In His Care

Who’s looking out for you today? Who cares what happens to you or any of us for that matter?


Are you looking out for yourself? Are you one of those independent persons who take care of themselves? You don’t have to depend on anyone.

Friends, I hate to be the one to burst your bubbles but we all depend on someone, sometime. For example, Linda and I think we raised our children to be able to take care of just about anything that comes up. Yet, the phone still rings asking Mom or Dad for advice or help.

So, what do we do who don’t have parents to help us when we get into a bind? Will the banks help? Will the schools help us out? How about city hall; is there anyone there with all the answers? Who are we to depend on? Who can we trust to give us good advice or help when we find ourselves on a dead end road?

I used to believe that I had all the answers. I used to think that I could figure out most any problem given enough time or resources.

I soon discovered that wasn’t true. If God kept a record of all my mistakes and wrong turns I’d never have a chance at eternal life. Thank God he forgets the times when we turned away and attempted to do it on our own.

The Prophet says that God, our God, provides for us before we even get the words out. He is helping us while we’re still on our knees praying. And friends, that’s grace.

When Paul wrote his letter to the Thessalonians he reminded them that just because they thought the Day of the Lord was near didn’t mean they should sit back and rest trusting in the salvation promised in their conversion and baptism. He, in his own way, was saying, “You need to keep at it, working quietly, never tiring from doing good.” Paul and his friends had set the example for them so they knew how they should be living. I guess we can never retire from doing the work God has called us to do. We can’t rest on the fact that our sins have been forgiven. We have been given the work of ministering to all God’s children.

In Luke’s gospel some with Jesus were admiring the beauty of the Temple in Jerusalem. He told them it wasn’t going to last. Some day there would not be one stone left on top of another. I don’t they could imagine anyone ever completely destroying their beloved Temple.

They wanted to know if there would be some signs before hand that would warn them when this was going to happen. Oh, there would be signs but no one would be able to predict anything from the signs. Jesus, more or less, told them not to worry about signs or warnings.

They didn’t need to worry because they carried his name. They were brothers and sisters of Jesus; they were followers of Jesus the Christ.

He exhorted them to make up their minds right then not to worry about the when and the where and the how of what was coming. Things wouldn’t be easy being one of his followers. There would be persecution and suffering. Family members would turn against them for believing in Jesus as the Messiah. But Jesus said, “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. I’ll give you the words and the wisdom you need when you need it. Don’t worry.”

Friends, we are all in His care. He’s got it all taken care of. He knows our names. We are wonderfully and fearfully made to do his work.

So, are you still depending on your own strength and wits or are you convinced beyond any doubt that your help is in the Lord? My prayer is that you will come to Him who has it all figured out.

All that should be filling our minds is how we can be a part of what God is doing in the world. How can we let all the world know what he has done and is doing? Let’s commit to living as the Prophet Isaiah said, “…shouting and singing for joy…because the Holy One does great things before our eyes.”

Friends, we are in God’s care. So let us receive God’s salvation with joy just like we would get water from the faucets in our houses. Trust in God to give you the strength to continue his work and joy to sing his praises.

Thanks be to God for his forgiving grace. Amen.

What's Bothering You Today?

We’ve just heard the prophet Haggai giving God’s message to the people of Jerusalem who were worried that the temple they were rebuilding wasn’t as good as the original. We heard Paul writing to calm the troubled people in Thessalonica who had been convinced by someone who purported to be Paul that the Day of the Lord was here now. And in Luke’s gospel we’ve heard the Sadducees trying to trip Jesus up with a scenario about a widow who ended up being married to 7 brothers before she died. Whose wife would she be in the afterlife? Granted they weren’t really concerned about that because they didn’t believe in an afterlife. They were just trying to make Jesus look like a fool. Or maybe they did have questions about what happened after they died.


In all three readings we have heard about folks who were bothered by things. So, what’s bothering us today? What questions are we carrying around today that have become burdens for us?

Some of us may be concerned about our church building. Maybe it doesn’t look as spiffy as it used to back in the old days. Some of us are probably concerned about our shrinking membership or the attendance at worship. And some of us are wondering about our own demise and what’s waiting for us on the other side. Many of us are concerned about what’s happening in the world all around us, the financial health of our country, unemployment, the price of energy, the wars in the Middle East, and global warming. We’re bothered by many of these things and much more. As if we could do anything about any of it anyway.

