Where Is God Asking You to Go?

God called to Elijah and instructed him to go to Ahab and then he would send rain. I don’t think we heard everything that God told Elijah to do. When he met Ahab he told him to call all the people of Israel and meet him on Mount Carmel. Oh yeah, also invite all 450 of the prophets of Baal and Asherah to come too.

This is after Jezebel had all the prophets killed except the ones Obadiah hid in the caves. Elijah was the lone prophet left to confront the atrocities of Ahab and Jezebel.

Elijah goes into competition against 450 prophets and allows them to go first. All they had to do was get their god to light the fire on the altar where they had laid the slaughtered bull. They danced and called and cut themselves, all to no avail. Nothing happened.

Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord with twelve stones symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. The wood was arranged on the altar and then the slaughtered bull. Then Elijah had the people fill four jars with water and pour them on the meat, the wood, and the altar. They did this three times until the whole thing was drenched and the trench around the altar was filled with water.

Elijah stepped forward and prayed to God to let it be known that he was God in Israel and that he, Elijah, was his servant and had done all the things God had commanded him to do. He prayed that God would answer him so that the people would know that God was Lord and then they would turn their hearts back to God.

The fire of the Lord fell and burned up everything, the meat, the wood, the stones, the soil, and also evaporated all the water in the trench.

The people fell to the ground and worshipped God. They knew who their God was. Then Elijah commanded the people to seize the prophets of Baal and Asherah and bring them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughter them there. This they did and Jezebel was not happy. She issued her ultimatum to Elijah and so he fled into the wilderness where he was cared for by an angel of the Lord.

Elijah had really had enough and just wanted to die and get it all over with. Maybe some of us have felt that way at one time or another. We can maybe understand what Elijah desired. But God wasn’t done with him yet. And so he was fed with the food God’s angels provided for him.

He was energized by this food and so he was able to travel for 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb where he found a cave and went inside to spend the night. I think he thought he might be able to get some much needed rest. God had other plans for Elijah.

Rest wasn’t part of the plans God had for Elijah. God woke him and asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah gave him the whole spiel. He told him how hard he had been working for the Lord. But now he was the only one left and Jezebel was trying to do him in too.

Maybe Elijah thought then he might be able to go back and lie down and get some rest, but no, God had something else for him. He wanted him to go out on the mountain and wait for the Lord to pass by.

A hurricane wind came up and moved boulders, an earthquake came and shook the mountain, and then fire came down but God wasn’t in any of these. And Elijah hadn’t come out of the cave either.

But then there was that gentle whisper and Elijah heard it. He pulled his cloak over his face and came out of the cave. Again God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Again Elijah listed all that he had been doing for the Lord. After all this where does God ask him to go? He tells him to go back the way he came and go to the desert of Damascus.

What questions has God been asking you? Has he asked you the question he asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” Did you answer like Elijah telling Him how zealous you had been in doing the work of the Lord? Were you hiding in a cave hoping to escape from the world but God found you there? Did he ask you to come out on the mountain to be in His presence because that’s where he was?

Were you afraid to step out of the cave for fear of where God might be asking you to go or were you afraid of all the noise outside and you were just waiting for it to calm down? And when it got still did you hear him whisper your name and so then you came out. Is that what you did?

Where has God asked you to go? Where is he asking us to go? Where is God asking his Church to go? These are questions people struggle with every day. I wonder every day where God is sending me. I wonder if I am doing what he wants me to do.

I ask myself the question why has God sent me here to do this? Why am I here in this place at this particular time? Where is he going to ask me to go next? Sometimes the uncertainty of it all worries me.

The man of Gerasene who had the host of demons removed from him wanted to go with Jesus. But that wasn’t what God had planned for him. Jesus told him to stay at home. Jesus told him to stay and evangelize his friends. He was to tell them what God had done for him. God asked him to stay home. That’s not what he wanted but it’s where God wanted him.

God doesn’t put us where we want but where he needs us. We don’t get to choose. And sometimes, in fact most times, that can be pretty frightening.

So good friends, where is God asking you to go today? Are you expecting fanfare and trumpets? Are you expecting fire and wind? Fire and wind scares us and it’s usually not until it’s quiet that we come out of our caves to listen to God.

