Reflections on the Beach: The Sand Castle Life

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Five

"The Sand Castle Life"

Focus Passage: Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49

Bible Reading: 1st Corinthians 2-8

sand crab

      One of my favorite things to do at the beach as a child was building sand castles.  Each of us can remember totting our plastic buckets (mine was blue) and shovels thinking that we were going
to create a piece of architectural art.  We sat down in the semi wet sand, far enough from the tide and started to fill our pales.  We patted the wet sand down to make sure it would still take shape after lifting the bucket.  An occasional sand crab would distract us from the task.  We would gather the most beautiful of shells to decorate our castle.  I personally specialized in water engineering, also known as moat building.  I always loved when the ocean water rushed into the moat and surrounded my sand city.  Sadly, the inevitable would always come, the tide would get closer and closer, and eventually my castle would succumb to the raging water.  The sand castle city is designed to look beautiful, but it was never created to last.

     As a dad I get to build sand castles with my kids.  My kids are far more talented then I was and their engineering skills are superior to mine.  But as we play in the sand my mind goes to the parable of the two foundations.  Luke writes about this in Luke 6:46-49.  In this story Jesus compares our life to being built on one of two very different foundations.  The first foundation is built on the rock, a solid and reliable surface.  A raging storm comes but the house on the rock stood firm.  Then another man decided to build his house on ground without foundation, aka sand.  A storm came and that house collapsed.  What does each foundation represent?  The rock's foundation represents a person who hears the Word of God and acts in obedience, the sand represents a person who hears the Word of God and disobeys.  Let's look at what's similar between these two builders: they both desire to build and they both hear how to build.  The problem isn't the desire nor the plan, the problem is the reaction.  Each of us are currently building  our lives on some type of foundation.  If we are following the Lord in obedience then our life will be built on the rock and it will last.  But woe to the person who clearly hears God's direction and chooses disobedience.  Their life is built on sinking sand and like the castle by the sea, it will not last.  Obedience to God's Word, trusting Christ alone is the only foundation to build our life upon.  It is not a mere profession of salvation but a possession of salvation.  We are dug deep into Jesus, we are rooted into His life.  When the storm comes, when judgment arises, will your house stand firm?

Reflections on the Road:

The foundation upon which we build our life is of the utmost importance.  Have you obeyed by coming to Jesus with repentance and faith?  Or are you merely making a religious profession without anchoring your faith into Christ alone?  Your foundation matters, it matters for eternity.

Reflections on the Beach: The Innumerable Promises of God

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Four

"The Innumerable Promises of God

Focus Passage: Isaiah 40:29-31

Bible Reading: Romans 11-1st Corinthians 1

    You can't make a journey to the beach without having an encounter with SAND.  Sand is everywhere. When you first step onto the sand at the beach it's very hot and typically very loose. It's ZERO fun pulling a beach wagon, strapped down with chairs, and managing three children through that wasteland. But as you get closer the sand gets cooler, firmer. You can lay out your beach blanket, plant your umbrella, set up your chair, and relax on the cool sand as the ocean waves crash about your feet (you have to want to go to the beach now). Sand isn't just everywhere at the beach but it travels with you everywhere you go. It's almost impossible to get it off. We found sand in the back of the van weeks after a trip. Sitting at the beach I often contemplate how much sand there is.  The amount is innumerable and inestimable.  One group of scientists did a study concluding that "if you assume a grain of sand has an average size and you calculate how many grains are in a teaspoon and then multiply by all the beaches and deserts in the world, the Earth has roughly (and we're speaking very roughly here) 7.5 x 1018 grains of sand, or seven quintillions, five hundred quadrillion grains (https://www.quora.com/How-many-grains-of-sand-are-there-on-Earth-and-how-many-stars-are-there-in-the-universe#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Internet%20%E2%80%9Cif%20you%20assume%20a,sand%2C%20or%20seven%20quintillion%2C%20five%20hundred%20quadrillion%20grains.%E2%80%9D). I don't know about you, but that seems like A LOT!

