Please Pray for Marriages

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

In the last two weekends 3 young couples have been married at St. John. Saturday, July 19, Nathan Bower and Maranda Williamson were joined in marriage before God.  On Friday, July 25, St. John members Kyle Kolberg and Marcy Eggers were married .  And the wedding for Katherine Parker and Robert Wight is/was Saturday, July 26.    These three weddings are part of a total of six weddings for St. John members this year. 

 

As I participate in these weddings, as pastor for many years for most of these young adults, I have been asking people to pray for them.  Marriage is not only part of God’s plan for His creation, but reflects God’s relationship with His Church in Jesus.  So, in marriage a couple acknowledges God’s plan in their lives and has an opportunity to grow in their relationship with their Creator and Savior.

 

In Genesis 2, in the teaching about the creation of our world, we read.  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”  (Genesis 2:24)  Marriage is God’s plan for the people of the world.  According to God’s teaching in Genesis 2, marriage provides companionship, love, and support for the couple.  Think about it.  As we face the trials and challenges of life in the world around us, what a blessing to be able to return home where, according to God’s plan, we are loved and supported.

 

Marriage also provides a safe and nurturing place for children to be raised.  A child is the ultimate way in which the two “become one flesh.”  As a father I am constantly amazed at the wisdom of God to provide two parents.  I do not always know how best to love and raise my children.  But the combined wisdom of a father and mother, two individuals with their own ideas and personalities and faith, helps to give children both discipline and nurture as they grow.

 

In Ephesians 5, after 10 verses about the relationship of a husband and wife, we read, “32 This is a profound mystery-- but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” 

 

In other words, the relationship of Jesus and His Church is like the relationship of husband and wife.  What a blessing for all of us to know that the sacrificial love of Jesus is deep and passionate like the love of a husband for His wife, even more so.  Actually, the best help a couple can have to bless their marriage is to know and grow in God’s love and forgiveness for them in Jesus.

 

Obviously, one reason I am asking people to pray for these new marriages is that marriage has always had challenges, and those challenges are increasing today.  We want the best for those that we care for.  So we pray God’s help for Nathan and Maranda, Kyle and Marcy, Robert and Katherine. 

 

But, do you realize how much all of us are blessed when marriages and homes are healthy?  Marriage is not just a personal relationship between two people.  Marriage is part of the way a couple lives in their relationship with their Creator and Redeemer, where they learn the love and  the support and the forgiveness of God.  And all of us are all blessed when homes are healthy and children are raised in a place of love and faith. 

 

As I perform this month’s weddings I am also reminded that July 26 is the 62^nd anniversary for my parents.  Through the struggles of marriage and parenting 5 children, many have been blessed by their love and faith. 

 

So, please join me in praying for Nathan and Maranda, Kyle and Marcy, Robert and Katherine, and all those married this year.  We want the best for those we love and all are blessed when marriages and homes are places of love and faith.

 

A Child of God, Seeking to live in the Creative Wisdom and Saving Love of God,

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.) 000 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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What Does Faith Look Like?

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Christians know that faith is important.  So, what does faith look like?  I believe I saw faith in action this past week.

 

I went to the Kenai Peninsula and spent Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday dip-netting for red salmon.  Many of you know this uniquely Alaskan adventure.  But, for those who have never participated let me explain. 

 

Every year the red salmon return to their various rivers and streams, including the Kenai River.  In Alaska, in addition to fishing with a rod and reel, residents can harvest the resource of salmon for personal use with hand held nets in some locations.  So, hundreds and thousands of people flock to the city of Kenai to put nets in the water and hope that the fish are in.  People stand in the mud on shore and hold nets in the water.  People float down stream in boats and stick their nets in the water.  When the fish are in there is a great harvest of these delicious fish.  Three years ago a group of St. John members drifted in my boat and netted 89 fish in about 5 hours.  But, sometimes the fish are not in.  A number of times I have drifted all day and netted no fish, or 2 fish, or like Wednesday, only 3 fish.

