The $1,500 House

By Cheri Cowell –

While on vacation in Georgia, Randy and I toured the Habitat For Humanity Global Village & Discovery Center in Americus. If you have not done this, it is worth the trip. The self-guided tour first took us through a typical third-world slum. Shanty after shanty showed us how millions of people around the world live. We couldn’t help but be moved by what we saw. Following this display were examples of Habitat houses from around the world- New Guinea, Africa, Asia, Mexico. Outside each little house a sign told us how much that house cost to build- $1500-$3500 was all it took to move a family from the slums to a home of their own.

How many families could we rescue if each family in the U.S. sponsored one home?

God definitely views our wealth differently than we do.

The Bible has a lot to say about accumulating wealth. And, not all of it is negative. How we use our wealth is the point of most of Jesus’ teachings.

Planning for retirement is big business in the U.S. All of us should be planning for our later years, but Jesus is saying it is about more than just gathering assets. Yes, we should take care of our families and our own needs, but hoarding wealth is not what makes us rich. When we take the blessings we’ve been given and share with those who are in need––perhaps building a $1,500 house––then we are truly wealthy.

“And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ ‘But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” ‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God’ (Luke 12:16-21 NIV).

PRAYER: God, I praise You for the surplus in my life. Help me see my wealth as an opportunity to bless others in the name of Jesus Christ.

For more information on the Habitat for Humanity Global Village visit http://www.habitat.org

Back to Bethel

By Art Fulks –

In following Christ, most (if not all) of us experience dry times when we feel like a failure. Due to testing or sin, we feel far from God, at least from the perspective of an intimate relationship. There are times when I would rather people not know that I am a pastor. If they saw the caverns of my heart, they would not find much evidence that I am pursuing God.

When dry times come, it may seem like the thing to do is to try harder or to be more disciplined. And it may be necessary. However, I am reminded in the Scriptures that trying harder is rarely the answer to a spiritual drought. The Book of Genesis gives us two examples that have really helped me on the journey.

The answer: Go back to Bethel.

Where is Bethel? It may be the place where God made a promise to you, like Abram in Genesis 12. It may be the place where you made a vow to God, like Jacob in Genesis 28. But you are confident that you met with God there. It is the place where you experienced His grace, forgiveness, encouragement, correction, or conviction. No matter what the original circumstance, you know without a doubt that you connected with God.

For some of us, the physical Bethels may be geographically unreachable when we need them. But it probably was less about the geography of the circumstance and more about the context of our heart. For some, Bethel may have been a painful place on the first trip and a bit uncomfortable to revisit. However, we are not looking to relive a memory. We earnestly desire to encounter our faithful and loving Heavenly Father in an intimate way.

In my life, one Bethel was a hillside in Southern Ohio where I went to camp as a teenager. Another was a chapel in North Carolina where God gripped my heart with a desire to do something impactful for His Kingdom. One was the first tee on a golf course in Georgia where a mentor taught me the concept of investing in others. And one was a church parking lot on the other side of town where God called me to the ministry where I am today. Even a pastor has need to go back to Bethel sometimes.

“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau” (Genesis 35:1 NASB).

“And he built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him, when he fled from his brother” (Genesis 35:7 NASB).

Fear Not

By Liz Cowen Furman –

We own a small family-run motel near Yellowstone in Dubois, Wyoming. It is one of my favorite places on the planet. We spend our summers there repairing the damage of hired managers and “old building syndrome,” while transforming it back into a profitable business. On our off time we fly fish, rock hound, and go tubing down the Wind River that borders the motel property. To us Dubois is a slice of paradise. It is however, a seasonal business because winters there are brutal.

Last autumn, I was there later in the year than we have usually been. One crisp evening, I was in the lobby checking emails late and hoping for some business when I thought I saw a face peeking in the bottom of the window out of the corner of my eye. We had a prowler earlier in the evening that broke a window, very rare for Dubois, so I was a bit uneasy anyway. When I saw it again I was suddenly too frozen with fear to move. I did what I always do when I am terrified; I started praying scripture out loud (because no one can stand against the Word of God).

As I prayed I mustered the courage to do the thing everyone in a horror movie knows not to do—go toward the threat. Slowly I stood from my chair and grabbing a fireplace poker made my way to the door.

I reached for the handle readying myself to do whatever I needed to (like slam it back shut). I threw open the door when much to my great surprise (and hers) I found myself face to face with a little doe. She was helping herself to the flowers in my pots next to the office door. She was adorable there with a mouthful of late season petunias. I laughed out loud. She had the unmistakable look of a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar. We stared at each other for a moment or two then she moseyed around to the front of the motel to munch more there. She was just tall enough to look in through the bottom of the office door window.

