Author: The Pastor

God is not a repo man

/ The Pastor

I used to be a car dealer.  Back in 1997 I moved back home to work for my dad and learn the family business.  My dad owned and managed a Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge/Jeep dealership.  He started doing that in the early 80s and has a very good business with loyal customers (In 2004 my dad gave up the Chrysler franchise to focus on other ventures.  He now sells used cars and does some woodworking/cabinet building and still has a very good business).  My dad has an excellent reputation for honesty and kindness which largely contributes to his customer’s loyalty. 

Most people in my small hometown of Dawson, MN expected me at some time to return home to learn the business.  After all, that is what the older (and in my case, the only) son is supposed to do.  But two and a half years later I realized I sucked at selling cars (but that is another blog entry, so let’s move on).

While learning the business one of the jobs I disliked the most carried the title of "repo man".  You see…one of the things my dad would do is co-sign loans for people who bought cars from him.  Most people were honest so this was not a problem.  But every once in a while someone would take advantage of my dad’s kindness and generosity and default on the loan.  When that happened, I was sent to retrieve the vehicle.  I only went on three repo missions but they always made me nervous.  Who knows how people will react when you show up to take their vehicle back.  Luckily I never had any problems, but it still didn’t lessen my anxiety about repo missions.

Imagine if God had a repo man or worse yet, was a repo man himself as it pertains to the promises he gave to us <pause to reflect and ponder…but not too long> wouldn’t that be a scary thought?  But don’t worry, when you are baptized, God makes certain promises.  God essentially "co-signs the loan" and takes complete responsibility for any losses.  The promises that God makes are: forgiveness of sins, membership into the church and the body of Christ and eternal life.  God says "here you go…enjoy…why, because I love you".  But everyday we "default on the loan".  We sin.  We hurt God.  We fail to acknowledge God and the promises given to us.  We fail to help others.  We become selfish.  We don’t talk to God.  And I could go on, but I think you get the point. 

But here is the great thing about God…God is not a repo man.  God does not come to us and say, "You haven’t come to worship enough or read your Bible enough or prayed enough (…etc) so I am going to take back those promises I made to you".  God does not do that.  Instead, God sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to this world to die and rise for our sins.  God seals his promises through the cross.  God is not a repo man but this does not give us free reign to continue to take advantage of God’s love for us.  What it does is assure us, even though we are sinful, we will always be wrapped in God’s loving arms; knowing our status in God’s family will never change.

So do your best to "repay God" not out of obligation, but out of thanks.  God is not a repo man and therefore the promises given to you in baptism are yours forever.  Praise be to God, always and forever.  Amen! -edh-

God’s not so secret society

/ The Pastor

I love freedom.  No…I am not talking about the country I live in (even though that is great).  I am talking about my latest acquisition.  Allow me to explain…

…About six and a half years ago I bought my first laptop computer.  I was in seminary and needed a computer.  Don’t ask me how I afforded it back then, but some how I managed.  Anyway, instead of being tied to my small closet of a dorm room or the eerie quietness of the library I was now free to write papers and do homework where ever I wanted (of course within reason…let’s not get too wild here).  I could go to Caribou, have coffee and write.  I could find a spot in a higher traffic area on campus such as the student center.  I was free.  It felt like I was part of a secret society whose members had computers that you could carry with you.  I looked sophisticated carrying that black over the shoulder bag that was obviously a laptop. I was loving it.  It was like I had everything I needed.  I was free.

But then something changed.  As the age of wireless technology was sweeping the world I found myself on the outside of this "secret society" looking in.  My laptop was big and heavy and obsolete, but more importantly…no wireless Internet.  This realization slapped me in the face when I was using my old laptop at a continuing education event recently. Someone approached me and asked if they could check their email quick.  With a very embarrassed look on my face I said that I didn’t have Internet access because my computer was too old.  It was like the person did not understand because after all…ALL computers are wireless.

Mourning the fact that I was no longer in the "secret society", I tried to convince myself that I was fine.  But as more and more people around me joined the "society" I found myself longing to be back in.  Then a couple weeks ago I was asked to lead a couple workshops.  Now I had the excuse I needed.  A new laptop would be needed to give a good presentation with Power Point.  After all, my presentation is on evangelism and outreach using web blogs.  So I needed a wireless laptop.