 

Wednesday was not a great day to dip net.  In fact, in the middle of our day I called the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office who told me, “The fish are not in the river.”  They were confirming my experience.  But, while my daughter, Mary, and friend, Dave Nufer, and I worked hard we looked around us.  In a short mile long section there were maybe 500 to a thousand boats, not including the people on the shore.  Each boat averaged about 4 people holding nets in the water.  Every minute or two we would see one boat net a fish, but that was it.  Yet, in spite of the lack of fish there were still thousands of nets in the water waiting for the fish to come, fish we had been told were not there.  Even though we weren’t seeing success people kept their nets in the water, knowing the fish would come some time, and hoping that time would be soon.

 

Scripture says that God saves us from sin and death and hell by faith in Jesus.  When we trust that by God’s love and grace Jesus lived and died and rose to pay for our sins and offer us eternal life, God gives us the gift of forgiveness and life.  Our lives in this world are changed by faith.  Our lives are changed eternally, by faith, because of Jesus.

 

But having faith, trusting God in the middle of life’s trials, is difficult.  God tells us in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  When the pains and trials of life assault us we can be led to doubt God’s love.  We can wonder if He loves us at all.  Yes, God tells us He loves us in Jesus.  But life can make us wonder, “Really?  Then why is my life so difficult and painful?”

 

On Wednesday hundreds of people hoped for the fish they were not seeing.  They were so sure that fish would arrive sometime, that for hours they held nets in the water with little or no success.  But, they continued to have faith and trust that fish were coming, so in spite of their lack of success they kept trying.

 

People may hurt us.  Illness may strike.  Tragedy may overwhelm us.  But God promises that He loves us.  God promises that His love is there even when we fail Him and even when life overwhelms us.  So, God calls us to trust His love for us in Jesus.

 

Dave and Mary and I quit fishing between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.  So did our son, Josh, who was fishing from shore.  The fish were not there.  Why keep trying?  But, another member of St. John, Herman Griese, did not give up.  He kept fishing and between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. a run of fish hit.  He ended up with 26 fish that day.  We quit trusting the fish would arrive.  Herman kept trusting and hoping and his trust led to fish.

 

When life hurts and I need a reminder that faith continues to trust in God’s love, I’ll remember those thousands of people in the boats, holding their nets in the water even when the fish weren’t there.  When life hurts and you wonder if God loves you, do you continue to trust that in Jesus God’s love is sure and certain?  Faith keeps trusting God’s love even when life might lead us to question God’s love.  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

 

A Child of God, Trusting God’s Love in Life’s Trials,

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.) 000 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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Is God a Thermostat, or a Thermometer in Your Life??

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

What do you think, “Is God a thermostat or a thermometer in your life?”  Does God set the temperature for you?  Does He move you to faith and love and obedience?  Is He a thermostat for you?  Or is God a thermometer in your life?  Does God change depending on your temperature?  Does God’s direction for your life change depending on what you think and feel at the moment?

 

Recently I have talked to a number of people about God, people who often aren’t members of St. John, who have responded to God’s Word and God’s direction with the phrase, “Well I think. . .”   People have thoughts on creation and our beginnings, and they have thoughts on Jesus’ second coming and the end of the world.  People have shared their thoughts with me on government and their thoughts on the Sabbath.  They have expressed their thoughts to me about sexual ethics and parenting.  They have shared their thoughts about who goes to heaven and their thoughts about the church.

 

In one way it is good to “have thoughts.”  God created us with brains and expects us to use our mind and our reason.  But, shouldn’t God’s people first ask, “What does God say?” before we say “I think.”?  Do we follow God’s direction in our lives and our beliefs?  Or do we simply do what we think apart from God’s Word and His direction?   “Is God a thermostat or a thermometer in our lives?” 

 

At the end of the book of Judges the writer says, “ 25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:24).  People in those days were not asking, “What does God say, and where do His words direct our lives.?”  They knew what they thought and felt, and they “did as they saw fit.”  Does that sound familiar?

