Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Read Romans 8:37-39. Hear each powerful word of faith speak to your soul about the NOTHING that can separate you from the love of God through Christ Jesus. Reflect on what that means to you now and what it should mean.
8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hear it also through The Message version:
8:37 None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. 38 I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, 39 high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
Here I'm old-school in that the NRSV reads a bit more powerful especially in verse 37, for Paul declares whatever we go through, it matters not, for "we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." To conquer sounds pretty sufficient to most. Just to win for many is enough. But Paul says in life we go beyond just winning, we go to all that victory brings because of God's love. And if we reflect again on those things that might keep us from enjoying all things, and the list is impressive in the NRSV, remember that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let that be our word for today: NOTHING. Not that we DO nothing, but that we see that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
PRAYER: Center our hearts on the EVERYTHING that your love is. Center our minds on the NOTHING that can separate us from your great love. Let this be a day that goes beyond victory, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
WHAT IS DEATH?
Good day everyone.
We continue our discussion on resurrection and God's power to comfort and strengthen us.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: God used His own Son to show His power over death. And if you think about it, wouldn’t He who created all things, even death, not be able to control it? Read 1 Cor 15:20-51 and reflect on what Paul says about death to those early Christians who were losing loved ones to death by the government.
Eugene Peterson's "The Message" version says it like this:
15:20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. 21 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. 22 Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. 23 But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, 24 the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. 25 He won't let up until the last enemy is down - 26 and the very last enemy is death! 27 As the psalmist said, "He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them." When Scripture says that "he walked all over them," it's obvious that he couldn't at the same time be walked on. 28 When everything and everyone is finally under God's rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God's rule is absolutely comprehensive - a perfect ending! 29 Why do you think people offer themselves to be baptized for those already in the grave? If there's no chance of resurrection for a corpse, if God's power stops at the cemetery gates, why do we keep doing things that suggest he's going to clean the place out someday, pulling everyone up on their feet alive? 30 And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? 31 I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? 32 Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn't be the end of me? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there's no resurrection, "We eat, we drink, the next day we die," and that's all there is to it. 33 But don't fool yourselves. Don't let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. "Bad company ruins good manners." 34 Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford in times like these. Aren't you embarrassed that you've let this kind of thing go on as long as you have? 35 Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" 36 If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. 37 We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. 38 You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different. 39 You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies - humans, animals, birds, fish - each unprecedented in its form. 40 You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies - 40 sun, moon, stars - all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds" - who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like! 42 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body - but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! 43 The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. 44 The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural - same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality! 45 We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. 46 Physical life comes first, then spiritual - 47 a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. 48 The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. 49 In the same way that we've worked from our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends. 50 I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don't in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very "nature" is to die, so how could they "naturally" end up in the Life kingdom? 51 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die - but we are all going to be changed.
Paul calls it truth. The truth about what has happened in Christ to bring Him up from the dead and what will happen in us who believe.
What are your fears or doubts about your own mortality? Reread the above passage as if Paul had written that letter just to you.
PRAYER: God of life, we praise You and thank You for all You have shared with us during this Easter season. We especially thank You for the truth as You revealed it to Paul and as Paul has shared it with us. Let us live in that truth, that we might overcome all things. In Christ Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
We continue our discussion on resurrection and God's power to comfort and strengthen us.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: God used His own Son to show His power over death. And if you think about it, wouldn’t He who created all things, even death, not be able to control it? Read 1 Cor 15:20-51 and reflect on what Paul says about death to those early Christians who were losing loved ones to death by the government.
Eugene Peterson's "The Message" version says it like this:
15:20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. 21 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. 22 Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. 23 But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, 24 the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. 25 He won't let up until the last enemy is down - 26 and the very last enemy is death! 27 As the psalmist said, "He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them." When Scripture says that "he walked all over them," it's obvious that he couldn't at the same time be walked on. 28 When everything and everyone is finally under God's rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God's rule is absolutely comprehensive - a perfect ending! 29 Why do you think people offer themselves to be baptized for those already in the grave? If there's no chance of resurrection for a corpse, if God's power stops at the cemetery gates, why do we keep doing things that suggest he's going to clean the place out someday, pulling everyone up on their feet alive? 30 And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? 31 I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? 32 Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn't be the end of me? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there's no resurrection, "We eat, we drink, the next day we die," and that's all there is to it. 33 But don't fool yourselves. Don't let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. "Bad company ruins good manners." 34 Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford in times like these. Aren't you embarrassed that you've let this kind of thing go on as long as you have? 35 Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" 36 If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. 37 We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. 38 You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different. 39 You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies - humans, animals, birds, fish - each unprecedented in its form. 40 You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies - 40 sun, moon, stars - all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds" - who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like! 42 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body - but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! 43 The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. 44 The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural - same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality! 45 We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. 46 Physical life comes first, then spiritual - 47 a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. 48 The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. 49 In the same way that we've worked from our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends. 50 I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don't in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very "nature" is to die, so how could they "naturally" end up in the Life kingdom? 51 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die - but we are all going to be changed.
Paul calls it truth. The truth about what has happened in Christ to bring Him up from the dead and what will happen in us who believe.
What are your fears or doubts about your own mortality? Reread the above passage as if Paul had written that letter just to you.
PRAYER: God of life, we praise You and thank You for all You have shared with us during this Easter season. We especially thank You for the truth as You revealed it to Paul and as Paul has shared it with us. Let us live in that truth, that we might overcome all things. In Christ Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Matthew 16:28 THOUGHTS ON LIFE!
Good Monday after Easter everyone! It was a wonderful, if not overly chilly day in San Marcos! Our youth did a superb job of leading and acting out the drama of the Resurrection during our sunrise service, held indoors in our Activities Building. Our other four services were equally well-attended and we praise God for the awesomeness of the day.
The sermon was on God's victory over death and how God's resurrection power is still ours to help lead us away from a spiritually dying faith into a faith that goes to work! So, this week we'll be talking about death and views surrounding it.
There is a correction in the study guide as my fingers misstyped the correct verse for today. It should be Matthew 16:28, not 18 as printed on the hard copy.
Monday: Read Matthew 16:28. Escaping death was something that spoke to the first converts to our faith. Then came the persecution against Christians and many were put to death. What are your thoughts on this situation?
"Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
On Good Friday we buried a 98 year old woman from Austin. She was one I did not know personally but what her family shared about her, she was just like most of us would like to be if we live that long. She drove until she was 88, and until she was 89 she mowed her own lawn with a push mower! She did her own shopping and was fiercely independent. She was also a charter member of First UMC in Austin for fifty years. I spoke at her graveside about the kind of faith that says yes to a pastor with a vision of starting a new church. Death for her was just a part of life.
In the news the Schiavo pending death makes us uneasy and has polarized some about what is the correct action to take. The sad news of the little girl in Florida snatched from her room and murdered also bring us thoughts about death that we shouldn't have to have. Thoughts about what the culprit of that action make us wonder if death for him wouldn't be right or not.
It is our death that makes us wonder. Some of us don't like to even think about it. For many years I told my family I'd rather be surprised than to linger on knowing that life was slipping away. It took Nellie and I years before we could talk about it to them in terms of our wishes for cremation and where we wanted our ashes scattered. Fear of any kind is no longer welcome in those discussions.
Jesus came with a stronger message: Death has been conquered! Easter is our way of celebrating that for our loved ones now in Glory and for ourselves as well. Early Christians readily accepted the Christian faith as that which brought them hope given how relatively short lives were being lived during the time. Jesus' message was that we have a God of life who has planned for those who are God's to live their eternity with Him.
For many of us thankfully the worse persecution we face may be of the social kind. We may not run in circles that is opposed to the Christian way of life as a result of being "outcasts." But that should not serve as an excuse to abandon our faith and our way of life. For our earlier brothers and sister in the faith, persecution meant death.
We serve a God of life. Our days on the earth should be like those of Paul, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." Let each day of life serve as a way to share Him who came to die for us. And when our day comes to leave this earth, we'll gain the full knowledge and love of Christ.
PRAYER: God of life, bring us to resurrection faith. Let us quit our slumber and lingering; ignite our hearts to leap with joy at each day's challenge to share Jesus! We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
The sermon was on God's victory over death and how God's resurrection power is still ours to help lead us away from a spiritually dying faith into a faith that goes to work! So, this week we'll be talking about death and views surrounding it.
There is a correction in the study guide as my fingers misstyped the correct verse for today. It should be Matthew 16:28, not 18 as printed on the hard copy.
Monday: Read Matthew 16:28. Escaping death was something that spoke to the first converts to our faith. Then came the persecution against Christians and many were put to death. What are your thoughts on this situation?
"Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
On Good Friday we buried a 98 year old woman from Austin. She was one I did not know personally but what her family shared about her, she was just like most of us would like to be if we live that long. She drove until she was 88, and until she was 89 she mowed her own lawn with a push mower! She did her own shopping and was fiercely independent. She was also a charter member of First UMC in Austin for fifty years. I spoke at her graveside about the kind of faith that says yes to a pastor with a vision of starting a new church. Death for her was just a part of life.
In the news the Schiavo pending death makes us uneasy and has polarized some about what is the correct action to take. The sad news of the little girl in Florida snatched from her room and murdered also bring us thoughts about death that we shouldn't have to have. Thoughts about what the culprit of that action make us wonder if death for him wouldn't be right or not.
It is our death that makes us wonder. Some of us don't like to even think about it. For many years I told my family I'd rather be surprised than to linger on knowing that life was slipping away. It took Nellie and I years before we could talk about it to them in terms of our wishes for cremation and where we wanted our ashes scattered. Fear of any kind is no longer welcome in those discussions.
Jesus came with a stronger message: Death has been conquered! Easter is our way of celebrating that for our loved ones now in Glory and for ourselves as well. Early Christians readily accepted the Christian faith as that which brought them hope given how relatively short lives were being lived during the time. Jesus' message was that we have a God of life who has planned for those who are God's to live their eternity with Him.
For many of us thankfully the worse persecution we face may be of the social kind. We may not run in circles that is opposed to the Christian way of life as a result of being "outcasts." But that should not serve as an excuse to abandon our faith and our way of life. For our earlier brothers and sister in the faith, persecution meant death.
We serve a God of life. Our days on the earth should be like those of Paul, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." Let each day of life serve as a way to share Him who came to die for us. And when our day comes to leave this earth, we'll gain the full knowledge and love of Christ.
PRAYER: God of life, bring us to resurrection faith. Let us quit our slumber and lingering; ignite our hearts to leap with joy at each day's challenge to share Jesus! We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
Friday, March 25, 2005
A GOOD FRIDAY
Good Good Friday to everyone.
We had a very powerful worship experience last night as we sat at the table together, 12 at a time. Those of us serving noticed that whenever the chalice was jostled and the juice spilled it was very much like what we imagined the Lord's blood falling on that day.
This is a day of bloodshed. Our Lord knew it was coming for He talked about it on that Thursday at the table with the twelve. The question is, what are we going to do about it?
Those in the San Marcos area are invited to our church at 7 p.m. to take part in what we are praying is a moving service. Bring someone with you.
Here is our study guide:
Friday: For our day of prayer, praise God for the victory Jesus has even today in so many lives. Pray for those who have not yet made Jesus the Lord of their lives and pray for this church to be a part of that ministry that may bring fullness of life to them. Make this a day of commitment and reflection. Commit yourself to doing all that God may ask of you. Commit yourself to be the example of Christ that may bring someone in your family to fullness of life. Pray for the upcoming Easter Sunday services that each may speak the truth about God’s love for your life.
Have a blessed day!
PS: Sunday we have several services: 7 Sunrise, 8:30, 9:30, two 11 o'clock services, contemporary and traditional.
e.v.
We had a very powerful worship experience last night as we sat at the table together, 12 at a time. Those of us serving noticed that whenever the chalice was jostled and the juice spilled it was very much like what we imagined the Lord's blood falling on that day.
This is a day of bloodshed. Our Lord knew it was coming for He talked about it on that Thursday at the table with the twelve. The question is, what are we going to do about it?
Those in the San Marcos area are invited to our church at 7 p.m. to take part in what we are praying is a moving service. Bring someone with you.
Here is our study guide:
Friday: For our day of prayer, praise God for the victory Jesus has even today in so many lives. Pray for those who have not yet made Jesus the Lord of their lives and pray for this church to be a part of that ministry that may bring fullness of life to them. Make this a day of commitment and reflection. Commit yourself to doing all that God may ask of you. Commit yourself to be the example of Christ that may bring someone in your family to fullness of life. Pray for the upcoming Easter Sunday services that each may speak the truth about God’s love for your life.
Have a blessed day!
PS: Sunday we have several services: 7 Sunrise, 8:30, 9:30, two 11 o'clock services, contemporary and traditional.
e.v.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
THE CONVERSATIONS BEHIND THE SCENES
Good day dear friends. Today is Maundy Thursday and you're invited to attend your church. We will be having a service at 7 which will feature our commemoration of the first Lord's Supper. Everyone is invited and welcome. And tomorrow night also at 7 we'll have a service featuring the Seven Last Words of Jesus. Please make plans to be in worship for this Holy Week.
As we pray this morning please lift up Robin Brown again. She underwent a successful procedure and biopsy and results will not be known for about five or six days. She was in ICU last night and should be moved to a room sometime this morning. She is at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Our prayers for her husband, The Rev. Del Brown, and their children. This has been a difficult time for them.
Thursday: It took great faith on the part of the disciples to go and “borrow” a colt. Some may think back to times when our dads or moms asked us to do something we just knew we couldn’t or shouldn’t do, yet it turned out okay. How is it with your faith and Jesus? Has the Lord asked you to do something you just KNOW won’t turn out okay (or so you think right now?)
Yesterday in our Emmaus reunion group we spent a good time sharing and laughing. We laughed more than our share yesterday and it is one of the things I hold dear about this group. We share openly and honestly and sometimes that comes across quite humorously. But we were talking about the conversations between the disciples when they thought they were out of earshot from Jesus. The conversation recorded in the Bible are funny enough but we can only imagine some of what they shared when they thought the Lord couldn't hear them. One such conversation could have been the one early Palm Sunday when Jesus sends the disciples to borrow the donkey and colt. I remember the times I had a homework assignment and lamented I didn't have an encyclopedia set in our home and my dad would send me to borrow the volume I needed from our nextdoor neighbor. I hated trudging the ten or fifteen feet between our house and theirs and knocking on the door and asking very politely if I could borrow the "M" volume of their encyclopedia. I swore then and there that if ever I had children I would buy them a set! The only one we ever bought growing up was the A volume that Kroger had on sale for 99 cents. The rest cost more so ask me anything about subjects that start with A and I'll tell you! Nellie and I invested in a very expensive HUGE hate-to-move set that our girls NEVER used!
Here is where the disciples' faith came into action. They knew something important was up and it could only be accomplished in this possibly embarrassing task. To have faith to walk to the house, knock on the door and ask, might mean that the Lord would have a successful mission. To not have faith and not do this would mean that Jesus might send some other two disciples and we're already aware of the competition between them.
What has God asked of us? And what have we said? We have excuses for not doing them, but God provides reasons for doing exactly what needs to be done. And for as many times as we're sure we're going to be rejected or unsuccessful, we're amazed that God did have something special for us and it turned out just as we thought it wouldn't.
Don't put God off today. Ask for wisdom, strength and courage and do what you know God wants you to do. See the vision of you being successful in tackling whatever it is that stands before you. The victory is the Lord's!
PRAYER: God of victory, speak to us again with tasks and visions that are Yours for us. Let us seek from You that which we need to be more than victors in all things. Let all we do be for Your honor and glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a victorious day!! See you in church!
Blessings!
e.v.
As we pray this morning please lift up Robin Brown again. She underwent a successful procedure and biopsy and results will not be known for about five or six days. She was in ICU last night and should be moved to a room sometime this morning. She is at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Our prayers for her husband, The Rev. Del Brown, and their children. This has been a difficult time for them.
Thursday: It took great faith on the part of the disciples to go and “borrow” a colt. Some may think back to times when our dads or moms asked us to do something we just knew we couldn’t or shouldn’t do, yet it turned out okay. How is it with your faith and Jesus? Has the Lord asked you to do something you just KNOW won’t turn out okay (or so you think right now?)
Yesterday in our Emmaus reunion group we spent a good time sharing and laughing. We laughed more than our share yesterday and it is one of the things I hold dear about this group. We share openly and honestly and sometimes that comes across quite humorously. But we were talking about the conversations between the disciples when they thought they were out of earshot from Jesus. The conversation recorded in the Bible are funny enough but we can only imagine some of what they shared when they thought the Lord couldn't hear them. One such conversation could have been the one early Palm Sunday when Jesus sends the disciples to borrow the donkey and colt. I remember the times I had a homework assignment and lamented I didn't have an encyclopedia set in our home and my dad would send me to borrow the volume I needed from our nextdoor neighbor. I hated trudging the ten or fifteen feet between our house and theirs and knocking on the door and asking very politely if I could borrow the "M" volume of their encyclopedia. I swore then and there that if ever I had children I would buy them a set! The only one we ever bought growing up was the A volume that Kroger had on sale for 99 cents. The rest cost more so ask me anything about subjects that start with A and I'll tell you! Nellie and I invested in a very expensive HUGE hate-to-move set that our girls NEVER used!
Here is where the disciples' faith came into action. They knew something important was up and it could only be accomplished in this possibly embarrassing task. To have faith to walk to the house, knock on the door and ask, might mean that the Lord would have a successful mission. To not have faith and not do this would mean that Jesus might send some other two disciples and we're already aware of the competition between them.
What has God asked of us? And what have we said? We have excuses for not doing them, but God provides reasons for doing exactly what needs to be done. And for as many times as we're sure we're going to be rejected or unsuccessful, we're amazed that God did have something special for us and it turned out just as we thought it wouldn't.
Don't put God off today. Ask for wisdom, strength and courage and do what you know God wants you to do. See the vision of you being successful in tackling whatever it is that stands before you. The victory is the Lord's!
PRAYER: God of victory, speak to us again with tasks and visions that are Yours for us. Let us seek from You that which we need to be more than victors in all things. Let all we do be for Your honor and glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a victorious day!! See you in church!
Blessings!
e.v.
THE CONVERSATIONS BEHIND THE SCENES
Good day dear friends. Today is Maundy Thursday and you're invited to attend your church. We will be having a service at 7 which will feature our commemoration of the first Lord's Supper. Everyone is invited and welcome. And tomorrow night also at 7 we'll have a service featuring the Seven Last Words of Jesus. Please make plans to be in worship for this Holy Week.
As we pray this morning please lift up Robin Brown again. She underwent a successful procedure and biopsy and results will not be known for about five or six days. She was in ICU last night and should be moved to a room sometime this morning. She is at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Our prayers for her husband, The Rev. Del Brown, and their children. This has been a difficult time for them.
Thursday: It took great faith on the part of the disciples to go and “borrow” a colt. Some may think back to times when our dads or moms asked us to do something we just knew we couldn’t or shouldn’t do, yet it turned out okay. How is it with your faith and Jesus? Has the Lord asked you to do something you just KNOW won’t turn out okay (or so you think right now?)
Yesterday in our Emmaus reunion group we spent a good time sharing and laughing. We laughed more than our share yesterday and it is one of the things I hold dear about this group. We share openly and honestly and sometimes that comes across quite humorously. But we were talking about the conversations between the disciples when they thought they were out of earshot from Jesus. The conversation recorded in the Bible are funny enough but we can only imagine some of what they shared when they thought the Lord couldn't hear them. One such conversation could have been the one early Palm Sunday when Jesus sends the disciples to borrow the donkey and colt. I remember the times I had a homework assignment and lamented I didn't have an encyclopedia set in our home and my dad would send me to borrow the volume I needed from our nextdoor neighbor. I hated trudging the ten or fifteen feet between our house and theirs and knocking on the door and asking very politely if I could borrow the "M" volume of their encyclopedia. I swore then and there that if ever I had children I would buy them a set! The only one we ever bought growing up was the A volume that Kroger had on sale for 99 cents. The rest cost more so ask me anything about subjects that start with A and I'll tell you! Nellie and I invested in a very expensive HUGE hate-to-move set that our girls NEVER used!
Here is where the disciples' faith came into action. They knew something important was up and it could only be accomplished in this possibly embarrassing task. To have faith to walk to the house, knock on the door and ask, might mean that the Lord would have a successful mission. To not have faith and not do this would mean that Jesus might send some other two disciples and we're already aware of the competition between them.
What has God asked of us? And what have we said? We have excuses for not doing them, but God provides reasons for doing exactly what needs to be done. And for as many times as we're sure we're going to be rejected or unsuccessful, we're amazed that God did have something special for us and it turned out just as we thought it wouldn't.
Don't put God off today. Ask for wisdom, strength and courage and do what you know God wants you to do. See the vision of you being successful in tackling whatever it is that stands before you. The victory is the Lord's!
PRAYER: God of victory, speak to us again with tasks and visions that are Yours for us. Let us seek from You that which we need to be more than victors in all things. Let all we do be for Your honor and glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a victorious day!! See you in church!
Blessings!
e.v.
As we pray this morning please lift up Robin Brown again. She underwent a successful procedure and biopsy and results will not be known for about five or six days. She was in ICU last night and should be moved to a room sometime this morning. She is at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Our prayers for her husband, The Rev. Del Brown, and their children. This has been a difficult time for them.
Thursday: It took great faith on the part of the disciples to go and “borrow” a colt. Some may think back to times when our dads or moms asked us to do something we just knew we couldn’t or shouldn’t do, yet it turned out okay. How is it with your faith and Jesus? Has the Lord asked you to do something you just KNOW won’t turn out okay (or so you think right now?)
Yesterday in our Emmaus reunion group we spent a good time sharing and laughing. We laughed more than our share yesterday and it is one of the things I hold dear about this group. We share openly and honestly and sometimes that comes across quite humorously. But we were talking about the conversations between the disciples when they thought they were out of earshot from Jesus. The conversation recorded in the Bible are funny enough but we can only imagine some of what they shared when they thought the Lord couldn't hear them. One such conversation could have been the one early Palm Sunday when Jesus sends the disciples to borrow the donkey and colt. I remember the times I had a homework assignment and lamented I didn't have an encyclopedia set in our home and my dad would send me to borrow the volume I needed from our nextdoor neighbor. I hated trudging the ten or fifteen feet between our house and theirs and knocking on the door and asking very politely if I could borrow the "M" volume of their encyclopedia. I swore then and there that if ever I had children I would buy them a set! The only one we ever bought growing up was the A volume that Kroger had on sale for 99 cents. The rest cost more so ask me anything about subjects that start with A and I'll tell you! Nellie and I invested in a very expensive HUGE hate-to-move set that our girls NEVER used!
Here is where the disciples' faith came into action. They knew something important was up and it could only be accomplished in this possibly embarrassing task. To have faith to walk to the house, knock on the door and ask, might mean that the Lord would have a successful mission. To not have faith and not do this would mean that Jesus might send some other two disciples and we're already aware of the competition between them.
What has God asked of us? And what have we said? We have excuses for not doing them, but God provides reasons for doing exactly what needs to be done. And for as many times as we're sure we're going to be rejected or unsuccessful, we're amazed that God did have something special for us and it turned out just as we thought it wouldn't.
Don't put God off today. Ask for wisdom, strength and courage and do what you know God wants you to do. See the vision of you being successful in tackling whatever it is that stands before you. The victory is the Lord's!
PRAYER: God of victory, speak to us again with tasks and visions that are Yours for us. Let us seek from You that which we need to be more than victors in all things. Let all we do be for Your honor and glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a victorious day!! See you in church!
Blessings!
e.v.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
COME, LORD JESUS, COME!
We pray this morning for Robin Brown who will undergo an MRI and biopsy and possibly surgery later today. Robin is at BAMC in San Antonio. The procedures begin at 6:30 a.m.
Here is our study guide for today:
Wednesday: For our day of action, spend some time reflecting on the times the Lord has tried to come in triumphantly into your life. Have you allowed Him entrance as Lord and Savior? Have you made Jesus King of your life? If the answer is no, why not? Today could be the very day Jesus comes to life in your life and thus will bring fullness to you.
Here is our study guide for today:
Wednesday: For our day of action, spend some time reflecting on the times the Lord has tried to come in triumphantly into your life. Have you allowed Him entrance as Lord and Savior? Have you made Jesus King of your life? If the answer is no, why not? Today could be the very day Jesus comes to life in your life and thus will bring fullness to you.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
GOD HAS SOMETHING TO SAY IN ALL THINGS IF WE'LL JUST LISTEN!
Good day dear friends.
Let us continue to be in prayer for Robin Brown and her husband
Del. Robin was taken by ambulance to BAMC for running a high fever
and this before a scheduled MRI, biopsy and surgery for a brain
tumor. It turns out the fever was caused by the "bug" that Del had
and doctors quickly got that under control. Sometime tomorrow they
will do the MRI, biopsy and surgery. Please keep this family in
your thoughts and prayers. Also for Mr. Gregg, who suffered a
stroke and is in CTMC here in town. He was in good spirits last
night when I visited with him and he was telling me he was going to
Wimberley for rehab. He also said he was going back to Merrill
Garden for rehab, so either way, please hold him in prayer.
We continue to study the events of Palm Sunday and how Jesus entered
the city of Jerusalem that day. Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Matthew calls this entrance a fulfillment of prophecy
employing the Jewish tradition of taking from one scripture a part,
then another part from another. Read Isaiah 62:11 and then read
Zechariah 9:9. What are your thoughts about prophecy in general and
this fulfillment in particular?
For the Jewish person of Jesus' day their scripture related not only
to the events occuring during the writing of the day but also seen
as perhaps sharing a clue or hint about what was to come. As
prophecies concerning the Messiah began to shape in their thought,
various scriptures from the Hebrew Bible begin to speak to them in
present, if not future terms. For Matthew to have known Jesus'
entrance was a fulfillment of prophecy meant he was familiar with
his scriptures about what was to happen. Please keep in mind that
as the events of that day and week unfolded it wouldn't be until
after Easter Sunday that Matthew would fully understand all things.
But at this writing of his gospel he was fully aware and fully
confident that these words had been fulfilled.
The Jewish scholar would know all of the coming prophecies and might
even join two together to complete a thought concerning an event.
We see this happening in Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9. Here are
those two scriptures respectively:
"Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the
daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward
is with him, and his recompense before him.'"
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is
he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass."
Both thoughts on their own are powerful enough, but put together
complete the images of that day of Jesus' entry: Jesus brought
salvation, the promise of his reward and recompense and he indeed
came in "triumphant and victorious," "humble and rising on an ass,
on a colt the foal of an ass." Jesus knew the scriptures as well
and having known the purposes of God in his own life does all that
will help the disciples remember that yes, this was the Son of God
and the Messiah, the long awaited anointed one of God.
What are your thoughts on this? Looking at this from faith some
2,000 years after the event, do you believe that God fulfilled His
promises through Jesus? Having received and being in relationship
with Jesus can you not join the throng who indeed said Sunday and
can say today on Tuesday, "Hosanna!"? If not, there's no
condemnation because of that, but you're missing out on so much.
Ultimately you will choose whether you know it or not. If you
choose not to decide or think you have, you've already chosen not to
believe. I pray that you would believe and that you would enter
into the joy of your Lord. It will make this week and all weeks so
much fuller and easier ones in which to proclaim, "Blessed is the
One who comes in the Name of the Lord!"
PRAYER: Come again, King Jesus into our hearts and lives. Let us
truly believe in You and what You've offered to us. Bring us
salvation, your reward and recompense, and let all this serve to
help us shout today and all days with Your "Hosannas!" IN Thy name
we pray. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Let us continue to be in prayer for Robin Brown and her husband
Del. Robin was taken by ambulance to BAMC for running a high fever
and this before a scheduled MRI, biopsy and surgery for a brain
tumor. It turns out the fever was caused by the "bug" that Del had
and doctors quickly got that under control. Sometime tomorrow they
will do the MRI, biopsy and surgery. Please keep this family in
your thoughts and prayers. Also for Mr. Gregg, who suffered a
stroke and is in CTMC here in town. He was in good spirits last
night when I visited with him and he was telling me he was going to
Wimberley for rehab. He also said he was going back to Merrill
Garden for rehab, so either way, please hold him in prayer.
We continue to study the events of Palm Sunday and how Jesus entered
the city of Jerusalem that day. Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Matthew calls this entrance a fulfillment of prophecy
employing the Jewish tradition of taking from one scripture a part,
then another part from another. Read Isaiah 62:11 and then read
Zechariah 9:9. What are your thoughts about prophecy in general and
this fulfillment in particular?
For the Jewish person of Jesus' day their scripture related not only
to the events occuring during the writing of the day but also seen
as perhaps sharing a clue or hint about what was to come. As
prophecies concerning the Messiah began to shape in their thought,
various scriptures from the Hebrew Bible begin to speak to them in
present, if not future terms. For Matthew to have known Jesus'
entrance was a fulfillment of prophecy meant he was familiar with
his scriptures about what was to happen. Please keep in mind that
as the events of that day and week unfolded it wouldn't be until
after Easter Sunday that Matthew would fully understand all things.
But at this writing of his gospel he was fully aware and fully
confident that these words had been fulfilled.
The Jewish scholar would know all of the coming prophecies and might
even join two together to complete a thought concerning an event.
We see this happening in Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9. Here are
those two scriptures respectively:
"Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the
daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward
is with him, and his recompense before him.'"
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is
he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass."
Both thoughts on their own are powerful enough, but put together
complete the images of that day of Jesus' entry: Jesus brought
salvation, the promise of his reward and recompense and he indeed
came in "triumphant and victorious," "humble and rising on an ass,
on a colt the foal of an ass." Jesus knew the scriptures as well
and having known the purposes of God in his own life does all that
will help the disciples remember that yes, this was the Son of God
and the Messiah, the long awaited anointed one of God.
What are your thoughts on this? Looking at this from faith some
2,000 years after the event, do you believe that God fulfilled His
promises through Jesus? Having received and being in relationship
with Jesus can you not join the throng who indeed said Sunday and
can say today on Tuesday, "Hosanna!"? If not, there's no
condemnation because of that, but you're missing out on so much.
Ultimately you will choose whether you know it or not. If you
choose not to decide or think you have, you've already chosen not to
believe. I pray that you would believe and that you would enter
into the joy of your Lord. It will make this week and all weeks so
much fuller and easier ones in which to proclaim, "Blessed is the
One who comes in the Name of the Lord!"
PRAYER: Come again, King Jesus into our hearts and lives. Let us
truly believe in You and what You've offered to us. Bring us
salvation, your reward and recompense, and let all this serve to
help us shout today and all days with Your "Hosannas!" IN Thy name
we pray. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Monday, March 21, 2005
HOLY WEEK 2005
Good day dear friends. Here we are at Holy Week 2005. We started the week with a wonderful celebration with our children processing in to commemorate Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem in what we call Palm Sunday. P.A.L.M. for the sermon was "a Parade Adoring the Lord as Messiah." Our text was from Matthew 11:1-11. The sermon title was "Are You Holding The Big Ticket?" asking what would have been our faith response to Jesus had we been in the crowd close to Him as He rode into our city?
I pray we will grow deeper in our spirituality as we close out this week with important worship services on Thursday, Friday and then our big Resurrection Sunday worship services.
Monday: Could David have known what his words would come to mean in later years in the life of the One he only knew as “Lord?” Read Psalm 118 for today. See how David uses the words and then reflect on how the stage was set for Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday.
Here is Psalm 118:
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 3 Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 12 They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 13 I was pushed hard, F238 so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. 15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; 16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly." 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you. 29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
It is in the last 10 verses of this psalm from 19 to 29 that we find David praising God and using language that later comes to be seen as prophetic. David wants "the gates of righteousness" to be opened, so that he can go in and "give thanks to the Lord." He refers to the stone rejected becoming "the chief cornerstone." And he mentions a "festal procession with branches," another reference to Palm Sunday and what we associate with that day. David knew that God is never through with what He wants done, for David knew God as a constant, involved Creator. God was involved in the lives of His children and would do what the faithful would ask. All David knew to do was to praise.
Yesterday while dressing for church I was watching a local tv preacher who happened to mention that one of his favorite books is a small book by the name of "Power in Praise." I had never heard of that book and just this morning went to amazon.com to see if there was such a creature available. I heard the pastor mention "The Power of Praise," and the search turned up only this book. But the excerpt was very powerful about praising God in all situations. The opening pages tell the story of a family with a loved one with a drinking problem. He heard the author speak of there being power in praising God for even situations like this and when this man and his wife prayed praising God for the condition of this loved one, the whole situation changed. The loved one asked about Jesus and through sharing and prayer, the loved one changed.
All we can and should do is be involved in praise to the Lord. This is a week like I mentioned yesterday that didn't make sense to the folks in the crowd. On Sunday they were shouting "Hosanna!" On Monday they were asking, "Just who is this guy and why is he making us so uncomfortable?" By Thursday one of his own betrayed him, selling him out for thirty pieces of silver, and by Friday many of the same crowd were yelling, "Crucify him!" All the faithful knew to do was to be in praise. We can be involved in praise through our prayer life. We need to recognize that prayer is worship and worship done through praise brings blessings.
Can you be in praise today?
PRAYER: Lord of all life, we praise you today for this precious gift of life and the gift of this day. We don't know what may come the rest of this day but we praise You and glorify Your name. Let our praises bring a blessing to You and to Yours. We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a great day!
e.v.
I pray we will grow deeper in our spirituality as we close out this week with important worship services on Thursday, Friday and then our big Resurrection Sunday worship services.
Monday: Could David have known what his words would come to mean in later years in the life of the One he only knew as “Lord?” Read Psalm 118 for today. See how David uses the words and then reflect on how the stage was set for Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday.
Here is Psalm 118:
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 3 Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 12 They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 13 I was pushed hard, F238 so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. 15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; 16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly." 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you. 29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
It is in the last 10 verses of this psalm from 19 to 29 that we find David praising God and using language that later comes to be seen as prophetic. David wants "the gates of righteousness" to be opened, so that he can go in and "give thanks to the Lord." He refers to the stone rejected becoming "the chief cornerstone." And he mentions a "festal procession with branches," another reference to Palm Sunday and what we associate with that day. David knew that God is never through with what He wants done, for David knew God as a constant, involved Creator. God was involved in the lives of His children and would do what the faithful would ask. All David knew to do was to praise.
Yesterday while dressing for church I was watching a local tv preacher who happened to mention that one of his favorite books is a small book by the name of "Power in Praise." I had never heard of that book and just this morning went to amazon.com to see if there was such a creature available. I heard the pastor mention "The Power of Praise," and the search turned up only this book. But the excerpt was very powerful about praising God in all situations. The opening pages tell the story of a family with a loved one with a drinking problem. He heard the author speak of there being power in praising God for even situations like this and when this man and his wife prayed praising God for the condition of this loved one, the whole situation changed. The loved one asked about Jesus and through sharing and prayer, the loved one changed.
All we can and should do is be involved in praise to the Lord. This is a week like I mentioned yesterday that didn't make sense to the folks in the crowd. On Sunday they were shouting "Hosanna!" On Monday they were asking, "Just who is this guy and why is he making us so uncomfortable?" By Thursday one of his own betrayed him, selling him out for thirty pieces of silver, and by Friday many of the same crowd were yelling, "Crucify him!" All the faithful knew to do was to be in praise. We can be involved in praise through our prayer life. We need to recognize that prayer is worship and worship done through praise brings blessings.
Can you be in praise today?
PRAYER: Lord of all life, we praise you today for this precious gift of life and the gift of this day. We don't know what may come the rest of this day but we praise You and glorify Your name. Let our praises bring a blessing to You and to Yours. We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a great day!
e.v.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
LIVING FOR JESUS!
Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Read Revelation 1:17-20. What does the Lord say in these verses about life and death? What are your fears about dying yourself? Do you have the peace and assurance that comes from the Lord Himself about resurrection for us?
In the first chapter of The Revelation of John, these verses read as follow: 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
Tradition has it that the disciple John of the original twelve, a member of the "inner circle" the ones who saw some things the other nine did not, such as the Transfiguration, was exiled to the Island of Patmos for his punishment in being a Christian. It was on a Sunday morning that caught up in the Spirit John was given a vision of what was to come and instructed to write all that he saw and thus how we got the last book in the Bible. In this first chapter the one he sees if the Lord Jesus and last having seen Him taken up in the clouds, is very afraid at seeing the Lord in this way. As happens in all the Bible whenever God allows mortals to see heavenly visions, John is told, "Do not be afraid." What follows is Jesus' short explanation of who He is in the order of things, first and last, the living one, dead but now "alive forever and ever;" holding "the keys of Death and Hades." What Jesus shares in this brief time is enough for us to recognize first, we serve a living God. Our God never dies. God sent Jesus, His only Son, to live among us, teach us, love us, die for us, rise from the dead never to die again. His message is one of life and freedom from fear. Echoing the words from the gospel of John, Jesus promised to prepare a place for us so that where He is we would be. And now John is given this privilege of seeing that very place that's under construction. Secondly, death and even Hades itself have come under new ownership, the Jesus management company. Jesus will decide who dies forever and suffers eternal separation from God. In all honesty, it is us who decide to accept or reject all that God offers. Many ask, "How can a loving God send us to hell?" And the answer is simple, it isn't God who sends us there, it is us choosing to live a life that rejects God's love and we live apart from God during this lifetime, so being separated eternally from God shouldn't come as a surprise to us.
Concerning your thoughts on death and dying, we admit it is not a topic of choice. It took Nellie and I many years before we were comfortable talking to our daughters about our deaths. And they were not ready to hear that. My parents bought a funeral policy in their fifties and prepared for the funeral in that way. Christ allowed a peace for us to talk to each other about this part of life and then to talk to our daughters in the same way. Death is a part of life, not something to be hated or undesired. Some deaths caused by accidents or disease earlier in the life of the one who dies do anger and confuse us, but we just add those to the list of things that we don't understand here but one day will.
It is during thoughts of this nature that we trust again in Christ Jesus and all that he shared. Read again John 11 and then John 14. Hear for the first time or for the millionth time letting them sink in about how Jesus is the resurrection and the life, about how He is going to the Father so that one day we can be there as well. And pray believing those words so that they become a part of who we are now and who we will one day be in that glorious place.
PRAYER: God of life, speak living words to us today in all that we say, think and do. Let the words of Your son Jesus be those who impart comfort and peace and the assurance we need to journey on with you. Let our living be Christ Jesus every day and our dying to be a victory. We pray in the One who never dies, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Read Revelation 1:17-20. What does the Lord say in these verses about life and death? What are your fears about dying yourself? Do you have the peace and assurance that comes from the Lord Himself about resurrection for us?
In the first chapter of The Revelation of John, these verses read as follow: 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
Tradition has it that the disciple John of the original twelve, a member of the "inner circle" the ones who saw some things the other nine did not, such as the Transfiguration, was exiled to the Island of Patmos for his punishment in being a Christian. It was on a Sunday morning that caught up in the Spirit John was given a vision of what was to come and instructed to write all that he saw and thus how we got the last book in the Bible. In this first chapter the one he sees if the Lord Jesus and last having seen Him taken up in the clouds, is very afraid at seeing the Lord in this way. As happens in all the Bible whenever God allows mortals to see heavenly visions, John is told, "Do not be afraid." What follows is Jesus' short explanation of who He is in the order of things, first and last, the living one, dead but now "alive forever and ever;" holding "the keys of Death and Hades." What Jesus shares in this brief time is enough for us to recognize first, we serve a living God. Our God never dies. God sent Jesus, His only Son, to live among us, teach us, love us, die for us, rise from the dead never to die again. His message is one of life and freedom from fear. Echoing the words from the gospel of John, Jesus promised to prepare a place for us so that where He is we would be. And now John is given this privilege of seeing that very place that's under construction. Secondly, death and even Hades itself have come under new ownership, the Jesus management company. Jesus will decide who dies forever and suffers eternal separation from God. In all honesty, it is us who decide to accept or reject all that God offers. Many ask, "How can a loving God send us to hell?" And the answer is simple, it isn't God who sends us there, it is us choosing to live a life that rejects God's love and we live apart from God during this lifetime, so being separated eternally from God shouldn't come as a surprise to us.
Concerning your thoughts on death and dying, we admit it is not a topic of choice. It took Nellie and I many years before we were comfortable talking to our daughters about our deaths. And they were not ready to hear that. My parents bought a funeral policy in their fifties and prepared for the funeral in that way. Christ allowed a peace for us to talk to each other about this part of life and then to talk to our daughters in the same way. Death is a part of life, not something to be hated or undesired. Some deaths caused by accidents or disease earlier in the life of the one who dies do anger and confuse us, but we just add those to the list of things that we don't understand here but one day will.
It is during thoughts of this nature that we trust again in Christ Jesus and all that he shared. Read again John 11 and then John 14. Hear for the first time or for the millionth time letting them sink in about how Jesus is the resurrection and the life, about how He is going to the Father so that one day we can be there as well. And pray believing those words so that they become a part of who we are now and who we will one day be in that glorious place.
PRAYER: God of life, speak living words to us today in all that we say, think and do. Let the words of Your son Jesus be those who impart comfort and peace and the assurance we need to journey on with you. Let our living be Christ Jesus every day and our dying to be a victory. We pray in the One who never dies, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Monday, March 14, 2005
PREACHING TO BONES
Good day dear friends. Greetings from Dallas where we are touring universities in the area as next year sees our little one graduate from high school and she's off to college! Pray for us! ;)
Tuesday: The idea that bones could live again is not as important as these bones coming to know the Lord. Being a “bone” means being furthest away from God or completely spiritually dead. Wouldn’t you think the assignment to preach to bones is quite a difficult one? What would you do?