We, all of us, worry and fuss about everything. Friends, is that why we’re here, to worry about things? Will our worry and anxiousness make any difference? Will it change anything and make it better? If it doesn’t or won’t then why do we worry?

Have we lost all hope? Have we given up on God? It certainly sounds as if we aren’t to certain about those who are in leadership positions in our government. We aren’t too hopeful about our retirement or whatever follows.

We are bothered by many things. I ask you in what do you put your hope, in what do you trust? What did God tell Haggai to tell the people?

He said, “I own the silver. I own the gold.” “Get to work. I am with you.” “I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.” Were those words just for those living then or are they a Message for us today?

If we believe that this is the living word of God then surely He can speak to us from his word as it is read to us.

We all worry but not one of us can add a single day to our time here on earth by worrying. In fact, our worrying may very well shorten lives. We go from day to day acting like everything is all about us. It’s not you know. We think we’re in control of our lives and maybe the lives of others and we’re not, really. We just like to think so.

Instead of worrying and fretting about the state of the world and our lives what should occupy our thoughts? My answer is going to begin sounding like a broken record but I’m going to say it anyway.

In the gospels Jesus said that there were only two commandments that should really concern us. They were to love God with our whole being, mind, body, and soul and to love our neighbors as much as we loved ourselves. And then just before he ascended into heaven he instructed his apostles to go out into all the world and make disciples of all people everywhere and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That’s it. That’s what we should be doing. Nothing else should be allowed to take up space in our minds. If we would spend our time loving God and loving our neighbors then everything else would fall into place. There would be no question about how much we should give to the church or to the presbytery or to the Food Pantry or to Haiti or Pakistan or Indonesia.

Everything we are, everything we think we own, everything is God’s. We are just the caretakers of his resources. And not one piece of our beloved possessions will be able to go with us to the other side. Everything is up to God.

So, good friends, my message to you today is don’t let yourselves be bothered. God is in control. He has the plan. All we are asked to do is trust and believe and love God and neighbors. That’s it. It’s really pretty simple. Why do we all have to make it so difficult?

All we have to remember is that our …“God isn’t a God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive.” Luke 20:38 The Message

Isn’t that a great answer? Isn’t that the Good News? God is alive and he dwells within us. Thanks be to God for his patient, loving grace. Amen.

Desperately Eager

I wonder how we compare to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was desperately eager to just see Jesus. He so wanted to see him that Luke says he ran on ahead of the crowd so he could find a place where he could get an unobstructed view of this traveling Rabbi.

It must have been very important for him to see Jesus if he ran. Because that would have meant that he had to lift up his robe or skirt so his clothes wouldn’t trip him up as he ran. It just wasn’t good manners to show such a lack of proper decorum. But that’s exactly what he did. He didn’t care.

Zacchaeus got what he wanted and so much more. When Jesus arrived at the spot where he was perched in the tree, he stopped and told him to hurry down because he was going to be a guest at his house. Jesus invited himself to dinner.
That didn’t bother Zacchaeus in the least. He was so excited by the fact that Jesus was coming to his house that he probably scraped his knees and elbows getting out of the tree. He never imagined in his wildest dreams that the Master would notice him, let alone come to his house. And so with great joy and delight he took him to his house.

Of course there were those in the crowd who couldn’t allow Zacchaeus this one kernel of grace. You can probably hear their voices. In fact you may have heard their voices before.

They were grumping because this scoundrel tax collector had the good fortune to have the most popular rabbi in Israel coming to his house for dinner. They were surely so jealous and envious because it would have been a great social coup to have Jesus come to your house. What’s he doing going to this crook’s house when he could be coming to my place? After all I keep all of God’s laws and he doesn’t. He doesn’t deserve to have this most important person visiting in his house. It’s just not fair! Can’t you hear the conversations? It probably wouldn’t be too much different today.

So, have you ever asked yourself, “Why did Jesus pick Zacchaeus to go visit?” Why did Luke put it in his gospel? What is the significance of this story for us? Was it all a coincidence that Jesus saw Zacchaeus up there in the tree? Was he just looking for a good place to eat or was he looking for something that would upset the learned and religious people of Jericho? Why did God choose Zacchaeus for Jesus to visit on that particular day? It doesn’t seem fair that he would go to have dinner with such a low down cheat!

