Justice...and Love

Everyone wants to be treated fairly. If someone has done some wrong against another we want to see justice. We want to see the wrong made right again.

In our country we have a system of courts with judges, lawyers, and juries of our peers who when called together seek to ensure that justice is done.

It’s a great responsibility to be the one who dispenses just rulings. It’s a great responsibility being called to sit on a jury and vote with your peers whether a person standing before you is guilty of wrongdoing or innocent of the charge brought against them.

Fortunately, these decisions aren’t just ours to render. We are just one of 12 people in the jury. Sometimes the weight of the decision does fall upon just one person, the judge. I can’t imagine the burden they must carry at times.

In the days of Solomon’s rule the king was the person who determined innocence or guilt, right or wrong. Because of Solomon’s fairness and discerning wisdom he was considered a ‘wise’ king. Not just because he was smart but because he was fair and his rulings were just.

What made Solomon the wise king that he was? Was it genetics? Was it God? Maybe it was both.

David, Solomon’s father was held up as a great king, a fair king, righteous in the eyes of God. Not perfect, but a person who loved God and trusted in God’s providence.

So, we can understand how Solomon could have inherited some of his father’s characteristics. And since we’ve heard how God blessed others in their dreams we can believe that he would also honor Solomon with a blessing.

But there may be something else that made Solomon’s rule so memorable. Remember Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, the one about faith, hope, and love. Paul said he could have any of the other’s but without love they were meaningless.

I believe what made Solomon’s wisdom so different from any other king’s was that he dispensed his justice with love. He loved God and he loved the people of God.

King Solomon wielded a lot of power as did most kings of his era. And if we would read further in 1 Kings we’d see that Solomon didn’t always treat the people with what we would call fairness and love. You see, he conscripted quite a few of the people of God to build his mansion and the Temple in Jerusalem. He didn’t ask. He ordered.

But in today’s lesson, as a young boy, as a new king, he was filled with God’s wisdom and love and he treated the people with justice. And even with some of his later escapades the people still revered him as a king filled with God’s wisdom and grace.

Solomon received a gift from God, the gift of a discerning heart, wisdom. I believe each of us have received gifts from God. I’ve asked you this morning to consider your gifts or maybe to think about gifts you’d like to be endowed with. Gifts that you’d, given the opportunity, ask God for.

As we know gifts come with responsibility. God blesses us with gifts that we should use not hide under a bushel basket or bury in the ground. Solomon used his gift to govern the people of God wisely. How are we using the gifts God has given us?

As you go on into this week consider the gift on the strip of paper and ask God to guide you in the use of his gift to you. And, maybe, you could share with each other how God revealed this gift to you and how it’s being used to further the kingdom of God here on earth.

Thanks be to God for his grace-filled love. Amen.

Nathan's Shoes

Put yourself in Nathan’s shoes…or sandals if you will. You’re God’s prophet during the reign of King David. God has just given you one of the toughest assignments ever.

King David has sinned and God wants Nathan to tell the King that he knows and that God isn’t happy.

Remember you’re wearing Nathan’s sandals. How do you do what God has asked you to do and still keep your life?  How do you tell the King that he’s wrong, that he hasn’t acted rightly, and…he’s about to be disciplined by God?

I would never have thought about telling the King a story…but that’s what Nathan did. He told the King a story, a story that lit his fire; a story that made him want to look up this person and have them killed.

Don’t forget you’re still wearing Nathan’s sandals. Now you have to let the King know that the story is about him. The King is the one who’s done this terrible thing…and God’s really not pleased.

There’s silence. Silence so thick and heavy you’re afraid to speak and so you don’t.

Take off Nathan’s sandals. Now you’re you. Take a hard look at yourself. What do you see?

Now look at yourself through the eyes of God…what do you see? Do you see a good person or do you see someone who maybe bends the truth once in a while? Do you see someone who maybe takes advantage of situations or people sometimes?

Friends, all Nathan did was to put his voice to the wrong that David had done, the wrong that he knew deep in his heart was wrong.

We aren’t any better than King David. What voices do you hear when you look deep into your eyes in the mirror?

We can all give God thanks for his forgiving grace. Amen.

Stories to Tell

Joshua, nearing the end of his life, called the people together to tell them what God had said to him. He began by telling the story of their ancestors and their relationship with God, beginning with Abraham and ending with their time in this Promised Land.

The entire story is about God’s relationship with his children. God never left their side. He was always with them even when they weren’t able to sense his presence.

