May 7, 2016

“So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8

Have you ever been close to a lightning strike? If you have, you understand the power that is contained in that single bolt of lightning. I am not so sure there is a greater display of power from nature than what we witness in the lightning strike – it can bring down steeples, ignite fires, disrupt air traffic, and explode trees. It is this same kind of power, the power of a lightning strike, that I believe it takes to raise the dead to life. I believe it takes a giant shock like the paddles EMT’s use for death to be defeated by science. For the earliest believers, for them to understand the resurrection of Jesus, it had to be just that kind of jolt – and a similar kind of jolt just to be close to the power displayed in Jesus.

That mighty “lightning bolt” has been seen and heard through the centuries and can be seen and heard still in the lives of Jesus-followers today.   That’s good news; especially if you’re in need of a jolt of G-d’s power today.

The Kingdom of G-d certainly includes Israel, but G-d’s plan includes reconciliation of all nations. The good news must go outward from all of us to the ends of the earth. There should be no national, cultural, or ethnic boundaries that we should try to use to fence in G-d’s love. It will be only the Spirit that will guide us all towards this grand vision. We, like the disciples cannot limit G-d’s work to our own expectations. If G-d has a mission in mind that is bigger than we might be thinking about, G-d will let us know – and the power to complete it will come through the power of the Spirit. We always need to listen for that “bolt”, that “jolt”, that wider call.

Pastor Dave

May 6, 2016

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”
Romans 8:14-17

“Not everyone is on good terms with their parents. The world is full of children who do not know their parents, are afraid of their parents, are angry at their parents, or whose hearts are aching for parents who have passed away. No matter what our relationship are like with our mothers or fathers here on earth, we who are children of God have an intimate relationship with our spiritual Parent. God’s Spirit will never leave us by ourselves, and God will never stop loving us. God is always there when we call.”  (Rebecca Poe Hays)

When we experience the birth of a child, we are reminded of the possibility of “all things being made new”. I recently witnessed the birth of my first grandchild. I am always amazed at the birthing process, how a living, breathing human can be formed from a sperm and egg into a living, functioning “new” person. It is a wonder of the glory of G-d. And along with the birth comes the possibility of – anything. Each birth brings with it the endless realm of possibilities. The same G-d who birthed creation into existence is still creating and birthing “the new” into our world each and every day – thousands and thousands of times, over and over again.

This is why we call our creator “Abba” – “Father”. G-d is our creator – we are G-d’s children. And no matter your relationship with your parents, we have a G-d who is not absent, who is not abusive, and who will never disappoint us. No, our Father will not always give us what we “Want”, but our Father does give us what we “Need”. It is in this spirit that we understand our “being made new” every day as we remember our baptisms, and live in the possibility of our own renewal, and the assurance of experiencing the love of G-d in new ways each and every day.

Pastor Dave