Sunday Services: 10:30 AM
505 South Sixth St. Burbank, CA
91501

FaithView, For Storm Riders:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”– Psalms 121: 1-2

Little weird today.

I like the gloom. I like the rain. I love cold gray clouds percolating across the sky. I love wearing a sweater and the subtle sting of cool morning air.

Since I don’t drive for a living, I love the fog as well. Fog and morning mist make my day faster than someone saying; “The lobster is served.”

This morning I got sunshine. What a downer.

I was going down my walkway to the sidewalk, thinking about the stuff I had to do. The stuff I could control and the stuff I couldn’t.

I was thinking about the people I had to call, and the people I didn’t want to call. The situations around me that are troublesome and the situations around me I can do nothing about. Intimate details of other lives I can only surrender to God when a more carnal nature provokes me to want to ride in like the cavalry.

A lot of thoughts from the front door to the truck. To top it off, of course, was the sunshine, the heat of the day creeping in.

Things weren’t shaping up to be a bad day, but an average day I needed to get hold of fast or the ordinary of it was going to overwhelm me.

Then I looked up. The sky was very blue, a few of patches of clouds. Things ticked between the ears and I realized the sky wasn’t just there. It wasn’t just set above as some benign thing.

The non-believer can hold to the sky being a tangible part of the rotating earth formed in some inexplicable way, but the believer knows the sky was set there for a purpose.

I kept looking, drew a breath, and I heard a voice. Not audible, but a voice piping through my bones that said: “What is your problem? Enjoy today.”

Why did the Lord in his creating set the sky above? Because in my/our frailty we can look up and be reminded he is always there.

We have our disciplines down (Bible, prayer, fellowship). Been there, done that, bought that tee-shirt.

We know the kind of attitude we are to have and project. We know the good we must do, even when we don’t want to do it.

And we do all these things because our desire is to be faithful to him who saved us. To him who gave his Son for us while we were the worst of folk.

I looked up this morning, and I saw the sky. It wasn’t a painted sky. It wasn’t sunrise, sunset; there weren’t any pastel pinks and purples that sometimes give the impression of being the gateway to Heaven.

It was just the sky. Not a burning bush, not the seas parting, not manna falling, or water transforming into wine. It was just the sky.

But on this morning, for me, it was a physical affirmation of who it is I/we need to continue to strive and contend for.

Yes, I/we practice our disciplines because we need the consistency of maintaining our walk with the Lord, but this morning when I looked up, and felt humbled, awed, and invigorated I was reminded of how great our God is.

Yes, that sounds awfully clichéd, but it allowed me to feel small. I needed to feel small to again understand my place and his place, to recognize again the bigness of my Father in relation to me the adopted son.

The dilemmas, the details, the hassles, the stuff in my life are all still there, including the hurts and struggles of those around me.

Yet the reminder, front and center, loud and clear is none of what we do goes for naught. Because I/we can look up and see how total and complete God is.

“If the spiritual bloom of our life with God is getting impaired in the tiniest degree, we must leave off everything and get it put right. Remember that vision depends on character—the pure in heart see God.”– Oswald Chambers

I don’t believe we’ll see it unless we are truly trying to live in his obedience. I don’t believe we’ll see it if we have stalled in our journey with God because we’ve reached a certain point in the road and we are refusing the more challenging path he’s asked us to take.

And the non-believer isn’t going to see anything more than air.

However, if we are earnest about him we will see and sense great things not as a reward, but as gifts of clarity, peace, and victory.

We can embrace each day, experience each moment, and not fret about all the tomorrows from now until the trumpet sounds because he is always there.

How do I know this?

Well,… I looked up.

 

Boom!

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A VBS Unlike Any Other:

VBS Goes to Rome: The theme for Vacation Bible School this year is “Rome: Paul & The Underground Church”

The dates are June 26-30…Look at your calendar…share with your friends…Pray for Seana Zilbert, who is directing…Make plans to volunteer.

You can sign up your child and their friends here on our website. Look the button up top, click, and follow.

Note to Church: Expect much work to be taking place around the church throughout the month of June as we prepare for VBS.

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Burbank Faith now has a Twitter account. You can follow us at; @BurbankFaithNaz

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Eric Canto has created a Burbank Faith channel on YouTube and has placed all of our recent services there. Go check it out.

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Checkout Burbank Faith on YELP and be sure to write a review of our church.

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July is Camps Month: Remember July is camps month…Junior High, High School & Kids will all have separate camps at Granite Ridge.

District Assembly is July 12-14
(It is one month later this year due to General Assembly (Indianapolis) being held June 21-30.)

SrHi Camp: July 16-21
Kids Camp: July 23-28
JrHi Camp: July 30-August 4

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“Big September” every Thursday in the month of September (7, 14, 21, 28)…Old Testament overview. We’ll feed you and care for the kids. Mark your calendar. Big September is just like Big Wednesday times four…

 

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Did You Know?
On this date…

 

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Church Calendar:
June 11: Sunday Service, 10:30 AM…Sunday evening “Prayer Hour” from 6-to-7:00 PM
June 18: Father’s Day
June 26-30: VBS Week
July 6: Church Board Meeting
July 12-14: District Assembly
August 12: Church Garage/Yard Sale
“Big September” every Thursday in the month of September (7, 14, 21, 28)

 

As believers, we have to remain in continual prayer for all of our first responders…all our leaders…not a political party but for those carrying the heavy burden of leadership in our country and communities.