Tag: refuge

Way Isolated

Way Isolated

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Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

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Gary Pollard

What do Svalbard, Norway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska, and Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland have in common? They’re all cold, isolated, beautiful, and quiet. Their remoteness alone is what drives at least part of their economies! The absence of “noise” is extremely attractive to a lot of people. Getting away from all the hatefulness, conflict, combat, and general unrest of society sounds like a dream!

God expects Christians to be getaways just like these cities.
“…lead a quiet life and handle your own business…” (I Thess 4.11). “…lead a quiet, calm life defined by godliness and dignity” (I Tim 2.2). “…be at peace with everyone” (Rom 12.18).
“…live in peace…” (II Cor 13.11).

Someone looking to get away from the noise of our world may look to the spiritual. When these outsiders look into our spiritual families, what do they see? A way to escape the world by seeking God, or more of the same old noise they were trying to get away from?

“Do you want to live a great life? Watch your mouth, and don’t try to fool people. Run away from evil, practice good. Look for peace and chase it” (I Pet 3.10-11).

Who Is God to Me? (Psa. 46:1-2)

Who Is God to Me? (Psa. 46:1-2)

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Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

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Carl Pollard

We are obsessed with our phones. A new study has found, that the heaviest smartphone users click, tap or swipe on their phone 5,427 times a day. Now that’s the top 10 percent of users, so we would expect it to be high, but even the average smartphone users still tap their phones almost half that many times a day. This means that some of us will touch our phones a couple million times a year (Adam Alter study).
The majority of the time we are on our phones is spent on social media. A place of fake relationships. We spend hours being “social” but this time spent never builds true relationships. The world is hungry for true and meaningful relationships. They waste hours online trying to get close to someone, but it always leaves them emptier than when they began.
As Christians we have a relationship with each other because of Christ, but even more, we have a relationship with God. The creator of this world. Let’s spend some time looking at this relationship we have with God. Who is God to me? Psalm 46 is a psalm of encouragement. The psalmist tells us to trust in God, to have hope in the relationship we have with Him, but this psalm also answers the question, Who Is God to Me?
He’s My Refuge/Strength. Verse one says, “God is our refuge and strength…” In my relationship with God, He’s my refuge. A place I can run to in times of need. He’s my strength, giving me more than I could ever have on my own.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, a famous strongman, recently broke the world record deadlift pulling 1,104 pounds, breaking the previous record by 2 pounds. When I think of strong, this is what I think of. Lifting half a ton from the ground up to your waist, as mind boggling and impressive as this is, Hafþór still isn’t strong enough. None of us will ever have enough strength on our own. We may be physically strong, but spiritually God is the only one strong enough to help us walk the Christian walk.
The Hebrew word for refuge conveys the idea of a protective shelter (HALOT 571). God is a place of safety, a shelter that no one can break into. Thieves will break In and steal our possessions, but no one can ever take away our relationship with God. He’s our refuge, a place of safety. The word “strength” further builds onto the description of God. God is a strong refuge. And even more, He gives us that strength and refuge to help us in our walk. The strongest man is weak when compared to God. The most impenetrable of places pales in comparison to God. Who is God to me? He’s my strength and place of refuge.
He’s My Help. Verse one continues to say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Trouble is something all of us will face. We run into opposition in almost every area of life.
“Good help is hard to find.” You’ll hear businessmen say this all the time. It’s a struggle that every restaurant, business, and church will run into. Who can we count on? We want people that are reliable. That’ll show up to work, get their job done, and be responsible. We need help. And the psalmist here tells us that God is our help.
God’s help is not hard to find. It is a help that is always there for us when we need it. Even more, God wants to help us. We all know people that when you ask for help, they’ll help you, but they really don’t want to. God wants to help his children, and that’s who God is to us.
He’s My Courage. Verse two says, “Therefore (because he is our refuge, strength, and help) we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” God is my courage because He helps me not fear what happens to me.
According to the DSM, specific phobias typically fall within five general categories: fears related to animals (spiders, dogs, insects), fears related to the natural environment (heights, thunder, darkness, fears related to blood, injury, or medical issues (injections, broken bones, falls), fears related to specific situations (flying, riding an elevator, driving), and other (choking, loud noises, drowning) (University of Pennsylvania study).
The world is full of fear. It is an ever present problem. I can’t stand heights and it all started when I had a nightmare where I was stuck by a belt loop at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Ever since I’ve been deathly afraid of heights.
My relationship with God gives me the choice to have courage instead of fear, hope instead of dread, joy instead of worry, and peace instead of anxiety. Though the earth gives way, though our world falls apart around us, we have courage instead of fear.
How does this help us? We need courage in so many areas: evangelism (we have a loving God to proclaim, but it isn’t always easy), confrontation (no one likes to call out a brother living in sin), family (courage to lead them to heaven, to make the hard calls), as a church (since we are called to live like Christ, we will make enemies), and Christian living (living righteously takes courage).
Who is God to Me? He’s my refuge, my strength, my help, and my courage. We spend hours each day on our phones, trying to be social or just wasting time. If our relationship with God was turned into a survey, how many times would we contact him? God wants a relationship with us, and sadly we tend to spend more time on social media than we do building our relationship with Him. Who is God to you? Is He your strength? Do you turn to him for help? Building and strengthening our relationship with God is the most important thing we will ever do.
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 Homesick For Heaven 

