Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

"7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."

To me, this passage has many messages, but one also very simple one: live life. Enjoy the simple things. Enjoy the complex things. Enjoy the blessings that are physically present. Have a glass of wine, and drink it joyfully (don't mind if I do), chew your food with a smile on your face (and your mouth hopefully closed). No we don't have to be clothed literally in white, or put oil on our heads, particularly car oil, you might be viewed a bit oddly if you do that.

I think what it is saying there though, is that we should do our daily tasks, we should enjoy life, but we should do so with a pure heart and a pure lifestyle, hence the always being clothed in white. Always remaining spiritually clean, and keeping an upward reminder on our heads and minds.

We are also told to enjoy life with our wives, or for you wives, your husbands. For someone like me with no wife or girl friend or significant other to speak of, I think it means to enjoy our lives with our family and friends.

Put simply, this is life, there is not more to this life. We are living this life to prepare ourselves for our eternal life hopefully with God. Thankfully that is so, I cannot imagine my depression if I knew that this life was all there was and nothing more. In this life though, we are born, we grow, we work, we meet people, we grow old, and we die. That is life. How many people can you name from 100 years ago? How many people can you name from 500 years ago? How about 1,000? How about 3,000? Even our most significant actions in this world are but a speck on the world at large.

If this is all life is then, we are told to take joy in it. The daily mundane tasks we do, and the people we see every day that we maybe take for granted for just being there on a consistent basis. Take joy and gladness in this. And my favorite verse from this, "whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might." We only have a little while on this earth, when we are dead it is too late to do anything here, so whatever it is that is your calling, the millions of things that could possibly be, do it with all your might. Don't be afraid to try, to "fail."

Find what you enjoy, find what you are good at, and do it with all your might. Put a smile on your face, and praise God for each day, because one day, there will be no more days left for you.

2 Corinthians 4:6-10

We are young,
No one can tell us we're wrong
Searching our hearts for so lo-o-o-o-ng
Both of us knowing
Love is battlefield

The timeless song from Pat Benatar, love truly is a battlefield. Life truly is a battlefield. Sometimes us younger generation can be looked down upon because we are young. Paul says, "let no one look down upon you because you are young." The young and the old both know though, that love and life is a battlefield. It doesn't take much to see that.

"6For God who said, "let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry aroudn in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

In this fight, we are hard pressed. At times it really seems like we are losing. Though it seems like we are knocked out, we aren't. God is on our side, and if He is for us, who can be against us? We may seem weak, tired, and heavy laden, but we have not lost the fight. Nay, we have already won, for we are more than conquerers! We are soldiers in a spiritual and physical war. Alone or together we would be lost, rejected, overcome. But we have a powerful God who fights on our side, and we equips us with weapons of the Spirit.

He gives us His light, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. He gives us the breastplate of righteousness, and the sword of truth. For those of you familiar with the Lord of the Rings, especially the book, all are in fear of the Nazgul, the Nine Riders. One of the hobbits however makes the comment, that although they have the Nine, we have the One, the White Rider, who is better than any Nine. So Christ is our White Rider. He leads us forth into battle, the battle against darkness of all kinds.

It doesn't have to be epic darkness either, though that is certainly the kind I enjoy reading and thinking about. It can also be daily darkness, the darkness of a continuing doubt. The darkness of an illness in the family. The darkness of a continuing sin. The darkness of confusion and worry. Christ's light penetrates all these darknesses though. "for the light shines through the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4)

In the end though, epic or not, it is a struggle, a daily struggle, and an eternal struggle until Christ comes again. We already know who wins though, so we may fight with a smile on our faces and love in our hearts towards our fellow man, woman and child, knowing that Christ's is a love that conquers all battle fields. I leave you with these lyrics:

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God,
A sword and shield victorious;
He breaks teh cruel oppressor's rod
And wins salvaton glorious.
The old satanic foe
Has sworn to work us woe.
With craft and dreadful might
He arms himself to fight.
On earth he has no equal.

