Dear Friends in the Garden of God,

Showers are to bring flowers.  Clouds are to bring out something bright and beautiful.  Is that the way it is with LIFE and our lives?  Does God allow (design?) adversity to promote glory in us and for Him?  Does the Lord of the Universe permit the "seemingly bad" in view of the "greater good"? 

It did go that way for Jesus.  He submitted to "death, even death on the cross" and then God "highly exalted Him" - Phil. 2:5-11.  What could be more painful and shameful than crucifixion?  Hanging naked, nailed to a tree?  Your back of raw skin set against a wooden beam and to breathe you have to push up on the nail through your feet and your back slides against that wood!   Yet "for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross and despise its shame" (Heb.12:2).  The wrath of the Holy God against sin was poured out and yet Jesus "blossomed" three days later.  What was sad and depressing brought joy unspeakable and full of glory.   

So with our lives!  It can be hard to see "the upside of the downside" because of the "clouds" but the sun is still out there and ready to shine.  It is just a matter of time!  Spring is coming and so are good things for God's people as they hold fast the faith that trust His unfailing love.  Our hope does not disappoint us because our hope is in Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life.   

For me of late the "showers" and "clouds" have included things like car troubles and a parking ticket (if I had known I wouldn't have parked there but the sign wasn't obvious and the area was unfamiliar!).  I hate wasting time and money - it seems like such a loss to the Kingdom of God.  But . . . it is up to Him!  He is in control, calling the "shots" - some of which send me spinning.  Yet "what God ordains is always good" - He reminds me of the temporal nature of this world, life, and material things.  His Word instructs me of that which is eternal and of lasting value and top priority - the proclamation of the Gospel and the salvation of souls. 

What has riled me of late too is the subtle danger of relying on religion instead of Jesus for the end of life/eternity/heaven.  What has "organized religion" done for you?  Hopefully point you to Jesus!  What has religious practice done for you?  Hopefully exercised and sharpened your faith in Jesus.  The Apostle Paul said, "I know in Whom I have believed" (2 Timothy 1:12), not what.  A "thing" didn't save you from God's just judgment, not a doctrine or a liturgy, not a creed or denomination, not membership or ritual.  It is Jesus and a relationship with Him that brings that blessed assurance of unending peace and joy forever.  Trust and reliance on Him, His work on the cross, and resurrection victory over death, sin and the devil liberates "whosoever calls on the Name of Lord" and they are safe. 

It is that faith that the Church is established to proclaim and promote, to propagate and portray.  It is that faith that the world, along with "the old evil foe", seek to erode, erase, and eliminate.  It is that faith, more precious than gold (I Peter 1:7), that is routinely tried and tested, tugged at and tussled with by the circumstances of life.  Sometimes, when it rains, it pours.  Still the promise and merciful work of God are to produce "something beautiful and something good".  From the brokenness of our lives, daily lives lived in a sinful, broken world, He makes something beautiful of our lives -  that is mysterious but appropriate since we have One we refer to as "Beautiful Savior"! 

In His love and peace + Pastor Paul Koehn