So today…at this very moment…I am typing this post on my new wireless laptop; sitting on my couch in the comfort of my living room…not my office.  I am free.  Once again I feel part of the "secret society"…at least until something new comes along to force me out.  But until then I am going to enjoy my new found status; my new found freedom.

<pause>

Now that I have confessed my sin of materialism to my God, allow me to continue as I make my point.

When we strive for meaning in this world through so called "secret societies" we will never find true happiness and meaning.  Something or someone will always come along to let us down.  We will always find ourselves on the outside looking in.  We live in a world of sin so we can never count on anything in this world.  But when we were baptized, we were made members of the ultimate society…one I hope you never keep secret.  When we were baptized we were made members of the Body of Christ.  This society (or family as I will call it now) is something that will never let us down.  When we were baptized we were sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. We never have to worry about something bigger and better coming along.  Besides…what can possibly be better than forgiveness that leads to salvation?  NOTHING!

Through baptism we are claimed and called. We are marked and sealed.  Through baptism we are made members.  So live with joy knowing that you are part of something special through the waters of baptism.  But more importantly, don’t keep this a secret.  Preach the Good News and share this story.  Every is welcome because everyone is a loved child of God.  Praise be to God always and forever…Amen! -edh-

The Lost Tomb of Jesus

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Well…I guess it is my turn.  By now the blogosphere is full of posts about the Discovery Channel special this past Sunday (March 4) titled, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus".  If you have not seen it just follow this link, http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/tomb.html and you will be up-to-date very quickly.

Basically the claim (or hypothesis as the director, Simcha Jacobovici, puts it) it that this tomb that has been found is the family tomb of Jesus.  Ossuaries (bone boxes) have been found with inscriptions.  The claim is that the inscriptions refer to Jesus and Mary Magdalene (who were supposedly married), Jesus and Mary’s son and James the brother of Jesus; among others (10 in all).  The filmmaker goes to great lengths to prove all this through DNA testing and probability studies.  He says the chances are 1 in 30,000 that this isn’t the family tomb of Jesus.  I have no clue how they come up with those probabilities, but they sure sound good and place more "strength" behind their argument.  I for one am not convinced…and never will be (more on that later).

Simcha Jacobovici claims to be a journalist and a filmmaker.  I will call him a filmmaker at the very least but not a journalist.  He claims to be bias and open minded, but that never comes across in the documentary. 

Simcha also has another title (at least as far as I am concerned).  For those of you who are offended, angry, disgusted, disturbed, <fill in your own adjective> about what he is claiming, consider this.  Simcha, I believe, is an agent of God.  Why would I say something like this?  Why would God allow a person to report something that would seemly contradict the resurrection of Jesus?  You see…throughout time the church has faced challenges to its system of beliefs.  This is how and why our creeds were developed (Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian).  Heresies were developed and the church was forced to re-think and communicate what it believed.  Challenges to our faith were presented and people were forced to look into their hearts.  I believe God is challenging us through Mr. Jacobovici and it is no coincidence that this is coming during Lent.  Lent is a time of reflection and preparation.  We are suppose to re-examine who we are and (more importantly) whose we are.  Mr. Jacobovici is forcing Christians to speak up and re-examine their faith.

As Christians we have become so complacent.  A lot of people grew up in the church (I am one) and have always believed.  I cannot look back and give you a date when I became a Christian.  I can tell you significant dates in my faith development, but basically, I have always been a Christian.  With this kind of faith (one that has been passed down to us) we have a tendency to to accept what we have been taught.  For many people the only real challenge to their faith is when a loved one dies or some other traumatic event happens in our lives.  But even that is often times not enough to shake us to our core.  I don’t know if we are being shaken to our core with this wild hypothesis of Jesus’ family tomb, but our faith is being challenged; and we are being forced to clarify what we believe.  Our faith is being dragged out of our dark closets to be dusted off and viewed again.  Hopefully this time we do not pack our faith away.

