Lenten Reading, 3/8/23

John 7:53-8:59
 

Then they all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

“Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own;God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Jesus’ Claims About Himself

The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Lenten Reading, 3/7/23

John 7:1-52
 

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

“You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Division Over Who Jesus Is

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Lenten Reading, 3/6/23

John 6:1-71

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Water

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Sonand believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves,“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”  (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

Lenten Reading and Devotion - 3/3/23

John 5:1-47

The Healing at the Pool

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gatea pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

The Authority of the Son

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Testimonies About Jesus

“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. “I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

This first full week of Lent, we have journeyed from Chapter 2 to Chapter 5. We have seen Jesus turn water into wine, cleanse the temple, talk to Nicodemus, heal a paralytic, and much more! A great title for this section would be “Power and Authority” because Jesus clearly has it! Yet not only does He have it, but He also uses it in a unique way…He brings joy to a wedding, justice to the temple, offers eternal life to Nicodemus, and physically heals those in need. The way Jesus uses His sovereign world creating power, is amazing! It is so different from how we see the Jewish leaders using their power in the gospels. They tend to use it to stay in power and position by oppressing others. And honestly, it is not so different from how many people in our current culture use power and authority. Throughout history, power and authority have been used to reign over and oppress people. Jesus uses His power and authority to change people and the world for the better. Jesus uses His Kingdom power to bring healing, peace, and restoration. 

That is what Jesus does over and over again in the Gospels. And why does He do this? Because of His overwhelming love for His creation. He loved us so much that He chose not to exercise His full power and authority. He chose to limit Himself to a human body and its frailty for us. He chose to forego so many options to use His power selfishly due to His love for us. He willingly gave His life on the cross for us because He loved us. If you want to know the true power to change the world, look to Jesus and how He exercised it. He used it to love as only He could do.

As we move toward the crucifixion, we should remember Jesus chose us and gave all He had for us. We should daily seek to do the same for Him. We should give our lives to the purpose of following Him. We should live out the power of His Kingdom by loving Him and loving our neighbor. We should seek to make a difference in the world not for self but for the Kingdom of God. Abiding in and sharing His love is where the true power to change the world lies.

 - Where have you seen power abused and misused for evil?
 - Where have you seen the power of God’s love change the world?
 - Where in your life have you experienced the power of God’s love?
 - How can you share God’s love this week to make the world a better place?

Grace and peace,
Brother Chip

Lenten Reading, 3/2/23

John 4:4-54
 

Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the townto buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of waterwelling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
 

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
 

Many Samaritans Believe

 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.

They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
 

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

After the two days he left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Lenten Reading, 3/1/23

John 3:22 - 4:3
 

John Testifies Again About Jesus

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.  You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
 

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judeaand went back once more to Galilee.

Lenten Reading, 2/28/23

John 2:13 - 3:21

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
 

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Lenten Reading, 2/27/23

John 2:1-12

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,  and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Lenten Reading and Devotion - February 23, 2023

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter.) The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.“Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”  “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

In our reading today we see Jesus calling the Disciples to follow Him. Notice they are the last part of the domino effect in the chapter. The first section gives us an amazing testimony of who Jesus is...The One was before all creation, the one who created all, the one who is the living Word of God, the Light of the world! Then John comes to confirm all that has been said in the opening proclamation and to speak the revealed truth. And finally we come to the disciples, who one after the other, hear about, encounter, believe, and begin to follow Jesus! Even skeptical Nathaniel, who presents a doubting contrast to the sure hearted opening statements of proclamation about Jesus.

Here are a few questions I have asked myself after reflecting on the chapter.

1. What do we believe about Jesus? That really is the central question here and throughout the book. Who is Jesus to you?

2. Are you proclaiming who you believe and know Jesus to be...Like John the Baptist? Does your life word, deed and attitude point to and proclaim Jesus? If not, why not?

3. And lastly, when have you felt Jesus calling  you to follow Him? To trust Him? To step out in faith? How during Lent can you add a spiritual discipline to help you hear and trust God more daily?

Prayer:

God of all grace, help us to remain humble and open to the leading of Your Spirit during the season of Lent. Give us ears to hear and hearts to listen for what you desire to do in us. May we learn to set aside all our doubts, fears, and distractions so we may wholeheartedly follow you. In the name of the One who gave His life for ours, Amen.

Grace and Peace,

Chip

I've Been Thinking

I am thinking about Jesus and the disciples in the gospels. What a motley bunch! They were men with different personalities, skills, and ideas, just like any group of folks who would be thrown together today. I am sure from time to time, they got weary of one another, which led to tension and disagreement; that is just community, right? Yet they all had one thing in common; they were called to follow Jesus. At times, following Jesus was more than likely the only shared purpose they had. Only Jesus and His calling could have kept such a group together. Following Jesus was their common purpose.

Now allow me to segue with that same thought to our current community. As we come together in this new FUMC community, many think we will be more homogenous in belief. Well, let me go ahead and burst the bubble; we will still disagree on the interpretation of scripture, social issues, and have personality conflicts. I have never been in a group or community of folks who did not have differences. We are not alike, we are all different, and from time to time, those differences will strain our community. Now, if we choose to focus on those differences, it will shatter our fellowship. Going forward, we must agree on our common purpose, which is one thing, and only one thing - to follow Jesus! Our hope is found in absolutely agreeing on this one thing; we are here for Jesus! We are here to worship Him, to grow in Him, to serve Him, and to share Him! We come together to be and to make disciples, period. We are not social activists, political scientists, cultural analysts, or any other kind of “ist.” We are all believers in the One who has called us to follow Him.

