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
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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
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
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