It's All About God

          It’s all about God, isn’t it? Every piece of scripture we have heard read this morning is about God.

          And doesn’t that same statement hold true for our lives? Aren’t our lives all about God, or at least they ought to be.

          Terrible things happened to Job. He lost his livestock; he lost his crops; he lost his sons and daughters. And then…in his suffering he learned about God.

          The psalmist thought he knew about God and he wanted God to prove it to him. Not so much different from us actually. Don’t we all want God to prove that he really exists…to us?

          The author of Hebrews is talking about the Christ, Jesus but in the end we see that it’s all about God, every bit of it. God created it all and it’s all about Him.

          And then we get to Mark who has the Pharisees trying to distract us, and everyone else, from thinking about God. Remember, friends, it’s all about God, every bit of it.

          They, the Pharisees, try to get Jesus off track by talking about divorce and marriage but Jesus won’t have any of that. He knows the word of God because he is God. The words were inspired by Him. But they didn’t believe that. He explains to them what God intended when two people come together as one. And that was that.

          All of what Jesus said confuses people. It troubled the disciples so that Jesus often times had to repeat what he’d told them earlier. And still they didn’t always understand it all. Really smart theologians and ministers and lay people are still trying to get to the bottom of what Jesus meant. None of them will truly get it until Jesus explains it all to us when we get to glory.

          The gist of it all is, it’s all about God…and his kingdom. Doesn’t that make sense? Why do we think we have to have it all figured out?

          That brings us to the end of what we heard this morning from Mark.  People, all sorts of people, were following Jesus as he traveled through the country. Of course they had to bring their children with them. Just like Linda and I have to take our two boys, the dogs, with us when we go anywhere for an extended period of time.

          So, there were children all over the place and they were noisy and probably a little obnoxious.  Therefore, the disciples were trying to keep them away from Jesus when he was teaching. 

          They didn’t realize that Jesus actually knew everything that was going on all around him. Just as God knows what we’re doing every minute of every day of our lives. 

          Again Jesus used this as an opportunity to teach the disciples about hospitality and what the kingdom of God was really like.

          Do we really think that heaven is an exclusive club where only the extremely good people will be allowed to reside? Come on!

          Unless we all accept the kingdom of God with the simplicity of a child we’re going to miss it.  Just like we all know that the church will not survive without children Jesus said that children are the very center of life in the kingdom.

          Now, I don’t know if that means that we’re all going back to our youth in the kingdom or if we’ll be taught by the children who’ve gone on ahead of us. They’ll teach us how to live in and enjoy and participate in the life of the kingdom of God.

          Whatever we find there and whatever we read in God’s word remember one thing, “It’s all about God.”

          We, you and I, are here because God wanted us here. He created this place and us because everything’s about God. We are here for God.

          And…God is here for us. He made us and he loves us. That’s evident when we read his word. But again, it’s all about God.

          So, good friends, as you go journey on this week remember that. “It’s all about God.”  Thanks be to God for his loving grace. Amen.

Prayer Power

          What’s the most powerful thing in the world? Could it be a bomb or a tornado or a hurricane or an earthquake or a solar flare?

          First, I suppose we might want to determine what we think we mean by “powerful.”  How could we define power? Power is the ability to act or do something or is capable of accomplishing or doing something.  

          So, my hand has power because it can take a pencil and write words on paper but that’s probably not what we would think of as being powerful. Powerful is the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Powerful is the ability to stop a speeding locomotive or to catch a speeding bullet. Oh, wait, that’s Superman. Well, that’s a good definition of power whether he was a real person or not.  In our imaginations and in the comic books he could do all these things.

          How about being able to create things? Would that be seen as being powerful? I’ve seen ladies take apples, flour, sugar, and lard and create some awesome pies. Is that what we mean by being powerful?

          Well how about someone who build skyscrapers? I just read the other day that people are already considering building a tower 3,280 feet tall. It’s scheduled to be completed in 2018.  That’s kind of powerful.  It takes some kind of power to begin the construction of such a huge building let alone the risk involved. But is that kind of power what we’re talking about?

