Posted on by Pastor Poet

Blind?

When Jesus came, the most religious people in the community – the Pharisees – were the least likely to believe, embrace, or accept Him. 

Jesus challenged their wisdom and holiness, and they hated him for it.  

It’s interesting how Jesus had his harshest words for those who thought they already knew everything – those enamored by their own understanding, expectations, and egos – those religious folks who rejected the very One they claimed to be waiting on!

These religious folks had a problem with how Jesus looked and where he came from.  They took issue with who Jesus healed and helped, they were annoyed by His grace and generosity, they rejected those with whom Jesus kept company, and they were annoyed by Jesus’ audacity to reinterpret scriptures that they claimed to be experts in. 

Their arrogance made them ignorant.  Their arrogance made them self-righteous and judgmental. Their arrogance and ignorance made them blind guides – that is willfully blind – and worse off than any blind man that Jesus healed!  

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.  

John 9:41

If our faith is not tempered by humility, our blindness will become a judgment against us!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Momentary…Temporary.

When we are tired or struggling, the days can get really long. When we are worried, in pain, or waiting on a change to come, time can feel like it’s creeping by.

When we are confronted with a chronic condition or dealing with a problem that cannot be solved instantaneously, it can feel like nighttime all the time!

Funny how ‘time flies when we’re having fun,’ but how time crawls by when grief shows up like an inconsiderate houseguest, who doesn’t know when to leave…

But a minute is still sixty seconds, an hour is still sixty minutes, and a day is still twenty-four hours. Time is not standing still. Whatever we’re going through is only temporary. Troubles don’t last, and this current crisis is momentary.

But the love, goodness, power, and wisdom of God are eternal. God’s character is unfailing. God’s grace endures.

Grace endures… and this too shall pass!

17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NRSV)

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Grounded in Hope

There are times when it seems like everywhere we look there is trouble. The places, things, and sometimes even the people that used to give us comfort are no longer doing the trick.  We ride unpredictable waves of emotion up, down and sideways. We become tired,disoriented, frustrated and threaten despair.

What do we do?

In times like these, we need the Savior.

In times like these, we need an anchor.

Be very sure.  Be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the solid Rock…

When life and circumstances go awry, we need to ground ourselves in the One who promises to be with us.  We need to ground ourselves in the grace that gives us hope – the grace that stabilizes us amid life’s storms.  We need to ground ourselves in the unfailing character of our loving God.  We find solace in the non-anxious presence of Spirit, who gives us peace that surpasses understanding.

Be very sure.  Be very sure, your anchor holds, and grips the solid Rock!  

This Rock is Jesus!

In times like these, we don’t lose heart. We don’t lose hope.  We don’t give up. Breathe…

This is not the end.  

This is not our end.  

This is not your end!

We ground ourselves in this grace, and we keep on going…

7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NRSV

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Grace.

What I’ve learned from being married for thirty years is that grace is unavoidable if you’re going to make it!

No matter how strong the attraction is, no matter how aligned you are in your goals, no matter how much you share the same values, you will find new and creative ways to annoy and offend one another.

These offenses, whether major or minor, are in some ways unavoidable.  The weight of our humanity has a way of pressing on all of us.  Our selfishness, clumsiness, and stupidity show up subtly and simultaneously at the most inopportune times.  And none of us is all right, or all wrong, all the time! We are all sinners, no?

When we were counseling before our wedding, our pastor soberly reminded us that we were both marrying sinners. And as such, we would never find ourselves closer to another sinner!  The idea was not very romantic at the time, but it was absolutely true!  The beauty, however, he said, was that we would never have a greater opportunity to experience or extend the grace that looks beyond faults and looks out for the best in and for another person!

He was absolutely right!  Today, I am particularly grateful for the wisdom in his words!  And, I have learned to see his words as the lynchpin of any healthy human relationship.

Husbands and wives.

Parents and children.

Brothers and sisters.

Friends and family.

Coworkers and colleagues.

Neighbors and associates…

We can get along, grow along, and go along, beyond trials and adversities, when we lead with grace and love is our default.  We can endure and overcome tragedies and trifles when we lead with grace!  

And while it may sound absolutely ridiculous, we learn this most profoundly when we confess that we need it as much as we need to give it! Get it?!

Lead with grace and make lover your default!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Uncomfortable Truth.

When we have grown accustomed to accepting lies, simple truths become offensive.  

It’s interesting how uncomfortable we become when idols are toppled.  But, I want to suggest to us that this discomfort can be constructive and liberative. 

Shakespeare said, ‘oh, what tangled web we weave, when at first we practice to deceive…’ 

What a web we have woven!

Stitching together lies, layer by layer, until we’ve wound and wrapped ourselves into a comfortable shroud that chokes and constricts us, sapping us of our strength.  

We’ve often mistaken these silken strands for an illustrious garment, when in actuality, these are the shackles that will suffocate us.  Thus when challenged by any simple truth that may free us, we reject it for fear of nakedness.  Wrapped in the warmth of comfortable lies, we cling to grave clothes… dooming ourselves.

It takes courage to hear and acknowledge uncomfortable truths.  But this discomfort is constructive and liberative work! Pain and disillusionment are inevitable, but somehow worth it…

“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  

John 8:32

Open your eyes, your ears, and your heart!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Living…Hope.

As we rise to meet this new day, let us do so with a living hope – not the frail optimism that depends on human efforts and ingenuity – but rather the living hope God has graciously granted us through the resurrection of Jesus.

As we rise to meet this new day, we do so with resilience and faith that exceeds the simple motivation to survive.  We receive the resurrection power that causes us to thrive even under the harshest circumstances.

As we rise to meet this new day, we welcome the Spirit who stirs and quickens us with every breath and every step.  

As we rise to meet this new day, we receive the uncommon favor of our loving God, who will not allow the worst things to be the last things.

Sorrow, suffering, and death have not prevailed.  We rise – having been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. 

As we rise to meet this new day, let us do so with a living hope – not the frail optimism that depends on human efforts and ingenuity – but rather the living hope God has graciously granted us through the resurrection of Jesus.

As we rise to meet this new day, we do so with resilience and faith that exceeds the simple motivation to survive.  We receive the resurrection power that causes us to thrive even under the harshest circumstances.

As we rise to meet this new day, we welcome the Spirit who stirs and quickens us with every breath and every step.  

As we rise to meet this new day, we receive the uncommon favor of our loving God, who will not allow the worst things to be the last things.

Sorrow, suffering, and death have not prevailed.  We rise – having been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. 

Provisions find us, the protection covers us, peace pervades us, God’s promises pursue us, and the presence of God persists with us.  These are our birthright and our inheritance is secure! 

As we rise to meet the new day…

In this we rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…

1 Peter 1:6

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Remembering Rightly?

One of the toughest things we ever have to deal with is the fact that while God is gracious, there are consequences for our words and deeds.

Yes, God is gracious, but there are things that we wrestle with as a consequence for the words we’ve spoken and the deeds we’ve done. 

The grace is that we are still here.  The grace is that as we remain, we have the capacity to learn from and grow forward from these consequences.  The choice is ours.

As we are confronted with circumstances today, let’s rightly remember our past.  Let’s confess our faults and failures.  Let’s acknowledge our complicity to our circumstances. Let’s receive grace even through consequences and learn to be and do better…

Let’s resist the urge to rewrite the uncomfortable parts of our personal and shared pasts… Let’s remember rightly, so we can heal…

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 

James 5:16

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

The Same Spirit (3)

While we are all certainly special and unique, our diversity must never be miscast as division that becomes a stumbling block to our unity and our ability to serve others well.

One of the great challenges of our humanity is the temptation to self-sort – to segregate ourselves – based upon our differences and proclivities.  Sadly, this tendency has become an albatross for the church.  

Our unity is integral to our identity and witness as followers of Jesus.  It is the answer to Jesus’ prayer:

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 

John 17:23

Yes, we are many but we are of the one and same Spirit – graciously woven together by God. 

We are a tapestry that honors God’s creativity while also celebrating our uniqueness and diversity. 

We needn’t choose one or the other. 

We are many and we are one!

We are of the same Spirit!!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

The Same Spirit? (2)

If the same Spirit that raised Christ also quickens us, then it follows that this same Spirit will produce in us the virtue and character of Christ, yes? 

God’s word is true. The Holy Spirit 

dwells within all of those who by grace, have faith in Christ.  The seed of grace has been sown in our hearts.  Nursed and properly nourished,  this seed grows up into a hearty plant.  The seed becomes the plant, and when the plant matures, the plant bears fruit, yes?

The same Spirit that raised Christ, dwells in us.  The seed of grace has been sown.  The fruit will follow.  

What is this fruit? I’m glad you asked.

Paul wrote:

2 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

Galatians 5:22-23

The fruit of the Spirit is love. 

With all its emanations, the fruit of the Spirit is love…

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

The Same Spirit!

When our minds are heavy with worry and anxiety, and when we’re tempted to despair, it may be that we have focused too much on what’s going on around us rather than who dwells within us…

The scriptural record is full of examples of God’s people beating the odds, overcoming obstacles, and achieving incredible goals. We draw strength from their witness, but there is no greater hope than the hope we have in the Resurrection of Jesus!

And, guess what? 

The same Spirit that raised Jesus is also at work in us!  As He got up, so do we!  Amid trials and struggles, from darkness and beyond despair,  we rise!  And, if you are reading these words, God has done it again!  

Now, let’s get up and get going!

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam