| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Living by faith” Our Bible verse for today: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Further up and further in!” Before we go any further exploring our adventure in faith, I want to whet your appetite for our study this month by telling a story and sharing a quote. In their wonderful little devotional book “Finding God in the Land of Narnia”, Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware relate the scene at the end of the last volume in the Narnia series, “The Last Battle”. In this scene Lucy, Edmund, Peter, Eustace, and Jill are finally arriving in the real Narnia (Heaven). The wars are over; Aslan reigns supreme; the children and their troop of odd and unusual Narnian friends (fawns, fairies, unicorns, dwarfs, eagles, etc.), are on the outskirts of paradise; and Aslan is waiting. As they’re running into Narnia, going deeper and deeper into it, experiencing one wonder after another, Farsight the Eagle is flying above and in front of them urging them on, leading them in, and calling out encouragement, “Further up and further in!” In my mind that joyful scene depicts the journey of faith we are all on. As we mature in Christ and journey deeper and deeper into the person of God, we experience new things and we come to new understandings about God and His ways as mysteries are revealed and our spiritual eyes are opened. One of my favorite quotes about the adventure of living by faith comes from author Jim Peterson in his book “Lifestyle Discipleship”. He writes, “One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.” Living by faith is an adventure that leads to ever-increasing spiritual growth as we learn and grow and experience God in deeper and more revealing ways. So, let’s get to it. We have an entire month in front of us of learning to live by faith. “Further up and further in!” God bless, Pastor Jim |
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