In the Trenches

Posted on July 27, 2017 by pottsvillearp

The year 2017 marked the 100^th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. For most of us, WWI is a war shrouded in obscurity. While even the most casual student of World War II can name a few pivotal battles or events only the most savvy historian can discuss WWI with any confidence. Unlike previous wars, its battlefields were not formed around strategic landmarks so much as vast nameless labyrinths of trenches separated only by scorched earth and barbed wire.

Conflict in the trenches is close combat with a mortal enemy. And it is warfare waged in obscurity. So it is with spiritual warfare in our lives. The glorious calling to Christ is so often immediately followed by times of testing. This was true of the Lord, himself. In the gospel of Mark we read that moments following His baptism,

“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan.” Mark 1:12-13

As his followers we are instructed that “as you have received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” Our faith is not an event or mere declaration, it is a gift that grows through following Christ in testing and in trials. Much of the life of faith is lived in the trenches. It includes failure and forgiveness, vigilance and victory, perseverance and peace.

The Bible is not a sanitized book of mythologized heroes. It’s most faithful men are sinners who are reconciled to God and with their loved ones only through the gospel. We see their failures and their brokenness in living color, but we also see the kindness of God which leads them to repentance. We see their faith grow large, but only in the trenches.

Abraham is a good example of this. In Genesis 12, God graciously calls Abraham and promises to bless him and be with him. Abraham obeys God’s call and establishes faith and worship as a pattern in his family’s life, yet before the chapter is exhausted, he cowers before a petty tyrant and swaps his beloved wife with a pagan to save his own skin. Though God graciously thwarts Abraham’s faithless act, can you imagine how this might plague his relationship with Sarah and seem to jeopardize God’s means of blessing the families of the earth? Yet this is not what we find. Sin is not the last word. God’s promises have not failed. Though Abraham behaves faithlessly in this situation, God remains faithful to hold him in grace and grows him in his faith. The scripture paints a vivid picture of Abraham’s walk with God, yes sometimes on the high places, but often in the trenches.

Join us this Lord’s Day, July 30, for worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we examine this troubling account of Abraham and Sarah from Genesis 12:10-20 and consider God grows our faith in the trenches. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.

Memory Palace

Posted on June 23, 2017 by pottsvillearp

A strong memory is more about strategy than capacity. Information technologists recognize this in regard to data storage and retrieval. The capacity of a database is not as significant as its indexing strategy. Unless you can accurately and rapidly retrieve information it is immaterial how much you can store. When it comes to human memory many experts advocate building a “memory palace” where you can categorize and store memories in a visual structure created within your mind.

This week as we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings in Genesis 9, we look at the powerful strategy God has given us to remember. When fear, anxiety, and trial cause us to lose sight of God’s promises we are tempted to doubt and unbelief. But God understands this and has given us a way to remember. Come and join us this week as we consider this together.

Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we conclude the story of Noah and the Ark. Worship begins at 10:45 am. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.

Not Forgotten

Posted on June 15, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Have you ever been accidentally left behind by your family somewhere far from home? It is just about the loneliest feeling on earth. To be forgotten by our family or loved ones is frightening and overwhelming, but it is utterly devastating to feel forgotten by God.

We all struggle with this feeling from time to time. Even David, who showed such faith and courage to take on the giant, Goliath, felt abandoned by God from time to time. In Psalm 13, he even prayed:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

This week we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings by discussing Genesis 8, which begins “And God remembered Noah…” What about us? Does God remember us? How do we know? Come and join us as we consider these questions from the ancient story of Noah and the Ark.

Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we continue the story of Noah and the Ark. Worship begins at 10:45 am. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.

Saying Goodbye

Posted on June 8, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Saying Goodbye is difficult, especially if we know we will never return to the places or people we are leaving. Can you imagine all the emotions Noah felt as he boarded the ark and prepared to leave all that was familiar for a journey alone into an unknown world? An ancient pastor once noted regarding Noah and the ark,

“…the most severe contest of all for Noah was to bid farewell to the world, to renounce society and to bury himself in the ark. The face of the earth was at that time very lovely. It was no light trial for Noah to leave the life to which he had been accustomed during 600 years”

This week we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings by discussing Genesis 7. We will consider God’s mercy and grace toward Noah and his family in the midst of a total and complete judgment against the sin and violence which had engulfed the ancient world.

Backstory

Posted on May 31, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Every story has a backstory — even the ones you think you know. Few stories are more familiar, even to those who haven’t read the Bible, than the story of Noah’s Ark. But even this story has a backstory. Noah stands alone against evil on the brink of a cataclysmic disaster. With only the help of his family, he enacts a plan to save the world. Yet the plot of the story is not about Noah at all, but about one was was yet to come, who would save the world from an even worse catastrophe.

This week we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings by discussing the second part of Genesis 6, God’s command to Noah to build and ark as a refuge for his family and a remnant of creation from the inevitable results of a world spiraling downward in violence and evil. The call of Noah, however, points us to the need for a refuge from the same thing — a refuge found not in an ark, but in a cross.

Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we consider the story behind the story of Noah’s Ark. Worship begins at 10:45 am. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.