Faith and Rest in the Lord

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

This week I’ll be leaving on vacation to go moose hunting.  Yes, a busy fall schedule is upon us.  There are also people and members about whom I am concerned.  I will be praying for them and other concerns on my heart as I wait beside the pond for the moose to appear.  There are some ways in which it is always difficult to leave.

 

However, I also believe what God teaches about the Sabbath.  We actually talked about this in the Church Council meeting this past Sunday night.  Have you read the verses about Sabbath and rest?

·         Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

 

·         Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

 

·         Mark 6: 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

 

God calls us to rest in Him.  We can rest because we believe anything really important is accomplished, not by our work, but by God.  We take a day each week to rest in the Lord because we need the Lord and His people in our lives.  But we also take time to rest because we trust Him.  We trust that even when we don’t work, it is God who accomplishes the good we need in life.  Because rest comes from God, I’m not only going hunting, but I’ll also be spending time reading Scripture, and praying, and spending time talking about God’s Word with others in camp. 

 

There is another way God gives rest.  Has your heart ever been troubled because of worries?  Did you ever have trouble sleeping?  Did you ever groan with regret over something you should not have done or said?  In Jesus God forgives our sins and guilt.  He forgives the things that keep us awake.  That is why Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

 

May you find rest in God’s love, and take time to rest and let the Lord bless you.

 

A Child of God, Taking Time to Rest in the Lord,

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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Lord Help me Love OTHERS . . . the way my dog loves me!

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Have you seen the bumper sticker which somewhat sarcastically displays the prayer, “Lord, help me to be the person my dog thinks I am.”? It is interesting how loyal a dog can be and how close people can get to their dogs. 

 

Unfortunately this past week we needed to put our pet yellow lab of 14 ½ years to sleep.  This was not easy.  Susitna, or Sue, has grown with our family.  She would chase a ball till her legs fell off.  She would curl up with a child or our cat.  Sue would nuzzle a person to get some attention and her ear scratched.  She greeted the neighbors with a bark, and a welcome. 

 

And perhaps best of all Sue loved to go fishing.  She would go in a boat on the river and fish for salmon, or run along the bank.  Sue would curl up in the bottom of the canoe to go trout fishing.  She would run to various lakes and spend time on the ice exploring the woods and waiting for a fish to be caught. 

 

I remember the night on Sheep Creek that my son, Josh, and I were fishing and Sue bit the lure as it was cast.  A king salmon also chomped down on my hand with its teeth that night as I took the fish out of the net and released it back in the water.  So, that’s the night ‘I caught a dog and got bit by a fish.’  (Ahem)

 

Perhaps you can tell that Sue and I had a special relationship.  She would listen to me where she wouldn’t listen to others.  She would follow me wherever I went if she could.  That’s why it was difficult to take her to the veterinarian on Tuesday.  But, Sue had gotten to a point where she had trouble standing.  Sometimes she fell and couldn’t get up.  She had multiple other health problems including frequent bleeding.  After visiting the doctor we came to believe that it was the kindest thing to do to stop her suffering.

 

It was not an easy day.  Susitna, Sue, had brought the love of a dog to so much of our family.  I had multiple family members tell me they were praying for me.  When others heard of the events of the day I had many, many, expressions of sympathy.  Others told me they had been led to tears.

 

So, while dogs and other animals are part of God’s good creation, the love He calls for is love for Himself and love for our neighbors.  In Matthew 22:37-39 we are told, 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  We love our pets and animals.  Do we love God and do we love other people as well? 

 

I was amazed, not so much at my difficulty, but with the outpouring of sympathy and concern.  If only we showed love and compassion to each other in this way, imagine how much sweeter life would be.  Amazingly, God sent His Son from heaven to earth and has loved us sacrificially.  Maybe the prayer on the bumper sticker should read, “Lord, let me love others the way my dog loves me.”

 

 

 

 

A Child of God, Thankful for the simple love of pet.

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S. Here are some pictures of Susitna throughout the years. https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6058458981843461601

 

 

 

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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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Church AND Home, Helping Children Grow in Knowledge and Faith in God

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

A number of people I know have suffered from colds recently.  So, how do you treat a hoarse voice and a sore throat?  If you visit a doctor you may be given a prescription for an antibiotic.  You could go to the store and buy some mouthwash or some throat lozenges.  Or, you could gargle with salt water.  Salt water is not a new idea.  I’ve used this remedy since I was a child.  I think my parents did, and probably generations before them.  But just because gargling with salt water is an old technique does not mean it is not effective.  Sometimes old fashioned ideas continue to be used because they work.

 

This Sunday, the first Sunday after Labor Day, Sunday School starts up again at St. John, and I’m sure at many other congregations as well.  For many Sunday School may seem to be old fashioned, an idea of a different era.  And it is.  But, even though Sunday School may be an old idea it still works. 

 

Children and adults will meet between worship services to attend classes to learn about God and His Word.  Students will have an opportunity to learn that God loves them so much that He sent His Son to sacrifice Himself to forgive us and save us.  Children and adults will consider God’s direction for our lives.  Meeting with other believers for support and encouragement helps us to grow and persevere as children of God.

 

Throughout Scripture God calls parents and believers to help children to grow in knowledge and faith in God.

 

In Deuteronomy 6 God says, “6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

 

In Proverbs 22 godly parents are told, “6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

 

In Mark 10 Jesus says, 14 . . . "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

 

In Ephesians 6 Christians are instructed, “4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

 

Sunday School is one way that parents can help their children grow in knowledge about God and His love.  So, I encourage each of you to make sure your children and grandchildren are in Sunday School this week.

 

However, please notice that each of these verses above talks about faith in the home.  It is important that parents don’t just drop their children off at Sunday School, but that children see parents growing in God’s love and using God’s word for strength and guidance in their lives.  It is one thing to take children to Sunday School.  It is another to model what is taught with our own lives. 

So, I hope that all of you are in worship and in Sunday School and Bible class this Sunday. I also pray that you take what you learn home with you.

 

A Child of God, Praying that St. John Children are Growing in God’s love, at church and at home,

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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