Don't Look Back

Probably most of us have committed John 14:35 to memory. I mean, we know that hiding scripture in our heart is of great value. So, why not start simply; “Jesus wept.” Well, this morning in my daily reading, I discovered another verse that can easily be committed to memory. Luke 17:32 simply reads, “Remember Lot’s wife.” This is not a call to memorialize someone, but a call to learn from another’s failures.

The story is recorded for us in Genesis 19. God had graciously told Lot that He was about to destroy Sodom. Lot was given the opportunity to take his family and escape from the coming destruction. However, there was one instruction that they were to follow. They were told, “Escape for our life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away” (v. 17). As they escaped, Lot’s wife did the very thing she was told not to do. We are told in verse 26, “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

That seems like a pretty severe punishment for a simple glance. I mean, after all, the city behind her was being destroyed with fire that was raining down from heaven. Who wouldn’t have looked? The truth is, it was not the glance that got her in trouble. Her “look back,” was not to see what was happening. Her look back was a longing for what was. She had become accustom to, even enjoying, the sinful city that she lived in. Now that God has asked her to leave behind that sin, her affection for it was on full display.

So, when scripture says, “Remember Lot’s wife,” we know that it is not to memorialize her, but a strong warning not to look back at what God has called us away from. We are to look ahead to what God is doing. We are to press forward to our new life in Christ. We are to look forward to new adventures and new revelations of who God is in our lives. So, remember Lot’s wife. Don’t look back at what was, but look ahead to what God has for you.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell

He Will Do It Again

It is always a fun exercise for me to look back at the times God has provided for me in my life. Over and over again, from early childhood, I have seen His hand of provision. I guess the first time I really remember seeing this was at the end of my eight-grade year. Our house, unfortunately, was repossessed. That is a sinking feeling for a young teen, not knowing where you will go. As it turned out, our God provided a home and it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. On another occasion, I remember asking my mom what we would be eating for supper and she said we would just have to see what God provided (we had nothing in the house). A few hours later, several ladies from the church showed up with a car full of groceries; God again.

Fast forward to my college years. We had no college fund and really no idea how the college game worked. God provided several scholarships that got me through community college. Then, I felt called to go to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and serve as a student missionary. While we had zero funds to make this happen, God laid it on the heart of one of my aunts to pay for this endeavor. Off to Alaska I went, eventually returning home and graduating from University of Houston – Victoria.

Through my seminary years, not once did I have the tuition to for the semester in the bank. However, Kimberly’s job, somehow, seemed to give a bonus every time tuition was due. The only time I ever took off from seminary was a one-year period that I took off due to burnout. After that year, when I was ready to return, the money was there again.

I could tell you more stories about my adulthood, but you get the idea. This morning, as I was doing my devotional, I read a story in Matthew 16 about Jesus and the Disciples. Jesus was warning them about the “leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (v. 6). The Disciples completely misunderstood Jesus and thought that He was fussing at them for not bringing bread. Jesus responds in verses 8-11 by saying, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

May I encourage you this day, remember what God has done in the past and know this: He will do it again. God has never forsaken us, nor will He. Look at His fingerprints in your life and take hope, God is faithful.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell

Seasons of Change

It has been said, that the only real constant is change. Change is a funny thing. Some of us respond better to it than others. For me, it depends what sort of a change it is. Some change is new and exciting, while other change seems to disrupt the equilibrium of all things. Here at Northside, it has been a season of change. We have seen our Worship Center remodeled (change), which required us to move our worship services to the Fellowship Hall (change), and caused us to reimagine the way we do VBS (change). Fortunately, most of this change was a good thing.

As if all of this was not enough, we have also learned that God has called our Worship Pastor, Tom Smith, to a new church. This will mean that there will be even more change. We will have to navigate an interim time period, seek out a new Worship Pastor, and then get used to the way he does things. For some this season will be fresh and exciting as we venture into the unknown. For others, it will be a total disruption of how they are used to going about things. It all depends on how you do change.

As we think about change, and how it impacts our lives, we can rest assured of one thing; our God does not change. The Bible tells us, “I, the Lord, do not change…” (Malachi 3:6). We are also told, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Regardless of what goes on around, we can always look to the Lord as our immovable rock. He will not be moved.

So,  however you deal with change, we can find peace in our unchanging God. We know that He has a plan for our lives, and that that plan existed before the foundation of the earth. We can also know that, no matter what happens around us, that plan is unchanging. God knew what you were going to go through before you ever experienced it. Further, He knows how you will make it through.

So, take hope in our unchanging God. When all else around you begins to give way, cling to the rock that is stronger that is stronger than we will ever be.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell