(This is the Message I gave to the folks at Peace Haven Retirement Home last evening. Listen for God's Word)
Don’t you just love the Old Testament stories? This week at morning prayers I have been reading the stories of the kings of Judah and Israel. After David and his son Solomon’s rule the nations were led by some kings who were just plain evil. Ahab, the king in today’s scripture reading, was one of the worst. And to top it off he married Jezebel who was about as evil as he was. She may have been worse.
Ahab was so bad that God had told the prophet Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that the nation was going to experience a severe drought. There wasn’t going to be any rain until God said so. And then he told Elijah to run far away from there to the Kerith canyon and He, God, would have the ravens bring him his meals and he would have water from the brook.
Eventually the brook dried up because there hadn’t been any rain and so God told Elijah to go Zarephath and there he would meet a widow and her son. He was to live with them and God would provide for them so they wouldn’t want for food.
And God did what he promised and Elijah did what God told him to do. Today God called Elijah to go to Ahab and he would send rain on the land.
Now we will fast forward to the gospel according to Matthew, chapter 2. An angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him that Herod was coming to Bethlehem to kill his son, Jesus. So he got up, took the child and his mother, went to Egypt and remained there.
When the danger had passed, Herod died, the angel of God appeared again to Joseph in a dream and told him it was safe to return to his home. And so he got up, took the child and his mother, and returned to Israel. But he heard as he was traveling that Herod’s son, who was also pretty evil was in charge of things so he was directed in a dream by God to go to the Galilean countryside to the town of Nazareth. And that’s exactly what he did.
Have you noticed that there were no questions asked, there was no discussion about any of the little details of the trip. Both Elijah and Joseph just packed it up and went on the way that God showed them?
Friends, God is calling each of us. I wonder if we are hearing his call. I wonder how we are each responding to his call to us. I wonder what it is that he is calling us to do or be. Are there any folks left with ears to hear God’s call to ministry, to mission, to love and care for the least and the lost?
I’m the only one who can answer for me and you’re the only one who can answer for you. And that’s all that really matters. It’s really no one else’s business if we hear His voice and how we answer his call.
I believe that what is important is to open our ears, our hearts and minds, to God’s voice. From what I’ve observed in my few years here on earth I think that people don’t really believe that God can speak to them. It seems to me that there are quite a few cynical people living in the world today.
Maybe God’s voice is silent, maybe we are in a drought of sorts from hearing God’s voice because we’ve angered God by the way we live our lives. What do you think?
I think it’s more likely that people are spending time daily in God’s word and therefore they aren’t getting the Message he has for them. It’s kind of like going on vacation and forgetting to let the newspaper person know. The newspapers keep piling up outside your door until you finally get back home. The news was there it just couldn’t find a way in. You weren’t there so you could read the news and learn. You have to pick the paper up, open it, put on your glasses if you need them, and read the news in order to learn what’s going on in the world.
Email’s the same way. We have to open our email software, open the message, and read them before we can know what the sender wanted us to know.
Friends, God calls us and he has a Message for us. But we aren’t going to get his call unless we pick up the Bible, open it, read it, meditate on it, and then live it.
God sent an angel to Joseph. He sent the ravens to feed Elijah. He spoke to Elijah and Elijah heard because he was alone most times. The noise pollution of the world didn’t compete with God’s voice. God personally spoke to Paul who sent Epaphroditus to Philippi in his place since he was in prison.
I believe that God spoke to these people and there heard his voice. I believe that he speaks to us today but our hearts and ears are plugged and we don’t hear so well. I pray that God puts his fingers in our ears, as Jesus did with the deaf man, and that our ears would be opened up so we can hear God’s beautiful voice speaking to us.
We can’t know what he has called us to do or be unless we can hear. We can’t hear unless we go to the Message and read it. We can’t understand what it’s saying to us unless we have someone teach it.
Friends, there are so many who give the excuse that they’re too busy to do daily devotions. We have time to do other things like watch movies on TV or go to ball games or go to music concerts but we don’t have time for God. And we wonder why the world is in the mess that it’s in.
God is calling us. He calls to us every day. Do we have ears to hear his call? Are we listening for his voice? Pick up the word, read it with a friend, discuss its message. Meditate, pray, and live the word and you will hear God’s voice loud and clear calling you to the particular ministry he has prepared just for you. Who knows maybe you’ll be calling fire down from heaven like Elijah. God wants you to answer his call. May you be blessed by God this evening.
Thanks be to God for his gracious Message for us through his son, Jesus. Amen.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Poor, Homeless, & Hungry Are Welcome Here
Last Sunday the Message was about what’s important to God. The theme of today’s scripture lessons continues along the same road.
James ended the first chapter by reminding his readers that what was important to God was reaching out to the homeless and the loveless and to guard against being corrupted by the world.
This morning the lessons from Proverbs, Psalms, James, and the gospel of Mark are more or less about the things that are priorities in God’s plan for his children. Ah, just who are God’s children? It seems like this question has been asked before.
In light of the Word you heard read this morning who would you say are the beloved children of God? Who are those who will inherit the kingdom of God, you and me?
It doesn’t sound like it to me. What I heard was it belongs to those who are down and out who have been chosen to be the first in the kingdom. Friends, I hate to burst your bubble, but that’s not you and me. To me it’s more likely to be someone who may be living on the street or very close to it. It’s more apt to be someone who is receiving federal assistance to pay their rent and buy the necessities of life like food and utilities. That’s not anyone I see sitting here this morning.
Now that sounds a little harsh to me and maybe does to you too. But think about who Jesus hung out with and the kind of people he ministered to. It wasn’t those who had everything they needed. No, it was those who were living the hard scrabble life on the edges of society, prostitutes, rebels against the oppressors, adulterers, thieves, fishermen, and tax collectors. Not anyone like I see sitting here today.
Do you know anyone who is poor? Do you know anyone who is struggling to make their rent every month? Do you know someone who needs help with just living? Do you know anyone who is almost homeless? Are any of your neighbors one of these people?
Friends, they’re living in Walnut. How do I know? I know because I talk to them. Sometimes they ask for help but most times they are too proud to ask. I only hear from them when they’ve exhausted every other avenue of help. And that’s really sad.
I wish they’d call the church first. Don’t you? It would be so much easier to help someone pay bills before the electricity is turned off and the gas shut off. But it doesn’t usually work that way.
There are poor, there are folks who don’t have much living here. They are most times too embarrassed to ask us for help. Maybe they think we’d think they weren’t worthy. Or maybe they think we think they should be able to pull themselves up by their boot straps, get themselves out of the pickle they’re in. It doesn’t always work that way though. Sometimes, in fact most times, they, we, need a hand, your hand, or my hand, any hand that reaches out to them in love, without judging or condemning them for being where they’re at right now.
What if we choose to do nothing? What if we walk on the other side of the street? What if we just shrug our shoulders and tell them we can’t help them today but, “Hey, God loves you and so do I?” What’s that get them? What’s that get us?
It doesn’t help them a bit and we get condemned because we did nothing, actually we did worse than that. We brought the Name into it.
What did Jesus say, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself?” So if we tell them God loves them how does that help? The truth is it doesn’t. And that’s the point James was making. The early church wasn’t treating the poor very well. In fact, they really wished they wouldn’t come into the meeting place to worship. They smelled bad and their clothes were rags. Shoot, our churches don’t always treat the poor very well either.
So how do we change our actions? What can we do to help those who need help but don’t always come forward and ask for it?
Tell them where they can go for aid. Tell them about the food pantry in Avoca open every Monday afternoon from 4-6. Tell them about the Good Guys who will help them pay their utilities at least once to help tide them over. Offer to help them any way you can. Give them a ride, take them a hot meal, visit with them, maybe they need help caring for children or a mom or a dad. Maybe they do just need to know there’s someone out there who isn’t judging them.
Remember, friends, God made us all, the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s and we all depend on him for our needs.
We are all called to ministry to care for God’s children as he enables us. Today God has issued his call to care for his children. How are you going to answer?
September 20th there is a Walk-A-Thon in Omaha from Gallup University to the Open Door Mission, about a mile. The cost to walk is $19.20. And sure you have to walk a mile and it’s not quite the same as helping someone here at home but it may be just what we need to get us off to a different path of mission.
And then there’s the basket at the back of the church. It’s there to be filled with items for the food pantry. It’s been kind of empty for awhile.
Friends, these are only two things that came into my brain. Go to God and listen to him. This week one of the scriptures I read called us the road upon which God walks. Think about that. Where are we going to take God this week? Where does God want us to go? Who does he want us to help? Let those with ears, listen.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God for his wondrous grace. Amen.
James ended the first chapter by reminding his readers that what was important to God was reaching out to the homeless and the loveless and to guard against being corrupted by the world.
This morning the lessons from Proverbs, Psalms, James, and the gospel of Mark are more or less about the things that are priorities in God’s plan for his children. Ah, just who are God’s children? It seems like this question has been asked before.
In light of the Word you heard read this morning who would you say are the beloved children of God? Who are those who will inherit the kingdom of God, you and me?
It doesn’t sound like it to me. What I heard was it belongs to those who are down and out who have been chosen to be the first in the kingdom. Friends, I hate to burst your bubble, but that’s not you and me. To me it’s more likely to be someone who may be living on the street or very close to it. It’s more apt to be someone who is receiving federal assistance to pay their rent and buy the necessities of life like food and utilities. That’s not anyone I see sitting here this morning.
Now that sounds a little harsh to me and maybe does to you too. But think about who Jesus hung out with and the kind of people he ministered to. It wasn’t those who had everything they needed. No, it was those who were living the hard scrabble life on the edges of society, prostitutes, rebels against the oppressors, adulterers, thieves, fishermen, and tax collectors. Not anyone like I see sitting here today.
Do you know anyone who is poor? Do you know anyone who is struggling to make their rent every month? Do you know someone who needs help with just living? Do you know anyone who is almost homeless? Are any of your neighbors one of these people?
Friends, they’re living in Walnut. How do I know? I know because I talk to them. Sometimes they ask for help but most times they are too proud to ask. I only hear from them when they’ve exhausted every other avenue of help. And that’s really sad.
I wish they’d call the church first. Don’t you? It would be so much easier to help someone pay bills before the electricity is turned off and the gas shut off. But it doesn’t usually work that way.
There are poor, there are folks who don’t have much living here. They are most times too embarrassed to ask us for help. Maybe they think we’d think they weren’t worthy. Or maybe they think we think they should be able to pull themselves up by their boot straps, get themselves out of the pickle they’re in. It doesn’t always work that way though. Sometimes, in fact most times, they, we, need a hand, your hand, or my hand, any hand that reaches out to them in love, without judging or condemning them for being where they’re at right now.
What if we choose to do nothing? What if we walk on the other side of the street? What if we just shrug our shoulders and tell them we can’t help them today but, “Hey, God loves you and so do I?” What’s that get them? What’s that get us?
It doesn’t help them a bit and we get condemned because we did nothing, actually we did worse than that. We brought the Name into it.
What did Jesus say, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself?” So if we tell them God loves them how does that help? The truth is it doesn’t. And that’s the point James was making. The early church wasn’t treating the poor very well. In fact, they really wished they wouldn’t come into the meeting place to worship. They smelled bad and their clothes were rags. Shoot, our churches don’t always treat the poor very well either.
So how do we change our actions? What can we do to help those who need help but don’t always come forward and ask for it?
Tell them where they can go for aid. Tell them about the food pantry in Avoca open every Monday afternoon from 4-6. Tell them about the Good Guys who will help them pay their utilities at least once to help tide them over. Offer to help them any way you can. Give them a ride, take them a hot meal, visit with them, maybe they need help caring for children or a mom or a dad. Maybe they do just need to know there’s someone out there who isn’t judging them.
Remember, friends, God made us all, the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s and we all depend on him for our needs.
We are all called to ministry to care for God’s children as he enables us. Today God has issued his call to care for his children. How are you going to answer?
September 20th there is a Walk-A-Thon in Omaha from Gallup University to the Open Door Mission, about a mile. The cost to walk is $19.20. And sure you have to walk a mile and it’s not quite the same as helping someone here at home but it may be just what we need to get us off to a different path of mission.
And then there’s the basket at the back of the church. It’s there to be filled with items for the food pantry. It’s been kind of empty for awhile.
Friends, these are only two things that came into my brain. Go to God and listen to him. This week one of the scriptures I read called us the road upon which God walks. Think about that. Where are we going to take God this week? Where does God want us to go? Who does he want us to help? Let those with ears, listen.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God for his wondrous grace. Amen.
Monday, August 31, 2009
What's Important to God?
Friends, tell me, what’s important to God? Come on. I know someone here has an opinion about what’s important to God. In fact I’d wager that all of us have our very own thoughts about this. And we’re probably pretty certain that what we believe is the way it is or at least the way it should be. Am I right?
I think it would be very helpful for us to know what’s important to God. Because whatever’s important to God should be what’s important to us, right? So where do you go to find out what that is?
Maybe you are one of those who are blessed to hear God speak to you. Now I’m referring to those who actually hear God’s voice in their ear or maybe in their mind. Whatever it is they hear God speaking and they know first hand what’s important to Him. But what about those who haven’t been blessed with this gift? How do they find out what’s important to God?
I’ll tell you how I find out what’s important to God. The first place I go, the place I believe has the most authority, is the Bible. Reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating God’s Word for us is how I believe we can discover what’s important to God.
The Word read this morning is God speaking to us. He shared with us this morning what was important to Him. What did you hear Him saying to you? I think it’s not the same for everyone. Why do I think that?
Well, it’s this way. Men, you know how your wives are always telling you something, something they would like you to do or some bit of information they want you to retain in your memory banks. You know how it is that later they ask you something about what they said or they remind us to not forget to do this chore and darned if we didn’t hear and interpret what they told us differently from what their original intention was. You see, in case you haven’t heard this before, men and women are different, our minds take in information and process it in different ways and therefore what is said and heard is not always the same. And to make it even more difficult, two or three men could have heard the same directive and each heard something different.
I believe it’s the same way when we hear God’s word read. Men and women hear it differently. God speaks to us differently. And I guess he would understand since he created us, each of us, just the way we are. Since we’re all different and in different stages or places in our walk with the Lord then what’s important to God for us may be different for each of us.
But what does his word speak to us today? What’s he saying to us that’s important to Him as our Creator? Which reading should we start with?
Let’s begin with James’ epistle. What’s important to God here? James, I believe wants us to know that we can’t just listen to what God speaks to us and then not act on what we hear. We shouldn’t just let God’s message for us go in one ear and out the other. We are mandated to Act on the word we hear from God. But what’s important to God from the epistle of James?