This very last chapter in the book of Joshua reminds the people of Israel who they are and whose they are. It’s a reminder of their covenant with God.

Thinking of all that, we might very well ask ourselves who we are. What gives us our identity? What gives meaning to our relationships?

I’m going to tell you my story. Some of you may know some of it and many of you don’t know anything about me other than what I’ve shared through our worship of God together.

My story really begins with my paternal grandparents, Fred and Ruth. Fred grew up in Hancock and Ruth grew up on a farm by McClelland. I never did hear the story of how they met. They married and moved to my great-grandfather’s farm west of Hancock. Together they raised 2 sons and 1 daughter on 160 acres. Also during the early 40’s they fostered children from the Children’s Home in Council Bluffs.

That’s how my mother met my dad. She was an orphan at the Children’s Home and became a foster child with my grandparents.

My grandparents were charter members of the Silver Creek Evangelical United Brethren Church west of Hancock on what’s now known as County Road G30. Grandma was a very active member in that church teaching Sunday school up into her 70’s.

Mom and Dad were married in ’45 and I was the first born in ’47. In 1949 I was run completely over by a Model L Case tractor. It had steel wheels. Somehow as it moved forward my body was squeezed between the lugs on the rim of the tractor.

I can’t imagine the horror my Dad must have felt when he stepped off the platform of that tractor and saw my bloody body lying there on the ground. He never did tell me his feelings or the emotions that he felt then.

He did tell me that he just carried me in the house and called Dr. Huntley in Avoca who told him to get me to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. On the way the car quit and a Good Samaritan gave Mom and Dad a ride to the hospital. Dad never knew their name.

As you can see I survived that accident. The part of the story I want you to know about is what my Grandma Ruth told me years later.  She told me this, “David, God has something for you to do. I think that’s why you’re alive.”  Dr. Huntley classified it as a ‘miracle.’

So, that’s how my life began. My baptism happened 2 months after the accident. Even though Grandma was a regular at church my parents weren’t until after.

I don’t remember ever missing a Sunday of worship unless the roads were too muddy or the snowdrifts too high. I learned all the Old Testament and New Testament stories, first from my Grandma Ruth and then from the other women in the church.

I was confirmed when I was in junior high school and gave my heart to the Lord then for the first time. I say ‘first’ because I’ve given my heart to God a few more times since then.

My life through high school and college were pretty much what everyone else’s was like, I think. What may have made mine different was that I believed God had a plan for my life. I didn’t know what it was but I trusted that he would reveal it to me in his good time.

I spent 3 years in the U.S. Army, came home, and began farming with my Dad who died almost one year later from a heart attack. He was 49.

That was hard. I farmed for 10 years and then quit because the economy was against me with high interest rates. That’s when I began my second career in manufacturing, which I was in for over 27 years.

In all that time God never left my side. I wasn’t always a faithful follower of Jesus but in his grace he never abandoned me.

It was during this period that God was in the lead and I just followed. He opened doors that I never knew were there and closed a few that I wanted to go through but couldn’t.

Mom died in 1993, I received my BA in ’97, and then a door opened giving me the opportunity to study to be a pastor. I completed that work in 4 years. I had no idea what was coming next, but God knew.

The pastor of our home church left and one of the elders asked me if I would serve the church as their pastor. It took a while, maybe 6 months, and then I was commissioned to serve Walnut First Presbyterian Church as their pastor. That was in May 2004.

In all that time God has been with me. I’ve probably made some terrible mistakes but the congregation and I have made it through them and God is still with us.

I made a decision to listen to God and follow in the way of Jesus. It hasn’t always been easy but it has been easier than my life was when I wasn’t.

So, my friends, look at your life and consider this day who you are following. Are you following in Jesus’ footsteps trusting in God’s grace or are you following other gods?

May God fill you with his love, peace and grace. Thanks be to God. Amen.

The Unknown

The Israelites have left Egypt on their way to a land God promised Abraham so many generations ago. They have been led to a place with a lot of water in front of them and the whole Egyptian army behind them. And then, they turn on Moses. They’re afraid of the unknown.

It’s a natural response to turn on the person in the leadership position. But, Moses wasn’t leading them. God was. God led them here with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; neither one leaving their place in front of the fleeing Israelites.

It was all part of God’s plan to lure Pharaoh into a trap so the Egyptians would know that God was Lord, all powerful, all mighty.

The problem was the Israelites didn’t know it was God’s plan that had put them in this predicament. Kind of like us too. We find ourselves in a tough spot, a painful situation and we can’t believe that it’s part of God’s plan.