I went back into the lobby shaking my head at how silly I can be. Getting myself all worked up imagining what might be out there; the preverbal monster under the bed. Isn’t it funny how fear of the unknown paralyzes us? Before I started praying and walked to the door I was glued to my chair in fear.

Every time I start to worry about what will happen with our economy, or our country, or my teenaged children (we have three teenaged boys), or our finances or or or…you get the idea, I have to say to myself out loud what the Bible tells us 365 times. “Do not be afraid.” I run to the Word and look for the passages like Deuteronomy 31:5-7 that say, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” And He does go with us, never forsaking us!

Sweet Homeless Lady

By Peter Lundell –

I got to church early one Sunday morning and found a homeless lady with her shopping cart sitting on the steps of a side entrance. They know right when to come, hit you up for money, then leave. I avoided her for a while, because I didn’t want to be treated like a vending machine.

Finally I introduced myself. Her name was Ariel. She appeared to have a bulging tumor in her upper lip.

Then she got up to leave.

Huh? This wasn’t part of the script. “Please stay for the worship service,” I said.

“Is it okay? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You’re not a bother. We’d love to have you. Just park your cart there.” She told me where she was from and that she didn’t like shelters. Then she pulled a big steel bolt out of her mouth. It made her feel secure—no tumor. She smiled the biggest, prettiest smile I’d seen in a long time. Ariel was so sweet, yet so hurting and lost inside.

I told her to wait there while I went to prepare things and think up ways I could help her and encourage the congregation to help her.

I came back and she was gone.

Oh, no! Why did you go?

I still feel sad when I think of it. And I still hope to find her.

Do you ever find yourself jaded and not wanting to help some people who hold out their hands? Maybe you feel guilty and bothered at the same time.

And do you also find yourself wanting to help, and sacrifice for, others who don’t ask but need it?

The desire to help others is instilled in each of us. We can either nurture that desire or banish it, depending on the attitudes we choose.

Where are you on that path?

PRAYER: Lord, may my heart be as Your heart in how I see people—people who are poor and people who are poor in spirit—especially in how I see their hearts. And may my heart be as Yours.

“Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2 NIV).

Made New

By Makenzie Allen –

Another day, another move, it seemed like my life routine. Gazing out at the changing surroundings, watching my home pass by in a blur of different shapes and colors, it felt like everything I’d treasured and enjoyed over the past years was being stolen with every added mile. Tears rolled down my face as I wondered how I’d ever have something even close to my comfortable little life in Mansfield, Ohio. We were moving, again. My dad had gathered my brothers and I together and told us the news that we were moving to Texas, to a small town called Lubbock. After roughly five years of living in Ohio, we were just straight up moving. I’d had my fill already with moving, I was born in Michigan, moved to Wyoming when young, then moved to Ohio in my preteen years. The Lord knew how sick I was of this whole expedition; I’d complained plenty about it. Somehow, He still wasn’t getting it though, my life was way easier when He didn’t move us from state to state. I thought God was supposed to give me joy, instead He decides it might just be fun to move my family and I all around the country. That’s how I saw it, at that point I was determined that if I were in control, life would be a lot better. What I didn’t know is how wrong I really was.

Arriving at our small home in Lubbock, I quickly started to become a hermit of a girl. I figured that if I tried to make friends we’d just move again, causing me more pain. So I stuck with the easy, self-serving plan. How hard could it be right? Just hang out with my bitter thoughts and I. The more mature part of me should have quit the self-pity long before, but I was content to care only about my problems.

Slowly I started bringing my troubles to the Lord. I even made a friend on my tennis team. That’s when I realized: God had my back. My faith seemed to be growing and changing me in ways that have made my character much different than it was. I started to thrive in my community, spiritually and physically. Realizing how wrong I had been for doubting God’s plan for me, I continued to hold fast to His word. While in Texas, I had two dreams that to this day I remember just as clearly as when I had them, both equally meaningful and applicable to my circumstances. They have continued to be of encouragement even still as I continue to walk the road of faith. It was an uplifting experience and made my move all the more character building.

Now I have moved one time since then and am living happily in Michigan. That move brought grief as well, but after a time of sadness and a feeling of loss I began to grow once more. I still struggle with doubt as to God’s plan for my life. However, now I often get excited at the thought of having another struggle present. In my life of sixteen years, one of the most valuable things I’ve learned is that struggles bring healing to a problem you never knew you had. So when you feel the pain of yet another heartache in your life, know that the Lord is making you new. Shaping you into a person who will be strong in faith, mind, and soul.

« Previous Page — Next Page »