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My Weakness, God’s Grace, His Glory

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Pastor Alan Rietberg

One of the many blessings I have in my ministry here at Central is updating the weekly prayer list. That may sound like a somewhat mundane responsibility, but the opportunity in talking to people each week about their prayer needs brings both joy and sometimes tears to my eyes. I get to hear about how God is working in the lives of others, along with the frustrations and questions that ensue when difficulties arise. 

I often have the privilege of praying with folks while on the phone, when they drop by my office, or when I visit with them in their home or at the hospital. Hopefully, the word of encouragement from the Bible, assurance of support from our church family, and praying for them help in facing the sometimes lonely path they are walking.

I can’t pretend to know what goes through the hearts and minds of other people when tough times come. I wish I could understand, but I don’t know how well I’d do given similar circumstances. 

The Apostle Paul questioned God about his difficulties (which he elaborates on briefly in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) and the answer was: God’s grace would be sufficient. We read,  

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.

…I will boast…of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me

…when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God wanted to work in and through the life of Paul to demonstrate to others around him, as well as Paul, that even amid insufficient strength, God’s strength would suffice. 

So, what did Paul learn?  “…For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.”

We, too, can sometimes feel fairly self-sufficient when facing the day-to-day events in life and we only pray fervently when we feel stuck, forlorn, hurt, abandoned, and weak.

As one lady wrote: It means that when I’m exhausted and I can’t possibly go an inch farther and yet I’m in a situation where I must, His grace is sufficient for me. He gives me the needed strength to finish. It means when I’m feeling confused and uncertain about what direction to go when I’m making a decision, His grace is sufficient for me. He gives me peace and makes my path clear. (James 1 speaks more about this)  

Our aim in life, our goal, our passion is to bring glory to God in all areas. The way we think, talk, act and react, feel, etc. are to be under the control of the Holy Spirit so God will get the glory. (Check out Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; Romans 12:1,2)

Ephesians 6:10 reminds us “…be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”

Who’s strength? God’s!

Who’s might? God’s!

Who gets the credit? God!

We are all weak vessels that God wants to strengthen.

We all need God’s grace to face each day and then we need to lean on it.

We all need to give God the glory so that others will be drawn to lean on Him too.

My weakness, God’s grace, His glory!

All Challenge Central devotionals »

Weekly Prayer Updates

Here at Central Baptist Church Brantford, we believe firmly in the power of prayer–because we believe firmly in the power of God!

Each week, our pastoral staff compiles a list of items about which we pray as a church family. It’s dropped into an email and then goes out to the list weekly on Wednesdays. In the meantime, urgent prayer requests are sent as soon as possible.

If you don’t currently receive these prayer emails and would like to, please email [email protected] to sign up (or to send any prayer requests!) or click the button below!

I want to join the Prayer Team email list!

The Dead Will Hear

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Pastor Lars Janssen

Today, I had the opportunity to hear about what God has been doing in a friend’s life. As the story progressed, it was amazing to hear about God sustaining through sorrow, protecting from fraud, and evangelizing the lost. The story was filled with deep sadness and yet resonated with an even deeper hope at what God was doing in and through the hard times.

The harrowing nature of this person’s story left me in awe of God’s creativity. Despite the sorrow, disappointment, and loss of this person’s journey, the common thread was God’s ability to turn bad into good. God took a loss in the family and used it to turn every surviving family member into a minister to others experiencing loss. God took a potential instance of identity fraud and used it to deepen relationships and showcase his brand of undeserved forgiveness. God took the sole believer in a family and, through that one, is opening the door for salvation to the unbelieving family members. This is our God! He is the one who takes the broken, crooked, and the dead and makes something wonderful.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:25). He’s talking about resurrecting the spiritually dead. Spiritual death is the horrible final step in the sin-filled brokenness of the lost. And though our lives display much brokenness, Paul said, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). This doesn’t mean that everything will feel good—Jesus specifically warned that his followers would be betrayed, beaten, hated, and killed (see Matt. 10:16-23). What it means is that God will ultimately use all of it for good. No evil is beyond his redemption—even the dead can live because of him!

If the voice of the Son of God can raise the dead, he can do anything. He can make something good out of the most awful stories. The hope of Jesus means that people’s stories matter. They matter because they become evidence of Jesus’ ability to mend the broken and to make the dead live. Our stories matter because of Jesus’ story.

