So Much To Be Thankful For

I had a little trouble starting this letter. At first I began with, “Thanksgiving is over,” but that didn’t seem like a good message to send. Then, I tried “The celebration of Thanksgiving has ended.” But that sounded sad, and it also sent a wrong message. Then, I gave it a third attempt with, “The time of year when the people of the United States of America remember and give thanks for all the efforts and sacrifices of those who have come before us has ended.” And though that started out sounding good, it still sent the same wrong message. The truth is, the time for gratefulness and thanksgiving should never come to an end. 
 
I think this is a better way to start: The time of year when we remind ourselves and our nation, that we have so much to be thankful for has come and gone, and now it is time to respond to the reminder.
 
So, how have you responded to our national Thanksgiving reminder?
 
The Bible reminds us to “Give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God.” It was necessary to write this verse because God’s goodness is so consistent that we can take it for granted. 

President Abraham Lincoln also spoke of how people are “prone to forget” and “habitually insensible” when it comes to God’s providence: “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.” 
 
It is a sad reality that we have to remind ourselves to be thankful. But it is true. In today’s world, we have a newly popular word that sums up this ungratefulness. That word is entitled. Entitled means, “feeling that you have the right to do or have what you want without having to work for it.” This describes us well.  We Americans have become an extremely entitled people (and it is not just the millennials— ha ha).
 
So, how does one become entitled? 
The path to entitlement is paved with privilege. Privilege is another word that has become very popular of late. Privilege is, “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.” 

It is a privilege to be alive. It is a privilege to be able to breathe and think and write and read. It is a privilege to be able to eat and sleep and wake up. If you are reading this, you have the distinct privilege of reading a writing of “The David Stockton.” (Just kidding. It is not really a privilege. Most people don’t know about “The David Stockton” and wouldn’t care, even if they did.) The privilege is that you know how to read, you have a working computer, and know how to use it. 

Privilege is everywhere in America. I think that is why so many want to come here. The privileges are worth the price of admission, even though some pay very heavy and risky prices.
 
So, is it wrong to experience privilege?
No way! In Luke 12:29-32, Jesus tells us that our Father in Heaven loves to give us privileges. Here it is in the Message version:
 
“What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
 
Then, how should we feel about all of our privileges?
Glad you asked. Privilege will either make you haughty or humble. Privilege will either make you greedy or generous. Privilege will either make you entitled or grateful. In case you don’t know, you should shoot for grateful, humble and generous. And I do mean shoot for it. In the wind and waves of our society today, there is no way you will reach the humble, generous, and grateful harbor without focus, fight, and the Spirit of God. 
 
So, if you feel humbled, grateful, and have a longing to be generous, you can safely say you have responded well to this year’s national Thanksgiving reminder. If not, let what you've just read be the reminder. Take five minutes right now and be still and silent, humbling yourself before Almighty God. Count your blessings with a grateful heart. And think of some way to be generous, or someone to be generous to.
 
This Sunday we will have a special message about where we have been, where we are headed, and what God is saying to the Living Streams Family today.
 
David

Beauty vs. Ugly

If I was going to come right out and say it without any flowery words, I would say God cares more about what you reflect than how you feel. God created you as a masterpiece to reflect the diverse wonder of His beauty and the majestic goodness of His character. Yes, guys, ha ha, you were made to be beautiful. You can still be strong and manly and tough, but God made you to be more beautiful than a flower. Guys and girls, old and young, dark and light, all were made to reflect the beauty of our Maker.

SO WHERE DID ALL THE UGLINESS COME FROM?

The culprit is a confusing but popular thing called sin. Sin produces less beauty and more ugliness. Since there are myriad ways to sin, there are myriad ways to get smudged, tarnished, broken, and bent. Sin is not just a personal thing, either. Sin has tainted our parents and the entire human race before them. Sin has worked its way into the very fabric of our world. The Bible declares that sin is what brought about that super-bummer thing called death. And no matter how badly we want beauty more than ugliness, or life more than death, for some reason we humans keep sinning. 

Maybe it will help a bit to clear some of the confusion about this thing called sin. According to a guy (worth reading) named Soren Kierkegaard, “Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity apart from God.” So, sin is less about committing bad actions and more about reflecting false images. Why does a person kill someone? Maybe they have bought into the lie that they are not a child of God made to promote and cultivate life rather than to destroy it. Why does a person lie? Maybe they don’t know or believe they are made to reflect God’s character, which is all about truth. 

Whenever we identify with something other than the original design God has made us for, we project a garbled, misshapen image. This is us. Bruised and broken masterpieces that were made for so much more.

Though you may be somewhat bummed or bored at this point, I hope that what you have read so far resonates a bit with your current situation. If so, check this out:

Romans 8:29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Jesus. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

Another way to put this is, God wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. Jesus showed us the correct image of humanity. Jesus was the exact radiance of God the Father in human form. And what did Jesus look like? (This is big, so please don’t miss this.) Jesus declared of Himself that, He was meek and lowly, humble in heart.

