Do you celebrate when things go wrong? Most of us in our sinful ways do just the opposite. James a servant of the Lord wrote: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2&3) James isn’t referring to sin being great; it’s the testing that helps our faith. God usually gets most of the blame when things don’t go just as we expect, some times it’s the devil himself, and then some trials come from just living. I Peter 1:7 calls it a “trial of your faith”. We get tested everyday; at work, at home at school; there is no end to the test that we are challenged with.

            Charles Dickens said, “Reflect on your blessings of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes of which we all have some.” Job a well known Biblical character had more than his share of testing, yet he stayed true to his faith that his God would deliver him. We must learn from these trails and move on. We only fail well we miss the lesson learned from the things that go wrong. The grace of God and His mercy will carry you though any trail that you might encounter.

            David wrote in Psalm 27:5, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in His dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle…” In David’s day the kings had a secret place called a pavilion; there they could be alone and have peace. When things aren’t going right and you are being tested, find your place of peace and get yourself alone with God. The Holy Spirit is always reminding us of God’s plan. Are you listening? Are you doing what God is telling you? Psalm 143:10 says, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God…”

            Many churches today practice Cross-free Religion, they go through all the motions, yet never seem to incorporate the cross into their services. These guys will still be playing church right up until Armageddon. There are some that attend churches with large congregations so that they can slip in and out of church without being noticed. They have neither Jesus nor the Cross in their religion. Revelation 3:1-6 describes the church in Sardis. Although the church of Sardis was alive which activity, it was dead spiritually. Cross-free religion invites a judgment that will not be seen coming; spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness will be overshadowing its coming.

            The origin of the word church comes from lordship. The church was established by, and only by, Jesus. The dictionary describes a church as a body or community of believers united by the profession of one faith. Jesus expects the church to be alive: Mark 12:27, “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.”

            The cross has been used as a symbol for hundreds of years. Pre-Christian time records the cross used as a heathen sign, one being the Egyptian god of light. Christian times elevated the cross from repulsive to the most precious and holy of all objects. All who have experienced salvation would look to the cross in utmost glory. The cross represents the entire suffering of Jesus from birth to his resurrection. I Corinthians 1:17 tells us that the Cross of Christ must always be the emphasis of the message.

            Perhaps I can explain this way. Put a buzzard, (we are about that ugly when we are wrapped in sin and not following the way of the cross) in a 8x8 pen about 6 feet tall. No top is needed because that bird will never look up for a means of escape. Like that buzzard, we too, fail to look up for an escape route from the sin of this world that often imprisons us. Social benefits will never compensate for spiritual benefits. Cross-free religion hinders relationship with the Lord, quit looking straight ahead. Freedom is a simple look up to the cross.

            We spend so much time oblivious to God’s work or the need for God’s work to be done around us. This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing God’s children in real action. Matthew 28:19&20 tells us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” That’s a pretty tall order in it’s self, however I feel that we miss the part where we are supposed to walk as Jesus walked. Many Christians fail to live a Christ like life. Jesus spent his time here on this earth not only telling of His father’s love; He lived it. Much of Jesus’ teachings were by example.

            I spent this weekend in Danville, Virginia at the “Fund Fest” of God’s Pit Crew. God was in the house, Praise the Lord. There were red shirts emblazoned with “Volunteer- God’s Pit Crew” everywhere. The folks were real hospitable and there was no doubt about whose crew they were on. This annual event helps to raise money needed for their disaster relief effort. There was fun for everyone: inflatables for the young, farm animals to pet and admire, hay rides, corn maze, and lots of good food. I was captivated by the fellowship and great Gospel Music. Sunday morning we were blessed to share God’s word through a Cowboy Church service. God is good.

            Some have never had an opportunity to help at a disaster. Over the years I’ve seen teens and I’ve seen folks eighty giving a helping hand. When disaster strikes, natural or man made, someone is going to lose something. A little old lady, I think she said she was 90, lost everything she owned when Katrina hit Mississippi, yet the only thing she really lost was her 84 year old neighbor. An elderly lady in Bishop, West Virginia said “the flood came and messed up everything I had in this world, but I still got God.” Sometimes when folks have lost everything, they don’t want to hear a lot of talk about anything, they need help. A group from Augusta County, Virginia stripped a house that had been flooded in Princeville, North Carolina. We removed everything including walls and floors. Several months later we were back rebuilding on the house when the owner showed up wanting to know if we were the ones that left a Bible in his house (we always left a Bible signed by each of the volunteers). He wanted us to tell him what was in that book that made people he didn’t know come down and fix his house. Praise God, a couple team members sat down and led that man to Lord. Where would that man be if we hadn’t walked like Jesus?

            This is my first opportunity to work with God’s Pit Crew and I pray that it will not be the last. Are you walking like Jesus? One day your toe will be tagged, your funeral planned, and you will be laid in the ground. Will you leave behind someone that you have helped?

            Hand of the Lord is a Biblical term to describe the power and the presence of God in the lives of His people. This phrase is first recorded in Joshua 4:24, “That all the people of the Earth might know the Hand of the Lord, that it is mighty…”KJV, at Gilgal where the Israelites had just crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. I find it interesting that out of the nearly 3 million people that left Egypt forty years earlier, that only Joshua and Caleb crossed that Jordan River. Joshua and Caleb’s Faith in God had brought them through, while disbelief and lack of trust in God had killed the others off. Trusting God to meet their needs would certainly have saved the Israelites a lot of grief.

            In the New Testament, in Acts 11:21, “And the Hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”  God was very pleased with the Gospel being preached, especially to the Gentiles. Their lives had changed so much that Barnabas was sent from the church in Jerusalem, to Antioch to witness the Grace of God in these new converts. I believe that the Hand of the Lord can be with us in our churches today if we are willing to be faithful.

            People differ so much in their belief and trust in God. There is a story recorded in Daniel, chapter 6, about a fellow who defied the king’s decree and stood for his God. Daniel 6:16 tells us that Daniel was thrown into a den of lions. Imagine how the king must have felt when he saw an unhurt Daniel in that lions den the next day. Daniel had faith and trusted that God would shut that lion’s mouth. Many Christians today are more like another character in the Bible, Peter. Peter was the disciple that denied knowing Jesus when the little servant girl accused him of being with Him. What a difference of faith and trust in God.

            It is possible that we are just too impatient to be under the Hand of the Lord. We want it now and are just not faithful enough to wait on God. Acts 4:23-31 tells us that Peter and John prayed after their release, with praise for all that God had done. Like Peter and John, we should not only praise God for what He has done but for the things that He is going to do. The Hand of the Lord parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River and He will part obstacles that are in our path also. Trust God knowing that it will be done.