"What is Your Part of the Body of Christ?"

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

So, who do you think will win the Super Bowl this year?  Will Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos win, or the Seattle Seahawks, the only NFL football team in the Pacific Northwest? 

 

I ask that question because sports dominate the attention of people in our world today.  Basketball, soccer, football, baseball, and hockey draw tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people, to arenas and stadiums to watch, and to participate as spectators. 

 

Sports are so much a part of our culture that most children participate in some kind of sports team.  Soccer teams are popular around the U.S.  In Alaska, more children play hockey than any place I’ve seen.  And, of course, there are basketball and football and baseball leagues for children.  If you talk to one of these children about their participation and ask them, “What position do you play?” they can usually give you an answer.  “I’m a forward or I play defense, or goalie.  I’ m a shortstop or a pitcher.  I play running back or quarterback or linebacker.  I’m a guard or a center.”  Children learn early on that there are different positions on every team.  Each position has a different role, and each position is important to the success of the whole team. 

 

I point this out because it is good to ask, so “what is my position, what is my part in God’s church?”  St. John members, what is your part in this congregation of God in Palmer, Alaska?  Members of any congregation, what is your contribution to the work of God in that place as your congregation shares the love of Jesus?

 

Scripture instructs that each of us have a role or a position of importance in the Church.  1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”  It is God’s plan that each of us are involved in the work of Jesus’ church to share Jesus’ love.

 

But, in today’s world people are so busy that often people look for places where there is low commitment and little expected.  Many who go to church are so busy, or they just don’t want to take on responsibility as a part of the church.

 

Jesus left heaven for us, lived His life for us, was tortured and executed for us, and rose for us.  Jesus acted in love so that we can live in that love and share that love.  So He gives each of us a part or a role or a position in His body.

 

So, “what is your part in the body of Christ?”  Do you have gifts of serving or helping?  Do you have abilities in leadership or administration?  Are you good at comforting others or encouraging others?  When we serve in the Church it is not really the church we are serving.  The Church is a tool of God to spread His love on this earth.  When we use the gifts and abilities God give us, it is Jesus we are serving through His Church. 

 

God has a place for each us!  “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 

 

A Child of God, Seeking to serve as part of the body of Christ,

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  I will be on vacation the next couple of weeks, from January 28 through February 11.  Kathy and I will be visiting my family in Florida  I will not be writing “Thoughts from the Pastor” those two weeks . . . unless something really strikes me.

 

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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.

 

Finding Hope in Winter Darkness

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Do you have the winter blahs?  Does the January darkness put you in slow motion?  Are you experiencing cabin fever?  Are you tired of shoveling the snow?  This year, are you sick of the freezing rain? 

 

It is January in Alaska.  As I looked at Thursday’s paper it said the sun rose at 9:54 a.m., and set at 4:24 p.m.   So, even though the solstice occurred almost a month ago and we are gaining 4 minutes and 14 seconds of daylight each day, it is still January.  We wake up in the dark.  We often go to school or work in the dark, and we return home the same way.

 

I personally enjoy winter.  I actually enjoy the cold and the snow.  I also believe that in these days of darkness it is healthy to get outdoors into the light.  So I ice fish, or snow machine, or go downhill skiing.  But even for someone who enjoys the winter I know that at this time of year I am a little slower to wake up in the morning.  Even for someone who enjoys winter sports, there are times that I get tired of the wind or the extreme cold, and get tired of walking through snow drifts or walking through slush.  And, I know that when the long hours of dark give way to a daytime of clouds, my energy is not there the way it is when there are clear skies and lots of sun.  Just the other day when I asked someone how they were doing their answer was, “I’m waiting for the summer.”  We all understand that answer.

 

Feeling down is not unheard of for God’s people, even though we are called to rejoice in the Lord.  The Scriptures are full of references to people who are overwhelmed, or tired, or even depressed and weeping.  Did you know that the prophet Elijah, after his victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, was so overwhelmed by the opposition of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel that he wanted to die?  Look at 1 Kings 19.  Elijah’s lament and God’s answers are worth remembering.  In Psalm 130 the Psalmist talks about his reaction to his sin, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.”  The book that describes the reaction of the Jews to the destruction of Jerusalem and their exile in Babylon is called, “Lamentations,” or songs of lament or weeping.

 

When I am down one of my favorite verses is Psalm 42:11 where the Psalmist bares his soul and cries, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

 

When life is difficult, when losses cause grief and weeping, when the world overwhelms us, it is good to know we are not alone.  There are others who have faced the trials of life and sometimes been “downcast” or “in the depths.”  I expect you have experienced such feelings, but it is good to know we are not alone.  In fact, our Lord Jesus shared our suffering.  (See Hebrews 2:17-18)

 

And, when life seems to offer only strong winds and slush and darkness, it is good to know there is hope.  There is hope in the middle of winter because the days of light and summer are coming.  But, there is hope in the middle of life’s winters because we can put our hope in God.  When the world hurts us, God loves us.  When we suffer, Jesus suffered too, unfairly, for us.  When our trials overwhelm us, we know we have victory because Jesus rose and God gives eternal life to all who believe in the Savior.

 

I know some folks whose answer to the Alaska winter is a couple of weeks in Hawaii.  I personally will be going on vacation soon with Kathy to visit my dad and my family in FL.  But, even better than the warmth of the southern regions is the hope we have in God’s love.  “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

 

A Child of God, Hoping in THE Light of the World in the Middle of the Dark Alaska Winter,

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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Learning Christian Maturity

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Have you ever had computer problems?  How does you FEEL about dealing with problems your computer has?  Do you feel frustrated?  Confused?  Angry?  Discouraged?

