Thank you! Those words don’t seem strong enough to carry the gratitude in our hearts for the sendoff you, our church family, gifted us with this past Saturday evening.

Your encouraging comments lifted our spirits—and at the same time reminded us that the credit for whatever may have been accomplished goes to the God who makes things grow.

That wonderful scrapbook full of pictures, memories and expressions of your love will remain among our most cherished possessions.

Your generosity in the overwhelming total of cash gifts was spectacular. Some of that will go to replace the furniture in our new dining room with pieces more suitable to the size of the room. We plan, as well, to spend some of it on a computer to replace our six-year-old machine.

A very special thanks to those who worked so hard to prepare for our retirement party—Cheri and Byron Brown, Diane and Tim Audorff, Mary Languell, Martha Gilbert, the Deacons and Deaconesses, our young people who served—and others.

As you know, the party was not a farewell. At the right time, we hope to return as members of the NAC family and to serve alongside you who have become so dear to us.

In the meantime, we urge you to welcome Pierre, Maru and their boys with open arms. God’s hand was clearly at work in their coming to NAC. So give them your full support and love, remembering how difficult it is to relocate into a community full of new faces.

On Saturday, we embark from Seattle on the Golden Princess for a cruise up the inside passage to Alaska. We’ll be stopping in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. The ship will return us to Seattle early in the morning on the next Saturday, July 8.

Thank you for the best 21 years of our lives—and again for all your expressions of love!

And my answers to such questions always run along this line: “I simply don’t know whether . . . .” In responding like that, I’m not trying to dodge the questions. Instead, many details are impossible to know in a time of transition.

Transition. Webster’s defines it as “passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another.” One online dictionary definition calls it “an event that results in a transformation.” However you define it, transition always involves change.

But however much our natural selves may resist it, change will come. In fact, our creative God loves to do things in new, fresh ways. Take, for example, the Israelites. Centuries before, they had been slaves in Egypt. Now they were captives in Babylon. God had delivered them from their Egyptian slave drivers. Would he deliver them in the same way from their Babylonian masters? Could they count on God to do the same-old, same-old once again?

No—apparently not. Here’s part of the message God sent them through the prophet Isaiah: “. . . don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant” (Isaiah 43:18, 19a, Easy-to-Read Translation).

What made it possible for them—and what makes it possible for us—to face change without being crippled by anxiety? Trust. Trust in the God who promises never to leave us. Just a bit earlier in the same chapter of Isaiah, God had said this to the fearful Israelites: “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. That’s because I, the LORD, am your God. I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior. . . . You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you” (verses 1-4).

The writer of Hebrews assures us that we Christians can have the same confidence: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me’” (Heb. 13:5-6).

In this time of transition, remember the words from Stuart Hamblen’s song, Known Only to Him: “I know not what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.” Let’s trust in the only Who who can carry us safely through the unknown what.

Some Christians seem to base their fellowship on their understanding of certain doctrines. For them, it works like this: If I answer a question about the faith and you answer it in the same way, then we can walk and work together in the same church. But if you see the issue differently than I do, then we’d better find separate churches.

The Bible is clear about many core teachings—such as salvation by faith in Christ and his finished work, Jesus’ bodily resurrection and the fact that Jesus Christ is the God-Man. But there are other areas in which the Bible does not answer all the questions we might want to ask. For example, when will the “rapture” of the church occur? (The “rapture” is when Christians meet the Lord in the air.) Some say it will happen before the tribulation. Some say it will happen midway through the tribulation. And others say it will happen after the tribulation. You can find sincere, fruit-bearing Christians on all three sides of that issue.

It’s right and good to do our best to understand what God has revealed about such questions. At the same time, though, we need to remember—with Paul—that during this earthly life, “we know in part” (I Cor. 13:9). Even our best knowledge of a subject is only partial. And that’s okay. Even Paul, a man God used to write a major part of our New Testament, included himself among the partial knowers.

The problem comes when we begin to make our interpretation of debatable issues the litmus test for fellowship with others. When we do that, we divide the body of Christ, doing what Scripture itself clearly warns us not to do.

Can you imagine Jesus, in the last day, rejecting someone because they didn’t have quite the right take on the timing of his return for the church? No way! Our salvation hinges on our trusting relationship with Jesus—not on the way we understand Scripture on this or that secondary issue.

If Jesus is willing to spend eternity with people whose understanding is less-than-perfect, who are we to refuse to fellowship with them here on earth?

