Prayer for Hurricanes Fiona and Ian

 Hello Through the Word Family,

Our prayers go out right now to all of our listeners, their families, friends, neighbors, and communities affected by both Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian. 

The last few weeks have been devastating for the Caribbean and the Eastern Coast of North America.  Two weeks ago, Hurricane Fiona hit the Caribbean islands of Guadalupe, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos before heading out to sea and making landfall again in eastern Canada. 

Today, we are watching as Hurricane Ian, which has already knocked out power to all of Cuba, makes landfall in Florida. 

In addition to the ruin these natural disasters leave in their wake, it is tough to see this destruction as anything but, well, wrong. Why do these things happen to us? Why is this world so broken? 

Let’s be honest: there are no easy answers to these questions. But one thing we can be sure of: God has called us to help those in need. But how do we help those who are in need, especially if we are far from the affected areas?

The National Christian Foundation has assembled a list of organizations already on the ground in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other islands in the Caribbean. The NCF is an organization that helps direct generous people to create a giving strategy based on biblical principles to give with more impact. For a list of charities you can assist with the recovery after Hurricane Fiona, visit National Christian Foundation. 

When Hurricane Ian clears, there will be additional organizations that will assist with relief. As we become aware of more avenues to help, we will provide you with links to where you can support to assist with hurricane relief. 

We at Through the Word have a heart for those dealing with the destruction that follows disasters like this. Pastors Kris and Jonathan visited the relief work in Mississippi in 2006, and Pastor Kris and his family moved to Diamondhead, Mississippi, in 2007 to assist a church plant there. 

If you live in any of the affected areas of Hurricanes Fiona or Ian, please let us know. You can find us on Instagram or Facebook @throughtheword. We want to know how we can pray for you!

With Deepest Prayers,

Jonathan

Big Update News!

 Hello Friends! 

We are excited to share that we have a big update to the app! 

One of the biggest additions–we now have playback speed controls! That’s right; you can now listen to us faster than ever! Wanna hear what Pastor Kris sounds like after drinking a Red Bull? Well, you won’t hear that, but you can adjust the playback speed from .75x up to 2.0x.

You can now also swipe right to add/remove audio guides as favorites.  So if you really love the Beatles references in Exodus 18, you can now save it so you can listen to it again! That same swipe also lets you mark a guide as completed, so feel free to swipe right!

Other new features include:

- Improved, smoother audio player

- Improved sign-in process, with Password Manager support

- Dismissing News & Updates will be remembered

- Improved experience changing translations on the Passage screen

- Fixed missing verses in some chapters (Ezra 1, Ezra 2, Joshua 12, Nehemiah 7)

- Overall stability improvements and bug fixes

If you haven’t already noticed these changes, be sure to update your app today! If you are experiencing any issues with the update, please reach out to us at help@throughtheword.org.

God Bless! 

Jonathan

Finding Meaning While Mourning

Hello to all of our Through the Word Family, especially to our Dallas Cowboys fans. Today’s post may be of particular interest to you today.

Finding Meaning During Mourning

When I was on staff at my church, I would regularly get phone calls from people who would explain the difficulties they were facing, and then ask the question, “Why is this happening? I thought as a Christian my life was going to get better!” 

The Bible never promises us an easy life on earth. It repeatedly warns us that we will face trials of various kinds. Death. Persecution. Pain. Rejection. And when we face these difficulties, they often lead us into mourning and grief.  

We are currently watching as our friends in the United Kingdom are in the middle of a national period of mourning. As England grieves the loss of Queen Elizabeth, it is a good reminder that we live in a world filled with pain and loss. Sin has destroyed the perfect world we live in, and we are still dealing with the consequences today. 

But the Bible offers hope in the midst of suffering and grief. One of the greatest truths to this is found in Matthew 5, where Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Here are some more truths to help you find meaning when mourning:

• God heals the brokenhearted and will bind up our wounds (Psalm 147:3).
• God’s promises give us life, even when mourning (Psalm 119:50).
• God is with us, even when we are near death (Psalm 23:4).
• God will strengthen us in times of fear and dismay (Isaiah 41:10).
• The Spirit of God intercedes to the Father for us, even when we can't find the words to pray (Romans 8:26-28).
• One day, all pain and sorrow will be taken away, and we will be filled with joy (Revelation 21:4)
• We can know that God can use our pain and mourning to accomplish good (Romans 8:28).
• We can trust in Jesus, who has overcome the evil and wickedness of the world (John 16:33).
• We can comfort others when they are in pain, with the comfort we received from Christ and others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

As you journey through the Bible, Through the Word is here to help you understand it. With audio guides explaining each chapter of the Bible in less than 10 minutes a day, we want you to grow in your understanding of scripture, whether it is book by book, or topic by topic. Here are a number of Audio Guides (all available on the app) we recommend you listen to if you want to know more about finding meaning when mourning.

• 2 Samuel 1–David mourns for Saul and Jonathan
• Nehemiah 9–Where mourning sin leads to a revival
• Ecclesiastes 7–It is wise to go through Mourning
• Amos 8–A call for the full nation to mourn
• Mark 5–Trusting in Christ through difficult times
• John 11–The resurrection of Lazarus

God Bless,

Jonathan Ferguson