You might hear about Jericho here and there in the Bible, but today I’m going to give you a history lesson and explain why it is important that Jesus restored a man’s vision just outside of the city walls and also dined with a notorious tax collector.
Jericho, as you already know, is the Canaanite City that Joshua and the Israeli people defeated shortly after their arrival in the Holy Land that God had given them. One of the issues here was that nobody had told these people, who worshipped false gods and practiced human sacrifice and whose military might would pose a threat to the young nation if allowed to remain. With a much smaller force and not much for weapons, God had the Levite priests lead Joshua and the warriors around the city walls for 7 days – and on that final day the they blew the shofar and the walls and many of the structures within the city collapsed. The Tribes of Israel were each given an area of the Holy Land as their own, and the area where Jericho once stood was given to the Tribe of Benjamin. Jericho was rebuilt almost immediately. Located about 15 miles to the ENE of Jerusalem and situated along the major trade route between Asia Minor/Europe and all of Africa, there was money to be made and dreams to be followed. The Tribe of Benjamin forgot who they were (Israelites) and who they belonged to (God). Members began to worship gods other than Yahweh and terrible practices began to creep into the Tribe’s daily life. The leaders of the tribe were called to the carpet by the ruling national judge and the other tribal leaders after a man from Jerusalem was brutally gang raped by several men from the tribe of Benjamin. The nation demanded the culprits be handed over for trial - and the tribe said no. In fact, they took the victim's female companion (whom they had taken), killed her and cut her into pieces. Every tribe got some. It was gross. In other words, Benjamin basically said to go take a hike. A four-part battle ensued and lot of people died on both sides and all of the cities (including Gibeah the capital city of Benjamin and Jericho) were completely destroyed. In the end there were a total of 600 men from Benjamin – lead by a man named Jabea Gilead. They were allowed to rebuild and to live a life of obedience to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph – the God who had seen them out of slavery and into the freedom of their own land. Time marched on and the judges gave way to kings and the king turned into the kings as the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Southern Kingdoms (Judah) split. The tribe of Benjamin affiliated with the tribe of Judah (Jerusalem included) to form the South. The other 10 formed to become the North. Jericho, which was on the eastern edge of the kingdom, had been overrun and the walls/city gate destroyed a couple of times. In order to fortify the city in a rebuilding project, Hiel of Bethel went Jericho old school and sacrificed two of his young sons, one in the building of the city gate and one in the building off the wall. This was during the reign of King Ahab in the North and King Jehosaphat in the South. The two royalty were connected via marriage (not through Jezebel, that’s another story) in roughly the year 850 BC. Jericho, which lies just o the south of the eastern entrance to the Jezreel Valley, turned into little more than an assembly area for marching armies intent on going to war in one direction or the other. Even when the diaspora occurred in 576 BC – and the Promise Land was no more – it was likely business as usual for Jericho, which was what it always was – a way side rest. Which is exactly what it was in Jesus’ time. History lesson complete – except to add that every person walking with Jesus lived this information. It’s like talking about Chicago history (the stockyards, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, the political machine, the windy city). People jut knew. |
winter wanes
|
WELCA leads World Day of Prayer Worship
Trinity members remember their mortality on Ash Wednesday
Looking for treasure
I have absolutely no idea how much artwork is worth.
Some of the items that I see appraised high on Antiques Roadshow look an awful lot like junk to me - and vice versa.
So when Andreas and I stumbled onto an oil painting at an auction on the corner of 23 and 10, I thought to myself, "Who wants to be a millionaire?"
Turns out that I must not want to be that.
I=Before we got the row with the painting in it, I purchased a concrete chicken statue for $10 and a duck one for $7.50. Dre bought an apple basket full of insulators that will ultimately spend the next several years in my garage next to the five-gallon pails and another basket filled with insulators. He might consider a hobby that involves less storage on my part, but whose counting?
So instead of waiting around for a good hour, we opted to settle up and leave.
I took a picture of the painting before we left.
I like it very much.
In the book of Matthew, we have Jesus explaining “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."
It was for this reason that we started using our fine china. It's not just for Holidays anyone.
Billy Graham once explained that if you give him 5 minutes and a person's checkbook - that he could see here a man's heart was. How true is that?
I'm working on being motivated by love and by experience. My favorite thing right now it is make memories with those closest to me and those whom God is putting in my path.
As for the painting, I hope it went to a nice home and that it is hanging on a wall in an awesome location.
And that Mark Walberg eventually interviews its owner on PBS declaring him/her the owner of a mighty fine painting.
Some of the items that I see appraised high on Antiques Roadshow look an awful lot like junk to me - and vice versa.
So when Andreas and I stumbled onto an oil painting at an auction on the corner of 23 and 10, I thought to myself, "Who wants to be a millionaire?"
Turns out that I must not want to be that.
I=Before we got the row with the painting in it, I purchased a concrete chicken statue for $10 and a duck one for $7.50. Dre bought an apple basket full of insulators that will ultimately spend the next several years in my garage next to the five-gallon pails and another basket filled with insulators. He might consider a hobby that involves less storage on my part, but whose counting?
So instead of waiting around for a good hour, we opted to settle up and leave.
I took a picture of the painting before we left.
I like it very much.
In the book of Matthew, we have Jesus explaining “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."
It was for this reason that we started using our fine china. It's not just for Holidays anyone.
Billy Graham once explained that if you give him 5 minutes and a person's checkbook - that he could see here a man's heart was. How true is that?
I'm working on being motivated by love and by experience. My favorite thing right now it is make memories with those closest to me and those whom God is putting in my path.
As for the painting, I hope it went to a nice home and that it is hanging on a wall in an awesome location.
And that Mark Walberg eventually interviews its owner on PBS declaring him/her the owner of a mighty fine painting.
Waiting on the Lord
This picture was taken on the final regular night of our Wednesday Evening Jesus and Me (J.A.M.) worship.
Maverick Hall was baptized that night and being a liturgical church you can best believe that the Paschal Candle was going to be lit. As a part of the service itself, I called out to Rhonda to be the acolyte of the night. Everyone from our smallest toddler to our eldest matriarch knows that the Jesus Candle gets lit when big things are going on at church.
And a baptism qualifies as a big thing.
Psalm 77 is the story of a person who is in the throes of despair.
The writer yells, cries and screams for God only to be deafened by the silence in response. That is such a scary and profoundly difficult thing for anyone. Think of a baby in a crib in the middle of a thunderstorm, the lightning crashes and hail pelts on the window glass. Even when the storm subsides the void left in its wake can be every bit as isolating and sad. Now you might expect the door to the nursery to swing open and a soothing mom to arrive at any moment – but maybe you’re forgotten. I doubt if babies are capable of looking inward and assigning blame to themselves, but if you are reading this … you aren’t a baby.
And you might think God has abandoned you or that God is playing loose with the rules. Of course, you don’t spend too much time trying to figure out if the rules are your rules or God’s – the bottom line is that the hurricane has overwhelmed you.
The psalmist decides to “appeal to the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand … I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.”
God’s faithfulness is best seen in the rearview mirror, when all of the chips are down and the count is in. Faith does not believe the things that are readily apparent. I don’t need faith to count the number of apples in a basket. I need entry-level math skills.
Faith is driving forward knowing that God’s faith in you remains strong – no matter what.
And so the picture of Rhonda is especially important, because her good friend’s husband had died a couple of days before. He left four young children and a whole lot of questions, mostly involving God and Why?
She was struggling and so lighting the Jesus Candle as we prepared to anoint little Maverick with Holy Water and the Word made sense to me.
In baptism, God claims us as His own.
And God had claimed Chuck at his baptism.
The storm – the bruising reality of a husband, friend, dad dying – is catastrophic and leaving wreckage all over the place. Chuck, belonging to God, is fine. The people at ground zero, however, are called to pick up the pieces and figure out what life looks like going forward.
Toward the end of the 77th Psalm, the writer recounts God’s arrival on the scene:
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Broken hearts are more common than most people know.
God heals them.
Storms move on.
Maverick Hall was baptized that night and being a liturgical church you can best believe that the Paschal Candle was going to be lit. As a part of the service itself, I called out to Rhonda to be the acolyte of the night. Everyone from our smallest toddler to our eldest matriarch knows that the Jesus Candle gets lit when big things are going on at church.
