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Darkness Dispelled

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In the darkest of nights
And the brightest of days,

God is at work all the while.

No candle He needs,
No fumbling about,

Though murky and deep be the trial.

For God is light,
So where He is
The way stands clear and sure.

We yet perceive darkness
As we struggle with sin,

But God’s view of things is most pure.

Light chases darkness until it is gone,
Dispelling confusion and fear.

In an instant,
A beam cuts through shadowy night,
And suddenly things become clear.

In a moment,
Jesus charges through all time and space,
And swiftly our answers are near.

Is There a Place for Rote Learning? (A Biblical Perspective)

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In God’s scheme of things, there exists unity in diversity. He has created the entire universe – full of seemingly limitless components – but is directing everything via His Word to His, purposeful end. Although creation consists of many parts, they all work together to form a habitable place for the culmination of God’s creation, human beings.

When I ponder the atomic structure underlying material things, I am amazed at the “complicated simplicity” of it all. The electrons are whizzing around the protons and neutrons in such a mysterious, yet reliable way. They are – to our current knowledge – quite foundational in the structure of things as amazingly diverse as computer chips to butterfly wings. God is certainly foundational; He has formed all things – material and immaterial – out of nothing by His Word. God is also elaborate; the details of His plan are beyond our intellect or imagination.

We in the educational community will do well to take note of God’s plan. Rote learning has often been frowned upon, as if there is no place for it in reputable educational processes. Rote learning’s emphasis is on memorization through repetition. Many experts today see this process as boring and not particularly motivating. However, without great amounts of repetitive work, you could not be reading this article. At some point in time, you dedicated (willingly or quite unwillingly) large portions of time to committing the alphabet to memory. When it comes to letters and punctuation and grammar, your rote learning has resulted in an elaborate ability to read and interpret massive amounts of complicated material. Foundational learning certainly has its place, whether it is viewed as glamorous or not.

My defense of rote learning notwithstanding, God is all about diversity. Whether we observe creation or note God’s plan for the distribution of spiritual gifts and inborn talents (Matthew 25:15, Romans 12:6-6, and I Corinthians 12:4,11), we clearly see that our Creator enjoys variety. This Biblical principle of heterogeneity applies to educational paradigms as well. As reliable educators, we must acknowledge different learning styles even as we build upon a foundation of rote learning.

For example, it is vital that young students learn to spell. Instead of limiting the rote learning part of the task to simply writing the words ten times each, we can acknowledge various learning styles by allowing students to choose from a number of methods of practice. A stellar example is given in the September 10 issue of Educational Leadership in an article titled “Five Hallmarks of Good Homework.” Cathy Vatterott suggests on page eleven, “Create your own method to practice spelling words or choose one of the following: Write or type the words three times, spell them out loud, use Scrabble tiles to spell them, trace them with your finger, or create a puzzle using the words.” The choice of methods honors God’s differences in design, allowing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners to flourish.

When we think Biblically about God’s plan for learning, we recall the Psalmist’s proclamation, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11, NIV) In order to apply God’s Word to our lives on a regular, seamless basis, we have to know that Word. Carrying a Bible or electronic device in order to access Scripture simply will not suffice if a person wants to truly integrate God’s Word into everyday living. (Although, I promote highly the carrying of the Bible as a visible representation of our heart’s desire.) The fact is: we need some rote learning when it comes to memorizing God’s Word. The methods of memorization may be different for various people, but that Word must be a permanent part of our inner person if we are going to live the Word and not sin against God. God’s written Word becomes a part of the wiring of our brain following rote learning. Then, and only then, may we be able to apply it quickly, accurately, and passionately each moment of the day. Rote learning does not insure application, but rote learning makes application possible.

Personally, I record on index cards passages of the Bible I intend to “hide in my heart.” Then, on a very regular basis, I proceed through all those cards (not necessarily in one session), repeating the passages out loud. In this way, I have committed many verses to memory. The blessing is that those words are miraculously imprinted on my heart and mind and come to the forefront naturally. The mysterious working of neurological connections is at all times activated by Jesus Himself (Colossians 1:17). Sometimes I am even unaware of the process as principles of the Bible work behind the scenes to inform my subconscious decisions, but our Creator honors His Word to help us live for Him when we commit to our mind His Word. For me (and many others), the process begins with rote learning, progresses through my learning style, and ends with application to my life.

Education flows from God, because He is the Maker of both the reality we explore, and the brains with which we explore. Combining solid rote learning with techniques to encourage individual learning styles is a natural outflow of a Biblical view.

The Best

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Will I do the right thing?
Will I want the right thing?
Will I accomplish that thing in the end?

All the “wills” will be answered
One way, one day –

In the way that recalls the Giver of right,
In the day that pins all hope on Him.

God energizes my will to want right.
God energizes my flesh to do right.
God brings about what pleases Him.

God is at work in me.

He makes me want the best, and
He enables me to live the best,

When I realize the best is His pleasure.

“For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:13

Effective Educational Assessment Is Rooted In Biblical Truth

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A proficient educator will utilize two types of assessment: formative and summative. Formative assessment is used to evaluate a student’s progress so that instruction may be modified for purposes of improvement. Formative assessment is not a final evaluation, but rather a feedback process whereby the teacher can make proper adjustments with the goal of increased comprehension. Formative assessment keeps student improvement at the forefront.

The goal of summative assessment is to determine a student’s mastery level after a specified period of time. Summative assessment is often used to issue a final grade or mark at the conclusion of the instructional period. Summative assessment is somewhat final and culminating in nature, as the period of instruction has ended, and final evaluation of mastery of content is made.

Careful educators engage in formative assessment more frequently than we might realize. Walking into the classroom, they immediately gather feedback via body language as to whether or not a student is apt to participate or will need significant motivation at the outset. An attentive teacher decides minute by minute which student should be called upon, based on confidence level and other factors. Teachers ask questions, give quizzes, engage in discussion, monitor guided practice, and utilize many other methods to gauge the success of instruction on a weekly, daily, and hourly basis.

The constant barrage of feedback an educator receives enables him to adjust instructional methods in order to improve student learning. If teachers teach simply to assign grades, the paradigm is both useless and ugly. Assessment should happen – whether or not accompanied by a grade – in order to make changes as necessary for the success of student learning. An educator ought to take in the streaming feedback and use it to modify instruction. Sometimes the formative assessment assures a teacher she has reached the goal of student mastery, and sometimes the assessment prods the educator to re-approach the method of instruction in order to see a greater – or broader – level of student mastery reached.

If I think I have taught a brilliant lesson with the objective of students being able to solve a quadratic equation, but at the conclusion of the lesson only ten percent of the class is able to actually solve an equation, then I need to make adjustments. Perhaps I moved too quickly through the material (as quadratic equations excite me!). Or maybe I did not provide enough guided practice. Whatever the case, I know that I must work again toward my objective, for my goal is to see my students able to solve quadratic equations. Their success is my vision.

Though the subject of assessment is popular in both Christian and non-Christian educational settings, the fact is that assessment’s truth is rooted in the Bible. All truth is God’s truth. Whether humanist educators acknowledge the fact or not, a proper view of assessment is drawn from God Himself; for He is the Creator of the world and all its learners.

Amazingly, both formative and summative assessments are seriously Biblical in nature. Does God test His people? Absolutely! When He tests people, what is His goal? Is His goal our destruction? Never! His goal is that we grow in grace and knowledge and become more like Him. In I Peter 1:7, we are told that God’s desire is that our trials result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though testing is often painful in a multitude of ways, God’s goal is that we grow. He desires we become stronger and better in Him (James 1:2-4). He assesses us – not in order to modify His ways – but to see us modify our lives – that we might be complete in Him.

Just as much as formative assessment flows from the heart of God, so does summative assessment; though this fact is more sobering. While God tests us in this life in order that we might grow, there is coming a day when every person will face God’s summative assessment. He will finally – at the end of history – demand an accounting of each one of us and assign us to our final destiny. Those who have rejected Him will face eternal damnation (Revelation 20:11-15). Those who have clung to Him will face a final evaluation of their lives for the purpose of ultimate reward (I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:10). At this point, there will be no chance for improvement – no time for modification. God’s summative assessment will have taken place.

We see that effective educators will be adhering to Biblical truth when they employ both formative and summative assessment, demonstrating once again that all truth is God’s truth. May educators reflect the grace and love of God in their employment of formative assessment, and may teachers reflect the reality of human accountability to God when they utilize summative assessment.

Why the Wilderness When I Want Happiness?

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Avoidance of pain is currently upheld as one of the greatest of aspirations. “What can God do for me that will make my life better, easier, and more palatable?” we ask. Isn’t a happy life a natural outcome of salvation?

Perhaps we need to go back to square one and be reminded of salvation’s essence. In Biblical terms, to be saved means to be delivered from sin’s power and consequence. First and foremost, we are sinful people who need drastic deliverance from our bent toward evil. The problem is not our material discomfort or our lack of satisfaction; the problem is that our very nature – and our actions – offends a holy God. God’s sacrifice of His own Son for the sinfulness of us brings our deliverance. A person who trusts in the atonement of Jesus is covered with His righteousness. That is deliverance. It is a pronouncement of being right – despite who we are – because we trust in Jesus.

Now, let us go back to the original question, “Isn’t a happy life a natural outcome of salvation?” Maybe we should be asking a different question, “Isn’t our salvation – our deliverance – the most important thing?” What could be more important than my hell-bent soul finding deliverance from sin? What is more vital than the eyes of my heart being fixed intensely on the God who saves me? What is more critical than my direct journey to the home of ultimate righteousness God is preparing for me?

In God’s estimation, there is nothing – simply nothing – more important than our deliverance. In fact, when God miraculously delivered the Israelites from slavery to Egypt, He chose to send them the long way to the Promised Land – through the wilderness. Why such a difficult path to traverse? Exodus 13:17b-18a makes clear, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’ Hence God lead the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea.”

The wilderness would be difficult, with challenges galore. However, the short route through Philistia meant a direct turning back. God knew His people would be too quickly tempted to go back to bondage in Egypt, and they would then never reach the Promised Land.

So it is. The wilderness of our lives can be sadly difficult. Truly, only God Himself knows why we must travel the path we do. But, one thing we know for a fact: the avoidance of pain is simply not more important than our full deliverance. I will travel this wilderness path, since I know it means I will not turn back. I will see God one day in the place He resides.

The Only Thing We Ever Really Have

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All the money in the world. Fame beyond imagination. A body to be envied. Success of unbelievable proportions. All of this is meaningless the moment we take our last breath. And, perhaps, all of this is meaningless right now. The world is filled with people who are scared on the inside because life on the outside does not provide security whatsoever.

Think about this: we cannot even guarantee we will have a heartbeat in the next five minutes. When we strip away all the pride and self-sufficiency, we realize we are helpless creatures – completely unable to secure our destinies. What do we ever really have?

All we ever really have is the opportunity to connect with our Creator. We are at His mercy; and His mercy provides the opportunity to reach out to Him and react to His desire to hold us tightly.

I cannot control the world. (That is quite an understatement!) I cannot control tomorrow. I cannot control people. I cannot control the continuance or discontinuance of my very earthly life. The Word of God makes clear that God alone owns everything and controls everything. In Psalm 24:1, David penned, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

We may rebel against God’s ultimate ownership and control, but the truth remains unchanged no matter our disagreement. Many people’s ongoing denial of the sovereignty of God keeps them up at night, causes them internal and external distress, diseases their minds with discomfort and confusion, and saps them of the energy to live.

When a person comes to terms with the simple truth that the only thing he or she has is the opportunity for relationship with God, then a person is on the road to a life worth living.

David also said in Psalm 111:10 that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” In other words, to stand in reverent awe of God – to recognize we are at His mercy – is the ultimate starting point for the wisdom necessary to navigate this world.

What is the way to the only real life there is? Admit that you are helpless in the shadow of the living Lord who created you. Ask Him to make things right between you and Him by the sacrifice of Himself – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead. In this sincere plea, we ask God to cover with the righteousness of Jesus our sin and inability to please Him.

What then? We rest. Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 30:15, “In repentance and rest is your salvation.” We rest because we now finally and clearly see that the only thing we ever really had was the opportunity to connect with our Creator. Believing we are in control is a delusion, and one can never really rest in a lie. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Electrons and Questions of the Heart

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Do you ever feel like even you cannot figure out what you’re really thinking? Have you ever wished you could express to someone the deepest ponderings of your heart? Does your mind get tired as you try to decipher the meaning of circumstances? Is the rush and demanding pace of the culture overwhelming your brain?

The good news is this: there is an answer. Preceding a recent time of prayer, all of the above noted feelings swirled about me. As I prayed, God brought me back to foundational truth.

Please do not allow the mention of science to dissuade your continued reading. After all, if God is real, He is the Maker of all things scientific. The alignment of scientific fact with the ways of God is most heartening.

Our foolish childhood inattentiveness in physical science class notwithstanding; protons, neutrons, and electrons are core components of atoms. The material world consists largely of electrons spinning around nuclei of protons and neutrons.

More amazing than even the seemingly ubiquitous existence of these unseen particles is the precision of their weights. The mass of an electron is 9.11 X 10-31 kilograms. Now, that is the number 911 with thirty zeros in front of it! What a tiny, tiny particle! The electrons whirl about the nucleus of each atom. Of what is the nucleus made? It is made of protons and neutrons.

Though the electron’s mass is so miniscule it seems immeasurable, the mass of a proton is 1,836 times greater at a diminutive 1.6726 X 10-27 kg. Amazingly, though we are dealing in masses so small they stagger the mind, the neutron weighs just slightly more than the proton and electron combined. By how much, you ask? By the number 1,389 with 29 zeros before it! Yes, a neutron outweighs the combination of a proton and electron by 1.389 X 10-30!

Why are we amazed? (You should be amazed, by the way.) Here are the mind-boggling facts:

    “If the combined mass of electrons and protons was not slightly less than that of the neutron, the two would unite to form neutrons, leaving the world devoid of electrons and protons. If the combined mass was more than the neutron, then neutrons would decay into protons and electrons, leaving the world devoid of neutrons. Neither scenario results in a life-sustaining universe.” (Meister, 74)

Do we get it? The numbers and differences in weights are so small they seem almost meaningless to us. Yet, at a level that deep, everything must be right on for life to exist. The Creator is that meticulous, that overwhelmingly exact and involved in what He has made.

Similarly, the Creator is that meticulously involved in our hearts. Following are two passages from God’s Word to consider:

    “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:4-6, ESV)
    “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thought and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, ESV)

As I prayed the other day, thoughts of the precision of the mass of atomic particles spurred me to ponder the amazing accuracy of God’s understanding of every part of my mind and heart. He is not confused by the ongoing collision of memories, hopes, analysis, disappointments, encouragement, emotions, and strivings happening in me. He sees and measures each one.

Though the thought of God’s immense knowledge is “too wonderful for me” (Psalm 139:6), I rest in it. I cannot figure myself out, but He can. I need that assurance, for what point is there if nothing makes sense to anyone?

God’s Word is able to divide soul and spirit and discerns the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Oh, thank you, dear Jesus, for I am unable to know my own intentions at times.

What joy came when God impressed on me His ability to know it all, His care to hold my heart and mind together – down to the tiniest detail – just as He holds the atoms together with marked precision.

There exists no physical life without God’s grand assessment, precision, and power to guide each detail. There is no life at all without His power to know us. And since He knows us like that, how should we respond? The answer is found in Part II, yet to come.

Reference: Meister, Chad V., Building Belief (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006)

God Is Bigger Than The Plan

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Lately I have been pondering plans. You know – plans of all kinds – long term, short term, strategic, five-year, selfish, unselfish, corporate level, personal, realistic and unrealistic.

