Tag Archives: Mercy

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 13, 2015
Tags: , , , Mercy   

Showing Mercy — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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November 13, 2015

“(Jesus said) “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:36-37

“Most of the time babies crying in church don’t bother me. Crying is what babies do. The only exception to this rule takes place when

1. the crying becomes regular and repetitive, and
2. the crying goes on so long I can see the people in the pews around that baby wincing to the rhythm of the crying.

No, I don’t mind babies crying in church, but in an airplane, that is a different matter. It’s different because the parents can’t take the baby out to deal with the problem, and it’s different because the people around the upset child can’t escape either. This is why I can be sort of sympathetic for two of the people on the 5:30 a.m. flight from Michigan to Alabama. They were already situated when Rebekka Garvison sat down with her four-month-old child, Rylee. When the plane revved up its engines, Rylee did the same. Seeing the discontent on the faces of those around her, Rebekka asked if she could move to another row where there was only one person whom her baby might bother. Rebekka and the still-crying Rylee moved to a new location. This time, rather than receiving a stare of disapproval, Rebekka got a smile. More than that, her new seat mate, Nyfesha Miller, asked if she could hold Rylee and try to calm her down. The switch of holders made all the difference in the world to Rylee. She began looking out the window and soon she fell asleep. Rylee stayed asleep for the rest of the flight and was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when she saw her father, a serviceman stationed in Alabama.

Now the reason I share that story is because it rang a bell. Many years ago, Pam took all three of our children to visit her parents in Arizona. She was traveling alone and our youngest, Kris, was a baby — a baby who got air sick. That day, a man, the embodiment of a Good Samaritan, asked if he might help. He took two-year-old Kirsten and entertained her so Pam could deal with Kris. Although the Bible doesn’t exactly say so, I think there must be a special place in heaven for people who step out of their comfort zones and do that which needs to be done. (“Showing Mercy”, October 14, 2015, Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)

How can you ago forward today and be the good neighbor? It may be difficult. You may have neighbor’s who don’t wish to talk with anyone – yet there are always ways to do good deeds that do not require asking permission. Or, you may have neighbor’s who do not like you – there are ways to extend a courtesy or a kindness without them knowing it was you. With the advent of the Internet, and places like Face Book, we can see many examples of ordinary people doing random acts of kindness over and over again. Join the revolution of kindness, when you see someone who you know is being stretched to their limit, or you know your mean neighbor is in need, find a way that you might be able to do something simple and be a good neighbor.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 23, 2015
Tags: Discipline, Mercy   

Disciplined Thinking — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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October 23, 2015

“Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:7-11

“You’ve got to admit, some of our hearts are trashed out. Let any riffraff knock on the door, and we throw it open. Anger shows up, and we let him in. Revenge needs a place to stay, so we have him pull up a chair. Pity wants to have a party, so we show him the kitchen. Lust rings the bell, and we change the sheets on the bed. Don’t we know how to say no? Many don’t. For most of us, thought management is, well, unthought of. We think much about time management, weight management, personnel management, even scalp management. But what about thought management? Shouldn’t we be as concerned about managing our thoughts as we are managing anything else? Jesus was. Like a trained soldier at the gate of a city, he stood watch over his mind. He stubbornly guarded the gateway of his heart. . . . If he did, shouldn’t we?” (Devotionals Daily: A Year With Jesus, From Grace for the Moment: Morning and Evening Edition by Max Lucado)

Discipline. Does anyone like discipline? When I was a child, I lived in fear of being disciplined. Just the fear of discipline often kept me from doing things I thought would be fun, but I knew would get me into trouble. But I have to admit that I was not like most other children. Today there are so many young people who openly mock authority. And not just the children but their parents as well. If the thought enters their minds to do something, they are going to find a way to do it, and there will be no one to tell them otherwise. I was watching the television the other day where I watched a story about a family that disciplined themselves to go one year without spending money on unnecessary things. They spent money on food and hygiene, and medical care, but nothing else. The amount of money they saved that year was extraordinary, and you can read about it in a book titled The Year Without a Purchase. They learned that they could discipline themselves from spending money on “extras” – but it was not easy. In fact it required a lot of change, especially changing their priorities, and changing their thoughts.

Many professional athletes have to spend a lot of time working on managing their thoughts. It is true that if we think something, think we are a failure, think that we will make a mistake, or think that we are not good enough, we often manifest our thoughts into reality. The same is true in the sports world. If an athlete thinks they are going to fail, if they think they will miss a putt, strike out, drop a pass, miss a shot, fall off the balance beam, then they have a much greater probability of failing.

Remember Jesus thinks every person is so great, so great that he went to the cross for all of us. When this becomes our predominant thought, then we will not only feel blessed, but we will be a blessing.

Pastor Dave