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Lighter Load

6/29/2020

Matthew 11:28-30
The backpack was heavy. I had two gallon jars of spaghetti sauce plus several full roles of tinfoil. On their own they may not seem like much, but in a backpack on your back you feel their weight with every step. I carried them for the duration of a multi-day team building wilderness adventure. Through out the time on the trail I only found relief when someone came up behind me slightly lifted the pack as we paused for a break or when I was able to take the pack off at night. When someone else helped with my load I instantaneously felt lighter and energized to take on the next section of trail. In Matthew 11:28 we see Jesus offer an invitation of rest from the heavy loads that we may be carrying. There is a simple exchange of a burden for rest. God wants us to feel the weight of our burdens in life, but He also longs to help us us learn a better way to deal with life as we walk next to Him. The only way to find rest for your soul is to have a relationship with Jesus live under His guidance (Matthew 11:29). So… What do you plan to do with your backpack full of heavy burdens?

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Thanks for Everything

6/29/2020

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Philippians 1:1-11
Thanksgiving is a once a year event. We have a big meal and sit around the table eating way to much food and being thankful for those that are with us. But have you ever noticed how a thankful attitude changes the perspective of your day? Try going about your day and express thanks to each person that you interact with. For example, when you go into the grocery store thank the checkout person. When you go to the bank let the teller know that you appreciate their helpfulness. At the end of the day you will have an extensive list of people that you have given encouragement to through your thankfulness for them. Now, reflect on how that thankfulness has made an impact on your life and those with whom you interacted. In the book of Philippians Paul writes a very encouraging letter that starts with his thankfulness for the readers. He is ultimately thankful for God’s work in them and through them. Paul used his words of thanks to set the tone for this letter that would guide his readers in living a life for Christ that is filled with joy. Thanks is the natural outcome of a life filled with joy. Like Paul the thanks flowing from our lives should not be limited to a once a year holiday celebration. Our thanks should be a daily expression of our joy that is based in Christ.

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The LORD is Forever Faithful

6/25/2020

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Psalm 23:6
How many places have you lived? More than likely we all have moved to a new residence at least once in our lifetime. Moving can be a hassle. There are boxes to pack and things to sort through. The simple guideline is to make three plies, one pile to keep, one pile to give away and one pile to throw away. But in all this we are just changing where we live and some of the things that we live with. We are only changing where we live not who we live with. We can never change the family relationships that we have. Sure we may create physical distance or not live in the same city but we are still related. As David closes Psalm 23 we see him repeat the main idea that he started this Psalm with. In this verse he talks about dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. On the surface this may not seem connected but as we think about it we see a link. A sheep will find goodness and and loyal faithfulness of the shepherd only in the presence of the shepherd. Sheep live with the shepherd under the shepherd’s care, protection and provision. Sheep make their home with their shepherd and there they find rest. David knows the limited span of life for a sheep or himself yet he understands that with the LORD as his shepherd he is able to rest forever in the relationship that he has with His shepherd. Like David we can rest eternally because of an intimate personal relationship with the LORD if we know Him as our shepherd and savior. You see salvation is not based on your perspective of your life, but on your relationship with the LORD as your shepherd.

For more see Psalms 23

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The LORD Favors

6/25/2020

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Psalm 23:5
I have long been an advocate of disconnecting from the havoc of life and spending some quiet time in contemplation. At this moment I am trying to do that. I am sitting on the front porch listening to a musical. This is the music of nature that the Lord had created for me through birds. I hear the melody of Robins, the staccato chatter of a small territorial Wren, the sharp whistle of Hummingbirds and the background vocals of Chickadees and Sparrows. Recently life has had some severe bumps in the road. Perhaps for you it might be potholes that seemed to swallow you. In Psalm 23:5 David describes how God refreshes and renews him physically and emotionally in the midst of surrounding oppression. As I pause and listen to God’s musical for me I can agree with David that my life is filled with the LORD’s favor and continual renewal.