As we move forward, let us remember we have received the same calling as the disciples did 2000 years ago “follow Me...” Matthew 4:19. It is the imperative through which our new community must see itself, just as the disciples did 2000 years ago. It is that which binds us together. It is our identity, our core, our heart, our soul, our purpose, and our reason for existing, to follow Jesus! May those who view and experience our community encounter a people who are not only called by His name but follow Him without reservation.

Peace and Grace,
Brother Chip

Sometimes I feel a little disappointed...

Have you ever had something disappoint you or been disappointed by something? Of course, we all have at some point in our lives. Disappointment is a feeling I prefer not to experience. I do not like to be disappointed, nor do I like to disappoint. I know throughout my life, some of my decisions have disappointed or have been a disappointment to family and friends because of decisions that affected them, my relationship with them, and me personally. I can honestly say that disappointing them was unintentional. Although some of the decisions I made have been "intentional" because those decisions had to do with what I deemed as proper or correct, based on the values instilled in me throughout my life and my belief in following a Christ-centered life, which I am almost positive is who I have disappointed the most in my life.

As crazy as it might sound, occasionally, it takes a painful disappointment to teach us a skill, strengthen our faith, or put us in the right place at the right time. Now I am not advocating we run out and test this by disappointing someone or ourselves. However, even in the critical moments in our life, God is in control of the situation. He is looking out for us. He is working out a plan that is bigger than we are, and we are going to be better for it in the end. What makes you say that you ask? It is written in Jeremiah 29:11 – "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not disaster to give you a future and a hope." 

"…a future and a hope". Isn't that wonderful to know? So, we ask, how do we overcome life's little disappointments? First, we must believe in God's plan as it is written in Jeremiah. This is God's assurance to the people of His plans to prosper them and give them a hopeful future. Even when we do not see immediate results, we can remain assured of God's ultimate blessing and benefit. The fruit may not come immediately, but it will come ultimately.

We must grieve a little when things have not gone as we wanted. When our hopes and expectations have been defeated, we need some quiet time to be sad, mourning the way we thought things would be. Once we fight through grief, we need to remember disappointment is not meant to define us or hold us hostage. Remember, there is a greater plan for our lives, and we cannot give it power. We must overcome.

You had to know this next one was coming; we should pray. Spend some time talking to your Heavenly Father. Tell Him your heartache. Tell Him about the plans you had and ask Him to show you why He's taken them away. I promise you that He has good in this for you, and it's okay to ask Him what that good is.

What's next? Listen and wait. Big things happen when we pray. Sometimes, they are blessings beyond our expectations. Sometimes they happen right away, but usually, they happen much later when we least expect them. You must keep waiting. You will know when the prayer has been answered.

We must look for the good when we have experienced disappointment. This is the time when it's most challenging - and most important - to find the good, grab onto it with both hands, and celebrate it. We need to. Every day is a new day, with a new beginning. We have a choice to wallow in self-pity or to move forward in our faith, hope, joy, and love. Psalm 118:24 provides the instruction for us to follow each day, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." It WILL make a difference and add value to our lives and the lives of others if we adopt this attitude.

I encourage each of us as leaders in our homes, communities, and organizations to understand we will have times in our lives when we are disappointed or disappoint others. We, as leaders, set an example for others, and we should not allow disappointment to take power over our lives. We should set the example of faith, hope, joy, and the unconditional love God provides us to overcome life's little pitfalls. Our example will become a teachable moment in the lives of others that will make a difference and add value. Jeremiah 29:11

Have a wonderful day,

James Dodwell

“The Widow’s Faith” - Mark 12:41- 44 - Matthew Colburn

And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And He called His disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

• This is the Word of God…amen. Let’s pray together.

• Well, Chip and I both have recently celebrated our one year anniversary of being at FUMC in Alexander City. And part of that anniversary celebration involved both of us traveling down to Panama City Beach to participate in and behold the amazing witness of faith that was professed and confirmed by our four confirmands who, as of this past Sunday, have recently joined this household of faith.

• Now, usually within the first year of ministry, pastors get the opportunity to kick the tires, check the engine, see all the ways and habits and quirks that make the local church so unique. And I’ll tell ya, just being plainly, simply, as honest as I can be, I have never encountered a congregation quite like this one. In many ways good, in some ways, not so good.

• To give you an example: when I came to that confirmation retreat, my talk was on commitment. And when I met with these confirmands, the future of our church, I had to tell them: don’t commit to Christ in the way that many of the adults in our church “commit” to Christ. Because I’ll tell you church, our congregation here has a commitment problem.

• We see it in our giving. We see it when we plan events that require volunteers. We see it when summer arrives and the lake is right next door. We see it when travel ball emerges and competes for our time and attention. The call to Christ is costly, yet we have reduced that commitment to something more palatable.

• When some came to follow Christ, they came with what we might consider valid excuses. “Lord let me follow you.” “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head…” This being Christ’s way of saying, “You may have no earthly dwelling if you follow me, but you will also not have a home, a place of belonging, in the world if you follow me.” “Lord, let me first go bury my father.” “Let the dead bury the dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

• What do we come to Christ with as conditions for our commitment, church? Because I can tell you what I have seen. And I say these things not to cause direct harm. I say these things to you because a good physician must know when to cut, when to set a bone, when to inflict something temporarily painful for the purpose of healing in the whole body.

• What do we come to Christ with as our conditions? “Lord, I’ll give my time, but I’m going to wait until the last minute to show up because there may be something else I want to do that conflicts with serving you.” “Jesus, I’m going to follow you eight months out of the year, but those four summer months are mine. That’s lake time.” “Lord, I know you have instructed us in your good counsel and wisdom to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, but I really don’t have the time to even invest one hour of my Sunday to you. I’m sure you understand!”

