Faith

Morning devotions ~ Pushing Back

/ The Pastor

And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” [Acts 5:25]

Yesterday we heard that Peter and John were told not to speak about Jesus anymore. They responded that they were going to obey God rather than man. Bold faith.

Today (Acts 5), the apostles are arrested and thrown into prison for continuing their ministry. While in prison, an angel of the Lord opened the doors and told them to carry on. So they did.

[I just love this next part]

The next day the high priest ordered that the apostles be brought to him but when the officers arrived at the prison the apostles were gone. The guards were in place, the doors were locked but everyone was gone.

Where were they? [and here’s the part that I love] The apostles were back doing their thing; teaching and preaching about Jesus in the public square. The high priest had to be baffled and annoyed at their persistence. So in addition to being ordered to shut up, the apostles were beaten and then released.

The apostles’ response?

They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.

Wow, I love that part but it does make me wonder how I would do under pressure like that. Would I stand up to a stern warning but then back down after being threatened with prison or torture or capital punishment? Would I rejoice that I was counted worthy to suffer for Jesus? Would I continue ministering knowing my very life was in danger?

I hope so and I pray everyday for the faith to stand because what a powerful witness to those who don’t believe; when they see Christians willing to suffer for their faith. Actions speak louder than words. It’s one thing to say you are a Christian but when the chips are down, are you really “all in” or are you all smoke and mirrors; just an allusion with no depth.

Your strength to stand depends not on you but on whether you truly believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose that YOU may be forgiven and thus live for ever with him in God’s Kingdom. So go to God in prayer; asking for the faith to stand and witness to the resurrection. Ask for strength and boldness to continue under pressure. And don’t be afraid.

Hold firm and believe in your heart that you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. And when push comes to shove, don’t worry, God will push back.

Have a great day serving and witnessing to our risen Lord and may God be praised forever and ever.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Boldness

/ The Pastor

“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” [Acts 4:29-30]

There is a lot of opposition to the Gospel in the world today. Civil rights watchdog groups and government organizations are keeping their ears to the ground listening for any rumblings of religious talk in the public square. And when I say “religious talk” I mean Christian. For no other religion seems to be as persecuted as much as Christianity. Even with the stigma that Islam has in the U.S. you still see people being careful about what they say about Islam.

And because of this pressure to conform you often see the Gospel get watered down in order not to offend anyone or Christians backing down and retreating when pressured.

Where is the boldness?
Where is the confidence?
Where is the faith?

As Peter and John were before the council in Acts 4, they were questioned as to where they got their authority to preach what they were preaching. Peter went on to speak with boldness the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The council then gathered to confer; trying to decide what to do with these guys since they couldn’t deny the “noble sign” they performed (healing of a lame man). So the council ordered Peter and John to shut up. They didn’t want this message to spread.

Sound familiar?

Do you have the boldness, confidence and the faith of Peter and John? This faith is nothing otherworldly. Simply look to scripture. Look to God in prayer. Ask for strength to stand firm. Ask for the faith to not water down the Gospel. Ask for the wisdom to speak out. Pray those verses from Acts 4 that I included here and trust that God is with you.

Jesus died for you and rose that you may live. And no one can take that away. Not the government. Not a civil rights watchdog group. No one. Stand strong and speak with all boldness in the name of Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God!

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Rewarded

/ The Pastor

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. [Matthew 6:3-4]

Have you ever met a person who likes to make sure others know about the charitable things they do? What they do is great and it helps others but it causes me to wonder what their motivation is. Are they seeking a reward? If so, their reward won’t last long or their charity will backfire as people will think they are arrogant for bragging about it or worse yet, God is not impressed.

Seeking rewards in this life, through things we should be doing anyway, is not the way of the Christian. Seeking praise is this life is idol worship. Seeking attention is stealing glory away from God. Besides, why seek a reward when you have already been given the best reward? And that reward was something that Jesus won through the cross and then handed over to you through faith. Anything we might gain in this life pales in comparison to the eternal life we have through Jesus Christ.

Matthew says here that if you service others in secret, your Father will know and He will reward you. This reward is nothing more than the realization that what you have done has come through saving faith. You can’t earn your way to heaven you can only receive and then worship God through your life ~ all the way to heaven.

As a Christian, one way we worship and praise God is through serving others. So do it. Don’t brag about your serving; boost about what God offers all sinners. Don’t worship to show off to others, worship God because He is worthy. Don’t shout from the mountain tops that you are awesome, but shout that Jesus Christ was born for all.

Praise be to GOD always and forever, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

New Year’s blessing

/ The Pastor

May the Lord bless and keep you as you leave 2014 and enter 2015.

May you leave 2014 with hope as you confess your shortcomings; remembering that the past is the past.

May you see 2015 as a fresh start; a reminder of the forgiveness you have through faith in Jesus.

May you see 2015 as a gift; reminding you of God’s amazing grace.

May you see 2015 with new eyes, reminding you of the New Life you have through Jesus.

May you know the strength that only comes from God.

May you know peace that only comes from the hope of the resurrection.

May you know the amazing love of God in this new year and may that love shine though your life as a witness to others.

All glory to God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Happy New Year and Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Your reflection

/ The Pastor

As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. [Proverbs 27:19]

Never think or imagine that what you believe about anything goes unnoticed by anyone. Your heart is indeed a reflection of who you truly are.

I have heard people say,

“My faith is a private faith. I believe in God. I just don’t think I need to go to worship to prove to anyone what I believe.”

That is sad and a little hypocritical for you ARE proving something; that you really don’t believe and love the Lord. Worship is not about proving anything to anyone. Worship is about praising God. It’s an outflow of what is in your heart. If your heart is not busting at the seams to worship and praise God then I have to wonder what is in there.

What you believe about God is going to be revealed whether you like it or not:
~ How you live.
~ How you respond to situations.
~ How you love (or don’t love) people.
~ How you react to adversity.
~ How you respond to suffering.
~ How you respond to death.

Your heart reflects the person you are and shines brightly what you believe about God. Private faith? No such thing. Think about what you say and what you do; for they tell others a story about God. So make sure you do your daily heart check up.
~ Pray
~ Read scripture
~ Spend time with God
~ Worship
~ Question God
~ Listen to God
~ Be shaped by God
~ Reflect on your sinfulness
~ Know that through Jesus Christ you are forgiven

And be ready to reflect the glory of God in your life. Be ready to praise God with your whole being. Be ready to live as a forgiven sinner.

May God be praised always and forever. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Longing and Fainting

/ The Pastor

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord ; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. [Psalm 84:1-2]

I like to travel and visit new and interesting places or visit some of my old favorites. One of my favorite places to go is NW Washington. It’s beautiful out there; along the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound. I love the seafood and especially seeing friends. And being out on the road can be fun for a while; driving through the mountains, but eventually the traveling and the time away gets old and I begin to long for home. I long for my place of rest and peace.

How lovely is your dwelling place

The psalmist here is longing to go home. He realizes he has been away long enough and is anxiously awaiting the day that he will return to the courts of the Lord. Later in this beautiful Psalm, the author writes, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

We do live in a sinful and wicked world and the heart wired for the Lord longs to return to it’s creator; to dwell in the lovely place of the Lord. Christmas is a time to remember that God has opened the way for his children to return home. And the way home is Jesus. Through faith in Jesus; in his death and resurrection, we can have the hope dwelling in God’s lovely places someday. And when you see your salvation in Jesus, your heart, too, will long and faint for the glory of God and to dwell in his courts forever.

Sing for joy to our living God for He is Good and Awesome!

Have a very Merry Christmas and God bless!

The Pastor -|—

Really?

/ The Pastor

I recently read a little blurb in the March issue of The Lutheran.  Check this out:

A British university study suggests that people of strong faith can spread
religion through a “believers’ gene” that is part of their DNA.
The Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a prestigious journal
of Britain’s Royal Society of scientists, theorizes a “predisposition
toward religion.” Author Robert Rowthorn suggests that people with
strong religious beliefs tend to have more children and this, combined
with a genetic predisposition to believe, can explain the expansion of religion.

Wow…I think someone needs to tell these people that they have too much time on their hands but more importantly about the work of the Holy Spirit.  Then again…maybe they have figured out how the Holy Spirit “really” works.  Who knew that God programs us at the DNA level to believe.  The next thing you know is that on CSI, while they are doing a DNA profile, you will hear them say, “Hey look…we have a Christian.”

But seriously…this is just another sad example of how people just can not leave some mysteries up to God.  There is this insatiable desire to try to figure God out.  We can’t just leave things up to faith.  I mean…there are some things we can not fully explain.  I think this is just another attempt to remove God from the picture and become gods ourselves.  Surprise, surprise.

For me…the wonder of creation is that I don’t totally understand it.  I love being surprised.  If everything was calculated, figured out and predetermined ahead of time life would be incredibly boring.

“Believers’ gene”…nope.  It’s just good ole fashioned parenting.  No mystery there.

-edh-

Faith journey

/ The Pastor / 11 Comments

[Personal side note: I know I have posted a lot recently so hopefully I am not overwhelming you…it’s just that I have had lots on my heart to say.]
———-

This last week has been a faith journey for me (times of trial have a way of leading people on these journeys).

For me this faith journey started (of course) last week when the ELCA Churchwide assembly began debating/discussing the sexuality issues.  But I don’t want to write another post about these issues (been there, done that).  Rather I want to share with you what has been going on inside of my heart during this past week…after all…this blog is titled “The HEART of a Pastor”.

Recently I had a conversation with a person who shared with me their heart about what happened at the ELCA CWA.  When this person called me and told me they were coming in, I did not expect a conversation about “the vote”, but when this person arrived…oh boy…I saw the heart of this person that I had not seen before.  They were almost apologetic but I kept telling them “We need more people like you to open their hearts and share what they are feeling about what is going on.  I appreciate seeing and hearing your passion and faith.”  This person was not happy about the outcome of “the vote” but need to tell someone…and they felt I was the only one they could talk to.  I wish that were no so.  I wish this person felt comfortable talking to others about their feelings and faith.  I told this person “I got a feeling that there are plenty others who probably feel the same as you.  So share your faith and don’t be afraid.”  I am not sure what this person will do, but hopefully this is just the beginning.

But in another way this “beginning” kind of scares me…

…part of me doesn’t feel ready to take on this task because I am still on this faith journey.  But another part of me knows that I need to be ready to guide and lead this congregation…and because that is the case I trust that God will guide me along this journey and give me what I need to lead Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches through these tumultuous (wow…that is kind of a big word for me to use, but I like it) waters.

Yet another part of me is somewhat concerned what people here and beyond will do.  Will churches and people up and leave the ELCA?  Will Salem want to do that?  This is just one uncertainty that plagues me and one that I need to be ready to deal with.  I need to explore my heart and test my faith to see where it leads me.  I know the question will come up so I am in constant prayer…asking God for guidance and wisdom here.  “What is your plan for me and this church, oh  God?  Where are you leading us?  How are we to be faithful witnesses to the world during this tumultuous time in the Church?  But also…I don’t want this issue of homosexuality to distract us from the Gospel.  Grant me/us wisdom oh God.”

But I am thankful that this journey is happening before the busyness of the fall season hits.  School is not in session yet; Release Time and Confirmation classes don’t start for another couple weeks and Salem’s 125th anniversary is still a couple weeks away.  I can afford some down time to pray, reflect, talk with colleagues, write, read, pray, reflect, etc… And I got a feeling I will be doing plenty of this during the week and beyond.

I don’t understand why things happened last week the way they did, but I hope and pray it causes people to reflect, pray and engage their own personal faith journeys.  Maybe the Church needed this to spur people to action; to explore their relationship with God; to get people talking and thinking; to force people to explore their faith; to get into scripture more.  Whatever God is doing I trust that the mission of Christ will continue forward and that we will continue to be faithful witnesses.

“Oh God, grant me strength and wisdom.”

-edh-

“Sheepish” scripture and Holy Spirit inspiration

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

This Sunday (Pentecost 7) we have some sheep and shepherd talk…and I like it.  It is a far cry from last week where we had Amos talking about God’s plumb line and Mark talking about John the Baptist being beheaded.  Not that we are to shy away from the difficult texts, but it is always fun to deal with ones that are…and I don’t want to say “easy”…but rather fun, descriptive, memorable (like Psalm 23), and other adjectives that just are not coming off my tongue right now.  I don’t know what I am preaching on yet but I am sure something will inspire me.

<on that note…about being inspired>

I want to share with you what happened to me last Thursday.

I usually come to my office on Thursday morning with some idea on what scripture I am using in the sermon and with some idea on the direction I will be heading.  Last Thursday I was clueless.  I had no idea what scripture to preach on and had no idea on even a focus statement.  Those are Thursdays that make me a little nervous (“O you of little faith”).  So I went up to the sanctuary (as is my custom on Thursday mornings) to read the scripture and talk through some ideas.  And before I knew it I had the scripture and focus statement.  I ran up to my office and started typing.  By the time I was ready to leave for Coffee Choices to have lunch and write the sermon (as is my custom on Thursdays) the sermon was done.  The Holy Spirit got a hold of my fingers and went to work.  It was quite a sight to behold…and a lot of fun.

“O you of little faith”

That was the phrase I kept hearing.  And I should know better because this is not the first time this has happened.  It just goes to further remind me that the sermon that is preached on Sunday does not belong to the preacher, but to God.  I try to refrain from saying “my sermon” and try to use the phrases like “the sermon” or “God’s message” etc.  To get into a “zone” like I did on Thursday is such a humbling thing.  It also further reminds me of part of the prayer I pray each Thursday morning (an excerpt and paraphrase of Luther’s sacristy prayer), “I am not a good writer, speaker or preacher and if this was left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin”.  Amen to that.

So with all that in mind I am off to prepare for Sunday or rather…listen for God’s direction.  Maybe I should start with God being my shepherd and me following like a little sheep.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

Missed opportunity?

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I can’t help but think that there was a missed opportunity yesterday.

Millions of people across this vast globe watched the Michael Jackson memorial service on TV and a few select people were able to be there in person.  I for one did not watch, but saw and heard a number of sound bites no matter the station I was watching (even ESPN had a couple sound bites).  Now…I don’t want to generalize this memorial service but I can’t help but think that it was probably no different than any other celebrity’s memorial service.

What was the missed opportunity?

Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his (Jesus) blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”

Imagine if that verse were read at the memorial service (or one like it).  Imagine if the Gospel were preached in all it’s purity.  Imagine if people across the globe got a chance to hear celebrities witness to their faith (if there is indeed faith there to be witnessed to).  Like I said…I wasn’t there, didn’t watch and I don’t know the people in attendance.  But the sound bites I heard never once mentioned Jesus, God, faith or anything of the sort.  Missed opportunity.

With memorial services like this the tendency is to focus on the person who has died.  There are stories told to highlight what a great person they were.  There are facts shared that illustrate what a difference the person made in the lives of others.  There are tears shed and emotions laid out for all to see.  No doubt that Michael Jackson had an influence on many people, loved many people and helped many people.  No doubt that he will be missed and mourned for a long time.  But as with any person on this vast planet…Michael Jackson was a sinner.

Don’t get me wrong…he was no worse than anyone else, but he was a sinner.  I am a sinner.  You are a sinner.  But despite those facts Ephesians 1:7 is true for you and me and Michael Jackson.  I wish this was shared with the millions of people that were watching…and mourning.  Missed opportunity.

Funerals are an excellent opportunity to preach the Gospel to people that normally would not put themselves in a situation to hear the Gospel preached (i.e. they don’t come to worship unless it is Easter, Christmas or a funeral).  We can’t miss these opportunities.  People are searching for answers and reassurance.  What a missed opportunity to share with people that because of what Jesus has done and through faith we will all be together again.

Death doesn’t have to be good bye, but rather see you later.

The memorial service yesterday was an opportunity that was missed and will never come again.  Take advantage of situations in your life to preach the Gospel, share the Good News of forgiveness and proclaim the gift of life we have from God through Jesus Christ.

Let’s not miss opportunities.

-edh-