Wow, bet that surprised you. I know it is a surprise to me. When God in human form described what He is like, He did not say, “I am awesome, rad, super strong, and real good at stuff.” Though God is all those things, He wanted humanity to know that the original design He had and still has for us is…humility. I think humility is best described as being grateful and generous. Grateful to God for all He has given, whether it is a lot or a little. Generous in our giving to others because God has been so generous with us.

If our government leaders, popular entertainers, moms and dads, and 20-year olds would surrender to God’s love and clothe themselves with humility, we would see our society increase in beauty and decrease in ugliness. That is what I am praying for.

This Sunday we will dig deep into Jonah 3 and see a whole city clothe themselves in humility—from the king all the way down to the animals. Lord, let it happen in our time and our day.

David

Wow. What a Week.

In the last two months we have averaged over 800 people attending our Sunday morning services, and almost 350 people attending our Wednesday night Fam Nights. This week about 400 people attended a job fair on our campus, and around 800 came to a Fall Festival on our lawn. At each of these events we have done our best to Put God’s Glory on Display, Build Courageous People, and Engage In Society’s Pain. 

Though having large crowds is not really one of our top priorities, we are thankful that God has seen fit to allow us to rub shoulders with all of these people. We are praying that there would be a powerful, lingering effect to the compassion and care they experienced while with us; and that the lingering would lead to a genuine desire to know and follow Jesus, who loves them more thoroughly than they could ever imagine.

Thanks to all those who helped cook and clean and host and help with all the recent happenings around here. Jesus never forgets anything that has been done for Him. He even told His disciples that if they gave a cup of cold water to a young boy in His name, they would receive a great reward. If Jesus was that excited about a cup of cold water, I can only imagine the reward going to the young man I saw handing out hundreds of snow cones last night. 

We will see you this Sunday for another time of inspiration and edification, as we hear God’s word and spend time in His vivifying Spirit.

David

Falling Winter

I hope you are having a great week and feeling a sense of joy and wonder at the imminence of the winter season. But in case you are not, I thought I would share a poem I wrote as I spent time with Jesus a few nights ago.

Falling winter has set in
All brightness and color have gone dim 
Daylight has been limited 
It’s time for darkness to win

Warmth and brightness have gone away
Shrouded by dullness and grey
Cold and damp have taken the floor 
With many monotone things to say

Feelings of drifting and sinking 
Mingled with losing and leaving
The weary heart keeps pulling 
The mind into dark grieving

Or maybe it’s the racing mind’s heavy thoughts 
Causing the heart a great peeving

Jesus, please be there when I reach the bottom
Please be there when I’m at the bottom

I hope you find some time today to be alone and quiet before your Maker so He can show you what is in your heart and show you the beauty that is in His.

If you would like to read another poem written by a person feeling not-so-happy type feelings, check out Jonah 2. 

David

Hollow and Shallow

There is no catalyst for behavior correction like a police car pulling up behind your car. Bam. We all put on our brakes, whether we’re going the speed limit or not. We all fasten our seat belts quickly, whether they're already fastened or not. And we all put away our phones, because we know it’s not very safe to drive while using a cell phone.

Similarly, there is a catalyst in the Bible that causes all kinds of behavior reactions. That catalyst is The Word of the Lord. The Bible often begins an amazing or awful story of human behavior with, The Word of the Lord came to…. For Abraham, the Word of the Lord came when he was living in his father’s house in a land called Ur. What follows is the majority of the book of Genesis and, in reality, the rest of the Bible. For Moses, he was minding his own business, taking care of his father-in-law‘s sheep, when a burning bush spoke the word of the Lord to him. 

This Sunday we’re going to begin a new series on the book of Jonah, which is a wild story that begins with the phrase, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” 

The more I hear about the increase in suicides, mental health medications, drugs and alcohol abuse, and the decay of the family unit, the more I long to know what Creator God has to say. It seems that much of the world these days is in an exhausting and unfulfilling striving. Instead of producing good, the striving leaves the striver with a hollow sense of identity and fulfillment. And instead of helping, the striving seems to produce a shallow impact on their loved ones and the world’s problems. 

My prayer for you today, and as we go through this little, funny book of the Bible, is that you would become more aware of the word of the Lord that has already been spoken to you and over you. That you would be able to take a good assessment of where you are in relation to the word of the Lord spoken to you and over you. Jonah is not a very good example for us; but his example makes us all feel better about the patience and persistence of the God of the Bible—the God who wants to lead you to a fulfilling and impactful existence of peace and joy.

As Thomas Merton puts it, “There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, and my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If I find Him, I will find myself, and if I find my true self, I will find Him.” It is the word of the Lord that is wanting to lead us into the discovery of who He is and who we are.