• Let me be clear that I am not saying this is a universal truth that applies to every person in this congregation. Because while I’ve seen a general spirit of uncommitment, I’ve also seen in this community of faith people who are so fervently committed to the cause of Christ that spending one minute with them is like basking in heaven’s rays.

• But this is a prevalent phenomenon in this church. Its difficult to plan events because we never know who’s going to show up, we can’t accurately budget because money is given or withheld on a whim, every challenge we face currently comes from a lack of commitment: commitment to Christ, His church, His people.

• So when I came up to our confirmands, to our children, to our youth I told them: do not commit as some of the adults in this church commit. I hope I say this to your shame that it will bring repentance! I told them do not commit as some in this church “commit.” Where we follow Jesus if and when it is convenient.

• No no no, church. If Jesus is who He says He is, then He demands our complete and total obedience. Satan and the powers of this world get six days of the week to develop and encourage you in your habits, your hangups, your sins, your ways. God asks for one day set apart from the rest. One day to gather together to worship His holy name, remember what He has accomplished for our sakes at the cross, and to glorify the name of the risen Savior who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

• And yet…we’ve culturally conditioned ourselves to say, “Alright God, its Sunday. You’ve got an hour then I’m going to go do what I want to do.” We look at people who go to Sunday morning worship, Sunday night small groups, and Wednesday evening Bible studies as super saints. God demands a day, we normalize setting aside an hour, and some of us even say to that, “No no no, an hour is too much.”

• Church, what happened? What happened here? What happened to us? My hope in this is that you receive this word in love. That you know it is out of my affection for you and the condition of your heart that I am telling you these things. That God may call all of us to repentance to flee from the idols of this world and walk in faith, leading quiet, holy lives in faithful commitment to Him.

• How do we address this problem? Well, I don’t want you to simply hear my words about what is good, right, and pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Let us look together at our passage this morning, as the Lord commends this widower in her commitment and love for her God. Let us speak more of the way in which we ought to conduct ourselves, ought to order our lives, and ought to live faithfully among one another.

• Let me first begin, before even touching our passage, by setting it in its context. Jesus has entered Jerusalem for the final time as He prepares to go to the cross, endure the shame, and be raised and exalted in glory all for our sakes. The gospel of redemption, received by grace through faith in Christ, casts its shadow upon our story this morning.

• And as Jesus and His disciples are walking through the city, Jesus is doing a great deal of teaching. He is warning people of the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, who are enamored by appearances. Jesus tells them, “Beware the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive greater condemnation.”

• Church, since I’m in the challenging mood this morning, let me ask you: of which sins listed here are you guilty of? Are you obsessed by appearance, as the scribes? Because I’ll tell you: when I began to wear a tie and coat as of two or three weeks ago, I had someone tell me, “I heard a lot of folks say they thought you were so cute in the way you were dressed.” And I’ve also had people tell me, “Y’know, I’ve heard some people talking about how much they hate the length of your hair…”

• For those who speak either way, in the positive or negative of your ministers’ appearances, let me ask you: of those Sundays where I was dressed nicely, can you tell me what Scripture we read together and studied in worship? Or perhaps, you who are obsessed with the length of a person’s hair, can tell me one hymn we sang by the Spirit’s prompting? You can’t? Interesting. So then, re-order your heart, sinner! What does it matter if I come to you in rags and bald, or in a three-piece suit with lengthened hair? For the wild man, John the Baptist, came bringing a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, while the Pharisees and scribes, dressed in the finest robes, led people to eternal damnation like the pied pipers of Satan.

• Or who among you, in the course of your time in worship, have grown so accustomed and attached to your preferred seat in the synagogue, that you have run off strangers and visitors for the sake of your personal preferences? Re-order your heart, o sinner! Confess before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and pray that your arrogance and pride has not run off those poor souls from the doors of the church where God transforms the hearts and minds of the lost.

• The church in the West is obsessed with appearance. Even pastors aren’t immune. The number of times I’ve heard ministers in an arrogant, bragging way speak of “We worship about 500, we worship about 1,000…” Fool! Do you not know that God is the One who adds to the number of your assembly daily? What good is a high membership roll if there is no discipleship? You may as well brag about the Dead Sea; for though your membership roll flows long, it is shallow, empty, and dead in sin.

• So then while many may try to read themselves into the role of the faithful widow, in reality, we are often much more like the Pharisees than we’d care to admit. And these Pharisees are the ones who, as Jesus says, “devour widows’ houses,” that is, they devour the lives, hearts, and souls of the faithful for the purpose of making an idol of themselves or worshiping themselves. And if we don’t take great care to note Jesus’ words, we are in TROUBLE. For “These will receive the greater condemnation.”

• Y’all got your toes stomped on yet? Let me remind you, then, of the hope of the gospel before we continue forward. That every word of rebuke or correction is not simply to cause aimless harm. It is to realign our hearts to the will of God and bring us into repentance, that we may experience true joy and life in His name.

• So, what is the solution, preacher? If then you call us Pharisees, how are we to live? How ought we to conduct our lives for the sake of the gospel? Don’t rebuke us without giving us a solution! Ah, dear friends, I intend to do just that. 

• Let me direct our attention to these first two verses: “And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money in the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.”

• Now, church, let me, as both exposition of this passage and application of this passage, tell you rumors of what I have heard of some of you that I dearly hope and pray are not true. It has been reported that some among you have chosen not to give to the church because you want to wait and see what happens with the discernment process, disafiliation, and the future of this church before you give to it.

