Grateful for God's High Grace and Love

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Have you ever thought about how we can take our blessings for granted?

 

This week our family received a letter from a young girl we sponsor for Compassion International.  Astro Mesfin lives in Ethiopia.  We have supported Astro and her schooling and Christian education for over 10 years with small monthly payments.  In her recent letter Astro thanked us because our small gift had helped supply shoes, toiletries, and school supplies.  She ended her letter by saying, “I pray for you with my family.  Don’t stop praying for me.  God keeps us alive and His grace is high.”

 

Ethiopians face many challenges.  According to the internet the average yearly income for each  Ethiopian is $1000 a year.  Our small donations go a long way for people living in poverty.  However, there is another danger for Christians living in Ethiopia.  Conflict exists between Muslim and Christian Ethiopians.  In Africa many Christians have died because of this conflict.

 

Astros’s choice of words, “God keeps us alive and His grace is high’ are a little different than the phrasing Americans would use.  But they contain real truth and meaning.  Yes, God does keep us alive, even in the face of poverty and violence.  And yes, God’s grace is high.  In Ephesians 3 we are told of Paul’s prayer for the Christians at the church in Ephesus.  “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (Ephesians 3:17 b – 18)

 

You see, not only does God keep us alive through earthly dangers, but through Jesus God gives eternal life to all who believe in Jesus as our Savior from sin.  That makes the poverty and danger some face in this life more bearable, knowing that God has eternity waiting.  God’s eternal love makes all the struggles of this life ultimately inconsequential, because in heaven God takes them all away.  As American Christians who have not faced the poverty and dangers others in the world face, do we take God’s love for granted because we are so blessed with affluence compared to the rest of the world?

 

And yes, our family does pray for Astro.  After reading Astro’s letter in our devotions after supper our family prayed for Astro and her family.  We thanked God that He keeps her family alive and that His grace is high.  But, the thing that brought tears to my wife’s eyes was that Astro and her family, in the midst of their poverty and danger, are praying for us!  With all the danger and poverty she faces, she is praying for us?  It sort of puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?

 

I pray, with Paul, for each of you and myself.  I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  And, I pray that knowing this high love of Christ we may not take God’s love for granted, but may live lives that show His love in all we say and do.

 

A Child of God blessed more than I know by the love of Christ,

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.

 

Making a Difference for Good with an Act of Faith and Kindness

Dear Fellow Children of God,

About a week and a half ago our whole family was surprised by the blessing of the kindness and generosity of others.  Our daughter, Mary, was getting ready to fly to Chevak, AK, to teach school again this year.  Mary actually left for school last Sunday, August 12.  This is the second year that Mary and Falon Tardiff have taught in the Chevak School, which is about 20 miles inland from Hooper Bay.  This year Mary is be teaching 5^th and 6^th grade students. 

Mary had told Kathy that last year when her students left class at the end of the day they often asked for a “plastic,” a grocery bag so they could carry their stuff home.  Kathy and Mary were thinking of what they might get for Mary’s 46 students this year so they had something other than a “plastic” to carry their supplies from home to school and back.  Because Kathy works at our local hospital, Mat Su Regional Medical Center, Kathy asked her boss, Emily Stevens, if the hospital could donate any tote bags which they use as promotional gifts. 

Emily told Kathy to e-mail her.  Emily then passed on a challenge to hospital managers to respond personally, rather than institutionally.  The results were that the managers, on their own, purchased 51 backpacks full of school supplies so that Mary’s 5^th and 6^th grade students could use them.  We were told by some of the managers how much fun they had shopping.  We heard from others who wish they had been part of the process.  Mary even received a large box of extra school supplies to use with her class.  What a gift!

What a difference an act of kindness and generosity can make in the life of, not just one person, but many people.   The gift of time in shopping, the gift of the cost of the supplies, the even bigger gift of kindness and good will are blessings.  Not only does this gift make Mary’s life as a teacher easier, but the students know that someone they don’t even know in Palmer cares about them.  An act of goodwill sends out waves of blessings.

God’s directions to His people tell us, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37, 39).  What a blessing when people love others as they love themselves. That is what God has done for us in the sacrificial death of Jesus.

This week I have been at church meetings in Portland and Seattle.  As I traveled I was struck that the lines and scanning of TSA in the airports are becoming more and more interesting.  Think of the difference that acts of terrorism have made causing challenges for the traveling of everyone else.  On the flip side, think of the difference for good that the gifts of backpacks and school supplies will make for a teacher, for 46 students, for a whole Alaskan community!

Where are you making a difference for good in the lives of those around you?  Where do you plan to share with others the love God has first given us?  God can use your acts of kindness and good will in ways that bless others far beyond what you expect.

