Thankful That Jesus Does Not Change

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Computers are supposed to make life simpler.  At least that is what I have been told.  But recent computer changes have caused me many complications and frustrations.  Maybe you’ve had similar experiences.

 

A couple of months ago our internet provider changed their e-mail system.  I’m told the change was to make the system safer.  But, these changes caused problems for me in sending my e-mail devotions.  I have spent much time on the phone with technical assistants.  So finally, after multiple calls, including last week, I think we have the issues taken care of . . . for now.

 

But, my internet provider is not the only one making changes.  In the past month my bank changed their web page for accessing my accounts.  The changes required a new password.  I also spent time on the phone with bank employees figuring out the new system.  After years of conducting banking online, being unable to access my account was inconvenient.  I think I understand the changes and can use the new website . . . for now.

 

In the same time period my Facebook and Google accounts required new passwords.  So, with new passwords required for my internet, and for my bank, and for Facebook and Google, I have had to write all the passwords down so I don’t forget them, because there are so many.  Do you have the same issue with passwords?

 

After these changes were taking place I got a new computer with a new operating system, Windows 10.  For some reason some of my software did not work the same with Windows 10 as it did on my old computer with other operating systems.  One of those programs that wouldn’t work was my Quicken program for my personal checking account and finances.  I was on the phone for over an hour and a half with a representative from my Quicken program.  Part of that hour and a half on the phone was 40 minutes that we talked while my computer downloaded a “fix” to the Quicken program.  It seems they had seen this issue before.  Computer changes were causing issues for the computer industry as well for individual users.

 

I was also having another problem with my e-mail.  So, after sharing the problem, the technical representative got on my computer remotely and deleted an address file.  But, the next time I got on my computer the address was there again.  Hmmm.  This IS frustrating.

 

One of my family’s favorite movies is “Grumpy Old Men.”  In that movie one of the main characters, Max Goldman played by Walter Mathau, tells his friend, John Gustafson played by Jack Lemmon, “I hate change!”  Not all changes are bad.  Sometimes change can be good.  For example, I’m always happy when I have been ill, but my illness changes and I am well again.  But, at times I can understand the sentiments expressed in that movie.  Change can cause frustration, confusion, and can even cost us money.

 

So, let me share good news with you.  Scripture tells us about Jesus, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)  We live in a world where the changes of life can bring confusion, frustration, and trouble.  Some changes are more serious than others.  In the movie I quoted, the change Max hated was the death of a friend.

 

But in a world of frustrating and troubling changes there is something we can count on.  God loves us so much that He sent His Son.  That doesn’t change.  As we believe in Jesus we are forgiven.  That doesn’t change.  Because of the unchanging grace of God, those who believe in Jesus will live with Him forever, where there is no pain, or death, or tears – where there is no change! (Revelation 21:4) 

 

When we aren’t sure anything in life will remain the same, we can be sure of God’s love, in Jesus.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

 

A Child of God, Thankful to be able to count on God’s love in Jesus,

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 regularly 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.

 

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Praying for Today's Students and Graduates

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

On Friday morning I attended graduation for the 8^th grade class at Palmer Junior Middle School.  I happened to have the privilege of presenting outstanding student awards on behalf of the Palmer Kiwanis Club.  In the program I counted 242 names of 8^th grade students who graduated.  I was impressed by the general courtesy, and the obvious accomplishment of the students. 

 

As pastor here in Palmer I also happen to personally know and have taught a number of these students in Confirmation Classes.  In addition, even though my children are now past this age, I have met a number of the other students through our own members and in the community.

 

One thing that has struck me over the past years is that today’s students face many challenges that those of us who grew up 50 years ago did not face.  Maybe America has invited the world to our country and to our freedom, and some of the problems of the world have come along.  Obviously our world and our culture are changing and becoming more complex.  But, there are difficulties facing today’s students that were not the norm years ago.

 

When you face a challenge in life, what do you hope for?  Personally, when I face a challenge I hope for a listening ear and a helping hand.  Having someone listen concerning the troubles or the difficulties we face helps us to think through the struggles ahead, and helps us to act in the most faithful and effective way.  But, having someone who really listens can be rare.