 

Last week my primary e-mail account was suspended.  To make matters worse, this was the second time in less than a month that this suspension has happened.  Now, I’ve heard of and experienced computer viruses and computer worms. I’ve seen problems with the hardware of my computers.  I’ve struggled to work with a web site.  But, I’ve never before heard of an e-mail address being suspended, have you?

 

Both times in the last month that I dealt with this issue I was required to go through certain steps to reactivate my e-mail.  I had to scan my computers for viruses; my work desktop, my home desktop, and my laptop computers.  This scanning took quite a while because I have a lot of files, and because when I leave the office or home the computer went to sleep and stopped scanning.  I have also had to change the password to my account twice now. 

 

Also, as I worked on this problem with my provider I was not receiving e-mail for at least 3 days.  Maybe you sent me a message that did not get through.  And, while I use computers, I don’t necessarily know how they work.  So, as you can imagine, for someone who uses e-mail as a regular tool of communication, this caused challenges for work, and, yes, some frustration and maybe even anger that this tool had stopped working.

 

That is a LONG explanation of the cause of a recent frustration, but I think you have probably experienced similar frustrations, if not with your computer.  So, how do God’s children deal with these frustrations?  Frustration and anger are part of life.  Sometimes we get upset that our plans did not go as we hoped.  Sometimes it seems that life is unfair.  Sometimes we may bring some of these frustrations on ourselves.  But, when we are frustrated, when we are angry, what do we do?  Where do we go?

 

I served as volunteer chaplain at the hospital last week.  As I visited patients, many faced a different kind of frustration, that of being ill and sometimes not even knowing the cause of the illness.  As I visited I shared one of my favorite bible verses.  1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

 

When we have anxiety or frustration, frustration or discouragement, anger or confusion, God says to cast those feelings at Him.  He basically says, “Throw it at me; lay it on Me.”  And, this is not just some plan to ignore our problems and hope they go away.  We can lean on the Lord because He loves us and has taken care of the problems.  All the frustrations and anger of this world can trace their origin to our rebellion and sin against God and others.  God didn’t just say He cared, He sent His son into this world of trouble.  Jesus did the big job of living a righteous life for us.  Jesus loved us enough to suffer for us, and to sacrifice His very life for us.  Jesus rose and won victory over our sin and the source of our troubles.  So, when God says to “Cast all your anxiety on him, we can do it, because He really does care and because He not only can help, He has already taken care of our troubles in the long run.

 

So, I worked with the host of my e-mail address.  They were afraid my computer had a virus and was sending this virus out in messages I didn’t even know I was sending.  I understand this fear.  I have received those messages myself, even from friends, even today.  (Isn’t technology wonderful?)  However, even though my computers are now supposedly free from all viruses, it turns out it wasn’t even my computer that was the culprit.  Someone else’s computer was reacting to my messages in such a way that the computer of my e-mail host thought I was sending spam, when it seems I was not.  Imagine, all that frustration because of the response of computers, not people?  But, the second time this happened was a little less frustrating.  I knew what to do. 

 

When we see God in His love help us with our troubles and problems, we can face life without anxiety.  We know God doesn’t just say He cares about us, but in love for us God has really overcome the source of all problems.  “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

 

A Child of God, Hopefully learning Christian maturity,

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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We Know the ONE Who Holds the Future

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

What does 2014 have in store for us?  I have seen some predictions for the coming year.  The predictions I’ve seen include a better economy, unless there is unrest in economically sensitive areas of the world.  Then, those predicting say, we could face more economic challenges.  The predictions I’ve seen talk about continued political struggle in the United States during this coming election year.  But no one claims to know the outcome of this struggle.  The predictions I’ve seen for 2014 suggest there will be continuing confusion surround the new Affordable Health Care Act.  But, no one really knows if there will be more delays, surprises, and challenges.

 

In other words, most of those making predictions are suggesting a time of uncertainty.  No one really knows for sure what the future holds.  We do know from our past experience that the future holds both challenges and blessings.  Actually, even in the midst our present experiences, we don’t always understand what is happening until we have a chance to think on what has occurred.  So, how can we know about the future?

 

However, I can tell you something that is sure in the coming year.  In the midst of an unsure, confusing, and changing world, God does not change.  In Malachi 3:6 God’s tells us, "I the LORD do not change.”   In Hebrews 13:8 we are told, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

 

So, when God says that He created the world with order and wisdom, in power and love, and that He continues to watch over His creation, that does not change.  God does continue to watch over His creation.  When God says that loves us, even as sinners, so that He sent His only Son into the world, that sacrificial love of God does not change.  When God says that Jesus cares for His people as a shepherd cares for his sheep, and that Jesus keeps His sheep in His loving hand in such a way that Jesus can say, “no one can snatch them out of my hands” (John 10:28), we do remain safe in the loving hands of our Lord, no matter what is happening in the world around us.

 

What does 2014 hold for us?  God knows, but no one in this world is really sure of what will happen in the coming year.  But, we do know that in the midst of this uncertain future, God is unchanging. 

 

There is an old pithy saying, “I don’t know what the future holds, but . . . I know Who holds the future.”  May the assurance of God’s love and presence bless you in 2014.

 

A Child of God, Depending on our Un-Changing Lord,

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  Hunter Richards and Brittany Arlow are St. John members who grew up here in Palmer.  Both went away to school to study to be church workers.  Both are serving their internship this year.  Hunter is studying to be a pastor and serving his internship year of “vicarage” in North Canton, OH.  Brittany is studying to be a Director of Christian Education and serving her internship year in Plant City, Florida.  Here is a picture of Hunter and Brittany with Jamie and me in church at St. John this past Sunday, December 29!  https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/5964778360630192865?banner=pwa

 

 

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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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