My faith tells me that Jesus died on the cross; was placed in tomb; and three days later rose from the grave.  When the women and the disciples arrived at the tomb it was empty…no bones…only Jesus’ burial clothes.  That is it…nothing more and nothing less.  Jesus died and rose (completely) for the forgiveness of my sins.  Jesus died and rose (completely) that I may have new life.  Jesus died and rose (completely) to give us hope in this cold dark world. 

Jesus died and rose…COMPLETELY…FOR YOU and FOR ME!

No amount of evidence is going to deny that or prove it wrong.  It is just not there.  So I thank God for challenging me.  I thank God for kicking me in the butt.  I thank God for helping see (again) the incredible gift we have in Jesus Christ.  My faith has not been shaken…only strengthened.

My encouragement to you is to go back to your Bible.  Read the Gospel accounts.  Pray and then listen (prayer is a two way street).  Pull out you catechism and read it through.  Ask questions.  Explore.  Re-examine your faith.  But in the end, know that:  "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not died but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Bring on the speculation…bring on the statistics and probabilities.  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, died and rose for you.  That fact will never change.  Praise be to God always and forever…Amen! -edh-

Digging out

/ The Pastor

Our first big, knock down blizzard in quite a while is wrapping up.  In Jackson, MN we received about 12+ inches.  The winds are picking up now so today is still going to be a mess.  All roads in SW MN are shut down and just recently plows have been pulled from the roads (again). 

Last weekend we received about 6 inches with about 1/2 inch of ice before that.  Because of the dangerous conditions I was lead to cancel services along with most churches in the area.  But we still had worship.  Connie and I along with my custodian/sound guy/everything else guy came in and we still broadcasted on local cable access channel 6.  In all we had 10 people in worship last Sunday plus a number of people at home worshiping as well.  Thank God for technology.

To give you an idea of what we are dealing with, here are a couple pictures for you:

100_1250

100_1252_2

100_1256

Mother nature has a way of dictating her will; shutting down roads, closing schools and businesses, and even canceling worship services.  But the one thing it can not touch; the one thing it cannot separate us from is the love of God in Jesus Christ.  Even though we did not have an "official" worship service last Sunday, a number of people still worshiped.  That right there shows you the determination of people and the depth of faith.  No amount of snow is going to take away my right, privilege and duty to worship my God.  Mother nature can have her way in some areas of my life, but when it comes to God…he reigns supreme.

Praise be to God (and thanks for the snow)…Amen. -edh-

Lent…why bother

/ The Pastor

The season of Lent is here.  For many people the word "Lent" has very little meaning.  For some, if the word is said fast enough, is nothing more than something you pull out of your belly button (and in my case that is a lot…sorry I know that probably was too much information).  Anyway…

The church season of Lent starts with Ash Wednesday (this year…Feb. 21).  This day is a different date every year, thus creating confusion.  Why the change of date every year?  If you really want an in depth explanation go to Yahoo or Google and type in "The date of Easter" and you will get a series of websites talking about that.  But the short of it is this:  Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox <breathe> (confused yet…so am I, but hang in there).  The vernal equinox is the fixed dated of March 21.  So Easter can never be before March 22 or later than April 25.  Once this is figured out you count back 40 days (not including Sundays…because Sundays are considered days of celebration and not included in the days of Lent) and that will take you to a Wednesday which would be Ash Wednesday.  For example, if Easter falls on March 25 then Ash Wednesday would be Feb. 7.  But like I said, go to the Internet and you can learn a lot more than I can intelligently explain here.

But now that we have dealt with the "housekeeping" of Lent and Easter, the next question is: WHY?  And that is a very good question.  Not all church traditions celebrate/recognize Lent.  Easter is universally celebrated in the Christian church, but Lent and Advent (we can talk about this when Christmas gets closer) are not.  Lent is universally accepted to be a time of preparation as we recognize our sinfulness.  After what is called The Fall (when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden) sin entered the world.  From that time on we have separated ourselves from God through sinful activity that comes through thought, word and deed.  No one can claim to be without sin (except for Jesus Christ…more on Him later). 