We live in a world of plans and schemes and hopes and dreams. Encouraged at every turn to map out our lives and careers, we devise many scenarios. We feel pressured to articulate the steps of next week, next month, next year, and so on and on and on.

Orderliness is of God. The mathematician in me cries out on behalf of logic and regularity. As human beings created in the image of God, we ought to strive for order and design. However, we need to remember that we are just that – created in the image of God.”

God alone stands transcendent, above and outside His creation. He is, therefore, unable to fail, never confused, unaffected by wrong passion, clearly able to see the future, powerful enough to clear obstacles, wise enough to differentiate between obstacles and blessings, and loving enough to desire our best even when we cannot understand His working.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) declares, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”

Our plans originate in our hearts. God’s purpose originates with God. I am the created. He is the Creator. I have many plans. He has one purpose.

The only way my plans make any sense is as I seek to align them with His will. And even then, in my limited understanding, I can misinterpret the will of God. I can selfishly confuse what I want with what God wants.

Let us therefore be sure to put God before the plan. To us, the plan seems so big. But the plan is so much smaller than God.

Having recently earned a graduate degree in educational leadership, I know the value of strategic plans. Having been created by a transcendent God, I know He is bigger.

If my plans come to pass because God sees fit to bring them about, so be it.

If God’s purpose supersedes what I had in mind, so be it as well.

If I exalt my ideas above His, I am hopeless.

If I exalt Him above my ideas, I may just see my ideas coordinate with His purpose!

Being Good Does Not Save Us

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Here is a question, “Why did God destroy the earth by flood in Noah’s day?” Answer: “Mankind was very, very bad.” Here is a second question, “Why did God spare Noah and his family?” Typical answer, “Noah was a good man who obeyed God.” Let us get to the heart of both questions and both answers.

First, it is true that God destroyed the world by flood in Noah’s day because of evil. Genesis 6:5-8 says, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” The LORD was grieved that he had made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

God chose to exhibit the reality of his divine justice because of wickedness. Evil always destroys; it is the absence of God’s goodness. We ought to be thankful that God demonstrates how serious the issue of sin and evil is, for it inevitably and ultimately brings death (Romans 6:23). We are mistaken to believe that Noah was spared this judgment simply because he was obedient or “a good man.” No man or woman is good by nature; we are sinners. There is no amount of good we can do and no proper way in which we can perform that earns the favor of God. We are very selfish by nature and – without the power of Jesus – quite capable of horrible evil.

Let me demonstrate that it was not the inherent goodness of Noah that saved him. If we remember when the flood subsided and Noah and his family were finally able to exit the ark, there were eight people in existence: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and his sons’ wives. These eight people – Noah and his family – put their feet on the ground and then Noah built an altar. The Bible tells us, “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:20-21a).

Just look at that description of the only eight people in existence on earth at the time: “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” This description sounds very familiar to the one God gave of all of humanity before he sent the flood! Yes, even Noah was a sinner by nature; even Noah had evil inclination. We ask then, what was the difference? Why did God spare Noah if he was just as much a sinner by nature as all the other people who were destroyed by the flood?

The answer is found in Genesis 8:20-21. If you read those verses again above, you will notice that Noah built an altar and offered a burnt offering immediately after exiting the ark. It was the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice that prompted God to say that he would not destroy the earth in this way again despite man’s nature. Why would the burning flesh of an animal please God? These Old Testament offerings were pictures, or a foreshadowing, of the soon-to-come offering of Jesus Christ himself for the sin of mankind. Noah knew God, and He knew the promises of God. Noah believed that the Messiah would come, and he offered this burnt offering in faith. He was looking ahead to the coming of Jesus! Noah was demonstrating his belief in Jesus as the one who can appease God the Father and bring us into relationship with our Creator.

Jesus was Noah’s salvation! Self-righteousness, good character, or self-effort could not save Noah or us. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, can save a man or woman from sin and death. Noah looked forward and believed that Jesus would come. We look backward and believe that Jesus did come. Thank God, both we and Noah look ahead to the Second Coming of that same God-Man, Jesus Christ, when, as Hebrews 9:28 proclaims, He will appear with full salvation. We will then enjoy the new heavens and new earth, a home of righteousness.