• If this is true, and I hope it isn’t, but if this is true, and you are sitting here today, read this passage along with me closely: we saw in the context what Jesus said: the Pharisees devoured widows’ houses. The Pharisees saw the poor, the orphaned, the widower, as pigs, equal to the Gentiles, without any hope of keeping the law and destined for hell.

• This widow isn’t ignorant of that fact. She knows she will receive little help or grace from the temple, the dwelling place of God among man. She knows how the religious leaders see her. This place, enraptured by religion, hates her. And you know what she does? She comes faithfully to the temple treasury, and gives all that she has.

• Because at the end of the day, the stewards of that treasury will stand before God and give a full account of their exploitation and evil. Yet the widower knows that God calls her to be faithful. She gives, not because she’s expecting a return on her investment or for the church to act as she wants it to act, but because our giving is worship.

• God has blessed us out of the abundance of His grace. And in worship, we return a small portion of that to Him in gratitude with thanksgiving. We don’t just spiritualize the time of the offering so we can pay church bills. Our worshipful time of giving each Sunday is an act of rebellion against the world, and an act of faithfulness towards our God: “Lord, you have blessed me greatly. I know you are with me. And because I trust in you, I am returning a portion of what you have blessed me with to your body on this earth, your church, that it may be used to the glory of your name and the good of your people.”

• Our giving is worship. So I want you to hear me, church, and I say this with love for you: if you cannot give to the mission and work of this church because of current denominational issues, that is your decision. Go in peace. Be well. But you need to go and join a church where you can faithfully give. It is too important for the sake of your eternal soul and the health of this church for you to remain here with a heart that is not enlivened by the joy of Christ that causes you to give or withhold giving on a choice whim. Its not about you!

• Because I’ll tell you, and I’m glad Steve Presley is at Discovery and Chip’s on vacation so they can’t hear me say this: I do not care what number is on our financial reports. I seriously don’t. If you use your money for influence, power and control; to withhold it when things don’t go your way, or change to a designated fund when someone hurts your feelings, go and repent or go find somewhere else to worship.

• Give me a church full of people with this widow’s faith, and I’ll give you a church that can change the world. Because while many rich people came and deposited large sums, it was the widow alone who caught Jesus’ attention. Verses 43-44: “And He called His disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

• Notice here, church, that if you have been distracted by appearances and distracted from the life-changing, life giving Word of God, that you are not alone. For Jesus had to call His disciples to them to show them this wondrous act of faith. Some wonder at what the disciples may have been doing or looking at before Jesus called them to Him, but I would present to you this likely scenario: that the answer comes from whats before our text and what comes after. 

• Jesus warns them of the scribes’ hypocrisy, likely, because they are blinded by the wealth, power, and fame. Jesus, after this text, warns them of the temple’s beauty, as they marvel at its workmanship and precious metals, by telling them, “You like this temple? Truly, there is not one stone upon another that will not be torn down.”

• How precious a word is this to the proud sinner: that the disciples were not unlike us, yet because of the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ they were restored to see the hidden beauty in a widow’s faith. You see, the difference between the disciples and the Pharisees is that, when Jesus told both groups to “Come and see,” the Pharisees rejected Jesus, while the disciples heard and obeyed His call.

• This word is a challenging word that I bring to you this morning. But it is a necessary word. We are entering a time where commitment to the church of Jesus Christ at FUMC is necessary now more than ever. And if you come to this time with worry, or anxiety, or concern, let me, hopefully, give you a window into what gives me hope.

• Every tree that bears good fruit must at times be pruned. And I firmly believe that this discernment process will do exactly that: it will prune the unhealthy, uncommitted, fruitless, dead vines from the true vine who sustains the healthy branches and, through them, produces good fruit.

• I firmly believe that at the end of this process, this church will be forged into whatever it becomes upon the firm foundation of those who are committed in their faith, committed to this church, and committed to supporting it in their gifts, graces, service, and resources, all by God’s help.

• Every Sunday that I am privileged to step up into this pulpit or behind this music stand, my hope and prayer is that those in need of conviction are convicted, and those in need of comfort are comforted. That is my prayer now more than ever. For those of you with hearts guilty of Pharisaism, I present to you two options. Because God has entrusted the care of this church in a small portion to myself, and because I will be held accountable at the judgment to how I worked to guard, protect, shepherd, and lead this church, for the health of the church I present two options: come to the altar, or exit through those doors.

• Repent or leave. For the sake of your eternal soul and for the sake of the health of this church, repent or leave. That those who remain may be presented in those last days in the blamelessness of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, that He may receive all glory, honor, and praise, now and forevermore. Amen.

It Gives Me Pause

I have been absent of late. There is no excuse for my absence other than a few life setbacks that have challenged my time management each day, and it took a little settling within and a few friends prodding me that it has been long enough to pause, take a breath, get my thoughts together, and get back to work. I thank them for using a velvet hammer to get the message across to me. I am humbled, to say the least.

I recently read that “Sin is not just the wrong stuff we do; it’s the good we do not do.” It can be interpreted this way,” “Every choice we make, and every action matters to someone. Every choice we do not make and every action we do not take matters just as much.” Amen? 

Our grandson is very interested in the creatures of the world. He loves anything that crawls, climbs, jumps, spends a web, flies, anyway, you get the drift; he likes bugs, lizards, spiders, snakes, and so forth. His four sisters loathe all these creatures and do not want anything to do with them: perfect situation for a big brother. He will spend hours in an animated state of observation when he encounters one of these creatures, especially turtles. When he finds one of these creatures, he just cannot look away; he is totally focused on its movement and actions. Then he finds some reference in a book or a documentary and learns all about the creature, and when I visit, I get an education on the life and activities of the latest find. Good stuff if you like creepy crawlies. Good stuff if you like to spend quality time with a grandson, just saying. 