 

And, we can all use a helping hand.  If we are honest with ourselves we know we have weaknesses and shortcomings.  It is always good to have assistance from someone whose strengths fill in our weaknesses.  It is always good to have a partner or partners in facing life’s difficulties.  Then the challenge is divided and can seem smaller.

 

So, I would like to share what I couldn’t share at the graduation.  Even I know that graduations are not the place for sermons. 

 

First, students, you already have obvious God-given help when life presents trials.  The student speakers on Friday all thanked parents and teachers.  Imagine that, students thanking teachers!  I was impressed.  Family, friends, and responsible adults are a real help when life throws a curve.  Don’t be proud, but go to these people who care about you when life is hard.

 

But, (here is the sermon part) the best help we have comes from our loving, all-powerful God, and from His church.  Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

 

When troubles come along in life, God has not left us.  In times of trouble he is really there.  He is “an ever-present help in trouble.” 

 

God is willing to listen without end, and His wisdom surpasses any in this world.  In 1 Corinthians 1:25 God tells us, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”

 

And God’s wisdom and help and strength are found, surprisingly, in the cross of Jesus.  God also moves Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 1, “. . . we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)

 

When life brings trials, what a blessing to have the Almighty Creator, what a blessing to have the Savior of the World who gave His life, and who is willing to listen and to help!  What a help and strength God is for students facing new and more complicated challenges.

 

However, there is one other source of help when facing the trials of life.  I know a local social worker who often sees people who have big troubles, and little help.  I and others have heard this person say, “Everyone should join a church.  Then when you have troubles there are people who care about you and who can help.”  God’s plan for His church is that we are a family who can face the failures and trials of life together.  Paul tells the church in Thessalonica which was facing persecution, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:11)  That is God’s plan for all people as we face the trials of life.  And, what a blessing when we can encourage one another with the all-powerful, all-loving grace of God in Jesus. 

 

So, 2016 graduates, congratulations.  I am proud of you and impressed.  And, 2016 graduates, remember, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

 

A Child of God, Praying for today’s students,

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  Sven Maakestad preached on Wednesday, May 18.  After worship, instead of a “selfie”, Sven asked to have a “robie.”  (That’s Sven!)  Here is a link to one of his pictures.   https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/6286888440727382705#6286888440105854322

 

P.P.S.  THANK YOU to everyone who helped make last Sunday’s “Sharing Jesus Together for 25 Years” celebration such an encouragement!!  The plan for this celebration was always that it would celebrate how GOD has worked and blessed pastor and people for an extended period.  However, I personally feel blessed and loved by so many who helped make this a celebratory event.  Thanks to:

• Those organizing, Donita Odland, the Christensens, the Elders, and others.
• The cooks and kitchen help.  (I saw so many!)
• The Youth who helped serve the meal.
• Those who set up, decorated, and took down from the meal.
• Those who helped in worship, Pastor Allen, Hunter Richards, Gerry Zellar, President Linnemann, our Elders, Acolytes, Altar Guild, and Ushers
• Those who provided special music, Moli Ellis, Grace Miller, Dave Nufer and Garry Forrester, our accompaniests, Joyful Noise, and the St. John Choir.
• Those who shared at the meal, and those who shared in cards and gifts.

 

The celebration was a blessing to me and my family.  I pray the event was a blessing to you. 

Here are some pictures people took that I can share.  I hope others have pictures to share.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/6286888839777071169

 

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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 regularly 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.

 

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Thankful to Be Sharing Jesus Together with the People of St. John for 25 years

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

There is an old parable that says, “Those who walk around looking at the ground all the time miss seeing the glory of the heavens.”  I pray that in looking at one blessing this weekend, we do not miss the biggest and most important blessing.

 

This Sunday St. John is celebrating, as our bulletin, newsletter, and mailings have said, “Sharing Jesus Together for 25 Years.”  We are celebrating the fact that, as pastor and people, we have worked together and that God has worked in and through us and accomplished His gracious goodness in our midst.  The grace of God is always worth celebrating.

 

But, there is a danger that this celebration can focus on the pastor, because it is 25 years of his service in this place, even though the congregation has been here for 81 years.  Actually, for a pastor to stay in one place for 25 years is somewhat rare.  (Though, I do know others have who served that long and longer.  Our neighbor, Pastor Tim Carrick, will have served at the Palmer United Protestant Church for 25 years this coming October.)  People celebrate twenty fifth anniversaries of marriage.  In many ways when a pastor and people work together it is like a marriage.  So, twenty-five years together as pastor and people is worth celebrating.

 

Yet, even celebrating what a congregation has done can become sinful pride.  Jesus faced and pointed to the pride and hypocrisy of the people in His day.  The Christian Church is the people of God in whom God lives and through whom God works.  Actually, the focus of the church should always be on God, not on as much on the church.  At the same time the Church gives thanks for God’s blessings and grace among us.

 

God moved St. Paul to remind the church in Ephesus of who they are, and what their focus should be.  He wrote in Ephesians 2:19-20, “19 Consequently, you are . . . fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  Do you see the emphasis on God and on Jesus in this verse?  Paul talks about the church as being “God’s people and members of God’s household.”  According to this verse the Church is built on the God inspired teaching of men, the teachings of “the apostles and prophets” found in the Bible.  BUT, the center of this teaching and foundation is Jesus, “the chief cornerstone.”

 

Wonderful things happen as God’s people work to live as God’s household.  Prayers are offered by God’s people for all, and God listens and answers.  God works through the church to serve those in need with His love.  The lost and hurting, young and old, are encouraged with the knowledge Christ’s unfailing love.  As God works through His Church people are healed in body and spirit and saved by the grace and power of God. 

 

But, even though all these wonderful things happen in God’s church, the cornerstone and the focus is not the people of the church.  The cornerstone and focus of God’s Church is Jesus!  His obedient and loving life, Jesus’ sacrificial death, and His saving resurrection, give purpose and meaning and life to God’s people as they work together as God’s family.

 

So, not only this Sunday as we look at the blessing of serving together as pastor and people, but in all the Church does, I pray we do not look at today’s blessings but miss the biggest and most important blessing, the eternal love and grace of God in Jesus that takes many different people and forms us into the family of God.

 

I will not be preaching Sunday.  But, I’m told I’ll have an opportunity to say a few words at the end of the day.  You will hear me share Paul’s important words in 2 Corinthians 4:5 “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.”

 

A Child of God, Thankful to be Sharing Jesus Together with the People of St. John for 25 years!

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  Even though there is only one service Sunday at 11:00 a.m., Jamie asked me to remind everyone that there IS Sunday School this week.  In fact, this is the last Sunday of Sunday School for the 2015-2016 school year.

 

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Thankful for the Prayers of God's People

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Last week I was sitting at the desk in my office at St. John and one of our faithful church members stopped by.  (I must confess, I spend less time at my desk these days and more time in meetings, classes, and in making calls.)  Linda Griese gently said to me, “Jonathan, you pray for all of us.  I want you to know that I’m praying for you.”  I don’t think I showed the tears in my eyes, but her simple words of Christian love touched me.  I do have a couple of personal issues of concern on my heart these days that Linda knows about, and she wanted me to know that I’m not dealing with these issues alone.  She is behind and beside me.  Better yet, the Almighty, loving God, is also behind us and with us.  This is true, at least in part, because of Linda’s prayers.

 

God calls His people to pray for all leaders.  (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Think about how wise this is.  There are no perfect kings, or presidents.  No senator, or congressman, or judge, no governor or mayor always has total wisdom.  We naturally want God to help our leaders to make wise decisions and to lead in just and righteous directions.  Our leaders need God’s help for their difficult jobs.  So we pray for them.  That makes sense.

 

How much more do pastors need prayers?!  Pastors are charged with shepherding (that is what the word pastor means in Greek) or leading the people of God.  The goal of a pastor is not just the temporal and worldly welfare of their people.  Pastors are primarily concerned with the spiritual and eternal welfare of the children of God. However, there is no perfect pastor.  Pastors need the Savior from sin just like the other members of a church.  Pastors need God’s wisdom and God’s guidance and God’s help.  We pastors need people to pray for us so we might be godly and effective job in our calling.  We need prayer.

 

St. Paul often asks for prayers.  In Ephesians 6 he writes, “18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25, Paul again brings God’s blessings and asks for prayers. “23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us.”  Paul knows his limitations.  He knows the limitless grace and love and power of God.  So Paul asks for prayers.