A Child of God blessed by the kindness of others,

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here are two versions of a picture of Mary and her backpacks! 

https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/BackPacksGiftedToMarySClassesInChevakAGiftFromMSRMC?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.

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Is Jesus Necessary?

Dear Fellow Children of God,

Is Jesus just a good idea for some people, or is He really necessary for life, for a full life, for eternal life?

If you have read or watched the news lately you heard that the Matanuska Maid Building burnt to the ground on Monday.  What a shame to lose this historic landmark for the city of Palmer and the Matanuska Colony!  Reports say that the Fire Marshall is investigating what might have been the cause of the fire in this abandoned building. 

But, perhaps you don’t know of other fires this summer that were assuredly arson.  At the end of June the parents and players for the Palmer Little League were faced with a real inconvenience.  Someone had set fire to all the port-a-potties at the Little League baseball field, and also at the soccer field.  For a short time there were no facilities, and new port-a-potties were significantly more expensive to the Little League.

Then on Tuesday our Administrative Assistant, Judy Stahancyk, let us know that some mail we had attempted to send was burnt up in the drive through mail box at the Palmer Post Office.  We are told this fire was caused when someone threw a flare into the mail box.  Post Office employees returned to us what was left of a letter and package we were sending to a St. John member in marine basic training.  The post office told us the perpetrator had been caught.

I can think of no way to say that such acts of destruction are good or acceptable or helpful.  Such acts as arson affect many others in ways that cause loss of property and disruption of lives.  Sometimes people are hurt and killed in such fires. 

I am writing this, not only because a sudden a rash of suspicious fires have occurred, but also because these fires point to a truth that many find difficult to accept these days.  Evil and sin are part of the world in which we live.  Our lives are all impacted in negative ways because of the selfishness and sin of others.  Our lives are all impacted in negative ways because of our own behavior which rebels against our Creator or hurts other people. 

Yet, today people don’t like to talk about evil.  In fact, to mention the word “sin” is often considered backwards, old-fashioned, or insensitive.  However, look at the trouble in the world around us.  Is there any spiritual truth that is more easily observed than the truth of evil and sin?  Humans can seek to overcome results of sin.  In some cases, when we admit a problem, we can make it better.  But the pain and destruction and loss caused by sin are still there, ultimately showing the affect of sin in our lives through death.  This is not just some small inconvenience, or the suspicion of backwards people. The stark reality of sin and evil affects our lives every day.

And, once we admit the existence and affect that evil and sin have on our lives and on the world around us, we then come to another realization that goes contrary to popular thought today. We need a way to deal with the sin and evil that is so pervasive.  We need to be saved from our own struggle with selfishness, rebellion, and sin.  We need a Savior!

That is what makes God’s gift of His Son such good news.  Jesus told us in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  God works in Jesus’ humility in becoming human.  God works through  Jesus’ sacrificial death and in His victorious resurrection to save us from the evil that we can fight but we can’t overcome.  Since sin is a reality, Jesus, our Savior, is a necessity. 

I pray that the arsonists are caught and the destruction is stopped.  But, ultimately our real hope is found in Jesus.  We need Jesus, and God has in love sent the gift of his Son.  Maybe Christians can share this hope even with the arsonists.  Jesus changes our lives for the better, now and eternally.

A Child of God, Thankful for my Savior!

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here is a picture of Jonathan with friend, Ron Hawkins https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/LongTimeFriendsAndFishingAdventuresJuly2012#5774790998367758946.

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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 Friends

Dear Fellow Children of God,

Last week was a week of re-connecting with long time friends (Notice I said “long time” not “old”.).  On Thursday and Friday, my oldest son, Josh, and I went fishing with John Webb and his son, Scott.  John and I haven’t seen each other since high school graduation day, 1971, but we re-connected through Facebook because of our 40^th high school reunion last year.  (See pictures below.)

Then, on Sunday right after church I got to spend 15 minutes with Dave and Peggy Adler.  Peggy and I began college together in Austin, TX, in 1971 and Dave joined us in 1972 and graduated with me from seminary in 1979.  They were on an Alaska cruise tour and as they traveled on a bus from Denali to Seward their bus stopped for lunch at Settlers’ Bay.  (See picture below.)

Finally on Monday I got to fish with Ron Hawkins.  Ron and Deb were members of St. John years ago, but they have lived outside for the last 10 years or so, and now they live in the Las Vegas area.  Ron and I have been fishing buddies for a long time, but it has been a couple of years since we had the opportunity to fish.  We also took along a friend of my daughter, Kevin Neyhard, who teaches with her in Chevak.  While the silvers were few and far between, Kevin caught his first salmon that day, and quite a few others. Ron and I had the opportunity to re-connect. (See pictures below.) 

