September 13, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Xenocrates (Greek philosopher)

“I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.” (Xenocrates of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader of the Platonic Academy from 339/8 to 314/3 BC.)
“As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Luke 19:37-40
There is a constant struggle in the church, as I have come to realize in the last eleven years. The struggle is not with music, between contemporary or traditional; nor with liturgy, the old one everyone knows verses the new unsingable one. No, the real struggle with church is “How much silence?” Some people believe there should be more silence in church because our world is so noisy, church should be a respite. Others think if there is too much silence, people will become bored quickly.

Well, there is one place that we all become too silent, and that is when it comes time to share our faith with others. When the opportunity presents itself for you to share your knowledge and experience with Jesus, do you clam up, or do you share your faith? Of course, all of us can speak volumes about our faith just in how we live our lives, make our choices, and treat others. There is no need to always be standing on a soap box and preaching on the corner, but there is always the need to be aware of the opportunities that present themselves to become a voice for Jesus.

There will be enough time for me to be silent when they plant my body in the ground. Until then, I will try to take every opportunity I can to share with others what Jesus means to me – and you should do the same.

Pastor Dave

September 12, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Rene Descartes (French philosopher)

“I think, therefore I Am”. (Descartes was a mathematician, and scientist – he was dubbed the father of modern western philosophy)

“Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said,” Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.'” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.…” Exodus 3:13-15

Descartes was thinking one day when he thought he hit upon as a primary truth – and it came in answer to a question he was pondering “Is there anything I can know with absolute certainty?” What struck him was the thought that since he was always thinking, this equated with his “Being-ness”, or in other words, his “identity”. Since he is thinking, therefore “I Am.” Descartes, rather than stumbling upon the ultimate truth, had stumbled instead on the ultimate identity, the “Ego”.

We know, of course, that Moses was called by G-d through the burning bush to accept the challenge to lead G-d’s people out of slavery in Egypt, into freedom. Moses was skeptical, as any of us might have been at the time. His skepticism was not so much about the calling, but whether he was the right person for the job. And when he famously asked the question “What is (your) name?” G-d famously answered ““I AM WHO I AM….thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.”” What G-d had just told Moses is that G-d is not a thing, G-d is……verb more than noun, action more than a thing. G-d is action, G-d is presence, G-d is mystery, G-d is Being. We all struggle to “Be” something, and mostly we struggle to know “Who” we are. “Who Am I?” is the question many people ponder every day. Instead of wondering if “Am I this?” or “Am I that?”, we need to remember that we are all part of the “Great I AM.” Before we were formed in the womb, G-d knew us, and continues to know us in ways we will never fully fathom. And since G-d created us, our identity begins with not “What Am I?” but “Whose Am I?” We are G-d’s children, and this is what gives us our true “Being-ness” – our true identity.

Pastor Dave