Maryvale Church
“Embracing Our Community with C.A.R.E”
Christlike Actions that Restore and Encourage
Friday March 20, 2020
This morning on my prayer hike I remembered an old song, “In Times Like These,” that I first heard sung by George Beverly Shea, who was part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic team. It goes like this ….
In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
In times like these you need the Bible
In times like these, O be not idle
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
And when I got home, I googled it to hear the song sung by several groups.
Yes, we do need Jesus as a sure anchor for the soul in times like these. In this time of a new normal, what we really trust in is exposed. If there are idols or false ideas about God … these are revealed.
In times like these we begin to find out if we have built on the firm foundation of Christ or if we have built on the shifting sands of cultural ideals. And unless Christ builds the house … all of our labor is in vain. Continue
be the Church.
So, during times like this …. We want you to know that the church is not shut down – the buildings may be temporarily closed but the church is people – and the people of God are to be proactive and in service.
Keep doing the good and keep praising the Lord. HE is our rock and our foundation. With praise in mind, I received an email from Dallas Seminary president Mark Bailey who spoke of Psalm 145. Mark writes:
“The Psalmist exhorts us to direct our attention … to praise God. The call to praise (1–7) reminds us of our privileged response for each day and all eternity. Three clusters form the content of such praise: God’s character and kingdom (8–13); His care and kindness (14-16); and His compassion and keeping (17–21).
Each segment is pregnant with meaningful truths about God’s character, His works, and what He expects in our responses. The wonder-filled attributes of God that are highlighted include His greatness, goodness, righteousness, grace, mercy, kindness, faithfulness, power, sovereignty, and generosity. His wonderful works show that He is a ruling, sustaining, raising, rescuing, providing, satisfying, responding, fulfilling, and attentively hearing kind of God.
The attributes show the perfection of His character, and His actions show He is always present in the midst of our real-life circumstances. He will never act inconsistently with His character. Therefore, not only is He worthy of our trust but deserves our wholehearted worship as well.
How would He want us to respond to this pandemic? Give praise in our communication, meditation, proclamation, celebration, and in the lyrics of our “songs.”
God is up to something in times like these … he is preparing his people for what is coming. Keep your eyes fixed on him and Rejoice in the Lord. REJOICE!
The book of James reminds us to “count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.” Praising God does not depend on our feelings or circumstances but our will and our discipline to obey Gods word and commands.
One thing to praise God for is the web of relationships that exist in our church family. The smaller church may be poised to be a healthier and stronger unit because of the relational web already established that knows each other and cares for each other.
Let’s keep in touch …
- I have established a blog on our website to keep people up to date with announcements and devotionals. Church web site is: maryvalechurch.org
- Also, from our website you can take a look at Facebook and make your comments to one another
- Pastors Carla, Deb, and I are making sure each member of the church family is being contacted on a regular basis by phone, text or emails and we encourage you do contact each other as well.
- Use these days at home to call each other in the church directory – those that you do know and also even if you do not know someone in the directory, give them a call and introduce yourself – pray one for another.
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace. (NIV)
Pastor Dan
