Deals, Deals, and More Deals

The holidays are here. The time has arrived to celebrate with friends and family. We spend time gathering together around a beautifully set fall table. The family table is decorated with festive colors of brown, orange, and yellows. The centerpiece, a perfectly cooked turkey, surrounded by all the delicious side dishes that have attracted our senses from the moment the flame was put to the stovetop. Mmmmmm!

A couple hours later, after feasting and giving thanks, we begin to relax and reflect on the wonder that is Thanksgiving. But wait. It's not over. There are dishes to be washed, food to be covered, and football to be watched. What do I spy on the family table now taking center attention? It's a rumpled stack of store ads from the newsstand - Deals, deals, and more deals.

The stores call it Black Friday. Although the term "Black Friday" has been associated with several accounts in history, modern day retail maintains this day as a day to enhance the year's revenue as the first official shopping day for Christmas. Parking structures fill up and stores are over packed with shoppers looking to score great deals on discounted merchandise.

It all sounds like a great adventure for some and a bit of a challenge for others. However, I have preferred to stay at home and reflect on the greatest deal I have ever gotten, a free gift that didn't require jumping through hoops and struggling through the chaotic aisles of the stores.

Because of Christ's righteousness, the offer of His life freely given for my sin and sorrow, I now live in hope eternal. I believe I scored the greatest deal.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

Pastor Rob King

"Gratitude Remembers"

Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies.

-Charles Edward Jefferson

Many people are waiting to be thankful until they have something to be thankful for.  It is a flaw of fallen humanity.  We are always looking forward to what we want and always aware of what we don’t have.  For most of us, the glass is always half empty – at least.

What is our remedy?  It is given in Scripture.  We are to be “rememberers.”  God urges us to rehearse his past mercies intentionally and actively.  Whenever we begin to focus on what we are lacking, we are to redirect our focus to what we have been given.

The change in attitude that will result is remarkable.  Joy begins to resurface and faith gets stronger.

That is what Psalm 105 is all about.  It is a brief summary of history from the call to Abraham to the victories of David.  It reminded Israel’s worshipers that God began a great plan with his people and would certainly continue it.  It encouraged them to count the miracles he had done.

It helped them think of God as their Provider, Deliverer, Protector, Strength, Warrior, and more – just in case they had forgotten, as fallen human beings are prone to do. 

It stirred up a sense of destiny and a confidence in God’s ability to bring them through.  It created the context of true worship.

Don’t we need such reminders?  We easily forget God’s providence, salvation, and love.  We fear that he might not protect us this time, or that he might not hear our prayer this time, or that he might abandon his plan for us.  An intentional memory of his works will help us dispense with those lies.  It will cultivate all the things we need to believe in him and worship him again.

Remember God’s mercies and write them down.  Let your mind be saturated with the goodness of God, and you will be amazed at how the goodness of God becomes real!

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.   -Psalm 105:5

With much gratitude and love,

A long-time Oasis member

What You Are

The person that you are now, the person you have been, the person you will be –

the person God has chosen as beloved.

-William Countryman

It is hard to grasp the illustrations God uses to describe his children.  Ephesians 2:1o says we are his workmanship.  Jesus told us in John 15 that we are branches on the Vine, drawing our life and bearing our fruit through the life he gives.

In 1 Corinthians, the analogies are even more mind-boggling:  In 3:9, we are God’s building; 6:19 tells us that he’s not only the architect, but also the inhabitant; and that at an even more personal level, we are not just his functional building; but his living body (12:27).

We could spend eternity trying to understand all the implications of our identity – we probably will, in fact – but there’s at least one thing we can be sure of now: God has bound himself inextricably to those who are born of his Spirit by faith in his Son.  He is not a detached observer of our affairs; he is not a commander pulling our strings for his purposes; and he is not just waiting for us to fail so he can discipline us.

He is more than just someone we relate to, and we are more than his servants or friends.  We are born of his own self.  For some amazing reasons, he has invested himself in he creation to a degree we ca hardly understand.  He is untied to us in intimate detail.

If you have ever doubted God’s commitment to your welfare, let these truths erase your suspicions.  He is a committed to your welfare as he is to his own.  And if you are a believer who has been born of his Spirit and still felt distant from him at times, you can know that your feelings are lying to you.

The experience of fellowship may be weak at times, but our spiritual union with him is constant.  It doesn’t change, because God doesn’t change.

Try to think about yourself from God’s perspective, if you can.  Imagine having created someone and then literally going to great pains to redeem that person.  Imagine giving this person your name, your authority, and your promise.  Now, how committed to this person would you be?

Consider your answer well; that’s how much God is committed to you.

You are God’s field, God’s building.

I Corinthians 3:9

With much love,

A long-time Oasis member

Are You Invited To The Wedding?

For the past few weeks, months really, we have been preparing for our daughter’s wedding. As I stood in the kitchen the other day making ready orange slices to be used as part of the decorations, I thought about how God, too, is preparing a marriage, which is called: The marriage supper of the Lamb.

Maybe a more accurate observation would be how God has been preparing for us since the beginning of time.

He prepared a place: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

He prepared the first covering for our sin: Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21

He prepared deliverance: And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark… Genesis 6:13,14

He prepared a covenant: Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. Genesis 17:3-5

He prepared the Law:  You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make idols. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet. Exodus 20:2-17 [condensed]

He prepared a Son: Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.  Luke 1:30-33

He prepared salvation: But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth…and they crucified Him. Isaiah 53: 5,7 Mark 15:25

He prepared victory: But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Matthew 28:5,6

He prepares a place: Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14:1-3

He prepares the ultimate wedding: Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” Revelation 19:9

Dina Pugh