Pastor’s Blog
Backseat Faith: Luke 18:1-8
It’s natural to get discouraged. We live in a culture that practically demands that we be happy. Like, what’s wrong with you if you aren’t? See all those pictures of your friends that show how happy they are? Now, snap out of it!
Tell the Truth: John 9:17
You may feel some anxiety from time to time when you encounter people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ. Even if you yourself follow Jesus Christ, if you believe the Bible’s good news about him, that he died to take the responsibility and guilt of your sins so that you could be exonerated before God—if you believe in Jesus for that, you still might get anxious when others do not.
Test Answers: Genesis 22:1, 8, 14
In my high school, all the teachers always “reviewed” for the test the day before we took the test. That practice really lightened my testing anxiety. I felt confident as I studied and as I took the test because the teachers had provided all the answers and formulae in advance.
In Genesis 22, Abraham (now over 100 years old) was being tested by God. At 100+ years, you’d think he wouldn’t need any more tests, but instead, he was to face his greatest test yet. God told him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, for whom he and his wife Sarah had waited for decades.
Unknown Territory: Psalm 139:9-10
What place on this planet seems the most foreign to you? Would you be most out of place in the big city or out in the solitude of the mountains, forests, or deserts of the world?
Psalm 139:9-10 says, “If I take the wings of the morning” —that means going east— “and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (ESV).
Conscience: Psalm 103:13-14
Thank God for the conscience! It's like the moral pain center. Without the experience of pain, which no one likes, we'd get hurt worse and worse. The saying in the gym is, "If it hurts, stop." And without the conscience, we'd go deeper and deeper into sin until consequences became irrevocable.
The Fight: Psalms 57 & 142
When David was on the run, hiding to save his life, he wrote two psalms about living in caves. During that period, sometimes he felt hopeful and encouraged (Psalm 57), and at other times he felt hopeless and discouraged (Psalm 142). In both, he is up and down, fighting for faith.
Escape: Psalm 59:9, 17
Have you ever had a dream where you were being chased? There’s that sense of dire straits, of peril and intensity because "they" are out to get you, and they are coming fast! Thank God, that's just a dream. Imagine being on the run for your life!
Honesty: Psalms 57 & 142
In order to escape King Saul's jealous, murderous rage, David, though innocent, had to run for his life. He soon found himself a wanderer, a nomad, looking for any safe place that might provide protection for a little while. During that time, he found a cave to live in, and he wrote two psalms while living there. Psalm 57 is very hopeful. Psalm 142 is discouraged, fighting for hope.
Flashlight: Matthew 5:14-16
I got a flashlight for Christmas when I was little. My parents knew I liked to read long after bedtime, and they were okay with that. So they bought me a simple red Eveready flashlight. I actually looked forward to the dark hours after my brother fell asleep. I even looked forward to going to bed.
Later in life, I was a camp counselor, and we had "Night Games" planned in the woods for the campers: tag, capture the flag, that sort of thing. So I bought a really nice flashlight, black steel, bright lamp, more batteries required. Once again, I looked forward to the darker hours so I could use that flashlight.
Back and Forth: Psalms 57 & 142
Some people like to go spelunking, i.e. cave exploring. The helmets with the lights on them. The ropes and harnesses. That's going into caves for fun, but imagine if you had to live in one. That'd include a sleeping bag on a hard floor. Drip-drip-dripping. Bats, maybe. And now imagine that you have to live in one because you are on the run for your life. That'd include fearfulness to be seen outside the cave. Missing the friends and family you used to see all the time.
Redirection: Mark 9:6-7
There's a joke used in movies and sitcoms sometimes of the jaded teacher's lounge: a sad, dim place filled with tired adults smoking and ignoring the kids. The kids are up to their shenanigans, and the teachers either yell or ignore them. No energy to attempt patient redirection anymore. There's another joke used sometimes about the bright-eyed, eager young teacher who thinks he or she can change the world. Both stereotypes are often played against one another. The kids have worn down teacher after teacher, and they'll get this next one eventually too..., or will they?
Widow-Sized: Mark 12:41-44
Comparison can kill your joy. Some people feel inadequate, not because they can’t give or do, but they can’t do it as well as someone else. Social media, promotional videos at church or work, an uber-talented person you know, even how you used to be able to give or do—these can sometimes be discouraging if we are living by comparison. And that can lead to rivalry, pride, disparagement, dissatisfaction, and giving up. We have to find a better way.
Higher Thoughts: Isaiah 55:8-9
At a funeral, I experienced a profound moment of clarity to start my year. A husband and wife had died within a month of each other, on the cusp of retirement, and both of them were being remembered at the calling and service I was attending that afternoon.
In the calling line, I greeted the mother of the deceased, who was 90 years old. She was small, frail, usually seated, with eyes as bright as they were when she was 9. She took my hand, patted it, and said, “We don’t teach Him. He doesn’t need my help. This is just how it should be.”
All Things Well: Mark 7:37
There's a bookstore in the college town where my daughter lives that sells the best puzzles. I buy one for my wife from time to time. They hold together even when you pick them up vertically. They are well-made puzzles.
Sometimes I feel like a poorly made human being, or perhaps another way to put it is that sometimes I feel like a well-made puzzle. Sometimes I just cannot figure myself out. What's wrong? Why do I feel like this? I don't know. It's a puzzle.
No Lack: Psalm 23:1
God claims to be a shepherd. He designed sheep in his creation to be looked after by a human being. Nobody has said, "You know, God is kinda like a shepherd," hoping their analogy is pretty accurate. Rather, God himself has said, "What you see in a good shepherd doing his job, see that in me."
And it's a metaphor of course. We don't need green pastures or still waters or a comforting rod and staff. Rather, we need things like those, the providence and protection that a shepherd provides. God metaphorically leads us to green pastures and peaceful waters, metaphorically directs us through gloomy dark valleys inhabited by jackals and wolves.
Christmas Names: Matthew 1
Some people have a Christmas card list a mile long. Name after name of people they know, love, and care about.
In Matthew 1, the Christmas story starts with a list of names. That chapter, in fact, is all about names: First, there’s the long genealogy, then the name Jesus, then the name Immanuel.