God’s Detours Are Part of His Perfect Timing

 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:9

Over the past 75 years, traffic engineers throughout the United States and Europe have faced the same problem. People drive WAY too fast. So, engineers have tried all sorts of ways to get drivers to slow down, including stop signs, traffic lights, speed bumps and digital speed displays. These approaches have had mixed results. But there is one traffic-slowing method that, as far as I can tell, has been more effective than all the others. It’s called “woonerven” – a Dutch word that means “living street.”

In the late 1960s, residents of the Dutch city of Delft got fed up with people treating their roads like a race track, so they decided to take their streets back … literally. Local residents moved their living rooms into the streets. They dragged their chairs and couches onto the streets, along with their kids’ bike racks and sand boxes. They built planters in the roadway and started hanging out with their neighbors right there in the middle of the road. And as they turned their streets into a constantly-changing obstacle course for cars, traffic slowed to an average speed of nine miles per hour.

Now, we probably don’t want to try this in the Victor Valley! But it got me to thinking: Sometimes God creates a woonerven in our lives. Many of us have two speeds: Fast and Faster. We rush through life doing what we want to do and going where we want to go. Then, all of a sudden, we have to slam on the brakes, because there’s a couch in the middle of the road … a couch that GOD put there! So, we navigate around it only to find a sandbox, a bike rack and a tree. And we throw up our hands in frustration and say, “God! What gives? What are You doing?”

God answers: “Woonerven! My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). God set up a woonerven for the Apostle Paul in Acts 16:6, when Paul wanted to go to the city of Ephesus in Asia – a great city of 300,000 people who desperately needed to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. To Paul, taking the gospel to Ephesus seemed like a no-brainer, but God said, “Not yet! Wait!” Over the next two to three years, God’s obstacle course directed Paul to five cities in Greece. Then and only then was God ready for Paul to make his way to Ephesus.

In God’s perfect timing, Paul spent three years in Ephesus spreading the good news of Jesus to both Jews and Gentiles. And God did “extraordinary miracles” through Paul (Acts 19:11-12), so that people were healed and cured of demonic possession simply by holding aprons and handkerchiefs Paul had touched.

Here are three insights you can take from Paul’s “extraordinary” ministry in Ephesus:

Insight #1: God’s detours are woonervens – LIVING detours. Remember that when you ask God for something, He has three possible answers: “Yes,” “No” – and “Wait.” In Acts 16,God told Paul, “Not now. Wait.” The Lord wanted Paul to go to Ephesus. But first, He needed Paul to share the gospel in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth. As a result, many people were saved, five books of the New Testament were written, and Paul joined forces with some great new ministry partners. So, when God tells you to wait, remember: He is redirecting you on a strategic detour that will offer new ministry opportunities and friendships that you otherwise wouldn’t have had.

Insight #2: When you are in the center of God’s will—trusting, loving and obeying Him—He will give You the desires of your heart in His perfect timing. God knows what you need, and He also knows what you desire. So, when your greatest desire is to bring Him glory and honor, you’d better believe He’ll give you the desires of your heart. But it’s going to be in His perfect timing, not yours. And when the timing is right to give you what you’ve desired, it will be so much sweeter than it would have been if He had given it to you when you first asked for it.

Insight #3: God wants to do miracles through you. But you need to be a clean and willing vessel. One of the greatest blessings in the world is to have your body used by God in a significant way. As Christians we have the opportunity to allow God to use our mouths to tell people the Good News about Jesus, lead them to Christ and pray for them. We can allow God to use our legs and feet to take us where ministry calls. We have the opportunity to allow God to use our arms, hands and fingers to help serve in a worship service, volunteer to help others and embrace those who are hurting. And because our God is a holy God, He needs our bodies to be clean: Clean minds, clean mouths, clean hands and a pure heart. So, if you want to be used by God in significant ways, be available and pray for clean hands and a pure heart.