For more see Psalm 23

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Be Still

6/16/2020

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1 Kings 19:1-18
Work smarter not harder. When I was young I did not completely understand the value of that statement. However, the older I get the more I understand the importance of those words and wisdom behind them. When we work harder we often push ourselves to the limits of our capabilities which often finds its root in the fear of not being able to survive and the need to perform. These actions often end up hurting us. For example a weight lifter that does not properly warm up the muscles can damage and tear the very muscles that were being developed by overworking them and not giving them time to rest and recover. In 1 Kings 19 we see Elijah being confronted with his own fear of survival at the hands of the wicked queen (1 Kings 19:3). Fear clouded Elijah’s perspective of who God is and what God can do so instead of faith he chose to run. God met with Elijah in his darkest moment and redirected him away from his fear to a simple faith in Him. The change began as Elijah heard the quiet voice of God. Similar to Elijah, we often deal with life’s problems and fears by working on them harder or running away. Like Elijah, we can only find rest as we listen to God and in faith act on His word. We just need to take the first step and listen for His voice.

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Time Out

6/8/2020

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Hebrews 4:1-10
A time out is a strategic call in sporting games. This is a play where one of the players or the coach signals that they need stoppage of play. The teams stop play and go to the side of the field where they spend time talking with their coach. In a huddle they hear strategy, advice, direction, correction, and encouragement. The same is true for us as people. We need to set aside regular time to talk with our coach, God. As we stop playing the game of life for a little while we have a better chance to spend focused time listening. If we don’t take a time out we continue to play the game and we choose burn out and ineffectiveness over a time out. The author of Hebrews is writing as a coach. He calls a spiritual time out for the readers because they were missing the point that Jesus is better than anything else. He wants them to live a life of faith in Christ that is based on the supremacy of Christ and not conform to false beliefs without Christ.

For more see HEBREWS

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Mirror Image

6/3/2020

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Genesis 1:26-27
As we look around, we see our world falling apart and most often we try to deal with the symptoms rather than the root problems. So, for a few moments, let’s look briefly at the view of your image. This is not a self esteem talk, but rather an essential conversation from a Biblical perspective.

In Genesis 1:26 God speaks of making humanity, male and female, in His image. What does that word image mean? It simply means that there is a resemblance, much like a baby bears a resemblance of the parents. The Biblical view of image has much to do with the functions of spiritual and moral resemblance. However, the image and its resemblance is ultimately displayed in a functional relationship. In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let Us make… in Our image.” Notice the plural words that are used showing a connection and relationship. This is the God head communicating as the Father, Son and Spirit together in community. You will see this continued communication and relationship as God daily talks, in person, with Adam and Eve until they sinned (Genesis 3:8). Right from the start, God desires to to have a relationship with people.

So, what happened to the image? I want you to imagine a mirror. At creation when God made Adam and Eve everything was very good (Genesis 1:31). But, in Genesis 3, we see the entrance of sin and the corruption of humanity. This is the root of the distortion of the God’s image in humanity. Sin corrupts all of our life so the reflection of God is not clearly seen. Today, we as people still bear the image of God, but its reflection is still distorted by sin. This plays out daily in a lack of morals and lack of relationship governed by a lack of true righteousness in our lives and justice in our actions. To use your imagination again, you can smear butter across the mirror and the reflection is distorted and not clearly seen. In the same way that is what sin has done. Sin distorts God’s image that we were originally designed to reflect.

The spiritual solution is found by dealing with the distortion of sin and the way it corrupts our lives. This is something that only God can do as we trust in Christ to save us from our sin and our self. To begin the cleaning process God uses His grace and forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). God cleans up our mess as we turn to Him in faith. God begins the cleansing and restoration process so we can reflect or display Him through our lives. Righteousness is developed in our lives as our personal response to God’s ongoing purifying work while justice is seen as the practical application of that righteousness displayed toward others.

The outcome is that we who know and believe that we are loved by God (John 3:16) and should be the ones who display or reflect His love to others (Matthew 22:37-40). That means we view others as the image bearers of God that they truly are. When we reflect God’s image we seek to love unconditionally and not based on skin color or geography. When we reflect God’s image we use words of grace. When we reflect God’s image we serve the needs of others and are not self seeking for our own. When we reflect God’s image we love people unconditionally just as God loved us. When we reflect God’s image we treat employees fairly and in turn we seek to benefit the employer. When we reflect God’s image we work to see righteousness and justice established and the redemption of a sin broken world just as God did. When we reflect God’s image we love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). May God give us the grace to be cleaned by Him so we can be a mirror image of Him.

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Lighter Load

Thanks for Everything

The LORD is Forever Faithful

The LORD Favors

Be Still

Time Out

Mirror Image

Pastor Ken

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