We are so very fortunate that our God is patient and waits for us to come to Him. If we would only take time to go to our quiet places on the mountain then we would hear God’s voice speaking to us. And then, friends, we would know where God is asking to go and what he desires for us to be doing. And sometimes we have to go back the way we came. And sometimes we are asked to stay home and tell our story of what God has done in our lives to our friends. Even when we would rather go to a more exotic and exciting place.

So my friends, my message for you today is to pay attention to what God is doing around you. Listen for his voice to speak to you not as you expect but as you least expect. And friends be prepared to go back the way you came, maybe doing the same things you’ve always done but this time doing them for the Lord.

Isn’t God’s grace amazing? Thanks be to God for his forgiving grace. Amen.

They Deserved What They Got

Whenever I read the story of Ahab and Naboth I can’t believe that anybody would put up with these kinds of actions. I mean how many of you would go up to your neighbor and tell them to sell you their garden just because it would be more convenient for you to gather fresh vegetables for your kitchen? Or how many of you would find people to lie about someone else to discredit them in the community so you could get their property without having to pay for it? That’s what Ahab and Jezebel did and they were brazen enough to think that they could get away with it.

Even when Elijah confronted Ahab and let him know that God wouldn’t stand for such actions it didn’t phase Ahab one bit. Apparently he didn’t believe that God could or would do what he said he’d do. Boy, was he wrong.

This time it seems as if those who deserved it got what they had coming to them. And we’re okay with that.

But what about us? Are we okay with God punishing us when we go against God’s will? How would we react if some prophet came to us and gave us the ultimatum that Elijah gave Ahab? Would we believe that God would follow through with his promise?

Something to ponder I think. We read the story of Jezebel and Ahab and we don’t believe that we could or would do anything near as bad as what they did. But are we any better than they were?

In Luke’s gospel another woman, one of not so stellar a reputation, comes in to the dining room where Jesus is seated waiting to have dinner with one of the more prominent Pharisees in town. I don’t know if she was already in the house or if she came in from the street when she found out Jesus was there. I guess it doesn’t really make any difference.

The fact is she came in where she was probably not very welcome. Can’t you just see the looks and the whispers as she came in and stood behind Jesus weeping? And then she stoops and wipes his feet that have been wet with her tears with her hair. Now the whispering is really going in earnest. Those who aren’t gossiping are thinking the same things others are saying. Why is he letting her do this? Why isn’t he stopping her? Doesn’t he know who she is? What kind of prophet is he?

Okay, so now we are filled with self-righteousness because we know that Jesus knows what everyone is saying and thinking and pretty soon he’s going to let them have it with both barrels. And we think, “Now they’re getting what they deserve.” Are we so pure? Are we really without sin?

Let’s take a look at ourselves. Let’s talk about the oil spill in the Gulf. Who’s responsible for the accident? Who’s responsible for the cleanup? Whose problem is it, British Petroleum’s, our Democratic government?

Sounds like the right answer doesn’t it? The news media would have us believe that all the blame is on BP’s shoulders. And others are blaming the Democratic government for not responding quickly enough. Or maybe it’s the Admiral who’s providing oversight of the whole mess down in the Gulf. Maybe it’s all a big conspiracy and it’s all these entities I named. The blame is all theirs. Right?

Let me ask you something. How many of us have a car or a pickup or a lawnmower or a motorcycle or a gas-powered string trimmer or something else that needs a petroleum product to operate? I’d wager that most of us have at least one of these and some of us have more than one. How many of us have air conditioners in our homes? Do any of us not have electricity in our homes or where we work?

We all have these luxuries. Of course we don’t think they’re luxuries we call them necessities. All of them use some form of power in order to make them useable for us. Most of them require some form of petroleum product or natural gas. How would our lives be different if we didn’t have gasoline or diesel or natural gas? We wouldn’t be able to hear ourselves think for all the whining if we didn’t have these things.

So, who’s responsible? It’s my belief that we are all responsible for the oil spill, the cleanup, the damage to the environment, and the lost jobs. We, and this includes me, believe that it’s our right to have all these conveniences. We couldn’t survive without them.

Friends, we are not without sin. We aren’t without blame. We are responsible and we probably shouldn’t be talking too loudly about how BP is totally to blame for this tragedy. None of us is reducing the amount that we drive or mow our lawns. Our demand for petroleum products is just as high as it’s ever been even with higher prices.

