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Dear Friends in Christ,

The Reverend William Shedd is credited with saying, “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” He was telling his listeners that courage is a difficult thing to exhibit. However, to fulfill one’s purpose in the world oftentimes requires courage. Dave Branon, one of the Our Daily Bread devotion series writers, says, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to act, even if we are afraid of what might happen when we do.”

Paul wrote at least two letters to his protégé, the young “pastor” Timothy. Paul handpicked Timothy, through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, to lead the fledgling church in Ephesus. Along with the Letter to Titus, these two letters to Timothy are called “The Pastoral Epistles” because, in them, Paul gives his young pastors some practical advice for leading God’s people to courageously live out their new lives in Christ.

Paul begins his 2^nd letter to Timothy by reminding him he has a sincere faith. But that faith came to him because his mother and grandmother were dedicated to carrying it to him in faith. Because of their faithful commitment to God’s calling, young Timothy has been called to carry that same faith to others … as it was carried to him. However, like any gift, for it to be of value, it has to be used. Paul exhorts Timothy, “Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit, not of fear; but, of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7) He urges Timothy to be courageous in using this gift, trusting that God Himself has given him the gift … as well as … the power to use that gift in love and self-control.

In some ways, we and Timothy are like Reverend Shedd’s ship. A ship is created to carry cargo to people in need. And, it needs to carry the cargo regardless of the obstacles in its path. So, its creator gives it special structures to ensure it can withstand the blows high winds and heavy seas will throw its way.

God has created you and I to carry His Word into the world to people who are currently dying in their sin. Through others, the cargo of God’s love and grace, found in His Word, has been carried along in faith to us. And it’s come to us, in many cases, through the heavy weather and rough seas of persecution, mockery, and ignorance which require courage to navigate. God has deposited them into us through His gift of baptism.

Thus gifted by God with forgiveness and eternal life, through others who’ve courageously followed Him in faith, He calls on us to continue carrying His gifts to others in need (2 Timothy 1:8-9). Our Father, has given us the power and love needed to deliver the cargo of His Word when and where it’s needed through our words and deeds, expressed in faith. He’s also promised to protect us, through the Holy Spirit, from the storms and calamities we’ll encounter along the way. Let’s not fear! Let’s courageously share Christ’s love as we boldly proclaim God’s Word in all we say and do.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Saints,

Today we’re pretty accustomed to instant messaging. Key in a text, press send, and away your message goes. It drives us crazy when we need a response and don’t get one back almost instantly. However, there can be any number of reasons for this, including the fact that maybe the response requires the recipient to sort through some details before responding with just the right answer. Time spent in preparation of the correct response is much better than a hastily concocted answer that will be of little help in the long run.

However, it could also be something more serious that delays the response. In one of my devotions, I read about a military courier who carried messages which were vital to the success of military operations, between units. Of course, they would frequently run into delays … for example, losing their way in the darkness, enemy fire, bombed out bridges … but through it all, dedicated couriers strived to complete their critical missions to deliver information to where it was needed.

God has a special set of messengers. They’re called “angels.” God created angels to, among other things, deliver His word to His people in time of need. The word “angel” comes from the Greek word “αγγελος (ahn-gay-los)” which means “messenger.” God’s Word is filled with accounts of His heavenly messengers delivering His promises to His people. In Daniel 10, we hear how the Angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnational Jesus, shows up to give Daniel hope in the middle of his distress. He’d received a vision of a great conflict and it must’ve been horrific because he mourned and fasted for 21 days (Daniel 10:1-3). He’d been praying for help, but help seemed to be slow arriving. But, even as Daniel waited, the Angel of the Lord told Daniel, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.” (Daniel 10:12) During His delay, the Angel had been fighting for Daniel and God’s people in a battle with the evil angel prince of Persia to prepare the battlefield for a much bigger conflict that lay ahead. But He was here in person now to help Daniel get through his current trial and to help him understand what was to come.

