Below you will find titles for the videos on this page. To look at a video, and to see the preface, introductions, and discussions about each video, click on the "+" and "-" signs to expand or collapse the different sections. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by these videos.
patience in the pandemic
Patience, isn’t that something that we all could use more of? For many of you who are stranded on the ship way beyond your normal contract time, and missing your families, patience has probably evaporated long ago. Know that we, at Nanaimo Lighthouse Ministries, are praying for you in this difficult time, and that’s why I’m posting this video; to give you the encouragement and hope that the Lord, Himself, will give you patience in this difficult time. It’s not something you have to bring up from within you; He knows that you are beyond the ability to cope with your situation, but it is something that can only be received from Him, because it is a quality of God Himself.
Preface to the Video
The fundamental difference between Christianity and religion is that all religions offer some kind of reward or attainment if you do something; pray, attend church, do good deeds, earn karma, or a host of other things. The difference with true Christianity (and there is a lot of false Christianity out there) is that we face the absolute truth that we are fundamentally unable to save ourselves. The wonderful thing is, is that God has done everything for us and we just need to receive it.
Jill Briscoe is an author and teacher featured on Telling the Truth, a wonderful ministry based out of the US (tellingthetruth.org). In this video she talks about something that is a challenge for her, personally; patience. As you watch the video, make a note of those things that you don’t understand, and also make notes about those things that give you hope, encouragement, and comfort. Then, after watching the video, read the “Discussion” below where I will, hopefully, answer some of your questions regarding some of the things said. I too had some questions about a few of the concepts (hinds feet, high places, etc) so I hope that my research will help you learn more, and be truly blessed, from this video. If you still have questions, please post them in the blog, or send them to me on the “Contact” page. I’ll do my best to get the answers you need.
Jill Briscoe is an author and teacher featured on Telling the Truth, a wonderful ministry based out of the US (tellingthetruth.org). In this video she talks about something that is a challenge for her, personally; patience. As you watch the video, make a note of those things that you don’t understand, and also make notes about those things that give you hope, encouragement, and comfort. Then, after watching the video, read the “Discussion” below where I will, hopefully, answer some of your questions regarding some of the things said. I too had some questions about a few of the concepts (hinds feet, high places, etc) so I hope that my research will help you learn more, and be truly blessed, from this video. If you still have questions, please post them in the blog, or send them to me on the “Contact” page. I’ll do my best to get the answers you need.
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Habakkuk 3: 17-19
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. |
discussion
Jill begins the video by referencing Galatians 5:22:
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no law against these things!”
First of all, one thing that I love about this verse is the last part; “there is no law against these things!” I think that that’s the most awesome thing ever! If you were to look at the list of “the desires of the sinful nature” listed before this verse, you will see things that we desperately want to avoid; immorality, lust, idolatry, hostility, outbursts of anger, and more. These are all things that we all know are very bad for us, and anyone who does these things can get in trouble with the law. And rightly so! But can anyone tell me if there is a nation that has a law against love? Or against kindness? Would you be arrested anywhere for displaying gentleness to another person? Nope! You can do those things any time you like, and as much as you like. In fact, people will praise and admire you if you displayed all of those qualities all the time. Well, guess what? Those qualities, what the apostle Paul calls, “fruit of the spirit” are the qualities of God. They are the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who is one with our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. Also, it’s called “fruit of the Spirit” and we all know that fruit is something that a tree produces that is delicious and desired by everyone. And so the picture here is that God’s nature, imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, is something that is good and right and desirable for us.
Jill goes on to say that if you “don’t know Jesus and haven’t received Him by His Spirit, you’ll find it awfully difficult to be obedient to these things.” What she means is this, true Christianity is about giving up on our independence from God and stopping every way in which we try to earn or gain salvation by pleasing God through our own efforts. Let me give you an example; if I take a pure white cloth down to the engine room of your ship, and I dip it into the blackest oil and grease and grime that I can find, then I go up to the kitchen and pour tomato paste on it and other things that would stain the fabric, and then find some dirt and grime somewhere to rub on it. Then I go to the sink and get every soap that I can find and I try to wash it clean. Do you think that I could ever get it to be pure white, just like before I started to soil it? No. I could never get it back to pure white, even if I bleached it!
The white cloth is a representation of us, and the dirt and soil and stain and grime represent our sins. There is nothing, in God’s eyes, that we can do to remove the stains, nothing! If we try to please God through our own works we come under the Law (the 10 Commandments, and God says, “no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands” Romans 3: 20). But, God loves us so much that He provided the way “but now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law . . .We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3: 21-22.
