2nd Chances: Pastoral Reflections

New...

New Year
New Life
Waiting to arrive

New Anticipation
New Promises
Waiting to be seen

New Hope
New Blessings
Thank God

Peace

... is my parting gift to you, my own peace, such as the world cannot give. Set your troubled hearts at rest, and banish your fears. John 14:27

One of my roles in our community is to serve with the fire department as a chaplain. Usually if I am called to go, or it is expected that I respond automatically, it is because something tragic has occurred. My duties on scene are most often to take care of the needs of the family, whether they be burned out of a home or affected by an accident or death.  Sometimes later I hear the stories from the responders perspective and listen with awe and admiration. I hope that in their telling they experience healing as well.  Its grim work but rewarding and can be controlled chaos at times, occurring often in the early morning or late at night.

It would seem that the last place you would expect to find peace is at a structure fire or a fatality, but that’s just where it can be found; not because of the circumstances, but because of the depth of need and the openness to something beyond ourselves. In times of chaos we need peace…we cry out and God meets us where we are. After the initial shock and turmoil settles, there is usually a soothing calm.   Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes days, and often interrupted by waves of grief, but it comes.  In my follow up calls to those affected I regularly hear they have found this peace...and that they knew they were not alone in their suffering. The fears lessen, emotion flows easier and the family comes together. I truly believe this is a gift of God and a promise fulfilled. Emmanuel comes and God is with us. It is remarkable. This peace cannot undo what has happened, but it is the sustaining strength that gets us through.

In our lives there are times when no answer can be found. We feel pain, experience illness and even desperation. We rush around, leading busy and complicated days.  We bring some of this trouble on ourselves but often it is introduced by tragic circumstance that could not be foreseen or avoided. But aiming ourselves in the direction of God’s will, asking for comfort in times of need, empathizing with the experiences of those around us… then the peace of Christ can show through. This sets us in the direction of healing. and hope.

This free gift is ours for the asking. It cannot be explained except by faith, but is known when experienced. And it is real.  Believe it.

Ask for peace. Ask God for His presence. Open your mind, heart and soul to that which the world cannot give. When you are afraid, or worn out, let your troubled heart be at rest, and banish your fears.

Jesus Loves You Too

Jesus loves me this I know.

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong,

we are weak but He is strong.

 (CHORUS)

YES, JESUS LOVES ME. YES, JESUS LOVES ME.

YES, JESUS LOVES ME - THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

 Jesus loves me, this I know,

Though my hair is white as snow

Though my sight is growing dim,

Still He bids me trust in Him.
(CHORUS)

Though my steps are oh, so slow,

With my hand in His I'll go

On through life, let come what may,

He'll be there to lead the way.

(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,

In my heart He puts a song.

Telling me in words so clear,

"Have no fear, for I am near."

(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,

And life's victories have been won.

He will take me home above,

Then I'll understand His love

(CHORUS)

I love Jesus , does He know?

Have I ever told Him so?

Jesus loves to hear me say,

That I love Him every day.

(CHORUS)

And bring along some children too...

I saw a cool thing today and I wanted to share it with you.  I stopped by church about 5:15pm and the Salvation Army Corps was finishing up their Sunday service.  I exchanged hugs and Ola's with a bunch of people I've gotten to know and they loaded up into their cars to go home.  I ran inside to grab something I forgot and when I came back out, the 15 passenger van Captain Azuaje drives was pulling away...every seat filled with a child.  I don't know where he found them all, where they live or who they belong to, but isn't it a cool thing that they came?  Wow.  Bring in the kids... and the parents will come. And if not, keep bringing the kids anyway.
I was really moved and thought it was great, and it lifted my day a little more.  Hopefully it does the same for you.