In addition to the normal stresses of life, military families face such challenges as frequent (and sometimes sudden) relocation and long-term deployment. Prolonged separation can and does strain marriages, too often to the breaking point. Soldier fathers, returning home after long absences, can find that their families have learned how to cope without them. This makes “reentry” doubly difficult.

I urge you to ask the Lord how you, as a part of the NAC family, can encourage and support the military families among us. Our window of opportunity for ministry is often short—two years or less. But the lasting influence such ministry can have can be immense.

In light of all that we are doing or not doing for Christ, I feel that we should be reminded of all that Christ has already done. Do you know that Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection were for you and that his sacrifice is enough to reconcile you to God? Do you have the unshakeable assurance that no matter what, you are safe in the arms of your Father?

Saint Patrick penned words that I believe should mark our lives:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

Paul’s words to the Philippians are powerful and persuasive: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-12).

The question we must ask is probably not, “How much am I doing for Christ?” as much as it is, “How much of Christ is in me?” The closer we get to Jesus the more we will be about our Father’s business.

Whatever anyone tells you about faith, know that Jesus is the beginning, middle, and end of salvation. Jesus is enough.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Let’s also follow the advice of the writer of Hebrews and, “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” The Lord will lead us if we keep our vision heavenward and simply trust him.

I believe the Lord wants us to approach every decision in life with child-like faith knowing that he is directing our path.

David knew the value of a clean heart—one without pretense or deceit. As a result, he left us with a powerful prayer that has been turned into a favorite song: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10, NLT).

David’s son, Solomon, after writing much practical wisdom for his own son, came to the most important advice of all: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). That word “wellspring” translates a Hebrew word that means “source.” Our lives may reflect several symptoms, but these cannot be understood or healed without dealing with their source—the heart.

In our day, we commonly focus our attention on our “issues” (referring to personal problems or emotional disorders). But instead, we need to look deeper and ask: Where do my “issues” issue from? The answer will always lead us back to the heart and its condition before God. As Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’” (Matthew 15:19-20a).

Let’s pray for clean hearts—for ourselves and for each other!

News channels seem to be filled with both tragedy and trivia. Tragic news involves warfare (breaking out this week in Lebanon), murders, rapes, government corruption and ineptness, and so on. Trivial news goes on endlessly about celebrities who become even more popular and make even more money by flaunting shameful lifestyles. Why is the trivial so much in demand? My guess is that it diverts our attention from the tragic hopelessness of a world that will not recognize God in Christ.

More than ever, I am convinced there is only one way we can penetrate our desperately sick Western culture. How? By living our obedience to Jesus in communities of believers, colonies of heaven on earth that are visible to unbelievers. Jesus himself said it would be through that demonstration of our oneness and unity that the world would come to believe in him (Jn. 17:20-23).

During our vacation week, I spent time re-reading parts of Community 101 by Gilbert Bilezekian. On p. 37, I found these words: “This concern for the survival of the church down through the ages provides the explanation for the anguished tones of Jesus’ prayer. He knew that if the church should fail to demonstrate community to the world, it would fail to accomplish its mission because the world would have reason to disbelieve the gospel (vv. 21, 23). According to that prayer, the most convincing proof of the truth of the gospel is the perceptible oneness of his followers. In our day, whenever the church is ineffective and its witness remains unproductive, the first questions that must be raised are whether the church functions as an authentic community and whether it lives out the reality of its oneness. In a community-starved world, the most potent means of witness to the truth of the gospel is the magnetic power of the oneness that was committed by Christ to his new community at the center of history.”

May we obey our way into that kind of community right here in Lacey!

For some time now, I have been praying that the Lord would open an opportunity to get to know the new crop of residents. Just last week, God answered that prayer. In the annual meeting of our homeowners’ association, several began to voice their unhappiness complain about the presence of an Oxford House in our development. Since all the men owned cars, the cul-de-sac was beginning to resemble a used-car lot. And some of the residents were speeding—in spite of the fact that small children often play in the cul-de-sac.

Even as the concerns poured out during that homeowners’ meeting, I knew this was the opportunity I had been praying for. So I offered to meet with the men during their weekly house meeting and present to them the concerns of the homeowners. I asked for and received an invitation to attend their meeting this past Friday evening. The men received me warmly and I explained the concerns. They promised to change the way they park their cars and to slow down.

In the process, I got to know all the names of the men—and to attach the names to faces. The Lord has begun to build a trust relationship between us that I hope will bear fruit for God’s glory. Praise God for answering prayer!