We are no different than Ahab or the Pharisee. We want all the oil we can get so we can have gas and diesel for our vehicles. We want it all and we don’t really care what’s happened in the Gulf. That’s BP’s problem not ours. They were the ones pushing their people to work harder and faster, not us. They’re the ones with deep pockets. It’s not our fault they used faulty materials. It’s not our problem.

Friends, we aren’t without blame. We are sinners. We worship other idols. We don’t accept responsibility for any of these problems. But we are responsible.

So what are we going to do? Hop in our cars and go down and join the cleanup effort? There are some who have done that and it’s some help. But is that really what’s needed?

What if, and this is a big what-if, we supported those who were working to clean up this mess? What if we let the news media know that we don’t agree with where they are placing all this blame? What if we let our governing leaders know, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, that we really want them to work together to solve this problem instead of pointing the finger at the other guy. They all are part of the problem too. What if we all worked together to make a positive difference? What if the head of BP knew that everybody didn’t place all the blame on him? Would that make a difference?

Maybe it is just one corporation’s or one political party’s fault, then shouldn’t we forgive them and work together to solve the problem and quit being so ready to have them sentenced to death or life imprison?

I think we’ve all contributed to the mess the world’s in. And we are all responsible for getting it straightened out, if it can be straightened out. But first we have to realize who’s in control. It’s not us. It’s God.

If we go to him first, begging forgiveness for the mess we’ve made of things, that’s would be a good start. Friends, it’s time we opened our eyes to the fact that we haven’t done such a good job taking care of our environment and maybe we should ask God’s help. After all he created it all. Wouldn’t he know how to make it right again?

Power corrupted Ahab. The Law or thinking that he was and could keep every one of God’s laws corrupted the Pharisee. They neither one believed they needed forgiveness or absolution. They never did any wrong.

Neither was justified in their thinking. Paul said, “…we are justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law…” We aren’t any different. We aren’t justified by what we think is right or wrong. We are only made right by the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.

It’s time we came to that realization and maybe get down on our knees and beg for God’s forgiving grace. The wonder of it all is God will forgive us. He has forgiven us. His grace is amazing.

Even with this big mess we’ve made of our world if we go to him he will forgive us.

Thanks be to God for his amazing grace. Amen.

What Now?

Two boys are resuscitated. One grown man is transformed. Did any of them earn the gift they received? It was a gift, wasn’t it?

Who was the beneficiary of this free gift? Was it the boys and the man or the mothers of the two boys and the people who were no longer persecuted? Who benefited from this gift of God’s grace? Why were they chosen to receive this grace?

For that matter why does God grant any of us his grace? We surely don’t deserve it. But God gives us grace anyway. What do we do now?

Two widows got their sons back. Without their sons they would have had no one to provide for them. They could have ended up homeless or slaves to some wealthy Roman or Jew. And then they may have thought it would have been better to die.

Saul was on the road to Damascus to catch some more people of the Way doing what he felt was blasphemy against God’s chosen church, and his chosen people. On the way he encountered Jesus. What took place on the road and later is a real mystery but Saul was definitely changed. No longer did he seek to persecute people of the Way but he became one of their strongest advocates as he preached the gospel all over the East and Middle East; wherever God directed and nudged him to go. Not only was his name changed but he was recreated into the man God always planned for him to be, doing what God had prepared him for.

So, what now? What do we do now? God grants his grace whenever, wherever, to whoever he deems to give it. I believe everyone, all of us, still tries to earn this gift. I believe that each of us, when we receive God’s grace, try to imagine how we can repay God for the gift. We can’t believe that God would give us his grace because we know, deep in our souls, that we aren’t worthy to receive it. So, what do we do now?

The widows probably asked themselves that question. Paul may have been asking himself that question until Ananias explained to him what God had told him. Paul was the chosen one to go out and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Because Paul accepted that responsibility we are blessed with God’s grace right here in Walnut, Iowa. If he had refused the assignment God gave him I wonder what the world would be like today.

What do we do now with God’s gift of grace to us? What do we do when God gives us his free gift of grace? What did these folks do when they received God’s grace? The gospel lesson says that the boy sat up and talked. I wonder what he said. The people who witnessed his resuscitation were quietly worshipful and then noisily grateful. They were excited to discover that God was there, right there in their presence.

The widow from Zarephath was also grateful and afterwards was sure that God listened when Elijah spoke to him. She wasn’t a Jew and still she believed and was grateful for God’s gift.

Saul knew that he had encountered God and he didn’t even question what he should do. He just got up and used what he knew to be true from the Hebrew scriptures and went out and began preaching the Good News. I don’t believe he was trying to repay God for his transformation. I believe he was driven by the Spirit of God much like Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tested. Saul/Paul couldn’t do anything else. He was driven to do what he did.

So, good friends, what do we do now? God has blessed us with his grace. What do we do with it?

You may be asking yourselves, “Grace? I’m not sure about that.” Friends, I’m sure we have been given God’s free gift of grace otherwise I don’t believe we would be here on such a fine day. I believe that everyone who spent even one day here this week with the Vacation Bible School children was given grace beyond anything they ever imagined. What do they do now? I think there is only one answer. They just need to pay it all forward. Pass it on to those others who are desperate need of grace.

I believe that the answer to, “What do we do now?” We use the gifts God’s Spirit has given us to help others in ways that only God can know how. That’s what we do now. We give to others in the only way we can as only each of us can.

It begins by accepting God’s grace for us and then sharing it with those we meet while we are blessed to be here as long as we are here.

We complain about the state of affairs we find our country and our world in and wonder why someone doesn’t do something. Why doesn’t God do something? Friends, he has. He has given all of us a commission. Go out, make disciples, baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Care for the widows, the poor, the weak and the lame, and the imprisoned. Friends, as Jesus told the disciples, “The harvest is great but the laborers are few.” Nothing’s changed. The harvest is still great and the laborers are still few, but today you now have the answer to what we all should do now. Go out and serve. Go out and minister to those who need what we have to give. Just go.

Thanks be to God for his amazing grace. Amen.

How Do We Know God/How Is God's Being Made Known to Us?

How do we “know” God? Don’t go telling me to pick up a Bible and begin reading. I know that I can find out about God by reading but I want to hear how we “know” God. Another way to put the same question might be, “How is God’s being made known to us?”

I’m trying very hard not to form my questions by using any gender specific pronouns. That’s not very easy. I grew up reading the King James version of the Bible and every pronoun used the masculine reference and it’s very hard for me to not use that reference. So if I slip and say “Him” or “His” please forgive me. I know that God doesn’t have a gender. I know that God is, was, and yet to be but I am after all just a male human being and it’s very hard to change what has been programmed into my brain.

So, back to the original question, “How do we know God or how is God’s being made know to us?” The only point of reference I have is from my own experience as a human being. How do we get to know others?

We get to know others by talking with them, by hanging out with them, by spending time with them. After a while we “know” them, kind of. Actually we only know what people allow us access to. What we know about each other is probably pretty superficial.

Remember the old television program The Newly Weds. We all laughed when they were asked questions to see how well they really “knew” each other. Today the shoe’s on the other foot. The question is, “How do we know God?”

Now, when your friends ask you to tell them about God what descriptive words or phrases do you use? I believe the answers we would give depend on our relationship with God.

I haven’t even got to what today is all about yet, the Trinity. And I don’t think I will. I think, if we’re all honest, we all “know” God in different ways and some of them are gender specific. Why’s that? I don’t have a good answer because to be honest it’s all a mystery to me. It’s kind of like calculus. I know what it is but there’s no way that I can begin to describe what it is or how it works or what it’s used for. Trying to explain God is about the same for me.

A lot of words have been written in the Confessions and in church doctrine in an attempt to more clearly understand and define God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I think, and it’s only my opinion, that God will reveal everything we need to know in his good time. And how that is accomplished is another mystery.

We “know” God through the life of Jesus as recorded for us in the Bible. And we come to understand it through the power of the Holy Spirit as the Word is interpreted to us, as we read, ponder, and reflect on its Message for each of us.

How you “know” God, how God is revealed to you is, more than likely, different for each of us. Basically I believe it depends on our faith which is what Paul was speaking about in his letter to the Romans. We are “justified by faith” and “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand.”

So, there you have it. We “know” God through our faith and we have our faith because God has granted us access by his grace. It’s all grace. We know God by being in relationship with God. We know God by how willing we are to believe, by how willing we are to let go of the things that tie us down to this world. The more we relieve ourselves of our burdens the more God is revealed to us.