 

Those who seek to follow God by serving His people (like pastors) need God’s help to do God’s work.  Linda is not the first person who has prayed for me as pastor.  One day I was visiting with Arlene Fox and prayed for her after our time together.  Then to my surprise, Arlene asked God’s blessings and help for me.  Once when I visited Cathy Smith she did the same thing.  I have received e-mails from Karen Wood and Ardith Richards, and others, indicating they are praying for me as pastor.  Others in church have said, “Pastor, I’m praying for you.”  And, every Sunday and Wednesday before worship our Elders gather with me and others leading worship and say a pray for God’s blessing on the worship service and for the worship leaders.

 

Maybe the bottom line is this.  The older I get the more I realize my weaknesses, my shortcomings, and my failings.  Therefore, the older I get the more I realize how much I need the love and the forgiveness and the help of my Lord.  I not only need His love eternally.  I need the love and help of Jesus today.

 

So, Linda quietly let me know, “I’m praying for you.”  Thank you Linda!  I pray that all Christians will pray for their pastors so that God will help and guide in the important work of His Church.

 

A Child of God, Thankful for the Prayers of Others,

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  The Alaska Mission for Christ held a continuing education event at St. John on April 29-30.  The topic of this class was “Metaphors of the Gospel.”  Here are two pictures of those attending.  https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/6281717569342075969

 

P.P.S.  As we prepare to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of pastor and people serving our Lord together, I took out some old pictures.  Here are pictures of my first seminary graduation, of my ordination, and my installation as Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in St. Louis.  These pictures were taken in May and June 1979.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/6280308971564606609

 

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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 regularly 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.

 

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Yes, God Loves All and wants ALL to be Saved!

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Last Sunday night, April 24, four men from St. John helped lead worship at the Palmer Correctional Center near Sutton.  St. John has been leading worship at PCC once a month since October 1991.  As we led worship last week we sang and then we had a Bible Study on Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  And as we moved into confessing our faith with the Apostles’ Creed I asked about the religious background of the 11 or 12 men in attendance at that time.  Some of the men came from traditional denominational churches.  Some had attended non-denominational churches.  One or two had not been regularly worshiping before they entered the prison system.  But one man proudly said, when asked his religious background, “Atheist!  I had to enter prison to find Jesus.”  The other inmates had known this truth, but this man’s confession brought chills to me, and impressed the other three men who had helped lead worship that night.  What a wonderful blessing that this man had learned of Jesus through the ministry of many in our local prison.

 

Just recently I was listening to Christian radio, to the program entitled, “Through The Bible.”  There was a testimony shared on the program from a listener in a foreign land who had lost faith because he had to work in a non-Christian environment.  This man heard the radio program and, through that program, was brought back to faith in Jesus and to a committed Christian life.  In fact, he wrote to the ministry and asked that the radio programs last longer.  (I have seldom had people ask for my sermons to be longer.  Hah!) The testimony of this man touched my heart!  He had made the journey from doubt and unbelief to faith in Jesus. 

 

This Sunday is Alaska Mission for Christ Sunday at St. John.  A number of years ago one of the AMC volunteer teams returned to the village where they had led Vacation Bible School the previous year.  When one of the volunteers saw a little girl they met the year before they greeted her.  Apart from the Vacation Bible School this girl didn’t have much contact with the church or with our loving God.  The volunteer asked the girl if she remembered what she had learned from the Bible.  The girl remembered the volunteer, and she remembered something else.  She told the volunteer, “I don’t know the Bible, but I do know (and she put her index fingers into the form of a cross) that Jesus died for me.”  Wow!  Someone who had not known about Jesus was learning about His dying, His sacrificial, love, and His resurrection.  What a blessing!

 

In recent years at St. John there are quite a number of people who have gone from telling others they were not believers, or who had been separated from the church for decades, but who now have come to faith.  These people have come to a point of sharing their faith in Jesus with others, to the point of attending worship, and even receiving the Lord’s Supper.  It is an amazing, humbling, blessing to be part of God’s working in someone’s life to bring them to faith in the love of God through Jesus His Son.

 

St. Paul writes to young pastor Timothy and reminds him about the reason God called him.  Paul reminds Timothy about God and His wishes for the church.  Paul again teaches Timothy about, “God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  (1 Timothy 2:3b – 4) God doesn’t just love those born into faith in Him.  God wants all people to know His love in Jesus, to believe, and to live for Him in this world.  God wants all to ultimately have everlasting life in heaven.

 

When we have good news in our lives we often have trouble keeping that good news to ourselves.  Instead we want to share it with those we know so they too can rejoice with us.  The fact that Jesus knows our rebellion and sin against God, yet Jesus also loves us enough to die for us, is good news beyond comprehension.  Jesus’ sacrificial, saving, love is so wonderful that we want to share it with others. And, as Paul taught Timothy, saving all people is God’s will too.

 

Sometimes people may wonder, we may wonder, “Does God really want all to be saved?  All?”  I know that I am a sinner.  I have not always put God at the head of my life.  I have not always been loving to others.  So, I take comfort when Scripture says, “God our Savior, 4 . . . wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  That even means God loves me and wants me to be saved.  That’s why Jesus came.  And if God loves me, yes, He loves everyone, including those in prison, like the man on Sunday night.

 

May God work through His people and His church to reach others with the saving love of Jesus so they too may “be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

 

A Child of God, Seeking to Share the Unbelievable Love of Jesus,

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 regularly 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.

 

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Continuing to Live in Jesus' Easter Victory

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Easter Blessings to you!

 

Now, some of you may be wondering, “Why would Pastor Rockey wish ‘Easter Blessings’ in late April, when Easter Sunday was in late March?  Easter has long since passed.”

 

Admittedly, in our fast-paced society the events of one month’s time can cause us to forget what happened just 4 short weeks ago.  But, if you worship in a congregation that follows the church calendar, you know that there are seven weeks of Easter each year.  The blessings of Easter are so life-changing that we want to take time to receive and enjoy the Easter blessings of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.  We want to take time to grow in the assurance of God’s love for our lives.  We want to make sure we grow in faith and strength and courage for living our lives for the Lord in this world. 

 

So, if you worship with us this Sunday, four weeks after Easter Sunday, you will join us in the ancient Easter victory response.  “He is Risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!!”  In fact, we share that celebratory greeting this year through May 8, through the whole season of Easter!

 

Actually, there are some ways that Christians celebrate Jesus’ resurrection every Sunday they worship.  I have read that Sunday worship began and continues as a celebration of the day Jesus rose.  I’ve also read, therefore, that every Sunday is a “little Easter.”

 

But, I have another reason for sharing with you right now that Jesus’ rising from the dead has continuing power.  This week there have been a number of losses for family and friends of our church family.  A tragic accident in our area took four lives and touched church members.  Also, the unexpected death of a young adult across the country grieves the life of my own family.  These losses have saddened and affected our people.  We need the assurance of Jesus’ Easter victory for our lives today. 

 

This week the assigned Epistle Lesson, read in churches around the world, is Revelation 21:1-7.  Verses 3 and 4 of this reading give us one of my favorite Biblical pictures of heaven.  John writes, “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” 

 

What a beautiful description of the eternal life we will receive!  Because Jesus died to forgive our sins and rose on Easter to overcome the power of sin and death, those who believe in Him do have eternal life in heaven.  In heaven God comes to His people and lives with them fully, even more fully than He is with us now.  In heaven we are in the presence of the power and glory and love of our Creator and Savior.  And, in heaven God wipes away every tear, and takes away all pain and death.  This description of heaven gives me comfort.

 

God instructed the apostle John to write the vision of the book of Revelation because the people of John’s time were being persecuted and suffering.  So Christians of John’s day had questions.  “If Jesus rose, and sin and death are defeated, why are we still being persecuted and suffering?”  John wrote to strengthen the faith of the people of his day who were asking these questions.  John wrote to encourage the church toward faithfulness and courage in facing the death and tears and pain of everyday life.  What God told the people through John was, “Yes, there are still pain and suffering and death in this life.   But Jesus’ victory is real, and the gift of heaven is waiting for all who remain faithful and believe.” 

 

Our life in this world is full of pain and loss and death.  Life is fragile, and we never know what tragedy lurks around the corner.  We know that there is death, and mourning, and crying and pain in our lives, because we are sinful people living in a sinful world.

 

But, thankfully, we are told that in heaven the trials of this life are gone.  4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."     After the death and tears and pain of this life, God is bringing us home where we are with Him, and all suffering is gone!  That sort of sounds like Easter, doesn’t it? 

 

The truth is, the blessings of Easter are a gift from God for us in this life of struggle.  So, in worship we share the Easter greeting for seven weeks.  In all honesty, this Easter victory declaration is appropriate any day in the life of a Christian.

 

He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!!

 

A Child of God, Continuing to Live in Jesus’ Easter Victory,

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 regularly 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.

 

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Be Still and Know That I Am God

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

On Friday evening, April 1, our 8^th grade confirmation students attended the annual confirmation banquet.  The Elders of the congregation and the parents, grandparents, and other family of those students being confirmed, gathered to celebrate.  There was a pot luck meal which, like most pot lucks, had an abundance of tasty food.  And then the students were examined.  In front of the Elders and their families they were asked questions about the lessons from the past year, and they were asked to recite Bible verses, the 10 commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer from memory.  You can understand that the students were a little nervous.  Actually, if most adults were asked those questions, today’s adults might be nervous too.

 

After the examination, however, we gave those in attendance an opportunity to speak personally to these students.  After three years of studying about our Lord and the Bible, these young people would be publicly sharing with others that they believe in Jesus.  They would also be promising to serve Him with their lives.  As they faced this rite of passage, what might the parents and church leaders have to share?

 

I have heard a lot of moving personal advice over the years, but this year one parent shared with the students her experience as a Christian in a way that I haven’t heard in previous times of examination.  This parent simply quoted a Bible verse, and then explained.  She quoted Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  Her personal experience shared with the students is that there are times that life is crazy and overwhelming.  But, God is still God.  It is worth taking time to be still, to be alone, and to focus on God and His love instead of obsessing about the trials we face.

 

Wow!  Actually, I personally know that verse and have believed that truth.  But shared in that moment with those young students who have their whole life in front of them, I was touched by the faith, and the experience, and the wisdom of this advice from a loving Christian mom.

 

The truth of this verse is important for all children of God.  “Be still and know that I am God.”  The Lord is indeed God.  He is Creator, Ruler, Shepherd, Redeemer, Comforter, and Counselor.  God is all powerful, all wise, all knowing.  He is righteous and holy, while being gracious and merciful and compassionate. 

 

When the trials in our life are crazy and overwhelming we can be filled with doubt and fear.  But, the One who created us loves us.  The One who is our Heavenly Father, sent His only begotten Son from Heaven.  Jesus defeated the sin of this world with a life of love and obedience, and by His death on the cross to pay for the sins of all people.  Jesus defeated our enemy, death, by rising from death.  We are told that God is with us always, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Whether we face personal sin or failure, or trials brought by the world around us, God is still God.  And because He IS God, then we can be still.  We don’t have to lose hope.  We know that the Lord of the universe and our Savior is ruling over all, and is in our lives.  So, we can trust our Lord and find peace in His presence.

 

I think mom had been talking with her daughter.  The verse the daughter used to share her faith with our congregation on Confirmation Day was from 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder, but a God of peace.”  That sounds sort of familiar, doesn’t it?  

 

Yes, there are times that life is crazy and overwhelming.  But, God is still God.  So the advice of Psalm 46, and the advice of this mother, is helpful and wise.  God tells us, “Be still and know that I am God.” 

 

A Child of God, Finding Peace the our Lord is in Charge,

Pastor Jonathan

 

 

P.S.  On Monday I went on the last ice fishing trip of the year.  That was quite a challenge, because the ice is out on the lakes in the valley already, the earliest I have ever seen.  But, Cody and Heather Sherman were hosting Heather’s Aunt and Grandmother from the Carolinas.  Their visitors wanted to try ice fishing.  So we went north along the Glenn Highway, and after a little work got on one of the lakes up there.  Once we were on the ice was still 40” thick. And. . . EVERYBODY caught fish.  Here are some pictures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/IceFishingWinter20152016#6272533120292091154

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/IceFishingWinter20152016#6272573270303101106

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/114993745799525883148/IceFishingWinter20152016#6273916014847016562

 

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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 regularly 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.

 

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