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Worship Ministry - March 2024

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Names of God: El-Gibôr - “Mighty God”

I remember, even though it's been 20-plus years later, riding the bus home from school one day, and a police car pulling us over because there was a tornado nearby. This
shouldn’t have been a surprise to any of us, we did live in Oklahoma for crying out loud, the heart of Tornado Alley! I remember very clearly how quickly the bus went from calm normal conversations to panic. A bus full of crying elementary-aged kids scared that the tornado was going to come toward us. All of us assumed the worst was going to happen; our imaginations ran wild. The threat was real enough that the driver made us get out and lay down in a nearby ditch. Not sure if that would have saved us or not, but a memory I will never forget nonetheless.

I’m still scared of high winds! I have a very irrational fear of a tree falling on me when I hear the wind whipping outside. I start pacing around the house, I put my shoes on (no idea why), and I start watching the weather on the news. My heart starts racing. If you need confirmation, just ask my wife Sarah who has to live with this fearful man. She is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, she can sleep through most storms and I have unnecessarily woken her up way too many times!

El-Gibôr - ghib-bore’ - strong man, brave man, mighty man
“17 Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty,” - Jeremiah 32:17-18

All of us have those fears in life, some things are worth fearing, and some that aren’t, like mine! Oh that we would remember that our God is the Mighty God - El-Gibhor. When our will begins to bend to the fears in our lives, may we be reminded that the God we serve and praise is the Almighty. We worship the Christ that in Mark chapter four calms the winds and the waves with His voice and they obey. We belong to the God who defeated Goliath with but a stone!

“3 For the Lord is a mighty God, a mighty king over all the gods. 4 He rules over the whole earth, from the deepest caves to the highest hills. 5 He rules over the sea, which he made; the land also, which he himself formed. 6 Come, let us bow down and worship him; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 He is our God; we are the people he cares for, the flock for which he provides.” - Psalm 95:3-7

So, even in our fear, “let us bow down and worship Him.” Let us trust in the mightiest of warriors, knowing that His power is greater; knowing His control and glory will overcome. The next time your fear begins to overwhelm you, like when the next strong wind blows into town, seek God’s presence. Press into His strength and His will, desiring to see God’s glory shine through your life, and don't rely on your strength!

Love you and mean it!

Posted by Evan Gray with
in Missions, Newsletter

Grow & Go - March 2024

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The Joy in Discipleship

There are times when many of us struggle with having joy in this life. Yes, even Bible-believing, fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. I have gone through seasons that seemed as if I were just spinning my wheels, where the busyness of life was so overwhelming that an end was not in sight.  Times when I had to stop and ask myself, what sort of kingdom impact am I making by doing this or that? There have even been situations when the brokenness of others around me seemed to drag the energy from my body or wear me out. Or seasons where my aging body informs me that I am not getting any younger. It is during times of joylessness I remind myself that the power of Christ is
magnified most during times of my weakness (2 Cor 12:9). More importantly when the realization sets in that my joy is waning, a redirect typically needs to occur from self to the Savior. When this redirect occurs, it typically is emphasized in the Word by the Holy Spirit, our helper, that I need to die to self (Lk 9:23), and that my real joy is found in discipling others. It is during our greatest of lows, that our need to cling to Christ becomes most evident.

When I say there is joy in discipleship, there is an unspeakable joy that should flow out of love – love for Christ, and what He has done on our behalf by dying on the cross. If not careful, we can forget what we were like before Jesus transformed us. We can forget the joy we first had when we were born again and if not staying in the Word, that love can diminish. If not mindful of our sinfulness, and the unmerited grace we received, we can see the work done in the name of Christ as burdensome. What helps me to remain focused and thwart this, is the giving away of myself to others in discipleship. What pushes me towards discipling another, is that I have experienced for myself the goodness of our Savior and Lord. Keeping our eyes perfectly affixed to our Savior helps us, helps me, to deny self and “count others more significant” (Phil 2:3)

It is very encouraging for me to see another Christian finding delight in the Word of God (Ps 119:16) and resting in the finished work of Christ (Jn 19:30). Let me encourage you to take what you know about Christ and His Word and invest that in another believer. If you have found yourself in a place where there is little joy or usefulness, there is a joy to be found in making disciples. In no way is discipleship easy, but considering what Christ paid that we may have life, there is a cost that we must count. The cost for us on this side of Heaven once we have been transformed by the gospel, is that we are to be making disciples (Matt 28:20). I think David Mathis best captures the essence of the joy in discipleship when he said, “Disciple-making is indeed costly – and designed by God, when healthy, to be a great joy-producing enterprise. It is not easy, but hard work. Yet it is deeply rewarding, with joys we do not otherwise taste apart from God’s work in and through us in ‘sharing our own selves’ (1 Thess 2:8) with others.”   Therefore, yes
discipleship is a mandate, it will cost us something, it is not easy nor should it be burdensome, and there can be great joy found in discipleship as we count the cost of following Christ. 

1. David Mathis. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-cost-of-disciple-making, 2017.

Posted by Paul Willett with

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