Like Daniel, we experience times of doubt and distress. In faith we call on God through prayer to seek His help, guidance, and comfort. At times is may seem no answer is coming. But we can take courage in God’s Word found in Daniel that what may seem to be a delay in the arrival of the Cavalry, is in fact God preparing us for the battle ahead. Even then, as He prepares us, He protects us. This is another duty God’s angels have … protection.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, a gift received in baptism, we cling in faith to God’s promises to hear and answer our prayers, especially when we’re in great need. Even as delays may seem apparent, we also cling in faith to His promises to protect us through His angels throughout our trials … leading us, eventually, into everlasting life.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Try as we might, it’s hard not to think of money. Try it. My guess is, unless you’re asleep, it’s hard to go an hour without thinking about it. I was talking to someone the other day about something completely different. However, before too long money came up. In this case a lack of it and how it seemed everything she needed, and didn’t have, required money. Money can and does exert a lot of influence on us – especially considering it’s a lifeless and, often, actually worthless object … after all there isn’t five dollars’ worth of paper and ink on a “five spot” … is there?

Jesus wasn’t much different with respect to how often He talked about money. Bible scholar John MacArthur observed Jesus told around 40 parables … and about a third of them dealt with money in some way. Jesus’ points of emphasis centered on what He knew would be potential pitfalls for His people – including the proper use of money.

One of Jesus’ more confusing parables is the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13). If one doesn’t understand the context for the story, it seems as though Jesus is condoning dishonesty and using money to get ahead.

In Jesus’ day managers represented their master’s interests to the master’s debtors … often people who leased his fields for a predetermined sum. As such, the debtors trusted that what the manager said came directly from the master himself. In this parable, the master finds out the manager has been mishandling his resources. However, rather than throwing him in jail, the master shows mercy by simply going to let him go. Trusting the master’s mercy, the manager looks to solve his long-term problem by forgiving a portion of each debtors’ bill … hoping they would believe he himself convinced the master to reduce the debt. In this way, the manager used his master’s resources and reputation of mercy to secure his future. The master, true to his merciful character, accepts the new accounting … he also praises the manager for his cleverness in using what the master made available to him … the record of debts and his mercy … to secure his place in the future.

Jesus teaches using a standard Hebrew technique called “from lesser to greater.” Essentially, “If the master shows this mercy to his manager, how much more mercy will God in heaven display to those who have faith in His promises.” Jesus teaches His disciples, including you and me, that our Father in heaven has given us everything we have, including money, to manage on His behalf. He knows we might misuse money on our own selfish desires. Yet, He has mercy … forgiving us. He desires that we use money he’s given us, not only for our own satisfaction, but also to show His love and mercy to others. As we do, they’ll see the same mercy … and come to faith as we have. Letting our use of money be guided by faith, demonstrates our trust in our merciful Father and His promises of forgiveness and eternal life through His Son. This is a purposeful use of the riches God has given to each of us in accord with His will.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Eighteen years ago, stories of searching and rescuing began pouring out of New York City and Washington D.C. as brave men and women selflessly responded to cries for help from those trapped in the fallen Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Men like Jason Thomas and Dave Karnes rushed to the scene saying, “Somebody needed help!” So, they went in search of those in need.  Among those they rescued were William Jimeno and John McLoughlin, Port Authority police officers hiding safely in the South Tower freight elevator before the tower collapsed, leaving them buried. Because Thomas and Karnes actively searched out survivors, these two were found and rescued from almost certain death.

Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin and tried to hide from God, God’s been on a “search and rescue” mission to save His people from sin and death. Through His prophet Ezekiel, God cries out to His people, “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out … I will rescue them.” (Ezekiel 34:11-12) The acts of searching and rescuing are “active.” God doesn’t sit back and wait, He actively goes out … seeking high and low, searching far and wide … to find His people. But His action doesn’t end there. Once He finds, He rescues. Again, through Ezekiel, God says, “I will bring them into their own land.” (Ezekiel 34:13) These words are fulfilled when Jesus, the Son of God, comes down from heaven into creation. God Himself enters into the world He created to search out and rescue His fallen people.

