Speeding Tickets (August 23, 2020)

Even though it happened over 20 years ago, I still remember my first speeding ticket.  

I had been in Ohio visiting family, and I was on my way back to PA.  I don’t know that I was in a huge hurry for any particular reason, but I wasn’t dilly-dallying either.  I was by myself, and I wanted to get back home at a reasonable hour.  So, I was pushing it a bit.  You know…save a few minutes by going a little faster.  There I was zipping down a hill on I-70 in West Virginia when I saw the flashing lights.  I knew I was in trouble.  I had been caught.  Here came the ticket.

Now, I don’t harbor any ill will towards that officer.  They were just doing their job.  However, a 45mph speed limit on a major interstate, on the downgrade of a large mountain, just before it turns into 70mph?  They are setting you up to fail.  Regardless.  I was speeding, and I got a ticket.  A couple hundred bucks to a guy fresh out of college working as a counselor was no small chunk of change.  It was a big deal.  I remember that occasion.

The next ticket came within a year or so.  Similar situation.  This time, I was headed to my grandparents in New York.  I was driving backroads up from Latrobe to Lakewood, NY, enjoying the view, but going fairly slow because the roads were windy.  Eventually, I hit a straight stretch going downhill.  I let the car speed up, I felt the wind through the sunroof, I was enjoying the ride…until, I saw the lights.  Again, a 45mph zone.  Again, going downhill.  Again, an officer doing their job.  Again, a couple hundred bucks for a guy who was working hard to try to cover expenses.  It was a big deal.

Speeding tickets.

They affected the way that I drive.

After I received a couple of them, I decided that driving that fast wasn’t really worth the risk.  Sure, I could get places quicker, but it would come at the risk of owing money that I couldn’t afford to pay.  The tickets would not just dip into the ice cream fund, they could put a damper on the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as well.  After those couple of tickets, I slowed down (especially in downhill, 45mph zones…police like to watch those things).  I slowed down because I feared the consequence.  I didn’t want any more tickets.

Now, I won’t say that I drove or drive perfectly.  I won’t say that I’ve never pushed the speed a bit since then.  I won’t say that I no longer like going fast.  All of that would be untrue.  But, for the most part, I slowed down.  I didn’t want another speeding ticket.  I was fearful of the police handing out a consequence, so I modified my behavior.  I changed my driving patterns out of a desire to avoid consequence.  In some ways, you could say that my behavior changed out of fear.  I was afraid of getting caught, so I drove slower.

I think that we often approach our relationship with God in this manner (or at least I have approached God in this manner).  We really want to speed.  We think it would be better if we went faster.  We really want to act in a certain way and say certain things, but we don’t.  Why?  Because we have fear.  We try to “live right” because we fear the consequences of a heavenly police officer coming down on us.  So, we come to church, we present our tithes, we try to quit swearing, we are faithful to our partner in marriage, we don’t drink like we used to, etc…all because we don’t want to get caught again.  We know the ticket is large.  It’s a cost we’re not willing to pay.  And so we smile, we behave, we go forward all the while wishing we could just speed along at 100mph (I wasn’t actually going that fast…even though I probably wanted to).  We know there’s a God, that God has established rules, and so we try to follow the rules so we don’t get pulled over by the Great, Big, Police Officer in the sky.  We live the way we live to avoid consequence.

Fear of consequence can change behavior, but it rarely gets to the root issue.  

I may not speed in a 45mph zone downhill because I don’t want to get caught, but how fast do you think I’d go if I knew all of the officers were on vacation?  If somehow I knew that it was an open road with no limitations, do you think I’d go slow if I was just worried about escaping punishment?  Of course not!  I’d see how fast that puppy could move.  I’d push whatever ride I had to the max and wish I had something a bit faster.  Once the fear of consequences had been removed, I’d return to my previous actions.  Fear of consequences can change behavior, but it rarely gets to the root, to the core.  It rarely gets to the deeper issues.

Do you want to know what has a deeper, more lasting effect?

Love.

I remember another driving experience even better than I remember those tickets.  The first time that I drove Silas home.

Christa and I were first leaving the hospital, and we had to get Silas loaded into the car.  He was in a blue car seat with a handle that you could carry, and we were responsible for getting him home.  No experience.  No qualifications.  No real training.  Just, “Here’s your kid.  He’s your responsibility now.  Take him home.”  We quadruple-checked to make sure we had that car seat fastened correctly.  We prayed and prayed and prayed some more.  Thoughts flashed through my mind.  “How could we be responsible for this life?  How am I supposed to get him home?  You mean he doesn’t come with an instruction manual?”  

Do you know what else happened?  I drove slow.

All of the sudden, I wasn’t just responsible for my own well being, or the well being of my wife in our car.  I was responsible for Silas.  I was responsible for this precious little baby who had his entire life ahead of him.  I was charged with driving and getting him home safely.  I drove slow.  I drove slow out of love.

In that moment, I no longer wanted to go fast.  I no longer wanted to see if I could shave a couple minutes off of the trip.  My main goal?  Get this baby home, and it honestly changed me.  My driving now compared to my driving pre-Silas is significantly slower…not out of fear of consequence, but out of love.  You see, I’m still tasked with the responsibility of getting my son home, and saving a couple of minutes isn’t worth it.  I drive slower, now, because I love that kid a ton, and I want to get him home.  I drive slower out of love.

Just the other day we took a trip into Pittsburgh to buy a some stools for our newly remodeled room.  Things happened, the place we were headed to for lunch was closed, the trip took longer than expected.  By the time we were headed home, I was a little tired, and I was wanting to get home as quickly as possible.  We were driving on the turnpike, and the thought occurred to me, “You could speed up a bit more.  You could go faster.  You could push it a bit here to make up some time.”  There weren’t police officers that I could see.  It was a nice, straight stretch, the car was capable of greater speeds, everything was lined up nicely for me to be heavier on the gas, I was ready to go faster, but then I looked in the mirror.  I saw Silas’s smiling face.  I saw the face of my nephew, Tommy, of my niece, Grace.  I saw the face of my beautiful wife, Christa.  I even saw the face of my father-in-law, Boyd.  (We had a full load.)  I didn’t speed up.  I drove slow.  I drove slow out of love.  I was responsible for getting these people whom I love dearly home.  Shaving off a couple of minutes wasn’t worth it.  I didn’t want to go fast.  I wanted to go slow.  I have been changed out of love.

1 Corinthians 16:14 says this:

Do everything in love.

 

That’s a challenging passage, isn’t it?  4 words.  One command.  Do everything in love.

Not out of fear of consequence, not out of fear of getting caught, or not getting to heaven, or owing some huge amount of money that you can’t pay, or for any other reason.  Do everything in love.

Follow God in love.

Speak kindly in love.

Serve others in love.

Drive the speed limit (or close to it…) in love.

Perform at your job in love.

Make dinner in love.

Do the dishes in love.

Go to Walmart in love.

Have that conversation with your neighbor in love.

On and on and on and on and on and on and on.

Do everything in love.

Love changes things.  Love can get to the root and transform the entire plant.  Love can get deep within your soul and work within you to transform you into a completely new being.  Love.  Do everything in love.

Do everything knowing that you are loved by God.  (John 3:16, Galatians 2:20, Romans 5:8)

Do everything out of love for God.  (Matthew 22:36-40)

Do everything out of love for others.  (John 15:12, 1 John 4:19, 1 Peter 4:8, Ephesians 4:2)

Do everything in love.

Just yesterday, I was reminded of this truth, to do everything in love.  I had been at the church doing some work, and I planned to head to Walmart to pick up some things on my way home.  Walmart is not my favorite place in the world, but I knew we needed things, and I was happy to be able to stop.  Then, I remembered…the mask.  Wearing a mask is not my favorite thing either.  Wearing a mask in Walmart?  That somehow makes Walmart and the mask worse.  Still, I was reminded, “Do everything in love.”  I could go into Walmart and be cranky and upset that I was walking around there with a mask.  Or, I could put on my mask in love and walk through Walmart in love.  Fortunately, yesterday, I chose love (sadly, I recognize that I have not always chosen this path).  I made a conscious decision to choose love.  As I put on my mask, I told myself that I am doing this in love.  As I walked into the store and saw the person in charge of monitoring those entering, I greeted her with a smile (hopefully she could see it in my eyes), and the love of Christ in my heart.  As I walked through the store, I tried to keep this word of God in my mind, to do everything in love.  Do you know what?  My experience of Walmart, and my experience of my mask was more pleasant than normal.  

Do everything in love.  

What might you do in love this moment?  Today?  Tomorrow?  Next week?

~ Pastor Chris

A Time for Everything (August 16, 2020)

Speaking of time, I thought it was time that I wrote the devotional.  It’s been awhile since I asked Chris if I could write one to all of you.  It is a blessing to feel connected to you through this message and through God’s Word.  This is a very different season where relationships take on a whole new dynamic, but please know that our prayers and love are with you during this time.  

There is that word again.  Time.  I’ve been thinking a lot about time.  Silas turned twelve on Sunday, and I am amazed how fast those twelves years flew by.  

Every year, Chris and I write in a journal for Silas.  We write about the new things Silas is doing, memories we made during the year, our hope and prayer for him as he grows…and we write in this journal year after year.  This year, I was flipping through the pages and thought about how those pages represent twelve years of his life.  I could flip through them so quickly, the pages just shuffling by…and it reminded me of how life is.  Quickly shuffling by.  

The funny thing is that some of those memories in the pages of Silas’ journal did not feel quick.  

Changing diapers seemed like it would last forever.

Sleeping through the night was a distant memory.

Carrying Silas on my hip seemed never ending.

The colic years had no end in sight.

Even the 9 month pregnancy felt like 9 years!

Do you know what my wise mom told me when I was in the midst of these hard days?

The days are long, but the years go by fast.

It sure didn’t feel like it then!  But as I now look at Silas’s journal - a journal representing twelve years -  and my mom’s words echo in my ears.  Indeed, the days were long but the years went by fast.

The pages in Silas’s journal hold a milestone…the day he took his first steps or said his first words.  The pages contain great joy…the day he prayed the salvation prayer!  The pages record family memories…the time we spent in Vietnam.  The pages speak of hardship…the day Silas broke his first bone.   The pages tell of hope…how much Jesus and his mommy and daddy love him.

What would your journal say?  

Clearly, it wouldn’t have the same experiences or the same memories.  But I bet all of our journals would tell about times that were good and bad.  The joy and the pain.  The hope and the sorrow.  No matter who we are, our “pages” will have some of the best times and some of the worst times.

Even King Solomon, the richest and wisest king to ever exist, had his ups and downs.  Many Biblical commentaries believe he is the author of these words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 

a time to be born and a time to die, 

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh, 

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 

a time to search and a time to give up, 

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate, 

a time for war and a time for peace.

I would add:  There is a time to change diapers and a time to potty train.  Okay, so maybe that wouldn’t work.  But the message here is that there an ebb and flow of time…a flow of good and bad, happy and sad, peace and turbulence, planting and harvesting.  There is time for everything.

I find the verse  “a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing”  very fitting during our current status of social distancing.  And I bet if you slowly read through these verses that you would find a lot that is fitting for your personal life.  Times that you mourned but also times that made you want to dance.  Times of financial hardship and then a season of stability.  Times of division, maybe in the church or in your family, and then a time of peace and unity.  Times of celebrating births and times of grieving a death.  

We all have these times, these seasons in our lives.  The ups and the downs.  The hard part is when we our journal page consists of the downs.  The trials and hardships.  The days that feel long and never-ending.  

Maybe you feel that way right now.  Maybe you are going through a season of grief.  A time of pain.  Or maybe you just don’t see how we are going to get through the Coronavirus.  