The more we give or give up the more we receive. I don’t know why that’s just how it seems to work. And it’s different for every one of us. Why, ask God. Only God can answer these questions.

Theologians have spent years and years trying to answer this question. If they can’t come up with something simple that everyone can understand then I’m certainly not going to try. As I said it’s all about our faith and God’s grace.

So, now what do we do? I think the most important action any of us can take is to work on our relationship with God. Relationships take a whole lot of work. At least human relationships take a lot work. And we don’t always do so well in that area. I’m always stubbing my toe or biting my tongue, or putting my foot in my mouth and I don’t think I do so well with God either.

At least I know that God will forgive me, humans find it much harder to forgive our slips of the tongue. I think the psalmist has the question right, “Who is this God, that he is even mindful of us humans?” We’re just a speck in the universe, actually less than a speck. Yet here we are and he loves us.

So shouldn’t we get to know our Creator? Shouldn’t we be in some kind of relationship with the one who redeems us?

We all know what we need to do. Now we just need to do it. We need to intentionally spend time with our God. As we do we will begin to know God in many different ways, in many different roles. God may be our Father, our Mother, our Counselor, our Confidante, our Advocate, our Friend, our Brother, our Sister, our Confessor, our…you fill in the blank.

The thing is in order to “know” God we have to begin to develop our relationships. It all begins with us. Our relationships with God won’t improve; we won’t know God any better unless we take the step. The sooner we make a start the sooner we will “know” more about our God. And it won’t seem like such a chore once we take that first step. That’s because God will be right there with us all the way from the very beginning as always.

What's Happening Here?

What’s happening here? That may have been the question Jesus’ disciples asked each other when the Holy Spirit descended on/in them. Just imagine what it must have been like. What if the same thing happened here today?

We are all gathering in this room to worship. We’re visiting with each, we’re talking about what went on in the community last night, we’re complaining about the weather, but we’re not ready for what God is about to do. We’re not expecting anything different to happen than what happened last Sunday. We’re not prepared for what’s coming next.

All of a sudden without warning there’s this sound like a tornado approaching but the other signs aren’t showing themselves, no green sky, no trees moving, not even a leaf, but there’s still that sound. You look around at your friends and you notice that something else strange is happening. Something that looks like tongues of fire is settling down above everyone’s heads. What’s happening here? That’s the question going through your mind, maybe. Or you might be just too surprised to even know what to think.

Then it gets quiet and then you think, “What just happened here?” The next thing that happens is even weirder. Everyone begins to talk, but no one is speaking in their own native tongue. They are speaking in the languages of all those who have immigrated to Jerusalem. It’s all very confusing. There’s so much noise. Everyone’s talking at once.

And then it gets quiet again. People are gathering outside and we’re all inside. They’re probably wondering the same thing we are, “What’s happening here?” And we’re not sure either.

There are some who believe we’ve been filled with God’s Spirit but there are others who think we been drinking too much new wine even though it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. And we ask ourselves again, “What just happened here?”

Today we know what happened there. Luke did a pretty good job describing what took place. My question is, since we know what happened there, do we come to worship expecting the same thing to happen? Do we come to worship expecting the Holy Spirit to fill the room and baptize everyone with his power?

Do we expect anything extraordinary to happen in this room when we come to worship, when we come to praise this great God who created everything we see, when we come to thank Him for sending his Son, Jesus, here to teach us and show us what God is like? Do we expect to be surprised by God when we come to worship? Do we come to worship and expect to leave different from what we were when we came inside? Do we want to be changed?

Do you think the disciples had any idea what Jesus meant when he told them God was going to send an Advocate to them after Jesus ascended into heaven? I think the disciples were no different than you and me. I don’t think they fully understood what Jesus meant or what was going to happen. One thing is for certain they trusted him but they didn’t really get it until he left them and the Holy Spirit showed up. Then they got it, the Holy Spirit and understanding.

So they were inside waiting, watching, worrying and the others were outside waiting, watching, and worrying. Kind of like us, we’re inside and others are outside. We’re worrying about numbers and finances and those outside are worrying about food and money.

Then the Advocate came and they were filled with his power. But their problems didn’t go away. Actually it was like they had new problems added on top of the old ones. Now they were compelled by the Spirit to go out and tell the story, to tell their story to the world, God’s Good News for the world.

