Rick Henderson

You Are Not Alone

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day seven)

Why did I not die at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?

When did it become taboo to talk about depression? When did it become “weak” to share your feelings? When did anxiety become something you tough out and get over like a cold? A read through the Bible (especially Job) will provide you ample evidence that mental health is not a new phenomenon.

In recent years it feels like there has been a rise in the amount of people with depression and anxiety. Even before 2020, the number of people with mental health issues was growing… or was it? Maybe the same amount of people have always been struggling, but we finally encouraged them to talk about it. Maybe they were no longer afraid to be labeled as weak. Maybe instead of being told “get over it” they were told “get help.”

Job showed the importance in admitting depression in his journey to restoration. Job showed strength in admitting weakness. Job showed us we are not alone in feeling alone.

If you are struggling with depression and/or anxiety, tell someone today. Tell a pastor, close friend, or someone you can trust. You are not alone.

It is Well

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day seven)

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. vs 21b

The year is 1873. Horatio Spafford decides it is time for his family to take a vacation. After all, it has been a rough two year span. In 1871 they lost a son to scarlet fever, and shortly after that, the Chicago fire wiped out much of the family business. Upon departure for the vacation, Horatio gets called back to the office, but he insists that his family continue to set sail for Europe. He would catch the next boat and meet them there…

Imagine the feeling when he receives the telegram stating there was an accident. Then another saying only his wife survived, his four remaining children did not. Imagine the feeling days later as he sailed over the exact spot his children died. Satan probably thought, “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Vs 11

Instead, Mr. Spafford wrote the lyrics:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Mr. Spafford learned well from Job. When we hit rock bottom, Satan expects us to curse God. Job blessed the Lord. Mr. Spafford said “It is Well.” What will your response be when you hit rock bottom?

Not Today Satan

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:1-12 (day seven)

Satan lost from the very beginning of this story (and the beginning of time too). It is evident that a sovereign God knows how this is all going to play out. Why else would He put Job up to this challenge? He knows how it will play out. He knows how Job will react. He knows Satan will lose. Satan thinks that the only reason Job follows God is because of His personal success:

“Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” vs 10

What Satan does not seem to realize (and what we will see over the next 13 weeks) is that the storms of this life often seem to bring us closer to God. When things are going well it becomes easy to take personal credit for the success. You are comfortable in thinking you have control and do not need God, but in the storms, you become dependent on God because you realize you were never in control in the first place. God is in control. Satan lost!

Eschatology

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:11-27 (day seven)

… they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. vs 11

Not much has changed. Two thousand years later and many people are still waiting for the Kingdom of God to appear. There are some who think it is imminent. Especially in recent days because we are “hearing of wars and rumors of wars” (Matt 24:6). Yet, this is not all that different from 2001 or 1941 or any other time in history for that matter. From the dawn of time, peace has not been sustainable. Satan has thrived in conflict and chaos, and he continues to tempt mankind with greed and gluttony of power.

Is it possible that we are in the “great tribulation?” Yes, but the eschatological implications of todays events are irrelevant. Our theological obsessions with timelines often leaves us more like the slave who hid his mina in a handkerchief instead of investing his endowment. It is not spiritually profitable to worry ourselves over when the Kingdom is coming. The Kingdom is coming. Our job is to grow the Kingdom on Earth as much as possible, so that when Christ returns His new Kingdom will be full with those whom we invested in.

Eschatological implications aside, there is a spiritual war that is happening in the world that is surpassing the physical combat. We pray for leaders around the world to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We pray for peace. We pray for Ukraine.

Freedom Weekend

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:9-14 (day seven)

Last night was a first for me in ministry. In our final large group session of the night for Freedom Weekend (our youth discipleship retreat), we had a Vespers service. Every year we designate this service as a time for prayer and reflection. This one was was beautiful. There was movement. There was emotion. Students were praying over one another. Students were praying over adults. The Spirit of God was stirring the hearts of our youth.

This was not all that different from previous Vespers. What made this one different, was after 45 minutes of prayer I got up, dismissed the group, but something strange happened: no one moved a muscle. No one wanted to leave. They were content to sit in the presence and power of the Spirit. It was a taste of heaven, and they were not about to let it slip away.

I share this story for two reasons:

One, God is at work in the lives of our young people. Pray for them as they continue to reflect on what God taught them this weekend. Pray for them as they come down off this mountain and enter back into school routines. Pray that they don’t fall back into old habits. Pray for sustained change.

