God's Mercies from Dawn to Dusk

GCD Newsletter - Monday, March 13, 2023 & a reminder that Pastor, Jesus is Enough

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentation 3:22-24

“What did I come in here for?” I find myself asking at least once a day. I leave the living room in search of something, head to the adjacent dining room and…it’s as though the doorway has scanned my mind, found the object of my search and wiped away all memory of it. Eventually, perhaps by retracing my steps or asking my wife, I’m reminded of what I needed, and I move on with my day.

This morning as I awoke, the morning sun blinding my eyes, I had a similar experience. Yesterday, my wife and I witnessed God’s mercy and grace in palpable and powerful ways, particularly in serving the children at church. They were vulnerable and teachable, and not only listened to each other’s struggles but spoke truth into one another’s lives and prayed aloud for Lord’s help.

I cried in the car.

Yet, this morning, it was as if none of that had occurred as I tried once again, in my own strength, to drag myself out of bed. The sunshine was my enemy, the strong wind that followed a reminder of the bleakness of the day ahead, and as I opened my laptop to work, the dozens of new emails seemed to mock my yet-uncaffinated eyes. Slowly though, retracing my steps through the previous day, I was reminded that the dawning sun brought with it a fresh wave of God’s unending mercy, that just as God had been faithful the previous morning, and all the mornings prior, he would be again today. Dusk doesn’t dull the effects of God’s steadfastness, no, it is but another oppurtunity to lay my head down on my pillow, rest in God’s loving arms and trust that no matter how many times I forget, he is my portion and I will hope in him.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing young men and women discipled within the context of the local church. You can find Adsum through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk and you can also find Adsum’s articles for GCD here.

Last Week at GCDiscipleship.com

The Joy of Being Forgiven
Tom Sugimura

Praise God there is no pause between our own confession and the Lord’s forgiveness, for his Son’s finished payment on the cross affords us instant credit…Instead of suffering in silent sin, the song of our salvation is the shield around us. Instead of cowering in fear, our worship carries us into battle. Then, in the joy of God’s forgiveness, we declare these truths to others.

Hope Not Slain
Emily Terrell

Steadfast hope amid trials is only possible with a high view of God’s sovereignty. Without the belief that God is in control of all things, hope would be a mere fairy tale. Charles Spurgeon, in the throws of deep depression, expressed, “It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity.”

Elements Of Spiritual and Emotional Community
Nick Abraham

In spiritual community, immediacy is not the standard. Relationships are not expected to simply spring up out of nowhere. Growth in the Christian community is not expected overnight. Christian community is based on God’s timetable and not man’s. As one of my pastors used to always say, “God is never in a hurry.” Spiritual community is not self-centered. It is community mediated through Christ and he decides the speed at which anything happens in his community.

Check Out Jesus is Enough by Jeremy Writebol

On one side of my laptop I have a coffee mug, which sorely needs refilling, and on the other side Jeremy Writebol’s new book, “Pastor, Jesus is Enough.” Like many of you, I’m sure, my life often feels like I’m oscillating between emulating the empty coffee mug, drained of energy, waiting to be refilled, and believing and filling myself on those words, “Jesus is Enough.” Wherever you currently are on that cycle, I can’t commend Jeremy’s book to you more highly. As I’ve read through this book, it has felt like Jeremy has sat beside me, opened up the word to the book of Revelation, and invited me to dive in with him. Jeremy is a brother, a friend, and a pastor, not a perfect one whose cup has never been empty; but one who knows what it is like to drain that last drop of his own strength and then return again to the ever-loving, all-powerful saviour, in whom our weakness is perfected.

In Jeremy’s own words:

“In a word, the elders of heaven have their gaze locked on the center throne. They are engaged and responsive only to the acting and promptings that emanate from God's presence and work. They are fixated on the one on the throne. As we should be. If we’ve come to the end of our ropes as pastors and have discovered that we are not enough, then we can follow the gaze of those in heaven to see the one who is more than enough for all of us, for all of our churches, for all of our lives.”

To pick up the book for yourself, head to this link today: