Three Part Harmony

 By Brenda Black

From time to time, I get the privilege of singing three part harmony with a couple of lovely ladies. I admittedly sing the easy part – the melody. They employ their far more advanced musical skills to sort out the tougher tasks, finding complementary notes or writing in a sweet sounding chord. Though my notes are typically the most familiar, their low and high intricacies lend richness and complexity to the song, bringing it to its full potential.

As we practiced this week for a performance, one of my dear friends began to weep during one of our selections. I noticed first her voice had faded, but I was focusing on the sheet music and didn't see the tears until the song ended. God moved her through the music. He longs to fill each of our hearts that same way, with the harmony of Himself. And His arrangement is a beautiful blend of faith, hope and love that Christ sings into our lives.

At our little country church, our spiritual batteries were recharged this week during a revival. Thanks to singing and powerful preaching by my husband, Alan Black, and Bro. Bill Platt of Nevada First Christian Church, the presence of the Lord filled the sanctuary.

While caught up in the music or the moment, it's easy to feel empowered. But when the doors are closed, the music ceases and the preachers shut the Scriptures, the challenge truly begins. For once you've been filled, God expects you to share that power with someone else. He calls us to reach out with faith, hope and love!

We are called to walk out faith daily! How do you remain faithful in a fickle world that waffles, compromises and curses? Do your best in the power of Christ to present truth. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2) Leave no room for doubt where your loyalty lies, to whom you answer for every word and deed, or that you truly love and serve the Lord. Speak of Him out of a pure heart and cling to the cross. Never forget God was faithful to redeem. May we live faithfully grateful and eager to share.

When we are energized, hope is renewed and we must hold out that hope to the world where people settle for less than God's best and believe the sad lies of the enemy. “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, 'He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith.” (Heb. 10:35-38a)

The two are eternally intertwined – faith and hope. And they are incomplete without the final piece: Love! Only because we are filled with Christ are we able to love even when we are hated. Those who are called apart and commissioned to live as light and salt and ministers of the Gospel, will find themselves upside-down and at odds with this world. Christ came to set His people free, not just make them comfortable here on earth. He came to glorify the Father in Heaven, not fit in with the crowd. He died for our sins not that we would continue to condone them, but that we would be saved from them. And once we have tasted and seen such lavish mercy, we can't help but give it away.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

We are called to be in the world, but not of this world. We can convey the faith, hope and love of God because we've known it first-hand even though we must wait to see the beautiful composer face to face. Go share with the lost this perfect three-part remedy. Stay ignited and go touch the world for the sake of the cross and the perfect harmony of God.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)

When the Rope Won't Hold

When the Rope Won't Hold
By Brenda Black

There is a story about a monastery in Europe perched high on a cliff several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who heave and tug with all their strength.

Obviously the ride up the steep cliff in that basket is terrifying. A daring tourist braved the trip one time and got exceedingly nervous about half-way up when he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was quite old and frayed.

With a trembling voice he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope. The monk answered, "Whenever it breaks."

Are you at the end of your rope! Does it look like it won't hold much longer. Can you see the sharp, jagged rocks slicing away each thread of your trusty, once-solid cord. While you fret and grow increasingly hopeless, others seem serenely indifferent, like the monk in the basket. You're each experiencing risk, so what's the difference?

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible...

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:1-3, 6-10)

A monastery on a cliff is not the destination. Beyond the highest apex, on the other side of lofty clouds, heaven waits for the faithful. It's a city not built by human hands and the in-road is not a bouncing, precarious basket ride dangling by a frayed rope. The way to heaven is certainly not easy and there are mountains and valleys and dangers. But the journey's route is well marked by the blood of a Savior who goes ahead and levels the path.

Our trials here drive us onward if we believe such a place exists. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The rope looks strong even if tattered because “what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

When times are filled with strife and sorrow, remember, we are beckoned to a reward -- the promised land -- a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Our permanent dwelling is not in this world, but in the one to come.

When Noah saw rain, he built an ark and saved his family rather than sit on the bank sulking. Abraham had a home, but left it to live in a tent. He could have dug in his heels and ignored God's leading, but he would have sacrificed a great inheritance. In their trials, they tested righteous for their obedience and endurance. And most importantly, they were counted as heirs to the throne of heaven for their faith.

Don't lose faith. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything...Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Hang on! Heaven's coming!