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At Eternity’s Gate

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Roger Wood

Last week I watched a film on the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh entitled At Eternity’s Gate. Van Gogh was one of the most influential figures in Western art history. His father was a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Vincent once desired to attend seminary and become a missionary. He was not commercially successful during his lifetime, but today his paintings are among the most expensive. He painted many
landscapes, and as he gazed at the vast horizons before him, he referred to those views as eternity’s gate. He suffered from severe depression and sadly ended his life at age 37 in July 1890.

A portion of the film was about his rocky friendship with the famous French painter Paul Gauguin. Much of Gauguin’s schooling centred upon Roman Catholic traditions and teachings. His largest and most famous painting hangs in the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. Gauguin never wrote on his paintings, but on this one, he did. In the top left-hand corner of the painting, he wrote three questions:

D’ou venons-nous? (Where do we come from?)
Que sommes-nous? (What are we?)
Ou allons-nous? (Where are we going?)

Gauguin did not have an answer to those vital questions. Most people contemplate
similar thoughts at some point in their lives, but, like Gauguin, they do not have answers. Pastor Alastair Begg has said, “Millennials have been raised believing they exist as a result of time plus matter plus chance and that they are a collection of molecules held in suspension. There is no ultimate destiny towards which they are moving, therefore, there is no arc that they are able to navigate through their lives. They are at sea like a ship without a rudder.”

We have the most important message in our world. Why? Because, as believers, we are possessors of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We have knowledge of the Gospel message. We are living through a world, moving through a world in which we alone have the truth that will save dying people from an eternity in Hell.

The challenge for each of us is found in another three questions:

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?
And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
Romans 10:14

A Beautiful Mess

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Charlie Lyons

I never cease to be amazed at how a comment from a three-year-old can bring immediate and resounding perspective to just about any situation. Can you recall when you’ve been completely taken aback by a toddler’s seemingly unintended depth and perception?

Our three kiddos are either in their teenage years or not far away, but I remember such an exchange with our eldest child. It was about a decade ago, but it feels like it was just yesterday. I was down the hall from our son Caleb’s bedroom, where I could hear him playing happily with his Thomas the Tank Engine Duplo toys. As usual, he was excitedly repeating what I’m sure he believed was an interesting storyline from an episode of the show as he played.

Next, something else happened that usually accompanied his playtimes. In his delightful three-year-old vocabulary, there was a big “crash-bang-boom!” With a surprisingly precise swipe of his hand, several pieces of Duplo quickly made their way across his bed, onto the floor, and around the room.

What he said next literally stopped me in my tracks: “Whoa! What a beautiful mess!”

As he gathered up the pieces and put them all back together again, I was struck by the vivid illustration this draws of our Heavenly Father and His daily interactions with His children.

Each morning, a new storyline unfolds for you. As the eternally-existent, I can picture God the Father excitedly looking on with gleeful anticipation:

“Which direction will he go today?”

“What decisions will she make?”

“Which choices or opportunities will they make the most of?”

Of course, in His omniscience, He knows all of those answers, but as you experience the inevitable daily personal crashes, bangs, and booms, the pieces of your life are strewn messily all over the place.

Friend, your Heavenly Father regularly surveys your situation, and with profound mercy and overwhelming grace, He declares over you, “What a beautiful mess!” Then, He goes about putting your life back together again with His extraordinary edition of parental patience and steadfast love.

If you’re anything like me, there are regularly pieces of your life all over the place. Scripture tells us that “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life,” working in conjunction with “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,” conspire daily for the destruction of each of our lives. (1 John 2:16; Ephesians 2:2) Some days, it feels like a relentless wrestling match. Without regular “wrest stops,” this constant struggle will wear you out.

You can rest assured, friend, that even on your ‘messiest’ of days, His extravagant grace is lavished on you. God the Father loves you in your messiness, and as an eternally-existent parent, He desires to help His child put your life back together—over and over and over again.

Often, the challenge given to us weekly in Challenge Central is something for us to do. The challenge this week is to do nothing but find rest and renewed perspective in these words:

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19 ESV)

Take heart and give thanks, friend—His mercy endures forever.

Your Role in the Body of Christ

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Shannon Green

As I write this devotional, we are entering August. Although there is still some summer left, the month of August causes me to start planning. September is that time for me in school or our church in ministries where we get things up and running again after a bit of a hiatus. The planning needs to get started for those things to be prepared and ready. 1 Corinthians 12: 5 says, “There are a variety of ministries and the same Lord.” As we hear of ministries beginning or needing workers, we can sometimes think of one of two things. As busy human beings, it is easy to get caught up in our own lives and feel we have no time or energy left to share; or we can sometimes feel we do not have the skills required to contribute to a particular ministry effectively. Our church put out a link last week (https://gifts.churchgrowth.org)

encouraging us to complete the questionnaire as a means of discovering our spiritual gifts. Have you each had a chance to look at that and see what your gifting is? It is a great place to start if you have never done a spiritual gift analysis.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in various forms.” God has equipped us with specific gifts and skill sets that we need; no gift is greater than another. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the church being one body with many parts. God has placed each part in the body just as He wanted it to be. Further, it talks about if all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? We are a team Central, and we need each one of us to serve alongside together to be effective. 1 Corinthians 12: 26 and 27 encourage us, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honoured, every part shares in its joy. You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.” I challenge you to find your gift and seek a way to use it this fall in ministry. Without you, we will not be as effective!

