Trusting Through Uncertain Times

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Intro to Habakkuk
By Casey Showalter

The book of Habakkuk is unique in the fact that it is not a letter written to Israel, but it is a conversation between Habakkuk and God. Yet the book was meant for Israel. It was composed to be a voice of godly men trying to understand the ways of God.
The message uses the word “complaints” to describe the way that Habakkuk prayed to God. His first complaint was that the evil that he was watching in Judea was breaking his heart and he was upset at God that it was going unpunished. God responds with a promise. He promises that Babylon will punish Judea. Habakkuk’s second complaint was that it was not fair that Babylon, an evil city full of sin, was to punish Judea, whom Habakkuk saw as more righteous than Babylon.

Not much is known about Habakkuk, but we can believe that he was a righteous man of God. Even this man, whom God spoke to directly, could not understand God’s ways. If this man of God, had moments in his life when he could not understand God’s plans, why do we let ourselves get discouraged when we feel like we don’t know what God is doing or why he lets things happen? Isaiah 55:8-9 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Even when we face moments of uncertainty and wonder how God is working we can trust that he knows what he’s doing. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Nahum: God’s answer to Injustice

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Nahum 1: God’s Answer to Injustice
By: Madyson Elmore

Nahum 1:2 “God is serious business. He won’t be trifled with…” (The Message) and He sent Nahum to prove it!

Nahum wrote this as a poem. Chapter one was written to share God’s majesty and might. He wrote chapter two & three to share details about what happened in Nineveh.

Nahum was sent as a prophet, around 612 BC, to Nineveh to warn them that they would soon be destroyed. Just like Jonah, and later Zephaniah, he was to tell them that their sins against God had continued on for too long.

Nineveh was known for its wealth, but the Bible emphasizes their problem with prostitution. God was not pleased with the way the people of Nineveh were acting. Jonah, reluctantly, had already been sent to Nineveh to warn them. They had changed their ways for the time being. Later, they returned to their old ways and God was not happy. Nahum 1:7-8 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh (NIV). God is a loving and caring God, but He had to put His foot down when He saw the things that were happening in Nineveh.

Nahum’s prophecy was fulfilled about 10-15 years later. Nineveh went up in flames just like he had prophesied. Verse 3 says that Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished… it’s safe to say He’s serious.

Micah 4-5

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Micah 4-5
By Eric Murphy

“The Gospel is good news to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales.”

John R.W. Stott

In the first verse of the book Micah he says the the word of God came to him during the reign of Jotham. The word of God that came to Micah was the prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ. Micah’s name means,”who is like God. During the time of Micah Israel was full of sin and corruption, all across the nation. While Micah was bringing a message from God, a message of redemption and salvation.

Micah 5:2 says, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” This prophecy of the coming of Christ is significant because this is prophesied over 400 years before it is fulfilled.

Now, many of you have heard the message of the Gospel and how Jesus died to save us from our sins and hell. But I encourage you to be like Micah, who brought the good news to the people around him who were caught in sin. Many comparisons can be made between Israel in the time of Micah and our nation today. I hope that you will be the one that will bring the good news to others around you, not only by telling them, but by setting an example in the way that you live your life.

Will you be the one who changes someone else’s life through what you say to them or how you act? Or, will you be content with not speaking up knowing that what you say has an impact on someone else’s eternal destination?

CIY MOVE: DAY FIVE

It’s hard to capture in words the incredible ways in which the Lord has been moving among us this week. It’s not been easy… Even praying for God to “MOVE” is a dangerous prayer, that if asked of Him in earnest requires some expectation of the work that He needs to do. He has been answering our prayers. The past couple of days we’ve looked at themes of our hurts, forgiveness, kingdom work, and God’s presence as they parallel God’s work in the life of Joseph from Genesis 37, 39-47. We’ve had a total of 13 students make significant decisions, public confessions, apologies, statements of release and forgiveness of those who have wronged, hurt, abused, and taken advantage of them… and we’ve seen and felt God’s presence through it all. One statement in particular that rang out as clear as a bell from this morning’s speaker was the statement “Anything can be redeemed.” We were simultaneously challenged by Michael Defazio (@mighael_defazio) to never again utter the statement “Everything happens for a reason…” The reason we shouldn’t say that in reference to God is that it’s simply not true to the fact that God doesn’t cause everything to happen… Sometimes things happen because of people’s bad choices, selfish motivations, and misused freedom… God doesn’t cause those things, but He does promise that He can and will in all things “work for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)… and when difficult things happen we can have confidence to know that God will never leave us, and nothing is beyond His redemption. So with confidence, we say… “Anything can be redeemed” and mean it. We have seen it. We are seeing it. We are being blown away by story after story of His incredible redeeming work in unbelievably difficult situations. It’s messy. It’s hard. It’s uncomfortable… but it’s reality. It’s a reality that’s breaking in and washing over us and leading us in God’s timing and God’s way of restoration. Please pray for all that’s yet to come as we finish the week strong and continue to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

– Nick Wilkes

CIY MOVE: ANYTHING CAN BE REDEEMED

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CIY MOVE: DAY TWO

There’s nothing quite like the sound of hearing students lifting one another in prayer, passionately crying out before God on behalf of their brothers and sisters… Tonight we had 8 students make decisions for Christ and share a piece of their story of what God is doing in their lives, and how they need God to meet them where they are at and not leave them there. Please join us in rejoicing with and praying for Nate, Abby, Hannah, Conner, Tiffany, Kennedy, Taylor and Lexi. Tonight we were challenged specifically from the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 and how even when Joseph found himself beat up by his brothers and thrown into a pit to die, God provided for him and rescued him. We were called once again by Rachel Oblon, our evening speaker, to invite Jesus into the pits of life that we find ourselves in and allow Him to rescue us, even when there seems to be no hope. More to come tomorrow.

