Tag Archives: Discipleship

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on August 15, 2015
Tags: Discipleship, ,   

That Great and Terrible Day — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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August 15, 2015

“Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.”  Malachi 4:5-6

“The promise of the Day of YHWH does not come without its requirements, however. The day of the Lord is a blessing for the righteous because they “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb…” As we wait for the Lord to make things right, we must remember that we are called to stricter obedience to God’s will. The obedience is herein described in terms of the Mosaic Law complete with its statutes and ordinances. Though we, as Christians, have a different relationship with Mosaic Law, we are not less obliged to “remember” that we have been called to a different set of values than those posed by our world. As Christians, we are called to live our lives by God’s system of rights and wrongs. Taking seriously personal morality and our commitment to justice, we are called to live out an example of God’s ways, rejecting the dangerous moral postures that hurt our brothers and sisters, and offering a new way of living out God’s forgiveness, truth, and light. We are called to express a new Law, the Law of Love that Jesus repeatedly commands of us as the testimony of our fellowship with him.”

(December 21, 2008, Rodney S. Sadler, Jr.)

Not too long ago I wrote about making promises to our children (and here I could include our entire family) that we will always be there for them. The point I was making is the fact that we make this promise knowing full well that we cannot guarantee that reality. The true fact of life is that we cannot predict to any great degree of accuracy, when we might leave this world. It may not be for three score or more — it may be tomorrow. And if we delude ourselves into thinking that we always have enough time to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ, that there is always plenty of time to get the “G*d Thing” down in our lives, it is a continuation of the delusion. As the parable of the man who built bigger barns to keep his stuff teaches us, G*d may come tonight to demand our presence in the Heavenly realm. So, if we believe that we have plenty of time to wait to work on justice and peace in this world, or if we believe that we have plenty of time to take obedience seriously, obedience to the ways that Jesus calls us to live, we had better begin to change our thinking now. There is no better time than right now to consider the “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” — for it may be here before you know it.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 24, 2015
Tags: Discipleship, , ,   

Por Dios / For G*d — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 24, 2015

“Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”” Matthew 26:6-13

“In Spain the beggar sues for alms in the name of the love of G*d, and if nothing be given, you are supposed to reply: “For the love of G*d, brother, forgive me!” And as the beggar makes his appeal in the name of G*d, (por Dios – for G*d) he is known as a “por-diosero” (beggar). But as the other, the putative rich person, also asks his pardon for the sake of G*d, one might call him a “por-diosero” too. “Por-dioseros”, beggars, both.” Miguel de Unamuno (1864 – 1936) “For All The Saints”, volume IV (p. 318)

It is attributed to Martin Luther that some of his last words written or spoken were the words “we are all beggars”. None of us comes to G*d with anything that we can give to G*d when we approach the heavenly throne — there is nothing G*d needs, wants or desires that comes from the pathetic hands of the human. We all come to G*d with our hands outstretched begging for G*d forgiveness, mercy and love.

Begging is a universal act — I can go to my local mall and as I drive into the parking lot, there standing along the road is one man or woman with a sign that is asking for food, work or money. What has put them into this situation? No one truly knows. What we do know is this: there is a need — locally, state-wide, nationally and throughout the world. People are begging for needs, physical and spiritual needs. We are all beggars — we have been in many aspects of our lives — and we will find ourselves in that position at the gates of Heaven. We will come empty handed to the gates of Heaven — for nothing we have earned in this life will matter then. In the meantime, we can be serving those who are begging right now for physical and spiritual sustenance. It will not guarantee us a ticket through the gates of heaven, for Jesus has bought that ticket for us already. But, in serving those who are begging now, we can understand their plight, and might be able to see a way to put their hands in the hands of the one who can give them spiritual food and drink.

Pastor Dave