Serving is not always easy, and often it is a thankless job. Some jobs will not be the ones that are praised or easily recognized. I am sure there have been times that serving alongside others has been a struggle and a challenge. That is why we must keep focused on who we are serving. Colossians 3:23 reminds us, “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for man.” Working with other frail and imperfect people can cause our hearts to grumble or have our feelings hurt. Keeping our eyes on God and not man is key to serving with a proper focus. 1 Samuel 12:24 says, “Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.”

It is a command that we are to be working and serving the Lord while here on earth. John 12:26 says, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.”  I have heard it said that 10% of the people do 90% of the work, which worries me. We are blessed with a church family with many different skills and abilities that God can use in endless ways. We do not want to fall into the habit of missing some of the parts (skills and abilities) of our church body. That includes all of us, and we each play a vital role in our Central family and the impact we can have on our community for God’s glory. As I move into the fall season, I am praying and seeking where the Lord would have me serve. I challenge you to do the same. How can you be used and serve God? What role is God asking you to fill this year at Central Baptist Church?

Bringing Our Honest Questions to God While Suffering

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Rebecca Feere

The title of this devotional most likely prompted a response in your mind. Perhaps you said – “Ugh, suffering, that is the last thing I want to read about it. Isn’t this world depressing enough?!” Or maybe you said – “Ooh, that is me, and I am not sure how to biblically handle this season of life. Every day something seems to be being added to my load of cares and concerns.”

Either way, I pray you will stick with me here for a few minutes. While we all long for peace and pleasant circumstances, as believers, we know God’s Word tells us that won’t be attained until Jesus returns or He chooses to take us home (John 16:33). But, if you are like me, perhaps you have found yourself asking, “How much more can I handle?”  “God, don’t You care?”  “When are You going to send relief?” 

A few months ago, I found myself studying the book of Habakkuk (It is one of those little “minor prophet” books of the Old Testament where the pages stick in most of our Bibles.) And I am still there – reading, studying, mulling over, and meditating on those three chapters. Habakkuk came to God with questions (chapter 1). Both his questions and responses give us an example of how we, as believers, can come to God with our honest questions about suffering, trials, etc.

Habakkuk demonstrates that it is okay to bring our hard questions to God. But something essential in that process is remembering to embed our questions for God with truth.  Habakkuk does so in his prayer in chapter 1, verses 12 -17. Here are a few things God’s Spirit pointed out to me in those few verses. 

No matter how hard (or utterly impossible) our circumstances seem, God is: 

  • Eternal (v.12) He is without beginning or end (Rev. 22:13).
  • Personal (v. 12a) He is our God, our Holy One.
  • Self-Existent (v.12) He is Yahweh (Jehovah, LORD) – the God who is, who was and always will be (Ps. 90:1-2). He needs nothing outside of Himself (Acts 17:24-25).
  • Sovereign (v. 12b) He ordains and controls all things (Job 42:2; Lam 3:37-39).
  • Mighty (v.12) He is our Rock, our Protector (Deut. 32:15; 2 Sam. 22:4; Ps. 95:1).
  • Faithful (v.12) He is the Covenant-keeping God. His faithfulness is not dependent on our faith (Rom. 3:3). Being faithful is not just something God does; Faithful is who He is (2 Tim. 2:13).
  • Holy (v.13) God is pure, without sin, righteous in all He does (1 Sam. 2:2).
  • Inscrutable (v.14-17) His ways are higher than ours. He knows all things – past, present, and future. While we only see this moment, He sees how all things work together for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28). He is unlimited in knowledge and past our understanding.

The challenge for all of us is to keep our focus on the character of God (Col. 3:1-2); to keep our minds saturated with what is true about God no matter the circumstances of our lives. This comes by spending time in His Word daily; it comes with intentionality. We must plan for quiet time alone with God in His Word. There is no shortcut. Time in God’s Word may not be “convenient” in our modern world’s eyes, but it is ESSENTIAL. I challenge you to dig into the book of Habakkuk and ask God to reveal more of Himself to you as you do. A second challenge would be to dig deeper into the Word to learn more about these and other attributes of God. In this brief devotional, I have barely scratched the surface.

This World Is Not Our Home

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Jessi Heikkinen

God can use our physical ailments to remind us that this world is not our home.

As I was preparing to write that statement, I received a text that another one of my family members was experiencing a health emergency and had been rushed to the hospital. The irony. I should note that they are now stable and recovering at home. Before I got that text, I was going to tell you that this year has been unrelenting with physical health issues. And, as you can see, it still is. Maybe you can say the same? 

Some of you work in the healthcare field and are exposed to physical brokenness daily. Some of us struggle with chronic illness. Some are primary caregivers with loved ones. Some of us keep catching virus after virus because our immune systems have taken a significant hit after Covid. Some of us deeply love people who are physically suffering.

Lately, I have found my heart crying out “it’s not supposed to be this way” too many times to count. Because, it’s not. There would have been no need for hospitals, medicine, or quarantines before Genesis 3. But, sin entering the world broke everything. Everything, except for hope.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9

It is good to be reminded that I am merely human. It is good to be reminded that I desperately need God. With every symptom, diagnosis, long days and nights caring for loved ones, let us not despair. Let us not dwell too long on our own weaknesses. Instead, let us worship. Let us dwell on God’s great incomprehensible power. Let us remember that the suffering of this world is temporary! God promises us forever with Him in a place with no suffering, no sickness, no sin! Not yet, but soon. 

Let us allow every sneeze, every headache, every fever, every positive Covid test, every trip to the hospital, every need for medication remind us of this today: this world is not my home.

Eyes up, sisters and brothers. Not yet, but soon.