February 1, 2024 — “Easy to Deal With”

“Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. But when they had tied him up with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?”  Acts 22:22-25

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:1-4

When asked of others, would they say that you are “Easy to deal with”, or “Difficult to deal with?” Now, you do not have to give your answer to me or to your spouse, or partner, etc. Perhaps you know yourself well enough that you already know the answer. No matter where you go, you will encounter people of both kinds. And, most likely, if you have the choice between two people to wait on you at the coffee shop, and one is easy to deal with the other is not easy to deal with, you most likely will pick the first person in which to give your order – because we all would rather deal with the person who is kind and considerate, rather than the one who is abrupt and cold.

Are you aware of how you come across to others? Do you know you are angry all the time, or negative, or cheery, or positive? Does it cross your mind that how you are feeling at the moment will come out in your responses and interactions with others? I have some friends who are always joyful and bubbly – they make it a point to see the good in everything. I also have some friends who are constantly looking at the other side of the coin in life – they are always negative and down.

Jesus preached “Blessed are the Meek”. The Greek word for “meek” is the word “Praeis”  — “the meek”. The essence of this Greek word is “balance.” It is the balance between anger and indifference; power of character and self-control; and self-assurance and humility. The meek are those who find a balance between kindness and being a door mat. You see, being easy to deal with does not mean you are always a door mat. You can be kind, easy going, and considerate and still stand up for your rights as a person, and as a Christian.

Life should not be about living so that people know you are always right. It is living a life that is a balance of kindness and strength of character. It is the balance between being humble enough to listen to those who disagree with you, understand that you are not always right, and yet have the fortitude to stand up and live out what it is you believe while respecting those who disagree with you. Living a balanced life means you can say you are sorry and mean it, without any caveat or “but….” – and give forgiveness as well as you accept it.

Pastor Dave

February 2, 2024 — “Finding Joy in Suffering”

“Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:7-11

Paul spends some time talking about his “thorn in the flesh” in his second letter to the church in Corinth. He says, “to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

“Though I have in my live experienced gout, bladder stones, a botched bone marrow biopsy, and various other screamable insults, until recently I had no idea what pain was. It islands you. You sit there in your little skeletal constriction of self-of disappearing self-watching everyone you love, however steadfastly they may remain by your side, drift farther and farther away. There is too much cancer packed into my bone marrow. It is a dull, devouring pain, as if the earth were already—but slowly—eating me. And I pray. Not to God, though, who also seems to have abandoned this island, but to the pain. That it ease up ever so little, that it let me breathe.” (My Bright Abyss, Christian Wiman; p. 115 Kindle edition)

Dare I say we all have some thorn in the flesh that has been a source of suffering – and perhaps a source of strength. Paul was not afraid to ask the Lord to take his thorn away. Christian Wiman, author of books like “My Bright Abyss” and “Zero At The Bone” prayed for his pain to ease up just a little – but he was praying to the pain. Even Jesus asks that his “cup be removed so he did not need to endure it” – but in the end he says that if it be G-d’s will to endure, then he would endure. Perhaps this is where we begin when it comes to looking at our own sufferings. In one of the readings I encountered in the book “The Tibetan Book of the Living and the Dead” the author writes that when we are suffering, we should pray that the Lord allow us to endure the sufferings of others as well, while we endure our own. It is a higher level of enduring and “pain management”, but perhaps it will help take our minds off our own suffering.

Suffering is just that – suffering. How we endure it demands prayer, community, and strength. And yet the pain may seem to be killing us. Enduring pain is nothing we can do on our own – it takes a relationship with Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit to help us achieve such a level of endurance. 

Pastor Dave

January 31, 2024 — “In One Ear and Out the Other”

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5

We have a cat that is always scratching her ears. If you pet her head, she will shake her head violently and scratch her ears. If you let her sit on your lap, after a few minutes she will get up and scratch her ears. We have had her looked at, and she just has itchy ears. Having itchy ears for humans has mostly been a metaphor for wanting to hear a doctrine or an idea that only fits your worldview, or ideas, or your views of G-d. I am sure you have known someone in your life who just was never satisfied with an explanation about something – whether it is the fact that the moon landing was real, or in regards to who shot JFK, or whether Jesus actually rose from the tomb. And I am also sure that you knew or actually know someone whom seems to live their life taking information “in one ear and letting it go out the other.” This is how too many people approach their faith lives: they come to services and the sermon goes in one ear and out the other. They talk to their friends who are suffering, and the information goes in one ear and out the other. In other words, nothing goes into their ears and straight to their heart.

So, how is it with you? Are you one of those who have the connection broken between the ears and the heart? Or do you have listening ears and a feeling heart? When you hear the Word of G-d preached, does it stick, or does it exit stage left? When you read the Word or listen to the plight of your neighbors, do their pleas sink deep into your conscience and take hold there, setting for a spell and actually beginning to produce fruit in your life?

We should always strive to allow the Word of G-d to not only enter our ears, but also enter our hearts as well.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help my ears to inform my heart. I know that when I allow my ears to teach my heart, I will have a better chance of Your words transforming my heart, and my actions. Amen.

Pastor Dave