tested

Hebrews 2:18
" Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested."

Look into any other religion of the world, and you will not find a God who has gone as far as ours has. God came to earth as a little baby in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He grew with us, suffered the bodily ailments that come with living. He went hungry and thirsted, and he felt compassion for his children.

The God I serve is one who knows the trials and tests I am going through, because he traveled the same road. As the writer of Hebrew tells us, he is able to help us who are being tested.

We start a new year next week. There will be many tests in the months ahead, but be assured, God is there to go through the tests with you, if you but ask.

Help is right where you are.

Amen

Stones:

Matthew 3:9 "Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God if able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham' (NRSV)

Many times we look at church as our redemption, or to our parents who go to church as our redemption. It is amazing that when I ask if someone knows Jesus Christ personally and have been saved the answer I get is "Well, I go to church." That isn't what I asked.

Just going to church is not enough to escape the wrath to come, we must have a relationship with Jesus, and the only way to do that is to believe the Jesus is the risen Savior and he will wash away your sins if you ask.

I realize this is a secular blog place but for many of you who may read this in passing, seriously consider where you will spend eternity. God desires your presence at his table, not in the pit. It isn't enough to be good, or go to church, you must believe. In this season of advent, look forward to the kingdom that is coming and believe.

God's love to you all
Pastor Kent

Get Ready

Matthew 24:44 "therefore you also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour"

If you read this whole passage, it can put a scare into you, until you realize that Jesus is talking about life. He talks about how two will be working in a field and one will be taken, and the other left, or two women will be grinding and one will be taken and the other left. This is more about everyday life than about the end times.

Humans are finite beings, that means we have a beginning and an end. We don't know when that end will come, so we must always be ready for it. For the Christian, that means prayer, worship, praise, and sharing the Good News. We don't know when we will die, and we don't know when others will die, all we know is that we must spread the Good News.

The sad thing is when a friend you plan on witnessing to dies before you get a chance to share with them. That very thought should be enough to break our hearts. Christ desires for no one to be condemned, He desires for all of his children to feast at the banquet, but there will be those who will choose not to go. We do not choose for them, but we are to give them the chance to say yes or no to Christ.

During this Advent Season, let's give of our selves and share the good news, so that everyone can be prepared.

Amen
Pastor Kent

Thanks

Psalm 107:1
"Give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever"

Thanksgiving, the time of year where we stop to remember what it is we have to be thankful for. In the next couple of days, we will either be traveling, or preparing for travelers. Our families and/or friends will be coming to a feast and turkey and dressing will be abundant.

At least that is the traditional idea. For many, it will be a time of loneliness and hunger. For many it will be a hard time trying to think of something to be thankful for. For those who have lost loved ones, it will be a lonely time, for those who are sick, it will be a painful time How do we share God in times like these?

We do it by sharing of ourselves. Yes, we have family, but is it bad to open our doors to non-family? Yes we have friends, but is it bad to open our doors to new friends? We who believe, know God is good, but what of those who don't know God?

God's love endures forever, but it only shows itself through those who love their neighbor. Go and be that person.
AMEN

Don't get tired

2 Thessalonians 3:13
"Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right." (NRSV)

"We were doing that, but it didn't do any good, so we stopped". How many times have we heard this or a similar phrase? How many good programs have stopped because people got tired of not seeing results?

Successful ministry is a difficult thing to measure. Too often, the mainline denominations measure success by the number of people in the pews on Sunday, or the amount of money in the coffers, but is that the true idea of Christian success? I wonder.

Churches are responsible for doing good things, and this does not stop just because the church did not get a pat on the back. We are called by Christ to love our neighbor and therebye are called to do everything we can to share that love. Getting tired and being retired is not an excuse. If we call ourselves Christian, then we are to run the race in full, not just halfway.

A baseball coach tells the players to run hard all the way to the base, because there is no guarantee that the baseman will catch the ball. God calls us to run and work hard all the way, because this world needs to hear the Good News, and there is a lot of work to do.

Don't get tired and keep on going until you hear the master say "Well Done!"
Amen

Good Paths

Jeremiah 6:16
"... stand by the roadways and look. Ask about the ancient paths: Which is the way to what is good? Then take it and find rest for you lives..."

This is one of my favorite verses, because it encourages us to look to the old ways, or ancient teachings for the good way. I believe God is telling us that the old truths are still the truth, and just as God is never changing, so His word is never changing.

We live in a modern world, and many in this world are willing to say the Bible is an archaic book that teaches nothing relevant to our lives. But, what the world does not realize is that the basic teaching of the Bible is "Love the Lord, and Love your neighbor". The Bible is a love story of a creator for his creation. The act of Jesus coming to earth and dying on a cross is an act of love that has no boundaries.

To me, the Bible is the good path, and thus it brings rest. All that is necessary for salvation is found between the covers of the Bible. This good path is ours by God's grace.

Heavenly Father
Creator of Love
Maker of Earth
And all that's above.
Guide us down
The path that is best
And bring us home
To your Heavenly Rest.
Amen

A Glimpse

Luke 9:27 "I tell you the truth, some people standing here will see the kingdom of God before they die".

Have you seen the kingdom of God, or have you been too busy to notice it? The world would have us put on blinders that keep us from seeing the awesome reality of our God. I have seen glimpses of the Kingdom. Sometimes its a glimpse through a child's smile, or in the prayer of a friend. Sometimes I get a glimpse of the kingdom in watching people come together to help out another, or just in holy conversation.

The point is, the kingdom is here and is coming. God provides us many opportunities to see and be apart of the kingdom. So look around you and notice the kingdom of God.

Amen
Pastor Kent

Children of God

Job 22:27 "You will pray to him and he will hear you."

On Mondays, I make rounds at the local nursing home. My final stop on the rounds is the Alzheimer's unit. All to often the conversation with the residents is broken thoughts and imagined stories. Many of these people came from fruitful full lives, and now you see shadows of former selves.

I was honored with an invitation to share in lunch at this unit. The head nurse asked me to pray. The thing I found was that many of the residents stopped what they were doing or saying when they heard it was time to pray. A few of them even said AMEN with me.

I was blessed to see that God is still acting in these peoples lives. Even though their minds are wondering some distant place, God is still walking with them. They still feel God's presence, even if they don't know where they are.

It also showed me that you never know what the future may hold, but that when you call upon God, he will hear you.

God's blessings to you

Pastor Kent

God vs. the world

Psalms 2:2 "The kings of the earth stand up and the rulers take counsel together: against the Lord and against his Anointed.

The interesting thing about this verse is it was written 3000 +/- years ago. David is the reputed author, (and I do not doubt that).

The world today seems to have so many rulers and kings ready to stand against God. These are the same people God created, and his creation is in rebellion. My question is why? Why do so many people seem to hate, or at best disregard God?

In exploring world religions, I have found on thing in common with all religions and uncommon in Christianity. That word is control. Every non-Christian and non-Judaic religion is based on power and keeping someone under control. Whether it is the caste system of the Hindu or the extremism of Islam, it boils down to an issue of control over the populace.

Christianity is different. Christ sees in us all an image of creation. This is the image we are made in. Man, Woman and Child are all equally precious in his sight. Where others would kill, Christ calls for us to heal. Where others call for doing harm, Christ calls for giving hope. Where others seek revenge, Christ calls us to forgive. This call to love is frightening and threatening to those in power.

But what is even more threatening is the idea of selflessness. Christians are called to love our neighbor, and to meet the needs of others before we see to the needs of our self. We are called to be servants. Christ washed feet, and we are to do likewise. I hazard the thought that no other founder of the world religions would give their life for people they did not know, but Christ did. (Yes and he does know them.)

We are called to love, and through this love, no matter how many times the kings and rulers take counsel, God's love will always be triumphant.

God's Love to you

Pastor Kent

opportunity

Luke 18:9-14

I just finished reading the parpable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, and I realized that the Pharisee failed in a way we may not have considered. The Pharisee had an opportunity to share the love of God with the tax collector.

I wonder how often we miss those opportunities. How many times have we praised God for not letting us be like that person who is living on the street, or the person who is in trouble?

We are called to make disciples, and preach the good news to all nations. We are called to love God and show that love by loving our neighbor.

My prayer is that God will remove the blinders from our eyes and help us to recognize all the opportunities that God gives us to share his love with our brothers and sisters around the world.

Yes, we are blessed, but through that blessing we are called to be a blessing.

Prayer:
Lord, open our eyes, to see the needs, open our hearts to hear the cries, open our hearts to lead us to lift up, heal, feed, clothe, and help all those in need. Let our lives be the proof of your love in this world. AMEN

Just a note, those of your who are members of the Doniphan UMC are welcome to make comments and such about the service or ideas that will improve our worship and service.
thanks

Pastor Kent

A new day:

Have you ever had a problem with your self-esteem. It seems we listen to people and they are quick to tell us our problems. I find my self complimenting my children on a game well played and then in the same breath saying "But you could have..." In my own experience, I was hurt to hear the conditional compliment and yet I do the same thing with my children.

But regardless of what people say I am reminded of a scripture passage in Genesis "So God created human beings in His image, in the image of God, He created them male and female" (Genesis 1:27 NCV).

As a created being in God's image, we are made in the likeness of God, and thus our image is blessed. Sometimes it is hard to see that blessedness when we feel so low. God continues to tell us that he loves us. We are of such great worth that He is willing to die for us.

Low self-esteem will keep lifting its ugly head throughout our life, but God is always there to remind us how precious and beautiful we truly are. We just need to listen.

Have a good and Godly Day.

Pastor Kent

1st time

Here goes! This blog is not going to be about me, but about getting the word of God out to others. Many of the opinions expressed on this blog will be mine and they will be prayerfully applied. For those of you that read this, feedback is welcome, I hope that God can work through me so that this will be an edifying and blessed sight.

Each day we have a choice as to whom we will serve, Joshua presented and ultimatum to the Hebrews and then stated that no matter what, he and his family will serve the Lord. (see Joshua 24:15). We all have that same choice, and it is a daily choice. Prayer, bible study, holy conversation, doing good deeds, all show whom you serve. Choose and choose wisely for the choice you make today, will affect your eternity.