In the first few centuries Lent was a time of baptismal preparation where people were prepared for baptism at the Virgil of Easter (Saturday before Easter).  Today Lent is a time of discipline, penitence (a state of being sorrowful or regretful of our sins) and preparation.  Many people give something up or fast (not eat for a period of time) for Lent.  Me personally, I have given up snacking between supper and breakfast (something that is very difficult for me).  This giving up of something is not a "requirement" (at least not in the Lutheran church) but a helpful practice in discipline.

Lent begins the final stretch run with Palm Sunday (the week before Easter).  Palm Sunday (the triumphal of Jesus into Jerusalem — see the Gospels for more information) is the first day of what is called Holy Week.  Thursday we gather for worship on what is called Maundy Thursday(which means commandment).  This is where Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and gave a new command to "love one another as I have loved you" (Jesus words).  Good Friday is a worship time where we recognize Jesus’ crucifixion.  And then the grand finale…EASTER…THE EMPTY TOMB…THE RESURRECTION…NEW LIFE FOR US ALL.  The grandest finale of all.  God’s saving gift for all of creation.

So what am I trying to say?  Basically this:  Enjoy this church season.  Prepare your hearts.  Admit your sinfulness.  And know that the greatest gift of all has been given to us…Jesus Christ our Lord and Risen Savior.  Easter is for you.  Easter is for everyone.  After all that God has done for us, the least we can do is take some time to be transformed through discipline, prayer and worship.

We have messed up…But God lifts us up through Jesus Christ.  Praise be to God…always and forever.  Amen! -edh-

Site update and stuff

/ The Pastor

A couple items for you whether you are a faithful reader or brand new:

(1) The prayer chain continues to be active.  My site tells me when someone views the "Prayer Request" link.  I have no clue who visits, but just that someone does.  Thank you for your prayers and I hope this prayer chain is helpful for you and a source of inspiration and hope.  Feel free to visit and leave updates on how God is answering your prayers.  Also, if you have a prayer request but want to keep it private simply go to the "About" link  (under my picture) and drop me an email (reverichullstrom@yahoo.com).  Those requests will be kept confidential.

(2) Just a reminder:  The "Guest Book" link is up and running.  Feel free to sign in and leave a comment on how you use this site and how I can make it better.  I don’t do this for fame or fortune but for the glory of God.

(3) Lastly, feel free to pass this address on to anyone you know that could use a pick-me-up from God.

God bless you as you live each day as a loved child of God.  Remember to share your story and pray for those who have yet to meet Jesus.  But be careful…God just might use you to introduce Jesus to someone…but what an awesome privilege that would be.

Take care and I hope to see you soon.  Praise be to God always and forever…Amen! -edh-

A reminder

/ The Pastor

I think it is safe to say that a marriage would be in trouble if you needed to remind the couple to love each other.  After all, one would hope that the couple is together because they love each other.  But I should careful because that is not always the case.  Either way…if love is not at the center of the marriage, it is in trouble and divorce is probably close behind.

A healthy marriage has TWO people who love each other.  They say those three, sweet little words daily; words that can dramatically change the course of one’s day.  It is like a little reminder.  But what is even more powerful is when those words are followed up with some actions.  Actions such as a kiss or a hug, some random act of kindness, just being there to listen, etc.  Actions do indeed speak louder than words.

In Scripture, the relationship between us and God is described as a marriage.  God is the Bridegroom and we are the bride (or the church is described as the bride).  But too often the love only goes one way (and I should not have to remind you which way it goes).  We too often need to be reminded to love God.  We also need to be reminded that God loves us and that God’s love never leaves us.  So since we need to be reminded to love God, God sent his one and only Son to live among us. Jesus journeyed to the cross and died for the forgiveness of our sins and then three days later rose from the grave defeating death forever.  The ultimate display (and reminder) of love.

Now it is our job to remind people of this great gift.  If we won’t do it, who will?  If the church does not engage in evangelism then who will?  But more importantly, if the church needs to be reminded to love people and to share the Good News with people…well…the church has a problem. 

Evangelism is what the church is about.  It is wrapped up into the very definition of the church.  It is the essence of the church.  You can not separate the two.  If the church is not about evangelism it is just a glorified club with special tax privileges.  Be who you were created to be.  Remind each other of God’s love and be reminded at the same time.  God needs each one of us and we need God.

So when you leave your computer from reading this exquisitely written post (O.K. who am I kidding) tell someone that God loves them and then follow that up with someone random act of kindness. 

God loves YOU!  (See me sometime for a random act of kindness) Praise be to God and Amen! -edh-

Tough weekend–reminder of hope

/ The Pastor

Last weekend (Feb. 10-11) was a tough weekend for me and my wife (and especially for some friends of mine).  On Saturday I was coming home from a Shetek Lutheran Ministries board retreat at the camp.  While en route I got a call that a good friend of mine, Rev. Steve Mehl, from Lakefield, was being brought to the hospital via ambulance because of chest pains.  Those final 35 miles to Jackson were some of the longest of my life.  Steve was later airlifted to Sioux Valley Hospital via fixed wing.  He had a stint put in his heart and another is needed in a couple weeks.  Steve is now home resting, but it still was quite a scare.

On Sunday night, Connie and I got a call that Carol died.  She is the mom of our good and close friend Dan (a pastor at the other ELCA church in town).  We knew she had been struggling with health problems as of late, but we did not expect this.  Connie and I were left wondering who is next and will this weekend ever end.

The visitation for Dan’s mom was last night, so Connie and I made the 30 mile trip to Milford, IA to be with our friends.  I look at Dan and wonder how I would respond it were me mourning the loss of my mom (or dad).  When I think about that tears immediately begin to well up in my eyes.  So I quickly shake my head to rid myself of such thoughts.  But I know someday I will be there.

But what gave me great comfort was talking to Dan the day after his mom died.  He was in good spirits and talking about his faith.  He knew God was in control and that he knows exactly where his mom is and "that is a happy thing" he said.  What’s getting Dan through this tough time is his faith and hope in the resurrection.  Jesus died and rose from the grave FOR YOU and FOR ME.  Because of this great love, we have the promise of eternal life in Him.  We can be comforted in times of distress and can have great hope in the face of death.  Death no longer has the last word.

"And thanks be to God, He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57)

I thank my God that Steve is home and doing well.  I thank my God that Dan and Kara are being comforted with the hope of the resurrection.  And I thank my God for the victory won through Jesus Christ.  Don’t go through life without knowing Jesus, because I can’t imagine what life would be like without Jesus.  I can’t imagine what life would be like dealing with a near heart attack or the loss of a parent without Jesus.  Know Jesus and know and know a love beyond imagination.  Don’t try this life alone, because alone we will never survive.

Thanks be to God…always and forever. Amen! -edh-

Painting

/ The Pastor

After long last we finally painted our dining room.  My wife has been after me for a few months to begin this project, but I was never in the mood.  I am not sure what happened last Monday, but apparently I was in the mood to paint.  That mood quickly wore off as the week went on, but I couldn’t quit in the middle.  But four coats later we have a "new" dinning room and it looks great.

100_1232_1

The color is called "burning bush red".  We figured that the parsonage needed to have burning bush red in it somewhere.  Before the room was a cream color (as is the rest of the house minus the kitchen).  The red totally changes the room.  Now I need to rest before Connie figures out what she wants to do with the living room.

After we were done painting, I was made painfully aware that no matter how much preparation you go through to prevent imperfections you are still going to have them.  I taped all the wood work making certain that everything was covered.  I bought some heavy duty plastic to protect the carpet.  I bought some nice paint brushes; big and small.  Connie and I covered all the bases.  Nothing was going to get paint on it if it wasn’t supposed to.

After we finished I peeled the tape off only to discover that I could have done a better job taping.  But what we also discovered was that when the people before us painted, they did an even worse job taping (if they even taped at all).  Now all the white paint they got on the wood work showed up like a sore thumb against the red walls.  Our careful preparation seemed all for not (at least we prevented any paint from getting on the carpet).  Now I was forced to paint some of the white on the wood work to cover up those imperfections.  But they are still there (if you are looking for them).  No matter how hard I try, I will never get rid of those imperfections.  No amount of furniture or decorating will make the room look perfect.