No strenght of ours can match his might.
We would be lost rejected.
But now a champion comes to fight,
Whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be?
The Lord of hosts is he,
Christ Jesus, mighty Lord,
God's only Son, adored.
He holds the field victorious.

Though hordes of devils fill the land
All threat'ning to devour us,
We tremble not, unmoved we stand;
They cannot overpow'r us.
Let this worlds tryant rage;
In battle we'll engage.
His might is doomed to fail;
God's judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.

God's Word forever shall abide,
No thanks to foes who fear it;
For God himself fights by our side
With weapons of the Spirit.
Were they to take our house,
Goods, honor, child, or spouse,
Though life be wrenched away,
They cannot win the day.
The Kingdom's ours forever!

Amen.

John 16:33

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

It has been a long time since I have written on this. I will admit, I don't have anything particularly epic or profound to say. I also don't feel any specific urging to write a specific piece like I would normally feel to write a blog post or whatnot. Instead, I just feel like it would be good for me to write something, and maybe something that I need to hear myself. In essence, I am the intended audience of this piece. Maybe you can get something out of it too.

Christ died for our sins. That much I believe. Those who believe that are promised eternal life. This too do I believe. Where does that leave us in this life though. What about right now? For right now, Christ promises us trouble. It is not that we might have trouble, we WILL have trouble.

Most of the time when I think about this I think of external trouble, someone dying, being faced with a tough decision, being hurt by someone, etc. Over the past little while in my life though, I am beginning to look at it as not just external trouble, but also internal trouble. Not just for the trouble that others cause us, and circumstances cause us, but the trouble that we cause ourselves.

We are all sinful and unclean and all fall short of the glory of God, so we are told many times in the Bible. I think what Jesus is also telling us here, is not only will we face persecution and struggle from the outside, but we will also face it on account of our own sin. Think of 3 mistakes you've made, not just in your life, but in the past month, the past week, even the past day. How did these mistakes negatively affect your life? Did they get you into a difficult situation? Did they cause you heartache and pain? Did they harm you in any way?

I feel like in this passage, Christ is offering us peace. We will not always have this peace, because sometimes we reject it. But when we allow Christ to put himself into our lives, and when we take the focus off of ourselves and place it on Christ, he can fill us with His peace in any situation we create for ourselves. Any situation. Any situation. I feel like I need to just keep saying that to myself over and over....

Not only do we have peace though, we can take heart, that Christ has overcome the world! We are baptized into death with him, and so also experience new life with him and we too overcome the world! We conquer the world. In fact, we more than conquer the world! "In all things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Rom 8:37) (video coming soon, check back)

Grace, and PEACE to each of you through Christ our Lord, regardless of what you face, of what you do, of how bad it is, Christ loves you, and His is a love that really does triumph over all.

Matthew 10:32

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”

I have had many opportunities lately to speak with friends and others about my faith. I seem to get many questions regarding Biblical topics and verses and how they are related to today. Thankfully I have contact with some great pastors who help me out when I don’t know the answer. There is another set of opportunities that I have had lately as well. I have been blessed with the opportunity to follow Pastor Maas around on a few occasions as well as just speaking with both he and Pastor Sippy. They have given me great insights as well as suggestions. The best though has been a question. We were talking about how I am not very outgoing and that is something that I believe I need to work on. But more specifically I want to work on being more open to sharing the Gospel message. That is where the question was asked of me. It hit me and I really didn’t have an answer that made any sense what so ever. The question was:

What have you got to lose?

. . . Think about that question for a minute.

There are many ways that the question can apply to you. Everything from possessions to attributes, but I want to look at it in a different way, and at the end I will pose the question to you.

Out of many of the things I have taken away from the pastors one that continually sticks in my mind is this. The only way for those who don’t know about Jesus to find out about Him is to hear about Jesus. After thinking on the question for quite some time, I realized that if I continue to pass up opportunities to share the Word I am not giving everyone the opportunity to know Jesus. I wish we were capable of sharing with every individual we come into contact with. Unfortunately the way the world is with all its hustle and bustle that just isn’t the case. But when the opportunity does present itself why not seize it?