When they were filled with the Spirit of Jesus they just had to go out and teach, and preach, and listen, and heal, and tell their stories. And it wasn’t easy. It isn’t easy today. But because they were driven by the Spirit because they weren’t scared silly by the wind and the fire and the noise because they felt compelled to tell their stories we are here today.

And sometimes, we say to ourselves, “What’s happening here?” Maybe we don’t ask the question often enough though. When we get up out of the pews do we feel the compulsion to go out and tell our stories? Do we feel driven to share the Good News with the community? Do we even speak their language?

“What’s happening here?” Are we hiding inside like the disciples were waiting, watching, worrying, fretting about what’s going on outside? What do we expect to happen?

Jesus Prays for Us

Just before Jesus went to the garden to pray, before he was kissed by Judas and arrested by the High Priest’s soldiers, Jesus prayed for his disciples. He knew that the time of his arrest, the time of his torment and suffering was very close. If he was going to pray for them this was the time for it.

You know I’ve wondered if the disciples were like us. I mean, when someone begins to pray and I know they’re going to go on for a while, my body just kind of goes into a meditative trance. Some people would say I’m sleeping but I think it’s a form of meditation. Anyway, when Jesus prayed for his disciples were they all listening to his words or were they in a meditative trance, like I’ve been known to go into? Have you ever wondered about that? I have, especially when I know that some of my own prayers get kind of long during worship and I’m sure some in the congregation have gone into their own meditative trance.

I’ve just been wondering were they really listening to what Jesus prayed or was John the only one who got it all down. Do we need to remember every word that someone prays when we’re present or is it okay for us to just be there quietly with them, even if we are in a trance? What do you think?

Jesus made some very important statements. Some of it was just letting God know he was aware of all that God had done for him and his disciples. God gave the disciples to Jesus. We’ve always thought Jesus chose them as he walked along the beach and through town but today we learn that God had chosen them a long time ago and gave them to Jesus to be his core group to carry on God’s work after Jesus ascended into heaven.

He wasn’t just praying for the disciples, he was praying for everyone who would believe in him through the Word. He was praying that they would all be one, so that the world would know for sure that God had sent him to save the world.

It sounds to me as if Jesus was praying for the Church to be one, God’s love in his children and Jesus in his children. Has his prayer been answered yet? Are we one church? Are we filled with God’s love and Jesus?

Jesus’ prayer was for all of us to be completely one. I don’t think we’re there yet. I’m really not sure if we’ll ever get there in my lifetime. But I trust that God will one day make us one with him and each other.

So, if we’re not there yet and since we are sometimes referred to as “the hands and feet of Jesus” shouldn’t we be working towards being united with all the other churches? What is it that we should be doing? Is there anything that we can do that would make a difference, that would bring us closer together?

I think the early church struggled with this very same problem. Peter and the disciples were doing their thing in Jerusalem and Paul and his cohorts were doing their thing in the part of the world outside the bounds of Jerusalem.

Peter, James, and John were preaching and teaching to other Jews, and a few Gentiles, while Paul and friends were preaching primarily to Gentiles and a few Jews. I think each group probably alienated those on the fringes. Even the disciples didn’t agree with how Paul was doing things and Paul thought Peter and the disciples were making a few mistakes too.

We have the same things going on today. There are Lutherans, Pentecostals, Baptists, United Methodist, Brethren, Friends, Roman Catholics, Jehovah Witness, and Latter Day Saints. There are so many it’s difficult to get a count. And there seems to be one or two theological differences that keep us from all getting together as one church.

But that didn’t keep Jesus from praying for us to be one in unity. It didn’t keep Paul and Silas from singing their hymns in the jail. It didn’t keep the psalmist from writing his psalms praising this great God we come here to worship today. And it shouldn’t keep us from working toward reconciliation with our sisters and brothers of other faiths and denominations.

I believe that Jesus is still praying for us. I believe he’s praying for us right now. I believe he’s praying for us right now as we worship inside this church, First Presbyterian, in Walnut, Iowa. I believe he’s praying for us to be one with our adopted brothers and sisters who are worshipping at Calvary and Peace and Our Savior and Monroe and St. Patrick’s. That’s what I believe. What do you believe?