Keep Looking for the Image of God

Last Monday night, my super rad wife and I went to Brophy College Preparatory to listen to one of my super rad wife’s heroes speak on the topic “Theology in the City.” I know that probably sounds super boring, but stick with me a bit longer and it will get less bland. The hero speaker’s name is Greg Boyle and he is a Jesuit Priest, author of a best selling book entitled, Tattoos on the Heart, and a friend, mentor, and confidant to countless gang bangers in south central LA. Yep, gang bangers.

He is an interesting speaker on topics such as Theology in the City, because he is a polished, white-haired, white-bearded, white-skinned, celebate priest, who has lived and moved and had his being in one of the most gang-saturated neighborhoods in America. He came to his Brophy presentation with two “homies” by his side. One homie had short hair and Latino skin, the other had black dreds and black skin. They all live in the same neighborhood and work at the same place called Homeboy Industries, which Father Greg founded. (It’s worth checking out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrt0eXsUyN8) 

Father Greg is deeply schooled in the compassion of our Lord Jesus and possesses a vast array of memorized philosophical and theological writings. With artistic and tasteful words, he spoke to us out of his intriguing kinship interactions with deeply scarred gang members over the last 30 years. (He also used choice curse words because of the “hood” context he lives in, and I think, because he enjoyed seeing some people squirm a bit.)

The two homies who spoke prior to Father Greg were young men who have been deeply schooled in the cruelty of humanity. They shared a vast array of painful images and memories, opening us up to a world of family pain and tortuous identity crises that many of us have never experienced. They spoke in a toned down version of their neighborhood speech. They spoke with candor and brief moments of uncertainty. They spoke to us about their refreshing and emboldening interactions with the kinship Father Greg offers them at Homeboy Industries,and with kinship offered by the deeply scarred savior, Jesus the Christ.

In all, Father Greg’s words were beautiful, the example of kinship the three men displayed was beautiful, and the honest and hopeful sentiments the homies expressed were beautiful. I wrote down a few notes from the night:

• “The highest form of spiritual maturity is tenderness.” 

• “We need not see our service as helping anyone. It is our kinship that helps.” 

And my favorite of the night was:

• “We don’t go to the margins to make a difference. We go to the margins to be made different.” 

There is a form of kinship described in John 17 that defies all prior definitions of the word kinship. In John 17, Jesus, the God man, prays to His Father that we may be one with Him just as He is one with the Father. The kinship Jesus is praying for is not based on family, blood, neighborhood, or ethnicity traits. This John 17 kinship is based on the image of God that abides in God, obviously, and abides in us, surprisingly.

To take it one powerful and necessary step further, the John 17 kinship is not just between us and God. It also deals with us and us. The kinship Jesus is praying for is possible and commanded by God because God placed His image in every single human being that has ever lived. So, our oneness, or kinship, with each other is just as important to God as our oneness, or kinship with each other. The two go hand in hand. That is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “love God,” but the second is just like the first one, to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” 

Currently our society seems to be pulsing with a fear of the other. It is like when we look through the window we are afraid of others and when we look in the mirror we are ashamed of ourselves. We have lost sight of the beautiful image of God that is in everyone else, and in us, as well. We may notice the pretty or ugly, young or old, light or dark skin of someone else before we notice the image of God; but if we keep looking, we will always find it.

Next time you are in a crowded room, go ahead and look around. Look to see what God has done. Notice the creativity and craftsmanship. And remember what the apostle John said, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.”

David

Can You Feel the Joy?

I am so proud of our Living Streams family. I know we are not the biggest, hippest, or even best church in town. But my heart wells up with steady joy as I see us step further into our potential. 

In the past few months, I have watched us excel in the Apostle’s Doctrine, the breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer. The same four things the extremely powerful and impactful first church devoted themselves to (Acts 2:42).

Our attendance has grown in our Sunday morning services where we have been diving into the Bible and learning why Christians do what they do (Apostle’s Doctrine). We were able to give close to $15,000 to relief efforts for the hurricanes and earthquakes that took place this summer, and we did it without taking a special offering because of the faithful tithing and giving of our church family (breaking of bread). We had over five hundred people register and over four hundred show up to our Wednesday Night Fam Nights to spend time together and grow stronger in different areas of our lives (fellowship). And we have seen an increase in everyone’s engagement during the singing and praying times in our services (prayer). Can you feel the same steady joy rising in your heart? Are you hungry to see us discover more of our God given potential? I know I am. 

This Sunday we continue our Why We Do series. Our world is topsy-turvy with all the natural disasters and human depravity we have seen this summer. We, the people called to be salt and light, need to take up our position as peacemakers. Please join us and keep pushing further into your God given potential, so this broken world can see what Jesus can do with broken things.

Grace and peace to you,

David

Overcome Evil with Good

Today is the third day since we saw an intense display of violent evil in Las Vegas. This is another grotesque, infuriating, and heart-wrenching act in human history which is riddled with war and hate. It has left all of us feeling a combination of fiery rage and lurking insecurity, mingled with intense empathy and ignited compassion.

No matter how sophisticated or technologically advanced we become, evil lives on among us. What sin produces is both sickening and sad. It is no wonder Jesus had to go through such a brutal crucifixion in His payment for our sins. Sin is deadly and God is deadly serious about sin. Make no mistake, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The Bible makes it very clear that the minute after that man shot himself is the same minute he found himself standing before the Almighty God, who judges both the living and the dead. God alone knows how to handle evil.

My prayer is that the horror of this event will not leave the good people in our world disheartened and discouraged. I pray that those of us who know the goodness of God revealed in Jesus Christ, and who are empowered by the Spirit of God, will ratchet up our resolve to not be overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good. The fruits of the Spirit of God, who dwells in us, are love, joy, peace, kindness, meekness, patience and self-control. We need to be champions of these things, promoting these things, pursuing and seeking these things in every facet of our lives. 

And we must always remember that, though it often seems we can only do a little, a lot of people doing a little equals a lot. 

David

Why Do We Preach?

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
1 Corinthians 9:16

I remember the first time I preached a sermon. I was 17 years old. I was in something called The School of Ministry at Applegate Christian Fellowship. I was one of twenty young men living in a four bedroom house on the church property in Southern Oregon. At the house, we lived together, had Bible classes, and, two days a week, we would learn a trade. 

One of the classes taught us how to study the Bible, and how to communicate the Bible. Each one of us was given a seven-minute slot to preach a sermon. Some of the guys had gone before me and had done pretty well. Others did not do so well. Now it was my turn, and my passage was Psalm 19. I don't remember being very nervous, but I was very unsure about how it would go. I had set my expectations nice and low so I couldn't be disappointed. 

The room fell quiet and I opened up my Bible, reading Psalm 19. I paused after a few verses and shared some commentary-type thoughts about those verses. It seemed to go pretty well. I was having fun. Everyone in the room was laughing and enjoying themselves. When I got done with the verses of Psalm 19 it been about five or six minutes and things had gone well. Because things had gone well, I thought I should keep going. Even though I had not read or studied Psalm 20 I went for it. After reading the first few verses, I had no idea what to say and when I looked around the room I saw everyone else knew I had no idea what to say. I smiled and said, “Let's pray.” At that, everyone erupted it into laughter.

And that was the first sermon I preached.

This Sunday will be what seems like my one millionth sermon. And it will be on the topic of why preaching is so important to Christians. It does not just apply to pastors or Bible teachers. Preaching is a task God has asked all of us to participate in. 

Shout to the north and the south. Sing to the east and the west. Jesus is Savior to all. The Lord of heaven and earth. (Martin Smith)

David

A Marvelous Creation of God

Hundreds of people gathered around food-filled tables—smiling, laughing, getting to know each other, and talking about life. Kids running around the same tables, also smiling, laughing and getting to know each other, but talking about absolutely nothing. Just outside, people were gathered around the playground, talking, doing the same things. At one point, an impromptu football game broke out. It was an evening of pure Fam Night glory.

Then. after an hour of all that, the children went up to their classes, the junior high and high school students went to their groups. and the adults filed into three different classes—each prayerfully prepared to equip and encourage people in a specific stage of their life. It was wonderful. 

I apologize to all those who tried to register on Wednesday after we had closed registration. But after we broke 500, we felt the need to close it down to ensure we had enough food for everyone. Thank you very much to all those who participated in both enjoying the night and making the night possible. And remember, we still have five more Fam Nights to go. Woo hoo!

This Sunday we will continue with our Why We Do series. I will be preaching about singing and music in the Bible, church history, and today. To prepare you, I thought I would share this quote by the reformer (and at times hilarious) Martin Luther: 

"I, Doctor Martin Luther, wish all lovers of the unshackled art of music, grace and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ!

I truly desire that all Christians would love and regard as worthy the lovely gift of music, which is a precious, worthy, and costly treasure given to mankind by God.

A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs."

By His grace and for His glory,

David

September. Finally!

Ahhh September. Cooler weather. (I wrote cooler, not cold.) College football. (Yes, I like college better than pro.) And best of all, my birthday. Also, for those of us living in Phoenix it's a huge sign of achievement to see that calendar flip from August to September. It means we have survived another dried up, burned out, crispy, triple-digit-temperature, desert summer.  

For our Living Streams family, September means we are out of the wild and heavy apocalyptic book of Daniel, and are moving forward into a series of simple, fresh, and courageous teachings on why we Christians do what we do. The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9 that Christians are a peculiar people. He does not say this in a derogatory way, but he acknowledges the uniqueness that faith in Christ creates.