What was Zacchaeus’ response to all those nasty comments about him being a crook? Stunned disbelief would be a good way to put it. “Why,” he said, “I give away half of my earnings to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”
I wonder if those who heard Zacchaeus say that believed him. He probably gave away half of his earnings without any fanfare. That’s probably why no one knew anything about it. So even though he collected more tax than was needed by the Romans what he earned and took home he gave half of it away. He must have been rich.
I don’t know any one today who does that. This is truly extravagant generosity. It was way beyond what he was required by law to give for the support of the poor. Even his peers weren’t doing as much as he was. Those who didn’t really know Zacchaeus were judging him unfairly and harshly.

Jesus saw immediately that he was truly a Son of Abraham. The religious of the day certainly wouldn’t have classified him as a good Jew. In fact they wouldn’t even think of associating with him.

Zacchaeus was being judged by others for being a tax collector. No one knew the real Zacchaeus. They didn’t know about his contributions to the poor.
How many folks have we misjudged without taking the risk to get to know them? How many have we talked about only to find out we were wrong in our assessment of them?
Was Zacchaeus a different man after Jesus ate at his house? Or were those who had misjudged him different after Jesus had dinner at his house? Who are we misjudging today? And what should we do about that?

Maybe we should invite ourselves to dinner at their house or, better yet, invite them to dinner at ours.

All of us have fallen short of God’s desire for us. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace. Maybe that’s the lesson for us today. Don’t worry about what our neighbors are doing or whom they are having to dinner. Maybe we should just concern ourselves with the log in our own eye before we judge our neighbor. Maybe we need extend an invitation to the Lord to come to our house for dinner. Maybe then we will receive the gift of God’s salvation and grace.

Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

Faithful Prayer

What is Jesus talking about and who is he talking about? Who is this judge supposed to be? And this nagging, whining, widow woman, who is she?


Just when we think we understand what Jesus is saying he tells us this parable about a judge who doesn’t care one whit for God or people, a real curmudgeon. But yet he has his limits and because of this widow’s persistent nagging, day in and day out, he relents and grants her the justice she has been badgering him for.

So, do you suppose that means that we are to badger God with our prayers in the same way? There are times we might just do that but that’s probably not what Jesus intended us to learn from this parable.

Well, we do know that the parable is about prayer because that’s what Luke says in the beginning verse, “Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.”

And that’s the point we don’t want to lose sight of here. This parable is about prayer. So what is it about prayer that we humans have trouble with? Is it that we don’t know how to pray? Is it that we don’t have the time to pray? Or, is it that we don’t really believe that God will hear and answer our prayers? Maybe it’s all of these.

This story is about a judge who is the most obnoxious person in the world. You wonder how he ever got appointed to the bench. He makes no bones that he doesn’t believe in God and he really doesn’t like people.

And this widow had the unlucky misfortune to draw this particular judge, the one who hates God and people. This poor widow woman has nothing. She has no money with which to influence the judge. She doesn’t have a husband or any other male family member to speak for her in court. All she has is her tenacity and determination to get the justice she believes she deserves.

We shouldn’t say that she doesn’t have anything. She does have a determined spirit and, apparently, no fear that this judge may kick her out and bar her from his court forever. Nope, she comes everyday to the court and demands that he award her what she has coming to her. And it might even be that she follows him home or sends him letters or posts things about him on Facebook about how bad a judge he is. Who knows?

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. If he didn’t give in she was going to leave him black and blue. Can’t you just see her standing at his bench in the court room hammering her fist on the bench demanding justice? The judge may have feared for his well being if he didn’t give in to her demands.

So, friends, what’s Jesus saying to us? What do you think he’s saying? How do you interpret the Word to us today?

It sounds to me that if we are persistently faithful in our praying God will hear our prayers and answer them. But some might say, and they may be absolutely right, that they pray every day, all day, and still God doesn’t answer their prayers. How do we answer that?

As I read this passage a couple words stood out for me, persistence, consistent, and faith. This brings us back to the story I told the children. About this boy who wanted a musical instrument so he could learn to play in the band. Mom and Dad didn’t give in right away; in fact they didn’t even give in the second time he asked. It wasn’t until he had found out the cost of a used instrument and brought that information to their attention that they decided maybe he was ready.

It’s kind of like a story I read that Rev. Tom Long used in a sermon about two boys, a raft, and an island in the middle of the river. One of the boys was floating down the river on a raft and his friend saw him and asked, “What are you doing?” He said that he was trying to get to the island in the middle of the river. Well his friend dove in and swam to the raft so he could help him.

