Psalm 123

“Our Soul has had more than enough of the contempt of the proud.”

      The definition of contempt is the feeling that a person or thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn. How can something be beneath worthless? What would drive someone to intentionally make another person feel beneath worthless? And yet, while we can ask these questions in genuine wonder, every single one of us is too fully aware that this actually happens in real life. We have seen instances where someone bullies another person into believing he isn’t worth the air he is breathing. We have seen someone belittled so badly she feels smaller than the very atoms that make up her physical body. We have heard insults that could cut clean through the biggest hearts. These “proud” people who view themselves as more important, smarter, prettier, stronger, and just plain better in every way for some reason feel the necessity to make sure that worthless person knows exactly where he or she falls into place.
     For those people who have been held in contempt by the “proud”, they can let these attacks, insults, and beatings drive them to honestly believe they are worse than worthless!!! These people question their very existence. They doubt that they were even made for a purpose. They tell themselves they are a waste of space, a waste of breath, and would be better off dead and buried under a manure pile.
     Notice how the psalmist emphasizes this disgrace, our souls have had more than enough. It’s not that our souls have had a little bit of this, it’s not even that our souls have had enough of this. Our souls have had more than enough of this!!! The reason we have had more than enough of this is because the littlest bit of it is more than enough. This is evil in its purest form. Satan loves to demean human life, make people feel worthless, and cause people to question the purpose of their existence. The reason is because he knows our worth and our purpose come directly from God. God is the one who sets our worth on us. God is the one who calls us into the life He gave us for His divine purpose. So, when people are shamed, bullied, and treated with contempt, causing them to doubt their worth and purpose, it causes them to doubt their relationship with God. This is exactly what Satan wants.
    Our souls have had more than enough of the “proud” doing the devil’s work of damaging people’s relationship with God. Two simple facts put things into perspective. First, the “proud” are the ones who have determined their life’s worth according to human standards. They may be rich, good looking, or popular here on this earth, but God’s word makes it clear they have their reward already. They are living at the pinnacle of their lives as they strut around this world thinking they are on top. There is nothing for them to look forward to, and they will discover one day 60 to 80 years of a proud earthly life is worthless compared to an eternal life in paradise. Second, Jesus came to save the lost. He came to lift up the lowly, give eternal riches to the poor, eternal health to the sick, and worth to the ones the world calls worthless.
     Our souls have had more than enough contempt from the proud, because know our worth comes from the Son of God who showed us exactly how priceless we are to Him. Through His death and resurrection, He has declared our worth and our purpose and no human can take that away from us. So we keep the attitude of a servant, loving those around us, hoping to show the lost they are loved. They are loved not only by us, but by the one who first loved us enough to give us our worth and our purpose of serving others.
 

     So as we read this psalm, we pray with the psalmist, “Lord, have mercy on us, as we strive to live a life of love, serving others, so that they may find their own worth and purpose, just as we have, in You and Your Son alone. Amen.”

Keep Calm and Carry On

"Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!  Be their shepherd and carry them forever." Psalm 28:9

        Have you seen these signs or logos before? I feel like recently they have been flooding the internet. You see it or some creative version of it on t-shirts, coffee mugs, or posters in offices. I had no idea where it came from or why it has gained so much popularity lately. Well I had to research and discovered it originated from the British Government before World War II in 1939. Apparently, they hung posters of this saying around to help boost morale for their people. As to why it has become so popular again, I am not exactly sure. My best guess would be that even though we aren’t scared of an opposing military force dropping bombs on us, our society still needs a morale boost as we are aware of all the chaos happening in our country every day. It’s not our government promoting this saying, it is just everyday people who want to remind themselves and those around them that no matter how bad things may seem, life goes on. For most people who do not have the good news of the Gospel, this is their only hope that even in the midst of chaos, they just keep carrying on.
     David while writing Psalm 28 is also trying to boost morale. David is actually more along the lines of being at war as he flees for his life from King Saul and his military men. However, David gives a slight but very important twist to the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan. He is talking about calling out to God while the wicked and his enemies surround him earlier in this psalm. Then in the very last verse, David is speaking directly to the Lord, and extols Him to be the shepherd of Israel and carry them forever. As I read that line about the Lord carrying us as our shepherd was when I thought about it being the slight twist to the keep calm and carry on slogan. If us carrying on under our own power is supposed to boost our morale and make us feel better about situations we cannot control, how much more does the idea of being carried by the one who is in control of all things boost our calmness. David, as he is fleeing for his life, keeps himself calm not by reminding himself to carry on, but rather by reminding Himself that he has a shepherd who is carrying him.
     So the next time you find yourself in a stressful, fearful, or chaotic situation, instead of calming yourself with a t-shirt or coffee mug that says, “keep calm and carry on”, try calming yourself by praying to the Lord, “I’ll be calm as You carry me on”. And then you can be calm and trust that the Good Shepherd, who has laid down His life for His sheep, is carrying His people forever. Jesus has you in His hands now and always, and that is our comfort that life will go on. Life certainly will go, for the rest of eternity, because no amount of evil or chaos can overcome the Shepherd who has defeated all enemies with the sacrifice of His own life. The British and all those non-believers can keep calm and carry on, but you and I who know we belong to the Good Shepherd will keep calm and be carried on forever. Amen.