 Homesick For Heaven 

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Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

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Dale Pollard

There is so much debate out there as to what Heaven will actually be like. Some make the argument that we just can’t know for sure. We know that there will be no tears in Heaven, so since that is the case there will definitely be some meatloaf there. Because in a place where there is no meatloaf present, I would cry. Now with that out of the way, let’s look at three quick promises about Heaven.

First there is the promise of “relationship.” In Revelation 21:3 it says, “He will dwell among us…” Not just any relationship, an actual relationship with Jesus Christ.

The second promise is that of “Relief.” In the very next verse it says, “God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” How many of us can’t wait for that day?

Now the third promise is one that is pulled from a verse that many people do not like to read. In Revelation 21:8 we see that there is a promise of “refuge.” You see, Heaven is going to be so great because of who will not be there. After we get a glimpse of what is promised to those who love Him (James 1:12), we see what is promised to those that don’t. Yet even here we see a blessing. Heaven is going to be place that is absent of, “…the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars…” Heaven is going to be a place filled with family. The faithful Church family.

I’m going to Heaven! It’s a choice. It’s a choice to live right and follow Christ no matter what. You have the ability to say it confidently and you should never have to wonder if you’re going to Heaven. It’s a promise! Take hold of that promise, because it’s the only thing that matters.

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Longing For The Desert Lodging Place?

Longing For The Desert Lodging Place?

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Neal Pollard

The beleaguered prophet, Jeremiah, had had it. He was, in the words of Andy to Barney, “beat to the socks”—and then some! He was surrounded by sin and disobedience. At every turn, he was being disappointed by people he expected so much more from. He was fed up, and he wanted to escape from it all.  Can you relate? Have you seen so much hatred, man’s inhumanity to man, gross immorality, defiance and rebellion, God-less living, and the like that you are done with it?

Jeremiah wrote, “Oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the desert a wayfarers’ lodging place; That I might leave my people and go from them! For all of them are adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. ‘They bend their tongue like their bow; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me,’ declares the Lord” (Jer. 9:1-3). Keep reading and you see a dirty laundry list of other transgressions, like treachery and deceit, immorality, and unbelief (4-8). In fact, God pronounces judgment against that nation for its collective guilt.  So, the astute and informed prophet grieved for the people and longed to escape from this agonizing reality.

Isn’t it wonderful that God has given us refuges from the similar conditions we see around us today? We can choose to consume the salacious, depressing headlines and news stories, monitoring it day and night.  We can engross ourselves in the various activist positions currently advocated in our culture and society. Or…

  • We can increase our daily devotional time.
  • We can set a goal to lead a specific someone to Christ.
  • We can unplug from the endless litany of media-driven bad news.
  • We can do our individual part to strengthen our local congregation (making visits, praying over specific prayer lists, writing encouraging cards and letters to members and visitors, volunteering for needed tasks, etc.).
  • We can deliberately focus more each day on heaven, building our desire to go there.
  • We can go the second mile to be a model citizen in this nation.
  • We can try to find people in our daily lives (co-workers, fellow students, neighbors, and others we see regularly) and build a bridge through acts of love, kindness, and humble service.
  • We can smile and be pleasant more, wherever we are (reflecting the joy and happiness we truly have in Christ).

There are probably quite a few, though lost in spiritual ignorance, who would love to know about this “wayfarers’ lodging place,” not to escape from people but to escape to God. There are brothers and sisters in Christ groping to get to such a place. Perhaps we forget that “there is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God. A place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.” Jeremiah was discouraged by his daunting task. We who stand this side of the cross know, whatever is happening around us, “our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Wanna get away?

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