Forward

“I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A l little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”

Proverbs 24:30-34

This set of verses strongly encourages us to be diligent.  This past week at Freedom, we applied Proverbs 24:30-34 to so much more than keeping up our yards. The neglect of any area of our life results in ruin.

Let’s talk about how “poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man” when we neglect the important things in our lives in exchange for the easy way. I’ll go first…

Historically, I have been extremely non-confrontational and tended to choose the path of least resistance. So when things were okay, I was good with okay. I didn’t feel much pressure to make them great. After all, moving toward greatness was hard and it could rock the boat and make things really complicated.

There are many examples in my life of this: relationships, projects, career-related things, etc. I have to fight really hard against this tendency in my life in order to move things that are simply good to great.

The matriarch of my family was the glue that held us all together. She was our “relationship facilitator.” If there was something I needed to talk to my other family members about, she would say, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.” I very rarely needed to have any conversation – let alone important ones that define relationships – with any of them because she’d do it for me.  

Then one day, when I was 32, she was gone. Within a matter of weeks, I realized that scarcity and poverty abounded because I had spent years sleeping and slumbering when it came to various family relationships. Weeds had overtaken the vineyard and I didn’t know how to be a daughter/sister/niece/granddaughter without my mother to facilitate. The walls were in disrepair specifically regarding one particular relationship. I felt helpless. And eventually I felt angry. I didn’t even know where to begin.

So I chose not to begin at all. There was a stretch of time that I was so unhappy that the awkward tension in the room was palpable when I was with the person. I was miserable and unpleasant and it made for very awkward family birthday parties and holidays.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.  At age 36, I had to make a decision: Either fester in resentment for the rest of my life or begin pulling weeds and create the relationship that I wanted. The pain of staying the same had finally become more difficult than the pain of changing.

So, little by little, I made steps toward fixing the disrepair. Some of the weeds were harder to pull than others. The difficult weeds included altering my unrealistic expectations, choosing not to be stubborn, and adjusting the perpetual “thirteen year old girl attitude” I seemed to be stuck in. But the actual rebuilding of the wall was remarkably easier than I anticipated! I began making regular phone calls when I didn’t want to, sending texts regarding times of baseball games and band concerts in spite of what I thought the answer would be, having difficult conversations even though I knew I’d cry, and scheduling time together to just hang out.

The relationship is far from perfect. I still have some things that I need to decide what I’m going to do about. But I’m tending to the vineyard of our relationship more diligently now. And the difficulty of the hard work of rebuilding serves as a vivid reminder to be careful not to not let this happen again in the other areas of my life.   

Now it’s your turn: What little weeds can you pull today in an effort to begin changing the areas of your life that have gotten to a place of scarcity and poverty? I’ll be praying that the Lord will give you the strength to make the necessary steps toward weeding and rebuilding this week!

Written by: Jaime Hlavin

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

Awe of God: The Feast of Pentecost

Can you name these three waterfalls?

Don’t worry, there’s no test later. If you’ve been a Michigan resident a while you almost certainly know one, while you might have to be a dedicated backpack hiker to have seen all three (hint: one is in Ontario and another in Washington state). They can become a breathtaking spectacle or a reward after an arduous hike – sort of like the awesome presence of God after a strenuous session pressing into Him in prayer.

I’ve sat under each of these falls at least once, and several rate worthy of return visits. What strikes me about them is their constancy. They each continue to pour 6,000 to 10,000 gallons of water from their crests every second. And while they will strike you with wonder as you take them in, I find it even more notable that they remain there in their glory and in testament to the Creator the rest of your time. Every second that you are in your office, stuck somewhere in traffic, sleeping, or hanging out with your friends, they continue to cascade in majesty – a little less when the snow flies in November, and a little more when spring brings the snow melt streaming down the river. The awesomeness of God is that constant as well, even when you and I are being less than our best. And the Lord is there around us too, just waiting to pour over us and be rediscovered.

But don’t go chasing waterfalls (yes, I did, and with apologies to hip-hop trio TLC). Chase instead the wonder and awe of God as our constant Creator and Savior.

That was what resonated with me after this week’s message – all the feasts and ceremonies that we studied the past several weeks, each a call to remind us of our deliverer and his awesome might, are in the end merely a foretell of the sacrifice Jesus himself made for us.

We don’t think that much of the cross as a display of power. That almost seems to be the point, doesn’t it? The creator of the universe became a baby in a stable, then a man of no particular means or standing in his community, and was humbly led away by Romans to execution for sedition. But a 60-foot high, 4-inch thick veil was torn open by more than human hands to represent the freedom to press in for the Holy of Holies, where our Maker is seated. The very act of being led by a Gentile soldier follows on a tradition centuries earlier with the Israelites and the sin goat of Azazel, and fulfills prophecies from millennia ago. All the feasts foretold of our chance to dine with our Lord.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Hebrews 10:11-14

May we never lose our sense of wonder at who God is. May the majestic and even heroic way Jesus came to fulfill prophecy be ever new for you. And when you press into Him, may the torrent of His love pour over you like a refreshing waterfall at the end of your long trail.

Written by: Chad Halcom

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

Awe of God: The Festival of Trumpets

How long has it been since you’ve been bothered by the sin in your life? –Pastor Aaron Hlavin

This question, which was asked at the opening of this week’s service, is still ringing in my ears. Granted, there are blatant sins I have committed that have prompted me to repent and turn from my previous ways. However, this question forces me to examine my sin on a deeper level. Are there areas of my life where I have simply become so comfortable that I don’t even recognize my sin anymore? Have I blurred the lines of what is right to justify my wrongs?

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were faced with a similar awakening. Through the Festival of Trumpets (Leviticus 23), God commanded the Israelites to set aside time to rest, reflect, and repent. The start of this festival was indicated by the blasting sounds of trumpets (Leviticus 23:24). Notably, this was a powerful sound. It symbolized more than just a beginning. Beyond that, it was a warning sign, a call to action, and a sign of what was to come. As the Bible indicates, the Israelites were told to “Hold a sacred assembly and deny [themselves] and present a food offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:28). If anyone failed to do this, the punishment was made clear that God would “destroy” them (Leviticus 23:30). Finally, the text goes on to say that this command would “be a lasting ordinance for many generations to come” (Leviticus 23:31).

While the structural aspect of this festival may not be relatable to you and I, there is a clear principle in this portion of scripture that can be applied today. God was calling His chosen people to repent. He was directing them towards self-denial and atonement. He was setting up a reminder for the Israelites to recalibrate their focus on God.

As I think about what this meant for the Israelites at that time, I am challenged to identify the areas of my life in which a trumpet may be “sounding.” In the day-to-day happenings of life, it can be so easy to drown out God’s voice and the Holy Spirit’s conviction. It is often easier to magnify the sound of my own thoughts. Nonetheless, it is so important that I hold onto the principle that was taught to the Israelites. I must be intentional about responding to the convicting call to repentance.

This week, I challenge you to think about what God may be uncovering in you. In what areas of your life is the trumpet sounding? How long has it been since you’ve been bothered by your sin? If your answer is that it has been a while, what are you going to do to change that? 

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: Brigit Edwards