This Sunday (6/26) we are studying the story of Lazarus again, but from the perspective of the Lingering Jesus. What happens when he waits before answering our prayers? I think we all struggle with how long things take in general, and maybe this part of the story will help us to think about trusting the timing of God. That's going to be very hard for us.
In the story, Mary and Martha send a note to Jesus who is out of town, that their brother, Lazarus, whom Jesus loves, they remind him, is very sick. Please come and heal him. Not an usual request by any stretch of imagination. Jesus gets the invitation and decides to stay where he is for a few more days. He even tells the disciples this will work out for God's glory, but Lazarus will die first. How is this going to be good?
We all suffer from impatience. It's not our fault completely, we have been programmed by a world that get's thousands of chances to teach us to be impatient, to learn to get everything quicker than before. Right now there is a commercial playing on that promises to clean your computer so it come run twice as fast as it does now. Speed is relative and if you have an old PC anyway, cleaning it will help but it won't be like a new one out of the box. Yet we would hope it could be.
When we pray we want the answer before we hang up. And most of us use a phone to God that only has the speaker and not an ear piece. We talk a lot to God, but don't let God talk back to us about our request. God always answers prayers, but not always to our liking. Sometimes the answer is Yes now, or it might be a Yes, but not Yet. Sometimes it could be a Yes, when you get ready to handle it. Sometimes it is NO because it is not good for us, even if we don't realize the answer we want could be bad news.
I appreciate the illustration of the fancy stitched carpet. On the top side, the one we walk on it looks beautiful, especially if it has a picture, we really like that. But, if we flip the rug over it is covered with knots and doesn't look at all like the top half. Answers to prayer are like that sometimes. It looks confusing, knotty, and ugly to be able to get us to the whole picture we are expecting. Some knots have to occur to hold other situations in place, and we don't like the knots.
I pray for your patience and growth in understanding when answers seem to be far off. I hope that as we look at what God has said about lingering, that we will see and appreciate the glory that is shown, even in the death of a Lazarus in our lives. That may be an important step to the lesson "I am the Resurrection and the Life" which we hear at funerals. Maybe this is a time for us to learn it as a step in our transformation and growth.
Blessings on your journey
Pastor Jeff
Friday, June 24, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
June 14 Flag Day
Today is a special day on my calendar. It's Flag Day. June 14 in 1777 the Continental Congress voted that we have a flag, thirteen stripes of alternating red and white and 13 stars, white in a blue field. On April 4, 1818 the style of the flag was changed to what we know today. Before 1818, every time a state was added to the union, they got a stripe and a star added to the flag. When it got to be 22 states it looked more like a quilt than a flag.
The reason I get excited about the Flag Day is that I am named for the designer of the flag we have today. Peter Hercules WENDOVER (my full middle name) was a congressman from New York and he wrote the legislation that we change the flag to the original 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies/states, and just add a star every time a new state was added. President James Monroe, signed it into law. Now you know something that you might not have known or may have forgotten along the way.
I would encourage us to keep our country in our prayers. It certainly could use the divine guidance and influence today. We face many challenges and opportunities that are really complex and difficult. It would be nice if we consistently went to God and asked for some insight and help for making the right choices. It also means we need to be very civil and polite and respectful in recognizing that it may not turn out the way we think it should. St. Paul in Romans 13 is very clear that the government is a gift from God to keep order.
My grandmother always told us about our relationship to the pilgrims of Massachusetts of 1620. I've read a lot about their motivation for braving the journey to such an unknown land. But they were convinced that God was leading them like God led Moses to a new promised land. They wanted to live in such a way that God would bless them to be a blessing for others. They wanted to show how God would direct and lead a community and eventually a nation. They never did get a chance to try that.
One half of the pilgrims on the Mayflower, were not believers or members of the church, but they could afford the passage to the new world, and the pilgrims needed financial help to get across the Atlantic Ocean. The Mayflower compact had to be agreed on by church members and those who weren't, and that made for some interesting compromises from the very beginning.
The horrible winter of 1620 to 21 killed off half of the community and so they struggled even more. But God provided Squanto and his native american friends who came to their rescue in the Spring of 1621. Squanto had become a believer when he was helped to escape from slave masters in Spain and walked across Europe and got a ride home to Massachusetts by fishermen just in time to know how to speak English, how to relate to the faithful pilgrims and how to help them get the necessary food for their survival.
Prayer is just as important today. May Flag Day remind us of all that we have been through a lot as a nation and still face an uncertain future, and ask that God would again rescue and provide for us. May we take the time to Thank God for this Nation that allows us the freedom to pray and seek God's guidance. Enjoy the flag, get goose bumps even when you see the flag, or say the pledge or watch it blowing in the breeze. Remember the banner is still waving.
Pastor Jeff
The reason I get excited about the Flag Day is that I am named for the designer of the flag we have today. Peter Hercules WENDOVER (my full middle name) was a congressman from New York and he wrote the legislation that we change the flag to the original 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies/states, and just add a star every time a new state was added. President James Monroe, signed it into law. Now you know something that you might not have known or may have forgotten along the way.
I would encourage us to keep our country in our prayers. It certainly could use the divine guidance and influence today. We face many challenges and opportunities that are really complex and difficult. It would be nice if we consistently went to God and asked for some insight and help for making the right choices. It also means we need to be very civil and polite and respectful in recognizing that it may not turn out the way we think it should. St. Paul in Romans 13 is very clear that the government is a gift from God to keep order.
My grandmother always told us about our relationship to the pilgrims of Massachusetts of 1620. I've read a lot about their motivation for braving the journey to such an unknown land. But they were convinced that God was leading them like God led Moses to a new promised land. They wanted to live in such a way that God would bless them to be a blessing for others. They wanted to show how God would direct and lead a community and eventually a nation. They never did get a chance to try that.
One half of the pilgrims on the Mayflower, were not believers or members of the church, but they could afford the passage to the new world, and the pilgrims needed financial help to get across the Atlantic Ocean. The Mayflower compact had to be agreed on by church members and those who weren't, and that made for some interesting compromises from the very beginning.
The horrible winter of 1620 to 21 killed off half of the community and so they struggled even more. But God provided Squanto and his native american friends who came to their rescue in the Spring of 1621. Squanto had become a believer when he was helped to escape from slave masters in Spain and walked across Europe and got a ride home to Massachusetts by fishermen just in time to know how to speak English, how to relate to the faithful pilgrims and how to help them get the necessary food for their survival.
Prayer is just as important today. May Flag Day remind us of all that we have been through a lot as a nation and still face an uncertain future, and ask that God would again rescue and provide for us. May we take the time to Thank God for this Nation that allows us the freedom to pray and seek God's guidance. Enjoy the flag, get goose bumps even when you see the flag, or say the pledge or watch it blowing in the breeze. Remember the banner is still waving.
Pastor Jeff
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Power Boost
Usually about 4 pm I start looking for chocolate to give me a power boost. I don't drink coffee after twelve noon, because it will be with me for a long time. But a little chocolate can do wonders for the rest of the afternoon until supper time. Anybody else have the same? I think so.
We are coming up on Pentecost Sunday in a few days. It is the celebration of the birth of the church now. In Jesus' day it was a celebration of the giving of the Law by Moses. But just having the Law doesn't give the boost to love, that the gift of the Spirit can do. Jesus said wait until the power from on high comes upon you, and you will be able to do the things I have done and even greater things. At Pentecost, the Spirit descended on the 120 disciples in the Upper Room and the church burst forth. Peter took the message to the streets and God was able to help the people standing around to understand what Hope God has given us, even in their own language.
I blog because for some people this is a language they understand. I'm trying to bring the message of hope from God to as many as I can through this form of communication. The same is true for Facebook. It is a language of communication we can use to connect to one another. I hope you find this helpful.
I am thankful that the Spirit has given me the power boost to share God's story with others. I am glad that God has given strength and wisdom and help so that we can do what Jesus did and raise the dead. There is a lot of dead people spiritually around and I want to help them find God's blessings again.
The power boost, Jesus said, was to help us go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The making disciples was to teach each other all the things that Jesus commanded us. I always pause there, because that's a tall order. To teach what Jesus commanded us. We need to find a way to obey what the teachings are about, and that should make a difference in people's lives. But I have to admit I don't always get that right.
So as we get closer to Pentecost, let's each ask God in our own unique way, to get a power boost that will give us the energy to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbors as we have been loved. That will sure make a difference in the lives of others. And as an indirect result of our power boost, they get a power boost, and the hits just keep on coming.
Blessings on all of you, wherever you are on your journey. May the light of the fire of Pentecost help guide you away from rocks and toward a great harbor. Let me know how it's going by responding to my posts.
Pastor Jeff
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