Zechariah 4:6
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

Why do we so often doubt? If WE don't raise enough money, the church will fail. If WE don't provide a ministry for singles, they will all turn from God. If WE don't do our VBS program exactly right, the children of the city will be lost for all time. Not by means that we consider strong, "not by might, nor by power", will God's kingdom be made real all over the world, but by trusting in God and relying on God's Holy Spirit as shown at Pentecost. When, even with the BEST of intentions, have we ever gotten in the way of God's Will by relying on what we considered mighty or strong? How can we consistenly learn to step back and "let go and let God"?

A service for Dr. George Hansbury is being held this morning at the church at 11:00. Please continue to pray for his family.

Pentecost - The fiftieth day after Passover. What happens as a result of the sacrifice made on our behalf? As the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles on this day, the name was applied by the Church to the feast celebrating this event.

Acts 4:33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

Pentecost is about potential we aren't even aware we posses and responding with grace and energy to the needs of our community. Share the good news! You aren't alone.

That structural position in the Church which the humblest Christian occupies is eternal and even cosmic. The Church will outlive the universe; in it the individual person will outlive the universe. Everything that is joined to the immortal Head will share his immortality. - From The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

What does it mean to outlive the universe? Have you ever thought about what it really means to live eternally? What does that mean for the here and now? And have you thought about what it means for those who are NOT a part of the Church? We have a great responsibility! And God goes with us.

Pentecost is Coming!

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves this past Memorial weekend! The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of that "great cloud of witnesses" that have gone before us, and in similar fashion we pause to recognize that great number of soldiers who have gone before to make liberty and peace possible. This morning's passage comes to us from the book of Acts as we prepare for Pentecost Sunday.

Acts 3:1-7
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

Pentecost is not just about admiring Jesus from the sidelines, but in learning to be more Christ-like in all things, including the power to heal! We often hold ourselves back from allowing God to accomplish great things through us. Pentecost is a reminder that we have been called to do marvelous things!

I Corinthians 3:16-17
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Remember those instructions on the airplane that tell you to put your own mask on before assisting those around you? You have to take care of yourself first, in order to more effectively help others. God created a very specific you and our first task is to discover and awaken the calling that God has placed in our hearts, in order to better serve God in the helping of others. When you look at yourself, where can you still see a temple? What might need a little cleaning up?

In an atmosphere of security and trust, persons are likely to be more ready to change. The child who trusts the mother lets go and takes the first unaided step. A social prophet is better received when listeners have learned to appreciate his or her integrity and friendship. Healthy growth more easily takes place when all participants interact in a mutually supportive environment rather than when some manipulate others to secure the ends of the manipulators. - From Liberation of Life by Harvey and Lois Seifert

If we are called to make disciples of all the world. How important is it that we first strive for doing so in a "mutually supportive environment."? When should we state our case and when we should we be more subtle?

I Corinthians 6:2,3
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels - to say nothing of ordinary matters?

Whatever happened to "judge not, lest ye be judged"? There is a difference between passing judgment on a person and passing judgment on that same person's behavior. God will judge each person, but we are still obligated to assist each other by monitering our behavior and correcting as needed. When do we look the other way in the face of obvious wrong doing because of fear of passing judgment?

Let him who cannot be alone beware the community. He will only do harm to himself and to the community.

But the reverse is also true: Let him who is not in community beware of being alone. - From Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer


Obviously, this has something to do with balance and finding the best way to relate to others while remaining true to ourselves. What has this to do with Christ? Doesn't God want all of our attentions? What kind of balance should we seek in our relationship with God?

Philemon 1:11
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me.

What changed? Where have you experienced uselessness in one situation, only to discover usefullness in a different setting? When have you seen a friend really blossom when he/she moved to a different location? What does this teach us about how God finds value in us? What kind of usefullness is God calling forth from you?

An old rabbi was once asked why so few people were finding God. He wisely replied that people are not willing to look that low. Jesus was born in a stable, and God is especially concerned for the poorest, the lowliest, the lost, and the neglected. - From Liberation of Life by Harvey and Lois Seifert

Where did you last find God?

Ephesians 4:7
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.

We were created in the image of God. We were given gifts and graces sufficient to the tasks that God has called us to perform. What interests you? What talent do you have? How do you use these in expanding God's kingdom?

We are still in the Easter season! celebrating and sharing the story of Christ's death and resurrection on our behalf! Share the good news!

We should try to be so closely united to Our Lord that we reproduce his life in our own, that our thoughts and words and actions should proclaim his teaching, so that he reigns in us, lives in us. He so often enters within us in Holy Communion. May his Kingdom reign in us. - From Meditations of a Hermit by Charles de Foucauld

One season follows another and as we continue through this Easter season we might ask ourselves how to best prepare ourselves for the summer. Are our thoughts on a summer vacation? Reasons to be away from church? Or are we taking advantage of a new season to make new plans to welcome Christ more fully into our hearts that we might truly "reproduce his life in our own."

Romans 5:3-5
And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.

I can understand learning how to deal with my sufferings, but boasting about them? What kind of prayer life must it take to produce an attitude of joy regarding our sufferings? List the three best moments of your life. List the three worst moments of your life. What, if anything, did you learn?

Let us, then, take care not to quench the Spirit. All evil actions extinguish this light: slander, offences and the like. The nature of fire is such that everything foreign to it destroys it, and everything akin to it gives it further strength. This light of the Spirit reacts in the same manner. From The Art of Prayer

How many things do we do each day that feed our sinful nature? How many things each day do we do to feed our spiritual side?

I'm back

Sorry for the long absence! My wife and I have just returned from a two week anniversary vacation. I hope we can pick back up with some daily readings and reflection!

Genesis 9:8-10
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 'As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the earth.'

God's plan is not just for me and a few church friends. God's plan covers every single living being on the face of the planet. This is difficult for me to remember at times when thinking about those who strongly disagree with me. What can we do to overcome differences that God clearly wants us to overcome? We are still in the midst of an Easter season recognizing God's gift to all the world! Share with a friend!