The Israelites being between the Reed Sea and the Egyptian army was God’s plan. He had the best interests of his people at heart. He was taking care of them. They just couldn’t see how he was doing that. Often times neither do we.

So, here’s the Egyptian army closing in fast with chariots, the Stealth fighters of Moses’ day. And there’s this sea in front of them without one way of crossing over that anyone could see. They were no bridges in sight, anywhere!

God tells Moses everything’s falling into place just as he planned. He told Moses to stretch out his arm holding the staff over the sea and the waters would divide.

That’s what Moses did because he knew after the ten plagues in Egypt that God would do what he said. So, the wind God sent blew all night and the next morning the ground was dry, water piled up on both sides of the path where God wanted them to walk through.

All this time God has been protecting the Israelites from the Egyptian army. The cloud and the fire that had always been there preceding them moved behind them to hide them from the pursuing Egyptians. The pillar of fire gave them light to see when the ground was dry enough for them to walk over.

Don’t you kind of wonder who that first brave soul was who took that first step into that canyon of water? We don’t know who that person was but we do know that they all made it across before the Egyptian chariots started across in hot pursuit.

When all the chariots were in the Reed Sea Moses again stretched his arm out over the water and it all began to come back where it had come from covering Pharaoh’s army. It also helped that God jammed the wheels of the chariots so they couldn’t move. The sea returned to its original place drowning all the Egyptians.

All the folks Moses had been leading out of Egypt who had been complaining about Moses’ leadership qualities now knew firsthand the power of God, their God, and they feared the Lord and put their trust in God and God’s servant, Moses…at least for a time.

God lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land, the land first promised to Abraham. And in Matthew’s gospel we read that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his mom and dad, Mary and Joseph, went back to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod the Great. All part of God’s magnificent plan. Kind of a full circle type of plan.

So, by now you may be wondering what’s God’s plan for us. Where is God leading us? Is God leading us toward a ‘Reed Sea’? Has God led us to a place where we know that the only way out is through the power of God?

How many of you have been between that ‘rock and hard place’ and decided that the only way out was to risk everything and trust in God and step out into the unknown?

So, where are we today? Where are you today? Almost eleven years ago I was asked to fill this vacant pulpit. I had no idea what God was going to do or how. It has been a journey and for this church I don’t think it’s over. A new chapter is about to begin and no one knows what’s ahead but God.

We may not be in the same situation the Israelites found themselves in but there’s a lot we don’t know. And that always worries people. It worried the Israelites and it worries us.

My friends, God is telling us in the lesson from Exodus not to worry. He’s got a plan. He’s got it covered. Trust in the Plan.

As this church steps into the unknown sharing a pastor with United Church of Avoca your pastor is stepping into another unknown, retirement. Both are a little scary because there’s always some risk.

Today God is telling us, again, that there’s a plan. Trust in God, believe in God, have faith in God and everything will be all right. God was there for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the Israelites and God will be there for you and me.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

Dealing with Bad Things

The story of Joseph begins with his birth in Jacob’s later years. He was favored by his dad; in fact, you could say that Joseph could do no wrong in Jacob’s eyes. His dad loved him so much he made him a coat of many colors. Maybe you’ve heard that story…or seen the musical.

And then Joseph had these dreams where his siblings, and even his parents bowed down to him. Being the typical favored child he also told on his brothers.

Needless to say they didn’t share their dad’s love for their younger brother. It’s no wonder they threw him in that dry cistern and changed their minds about killing him; instead they sold him to the Ishmaelites.

It may have been on that journey to Egypt that he matured and began to lean on his faith in God. It may have been on that trip that he learned how to deal with the bad things that were happening to him.

So, how do we deal with the bad things life throws at us? What do we do when the car breaks down and there’s not quite enough money in the account to pay the mechanic? What do we do when our teenaged children rebel and won’t or don’t listen to us? What do we do when people spread rumors about us that may or may not be true? How do we deal with the news that we have a tumor growing inside of us? What do we do when our country is overrun with terrorists? How do we deal with bad things?

That’s what this scripture is getting me to think about. Is my faith in God strong enough to deal with the bad things of life? If I had been Joseph would I have been able to adapt and prosper no matter what situation I was in?

Just take the first situation Joseph found himself in, thrown into a cistern, hearing them talk about killing him and then being sold by his brothers to foreign traders and taken to who knows where. Was he angry? How long was he angry? Did he talk with God? Was he mad at God for what happened to him? How did he deal with it?

We can only imagine because we weren’t there…and we haven’t walked in his shoes. We only know how we would react…or how we think we’d react.