The biblical theme seems similar to all prophets. Speak the word of the Lord to those who need it but don't want it. Reread the call of almost all of the prophets and you'll see the assignments the prophets get are the ones that are not known for their ease. All of these were to preach to people who would react angrily towards any word from God. Yet, it was the prophet that God used to preach the word needed to bring the people back into relationship. It would be Jesus sent as the Son of the Most High to come and invite us all into relationship.
Ezekiel finds this spiritual vision of the valley of dry bones as a bit unusual, but is obedient even in this setting. And like all the prophets, those who are obedient and preach as directed, see the results that God promised when He first called. The idea is that even when it seems like there is no hope or life left, God has other ideas and all the power to restore.
The thing to do is to be obedient and open to the calling of the Lord. Share in those situations where you feel led to do so. Don't hesitate or try to reason out what YOU think is possible. Be obedient to God's leading.
PRAYER: Lead us oh God to new levels of obedience. Use us in any and all situations were we can best serve. This is our prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Tuesday: The idea that bones could live again is not as important as these bones coming to know the Lord. Being a “bone” means being furthest away from God or completely spiritually dead. Wouldn’t you think the assignment to preach to bones is quite a difficult one? What would you do?
The biblical theme seems similar to all prophets. Speak the word of the Lord to those who need it but don't want it. Reread the call of almost all of the prophets and you'll see the assignments the prophets get are the ones that are not known for their ease. All of these were to preach to people who would react angrily towards any word from God. Yet, it was the prophet that God used to preach the word needed to bring the people back into relationship. It would be Jesus sent as the Son of the Most High to come and invite us all into relationship.
Ezekiel finds this spiritual vision of the valley of dry bones as a bit unusual, but is obedient even in this setting. And like all the prophets, those who are obedient and preach as directed, see the results that God promised when He first called. The idea is that even when it seems like there is no hope or life left, God has other ideas and all the power to restore.
The thing to do is to be obedient and open to the calling of the Lord. Share in those situations where you feel led to do so. Don't hesitate or try to reason out what YOU think is possible. Be obedient to God's leading.
PRAYER: Lead us oh God to new levels of obedience. Use us in any and all situations were we can best serve. This is our prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
"DEM BONES!"
Good day dear friends. Blessings to all of you. We lift up in prayer our sister Robin Brown who suffered a setback in her recovery from a stroke and she is in BAMC in San Antonio awaiting results of tests and MRIs.
Yesterday, I preached a sermon on Ezekiel 37 the famous "Valley of Dry Bones" passage and tied into it the idea that even in the midst of what seems final, God can bring in His sweetness of hope. Those who were present yesterday "tasted" that the Lord is good. Our thanks to the late arrival of lollipops we were going to hand out to our guests at our first Carnival for Christ.
Here's out study guide for today:
Monday: The idea in Ezekiel of “bones” is to show the finality of what was once a living being. Read Genesis 50:25 and read the vow required by someone regarding his bones. Then read Exodus 13:19 and see what happened to this oath.
Here is the Genesis 50 passage: "So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, 'When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.'" Here Joseph is asking for his final resting place to not be in Egypt but in the land promised to them by God. Even in death Joseph holds hope even for his remains.
Then we read in Exodus 13:19 "And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here." So, it was Moses who leads the Israelites "home" to the promised land that carries with him the bones of Joseph.
The passage of Ezekiel is not so much about bones as it is the notion that God can still work with what we may think is hopeless. Even with nothing but bones left God can come in and make new what we thought was dead. The Psalmist knew those experiences as those when we can say, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
Most of us could care less about what happens to our bones. But we should care about how we're letting God work in our bones while still functioning and living. Even if we're facing disease or decay due to aging, God is not through with us, we say, "We taste and we see that the Lord is good."
PRAYER: Come, Lord God and work even in the midst of this valley we're in. Come into those times we see as hopeless and bring new life, a life of hope and joy and peace. Bless those lives where bitterness or despair has set in and bring Your sweetness. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Yesterday, I preached a sermon on Ezekiel 37 the famous "Valley of Dry Bones" passage and tied into it the idea that even in the midst of what seems final, God can bring in His sweetness of hope. Those who were present yesterday "tasted" that the Lord is good. Our thanks to the late arrival of lollipops we were going to hand out to our guests at our first Carnival for Christ.
Here's out study guide for today:
Monday: The idea in Ezekiel of “bones” is to show the finality of what was once a living being. Read Genesis 50:25 and read the vow required by someone regarding his bones. Then read Exodus 13:19 and see what happened to this oath.
Here is the Genesis 50 passage: "So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, 'When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.'" Here Joseph is asking for his final resting place to not be in Egypt but in the land promised to them by God. Even in death Joseph holds hope even for his remains.
Then we read in Exodus 13:19 "And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here." So, it was Moses who leads the Israelites "home" to the promised land that carries with him the bones of Joseph.
The passage of Ezekiel is not so much about bones as it is the notion that God can still work with what we may think is hopeless. Even with nothing but bones left God can come in and make new what we thought was dead. The Psalmist knew those experiences as those when we can say, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
Most of us could care less about what happens to our bones. But we should care about how we're letting God work in our bones while still functioning and living. Even if we're facing disease or decay due to aging, God is not through with us, we say, "We taste and we see that the Lord is good."
PRAYER: Come, Lord God and work even in the midst of this valley we're in. Come into those times we see as hopeless and bring new life, a life of hope and joy and peace. Bless those lives where bitterness or despair has set in and bring Your sweetness. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
"DEM BONES!"
Good day dear friends. Blessings to all of you. We lift up in prayer our sister Robin Brown who suffered a setback in her recovery from a stroke and she is in BAMC in San Antonio awaiting results of tests and MRIs.
Yesterday, I preached a sermon on Ezekiel 37 the famous "Valley of Dry Bones" passage and tied into it the idea that even in the midst of what seems final, God can bring in His sweetness of hope. Those who were present yesterday "tasted" that the Lord is good. Our thanks to the late arrival of lollipops we were going to hand out to our guests at our first Carnival for Christ.
Here's out study guide for today:
Monday: The idea in Ezekiel of “bones” is to show the finality of what was once a living being. Read Genesis 50:25 and read the vow required by someone regarding his bones. Then read Exodus 13:19 and see what happened to this oath.
Here is the Genesis 50 passage: "So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, 'When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.'" Here Joseph is asking for his final resting place to not be in Egypt but in the land promised to them by God. Even in death Joseph holds hope even for his remains.
Then we read in Exodus 13:19 "And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here." So, it was Moses who leads the Israelites "home" to the promised land that carries with him the bones of Joseph.
The passage of Ezekiel is not so much about bones as it is the notion that God can still work with what we may think is hopeless. Even with nothing but bones left God can come in and make new what we thought was dead. The Psalmist knew those experiences as those when we can say, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
Most of us could care less about what happens to our bones. But we should care about how we're letting God work in our bones while still functioning and living. Even if we're facing disease or decay due to aging, God is not through with us, we say, "We taste and we see that the Lord is good."
PRAYER: Come, Lord God and work even in the midst of this valley we're in. Come into those times we see as hopeless and bring new life, a life of hope and joy and peace. Bless those lives where bitterness or despair has set in and bring Your sweetness. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Yesterday, I preached a sermon on Ezekiel 37 the famous "Valley of Dry Bones" passage and tied into it the idea that even in the midst of what seems final, God can bring in His sweetness of hope. Those who were present yesterday "tasted" that the Lord is good. Our thanks to the late arrival of lollipops we were going to hand out to our guests at our first Carnival for Christ.
Here's out study guide for today:
Monday: The idea in Ezekiel of “bones” is to show the finality of what was once a living being. Read Genesis 50:25 and read the vow required by someone regarding his bones. Then read Exodus 13:19 and see what happened to this oath.
Here is the Genesis 50 passage: "So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, 'When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.'" Here Joseph is asking for his final resting place to not be in Egypt but in the land promised to them by God. Even in death Joseph holds hope even for his remains.
Then we read in Exodus 13:19 "And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here." So, it was Moses who leads the Israelites "home" to the promised land that carries with him the bones of Joseph.
The passage of Ezekiel is not so much about bones as it is the notion that God can still work with what we may think is hopeless. Even with nothing but bones left God can come in and make new what we thought was dead. The Psalmist knew those experiences as those when we can say, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
Most of us could care less about what happens to our bones. But we should care about how we're letting God work in our bones while still functioning and living. Even if we're facing disease or decay due to aging, God is not through with us, we say, "We taste and we see that the Lord is good."
PRAYER: Come, Lord God and work even in the midst of this valley we're in. Come into those times we see as hopeless and bring new life, a life of hope and joy and peace. Bless those lives where bitterness or despair has set in and bring Your sweetness. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Friday, March 11, 2005
A DAY ON THE TRAIN
For Christmas this year Nellie, our oldest, gave her mom and I a train ride. She is aware that after having conquered my childhood fears of late night car switching on the roundhouse near our home in Kingsville, I came to love trains though havent' ridden on them like I would like. The greatest adventure to date had been riding Amtrak from San Antonio to New Orleans in 1986. They had a great sale on tickets that year. If you bought one adult ticket the next adult was half-price and the same for children's tickets and thus our being able to afford this trip. The only catch was leaving early morning. Dear friends, John and Sara Reynolds came to visit and we were more than glad to welcome them but we said, "We even hate to tell you this but we're leaving at 2 a.m. on the train, our travel agent is supposed to come pick us up but if he doesn't, would you mind.....?" And like the very dear friends they are, they did. We had a frigid time on the train at that hour and all the way to NO in July. So, coming back to this Christmas, it was in early January, on a nice cool, almost cold Saturday, that yours truly and bride boarded the Hill Country Flyer, an all-volunteer train that the Austin Steam Train Association operates from Cedar Park to Burnet, Texas. You can board at 9:30 and the train leaves promptly at ten a.m. Off we went in a car that our daughter had warned us, "has no air conditioning or heat, so wear a coat!" We did. It was great fun!
One of the volunteers is a man who loves people and enjoys time with them. We didn't know it at the time but Maurice goes between cars and entertains with first a drawing of a sketch of the train by Pulitzer Prize winner Ben Sargent; tickets are given to everyone and a drawing is held later on. Maurice then shared some trivia as did Forrest, our car attendant, and for the two hours we were on the train going up to Burnet it was nonstop fun. Once in Burnet everyone has two and a half hours to eat lunch and get to know the city. With our luck the city decided to replace some main water lines and most of the shops and cafes were closed due to lack of water. Nellie and I walked to the catfish parlor and had some delicious fish, then walked to find out what the city of Burnet had to offer. It's during this lunch hour that citizens of Burnet and the lower ticket holders can board the "luxury" cars and see how the other half lives. These cars are a Pullman and a dining car. The train also features a concession car and on this particular day the hot coffee and hot chocolate were best sellers for the folks in the cheaper cars!