Christianity has a long, rich history of being peculiar. Jesus Himself was quite the controversial and confounding individual as He walked in our world. Yet, with each step He took, He lit the dark. In the next couple of months, we will be looking at why Christians are so obsessed with gathering people together, giving generously, serving the poor, and other such topics. 

In addition to that, we, the staff at Living Streams, have cooked up something that we are calling Fam nights. It's six Wednesday evenings starting September 20 and ending October 25. We're asking everybody to come together for a meal at 6 PM. Then, we’ll dismiss everyone to drop the kids off, if they have them, at the souped up children's and youth programs, and then head to an engaging class.

We will have three great classes:

• One is a parenting class with Dr. Don and Renee Worcester. They'll be dealing with relationships, marriage, children, and family. Yep, life’s most important stuff.

• Second, we'll have a class that will be teach how to engage with God and people in every different stage of life. Mark Buckley will be teaching this class with help from Joel Fritz. We are hoping to see Jesus do some great things as multiple generations come together in this class of all ages.

• The third class will be taught by David Stockton. In this class we’ll discuss questions like who is God? What is faith? What is the church? And where do I fit into all of those big things?

All three classes will be rich, and you'll be really glad you came. You can let us know you're coming and register for your class below.

All God’s best to you and yours,

David

Pray for Houston

As all of us are thinking and praying about our brothers and sisters in Houston, the turmoil and exhaustion that has poured down on them will take a long time to recover from. But our generous prayer, gifts and volunteering support will help ease the burden.

Here are a few links where you can help:

Samaritan's Purse

World Vision Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief

And below is a poem that Steven Lufkin wrote, as he thought on Houston's overwhelming storm:

Fall fifty inches    
Fall down 
You may bury our families
And bury this town 
But you could never 
Send enough water 
To wash the faith 
Inside of me out

Fall fifty inches 
Fall down 
You may steal everything 
Yesterday held 
But the sky could never bleed
So long that It drowns 
This faith 
Inside of me out

Fall fifty inches 
Fall down 
Decorate every street
With a flood on the ground
But the tragedy you bring 
Will never have the strength 
To tear this faith 
Inside of me out

Fall fifty inches
Fall down 
You may ransack our 
Comfortable places and howl at the moon 
But you know, 
Theres a faith in my heart 
Giving me light when everything's dark 

Fall fifty inches
Fall down 
Lying within a stadium of sounds
Echoing voices, people all around
I look to the face 
I look to the crown

Peace,

David

Provocative and Escalating Rhetoric

Once again, we had 500 men come together and fill up Young Life's Lost Canyon camp. Once again, we had 500 men of different ethnicities, cultures, economic statuses, age, and denominational and political affiliations. All 500 men were united in one place with one heart and one voice, giving honor to Jesus the King above all kings.

Once again, all of those guys put their hands on each other's shoulders and said heartfelt prayers of blessing and compassion. And to be honest, it was not really that hard. In fact, it was a lot of fun, and it was inspiring to see this oneness against the backdrop of all the tension in our society these days. 

As a result of this men's retreat inspiration, we, the male and female pastors of Living Streams, got in our church van and went downtown to sow seeds of peace and kindness prior to President Trump's speech at the convention center. We went to a church located near the convention center and prayed for them and their people. We prayed for a security guard and also a police officer, who admitted he was feeling very anxious about the evening. We listened to some passionate and polite protesters, and then we departed with a sense of hope. 

I do not write this to discourage passionate engagement in social justice issues. There is real pain and evil in our society. (Please engage in society's pain!) But I write this to counteract the provocative and escalating rhetoric out there. I write this to remind us that there are a lot of good people doing a good job out there today.

And I write this because of my study into Jesus' life as He encountered intense political tension in Matthew 14:1-14. His first action was to withdraw to a quiet place. Then, His second action was to go on the offensive with kindness and compassion, instead of inciting words and condescension. Please read the passage, at least Matthew 14:11-14.

Please join us a this Sunday as we finish our study on Daniel, a man who navigated a world of extreme political pressures in a beautiful and powerful way. 

Some Big Questions

This Sunday, we will dive into a very deep and detailed chapter of prophetic literature. This chapter forces us to deal with questions like:

• Where did evil come from?

• How could a good God allow war and pain and evil?

• Is there a devil?

So...really light and fluffy topics. (ha ha)

What I love about the Bible is that it does not ignore or bypass the harsh realities of life. In fact, the Bible actually consistently ventures into the messy aspects of humanity, and gives us a glimpse of where God is—and where He is not. Daniel 11 is no exception. Daniel is told by an angelic messenger that war is coming. 

My question is this: If God knows there are wars coming, why doesn't He stop them? If God is able to tell an old man like Daniel so specifically what horrible war will take place, why does He then allow it to happen? 

I do not have any nice, clean, happy answers. Those are some big questions. But I do know the Bible, and Jesus’ example teaches us that, sometimes, the most godly thing a Christian can do is to endure well. 

Please join us this Sunday as we wrestle with God, and pain, and evil, in the wake of the hate-filled tragedy of the Charlottesville protests.

David

Check it Out

This is my weekly message to the Living Streams Family, but my hope is that it will be so much more.

Each week I hope these messages bring you clarity, and understanding to cut through the current cloud of confusion that is causing your path to be unclear and uncertain.

I hope these messages cause comfort and joy to well up inside you as the words wash over your weary soul. And I hope that you find godly guidance for the demanding decisions you are presently pondering.

Like I normally do, I could write about my hopefully-relevant-current-event-thoughts in preparation for our upcoming Sunday morning teaching. But I found an article written by someone else that accomplishes that for me. Some may call this cheating, but this week I don’t care. I’m seriously excited about introducing you to a vast library of articles, sermons, and messages that are sure to bring you sound Biblical understanding, comfort, joy, and guidance.

The resource center is found at desiringgod.org. The specific article I want you to check out is about spiritual warfare and it is found at http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-war-we-need.

And just in case you don’t, this is a line from the article:

“Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for.” John Piper 

See you Sunday,

David

The Final Word

I asked Joel to write my blog post this week while I’m on vacation: —David

Last week I was in my kitchen as I heard my 8-year-old daughter clanging out something on my electric guitar. It was music to my ears as she sang her heart out. As I tuned in I heard, “Trust in your heart and your sun shines forever and ever.”

When she stopped for a second I asked her, “What song is that?”

She answered, “It’s from Cinderella.”

(Now, I don’t know if you’ve seen the recent Cinderella release, but, in my opinion, it was pretty good. Which is great news for a dad of three girls whose world is filled with princess movies!) 

I quickly grabbed the opportunity to help my daughter think about the lyrics of this song and its message by asking her if she thought it was good to trust in your heart. Her answer was amazing. She said, “Yes. Because Jesus lives in my heart!” 

Woooooohooooooo! A win! Something my wife and I have been saying actually got through! This felt like a real miracle and maybe I should have just walked away and enjoyed it, but I kept going. I began digging to see if she understood if our hearts are trustworthy if Jesus is not leading them. I don’t know if she fully tracked with the whole conversation, but somewhere in there I mentioned the verse Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” 

"Whoa!" You might say. "Slow down! That’s a pretty strong thing to say to a kid who’s just singing a cute song!” 

Yeah, it is. But there is a message in our society today that is getting a lot of play right now: Trust your heart! It will lead you to happiness and fulfillment. 

I don’t know what your experiences are, but I have learned that, when I trust my heart, it never leads me into happiness and fulfillment. It leads me right into trouble. My heart leads me into trusting myself and thinking I am able to do really great things on my own. My heart will seek pleasure even if it means hurting people I love to get it. On its own, my heart will lead me to ignore the needs of people around me and always think about what I want. I have learned that to trust in my heart is dangerous business for me and everyone close to me. 

A really long time ago, just about everyone in Israel followed their hearts right into exile, despite many years of warnings from the Lord through people like the prophet Jeremiah. After nearly seventy years of captivity and pain, all hope seemed lost for them. Nevertheless, one man, Daniel, picked up the Bible, and on its pages found forgotten dreams, and he believed the faint whispers of his fathers the Prophets. Rejecting the reality of his current circumstances and bad luck, he kneeled and asked the God of a destitute and barren city and temple to show all the kingdoms of the earth just who it is that will always have the final word.
             
Come to Living Streams this Sunday, as Daniel chapter 9 reminds us that, regardless of our circumstances, for those who trust in God, our best days are ahead.
 
Joel Fritz

Lessons from Messy Miracles

I am looking forward to sharing a message this Sunday at Living Streams called, “Lessons from Messy Miracles.”

Over the years our family has experienced a couple of miracles which were not only transforming for the person who received them, but they were transforming for our family and friends who witnessed God’s grace and power up close. We had one of those miracles a couple of weeks ago when Kristina emerged from major heart failure and oxygen deprivation by the grace of God.  As you may know, we have also had times of great grief and sorrow over the years. Miracles do not occur because we follow a spiritual formula, or happen to be loved by God more than others. Miracles occur as a gift from the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I want everyone at Living Streams to be in a position to both receive miracles from the Lord, and also to receive the redemption that comes from faithfully following Jesus as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This won’t be a light message, but I believe it will help you personally, and equip you so you can help others at critical times in their lives.

Thanks again for all of you who have prayed for Kristina and me over the last few weeks. Kristina is home and gaining strength every day.

We love you, Living Streams. God bless you!