And a baptism qualifies as a big thing.
Psalm 77 is the story of a person who is in the throes of despair.
The writer yells, cries and screams for God only to be deafened by the silence in response. That is such a scary and profoundly difficult thing for anyone. Think of a baby in a crib in the middle of a thunderstorm, the lightning crashes and hail pelts on the window glass. Even when the storm subsides the void left in its wake can be every bit as isolating and sad. Now you might expect the door to the nursery to swing open and a soothing mom to arrive at any moment – but maybe you’re forgotten. I doubt if babies are capable of looking inward and assigning blame to themselves, but if you are reading this … you aren’t a baby.
And you might think God has abandoned you or that God is playing loose with the rules. Of course, you don’t spend too much time trying to figure out if the rules are your rules or God’s – the bottom line is that the hurricane has overwhelmed you.
The psalmist decides to “appeal to the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand … I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.”
God’s faithfulness is best seen in the rearview mirror, when all of the chips are down and the count is in. Faith does not believe the things that are readily apparent. I don’t need faith to count the number of apples in a basket. I need entry-level math skills.
Faith is driving forward knowing that God’s faith in you remains strong – no matter what.
And so the picture of Rhonda is especially important, because her good friend’s husband had died a couple of days before. He left four young children and a whole lot of questions, mostly involving God and Why?
She was struggling and so lighting the Jesus Candle as we prepared to anoint little Maverick with Holy Water and the Word made sense to me.
In baptism, God claims us as His own.
And God had claimed Chuck at his baptism.
The storm – the bruising reality of a husband, friend, dad dying – is catastrophic and leaving wreckage all over the place. Chuck, belonging to God, is fine. The people at ground zero, however, are called to pick up the pieces and figure out what life looks like going forward.
Toward the end of the 77th Psalm, the writer recounts God’s arrival on the scene:
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Broken hearts are more common than most people know.
God heals them.
Storms move on.
Shelter from the storm
Thursday afternoon a cold rain fell at Sillerud, with arrows of sleet clearing the yard of any chickens that might want to range free.
...
The fainting goats hate wet. They retreated into their shed.
The ducks didn’t care.
I am started to think our ducks are the fowl equivalent of the honey badger.
By the time Liam and I headed out for chores, the storm had passed and the yard was once again alive with sound and movement – so it surprised me to find Sammy the Cat asleep in one of the hen boxes.
She was out cold. It wasn’t until I reached under her to check for eggs that she woke up.
Aren’t there times when we simply need a shelter from the storm?
God, in the Holy Spirit, can give us relief from the storms in our lives. We want God to clear the skies of the dark gray clouds and rid us of our problems, that’s not what God promises. God’s promise is to be with us, to never abandon us to the wind.
It could be the shelter God provides looks and smells like a chicken coop.
There can be a solace there.
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
Isaiah 25:4
...
The fainting goats hate wet. They retreated into their shed.
The ducks didn’t care.
I am started to think our ducks are the fowl equivalent of the honey badger.
By the time Liam and I headed out for chores, the storm had passed and the yard was once again alive with sound and movement – so it surprised me to find Sammy the Cat asleep in one of the hen boxes.
She was out cold. It wasn’t until I reached under her to check for eggs that she woke up.
Aren’t there times when we simply need a shelter from the storm?
God, in the Holy Spirit, can give us relief from the storms in our lives. We want God to clear the skies of the dark gray clouds and rid us of our problems, that’s not what God promises. God’s promise is to be with us, to never abandon us to the wind.
It could be the shelter God provides looks and smells like a chicken coop.
There can be a solace there.
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
Isaiah 25:4
Most every year, the men at Trinity complete Easter Worship with a photo at the altar. If you look closely, Kendra decided to join us this year - and Julie played a little "taking a photo" music, as well.
