Apex

Hello Apex Family, I hope that this finds you having an at least tolerable Monday after a tremendous weekend! Many thanks to those that contributed in so many ways to make this year's VBS another successful one both for our kids and for some children from the community! There is no higher (nor sometimes more exhausting) calling than loving on kids so as to teach them about our Lord and the power of community. My guess is that the adults may have learned some valuable stuff along the way too. The next happenings will be some camping at Mt. Charleston this weekend and then again later in the summer (August). Let Nan Caldwell or Cheryl Citizen know if you want info. on the former; the latter one will be a time of simple spiritual retreat of some sort as well - stay tuned... Finally, I came across this important teaching today and wanted to pass it along. It speaks to one of the most difficult, but crucial aspects of our faith as we try to navigate the reality of this life in two kingdoms at once - all the while trusting God with what we don't understand. Faith defined, I guess. It is from Oswald Chambers' - "My Utmost for His Highest": Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow Jun 25 2012 . . . what shall I say? ’Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ’Father, glorify Your name’ —John 12:27-28 As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour. We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them. Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people. _____________ Have a great week, Chris