King Solomon continued and says this in Ecclesiastes 3:11:

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Wow.  This tells us that every time and every season can be beautiful.  Even the bad, the ugly, the worst of the worst.  God can make it all beautiful.  

Do you know what I would give to go back and hold baby Silas again?  I don’t think as much about the diapers or the crying…I think about how I will never have my baby boy again.  I have asked myself thousands of times, why did I not enjoy those years more?  Why was I so focused on the hardship that I didn’t see the blessing in it????

That time was hard.  But it was also very beautiful.

Maybe we need to remind ourselves that right now, and ask,  Are we so focused on the hardship of this season that we aren’t seeing the blessings?  Are we not enjoying these days given to us?

Because someday we will look back in twelve years and these “pages” will have shuffled by.  We will realize that even though the days were long, the years went by fast.  Seasons might be hard, this season might even be the hardest year some of us have ever experienced…but God can make it beautiful. 

Go now and “write” your journal.  Your pages might fill up with joy mingled with tears. But because of Christ, your pages will always be beautiful.

~ Christa

Blackberry Pie (August 9, 2020)

If you’ve known me for a while, or even if you are new to reading the devotionals or hearing me speak, there’s something that you probably know…I have a sweet tooth.  I try to keep it in check.  I try not to talk about it every single time that I share something.  I try to eat a fairly balanced diet.  But, the fact remains, I like my sweets.  Included in my fondness for sweets is a liking of pie.  As my friend Pastor Tom used to say, “I like two kinds of pie…hot & cold.”  (There’s a good chance you’ve heard that from me before…but, come on, it’s still funny…and true…except for coconut cream pie…I don’t like that in any form.)

Pie = Delicious.

Ok.  So I like the pie hot, I like the pie cold, I like a bunch of different flavors of pies, but do you want to know one of my favorites, especially at this time of year?  Great!  I’ll tell you.

Warm, wild blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream.  

Oh man.  That’s some good stuff right there!  I’m starting to salivate as I’m typing.  It’s delicious, and now is the perfect time to get some.  This is the perfect time of year to get a warm, fresh, homemade, wild blackberry pie.

Why?  Why is this the perfect time for me to get a warm, fresh, homemade, wild blackberry pie?  Right now, as I type there are wild blackberry plants bearing ripe, delicious blackberries.  Right now they are hanging on the bushes, plump and juicy, ready to eat.  Right now wild blackberries are ready for consumption, ready for a pie.  They’ve been that way for a little while, and the season won’t last long.  Right now is the perfect time for a warm, wild blackberry pie (one of my favorites) and yet…no pie for me.

No pie for me?!?!?  

No pie for me.

I know at this point you’re wondering why I’m not getting a pie.  Let’s go through some possible answers.

1. I’m not close to the aforementioned blackberries.  Nope!  There are some right on my driveway and there are more within walking distance.
2. I’ve given up sweets.  Nope!  I’ve done that before and will do it again but right now I’m enjoying the sugar.
3. I don’t know how to make one.  Nope!  I’ve made pies, and I enjoy it (mostly).  I even have a new pie crust recipe that I’m excited to try.

So what’s the problem?  

It’s two-fold.

One…I’m busy.  Like busy, busy.  There’s a good deal of stuff happening in a lot of different areas, and I’m doing my best to try to prayerfully keep on top of everything that needs done.  Pie making?  Not much time for that.  As much as I would enjoy a pie, it’s not going to happen right now.  Too busy.

Two…I keep eating the blackberries before they get home.

Christa, Silas and I have gone on walks, we’ve seen the delicious looking blackberries, we’ve picked the delicious looking blackberries…and we’ve eaten the delicious tasting blackberries…with me consuming the largest amount.  Not one single berry has made it home from our walks.  Not one.  (Granted, we didn’t take any containers and the goal wasn’t to pick berries, it was to walk…but still…every ripe berry that has been picked has been consumed.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sorry that we ate the blackberries.  They were delicious, and I had no real intention of bringing any home to make a pie (see reason number one as to why I’m not getting a blackberry pie anytime soon).  But, as much as I like fresh blackberries, they’re even better in pie form!  I know that if I had held off from eating them, if I had brought them home, if I had made a pie, I would have enjoyed them even more, the blackberries would have been even better.

Granted, all of this really isn’t that big of a deal.  It’s just a pie, and I’m perfectly fine without it.  I’m not going to starve, and I have plenty of other sweets available to consume.  However, it does make me consider more important issues.  I wonder, how many times do I miss out on the blessings of God (or miss out on God) because I am too busy, or because I am too caught up with eating all of the berries before they make it to the pie?

There are times in life when we get busy, and we decide to cut things out.  For me, right now, being busy means no time to bake a pie.  It cannot mean no time for God.  No matter how busy, how hectic, how jam-packed and crazy my life gets, I need to make certain to make time for God.  This needs to be a priority.  My relationship with the Lord needs to get top billing.  Number one spot.  Sometimes it doesn’t, and I can suffer because of it.  It’s OK to cut out pie…even if I miss wild blackberry season.  It’s OK to cut out a lot of things that we enjoy.  It’s not OK to cut out God.  We need God more than the air that we breathe.  We need to make God a priority in our life.  Other things may be removed.  God may not.

Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  We know this as the first commandment, but it also applies as the first priority.  God comes first.  No matter how busy life gets, no matter how many “have tos” are piling up, God can not be skipped over or passed aside like a blackberry pie, some sweet thing to enjoy if we are able.  God is foundational, essential, non-negotiable.  We cannot put other gods before the Lord.

There are also times in my life when I eat the berries early and they don’t make it to the pie.  There are reasons for this.  I’m hungry.  I’m tired.  I don’t have a container.  The berries look so good…right now.  

But, I wonder, “Does this happen with God?”  Sometimes, I think that in my life with Christ it can be even worse.  Sometimes, I can grab blackberries that haven’t ripened or that have ripened too much.  I can eat fruit that is unworthy of a pie.  Other times, I can grab fruit that looks good to eat, but it turns out to be poisonous.  All along I should be collecting the ripe fruit that God has given and be waiting for the pie that God provides.

