His Steadfast Love

Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
    your salvation according to your promise.
⁴² Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
    for I trust in your word.
                                   (Psalm 119:41-42 NRSV)

It is always hurtful when we realize that someone we care about does not care in the least about us. It is in times like those that we remember the great love that our Lord has for us. His steadfast love shall sustain us. It keeps us from despair. 

It can be very tiring to be attacked by those we are called to serve. It is in times like those that we trust in his word and lean on his promises. There is nothing that humankind can do to us that the Lord does not know about. He will empower us to answer, with his word, those who would attack us. We do not have to trust in ourselves. The Lord is with us now and forever.

Rejoice, for our Lord loves us and has "....saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace." (2 Tim 1:8) Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Who Will You Follow?

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”                                                                                           John 6:67-69 (NIV)

To whom shall we go indeed?! Shall we listen to someone other than the One who gives us eternal life? Shall we follow anyone other than the one that gives us the spiritual food needed to sustain us for all eternity? 

Not all of the people who were following Jesus wanted to hear this. Like many people today they went away from Jesus looking for things that would satisfy them in this world. Spiritual things are okay as far as they go. But, many, including those who claim to be Christians, prefer things of this world rather than the Kingdom of God. 

As Joshua asked the Israelites so we must also ask ourselves: "choose this day whom you will serve.." And, prayerfully, we will all respond: "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:15)

May God grant us the faith that we should all follow and serve Jesus Christ, who is our bread of life.

God's Peace - Pr. J

All You Need Is Love

 

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-36

Some of you may remember the Beatles song "All You Need Is Love." Love, love, love... Is that all we need? The truth is that we do need love. But, we do not need the kind of love that says I'm with you today and tomorrow when you really need love, I will be gone. Genuine love provides for more than just one's emotional needs. Love is great; but, when someone is left hungry or without shelter or heat where is the love? When we love one another, we will strive to make sure that all of our neighbors' needs for daily life are met. We will not let them go hungry, or without shelter, or without warmth, or without any of the necessities to sustain physical life.

Jesus had just humbly knelt to wash the feet of his beloved disciples; Judas had just left to betray the one who loved him; when Jesus gave the command to love another even as he loved them. Love, in this sense, is not just a noun. It is a verb. We are to humble ourselves and to actively love and show care and concern for the people around us; indeed, even around the whole world, even as Jesus went forth and died for the world.

This is his commandment: that we are to love one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Fill Us Up, Lord!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Rom 15:13-14 NIV

More than a few times over the last few decades, I have heard the lament that congregations are aging and there are just too few people to do the ministry of the church. Hogwash! I don't buy that excuse for not joyfully participating in the ministry that we have been called to. I am just not accepting of that story.

Of course, we are all aging. Everybody ages. But, that does not mean that the Spirit of Christ cannot continue to minister through us. Even the five-year old is aging. As we age; as we mature, we may receive different gifts to serve. No matter what age, we can all still serve in various ways. It might be as a prayer warrior in your recliner at home or as an usher or reader at worship. It might be that we are called to visit shut-ins. There are just an infinite number of ways in which God might call and empower us to minister to others. When I hear things like we can't do this or that because there are too few of us willing to serve and we're all too old, it brings be great pause; because in fact it is not we who does the work of God; but, Christ who abides in us who does these things. And, we ought not be thinking that there are too few of us. There are many. But, we need to acknowledge that Christ works through others as well as ourselves and be very careful about building up walls that might hinder the ministry of others within the church. It does not matter how old or young we are. It doesn't matter where we come from. The Spirit of Christ abides in us and we in him. How can we do anything but serve the Lord and the people around us?

If we're busy trying to sustain the congregation or church on earth under our own power, we are all in trouble. We cannot do it and deep down in our hearts we know that. We become afraid that because of our own inabilities the church on earth is on a decline.

Do not be afraid! It is not in decline! Jesus began the church on earth with twelve men and one of them a traitor. Do we really believe that what started with twelve disciples and in 2000 plus years has grown to what it is today, through the shedding of much blood and many tears, that God would let the church fold? We must remember, though, that those first disciples did not go out into the world until they received the promised Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit they could do nothing. But, with the Holy Spirit they were empowered to go forth to bring the Good News to all people. They were filled with hope no matter what adversity they faced.

May God fill us with the Holy Spirit and with His power that we might continue with hope to that which we are called; to instruct others in The Way of Jesus the Christ, that they everyone might enter into our Father's presence in His Kingdom.

Fill us up, Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J.