The thing that most amazes me is his seamless delivery of information. He has studied these creatures and knows everything about them down to the smallest detail. As I listen, it gives me pause. 

This reminds me of something I read about PAUSE and studying our Bibles. The acronym for PAUSE:

P – Prepare your heart. Start your quiet time by reciting Psalm 131:1-2. Visualize everything competing for our attention into a box, then give the box to God to handle for us.

A – Ask God to speak to You. Before we dive into our Bible study, ask God to help us understand His Word and how to apply the scripture correctly to our life. We know He promised to give us His wisdom if we ask.

U – Unpack the passage. When was the passage written? Who was the intended audience? What was the main theme? What does the passage show you about God’s character? As we begin the study, we should read through the passage several times, each time answering a different question. Pay attention to any phrases and ideas that continue to stand out to us.

S – Summarize the scripture. What resonated with us as we were reading? Spend several minutes asking God to show us the truths in His Word, and then log the key takeaways from the passage. This will help us process and track the insights God offers us.

E – Exercise the application. If we want to grow stronger in our faith, it’s not enough to study God’s Word; we must live it!

As leaders in our homes, communities, and organizations, we must continue to make choices and take actions that matter to others. Our actions and reactions to daily events and life events tell the story of our life in Christ, which is important to others. We have only one choice to do what is right, do it right away, and do it the right way.

I encourage each of us to make a difference and add value to others by preparing our heart, asking God to speak to us, unpacking the message to simplify it for others to understand with our life’s walk and talk, summarizing the scripture to apply to real world events, and exercising the application of the Word for others to convey of the strength of faith, hope, joy, and unconditional love for others. As leaders, we should follow Solomon’s wisdom; give 70% of our time to areas of strength; give 25% of our time to areas to improve, and give 5% of our time to the areas of our weakness. 1 Kings 10:1-9.

Have a wonderful day, 

James Dodwell

A Follower's Thoughts - God's Creation

Job 12:7-10 says, "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, they will tell you; or the bushes of the Earth, and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind." Have you ever looked into the night sky, looking at all the stars or the moon shining so bright that it illuminated the ground around you? Have you ever watched a sunrise or sunset as the light kissed the clouds and turned them into red, yellow, purple, and other colors that even the greatest artistic painters cannot create? My most intimate moments with God are when I'm outside, taking in the wonders of God.

I've had the privilege of traveling to other parts of the country and Canada to go on hunting and fishing excursions. I've sat in a boat on a lake, 100 miles from civilization, listening to a loon make its haunting call, echoing down the lake. I watched the northern lights dance across the sky. I lay in my sleeping bag and listened to wolves howl in the distance. I walked through an Aspen tree forest as the sun shone through the leaves, engulfed in yellow. And yes, I have had the privilege of trekking through knee-deep snow, snowing so hard I could barely see 10 ft in front of me. That right there was not a pleasant memory! Of all my favorite memories of being in God's Creation, my favorite would be trekking up a mountain on a beautiful clear morning, at around 11,000 ft elevation, trying to breathe in oxygen like you would not believe. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Anyway, I found this huge rock ledge overlooking this vast range of mountains in Colorado. It was breathtaking! I took my Bible out of my pack, sat there on that ledge, and started reading God's Word. The closeness I had to God in those moments was overwhelming! There is an unspeakable peace and joy when you experience things as I have mentioned. Whether you realize it or not, we are all, in some way, connected to our Earth. This has been given to us as our temporary home to enjoy. Sometimes I think society, as a whole, has gotten away from the connection we need with God's Creation. We spend too much time on our phones and TVs and not enough time watching a sunrise or sunset, hiking a trail, fishing or hunting, walking outside looking at the spring flowers blooming, listening to the birds sing, getting our hands dirty planting flowers or a garden. All these outdoor experiences teach us that God is with us. God speaks to us through everything he has made. We need to take the time to look and listen. It's one of the best ways to find God. So, as we approach Holy Week, may we all take the time to experience God's Creation in some way. Never forget to thank God every day for breathing life into you, and most of all, thank his Son and our Savior Jesus Christ for dying on a cross so that we can have eternal life with our Creator.

God Bless!

Correll

Reflections on Exodus 32:7-14 ESV

            What we find in the text for our devotional this morning is a community in crisis. Moses has gone up to the mountain to meet with God, he has delayed in returning to the nation of Israel, and so Israel comes to Aaron, Moses’ brother, the vocal leader of the people, and says to him, “Make us gods who shall go before us. As for Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” The people don’t know where their leader is. God is silent in their midst. And so Aaron, as instructed, requires the gold of all those who are in the Israelite camp in order to forge a golden calf. An idol. How quickly the people have forgotten that it was not Moses who sent plague upon plague on Pharoah and his house! How suddenly have the people forgotten that it was not Moses who caused the Red Sea to recede! Was it Moses who gave them bread from heaven, or living water from the stricken rock, or who led them as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night? And yet here they venerate, even worship, their leader Moses. It was not Yahweh who delivered them, but, “Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 32:1).

            So is it at all surprising, then, that God says to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves”? For as much as they now worship an idol of a golden calf, they also worship, in some sense, Moses. They see the awesome power of God manifest in and through the faithfulness of Moses to steward and shepherd the people of Yahweh, and attribute that glory and power in “one who is like themselves” (much like the prophet greater than Moses who is promised in Deuteronomy 18), instead of rightfully allowing these mighty acts to bring them into worshipful reverence of Yahweh. Moses then, being a type and shadow of what is to come in Christ, comes before God in His holy habitance, intercedes for the people, reminding Yahweh of His faithfulness to keep His promises to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so brings the people to repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

            While I want to keep this at a “devotional” level, there is a piece of theology that ought to be discussed to more fully understand some logical questions that come from this text. If you wish to skip over this section to get to devotional application, the theological piece will be included in brackets to peruse or to skip over entirely.

