 |
| |
|
Pastor's Page - October 2007 |
In I Timothy 6, St. Paul writes, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”Those who are materially rich in this present world are commanded to be spiritually rich as well – rich in good deeds. By showing generosity and by demonstrating a willingness to share, they reveal their love and trust in Jesus Christ. By living out the will of God, they ‘take hold of the life that is truly life.’ That ‘life that is truly life’ includes experiencing right now the profound reality of our eternal life in Christ. One day this earthly existence will end for each one of us. By God’s grace, our life in Christ doesn’t end with our physical death. We can know that we are alive forever because Jesus has conquered death for us. We can live in joy because we are rescued, forgiven, and loved by Him. Because of that ‘life that is truly life,’ given to us by our Maker and Redeemer, we can be generous in sharing all that we have been given by Him. We have love and gratitude toward Him for the gift of life. With that thankfulness motivating us, we choose to give of ourselves so that others might be helped to see Jesus. As we share, we experience joy, knowing that our Lord is honored and that others have been touched by His love. It is interesting that God makes us so that we receive fulfillment and gladness when we help another person in some way. We experience the abundant life that Jesus promised as we are involved with others to accomplish His will. Let’s commit ourselves to give our time, money, compassion, and energy with open hearts and open hands. We will grow in love as we do so, and our Lord will be delighted. We will know ‘life that is truly life.’ (Adapted from Revolutionary Generosity, by Kirk Nowery, 2006)
| | |
|
Pastor's Page - April 2007 |
The God we worship is a God of hope and new beginnings. In His Word, He makes and keeps promises of mercies new every day, of restoration for people who have disobeyed and repented, of new life for all who believe. I am reminded of renewal and fresh starts as I look at the hills of Ramona, with green vegetation replacing the brown scenery for a short time. I see the plants getting flowers and leaves, showing us that a new season is upon us. Even the plants that suffered severe damage in the winter frost are managing to give some signs of life.We need to know that our Lord will take our sin and guilt away so that we can regain spiritual health and reconciliation. We need to know that He makes it possible for us to leave bitterness and remorse behind, to forgive and forget, to experience forgiveness and acceptance so that we can re-establish relationships. His love and mercy come to us daily, giving us hope and joy and peace. For us to have new beginnings requires that we turn to Him in faith and trust. We can't give ourselves all that is necessary to achieve fresh starts. We depend upon Him to remove our guilt and arrogance and stubbornness. We need Him to enable us to let go of the past and move into the future of abundant life that He has secured through Jesus' obedience and sacrifice. We let the Holy Spirit lead us to put our lives into His care, so that we can enjoy His blessings each new day. This month we celebrate Holy Week, with its emphasis on God's love and Jesus' victory over death. As we move through the events of Jesus' passion, we rejoice that we are give the good news of sins forgiven and death defeated. We thank our Savior for being the sacrificial Lamb. We praise Him for new beginnings and fresh starts in our life with Him and in our relationships with others. As we glorify our Lord, we determine to live our new life with faith and love. May we use the message of Easter to keep us strong in our hope and joy each day. He is risen! Alleluia!
| | |
|
From the Pastor - October 2006 |
As I have been preparing messages on the book of I Peter, I have noticed that Peter makes frequent mention of the importance of thinking seriously and clearly about the future, God’s will, relationships, and salvation. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased version has Peter saying, “Put your mind in gear… don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil…. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God….. You are chosen by God to do His work and speak out for Him.” Knowing that we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we want to honor Him with holy living. Faced with temptations and pressures, we must know God’s standards and instructions and promises. Confronted by the lies of Satan, we have to ‘put our minds in gear’ so that we can see through his deceitfulness and respond with the truth of God’s Word. The problem is that most of us don’t spend much time thinking seriously about spiritual matters or about the implications of our Christian faith. We have some basic attitudes and information, but we don’t search the Scriptures regularly to figure out God’s directions for parenting or money management or political involvement. We remember some things from Sunday School and confirmation classes or from adult instruction class, but we aren’t sure of the details anymore and are hazy about applying the lessons to our job or marriage or health care issues. Too often, we are content with
what we think we know (‘God helps those who help themselves’ is in the Bible somewhere, right?), and we can think of no good reason to expose our minds to more of God’s Word. We know enough, we think, and so we continue on with our life. Peter is telling us that our Lord wants us to keep on studying and learning, to open our minds to as much of His Word as possible, to understand His will as clearly as possible, to put all of His directions and commands into action. Maybe that is why we avoid investigating God’s Word – we don’t want to know all that He expects of us, we don’t want to have to change, we don’t want to feel guilty about our failures to obey and serve and honor and worship. Peter reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice and victory over death, of His love and care, of His mercy and grace. He points out that we have joy and peace because of Jesus’ obedience and humiliation. We have eternal life because our Savior suffered for us. With that in mind, we can see the importance of thinking seriously and clearly about ‘the things of God’. So, let’s pay attention to all that our Lord is saying and revealing to us. Let’s commit ourselves to being diligent and conscientious in our study of His Word and in our coming into His presence to worship and celebrate His love. Let’s rejoice in His dedication to us, as we follow Him with our ‘minds in gear’, determined to be the best disciples we can be. To Him be glory and honor forever.
| | | | | | | Site maintained by: |  Leah Cullen |  leahsingz@aol.com |  United States of America |  Phone: 760-789-9774 |
|
| |
| |