LESSONS FROM A PASTOR'S HOBBY FARM PARSONAGE. PART IV
|
Hobby Farm Devotional
Most teenagers go through a phase in which they believe that they are the ultimate outsider: the outcast, the loner, the whack job, the not good enough. We grow up, but never completely out of that idea. Yes, there is a little Ally Sheedy of the Breakfast Club in all of us. Emilio Estevez, the athlete stereotype from the movie, explains it with the line, “We’re all misfits. Some of us just hide it better than others.” But as we grow up, we start to figure some stuff out. Mostly, we figure out that we’re not really alone: there are quite a number of people just like us. Until there aren’t. Last winter, we saved a hen that had a penchant for spending most of her days in the most popular of the laying boxes. The other hens, very upset at her hogging the spot, pecked her bloody. Her comb was half attached when I finally pulled her out of the henhouse and carried her to the goose kennel (and later the garage). A month later, she rejoined her sisters and the cycle began again. Old dog, old tricks obviously. The henhouse, like the world, can be a really hard place. The chicken needed a better place to be, so I decided to lock her in the chick pen. I’m not so sure I can tell the difference between a happy chicken and a sad one, but I can tell the behavior of a mama hen. And this mama has about 48 chicks to work with right now. I think she’s found her spot. God’s place for us in this world might work along these same lines: In the wrong environment, our skill set and our passion might just get us beat over the head. In the right place, the talents that God has given us can be a blessing to God’s creation. That’s a little of what Paul was talking about in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 12: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. Drive on, fellow members of the Breakfast Club. |
LESSONS FROM A PASTOR'S HOBBY FARM PARSONAGE. PART III
Hobby Farm Devotional
Most people, when dealing with an problem, will attempt to ignore it.
The reason we do this is because it tends to work out for us. A lot of times, issues will resolve themselves on their own. Doing nothing is a great first step.
Until it isn’t so great.
So what do we do when the issue persists?
Here’s where the turtle on today’s picture comes in. Some of us will hunker down, withdraw and maybe even pray a little bit for the problem to go away. In the case of this turtle, which had been trapped in a culvert under 221st Street, the hunkering would not have done him so good.
A raccoon would have come along eventually and had a nice meal.
When we pulled him out onto the gravel, he took a minute and sped off (as much as a turtle can speed) westward into the weeds near the lake.
Paul, who was imprisoned by the Romans, sent a letter to the young congregation at Philippi. Among other things (Read Devotional 1.9 for more), he spoke about some men who were preaching Christ for personal gain and selfish ambition.
Paul said good for them. Jesus was being proclaimed – and that’s ultimately what matter.
I’m sure there are a lot of you who would and could do more in sharing the Gospel, but are a little like that turtle under the township road. You have no idea where to get out to do it.
Lucky for you I have an idea: Tell at least three people today that you feel blessed because they are in your lives. Than think of three people that you would rather avoid, and pray God that incredibly good things will happen to them.
And finally, before they go to sleep tonight, make the sign of the cross on the foreheads of everyone in your house and say the following: “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit and Marked by the Cross of Christ Forever. God loves you, and so do I.”
Even bless your teenagers.
They need it. You need it.
Most people, when dealing with an problem, will attempt to ignore it.
The reason we do this is because it tends to work out for us. A lot of times, issues will resolve themselves on their own. Doing nothing is a great first step.
Until it isn’t so great.
So what do we do when the issue persists?
Here’s where the turtle on today’s picture comes in. Some of us will hunker down, withdraw and maybe even pray a little bit for the problem to go away. In the case of this turtle, which had been trapped in a culvert under 221st Street, the hunkering would not have done him so good.
A raccoon would have come along eventually and had a nice meal.
When we pulled him out onto the gravel, he took a minute and sped off (as much as a turtle can speed) westward into the weeds near the lake.
Paul, who was imprisoned by the Romans, sent a letter to the young congregation at Philippi. Among other things (Read Devotional 1.9 for more), he spoke about some men who were preaching Christ for personal gain and selfish ambition.
Paul said good for them. Jesus was being proclaimed – and that’s ultimately what matter.
I’m sure there are a lot of you who would and could do more in sharing the Gospel, but are a little like that turtle under the township road. You have no idea where to get out to do it.
Lucky for you I have an idea: Tell at least three people today that you feel blessed because they are in your lives. Than think of three people that you would rather avoid, and pray God that incredibly good things will happen to them.