Some of us have had bad things happen to us. Some of us already know how we’ve reacted. Our neighbors know too how we’ve reacted or they think they know. No one really knows unless we’ve told them.

Again, I believe, it’s a question of faith. Most of us know we’re not been promised a life of wine and roses and an easy road. And yet, if our lives have been relatively easy without too many bumps, encountering a really big pothole or a major crisis can be a real test of our faith.

How do we deal with bad things? Some of you may have already asked yourself this question. I’ve been thinking lately about how I’d deal with bad things.

When the bad things come it’s then that I wish I could talk with God, and he with me. I mean like really hearing his voice and knowing it was God speaking; having a deep and intimate conversation with the One & Only God.

Did God speak to Joseph like he did with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? We can’t tell for sure from the scriptures. The reading from Genesis tells us that God was with him but don’t you want to know if he heard God speak to him. How did he know? Was it just because he prospered that he knew God was with him?

We might think that because the jailer trusted him and didn’t worry about anything he asked Joseph to do that being in prison was easy. I don’t think it was, at least not as good as working for Potiphar.

I think we have to be careful in how we understand this scripture. We could think that if we live a righteous life, doing all that Jesus commanded, that God will prosper us and make us successful. Friends, that isn’t the way God works. At least I don’t think that’s the way God works.

There’s too many examples of God’s prophets and Jesus’ apostles suffering, being persecuted, tortured, and killed. These were folks doing what God called them to do. We can’t say that they prospered; at least by the world’s standards. They didn’t all have an easy time of it and yet they received blessings from God. They dealt with the bad things because they trusted God.

Joseph dealt with the bad things that came his way by trusting in God to take care of him. Joseph had heard the stories from his dad about God’s grace. The example of Jacob must have made an impression on Joseph and he believed.  That must have been what helped him deal with the bad things.

So, the question has been, how do we deal with the bad things?  Is our faith, our trust in God enough for us to handle what life throws at us? Do we need more than our faith? What if our faith isn’t very strong? What do we do then? When life’s not fair, when life’s a burden how do we deal with that?

You may very well ask, “Pastor, how do you deal with the bad things?” It’s a struggle sometimes. To be honest I talk with God a lot about the bad things. It’s really good to talk. I’m sometimes angry when bad things come my way. I sometimes whine at God. Sometimes I don’t know what to say and I just sit. Sometimes my mind is just blank because I can’t even think about it.

I listen to music and read the Bible searching for help, for answers, for anything that can help me cope. And I continue to talk with God. When things are really bad I also count on my friends…to pray for me, to listen to me, to just be there for me. Without God, the church, and friends I don’t know how anyone can survive the bad things.

So, with all the stuff that happened to Joseph he may have done some of the things I did. It sounds as if Joseph was pretty good at networking whether he was a slave with Potiphar or working for the jailer in prison. He had friends, his network, that he could count on…and he had his faith in God being there with him, always.

And you know what, Joseph didn’t sit still. Wherever he was he kept going and didn’t look back.  He assessed the situation he was in, made a plan, and worked it always trusting in God.

So, my friends, the lesson for us today is to have faith, trust in God, and know that God is always with you. And if you’re one of the lucky ones with friends who believe in Jesus and believe in God then knowing that they have your back is a bonus.

Friends, through all of this life there are bound to be some bad things. Dealing with them is easier if we have faith in our God, trust in his grace and love in Jesus, and keep the communication channels open talking and listening for God’s voice.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

Building Peace (Shalom)

The Lord called Abram to go to place that he would show him. God told him that he would make him into a ‘great’ nation.

God also said something about blessings and curses. God said, “…I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

This could be interpreted a few different ways. I’d like us to think about it this way, whatever action Abram took, whatever decisions he made would end up either being a blessing for the people or a curse.

When we read the story of Abram we find that he didn’t always make the right decisions. In fact sometimes they were the wrong decisions and they almost got him into trouble. But, for the most part, Abram’s decisions were good for the people and they were blessed. And because of his righteousness God’s people were blessed and we, the adopted children of God, have also been blessed.

Is that it then? God promised to make Abram’s family and great nation and bless them. Because God kept his promise to Abram we’ve also been blessed.

I don’t think that’s it. Did you hear the first verse from the psalm today? It said, “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” And, also, the gospel from Matthew, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

These words weren’t meant for the first people to read them or hear them read. No, my friends, they were meant for us. We are to proclaim his name. We are to make known among the nations what Jesus has done. We are to go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded. We are to do these things. We have been called. We have been given a promise too.

