What a day of worship!

What a day of worship! For me any time Lynn Bowman sings the “Goodness of God” it is a great service. But, we had more. The orchestra played an arrangement they did at Easter called, “Easter Celebration”. It was great at Easter, and it was a great Sunday. The choir did a song they did at Easter called “Dirt and Blood” It is a thought-provoking song that points to Jesus as creator and savior. Bob Kapp brought the message, “Living With Confidence In A Chaotic World.” It was a really good sermon reminding us that while things appear as chaotic, God is always in charge. Thanks to Bob and everyone who made Sunday special. 

Connie and I will occasionally get interested in putting together a jigsaw puzzle. A year or so ago someone gave us a 1,000-piece puzzle. It wasn’t long before I realized that it was a work of Satan. We about never got that thing completed. Our 2-year-old niece has a puzzle with about 16-20 pieces that she can put together in a snap. After the 1,000-piece fiasco I suggested we could do it and see how well we would do. 

Last weekend we finished our latest puzzle. (We stepped down to 500 pieces.) We had about 6 pieces left, and I told Connie, “I don’t think we have enough pieces to fill the empty spaces.” But we did! It turned out just right. Not too many pieces, not too few. I thought this is how God works. He doesn’t leave us not having what we need to complete the job. Two scriptures came to mind. 

In Ephesians 6:11 the Apostle Paul writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” The words “full armor” is one word in the original language, the word, “Panoplian”. It comes from two words, “Pan” which means all and “Oplon” which is a a word for tools. Paul said that we have been given all the tools we will need to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 

The other scriptures come from II Peter 1:3, “…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…” We live in a sinful, corrupt world that is governed by Satan. There is no way we can successfully live a life of godliness on our own. But we are not required to do so. God has given us everything we need to overcome the world and achieve a life of godliness. 
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With our puzzle, we had everything we needed to successfully complete the picture. We are in a battle where the stakes are higher than just completing a puzzle. We are fighting the prince of this world, and the stakes are eternal destiny. But take heart. We are not doing this alone; God has given us everything we need to win this battle.