So when Jill talks about “[receiving] Him,” she means responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ, abandoning all efforts to please God through self-effort, and asking God to fill us with His Holy Spirit. For more on the gospel, see our “Good News” page. Later on, when she’s praying for “patience” Jill says, “but I already have it.” Yes, once again, patience is not something she needs to ask for, or try to find within herself, it’s found in the nature of God and is delivered to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Hind & High Places. In the passage from Habakkuk that Jill quotes, "He makes me as surefooted as a Hind, able to tread upon the heights" comes the assurance that God will give Habakkuk the stability to climb "upon the heights" which are regarded as challenging situations. Think about a rocky mountain that you must cross over to escape from something terrible, but it's dangerous if you're not properly equipped for the climb. Bot God comes to the rescue and gives you the sure-footed-ness, the agility, the stability to make the climb. It shows confidence in God in the face of things going bad;
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.
What difficult situation (mountain) are you faced with? No matter what it is, trust God to give you "Hind's feet" to swiftly scale that obstacle and scale that seemingly impossible mountain before you. Remember the story of David and Goliath? David faced impossible odds, not with a sling and a stone, but with the greatest weapon of all, God. "David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel" 1 Samuel 17: 45. Put your full and complete trust in the Lord to give you swiftness through this situation, and be joyful in the knowledge that He is "[your] strength!"
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no law against these things!”
First of all, one thing that I love about this verse is the last part; “there is no law against these things!” I think that that’s the most awesome thing ever! If you were to look at the list of “the desires of the sinful nature” listed before this verse, you will see things that we desperately want to avoid; immorality, lust, idolatry, hostility, outbursts of anger, and more. These are all things that we all know are very bad for us, and anyone who does these things can get in trouble with the law. And rightly so! But can anyone tell me if there is a nation that has a law against love? Or against kindness? Would you be arrested anywhere for displaying gentleness to another person? Nope! You can do those things any time you like, and as much as you like. In fact, people will praise and admire you if you displayed all of those qualities all the time. Well, guess what? Those qualities, what the apostle Paul calls, “fruit of the spirit” are the qualities of God. They are the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who is one with our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. Also, it’s called “fruit of the Spirit” and we all know that fruit is something that a tree produces that is delicious and desired by everyone. And so the picture here is that God’s nature, imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, is something that is good and right and desirable for us.
Jill goes on to say that if you “don’t know Jesus and haven’t received Him by His Spirit, you’ll find it awfully difficult to be obedient to these things.” What she means is this, true Christianity is about giving up on our independence from God and stopping every way in which we try to earn or gain salvation by pleasing God through our own efforts. Let me give you an example; if I take a pure white cloth down to the engine room of your ship, and I dip it into the blackest oil and grease and grime that I can find, then I go up to the kitchen and pour tomato paste on it and other things that would stain the fabric, and then find some dirt and grime somewhere to rub on it. Then I go to the sink and get every soap that I can find and I try to wash it clean. Do you think that I could ever get it to be pure white, just like before I started to soil it? No. I could never get it back to pure white, even if I bleached it!
The white cloth is a representation of us, and the dirt and soil and stain and grime represent our sins. There is nothing, in God’s eyes, that we can do to remove the stains, nothing! If we try to please God through our own works we come under the Law (the 10 Commandments, and God says, “no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands” Romans 3: 20). But, God loves us so much that He provided the way “but now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law . . .We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3: 21-22.
So when Jill talks about “[receiving] Him,” she means responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ, abandoning all efforts to please God through self-effort, and asking God to fill us with His Holy Spirit. For more on the gospel, see our “Good News” page. Later on, when she’s praying for “patience” Jill says, “but I already have it.” Yes, once again, patience is not something she needs to ask for, or try to find within herself, it’s found in the nature of God and is delivered to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Hind & High Places. In the passage from Habakkuk that Jill quotes, "He makes me as surefooted as a Hind, able to tread upon the heights" comes the assurance that God will give Habakkuk the stability to climb "upon the heights" which are regarded as challenging situations. Think about a rocky mountain that you must cross over to escape from something terrible, but it's dangerous if you're not properly equipped for the climb. Bot God comes to the rescue and gives you the sure-footed-ness, the agility, the stability to make the climb. It shows confidence in God in the face of things going bad;
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.
What difficult situation (mountain) are you faced with? No matter what it is, trust God to give you "Hind's feet" to swiftly scale that obstacle and scale that seemingly impossible mountain before you. Remember the story of David and Goliath? David faced impossible odds, not with a sling and a stone, but with the greatest weapon of all, God. "David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel" 1 Samuel 17: 45. Put your full and complete trust in the Lord to give you swiftness through this situation, and be joyful in the knowledge that He is "[your] strength!"
Stephen Kendrick - the power of prayer
Does God really answer prayer? Maybe, but just how much can we rely on trusting Him for things we really need?
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