in.
I did not have MS. I had a bad infection that had gone untreated for months. The doctor immediately put me on antibiotics, and I was radically better even before we headed back home the next day.
Shortly after returning home, we received a letter telling us that the doctors had conferred and decided to write off the entire medical bill. Another deliverance. Another altar to the God who still performs miracles in the desert.
My health scare with MS happened many years ago. Recently, I have been reminded of that lesson as our family walks through the hottest wasteland we have ever encountered. As the dust swirls around us and we wither in the heat, we reset the memorial stones of the wonders of old. We thank our God for His everlasting kindness. We trust in His power. We believe in His goodness. We look to Him for new deliverance and restoration.
He loves His children through our highs and lows, in sickness and in health, whether we complain or give thanks.
He does rejoice, however, when we recognize His abundant provision for our lives. He is moved to action by our response to His care. He will always love us, but He is the God of the Grateful.
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes. And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel. Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come….
-1 Corinthians 10:10 (Berean Study Bible)
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