   There is another number that we struggle to wrap our minds around, the number of promises that God gives us in the Bible. There are an estimated 3,000 promises in the Scripture (if you count the times they are repeated then there are nearly 9,000).  God doesn't just make a lot of promises, but He is also a promise keeper. Each of you reading this are promise makers, but we are not always promise keepers. We have failed countless times to uphold our word. Typically the people that we break the most promises with are the people we love the most, namely our family. I can't tell you the number of times I said I would do something and didn't fulfill that promise (I owe my kids at least one hundred trips to get ice cream). God is the total opposite, His promise is a guarantee, unbreakable. One promise that stands out to me is in Isaiah 43:2, which says "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." God doesn't say that our life will be easy, instead, He makes it clear that the waters will rise and there will be fire, but amid those turbulent times, He has promised us that He will be with us. Read that promise again, that unfailing, unchanging, unbreakable promise at the start of verse two, I WILL BE WITH YOU. Breathe that in, rest in that truth. No matter what you are enduring or going through right now, He is with you. Promises mean nothing in the good times when the skies of life are clear. The depth of their meaning and the strength behind them are fortified through the affliction. Despite your circumstance, you can know His promises are unfailing.

Reflections on the Road: 

One of the most famous hymns is Standing on the Promises. We do indeed stand on the promises of God, but I find that life sometimes levels me, and knocks me down. In those moments I cling to the promises, I knell on the promises, I weep on the promises, and I claim those promises as my own. This week, reflect on one promise God makes to us in the Word, write it down, and watch God work.

Reflections on the Beach: The Incredible Creator

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Three

"The Incredible Creator"

Focus Passage: Genesis one

Bible Reading: Romans 4-10

      One of my favorite things about going to the beach is the constant rolling of the tide.  I love to hear the noise of the waves breaking on the shore.  It's relaxing, almost therapeutic.  I could easily sit for hours in a beach chair reading a book and listening to the waves.  The waves remind me that despite all the chaos and change in our world that some things remain unchanged, and some things can be depended upon.  But when we look at the waves we need to ask, why do we need the waves and what causes them?  The tide exists because of the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon on the earth's oceans.  Those two cosmic bodies are constantly pulling at the waves, churning them.  The moon has a greater effect on the tides than the sun, so what would happen if we didn't have the moon in the sky?  A lot of things would change.  First, the tides would be dramatically smaller, if existent at all.  The ocean would be dependent upon the sun alone for the tide. It is possible that ocean life would become stagnant and potentially die without the moon. The moon also helps slow down the earth's rotation.  Scientists believe that if the moon were to disappear that we would have 6-8 hour days instead of the typical 24-hour day.  Fathom that!  Naturally, the night sky would be darker since the moon is the brightest object in the night sky.  The next brightest object in the sky is Venus which is only 1/14000th as bright as our moon.  This would change the life of nocturnal animals since they rely on the light of the moon for hunting and would potentially eliminate them.  Nocturnal animals have a significant impact on our everyday life.  They eat a tremendous amount of bugs, some of which carry diseases that affect humans.  And yet another massive change would be the earth's tilt.  The earth is perfectly tilted on a 23 degrees axis.  If the moon were to vanish our axis would change dramatically, which would result in massive climate change and probably near extinction of human life.

      Evolutionary science believes that the moon came into existence 4.5 billion years ago when our planet crashed into another planet called Theia causing the moon to be formed from the surfaces of both planets.  Over the course of billions of years, the moon's surface became smoother resulting in the rock we see today.  Science has zero proof, the history channel even calls Theia an 'imagined' planet.  The Bible doesn't leave us to speculation.  Genesis 1:16, 19 says "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also....there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day." The Bible makes it clear that the moon was created by God with a purpose, to provide 'light' at night and seasons.  Our seasons exist because of the moon.  Genesis one was written thousands of years prior to science understanding why we have seasons!  The moon's existence is not some cosmic accident, the result of two colliding celestial bodies.  Instead, it was purposefully created and designed by God.  Next time you go to the beach and see the tide be reminded that we have an incredible Creator God, who is all-powerful and all-knowing.

Reflections on the Road:

Our God is a creator.  Your reflection this week is simple: make it a point to thank God every day for His creation, which He designed for you.  AND mark down your favorite thing that God created.  Brownie points: it is Valentine's week, so husbands feel free to write down your wife's name as your favorite thing that God created.

Churches in Missions: February Update

Churches In Missions  P.O. Box 1559 Sanford, NC 27331

“Mobilizing the Church Through Short-term Missions”

Our faithful friends,

    “Blessed be Your name, in the land that is plentiful, where Your streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name.

     Blessed be Your name, when I’m found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your name.

     Every blessing You pour out, I’ll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name.”