You all know the old expression: “Good things come to those who wait.” That’s especially true in the kingdom of heaven. So, trust, love and obey God as you patiently navigate God’s strategic woonervens in your life.  He has some wonderful surprises for you along the way.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook Live. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Patience That Can Run

 “Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” – James 5:8

Two things are for certain: #1: Patience is a virtue, and #2: You and I don’t have enough of it.

There’s an old Hebrew story that goes like this: One evening the great patriarch Abraham was sitting outside his tent when he saw an old man slowly walking toward him. This traveler was obviously weary from his age and his long journey. Abraham rushed out, greeted him and invited him into his tent. He washed the old man's feet and gave him food and something to drink. The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So, Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?” The old traveler replied, "No. I only worship fire. I don’t pay attention to any other god." 

When he heard this, Abraham was furious. He grabbed the old man by the shoulders and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air. After the man staggered into the darkness, God called to Abraham and asked where the stranger was. The patriarch replied, "I kicked him out because he didn’t worship you." God calmly responded, "Abraham, this man has rejected Me and dishonored Me his entire life. For 80 long years I have patiently put up with him. Couldn’t you endure him for one night?"

Great question! It’s a shame that Father Abraham didn’t have the Book of James, because it could have done him a whole lot of good. In chapter 5, James addresses two different kinds of patience that God is grooming inside every Christian: patience with people (also called “long-suffering) and patience with crummy circumstances (also called “endurance”).

Let’s focus on the first of these critical kinds of patience: patience with people. In verses 7-9, James shines the spotlight on a very patient role model—the farmer. James writes, “See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains” (v. 7). Honestly, some of us would never make it as farmers. A farmer has to wait for the right time to plant. Then he has to wait for the little seedlings to sprout. Then he has to wait for the sprouts to mature. Then he has to wait for the right time to harvest. That’s too much waiting for some of us. Shoot…some of us can hardly stand to wait at a red light for more than 30 seconds!

There’s no denying: Farmers exhibit a lot of patience. But so too do men and women in many other professions. So, why did James choose to single out farmers? Because their patience is active, not idle. Think about it. Farmers don’t sit on their hands while they’re waiting for harvest time. They’re always working: up before the crack of dawn, routinely laboring 10-12 hour days, constantly preparing for the harvest even if it’s months away.

George Matheson, a Scottish pastor who lived in the late 1800s, was blind most of his life, but God taught him patience in the midst of his trials. Matheson wrote: "We commonly associate patience with lying down….Yet there is a patience that I believe to be harder -- the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief… implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: it is the power to work under stress; to have a great weight at your heart and still run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily tasks.”

What an amazing insight! When your neighbor is trying your patience, what should you do? You shouldn’t just sit in your house and patiently wait for him to put his house up for sale. Instead, you should patiently keep working--doing what God has called you to do: Be kind to him; pray for him, and love your neighbor as yourself. When you’ve asked your boss for a raise, and your boss keeps dragging his feet and not giving it to you, you shouldn’t slack off in retaliation. You should keep doing your best work, because you are really working for the Lord, not for man.

So, Christians, Jesus calls you and me to live out this greater kind of patience. Don’t settle for PASSIVE patience. Like the farmer, practice ACTIVE patience.

And do you want to know something remarkable? The lessons God teaches us while we’re patiently waiting are, oftentimes, more valuable than the blessings we’re waiting for.  While you’re patiently waiting for your neighbor to change, God is changing you. While you’re patiently praying for your spouse to be transformed, God is transforming you. While you’re waiting for your boss to realize your true worth, God is helping your to live out your true worth.

Ultimately, God is more concerned with your CHARACTER than He is with your COMFORT. He is more focused on your growth than He is on your gold medals. He is more focused on your BECOMING than He is on your ARRIVING.

I believe that Jesus Christ wants us to enter Patience Boot Camp this week. Here are two training exercises that we need to participate in. TRAINING EXERCISE #1: Read Hebrews 11-12. Every day we are surrounded by impatient people. But as we read and meditate on Hebrews 11-12, we’ll be influenced and inspired by these good, patient followers of God. TRAINING EXERCISE #2: Instead of grumbling about annoying people, pray and work for their good. Grumbling doesn’t help us or anyone else. Like the farmer, you and I must patiently work for the good of those who get on our last nerve. It won’t be easy, but it will be well worth the effort. After all, Jesus is coming soon, and he WILL reward you for your active patience.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our live outdoor worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook. And we hope you’ll join us next Sunday, September 27^th, for Back to Church Sunday.

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little one because

he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” 

- Matthew 10:42

Last Monday—after waiting in line for over an hour for toilet paper at Target—I found myself longing to return to the big box store later that day. Why? Am I a glutton for punishment? No. I wanted to return to the hullaballoo because of the amazing thing God had taught me while I was there.

Shortly before 7 a.m., I arrived at the Apple Valley Super Target, and I took my place in line outside the store. There were about 50 people lined up in front of me. I said to myself, “Under the circumstances, this line isn’t that bad.” But after entering the store, grabbing a shopping cart, and making my way to the toilet paper aisle, I learned that there was a second line forming inside the store. Of the 50 people who had been ahead of me in line outside, around 40 of them had already formed a line for toilet paper inside.

And wouldn’t you know it! The line was at a standstill. There wasn’t a single package of toilet paper on the shelves, but the Target team members assured us that toilet paper would be trickling in as it arrived. So, we waited. And waited. And waited.

Surprisingly, the one-hour wait was quite entertaining. The two young ladies in front of me in line were wearing double-barreled gas masks and giggling as they held up their cell phones to take selfies and make video calls to their boyfriends. And after a few minutes in line, I turned around and began talking with the middle-aged man standing behind me as well as the two chatty ladies in line behind him. It quickly became clear that these two ladies were strong Christians who attended church regularly and trusted in Jesus Christ to see them through these troubled times.

After about ten minutes in the standstill line, I thought to myself, “I might as well get some other shopping done.” So, I asked my three new friends in line if they’d mind holding my place for me while I grabbed some eggs. They quickly agreed, so I offered to grab some eggs for them as well. After a few minutes I returned to my cart---still no movement in the line. So, I left the line a second time to grab a few more items. Over the next 40 minutes I left the line an additional three or four times.

Finally, I reached the front of the toilet paper line, and there was just one package left. I felt bad taking the last package, because I knew that the man behind me in line had been, like me, waiting for an hour. And I knew that he had an appointment to get to, and he wouldn’t have time to wait the 20-30 minutes for the next shipment to arrive.

So, without giving it much thought, I tore open my newly-acquired package of toilet paper and gave him a couple rolls. You wouldn’t believe the sounds of shock that came from the crowd behind me. It was as if I had just handed him two gold bars. The man offered to pay me for the entire package, but I said, “Don’t worry about it!” as I made my way to the checkout line.

After waiting in the checkout line for a minute or two, a Target manager asked me to step into a closed checkout line, and she began to ring me up. She said, “I saw what you did. Thank you for taking care of one of our guests.” I stood there in disbelief as she gave me free plastic bags for my groceries, plus a 10% discount on my entire order.

As I pushed my cart out the door, tears welled up in my eyes. The Lord had revealed to me this simple truth: During this coronavirus pandemic—as millions of our fellow Americans are running around in fear like chickens with their heads cut off—simple acts of kindness will carry a much greater impact than usual. As followers of Jesus Christ head to Target, WalMart, Costco, Stater Bros., and WinCo and carry out simple acts of kindness and love in Jesus’ name, people’s hearts will be touched in a way that they wouldn’t normally be touched.

Never forget, followers of Christ, that God never wastes anything. On so many different levels, this coronavirus pandemic is a stress-producing nightmare. But we serve a God who specializes in bringing life and goodness out of the ashes. We serve a God who works “all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

So, in the days to come—as you venture out from your home and cross the paths of perfect strangers at the store, at work, or at your favorite drive-thru—please be kind. Be compassionate. Be patient. And allow every word that you speak and every action you carry out to communicate this peace-giving message: “It’s going to be okay. If we trust in God, He will see us through.” 

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. During this COVID-19 outbreak, please join us for our online worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. Simply go to www.GreaterImpact.cc to view the service on our homepage.

Turning Trials Into Triumphs

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
- James 1:2

When I was a kid, I loved watching reruns of the hit TV series, “The Six Million Dollar Man.” Do you remember the backstory? After a major accident, the best and brightest minds spent $6,000,000 reconstructing astronaut Steve Austin into the first bionic man. After his state-of-the-art surgery, he could run 60 miles an hour, bend steel with his bare hands and see small objects half a mile away. And the key line in the title sequence goes like this. “Steve Austin will be that man: Better than he was before: better, stronger, faster.”

Had it not been for the trauma of Steve Austin’s accident, he never would have become the world’s first bionic man. And in much the same way, were in not for the trials in life that we face, we would never become more mature in our Christian faith. As much as we hate to admit it, the trials we face have the potential to make us better, stronger and faster.

But honestly, our natural human response to trials is to…FREAK OUT! Whether the trial is a life-threatening illness, a major car accident, the loss of a job, or persecution for our faith, we tend to respond to our trials by temporarily losing our minds. Right?

So, in the Book of James, verse 2 sounds like something straight out of “Fantasy Land”: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Really? Is James serious? Because joy is NOT a natural response to trials. Most people don’t shout, “Praise the Lord!” when they receive a utility shut-off notice in the dead of winter. And most Christians don’t say, “Thank you Jesus!” when the doctor says, “It’s cancer.” So, as followers of Christ, we must make a conscious decision to do what’s unnatural: to choose joy when trials come. It takes effort. It takes discipline. And it takes faith.

But what’s the point of choosing joy when trials come? James gives the answer in verse 3: “You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James is basically saying, “Christian brothers and sisters, you know that trials teach you patience and increase your endurance to make you stronger. And these are all very good things. You know this—you just don’t like to admit it. You prefer to avoid trials at all costs and cross your fingers, hoping that you’ll get better and stronger without them. Well, it just doesn’t work that way. If you want to mature in your faith—if you want to grow up and become more and more like Jesus--there’s no way around it: You have to experience trials.”

James continues in verse 4: “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you are a work in progress. God is slowly and methodically transforming your impatience into Jesus’ patience. He is slowly and methodically transforming your tendency to give up into Jesus’ tendency to press on. And He is slowly and methodically transforming your lousy attitude into Jesus’ attitude of counting it all joy.

Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a Christian man who realized that he was far too impatient. So, he prayed, “Lord, help me to grow in patience. I want to have more self-control in this area of my life.” Well, that morning he missed his train to work and spent the next 50 minutes pacing the platform and complaining about his situation. As the next train arrived, the man realized how foolish he had been. He said to himself, “The Lord gave me nearly an hour to grow in my patience, and all I did was practice my impatience.” Let’s be honest: When trials mess up our plans and schedules, how many of us spend far too much time practicing our impatience?

So, what is the purpose of learning patience and perseverance during our trials? The purpose—spelled out in verse 4—is to help us become mature and complete. Never forget that God is more interested in your character than He is in your comfort. God doesn’t want any of us to stay spiritual babies drinking spiritual milk. He wants us to grow up! He wants us to mature in our faith. And trials help us do that unlike anything else can. So, why should we respond to trials with joy? Not because trials are fun. Not because trials give us an excuse to have a pity party and get sympathy. We should rejoice when trials come for one reason according to James: Because they are tools in God’s hands to make us mature and complete—like Jesus.

This growth process brings with it some priceless blessings. It brings more peace to our lives; it positively influences those around us, and it pleases God. If trials pave the way for all these many blessings, you’d better believe we should rejoice. The trials may stink while we’re in them, but remember that God never wastes a trial in a Christian’s life. He will use it for your good, for the good of those around you, and for His glory. He REALLY is making you better, stronger, and faster. So, no matter how much it hurts … Rejoice. No matter how long it lasts … Rejoice. No matter how unfair and pointless it seems … Rejoice.

If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, your trial is in the hands of a loving God. He’s got this! And since He’s got this, you’ve got this too. So, rejoice!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Shed Those Grave Threads!

“You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” – Colossians 3:9-10

When Lazarus walked out of the tomb after being dead for four days, he looked like a mummy all wrapped up in his grave clothes. They were probably dirty and, to put it delicately, must have stunk to high heaven. So, what was the first thing Jesus told Lazarus’s family to do? “Take off the grave clothes, and let him go.” Since Lazarus was no longer dead, he no longer needed his dirty, smelly mummy outfit. He was ready for some fresh, new threads.

The same goes for you and me with our old sinful nature. When we come to Christ, we step out of the tomb and leave our old sins behind: the sexual immorality, impurity, lust, greed, coveting, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and lies (Colossians 3:5-9). Those are nasty grave clothes that do nothing but shame our Lord and drag us down. As followers of Jesus who have been spiritually raised from the dead, we have no business clinging to our dirty, smelly sin threads. It’s time to put on Jesus’ fresh, new threads.

Paul described our old GRAVE clothes really well in verses 5-9, and he goes on to describe our new GRACE clothes really well in verses 12-17. Just as we layer our physical clothes on a cold day, we need to layer our spiritual clothes in this sinful world we live in. These new clothes have 10 layers for us to put on:

1. Put on compassion. Our hearts have to break for those around us who are dead in their sins and lost without Christ. And our hearts need to break for Christians around us who make dumb choices but are in need of grace and forgiveness.

2. Put on kindness. One of the most beautiful examples of kindness in the Bible is when King David reached out to a crippled man named Mephibosheth and adopted him into his family. Mephibosheth could never repay King David for his kindness, but that didn’t matter to David. Kindness never worries about someone returning the favor.

3. Put on humility. This is a mindset where you don’t think highly of yourself, but you also don’t think poorly of yourself. In fact, you think about yourself very little. As humble Christians, we should think first about Christ, second about each other and third about ourselves. That’s a humble mindset.

4. Put on gentleness. In Paul’s day this word referred to power under control. We have the ability to destroy others with our words and actions, but instead we exercise restraint for the good of others.

5. Put on patience. Remember that two of the sins of our old nature are anger and rage. But as followers of Christ, we are supposed to crucify and bury our short fuses. We are not to be short-tempered. We’re supposed to be long-tempered.

6. Put on forbearance. When Christians around us screw up, we may feel that they deserve our judgment and wrath. But forbearance holds back. There are times when we need to take another Christian to task. But these times are few and far between.

7. Put on forgiveness. Whether it’s your ex-husband or a trusted friend who stabbed you in the back … anyone who’s wronged you needs to be forgiven. Unforgiveness is part of our old, smelly grave clothes. Crucify and bury it. And put on forgiveness in its place. 

8. Put on love. Of all the traits that should distinguish a church and the Christians within it, love should be at the top of the list. It’s nice to be known as friendly. It’s great to be known as kind, patient and forgiving. But the greatest of these descriptions is … loving. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

9. Put on peace. When Christ saves us, Jesus sets us free from three wars that we were engaged in: our war with God, our war with people and our war with ourselves. As followers of the Prince of Peace we can now live at peace with God, at peace with others and at peace with ourselves.

10. Put on thankfulness. God has been so good to us. But it’s so easy to think the way the world thinks—to focus on what He hasn’t done for us. “God didn’t heal my family member who died of cancer. God didn’t restore my broken marriage. God didn’t get me that job.” Oh, friends, God didn’t do many things. But I guarantee you that the things God DID do in your life far outnumber the things that He DIDN’T do. So, you and I must be thankful.

Our Christian life means taking off our old sinful selves and putting on our fresh, new selves which are being conformed to the image of Jesus. So, take off your old grave clothes and put on the brand new clothes of Jesus Christ! We are called to wear these fresh, new threads everywhere—at church, at school, at home and at work.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 am.