I told Maurice that I had had a greatgrandfather who was an engineer on a line from Rio Grande City to Mission. My grandmother told me how she rode that train every morning to school. My grandfather, and both of these are paternal, was an employee of Missouri Pacific lines, and his job was to cut down the mesquite and brush between San Antonio and the Valley. He would kill rattlesnakes with his Caterpiller tractor and bring their rattles to me on a regular basis. Railroading is my blood.
Maurice informed me that anyone can volunteer to work on the train and my first question was if I could ever work my way "up" to being an engineer. He said that yes, first I had to put in 200 hours as a car attendant, and work up from there. I filled out an application and I was on my way. Several emails and a couple of phone calls to me I was finally scheduled for my first run as an assistant car attendant for my "T1." That was last Saturday. I'll back up a bit to say that I received an email informing me of an upcoming Rules class. I thought, hmm, one that explains rules of how to attend cars, answer questions about the history of the association and the like, so I signed up. I showed up to the waiting room of a doctor's office in far North Austin. Those chairs and the atmosphere are not the most conducive to study. One reads magazines in those chairs in hopes of a brief stay when precisely at the scheduled appoint time the door opens and the doctor himself/herself invites us in! Yeah, and airlines never lose luggage. Well, I settled in, best as I could and asked the guys gathering there, "How long does this class take?" "All day!" they responded, like duh! And two retired railroad engineers begin talking about rules and operating procedures for the railroad. I learned a lot, the most notable that on every train the conductor runs the show. And for eight hours I sat in this doctor's waiting room (just like most visits! ;) listening to rules and procedures and then realized, there is a test coming isn't there? Yes, I was told and one had to score at least an 85 to pass and be received a brakeman. Hmm. There were guys in there who had taken the course many times before. These were guys who had put in their 200 hours or so. I had just ridden the train from Cedar Park to Burnet, and yes, SA to NO, and many times on the Breckenridge Flyer around the park there in San Antonio. And once on the Zilker Park train in Austin. When three o'clock rolled around we took the test. Also in the comfort of those waiting room chairs with nothing even remotely resembling a desk to write on. And the test was 100 multiple choice or as my Kingsville science teacher used to say, "Multiple guess!" Time rolls slowly when one is exposed to something completely new but I thank God that I scored an 85 and received my Student Brakeman certificate.
Saturday, March 5th, very early in the morning I drove from San Marcos to Cedar Park. I didn't leave as early as I had intended and I had left my Rules and Timetable (required to be onboard with us at all times! And I needed to buy a backpack, white shirt, black slacks!) at the church so I drove there and off I went. It was delightful! I love people and children and I had a great time with Forrest and Maurice. There is so much to do one hardly notices that the train now in the yard is now moving towards the station and soon folks are boarding. Our special guests were from a retirement home and those ladies had a time getting on and off board! But they laughed and laughed and shared their delight with me. On each face I tried to imagine each as a little girl riding on that train with Daddy and Mommy. The same smiles of joy were still on those faces so many years later. I wondered if they had ever kissed their husbands goodbye as the hubbys left for war on trains just like these or if they waited anxiously onboard as the train pulled into the station where grandma and grandpa were waiting for their summer visit.
I may be a volunteer on a rolling museum but it's one filled with life. There were grandpas with grandsons riding together. There were families with small children enjoying their first train ride. There was a couple in our car celebrating their anniversary in a unique way; in the other car an older couple remembering their honeymoon on a train. Maurice is good! He knows now that on every ride there is at least one couple and so he provides an anniversary card for all the crew to sign and he presents it to them. Maurice is a rapper! He makes all who wear "ball caps" to turn them around and he raps the birthday rap for the "children" on board who are celebrating birthdays. There was also a set of grandparents riding with their granddaughter who is terminally ill and these grandparents wanted so much to spend as much time as they could with this child. No, it was more than a rolling museum that I served on, it was a chapel of prayer on wheels. I prayed prayers of joy and thanksgiving and prayers of sadness asking God to bless and yes, heal even she who is terminally ill. For almost six hours of travel and adventure this train was a train of joy and yes, love, life is good as it is on, as the old Ojays' song, "Love Train" says, "People all over the world, join hands/Start a love train, love train."
One of the volunteers is a man who loves people and enjoys time with them. We didn't know it at the time but Maurice goes between cars and entertains with first a drawing of a sketch of the train by Pulitzer Prize winner Ben Sargent; tickets are given to everyone and a drawing is held later on. Maurice then shared some trivia as did Forrest, our car attendant, and for the two hours we were on the train going up to Burnet it was nonstop fun. Once in Burnet everyone has two and a half hours to eat lunch and get to know the city. With our luck the city decided to replace some main water lines and most of the shops and cafes were closed due to lack of water. Nellie and I walked to the catfish parlor and had some delicious fish, then walked to find out what the city of Burnet had to offer. It's during this lunch hour that citizens of Burnet and the lower ticket holders can board the "luxury" cars and see how the other half lives. These cars are a Pullman and a dining car. The train also features a concession car and on this particular day the hot coffee and hot chocolate were best sellers for the folks in the cheaper cars!
I told Maurice that I had had a greatgrandfather who was an engineer on a line from Rio Grande City to Mission. My grandmother told me how she rode that train every morning to school. My grandfather, and both of these are paternal, was an employee of Missouri Pacific lines, and his job was to cut down the mesquite and brush between San Antonio and the Valley. He would kill rattlesnakes with his Caterpiller tractor and bring their rattles to me on a regular basis. Railroading is my blood.
Maurice informed me that anyone can volunteer to work on the train and my first question was if I could ever work my way "up" to being an engineer. He said that yes, first I had to put in 200 hours as a car attendant, and work up from there. I filled out an application and I was on my way. Several emails and a couple of phone calls to me I was finally scheduled for my first run as an assistant car attendant for my "T1." That was last Saturday. I'll back up a bit to say that I received an email informing me of an upcoming Rules class. I thought, hmm, one that explains rules of how to attend cars, answer questions about the history of the association and the like, so I signed up. I showed up to the waiting room of a doctor's office in far North Austin. Those chairs and the atmosphere are not the most conducive to study. One reads magazines in those chairs in hopes of a brief stay when precisely at the scheduled appoint time the door opens and the doctor himself/herself invites us in! Yeah, and airlines never lose luggage. Well, I settled in, best as I could and asked the guys gathering there, "How long does this class take?" "All day!" they responded, like duh! And two retired railroad engineers begin talking about rules and operating procedures for the railroad. I learned a lot, the most notable that on every train the conductor runs the show. And for eight hours I sat in this doctor's waiting room (just like most visits! ;) listening to rules and procedures and then realized, there is a test coming isn't there? Yes, I was told and one had to score at least an 85 to pass and be received a brakeman. Hmm. There were guys in there who had taken the course many times before. These were guys who had put in their 200 hours or so. I had just ridden the train from Cedar Park to Burnet, and yes, SA to NO, and many times on the Breckenridge Flyer around the park there in San Antonio. And once on the Zilker Park train in Austin. When three o'clock rolled around we took the test. Also in the comfort of those waiting room chairs with nothing even remotely resembling a desk to write on. And the test was 100 multiple choice or as my Kingsville science teacher used to say, "Multiple guess!" Time rolls slowly when one is exposed to something completely new but I thank God that I scored an 85 and received my Student Brakeman certificate.
Saturday, March 5th, very early in the morning I drove from San Marcos to Cedar Park. I didn't leave as early as I had intended and I had left my Rules and Timetable (required to be onboard with us at all times! And I needed to buy a backpack, white shirt, black slacks!) at the church so I drove there and off I went. It was delightful! I love people and children and I had a great time with Forrest and Maurice. There is so much to do one hardly notices that the train now in the yard is now moving towards the station and soon folks are boarding. Our special guests were from a retirement home and those ladies had a time getting on and off board! But they laughed and laughed and shared their delight with me. On each face I tried to imagine each as a little girl riding on that train with Daddy and Mommy. The same smiles of joy were still on those faces so many years later. I wondered if they had ever kissed their husbands goodbye as the hubbys left for war on trains just like these or if they waited anxiously onboard as the train pulled into the station where grandma and grandpa were waiting for their summer visit.
I may be a volunteer on a rolling museum but it's one filled with life. There were grandpas with grandsons riding together. There were families with small children enjoying their first train ride. There was a couple in our car celebrating their anniversary in a unique way; in the other car an older couple remembering their honeymoon on a train. Maurice is good! He knows now that on every ride there is at least one couple and so he provides an anniversary card for all the crew to sign and he presents it to them. Maurice is a rapper! He makes all who wear "ball caps" to turn them around and he raps the birthday rap for the "children" on board who are celebrating birthdays. There was also a set of grandparents riding with their granddaughter who is terminally ill and these grandparents wanted so much to spend as much time as they could with this child. No, it was more than a rolling museum that I served on, it was a chapel of prayer on wheels. I prayed prayers of joy and thanksgiving and prayers of sadness asking God to bless and yes, heal even she who is terminally ill. For almost six hours of travel and adventure this train was a train of joy and yes, love, life is good as it is on, as the old Ojays' song, "Love Train" says, "People all over the world, join hands/Start a love train, love train."
IT'S ALMOST EASTER!
Standing line behind me at a convenience store yesterday on my way to the Men's League study group, the following conversation took place:
Female: "It's almost Easter! I had forgotten!"
Male with great sorrow in his voice: "Yeah, I can drink again!"
She: "Yeah, you can go crazy!"
He: "Yeah."
For many folks that's exactly what Easter means, take up again that which you gave up to become a better person. Forty days of being sober are almost over! No candy for forty days? Pig out! Look out meat market, here I come, sorry fish store, it's steak and fajitas once again!
Easter also means that folks will be sleeping at the parks reserving a place for the big family cookout. If you want to have some fun and frustration, go to Breckenridge Park anytime from Good Friday night until Easter Sunday afternoon. That afternoon is more fun as you try to drive through the park.
I'm not knocking family traditions or celebrations, but like so many holy days we're forgetting the real reason why we even celebrate them. Easter is the birthday of the Church. Jesus' resurrection from the dead brought life to the movement of disciples that lived on in the form of the Church, God's change agent on the earth. Yet, I wonder how many "Christians" want a change in their lives? Someone once said that the purpose of the church was to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Many are so comfortable with their way of life that changing it is like asking something horrible from them. Yet, it was this comfort the religious of the day that Jesus came to afflict. Their comfort was resulting in so many being afflicted. Reread the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus reaches out to the afflicted in that sermon and begins a long ministry of showing there is a better way to live.
