Seasons Change

Daniel said:
“Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
    for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
    deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding.
                                           Daniel 2:20-21 NRSV

We are beginning to see the fall colors up here in the U.P.. The fall may be beautiful; but, I do not look forward to the cold season of winter. Whether I like it or not, winter will be here soon. It is inevitable. Change is inevitable. I will live through it.

Who; but God, knows what changes we will actually experience with the next presidential election? We will have to wait and see. Change will come. There is no reason to fear. After that change, other changes will come. They are inevitable.

We experience change every day of our lives. If we do not, we will fail to learn and grow. Some of the changes can be quite scary. But, we should not fear. God is with us. He knows exactly what is happening and will happen. He has a plan. Although, we may not always have the wisdom or knowledge to understand why God would allow some of these changes we can be assured that His plans are for the good of all people. 

Do not fear change. God is with you. He is with us. Trust Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Rev 10: Sweet as Honey; Yet, Bitter to Swallow

Revelation 10 NIV

Prophecy is often a "bitter pill" to swallow. We don't like to hear that we have a need to make changes in our lives. We usually don't care to hear that there are consequences to everything we do. Sometimes, those consequences are good. Sometimes, they are not. A lot depends on whom or what we choose to serve.

The angel who stood with one foot on the sea and one on the land holding a tiny scroll announces to John that the seventh trumpet is about to sound and "the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets." (vs 7) This could well be a "bitter pill" for those who  refuse to hear the message of the prophets.

John is told to take and eat the little scroll from the angel. He eats. The scroll tastes as sweet as honey; but, it turned his stomach sour. He has swallowed the words and it is sweet to taste; yet, bitter to stomach. It sounds good and it is good; but, with the words that were delivered to John on the scroll will come many anxious and troubling times. Events and times that will be very difficult to stomach.

John must go out and prophesy with the words that he has swallowed about peoples, nations, languages and kings. It may well be that to those who believe in the Son of God and anxiously wait for the mystery of God to be accomplished that the word is sweet; yet, a very "bitter pill" to those who reject the Lord. But, it will not be easy for John. With the sweet word of the Lord will come much persecution from the world to those who love him.

May God help us to hear the word and receive it no matter what kind of changes it asks us to make in our lives.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Acts 9:20-31 Trust Saul?

Acts 9:19b-31 NIV
The saying that it's easier to forgive than to forget seems to apply to Saul (Paul). As soon as he is baptized, Saul begins to preach that Jesus is the Son of God. Some of the people want to kill him for his preaching; others do not trust him.

God can change anyone's heart. But, after so zealously persecuting (mega bullying) others, followers of Jesus are not so sure that he could have made such a drastic change. Simply put, they did not trust him. In Jerusalem, Barnabas had to witness to Saul's conversion so that Saul could freely witness to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God; so that the people would trust and listen to him.

It took only a few moments for God to change Saul's heart; but, it took much longer for the people to understand that he had really changed. Be careful then how we treat one another in order that our witness might be believable and accepted.

God's Peace - Pr. J

John 12:37-50 Our Belief Or Not Doesn't Change the Truth

John 12:37-50 NIV
There have been many times when others have tried to sway me. They have tried in vain to convince me that that Jesus is not my Savior; that God our Father is a myth; and that the Holy Spirit is not present and active in my life and the world around me. Often, it is because they don't care to hear the word that the Father has given us through Jesus. There are many who would much prefer to have it their way rather than God's way. I usually just end up smiling at the futility of it all. God is God. He Is Who He Is. You can try all you want to change Him to meet your standards; but, human beings cannot change the essence of God. It is just not possible. You can spend your days trying; but, in the end it will be God who will have the final say.

Even after Jesus performed many signs, many would still not believe in him. There were also those who believed in him but would not openly acknowledge their faith in him because they did not want to offend others. It is not so different today. There are many who believe, many who do not, and many, many who have been baptized into the faith who will not witness to the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus the Christ because they are afraid of offending others.

Whom would do you have the courage to offend; those without faith or the one who gave His Son to die for you? As for me, I have been an offense to God enough already in my lifetime. "....as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Luke 12:57-59 Court

Luke 12:57-59 NIV
   "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" Jesus addresses the use of courts to settle disputes. Do what is right and you won't be dragged off to court. Take care of your problems before you end up in court where there is a good chance you will lose not just your money; but, your reputation as well. Not ending up in the court system just might require a little change. It might require repentance. It might even require cooperating with others. Now, is that not a novel idea! Work together for the good of everyone!
   Part of the over worked justice system's problem may be that there just aren't that many people who really know what is right any longer. Everyone is out for themselves without any concern; without empathy for their neighbor or their neighbor's children. 
   Nobody likes being dragged off to court. So why not do what is right in the first place? Give to your neighbor's what is your neighbors whether it be property, space, respect. Do not withhold those things that belong to them and give generously to those in need. 
   "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matt 7:12)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Luke 5:33-39 Fast or Celebrate?

