Monthly Archives: March 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:13 am on March 31, 2015
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The Works of G*d – Rev. David J. Schreffler

March 31, 2015

“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of G*d might be made manifest in him.” John 9:1ff

“Charity is the very face of Christ. He is gone – yet he is here always, dwelling in the faithful and the holy. Oh, if Christ, the suffering, Christ, the hungering and thirsting, the naked and the sick, the stranger and prisoner, still abides on earth in the persons of those who suffer…his love makes him one with them.”   Charles Porterfield Krauth (1823 – 1883) “For All The Saints” volume I (p. 918)

Have you ever, when you looked into the face or at the body of someone who is severely disabled, have you ever pictured Christ standing before you, or looking you in the eyes? When Jesus says that the blind man was born blind so that G*d might be manifest in him, in essence he is saying that in the body of the man born blind is the very essence of G*d. The other day I went to the home of a man who had come to the church looking for some assistance with frozen pipes. His mother was recently placed into a nursing home for recovery, and possibly as a permanent residence, and he was trying to deal with an older home that needed a lot of repairs. He is retired and does not have the income to cover all of the repairs that are needed, besides the emergencies that have beset him this winter. I knew that he was having a hard time asking for help – which, believe it or not, is common with some generations. As I approached his home to offer him some assistance, he came out of the door of the home with a picture in a frame. He said, “Pastor, I want you to keep this painting for me. It was my father’s and it hung in his office. I am loaning it to you to keep for me as we try to figure out what to do with the house. If I never see you again, then you can keep this painting as a reminder of me.”
I thanked him for the painting (after telling him it was not necessary to give me anything, though I felt better when he said it was “on loan”) and went to my car. As I looked at the painting when I returned to my office, I discovered that it is a painting of a pastor sitting in his office, and sitting next to him and talking to him – is Jesus.

I am planning to hang this painting on the wall of my office to remind me that, whenever there is someone sitting in my office who has come to ask for help, or ask for guidance, or is planning a wedding, funeral, etc. whoever that person is who is sitting across from me, they have inside of them, the essence of Jesus – G*d manifest in that person. Can you continue your week reminding yourself that in everyone you meet, young or old, abled or disabled, male or female, black or white, within each of those people G*d is manifest?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 8:54 am on March 30, 2015
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Here is My Servant – Rev. David J. Schreffler

March 30, 2015

​”Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.” Isaiah 42:1-4

“Thankfully this great announcement in the book of Isaiah is up front with its source: “Who says?” God says! God, the Lord, the Creator, the Heaven-Stretcher, the Earth-Spreader — not just some smooth-talking schmo…” “There in G*d’s Garden”, devotional booklet.

In the Old Testament, G*d was in the business of speaking directly to the people. The Prophets proclaimed directly to the people what G*d was telling them – telling them to tell the people. In the New Testament, G*d speaks directly to us through Jesus. But G*d speaks to us in other ways as well – through the New Testament prophets. Who were the New Testament prophets? New Testament prophets would include Saul, later named Paul. They would also include Peter – and of course one of the many John’s of the New Testament.

I have a child who always wants to know where I have heard the facts that form my opinions. He always wants to know “Where’d you hear that?” If the information I am giving him is not from one of his “sources”, then he views it with a lot of skepticism. We live in an age and a society where anyone can pretend to speak with authority, especially over the internet. I find myself needing to always be diligent about knowing from whom exactly the news, advice or information is coming – but my son is not so diligent. He believes only his sources, and he doesn’t matter how reliable they are.

As Christians we belive that the bible is the norm and the primary source of information for the truth of G*d and G*d’s promises. It is in Jesus that we believe we have received the most important teachings of the Bible directly from G*d. And it is in Jesus that many believe G*d has fulfilled Old Testament promises. “Here is my servant…my chosen”, G*d says. Take time this Holy Week and the upcoming season of Easter to return to the source of truth about G*d – who speaks to us through the ages in the words of scripture.

Pastor Dave