          A few weeks ago James in his epistle talked about the tongue being powerful, hard to control and able to cause a lot of destruction. And, today James talks about prayer and the power it is capable of unleashing.

          Did prayer even enter your minds as the most powerful thing or force in the world? It probably didn’t. I would have said something like splitting an atom or something as being the most powerful thing in the world, but prayer. Who’d have thought prayer would even make the top ten?

          A lot of folks still might not believe it. Because they’ve tried it, once or twice, and it hasn’t worked for them. Nothing happened and so they gave up on trying it anymore.

          So, what do you think? Is prayer the most powerful thing in the world? Or do you think there is a power greater than prayer?

          How can any of us prove that prayer is the most powerful force in the world? Let’s see. How many of you have prayed for rain this summer? Were your prayers answered? Okay, how many of you have prayed to win the lottery? Were your prayers answered? No. Then how can we say that prayer is the most powerful force in the world?

          Let me ask you a question. What do you do when everything else you’ve tried has failed to produce the results you were looking for? What do you do when nothing else has worked; what do you do? You pray…and why do you pray?  Because it’s the most powerful force in the universe, that’s why you pray. And when all else fails we turn to the Creator of it all and ask for help.

          Often what we pray for doesn’t happen so we don’t think prayer is too powerful. The thing is we don’t use it every day.

          What happens to our bodies if all we do is sit in the recliner and what the football games or HGTV? Our muscles and joints and everything else atrophies and we lose our strength. 

          Don’t you think the same thing could happen if we don’t use prayer more than when we have an emergency? Well, doesn’t it make sense?

          We should be praying all the time. What did James say? Is anyone sick? Then call the elders and ask them to come and pray.  Is anyone in trouble? Then they should pray? Is anyone happy? Then they should sing songs of praise, happy prayers. Has anyone sinned? Then confess the sin and pray for each other.

          What does James say then? The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  James uses Elijah as an example of the power of prayer. He prayed for it to quit raining, and it didn’t rain for 3 years, and then he prayed for rain and it came.

          So, now what’s the most powerful thing in the world? What has the most capability to effect change than anything else in the world? What’s that? Prayer you say. That’s right, prayer.

          So, what are you going to do this week? The same old thing, buy a lottery ticket and “hope” that you win. What about praying for your neighbors, the ones you don’t get along too well with? What about praying for our presidential candidates? What about praying for our school? What about praying for each other?

          What about prayer? Friends, I believe prayer is the most under utilized powerful gift God has given us. It’s free and we don’t use it everyday. We use our tooth brushes more than we use prayer. Be honest, don’t we?

          So, I ask you to this week make a commitment to pray for each other this week. You know there’s something going on in each of our lives that we’d like someone to pray for. We’re all getting older and things break down in our bodies and we “need” prayers. We lose our glasses; we lose our keys; we forget where we’ve put our flash drives. Don’t laugh, I couldn’t remember where I put mine yesterday.

          How many of you use computers? They need to be prayed over every minute. I talk to mine more than I talk to Linda some days.

          We laugh but we need prayer and we need people who will pray. The most simple yet most powerful thing in the world and we don’t take advantage of it.

            Friends, let’s trust in God to hear and answer our prayers. Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

Happiness & Wisdom

          What do you desire more than anything in the world? I believe each of our desires would probably be different. Yet, I think that most people in the world would, if they thought about it, desire peace and happiness. I know that’s two things, but they do kind of go together. The one other thing that some folks may desire more than anything is wisdom…and it may go along with happiness.

          So, just for fun let’s consider that we all desire, more than anything else in the world, happiness and wisdom.  The next question then would be are either of these achievable?  And if we could get happiness and/or wisdom is it possible to keep them forever? Could we be forever happy and/ore wise?  Or would we only have them for a while?

          Wouldn’t it be great to find out how to be happy all the time, no matter what happened, and then actually be happy? Is it even possible or is that only something we dream about but can’t ever have? What do you think?

          What did we just hear this morning? The writer of Proverbs thinks that a good wife, the über wife, would make the husband and family and even the community happy. The Psalmist says that the law of the Lord makes people happy. So happy they think about it day and night.  And James doesn’t say that this will make us happy but he says that if a person lives “right and by being humble and wise in everything you do… wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice…Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.  Come near to God, and he will come near to you.”

          I think he’s implying that if we do this we’ll not only be wise but we’ll also be happy. If a person is pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere wouldn’t they also be happy…and wise? I think so.

          And then, Mark’s gospel has Jesus asking the disciples what they were talking about as they walked along the road to Capernaum. They were so ashamed of what they were talking about they couldn’t tell him. I wonder if they had thought about the fact that he knew what they were thinking and talking about all the time. Probably not otherwise they wouldn’t have done it.

          Well, Jesus knew so he used it as an opportunity to teach them one more lesson.  They were interested in positions of power in the Kingdom. Jesus showed them that in order to be first in the Kingdom they would have to be last here.  He pulled a young child onto his lap and said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”  In some translations instead of “embraces” the word “welcome” is used.

          Think about that. Jesus is telling the Twelve that they need to be hospitable to little children. In Jesus’ day children weren’t really paid much attention to until they had received the required training in the synagogue. Even then they were to be quiet and listen and learn from those who were wiser by being older.  But Jesus was saying that if anyone wanted to get close to Him and/or God then they needed to welcome or embrace those who were the least. And then they’d be happy…and wise.

          So, what is it you desire the most in this life? If it’s true happiness and wisdom do you know how to be truly happy and wise today? If we’re thinking that it’s the material things of this world that’ll make us happy I’m afraid we’ll be disappointed. And if we think the perfect spouse or child or children will make us forever happy again I think we’d be disappointed.

          To be truly happy and wise we need to surrender our lives to God and come near to Jesus and Him by serving and welcoming those who we view as less than or lower than us. 

          Don’t you wonder if those disciples who were arguing and discussing who would be first in the Kingdom ever got what they wanted? I guess we’ll find out when we get there.

          Good friends, to be happy…and wise we have learned today that we need to come near to Jesus and God and we can do that by welcoming…and embracing those we don’t often pay much attention to, the least in this world.

          So, what are we going to do with this lesson this week? Friends, I’m going to pray that God will provide me opportunities to serve others and Him.  What are you going to pray for?

          Thanks be to God for his grace, mercy, and peace. Amen.

Who's In Control?

          Who do you think is in control of your life? Be honest now. Let’s see, how many of you have made any plans for what you’re going to do today or tomorrow or next week or this winter when it’s cold and snowy outside or maybe you’re one of those long range planning people and you’ve already made your plans for next summer?

          James talks about keeping our tongues under control. In fact after hearing his message it sounds as if it’s almost impossible to do. Maybe some can but there’s not many folks who haven’t said things that the moment the words were spoken they wanted to take them back, and then it’s too late. I imagine we’ve all been there. I know I have; more times than I’d like to admit.

          So, the question for us today is, what do we do? The answer, my friends, is in the gospel lesson from Mark. What was it Jesus said? “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am… Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all.”

          That’s the answer to our dilemma. We keep thinking we’re the ones in control, of our lives, our destinies, our families, our careers, and we keep mucking it up. There are so many examples in life that we could look at.

          For example, riding a bicycle, we try and we try and it’s when we finally relax and just kind of let it all balance itself out that the riding becomes easy, almost second nature. We can jump on and go without thinking about how it’s staying upright.

          Swimming’s another example. We can’t even float until we learn to let go of the tension in our muscles and relax. We have to believe that the water can support us. We have to have faith that we won’t sink like a rock when we give control to the water.

          Life is easier and we are less anxious when we let go of the reins and let the One who’s really got the plan take over. But how do we do that? How to get our fingers pried off the steering wheel or the handle bars or the tiller? How can we know for sure that that’s the best thing for us?

          Well, it goes back to what I said earlier, we have to believe that following Jesus’ lead is the right thing to do. We have to have faith that he really is the One in control. We have to trust what we can’t see. The first step is ours. We have to make the decision that that’s what we’re going to do. We have to let go first and let Jesus lead.

          The problem we all have is we like being in control. We like being the ones making the decisions…and we are afraid that following Jesus is going to be painful. After all he does mention suffering and sacrifice and we don’t like the sound of those words. We don’t like pain and we can’t imagine living without our things.

          Is that what He meant? What do you think? Do we have to live like our brothers and sisters who own nothing and live in rooms with just the bare necessities? Is Jesus saying that we have to cash in our retirement accounts and use them to buy food and clothes and shelter for the least of these? What do you think?

          Friends, I think it comes back to the first question, “What controls our lives? What or who controls our decisions? Those are the questions we have to answer for ourselves.

          I don’t think we’re going to arrive at an answer or a solution to our questions here today. This is something that we need to spend some time with and listen for God’s voice to direct us.

          As I said the first step is ours to take. After that, after we’ve invited Jesus into our hearts, then we can begin to relax the tension and get on with the work God has called us to.

          Friends, it’s still not easy but God never promised that our lives would be easy.  It’s the reward that’s waiting for us on the other side that we’re striving for, eternal life with our Savior, Jesus, the Christ.

          Maybe that’s hard for us to imagine but God and his omnipotence is too much for us to get our heads around so what makes us think that we can begin to imagine what eternity with God will be like.

          As Jesus and James told us today it’s all about control, us letting go and Jesus taking over.  May it be so.

            Thanks be to God for his patient grace. Amen.

The "Others"

          James is convicting us even more today than he did last week. At the end of last week’s reading from James we heard that genuine religion in God’s sight is caring for the poor, the orphans, and the widows. These folks are the “others,” the ones we don’t like to be reminded about, the ones we try not to notice when we’re driving down the street or the highway, the “others.”

          Have you ever been an “other?” To be an “other” you must be poor or homeless or unemployed and on food stamps or crippled or dirty or smelly or someone with AIDS or cancer or divorced or gay or suffered a great loss or just plain “different.”  You know, one of those “others.” 

          When I was growing up sometimes I felt like an “other.”  It never seemed like the family had much spending money to buy any of the “good” things other people had. Sometimes Mom would even tell me we were poor. But I always had clothes and food to eat so I wasn’t suffering. Growing up on the farm I never met anyone who was homeless or unemployed or was “different” than me.

          It wasn’t until I went into the Army that I came into contact with the “others.” In Germany I met folks who living on the fringes of society. Panhandlers some folks called them, begging or asking for change, anything so they could buy something to eat. Of course we knew that they were really going to buy cigarettes or booze.

          I spent a night in a shelter in Augusta, GA once just because it was cheap and I could get a free breakfast the next morning. Of course we had to attend worship before we could eat.  I met a few folks that morning who were really poor, and who I thought were just a little bit strange, definitely “others.”

          So, we’ve got some pictures in our minds of the “others.”  Are there “others” living in Walnut? Are there “others” living in Avoca? Are there any “others” who come off the Interstate into McDonald’s or Kum and Go? There are most certainly “others” in CB and Omaha.

          James talks to us today of “others” and Jesus comes face to face with two “others.” In fact one of the “others” has a pretty convincing debate with Jesus and because of the strength of her argument he cures her daughter of her demonic possession. 

          It sounded as if Jesus was here first for his own, people who were like him, people who went to the synagogue, people who were the “chosen.”  And then if there was anything left, any crumbs, then the “others” could be helped.

          Because of this women Jesus learned that he was here not only for the “chosen” but also for the “others,” the unclean ones.

          So, friends, why are we here? What are we supposed to do with what we’ve heard this morning? Is this message, in the epistle and the gospel, pointed directly at us? Do the words of James and Mark make us a little uncomfortable?

          The question that can only be answered individually is this, “How are we helping those “others” living in our communities?” Are we inviting them to come to worship with us? Do they see the love of Jesus in our eyes when we meet them in McDonalds or on the street or outside Kum and Go? 

          I think as we look deep within our hearts and souls we have to admit that we’re not doing near enough. Oh, there are some who are providing help that none of us is aware of but the majority of us aren’t doing near enough. We know we could do more. We know that Jesus asks us and expects us to do more.

          There are opportunities presented to us every day. Somehow, some way, we need to take time to let God open our eyes, our hearts, to what he would have us do or where he would have us go.

          I’m learning, and I know you are to, that we only have a limited amount of time to get our acts together. Listen to God’s word for us. We are to be caring for the “others” who are everywhere. God expects us to do that.

          This week I pray that as you go about your daily routines you take the time to notice the “others” and pray that God will reveal to you and me how we can help them.

          Remember, tomorrow you could be one of those “others” and think how grateful you’d be when someone offered you a helping hand.

            May God grant us his grace, peace, and love as we journey through this life. Amen.

The Word

          Have you been to that point where you just can’t take it anymore and you just want to throw in the towel? Have you ever thought I can’t do this? I quit! It’s just too hard trying to be like Jesus!

          Have you ever sat down and read all the laws in Leviticus and then thought, “How did anyone ever imagine that they could keep every one of these laws?” The Ten Commandments or Ten Laws that God inscribed on the stone tablets for Moses and the Israelite people are difficult enough. There isn’t one person alive who’s ever succeeded in keeping all the laws.

          And yet we look at our neighbors and wonder how they can hold their heads up as they walk down the street. We know every thing they’ve ever done because it’s been all the talk at the coffee shop.

          We never stop to think that maybe another coffee group is talking about us because they know every wrong we’ve ever committed. Oh, we think no one knows but everyone knows everything.

          The truth is no one is perfect. No one has, no matter what they say, ever kept all the commandments. Every single person in the world has sinned and yet we put them down and talk about them and ostracize them to the point that they’re embarrassed to even come into our churches to worship and beg God for forgiveness.

          The Pharisees were questioning Jesus about his disciple’s hygiene habits. How could they do that, not wash their hands before they ate? It’s a sin, that’s what they said. How could Jesus not notice and not correct them? He must not be a very good rabbi if they can’t even follow the most basic laws. Everyone knows you should wash your hands before you take a bite of food.

          Now before we all go on and think that we’re better than them let’s just stop and consider what we talked about at coffee yesterday or this morning.  Let’s face it we’re no better than those Pharisees.

          Yep, we’re all a bunch of sinners and it’s a wonder that anyone would want to come in and worship with us, all misfits and yet God invites us to come in and be forgiven. And he asks us to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. We forget that part sometimes.

          So, what’s the Good News for us today? The good news is that we’ve all been forgiven through the sacrifice God made in Jesus Christ.

          But it doesn’t end with us being forgiven. Our work isn’t complete just because we’ve said that we believe Jesus is God’s Son and he died for our sins. We can’t retire from this labor just because we come to worship every Sunday and listen to the preacher. We’re not done just because we’ve been doing this our whole lives. We’re not done yet.

          None of it matters at all if we aren’t living what we speak. Our lives aren’t worth a plug nickel if we aren’t taking Jesus’ words to heart and caring for the homeless, the poor, the widows, the children of our neighbors who are addicted to the demons of alcohol and pills. If we aren’t trying to live the words we speak then we aren’t the people we think we are.

          We won’t get it perfect. We will make mistakes but if we don’t do anything at all then it doesn’t matter. This living like Jesus is more than mere words. In order for it to mean anything we’ve got to walk the talk.

          But we have to be careful because we might begin to think that if we do this or that then we’ve earned our way into God’s company. There’s nothing we can do to get on God’s good side.

          It’s all grace. It’s all up to God and we are saved only through his grace. And isn’t it a wonder that he’d want any of us?

          But for some reason he loves us. He’s peeping through the window and peeking through the fence to see how we’re doing. He’s inviting us to come and play with him.

          So many times we get the mistaken idea that to follow this life of Jesus is a burden, a life of sacrifice. Who’d want that? But friends God is a lover and he doesn’t want any to be lost, not one soul.

