Crestwood Church Blog

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18

The Christian life is a seemingly crazy one at times, when we ask for help of how to over come problems, the bible’s answers is to fix our eyes on things that cannot be seen.

That doesn't sound very helpful, and at times we can feel that way when we go to God with our troubles. This reminds me of Thomas who couldn’t believe the resurrection of the Lord Jesus until he physically saw it himself.

But God it trying to catapult us into a different world, not the world we know but a world where we will not need “pick-me-ups” and words of comfort. A world where Jesus is king and in control.

God, through the Apostle Paul, is putting the context of our concerns into the big picture of eternity. Whatever we face today is only temporary and will not be with us long, even if it is with us all the days of this world. Compared to the world and life that is too come, it is a blip on a screen and it will never trouble us for any moment of eternity.

Faith is the essential ingredient in our Christian lives for survival down here. It is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. So we have hope in a better future with Christ, free from financial worries, health issues, job prospects, relationship problems and the rest.

Whatever is in front of you today which is wrong will not be with you in glory. God is an unseen God, but we still have an unmoveable belief that he is real. We need this kind of faith to know that whatever God has promised us in his word will come to pass. There is nothing wrong in believing for these promises today, because God is a merciful God, we just have to be prepared to except that God knows the end from the beginning. What we ask for is not always for our good now.

Trust him, believe him for now, and put your hope in things yet unseen.

Labels: Belief, Faith, Future, Promise

Lyrics by Martyn Joseph.

The light or the shade, concealed or displayed
Enemies, friends, opposite ends
Bitter or sweet, ruffled or neat
Feathers or lead, silent or said
Generous or mean, corporate or green
Vagrant or lord, the dove or the sword
Distinct or obscure, prosperous or poor
Devil or saint, we are and we ain’t

Intricate mysteries Life's secret code
Cul-de-sac signposts On yellow brick roads
Ambiguous answers The question's still "Why"
Thunder and rainbows From the same sky

Champagne or dust, banquet or crust
Authentic or fake, angel or snake
Flower or thorn, pristine or torn
Desert or sea, the throne and the tree
The light or the shade, concealed or displayed
Enemies, friends, opposite ends
Flower or thorn, pristine or torn
Desert or sea, the throne and the tree

Sometimes we just have to trust God. Life is full of opposites and extremes, the whys this side of heaven don't always have answers. How reassuring that God knows all things, he is the omniscient God and has our future forever on his mind.

But I am trusting you, O LORD, saying "You are my God", My future is in your hands. Psalm 31:14

Labels: Faith, Future, Promise

Wherever you set your feet, the land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and
from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
Deuteronomy 11:24 (NLT)

As we take the gospel to our community the Lord will open up the way for his Word to be victorious in the lives of those that call upon his name. All the Israelites had to do 3000 years ago was to walk in the land where God had promised and it would become theirs. Today we are asked to wear the shoes of peace (Eph 6) and take the gospel with us as we walk in faith through the area about us. Believing that the Lord will give us these territories too: that lives may be changed as the love and mercy of God is trodden about this estate. This area is lost without the message of the cross but they will not hear it unless we tell them.

In early bible times, territory was won by blood being spilt, today blood has already been spilt, once and for all, that of the lamb of God...Jesus Christ, He has made the way for all of mankind to inherit his land. (Heb 10)

Labels: Community, Crestwood, Faith, Mission