Knowing we’re hopelessly and helplessly trapped under the debris of our sin and the sin of a fallen world; Jesus goes out into the world to find us. The Pharisees and scribes complain aloud, “This man (Jesus) receives sinners and eats with them!” (Luke 15:2) Imagine that! Jesus, the pure and perfect Man-God, goes to where sinners are … He finds them … He sits in their presence … He shares meals with them. But, His purpose in going out to find and come into the presence of sinners isn’t to simply have a good time. Powerless to save ourselves, Jesus’ mission is to dig us out from underneath the rubble of sin that has buried us alive, leaving us for dead.

By His death and resurrection, He lifts the refuse and clears the debris from our sin-filled lives away. Then, like a shepherd, He lays us on His shoulders and carries us joyfully back to His flock, His church, where we dwell with Him now in this place … and, one day, in the eternal kingdom of heaven. By His action of searching and rescuing alone, we are saved.

Today Jesus is still searching for and rescuing the lost. How? St. Paul writes, “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me … Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:16) He saves us, so He might save others through the work He calls us to do in His creation. Let us rejoice with Paul and the angels of God for this amazing privilege God has granted to each of us.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Fellow Children of God,

This past month I drove with some friends to New England. Choosing to trust and follow our GPS, we found our way to hotels, restaurants, and many interesting sites. However, one day while headed to downtown Boston … in the rain … at rush hour … we didn’t like the directions we received. We chose instead to ignore the GPS and find our own way. We were sure we knew a better way … until we got terribly lost. Following our own way, we ended up further and further from our destination. We decided to return to the GPS. Eventually, it got us back on track to a nice little Italian place in Boston’s North End.

As Moses was preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, he relayed God’s Word to them about the direction they should follow. Moses, by the power of the Holy Spirit, had led Israel through the desert to the Promised Land. He knew he wouldn’t be joining them though, so he gave them some direction on the way they should go. He said, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God … you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16) However, Moses also warned the Israelites saying, “But, if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, … you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.” (Deuteronomy 30:17-18) The Israelites didn’t have GPS, but they did have very clear guidance from God on how to get to where they wanted to be … follow God and His Word. If they chose their own direction, they would get hopelessly lost and perish.

Of course, God did not want His people to get lost and perish so He inspired Moses to add to the end of his guidance, “Therefore choose life … (by) loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

Unfortunately, the Israelites didn’t like the directions God was giving them. They chose to follow the directions of the Canaanites and others … they ended up hopelessly lost, evicted from the Promised Land into exile … some scattered throughout Assyria … others carted away to Babylon. Still God so loved His people that He continued giving them directions to find their way back to Him.

God’s Word to Israel over 3400 years ago, still applies to us today. God longs for us to “choose life” … by loving Him, obeying His voice found in His Word, and holding fast to Him in regular worship, prayer, and study of His Word. And thankfully, when we decide to follow our own way, instead of His way … God our Father calls us back to Himself through the Holy Spirit. Then, as we return to Him, because of the death and resurrection of His Son, He forgives us and leads us back to life with Him, now and in eternity.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Fellow Children of God,

No doubt you’ve heard the old saying, “No pain, no gain.” More modern minds would argue that pain is not a sign of weakness leaving the body, but rather injury. But the idea behind the aphorism is that working out to gain strength … or making changes to our lives to break bad habits … can be painful in a literal sense or a figurative sense. Nevertheless, if we desire to improve our health, our minds, or many other aspects of life, it often requires us to go through some discomfort to make the desired change.

Hebrews 12 begins using the analogy of running an endurance race to help us understand the Christian life (Hebrews 12:1-3). It’s from this analogy that the writer goes on to discuss discipline. Just like athletes need to discipline themselves to endure hours of training … stretching, lifting, running, and otherwise pushing their body to the limit and maybe a little beyond … to improve their endurance, we also undergo discipline to grow in faith. God’s Word encourages us, “My (child), do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His (child).” (Hebrews 12:5b-6) This is the discipline of training, learning, studying and then paying attention so that we, through the knowledge God’s Word gives us, can apply it to the life God calls us to live as His children.

The story of a young man named Derek, who for years was entangled in substance abuse, is a good example of how this discipline works in our lives. He struggled for years to kick his bad habits on his own, but kept regressing back into abuse. Then, a Christian family took him under their wing. He was subjected to the discipline of God’s Word and was baptized. The discipline continued as he saw how his sinful behavior ran counter to God’s will. It was painful to kick his old habits, but empowered by the Holy Spirit, seeing the love of God for him, Derek made the changes needed to overcome a lifetime of substance abuse. It was difficult, but Derek endured.

Jesus endured the discipline of the cross and the abuse of the world as He shed His blood to rescue us from the grip of the devil and the power of sin and death we’re all entrapped in. As a result of His endurance and rising to new life, we’ve been given new lives as God’s own children. God’s Word nowhere promises a life of ease. Hebrews 12:4-11 reminds us with words like “struggle … hardship … painful” that it’s hard to live in the world as a child of God. But, like the discipline of exercise strengthens an athlete for competition, the discipline found in the regular study of God’s Word, prayer, and worship strengthens our faith for the struggles and temptations Satan throws our way as we run the race of Christian life in the world we live in each day. This discipline enables us to grow in “His holiness … (and) produces a harvest of righteousness and peace” (Hebrews 12:10-11) in our lives, both now and in eternity.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Faith,

C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, is one of my favorite writers. He also wrote a number of essays on various aspects of Christianity. In my opinion, he’s one of the great thinkers on theology in recent times. A famous quote on “integrity” is often attributed to him, “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” It reminds me of a story I read in one of my devotions, where a young boy rushed out of the house for school. His mom asked if he brushed his teeth. His response, “You should get a video camera for the bathroom so you can check for yourself … and I wouldn’t be tempted to lie.” The camera might remind us to follow the rules. But we can still fool ourselves into thinking that just because nobody saw it … it’s okay.

God works through HIS prophet Jeremiah to warn His people about false prophets running rampant in their midst. God warns that just because someone says they’re a prophet, doesn’t mean they’re HIS God’s prophet. They may say, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” (Jeremiah 23:25) but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. He also says, “Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully.” (Jeremiah 23:28) Nevertheless, these false prophets were inspiring people to turn away from God. They, and the people, were hiding behind what they imagined was truth. But God asks rhetorically, “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)

While a person may think they can hide their sinful deeds from other people … what others don’t know won’t hurt them … they can’t hide from God. God is, among other things, “omnipresent” and “omniscient.” He is everywhere and knows everything (Jeremiah 16:17, Psalm 139:1-4).

On the one hand, this is terrifying … there’s no place I can run, there’s no darkness I can act in, there’s no rock I can hide behind where God cannot see what I do or find me. I may be able to hide from my mom, but I can’t hide from God. That’s terrifying.

But … it’s also comforting. First, God doesn’t hide from us. He can be found anytime, anywhere. Where? He tells us, “But let him who has my Word speak my Word faithfully.” (Jeremiah 23:28) If we want to know what God wants from us … and more importantly, what He does for us … go to the source. Go to His Word! Second, our Father knows it’s hard to turn away from false prophets who get in our face and tell us what we want to hear … what makes us feel good. That’s why He warns us with His Word and sent His Son, Jesus to suffer and die for us and rise to new life – freed from sin and death. Just as God is always present when we’re running from Him … He’s also always present, patiently waiting for us to repent and confess our sins, to forgive us unconditionally. Thank God we cannot hide ourselves from Him!

                                                                        In Faith,

                                                                        Pastor Jim