[It is important that we speak on the “personification” of God in this text. Was God brought to anger in His wrath, that it was altogether assuaged, even “relented” from, as the text tells us, when Moses came to Him in repentance? This, then, raises another question important for consideration: does God experience emotion? To understand God in such a way leaves logical complications. Emotion, rightly understood, is a reactionary response. We feel anger when something happens to provoke such a response. We feel sad when something takes place which saddens us. That is to say, emotions are caused by something. Therefore, to say that God experiences emotions like anger, sadness, or anything of the sort, is to suggest that God is a reactionary God; if we truly teased out the implications here, a God that is reactionary is a God who is not altogether sovereign, nor omnipotent; for if He can be stirred to anger in response to the disobedience of His people, that would presume He is powerless to stop them, intercede, or simply can only react to their disobedience, instead of using even their disobedience towards an ultimate redemptive good. This is a doctrine known as “divine aseity”: simply meaning, God acts in a way that is entirely independent of any other being. His ways are independent of our ways; they are not directly caused by our ways. His thoughts are independent of our thoughts; they are not directly caused by our thoughts. He is not dependent on any particular thing: for His existence, His acting, His will. Therefore, God is impassible - because emotions are inherently dependent on a cause, God does not experience emotion.

Was God angry? No. Yet our tendency is often to read into wrath the emotion of anger. Such an understanding can be helpful for us, for our human emotional reaction of anger is often a response to tragedy or wrong that is itself outside of what God has willed. In that sense, anger is the emotional microcosm experienced by human beings, made in God’s image, by which we may in part understand God in His wrath against injustice, evil, and sinful disobedience.

But theologically, it can also be harmful. How often have we wilted beneath Satan’s lies telling us God is angry or sad at us because of actions we’ve committed? Because of ways in which we have sinned? God is not defined by emotion, but as spirit, infinite, eternal, unchanging, everlasting, and faithful. He is faithful in keeping His promises to us, often and even in spite of ourselves. A God who is an emotional creature, acting and reacting to everything we say, think, or do, is not a God who can grant us stable assurance of our salvation bound together within His word, and, frankly, is not a God who is worthy of our worship.

This should, then, open the door wide for our understanding of what it means for the Living God to love us. It is not love as we often interpret it: an emotional depth that provokes a repeated pattern of sacrificing action. We can strike the first part of that clause. God’s love is simply sacrificing action. He does not love us as other humans do: where when we act rightly, we are rewarded with a deeper commitment and love, and when we act wrongly the grieved party is filled with sadness, betrayal, even anger at our disobedience that separates us from them. God’s love remains, even in our disobedience. Christ died for us, while we were yet sinners. While we were disobedient. A reactionary, emotional God would do no such thing. So long as we stand in Christ’s righteousness, so long as we believe in His love, so long as we stand together united in His love, so we are saved. And as we are all the more conformed to His image, as we stand to resemble Christ more day after day, so we prove that God’s love never departs from us, never leaves us, and continues to transform us. Neither God’s wrath nor God’s love come from emotion that is reactionary: one is the natural consequence of rejecting God in favor of worshipping self; the other is the natural consequence of loving God and rejecting self.

The “catch” in all of this is, of course, that God became man. So did Jesus experience emotion? In His humanity, yes. In His divinity, no. In His humanity, He shows us how to submit reactionary, emotional response beneath the will of God. He cried as He approached Lazarus’ tomb, because of the hopelessness of Mary and her entourage. Yet He knew it was better for them that He not simply heal Lazarus, but that Lazarus might be raised from the dead; had Lazarus simply been healed, Mary would have had temporary joy. Because Lazarus was raised, she had resurrection hope. One is temporary. The other is eternal. Jesus held sadness and anger together as He approached Lazarus’ tomb, yet neither compromised the divine will and mission of God.

In this age and culture of emotional response, reaction, and self-idolization, this understanding of a God who is separate from these things, yet in His incarnation becomes sympathetic to us in our weakness, is a necessary component to the gospel message.

Now that we’ve concluded this brief theological sermon, back to the devotion at hand]

Let us together consider the devotional implications of our text for today:

1.     What we see in the Israelites’ behavior is nothing new. I call this phenomenon “gospel amnesia.” That is to say, we are so blinded by sin, that we have altogether become a people of “what have you done for me lately?”. They forgot the provision of God. They forgot the faithfulness of God. They forgot the promises they swore before God at Sinai in the command that was given. And the moment the voice of God withdrew from their midst, sin clouded their minds, their hearts, their souls, and in their pride they come to Aaron and say: “we want a god, made by our own hands, to worship. We don’t want to worship a God outside of our control; we want to worship ourselves.”

How often do we also do this very thing! Where we walk in gospel amnesia; meaning, we forget the good news of the gospel, and so return to the foolishness of our former ways. Were we to record the faithfulness of God in our lives in a book, memorize it, walk with it daily in our hearts and minds, would we not be far less likely to doubt God’s mercy and goodness because we recall clear examples where those attributes of God have been made crystal clear before us? …Friends, this is the purpose of the Bible. Of Holy Scripture. It is the catalogued witness of the saints to remedy the temptation of gospel amnesia. To show God’s faithfulness not only in our individual lives, but across the span of human history! Do not be as the Israelites are; quick to forget the history of God’s redeeming work among humanity. Keep close to God’s word, and in it you will find a refuge and strength from gospel amnesia.