As we listen to each others’ stories alongside Jesus’ story, we start to recognize that Jesus is the answer to every broken tale. Not only can he turn sorrow to joy, but he can speak the dead back to life. He came for the broken and the dead. With this in mind, we see our limits. When met with stories of the suffering and the broken, my words will not do and neither will yours. We must resolve to speak God’s words. Our words may mean well, but God’s words—the Bible’s words—are so powerful that even “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

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No Substitute for Time Spent

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

By: Pastor Lars Janssen

There is no substitute for time spent with a friend. Sometimes the most trivial moments become more meaningful than we ever expected. Things like a casual conversation or a shared trip to a familiar place circle back months or years later as evidence of a deepening relationship. I can remember a trip to the beach where a friend lost his car keys and we had quite a predicament getting home. Or another moment from my teenage years when a friend and I admired his masterful parallel-parking job. Or a late-night conversation with a friend in our church parking lot—made more memorable since we were each reclining on the windshield of our cars. These small memories still come up when I am with these friends. The time we spent together was formative to what we’ve become and the times we continue to spend together will mould our relationship as it grows. There is no substitute for time spent with a friend.

Jesus spent about three years on earth with his disciples. The many moments they shared formed our New Testament and have become more meaningful than any of the disciples could have ever expected at the time. They spent time with him. These various experiences and numerous moments with Jesus were formative. The time they spent with Jesus became the message of their lives, as John points out in 1 John 1:3, “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you.” There is no substitute for time spent with a friend.

Do you spend time with Jesus?

Jesus asked the Father about this in John 17:17. While the Father and Son were spending time together, Jesus said to his Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Jesus was asking his Father to use his Word—what we now call the Bible—to make us more like Jesus. I wonder if that conversation comes up now and then between the Father and the Son as they spend time together in heaven? After all, they have the deepest of deep relationships within the Triune God. They have spent all of time together.

Spending time with God is more than being still and praying, but it is certainly not less. And it costs time. Sharing moments, words, and experiences with Jesus means spending time with him. Here’s your challenge, Central. Pick a time when you can be undisturbed—try 15 or 20 minutes to start—and do something like this:

1. Sit down and spend a few moments asking God to help you get to know him better.

2. Slowly read Luke 1:1-4.

3. Either kneel down or stand up and pray out loud through Luke 1:1-4 beginning with, “Lord, teach me to pray …”

4. Walk around a bit and notice where you’re standing and who might be nearby. Consider the time and what others might be doing at the moment. As you move and consider your surroundings, talk to God about what comes to mind.

5. Open your favourite devotional book and read or re-read a paragraph or two.

6. Sit or kneel down and praise God for encouraging words! Praise him for being willing to spend time with you!

If your time is up and you must move on, go about your day rejoicing and praying in

your mind. If you find joy in spending time with Jesus and you can, go on for longer reading, praying, thinking, and praying what you’re reading! These moments you spend with Jesus will be formative as your relationship deepens.

There is no substitute for time spent with a friend—especially when that friend is Jesus.

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Mother’s Day Tribute & Prayer: For All Parents

Written by Rev. Ashley-Anne Masters

  • For those who got pregnant right away and those who have been trying for years…
  • For those who entrust their babies to the care of another family…
  • For those who cannot wait to welcome a baby into their home and those who are terrified they are not fit to be parents…
  • For those whose child will get a soccer scholarship and those whose child will never run…
  • For those who proudly pose for pregnant photos and those who shamefully hide their bellies…
  • For those who are proud to be fathers and those who hope the DNA tests are incorrect…
  • For those who pay child support and those who need child support…
  • For those who fight with teenage daughters and those whose daughters have run away…
  • For those who cannot pay for college and those who cannot pay for medical care…
  • For those who home school and those who fear their children won’t make it home from school…
  • For those who think their son is the best surprise of their life…
  • For those whose children are in prison and those whose children want to be corrections officers…
  • For those whose baby doesn’t live outside of the womb and those whose wombs are empty…
  • For those taking hormones and those who feel exhausted from hormone changes…
  • For those grieving what will never be and those amazed by what life has become…
  • For those who are single parents and those who are now stepparents…
  • For those who have an empty nest and for those whose nest was never full…
  • For the couple who is closer than ever and the couple getting divorced…
  • For all of your children of all ages, hold them close and give them life.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks to You for mothers everywhere. We give thanks for their love, care, concern, and compassion.

We lift up to You especially those who have struggled in their roles as mothers, where the path has not been smooth.

We pray for those whose mothers perhaps failed in any way. Bring hope in the midst of their lives, whether as mothers or as children. For those relationships that are strained, grant reconciliation. Where there is pain, bring the healing of Your grace and mercy.

For those unable to have their own children, fill their hearts with Your amazing love. Bless their ministry in their roles of being a mother to others.

As we reflect, may our own hearts of love extend to all mothers everywhere. We pray through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, amen.