Turning

PK’s Corner                                                                                      June 2013

 

Galatians 1:6 “ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel…”

I believe in God the father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth…, thus starts the Apostle’s Creed, the nutshell statement of our faith as Christians. This is the short form of what we believe as followers of Christ. Yet, we have so many churches and so many in our churches running away from this belief.

Paul was astounded that the church in Galatia was turning from the teachings he and other ministers had taught them.  They were following poor advice about what it meant to be and what was required to become a Christian.  Galatia was being led down a road of false teaching and darkness.  I look at the world today and I wonder if we are any better off.

Today, many churches teach a feel good gospel.  In fact it has become so epidemic that people leave a church because “It had nothing for me”.  I find that rather humorous in a sad way since Christ called us to “pick up our cross and follow me”, not pick up our Latte at the door and enjoy the show.  We are at risk of losing the message of Jesus because we are uncomfortable with what is taught.  We turn from the truth to live in the lies that the world would have us to believe.

Following Christ is about forgetting ourselves, not about comfort.  Following Christ is about putting God first in our lives.  Yes, that means church before entertainment, tithes before bills, and worship before diversions.  God calls us to partake of him, and that means putting God first.  Until God comes first in our lives, our lives will be filled with meaningless trivial activities. 

God puts us first on his to do list.  We are first in his thoughts.  Christ came to earth, not as an afterthought but as a first choice to bring salvation to us.  We need to stop turning away, and start turning to God.

In the coming month, I challenge you to put God first.  Not just in word, but in action.  Be at church every Sunday, schedule your life around worship and prayer, and make God the priority in your worship, praise and life. 

Stop turning away and start turning into the person God has called you to be

Amen.

Shelter

PK’s Corner                                                                                                                     May 2013

Psalm 61:4 “Let me abide in your tent forever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings”.

Yesterday, I looked out of my window and noticed that in the bush just outside a nest had been built, and on the nest was a Mourning Dove.  She sat there in that place of relative safety and quiet warming her eggs.  She was looking at the window and may have spied me, but she remained calm and quiet.

The bush outside is in a sheltered place.  It is on the end of the house where there is shelter from the wind and rain.  This is probably the best place for a nest and this bird knew that.

God offers us refuge in a world that is fraught with storms and upheavals.  But we seem to desire standing in the storm than finding shelter in God’s wings.  When you consider that almost one half of the people in any given town is unchurched, then you must realize that there are many who do not know what true shelter is.

God calls us to abide in him, to seek protection from the storms of life and find refuge in his holiness.  Why do we not listen, and for those of us that do, why are we not sharing that good news with others?

God calls out to us to take shelter, to ease our burdens and to simply believe on him.  I pray that someday we can all find refuge under the shelter of his wings, but until then, we need to show people where that refuge is.

The Mourning Dove got it right, why can’t we?

Amen

Falling Short

PK’s Corner                                                                 April 2013

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”

If you ever felt the desire to be superior to your fellow human, then this verse should bring you up short.  How many arguments have been made about who crucified Jesus? How many fingers of blame have been pointed to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Romans and Pilate?  But, how many have noticed that when we point fingers, there are 3 pointing right back at us.

Ask me who crucified Christ, and I will tell, “Kent Wilfong, he is the guilty one”; and so I am.  My sins nailed Christ to the tree, as did yours and the whole worlds.  No one is without guilt in the crucifixion of our savior.

So it amazes me, when I think about this, that we as Christians sometimes take on an attitude of superiority.  How can that be?  A man died for you and me, how can we be proud of that.  People are turned away from the church, not because of the love that poured out on Good Friday, but because of the attitude that has sprung up in our churches. 

We have managed to convince people that to come to church, you must be of good stature, dress in the right clothes and have a deep theological understanding of our doctrine.  The truth of the matter is that the church is for us who are steeped in sin and enslaved by the world and only Christ can set us free.  We come to church, not out of pride, but out of humbleness, not to be lords over the world, but to be redeemed by the Lord.  Church is not about power or prestige, it is about knowing that God is doing everything for our salvation, and we can do nothing but accept the gift of grace. 

The message we need to share is not one of condemnation, for the world does not need more of that. We need to share a message of hope.  This hope was born in an empty tomb.  Yes, we are all sinners, but the next verse reads “they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”.  You see, God has made a way of redemption through his son Jesus.  So we are all sinners, but we don’t have to stay that way.

As we leave the empty tomb, we need to be better about telling people what church is about, and what Christ has done for us.  Let them know that church is the place where brokenness can find healing and nurture. 

Amen

The Ditch

PK’s Corner                                                    March 2013

Matthew 8:19¹⁹A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’

Jesus’ response to this scribe was “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”. The pathway of ministry looked so inviting to the scribe, but Jesus put the reality check out there.  Not only did he cause the scribe to pause, but he put in perspective the call to ministry all together.

Ministry is more than just standing in front of people and telling them what you think the bible says.  It is being willing to leave everything behind so that God’s word can be share.  Ministry is more than expecting accolades for a sermon well done, as my professor said repeatedly, “It is a ditch you must be willing to die in”.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are contemplating a more active role in the church, or even looking into becoming a minister, by all means, explore, look into and let God guide you, but also, know what is at stake.  Not only must you be willing to go where God calls you to go, you must be willing to let go of all that you hold dear.  There is no half way to following Christ; you are either all in or not.  You don’t look for reward, and you don’t look for accolades, because, that isn’t what it is about.  Ministry is about being so broken hearted about the millions who don’t know Christ that you know you have to do something about it.  Ministry is about your neighbor, not yourself.