Going back to the opportunities I have had with both pastors. I got to go on visitations with Pastor Maas to the nursing homes (which I mentioned before). And one of the individuals we visited shared with us how God has granted him the opportunity to share with those around him even in the home. I saw a news story of a little girl who drew pictures when she was younger of helping the less fortunate and now, God has led her to open facilities and fundraisers to help these people. Everyone is capable of sharing at any age. From little kids, to the retired in nursing homes. That’s what brings me to the verse I first mentioned. Matthew 10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” This passage in Matthew states it pretty clearly. If you acknowledge Christ here on Earth, so will Christ do the same for you in heaven. So let me pose the question once again:

What have you got to lose?

I realized the answer is nothing. Sharing the Word of God with someone is a privilege and can’t be taken away from us. Just because someone is not open to coming to Christ doesn’t mean that we will lose our faith because they don’t want to join us. It doesn’t mean that our faith struggles because we don’t bring each individual to our family of brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s not easy to share the Word. It can be difficult and nerve wrecking, but one thing it is, is satisfying. Sharing the Word of God is a blessing. It is your faith, and you have nothing to lose by sharing it. I pray that each of you will strive to share with others more, knowing that it can help you build your faith, and hopefully spark the faith of another.

Psalm 139

“O Lord, you have searched me, and you know me.”

A few items came across my desk, so to speak, this past week. Two of which I would like to look at. The first was on the internet, via facebook. The newsfeed said “How well do you know _______?” then listed various people’s names. I took a quiz or two and found that some people I knew better than others, and some, well, I really didn’t know well at all. Some friends I have known for years and barely know, others I have only recently met and know tons about. Family is the same way, some you know better than others. What about yourself? How well do others know you? Most importantly how well do you know you? I bet you are thinking that you know more about yourself than anyone else. I’m sorry but that most certainly is NOT the case. I’ll explain a bit later.

The other item was a book given to me at confirmation, which I unfortunately forgot I ever received. The book is entitled “Friends” and is written by a Christian singer, Michael Smith. The book talks about some of his good and bad times in life, and gives many Scriptural references throughout filling most of its pages. Seeing as I had forgotten about the book and really didn’t know that I had it, I began reading. In the first few minutes of reading Psalm 139 came about and according to Smith this particular Psalm is a great handful of verses to memorize if that is something you are striving to do. In his book he speaks of friends and relationships in general. As the book continues to unfold he talks about Colossians 1 and its vivid picture of Christ. I encourage you to check these verses out. But then he talks about his “Friends” tour and speaks of Psalm 139. When he quoted it he said that at times, you could hear pins drop. After going through and reading the Psalm a few times I can really see why.

The Psalm begins, “O LORD, you have searched me, and you know me.” Wow. It only gets better though. Let me show you how well Christ knows you. Verse 2 says that He knows when you sit, and stand. He also knows your thoughts far in advance. Verse 3 He knows when you go out, and when you lay down. Christ is familiar with all your ways. The list goes on and on. He knows when you will say things before you say them. In verse 6 the psalmist actually admits that the amount of knowledge that Christ has for us is too lofty to attain. There is absolutely no way that we can hide from God. In fact, it is His eyes that are leading us in life. Are you looking to Him for guidance and direction in all of your decisions?

Take a look at verses 9 and 10. No matter where you go, Christ will continue to hold fast to you. When you are in your highest of highs and your lowest of lows Christ is always there. Friends and family come and go. Sometimes when times get tough you feel alone, I tell you, you’re not. Someone who knows you better and listens to your every word is always there for you. It is someone who knew you before you were even born, who formed you in your mothers womb. So when you feel alone, sad, depressed, frustrated, happy, jubilant, who is it that you go to talk to? Do you go to your best friend, your brother or sister, your mom, dad, friend or other family member? I pray that each and every one of us can look to these people, but more importantly be in constant conversation with God. He knows you best; He knows your ways, your thoughts, and what you will say. Let Him guide you in all your ways.

