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