Well, our blog posts on the spiritual discipline of Going on a God Hunt have come to an end. Starting on Monday, I will begin a new series of blog posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on key truths from the Book of Revelation. But, I’ll write more about that on Monday.
For now, just one last time, I want to review the four elements that we can use to spot God’s marvelous hand on our daily lives:
- Any obvious answer to prayer.
- Any unexpected evidence of God’s care.
- Any help to do God’s work in the world.
- Any evidence of unusual linkage and timing.
Making a written record of your own God Hunt “Sightings” will help you make this discipline an important part of your spiritual formation. You will be able to look back at those times when you saw God at work. Over time, you will come to recognize how very much He loves you, as you take note of His care.
To help you see how this all works, I want to share another blog post from my wife, Karen. This one is entitled “From My Youth You Have Taught Me”:
At the border, on our way to meet some 17 people at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, we stopped at the customs booth between the U.S. and Canada.
“Oh, oh,” I said to David. “We’ve picked the wrong line.” The car ahead of us was delayed for an unusually long time.
“Nationality?” questioned the Canadian customs official as I eased the car to the window. “We’re all U.S. citizens.” I could tell this was a man determined to be official; all my attempts at charm would be lost on him. “Destination?” For 30 years we had answered “the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford,” and usually, that was enough to ensure a minimal border pause.
“Whose child is in the back seat?” he demanded. “Our grandson,” I replied, thinking this man certainly could not refuse the charms of Landis Mains, a handsome 9-year-old. The next question, however, threw me. “Do you have a birth certificate?” For years we have been crossing this border with our own children, of all ages and sizes, and never needed to prove their parentage or nationality! I was dumbfounded.
Visions of being stalled endlessly flashed in my brain; then the scenario of trying to reach my son and daughter-in-law three time-zones away, seeing if they could find the original certificate, then hurry to a Kinko’s or drugstore and fax it to some hostile office along the border. A quick mortifying picture flashed in my brain, of 18 people arriving in Stratford, wondering where their hosts, David and Karen Mains, could possibly be.
Suddenly, a little voice spoke up from the back seat. “A birth certificate? I have a birth certificate.” This couldn’t possibly be true. Did Landis actually mean a birth certificate?
“Landis,” said his grandfather. “Do you have a birth certificate? Do you know where it is?” Landis scrambled into his bag in the back of the station wagon, unzipped a pocket, and whipped out the authenticating piece of paper. Hah! I thought, knowing by now that our adversary, the border-crossing guard, would have done anything to delay our journey. Hah! We have a birth certificate! The paper was passed through the window, examined and passed back.
We were waved through on the heels of the next half-second.
Talk about God Hunt “Sightings”! There were actually three in this little story. First, Landis’ parents had the presence of mind to copy a birth certificate for their son who would be flying as an unaccompanied minor from Tucson to Chicago. (Except he didn’t need it for his air flight; he needed it for the border.) Second, Landis actually remembered that he had a birth certificate. Third, he knew exactly where it was.
Have you any children in your life? Teach them how to play the God Hunt, and then they will prove God to you.
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I will still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and grey hairs…” —Psalm 71:17, 18.
I spy God!
To read more of Karen’s blog posts, please click here.
I say now is the time for you to feel good about your Christian walk, for you to stand at the top of your spiritual world and look down at what’s happening. You, the long time “loser”—please remember the children’s story I’ve been sharing with you—have found something very special, something you always wanted, and now have. And you hear your heavenly Father’s voice saying “not a ‘Loser’ but a ‘Finder,’” echoing over the entire town!
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