Those we bless will be blessed and those we curse will be cursed. The decisions we make to share God’s story of Jesus Christ with those we meet on our journey will be blessed and the times we decide not to share the story, well then, those folks will be cursed because they didn’t get to hear the story of salvation. Because we didn’t tell it to them.

Blessings and curses, if we share the gospel story folks are blessed and if we don’t they are cursed. Those who hear the story find peace (shalom) and those who don’t may not find peace.

So, sharing the storing of God’s love for the world in his Son, Jesus, is the beginning to building peace.

Every time we tell the story another milestone is created to mark that event. Maybe not a pile of stones that we can see but a definite marker has been created.

Think about the people who’ve impacted your life. Think what your life would be like if they had decided to do what they did.

Now, think about those who told you the story of God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ. Where would you be today if they had decided not to do that? But they did and now you have to choose who you will tell and how you will tell the story; how you will build peace, how you will mark this part of your journey.

It sounds so easy, all we have to do is tell the story. But, the honest truth is, sometimes we don’t because our faith isn’t as strong as our fear of rejection or ridicule. We need faith in our Lord before we can tell the story.

Abram had faith in God. That’s why he could be a blessing. His ancestor’s had faith and so they were a blessing. Jesus’ disciples had faith and the world was blessed by their faith.

So, good friends, pray that God strengthens your faith so you can tell the story and be a blessing and lay a stone to mark the beginning of building peace.

Thanks be to God for his gift of grace. Amen.

God's Promises

Have you ever wondered how bad, how evil man was for God to want to destroy all humanity, every living thing? Have you then looked at our world today and wondered how God feels about mankind now?

I have and it worries me some. According to the writer of Genesis God promised to never destroy every living thing on earth with water. But the state of the world today does give me pause and make me wonder.

Water is so necessary to our existence that it’s hard to imagine it being used by God to destroy his creation. And yet just last week some places received so much rain that flood warnings were issued, rivers were cresting and people had to evacuate their houses.

It’s hard for me to imagine what it must have been like when the earth was deluged with water for 40 days and nights. Can you imagine what it was like to see nothing but water everywhere you looked? Maybe that’s why Noah didn’t open the windows of the ark until later.

After 40 days it quit but then it all had to go back to where it had come from and that took a while. Eventually the water receded and the boat came to rest on a mountain. After a period of time and a few birds being sent out the door of the ark was opened and everything and everyone came out.

Life began all over again. Noah offered a sacrifice from the ‘clean’ animals and God found the odor pleasing. Then he declared that never again would he destroy the earth. He made a covenant with Noah and his family. The sign of the covenant was the multi-colored arc in the heavens after a rain. The rainbow is a reminder to God, and to us, of this covenant.

So, what about now? For as long as I can remember the earth has been pretty stable. But in the last 10 years or so there’s been a lot of talk about climate change. The blame has been placed on damage to the ozone layer that has been caused by some chemicals that man has produced or from too many cattle being on feed. It depends who you listen to.

That’s not the only change that been taking place. Some animals are nearing extinction. Some insects are dying off. Should we worry about that or will God intervene and fix the problem? What do you believe?

If man is abusing the environment will God let it continue or will God step in? What do you think? Is it possible that we, mankind, could do something that would annihilate all living creatures and not destroy the earth? Should we care?

This creation is balanced. Everything in creation needs everything else in creation. Today it sounds and looks as if everything is getting out of balance, out of kilter, kind of like a washing machine trying to spin when the load isn’t put in evenly.

And who are the ones affected the most by the ecological imbalances? It’s the poorest and the least informed who suffer the most. The people with the power and the money can move and protect themselves against ‘acts of God.’

The story of Noah is a reminder to us that when things get out of balance we have a responsibility to work to correct the problems. We are all in this together with our brothers and sisters all over the world. And we’re in this together with every animal and every plant on this earth. If they’re suffering eventually we will too if we don’t take steps to fix the problems.

So, before we all just throw up our hands and toss in the towel remember that we’re not in this alone. As God told Moses, “I will be with you.”

God was with our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Noah and God is with us today.

We don’t think of this often enough but everything we do has an impact on our environment, physically and spiritually. How we take care of our little piece of the world does affect us and those who are our neighbors.

My friends, be reminded today of God’s covenant to never destroy the earth again with water and his promise to always be with us in everything we do. Give thanks for the gift of Jesus Christ, who came so that we could be saved from a life of torment and instead be welcome into the kingdom of God as children of God.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.