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01
Aug '21
August 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Does It Matter?
01
Aug '21
Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” — John 6:11–14
I heard of a preacher recently who, when talking about the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 in the Gospels, asked if it really mattered if this was an actual miracle where Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fish and managed to feed 5,000 people with it, or whether he simply inspired the crowd to share what they had with each other. The preacher’s point was that the real miracle wasn’t the method, but the end result. What matters is that Jesus provided for the people; it doesn’t matter if it was supernatural (the multiplication of the loaves and fishes) or inspirational (motivating the people to share what they already have with each other).
However, I think the means is equally, if not more, important. Of course the point is that Jesus provided for the people’s needs, and he’ll provide for yours, too. But the question of whether he did so miraculously or inspirationally is crucial. If it’s merely the latter, then Jesus is simply really good at motivational speaking. He pretty much gave the best TED Talk ever on the importance of sharing with others. That’s impressive, but have you watched a TED Talk before? They’re all impressive. The thing is, that isn’t how the Bible talks about Jesus. Do these passages sound like they’re describing a really good motivational speaker?
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. — Col. 1:15–17But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. — Heb. 1:2–3
And commenting on this event to the disciples, Jesus himself explains,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” — John 6:32–35
The divine power and might of Jesus is what makes his provision so wondrous and incredible. And it really isn’t even that Jesus provided bread and fish for the people — it’s that Jesus himself is the provision for the people. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is what we need. Whatever it is we’re wanting or needing, Jesus is both the means and the ends of our provision. When we cry out to the Lord in need, He has the power, authority and ability to literally move heaven and earth to meet our needs. Nothing is impossible for him, no matter how unlikely it might seem to us.
Does it matter whether the miracles of Jesus are actual supernatural events or just powerful motivational moments? You bet it does. The supernatural aspect of this miracle shows that Jesus not only meets our physical needs, but our spiritual needs as well. I don’t know what you need today, I don’t know what the emptiness or brokenness is in your life or in your heart. But I do know that when you turn and cry out to Jesus, He will meet you in your need with himself. He will provide for you in ways you can not dream or imagine, ways that might very well defy explanation and reason. He will provide for not just what you think you need, but what He knows you need as well. He will care for your person, and for your soul. He truly is “the Bread of Life.”
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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29
Jun '21
July 2021 Pastor’s Corner – What If It’s Actually True?
29
Jun '21
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. —Ephesians 1:3–8
What if it’s actually true? All the things the Bible says about how much God loves us, particularly as shown in the passage above. What if it’s actually true? Would you accept it, embrace it? I don’t mean do you know God loves you, I mean deep down in your heart, do you believe it? Most likely you’ve been singing “Jesus loves me, this I know” since you were knee-high to a grasshopper and you’ve probably memorized John 3:16 (in case you haven’t, it says, “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”), so I know that you know God loves you. But believing it, accepting it, embracing it is a little bit different, and a lot harder.
We just aren’t naturally inclined to believe that God’s love for us could be as deep, vast, eternal and passionate as it is. Not us. Others, absolutely. But not me. Not with what’s in my heart. And yet… it is. It is true. It is real. The Bible isn’t joking. God isn’t pulling some sort of eternal, cosmic prank. Notice the words used above (I underlined them for you): God has blessed us, God chose us, God predestined us in love, he’s freely given to us… he has lavished the riches of his grace on us. I love that last one. How often do we think about God lavishing his love and grace on us?
Truly accepting God’s love for us is so hard that a few chapters later, Paul prays that we would have the power and strength necessary to embrace the fulness of God’s love for us. It’s a lifelong journey, and one the end of which we’ll never come this side of Glory and maybe even not on the other side. But I can’t imagine a better journey to take. God’s love for you isn’t based on anything you have or haven’t done, it’s because He has chosen to love you. He knows what’s in your heart and mind, far better than you do. What is keeping you from accepting and embracing His love for you today?
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:14–19
Here’s the thing: It really is true, regardless of whether you believe it is or not. May the truth of his lavish love warm your heart more than the summer sun this month.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Jun '21
June 2021 Pastor’s Corner – The Air We Breathe
01
Jun '21
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. — Hebrews 10:23–25
I’ve been thinking about breathing lately. If you cease to breathe, do you cease to be human? Certainly you cease to be alive, but you are still a human being… just not a living human being. Air is necessary for life, but it does not define us as human beings. When we have problems with our breathing due to illness, allergies or something else, it affects how well our bodies function, but still does not change what we are. Breathing is essential for living, but not for making us human.
This directly relates to the importance of gathering with other believers for worship, what we commonly call “going to church” (that’s an important distinction – bear with me). For a long time, many thought that if they simply “went to church” regularly, that would make them a Christian. But that isn’t true. Just “going to church,” no matter how active or “good” you are, isn’t going to save your soul. Only placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can do that. “Going to church” doesn’t make you a Christian, just like breathing doesn’t make you a human being.
However, just like breathing is essential for living, gathering together with other believers for worship, fellowship, encouragement and mutual discipleship is essential for our faith. That’s what happens when we “go to church” each Sunday, and, honestly, I don’t know a better time during the week when that happens. Does it only happen when we go to church? No, it happens whenever and wherever believers gather for worship, fellowship, etc., but it most commonly happens at church. And it is essential for the health of our faith and our souls that we are intentional in doing so. As a friend of mine said, “We were MADE to worship together, collectively. We were made to practice the liturgy; to pray, to sing, to confess, to rejoice in our pardon, to hear the word preached, and to engage with one another. Literally, we were made for this. And not participating can really disrupt the Lord’s desire to fine-tune our hearts.”
Breathing doesn’t make us human, but it’s really hard to keep living without breathing. Worshipping together with other believers regularly (ideally weekly) is the air we breathe as Christians. Breathe deeply the breath of God this week, whether you do so by joining us at Northminster or another church. Your soul needs its air, just as your body needs to breathe.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! —Psalm 150:6
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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01
May '21
May 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Conviction
01
May '21
“I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:7–11)
I received some news this afternoon that absolutely threw me for a loop. The news itself wasn’t particularly bad or good, and really wasn’t even directly for or about me. And yet, it absolutely threw me off balance and left me in a place of profound introspection and self-examination. For whatever reason, it “laid bare my soul” and I found myself questioning much of what I thought I knew, believed and took for granted even just a few hours ago. What was it that caused me to react in such a way?
Conviction. Specifically the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
One of the reasons Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin. Not in a “you’re a horrible, miserable person and I want you to feel guilt and shame” way, but rather a “sin keeps you from the fulness of life I bought for you on the cross, so let’s get rid of as much of it as we can” kind of way. We have an amazing ability to get comfortable with our misaligned priorities and values. Those priorities and values are probably not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they are more important to us than God and His Kingdom, then they are sinful and not righteous — it’s a subtle form of idolatry. It’s not necessarily that we have to get rid of those values and priorities, just that we need to put God’s values and priorities first. In the Sermon the Mount, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33) I need to put God’s kingdom first, and trust Him to provide the rest.
The Holy Spirit used the news I received to shine a light on a couple of areas in my life where the kingdom of David was more important than the Kingdom of God. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t fun, and I spent quite a while doing some phenomenal self-rationalization and self-justification with God. And, honestly, I’m still working through it. I don’t like being told I’m wrong or in error, and I’m sure you don’t either. But I also know that God is shining the light in these areas of my heart because He loves me and wants His best for me. The same is true for you.
One of the key aspects of growing in holiness and faithfulness is keeping a soft heart that is sensitive to when the Holy Spirit is at work in us, convicting us of the areas in our lives that aren’t aligned with God’s heart and vision. As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost this month, I pray that each of us would have tender hearts, shaped and formed by the Spirit of God in the image of the Son of God.
“…he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:10–11)
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Mar '21
March 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Casting Your Cares
01
Mar '21
Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous be shaken. — Psalm 55:22Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. — 1 Peter 5:7
How are you doing, really? By the time this month ends, we’ll have lived in this pandemic with the ensuing quarantine and social distancing for an entire year. While some are anticipating that we’ll reach “herd immunity” by April, President Biden is suggesting that we shouldn’t expect a return to “normal” until Christmas. I think we’re all feeling the weight and strain in a heavier, more difficult way right now. It’s the weariness of being under stress and anxiety for a far longer period of time than our minds, our bodies and our emotions were meant to endure. And, of course, on top of the pandemic sits all of the pain and hurts that simply come with being human and being alive — pains and hurts that can be difficult enough to bear when we aren’t in a pandemic, but become nearly impossible to bear due to the pandemic. What are you doing with your hurts and pains (emotional and physical), the anxieties and fears, the weights and burdens of living in these hard times?
As the verses above remind and encourage us, God wants us to bring all of our cares and anxieties to him. But just what does that look like? I’m sure most of us have, at some point in time, cried out to the Lord and verbally thrown everything at him at once. That can be therapeutic — much like the whistle of a teapot lets off the pressure of the boiling water — and if you haven’t unburdened your soul that way in a long time, I absolutely encourage you to do so. But, if you have done that, you’ve probably found the same thing I have: while the immediate pressure release is helpful, the burdens and weights are still there. I’d like to invite you to try an ancient spiritual practice that helps us to hand our cares to the Lord in a more intentional way, a way that invites the Holy Spirit to sustain us more deeply.
The Daily Replay
The process is called The Daily Examen and was developed by St. Ignatius centuries ago. It is a 5-step process of prayerfully reviewing your day and anticipating the day to come. While meant to be practiced each day, it can be prayed at any point during the day. How long you take to work through the prayer is up to you — it could be as short as 5 minutes or as long as you need. Here’s an overview of what the process looks like:
1. Become aware of God’s presence.
Take several moments to breathe, relax, and invite God to be present with you.
Sometimes settling our body and mind is really difficult, especially when we have a lot going on.
One trick is to focus on our breathing. When we breathe slow and deep, we let our body and souls know that it is okay to relax and rest in God’s presence. Slowly take three seconds to breathe in through your nose, making sure to fill your belly with air . . . and then take three seconds to breathe out slowly through your mouth. Pause, then breathe in again. Repeat that a few times.
As you continue to breathe deeply and slowly, acknowledge God’s presence with each breath.
(Pause for a few moments)
2. Review the day with gratitude.
Look back through your day as if you were watching scenes from a movie. What happened? What were you like? What were others doing around you?
What are the good things that have happened today? What can you give thanks for?
(Pause for a few moments)
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
Ask yourself about how you felt at different points during the day.
What moments throughout your day have been difficult or tense?
When did you feel happy, excited, or at peace?
(Pause for a few moments)
4. Forgive, and ask for forgiveness.
Who are you angry or frustrated at?
Are there things you can forgive and let go in order to have peace?
What would you like to be forgiven for?
(Pause for a few moments)
5. Look toward tomorrow.
How might tomorrow be different?
What would you like to ask God to help with?
(Pause for a few moments)
Take some time to wrap up your conversation with God silently.
This kind of contemplative prayer can seem strange at first, but once we settle into the rhythm of it, I think you’ll find your awareness of the presence of God is growing stronger. Instead of just throwing our cares at God, through this process we more intentionally place them in God’s hands. Here are a few online resources to help you with The Daily Examen:
- A video walk-through of the prayer: https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/prayer-of-examen/
- Using The Examen with teens and children (the above walkthrough is from this site): https://fulleryouthinstitute.org/blog/teaching-young-people-a-daily-way-to-pray
- A deeper look at The Examen: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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17
Feb '21
Ash Wednesday – Out of Dust
17
Feb '21
As is obvious by now, we are not having an Ash Wednesday service this year, nor are the Community Lenten Services happening. The pandemic continues to take its toll. I know that for many of us, the Ash Wednesday service and the Community Lenten Services play a significant role in helping us mark the season of Lent. Not having those services makes it hard to feel like it’s really Lent. It would be like having Advent without Christmas music or decorations. It’s just not the same.
I spent a large chunk of today working on a video about Ash Wednesday, something to tie together the beginning of Lent, the significance of Ash Wednesday, and the struggles we all face dealing with a pandemic that is working through its 11th month. To be honest, it was a frustrating process that just never quite came together the way I was hoping it would. So, I took a break and went for a walk. Sometimes, you just need to clear your head for a bit.
While I was walking, one of my favorite songs started playing. The song is Beautiful Things by Gungor. As I let the song wash over me, I realized that this song pretty much covers everything I wanted to say, much better than I could have said it. So, I’m including the video here, for your encouragement, enjoyment and edification. May it help focus and center you for this season of Lent.
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01
Dec '20
December 2020 Pastor’s Corner – The Importance of Advent
01
Dec '20
“The special note of Advent is its primary focus on the second coming of Christ, who will arrive in glory on the last day to consummate the kingdom of God — its orientation toward the promised future. Advent…differs from the other seasons in that it looks beyond history altogether and awaits Jesus Christ’s coming again “in glory to judge the living and the dead.” — Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ
This past Sunday, November 29, was the First Sunday in Advent. It marks the beginning of the Christian year. For most of us, Advent is the season preparing us for Christmas, as if it were simply the pre-Christmas season… after all, it does end on Christmas Eve. But Advent isn’t pointing to Christmas at all, it points far past Christmas. As the quote from Fleming Rutledge above states, Advent points not to Christ’s first coming, but to his Second. While we tend to treat Advent as a “countdown to Christmas,” it’s actually far deeper and meaningful.
It seems that, each year, we are in a bigger and bigger rush to get to Christmas. Stores have been pushing the “unofficial” beginning of the Christmas season earlier and earlier, and this year has pushed it even further — I saw Christmas decorations in stores this year weeks before Halloween! It is a strange and confusing thing to see Halloween and Christmas decorations side-by-side. Jack Skellington would be furious! But I also get it — 2020 has been an amazingly difficult year (although not even close to the worst year ever. That honor goes to 536 AD. No, seriously. Look it up). After months and months of the pandemic and social distancing, a terribly contentious presidential election cycle, murder hornets, and record-breaking natural disasters, we’re all pretty desperate for a little light and a dash of Christmas cheer. While I’m personally a staunch “no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving” Scrooge, I won’t judge anyone who has already put up a Christmas tree, some decorations, or gone all-in on Christmas music.
But don’t rush past Advent in order to get to Christmas. While Advent has a particular emphasis on the Second Coming of Christ, it does so with its feet firmly grounded in the present reality. As Fleming Rutledge explains, “Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and the not-yet that our faith requires. [T]his book will explore this theme in relation to the yearly frenzy of “holiday” time in which the commercial Christmas music insists that “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” and Starbucks invites everyone to “feel the merry.” The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life…The Advent season encourages us to resist denial and face our situation as it really is” (Advent pp. 7-8). The hope of Christ’s Second Coming, even the joy of celebrating his First coming at Christmas, is all the more bright and joyous because of the dark, brokenness of this present world, not in spite of it.
Advent is not for the faint of heart. But there is a gift waiting for you, if you are willing to slow down and find it. They say it’s always darkest just before the dawn…is it not the darkness of the night that causes us to appreciate the light all the more? Allow yourself to be present in the hardness and pain of 2020 and in Advent’s much-needed reminder that, one day, Jesus Christ will come back and make everything sad untrue and make everything broken whole. In doing so, we find that Christmas takes a place in our life and our hearts far more true than decorations, songs and presents.
“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:5)
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Jun '20
June 2020 Pastor’s Corner – How’s This for Unexpected Irony?
01
Jun '20
Pentecost brings to a close the first half of the Christian year. The seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter trace the grand arc of God’s saving action in Jesus Christ. In addition to that rhythm, we have spent the past 90 days reading through the entire Bible. It’s felt something like a whirlwind. Then add in the chaos we’ve all experienced in our lives and our world with the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s enough to leave you dizzy, confused and probably a little overwhelmed. At this point, most all of us are yearning for just a little bit of ordinary.
The second half of the Christian year is one long season called Ordinary Time. This year, Ordinary Time begins today, June 1. As Philip Reindeers explains, ‘“Ordinary” doesn’t mean boring or second-rate but simply “everyday.” The Christian faith is not an otherworldly faith; it’s about this creation, your life, these days. Ordinary Time gives us the space to consider all the implications of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ for our day by day, week-in, week-out lives.’ As we find ourselves yearning for something of the ordinary in these very extraordinary times, the Christian calendar offers an invitation to consider the implications not just of all that God’s salvation in Christ means for our daily lives, but also how this pandemic is impacting us as well — and perhaps even to ask how does the Gospel inform and affect our understanding of the pandemic’s impact?
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Rom. 12:1–2 MESSAGE)
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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01
Apr '20
April 2020 Pastor’s Corner – The Conundrum of the Cluster
01
Apr '20
The Conundrum of the Cluster
We are creatures of habit, it’s a part of human nature. Part of that habit is grouping together with like-minded individuals, collections of people with shared beliefs, routines, customs, vision, etc. This is very normal and natural, it’s how communities form — including church communities — and it’s encouraged. We need the mutual support, accountability and encouragement that comes from the Body of Christ. In fact, in adolescent development theory, the “cluster” is an important and necessary part of the social development of the teenager. Where “cliques” are unhealthy and exclusive, “clusters” are not only inclusive and healthy, they are necessary for proper and appropriate development.
But this “clustering” also presents a problem, a problem we’ve been talking about in the church for several decades now. We aren’t called to be the church “gathered in” or “clustered together” but rather the church “sent out” (we’ve called this being a “missional” church) But the “sending out” part is hard — well, it’s very easy to talk about theoretically, but gets harder when we actually go to put it into practice. Why is it hard? Because it means leaving our comfort zone, our “cluster,” and going “out there,” wherever that may be. Our natural inertia is toward the cluster, not away from it. Throughout history, it has taken an outside force acting on the cluster that forces it to disperse and be sent out.
The Church Scattered
There is an interesting word used several times in the book of Acts, diaspeiro. It appears in Acts 8:1, 4, and 11:19 and it means “to scatter abroad.” After Stephen was stoned to death in Acts 7, there was “a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem” (8:1) that caused the Christians to be “scattered” (diaspeiro). And what happened? “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4) From the very beginning, Christians preferred to cluster together (see Acts 2:42). It took a persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem to send them out to Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch and further. It was the persecution of Christians by Nero in AD 64 that sent them out to “the ends of the earth,” spreading the Gospel far and wide. But God doesn’t always use persecution to scatter the church.
The Church Closed. Or is it?
We are, in many respects, in an unprecedented time. It certainly isn’t the first time humanity faced a pandemic like this, but it is for most of us it’s the first in our lifetime. It’s forcing us to rethink much of how we understand being “church.” How do we “do church” if we can’t meet for worship on Sunday mornings? But the church never was a building or a time. For the sake of the health of each other and our community, we can not gather in groups of 10 or more until this pandemic passes. But that doesn’t mean the church is closed. A colleague of mine posted this on her Facebook wall the other day,
A couple of years ago, God gave my associate pastor a vision of our church having transparent walls. For two years, we have been wondering how on earth God was going to turn stone and stained glass into transparent walls. We got the interpretation today. He’s making them transparent by locking our doors. Suddenly people will be able to see in from the outside! May God make transparent all the walls of our churches, that the world may know the Good News of Jesus Christ… He has been preparing us for this since November. We just didn’t understand what he was saying until now. Our church is being called to love and serve one another. We are the church sent out, not the church closed!
Through the wonder of modern technology, we will still “gather together” for worship, but in our own homes. Each Sunday morning, we will still worship in our sanctuary, and you can join us for the worship service at www.facebook.com/npcmh (no, you don’t need a Facebook account to get to it, just a phone or web browser). The service will be adapted to focus on and facilitate at-home worship as families and individuals.
The Church Sent Out
We are still Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church, but we are not closed. We are the church dispersed, scattered, sent out, like dandelion seeds. Even in the midst of the social distancing of this pandemic, we have an opportunity to love our neighbor in ways we’ve forgotten or lost. If your neighbors are elderly or in the higher-risk categories for the coronavirus, offer to go to the store for them and leave the groceries on their porch. If your neighbors have kids and jobs that don’t allow them to work from home, offer to watch the kids during the day. There are many other ways to serve our neighbors, and we’ll help you explore some of those in the weeks to come. This is going to be a difficult season, let there be no doubt. But the church has faced pandemics and difficult seasons before, and every time the light of the love of Jesus Christ has shined brightly in the darkness. Hold fast to your hope, stand firm on the foundation of Jesus Christ and don’t be afraid.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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17
Feb '20
Dander, Discipline, and Decisions
17
Feb '20
Paul faced many of the same challenges we face today and he reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 “We are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil spirits…” In the First Battle of Manassas some of Thomas Jackson’s troops broke ranks and charged. At first they made some gains against the enemy but soon where overtaken and overcome. When asked about it later Jackson’s reply was “It’s good to have your dander up, but it is discipline that wins the day.” The words dander and discipline are very effective in our spiritual warfare against the Devil.
Taking the Bait
Social media is rife with bait. The Devil dangles it and we bite down…hard. As Christians, we are called to evaluate what we post and how we respond to the comments of others. Several questions will help us do this? Do these remarks glorify God? Does this unite of divide? Are we exercising the right of free speech to voice an opinion, win an argument, impress others with clever banter or are we trying to advance the kingdom of God? Proverbs 4:22 tells us that God’s words to us bring life and healing.
Jesus never used the tactics of embarrassment, guilt or shame. To the tax collector, Matthew, Jesus extended the hand of fellowship, dinning with Matthew and his friends. (Matt 9:9-13) To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus extended mercy. “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:1-11) To the woman at the well, Jesus offered refreshment – “I will give you living water.”(John 4:7-28)
How Many Times?
How many times will we take the bait? How many times will we allow ourselves to be offended or to offend before we realize that once again we have allowed the Devil to influence our thought and emotions? How many times will we travel down the path of destroyed relationships before wising up to the Devil’s tactics? Thomas Jackson’s advice serves well here. It is good to get your dander up, to become feisty, have little spunk when determining in our hearts that we will no longer be pawns in the Devil’s game of divide and conquer.
Choose Your Hard
Sometimes life gives us choices. It is not easy to exercise. Neither is it easy managing health issues that might have been avoided or delayed by exercising. Choose your hard. It’s not easy implementing a regular time for Bible Study and prayer into our daily routines, but neither is it easy living with anxiety, disappointment, and uncertainty. Choose your hard. Thomas Jackson was right – discipline wins the day. Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “If your right hand causes you to offend, cut it off.” Should he be living today, he might have said, “If social media causes you to offend or be offended, cut if off.” It is hard to refrain from social media. It is hard to repair relationships damaged via social media or live with feelings hurt by comments made on-line. Choose your hard.
Discipline requires action. Ephesians 4:31-32 say-, ”Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ forgave you. Colossians 3:12-15 has a similar message. ”Since God chose you to be holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowances for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.” Proverbs 4:23-27 says, “Guard your hearts above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” Keep, guard, avoid, look, clothe, fix- action verbs galore. Discipline requires action.
Stay full
A basic principle that applies to many areas of life is simple-to avoid bad things, stay full of good things. Paul put it differently in Philippians 4:8,”Fix ( there’s that action word again) your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely ,and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Does reading social media leave you feeling full of good thoughts? Does it nourish your soul or create anger and anxiety? We have choices to make. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us that God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. Will we choose what is sometimes hard to gain what is ultimately for our good and his glory?
Author: Elder Maggie Brockman
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