Posted on by Pastor Poet

Dis-Connected

There can be no doubt that we are all connected.  Our actions or inaction have immediate and far reaching consequences.  To be careless or thoughtless is a choice that comes with consequences.

As large as the world seems, technology has brought us closer to one another.  Sadly, this closeness doesn’t always translate to compassion.

Compassion demands care and intimacy.  But this virtual reality consuming so many of us often breeds unhealthy comparison, competition, and cruelty.  We are not closer to one another.  We are ‘connected’ but we are also more isolated.  We are more  ‘connected’ but somehow loneliness is being reported at record highs! 

So, while I’m writing this message using the very technology that I am criticizing, I want to encourage you to be careful – not in an anxious way – but rather take care at what and how much you consume and consider what you create.  Your words and ideas have consequences!  Use your power for good!  Get it?

Be compassionate to one another!

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 

Galatians 5:13–15

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Encouraging One Another.

Tentmakers in South Africa

We are at our best when we are able to see one another and share with one another our sorrows AND our victories. We are encouraged and able to offer encouragement.  Our joys are multiplied and our troubles become bearable when we realize we are not alone.

Why do so many of us struggle with loneliness and hidden disappointments?

Unfortunately the culture has taught us to compare ourselves to one another rather than compliment one another.  We have been conditioned to believe that our issues are always and only our own – nobody knows – nobody understands – and most unfortunately – we believe no one cares. I’m here to remind us today that our struggle is not our own, unless we make it so.  We needn’t move through the world under such false notions.  

But I also offer you this one caveat – the grace we need is the grace that is also required of us.  In as much as we need support, encouragement, we must make ourselves available to support and encourage others. While we crave and need support and encouragement – make sure that you are making yourself available to encourage and support others.  Get it?

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Deal with My Heart, LORD…

Mandela’s Quarry, Robben Island, South Africa

A small stone can feel like a boulder when you carry it too long. Minor offenses become major rifts when they go unaddressed.  

Molehills become mountains when we don’t deal with them appropriately.  

An offense, a grudge, a little bitterness, a reoffense, a sleight, some abuse, neglect, unrepentance, hatred, violence – and the cycle continues…

So here we are. Generations confronted with repackaged versions of the same issues, refusing history’s lessons, because we give into apathy that keeps us drowsy and makes us numb. We’d rather be entertained than educated- amused rather than inspired…

And now the only thing that rouses us is the most intense pain and the overwhelming fear of mutual destruction.  

Why do things have to get so bad before we decide we need to pay attention?  

Why do we ignore the sages and prophets that warn us against selfishness, greed, and malice in our hearts? 

In times like these, I admit it, I have to guard my heart against the rage and bitterness that will only make things worse.  LORD, deal with my heart! 

Will you pray with me today? 

“ …Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of us speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 

Let no corrupting talk come out of our mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  

Ephesians 4:25–32

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

His Eye is on the Sparrow…

It’s the time of year when the weather is transitioning and it can get a little unpredictable.  A sunny cool morning can become a windy stormy afternoon, and then end with a beautiful sunset.

Where I live, there are always birds. It makes me wonder.  Where do they go when the weather turns?  They are silent during storms but at the first clearing, they pop right back out, singing and doing what birds do!

You think we can gather something from them?

What I’m hearing this morning, is a simple lesson that many of us have heard a thousand times.  Perhaps today will be the day that we learn, huh?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  

Matthew 6:26

Where do the birds go during storms? I don’t know. But, I do know God cares for them!  God cares for them and  God cares for us.  Remember that as you pop out this morning!

‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me…’

🎶🎶

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Choosing Joy…

God has blessed us to see another day.  What will we make of it?  The way I see it, we all have a choice to make.  

We can begin with joy, or we can begin with anxiety.  We can begin by renewing our trust in God, or we can begin with anxiety.

We can begin with hope, or we can give into despair.  

We get to choose.

While there is plenty of bad news to report this morning, I prefer to set my mind on the good news that remains.

God loves us. God is still on the throne.  God is at work amid these strange circumstances.  God is present with us and God is preparing us for what lies ahead!  

So let’s not get overwhelmed by what seem to be insurmountable obstacles in our way.  God is greater than all these things!  

Be encouraged today, draw your loved ones close, and begin with joy!

25  I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26  He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

Psalm 37:25–26

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Time & Good Company 

Have you ever had something precious snatched away from you?  Something you labored for and treasured?  Have you ever lost something special and despite an exhaustive search, you couldn’t find it? I have…

Our initial response to loss is typically, ‘Why?’ – as if understanding erases pain.  But I’ve discovered that understanding doesn’t eliminate pain, and oftentimes it makes things worse. This is not to say we shouldn’t try to understand, but don’t overestimate the results!

If you live long enough you will encounter some losses.  While some are more significant than others – all losses cause grief. The only thing that makes grief bearable is time and good company.  

The Comforter is with us.  Thank God that we needn’t journey alone. Thank God that we can provide both for one another – just a little time and some good company! 