What’s important is “reaching out to the homeless and the loveless in their plights, and guarding against corruption from this godless world.” Friends, this is what’s important to God. Is it important to you?
We must ask ourselves, “Are we living out God’s word today?” If we aren’t, why aren’t we? Is what’s important to us what’s important to God, that’s the question?
We all know that we should try to live as Jesus lived. Jesus is the model we should try to emulate. So what’s important to God in the gospel lesson from Mark?
Jesus was saying, “It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it’s what you vomit—that’s the real pollution.”
I hear Jesus telling us we need to look at our church rules, the written and the unwritten. What’s important to God? Traditions that enhance our worship and that enable worshippers to be closer to God are not bad but traditionalisms that keep people from entering the church to worship and pray to God for forgiveness because they aren’t clean or like us is wrong.
It’s not what we look like or how we dress or what kind of work we do that’s important to God. It’s the condition of our heart that’s important to Him. It’s not what’s on the outside but what comes from our hearts.
Friends, what’s important to God? I go back to how Jesus answered the question about what the greatest commandment was. Love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Care what God wants and desires and care for our neighbors as we would like to be cared for. Take care of the homeless and the loveless that’s what’s important to God.
Friends, it doesn’t get any clearer than that. Let those with ears to hear, listen. Thanks be to God for his grace and love. Friends, God loves you and so do I. Amen.
I think it would be very helpful for us to know what’s important to God. Because whatever’s important to God should be what’s important to us, right? So where do you go to find out what that is?
Maybe you are one of those who are blessed to hear God speak to you. Now I’m referring to those who actually hear God’s voice in their ear or maybe in their mind. Whatever it is they hear God speaking and they know first hand what’s important to Him. But what about those who haven’t been blessed with this gift? How do they find out what’s important to God?
I’ll tell you how I find out what’s important to God. The first place I go, the place I believe has the most authority, is the Bible. Reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating God’s Word for us is how I believe we can discover what’s important to God.
The Word read this morning is God speaking to us. He shared with us this morning what was important to Him. What did you hear Him saying to you? I think it’s not the same for everyone. Why do I think that?
Well, it’s this way. Men, you know how your wives are always telling you something, something they would like you to do or some bit of information they want you to retain in your memory banks. You know how it is that later they ask you something about what they said or they remind us to not forget to do this chore and darned if we didn’t hear and interpret what they told us differently from what their original intention was. You see, in case you haven’t heard this before, men and women are different, our minds take in information and process it in different ways and therefore what is said and heard is not always the same. And to make it even more difficult, two or three men could have heard the same directive and each heard something different.
I believe it’s the same way when we hear God’s word read. Men and women hear it differently. God speaks to us differently. And I guess he would understand since he created us, each of us, just the way we are. Since we’re all different and in different stages or places in our walk with the Lord then what’s important to God for us may be different for each of us.
But what does his word speak to us today? What’s he saying to us that’s important to Him as our Creator? Which reading should we start with?
Let’s begin with James’ epistle. What’s important to God here? James, I believe wants us to know that we can’t just listen to what God speaks to us and then not act on what we hear. We shouldn’t just let God’s message for us go in one ear and out the other. We are mandated to Act on the word we hear from God. But what’s important to God from the epistle of James?
What’s important is “reaching out to the homeless and the loveless in their plights, and guarding against corruption from this godless world.” Friends, this is what’s important to God. Is it important to you?
We must ask ourselves, “Are we living out God’s word today?” If we aren’t, why aren’t we? Is what’s important to us what’s important to God, that’s the question?
We all know that we should try to live as Jesus lived. Jesus is the model we should try to emulate. So what’s important to God in the gospel lesson from Mark?
Jesus was saying, “It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it’s what you vomit—that’s the real pollution.”
I hear Jesus telling us we need to look at our church rules, the written and the unwritten. What’s important to God? Traditions that enhance our worship and that enable worshippers to be closer to God are not bad but traditionalisms that keep people from entering the church to worship and pray to God for forgiveness because they aren’t clean or like us is wrong.
It’s not what we look like or how we dress or what kind of work we do that’s important to God. It’s the condition of our heart that’s important to Him. It’s not what’s on the outside but what comes from our hearts.
Friends, what’s important to God? I go back to how Jesus answered the question about what the greatest commandment was. Love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Care what God wants and desires and care for our neighbors as we would like to be cared for. Take care of the homeless and the loveless that’s what’s important to God.
Friends, it doesn’t get any clearer than that. Let those with ears to hear, listen. Thanks be to God for his grace and love. Friends, God loves you and so do I. Amen.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Make a Meal of Jesus
The gospel lesson from John begins where we left off last Sunday with Jesus explaining to his disciples that only by eating his flesh and drinking his blood are they able to enter into him and him into them. In the same way that the God, the Father, gives him life and he lives because of the Father so anyone who makes a meal of Jesus lives because of him, Bread from heaven…Whoever eats this Bread will live always.
Jesus invited his disciples to make a meal of him and many of those who were following him had problems with his words. They understood him to mean literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood. This repulsed them because the Law given to the Moses by God strictly prohibited drinking blood from any animal and eating human flesh just wasn’t right. So you can understand how people might have been put off by Jesus’ words.
When you hear these words what comes into your mind? As you hear these words of Jesus again what words or phrases speak to you? For me it was, “…the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me.” How can we begin to “make a meal of Jesus?”
If we take what Jesus is saying literally it is “tough teaching, too tough to swallow.” I don’t think he meant for us to take his words literally especially after hearing his explanation in verses 61-65, “The Spirit can make life…Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making.”
So we make a meal of Jesus spiritually? How do we do that? Friends, in the words of Jesus, “…no one is capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father.” It’s God’s grace that allows us to make a meal of Jesus.
And it’s only by hearing God’s word read again and again and again that we are able to be fed with the Bread of heaven. It’s only when we hear, meditate, pray, and contemplate the Word that we are truly fed by the body of Christ.
I’m in the process of finishing a book that I started a year ago and just this week picked up again. I realized that I had never finished it. It’s called “Eat This Book” by Eugene Petersen. What I read this week was about how we can make a meal of the Word of God.
I would imagine that everybody here this morning has a Bible in their homes. Maybe you have more than one. And I suppose that you pick it up and read it every day. Now, let me ask you, do you read it silently or do you read it out loud so you can hear the words echoing off the walls, so you can hear the different inflections and different nuances?
The Israelites only heard the word God spoken. Even in Jesus’ day most of those who went to the meeting place to worship didn’t read a Bible or from the scroll, they heard the Word read. And it was through the reading and hearing the Word that it came alive and became part of them. The Word went into them and they were fed by God.
It’s through the hearing of the Word that we are fed. It’s, as Jesus said, a Spirit-filled Spirit-led experience.
So to make a meal of Jesus we have to hear with our ears the Word read. And it’s probably not enough to hear it just once but we need to hear it multiple times in order for the particular Message God has for us to sink in and nourish our souls.
What do you think? When you hear the Word read do you hear the voices of those saints who have gone on before us, the ones who are gathered in heaven watching us and cheering us on as we make a meal of the Word, Jesus the Christ?
Before we can fight the battle against evil that Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians we have to be strengthened by eating the Bread of heaven. We have to take in the Word and make it a part of us. And it’s only through God’s grace through faith that we are able to do that.
I asked you last Sunday what you would ask God for if you could have anything. I pray that you ask him to fill your body and soul with his Word. Because if you are filled with Jesus then you have everything you could ever want, love, peace, forgiveness, quietness, everything.
Friends, make a meal of Jesus and be fed by his Spirit. God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Jesus invited his disciples to make a meal of him and many of those who were following him had problems with his words. They understood him to mean literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood. This repulsed them because the Law given to the Moses by God strictly prohibited drinking blood from any animal and eating human flesh just wasn’t right. So you can understand how people might have been put off by Jesus’ words.
When you hear these words what comes into your mind? As you hear these words of Jesus again what words or phrases speak to you? For me it was, “…the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me.” How can we begin to “make a meal of Jesus?”
If we take what Jesus is saying literally it is “tough teaching, too tough to swallow.” I don’t think he meant for us to take his words literally especially after hearing his explanation in verses 61-65, “The Spirit can make life…Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making.”
So we make a meal of Jesus spiritually? How do we do that? Friends, in the words of Jesus, “…no one is capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father.” It’s God’s grace that allows us to make a meal of Jesus.
And it’s only by hearing God’s word read again and again and again that we are able to be fed with the Bread of heaven. It’s only when we hear, meditate, pray, and contemplate the Word that we are truly fed by the body of Christ.
I’m in the process of finishing a book that I started a year ago and just this week picked up again. I realized that I had never finished it. It’s called “Eat This Book” by Eugene Petersen. What I read this week was about how we can make a meal of the Word of God.
I would imagine that everybody here this morning has a Bible in their homes. Maybe you have more than one. And I suppose that you pick it up and read it every day. Now, let me ask you, do you read it silently or do you read it out loud so you can hear the words echoing off the walls, so you can hear the different inflections and different nuances?
The Israelites only heard the word God spoken. Even in Jesus’ day most of those who went to the meeting place to worship didn’t read a Bible or from the scroll, they heard the Word read. And it was through the reading and hearing the Word that it came alive and became part of them. The Word went into them and they were fed by God.
It’s through the hearing of the Word that we are fed. It’s, as Jesus said, a Spirit-filled Spirit-led experience.
So to make a meal of Jesus we have to hear with our ears the Word read. And it’s probably not enough to hear it just once but we need to hear it multiple times in order for the particular Message God has for us to sink in and nourish our souls.
What do you think? When you hear the Word read do you hear the voices of those saints who have gone on before us, the ones who are gathered in heaven watching us and cheering us on as we make a meal of the Word, Jesus the Christ?
Before we can fight the battle against evil that Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians we have to be strengthened by eating the Bread of heaven. We have to take in the Word and make it a part of us. And it’s only through God’s grace through faith that we are able to do that.
I asked you last Sunday what you would ask God for if you could have anything. I pray that you ask him to fill your body and soul with his Word. Because if you are filled with Jesus then you have everything you could ever want, love, peace, forgiveness, quietness, everything.
Friends, make a meal of Jesus and be fed by his Spirit. God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
What Would You Ask God For?
If you had been in Solomon’s place what do you think you would have asked God for? If you had been the his age, a teenager actually, do you think you would have asked God for “wisdom?” I don’t think it would have entered my mind. But then I’ve never thought of myself as Solomon.
Let’s put ourselves in Solomon’s place and think for a moment about what we would ask God for if he spoke to us in a vision like he did to Solomon. Some of us have lived a few decades and so have more life experiences to draw from than others gathered here today so those who are more senior may have an advantage of our less experienced in life members.
Solomon asked God for a God-listening heart so he could lead God’s people well, discerning the difference between good and evil (1 Kings 3:9). Did Solomon know what to ask God for because he had lived in David’s presence so long that God was a personal friend he talked with? I don’t know but he did have the advantage of growing up in the royal household and had the advantage of being instructed by the best scholars of his time. At any rate he was very astute in answering God. I’m afraid I might stutter and stammer quite a bit if asked the same question.
Friends, God is speaking to you today in the Word. What have you heard him say to you and how will you respond? Solomon asked God to bless him with a heart that was tuned to God, Paul wrote to the people of Ephesus and told them make the most of every chance God gave them and to sing songs to Christ from their hearts, sing praises for everything. In the gospel of John Jesus tells us that he is the Bread of Life and if we include him in our normal diet we will live forever. And not to leave the psalmist out, he praises God for everything with everything he has. Everything from God is a gift, a blessing, never out of date, never poor quality, lasting forever. God has paid the ransom for all of us and this good life begins in our reverence of God, the fear of the Lord.
You may not have ever asked God for anything specific or you may have asked him for many things but they weren’t like what Solomon asked for. But today, God is offering you whatever you desire, what will you ask him for? What’s the most important thing for you to receive from God?
Every one of us is different and we’re all at different points in our lives and in our walk with the Lord so of course we may need different things from God. But what is your heart yearning for today that you know only God can give you?
Friend, take the time right now and make your thoughts known to God. I know he is listening and he wants to hear you put into words your deepest desires. Let him know what you need.
Jesus wants us to be filled with him inside and out. He wants us to take our nourishment from him by being in his Word. You may not have considered eating the Word but that’s what Jesus is asking us to do. Take the Bread of Life, Jesus, into our very souls and be filled and nourished by him. And then, friends, whatever you need for the work God has for you will be given to you.
Quite a few people in the last weeks have gone away from home on trips for work or vacation and what’s the first thing they need to do when the get home? No, it’s not the laundry! They need to replenish their pantries. Most of them don’t have any bread or milk or eggs. Friends, aren’t these the basic necessities for us to have in our kitchens? You can’t make a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich without bread. Nutritionists tell us that bread should make up a large percentage of our diets. The vitamins and minerals and the fiber are things our bodies need. And we’re so used to having these things in our kitchens that we never think about them as the staff of our lives.
Do we think of God and Jesus in the same way? Have we become so complacent to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that we don’t understand the importance of having daily communion with them? Have we quit asking God for the things we need?
What do you want from God today? What would you like Jesus to give you today? How is God’s Spirit talking to your heart today?
Right now, right where you’re at, ask God for what your heart is aching for. Don’t wait until you get home. Don’t put it off until tomorrow. Do it right now.
If you haven’t asked the Bread of Life to take up residence in your heart now is the time to do that. If you have let your relationship with God slip today is the day to let him know you need him. Just open the door of your heart.
What do you need today, bread, peace, forgiveness? Whatever it is, ask. God is waiting to hear from you today.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Let’s put ourselves in Solomon’s place and think for a moment about what we would ask God for if he spoke to us in a vision like he did to Solomon. Some of us have lived a few decades and so have more life experiences to draw from than others gathered here today so those who are more senior may have an advantage of our less experienced in life members.
Solomon asked God for a God-listening heart so he could lead God’s people well, discerning the difference between good and evil (1 Kings 3:9). Did Solomon know what to ask God for because he had lived in David’s presence so long that God was a personal friend he talked with? I don’t know but he did have the advantage of growing up in the royal household and had the advantage of being instructed by the best scholars of his time. At any rate he was very astute in answering God. I’m afraid I might stutter and stammer quite a bit if asked the same question.
Friends, God is speaking to you today in the Word. What have you heard him say to you and how will you respond? Solomon asked God to bless him with a heart that was tuned to God, Paul wrote to the people of Ephesus and told them make the most of every chance God gave them and to sing songs to Christ from their hearts, sing praises for everything. In the gospel of John Jesus tells us that he is the Bread of Life and if we include him in our normal diet we will live forever. And not to leave the psalmist out, he praises God for everything with everything he has. Everything from God is a gift, a blessing, never out of date, never poor quality, lasting forever. God has paid the ransom for all of us and this good life begins in our reverence of God, the fear of the Lord.
You may not have ever asked God for anything specific or you may have asked him for many things but they weren’t like what Solomon asked for. But today, God is offering you whatever you desire, what will you ask him for? What’s the most important thing for you to receive from God?
Every one of us is different and we’re all at different points in our lives and in our walk with the Lord so of course we may need different things from God. But what is your heart yearning for today that you know only God can give you?
Friend, take the time right now and make your thoughts known to God. I know he is listening and he wants to hear you put into words your deepest desires. Let him know what you need.
Jesus wants us to be filled with him inside and out. He wants us to take our nourishment from him by being in his Word. You may not have considered eating the Word but that’s what Jesus is asking us to do. Take the Bread of Life, Jesus, into our very souls and be filled and nourished by him. And then, friends, whatever you need for the work God has for you will be given to you.
Quite a few people in the last weeks have gone away from home on trips for work or vacation and what’s the first thing they need to do when the get home? No, it’s not the laundry! They need to replenish their pantries. Most of them don’t have any bread or milk or eggs. Friends, aren’t these the basic necessities for us to have in our kitchens? You can’t make a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich without bread. Nutritionists tell us that bread should make up a large percentage of our diets. The vitamins and minerals and the fiber are things our bodies need. And we’re so used to having these things in our kitchens that we never think about them as the staff of our lives.
Do we think of God and Jesus in the same way? Have we become so complacent to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that we don’t understand the importance of having daily communion with them? Have we quit asking God for the things we need?
What do you want from God today? What would you like Jesus to give you today? How is God’s Spirit talking to your heart today?
Right now, right where you’re at, ask God for what your heart is aching for. Don’t wait until you get home. Don’t put it off until tomorrow. Do it right now.
If you haven’t asked the Bread of Life to take up residence in your heart now is the time to do that. If you have let your relationship with God slip today is the day to let him know you need him. Just open the door of your heart.
What do you need today, bread, peace, forgiveness? Whatever it is, ask. God is waiting to hear from you today.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Looking for Free Food
It seems that today there are so many people who are looking for things that are free, free food, free housing, something for little or nothing. But isn’t that just human nature you ask? It would seem so.
The people of Galilee came looking for Jesus because he had fed them the day before with just 5 barley loaves and two fish. And so they came looking for him to feed them with free food again. But Jesus said enough is enough.
Jesus told them to quit wasting their time looking and hoping for things that wouldn’t really satisfy them. And they wanted to know what they needed to do. Not so different from all of us today. Isn’t everyone looking for something to satisfy the cravings of their souls? Aren’t we all looking for something to make our lives more full and meaningful?
The problem is that we are all looking in all the wrong places as the country song puts it. So where do we go you ask?
What did Jesus say? He said, “Throw your lot in with God. Work for food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.”
But what do we do? What is required of us? Remember when the Pharisees asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Remember the answer he gave. Listen, Israel. The Lord your God is one: so love God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy. And love others as well as you love yourself.
When we read and study the Bible we find the word “love” used quite often. And that, I believe, is what it’s all about. Love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We can’t love our neighbors without loving God and we can’t love God without loving our neighbors.
Friends, we need the Bread of Heaven for nourishment so we can love. We need this bread that Jesus provides us so that we can be filled with compassion for our neighbors who are suffering because of the poor choices they’ve made in the lives. Even so they deserve our love. We are commanded to love them, unconditionally.
And friends, the Bread of Heaven is free. It’s a free gift from God. All we have to do is accept it. There is no price put on this bread. It’s been paid for by Jesus.
So accept this free food provided by God for our nourishment and we will never again be hungry or thirsty. Trust in the Lord and you will be filled with the bread that never runs out.
Ask God to come into to your heart today. Believe in his Son, Jesus the Christ. And through the power of the Holy Spirit you will be convicted of your sin and God will forgive you and welcome you as one of his children. And friends, your life will be fuller than you’ve ever imagined.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
The people of Galilee came looking for Jesus because he had fed them the day before with just 5 barley loaves and two fish. And so they came looking for him to feed them with free food again. But Jesus said enough is enough.
Jesus told them to quit wasting their time looking and hoping for things that wouldn’t really satisfy them. And they wanted to know what they needed to do. Not so different from all of us today. Isn’t everyone looking for something to satisfy the cravings of their souls? Aren’t we all looking for something to make our lives more full and meaningful?
The problem is that we are all looking in all the wrong places as the country song puts it. So where do we go you ask?
What did Jesus say? He said, “Throw your lot in with God. Work for food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.”