As we wind down this spiritual prep time of Lent, take a good look at where you are and where you need to be. God stands ready with open arms.
PRAYER: God of the afflicted, speak to us in our comfort zones and call us out so that we can minister to all, the afflicted especially and also the comfortable. We praise you for the healing seen in so many of our churches and for successful surgeries that have occurred. We pray that Your Spirit continue to move through us. In Christ Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Female: "It's almost Easter! I had forgotten!"
Male with great sorrow in his voice: "Yeah, I can drink again!"
She: "Yeah, you can go crazy!"
He: "Yeah."
For many folks that's exactly what Easter means, take up again that which you gave up to become a better person. Forty days of being sober are almost over! No candy for forty days? Pig out! Look out meat market, here I come, sorry fish store, it's steak and fajitas once again!
Easter also means that folks will be sleeping at the parks reserving a place for the big family cookout. If you want to have some fun and frustration, go to Breckenridge Park anytime from Good Friday night until Easter Sunday afternoon. That afternoon is more fun as you try to drive through the park.
I'm not knocking family traditions or celebrations, but like so many holy days we're forgetting the real reason why we even celebrate them. Easter is the birthday of the Church. Jesus' resurrection from the dead brought life to the movement of disciples that lived on in the form of the Church, God's change agent on the earth. Yet, I wonder how many "Christians" want a change in their lives? Someone once said that the purpose of the church was to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Many are so comfortable with their way of life that changing it is like asking something horrible from them. Yet, it was this comfort the religious of the day that Jesus came to afflict. Their comfort was resulting in so many being afflicted. Reread the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus reaches out to the afflicted in that sermon and begins a long ministry of showing there is a better way to live.
As we wind down this spiritual prep time of Lent, take a good look at where you are and where you need to be. God stands ready with open arms.
PRAYER: God of the afflicted, speak to us in our comfort zones and call us out so that we can minister to all, the afflicted especially and also the comfortable. We praise you for the healing seen in so many of our churches and for successful surgeries that have occurred. We pray that Your Spirit continue to move through us. In Christ Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
"THERE'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING IN HERE FOR SWEETIE PIE!"
Good day dear friends. Let us be in a spirit of worship and prayer as we are aware of many great and significant needs in our midst. "Lord, bring healing and comfort, light and joy, peace and prosperity to those who are Yours. For those facing the great demands of today with little or no hope, bring to them the joy of your presence. In Christ Jesus, amen."
While having lunch yesterday in a popular restaurant, an Emmaus brother came and sat at our table and announced he had a "cute" story to share. This brother is a contractor by trade and drives a big truck and on the bed of this truck carries his dog. The day before while visiting a new customer, he drove onto their property and without warning ran over the customer's dog. The customer's wife home-schools three little boys, oldest 11, 8, and 4, who were all watching out of their picture window as this huge truck ran over their dog. The three ran out crying and this brother said he couldn't find a rock to crawl under. They brought out towels and sheets to keep the dog, "Sweetie Pie" warm and carried her gently into the living room. This brother's girlfriend told him to rush to an herbal store and bring back trauma oil to anoint the dog. He obeyed but not before seeing the youngest of the three, rush to a big Bible, hold it upside down, opening it and declaring, "There's gotta something in here for Sweetie Pie!" Thank God the story ends well with Sweetie Pie that evening running with their other dog after their owner's pickup as he went further into their property to feed horses.
Was it the trauma oil or the prayers of a four year-old child? You know my vote!
Children were important to Jesus as the Gospels proclaim. And it was in Mark 10:15 where Jesus declares, "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." It is the innocence and trust of a child that blessed Jesus and caused him to share what he shared about God's kingdom. I shared in a sermon how our married daughter in making their move from California back to Texas struggled with so many decisions and declared it was no fun growing up and wished she could have stayed "little." I'm sure you remember one or more of those times when you said, "Why am I growing up?"
It could be during those times of maturity that we may just grow up and out of faith if we're not careful. The hard knocks of life and the many difficult decisions and challenges we face may make us feel weak and vulnerable, but Jesus would say that is precisely the time we say, "Okay, Lord, here I am, where are You?" And we know He's there.
Laurie Beth Jones shares in her book, "Jesus: Life Coach" her relationship with the Lord in which, when she feels she needs Him most, the presence of a ladybug serves as a visible reminder of the invisible presence of the Lord. She relates that even during a blizzard, when one would not expect any creatures to be out and about, as she rushed to enter in a rental car, there was a ladybug on the keyhole of the car.
I pray that our relationship with the Lord would reassure us today if not right now, that we are loved. We belong to Him and He's right here with us as we face the challenges of today.
PRAYER: Speak to our hearts right now, dear Lord. Let us quit being stubborn and too "mature" to be awed by the signs all around us of Your presence and power. We pray in Thy name, amen.
Have a blessed day,
e.v.
While having lunch yesterday in a popular restaurant, an Emmaus brother came and sat at our table and announced he had a "cute" story to share. This brother is a contractor by trade and drives a big truck and on the bed of this truck carries his dog. The day before while visiting a new customer, he drove onto their property and without warning ran over the customer's dog. The customer's wife home-schools three little boys, oldest 11, 8, and 4, who were all watching out of their picture window as this huge truck ran over their dog. The three ran out crying and this brother said he couldn't find a rock to crawl under. They brought out towels and sheets to keep the dog, "Sweetie Pie" warm and carried her gently into the living room. This brother's girlfriend told him to rush to an herbal store and bring back trauma oil to anoint the dog. He obeyed but not before seeing the youngest of the three, rush to a big Bible, hold it upside down, opening it and declaring, "There's gotta something in here for Sweetie Pie!" Thank God the story ends well with Sweetie Pie that evening running with their other dog after their owner's pickup as he went further into their property to feed horses.
Was it the trauma oil or the prayers of a four year-old child? You know my vote!
Children were important to Jesus as the Gospels proclaim. And it was in Mark 10:15 where Jesus declares, "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." It is the innocence and trust of a child that blessed Jesus and caused him to share what he shared about God's kingdom. I shared in a sermon how our married daughter in making their move from California back to Texas struggled with so many decisions and declared it was no fun growing up and wished she could have stayed "little." I'm sure you remember one or more of those times when you said, "Why am I growing up?"
It could be during those times of maturity that we may just grow up and out of faith if we're not careful. The hard knocks of life and the many difficult decisions and challenges we face may make us feel weak and vulnerable, but Jesus would say that is precisely the time we say, "Okay, Lord, here I am, where are You?" And we know He's there.
Laurie Beth Jones shares in her book, "Jesus: Life Coach" her relationship with the Lord in which, when she feels she needs Him most, the presence of a ladybug serves as a visible reminder of the invisible presence of the Lord. She relates that even during a blizzard, when one would not expect any creatures to be out and about, as she rushed to enter in a rental car, there was a ladybug on the keyhole of the car.
I pray that our relationship with the Lord would reassure us today if not right now, that we are loved. We belong to Him and He's right here with us as we face the challenges of today.
PRAYER: Speak to our hearts right now, dear Lord. Let us quit being stubborn and too "mature" to be awed by the signs all around us of Your presence and power. We pray in Thy name, amen.
Have a blessed day,
e.v.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
COMPUTER WOES AND WOAHS!
Dear friends, good morning. I wrote a nice or what I hoped was a nice devotional, and computer woes sent it not the yahoogroups for distribution but who knows where. This conference year has given me more than my share of computer dilemmas. I spent eight hours on the phone with representatives of this computer company. And the problem was not resolved. "Restoring" my computer BACK to a date when it was believed this computer WAS working did NOT restore anything instead sent everything back to my saying, "Woah, this wasn't where I wanted to be today!"
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
COMPUTER WOES AND WOAHS!
Dear friends, good morning. I wrote a nice or what I hoped was a nice devotional, and computer woes sent it not the yahoogroups for distribution but who knows where. This conference year has given me more than my share of computer dilemmas. I spent eight hours on the phone with representatives of this computer company. And the problem was not resolved. "Restoring" my computer BACK to a date when it was believed this computer WAS working did NOT restore anything instead sent everything back to my saying, "Woah, this wasn't where I wanted to be today!"
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
COMPUTER WOES AND WOAHS!
Dear friends, good morning. I wrote a nice or what I hoped was a nice devotional, and computer woes sent it not the yahoogroups for distribution but who knows where. This conference year has given me more than my share of computer dilemmas. I spent eight hours on the phone with representatives of this computer company. And the problem was not resolved. "Restoring" my computer BACK to a date when it was believed this computer WAS working did NOT restore anything instead sent everything back to my saying, "Woah, this wasn't where I wanted to be today!"
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Our brother Ted Breihan has a minor surgical procedure this morning and we ask you remember him in prayer.
Sunday I preached on "Pruning Problems For Greater Growth" and started my sermon with a video clip of the first four minutes from The Wizard of Oz. I, as probably most of you, grew up with that movie. I had to confess that it would be years before I knew the movie was really in color as well as black and white. But I had never noticed that Dorothy was such a worrier! Those first few moments of the movie show a young woman who couldn't get anyone's lasting attention either because everyone was so busy or because Dorothy was always worried.
The dictionary gives one defintion of a problem as being "a source of perplexion, distress, or vexation." No one should live with that kind of source constantly spring up these things. I shared how I believed that Dorothy lived not in Kansas as many of the audience already knew, but in worry! And when you live in worry you have undesirable neighbors, such as doubt, fear and panic. You need to either move or have someone prune away these things. And pruning being a gardening thing I shared how the risen Lord was confused for being the gardener by Mary Magdalene. Coincidence? Jesus has the power to take away those things that limit our growth as believers. Jesus can prune away the source of worry so that we can move into a better neighborhood called peace.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus and prune away the source of anything that is hindering my being a better believer and servant of yours. Speak to me this day what I need to do to better serve You and yours. I pray in Thy name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Friday, March 04, 2005
PRAISE GOD FOR...
Good Friday everyone. Please be in prayer today for the many needs of the Church.
Friday: For our day of prayer, praise God for the gift of marriage. Pray for all the married couples of our church. Pray for blessing upon blessing to the newlyweds. Pray for those who have recently lost spouses that God may share with them His blessings. Pray for you and your needs. Pray that the Church may continue to provide that which blesses God’s Kingdom.
See you in Church! Pastor Rob will be preaching both traditional services and I will preach at the 11 a.m. Contemporary service this coming Sunday.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Friday: For our day of prayer, praise God for the gift of marriage. Pray for all the married couples of our church. Pray for blessing upon blessing to the newlyweds. Pray for those who have recently lost spouses that God may share with them His blessings. Pray for you and your needs. Pray that the Church may continue to provide that which blesses God’s Kingdom.