Peace.
Pastor Jennie

Lenten Devotional

Click below for a Word format version of a 16 part Lenten Devotional based on the Stations of The Cross.  God's blessings to you on your Lenten Journey.
Download 16_part_lenten_devotional.doc

Light Of the World

About 40 miles south of Sedona there is a little town in the middle of no where, at the end of a long, straight, flat road. After a seemingly endless trek of nothing a sight appears. A city on a hill, called Jerome, Arizona. Jerome is an old mining town and is built literally on the cliffside. The roads are steep, narrow and full of hairpin turns. Each block is at least on story higher or lower than the next. And when you look at it from a distance, you can't miss it because you can see the tall lights shining over the flat horizon and there'€™s no mistaking where to go.

That's what God says we are to be in Matthew Chapter 5. A place no one can miss, a light so bright it guides others in. The world is dark folks, the world is dim. People can€'t see the way. They are blinded by their own pain, shielded from a better way, unable to look far enough ahead to see something good in the distance. And we must go where they are and brighten the world for them. If these verses had been written in modern times I wonder if the analogy would be about an airport landing strip, or a satellite moving through space, or fireworks in the night sky. It is our job to shine, to look different, to stand out, to be noticed, to shine and light the way for others to come.

And we do that at Living Christ, we do that as people of God. And we do it for people of God. And we do it for families. And we do it for children. And when people are drawn into the light of Living Christ they begin to reflect a little of that light on their own. They become a beacon for others to see and they are drawn in and so on the story goes.

Never forget that you are called to be where you are. I can tell you a story of how God has used each and every person in my life. I pay special attention to that. You are where you are for a reason, God has a plan for you now just as he will use you wherever in life you may be led next. For now, believe you were sent here, to serve and be served, and to touch the life of someone else who is in need. Whether its fate or just opportunity, we all have a role to play. And every thing matters. We bring the presence of God into people'€˜s lives. We must act in accordance with that great responsibility at all times. And when we do, we shine.

Keep shining for the Living Christ. Go where God leads you. There is a purpose. Be the salt of the earth that brings out the best in people. Be the light to the world that lonely people can't miss in the dark sky. Be something no one has ever seen before, some thing people want to come closer to.€“ And let God lead - amazing things will happen, people'€™s lives will be changed and the Gospel will brighten our world for this and every generation.

No Room

"She wrapped her firstborn Son in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7)

 

So there was no room at the inn? Really? Even for the Christ, the Messiah? Unbelievable!

We live in the time of ‘no room’, which is a sign of our times and humanity throughout the ages. We live in a time when we are obsessed with lack of time, lack of space, with saving time, conquering space. There is not only never enough room, there is never enough of anything. We live in this culture in a terminal shortage of the things we think we need. God often provides, as he did for Mary and her family, differently than we would expect. We have a shortage of space for our things as much as we in society often have a shortage of space in our hearts for others. And there will always be those to whom the world says, “There is no room for you.”

It’s into our world, this overpopulated, overburdened place, this crowded global inn, in which it seems there is absolutely no room for Him at all, and that Christ has come -uninvited. But Jesus, even the baby of the Nativity, cannot find a permanent home in it - because he is not from here, and yet must be in it – because his place is with those others who do not belong, who are also rejected and regarded as weak; and with those who are thought to be less worthy than others, who are denied the attention of society, and are outcast and put aside. There is no room for the lowly, the wayward, the stranger.

Christ is present in this world with those who cannot find a place to rest. He is present in those who daily seem to find the world at its worst. For them, there is no place to go except that to which God provides through us…we become the innkeepers, finding a place for the strangers that God puts in our keeping. They often remain imprisoned in their hopes, and preoccupied with despairs which are down to earth, everyday problems asking only to be accepted, to experience a little joy, to do a fairly decent job of productive work, to come home to a family...wants and needs for which there is no room. It is in these places of the heart that Christ Emmanuel hides himself.

I believe this is a part of the mission of the church, To Make Room, to give rest to weary travelers, to shelter the lowly and heed the call of angels in seeking the Messiah. May we be the ones to say something different in this crowded world of ours, may we be the ones to say to the stranger, “Yes, there is a place for you here. Welcome home.”

 

What Joseph knew

Matthew 1:18-25

 

1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."