Do you believe that we can all be one? Can we be one diversified church? I believe that is Jesus’ prayer for us.

I believe it can happen if we will join Jesus in praying for unity within our denomination and with all denominations and faiths in the world. I believe it takes faith, it takes time in prayer, and it depends on God’s grace. Actually, when I think about it, it’s all about God’s grace.

We pray and petition God and God in his grace will bring it all about. As John said in Revelation, “Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.”

Thanks be to God for his amazing grace. Amen.

A New Heaven, A New Earth, A New Commandment

Peter experiences a vision, not just once but three times. In the vision God shows him every living thing he ever created. Then he told him to “kill and eat.” Now this went against everything that Peter had been taught by the teachers in the synagogue.

In the reading from Revelation John has a vision where he sees a “new heaven and a new earth and a ne Jerusalem.” In the vision he saw that God had moved into the neighborhood and was living among the men and women. He was shown in the vision that God was indeed in the world. What Jesus had told his disciples about the kingdom of God being right here, right now was in fact true.

This new heaven and earth was a place where there were no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow. Everything the human race thought they had all figured out was being tossed out the window with the wash water. All the rules, all the laws of nature, everything that scientists and mathematicians thought they had figured out, all that was gone. Everything was being made new. There was a new dimension being revealed that no one ever knew existed. God was showing it first to John in a vision.

As if this isn’t enough “new” for us John tells us in his gospel of the “new commandment” Jesus gave them before he departed this world. That commandment was to love one another as he had loved them. Love everyone as Jesus had demonstrated to them by his teaching and his actions.

If they lived by his commandment showing love for everyone as Jesus had then everyone would know that they were truly his disciples.

On top of all that the psalmist reminds us that the whole world should be giving God praise for all that he provides.

So where should we begin? What’s the most important lesson for us today?

I think that the key point in the scriptures heard from the Word today is that God is love. Jesus was the perfect example for his disciples and for us. He lived his life in love for his Father, God, and love for all God’s children.

It did not matter what their station in life was. It did not make any difference to him what mistakes they had made or were still making in the lives. He invited himself to dinner. He invited them to join him wherever he was. He shared his love, God’s love, with them even before they had asked forgiveness for their sins. He just loved them as there were, where they were, unconditionally.

Just imagine what this world would be like if we were perfect examples of Jesus to the world where we live. But we aren’t perfect. We make mistakes. We turn our backs on folks who are begging for handouts. We try to not see those people who are scrounging through the garbage we set out at the curb to be picked up. We think that all the government agencies, all the non-profits, will take care of those who can’t find employment, who can’t afford the same health insurance we have.

But friends, is that love? Is that the example Jesus was to his disciples? He said, “Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another.”

How are we to love those who are doing the killing in Omaha? How are we to love those who abuse children and spouses? How are we to love those who are trying to destroy this country we call home?

Friends, it’s definitely not easy and it’s not something we can do through our own will power. In fact, if we try to do it all by ourselves we will fail miserably. We will make a terrible mess of everything.

The only way it’s possible to live lives of love as Jesus lived is to first off develop a close relationship with God. The only way to begin is by accepting God’s grace. God’s gift to us was given to us in the life and death of his Son, Jesus the Messiah.

God doesn’t ask anything of us because he knows it’s impossible for any of us to earn his grace. His grace is a free gift to us. He doesn’t expect anything from us except our acceptance of his Son, Jesus.

Will we ever get it right? Will we ever be able to perfectly love everyone? What do you think? Have you tried? How are you doing at loving everyone? I’m not doing so well. In fact, some days I fail so miserably that I wonder if God hasn’t given up on me.

By God’s grace I know that I’m forgiven. By God’s good grace we are all forgiven. We can’t give up. We must keep on trying. We must keep on loving. We must lean on God for stronger faith, more persistence, more stamina to continue the race we are running.

The goal is the new heaven, the new earth, the New Jerusalem and eternal life with the Triune God. We need to be reminded that God is love.

He is cheering us on. He is rooting for us to succeed. Friends, in his photo album your picture is on the front page. God has many front pages.

By God’s grace we will be filled with his love through his love for us in Jesus the Messiah. By God’s grace we will be enabled to share his love with all who come to us for nurture and help and love.

God loves you my friends and so do I. Amen.