2.     Do you notice the language of God in the text? In the disobedience of the people, God calls them the people of Moses. “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt…” If we choose sin, we live in the consequences. And we know from Scripture the wages of sin are death. So because these people are choosing death instead of life, choosing an idol who cannot save them versus a God who can save them, Yahweh identifies them as a people empty of life; in their sin, they are no longer the people of the Living God. They have abandoned the covenant that gives life. They have chosen death. So they are no longer God’s people, but Moses’ people.

Yet Moses, being a man of faith, comes before God and prays that God forgive them of their sin. He leads the people to repentance, reminding them of the covenant they swore with God, and the covenant God swore with His people. There is power in such prayer! In standing in the assurance of God’s faithfulness. Though there is a call to repentance, Moses’ interceding prayer focuses much more entirely on God’s faithfulness to save His people. When we let the assurances of God’s promises guide us in prayer, we will find ourselves standing on that same holy ground as Moses; in the presence of the promise keeper who delights in keeping His Word and who will restore us if we will simply humble ourselves.

3.     As a final word of devotion, I believe we see here a clear word of the relation of the church to the world. Have you noticed what took place in this story? The holy man of God went to draw near to the Lord, and when he was gone the entire world fell apart in their own despair and depravity. Friends, if the church were taken altogether away from this world in the blink of an eye, is this not also what we would find in our world today? A communal rejection of God, the construction of idols, and a people who “sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” Yet when Moses comes down from that holy mountain with God’s Word in his heart and God’s will directing his steps, what happens? Revival breaks out. Those who delight in their sin receive judgment. Those who repent are ordained into God’s service. Atonement is made for their sins. And the people are no longer the people of Moses; but once more the people of Yahweh.

Jesus gives a similar word to His disciples as to the purpose and function of the church in the Sermon on the Mount. Just as Moses, the holy man, preserved the people from calamity, the church, a holy people, are meant to preserve the world from calamity and wrath. Jesus says to His disciples that they are the “salt of the earth.” In that context, Jesus is using a metaphor of traders who would take salt acquired from salt water and rub it into various meats to preserve the meat from decay. This salt is unlike our common table salt or salt preservatives; modern salt doesn’t quickly decay. The salt from the sea does.

So what happens when the salt loses its saltiness? Its preserving quality? The meat will decay and rot and perish. Friends, this is Christ’s meaning: the church is the salt of the earth. Just as the salt was applied to the meats so they would not rot and perish, Christ has applied His church to the world so that the world may not rot and perish in its sin. The church is to be about the work of calling the world out of darkness and into the marvelous light of Christ. Just as Moses called the Israelites to repent and walk in the newness of life freely given by the grace of God, so we too are called to proclaim that same message of repentance to the world: that they may come to know Jesus, and God may be glorified now and forevermore.

Lent, 2022

Lent is the forty-day period, not counting Sundays, between Ash Wednesday and Easter. The standard text associated with Lent is Matthew 4: 1 - 11. In the text, Jesus is led into the wilderness alone for 40 days and then tempted by the Devil at His weakest moment. This is the season of loneliness and sacrifice Jesus goes through right before He is baptized and enters ministry. During this time, there is searching, tempting, persevering, and coming out the other side into what God has planned. Notice the order of events?

That is why Lent is so important. So often, we find ourselves wanting all the good God has for us without the soul-shaping moments of the desert. We want Easter Morning without Good Friday. The last thing we want to do is spend time in the desert. But here is something worth remembering, some of God’s best work is done in the desert. That is why Lent is so meaningful; it is our time in the desert. 

During Lent, we take time to wait, although we are tempted to rush forward. We set aside time to contemplate our humanity amidst our business. We reflect on our broken and sinful nature. We see our deficiencies; we confess our sins; we fast, pray, and let God work on our souls.

As our time in the desert passes, God does His timely work, and we come to understand we are nothing without Him. We are dust, and without His breath, we would still only be dust. So as we journey through Lent, moving toward Good Friday, be sure to give God time to work each day. We should never forget we are the reason for what is to come. We are but a hopeless people, stuck in the desert of our sin, and we definitely need a savior! 

Brother Chip

Lent - Let’s Be Quiet

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

Before the automation of refrigeration, families kept food cold in icehouses. These structures had no windows, often partially underground, with tight-fitting doors, where ice could be stored for months. As such, big blocks of ice were collected in the winter months and covered in sawdust so the ice would last through the summer.

There’s an old story of a father working in his family’s icehouse to prepare it for summer. After bringing in blocks of ice and distributing sawdust, he realized his prized watch had fallen off somewhere in the icehouse. He searched and searched but ultimately gave up looking. Knowing how much this watch meant to her father, his young daughter decided to sneak into the icehouse to look for the watch herself. After just a short time, she emerged from the icehouse with the watch and presented it to her grateful and astonished father. Of course, he wanted to know where it had been found and how she had managed to find it. She said, “I went into the icehouse, closed the door, lay down in the sawdust, and was very still - and I listened. Very quickly, I could hear the watch ticking.”

Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday. Christians acknowledge and celebrate forty days of reflection, prayer, fasting, and serving others. We do this in preparation for the beautiful season of Easter. An integral part of Lent is a call for quiet, stillness, and reflective time with the Lord. Calling ourselves to be still and quiet in this noisy world is a challenge. Lent is a time to cease searching for the external gratifications this world offers, like material success and fulfillment. May we be able to settle in to be quiet and listen for God’s voice, even in a whisper, to direct our lives and hearts.