Life with Christ involves patience.  It involves waiting.  It involves putting off what may seem good, now, for what is better, later.  It also involves avoiding fruit that might look good on the surface but is poisonous when eaten.

Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”  

If only they could have waited for the pie made from the fruit of the Lord!  Instead, they ate the fruit that “looked” good and promised “good results” but came up way short.  

We are called to live lives faithfully unto the Lord.  No snacking on trees that are prohibited, and yet sometimes we find ourselves munching on things prematurely or on things that we were never meant to consume.  

Wait for what God provides!  Wait for the good fruit that God gives!  Wait for the pie and don’t settle for less.

~ Pastor Chris

Will It Get Better? (August 2, 2020)

Have you ever had the experience where you were in a situation that you were hoping would improve, and it only got worse?  Have you been in a place that you thought might be the bottom, the worst, and then somehow you got lower and things got worser than worst?  

It’s not an enviable position, to be going from the worse to worst, or from what you thought was the worst to find out there is even more negativity to come.  It’s not enjoyable.  It’s not desirable.  It’s no fun.  And yet, we sometimes find ourselves in that very spot…things are bad and instead of improvement we just see them continue to spiral lower and lower.

I know that I have had this experience.  I’ve been in places where I thought, “Surely, things cannot be any worse!”  Then, I find out I was wrong.  It actually could.

These situations remind me of the Israelites leaving Egypt.  

The Israelites had it bad in Egypt.  Really bad.  They were mistreated.  They were overworked.  They were enslaved.  They were persecuted.  At one point, they were even commanded to kill all of their newborn boys (Exodus 1:22).  To say things were not going well would be the understatement of the century.  The Israelites had it rough.

Fortunately, God looked on the plight of the people with compassion, and the Lord set about to deliver them.  The book of Exodus walks through a bunch of remarkable stories as to how this began to happen (including a burning bush, a staff that turns into a snake and back, plagues, and more…please read it if it has been a while since you have looked at the story).  But there they were, in a bad situation, with hope to get out, with God promising to deliver, and…things got worse.

Things got worse?

Worse than slavery?  Worse than hard labor?  Worse than the threat of losing your newborn sons?  Things got worse?

Yes.  They did.

The Israelites had made a huge, positive step.  They had left Egypt, taking with them a vast amount of possessions, gold and silver and treasures of various varieties, but then they found themselves stuck.  Right at the Red Sea with an angry army bearing down on them.

Look at what the Israelites say in Exodus 14:11-12:

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?  Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

“We thought we had it bad in Egypt!  At least we were alive!  You’ve brought us out here to kill us!”  

Instead of things looking up for the Israelites, the Israelites were looking at how much farther down they might sink, and their perceived options were grim…die by the hands of Pharaoh and his army or drown in the Red Sea.  Complete annihilation one way or another.  Things were looking far worse than they were in Egypt.  At least in Egypt, they were alive.

Now, for us, as modern readers of the Scripture, it is easy to say, “But they just had to wait…God is about to use Moses to part the Red Sea.  Pharaoh’s army won’t make it through.  Come on Israelites!  God is going to come through in a miraculous way!”  That’s easy for us to know, now.  But was it so easy for them, then?

Did they know the sea would part?  Did they know that the army would be wiped out?  

Of course not!  They were in the middle of a situation where bad had gone to worse, and they saw no clear way out.

Friends, we’ve been spiraling around for quite some time now.  In some ways, things are bad.  There is arguing and fighting.  There is confusion and disease.  There is unrest and tensions are high, and things are not great.  Restrictions have been applied, economies have faltered, people are without jobs, some have been persecuted.  Unfortunately, even as some things are improving, things could still get worse.  (They might get better…I pray they get better…I’m not saying they are going to get worse…we just have to be prepared for the possibility.  Things could get worse.)

Sometimes, things get worse before they get better.

Recently, I’ve been working on a number of projects as part of remodeling our upstairs.  One of the projects involved pouring epoxy onto a table top.  The table top is in two halves and will function as a place to eat and gather when it is finished (it is also a ping pong table when you flip it over…hopefully, this will provide ample opportunities for family fun…and a few victories for me!).  Right now, at this moment, if you were to look at the table top, one side looks significantly worse than the other.  One side looks crystal clear, reflective, beautiful.  The other?  Looks scratched up, duller, not as brilliant.

One would think that the reflective side is finished and the dull side needs attention.  One would be wrong.  

The dull side is actually further along in the process.  Both sides were crystal clear and reflective, but they had blemishes.  They needed sanded, and re-sanded, and re-sanded to get them flat and smooth.  Then, they will need buffed out and polished.  The dull side has been sanded.  It’s actually smoother than the other, better looking side.  It’s just waiting for the buffing treatment.  For that side of the table, things got worse, before they get better (and that is still to come for the other side as well).  However, there was a purpose for the steps which seemingly went backwards, there was a purpose for the roughness.  The blemishes needed removed.  The surface needed smoothed out.  In order to achieve the results that we wanted, things had to get worse before they could get better.

It was the same for the Israelites.  Things needed to be worse before they got better.

Look at how Moses responded to their statements:

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  (Exodus 14:13-14)

“I know that things are worse.  Don’t give up.  I know this looks hopeless. Stand firm.  I know this looks like certain death.  See what the Lord will do.  Be still.”

That’s some tough advice.  Don’t give up.  Stand firm.  Be still.

That’s some really tough advice when faced with certain death on all sides, when things were terrible and they’ve gotten terrible-er.  Don’t give up?  Stand firm?  Be still?  Watch God?

God had a purpose for this situation.  Sure, sure, he was going to part the Red Sea and all that.  But beyond that, God wanted the Israelites to trust in Him.  God used this situation to show that no matter the extenuating circumstances, God is able, God is loving, God is trustworthy, God will fight for us.  God used some sandpaper, some rough situations, to make the table worse before it got better, but in the meantime, He smoothed out some bumps and some blemishes.  He demonstrated His nature, His authority, His ability, His power, His love, His compassion, His trustworthiness.  He showed the Israelites that they couldn’t just trust Him when it looked like things were going well, they needed to trust in God when things weren’t going well too.

In the case of the Israelites, things got worse before they got better, but not only that, God used the situation to teach them more about their need to trust in God through all circumstances.  As they would soon find out, the worst-case situation would lead to one of the most remarkable occurrences in history…walking through the sea on dry ground.

So, friends, I ask you…how can God use your current situation?  How can God use your present circumstance, even if it is more awful than before, to smooth out some rough spots?  What might God have in store for you if you would just stand firm, hold your ground, be still and trust in God?

It’s not easy in the moment.  It’s not easy when life is spiraling down and you see no bottom.  Put your hope in God.  Rely on Jesus.  Pray for God to intervene, to move, to act.  Trust in the Lord…with all of your heart for he is worthy of it.  God has split the Red Sea for a people in their worst-case scenario.  God can do it again in your life.

~ Pastor Chris

This Should Be Easy (July 26, 2020)

“This should be easy.”  I find myself saying that a lot.  When looking at a project or tackling a particular job, more often than not, I say “This should be easy.”   I evaluate the task at hand, assess the situation, and make my proclamation.  “No big deal.  I can do it.  This should be easy!”  (Granted there are plenty of times when I look at problems or tasks and realize that they are not easy…but we’ll save those instances for another devotional.  Today’s topic is focusing on the seemingly easy tasks.)

“It’s just a couple of screws holding it in place.”  “All I have to do is put it in the oven and let it bake?  No problem!”  “I can get this done in a 20 minutes.  Half hour tops.”

“THIS SHOULD BE EASY!”

Sometimes, these proclamations are followed by a job that is actually easy.  Other times…well, you can imagine.  What should be an easy thing turns into a much more complicated mess.

Let me give you an example.  Earlier this year I decided that I wanted to bake a pie.  This isn’t something that I do often, and I’m no pastry chef, but I figured if I could follow the recipe, it would turn out well.  So, I went at it.  I prepared the dough for the crust.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was edible.  Not too bad so far.  Then, I tackled the filling.  I was hankering for my Grandma’s dutch blueberry pie made with Eagle Brand milk.  I followed her recipe.  The filling turned out great.  Next, I assembled the pie.  Mediocre job there.  The crust didn’t go smoothly into the pie dish…again, it was edible, so it wasn’t a complete failure.  Then, I poured the filling into the crust.  I actually succeeded at this.  No big mess.  Overall, everything was going well.  I had made it through all of the difficult steps.  Now, I was onto what I considered to be the easy part.  Put it in the oven, set a timer, and eat warm pie when the timer was done.  “This part should be easy!” I thought to myself.  It wasn’t.

I had made it through the hard stuff!  The measuring, the pouring, the preparing, the assembling.  All I had to do was the baking…and the oven wouldn’t heat up.  No heat whatsoever.  I could have stored chocolate in there with no fear of it melting.  Complete failure.  The difficult part was done!  This was supposed to be easy.  It wasn’t.

I tried the broiler.  It worked.  I tried the burners.  They worked.  I tried the bake function.  Nothing.  I turned it off and on and off and on.  Again and again I tried.  Again and again, nothing.  At this point it was getting late in the evening, and I had to make a choice.  Sacrifice the pie, or call for help.  I believe that there are occasions for us to be sacrificial…this wasn’t one of those occasions.  I called for help.  First, I phoned my brother and sister in-law.  No answer.  I texted.  No response.  I prayed and called again.  Nothing.  Because it was late, and the pie needed to bake a while, I hesitated on what to do next.  Sacrifice the pie, or call someone else?  Isn’t it great to have in-laws who care for you and your pies?  Thank you again Maggie for the use of your oven.  The pie was delicious.  Sorry I made it so late.

The easy part became the hard part.  What should have been easy became difficult, and it didn’t stop there.  

After eating my pie, I looked into the oven problem and consulted Google and YouTube to see if I could fix it.  The likely culprit…a bad igniter.  I looked into how to change them.  “This should be easy.” 

First, take out the old igniter.  Should be a matter of a few screws.  No big deal…until the ones in the oven were rusted in place.  I lubricated them.  Nothing.  I prayed, I sweat, I twisted, I turned.  Nothing.  They wouldn’t budge.  Finally, I had to drill them out.  Bye bye screws.  Threw them in the trash.  After much more effort and sweat than I anticipated, I got to the part, and I removed it.  Now to replace it.  I called the Maytag repair store, they had the part in stock.  I drove the 20 minutes to the store, old part in hand.  The part they had in stock?  It wasn’t right.  It didn’t match.  The worker informed me that I could cut some wires and tear the element out of this one to put in the old bracket, but I had to be careful because I might break it and there were no returns.  No thanks.  If they had the right part, it was a matter of just plugging it in.  I drove 20 minutes back home empty handed.  Then, I got online and found a place to ship me a new one.  Should be there in a couple of days.  I ordered it.  When it arrived?  It was broken.  Shattered into a thousand pieces.  They hadn’t wrapped it or packaged it well.  Just threw it in a box.  I called.  I emailed.  I waited.  Nothing.  Finally, I reached the company after a few days of trying.  They sent a new part.  It wasn’t broken, and it actually worked when I got it back together.  My oven functions once more (although the plate at the bottom is not screwed in any longer…I figure it’s just easier access to the heating elements should I need to get under there again.)

This should be easy!  Baking a pie for 45 minutes turned into over a week worth of waiting and hassle.

These types of situations happen to me often.  I start a project or go to fix something, thinking that it will be easy, and it turns out to be much more difficult than anticipated. Often, this unexpected difficulty is much harder to handle than it would have been if I had been prepared.  If I knew the oven was going to break right then, I wouldn’t have assembled the pie.  If I knew the Maytag store had the wrong part, I wouldn’t have traveled there.  If I knew that the whole process was going to take so long, I wouldn’t have prepared enough dough for two pies…with one waiting to be made in the fridge…with me hoping it wouldn’t go bad and always thinking that this would be the day that the oven would be fixed.

I fear, that sometimes we (or at least I) approach life in Christ like that.  We think it should be easy.  We think that we should have an easy time in our relationship with Jesus.  Not only that, we think that once we give our life to Christ, the rest of our difficulties should just fade away and we shouldn’t have to face any more hardships.  We have this vision of calm waters, smooth sailing, easy peasy lemon squeezy, health, wealth, lots of friends, and good food…a problem and worry free existence.  

Yet, we know that the above just isn’t true.  It’s not.  

In John 16:33, Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble.”

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul says this: 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Jesus, the Son of the Father, God Incarnate, says “You will have trouble.”  Paul says, “You’re in a fight against spiritual forces of evil.”  Why do we expect everything in life to be easy?  Why are we surprised when troubles come our way?  Why are we caught so off guard when the unexpected difficulties arise?  Maybe, we should be surprised when things go easily! 

Now, I don’t want for us to walk around all gloomy and expect nothing but catastrophes, feeling like there is no hope.  After all, Jesus finishes up his thought in John by saying, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  “You’ll have troubles, but I am greater than them.”  “You will have a difficult time, but I have already claimed a victory.” 

Similarly, Paul’s warning isn’t one of fear, but of hope and of preparation.  Ephesians 6:13 continues, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  “You’re in a spiritual battle.  Be prepared for it, put on the armor of God, and when it is all said and done, you’ll stand, you’ll be victorious.”

If we are following Jesus, we can expect trouble.  We can expect to be in a spiritual battle.  We should not expect life to be easy.  We should expect trials and hardships, testing and tribulation.  

Though that is the case, we should also expect victory through Christ.  We know that Jesus has already overcome the world, and we know that we are able to equip ourselves with the armor of God (for a full description, read Ephesians 6:10-20).  We should heed Paul’s advice and be prepared.

Finally, there is also this reminder in Romans 8:28:  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  

Though things may not go as easily as we’d like, though we may not avoid hardships and difficulties, we can know that Jesus has overcome the world, that we can be prepared for the battle, and that God will use all things for our good…even those things that we do not enjoy.  He can use them for our good when we love him and are following his path.

I don’t know about you, friends, but the next time I go to bake a pie, I plan to be better prepared.  I know that it may not go as smoothly as I would like.  Then, when troubles arise, I will expect them.  I will know that there is victory in Jesus, and I will trust that God can even use a broken oven and a whole lot of hassle for good in my life.  

~ Pastor Chris

Treasure Hunting (July 19, 2020)

I like the idea of finding treasure.  Don’t you?  There’s just something about coming across things of great value.  I’m always fascinated by the tales of those who have discovered original copies of the Declaration of Independence in an old picture frame, or the guy who was tearing down a wall in his house only to find a rare copy of the comic book, Action Comics No. 1, being used as insulation (true story, and the comic was valued at $175,000…that’s some expensive insulation!).  These accounts of finding riches, particularly unexpected riches, excite something within me.  

Even as a kid, I remember enjoying the occasional treasure hunt.  My brother and I would dig some small hole in the back yard (I’m sure it was in a designated, hole-digging spot), and I would hope that we would happen upon some buried treasure chest.  Or I’d shine a flashlight into the openings of the duct work, especially if we had moved to a new house, hoping to see some package taped to the side containing valuable jewels.  On vacations to the ocean, I’d spend some time strolling up and down the beach, looking for something of value that had been cast aside and washed to shore.  (This wasn’t a huge priority…riding the waves, building sandcastles, and drinking ice-cold Coca~Cola were all more important, but treasure hunting was still done.  My biggest beach prize?  An “Odie” pencil topper from the Garfield Comic strip.  The stickers had worn off, but you could still wag the tongue with the lever.  I kept that thing for years and years.  Pretty impressive, right?)  

Maybe it was too many Hardy Boys novels, or maybe it was some other factor, but treasure hunting in some form has always been exciting to me.  

In my adulthood, treasure hunting still appeals to me.  Typically, I don’t go about digging holes, and I know there’s nothing in the ductwork or walls at my current house (it’s pretty new, and I helped to build the thing…I know what’s in those walls), but I still like to find treasure.  I like to find something at a garage sale that is useful to me but is no longer valued by the person selling it.  I also enjoy stumbling upon an occasional find at a thrift store.  

One of my favorite places to treasure hunt?  The Goodwill Outlet.  That place is awesome (and terrible…depending on your perspective).   At the Goodwill Outlet, they sell stuff by the pound without any regard to the value of the item.  There’s also no regard for organization.  Everything is just dumped into giant bins on wheels.  Clothes in one section, everything else in another.  Glass, books, tools, trinkets, toys, mugs, garden hoses, gnomes…you name it…it might be in there.  Piled high, dusty, dirty, sometimes broken, sometimes brand new.  Giant bins of stuff.  Plus, they bring out a new row of bins every 30 minutes, taking out an old row.  There is no telling what you might find.  Within those bins, we’ve found a World War 2 Army helmet, a guitar, LEGO building blocks, antique clocks, a Benchmade pocket knife, The North Face jackets, and much, much, much more…hundreds & hundreds of dollars worth of items that we have purchased for a fraction of the cost.  (We’ve also found countless bottles of broken Avon cologne, bent frying pans, and soooooo, sooooo, sooooo many things that have absolutely ZERO worth to me.)

It was awesome…until it wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hold anything against the place, but I know that I can’t go there right now…at least not for a while.

Here’s why.  I was putting too much value in those treasures.  Treasure hunting at the Goodwill Outlet (and other places) was taking too much of a precedence.  My spare time was being gobbled up by looking for treasure,  shuffling around said treasure, and then trying to sell the treasures to others.  

First, I’d spend hours looking for “treasure” amongst the junk, trying to find that thing that was worth all of the effort.  Then, after I found the treasure and brought it home, I’d have to do something with it.  Find a place to store it.  Clean it up.  Fix it if needed.  This process, of finding something to do with the treasures, wasn’t necessarily straight forward.  If I wanted to keep something, I’d have to figure out where it would go.  If I wanted to keep it and it needed fixed, I’d have to figure out where it would go to wait to be fixed before it would go to its final spot.  Or, if I wanted to sell something, I’d also have to make the same decisions.  Where do I put this thing?  I have limited space, so oftentimes this process would mean shuffling around other “treasure” that had been purchased previously.  Hours (and sometimes entire days) could be spent sorting, shuffling and re-arranging the treasures that would come home. Finally, I’d have to sell some of the “treasure”.  Take pictures, meet with people, package things up, etc.  Some of this was fun for me…especially finding the great deal and keeping it, or finding the great deal and passing it onto someone else for them to enjoy.  Still, there was an issue, even if it was fun.  I was valuing the process too much.  The cost was too high.  It wasn’t too high in terms of money, but in the other things that were being sacrificed.  Too much time, too much energy, too much effort was put into this whole affair.  Times that I could have spent with family were being spent with “treasures.”  Worse yet, times that I could have spent with God were being spent with things that were threatening to become a god in my life…you know, something that I was “worshipping” instead of God…thinking about too much, sacrificing for, etc.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches his followers about treasures.  Look at what he said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:19-21)

After honest reflection, I was living my life and valuing things on earth too much.  I was placing my heart in the Goodwill Outlet bin, amongst the dust, the dirt, the broken pieces of this world, hoping to find something of lasting value.

If I’m completely honest, none of the treasures that I’ve found have super, long-lasting value, or eternal significance.  Sure, I’ve had some enjoyment, I’ve found some cool things, I’ve even made some money, but does that really matter that much?  Does that impact or change the world greatly?  Does it encourage others to follow Christ?  Does it make any eternal difference?

Plus, there was the reminder of where all of these treasures would wind up.  The Goodwill Outlet bin is kind of the last stop for a lot of the items that end up there.  I imagine that if things can’t be sold by the pound at the Goodwill Outlet, they will be on their way to the recycling plant or the trash heap.  But, that very fact served as a reminder to me.  I might rescue something from the trash for a season, but isn’t that where all of the material things we own will head at some point anyway?  Isn’t the end result of all of these “treasures” decay? 

Jesus says, “Don’t store up treasures on earth…where moths and vermin destroy…where thieves break in and steal.”  Those earthly things we value, they rot, they rust, they break, they get stolen, they don’t last.  The latest and greatest tech will quickly be outdated.  The coolest Christmas gift ever received will eventually lose its coolness.  The best, brightest, biggest, thing will eventually fade away.  Nothing manmade lasts eternally.  It just doesn’t.  It will all fade.  It might even wind up in the Goodwill Outlet bin, being sold by the pound before it’s on its way to the dump.

Besides that, there is the colloquial wisdom that holds true:  “You can’t take it with you.”  We have a limited time.  Our lives here on Earth will also come to an end, and we can’t take a single thing with us.  We came into the world with nothing, and we will leave that way too.

Personally, I found that I was spending too much time hunting treasures that do not last.  Sure, you might have said my office/garage/shed were a mess, but looking from the outside, you wouldn’t have known I had a little issue.  Still, I knew.  I know.  Christa knew (before me…sorry hon!).  My treasure hunting was happening in the wrong place with the wrong priority.

Right now, I’ve hit the pause button on the Goodwill Outlet.  Maybe it’s a complete stop.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but I know that pulling junk out of the thrift store bin is not the big-picture plan that God has for my life.

So, what now?  

I still find treasure hunting to be awesome.  There’s something exciting about finding something of value.  Now, though, I hope that I am finding value that is lasting, that I am seeking kindness, loving mercy, walking humbly with God.  I hope that I am valuing others more than I am valuing stuff, that I am spending my time, my energy, my efforts looking to build others up in the kingdom of God.  I hope that I am placing my heart in the kingdom of heaven, where moth cannot eat, where you don’t have to worry about vermin, and where thieves cannot destroy.

Friend, I have to ask:  What about you?  Where are you storing your treasures?  What are you valuing?  Where are you rich?  

My hope is that we value the eternal riches that we have received through Jesus Christ and that we continue to seek treasure within his kingdom.  My prayer is that we place our hearts in his hands, that we store up our treasures in his kingdom, and that we are building up that which is eternal.  Otherwise, we’re ultimately placing our hearts in the Goodwill Outlet bin which will lead eventually to the dump.  Trust me.  You don’t want to keep your heart there.  Sure, you might find a shiny trinket, but you’ll stink like decay with a hint of old cologne.  The kingdom of heaven is way better than that!

~ Pastor Chris

A Bit of Rain (July 12, 2020)

I first heard the sound of its coming.  Before I could see it, feel it, or even smell it.  I heard the sound.  Thunder.  Out in the distance.  Rain was on its way.  

It has been a while since it had rained.  The grass was dry, brown, in need of water.  The dirt road was that way too.  Dry.  Dusty.  Covering each vehicle that traversed its course with a nice brown layer of filth.  

Everything seemed to ache for rain…the grass, the birds, the crops in the field, the streams.  Everything except for the kids.  They were busy.  Playing in the pool.  Who needs rain when you can swim?  Who needs more wetness when you’re already wet?  But there it was.  The thunder had sounded.  

At the pool, the sound of thunder means one thing.  Swim time is over (or at least paused until the storm passes).  If you hear thunder, it’s time to get out.  Thunder might mean that there’s lightning, and nobody wants to be in the pool with some lightning.  It doesn’t matter if you were just about to perform your patented belly flop or if you had finally managed to balance yourself on that tricky raft that always tips you over.  When the thunder rolls, so do you.  Right out of the pool.  

The sound of thunder wasn’t really welcome right at that moment for me either.  There I was in the driveway with the tools out, elbow deep in gunk, trying to get some stubborn, rusty bolts out of a radiator that needed replacing.  The rain would mean that I would have to be done soon, that I would need to clean up.  It didn’t matter if I was actually done or not.  The rain wasn’t bound to my schedule, to my preference.  The rain was coming whether I liked it or not. 

It’s a good thing that the rain isn’t bound to my schedule (or the kids’…or even yours).  I certainly wouldn’t want to be responsible for that type of thing.  I mean, I can tell when we need some rain by the way everything looks and feels, but I'm no expert.  I’d probably only have it sprinkle in the middle of the night when it wouldn’t interrupt my plans.  (On occasion, I might also have it downright pour in the middle of the day, right in the middle of some of my plans so that I could get a break from them.)  Still, it wouldn’t be good for me to be in charge of the weather patterns.  I’d be too selfish.  I’d dictate the weather based on my preferences, based on my schedule instead of what was best for the greater good of the land.  I wouldn’t want for the kids to have that responsibility either.  They’d probably do the same.  Though I’m not going to accuse you of selfishness, I’m pretty sure that controlling the weather is above your pay grade as well. 

We monitor the weather.  We complain about the weather.  We live with the weather.  We escape the weather.  But, we do not control the weather.  The weather comes.  The weather goes.  It is beyond our control.

So, there we were.  The thunder sounded the alarm.  A storm was coming.  Rain was on the way.  

The kids hopped out of the pool and cleaned things up.  I finished up the last little bit that I could with the radiator, and then we went inside.  It was a sight to behold.  Thunder cracking.  Big bolts of lightning.  Rain coming down.

If I’m honest, this was what we needed even if I didn’t want it at that exact moment.  Rain.  The ground needed it.  The plants needed it.  The fields needed it.  The animals needed it.  (We probably still need some more.)

As much of an inconvenience that it was to any of our outdoor plans, this was what was best.  Rain.

Rain is good.  It’s necessary.  It’s important.  It’s life-giving, life-sustaining.  Places where there is no rain suffer.  Life dries up.  Becomes barren.  The land becomes desolate.  People thirst.  Life ends.  

We all know that rain is important…even when it interrupts our plans.

This is true in our spiritual life as well.  Rain is good.  It’s necessary.  It’s important.  It’s life-giving, life-sustaining.  Places where there is no rain suffer.  Life dries up.  Becomes barren.  The land becomes desolate.  People thirst.  Life ends.

Being watered spiritually, receiving rain spiritually is important…even when it interrupts our plans.

It reminds me of a story in the Bible.  This comes from the Gospel of Matthew, and it is a lesson about a time when the disciples thought they were getting too much rain in the form of a storm.

Then he (Jesus) got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. 

But Jesus was sleeping.  

The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!  We’re going to drown!”  

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The disciples were in the boat, following the plans of God.  They were being faithful, traveling to the other side of the lake at Jesus’ direction.  They weren’t being disobedient, rebellious, or even stubborn at this point.  They were just listening to Jesus and following him.  Then, the storm came up.  The rain rolled in.  The thunder cracked.  The lightning flashed.  The wind whipped.  The waves grew.  This was not an expected or welcomed bit of spiritual watering.  This was an unexpected and unwelcome bit of rain that they thought would be the end of them.

Still, in this moment, in this instance of a torrential downpour, the disciples not only learned that Jesus has the ability to control the weather, but they likely learned a few other things.  Hopefully, we are able to learn them as well.

1. Sometimes “spiritual rain”, spiritual lessons, truths of God are revealed in a manner that we don’t like and at a time that we wouldn’t prefer.  None of the disciples had this rain shower planned.  It’s likely that none of them would have boarded the ship had they known that the storm was coming.  Still, it was in this unexpected situation that God revealed even more about the character and nature of Jesus.  It was in the storm that the disciples learned that Jesus doesn’t panic.  It was in the storm that the disciples saw the greatness and power of the Lord.  It was in the storm that they learned they need some improvement in their “faith” and “fear” departments.  God used an instance of a storm to water the hearts of the disciples, to show what it meant to grow in their relationship with Christ.
2. Seek God in all circumstances.  Though the disciples were chastised about their lack of faith, they did seek help in the right direction, calling to Jesus for assistance.  Whether the ground is cracking and barren and we’re in desperate need of water, or if it’s over-saturated and a swampy, muddy mess, or if it’s anywhere in between, we need to call out to Jesus.  In all circumstances.  At all times.  In all places.  We need to look to God to provide, to call out to Jesus, to look for him to supply what we need.
3. Jesus isn’t surprised…even if we are.  Jesus wasn’t surprised or caught off guard by the situation.  He was relaxed enough to be taking a nap.  Jesus isn’t surprised by the events in our lives either.  He knows our needs and is attentive to our call.  Still, he longs for us to be in conversation with Him, to seek Him, to know Him, to come to Him trusting that He will care for us.

The rain comes.  Sometimes it comes when we want, when we expect, when we’re prepared, when we’re desperate for the watering.  Other times it comes when we don’t want, when we don’t expect, when we’re unprepared, and when we’ve had too much watering.  Regardless, the rain (and all of the rest of the weather) is outside of our control.  There isn’t a whole lot of good that will come from complaining about it.

Instead, with each day, with each season, with each rainfall, may we learn to look to Jesus.  May we recognize that God holds the entire world in His hands, that there is nothing outside of His capabilities.  May we look to be “watered” in our own spiritual journeys, to learn, to grow closer to Christ, and to seek Jesus in each circumstance that we find ourselves in, and may we recognize that our life situations aren’t a surprise to our Lord.  To Him be the Glory!

~ Pastor Chris