September 23, 2022 — Come, O Lord

“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-13

“At the close of the Bible we encounter these words, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” A new world is coming! Each time we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” we should remember that prayer will be answered. Heaven is described as a new creation in which we shall move in new bodies, possessed of new names, singing new songs, living in a new city, by a new form of government, and challenged by new prospects of eternity with social justice for all. The paradise that man lost will be regained, but it will be much more. It will not be the old one repaired, patched up, and made over. When God says, “Behold, I make all things new,” the emphasis is on all things. One day we shall live in a brand-new world. Centuries ago the apostles greeted each other with the word, “Maranatha”-the Lord is coming.” (A New World, by Billy Graham)

If one chooses to split the two words as “maranâ thâ”, one of the words is in the imperative tense, and as such it can be translated as a command to the Lord “to come.” On the other hand, if one decides that the two words “maran ‘athâ” , are in the possessive perfect, it would be read as an expression of a creed, a belief — “Our Lord has come,”.

In general, the recent interpretations have read it in the command option (“Come, Lord!”). The NRSV of 1 Cor 16:22 translates the expression as: “Our Lord, come!” Reading it in this way the early church is praying actively for the Lord to return. I am fairly certain that most people today would read it the same way.

There are many prayers that an individual could recite in times of trouble, and in times of joy. “Come, Lord Jesus be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed”, is a prayer one could pray at mealtime. Another is “Jesus Christ, Son of G-d, have mercy on me a sinner.” This is known as the “Jesus Prayer”. When in serious trouble, one could simply pray “Marana Tha” – “Come, O Lord” — or “O Lord, Come”. Repetitive prayers can be comforting, but more importantly, they help us in times of stress – for they have been memorized and easily come to mind.

Let us pray,

Oh Lord, Come. Come to me today – come to me tomorrow – come to us soon. We need you Lord every day. Amen.

Pastor Dave

September 22, 2022 — Pruning

“Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”  Hebrews 2:14-18

“We live in culture saturated and driven by fear. We worry about our nation, our borders, our jobs, our schools, our neighborhoods, our values, our way of life. But fear, the book of Hebrews tells us, is the power of the devil. Hebrews 2:14–15 describes the devil’s hold on us as a lifelong slavery to fear. The devil gets his claws into us when we get lost in the fog of anxiety, suspicion, paranoia, and worry about those people with strange accents, customs, and skin colors.” (The Power of the Devil, Stranger God: Meeting Jesus in Disguise, Richard Beck)

Fear can be a powerful drug. I have been struggling with a lot of fear this summer. Some of my feelings come from my own personal experiences with how I view my ministry, and other feelings come from what I see in the church and the world today. If there is something in my life that I feel needs to be pruned, it is fear. “Why do I do the things that I do?” Paul asked this same question, and this is the question I need to ask myself constantly. Am I doing things out of fear or out of faith? 

Recently my wife was pruning branches off a tree that stands in our front yard. She was pruning the branches because the tree was growing unevenly, out of control, and was interfering with strangers who wanted to walk on the sidewalk in front of our house. These are the reasons we prune certain behaviors from our lives. Sometimes we step back and see that our lives have become uneven and out of control because personal decisions and behaviors are impeding with our own progress in life and faith.

If I can give you one piece of advice my friends, it is this: prune fear out of your life and learn to live by faith.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you call us to live by faith not by sight and not to have fear. Your first words to your disciples on the day of the resurrections was “Do not fear”. Give me the courage today to live by faith, not fear. Amen.

Pastor Dave