Happy 2017

     Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ.  Happy 2017!  Come on, I am only a month and a half late.  So as you can imagine, life has been busy.  We survived the Christmas season, which already seems like a year ago.  Christmas Eve services were awesome.  We had the three services again at 4, 6, and 9.  Then since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we did have a Christmas morning service.  The choir did a cantata to replace the sermon and they did an amazing job with it.  

      Then right after the new year, I took a little vacation time.  My friend got married down in Nebraska and I was a groomsman.  So I took off a few days early to go see some folks in South Dakota.  It was good to catch up with all of them and see them again.  Then I was in Wayne for the wedding and had a blast there.  Then I finished off the trip by swinging down through Omaha to see Ava, JoAnna, and Steven.  Then I hit Adair just for a few hours to see mom and dad before making the long trek back north again.  It was a great week and a nice get away after the holidays.  

       Then I just back from an ice fishing trip with 11 other guys from church.  We went up to the Lake of the Woods on the Canadian border.  We took 8 guys last year for one day of fishing and had a good time.  This year we bumped it up to 12 and stayed for two days of fishing.  We had really good fishing the first day, but then it was super slow the second day.  It is for sure a new yearly tradition though and I look forward to it already.  

       My latest big project has been designing and building the new church website.  Everyone always says,"I didn't know you knew how to do that."  And my answer is always the same, "I don't."  I have learned more about websites and coding and all of it in the past month than I thought I would ever know.  It has been kind of fun, but pretty much every hour I'm not working on something else, I am playing around trying to learn more, finish more of it, or improve what I already have done.  Look for the official release to come right around Ash Wednesday.  

      Other than that, it is still cold and snowing here.  We got four inches of snow yesterday night, and then another three inches yesterday day.  It's always fun to scoop both before you go to work and as soon as you get home again.  I really don't mind though.  The chickens are definitely ready for warmer weather so they can be outside more again.  

     I am going to try to get back into posting more things on here and apologize for the break.  Hopefully a few of you are still checking in once in a while.  Blessings to you and the rest of your 2017.  See perfect bookend theme!  

Psalm 115

Psalm 115:4-7 “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.”

     It’s almost Christmas!!! Crazy how fast it came upon us again another year. Hopefully, you remember what Christmas is all about. It’s not the gifts, the tree and decorations, the food, or even the family. Christmas is all about that baby boy in the manger who was born for you and for me. As I was reading Psalm 115, it immediately drew my attention to this very point. As you read through the verse listed above, listen to how they speak directly to Christmas.
     The psalmist is speaking about idols and talking about how worthless they are. They are made of silver and gold. Sure, they may be in the image of a man and have legs, arms, and a face. However, the gold ears are not able to hear your voice, the gold eyes are not able to look at you and see you, the silver arms and legs can’t move. What good is a statue that can’t hear you, can’t see you, and can’t move or do anything at all. It truly is worthless, so why would you want that for your god? I mean a god is supposed to be in absolute control of all things. How can a statue that can’t move in control of anything?
      As you are thinking about how idols can’t do any of those things, it also turns our focus to the fact that our God is not like those idols. And Christmas points us directly to that truth. That baby boy in the manger, he had eyes that could see Joseph and Mary’s smiling faces. Eyes that could see the shepherd’s leaning over the manger amazed at what they saw. That baby boy had ears that could hear Mary’s soft voice comforting him. Ears that could hear the cattle moaning, the donkeys braying, and the sheep bleating. That baby boy had arms that swing and move as Mary tried to keep him swaddled. He had legs that could kick and stretch full length for the first time being outside the womb. That baby boy had a mouth to coo and squeak like happy babies do. He had a nose that could smell both the good smells of Mary and Joseph and the bad smells of the animals.
     Then especially as that baby boy grew up, we see those arms and legs in action. He not only travels miles from town to town walking on his feet, he even walks on water. His hands not only felt the water of the Jordan river and the wood of fishing boats, but they touched people as he healed them and forgave them. His eyes saw the unfaithful actions of the Pharisees, but they also saw the tears of grieving people, the loyalty of friends, the desperation for the people to be near him. His ears heard many ridiculous questions trying to trap him, but they also heard the pleas for mercy from crippled and scared people. His nose smelt the smell of dead fish, but also smelt the beautiful smells of anointing oils running down his face.
     That baby boy in the manger, who grew up to be a man, had real eyes… and real ears… and a real nose… and real hands… and real feet. Just like mine and just like yours. This was no worthless idol that had no power to move. This was the Son of God, born in the flesh of man, who had the power to walk and touch, but also had the power to conquer and control. That baby boy in the manger is the living evidence that our God see us, hears us, speaks to us, reaches out to touch us, and walks to be near us. We do not have a worthless idol for our god. We have the one and only God, almighty and truly in control of all things. And He was born as a man to show us He is real, He is in control of all things, and He is our God in whom we have all hope, joy, love, and trust.
     The final thought I had was an idol of gold or silver could be dropped or hit with a hammer and it would break. That worthless idol has no power to put itself back together again. It by its own power could ever be healed or fixed. It was created by man and would have to be fixed by man. However, that baby boy, the living God, was broken and even killed on the cross. But since he was not created by man, it wasn’t up to man to fix him. Since he is the Son of the Almighty God, he was able to fix himself as e rose from the dead on Easter morning. Even after his resurrection, he still had his eyes to see the disciples scared for their lives. He had ears to hear them call him Lord. He had real hands and feet marked with the nail holes.

Advent Encouragement

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1

     Happy Advent Season! Advent is Latin for “coming”, and it is the season we prepare ourselves for the coming of our King on Christmas morning! Now I know this is the busiest of busy times of the year. Most likely you just got done traveling for or hosting Thanksgiving with family. Now it’s a mad dash to find all the presents on sale. Get them wrapped. Get the tree up. Get the house decorated. Then it’s only a few weeks until all the Christmas parties and family get togethers start taking over every weekend. You are busy, I get it.
      However, we are busy here at church as well. We have our cookie sale this Saturday, Wednesday nights are now busy with dinners and an extra worship service each week, we are hosting a Christmas party on the 16th, we have the preschool Christmas program on the 18th, the Sunday school Christmas program on the 21st, and then comes the big day we all have been preparing for with three worship services on Christmas Eve and one more on Christmas Day. Normally we do not have a Christmas morning service here at Peace in Christ, but because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year we are still having the late service. There are so many opportunities to come worship, eat, serve, and gather at church in the next 25 days!!!  Hopefully every church is this busy and active during this season!  My question for you is will you have the same attitude as King David in Psalm 122?
     David starts this whole psalm by admitting he was glad when the people said they wanted to go to the house of the Lord. So, when it comes to four or five extra worship services, four dinners, a cookie sale, and two Christmas programs, all on top of your regular Saturday/Sunday morning services during this season of Advent, are you going to get tired of all this extra “church stuff”, or are you going to be glad to come to the house of the Lord again and again? I hope you are glad! I hope you see each one of these “extras” as a chance to truly prepare yourself for the celebration of your King, the one and only begotten Son of God, being born in the flesh. God literally became just like you, in order to save you! If the good news that Christ is born, the Word of God has become incarnate in the flesh, doesn’t make you glad, I don’t know what will. If coming to the house of the Lord to hear you have salvation and eternal life in your Savior and King Jesus Christ doesn’t make you glad, again I don’t know what will. If you are too busy with the hustle and bustle of all the holiday requirements to come spend time in the house of your Lord who was born for you, I think you are missing the whole point of this entire season!
     I know you are busy, and I know you have a hundred and one things to get done by yesterday. However, there is also a reason we have extra opportunities to come to the house of the Lord during this busy season. We all need those extra opportunities to come just be in the presence of our God, to forget about all those things “we have to do” for a few moments, and to set aside all that stress and focus on preparing ourselves for the real reason for the season. Instead of grumbling that we have to go church one more time, I pray this Advent season you can be like David and genuinely be glad that you get to go to the house of your Lord one more time. I pray we can all gather together with happy hearts and rejoice in the fact that our King is born! Our King has won our salvation and eternal life through His death and resurrection. And our King is coming back to end all sin, suffering, and death! So, from a pastor, I lovingly encourage us all together, “Let us go to the house of the Lord to hear His good news as often as possible during this busy season!” – and hopefully you are glad to hear this!