In the days of the Circuit Riders, Methodist ministers were expected to travel every day.  At any given time, they may be sleeping in the woods or in a barn.  A place to lay their head not an issue, the issue was going to places where people could hear the word of God.  Comfortable lodgings were not always available, and many times food was scarce.  Still, these men felt the call to serve God so strongly that they took up the bible, got on a horse, and literally changed the world.

Ministry is for everyone, yes I said for everyone, but not all are called to do the same ministry.  Some are called to preach and some to support those preachers.  Each of us is called to worship and share the good news in some way.  If the sacrifice of the pulpit is too much, there is no condemnation, for there are other ways to pour yourself out for God.  Ministers need support, they need encouragement and love.  Many followers of Christ stayed in their home towns showing Christ to the people, and supporting the ministry in prayer, presence, gifts, service and witness.  These practices are called for today. 

Being in the ministry isn’t just about the sermon, it is about willing to give up everything so that God’s message can be known and the world can be saved.

What kind of ministry is God calling you too today?

Amen

Mite makes right

February 2013

Mark 12:42-43 “A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.⁴³Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury”.

The copper coins were called “mites” and they were worth less than a penny.  The gift she gave was not a forced “temple tax” that had to be paid in order to worship, that was paid at the door going in.  This was a free will offering.  The rich liked to drop money in the box, because it showed their wealth and influence.  The widow showed trust in God, because this was all the money she had.  It would be a cold night without supper for her.

You see, God does not look at amounts, he looks at the heart.  It isn’t enough to give just because you have a little extra; we need to be giving out of our poverty.  When it comes to our time, are we giving because we had nothing better to do, or are we truly giving up something for God? When it comes to our talents, do we actually strive to do our best or do we do just enough?  When we donate things to the church, are we giving the best that can be given, or are we cleaning out an old closet?  When we give of our finances, do we give out of what is left at the end of the week, or do we put God first and live on what is left?

God knows our hearts, and only God will pass judgment on all we do in his name.  We promise as members of the United Methodist Church to give our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness, but it has to be from the heart.  Are our prayers heartfelt? Are we truly glad to be in God’s house?  Are our gifts first fruits?  Is our service the best we can do?  Is our witness truly about God?

God calls us to give our all, not just a part.  True believers know that ultimately, all they have is Gods.

Amen

Don't Panic

PK’s Corner                                                   

January 2013  

Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present^* help in trouble.

One movie I really enjoy is “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.  Though it is fundamentally wrong on most theological points, it is still fun to watch.  In the beginning segments the narrator describes the book, “… on the back in bold comforting letters are the word’s Don’t Panic”.

Actually, this is the very description of the Bible.  Throughout the pages of God’s book is the assurance that God is in charge, thus there is no need to panic.  While we may have fun with a guide to the galaxy, we actually have a guide to life and it is comforting in that through the pages we hear God say, “Don’t Panic”.

The New Year is coming, and there is much fear.  Prices still are going up, and everything else seems to be breaking down.  We don’t know what is coming next, but God tells us through the din “don’t panic, I’ve got this.”

The question is, are you willing to let God have this, or are you going to go it alone.  Trust in God for he is the refuge and strength in our times of trouble.  God has sent his son to save us, and the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide.  With God on our side, what is there to fear?

Make a resolution for the coming year to trust in God and draw closer to him.  Make reading the bible and going to church the priority this year, and you will see God is your refuge and strength.

Amen.

The event of Advent.

PK’s Corner                                                  

December 2012          

John 3:1717 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

³⁴

The Holiday season is upon us. Black Friday is past and gone.  Soon we will be reveling in festive merry making and high spirited feasting and song.    Yeah, RIGHT!

Here is the reality folk’s; Christmas is coming, but the world is pointing us in the wrong direction.  Christmas hymns are being rewritten to advertise for large shopping chains, the holiday of Thanksgiving is now simply considered Black Friday Eve.  I join with many other voices you will hear in shouting that we have forgotten the meaning of Christmas.

The next four weeks are supposed to be about preparing for the coming of a King, not the roasting of a goose.  The next four weeks are about reflecting on why Christ came to earth, not how we are going to pay for the overabundant debt that will be incurred this season.  We are not celebrating the birth of a good man, or a great teacher, or awesome leader; we are honoring the presence of the SON OF GOD.

I implore you to seek out the one who was born in a manger, for he is calling you.  I beg you to use this time of Advent to deepen your relationship with God, and to make stronger your ties to the body of Christ.  I urge you to worship and join in the praise and thanks giving to a God that seeks the world’s salvation, not its destruction. 

We run the risk of becoming too busy for God, and that is how the devil works, but God is greater than that.  Christmas is more than presents, feasts and parties; it is about the kingdom of God.  Advent is here to allow us time prepare for the coming of Emmanuel.

Christ came so that you and I would know eternal life, not so that we could see who got the bigger TV.  Use these next 4 weeks to remember what Christ has done and is doing.

Amen