Deaf Devotion 8/28/2010

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 KJV)

Notice that we walk through the valley of the SHADOW of death. It is not the “valley of death.”It certainly is not Death Valley in California where the average daily temperature is 112 degrees. The writer is also speaking in the present. Meaning it is happening now. It is as if the valleys are something which we cannot avoid. There is a reason for that.

Think about it. Who doesn't love the mountains? The views, the cool, refreshing air, and no mosquitoes! In ancient times both pagan and real worship were always in "high places," These “high places” are mentioned nearly eighty times in the Old Testament. The temple in Jerusalem was on the top of Mount Moriah. It was on a mountaintop where Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John “Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them.”(Mark 9:2 NASB)

“Transfigured” is from the Greek word “μεταμορφόω” (metamorphoō) which means to change into another form. This is much the same when a caterpillar goes into the cocoon and comes out a butterfly. We go to the cross as sinners and come away from the cross redeemed and forgiven. We go into the valley of the shadow of death with fear and we come out the other side protected and saved. We are new creatures.

As nice as mountaintops are, we live in the valleys below. Even Jesus refused Peter's request to set up shelters on the mountaintop to extend their stay. By their very nature, valleys can be darker with roads that have many bends and turns. Life in the valley has more unexpected twists and turns than life on a high place. We can't see as far or as clearly in the valley, a fact that makes us insecure, even fearful. It is for that reason that God promises to be with us in the valleys of our life. He promises to stand with us even in the valley of the shadow of death.

Breathe deeply of God's goodness on the mountaintop, but when we return to life in the valley, we can know without a shadow of doubt that God goes with us. There is nothing to fear in the valley where we live.

God is God of the mountaintop and God of the valley. This means that God is God on the mountaintop. But He does not stay there. He comes down into the valley to stay with us as the Shepherd and leads us to places of rest and safety. The focus is not the valley or the mountaintop. God calls each and every one of us in a personal way to focus on the Shepherd, the One who is with us.

David says “I will walk, I will not fear, and I will get through…” David did not say, “I walk IN the valley” but “I WALK THROUGH the valley.” That’s why David starts off this Psalm declaring, “The Lord is MY Shepherd.” He does not say “was” or “will be.” Our Shephard is alive in the here and now ready to protect and save. When life blows up in our face and God seems far away and distant, we are not looking for reasons. We need comfort. We don’t need some answers. We need someone. And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation of “why” or “how.” Jesus comes to us with His presence.”

The basic question is not whether we have many or few valleys in life. It is not whether those valleys are dark or not so dark. The question is how we respond to them. How can we get through? Trust in the Shepherd. Depend on Him. We go into the valley at one end and we come out the other end as different people. He is the God of the mountaintop and the God of the valley. Jesus was transfigured on top of the mountain, but He transforms us coming through the valley.

ANNOUNCEMENT - The Deaf Church at Cornerstone

Praise the Lord!

On September 12, 2010 Deaf Church at Cornerstone will become Master's Hands Deaf Church. You may wonder why. The Deaf Church is a separate mission church Cornerstone is planting. We will no longer be in the Cornerstone Baptist Church building but in the building to the west. The address is 6273 Miller Rd., Swartz Creek MI 48473.

Master's Hands Deaf Church is a congregation of Deaf and Hearing individuals started as a mission of Cornerstone Baptist Church with the purpose of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Flint, Michigan area.

Cornerstone Baptist Church had a Deaf Ministry for many years and will continue to serve the Deaf. The Deaf Church at Cornerstone began three years ago as a separate Deaf Church within Cornerstone Baptist Church. The focus was Deaf Worship, Sunday School and Bible study which is signed and not interpreted.

Master's Hands Deaf Church is a church where you come as you are and are welcome. We do not get hung up on what you look like. We want you to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Come expecting to exalt the risen Savior, praise and worship God, and study God's Word to learn God's plan for each person. The goal is to make sure all Deaf know of the salvation God offers through Jesus Christ and by His grace and how to live a victorious life in His Will.

Sunday, September 12, 2010 will be “Launch Sunday.” Deaf Sunday School starts with fellowship at 945am. Deaf Worship is at 11am. Bible Study is Wednesday at 630pm. If you plan to attend and are in need of a voice interpreter, please contact us and we will do our best to provide accommodation for you. Sunday evenings, the service at Cornerstone Baptist Church will continue to be interpreted at 6pm and the Deaf are welcome to join our Hearing brothers and sisters in worship. Master's Hands Deaf Church does have child care and children's programs available with Cornerstone Baptist Church.

I would encourage you to visit and worship with us. If you have questions or need more information, please feel free to contact me. God Bless You! We look forward to seeing you soon at Master's Hands Deaf Church.

Blessings,
John Bienlein
Pastor
Master's Hands Deaf Church

Deaf Devotion 8/20/2010

“Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness." (Psalm 145:3 NLT)

Our God is too big to be contained in facts, formulas, or by limited minds. Trying to explain Him is like a child trying to teach about quantum physics to his friends in the first grade. If we could understand God who has no limits, and pack Him up within our soggy brains, there would be no way He could be eternal, limitless, uplifting, and glorious. It is our own minds that put limits on God. God will never limit Himself in any way.

If we could remove the “mystery” of God, He would not be God after all. As theologian Wayne Grudem wrote, "It is spiritually healthy for us to acknowledge openly that God's very being is far greater than we can ever comprehend."

Another scholar, Henry Morris, adds an important point. Speaking of the person of God, he said, "We cannot really comprehend this with our minds, but we can believe it and rejoice with our hearts." We can sing praise to God who reigns above, the God of all creation, the God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation. The characteristics of God cannot be fully known by our limited understanding; we just know He is mighty, merciful, and full of majesty.

Many of us know the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” Psalm 145:3 is from where the song is taken. Think about the words.

“O Lord my God” – You are God we are not. We are sinners through and through. But you reach into history to lift us from our sin. Only from your hands can the universe be created, and controlled.

“When I in awesome wonder” - I stand in awe and respect of my Savior, my Salvation and the Creator of the Universe.

“Consider all” – well almost everything as my mind cannot take in all that you do, Lord. Isaiah said that your thoughts are not our thoughts and your ways are not our ways.

“The works Thy Hand hath made” - by your word the entire universe was brought into existence.

“I see the stars” - you want me to count them? Only you know how many, Lord. And you know every name too!

“I hear the mighty thunder” - My mom always said it sounds like angels are bowling. Really, it is you Lord making your awesome power to be felt.

“Thy power throughout” – there is nothing that exists outside of the limitless power of God. Wow that is some power.

“The universe displayed” - His power throughout the universe displayed. It’s HIS POWER that is on display. It’s HIS POWER that shows our sin and weakness. Thank you Lord for showing your power over sin through your Son Jesus Christ, Our Savior.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee. “How great Thou art! How great Thou art!” Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, “How great Thou art! How great Thou art!”

“When Christ shall come” – He said He will be back to bring us all home to heaven. He promised. What He says He will do He will do. God has not yet broken a promise. Can we say the same thing?

“With shouts of acclamation” – Praise, honor, glory, adoration, worship, and approval all belong to your name Lord Jesus.

“And take me home” – We are travelers in a strange land. We long to be home with Jesus.

“What joy shall fill my heart!” – And we mean filled to overflowing. There will be no other thing on which we can focus. Jesus now and always.

“Then I shall bow” – Before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

“In humble adoration” – To worship only you.

“And there proclaim” – “My God, how great Thou art!"

God is great.
His power and His might is more than we can figure out.
His gentle Spirit brings us peace and calm.
His saving Son brings us eternal life, and takes away all our sin.
And His saving power brings us home to an eternity of humble adoration of the great God we worship.

“And there proclaim” – “My God, how great Thou art!"

“If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshipped.”
Evelyn Underhill, quoted by Elizabeth Elliot in “Secure in the Everlasting Arms.”

Deaf Devotion 8/13/2010

This is a little late. Brenda and I took a short vacation to Amsterdam.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”
(2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT)

I have heard many people say, “I’m at the end of my rope.” What does this mean? To many people it means they cannot take any more negative things happening. They have gone as far as they can and they have now reached the limit of their patience. To others it means there is no more hope. They have exhausted every possibility of help and feel there is no more for them to hold on to.

Most of us do not realize how much we need Jesus until we are burned out from stress. This could be either stress we bring on ourselves or by stress that is caused by circumstances beyond our control.

Why is that?

In today’s verse Paul says it is because we are fragile, but he doesn’t stop there. He says that God made us this way so that His power may be known through us! Maybe someone has said to just tie a knot in the end of your rope and hang on!

We could be at the end of our rope and feel defeated, but we still have Jesus. The joy of knowing Jesus will keep us from being destroyed.

Joy will keep us going when we are at the end of our rope offended by a harsh word or deed. We still have Jesus!
Joy will uphold us when we are at the end of our rope with circumstances and situations. We still have Jesus!
Joy will lift us up when we are at the end of our rope with the actions of friends and family. We still have Jesus!
Joy will make us free when we are at the end of our rope with weeping due to loss and pain. We still have Jesus!

When we are at the end of our rope, when we have lost all patience and hope, we still have Jesus!

Jesus will lift us when happiness is wiped out.
Jesus changes hopelessness to hope fulfilled.
Jesus changes confusion to praise.
Jesus changes questions to truth.
Jesus changes depressed to delivered.
Jesus changes giving up to looking up.
Jesus changes sorrow to joy.
Jesus changes bewildered to strengthened.

All of us know that life is not always fair, bad things happen to good people. Sometimes Christians have financial problems, Sometimes Christians get sick, Sometimes Christians fight personal battles in their marriage, in their minds, even in their flesh, or their appetites. Many times Christians will reach “the end of their rope.” But there is victory in Jesus Christ.

Stop depending on the rope. The rope will not save us. Jesus Christ will save us. It’s time to turn our eyes from how much or how little rope we have left to a faith and trust in Jesus Christ that has no end.

Sometimes God wants us to let go of the rope because it is keeping us tied down to our destructive habits. We are totally dependent on God so that the love of His Son may be made known to the world.

Deaf Devotion 8/2/2010

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
(Philippians 2:13 NLT)

One of the greatest secrets I have ever learned is this: God doesn’t want us to do anything FOR Him. He wants to do something THROUGH us.

I have heard people say, “Well, I just serve God in my poor, little, old small way.” I feel like saying, “Well, quit it.” He doesn’t want us to serve Him in our own “poor, little, old small way.” God wants our plans, goals, and pride out of the way, so He can flow through us! We need to make ourselves available to God and say, “God, I’m tired of limiting what you can do. I want to be filled with YOUR Spirit. I want you to live your life through me.”

We need to stop and allow God to show us where we have been standing in HIS way instead of surrendering to God and letting HIM live through us.

This can affect how we relate to each other also. Jesus had to deal with this in His Disciples.

“From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Matthew 16:21-23 NLT)

Believers are called to be compassionate. “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12 NLT)But at the same time we must show sensitivity even when dealing with others. At times, when we step into another person's life with a plan we put together, it puts us in front of God and God cannot put His plan into action. It has to be God's way.

Peter once allowed feelings to cloud his judgment too. Attempting to interfere in the divine plan for Jesus Christ was an experience that he likely never forgot.

Peter knew exactly who Jesus was—namely, the Messiah and Son of the living God, he also held common Jewish misunderstandings about the Messiah's mission. Many Israelites awaited a king who would overthrow Roman rule. Consequently, Peter refused to accept Jesus' warnings of the judgment, mistreatment, and death He anticipated. After trying to convince the Lord that such an end was attempting to upset God's will.

Peter had a narrow view of God's plan. Jesus’ priority was to set free people’s hearts from sin rather than people’s bodies from government authority. Peter's wrong views led him into open rebellion. Do not make his mistake. Seek God's will before offering compassionate aid, lest we block His unfolding plan.

What sometimes we fail to understand is that God’s plans can be different from our plans. The truth is that we should expect that God’s plans will be different than our plans.

Understand that we should never, never, never stop acting in love to help one another. Let’s just do it with God and not ahead of God.

The greatest test of our commitment to God is when God’s plan is different to ours. Peter believed that stopping Jesus was the loving thing to do. No doubt, Peter thought that this would be the greatest display of love to the Savior that could ever be expressed. But, Jesus knew better that the most loving thing would be to follow God’s plan that would take Him to the Cross, to death, to the tomb, and then to resurrection Sunday. That is the love Jesus has for you and me. Peter’s version of love would have stopped salvation’s plan. God’s version of love made salvation available to all who will believe.

God asks us, “Are you willing to make whatever changes might be necessary in your life to follow me?” if not, we will not hear from God and we need to get out of His way. But if we are sincerely willing to let God make changes in our life and work through us to the glory of His perfect plan, then we are in a position to hear God speak!