“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain;
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.” James 5:17

Thursday, March 4th at 7pm

“Then Job answered and said: “Even today my complaint is bitter; my hand is listless because of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me. Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. There the upright could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

“Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

“But He is unique, and who can make Him change? and whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him. Therefore I am terrified at His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him. For God made my heart weak, and the Almighty terrifies me; Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, and He did not hide deep darkness from my face.” Job 23:3

Thursday, February 25th at 7pm

“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.” John 1:16

“Once I knew only darkness and stillness…my life was without past or future…but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.” This came from Helen Keller who was an American Author and Educator who was also blind and deaf.

Not many live out their existence in physical darkness and silence as Keller did, but many live out their lives today in a spiritual emptiness that brings about a darkness and silence of a different sort. When life is lived without meaning, when every decision seems to have no weight upon the value of existence, when “Do what you like” becomes an unsatisfactory way to exist, emptiness comes. The question remains, “What do I like if nothing ultimately has value?” This conundrum is what Milan Kundera called “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” in his 1984 novel of the same title. He is right. If there is nothing beyond this life, “being” does become unbearably light and empty.

Our feeble attempt to fill the void, to answer the question of biography, always ends in a filling with things that accentuate the emptiness, increase the darkness and decrease awareness. What then must we do to be satisfied? How can we escape this emptiness?

Well, I think we must begin with something outside of ourselves and that something is Someone. The uncaused Cause, the Author behind the story, the Magician behind the magic. But if there is a Cause, why is the effect so wrong? If there is a Author, why is the story so sad? If there is a Magician, why is the magic so dark?

But what if the Author permitted freedom within the parameters of the Story that gave the characters the right to write into its pages the unfortunate consequences of decisions they make apart from the One who gave them “being?” And what if these decisions put into motion a series of effects that has turned the story, at times, into a nightmare?

But, again, what if the Author himself entered into the story to set right, that which has gone wrong? And what if that was the plan for the story before the story began? And in the end, there really will be a happy ending and the Author Himself is the Hero who makes it so. Would not this turn the nightmare into a fairytale? There is magic in this story and it is available to us. God has entered into His own story to set it right, through His Son’s life, death and resurrection. We look to Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith and find in Him, the fullness for our emptiness. The Author reminds us and invites us to enter into His plan for His story where the unbearable lightness of being becomes the weight of Glory.

“Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:16-33

Thursday, February 18th at 7pm

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” John 4:34

I received a great question in an email about a month ago and would love to share it with you. It was in regards to “life’s meaning” and “living for God’s pleasure”.

Q: I don’t know if you can answer this, but I would like to know what you think. Part of my own (and I’m sure many others) motivation behind searching to find God comes from an emptiness inside me, and the horrible feeling that there is no meaning to my life. If the meaning of people’s lives as Christians is to follow God and to do his will, then what is the meaning of life itself? Why did God create us? Did he create us simply to give us the gift of life because it was in his power to do so? Tonight you said something about us living our lives for God for “His pleasure.” I’m not sure if that is exactly how you put it, but I didn’t understand what you meant by “for His pleasure.” Could you please explain that as well?

A: If God created us for communion with Himself then our greatest pleasure will be bringing Him pleasure by doing His will. The beauty of this is His will is accomplished and He is glorified when His children enjoy Him. Our enjoyment of Him, is discovered when, we make His interests our interests until they become our passions. Jesus gave us the example when He said in John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work”. In other words, what satisfied or fed His Soul was doing His Fathers will. It is like a marriage. If I want to be close to my wife I have to make her interests my interest. My greatest happiness as a husband is pleasing my wife. Not for what I can get out of the relationship, but how I can sacrificially invest into it. Inevitably this leads to the overall deepening of the marriage and brings greater meaning to life itself.

What: Young Married Couples Dinner
When: Saturday, February 20th at 6pm
Where: Ryan and Mary Caruthers Home. 1314 NW Irving Street #405. Portland, OR 97209
Who: Young married couples and those engaged to be married

Hi friends,

We are excited to have Ryan and Mary Caruthers host our second young married couples dinner! Our desire for these dinners is to build a greater sense of community within Door of Hope, a community that supports and encourages one another.

Please feel free to email any questions. We will also send out an announcement to all the couples that signed up. And please be sure to RSVP so we know how much food to make.

Blessings,

Chad & Liza Hughes
liza@doorofhopepdx.org

“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:1-9

Thursday, February 11th at 7pm

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

How beautifully this verse unveils the great paradox that the heavenly-minded are of the most earthly use, while the earthly minded are of no use at all. Heavenly thoughts humble us by putting the gaze of our soul on the One above. Earthly thoughts elevate the ego, replacing the One above with ourselves. Humility exalts the heart, while pride degrades the soul. Everything within sinful man cries out, “I must be known,’ yet how quickly our natural desire to be known twists, turns, and transforms into the insatiable desire to be adored.

In 1989 The Stone Roses wrote a mesmerizing song titled “I wanna be adored.” In it their front man Ian Brown sings these disturbing words: “I don’t need to sell my soul / he is already in me / I wanna be adored”. It’s as if he is saying I have given myself so totally over to the devilry of pride that I must be worshiped. Now I know that just seems like a flamboyant and flippant lyric of some brash young rock star, but the bottom line is our celebrities are always expressing blatantly what all of us secretly desire.

What we need is an accurate picture of ourselves. Only then will we be on the path to humility. An unknown mystic in The Cloud of Unknowing writes that “Humility is nothing else but a true knowledge and awareness of oneself as one really is.” When we look up at the Cross, we allow Jesus to shine in and show us the depths of our depravity and the depth of His grace. When our hopes are fixed on things of this world we degrade our souls with the lie that we can be our own God.

May we remember the words of Thomas Kempis, “The Saints who are highest in God’s sight are the least in their own.”

Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 1Samuel 3:1-10

Thursday, February 4th at 7pm

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.” James 3:14-17

Our longings are often fixed upon a deeply inflated view of our own self-worth. The greatest egos notoriously struggle most intensely with envy and jealousy. Why? Because inevitably there will always be someone greater. Insecurities of being overlooked and a deep-rooted longing for what another has can quickly propel one into the realm of invidia.

I remember seeing Radiohead in concert in 1995, they were so amazing that I was depressed for a month because I could not accept that I would never be that good. I was unable to even enjoy the show, I could not celebrate their brilliance. How often are we like this as Christian’s? Scripture says God shows personal favoritism to no man and yet there seem to be stars that shine so much brighter than us.

Envy strikes our hearts in a way that robs us of contentment. We want to be one of the bright ones, one of the greats. Maybe our problem is we have redefined greatness to mean something different than what God means. Does Jesus not say that the greatest shall be the least? Envy is much more dangerous than just wanting what others have. It runs the risk of wishing for their collapse and thoughts of “If I cant have it neither should they.”

Love does not envy. It is not competitive. It celebrates other’s victories. Most importantly if we always want what others have maybe it is because we are not experiencing what only God can give. Envy kills relationships but kindness draws us out of ourselves and allows us to celebrate one another. May we be jealous only for God and His glory to be manifested in and through our lives, as we love one another.