Tag Archives: Paul

The greatest Evangelist in the Early Christian Church

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 9, 2015
Tags: , Paul   

Something New — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 9, 2015

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God” 2 Corinthians 5:16-18a

“Many of you enjoy watching the PBS program, The Antiques Road Show. For me, the best part of the show is not the antiques; it’s the people. You know how the program works: people bring in their family bric-a-brac and some national expert will study that bric-a-brac, ask the person a few questions about the bric-a-brac, and then share what the bric-a-brac is worth. I like to watch the faces of the folks when the expert says, “This bric-a-brac is not some garbage your crazy Uncle Charlie picked up shortly before he died. No, there are only two of these bric-a-bracs in the entire world, and yours is worth a gazillion, billion dollars.” At that moment the bric-a-brac is transformed and has become valuable. No, that’s not right. The bric-a-brac was no different. It had always been valuable. The people were the ones who were changed.” “A New Value” Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

There are a few experiences in our lives that really change us. You can see the change in children when they come home from college. You can see the change in classmates when you return home for class reunions. And you can see the change in someone when the Holy Spirit really takes hold of them — and really changes them. As Lutherans, we do not always like to see a whole lot of change — either in our worship experience — and especially in the religious behavior of a person. If someone all of a sudden finds “Jesus”, many in the Lutheran church may look upon them with a suspicious eye. Yet, this is what Jesus wants — Jesus wants us all to become a “new” creation — and that often requires wholesale change. But the change comes either in how we see ourselves, or we see the “others” who have experienced a change.

We have always been valuable, no matter what others may have thought about us. We have always been valuable because G*d sees us as “valuable”. Remember, G*d sees you as a valuable, loved, child of G*d right now — no matter what the world might be telling you. And knowing that G*d thinks you are valuable should change you — change how you see yourself — and change how you see G*d working in your life and in the lives of others.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 6, 2015
Tags: , Paul   

We Walk By Faith — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 6, 2015

“So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

I like going to the beach. I am not a sunbather, but there is something about hearing the waves crashing against the beach, and the wind blowing constantly that is soothing to my soul. Once I have covered up from the sun, I can lay upon the sand for hours. However, getting to the place where I plan to repose can be trying. Walking on hot sand is not a pleasant experience. And unless you have the dexterity of a college athlete, it is hard to run in sand — hot sand.

Of course, this is how I often feel in the day to day gymnastics that I call my life. I often feel that I am walking along a hot beach (if not hot coals) and the more I walk, or run, the harder it is for me to get to the end of my journey — a place of repose. And each one of us has our share of hot sand — we cannot avoid it. But no matter how hot the “sand in our lives” gets, we know that each and every experience we have prepares us for the eternal weight of glory to come when we finally join our Lord once again. Until then, we do walk as by faith, not by sight. But there is no harm in trying to avoid the hot spots if we can — because some of those hot spots are from our own bad choices. And when we cannot avoid them, we learn to walk into and through them by faith, trusting in and having the confidence that G*d will see us through.

Pastor Dave