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

 Matthew 5:2–4

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

The End… The Beginning…

When things fall apart, when we lose a loved one, when a relationship fails, when a job is lost, or when something or someone we relied on goes away,  we can feel like we are at an end.

When we encounter these types of losses, we can feel discouraged, disoriented, and teeter on the brink of despair.  

And as much as we would like to avoid these things, all of us will at some point have to endure these things.  It’s not always a judgment against us, but rather a reminder that everything in life is fleeting.  

But we must endure these ‘ends’ if we will ever encounter the possibility of a new beginning.  Such is even true of our spiritual lives.

For Christian’s, new life begins when we are born again, and our baptism into Jesus is our reminder. Old things must pass away in order for all things to be made new.  This is the paradox of pain and passion culminating in the power and promise of Resurrection.  This is the way of Jesus.

So while we lament the loss of some things and some people too, we rejoice all the more in the hope of the Resurrection.  We have not come to the end inasmuch as we find ourselves at the precipice of a new beginning.  

It is not over for us.  Beyond these obstacles lie the opportunities to imagine and embrace the new! Just ‘hold on a lil while longer; everything will be alright.

Remember…

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

Romans 6:4

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Integrity…

Treating people the way you want to be treated is called the Golden Rule.  Regardless of how you feel about them, whether or not you understand them, whether or not they look or talk like you, whether or not you share common heritage or interests, or whether or not you even ‘like’ them.

The Golden Rule is the firewall against revenge, pettiness, slander, greed, vindictiveness, prejudice, or partiality.  And it is the only rule that inclines us toward a peaceful and compassionate community. But each time we transgress this Golden Rule, we devolve bit by bit towards inhumanity.  

Such a simple phrase with such intense weight levels us all.  The Golden Rule is an equalizer that erases categories of privilege and oppressed, and places the ability to change the world squarely in the hands of each individual regardless of the corrupt and unjust systems that deceive us into thinking we have no power or control. We still get to choose.  It is not always an easy choice but it is a choice nonetheless.

The Golden Rule demands integrity.  The Golden Rule demands tenacity and faithfulness that proves itself especially when one possesses great power or when one is under intense pressure.  And, it is impossible to obey without intentional humility and intense spiritual fortitude. God help us!

Perhaps this is why we abandon it so quickly.  It’s much easier and quite understandable to want to match energy, to retaliate, to return evil for evil.  But the cost becomes our own humanity along with the possibility of any real peace within or without.

So what will we choose?  While the lines that separate us become deep grooves and ruts – who among us will choose to be and to do differently?  

Jesus expects that anyone who follows Him would attempt to live by His rule – this Golden Rule.  Are you, are we among these?  

A tree is told by the fruit it bears, yes?  

God help us all to possess such integrity.  It is the only hope for our humanity.  

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Luke 6:31

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

When You’ve Been Blessed…

After Adrienne and I exchanged vows before our friends and family, we were blessed by our pastor and then serenaded with the song, ‘When you’ve been blessed,’ originally recorded by Patti Labelle.

That was thirty years ago – it was one of the most important moments of our lives.  I am sure that over the years we’ve side-eyed one another, wondering if it was worth it.  Anyone who’s been married for any length of time has come to this point- if we are honest!

But I am grateful for good counsel.  I am grateful for those who challenged, encouraged, and held us accountable.  I am grateful for those who’ve reminded us that as  our lives were being woven together, as beautiful as this is, that it wasn’t just about us. I am grateful that God kept us when we couldn’t!

God put us together because God loves us, but God wants us to be a blessing to others as well.  We’ve been serving the LORD together for over thirty years – that’s as long as we’ve been together. We’ve shared our time, our talents, our hearts, our home, our energy, our resources, our joys, and our sorrows – we’ve shared our lessons and blessings – we’ve had our share of ups and downs – and yet God’s grace towards us and our deep love for God and one another continues to overflow. We are better than we deserve and somehow have more than enough!

As enamored as we were with one another when we stood at the altar all these years ago – we knew that it was never just about us!  

“When you’ve been blessed… Pass it on!”

…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”  

Luke 6:38

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

To be a blessing…(3)

When God blesses us, it is to the end that we would be a blessing to others. When we forget this, we miss the point and neglect God’s purposes.

It makes us feel good to be set aside, elevated, and blessed, but we must never forget that God has a goal that entails more than just making us feel special.  

When God called Abram out from among his relatives and away from all that was familiar, it was for a purpose.  Abram’s consecration and elevation – his great name – was not an end in and of itself!

God’s plan was always to extend God’s blessings and to redeem all of humanity – Abram was to be God’s conduit – the one through whom God blessed others. Abram is an example.

Get it? 

We are the means through which God wants to bless others. We must never forget this.  Otherwise, instead of conduits we will become like clogged pipes – bursting rather than blessing! 

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 

Genesis 12:2

As we aim to ‘be blessed,’ may we never forget to be a blessing!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam