Bethany Hunter Hardman

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

bethany2On May 9th, Bethany Hunter Hardman was killed in a tragic car accident. She was 29, a loving wife to Randy, a great mother to Noah (3) and Lilly (6 mo), my sister and brother-in-law’s only daughter and sister to four brothers.

She loved Jesus, cared deeply for troubled women and the life of children in the womb. Our family can’t express the degree of pain we feel.

I keep focusing on two things: mystery and miracle. There is no side-stepping mystery in our faith. I can’t imagine why this happened. There is no way to make any sense of it.

I’ve been thinking about the scene in the book of Acts where Peter is miraculously released from prison. God opens doors and chains just fall off Peter. It is an amazing display of God’s power. When he arrives at the house where the believers are praying, I can’t help but think of John. What must it have felt like for John to hear about Peter’s miracle from God?

Earlier in the same chapter, James, John’s brother, has been beheaded for his faith in Christ. What a loss for John.
John must have embraced the mystery. It didn’t cause him to falter. He wasn’t emotionally paralyzed or made numb. He weathered the confusion and came through it tender for Jesus.

We can move through this mysterious loss and stay tender toward Jesus too.

I’m also focusing on miracle. The power of God is being displayed on several levels. First, Jesus is the firstborn from the dead! Just the first…there are more to follow. And Bethany will live again in a glorified, eternal body just like Jesus displayed after the resurrection.

Miracles are all around us as the Body of Christ shares the love of Jesus. We are seeing miracles of love and generosity. The presence of Jesus is tangible through the love of family and friends.

Maybe the most important miracle is the felt presence of Jesus in each of our hearts. He really is a peace that passes all understanding. He is a strong tower. He is an ever present help in our time of need. I am amazed as I watch my sister walk through this loss of her daughter. What we say we believe about Christ is proving to be true in the midst of the fire.

Jesus is real. There is both mystery and miracle in following Him.

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CorrieCorrie Emma – (def) – delight, strong, steady, beautiful, great laugh, clear thinker, youngest child, recent high school graduate.

It’s happening.  Our youngest child is a high school graduate.  Sunday was our celebration.  The morning was spent worshipping together at the church that we planted in 1995 in Wilmore, KY.  Great Commission Fellowship is where Corrie Emma spent her most formative years.  Sitting behind her this past weekend brought back a beautiful memory.  I watched her lift her hands toward Jesus while singing from her heart and I remembered one of the most significant Sundays of my life.

I was standing on the platform at GCF enjoying the beauty of hundreds of people passionately singing to Jesus.  I watched as Corrie Emma, probably only 7 years old, made her way to the front of the tabernacle.  She was wearing a beautiful new dress with pink flowers on it.  As the band played and the congregation sang, Corrie Emma began to dance before the Lord.  It literally took my breath away.  I stood there thinking that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.  Part of me wanted to rush down to her, lift her up and dance with her.  But she was so much more free to worship than I was.

I felt such strong love for her.

As I continued watching and worshipping, the presence of the Lord became so real.  I heard His voice.  It was inside, but I heard Him.

“The way that you feel about her is the way that I feel about you.”

It felt as though He were rushing down to me and lifting me up in a dance.  I will never forget how close He was and how loved I felt.

We spent Sunday evening celebrating with family and friends.  Corrie Emma’s siblings were there from Vermont and Indiana, so were aunts and uncles, a bunch of cousins, and both sets of grandparents.  What a wonderful day.  What an amazing girl.

Jesus, thank You for Corrie Emma.  Thank You for continuing to pursue her so that she has remained steady in pursuing You.  Continue to lead her in the dance.  Keep her heart tender and her mind clear.  Protect her from the evil one.  As she grows further into adulthood, help her to listen to you and follow each step that you take with her.  Give her even more strength and pour out your grace and power on her. 

Jesus, thank You for giving Corrie Emma to us and for using her to show us even more of Your love.  Amen.

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Rich Stevenson | 2 Comments

Choose a man

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

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The enemy seemed to be winning.  For 40 days, their hero, Goliath, strutted before the army of Israel.

“Choose a man and have him come down to me.  If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.  This day I defy the ranks of Israel!  Give me a man and let us fight…”

One man could bring victory to all the men of Israel.  But all of the soldiers were paralyzed by their fear.  Not one responded to the enemy’s challenge.  Was there not one man in Israel willing to face this powerful enemy?

David left the fields where he served as shepherd.  Sent by his father with fresh food for his brothers, David encounters Goliath.  David’s perspective was completely different.  He didn’t focus on Goliath’s size or the immensity of his weapons.  David didn’t have a Goliath perspective, he had a God perspective.

“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?  The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.  You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”

David was the chosen man.  Chosen by God to defeat the enemy.

The enemy seemed to be winning.  Satan was strutting before God and His people.  The priesthood was immoral, the disciples scattered, God’s people lost without a shepherd, and the world unconscious in the grip of the devil.

Was there not one man in Israel willing to face this powerful enemy?

“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”  Romans 5:18,19

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”  Colossians 2:13-15

Jesus was the chosen man.  Chosen by God to defeat the enemy.

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Kneeling between giants

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Rich Stevenson

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