Happy Thanksgiving

   Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ.  Happy Thanksgiving.  I preach tonight at our Thanksgiving Eve service at 6:30.  Then drive six and a half hours to mom and dads.  The whole family is going to be there.  All of us getting together is happening less and less now that we are all working adults living in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, and Minnesota.  So I am very excited to see the boys and Ava.  Oh, and the rest of the family too!  It is a short trip for me driving down tonight and coming back Friday night, but worth it to see the family.
    We have been getting lots of snow here.  We were spoiled with such a long, nice fall almost all the way through November.  But now that winter is here, it is coming at full speed.  I love the snow and have thoroughly enjoyed tracking the deer movement through the fresh snow in my yard.  However, this is the first Minnesota winter where I actually have to shovel snow.  Last year, I had a heated garage and the plowing was always done for me at the apartment.  I have had to shovel the drive way twice this year and it is a decently long driveway.  However, it is also a good workout to shovel it.  The chickens don't like the snow very much; although, they are getting better about going outside even in the cold.  They finally laid their first two eggs!  Now I just have to get them trained to lay the eggs in the nesting boxes instead of on the ground.  Silly chickens.
     Well, as Thanksgiving is tomorrow and my birthday is Friday, I most certainly have an abundance of things to be thankful for.  I never dreamed that as I turned 28, I would own 17.5 acres of woods with a house, garage, and chickens, my own tractor, a car and a truck, and be blesses with lots of other material possessions.  I am so thankful for the career I have as an ordained minister at an amazing congregation with an awesome staff to work with.  I am so thankful that I am alive and healthy after some of the craziness of this year.  I will take a wicked scar on my arm being the worst thing left from a week in the hospital, nothing to show for falling off a roof, and making it safely through another hunting season.  God has blessed me every day for 28 years, and I am so content with where my life is, that the next two days will be a time of reflection and giving thanks to God.
    I pray you are just as content with your life, and can see how abundantly God has blessed you no matter where your life is at as well. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Psalm 67

      Praise the Lord the election is over. Someone had to win, someone had to lose, and now we move forward. However, for some reason unknown to me, there is still so much hatred, anger, and division lingering. Fingers are being pointed, blame is being dealt out abundantly, and nothing has even actually happened yet. Maybe it is my laissez faire attitude, but I don’t think who our president is worth all the fuss that I have not been able to avoid.
     One of the most frustrating arguments I have seen way too many times is that equality is being thrown out the window. So many people honestly thought the candidate who lost (I refuse to mention names) was going to bring equality for all people (meaning mostly LBGT, immigrants, women, etc.). And now that the other candidate won (you know who), that equality is never going to happen. Now I could rant and rave for about thirty-six to two thousand pages on why I agree or disagree with that whole ball of wax. Instead I want to just turn to the Psalm.
      Psalm 67 verse 4 says: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity.” I wish every citizen of our country would hear those first nine words about being glad and singing for joy. I wish we could stand together as one people and be glad about everything that is still good in our country thanks to the blessings God continues to shower upon us, but I won’t hold my breath either. The psalmist tells us exactly why we can be glad and why we can sing for joy – because there is only one God and He will judge everyone with equity. He judges all people the same way. See right there it is – equality for all – exactly what everyone wants and is so strongly opinionated about. Except, I have a feeling all of those upset people disgruntled by the lack of equality for everyone in our country, are probably the very ones who do not want God’s equity. God’s equality is not about everybody getting to do everything you have ever wanted no matter what life style you choose. God’s equality is not about mankind deciding citizen’s rights. God’s equity in His judgment, where all mankind truly is equal, is about your faith. Are you part of His kingdom through faith in His Son or are you part of the kingdom of darkness through your rejection? Are you living according to His Word as a result of your faith or are you living a life of sin to spite God and His ways? This is the judgement that will come to all people, perfect equity, perfect equality, alleluia!!! And so we, the people of God, can be glad and sing for joy because we know we will be judged as faithful – not because of what we have done but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us and through us! However, anyone actively rejecting the faith of Jesus Christ probably would not be glad or sing for joy as they will find out His judgment of equity means wrath and condemnation for all non-believers. Equality for all. Equal eternal life for all believers, equal eternal death for all non-believers. That is God’s equality, that is God’s equity. So we as the people of God can be glad, we can sing for joy. Because we know God’s equity for us is only possible through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be glad and sing for joy because you as a believer are saved in Jesus Christ. And share God’s equality with all those angry upset people, so that Lord willing more can be brought into the Gospel of Jesus Christ and come to know God’s equity rather than the world’s equality.