Are You Glowing

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Is your wife glowing? I will never forget being at a men’s conference hearing a speaker say, “If you have been married for 7 years and your wife is not glowing chances are you are not loving your wife correctly?”  I have never forgotten that challenge and in fact have used it many times in pre-martial counseling.

World wide Valentine’s Day was celebrated over the weekend.  I saw lots of men running to the store on the 14th buying flowers and chocolate to demonstrate their love. But we all know love is so much more than gifts on Valentine’s Day. It involves tons of time and sacrifice to to give your heart to another.

We were blessed this past weekend to be in Masiphumelele Township and share this special weekend with dear brothers and sisters in Christ from the Gospel Outreach Church. Two of Oceans’ Board members Ken & Danell Czarnecki also took part in this joyful gathering. Danell had a powerful teaching about being the beautiful bride of Christ. She took us through several Scriptures describing the Jewish marriage process and how it correlated to the believers marriage to Christ.

It was masterfully done and the Holy Spirit used it to bless and encourage many who needed to hear what faithful love really looks like. So many have been hurt through broken vows and promises realizing the Hallmark view of love can’t come close to touching the deepest need in their heart.

One of the texts that Danell used was from 2 Cor. 3:18:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

It was shared how when Christ died on the cross the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom as a sign that those married to Christ have full access to His unending love.  This visual correlates with the Jewish ceremony when the groom lifts the veil covering his bride’s face and has an intimate face to face encounter.

When we experience Christ’s love as shared in the Gospel story and encounter by faith His glorious face we will glow like a bride on her wedding day. There is an old song which said “they will know we are Christians by our love…” We could also add “they will know we are Christians by our glow.” An encounter with our Bridegroom Jesus will bring about a glorious transformation piercing our hearts with a perfect love which can’t be contained.

His Spirit causes us to glow with the radiance of the our Bridegroom’s glorious face, we are changed more and more into the image of His limitless love. We need to search our hearts and maybe our faces as well and ask ourselves, “Do I glow?” Have I encountered the love of Jesus my Bridegroom?  Have I gone into the bridal chamber and given my heart fully over to His forever love to trust Him completely to keep His wedding vows?

How a love starved world needs to see the glorious Bride of Christ arrayed in Heaven’s transforming love.  I have found as a husband, dad, grandfather, friend, etc. I can’t make anyone glow-but the Jesus I keep trying to look at surely can.

At the end of our time together a young boy in the service wanted to receive Christ. I’m not sure he understood all that was going on but I’m convinced He saw the glowing, loving face of Jesus reflected in His Beautiful Bride.

 

 

 

He Makes Me Brave

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Have you ever accidentally bumped your phone and suddenly a song from your playlist comes on?  Early Sunday morning I was hiking up Elise’s peak and I’d just taken a picture of the sun breaking through the clouds and as I was nearing the top of the mountain a worship song started to play.  I’d almost forgotten about the playlist as one of my kids put a few songs on it several years back.

The fascinating thing about it was as I climbed up the mountain I was thinking about the book of Joshua which I was reading through in my quiet time. In chapter 5 Joshua looks over Jericho, the first fortified city that stood in the way of Israel taking the promise land. I imagine Joshua being a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of what he and the children of Israel faced.

The story goes on and Joshua’s attention shifts from what seemed to be an impossible task to a man standing before him with a drawn sword. Suddenly Joshua found himself on his face worshiping the “Commander of the LORD’s army,” and told to take of his shoes for he was on holy ground (5:14-15). Most Biblical scholars believe this was an encounter with Jesus before His incarnation.

Pondering this story I rounded a corner and saw how the dense clouds could not hold back the brilliance of the sun, I thought of how Joshua’s whole vision shifted from Jericho to Jesus. Any fears and doubts about what was ahead were now consumed by the brilliant glory of “The Commander of the LORD’s army!”

I was deep in thought about some of my own “Jerichos” and the overwhelming challenges here in Africa and our world. When all of the sudden I was surprised by music.  At first I couldn’t figure it out and then it dawned on me what had happened.  The words to the bridge of the song kept repeating….

“You make me brave, You make me brave, No fear can hinder now the Love that made a way, You make me brave, You make me brave, You call me out beyond the shore into the waves, You make me brave, You make me brave, No fear can hinder now the promises You’ve made.” (You Make Me Brave, Amanda Cook).

It was a holy moment to say the least. It was as if the Spirit was asking, “Tim are you looking at Jericho or Jesus, the stronghold or the strong and mighty Sovereign King who now reigns over all and keeps His promises.  As I walked to my favorite prayer spot I recalled these words from Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Joshua could bravely march around Jericho because He saw the One who marched ahead of Him into battle. How much more have we seen in Jesus Christ who not only defeated our enemy at the cross but was raised from the dead to reign forever as our conquering King. Be encouraged today as you may also face a Jericho  that Jesus, The Commander and Chief of the LORD’s army dwells in you with His courageous Spirit, and you can sing out:

“You make me brave …No fear can hinder now the Love that made a way…The promises You’ve made!”

Instruments of His Peace

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This past Sunday I witnessed powerful displays of God’s presence bring His peace to wounded hearts. A few days earlier in Jimsebosh township 35 homes were destroyed by fire leaving many homeless.  One of those families was invited to stay in the Love In Action church.  Pastor Raymond greeted the family during worship and shared their difficult situation. How they were told the shack they rented would not be offered to them once it was rebuilt.  The church was asked to pray for some land needed to build them a new place, which is extremely hard to find in the crowded township.

Toward the end of the service the congregation was invited to come forward and share how God had been speaking to them during a 21 day fast they had just finished. One of the ladies told how God revealed His grace and blessings to her in new ways during the fast. As the result of all that God had done for her she wanted to give a plot of land next to her house for free to this family to build on.

This was a holy moment as you could feel the Spirit presence overtake the room.  One of the family member came forward with tears running down her check struggling to get the words out. This young lady expressed her gratitude for such a gracious offer. She stated how her family had never experienced such love in all  their lives seeing Jesus through the actions of the church.  Pastor Raymond came up next to her and said the supplies would be purchased tomorrow and the construction would begin.

As I took all this in I thought about all the ways the Father worked through His children to reveal His transforming love and peace in the midst of so much pain. This is how His Kingdom overcomes the darkness in our world. Pastor Raymond mentioned the gift from the Oceans Board which will make rebuilding homes possible.  My heart welled up with praise and thanks for all the supporters of Oceans and all who have given to make The Father’s love known in a desperate place.

Below is a prayer from Saint Francis of Assisi which captures our need to cry out to the Father to fill us with His peace to bring His hope to our hurting world. Sunday I saw this prayer answered in a supernatural way as Jesus’ love overcame the darkness and used His instruments of peace from different parts of the world. I hope you will join me in praying this Kingdom prayer to bring Christ’s love and peace to a world filled with brokenness.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  Amen.

 

 

Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

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Written by Mike Verkaik 

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, I ran into a couple of my former students from Holland Christian while having lunch at Chick-Fil-A with two friends, Grant and Albert. As they came up to us they said to Grant, “Hey, I heard you went sledding. Josh told us that you were going with Mike, but the only Mike he could think of was Mr. Verkaik, but he thought that couldn’t be the case.” Surprise, surprise, it was! This sixty-four year old can still get up and down the hill and take a few bumps with my padded snow pants on.

For the past eight years I have had the privilege of building relationships, through events like sledding, with people both at the Wooden Shoe motel and traveling to South Africa for two weeks. This past summer the two separate ministries collided as Albert, a former resident at the motel, traveled with the Holland Christian summer team to South Africa. In South Africa is where Grant, Albert and Levi (not able to make it sledding) met and maintain a friendship since returning. Hence, I received the text strand that started that week with the statement, “Hey, let’s go sledding this Saturday!”

For some reason in our relationship, Grant and Albert don’t see my age, or think sledding might not be wise for me. Dawn on the other hand had a much more cautious viewpoint as I left the house with the words, “Mike, be careful and don’t do anything crazy” ringing in my ears. By the way those words of wisdom were adhered to as I chose carefully the places I where I would sled.

So, why would I go sledding? Well, I do enjoy being active and God created me with an adventurous, fun-loving spirit, for sure, but primarily it is because I have a deep desire to develop a Christian mentoring/discipleship relationship with people.

What God has taught me through my time of teaching, classroom management, and the last eight years of ministry is this; organic Christian mentorship can flow and grow naturally out of existing friendships and life-on-life relationships. It is through the natural rhythms of life, such as sledding, running errands, sharing meals, having a milkshake, or for that matter doing business where the Holy Spirit provides an opportunity for vulnerability and conversations to organically reveal our dependence, love and trust in our heavenly Father.

I have learned that as friendships are developed, people can be quite open and receptive to faith conversations when they occur in the context of those genuine relationships. Actually, many of those discussions begin with their questions for me, so, I continue to remind myself that I do not have to force the conversations, or will them to happen. Actually, our greatest need is prayer. With prayer as a key opening both of our hearts and minds, we have everything we need through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us to be ready to speak His truth when the time comes.

Pauls words to the Colossians continue to speak this truth to us today:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. …
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.                                                                                                     Col. 4 : (2 and 6)

This morning my Bible reading was 1 John 1-4. As I read the introduction I was reminded again how God’s desire is for us to have intentional love relationships with others. Here are the words paraphrased from John’s letter: “God is love! Everyone needs assurance from God that they are loved and cherished. And when we receive His love, we are free to share it with others. As we love one another, we have the assurance that are are God’s true spiritual children.” (TPT)

Oh, the places we could go as God melds our personality, passions, and physical abilities together to bring us into His glorious Kingdom of people longing to experience His love through us. It is probably not sledding or South Africa for you, so what is it? Who is it? Remember, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a guide, so will we trust Him and let Him guide.

A Powerful Prayer for Peace in 2026

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Somedays it seems we live in a world that consistently attacks our souls with strife and division. Such intrusions or peace robbers bombard us externally bringing chaos and concern, and internally with spiritual battles within our heart and mind. How do we find peace in the midst of such uncontrollable storms?

The ancient prayer called “The Serenity Prayer”  recently was brought to mind.  Perhaps you’ve seen a shorter version of it on the wall in someone’s house or if you’ve ever been to a recovery meeting you would have heard it prayed by the group. The full version of this prayer is powerful, comforting, and flows from the heart of Scripture.

The focus of this prayer for peace is a call to give up control, and surrender your life to the One who rules over all with His sovereign power. The prayer is a challenge to live in Christ’s will and not our own will, which will bring forth both freedom and an inner peace which flows down from the Kingdom of Heaven.

In this New Year I have challenged myself to make the points of this prayer a daily practice. My hope is to overcome the chaos from within and without through this prayer of trust and surrender.

If you are struggling to find peace take a few minutes and slowly, meditatively, and maybe even on your knees bring these words to your Father and seek the peace only His Spirit can fill you with.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time,

accepting hardship as the pathway to peace, 

taking, as He did, the sinful world as it is, 

not as I would have it,

trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His will – that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him forever.  Amen!