October 8, 2026

Dear Church Family

In the book, “My Utmost For His Highest”, (written after his death in 1917 and constructed from the notes of countless sermons by  evangelist and teacher Oswald Chambers) is the passage, “Put To The Test”.  It reads, “(1 Corinthians 1:2)…. called to be his holy people.”   “Thank God for the sight of all you haven’t yet become.  God has called you to be one of his holy people, you’ve had the vision of what he wants, but you aren’t there yet by any means.  God calls his children to the mountaintop and gives them a vision.  Then he sends then down into the valley of everyday life, the valley where the vision will be put to the test.  It’s in the valley that most of us turn back, because it’s there that we must prove whether or not we’ll be the chosen ones.  We aren’t quite prepared for the blows that must come if we’re going to be turned into the shape of the vision.  Are we willing to be hammered into shape by God’s hand?  The hammering always comes in commonplace ways, through the circumstances and people we encounter in our daily lives.  

There are times when we know God’s purpose for us, times when he’s given us a vision and we see it clearly.  Whether this vision will be turned into actual character depends on us, not on God.  If we prefer to bask in the memory of the vision, we’ll be of no use in the ordinary stuff of human life.  We have to learn to live in reliance on what we saw in the vision – not in ecstasies and conscious contemplation of God, but living our ordinary lives in light of the vision.  We must do this until the vision becomes a reality.  Every bit of the training God is putting us through is leading us to this goal.  Learn to thank God for making his demands known.” //

We are being shaped and formed by the loving hands of the Father, into what He sees for us; how we fit in His grand plan. When we encounter trials, and challenges, and people that push our buttons, can you hear the sound of the hammer in the distance? When we submit to God and His plan for our lives, when we keep our focus on the One True God, we will not resent the situation, the trial, the hammering, but be grateful He is making us more and more into His image. Brings a whole new depth to, “Choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). This was when Joshua had gathered the Israelites regarding their covenant renewal with God. He reminds them of all that God has done (Chapter 24:1-13). Then in verse 14 he admonishes them: “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Are you up for the task? Will you choose His way and will for your life? Only you can decide.