Lemonade in the Desert

Lately I've been following a number of blogs (mostly on SBC affiliated sites) that have stressed the need to maintain a position of separation from groups who do not hold to orthodox Christian beliefs. And if not separation, then certainly at least a healthy suspician! The Bible certainly warns Christians to expose heresy and to avoid fellowship with it.

Sometimes in our zeal to stay untainted by heresy, however, we lose our balance--avoiding fellowship with any church that does not agree with our understanding of Scripture. Today I had the opportunity to step outside the box and to visit another local church.

It was not my idea.

God, in His Sovereignty, stopped up the water supply at the building where Living Hope Bible Church meets each week. How we depend on water! When it became apparent that the problem wouldn't be fixed before Monday, it was evident that our Sunday service would have to be canceled. It was also evident that my husband would not be required to preach a sermon, as he does nearly every week. So...When God hands you a lemon, make lemonade!

That was what brought us to the 1st Presbyterian Church in Oostburg this morning.

Although we have lived in this community for most of our lives, we'd never worshiped with the Presbyterians, although we have close ties with many folks in that church. And, although we don't agree on some doctrinal issues, God gave us a "lemonade" opportunity to enjoy warm fellowship on a cold day (-16° here this morning). We thoroughly enjoyed singing the old hymns of our mutual faith. We appreciated the strong missions emphasis (and we do financially support several of the same missionaries). We appreciated the welcoming handshakes and were made to feel right at home. And we were blessed by Pastor Jim DeCamp's message about God's strength in the midst of our weakness (timely, since I'm teaching a Bible study on that topic tomorrow!).

When the Israelites had no water in the wilderness, God told Moses to strike the rock...and He provided water. When we had no water...He provided lemonade.