          We are his hands and his feet. He’s called us and he’s expecting us to help him bring others along on this journey.

          So, don’t throw in the towel just yet. Don’t think that you have to keep all the laws. All God expects is that we love him with our whole being and love our neighbors like we’d like to be cared for. Still not exactly the easiest thing to do but God isn’t expecting us to be perfect.

          Remember, he knows us. He sees us everyday. And yet he forgives us when we come to him.

          So, good friends, take in God’s word, let it take root deep within your soul, and then share God’s love with everyone you meet using the gifts he’s given you.

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

Who Do You Trust?

Who do you trust? On what or on whom do you bet your life on? Do you put all your faith in things you can see and hold on to? Who, what do you trust?

          Solomon, the psalmist, Paul, and Peter all put their trust in the One who they believed would care for them forever, the One who as Peter said, had “…the words of real life, eternal life.” They all made a commitment to stay with God, the Son of God sure that they were one and the same although how was a mystery to them. They trusted God because he’d always been faithful in keeping the covenant he’d made with their ancestors and with them.

          Who do we trust today? Jesus’ disciples found his words hard to swallow. Some couldn’t believe or didn’t want to make the commitment to give their whole lives to Jesus and so they left him.

          Who do we trust? Is the pull exerted on us by the world too strong? What have we done to protect ourselves, to keep our souls safe, and prepare ourselves for this life and the one to come?

          Paul used the metaphor of putting on armor. Today he might have said that we need to don our bullet-proof Kevlar vests.  What can we do to protect our souls from the wiles of the worldly one, the evil forces prevalent all around us? What bullet-proof vest can we use to keep our souls from being destroyed or stolen?

          Paul told the Ephesians that they should be prepared.  They were up against more than they could imagine. I don’t think anything’s changed today. I also believe we can’t imagine all the forces that are against those who have committed to being followers of Jesus and believe in God and his promise of eternal life. 

          Maybe we’ve become de-sensitized to the dangers that surround us. We need something to protect us, something we can trust to keep us safe. Paul said, “Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon.”

          He reminds us that prayer is an essential piece of protection in this conflict with the evil forces in the world.  We should pray long and hard and prayer for all our brothers and sisters. We are to be alert to how our friends are doing and when we notice changes that we get on our knees and pray for them.  Paul didn’t want anyone to be lost and we don’t either. So, we should heed his advice and pray, pray long and hard.

          I never was much of a fighter. In fact I would do whatever I could to stay out of the way of any conflict. So, it’s hard for me to imagine putting on something as cumbersome as armor.

          Today we’d imagine someone being clothed in the latest armor and weapons that the greatest military engineers could think of, cluster bombs, AK47’s, and Kevlar vests and helmets. But what if we went another direction and instead of physical combat we employed the best thinking minds in the world to resolve conflicts? What if we relied on minds that are skilled in International Laws and courts of justice?  What if we used the technology at our disposal to alleviate poverty and hunger?  What if we listened to those talking about climate change and tried some of their suggestions? Would that maybe be one way to protect this world we live in and at the same time love others as Jesus taught us?

          Could that be what Jesus meant when he said, “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day… By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven...Whoever eats this Bread will live always.”

          Is this what he meant when he asked us to eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Son of Man? Is this the armor Paul was talking about?

          Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are the pieces we need to place our trust in to protect us. God is the one who provides them for us. We can trust He will come through for us because he has kept his promises, his covenant.

          So, you say you want to but you have doubts. Friends, you’re not alone. The evil forces in the world don’t cause those who don’t believe to doubt because they’ve already made their decision. But those who are being assailed by doubts are still following the Way of Jesus and the world’s forces are trying to pull us away by making us doubt. And that’s why we need to protect ourselves with prayer, one of the most powerful pieces of armor God has given us.

          So, now who do you trust, God or the other forces at play in the world? I pray that you will put your trust in God, the One who gives good things to those who walk with integrity. Those who trust in Him are truly happy…and their souls are safe from the Evil One.

            Thanks be to God for his saving grace. Amen.