Two, the same presence and power our students felt this weekend is at work in us and with us at all times. It sometimes takes sweet moments like this for us to truly recognize it, but what if we came into church this morning with the same expectation of awe and wonder? What could happen if we expected to taste heaven?

God > Everything

Re:Verse passage – Luke 16:1-18 (day seven)

You cannot serve God and ___________________.

You fill in the blank. This passage tells us that we cannot serve God and money, but we know it is not just money that becomes our master. What has become your master? Is it money, a hobby, your job/school, a person, your phone, or your schedule as a whole? What is it that competes with God for your time?

It is usually not an intentional choice to put something above God. Rather, it happens over time. It starts as a small sacrifice of God’s time in order to put something “urgent” into the top priority for that day. As we allow these “urgent” requests to pile on, God’s time seems to fall down the list of priorities. Eventually, the “urgent” becomes the master while God becomes secondary. If you do not protect your time with the Master, a new master will manifest itself in His place.

Free Card

Re:Verse passage – Luke 15:11-24 (day seven)

“I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” vs 19

Have you ever played the game Monopoly? There is a card you can acquire called a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. In the game, if you ever end up in jail, you can use the card to get out immediately and continue about the game. Many church attenders treat their faith like this card. Do something you think is really bad? It’s okay, God will forgive you. God’s love has become their “Get Out of Hell Free” card.

Living like that, are you fully appreciating the love of the Father? If you knew His love, you could not just shrug off your sin and go about your life. If you knew His love, sin would break you. What I appreciate most from the parable is that the prodigal is willing to indenture himself as a slave in his father’s household. He wasn’t expecting a “Free” card back to the life he had. He recognized something many of us miss: when you know the love of the Father, you will do anything you can to be near His love.

Relentless Love

Re:Verse passage – Luke 15:1-10 (day seven)

When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. vs 5

God loves you. He loves you so much that He is willing to leave the ninety-nine to chase you when you have gone astray. Some have called this love “reckless.” Though it may seem irrational for the Shepherd to chase after one lost sheep while He has ninety-nine other perfectly safe sheep, it shows that God’s love is definitely not reckless. It is, in fact, relentless.

He loves you so much that He is coming down the mountain (thanks Scott) and picking you up, putting you on His shoulders. God knows that if he puts a leash around your neck or tries to herd you back, you will fight and take your time, lingering in the danger for a little while longer. When you realize you have been lost for far too long, and you surrender to the Shepherd, He puts you on His shoulders! He picks up the pieces of your broken puzzle and fits them back together. He pulls you out of the mess you have gotten yourself trapped in and makes 100% sure that you are safe. He carries you home! Thats relentless love!

Good Things, Bad Priorities

Re:Verse passage – Luke 14:12-24 (day seven)

But they all alike began to make excuses… I have bought a piece of land… I have bought five yoke of oxen… I have married a wife. vs 18-20

The most shocking part of this parable is that the excuses are legit. No one would cancel their honeymoon for a friends party. Nor would people bat an eye if the CEO flew across the country to check on his new factory. These are not bad things. In fact, they are good things, but good things can make for bad priorities.

How many of us do the same thing? How often do we get preoccupied with our everyday life occurrences and inadvertently neglect our spiritual health? We fill our schedule with good things justifying our actions because the things we did were not sinful. However, good things, if they are not Kingdom things, can quickly become an idol. Our priority as followers of Christ should be “What we can do for the Kingdom?” not “Does the Kingdom fit into our schedule this week?”

Manure

Re:Verse passage – Luke 13:1-9 (day seven)

And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. vs 8 ESV

I appreciate the clarity in the ESV’s translation of the fertilizer. It wasn’t some blue “Miracle Grow” that you buy in a bottle from the box store down the street. This was manure: animal feces. If you wanted to create the best growing environment with the best fertilizer, you would have to get your hands dirty as well as deal with a putrid smell, which is likely why this vinedresser waited three years before going this route. Putting forth the effort to cultivate his fruit was inconvenience to him, and he almost waited until it was too late.

Fruit is the by-product of a fertile relationship with Jesus. As the relationship is nurtured, fruit will be produced. Many Christians find the cultivation of that relationship as an inconvenience. They would never admit that, but the reality is shown in the lack of fruit (love, joy, peace etc.). If we are not willing to get down on our hands and knees in prayer and dig into the Word on a regular basis, we can continue to expect a barren tree.