Epiphany

Matthew 2:10 “When they saw the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy”.

Epiphany is the time of discovery. We celebrate this end of the nativity season with the stories of the Maji, of Simeon and of Anna. All of these people were promised a glimpse of the kingdom in the sight of Jesus the Christ.

When the Maji came to the house of Joseph and Mary, they were overwhelmed with Joy, here they had traveled so long and almost always at night to visit this new born king of the Jews. They saw in their own writings and prophecies the salvation that this little child would bring. For them, this was the pinnacle of their lives, they had given so much for this journey, and now they were rewarded with the gift of God’s son.

Can you imagine being overwhelmed with joy by coming to the house of the Lord? When was the last time you walked into a house of worship in expectation of meeting God? When was the last time you knew the true joy of being in the presence of God with you fellow worshipers?

In the year to come, I pray that our churches will become places of overwhelming joy. I pray that we can look forward to being in the presence of God when we are together in worship. I hope that we become a people that will put Christ first and lets the church be the focal point of the Christ first attitude.

In church, there can be overwhelming joy, but for that to happen, you need to know God. Let this be the year that God fills you with joy and kingdom purpose.

Amen

War?

PK’s Corner                                                                                                              December 7, 2010


John 11:35 Jesus Wept



69 years ago, on a Sunday morning, the United States of America was forced into a war that had been going on since 1939. The unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor was to change the lives of those who fought and those who lived during the war. It would also change the world, and even today we are realing from the effects of that war.



Consider this: The total killed at Pearl Harbor was 2402 military and civilian personnel. Of that 1177 were aboard the USS Arizona. Total American Casualties for the war from that day to August of 1945 were 418,500 both military and civilian.



For the world from 1939 to 1945 there were over 70 million persons killed of that 25 million were military casualties, the rest were civilian. Over 6 million of those died in the gas chambers and furnaces of the Concentration camps. The Second World War was a truly world war. There was no place on earth that was not affected in some way by the war. Economically it led to rationing and in some places starvation. Civilly whole towns were wiped out, never to rise from the ashes. For the family, it led to the eradication of whole generations and family names. Almost 9% of the population was destroyed in that war. Most of that population were guilty of only being in the wrong place at the wrong time.



And yes, Jesus wept. How could he not, to see his children harming one another over petty things such as politics, and power? Today we still argue over the trivial stuff, when we should be loving our neighbor and loving our God. What have we learned, wars still happen, people still look out for themselves, governments still exert their power and bask in that power. Petty dictators still kill the innocents in the name of ethnic cleansing. What have we learned?



How many families were broken by this war, and are still healing even today. Like the oil that still leaks from the USS Arizona, we still bleed. When will we learn?



Wars will always be around us, Peace will always be elusive, unless we as Christians and followers of Christ start loving and caring as Christ did for us. What can you do today, that will stop someone from making war? What can we do today, that will celebrate the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Life?



For humankind, stopping war may be impossible, but with God all things are possible.



Amen

Plans

Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you , declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope” (ESV)




Life can get us down. With work, or unemployment, we can get pretty run down. We run ourselves ragged trying to meet the obligations, juggling kids, career, family and church. We get run down, and if we are not careful, we start trudging into automatic mode. We have a hard time seeing hope or a brighter future. We stop noticing God, and just live from day to day. The grey melancholy of drudgery starts taking over our minds and our dreams



This was the case with Israel, the invading army was taking over, it would only be a matter of time. The population was in survival mode, and stopped living. Hope seemed to be gone. Yet Jeremiah gets this message “I have a plan for you, and it means hope and goodness and the bad going away”



I read this passage and I realize that God has a plan, for you and for me, and God isn’t through. When we give ourselves over to God’s will, we are in the plan God has for us and for creation. This plan is one of Hope and Love and Peace.



When things get tough and we get down, we need to remember the promise God has for us. God isn’t done with us because God has a plan for all of us.



Amen

Regret or Comfort

PK’s Corner                                                                                                 November 2010



1 Peter 1:24-25, “For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.”-



To paraphrase a line from a favorite movie, “Life is short, if anyone says differently; they are trying to sell you something.” The one thing we share with all of creation is the limited time of life on this earth. We cannot live forever and neither can those around us. But, the word of God is the infinite factor in this finite world.



The Word is summed up in 3 phrases: A: Love God, B: Love Neighbor, C: Love one another. There is not enough time for us to live otherwise. We can’t know what tomorrow will bring. The one working beside us may not be with us to later. A loved one could be taken in tragedy or sickness. Will the parting word that you said be ringing in your ears as words of regret or comfort?



The word of God is meant to love and care, and we cannot afford to waste our lives in any other way.



I urge you, as the stresses of this Holiday Season approach, to follow the example Christ has set before us. If there is something between you and a loved one, if your last word was less than loving, no matter who is at fault or whatever the issue, reach out in love. Let these words of Christ be your guide, for they are forever, “Love one another as I have loved you”.



Amen

Benediction

PK’s Corner October 2010


Benediction

Jude 1:24-25 “ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His Glory, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory majesty dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. AMEN



Benediction is the blessing of separation and peace. Time and again we see in the New Testament words of blessing that leads to separation of the worshipers.

Why are these types of words so prevalent in the New Testament? The answer; Christianity is not meant to be a static belief. It is not meant to be confined to the church buildings or seminarian discussions. The Gospel (Good News) is meant to be carried beyond the borders of our walls.

Go was the word Christ used as he was raised into heaven. Go- Make- Baptize, all action words meant to change the world. Benediction isn’t meant to be the end of worship, but the beginning of mission. It is, if you will, a transitional statement that sends us into the world to make disciples. Not the starter, nor the brake, but the clutch that gets the Gospel bus into gear. Amen

Made for Good

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

When God created he said it was good.  That statement included us, we were made for good. 

When we think about the 2 commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor, we must realize God has meant us for good.  The world we live in gives us ample opportunity to do good, but we don’t always take advantage of that opportunity. We are selfish when we were made to be selfless.  We try to bend all things to our will, rather than rejoicing in God’s will.  We have become egocentric, when we should be Christocentric.

The point is we were made for better things than we have currently settled for.  The only way to become the good works we are supposed to be is to invite Christ into our hearts. 

Don’t resign to being less than God has planned for you, let Christ in.

   Amen

Burdens

Psalm 55:22

“Cast your burden on the lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

The key word in this passage is burden.  What is a burden?  For most of us, the definition is whatever is bringing us down.  The world weighs us down with so many negative things.  Bills, debt, disease, work, and war are just some of the worries that keep our focus off of God.  But are all of our burdens negative?

What about our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our children and their future?  Burdens are not just the negative parts of our life, but also the positive parts that stand in the way of getting to know God.  God calls us to put all, everything on God, not just the issues and items that depress us, but also all that inspire us.  You see, this is the raw material God can use to bless the world, so casting those burdens on God is seeking to reconcile to God’s plan.  On the TV show “American Picker” what I see as a junk pile the pickers call “collections”.  In that pile is trash and treasure, and the pickers go through and seek or advise on what to do with the stuff.

Our burdens consist of trash and treasure, Give them both to God and let God pick through all of it to bring out the best in our lives.  Let go and Let God.

Amen

Faith

      

Psalm 138:8 (New International Version)

 ⁸ The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
       your love, O LORD, endures forever—
       do not abandon the works of your hands.

Faith is all about becoming raw material.  When we trust in God, we are becoming the basic ingredients of a fabulous work of craftsmanship.

God has a purpose for all of us; a purpose only God can fathom.  Faith frees us up to be a part of that purpose.  When we look to God, we must be willing to submit to the work of God’s hands.  This may mean casting away parts of our old life.  This may mean leaving what we know behind.  It may also mean doing things we did not know was possible.

To have Faith means to become raw clay and let God work on us, not just once, but continuously.  We must be willing to be molded and remolded time and again until we hear the Master say “Well Done”.

This is living in Faith.

Amen

Focus

PK's Corner

Acts 20:24 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁴But I don't care what happens to me, as long as I finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do. And that work is to tell the good news about God's great kindness.

Focus, that is what Paul had, ha was focused from the time in Damascus to the outskirts of Rome.  He remained focused even with the stoning, beatings, lashings, ship wrecks, jail time, lynch mobs and all the way up to meet the heads mans sword. 

But what is truly remarkable isn’t so much that he was focused, but that he was focused on the kingdom of God.  He focused only on the task that was given to him, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We too are given a task.  As the body of believers, we are called to make disciples; which includes sharing the Good News of Christ.  We are supposed to continue to the work of Paul in making disciples. 

My prayer for each of us this summer is that as a church, we can refocus on sharing the Good News.  Here at Doniphan UMC, the ground work for the kingdom is being laid every day, but we, the inheritors of the task at hand, need to refocus and take on the single-mindedness that Paul displayed throughout his ministry, the focus on sharing the Good News.

It’s time to Focus and pray that we can finish the task ahead for Christ.

Amen

Living Redeemer

PK’s Corner


Living Redeemer

Job 19:25

“I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.”

Poor Job, here he is, after the loss of his fortune, family and health, listening to his “friends” and wife who tell him to confess to his sin, and Job stands righteous. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Job proclaims the greatness of God. Though racked by pain and anguish, Job still loves God and walks in God’s light.

How many times in our lives have we wondered if God is with us? When tragedy strikes, do we ask about God’s presence? When that dreaded diagnosis is given, do we proclaim the greatness of God or do we say “Why me”? Maybe we can learn much from Job.

You see, we serve a living God, one that never leaves us, even though we may leave God. Jesus has promised to be with us always, and that promise has never been broken. Just because we feel alone, doesn’t mean we are alone. For God does not abandon, but redeems.

The challenge to you, let the first words of your day be “I KNOW that my Redeemer lives”, and then live in that knowledge.

Amen

God's Anger

Psalm 30:5 “For his anger is but for a moment and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning”.




Anger is a word of passion, and a word that denotes a human like response. The ancient and modern pagans often regard their gods as arbitrary beings. The pagan gods may or may not like you, whether you have done anything wrong or not. Your karma may be against you or the cards stacked against you. The non-believers hope is to get through without notice. When a pagan god or deity does interact, it is to control or stoke a massive ego.



But to have a God who is passionate about the relationship between God and creation is unheard of in the pagan ways. Our God is such a God. God has a passion for us, and while anger to the pagans means destruction, to the Christian, God’s anger leads to a healthier relationship with God.



You see, God does not get angry with the sinner; God’s anger is against the sin. God’s passion is for us to have a healthy and long relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The sin is hated, but the sinner is loved.



God’s anger, so brief, and so focused against sin



God’s favor, life long, focused on the sinner.



God is so Good.



Amen

Frail Humanity

PK’s Corner March 2010


Psalm 51:3 “For I know my transgression and my sin is ever before me.”

The 51st Psalm is particularly relevant for the time of Lent because it talks about our human frailties and weakness. The author of this Psalm was considered by God to be “A man after God’s heart”. David basked in the favor and glory of God, and yet he committed adultery, murder and deceit in the cover up that led to the writing of this Psalm. As awful as his crimes were, God still loved him and forgave him.

We too are frail beings, whether clergy or congregation, we all fall short of what God calls us to be. Maybe there is something that we said, we wish we could unsay, or maybe there was an action taken that we would take bake. Regardless of what we may have done, God is a forgiving God, and is willing to forgive us if we just ask.

Only one is truly good and that is Jesus, we fall short, but we don’t have to stay there because God is ready to move us on through his son Jesus Christ. As we go through this time of Lent, rather than wallow in the transgression we may have committed, let us bask in the forgiving love of Jesus Christ, and be the children he would have us to be.

Amen

Worthy or Worth it?

PK’s Corner February 2010

Worthy or Worth It.

Matthew 8:8: The Centurion answered “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.”

This is probably one of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible.  Here is a Roman Centurion asking Jesus to just speak so his servant can be made whole, a person realizing the presence of God in his midst and knowing that his life is not ready for the holy.  Not only is this a beautiful scene, but it also shows the short comings of humanity.  You see, we all have this mistaken belief that somewhere out there is somebody who is worthy to stand before God, and have God in their lives. 

In the modern world we hear the centurion’s words with a bit of different flair. “I’m not good enough to go to church, I don’t want to be around all those hypocrites, I have gone too far to be saved, Jesus doesn’t want me”, all of these comments just show how little we understand God.

True, no one is worthy to approach God, and that is precisely why God came to us in Jesus Christ.  We could not, so God did, and we will not, but God still does.    It is the fact that we aren’t worthy that God makes a way for us to have a relationship with God.

Folks, I don’t know where you are, but I know where God is.  God wants a relationship with you, even if you think you are not worthy, God thinks you are worth it.

Amen