Song by Matt Redman and Beth Redman. “Blessed Be Your Name.” (2012)

      This song, sang by Matt Redman, has been on repeat as we have tried to navigate our lives back to normalcy after Tiffanie’s dad’s passing, our battle with covid, and a month-long school break between our quarantine and Christmas break. Despite all the challenges we have faced we can say without a doubt that God is still GOOD and we will continue to bless His name. Tiffanie and the kids have enjoyed getting back into a routine of school and being able to experience the joys of attending church after missing several weeks. As mentioned in a previous letter, Matt is serving as the transitional pastor at Hagerstown Bible Church. Our family considers it a great joy to minister to this church body but yet to also be ministered to!

      Matt preached the first two Sundays of January at HBC. During his scheduled Sundays at HBC he is continuing a message series on God’s Love. Feel free to check out HBC’s Facebook page for live services on Sunday morning or to listen to the sermon throughout the week. On the 17^th our family was able to present Churches in Missions to Wakefield Valley Bible Church, located in beautiful Westminster, Maryland. The church was very welcoming to our family and expressed interest in joining future mission trips with CIM. This was exciting to hear!  On the 24^th we were scheduled to speak at Paw Paw Bible Church, however they had to cancel services due to a case of covid. This gave us an opportunity to visit Johnstown Bible Church in Hedgesville, WV. It was a wonderful service that we were able to enjoy together as a couple. The 31^st became a snow day! It was nice to enjoy God’s beauty- even with foot of snow. 😊 Several of Matt’s meetings with pastors have had to be postponed due to the weather this month. Despite the cold and snow, Matt has still been able to reach out to pastors via phone calls, text messages, and emails. Our prayer is that these men of God would be encouraged to keep pressing on!  Finally, Matt joined Pastor George, Pastor Philip, and Pastor Philip’s wife Joanna at Independent Bible Church for an “Ask Anything” panel with their young adults.  This great group of young adults asked a variety of different questions about their faith and how to share Christ.  This was an extremely encouraging evening (see pictures below).

      We wanted to express our deepest thanks for the many phone calls, cards, emails, texts, and gifts these past few weeks.  In the midst of what should have been a very discouraging time we found that God’s people came through in huge ways.  We continue to raise support and get closer to our goal.  We would love to have you join our team and be a part of our mission’s family. 

 

Gifts sent to:  P.O. Box 51519 Durham, NC 27717

Or give online via www.churchesinmissions.org      

Designate for Matt & Tiffanie Robinson

Independent Bible Church

wakefield valley bible church

Reflections of the Beach: Yucky Water

 

Reflections at the Beach

Week Two

"Yucky Water"

Focus Passage: John 4

Bible Reading: Acts 25-Romans 3

 

   Many of you can recall stories from different vacations. Vacations are always about building memories as a family but the best vacation memories are usually the ones unplanned and are typically the funniest memories. As a father of three, I can say that taking a vacation isn't always very relaxing.  It's parenting but in a different place. On one particular trip to the beach, our youngest was very thirsty, and needless to say, we were out of water. His tiny little toddler mind saw the ocean, knew it was water, and decided that it would be a good idea to give it a sip. I wish I could have captured his face of disgust! His exact words were "yucky water."

   We've all had the experience of taking in ocean water. It's disgusting. Ocean water is a bit deceiving because it's water but it's not potable. The proverbial saying goes "Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink." Ocean water cannot be ingested by the body because of its salt content. Our kidneys cannot flush out that much salt. Amazingly ocean water only contains 3.5% salinity. That doesn't seem like much but it's enough to make us sick or worse. Ocean water is water, but it is not a water of life. There is 'false water' in our world too that seems to offer spiritual life but is devoid of life. Jesus met a woman in Samaria who had been drinking of that well for far too long. In John four a woman of questionable background comes to a well in the middle of the day to avoid the scathing judging eyes of the other women. This woman was by all rights living a scandalous life. Amid this encounter, Jesus tells the woman "Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again, ever! The water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life." Jesus wasn't talking about physical water, but spiritual water, living water.  He was talking about Himself. Later we find that the woman had been drinking spiritual water from a source that did not provide life, it only left her hurting, broken, and lost. Countless false ways say they offer salvation, some of them like the ocean that looks appealing, but each of them is nothing more than a mirage, water that is poisoned, water that cannot provide life. The only water of eternal life is Jesus Christ. If you have trusted in anything else then you are drinking at a well that will never satisfy, that will never save. Leave the 'yucky water' behind that your soul cannot digest or process. Come to the water of life, come to Jesus. 

Reflections on the road:

Write your testimony down and put it somewhere you will see it each day (bathroom mirror, fridge, nightstand, car, toolbox, etc). Thank God for Jesus, the living water, who comes as the only means to satisfy thirsty men's souls.