—Mark Buckley

Like a Boomerang

My daughters have a new favorite song right now called “Boomerang.” (It is a little embarrassing to admit that I know the song, because a 15 year-old punk rock girl named Jo Jo sings it.)  There is a line repeated in the song that says, “I don't really care what they may say, I’mma come back like a Boomerang.”

When I returned home after visiting an awake, lucid, and 100% herself Kristina Buckley in the hospital, this song was blaring. As I heard that line, I immediately smiled deeply and thought, “This is Kristina’s new theme song.” 
 
For three days I heard doctors, nurses, family members, and my own mind say that Kristina’s life was over. Her heart stopped two different times and there was no chance her brain could have received enough oxygen during the 16-minute and then 8-minute periods of CPR. Even if she did make it, her mind would not.

The grieving process had already begun in our souls. However, somewhere during those horrific moments of CPR, Kristina and Jesus decided it was not over. They decided it was time for her to come back like a boomerang.

I know God’s goodness doesn't hang in the balance of whether we get the things that we want or not; but I'm thankful that there are moments in this convoluted life when His goodnes is displayed with miraculous provision and glorious comeback stories.

Last Sunday I was approached by three different doctors in our church who told me that there is no way for a person to have normal brain function after 16 minutes of CPR without an absolute, bona fide miracle. Once again the words ring true of Kristina’s story, “I don't really care what they may say, Imma come back like a boomerang.”
 
So, today I am rejoicing. Kristina is not out of the hospital, and she's definitely not out of woods, so to speak. There are still a few things that need to be done in order for her heart to be stable enough to go home and begin her new stage of life. So, please keep praying.

I know we don’t always get comeback stories in this life, but the promise of Acts 3:21 is that, at the appointed time, Jesus Himself is going to usher in the greatest comeback story the world has ever known: the time when Jesus restores everything. Jesus came back from the grave and He promised to come back from heaven to right every wrong.
 
This Sunday join us as we look at Daniel 8 and see more visions, in order to gain more understanding, in order to be filled with more hope.
 
David
 
For those of you who don’t know who Kristina is or aren’t aware of what she is going through, you can get filled in here if you like.

A Miracle of Mercy

 I’m on vacation this week. Mark will be preaching, so I’ve asked him to write the blog post. — David

My wife, Kristina, has had heart troubles since she had untreated strep throat, Asian flu, pneumonia and scarlet fever as a child. These illnesses left her with myocarditis and pericarditis. Her parents were alcoholics, and Kristina and her younger brother, Kirk, were often neglected. She was told by her doctors to never have children because her damaged heart wouldn’t be able to take the strain of childbirth. I’m glad she didn’t make this clear to me until after the last of our four children was born.

 Kristina has lived with arrhythmia, which has often made her heart race. It didn’t stop her from hunting, fishing, hiking, and working hard. But her weak heart causes shortness of breath, and swollen ankles due to poor circulation. For many years she has treated the arrhythmia with medication and has undergone two ablations to reroute the electrical circuits of her heart. After an ablation in April for Atrial Fibrillation (Afib), her cardiologist told us her heart was damaged with scarring similar to someone in their 80’s. Weeks after the ablation, her heart would race 150 -170 beats per minute for hours, even when she was resting. This left her exhausted. She had several visits to the ER where they would shock her heart back into rhythm.

 In early July, Kristina and I were on a ministry and family trip to California when her heart started racing again. She decided to fly home on Sunday morning, July 2, with our son Philip. I was scheduled to preach that morning, and Kristina didn’t want me to accompany her. Neither of us realized what was going to happen. 

She and Philip arrived in Phoenix and went to the ER at Good Samaritan Hospital, where they shocked her heart in an attempt to get it back into proper rhythm. This procedure has helped her in the past, but this time, it only worked for a couple of hours.  

Since her heart continued to race, the cardiologist put her on a new medication which is supposed to be safe for 98% of patients.  Four hours after they gave her the medication, she flatlined at 2:00 am. Her heart stopped completely. The hospital called a code blue and twenty doctors and technicians rushed into her room. They pounded on her chest for the next sixteen minutes until her heart started again. Moments later, she flatlined again for eight minutes.

She regained consciousness around noon on July 4. Our kids whispered words of encouragement to her, but then her heart failed again. The trauma team pounded on her once again. The blood from her earlier cardiac arrests had pooled in her lungs and now shot up out of her, covering the RN giving her compressions, creating a dramatic, hopeless scene. Her heart started up after three minutes, but it was so weak, it wasn’t circulating much oxygen for the next forty-five minutes. They put her into a medically induced coma to try to save her.

That night, one of the doctors explained to our daughter Kelly, that if Kristina survived, she would be severely brain damaged because of the prolonged oxygen deprivation from these episodes. 

Kristina looked like a corpse. I was crushed seeing my dear wife near death. Our Living Streams Church and many of our friends around the country began to pray for her in earnest. 