 

Yet, even more important than what God tells us to do is who God says Jesus is.  Near the end of the book of John we are told,  “But these are written that you may  believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  (John 20:31)  All of God’s word points us to Jesus as the Lord’s promised Messiah.  God’s Word points us to believing in Jesus as God’s plan for giving eternal life.  In other words, our opinions on Jesus should not just be what “I think,” but what “God says.” 

 

So, do you look to God to direct your faith, your life?  Does He point the direction?  Or, do you have your thoughts that are different from God’s direction?  “Is God a thermostat or a thermometer in your life?” 

 

A Child of God, Trusting God’s Wisdom More than My Own,

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.) 000 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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God's Gift of Rest

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Have you seen or heard the advertisements for “5- hour energy?”  Energy drinks have become big money makers.  Why do you think so many people feel a need for more energy?  The reason these drinks sell is that people are tired and weary. 

 

There are many reasons for being tired and weary.  We live in a fast paced world where people do more and where more is expected of us.  There are also more opportunities for entertainment, so people busy themselves and don’t always get as much sleep as they need.  Add to this increased busy-ness, the burden of trouble and failure, and you can understand why people today are tired and weary. 

 

In the Gospel lesson assigned in many churches for this coming Sunday Jesus tells those who are following him, 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

 

 It is good to remember that Scripture talks about rest in a number of ways. The Sabbath is given as a day of rest.  In the ten commandments we are told, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)   Sabbath rest is part of God’s plan for His people in the busy lives we live.  We take a rest from work and spend time with our Creator and Savior.  Worship and rest with our Lord renews the soul.  In addition, when we take a rest from work we place responsibility to provide on someone other than ourselves.  We trust God to provide.  But, how many times have you heard someone suggest Sabbath worship and rest as a solution to being weary and tired?  However, this is part of God’s plan.

 

In Hebrews 3 and 4 the writer talks about “entering God’s rest.”  That rest is found in heaven, where the tears and pain and death of this world are gone.  Many long for the rest of the trouble free life of heaven.

 

But Jesus’ words from Matthew point to the ultimate source of rest.  Jesus calls, "Come to me.  Jesus promises, “I will give you rest.”  When people are tired and weary, Jesus says He is the solution to weariness.   If we are overwhelmed from too much activity and work, Jesus helps us set priorities. “Come to me.”   Sabbath rest is a gift.

 

If we are weary from trouble and failure, Jesus says, “Come to me.”   In the midst of life’s responsibilities and troubles and failures, Jesus assures us, “I love you.”

 

When sin overwhelms us, whether someone else’s sin and a grudge we hold, or our own sin and the guilt we experience, Jesus says, “Come to me.”   “I forgive.

 

When we face death, whether our death or that of a loved one, and know of no solution, Jesus says, “Come to me, I give life”. “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

5-hour energy won’t do any good on the shelf.  A person has to buy and use it the product.  Jesus may give rest, but if we do not trust Him and receive the benefits of his love and mercy and forgiveness and life, it does us no good.  But, when we turn to Jesus, when we trust and follow Him, He helps us.  His love and forgiveness, His presence and the eternal life he gives, help us deal with the troubles of life, with the responsibilities and failures.  Jesus’ forgiveness gives real peace and rest to those burdened with grudges or with guilt. 

 

So, what do you think, will Dr. Oz talk about being tired and weary and tell people about Jesus?  I don’t expect him to do so.  But, I trust the rest Jesus gives the weary and troubled more than I trust dried peas.  Jesus promises,  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

 

A Child of God, Finding Rest in Jesus

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  After worship I Wednesday evening I got to take some young men and their grand parents fishing at a near by lake.  Here are some pictures.  https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6032452163529441489?banner=pwa

 

P.P.S.  Last week my plan was to write on rest during the slower days of summer.  The lesson for this coming Sunday was the perfect opportunity.  But, if you were in worship on Wednesday, these words may seem familiar.

 

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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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