September, 2026
THE PROMISED LAND
Dear Friend in Christ:
Blessings to you in Jesus’ name! As we move towards another change of seasons in the natural, we also recognize we are stepping into a new season spiritually and circumstantially. I want to give you a brief update on CSM as well as sharing a personal health report. But first, let’s talk a few minutes about …
As I said, we have entered a new season, and we want to hear what God is saying. When seasons change, we cannot simply continue on as we were before. When you are going into territory that is unknown to you, it’s good to seek wisdom from the One Who knows and Who leads. There is a place and promise for those who seek Him. For some people, your “Promised Land” may be …
Your “Promised Land” is whatever the Lord has in store for you as an inheritance and dwelling place. It is a place to be enjoyed in relationship with others God has placed in your life. Do you know the promises of God in Scripture to His people? Do you know what God’s promises are to you specifically and personally? Last month in my August Pastoral Letter, we discussed our callings from God. Let’s share together now about what it means to journey with God.
A LAND I WILL SHOW YOUOne of the great-great-great grandsons of Shem, son of Noah, was named Terah. He lived in Ur, which was a Chaldean town located near the Euphrates River in what is now southern Iraq. Terah was a “spiritual seeker,” likely polytheistic, who decided to take his family to the land of Canaan, which was far away from Ur, and is located in present day Israel. Genesis 11 tells us:
“Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran” (Genesis 11:31-32).
Terah decided to go to Canaan, but he didn’t travel west across the barren desert, the shortest route. He traveled the traditional path north, up the routes along the Euphrates River. They came to a place called Haran, which is in modern day Turkey, just across the border with Syria.
They didn’t just visit Haran … they dwelt there. And Terah, instead of fulfilling his vision, died there. If you look at satellite maps, which I do because I’m a nerd, you can see that the area where Haran is today is relatively green compared to the surrounding desert lands. Haran must have seemed pleasant to Terah and his family. Too many journeys get stopped or diverted by the pursuit of comfort and pleasure. Thank God, that is not the end of the story!
God spoke to Abram and Abram was listening; he was a God-seeker. Genesis 18 says God was pleased to choose Abram, in part because God knew that Abram would lead his own household and teach them the ways of the Lord.
“Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him” (Genesis 12:1-7).
BREATH OF GOD
There was just one teeny problem. Abram and his wife, Sarai, had no children. Yet, the name Abram literally means “Exalted father.” Later, the breath of God would breathe upon Abram and Sarai; he became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah. They conceived the child that God had promised to them in their old age. But all of that happened later … at this point, Abram is 75, childless, and living in a land of unfulfilled vision
God said, “Get up and go.” God didn’t say “Go to Canaan.” God said, “Go to a land that I will show you.” Geographically, that turned out to be Canaan, but Abram was not called to go in someone else’s vision or to a place that was familiar to him. God had a new way and a new plan for Abram that Abram could not see on his own—he had to trust the Lord’s leading. The reason Abraham and Sarah are mentioned so prominently in Hebrews 11 is that everything about his life and his journey was by faith and not by sight.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore” (Hebrews 11:8-12).
Faith is the evidence of hope; obedience is the evidence of faith. Knowing that Abram had an obedient heart, God promised to bless Abram and to make Abram a blessing to all of the peoples of the world. They followed that ancient trade route of the Fertile Crescent until they came into a wide plain where there was a large tree or grove of trees. Shechem was located approximately 30 miles north of present-day Jerusalem, 15 miles north of Bethel, or about 6800 miles east of Pascagoula … just so you know.
Scripture says Canaanites were in the land. They were in it, but it wasn’t their land. It was, and is, God’s land. Many of the various tribes living there were nomadic, and the region was known for mercenaries and thieves. They worshipped false gods and offered their own children as sacrifices. God had other plans.
THE MAKER IS THE OWNER
God may promise a land or a sphere to you, but that doesn’t mean the sphere is unoccupied or that the occupants are going to be glad to see you. There are forces, both spiritual and natural, that will oppose you coming into your inheritance.
The issue is not who is opposing you but to Whom does the earth belong? To whom is He giving that place the for the purposes of stewardship and fruitfulness? These statements are going to make some folks angry, but here is a key to life: God is the Maker; He is the Owner; He is the Sovereign Lord. God does as He pleases, when He pleases, how He pleases. Everything He does is done in righteousness for His glory and the blessing of His people. His constant mission is the redemption and blessing of all of humanity; every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball.
When Abram heard the promise, he responded with worship to God. He had yet to see with his natural eyes the fulfillment of the promise, but he believed God and reckoned it done. God called Abram “righteous” because of Abram’s faith.
Abram built an altar as an act of worship and as a landmark; a signpost. When God reveals His Word to us, it is a more powerful reality for us than the things that we can see with our natural eyes or hear with our natural ears. The response of faith is to worship Him in gratitude and to live in obedience to His direction and call.
RECEIVING THE PROMISE
Once God leads us to the place He has called us to go, what’s next? How is it possible to enter and dwell in the “Promised Land” that God has promised to us? How can we do it when there are enemies set against us, especially spiritual forces of wickedness? First of all, we need to have confidence in God’s Sovereign plan and His ability to bring it to pass. My Grandpa Simpson used to say, “Anxiety is a mild form of atheism.” We don’t just believe in God; we believe God. You’ll never receive a promise you don’t believe in.
Paul wrote to Christians in the city of Philippi, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
But if we are going to walk in His promise, it must happen in His wisdom and strength; it must happen His way. We can’t say we need His strength and then try to accomplish it with our own power, wisdom, or our own way. Seek Him. Pray without ceasing. Rejoice and give thanks to Him. Study His Word. Well, you and I will converse together again soon. I’m already working on my October Pastoral Letter. October is coming! Can you imagine that?
MOVING FORWARD
Susanne and I continue our health journey. She remains cancer-free, thank God. Both of us are being constantly monitored by our health teams. The new kidney I’ve received from my friend Grant Simpson is working GREAT! There are still complications and difficulties from my recent heart attack and blocked artery. Very soon, I will have another heart cath and stent repair. I’m working as much as possible and look forward to the day I can travel in ministry and see you all! Please keep us in your prayers amidst our battles.
Would you prayerfully consider a special gift to support the work of the ministry in September and through the year-end? Everything we do is by faith. We have not heard the Lord tell us to shut down, but rather to persevere and trust Him for miracles. And so, here we are. Thanks for your friendship and for standing with us.
“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation’” (Isaiah 12:2).
In Jesus,
Stephen Simpson
President
