Posted on by Pastor Poet

Scars…

After Jesus’ resurrection, it would take a while for the news to spread.  And even among some of His disciples, there were still some doubts about the stories that were being told.  The most famous of the doubters is Thomas.  

Evidently he wasn’t present when Jesus first appears to the disciples.  I don’t know where he was or what he was doing, but for whatever reason, he was not at the meeting when Jesus showed up.  And despite the witness of the other disciples, Thomas declares defiantly, ‘I won’t believe until I see…” 

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 

John 20:24-25

Most of us are not as audacious as Thomas, but we live very much by the motto, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.” We are suspicious and mistrustful of one of God and one another.  We’ve been disappointed and let down before, so we reserve our hopes and limit our faith to what we can confirm – which is ironically the opposite of what faith is supposed to be. 

Graciously, Jesus obliges Thomas and shows up. Jesus reveals himself and allows Thomas to touch his wounds. Jesus shows and shares his scars. 

Thomas is not alone in his doubts, huh?  We are surrounded by those in our families, on our jobs, in our neighborhoods, in our circle of friends who have doubts about who Jesus really is.  They want proof.  The temptation may be to debate with them – to try to convince them through compelling arguments – but honestly I never met anyone who became a Christian because of an argument.    Maybe we should learn from Jesus’ example.

Jesus reveals his scars.  He makes himself vulnerable by allowing Thomas to see and handle his wounds – to witness personally the truth of the Resurrection.  I wonder if some of the doubt we encounter in the world is because we’ve been conditioned to hide our scars rather than reveal them as evidence of God’s grace and power! We stifle God’s glory by concealing our own stories of healing and resurrection.  Something to think about, huh?

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!

John 20:27-28

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

christian?

The greatest commandment is to love God, the second is to love others as we love ourselves.  Jesus embodied this ethic and commanded those who would follow Him to do the same. 

It’s pretty simple, no?

In a country that is supposedly christian, it seems pretty straightforward. The outworking of Jesus’ commands are not obscure.  They are easy enough for a child to understand:

Love is good. Hatred is bad. Sharing is good. Selfishness is bad.  Giving is good. Stealing is bad.  Kindness is good. Cruelty is bad.  Compassion is good. Bullying is bad.  Respect is good. Rudeness is bad. Telling the truth is good. Lying is bad. I could go on, but I’ll

stop.  

So what’s the problem? The commands are pretty straightforward, no? The promise of the Spirit is to help us in our infirmities, yes?

With our highly evolved, tech-savvy, exceptional, so-called christian selves – this is what we’re doing right now? This is the best in who we are? Shame on you.  Shame on us! 

Perhaps the problem is that we are not all who we profess to be and we have no intention of obeying Christ’s commands.  

So let’s stop putting Jesus in the middle of this hateful, disgusting mess! Let’s stop giving him credit for this awful experiment.  I can hear Him saying, ‘I never knew you…’

Are these words biting and disturbing? Good.  It means we are not beyond hearing.  This is grace. 

Do better, right now, today!

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

1 John 4:11–12

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Daily Bread

Yes, I Bake!

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, rather than give them something that they repeated verbatim, He gave them a model.

Right in the middle of the prayer are these familiar words:

Give us this day our daily bread…

Matthew 6:11

Pause for a minute.  Before the day starts running by us – let’s pause and consider God’s faithfulness.  Right now, at this moment, we have everything that we need.  

Don’t let anxiety or worry about tomorrow cause you to miss the miracle in this moment.  Today, we have everything that we need.  Trust God for the rest!  Get it?

As smart, capable, and talented we are, not one of us can live more than a moment at a time. Let’s give thanks for today, and trust God for the rest!  

God promised to take care of us!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Dirt-work?

Mandela’s Quarry

When a house is built, the most important work is often never seen. Even before concrete is poured, the ground has to be prepped and graded.  The first step in the process is dirt-work! 

Excavation and installation of footers all must be done before a single brick is laid. Skip this step and you undermine the integrity of the structure and risk future issues and the likelihood of having to start all over again.

Sounds a bit like life, doesn’t it?  When our foundation is questionable, our future is a gamble.  Time, tests, and trials will all tell what’s really there, no?  Times are indeed telling!

I hope we are rooted in God – gripped by grace, and grounded by God’s love for us!  What is true will stand, what is not, will fall.

Remember Jesus’ parable about building a house on a rock? I can hear in His words, an echo from the Psalm:

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Psalm 127:1

It’s time for all of us to do some ‘dirt-work,’ huh? It’s beyond time for some excavation and regrading to occur in our hearts and lives. Let the Word and Spirit work! 

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Emergencies?

There are times that life will remind us that we are not in control.  Despite our best laid plans, we will be met with frustrations and unforeseen circumstances.

Honestly, I struggle a bit during these moments and depending on my frame of mind at the time, I have often let them get the best of me. I know I’m not the only one!

While there are many situations that present as emergencies – most things are not.  Yes, there are some things that require urgency and attention, but we cannot make everything an emergency or nothing is! Get it?

Beyond this, as God’s children, we have access to the wisdom of God, and the presence of Spirit to address whatever challenges that may confront us.  We also have the confidence that God sees and knows, and is willing and able to aid us!  Pray!

When we acknowledge God for all of who God is – omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal – we realize that there are no emergencies or surprises with God, and this is the God who cares for us!  Get it?

Whatever the day brings, know that God knows, God sees, God cares, and God is able! 

Before you let anxiety and frustration take hold – remember this…

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;he who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:1-8

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Love letters?

Once upon a time, letter writing was the primary means of communicating across distances.  

But letter writing has been replaced by the telephone, and the telephone is very quickly being replaced by text messaging and emails.

I can remember when passing notes in school was the way you let someone know a secret or ask them if they ‘liked’ you!  I can’t remember the last time I received a letter that was not a bill or an advertisement.  

In the early church, letters were the way the Gospel was circulated.  It was the way people were introduced to new communities, how their credit was approved, and how credentials were verified.

When Paul was asked for ‘letters of commendation’ by the very people to whom he had preached the Gospel, his amazing and sarcastic response was, ‘You are my letters…’ Paul pointed to the people he blessed, encouraged, healed, and helped, and said – ‘You are my letters…’

Hmm… the imagery got me wondering…

If we are all ‘living letters,’ what message are we transmitting? Are we slick advertisements, or are we bills?  

Perhaps we are love letters…

What if our lives are letters – stamped and sealed by Spirit – sent  to the world, to one another, to remind one another of God’s grace and love through Jesus Christ?

Would you send it?

2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:2–3

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

What’s on the Inside? (4)

Have you ever known someone who had a knack for saying the wrong thing?  

I’m not talking about the person who may have a speech impediment or the one who may stumble over their words from time to time.  I’m talking about those who are routinely rude, careless, insensitive, or just downright brutal. I hope I’m not talking about any of us.

What’s on the inside?

Did you know that the words we say to and about others, actually reveal our own hearts? Did you know that gossip and coarse jesting are NOT just harmless words?  They are a type of violence, once unleashed are nearly impossible to reign in.

What’s on the inside?

All of us are subject to outbursts when we are in pain or under pressure. This is understandable though even this is not excusable. We need to be careful with our words.  

Blessings and curses, building up and tearing down, life and death – these things lie in the power of our own words (Proverbs 18:21; James 3:1-12). Our words have both creative and destructive powers. But, beyond all this, our words reveal our own hearts.  

What’s on the inside?

The old adage says, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me…’  This is a lie.  Hurtful, careless, reckless speech can ruin people – both the one who says them and the one they are aimed at! 

What’s on the inside?

Listen:

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:45

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

What’s on the Inside? (3)

Jesus reserved his harshest words for those who were religious.  Some might wonder why Jesus was so hard on those who appeared to be trying so hard to do the right thing.  Shouldn’t Jesus have congratulated and celebrated them for their piety? 

Instead of praise, Jesus offered a rebuke – what had to be a painful critique!

What’s on the inside?

Sometimes in our spiritual walk, we can get enamored by our own virtues – standing so close to the mirror that we cannot see our own flaws.  Sadly, our myopia causes us to become judgmental and hypocritical.  We get puffed up and sanctimonious, and we forget that it is only by God’s grace that we are not consumed. 

We turn, ‘all have sinned’ to ‘y’all have sinned.’  And we place ourselves in danger of judgment. We are undone with a single question. 

What’s on the inside?

Can you hear the voice of the Spirit today? Has someone offended or frustrated you? Are you ready to curse them and throw them away?  Before you call down fire, take a long slow look in the mirror and ask yourself, ‘What’s on the inside?’

Yes, there are times when anger is appropriate, and righteous indignation is justifiable.  Yes, there are times when wrong needs to be called out and protest is necessary.  There’s a time when a curse seems like the right thing to do, but this is a slippery slope. We may find that we’ve become what we despise!

May God guard our hearts against self-righteousness, and cultivate compassion in our hearts toward others – especially those we think don’t deserve it. 

What’s on the inside?

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:27

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

What’s on the Inside? (2)

Years ago when we bought our first home, we fell in love with it immediately.  We made many of the mistakes that young first time buyers often do.  We were drawn in by how the home was staged and all the little things that make an older home charming.

We moved quickly to place an offer and we got the house.  Then we moved in.  But, in a matter of days problems started to pop up – plumbing, electrical, hvac issues – expensive issues!  Our charming little home very quickly became a money pit!! And, we had buyer’s remorse!

When we first saw the house, I don’t think anyone could’ve said anything to deter us from pursuing it.  We learned the hard way.  Our ignorance was not blissful – it was expensive!

So, we’ve learned to ask different questions, to be more critical – and to hire our own inspector – not the one the realtor suggests!  It was a costly lesson, but we learned it!

What’s on the inside?

We will regularly be approached with what seem like good opportunities.  Be deliberate and be discerning.  Ask questions.  Above all, pray! Never be afraid to ask, ‘what’s on the inside?’

 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

Proverbs 18:15

What’s on the inside? 

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam