Monday, April 18, 2011
HEED THE WARNING
Paul’s Sincerity 2 Corinthians 1:12 (New King James Version) For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.
Alarms, bells, whistles, sirens, flashing lights; we are surrounded by warning systems. They are found in our home, car, computer, office, stores, community, airport, literally everywhere. In fact, our own body comes with warning systems; viral - temperature change, heart - pressure change, injury - pain indicator; etc. We constantly respond to stimuli that indicate warnings of various types to remain safe.
But…there is a warning system that has been placed within us and is often interpreted as a ‘false alarm’, selectively ignored, and is gradually shut-off. This warning system condemns or excuses our very inner being with eternal consequences. It is our conscience, which every person has received as a gift from God and it will one day testify as a witness for those under the law.
“When Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their consciences bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them." (Romans 2:14-15)
We live in a culture that is quick to place blame on someone or something else. We are too comfortable with being a victim of circumstance. We treat guilt as an illness or condition outside of ourselves. Medication is often taken or self-prescribed to rid or ‘numb’ our anxieties, fears and ultimately our guilt. At both the societal and individual levels we are willfully destroying our conscience, so it purposefully malfunctions; it produces no warning. Without consciousness lawlessness prevails.
The conscious is the moral indicator of right and wrong. It is innate, but also it is a part of the culture and experience of the individual. The conscious is by no means ‘fool-proof’, for only God’s Word is perfect. Its role is not to teach moral standards, but to hold you to the highest standards above rationalization that you know. Studying the Word provides the guidelines to discern the warnings of the conscience. The Word of God becomes ingrained in you, so it may guide and inform your conscience (heart), your thoughts (mind), and therefore your actions. God’s Word is the Light that removes the darkness; the conscience is a window that permit’s the Light to enter.
Prayer: Lord, thank-you for the guilt and pain that you have so perfectly permitted to warn me when I stray from Your holiness. Please help me to heed the warning. Guilt is a good thing when it brings me back home - to You. Please help me to face the difficult things and not bury the guilt or place blame everywhere, but within myself. May I have the strength and wisdom to be led on a path of righteousness by seeking You in Your Word daily. Amen. Matt Scaife
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
One of my earliest memories is of sitting in church with my grandmother. She wore a black seal coat that always felt cool to the touch and I spent many Sunday’s running my hand up and down the sleeve of that coat during the service. My mother and father always sang in the choir and sat up high in loft at the front of the church. Grandma had charge of me and my cousin. She always had gum or lifesavers in her purse. At home, her kitchen smelled better than anything that I can remember. Without modern conveniences she made the best beef roasts and chicken dinners. She made her own cough syrup from lemon juice, glycerin and honey and would give me some if I coughed, just a little. Grandma made nightgowns and pajamas for the grandchildren every Christmas and her own embroidered pillowcases for her daughter and daugher’s in law. Grandma sewed special dresses for me without a pattern. She lived her faith each and every day of her life in her own quiet way of serving the Lord. My father often said that if ever there was a saint on earth that he was sure that grandma was a saint.
Grandpa had to retire early from the mill due to heart disease and became the janitor at our church. He had to walk about ½ mile each way, twice a day to fire the coal furnace in winters. Coal furnaces made more dirt than we are used to having in our homes and churches these days so he was always busy cleaning the pews and floors. I often went with him and “helped” when he went to work. Grandpa walked to the store almost everyday since he had to carry the groceries. He always took a cloth grocery bag with handles that grandma had made for him. We might say that they were before their time in eco saving by using the cloth bag. They never owned a car and had few luxuries but they were rich in faith and love.
Grandma and grandpa always were active in all aspects of their church, from Sunday school and church on Sundays, prayer meeting on Wednesdays and meetings during the week. Family and church were the centers of their lives and I believe that their Christian lives lead their own children and grandchildren to come to knowledge and love of God. Thank you grandma and grandpa !
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for giving us Christian examples to lead us to you. We are grateful for the ones who came before us and pray that we can follow your example and theirs to bring others into the family of believers.
Karen Scaife
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
JESUS CARES FOR HIS CHURCH
John 14:1-4 “Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that were I am there you will be also. And where I go you know and the way you know.”
We should have great love and thankfulness that God has entrusted the Church to us. We should never forget that Jesus lives and cares for us. Out of love, he cares for and shepherds his church.
In the words of the hymn, “the church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people.” We are the body of Christ. We are the church.
We seem bent on forgetting that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and that he cares for us, the Church. We seem to spend an inordinate amount of our resources on buildings, utilities and other objects that require our attention. We must not idolize our assets. While those are important, their value comes only from their aid to our worship and our service to others as the body of Christ.
God alone is worthy of our worship.
Brad Hellein
Thursday, April 21, 2011
(1 Samuel 1 & 2, Samuel is born in answer to prayer. Samuel is dedicated.) 1 Samuel 3:10. And the Lord came and stood forth, calling as at other times, “Samuel!, Samuel!”. And Samuel said, “Speak, for thy servant hears”.
The story of Samuel as a young boy being called by God is one of my favorite Old Testament stories to share with the Sunday School children. There are so many things even the youngest of children can learn from this story. In the simplest terms: Prayers are answered; Don’t be afraid, trust God; Serve God; God speaks to us (if we take the time to listen).
Prayers are answered. I explain to the children that we can pray for many different things. Sometimes our prayers are just a quick “Please help me get to school safely today” and other times prayers are so deep that they make our hearts ache. This was the case when Hannah prayed for God to give her a son. She prayed so hard she didn’t even realize that her lips were moving and making no sound.
Don’t be afraid. Even young children can remember being afraid at one time. When discussing this story we can only imagine how hard that was for Hannah to give up the son she had prayed so hard for. How frightening it must have been for the young boy Samuel to be left alone at the church, separated from his parents. Then, can you imagine how afraid you would be if in the middle of the night, a voice started calling to you? And then think about the courage that Samuel had to go BACK into his room just waiting for God to talk to him again! If you’ve ever had children wake up from bad dreams, you know that simply sending them back into their room alone is not something that they are brave enough to do. I wonder if I heard a voice actually talking to me in the middle of the night, if I would have the courage to stay there? We need to trust God when we are afraid. The next day when Eli asked Samuel what God talked to him about, Samuel AGAIN had to have great courage and trust in God to tell Eli the plans God had for Eli’s family.
Serve God. I love sharing the pictures of this story with the children. Usually the posters and Sunday School leaflets show young Samuel helping to clean the church, dusting, opening doors for people, filling the candles, and just in general helping to prepare for the worship service. This shows that even at a very young age, ANYONE can do a little service work for God. We all should think of that and not just expect person “X” to do the work because it’s “their job”. We’ve all been called to serve and that can be done in many ways, big or small, young or old.
God speaks to us.I think it’s awesome that we have these stories in the Bible of God actually speaking to people. How much easier would it be for us if we just got a phone call, email, text or twitter from God telling us exactly what we are supposed to do? There are so many distractions today that it’s hard to stop and quietly listen to what God has to say.
(continued)
The story of Samuel always reminds me of how I first got involved with teaching Sunday School.Years ago, we were hoping and praying for a second child.That prayer was not answered the same way Hannah’s was answered, but about that same time I kept feeling drawn to the church when I was feeling the stress of life. Our son started attending Sunday School and Linda asked if I could assist in her class because there were so many kids. That opportunity led me to volunteer the next year to teach a class of my own and start helping with VBS. I always feel that this was how my prayer for a child was answered. I didn’t just get one, I got a whole church full! Trust and Serve God, prayers are answered in different ways if we only listen.
Prayer: Dear God, Please help us find some quietness and peace in our busy lives to still hear your voice calling to us in the middle of the night. Help us to be brave enough to trust and obey what you ask us to do. Amen.
Sue Hankey
Friday, April 22, 2011
John 19:1-3, 16-18 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. The soldiers made a crown of thorny branches and put it on his head; then they put a purple robe on him and came to him and said “Long live the King of the Jews!” and they went up and slapped him.
Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took charge of Jesus. He went out, carrying his cross and came to “The place of the Skull” as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called Golgotha). There they crucified him.
Inside the “Old city of Jerusalem,” inside those 2,000
year old stone walls, there is a narrow street, lined on both sides
by stone buildings which touch right up to the edge of the street
called the “Via Dolorosa”. This is the street Jesus walked from
the Praetorium, where he was tried by Pilate down to Calvary
where he was crucified.
In January 1999 I walked that street in a group led by
Pastor Dan Stinson while on a week long mission work trip to
Jerusalem and Bethany.
Come and walk with me along this street (also known
as the way of Sorrows) as we retrace Jesus’ steps on that day
now known as Good Friday. Here at the upper (Eastern) end
is the ruins of the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the
paralytic. As we walk west beside the north wall of the Temple
Mount we see a crowd gathering ahead at the Praetorium.
Listen-“I find no reason to condemn this man” says
Pilate. “Crucify him-give us Barabbas” shouted, the crowd.
The soldiers took him and here on the right (where the Church
of the Flagellation now stands) they whipped him, spat upon
him and put a crown of thorns on his head. “Long live the King
of the Jews” they jeered. A little further along where traces of
games played by Roman soldiers are carved in the stone floor
is where Jesus was made to pick up his cross (The Lithostrotos
Convent of the sisters of Zion was built on this spot in 1856-68).
As Jesus and the soldiers walked down the street, the crowd
mocked him.
At the end of the street they went through a gate in
the city wall to the place of the Skull (Golgotha)
where criminals were put to death on crosses. At
this site today we enter the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher-originally built in 325 AD, destroyed in
614, rebuilt in 1009, restored and completed in
1149 by the Crusaders. Within the Church are
several ornate alters including the alters of the
Crucifixion and of the Cross, the Tomb-The Holy
Sepulcher (the empty tomb located where tradition
says Jesus was laid) and a large stone which was
split open by the earthquake during Jesus
crucifixion. “Father, forgive them, they know not
what they do”. At three o’clock Jesus cried out in a
loud voice “Father! In your hands
I place my spirit.”
In the words of the Anthem by Geoffrey
O’Hara “I walked today where Jesus walked,
and felt his presence there.”
Prayer-Almighty and most gracious God, thank you for this journey with Jesus. May the Holy Spirit guide my steps each and every day. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jim Ternent
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Matthew 27:57-60 “When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea arrived; his name was Joseph, and also he was a disciple of Jesus. He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be given to Joseph. So Joseph took it, wrapped in a new linen sheet, and placed it in his own tomb, which had recently been dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away.
John 19:41 says “There was a garden in the place where Jesus had been put to death, and in it there was a new tomb where no one had ever been buried.”
John 20:1-2 “Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance.
Halleluiah! He is Risen!
Amen.
Jim Ternent.