See you in Church! Pastor Rob will be preaching both traditional services and I will preach at the 11 a.m. Contemporary service this coming Sunday.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
WIVES SUBMIT! TRUE OR FALSE?
Good day dear friends. Men, don't forget our noon Lenten luncheon class, today in Room 129. We start at about 12:10 and end at 12:50.
Reports in: Dee Dee Murdoch's surgery went well, now four days in the hospital then home. Ed Teeter is having surgery today in Austin.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Read Ephesians 5:22-33. What is your honest reaction to those words found there? Can you make these words apply to your situation in 2005? Why or why not?
Here is that classic passage in the New Revised Standard Version:
22 Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. 24 Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, 27 so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. 33 Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
Ah, submission, that controversial Baptist issue. The classic language does bother many. Read it from Eugene Peterson's eyes now. Dr. Peterson wrote his own version of The Bible called The Message. The first editions were in novel form with no chapter and verse divisions to confuse first-time readers. But here is that same passage in this newer language. Not everyone will agree with it, but read it nonetheless:
22. Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. 23 The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. 24 So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. 25 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church - a love marked by giving, not getting. 26 Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, 27 dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. 28 And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor - since they're already "one" in marriage. 29 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, 30 since we are part of his body. 31 And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." 32 This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. 33 And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
Quite a difference, no? It's quite refreshing and more to a modern understanding. Enriching your marriage is not about who controls who, but how together the two can best serve God. Marriage is a ministry and both partners should be ministers one to the other, together ministers to their children and as a family ministers to the world. So, as most ministers do, begin, live, and end your day with prayer.
PRAYER: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of marriage. We thank you for the love that fuels our relationships and we pray that we would take seriously our role as ministers to our spouses, our children, and the world. Use us after enabling us to do this for all. We pray in Christ Jesus' day. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
Reports in: Dee Dee Murdoch's surgery went well, now four days in the hospital then home. Ed Teeter is having surgery today in Austin.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Read Ephesians 5:22-33. What is your honest reaction to those words found there? Can you make these words apply to your situation in 2005? Why or why not?
Here is that classic passage in the New Revised Standard Version:
22 Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. 24 Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, 27 so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. 33 Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
Ah, submission, that controversial Baptist issue. The classic language does bother many. Read it from Eugene Peterson's eyes now. Dr. Peterson wrote his own version of The Bible called The Message. The first editions were in novel form with no chapter and verse divisions to confuse first-time readers. But here is that same passage in this newer language. Not everyone will agree with it, but read it nonetheless:
22. Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. 23 The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. 24 So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. 25 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church - a love marked by giving, not getting. 26 Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, 27 dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. 28 And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor - since they're already "one" in marriage. 29 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, 30 since we are part of his body. 31 And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." 32 This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. 33 And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
Quite a difference, no? It's quite refreshing and more to a modern understanding. Enriching your marriage is not about who controls who, but how together the two can best serve God. Marriage is a ministry and both partners should be ministers one to the other, together ministers to their children and as a family ministers to the world. So, as most ministers do, begin, live, and end your day with prayer.
PRAYER: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of marriage. We thank you for the love that fuels our relationships and we pray that we would take seriously our role as ministers to our spouses, our children, and the world. Use us after enabling us to do this for all. We pray in Christ Jesus' day. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
JESUS GRACES ALL MARRIAGES, IF INVITED!
Good day dear friends. Please begin your day in prayer for the needs of the church, including Margaret Hall, one of out shut-ins who suffered a fall and is need of surgery but doctors don't believe she could survive one, yet she wants the operation. Margaret was the church secretary at Junction for 42 years.
Rejoice in welcoming our newest seven members! At last Sunday's Coffee with the Pastor, seven folks came forward to join and we rejoice with in welcoming them into our church family. For those keeping count, this makes 14 new members in two months! Praise God.
Rejoice with Mike Callihan, who TODAY begins employment with a construction company in Wimberley. As most of you know this is an answered prayer that comes after a long time of praying for the Lord to bless Mike with a job. Congratulations Mike and blessing in this new job.
Tuesday: John 2 relates the story of Jesus going to Cana of Galilee with his disciples. A very important family member of Jesus’ was also there. What did this person ask of Jesus? Why do you suppose this story is included in our Marriage ceremony?
In seeing the back of our sermon notes guide, I saw where I included the word to the song, "I Love You Truly." I didn't mention why so I'll do that now. As a boy growing up whenever the discussion in our family conversations would turn to someone getting married, my mom would sing the first verses. She never explained where she had heard the song or if indeed it was a wedding song, but I remember watching All in The Family, and this was not a show that I would seek to watch, someone else in my family had apparently left the channel on it, and for a wedding scene Edith Bunker sings the song. I laughed and said okay.
What songs do you think about when the thought about marriage comes into your mind or heart? As a pastor I think about those LONG songs some couples choose to have sung as they've been prayed for and they're kneeling and I'm standing. At that point in the service my knees say, "Isn't it about time you knelt or sat down??" I think of The Wedding Song is I believe in is the Guiness Book of World Records for being the Longest Wedding Song Ever Sung. (And couples, don't mind the rantings of this old man, you're free to select with me, whatever song you want sung!) I'm thankful MacArthur Park doesn't qualify as a wedding song (or does it? Something about a cake being left in the rain doesn't sound too matrimonial!)
Our UM Service of Marriage does include a reference to the wedding at Cana of Galilee. The line says that Jesus "graced" this wedding. It comes from John 2. Here is The Message version of those 11 verses from John 2:
1 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples were guests also. 3 When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, "They're just about out of wine." 4 Jesus said, "Is that any of our business, Mother - yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me." 5 She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it." 6 Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus ordered the servants, "Fill the pots with water." And they filled them to the brim. 8 "Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did. 9 When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, 10 "Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!" 11 This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
The wedding ceremony reminds us that Jesus' very presence at such an event is a wonderful thing. In this case, it was the occasion for Jesus to perform the first of his many miracles. And if invited, at all weddings, Jesus can continue to perform many miracles in the day to day life of this couple. Sunday I shared how marriage is a journey of perserverence. The wedding vows prepare us for that, remember the lines, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health"? The promise we make to God is one of thanksgiving, God, you've given us each other and we don't know what tomorrow holds, but do hold us! As the good and bad come, stay with us and help us to overcome all things in a way that shows that You're with us!
Sadly, many couples give up with any little excuse. Usually it is about money. And when worries about money are stronger than faith in God, then the marriage may fail. Enriching your marriage means trusting God more than we trust ourselves and our pocketbooks and whatever else may be stressing us.
The family member who was with Jesus at this wedding was his mother. It was she who told Jesus that the wine had run out and that he should do something about it. The above version is a bit harsher than we're used to, but Jesus wasn't pleased that his mother did "push" him to do this miracle, but he does comply and a miracle occurs.
Is Jesus invited to your marriage? He may have been at your wedding as the clever church signs says, "LOVED THE WEDDING, INVITE ME TO THE MARRIAGE." His presence is that which truly enriches all marriages when invited and trusted and made a part.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus to our marriage. Enter in as Lord and Savior and share with us Your grace and peace. Enrich our minds, bodies and spirits we pray in Your name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
Rejoice in welcoming our newest seven members! At last Sunday's Coffee with the Pastor, seven folks came forward to join and we rejoice with in welcoming them into our church family. For those keeping count, this makes 14 new members in two months! Praise God.
Rejoice with Mike Callihan, who TODAY begins employment with a construction company in Wimberley. As most of you know this is an answered prayer that comes after a long time of praying for the Lord to bless Mike with a job. Congratulations Mike and blessing in this new job.
Tuesday: John 2 relates the story of Jesus going to Cana of Galilee with his disciples. A very important family member of Jesus’ was also there. What did this person ask of Jesus? Why do you suppose this story is included in our Marriage ceremony?
In seeing the back of our sermon notes guide, I saw where I included the word to the song, "I Love You Truly." I didn't mention why so I'll do that now. As a boy growing up whenever the discussion in our family conversations would turn to someone getting married, my mom would sing the first verses. She never explained where she had heard the song or if indeed it was a wedding song, but I remember watching All in The Family, and this was not a show that I would seek to watch, someone else in my family had apparently left the channel on it, and for a wedding scene Edith Bunker sings the song. I laughed and said okay.
What songs do you think about when the thought about marriage comes into your mind or heart? As a pastor I think about those LONG songs some couples choose to have sung as they've been prayed for and they're kneeling and I'm standing. At that point in the service my knees say, "Isn't it about time you knelt or sat down??" I think of The Wedding Song is I believe in is the Guiness Book of World Records for being the Longest Wedding Song Ever Sung. (And couples, don't mind the rantings of this old man, you're free to select with me, whatever song you want sung!) I'm thankful MacArthur Park doesn't qualify as a wedding song (or does it? Something about a cake being left in the rain doesn't sound too matrimonial!)
Our UM Service of Marriage does include a reference to the wedding at Cana of Galilee. The line says that Jesus "graced" this wedding. It comes from John 2. Here is The Message version of those 11 verses from John 2:
1 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples were guests also. 3 When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, "They're just about out of wine." 4 Jesus said, "Is that any of our business, Mother - yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me." 5 She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it." 6 Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus ordered the servants, "Fill the pots with water." And they filled them to the brim. 8 "Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did. 9 When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, 10 "Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!" 11 This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
The wedding ceremony reminds us that Jesus' very presence at such an event is a wonderful thing. In this case, it was the occasion for Jesus to perform the first of his many miracles. And if invited, at all weddings, Jesus can continue to perform many miracles in the day to day life of this couple. Sunday I shared how marriage is a journey of perserverence. The wedding vows prepare us for that, remember the lines, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health"? The promise we make to God is one of thanksgiving, God, you've given us each other and we don't know what tomorrow holds, but do hold us! As the good and bad come, stay with us and help us to overcome all things in a way that shows that You're with us!
Sadly, many couples give up with any little excuse. Usually it is about money. And when worries about money are stronger than faith in God, then the marriage may fail. Enriching your marriage means trusting God more than we trust ourselves and our pocketbooks and whatever else may be stressing us.
The family member who was with Jesus at this wedding was his mother. It was she who told Jesus that the wine had run out and that he should do something about it. The above version is a bit harsher than we're used to, but Jesus wasn't pleased that his mother did "push" him to do this miracle, but he does comply and a miracle occurs.
Is Jesus invited to your marriage? He may have been at your wedding as the clever church signs says, "LOVED THE WEDDING, INVITE ME TO THE MARRIAGE." His presence is that which truly enriches all marriages when invited and trusted and made a part.
PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus to our marriage. Enter in as Lord and Savior and share with us Your grace and peace. Enrich our minds, bodies and spirits we pray in Your name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
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