Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Our God is an amazing God. There are so many reasons to be thankful. Today, I am borrowing the following from John Piper who wrote about the miracle of rain. Enjoy, and give thanks!

Picture yourself as a farmer in the Near East, far from any lake or stream. A few wells keep the family and animals supplied with water. But if the crops are to grow and the family is to be fed from month to month, water has to come on the fields from another source. From where?

Well, the sky. The sky? Water will come out of the clear blue sky? Well, not exactly.

Water will have to be carried in the sky from the Mediterranean Sea, over several hundred miles and then be poured out from the sky onto the fields.

Carried? How much does it weight?

Well, if one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farmland during the night, that would be 27,878,400 cubic feet of water, which is 206,300,160 gallons, which is 1,650,501,280 pounds of water.

That’s so heavy. So how does it get up in the sky and stay up there if it’s so heavy?

Well, it gets up there by evaporation. Really? That’s a nice word. What’s it mean? It means that the water sort of stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down. I see.

Then how does it get down? Well, condensation happens. What’s that? The water starts becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide. That’s small.

What about the salt? Salt? Yes, the Mediterranean Sea is salt water. That would kill the crops. What about the salt?

Well, the salt has to be taken out. Oh. So the sky picks up billions of pounds of water from the sea and takes out the salt and then carries it for three hundred miles and then dumps it on the farm?

Well, it doesn’t dump it. If it dumped a billion pounds of water on the farm, the wheat would be crushed. So the sky dribbles the billion pounds of water down in little drops.

So the next time you see rain, remember to give thanks!

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand…Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13, 17).

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11).

• Put on the helmet of salvation to protect your mind.
• Put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect your heart.
• Put on the belt of truth to protect your character.
• Put on the shoes of the gospel of peace so that you are ready, in season and out, to proclaim the gospel of peace.
• Take up the shield of faith to extinguish the fiery arrows of temptation.
• Take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, to destroy the enemy.

Did you notice that everything up to today is for defense. Even if you put every piece of the armor on, the best you could do is defend yourself. There is no way to attack the enemy, to go on the offensive. I don’t want to fight like that. God doesn’t want us to fight like that either. So God gives us a weapon guaranteed to destroy the devil’s schemes and methods – the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.

The only weapon against the devil and his schemes is the word of God. The devil’s favorite weapon is lies. The devil lies about who God is. The devil lies about who we are. The devil lies about who he is. After all, he is the father of lies. The best weapon against lies are the truths of God revealed in God’s word. God’s word destroys lies.

So, take it up. Take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.

How do we do that?

1. Read God’s word every day.
2. Study God’s word with others.
3. Listen to God’s word and God’s word preached every week.

One of the best tools for reading God’s word is free and it’s online at http://www.bible.com. There you can find different daily Bible reading plans. You can download the app to your phone, laptop, or tablet.

You can join a small group at any time. Call the office to find out which one best fits with your schedule.

Commit to worshiping on Sundays. Make it a non-negotiable item for you.

Take up the truth of God’s word to destroy the devil’s lies.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand…Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the devil” (Ephesians 6:13, 16).

The Apostle Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can be strong in the Lord and his mighty power to stand firm against the devil’s schemes:

1. Put on the helmet of salvation to protect your mind
2. Put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect your heart
3. Put on the belt of truth to protect your character
4. Put on the shoes of the gospel so that you are ready in season and out to proclaim the gospel of peace
5. Take up the shield of faith to extinguish the fiery arrows of the devil

Imagine yourself out in the open in the middle of the battle field. And when you look out to the horizon, you see a legion of Roman soldiers approaching your ranks in such a formation.

If you were on the opposing end of a legion of Roman soldiers, it would be a dreadful sight. The Romans conquered the known world through such tactics.

Notice that the shield of faith is most effective when it’s used in tandem with others. In isolation, it’s helpful but not nearly as formidable. It’s in partnership with others that the shield is most effective.

While we come to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior as individuals, Christians are not meant to live solitarily. As soon as one receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, they become a part of God’s family, God’s body, the church. On our own, we are more vulnerable to the attack of the enemy. Together, we become a formidable force against the schemes of the devil.

You were never meant to live out your Christian life in isolation. You belong in the church. It is impossible to be a Christian and not be a part of the body of Christ.

There are several ways you belong to the church:

1. Corporate worship. Worship is meant to be celebrated as a community. With Covid, the situation is more fluid, but even if you cannot show up in person for worship, it is good and right to worship with others at the appointed time. We have made this as easy as possible for you to join in worship online. Make it a non-negotiable item that you set aside time to worship God.
2. Small groups. You learn to practice faith, love, patience, service, hope, joy, etc., in community with others. The best tool to help you grow deeper in relationship with God and with others is in small groups. We offer multiple small groups throughout the year. If you want to grow in faith, one of the best tools for that is small groups. Sign up today for one of the small groups if you haven’t done so. You can sign up by calling the church office.
3. Service to God by serving others. Growing in Christ is for the purpose of increasing our capacity to serve God by serving others. Find an outlet to serve and volunteer. Call the office, one of the pastors, or your small group leader to talk about different ways you can serve.

God’s greatest weapon against the schemes of the devil is the church of Jesus Christ. Got it?

So take it up. Take up the shield of faith.