Kristina has been a great wife, mother and woman of God. As often as possible, she does medical missions to Mexico and Honduras. She leads a group ministering to young women, encouraging them in their marriages, work, parenting, and faith. She is the IT Manager for our church and works with our children’s ministry. She makes quilts and catheter bag covers for Hospice of the Valley. She knits baby hats for a hospital in Kenya and Young Lives in Phoenix. She makes pillow cases for foster kids.

In the midst of this situation, during a time when I was deeply destressed, I opened my Bible and was reading Matthew 21:22, If you believe, you will receive anything you ask for in prayer. It seemed like the Holy Spirit lit up the verse. I had been praying a lot, but I sensed I was being given a prodding by the Lord to expect my prayers to be answered. I was in a battle. My mind was telling me the situation was bleak. Now the Lord was telling me to ask and believe. I began to pray for her with renewed faith.

Our family gathered around her bedside early Wednesday morning. We cried out to God for a miracle of mercy. The doctors were trying to bring Kristina out of the induced coma to assess her brain function. It was supposed to take an hour or so to revive her. One hour passed, then another, and another, with no movement from Kristina. She was on life support, and it seemed like she must have serious brain damage. Finally, after four and a half hours, she opened her eyes. I was weeping as she squeezed our hands and wiggled her feet. She couldn’t talk because of her breathing tube, but she could understand us.

 The next day, she regained more strength and her pain medicine was reduced. A cardiologist came into her hospital room to discuss giving her a pacemaker. She was able to hold a pen, and she scrawled, “Cannn I shoott?”

 I thought she was delusional. In her medicated, damaged, brain fog, she must have thought she was on a hunting trip and wanted to know if she could fire her gun. Fortunately, the doctor figured out her question. “Do you want to know if we can put the pacemaker on the side of your heart so you can still shoot your gun?”

 In spite of multiple tubes going into her mouth, nose and body, she nodded “Yes.”

 He told her they could put it on whatever side she wanted.

 That was when I realized her brain was functioning just fine. It was only her priorities that needed adjustment.

 A few days later, she had surgery, and they gave her a defibrillator with a pacemaker. Our children, Philip, Kelly and Kathryn, have been sitting at Kristina’s bedside day and night to comfort her in the hospital. There have been setbacks, and many tears shed by all of us. Still, she continues to recover slowly by the grace of God.

 We want to thank all of you who have prayed for Kristina, and our family. I’ve been so upset at times, I’ve needed to be carried by the intercession of my friends. We are blessed by our wonderful friends.

 We have experienced the goodness of God in the land of the living. A messy miracle of mercy.

Mark Buckley

Please Continue to Pray

At 2:30 a.m. on the Fourth of July, my cell phone rang and I didn't answer it. I wondered who would be calling me at that time, and what the problem could've been; but I fell back asleep. At about 7:30 a.m., my wife woke me up and told me that Kristina Buckley's heart had stopped for about 15 minutes before the doctors and nurses could get it beating again. I rushed to the hospital to be with the family.

Kristina Buckley is the wife of Living Streams' founding pastor, Mark Buckley. Kristina has invested 33 years into building up the Living Streams Church family. She is a true servant and loves to help people in their time of need. She is a medical missionary everywhere she goes, but particularly in Honduras and Rocky Point. She is a faithful wife and a devoted mother. 

When I showed up at the hospital, Kristina's three living children were at her bedside, loving her, praying for her, and processing deep sorrow. They filled me in on what was happening, and said they were waiting for some medicine to help stabilize her heart. At about noon, Kristina's heart stopped again. This time it was only stopped for five minutes before the doctors and nurses got it beating again. And it was another devastating blow to our already wounded hearts. 

Quickly, the team of doctors decided to put in a temporary pacemaker. With the wonders of modern medicine it only took them about a half hour to put it in the lower section of her heart. This was the first drop of good news in the rising pool of sorrow. After this procedure, her heart remained stable all through the night.

On July 5th, the doctors decided to try and wake Kristina up to see if her brain had suffered from the two times her heart stopped. It was a very nerve-racking few hours, waiting to see if Kristina could wake up. To everyone's shock and delight, she woke up. She was able to squeeze people's hands on command and answer certain questions with a nod or blink—all signs of strong brain function. It was a great day and a holy moment.

Today is July 6th and the hope is to see her get off of the ventilator and start breathing on her own. There are still questions about what the permanent solution is for her heart, since the pacemaker they put in is temporary. And we are still praying that her brain would have full function.

Thank you very much to everyone who has been praying, to everyone who has been commenting on the Living Streams Facebook page, and for all those who joined us last night at the prayer service. 

This Sunday we will gather together and look at Daniel 7, which speaks about a future and a hope. Mark Buckley is planning to come and share for a few minutes about his wife, Kristina's situation.

The peace and joy of Christ to you and yours, 
 
David