As a Father Loves his Children

Dear Fellow Children of God,

I remember this day 24 years ago.  Around 8:00 on the morning of October 27 Kathy had gone into labor.  Her mom was staying at our home with us.  Our young sons, Josh who was almost 7 and Andy who was almost 5, were waiting to walk across the street to school.  Around noon the doctor told us to come to the hospital.  We arrived at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville and then we waited and waited and waited.  Finally around 5:00 p.m. Kathy’s labor picked up, and at 6:00 p.m. the doctor held up our first daughter.  You could see right away she had red hair.  What a joy and blessing our daughter Mary has been to Kathy and to me!

Over the years Kathy and I have received God’s blessings through each of our children.  What a gift!  I think you can see we love our daughter.  We love our children, all 4 of them.

So, considering the love of a parent for their children, please hear what God says to us in Psalm 103: 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

 

Many of you are parents and you know how you love your children.  If you are not a parent most of us know the love our parents have had for us.  There is a passion deep in my soul that loves each of my children.  Do you know God loves you like a father?  With the passion and compassion of a father, God cares for each of us. 

Do you ever want to take your children, even your grown children, into your arms to hug and love them?  As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

What a blessing to know and live in the love of our heavenly Father!!

A Child of God, thankful for the love of my Heavenly Father,

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Mary, 24 today!  Happy Birthday, Mary!!

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

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Rejoicing in the Fruits of Faith

Dear Fellow Children of God,

This year while moose hunting I had a mostly sleepless night.  St. John member, Gerry Zellar, my friend and moose hunting partner realized I hadn’t slept much or well and asked me in the morning if I was alright.  I told him I was just thinking and worrying and praying about church.  Maybe there were other reasons I didn’t sleep well that night, but I was also thinking about our worship services. While membership has remained pretty stable, worship attendance had decreased in recent years.  I was thinking and praying most of the night.  If there is anything that causes worry for me, for any pastor or other church leaders, it is to share God’s word but not see the fruit of the seed that is planted.  Because we all struggle with temptation and sin there are times in all of our lives that we hear the word and love of God but we don’t always bear fruit for God.  That night I spent time wondering about how our congregation can more effectively share God’s Word so His people grow and live their faith.

However, since I have returned from hunting I have been encouraged by a number of examples of God’s word bearing fruit in the lives of His people.  Recently we had a baptism that was a special encouragement to me.  One little girl was baptized in September.  Before that baptism I had gone to her home to talk about what God does for us when someone is baptized.  A couple of weeks later I got a call saying another member of the family wanted to be baptized.  That young lady had heard our study of the Bible and had considered how God works through baptism to give His love.  The request to be baptized was the result of the word of God working in the life of this person.  The seed of God’s word was planted and bore fruit when the second family member asked to be baptized.  If there is anything that brings joy to me or any other pastor it is to see the fruit of God’s love showing in someone’s life.

In addition I recently rejoiced after a the blessing of a really good couple of days.  We have had good attendance in worship and great attendance in Sunday School.  In addition a number of people have contacted me on their own to share their hopes and plans to serve our Lord.  After writing down a list of all these instances of God’s word bearing fruit in the lives of His people I had to stop and offer a prayer of thanks.

Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  (John 15: 5)  A sleepless night by itself bears no fruit, though God does answer prayer.  But, this verse says that when connected to Jesus then our lives bear fruit.  When we know God’s undeserved love for us, when we trust Him for forgiveness, when we love God because He loved us, Jesus changes our lives.

Do you need God’s blessings in your life?  Do you need changes in your life?  Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

A Child of God, Thankful to see God working in the lives of His people,

Pastor Jonathan

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

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The GIFT of Love

Dear Fellow Children of God,

Today, I was witness to two small acts of kindness that perhaps were not really all that small.  The first actually came from my dog.  You see I ended up taking our cat to the vet with an infected foot.  The doctor actually did some extensive cleaning of the infection, gave the cat a shot of antibiotics, and sent him home with a fear of the doctor and a bleeding foot.  You see, it hurt the cat to get the wound cleaned.  When I brought the cat home he lay on the bed he shares with our Labrador retriever.  The dog saw the cat, came over and sniffed at the cat.  It noticed the foot and licked the wound.  Then our dog nudged the cat as it lay down.  The dog also laid down near the cat.  From observing that interaction I think the dog missed the cat and was, in its own animal way, trying to take care of the cat.  Obviously the scene impressed me.

The other act of kindness happened when I brought my grandson, Jacob, home from preschool.  I got Jacob out of the car seat and set him on the ground while I carried some other things inside his house.  As Jacob walked from the car by himself he started whining, as 3 year olds can.  But Jacob’s sister, Emmalee, was concerned.  Emmalee ran to her mom and said, “Jacob’s crying.”  She missed her brother, cared about the reason he was crying, and ran to tell mom to help Jacob.  When asked why he was crying Jacob told his mom, “It’s cold outside.”  It was about 35 degrees and there were some flurries in the air.  The cold may not seem like much, but Emmalee was genuinely concerned about her brother.

God calls us to “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)  Love is not just to care about someone, but to show that love, even to tell others we love them.

As I was thinking about these small acts of kindness, love flowing from the heart from one to another, I realized I haven’t told you recently that as a Christian I love you   Some of you receiving this devotion are actually family.  Many of you are members of St. John. Others are friends. I have not only spent time with you or worshipped with you, but I have also been in many of your homes.  I have often prayed for many of you in times of blessing or need.  These may seem like easy words to say.  Yet, I can honestly say as a family member, as a fellow Christian, as a friend, I care about each of you.  But, just caring in my heart keeps it only inside myself.  I need to share this.

Love is a powerful blessing.  You understand how even these seemingly small acts of kindness I saw today touched me.  Now consider the biggest act of love ever.  God didn’t just love you in words, but gave His only Son.  Jesus, the Son of God, gave His very life for us in love. 

I pray the great love of God for you touches you so that you are moved to share care and concern and Christian love with those in your life.

A Child of God, loved by Him and desiring to share that love,

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here are some pictures of what I expect will  be my last fishing trip of the summer.  https://picasaweb.google.com/jonrock53/LastDayOfSummerFishing10102011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

A Real GIFT!

Dear Fellow Children of God,

It just appeared in my bank account yesterday. . . sort of.  A deposit of $1174.00 was put into my savings account electronically in my name.  A similar deposit was made to our account in Kathy’s name.  Did anyone else have the same experience?

Alaskans all know what I’m writing about, it is the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend.  In fact, you may wonder why I should act surprised.  This has been happening now for about 30 years.  We almost take it for granted.  “What’s the big deal?”

Please consider this reaction.  This check that Alaskans get from oil profits because our constitution says that ‘the resources of Alaska belong to the people of Alaska’ is really a gift.  We did not work for this dividend.  We were not winners in a drawing.  People in other states do not have the same dividends.  Kathy and I did however submit an application for the Alaska Permanent Fund.  Five minutes or less on the computer last December and a deposit of $1170.40 was made in October. 

So, do we take this gift for granted?  When she was healthy enough to worship regularly St. John member June Liebing would stand up after worship in early service at Permanent Fund Dividend time and say.  “God made the earth.  The oil is in the earth.  My permanent fund dividend is a gift from God.”  Then she would also add, “I encourage you to give to the Lord from this gift from God.”  (June is now 90 years old and living in the Pioneer Home in Palmer.) It is good to remember what is written in James 1.  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,  (James 1:17)

But, this is not just true of permanent fund dividends.  On an even greater level the joy and hope of eternal life we enjoy is a gift of God’s love because of the sacrifice of Jesus.  We did nothing to earn this.  Even if we tried we could not have earned this gift of God.  He gives it to us freely when we believe in Jesus as our Savior from sin and death.

So, how do you respond to a gift?  The Psalmist simply says, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)  Thankfulness is like faith.  Thanks comes from the heart and shows in our actions. 

So, as you receive this gift of a permanent fund dividend, as you receive the greater gift of God’s love and eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus, do the actions of your life show thanks?

A Child of God, thankful for God’s undeserved love,

Pastor Jonathan

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.