Don’t forget to check our instagram.com/chapelrockym or twitter.com/chapelrockym for up to the minute photo updates.

CIY MOVE: DAY TWO

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CIY MOVE: DAY ONE

Our journey to Holland, MI included a blowout that resulted in two tires being replaced… but it wasn’t enough to deflate the mood or our first day as we finally arrived and have gotten settled in to at Hope College.

The theme this week is “Rise Up” and is in-depth look at the life of Joseph. Rachel Oblon challenged us tonight from Genesis 37 and brought some really great perspective to the story of Joseph. She really challenged us to “Rise Up” and allow God to write His story with our lives, a story that far bigger than anything we can write on our own. Tomorrow is our first full day and we’re eagerly anticipating digging in and experiencing all that God has in store for us.

CIY MOVE: DAY ONE

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Micah

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Micah
By Christina Dininger

If you are loved, there will be discipline. As children, everyone had times where they were punished by their parents. At the time we think our parents must not love us because they are being ‘mean’ to us. Most of the time, this punishment is for our own good. When we do things wrong, we need someone we can trust to discipline us so that we know not to do it again. God is our father and he needs to discipline us because we are his children. In Deuteronomy 28:1, God promises that if Israel carefully follows all of his commands, he will set them high above all the nations on the Earth. Sounds like a good promise, right? Well, Israel needed to read the fine print. In Deuteronomy 28:58, God also promises that if Israel does not follow the words of the law, he will send fearful plagues, disasters, and illnesses. Israel started worshiping false idols, so they paid the price. It was not only once that this occurred, but many times.

Many non-believers think that our God is terrible because he allows things such as natural disasters, wars, etc. to go on. This is one of the difficult parts to understand in Micah. God allows Israel to be destroyed by the Assyrians and brings judgment upon them. He does this, not because he doesn’t like them or because he wants bad things to happen to them. He does this because he loves them, and they must learn from their mistakes.

Micah 1:5 says, “All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel…” The discipline was a result of Israel’s sins. God did not punish them out of hate, but out of love. He loved them, just as he loves everybody, and if you are loved, there will be discipline.

Jonah

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Jonah
By Sami Hoerger

Jonah had tried to run and hide from the Lord. We all know what happened, a big storm came while at sea and Jonah was thrown overboard. He was swallowed by a whale and was in the stomach 3 days and 3 nights. During that time, Jonah prayed to the Lord saying he would make things right, he asked for forgiveness, and offered to make sacrifices in his life because the Lord had saved him from drowning. Then the Lord made the whale vomit Jonah onto dry land.

Now, I know what you are all thinking, yes it is the same story you have probably heard since you were little. But, what you probably didn’t hear was what happened after this.

The Lord told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and give a message. The message was “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” and everyone believed it was a true message from God. Once they heard this, they were ordered to turn from their evil ways and ask God for forgiveness of their sins in hope of God forgiving him and changing their mind.

When God saw this, he decided not to bring the destruction on them. The theme is “Good News for the Enemy?” well, if that was a question someone were asking me, I would say they were not the Enemy anymore when the good news came. God changed his mind because the city of Nineveh realized what they had done wrong and decided to make a change. I think that is the big picture to this story. If we realize what we have done wrong, then God will see that and forgive. If we don’t and keep on making the same mistakes, then nothing is really going to get any better in our life. We all sin, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be forgiven for it.

Who does God love?

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Obadiah: Who does God love?
By Rick Phipps
Today’s key verse: 1:15

“The Day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your head.”
Side note: Obadiah’s name means “servant or worshiper of YAHWEH (Lord).
As Jeff wrote about the other day Obadiah is prophecy written to the nation (people of) Edom (descendants of Esau). Who were blood brothers to the Israelites (descendants of Jacob) yet hated them and aided the enemies of Israel. (Israel at this time was split in two…the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah)
Obadiah wrote: vs. 3: The pride of your heart has deceived you.
Edom felt secure and they were proud of their self sufficiency. They had no problem helping the enemies of Israel for they were sure that these enemies could not get at them. For Edom was a mountainous and canyon country. Their capital, Sela, later called Petra, was a city considered impregnable because it was cut into rock cliffs and set in a canyon that could be entered only through a narrow gap. (made me think of the narrow gap the 300 Spartans held if you know your Greek history or seen the movie)
But in verse 10 God condemns them: Because of the violence against your brother Jacob you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.
The prophecy continues up to verse 15 with a rant against Edom but in verse 15 the prophecy takes a change with the words “for all nations“. God doesn’t play favorites…God is aware of more than just Israel and the nations that surround them. God is aware of every nation, every people group, everybody everywhere. Yes this judgement for sin is not limited by locale. And what sin is He relating to?
The verse continues with: “As you have done, it will be done to you;” Sound familiar? Jesus is quoted in Luke 6 as saying: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. God’s ways were taught by Jesus as well.
The verse continues still with:”your deeds will return upon your own head.” Or as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:7…”Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
But for an even bigger picture of how this judgment spoken here as “for all nations” we need to read Matthew 25: 31-46 which is commonly titled in a lot of Bibles as ‘The sheep and the goats’. For here Jesus talks about the final judgment and how every person will be held accountable for their lives actions.
Reading Obadiah it’s easy to see the reality of harsh judgment for harsh actions. God wiped out Edom. And some will say ‘well they deserved what the got’. Proverbs 24:17 says:”Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles”. For no man is without sin; Romans 3:23 says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
But when you break down Edom’s actions to everyday people like you and me then it definitely forewarns us to watch what and how we interact with the rest of the world. From fellow Christians to family members to outsiders.
God loves everyone…God loves everyone…God loves everyone…God loves everyone.
Jesus said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16