February 11, 2023 — “There is no such thing as “blind faith.”

“My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.” Proverbs 3:1-8

“Proverbs and the other Wisdom books help us work through the complicated experience of trusting God’s truth in God’s world. He created the world, He sustains it, He reigns over it. But until Jesus returns, this world is going to be a mish-mash of good and bad, right and crooked. There are times when it seems like it’s more profitable to do evil than good. Times when it seems easier to go along and get along than to stand firm on convictions. Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes deal honestly with that challenge to help us see that God’s ways are still best.” (faithlife.com)

Having trust does not mean we will be protected from all harm. Having trust does not mean that all will be well with our lives all the time. By nature of being born human, we open ourselves to the inadequacies and the insufficiencies and, of course, the dangers of this life. This then should not crush our trust – it should double our efforts to find the G-d of trust and the G-d of hope that comes through Jesus Christ. Do not forget the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus looks to the people who would have had the most reason to lack hope and lack opportunity: he looks at them and says “Blessed are you who mourn, who are poor in Spirit, and who are meek.”  Jesus says, “Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven”. In other words, Jesus reminds them that because they understand their hope comes in G-d, and G-d alone, then their futures are secured through G-d.

It is through G-d that our hope comes – and since the resurrection of Jesus, that hope became human, incarnate and manifest for those who continue in G-d’s hope. And then, we can live every day with our eyes wide open – helping those in need, giving hope to the hopeless, and food to the hungry.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, help me to learn today that faith does not shut my eyes in comfort; it opens them to sharing in the needs of everyone around me. Amen.

Pastor Dave

February 10, 2023 — “How to Fertilize Love”

 “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

“It’s important to look at the context of these verses on love. A major theme of this letter Paul writes to the church at Corinth is unity. There are tons of problems happening within the church due to divisive spirits and selfish attitudes. Basically, Christians acting in an un-loving manner toward each other. Paul’s heart is that, “there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Cor. 1:10). And oh, how we Christians struggle with this concept today. Fights, drama, disagreements… they are a lot more frequent than we’d like to admit. But at our core, I think each of us knows we are made to be loving. That’s why the outcry is so strong when we hear of any violent act in our world – we know it goes against our very nature.” (healthychristianhome.com)

Is it possible to love all people the same? I would say, this is not possible. As we read the scriptures, it seems that even Jesus liked some of his disciples more than others. There are examples where we see Jesus is with only three or four of his disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These were seemingly the big four disciples – the ones Jesus called on more often than others. There was also the disciple, from John’s Gospel, whom we are told is the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” If love for our brothers and sisters were simply dependent on the Holy Spirit, then, possibly we might love all the same; but love depends to a great extent on other human things as well. Jesus may have found some of his disciples more lovable because of their nature – just the same way that we love those most who seem to us most lovable. We are drawn most to those whose dispositions and characters and interests appeal most strongly to us.

Of course, there is danger of a twofold nature as we seek to love people. On the one hand, we are liable to love some so much that we become partial towards them to such an extent that others will feel that we do not value them as we should. On the other hand, there is danger of looking at the unlovable qualities of others until we lose sight of the good that is in them, and grow prejudiced against them until it becomes hard to feel the proper love.

What we need to remember is, if we are to seek to be loving and to love all people, then we need to stop looking at the things that we find unlovable, and instead try to focus on the good things, the noble qualities of each person. Keep them in mind, and work on forgetting the faults and failings and unlovely traits. Begin to show special kindness, make it a point to speak to the loveable and the unlovable, and show an interest in them. Watch for a chance to do something helpful; go out of your way to do them favors. Let us love each other knowing Christ died for all people.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, what gives us hope for learning to love all people is to remember that Jesus didn’t die for just the loveable folk – he died for all people. Today give me the courage to learn to love the unlovable. Amen.

Pastor Dave