As Christians we try to do the same thing.  We think we can cover up our imperfections through good works or keeping busy at church or putting on a pietist front.  We think if we "decorate" ourselves enough, no one will see the sin or the bad habits or improper behavior in our lives.  Maybe we can fool others, but not God.

Enter Jesus Christ…

…When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, breaking death’s hold on us, Jesus got to work cleaning up our imperfections.  He took a wide, beautiful, artisitic brush stroke across our lives and wiped away all those imperfections.  He cleaned up the mess we left behind.  Now in God’s eyes, we are made right and holy.  In God’s eyes we are worthy to stand in his presence.  But we will still mess up God’s creation.  We will tinker with what Jesus has done and will need to be "touched up" again.  Through confession, Jesus takes another brush stroke across our lives and we are made perfect again.  But we need to continue to go to Jesus instead of trying to handle things ourselves.  No matter how much we try to hide our sin, it will always stick out like white paint against a red wall in God’s eyes.  Only forgiveness through Jesus Christ will work.

Take joy in who you are…imperfections and all and know you are loved by an awesome God.  We know this because God went to great lengths to clean up our mess; he went to the cross.  So let Jesus do the touch up work and bask in the glow of His love you.  Praise be to God and Amen! -EDH-

Don’t treat people like crap

/ The Pastor

I have these two friends who are being treated like crap.

My two friends (I will call them Bill and Jane) are being treated this way by their church; and worse yet, by people they never thought would turn on them.  It frustrates me.  I know we live in a cruel world where people do mean things, but one would think the church would be a safe haven.  I know that sounds very idealistic, but a place that proclaims the love of God should be a safe place.  And I refuse to let go of that utopia.  Maybe that is why it hurts so bad when your fellow "Christians" turn on you.  I want to believe I can trust my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  At Salem I feel I can do this; I am treated very well, but Bill and Jane do not have this same security at their church.

I so desperately want to do something, but not being a member at Bill and Jane’s church gives me very little voice.  Part of me wants to reach out and ring someone’s neck.  Part of me wants to lash out and strike back, but that would not be a Christian response.  Then I talked with Bill and he feels the same way.  Lashing out is NOT the correct response.  He is hurt, but striking back will only fuel the fire, but more importantly, striking back would not show the love of God.  And you know…I was taught something.  The sin in me was placed in front of my eyes.  I am not sure how I would respond if placed in Bill and Jane’s shoes, but I know how I should respond…I just need to look at Bill and Jane.

And I am not only upset because Bill and Jane are close friends, but that people in the body of Christ would act this way (there I go again…my idealistic world shining forth).  Where is the grace?  Where is the forgiveness?  Where is the love of God?  I want to ask all these questions, but I find myself on the outside looking in knowing that me getting too involved would only make matters worse.  So I guess the only thing left for me to do is to be a friend to Bill and Jane and let them know how much they are loved.  Hopefully that will give them strength.  Hopefully God will give them the wisdom to endure.  Hopefully God will use this situation to His glory.

I am a pastor and I should know better.  I should know people will do hurtful things (even within the church).  But I refuse to let go of my utopia world where people are kind and treat each other as Christ would want to be treated.  And I know I will feel hurt and let down when these expectations are not met, but I am willing to live with that; for I know my utopia world will be coming because of Jesus Christ.  In the mean time, hang in there, Bill and Jane.  Know that you are loved by Connie and I.  But more importantly, know that you are loved by an awesome God.

SO TO EVERYONE OUT THERE:  Treat each other with respect; in the way Christ would want to be treated.  Be mature and intelligent in your dealings with people (don’t be childish).  Show patience and understanding.  Have an open mind to new ideas.  Don’t take pot shots.  And if you have something to say, say it and don’t hide behind anonymity.  Be a light in this dark world and show how much God loves each of us.  Proclaim the Good News, but more importantly, LIVE IT.

AND LASTLY:  Be a little "Christ" to someone; and don’t treat people like crap. 

Praise be to God always and forever.  Amen! -EDH-