It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (Ps. 119:71-72)
Sometimes it’s hard to see the treasure.
The opportunities of this life shine with prosperity and prominence. Choosing the narrow path (or as I like to call it—the dirt road) is the last option we would pursue. It is the road less traveled, where not many have gone, and not many are going. It is easy to see the loneliness or ways we are “missing out” from the life we once knew.
But God’s Word begins to do something as we walk through the narrow gate.
His Word calls.
His Word beckons a response from not just our hearts, but our feet. Our attention. Our gaze. Our appetite. Our ambitions. To put it plainly, His Word messes up our lives.
The things we did a year ago don’t satisfy like they used to. We keep going back and doing the same things we know to do, but they aren’t working anymore.
God’s Word calls us to a life that isn’t obedience in theory, but obedience that’s tangible. The kind of obedience your coworkers can’t understand but they know the call you have answered is real.
It is answering the call of God’s Word where treasure is found.
It is treasure buried under the dust of mundane obedience. There is nothing desirable or even admirable about these small decisions. But in the eyes of God, they are everything. Those decisions are where heaven and earth meet.
The narrow road is the path we run from; but the path we were made for.
This newsletter is for the sojourners. The ones weary on the dirt road. The thirsty in need of a drink from the wells of living water.
Every Saturday we will send out a new read with your morning coffee. It will feature prayers, promises, and treasures to encourage and refresh you for the journey ahead.
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. (Ps. 119:54)
We will include passages from the Old and New Testaments as well as a Psalm. We will also link different podcasts, books, articles, sermons, and other resources to strengthen your life in God.
At the heart, this newsletter is to provoke hunger to go deeper into the Word of God and discover treasures hidden in plain sight. God promises to give us drink from the river of His delights. Only in Him we experience true delight, satisfaction, and joy that goes beyond this age and into eternity. We were made for this path. We were made for joy. We were made for Him.
Enjoy the first edition of the Saturday newsletter. Bonus if you read this with coffee and pancakes.
EXODUS 16:9-21
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’” And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
The Old Testament is full of types and shadows that expound on the nature and person of Jesus who was with Israel from the beginning. Jesus was the bread (or manna) that sustained them for 40 years in the wilderness. It is a beautiful picture of how Jesus satisfies our longings and provides all things.
God instructed Israel that they needed to gather new manna every morning. They couldn’t rely on their supply from the day before but had to go out before the sun grew hot for their daily meals. There was activity required to be sustained by God. Although God provided everything they needed, they had to take literal action to “go out and get it.”
The same is true in our lives today. We must actively pursue Jesus in order to be sustained by Him. We must open our Bibles for the daily Word that will carry us. We must share in the nutrients of the Word of God.
If our diet consisted of only what we grabbed casually, we would be very unhealthy. All we would do is eat what is convenient: chips, candy bars, and cereal. A healthy diet requires the chopping of vegetables and assembling of balanced meals.
The same goes for our life in God. We can’t survive off of casual pursuit. We must take time to cultivate a life in the Word that goes beyond what we can reach and into where only the Holy Spirit can take us.
JOHN 6:26-35
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus is the source of life. He explains that there is a longing inside of us that can’t be satisfied with mere food and drink. When we build our lives on fulfilling the desires of our flesh, this path leads to death.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace… For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:6, 13)
Jesus shows us a greater way to live. He teaches us how to live for eternity.
The kingdom of God is eternity. Jesus came not only to fulfill our physical longings but to give us life beyond the grave. The food we eat comes and goes, but Jesus forever remains. He is the sustenance of our lives—our daily bread.
Paul makes the distinction in Romans that obedience isn’t about getting our flesh to obey God. We are able to obey by feeding our Spirit more than we feed the cravings of our flesh. This is setting our minds on the the things of God.
We feast on the knowledge of God through the written Word. The mysteries of heaven are discovered through eating (meditating on) this un-perishable bread. We have a greater portion than the delicacies of this age. We have the path of life. We have the key to fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16).
Ever since I can remember, God has spoken to me through stick figures. Maybe it’s because of my mediocre drawing skills… or the kingdom of God is really that simple. Either way, enjoy a weekly doodle!
If you want a challenge, guess what Scripture I was reading while drawing this. Send us an email at intheupcoming@gmail.com if you figure it out! Hint: NEW TESTAMENT. (There are a lot of Scriptures displayed here but there is one in particular…)
And now on to our new series: The Psalmist.
The narrow way is more than self-discipline and whole-hearted obedience. It is getting to know Jesus through everyday life.
We can’t do this without Jesus. It takes God to love God. It takes God to obey God. If we try to do any of this “whole-heartedness” out of our own ambition and zeal we will quickly burn out. Paul emphasized that as we run the race set before us, we must look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
There is no greater book to sustain us on this race than the book of Psalms. Written mostly by Jesus’ forerunner David, it contains not only a diary of prayers but extensive prophesies directly connected to the messianic reign of Jesus. These Scriptures are infused with the revelation of our King—as if Jesus Himself is praying through David.
Beginning next week, we are launching our new series: The Psalmist. We will be going chapter by chapter exploring both the prayers and prophesies of the book of Psalms.
This series was inspired by a German pastor in the 1930’s named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He gave his life to stand for the Jewish people and the Word of God in Nazi Germany.
The last book he published was Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. He was arrested shortly after for his resistance efforts and faced many interrogations concerning the contents of the prayer book (especially its Jewish centrality).
Bonhoeffer prayed through the entire book of Psalms weekly with the students he discipled. Praying the Psalms was central to his daily walk with God—and should remind us to keep praying Biblical prayers too. Bonhoeffer died in Flossenburg Concentration Camp for these truths.
“Whenever the Psalter is abandoned, an incomparable treasure vanishes from the Christian church. With its recovery will come unsuspected power.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This is the place for all things books, podcasts, articles, and more. I am always on the lookout for listens on my morning commute or articles that add to my life with Jesus.
One thing God has used in my life is the Holocaust. You will probably hear me talk and write about this a lot. It is not only important from a historical perspective but also in understanding God’s heart for the Jewish people. That is a lofty subject to dive into, but I have found one of the best places to start is by reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.
Corrie worked with her father and sister to hide Jews from the Nazis during World War II. She was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp with her sister Betsie. Their whole family lived remarkable lives of faith even in the face of weakness and immense difficulties. If you are looking for an inspiring read, this will not let you down. Guaranteed to propel you further in Jesus.
Send us any of your “Jesus” recommendations at intheupcoming@gmail.com. We would love to hear them!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider sharing with a friend! You can check out more from IN THE UPCOMING on Instagram, Facebook, or by reading our past articles.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deut. 8:3)