He Loves Us

Galatians 2:20

Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!

Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.                                              (Psalm 144:3-4 KJV)

We are most blessed! Why, indeed, would the Lord care for us? We strut about like we are the center of the universe and nothing and no one else matters.

Yet, we matter to the Lord. His love and concern for us is so great that he was willing to die for us.

We fail to recognize that our lives are like fleeting shadows upon the earth. We are here one day and gone the next. Only the most prominent of men will be remembered centuries from now. In the end; by ourselves, we are of little consequence to the world. But, in Christ and with Christ we have hope for ourselves and for others.

Our lives in this world might be like fleeting shadows; but, all who abide in Christ receive eternal life with him. We are most blessed! The Lord, indeed, cares for us. He loves us enough to die that we might live.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Welcome the Little Children!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt 19:24 NIV)

Disney World, Universal Studies, Epcot Center, SeaWorld, and Legoland are just a few of the wonderful family vacation spots in Florida. Children are welcome to vacation here! But, what about live in Florida?

Are children welcome to live in Florida? I am sure there are many of areas in Florida that they are. But, there are also multitudes of areas in Florida that they are not. Before moving to the east coast, I did not fathom that there would be so many 55+ communities. For the past few months I have been trying to help my son and family find a new home. It has not been easy to find an affordable one and even the mobile homes that are affordable all seem to be in 55+ communities. My husband and I actually live in a 55+ community; but, no one in my son's family is near our age!

This is not the first time I've run into discrimination against young people. Many congregations all around the country that I have known about also cater to us more elderly persons. If a child whines or moves wrong in church the parents get that look that tells them either take that child outside or to the cry room that they spent money to prepare for just such a purpose. Many congregations actually have Sunday School for the children during Worship or they have a separate Children's Church to segregate the children and the adults. What has happened to us being "all God's children?" 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Jesus desires that the little children go to him. For some reason I thought that we were to follow in Jesus' footsteps. Discriminating against anyone for any reason, including age, just doesn't seem like a Jesus thing to do.

May all God's people open their hearts and minds, their homes and their congregations to the little children of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Blessed Thanksgiving!

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my 
    whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever."
                                             Psalm 86:12 NRSV

Give thanks for the thorns in our lives. That was the theme for the homily last night at our Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service. God works all things for the good of those who love Him!We often forget to give thanks to God when things are going great. But, we rarely give thanks to God when things seem to be going not so great. We should at all times and in all places give thanks to God for all that He has given us.

We give thanks in many ways. Last night we gave thanks not only with the words of our lips; but, by our thank offerings. The congregation was asked to bring to the altar, as their thank offering, an offering of non-perishable food to be donated to the Food Pantry (Resource Center) in Bunnell, Florida. Thanks be to God for the opportunity and privilege to feed His sheep. Members of Christ Lutheran will serve at the Food Panty in January and July of 2018 distributing food to those in need. This service is something that they are excited about having the opportunity to do year after year as  members of Christian Women United.  

Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God for all that He has given us. We give thanks that Jesus was willing to give himself as a sin offering for us; that we might be forgiven our sins and be reconciled to God, our Father and to our neighbors. We give thanks for the opportunity to gather around the table with our family and friends; although, we ought to consider that it would not hurt us one bit to gather more often than Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, with them for a meal. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the opportunity to serve Him and our neighbors: to pray for and heal the sick; to feed the hungry; to shelter the poor. It is an opportunity and a privilege to serve the Lord. For that, we give thanks.

May the peace of the Lord be with you as you give thanks to God for all that He has done.

Pr. J

Poverty

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Matt 11:28 NRSV

 

Jobless, homeless, hungry, and cold: that is the state of a lot of Americans. So many are weary of struggling to survive from day to day. We live in a country of some pretty big extremes. It amazes me when the political and social upper classes speak like people earning $50,000 a year are poor. In 2012, the National Center for Law and Justice estimated that one out of sixteen people were living in deep poverty; that is they lived with income 50% below the poverty line. Imagine living like that! Those who live in deep poverty will never see this blog. They do not have access to computers or the internet. Many live on the streets. Just maybe our elected officials make so much money they have lost touch with the reality of what kind of struggles many Americans actually live with. $50,000. a year is not poor for an traditional family of two parents and two children. It should definitely not be considered poor for a family of two adults. One can feed and clothe and shelter their families quite adequately on $50,000 a year.

 

Personally, I get weary of people who have I-Phones and I-Pods; have more bedrooms than children; and, take vacations two or three times a year complaining that they don't make fair wages or are broke. I get weary when people tell me that they are "poor" when they are not poor; not by a long shot. We need to remember that we are representatives of Christ. He calls us, even as he called Peter to feed his sheep. He does not call us to build up secret storehouses for ourselves and then go around like we are in need of charity ourselves and unable to help others to meet their daily needs.

 

May God help all of his representatives to feed his sheep; to help carry the burdens of others so that they might find rest. The followers and representatives of Jesus the Christ must step up and do this as it seems quite apparent that our elected representatives don't have much of a clue as how to do this.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. In 2015, there were 43.1 million people living in poverty in the United States. Feed His sheep!