Luke 5:33-39 NIV
Sometimes, change is okay. Sometimes, change is required. Not everyone in Jesus' time on earth was happy about the fact that his disciples spent more time eating and drinking than fasting and praying. Now, this is not to say that they were gluttons or drunkards; but, in those few years that they followed Jesus, they were busy learning from him. They were busy teaching as well as healing with him. There are appropriate times for things and while Jesus was with them; there were more important things to do than focus on fasting.

Today, we still fast from time to time. They might be fasts of total abstinence from something for long periods of time or they could be something as simple as leaving Facebook during Lent. As a church, we must be open to where and what God is calling others to.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion is always an interesting array of joy and sorrow. In some, I see the sober eyes that come with fasting and/or repentance. I see their sorrow at times and it is difficult not to have tears well up in my own eyes. In others I might see joy in that Jesus has welcomed them to His Table. When our little children come to the table, I mostly see joy and celebration. It is very difficult not to smile "big" with them. They come to the table for a blessing or to receive the living Lord into themselves. They are most always joyous. Years ago, children never went to the Table until they were confirmed. But, change has come and I for one welcome these faces full of joy and thanksgiving. Like those first disciples, they don't fast too often (most never), but they celebrate that the bridegroom is with us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 5 - Woe To Those Who Call Evil Good

A lot more woes, today, for the children of God, who have proven fruitless! There are consequences, it seems, for real world sin. There are consequences for those who have turned their backs on God and followed in their own ways. Isaiah uses a parable of a vineyard, to warn the people before it is too late and they suffer the consequences of their own greed and self-centeredness.

God has planted a vineyard. He planted it with the choices vines, but it has yielded for him only bad fruit. Woe says, the Word of God, through Isaiah to the children of God.

"Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.
Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay
and their flowers blow away like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down."  (Isa 5:20-25 NIV)

Has anything changed since Isaiah's time? God's children suffer the consequences of their unfruitfulness, they repent, they turn to God, and then do it all over again. Will we ever learn? Over and over again, we do the same things that lead us into trouble, but so often we just never learn. Here's one - how about that drunk driver who either almost or does kill someone and; yet, refuses to acknowledge that he has a drinking problem so he's out there sneaking behind the wheel while he's intoxicated the first chance that he has when he thinks he won't be caught. Or... the prescription drug uses who abuses these "legal drugs" to the point that they can no longer care for their families appropriately. They use these "legal drugs" and then blame the fact that they are crabby or mean or neglectful of their family or maybe can't even work because they are sick when the reality is that they can't do these things because the "legal drugs" have made them sick. This illness we call addiction. Get help before you (and the people you love) suffer worse consequences than you already have. And, please don't try to justify your abuse of "legal drugs" by saying it's the only thing that helps. I hear this way too often, by way too many people. God knows better. I know better. You know better. Calling evil good is one of the things we are warned about by Isaiah. If it damages your body, mind, and spirit; if it damages your family, your relationships, how can it be called good? There are consequences for doing those things which we call good, but are not.

Prophecy (in the Old Testament) is not so much a prediction of what will come. It is more of a prediction (a warning) of what might come if something doesn't change. It doesn't have to be. Remember that no matter what we have done in the past, through faith in the redeeming power of the Son, Jesus the Christ, we are forgiven all the evil that we have done. You are forgiven, through Jesus the Christ and that alone should be cause enough to rejoice and return most fully to the LORD! We can change. With the help of God, we can be changed so that our lives are more fruitful. Give up on those desperate attempts to go against God's will - receive His love - His grace - His mercy - and live life!

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. The list of evil that we call good, in today's world, is way too long to even think about enumerating in a blog.

 

Psalm 25 - Forget My Sins, Please!

"Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord." (25:7 NIV)

According to His mercy, the sins of our youth, are sins of the past and they are fogotten, blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Thanks be to God!

However, it would be nice if our neighbors' memories were as short as God's!  So often, it is difficult for people to move ahead with their lives, because everyone around them has this picture of a sin that they may have committed in their past and they just won't let go of that picture.  They build up walls and obstacles for the one who would like to move forward with their lives in service to God and community.

I left Upper Michigan when I was very young.  When I returned, after my husband's retirement from the Marine Corps, to my surprise, everyone thought I was the same person that I had been when I left.  Wow!  It was amazing!  It was like when I left, my life must have stopped or something.  I assure you, it did not.  It has been quite full of God's presence and guidance and refining!

I knew a faithful Pastor years ago.  He served in the same community that he grew up in.  After decades of ministry, there were still some who thought he could not have been really called by God to serve His Church.  (I assure you - he really was!)  But, they thought this about him because when he was in his early 20's, he had been caught driving drunk.  This, many of the people of the small community, never forgot. 

It is a good thing for all of us, that God in His mercy, pardons our inquity for His name's sake. Our sins of the past are just that - in the past.  They are behind us.  Let us look to each day as a new day to live in the presence of God.  And... not just we.  May God help us to allow our neighbor's to live for today and tomorrow, not stuck in the past.

God's Peace - Pr. J.