So back to those things that came across my desk. The book has been beneficial and has helped me to get into the Word even more so, and focus more on my relationships with people here on Earth. And the quizzes online, well it has reminded me that no one knows me better than Christ. So even though I may not know everything about some of my friends, how about I do make one thing perfectly clear with them all, and that is my Savior knows me best, and I strive to know Him better every day. I hope that each and every one of us can look to Christ more for guidance, especially in our relationships, that we may build them upon His firm foundation.

2 Corinthians 5:7

“For we walk by faith, not by sight”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

Everything in this world is based on faith, which in turn has a lot to do with trust. Let me explain. How often do you go to a doctor’s office and ask where he graduated in his class? Or what the list of his qualifications are? When you go in for surgery do you trust the surgeon? Do you know their qualifications? Do you know that they are going to do exactly what is right for you? Mind you while in surgery you may be under anesthesia. What about when you get in your car, you have faith that it is going to start just like it did yesterday and the day before right? And when you go to do your laundry, you have faith that the setting you select is going to be the one that the washer actually runs, don’t you? Those are just a few examples of faith in your everyday lives.

Look at the verse from 2 Corinthians again, “for we walk by faith, NOT by sight.” Even though you are “out cold” so to speak and not able to see what the surgeon is doing, you are still faithful that they will do the right thing. Even though you don’t see the inner workings of your washer or drier, your clothes will still be clean when they come out wont they (barring you add detergent and set the machine to the proper settings)? When you get in the shower you turn the nozzle to the warm side and warm water comes out even though you don’t see it. Faith is everywhere, even when you can’t see it.

This is just like Christ. You may not see Him, but if you look harder He is everywhere. He is there in the nursing homes, in hospitals, in schools, on the streets and in your homes. He is there through thick and thin, through every up and every down. Even though you don’t see him, you still have faith in Him.

So let us add trust to this picture of faith. Everyone goes through tough times. Whether it be a death, a sickness, an injury, or a separation of any sort (friends moving away, losing a significant other, or getting close to someone just to see things fall apart). And yet through all of that Christ is still there. Death for example in Romans 6 it says “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” So because of God’s grace and our faith in him, even through death we will have everlasting life with him. Falling away from someone you have gotten close to can often times lead to questioning why it happened as it did? How come the outcome wasn’t different? Why would God put someone into my life just to push us further apart again? The list goes on and on just as it does with deaths, with sicknesses like cancer, disabilities and that list goes on and on. And it may be hard to see why. I have been through a situation like this, and even though it is years past I still for some reason dwell on it. But every time it comes up in my mind I see how God has led me in the path He has chosen for me. My faith and trust in Him has greatly increased through the situation. I have come to better understand what I am to do with my life, who I am to search out as friends, and to be who God created me to be. Not to be someone else. He created me for me, and the situation I had has really taught me that. But most importantly, and I will repeat myself again, it has increased my faith and increased my trust in Him.

Even those you are close to can often times struggle with these very things. Take Thomas for an example. As one of the 12 disciples many would think he would have no trouble trusting in God. Even after hearing Jesus say that he had to die and rise again and that He would return, Thomas still had problems trusting. A step further, Christ returned to the 10 in a locked room (Judas had hung himself and Thomas was not with them) and also returned to Mary Magdalene in the garden. And even after the disciples told him that they had seen Jesus he still did not believe. It was not until Jesus appeared to Thomas personally (in the book of John 20^th chapter) and Thomas felt the nail holes and the hole in Christ’s side, did he believe.

I pray that each and every one of you does not get stuck in the past, or get stuck in the down things of this world, or continue to wonder “what if” but rather that you look to God to continue to lead you in life. I pray that you continue to draw closer to Him, and most importantly to build your faith and trust in Him. I would like to leave you with 2 verses regarding all of this that kind of wrap it all up to me, and I hope they do for you also. The first is John 20:29 Jesus is speaking to the disciples and says “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And the second is the same one I began with 1 Corinthians 5:7, but this time from a different version called the Message. It reads, “It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.”

Psalm 46:10

“Be still and know that I am God.”

I recently was very privileged and blessed to accompany Pastor on rounds to the nursing home. It just so happened to be the time of the month when he goes to give communion. We visited 3 people who received communion that day and man was it a moving experience. Our first stop we visited a retired pastor full of knowledge and advice (especially for someone my age). We simply talked with him for a while and after 30 minutes of talking or so we had a short service filled with prayer which ended in communion. We moved on and did the same thing with an elderly woman, this time the service was out of the hymnal, but the same procedure. Lots of talking followed by communion. The last stop was much the same more talking (in my case listening) which ended again in communion. After each of the individuals had partaken in communion it seemed like pastor and I just got up and left. Well it didn’t seem like it, because it is exactly what we did. On our rather short drive back I asked him, why do you leave right after communion. His response was simple, and also where this verse came to mind for me. He told me that it is only once a month that these individuals receive communion and that there is just a level of reverence that he feels should be their time alone with God. “Be still and know that I am God.”

So often while in nursing homes it appears to be hard to see God’s hand at work. These people I got to visit changed that opinion completely for me. They were open and caring to not only me, but to others in the home as well. They asked us to offer up prayers of petition for the others in the home, especially those searching for God as well as those who hadn’t found Him at all yet. And as I look back on it each and every one of them sat there. Completely still, knowing that God was there with them, not only through pastor and I, but through communion and through the individuals in the home as well.

The verse came to mind again today during the Gospel lesson. The reading was from the book of Mark the fourth chapter. The passage speaks of the calming of the sea. Christ spoke to the wind and the waves saying “Quiet, be still!” The wind and waves obeyed. It’s not just about the wind and the waves though. It’s about each and every one of us. How often are you quiet, just sitting there, listening to God? How often are you looking around through all the storms of this earth and seeing how He is working.

As you enter the mission field wherever it may be, in your house, your neighborhood, down the road at Victory Mission or Salvation Army, or whether it is overseas, in Africa, Brazil, or just in a neighboring country like Mexico, I urge you to be quiet and be still. Search to see where God is leading you. Search to see where He is already working, and where you can help out. Trust that God is working in your life, and look around to see how He is working in others. Be willing to step out of your boundaries and share Jesus with someone. Let Christ lead you to walk in His ways, so that others can have confidence, and when that storm of life comes their way, that they too can be still and know who God is.

1 Timothy 1:14-16

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Those are a few of my favorite verses and man is there a lot in them! Just in that first verse three things are talked about, grace, faith and love. In the book of Ephesians it is written “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith . . .” In my opinion, this verse in Ephesians really emphasizes the point that Paul is trying to make. God’s grace is poured out in such a fashion that all people it at their fingertips, if they so choose to accept it. The grace is so abundant because of the faith that we have in Him. To add to that though is something even more. That something is love. It’s not just love between you and Christ, but that love is to be spread between you and your friends, and your family, and even your enemies. Love is to be encompassed with all people no matter what. No matter how hard it may be. This is how great that love is to be. The book of Luke says, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” That is one great love, loving others just as you love yourself.

That is all great, but Paul goes on. The next verse goes on to say that Christ came to save sinners. And he goes even deeper. Paul admits his faults by saying that Christ came to save sinners- “of whom I (Paul) am the worst.” WOW! Paul is telling us here that out of everyone in this world, he is the worst of all sinners. So let me ask a question. Do you agree? Is Paul the worst of sinners?

I have to agree, yes Paul is the worst of sinners, but at the same time, so am I. It is written in the book of Psalms “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord who could stand?” Thankfully the Lord does not keep a record of all my sins, or yours or anyone else’s. But each one of us is equally sinful and therefore is equally the worst of sinners. (That is my opinion and if I am wrong please correct me.)

The last verse really hits to home though. Paul talks about Christ’s patience, belief in Him and the ultimate prize. That belief and patience and prize to me are all wrapped into a few verses in the book of John. They are probably pretty familiar to you. They read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world though him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” It comes around full circle, the abundant grace that is poured out for us, the faith we have in Christ and the love we have for Him and He for us has given us the opportunity to receive the ultimate prize. Eternal life in heaven. “Christ came into this world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst.” And I am thankful for that, and pray that each and every one of you are too.