1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,

1:25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Does it seem like Joseph is usually placed in the background of the nativity story?  I mean, we (correctly) spend a lot of time talking about MARY, the virgin birth, the visit from an angel, the cry of adoration and and visit with Elizabeth...but JOSEPH...his story is also significant and sometimes undervalued.  Matthew tells us that Joseph knew some things that we can learn from this Christmas too.

1. Joseph knew that God keeps promises (1:18). As a Jewish man, in the line of David, but not really a 'royal' type, Joseph the carpenter had apparently learned in his religious upbringing that the Messiah was promised.  No doubt he was expecting someone a bit more affluent and important than himself to carry the task. When God presented this new and surprising reality to him, he believed it and expected God to  follow through, because of who he knew God to be.

2. Joseph knew the difference between justice and righteousness (1:19). According to justice of that time and place, Mary deserved to be stoned, or at least publicly humiliated and socially exiled.  But to do what was right (to spare her) took more wisdom, more courage, more compassion than simply acting justly. Jesus had a strong and loving earthly father who knew how to be righteous.  How do we do the right thing when the situation is wrong?

3. Joseph knew when to listen and receive understanding(1:20-1:24).  I'm the type that often speaks when seeking understanding. If I had a nickel for every time I opened my mouth when I shouldn't have...well.  Joseph was a wise man.  Presented with unsolicited, life changing news in a dream, he did not argue it out of consideration, he did not rationalize and brush it off.  He did not make excuses.  He simply considered it, listened deeply and then he acted wisely and with great compassion.  It didn't take an angel, it simply took faith.

4. Joseph knew to be flexible (1:25).  This was a time and place where the man of the family made decisions. Joseph did not pick the time of his fatherhood, the circumstance of his marriage or the Name of his son.  He accepted new conditions for his life and took responsibility for his family, and even his Messiah.  He resigned himself to act on God's will and promise, and obediently followed, undoubtedly knowing that life would never be the same.   The message of Emmanuel, about God being with us, must have meant a lot to a man who seemed awfully alone at the time. 

This Christmas, as we hear the story of Jesus' birth...what do we know and how does it guide us in our journey to follow God's calling on our lives?

Worth repeating

C.S. Lewis wrote famously that
"God whispers to us in our pleasures,
speaks in our conscience,
but shouts in our pain;
it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

Something to think about when the going gets tough.

Dreams Visible

Its not at all uncommon at our church for the kids to lead the way.  They are honest and real, searching for truth like the rest of us, but uncomplicated in their assessments of people,the world and God.  Some of their stories make us cry, and others are real inspirations.  Here's one.

One of our 11 year olds came by the church tonight, about an hour early for church, just to talk to me.  This isn't unusual for the neighborhood kids, they see a few cars, or perhaps my van, and stop by.  It's their place too. They are always welcome.

After a long conversation about what it takes to pursue the dream of being a professional rapper, a great aspiration, I believe, we sat and talked about personal change and doing life differently because you know God.  You wouldn't think that at 11 years old it would be necessary for much personal transformation to occur. Growth and maturity perhaps, but to really become a new person? Well, for this kid it's very real.

He said he used to be a fighter (in his younger years!).  Showing off, being tough.  Saying and doing things to get in trouble, be cool and get other kids to like  him.  But since he's been coming to church he's learned how to set goals, to love God, to look forward to heaven.  He's learned that God has a plan for him and the people he loves even if he can't see it right now. He knows it's ok to be himself.  And now people look up to him (including me).  He has dreams.  He sees his life as something to offer back to help others.  He's an example for others.  He wants to help people who don't have so much as he's got.  Maybe someday his grandmother will come to church with him.

I don't know what all has happened in this little boy's heart this fall, but God is working on something big. He's an inspiration to me, to all of us each week as he comes to church alone, sings the songs, reads the lessons and listens to the sermons.  He prays for his friends.  He lives out what God's love really is.

He's thankful to God.  And I'm thankful for him.