The current in the middle of the river was strong and it wasn’t doing the raft any favors as the boys struggled to get to the island. They did make it to the island but just as they did the raft completely fell apart and there they were stranded in the middle of the river with no way to get off the island.

It just so happens that a paddle boat is coming down the river and the second boy starts to jump up and down, hollering and waving at the boat. His friend tells him they can’t hear you and even if they could they’re not going to come over here and pick us up.

Well, the boat begins to turn toward the island and they can tell it’s coming to rescue them. The other boy wanted to know how he knew the boat would come and get them. He said, “My father is the captain. I knew he’d come and get me.”

I think that’s what Jesus is trying to teach us in the parable. God is our Father and he loves us so much he won’t leave us stranded.

As children we talked to our parents all the time, every day. Sometimes they probably wished for some peace and quiet because we never stopped talking. But didn’t they usually listen to us. And didn’t they usually give us what we needed.

God loves us way more than our parents and doesn’t want any of us to suffer. God is all about having an intimate relationship with us. And the way that happens is by praying to him all the time, consistently, persistently, all the time. When we do that we soon realize that we know God and he knows us.

The point that we don’t want to lose sight of is we are to pray continuously and don’t give up hope.

Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

Being in Exile; Saying Thank You

Have you been listening to the news reports about the men trapped in the mine in Chile? Just for a little while this morning, imagine that you’re one of those miners. You’re alive and not injured but you’ve just learned that you’re not going to see day light, or your family, for awhile yet.


You’re in exile. You’ve received messages from above telling you that help is on the way. You might even be able to hear the sounds of the drill. And you remember God’s word that says, “Give thanks in all things.” And you hear God’s word through the prophet Jeremiah to make the best of the situation where you are because God is there too.

Okay, your there, it’s hot, it’s dirty, and you’ve been with the same smelly people for 67 days. How are you doing? How is your faith? Do you believe that God is with you in this foreign place? Are you really thankful for God’s blessings?

Good friends, you’re not really in that mine but imagine what that must be like for those miners, and their families. Do they really trust those who are doing the drilling? Are they still hopeful? Do they believe that God is there with them?

It’s hard to be thankful in situations like this. None of us are in that mine in Chile but we may, never the less, be in exile. Where we are right now today may not be the place that we really want to be; this may not be our home. And even if we are home we might not be physically able to enjoy it like we used to. Are we still able to remain thankful for God’s providence?

Even when we find it so very difficult to find the good in bad situations what happens to our soul when we are thankful for the infinitesimal blessings that come our way. Does our outlook change? Is the sun just little brighter? Does God seem a little closer?

What if every day when your eyes opened after a night’s rest you still didn’t feel God’s presence, would you still be thankful for God’s blessings? Would you still have hope if every day you prayed for just a little bit of joy and it never came? Can we still feel love when our prayers don’t seem to be answered the way we think they should? Someone we love dearly is still in pain and there’s absolutely nothing we can do for them but pray, do we still have hope, are we still thankful?

How did Paul and the other apostles keep their faith when they were in chains in jail, beaten and ridiculed for being followers of the Way of Jesus? How is it possible for any of us to relate to what that must have been like?

Friends, we are so blessed because we live where we do and have the advantages that many in the world have never experienced. And we take it all for granted. Do we remember to say thanks? How do we share our blessings? How are we encountering God where we are? Where’s the healing for us in all this? Have we been healed and haven’t noticed?

Do we sing praises to God everyday like the psalmist? I don’t know about you but I think we’re more like the nine lepers who were healed and never turned around and thanked Jesus. Yes, the leprosy was gone but what was the condition of their souls?

We may be blessed, we may be healed, but what’s the condition of our souls? Have we remembered to thank Jesus?

Jesus and Paul have both given us words to meditate on for this week. Paul said, “10 So I patiently accept all these troubles so that those whom God has chosen can have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. With that salvation comes glory that never ends.

11 This teaching is true:

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

12 If we accept suffering, we will also rule with him.

If we say we don't know him, he will say he doesn't know us.

13 If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful,

because he must be true to who he is.

A Worker Pleasing to God

14 Continue teaching these things, warning people in God's presence not to argue about words. It does not help anyone, and it ruins those who listen. 15 Make every effort to give yourself to God as the kind of person he will approve. Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way.”

And Jesus told the Samaritan leper, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

We are here to do the work God has called us to do. We are to accept what we’ve been given and continue sharing God’s love with everyone we meet so that they are able to experience salvation through Jesus Christ. May our little faith build up someone else’s faith so they can be healed and have joy in their hearts.

Friends, let’s decide this day to return to Jesus and fall on our knees and give him thanks for our healing. Let’s decide today to continue to teach people about Jesus and God and what salvation means to us. Let’s work to free them from their exile

Thanks be to God for his loving, forgiving grace. Amen.

A Life of Faith

It’s not easy trying to live a life of faith. In the first place we tend to believe that there is nothing we can’t do or fix, and we don’t need God or anyone else to give us a hand. That might prove to be true until we get stuck in a quagmire of our own doing and no matter what we try we can’t fix it. We’re stuck. Everything we try fails and it’s not until we realize that we can’t do it alone that we cry for help.


We cry to God for help or relief or maybe just a lifeline because we’ve tried everything else and nothing helped.

The writer of Lamentations is in that spot. God had warned the people through the prophets that he was not happy with them following other idols and doing things that he had explicitly warned them against doing. When God gave the Law to Moses he told them that if they did what he commanded them then they would be blessed but if they didn’t they would be cursed. It seems that they didn’t hear that last part.

You know I can understand that. There are times when people tell me something and I hear the first part but I don’t hear the last part. Then, when whatever I’ve been trying to do doesn’t come out right it’s usually because I didn’t hear all the instructions. I could write a book about all the times I’ve messed up because I didn’t follow all the directions that were given to me. Or I didn’t hear all the directions given to me.

Maybe that’s why it’s so important for us to hear the Word read and proclaimed every Sunday, even though we’ve heard this particular passage a gazillion times before. Maybe we’ve missed hearing the most important part.

In the Hebrew Bible it sounds as if you keep all the commandments then you will be richly blessed and if you don’t then you will receive God’s discipline. Many of us believe today that if we keep God’s rules then we’ll be blessed. So, if we see someone who is struggling with life we assume that they’ve not been keeping God’s rules and he has punished them. We forget the words that talk about blessings falling on the just and the unjust.

We seem to forget Jesus’ words about believing in him, loving God and neighbor, and we completely missed the part about being servants. We think that if we just do this or that then God will bless us. Friends, it doesn’t work that way.

These lives we are living today in this place and at this time aren’t easy. There seems to be a great chasm between those who have and those who don’t. The ones who have are fearful that what they have will soon be gone. The ones who don’t have much are fearful that they will never, ever be able to have anything. They don’t see anyway out. No one has much faith, either in the society in which they live or in God.

The pastoral letter to Timothy sounds like the writer is afraid that Timothy may give up on his faith when things get tough and suffering comes. He is told to stay at it, keep his faith and love rooted in Christ just as he was taught.

Jesus had just told his disciples that hard times and temptations would come their way. And pity the one who gave any of the little ones a hard time. It would be better to have a boulder tied around their neck and tossed into the ocean than to do that. That’s when they realized that what Jesus was asking them to do was going to be more difficult than they imagined. They weren’t sure they could do it with the faith they had. They weren’t sure they would be successful walking in Jesus’ footsteps, living lives serving God’s children. So, they asked him to give them more faith.

I imagine Jesus looking at them with love in his eyes and saying, “More faith? You have all you need right now.”

Isn’t that how we all kind of feel when we step out on a new venture? Isn’t that how we feel when we decide to risk investing in a new career, or begin life together with the one God has chosen for us. We’re not sure we have enough of what’s needed to be successful.

But don’t we usually find, if we take the risk, that we had everything we needed. I think that’s what Jesus was saying to his disciples, “You have everything you need right now.” “You have just enough faith. Just live it.”

I think that’s the Message for us today. We have just enough faith. Just live it. Trust in the One who gave us this faith. It is sufficient for what He has called us to do.

I don’t believe he’s asking us to move trees or mountains but Jesus is asking us to trust him, to have faith in his Word and his love for us.

Our lives aren’t easy. Everyone, every family, has problems, everyone experiences some suffering. Jesus is telling us that our calling is to be ministers to each other using the gifts we have been given to serve others and to bring glory to Him. That is our calling; that is our purpose in this life. Just as those we work for expect us to give them an honest day’s work so God expects us to give him the same.

Do we expect a reward? Do we expect to be forgiven for our sins? Well maybe, but it all depends on God’s grace through Jesus’ sacrifice. And part of God’s grace is the faith we have received from him.

Friends, God sent his Son, Jesus, here because he loves us. He died for us because he loves us. He defeated death because he loves us. He gives us just enough faith because he loves us. All he asks us to do is just live it.

Friends, remember God does love you. Trust and believe. Have faith and then just live it.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

Evangeliving

John 17:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 2:8
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

What are the important things in our lives? Is there one thing we would give our very lives for? What is so vitally important in our lives that we can’t keep it just for ourselves? What do we possess that is so valuable that we have to share with everyone?

What is it? Is it your home? Is it the money you have sitting in your certificates of deposit? Is it the food you have stored in your pantry? Or is it something that no one can see?
Here we are sitting in our comfortable padded pews. Jeremiah is in jail, the rich man is in torment in Hades, Lazarus is resting in the bosom of Abraham, and Timothy is being told to live a life of rich simplicity. And we are being asked, what do we possess that is of the greatest value to us.

Whenever I ask myself these questions I always come back to a question I’ve asked for a long time, “Why am I here? What purpose does God have for me being here?”

Why do you think we’re here? What is your purpose for living? I don’t believe that we are all here to gain more possessions or great wealth. I don’t believe that we’re all here to raise families and work at jobs that pay us a good wage.

I have quite a few questions today. If you have answered the question why we’re here then let me ask you another. What is you’re greatest hope? Or this, “In what do you place all your trust?”

Have you placed all your trust in your financial investments? Or have you put all your trust in real estate? Or have you placed your trust in something that is intangible?

What are the lessons to be learned from today’s scriptures? Why is Jeremiah buying land when he’s been telling everyone in Jerusalem that someone from the north is going to defeat their armies and take everyone into captivity?

Could it be that God has told him that as bad as things are going to get it won’t stay that way forever. Someday it will all get better and they will be able to come home again. At least some of them will be able to come home.

He bought the land because God told him that he should do that. Not because it was a good time to buy land because the market was depressed. No, he was to buy the land because it gave him hope for an end to God’s punishment. He trusted in what God told him.

The Message from the epistle is that a devout life will bring us wealth but not the wealth that the world desires. The writer is saying that a life of rich simplicity being ourselves before God will bring us rewards beyond anything we can imagine.

This wealth doesn’t come easily. Timothy is told that he needs to run hard and fast in the faith and seize the eternal life he was called to. Anytime the words run and seize are used I just know there’s some strenuous physical activity involved.

So, what are we to do and how do we do it? That’s the real question isn’t it? Well, we know that we can’t do it like the world around us would have us do it. We know that we have to change our lives. We have to repent.

And once we do we have to spend time with God. We have to allow Him to become an intimate part of our lives. Once we do that we find that there is more we are compelled to do. We discover that we can’t keep quiet about what God has done and is doing in our life.

Our lives have changed. We act different. We talk different. Our attitude about everything isn’t like it used to be. Without realizing it we have become evangelists. We’ve started to evangelive.

Yes, you heard that right, evangelive. We have started to evangelize just by changing how we act and talk when we are out in the community. And people notice that. And they want to know why we’re different.

They might even be brave enough to come to us and ask what’s the reason for the change. And then we might have to use words to explain the transformation in our lives. That’s evangelizing. Telling our testimony, our story, of what God has done to change our priorities. What was number one isn’t any longer.

Because we’ve changed we also see people differently. We don’t classify people like we did before. We don’t think about the poor or the homeless or the aliens in our country as being any different from us. In fact they become our sisters and brothers and we begin to care about the things in their lives.

We actually notice them as the lay in our doorways. We pay more attention to them when we see them in Walmart or at garage sales. Their skin may be a different shade than ours but that doesn’t make any difference now.

Will any of these changes guarantee a place in eternity for us? No, they won’t. Our only guarantee is when we give our lives 100% to Jesus and pray that he will grant us his grace.

We have been commanded by Jesus to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. We have the best chance of achieving eternal life if we keep these commandments and give our lives to Jesus asking him to forgive us for our sins, for turning our backs on him for so long.

Friends, those are the things we should be striving for. Those are the things that should be very most important to us. Will we ever get it right? I doubt that I ever will but I trust in Jesus to intercede for us before God. I trust in God’s good grace.

So good friends, let Jesus come into your heart and allow him to transform you. Go out into the world, tell God’s story, your story, to all who will listen. Pay attention to those who are struggling in this world. Feel their pain and take a risk. Invite them into your lives. Sit with them and listen to their story. Love them and care for them.

Friends, that’s why we’re here, that’s our calling, to be ministers to God’s children, to make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God for his loving, forgiving grace. Amen.