Friends are a real gift of God.  As we are told in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  A friend is a joy in good times and a help and strength in times of trial.  As one of our Fellowship Board members said in our meeting last night, “God created us for relationships, not to live alone.”  We not only rejoice to have friends, but we want to be good friends to others, though as sinful people, no friend is perfect.

We do have a perfect friend, however.  In John 15 Jesus tells us  “13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.”  We can always count on Jesus.  He is not just there to comfort us in times of adversity He laid down His life to take away our sins.

What a gift to have friends, people who help us enjoy God’s blessings in the good times and help us through adversity.  What a gift that God has lowered Himself so that Jesus is the one friend on whom we can count, one who laid down His life for us.

A Child of God, Blessed with Friends!

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here is a picture of Jonathan with long time friend, John Webb.  https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/LongTimeFriendsAndFishingAdventuresJuly2012#5772524224095271298

P.P.S.  Here is a picture of Jonathan with classmates Dave and Peggy Adler.  https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/LongTimeFriendsAndFishingAdventuresJuly2012#5772525263939071778

P.P.S.  Here is a picture of Kevin Neyhard from the July 30 fishing trip.  Pictures of Ron Hawkins to follow.  https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/LongTimeFriendsAndFishingAdventuresJuly2012#5772525534776378690

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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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God's Plan for Marriage

Dear Fellow Children of God,

The summer of 2012 has been a season of weddings at St. John.  This Saturday, July 21, I am presiding at the marriage of a young couple from St. John.  But this is only one of five weddings at St. John this summer.  In addition, I have helped 3 couples prepare for weddings which are being conducted in other locations or by other people.  With all the work and planning that goes into most weddings that is a lot of time spent thinking about marriage, and thinking about God’s part in marriage.

You can probably imagine that preparing for weddings is one of the more joyful tasks in which a pastor gets to engage.  There is talk of the future, and discussion of faith and love.  But, I’m sure most of you know the reality of marriage these days.  Depending on whose statistics one uses, only about half of the marriages in the United States actually make it.  And, many today do not even choose to get married.

In some ways we should not be surprised at these statistics.  People may love one another at 25.  But, when a couple marries they are promising to love that person at 35, and 45, and 75!  The person we marry at 25 is not the same person when that person turns 45.  So marriage takes commitment, and marriage takes work, and marriage takes help. 

Next month Kathy and I will have been married for 35 years.  This past Friday night we were talking about things we had just learned about each other.  Just this summer I learned about my wife’s plan and preference for flower gardens (“The Clump Theory”), something which I had never known before.  The point is that there an unknown future when a couple commits to marriage.  That is why Christians need commitment and help to make their marriages work.

The Bible verse that speaks most plainly to me about God’s plans for Christian people in marriage is found in Ephesians 5:21-33.  Verses 31-33 say, 31 "’For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’  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.”

Some of the things God tells us in this verse are:

·         Marriage between one man and one woman is God’s plan from the beginning of time.  Verse 31 is actually a quote from Genesis 2.  Marriage isn’t our idea.  Marriage is God’s plan for how life works best for His children.

·         Marriage teaches us of God’s relationship with the church.  Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is His bride.  There is a unique intimate relationship between God and His people and marriage teaches us about that relationship.

·         God is there to help us in our marriages.  In God’s plan for marriage 3 people are involved;. the husband, the wife, and Jesus.  Jesus is there to help us love and forgive and endure with one another.

·         Christians and God’s church are called to honor and support marriage because it is God’s plan.

It is a joy to help a young couple get started with God’s help on the adventure of life that is marriage.  When marriage lasts it is one of the greatest earthly blessings God can give.  But, we all need God’s help.  Please pray for these new marriages.  Please pray for all families.  God’s love and direction do make a difference.

A Child of God, Praying for Christian Families,

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  Here is a picture of Kathy and myself on our wedding day.  Who is that guy standing with Kathy, and what is that look in his eye? https://picasaweb.google.com/jonrock53/JonathanAndKathySWeddingDayAugust201977?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.

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Seeking to Follow God's Guidance

Dear Fellow Children of God,

A number of weeks ago I was entering the Palmer Post Office and I saw a lady who was also approaching the door.  I waited for her and held the door open so she could enter.  She said, “Thank you,” and then went into the entry way and held the door for me saying, “Let me return the favor.”  I also thanked her.  But, as she walked away I muttered under my breath, “I guess I’m old-fashioned.  I’m used to holding doors for the ladies rather than the other way around.”  Another man who was there and heard me, commented, “But, that’s not the way it’s done these days.”

Are you old-fashioned?  I know that is a loaded question.  I am sure all of us are influenced by the way we were raised and the customs of our youth.  Just blindly following the customs of the past is not necessarily a safe thing.  Martin Luther saw the reliance on custom and tradition in the church of his time and worked for reform or change.  This reform brought the church more in line with God’s Word.  I am not a proponent of the racial prejudice I saw as a child in the south.  I am glad that custom of racism has been reformed and is not the accepted practice in our society any longer.  Maybe there are some customs that are good, and some that aren’t.

But, there is a way in which I am old-fashioned.  I personally believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God Himself, and therefore is the basis for my faith and life as a Christian, as a husband, and as a pastor.  You see, I believe God is smarter than I am.  I believe that God is wiser than I am.  I believe the words of Isaiah 55 where God speaks to us saying, 8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

So, when it comes to behaviors like speaking the truth, respecting authorities, being merciful, practicing godly chastity, refraining from greed, supporting God’s church, setting priorities, and other behaviors, I seek to follow what God says to me in His Word.  I believe the words of Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

This attitude of looking to long-written words of Scripture is considered old fashioned in many arenas these days.  And while I don’t want to blindly follow customs and traditions of the past that may not necessarily serve God or may not be appropriate in our modern times, there are some things that don’t change.  Trusting God’s wisdom and trusting God’s love, I also trust His Word for guidance.

That may be why I continue to believe that a good mission statement for God’s church, and a good mission statement for St. John is the motto of the Reformation, “By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone, By Scripture Alone.”  I believe this is God’s direction as revealed in Scripture.

There are some places where I have become part of the new culture.  I’ve become part of the new computer and communication age.  But, I still think I should hold the doors for the ladies.  I guess in some ways I am old fashioned.  My kids just call me a “putz.”  I’m just trying to follow the guidance of God and to live in faith and love.

A Child of God, Seeking to Follow God’s Guidance in my Life,

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  I love the Alaskan summer, even a cool and rainy one like 2012.  I also listen to the words of Psalm 127 about rest and re-creation.

“1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.”

P.P.S.  On Sunday our God-son from Jacksonville visited us and worshiped at St. John.  Kathy and I were god-parents to Scott Plymill and his sisters almost 30 years ago.  Here are 2 pictures of most of our family and Scott and his friends.  https://picasaweb.google.com/jonrock53/VisitByGodSonScottPlymillJuly82012?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.

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God's Network to Support Us

Dear Fellow Children of God,

Who do you go to when you need to talk when you need someone to listen to you?  Personally, I can tell you that I am blessed that my best friend is my wife, Kathy.  There is much I share with her.  Also, the Promise Keepers men’s group at St. John has become a source of Christian encouragement and support for me.  I pray that this group gives support for Christian faith and life to all who attend.  There are also many other supporters and friends at St. John with whom I talk. 

But, in addition to family and friends, when I need to talk with someone I often talk to other pastors.  There are other long-time pastors who have spent time serving God and his people and they understand the difficulties and challenges of serving God as a pastor.  Some of the issues I would like to talk about with others may be issues that include areas of confidentiality, so I don’t share that with friends or other church members, or even my wife.  But, it is appropriate to talk about professional issues, pastoral issues, with other pastors.  I have some really good friends who are pastors and I appreciate their friendship and willingness to listen.

So, who do you go to when you need the encouragement of a listening ear?  Do you visit with a parent, a brother or sister, or do you have a close friend whose listening and advice you really cherish? 

Have you ever thought that God has a web of support for his children?  God has given us family.  What a blessing when a home is a place of love and faith and security.  What a blessing when we can go to a family member with concerns.  Proverbs 17:17 says, “a brother is born for adversity.”  Do you have such support at home?

There are times that before we go to family, we speak with a friend.  In Proverbs 18:24 we are told, “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  Do you have such a friend who is so close that you trust them as much or more than even family?  What a blessing to have such a person of faith and love in our lives!

I am sure you know the words in Matthew about God himself listening and responding to our prayers.  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)  What a blessing to know that the Lord of heaven listens to our concerns and acts in love and power and mercy when we go to Him in faith. 

The point is that God has not left us alone.  In a world of trials God has sent Jesus, “Immanuel – God With us.”  And, it is God’s plan to give us companionship, encouragement, and love today in our families, through church and friends, and from personal communication with God through prayer.  God has a network of support for us as we face life and its struggles.

Do you need some encouragement?  Why not reach out to a Christian friend?  Do know someone who needs a shoulder to lean on?  Reach out to them and listen.  It’s part of God’s plan that we have friends.  It is part of God’s plan that we serve others as friends.

A Child of God, supported by God’s web of love,

Pastor Jonathan

P.S.  In Sunday’s sermon, based on Mark 6:1-13, we will look at the reception Jesus got from family and compare that to the reception He got from His disciples.  I hope to see you Sunday..

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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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