Dear church family,
What a blessing it is, as a pastor, to know that my absence (and truly, I say, our absence to include pastor Charles) does not really slow the church down at all. I praised the Lord this past Sunday as I watched, via livestream, the wonderful praise, the joyful Scripture reading, the conscientious praying, and the Biblically informed preaching that characterized our worship service. I also want to thank the church family for the vote that took place. For the support, yes, the elders and I say ‘thank you’ but also for conversations that took place and for the prayer that occurred prior to the casting of any votes. I look forward to seeing the Lord strengthen our body and expand his kingdom as we selectively partner with Southern Baptists on certain things.
Last Sunday, Jim preached from the book of Habakkuk. This midweek devotional is a brief reflection on some of the sentences and portions of the sermon that resonated with me. The Puritans commonly observed that the sermon was not properly finished until it had been wrestled with and applied to the heart and life of each hearer. Let me urge our body to wrestle with each sermon and to ask God to apply the Scripture text to ourselves in a deeply transformative way. He loves to answer such prayers! Here are some quotes (from Jim) and notes (from Dale):
- “He [God] wants your praise as well as your protest.” Habakkuk found himself preaching in a time of disruption. The Babylonians were coming. God was about to use an unrighteous, pagan nation as a rod of judgment on an unrighteous, idolatrous Judah. Habakkuk’s prophecies, in part, is characterized by his complaining to God about these circumstances. The Puritans used to say, “Complain to God, complain not of God.”
- “Nowhere in Habakkuk does God promise improved circumstances.” There is no room in Habakkuk for a health and wealth gospel that promises endless, abundant harvests. Instead, the challenge is present for the people of God to live by faith and to trust their Sovereign God through the coming difficult circumstances. In this way, Habakkuk reminds me of James with its call to live by faith though they had been persecuted and dispersed to distant cities.
- “Living by faith is treasuring God above all things.” Here is the jewel in the crown of Habakkuk. The theme or central idea that “the righteous will live by his faith” is carried forward and interpreted for us by Paul and the author of Hebrews. (see Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; and Hebrews 10:38) And finally, one last quote from the sermon, “Everything we experience is a trust exercise.” God is calling The Road and all of its members to trust him. Let’s lean into the Lord and see what He will do in these next weeks and months together.
Have a blessed week and we will see you on Sunday.
Privileged to serve,
Pastor Dale