Make no mistake about it, though, Noah’s belief in Jesus Christ sent him into action! Because of his belief, Noah was willing to do God’s will. He, no doubt, paid a dear price for building that ark. He and his family worked day in and day out doing God’s will in a rebellious world. His belief prompted real action. In fact, real belief in Jesus Christ always prompts action; there is no other way to believe.

Take the Long View

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The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. – Deuteronomy 32:4 (NASB)

What bold words Moses speaks forth in his declaration of the supreme goodness of God. The leader of renown assesses God after many years of living and serving, and Moses concludes that God’s work is perfect. As we ponder the leader’s reflection, let me remind you of a few elements of Moses’ life: He was hidden in a basket on the Nile River because of Pharoah’s edict that he and other Hebrew boys be murdered, he was raised in a foreign home, he bore the realization that he was separated from his people, he risked his life and comfort to identify with the people of God, he grappled with his murder of an Egyptian, he lived in obscurity for forty years in Midian, he was asked to help deliver the Israelites despite personal weaknesses, he endured the increased misery of the Israelites when he first approached Pharoah with God’s commands, he believed God through the plagues and death of the firstborn, he faced the dilemma of standing between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptians, he led a complaining people through the wilderness forty years, and – most of all – he sustained personal devastation when denied entry to the Promised Land because of his own disobedience when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded.

The bottom line is that Moses withstood grave disappointment at many instances of his life, and he suffered under baffling circumstances at many points. Were the “snapshot” view of things the final answer, Moses may not have declared his unwavering confidence in God’s inability to ever do wrong.

Despite the seemingly intolerable hardship at many turns along the road of life, Moses proclaimed, “His work is perfect.” Perfect here in the Hebrew means “complete, whole, healthful, having integrity.” Moses learned a vital key with God: take the long view. We may not apprehend the purpose of any particular difficulty or heartbreak, but we realize that God completes the picture of every righteous person’s life. He commands that all of life – even the grueling parts – function to fulfill a work in us that results in what is best, what is sound, what is fit.

Speaking of a long view, I stand amazed that Moses declares the complete justice of God even though he knew that he had been denied entrance to the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 3:23-27 makes clear that Moses sought God’s restoration and begged for entrance to Canaan. God denied him. And yet – with valor that inspires – Moses pronounces the faithfulness of God and the perfection of His work.

How does Moses’ broken heart exude such a hope? He has worked for God all his days and now is stopped at the threshold of a life dream. Or was he? All of Moses’ contemporaries who crossed over into the Promised Land died. Despite their entrance to Canaan; they faced enemies, difficulties, illnesses, and every other plight of humanity. The earthly Promised Land is not the Promised Land; it is not the ultimate dream.

Hebrews 11:13-16 says that great men and women of God have died in faith, without receiving the promises. They welcomed the promises from a distance. They believed and confessed that their true home is a heavenly home. Moses is in this category of unbelievable believers who stood on a hill overlooking the earthly Promised Land and knew for a fact that he would enter the Promised Land – the heavenly one!

Some will accuse people like me of using Heaven as a crutch. They might say that Heaven is not an answer to the turmoil we face in this world. I believe God has an infinite future to correct all wrongs and fill all dreams to an infinite depth. In Hebrews 11:16, we are informed that God is not ashamed to be called our God when and if we desire a heavenly city. For God, the heavenly Promised Land is not “pie in the sky” stuff. To the Maker of all reality, Heaven is the most real and the most desired. He prides Himself in those of us who, like Moses, truly believe that our deepest answers await us.

Let us announce, as Moses did, that God’s work is perfect. Despite anything we face, He does no wrong. Moreover, He has prepared a city for us!

Upcoming Event!

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“Life Is Hard, But God’s Work Is Perfect”

Shelli will be sharing the Sunday morning message and leading the service at the Manor United Presbyterian Church on July 18.

The service is from 11:00 am – 12:10 pm. The church is located in Manor, PA. A link to the directions is to the right, under “MAP/DIRECTIONS.”

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!