But what do we do? What is required of us? Remember when the Pharisees asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Remember the answer he gave. Listen, Israel. The Lord your God is one: so love God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy. And love others as well as you love yourself.
When we read and study the Bible we find the word “love” used quite often. And that, I believe, is what it’s all about. Love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We can’t love our neighbors without loving God and we can’t love God without loving our neighbors.
Friends, we need the Bread of Heaven for nourishment so we can love. We need this bread that Jesus provides us so that we can be filled with compassion for our neighbors who are suffering because of the poor choices they’ve made in the lives. Even so they deserve our love. We are commanded to love them, unconditionally.
And friends, the Bread of Heaven is free. It’s a free gift from God. All we have to do is accept it. There is no price put on this bread. It’s been paid for by Jesus.
So accept this free food provided by God for our nourishment and we will never again be hungry or thirsty. Trust in the Lord and you will be filled with the bread that never runs out.
Ask God to come into to your heart today. Believe in his Son, Jesus the Christ. And through the power of the Holy Spirit you will be convicted of your sin and God will forgive you and welcome you as one of his children. And friends, your life will be fuller than you’ve ever imagined.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Five Loaves and Two Fish
Jesus had gone to the land by the Sea of Galilee. The people followed him there because they were intrigued by the healing power in his touch and the common sense in his teaching.
On this day there were more than 5,000 gathered to listen and to watch. They apparently didn’t pay much attention to the time or to the growling in their bellies. Jesus knew they needed to be fed with more than his words and his touch so he asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed them.
Can you get a picture of this in your head, 5,000 people, no money, and your Master wants you to tell him where to buy bread? Was he crazy or was he trying to make a point? He was the Teacher so you know he wanted us to learn from him.
In Mark’s gospel he says that Jesus said, “You feed them.” In John Andrew brings the food that a young boy had brought with him for lunch, five loaves of bread and two fish.
Do you think what Jesus did was a miracle, feeding more than 5,000 people with just one boy’s lunch? How did it happen? How did God make it enough to feed them all?
Do we really need to know the answer? I don’t think so. The point, and I need to be reminded of this often, is, God can do great and wondrous things with the smallest contributions from us.
What did Paul say in his letter to the Ephesians? “God can do anything …far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”
Friends, it’s all God’s grace and our faith, and that’s a gift from God too. When we are called by God to do something like feed his children we are to be reminded of what God did through Jesus on that grassy knoll by the Sea of Galilee with five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus fed 5,000, actually about double that when you count the women and children, with one boy’s lunch. Just think what he can do with what you bring to his table. You might think that you don’t have anything God could use to feed his children but you do.
God made everyone of us for a particular purpose. He has granted all of us with a gift to be used to further his kingdom. We may be afraid to step out of the boat and take the first step but Jesus tells us, “Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus has asked us to feed them. Jesus asks us to feed each other. Jesus asks us to make disciples. We might think he’s crazy but remember he’s God and he can do anything.
What’s in your basket? What are the five loaves and two fish that you bring? Will you let God bless them and multiply them so that his children can be fed? I pray that you will trust enough in God to let him increase the gifts he has blessed you with.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
On this day there were more than 5,000 gathered to listen and to watch. They apparently didn’t pay much attention to the time or to the growling in their bellies. Jesus knew they needed to be fed with more than his words and his touch so he asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed them.
Can you get a picture of this in your head, 5,000 people, no money, and your Master wants you to tell him where to buy bread? Was he crazy or was he trying to make a point? He was the Teacher so you know he wanted us to learn from him.
In Mark’s gospel he says that Jesus said, “You feed them.” In John Andrew brings the food that a young boy had brought with him for lunch, five loaves of bread and two fish.
Do you think what Jesus did was a miracle, feeding more than 5,000 people with just one boy’s lunch? How did it happen? How did God make it enough to feed them all?
Do we really need to know the answer? I don’t think so. The point, and I need to be reminded of this often, is, God can do great and wondrous things with the smallest contributions from us.
What did Paul say in his letter to the Ephesians? “God can do anything …far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”
Friends, it’s all God’s grace and our faith, and that’s a gift from God too. When we are called by God to do something like feed his children we are to be reminded of what God did through Jesus on that grassy knoll by the Sea of Galilee with five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus fed 5,000, actually about double that when you count the women and children, with one boy’s lunch. Just think what he can do with what you bring to his table. You might think that you don’t have anything God could use to feed his children but you do.
God made everyone of us for a particular purpose. He has granted all of us with a gift to be used to further his kingdom. We may be afraid to step out of the boat and take the first step but Jesus tells us, “Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus has asked us to feed them. Jesus asks us to feed each other. Jesus asks us to make disciples. We might think he’s crazy but remember he’s God and he can do anything.
What’s in your basket? What are the five loaves and two fish that you bring? Will you let God bless them and multiply them so that his children can be fed? I pray that you will trust enough in God to let him increase the gifts he has blessed you with.
Friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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