Month: February 2018

Sometimes God tells me to hush up and let someone else talk a while.  God has spoken and sent Carla’s words of insight and wisdom for me to share today.  She will speak to you as she has to me.

Stepping Out

Matthew 14:21-33

It’s a familiar story that I’ve known since childhood.  One most kids in Sunday school can tell.  I’ve always thought it was a story about Peter and what happens when we take our eyes off Jesus.  That’s part of it, but there’s more.  What about the other characters in the story? What can we learn from them?

Immediately after feeding the 5,000, Jesus sent the disciples out in a boat while he went up into the hills to pray.  He knew something they didn’t.  He knew he was sending them into a storm that would test their faith and offer them another opportunity to participate in something miraculous.  Their faith had to have been at an all time high after being active participants in the miracle of feeding so many people with 2 little fish and 5 loaves of bread.  I’m sure they were still talking about all those baskets of leftovers as they sat sail.  “Can you believe it?  Twelve baskets of leftovers.”  

Everything was great.  Then the storm hit.  Strong winds and dangerous waves rocked their boat making them anxious.  Jesus could have come to their rescue immediately, but chose to wait until late in the night.  After all, our faith isn’t strengthened if He stops the storms in our life before they ever happen.  At exactly the right time Jesus shows up. As he approached the boat walking on the water, the disciples didn’t recognize Him.  How could that be?  They had just left his presence, yet their first thought was that it must be a ghost.  Even after He spoke, they still weren’t sure it was Him.  Peter finally asks Jesus to prove it was Him by letting Peter walk on the water.  We all know how that ends.  Peter walks on the water until he begins to focus on the waves and wind instead of the One who controls the waves and wind.   Jesus has to lift him out of the water and into the safety of the boat chastising him for his lack of faith.  

But what about the other disciples?  What is their role?  Peter was the only one who trusted Jesus enough to step out of the safety of the boat.   For what ever reason, the others chose not to get out.    Maybe they felt more protected from the storm in the familiarity of the boat. Don’t we all long to stay where we know it’s safe rather than stepping out into the unknown.  What Jesus asks us to do doesn’t always make sense or seem safe, but just like with Peter, He’s always going to be there to pick us up when we start to sink.   

Maybe they still weren’t sure it was Jesus.  It looked and sounded like him, but they weren’t convinced enough to actually step out.   Aren’t we the same way?  We are pretty sure we know what He wants us to do, but we aren’t about to act until He gives us an indisputable sign. We’ll keep “praying about” what He wants us to do never actually doing anything.

Maybe they knew it was Him and that He could protect them, but doubted if they were worthy of such an experience.  Who were they to be a part of something miraculous?  Shouldn’t He use someone without all our failures.  After all, He KNEW them and He knows us too.   We look around and see others that we think would be better at serving in a particular area or don’t serve because we feel like everyone knows we really aren’t worthy of being used.  We messed up way too many times.   

Maybe they were content to watch as someone else had the experience like so many church goers are today.   They know God’s doing great things in their church, but they want to watch from the sidelines rather than getting involved.   They would rather be a spectator to what God’s doing rather than being an active part.   It’s a lot more comfortable attending a church than becoming a member of the local church and having to serve.    

In the end, they were all saved from the storm, but Peter was the only one to have an intimate encounter with a miracle.  His faith was not unfaltering (he got scared and started to sink), but he was available.  He wasn’t completely certain of what he was doing or what he was stepping out into, but he did as Jesus said anyway.  He wasn’t more worthy, but he didn’t miss the experience either.    

None of us will ever be worthy of being used and He certainly doesn’t need us to accomplish His plans.   But he does want us to experience the indescribable joy of stepping out in faith.  I may not fully understand what He’s calling me to step out into, but I don’t want to miss the incredible experiences God has for me because I’m sitting in the boat.  Do you?

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:3-4

It seems as though Isaiah is standing at the foot of the cross, but he lived 700 years before Christ. His vision is so clear and his faith so defined that this passage of prophecy reads as though it is past tense. The absolute of our salvation plan is not found in any clearer way than is told by Isaiah.

God long promised a King who would come to earth and reign in justice, set everything right, bring peace and restore a correct world order.  A serious conflict existed between man’s expectation and God’s omnipotent wisdom and power. God sent a servant armed with love. Man longed for a king, entitled and enthroned. Men didn’t get what they wanted so with selfish, evil hearts, they hated what they needed. 

The recipient of our hatred, the victim of our rejection was the perfect King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Prince of Peace. We need nothing else.

Love,

Gretchen

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8

Paul, the author of the second letter to the church at Corinth, suffered beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, unceasing attacks and indignities as a result of his missionary work and aggressive evangelism.  The One True Gospel of Jesus Christ wasn’t a popular message everywhere. For thirty years Paul lived under great persecution, but determined the Joy of His salvation was more than worth any human discomfort.

Pressure is part of the equation that creates a diamond. It is more often constructive rather than destructive. Perplexity is not hopelessness, just the state between seeking and finding the answer. Abuse and injustice are tragedies. When things go badly, the room empties and there you are, alone. Paul experienced all these things, but determined it was not going to be his end definition, nor yours.

Heaven is full of work worn hands, calloused feet and hearts once broken. They are there because they persevered. Every voice raised in praise testifies it was more than worth the temporary pain and grief of this life to achieve life eternal.

Happy Friday,

Gretchen

For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Today, if only you would hear His voice. Psalm 95:7

Yahweh is King over all the universe and its history.  He is ruler because He alone is the designer and creator. This Psalm is a hymn of praise to God for His creative power and justice.

Many times, both in the Psalms and in the New Testament, man is likened to sheep, a domestic animal that needs tremendous management. God is referred to as a shepherd, the wise caregiver who provides like none other, for those in His keeping.  God’s pasture is lush. All that is needed, not just nutritional sustenance, but security from predators and/or fatal temptations and distractions is given in generous plenty.

Sin separates us from God.  He cannot do for us what He desires if we do not obey. We must tune our hearts to His, train ourselves to His character and commands and follow as a sheep follows its shepherd.

Have a great Thursday,

Gretchen

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. I John 4:8

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:7-8b 

God’s nature is love. This must be our standard.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Gretchen

The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell theses stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:3

The destiny of all creation rested on this moment. 

Born to be fully man, our Savior came into this world a helpless child with only His mother Mary to tell Him of His origins. At His baptism the Holy Spirit fell on Him, Heaven opened and Jesus was restored to His pre-incarnation knowledge and power. Before He left Heaven He knew, now He knows again. As a human, the only way back to Heaven was through death, but now He had all the miraculous power of the universe at His disposal. He could die an easier way….or He could fulfill God’s eternal plan.

Satan tempted with fame, power, the basic need of the body and proof that He was who He claimed to be. At this moment Jesus could have condemned us all, bound us to the hell we deserve and saved Himself from the horrible ending He knew would come. This was satan’s wish, because the ONLY hope for all that mattered was at stake and the devil wanted it badly. 

The will of the Savior and His Father became one; to heal, feed, comfort, rescue……love.

God is Faithful,

Gretchen

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The author of this sequel to the fourth Gospel, Luke, is the only non Jewish writer in the New Testament. His Gospel tells of the loving and miraculous work Christ did while on earth and the forty days between His crucifixion and ascension. The Acts of the Apostles is the history of salvation, God’s purpose to save the world. 

At the time of Christ’s death the afterlife was a mystery with few clues. When He returned to life and revealed Himself to His disciples the secrets of the Kingdom became clear. What an amazing plan God had, to teach these men and women the reality of life eternal through the very real presence of a risen Savior.  The time came for Jesus to return to His Father, but He left instructions for the immediate days ahead, and then for the perpetuation of the Good News that lasts through this very day.

In verses 3-5 Jesus promises a great gift. Mortal minds turned to politics and the expected political deliverance and independence of their nation, but Jesus did not come to justify temporary things of man for a generation. Eternity is His agenda. The Day of Pentecost made these things clear. 

God created the nation of Israel to bless all nations.  This purpose is fulfilled when Jesus sends His disciples into the ends of the earth…… so you and I will know the way home. 

You are Loved,

Gretchen

Finding a Masterpiece

Each summer I attend Bible camp with our church children. This became my happy place, when as a child, I gave my heart to Jesus, made lifelong friends and committed to a lifetime of service in God’s Kingdom. My desire is to give this gift forward. Many children recognize me from year to year. I am known to them as Pastor Gretchen.  One summer, across the noise of excited campers and rolling suitcases on gravel paths, I heard, “MRS. ROONEY! IS THAT YOU?!”  I turned and found a student from my school. He didn’t attend church in our local congregation and I had no idea he had Nazarene connections.  A caring relative from another area felt compelled to finance this child’s trip to camp, so there we stood, surprised to find each other in an unexpected time and place.

Our camp theme was Masterpiece. The objective: Every child will know they are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image, loved and cared for above all else.  We provided multiple activities and learning experiences so each child would encounter God’s personal interest in their unique and individual existence. Among these was the opportunity for everyone to paint their self portrait as a keepsake and remembrance. 

At a chosen time, a hundred little artists began work with paper, pencil and paint.  The activity leader guided them through the shape of their face and the placement of ears and eyes, etc. as was special to them alone.  Toward the end of the process, my little friend from home became distraught, wadded up his canvas and begged to be released from the celebration of completed work.  I heard a cry through thick summer air, “Mrs. Rooney!” I asked what was wrong and a teary voice said, “It’s awful.”  I continued, “What made it awful?” “I can draw good, but I don’t have an eraser, my paint got mixed and there’s no more paper! I don’t want anyone to see it, it’s ugly!”

Indeed, his water colors bled together and his personal standard of artistry was not possible to attain on this day.  As we sat down and talked about the reality of him versus the ‘disaster’ before us, we concluded he was the beautiful, miraculous image of the God that created and loved him. I asked if I could keep the picture so someday we could look at it again and remember how special we are, even when things are a mess.

Have you ever looked at yourself and known your reality wasn’t what was seen? It’s said we see the worst in ourselves or if we see something better than everyone else sees, then we’re egotistical, therefore sinful.  I object, because the heart of a child taught be better.  There is a once crumpled picture on my refrigerator that reminds me daily I must reconcile my self image to what God sees. When they are the same, I can see a Masterpiece.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24.

Find your Masterpiece.

Love,

Gretchen

In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” I Corinthians 11:25

The Greek city of Corinth was a metropolis full of diversity, wealth, prestige and very important to the Roman Empire. Paul traveled to this town, evangelized and established a sizable congregation across all cultural and economic spectrums.  Soon the new believers were beset by immorality, false prophets, factions and abuses in worship. The things God designed to bind believers together in love and strength, became sources of contention and hurt. Paul sent instructions to straighten things out.

The Corinthian church expanded the Lord’s Supper and made it a complete meal. In quick time the social aspect of potluck usurped the sacred act of worship.  Luxurious food was brought for man’s glory and shared with acquaintances of like social status while others of lower economic standing went without being included. In verses 23-30 Paul reteaches the way Jesus modeled the remembrance of the Greatest Act of Love known to man.

Gluttony in the presence of starvation is a problem, but THE issue here is how easily man brings himself to the center of the universe rather than diligently determining that God, at all costs, will remain the sole object of recognition, adoration and gratitude.

Love,

Gretchen

And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him. Mark 1:13

As prophesied by Isaiah, John came baptizing for the repentance of sins.  At this time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized. As He came out of the water, Heaven was torn open and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. God’s voice spoke, “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.” (verses 1-12)

Following this event Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, fasted and prayed. This was not a time of serenity.  Satan pulled out all the stops in an attempt to end our hope before it ever got started.  Jesus prevailed.

The great questions of theology deal with Holy living and the community relationships of Christians.  There is admittedly some wiggle room that does not make a difference between Heaven and hell. However, in this passage you find Jesus, fully and completely, Son of Man and Son of God.  Jesus was indisputably human in every meaning of the word.  He lived as we lived, with discomfort and temptation, fought life’s most common battles, remained the sinless servant of all mankind, died a human death, BUT rose again into eternal life, thus removing the power of satan to hold us prisoner to the sorrows of this world.

Have a Great Friday!

Gretchen