Pastor’s Blog
Widow-Sized: Mark 12:41-44
Comparison can kill your joy. Some people feel inadequate, not because they can’t give or do, but they can’t do it as well as someone else. Social media, promotional videos at church or work, an uber-talented person you know, even how you used to be able to give or do—these can sometimes be discouraging if we are living by comparison. And that can lead to rivalry, pride, disparagement, dissatisfaction, and giving up. We have to find a better way.
Higher Thoughts: Isaiah 55:8-9
At a funeral, I experienced a profound moment of clarity to start my year. A husband and wife had died within a month of each other, on the cusp of retirement, and both of them were being remembered at the calling and service I was attending that afternoon.
In the calling line, I greeted the mother of the deceased, who was 90 years old. She was small, frail, usually seated, with eyes as bright as they were when she was 9. She took my hand, patted it, and said, “We don’t teach Him. He doesn’t need my help. This is just how it should be.”
All Things Well: Mark 7:37
There's a bookstore in the college town where my daughter lives that sells the best puzzles. I buy one for my wife from time to time. They hold together even when you pick them up vertically. They are well-made puzzles.
Sometimes I feel like a poorly made human being, or perhaps another way to put it is that sometimes I feel like a well-made puzzle. Sometimes I just cannot figure myself out. What's wrong? Why do I feel like this? I don't know. It's a puzzle.
No Lack: Psalm 23:1
God claims to be a shepherd. He designed sheep in his creation to be looked after by a human being. Nobody has said, "You know, God is kinda like a shepherd," hoping their analogy is pretty accurate. Rather, God himself has said, "What you see in a good shepherd doing his job, see that in me."
And it's a metaphor of course. We don't need green pastures or still waters or a comforting rod and staff. Rather, we need things like those, the providence and protection that a shepherd provides. God metaphorically leads us to green pastures and peaceful waters, metaphorically directs us through gloomy dark valleys inhabited by jackals and wolves.
Christmas Names: Matthew 1
Some people have a Christmas card list a mile long. Name after name of people they know, love, and care about.
In Matthew 1, the Christmas story starts with a list of names. That chapter, in fact, is all about names: First, there’s the long genealogy, then the name Jesus, then the name Immanuel.
Pavement: Revelation 21:21
Here’s a joke someone told me once: A Christian died and stood at the entrance of heaven. An angel said to him, "You didn't hear? You are allowed to go back and bring one thing from earth to have for eternity." The person was whisked back to his earthly home and, thinking long and hard, finally settled on exchanging his life savings for a block of gold. He put the gold in a suitcase and went back to heaven. The angel was curious, "What did you decide to bring?" The man opened his suitcase and showed the angel his precious and heavy block of gold, which had not been easy to earn. The angel got a quizzical look, stepped back, looked the man in the eye, and said, “You brought pavement?“
Shield: Ephesians 6:16
There was a time when a shield was a common household object. In your little one-story, one-bedroom home, you had your water jug, your firewood, your flints, your pottery…and your spear and your shield. Those were violent times perhaps.
The Spartan mothers would tell their boys headed out to war, "Come back with your shield or on it." In other words, don't be that coward that throws down his shield in the face of danger and runs away. Make a stand, and either win or die trying.” Ok, mom!
Shift Your Weight: Matthew 14
Sometimes it’s the same motions and activities and steps that we’ve done hundreds of times, but it’s the context that throws us off and makes us doubt we can do it.
For example, in Matthew 14, Jesus walks out across the water of the Sea of Galilee to reach his disciples. It’s stormy. The waves are high. Their boat is taking on water. In the deep gloom they discern a figure in the water who identifies himself, above the noise of the storm, as their teacher, Jesus. Jesus calls to Peter to come out onto the water to him. In the storm. Boat sinking. Waves high. Walk on the water.
Feet in the Net: Psalm 25:15
There's a show on Netflix called The Floor is Lava, on which teams of contestants are told to get from one end of the room to the other without touching the floor, which is covered in four or five feet of bubbling red water ("lava"). They have to jump from one piece of furniture to another to do so. On one episode, there was a giant cargo net that contestants could release from the ceiling and then jump to.
Deer Feet: Psalm 18:33, 36
I once met a man who called his son a “rock climber.” His son wasn’t someone who dabbled in buying the gear or who went on a trip to a national park that one time. No, he was a full-fledged rock climber. He plans trips based on the mountain’s challenge to his personal fitness, requiring his absolute attention to safety, and then he goes and takes on those challenges! So cool!
Same Prayer: Psalm 25:16-20
Let's get right to the point. You can ask for forgiveness and help in the same prayer.
Sometimes people think they have to be really good for God to notice them. Or if they are hoping for something big to come, they pray for God to give it based on how hard they've been working, how diligent and faithful. Or they think they can't ask for that big miracle since they haven't been faithful lately. Maybe they should promise to be really good. Maybe they should live really good for a while. Then they can pray. Maybe they have wandered or drifted from God or they recently did something they are really embarrassed about, and they think they have to log some good days before they come to God with that request.
Work Out: Ephesians 5:29-30
You are supposed to sweat at the gym. It's okay if you have streaks on your shirt, sweat running down your face. It's called a workout. You are supposed to work. If you feel fatigued when you leave, you don't think, "What's wrong with me? Why couldn't I handle that better?" And no one, seeing you, thinks you hate yourself. Instead, they are happy for you. You worked out.
Self Care: Mark 1:35
“You have to take care of you before you can help anyone else.” Ever heard that before?
Some people swear by it. But for others, this feels selfish and makes them uncomfortable. Self-care is important, but selfishness actually degrades and destroys. So what should you do when you’re feeling run down? What should you practice before you are feeling run down?
The Secret: Philippians 4:13
Would you like to learn the secret?
How can you stay joyful and purposeful, focused and thriving, when the world is full of distractions, and when your own personal life ebbs and flows? If you take a hit, how do you ward off discouragement? If you succeed, how do you keep it humble and not let it go to your head?