The noise of our lives comes at us from every direction. We have noisy television, radios, social media, email…all the media sources. But the noise also comes from all the “things” that require attention from us each day - family, friends, co-workers. We know our God is in all these things, but Lent is a time to take a step back and re-order.

Lent calls us to a quiet place to order the priorities in our lives. Perhaps it’s an extra minute or two of prayer before going in to work. Maybe you find time to experience the natural sounds of a quiet walk in the woods. You see, we need to close the door, lay it all down, and be quiet to hear the soft voice of God, ticking…waiting for us to find Him. He’s calling us to return, calling us to faithfulness, calling us back home to Him. There is no greater treasure.

I hope to embrace this Lenten season as a time to seek God’s voice in my life and turn off worldly noise that makes no eternal difference in my life.

Tammy

Let's Talk

We have lost our minds!! That is what I thought when I was perusing through social media the other day. It was crazy! One party posted a picture that seemed to me an odd endeavor. The image was not a photo of a puppy, a flower, or anything soothing. Now I will not say exactly what it was, but there was no way it was not going to solicit a reaction…and then the reactions began to pour into the post…people taking sides, being ugly to each other, getting bitter, and the like…it was crazy!

I could not help but think how unproductive the posting had been. I thought to myself, what if those same folks were in a room together? What would that reality look like? And what if Jesus was in the room with them? How would that actual conversation work its way through? Would people be cussed, chairs thrown, weapons brought to bear? Honestly, I don't know, but one thing I have determined, any type of digital media is a poor substitute for in-person conversations.

Let me make a suggestion for this year. If you are exasperated with someone this year, take the time to sit and talk face to face. Please don't go all scorched earth on a digital medium without actually sitting down, in the real world, and attempting to work it through. If the issue is so important that it fires you up, go talk to the party in person. That is the uncomfortable, adult thing to do and the Biblical Way.

Matthew 18:15 "If your brother or sister sins, go and point it out just the two of you." Yep - that is What HE said. Nuff said.

Peace and Grace,

Brother Chip 

The Lord Loves a Cheerful Giver

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:16-17 ES)

This upcoming month, you will hear much about stewardship. Part of this is practical: the church has bills that we’ve got to pay, and we have to come together to be faithful in meeting our obligations with the power company, lawn care folks, maintenance workers, and the like. Yet another part is necessarily spiritual, as James reminds us here. We have been given much by God. And as we have been given much, we ought to give with worshipful expectation that God will be glorified through the work of His church. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, and while this does speak to the giving of our finances and material goods, there are other gifts we ought to consider when we ponder what it means to be good stewards.

Have you sat down and thought through how you spend your time each day? There are few greater gifts we have been given by the Living God than the gift of life. With each day that we are blessed with we ought to consider our time, steward it wisely, and ask ourselves if we are honoring God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In the frantic “rat race” pace of our current age, we often forget that God has commanded us to rest, and that part of being good stewards of our time and being faithful to God is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (that is, set apart). Part of being a good steward is to examine how you are using this gift of life to honor God. Am I wasting my time with endeavors that don’t bear the fruit of the Spirit? Am I failing to honor God’s call to worship Him by resting from my labors? How am I worshipping God in my life, and am I being a good steward of this gift of life?

You may say, “Preacher, you do not know what I am going through. I can’t give even a penny without going bankrupt.” “Pastor, you don’t understand. I’m slammed at work, there’s a project looming overhead, and we’re in crunch time to get it done. How do you expect me to rest this week?” To you, I wish to encourage and remind you that your Father who is in heaven knows your needs in this life and the next. Part of our giving is to give worshipfully, trusting that God has given us out of His wondrous providence, and placing our faith in Him that He will continue to meet our needs now and forever. As it comes to stewarding our time, I ask you, did God, in His foreknowledge, giving the command, say, “Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy...except for Mary Sue. I know you have a lot on your plate. You can make up for it next week”? Did God command “love your enemies, but only when it’s convenient for you”? If He has, then show me chapter and verse and I will happily repent of my error. But in my Bible, the word is clear. We’ve been given time. And as we are to steward it well in our work, we are also to worship Him by our rest.

This month as we talk about stewardship, much of that conversation will naturally shine a light on our financial giving, and the effectiveness of our church’s stewardship in using those offerings to the glory of God through various forms of ministry. Yet let us also ponder how to be good stewards of all that God has blessed us with. That He may receive all glory, honor, and praise, now and forevermore.

Amen.
Brother Matthew

A Time to be Thankful

I will be honest; I do not generally see myself as an ungrateful person. Yet with Thanksgiving approaching, I am reminded I need to be more conscious of those people and circumstances for which I am very thankful! The truth is I am not ungrateful, but I rarely take time to count my blessings. You know how it is to go from one day to the next taking care of whatever is right before you, right? We go from one event to another, one to-do item to the next, one ballgame to another, etc, etc… We get so busy. We are not ungrateful, just terribly busy.

So let me suggest we take a moment this Thanksgiving to pause and be grateful for all our many blessings. Just think for a moment, what are you thankful for in this season? A great family, good job, excellentmarriage, healthy children, food on the table, all the bills being paid...what would you put on the list?

As I sit here, a few things come to mind for me. A good family, job, house, health, and the like. I have tons to be thankful for in my life. I suppose one difference in myself and many I see in the world around me is who I thank for wonderful gifts. Whenever I count my blessings, I cannot help but give praise to God! It is amazing how that one step makes a huge difference in my soul. Not just to be grateful, but to acknowledge who is the giver of all the wonderful blessings in my life.

As we come to the Holiday season, I encourage you to take time to be thankful, but also be sure to thank the one from whom all blessings flow!

(Psalm 26: 6 - 9)

Peace and Grace,

Brother Chip