And finally, before they go to sleep tonight, make the sign of the cross on the foreheads of everyone in your house and say the following: “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit and Marked by the Cross of Christ Forever. God loves you, and so do I.”
Even bless your teenagers.
They need it. You need it.
LESSONS FROM A PASTOR'S HOBBY FARM PARSONAGE. PART II
Hobby Farm Devotion
Miracles Big & Small (Deuteronomy 4:19)
Four chicks hatched Wednesday at Sillerud in Oliver’s basement bedroom.
Our 16-year-old is not amused at the location of the incubator and chick nursery, but I told him that’s what you get when 3/5th of the parsonage basement is your man cave.
He did, however, have the opportunity to watch these chicks slowly but slowly peck their way out of their shells. I actually doubt if he spent too much time watching, as it is really slow and involves shallow movements, pecking, more little movements – and then napping. If these chicks hatching are a miracle (which I certainly classify it as such), it is a miracle brought forth through hard work.
The births of most human children are much the same, insofar as they involve quite a bit of work.
Today’s lesson is actually two-fold: The first is that many miracles involve a lot of hard work – either from the person receiving the wonder or those around him or her. This doesn’t diminish the beauty, or make it any less special. Know this: Most of the miracles I’ve beheld are of this variety.
Part B is to caution us to not worship the miracles, but rather God who provided it.
Deuteronomy 4:19 says “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.”
I can’t help but lose myself a little in the heavens when I go out to close the chicken run door at night before I go to bed. I am very much in awe of the new life in the old kiddy pool currently in Oliver’s bedroom. I look forward to the miracle of being in heaven someday, and I read the scriptures knowing that God has given them over to us to point us to Him.
But creation, miracles, heaven and the Bible aren’t God. As an aside, Neither is alcohol, drugs, sex, roll and roll nor your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend. Or your children/grandchildren for that matter.
God is God.
Today’s pray is a simple: “God, I see your handiwork everywhere and in everything. And it can distract me. Squirrel. But you are the boss of me. Help me to act that way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Miracles Big & Small (Deuteronomy 4:19)
Four chicks hatched Wednesday at Sillerud in Oliver’s basement bedroom.
Our 16-year-old is not amused at the location of the incubator and chick nursery, but I told him that’s what you get when 3/5th of the parsonage basement is your man cave.
He did, however, have the opportunity to watch these chicks slowly but slowly peck their way out of their shells. I actually doubt if he spent too much time watching, as it is really slow and involves shallow movements, pecking, more little movements – and then napping. If these chicks hatching are a miracle (which I certainly classify it as such), it is a miracle brought forth through hard work.
The births of most human children are much the same, insofar as they involve quite a bit of work.
Today’s lesson is actually two-fold: The first is that many miracles involve a lot of hard work – either from the person receiving the wonder or those around him or her. This doesn’t diminish the beauty, or make it any less special. Know this: Most of the miracles I’ve beheld are of this variety.
Part B is to caution us to not worship the miracles, but rather God who provided it.
Deuteronomy 4:19 says “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.”
I can’t help but lose myself a little in the heavens when I go out to close the chicken run door at night before I go to bed. I am very much in awe of the new life in the old kiddy pool currently in Oliver’s bedroom. I look forward to the miracle of being in heaven someday, and I read the scriptures knowing that God has given them over to us to point us to Him.
But creation, miracles, heaven and the Bible aren’t God. As an aside, Neither is alcohol, drugs, sex, roll and roll nor your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend. Or your children/grandchildren for that matter.
God is God.
Today’s pray is a simple: “God, I see your handiwork everywhere and in everything. And it can distract me. Squirrel. But you are the boss of me. Help me to act that way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Lessons from a Pastor's Hobby Farm Parsonage. Part I
HOBBY FARM DEVOTIONAL
The day after Easter will mark Day 21 since we collected the first of our hen eggs and placed them gently into the incubator in Oliver’s bedroom. And before you think too deeply about hatching chicks in the bedroom of a 16-year-old, just know that he occupies half the basement of the parsonage – the Man Cave as his older brother called it when he lived therein.
Everyday, I check on the eggs. The 40 eggs are nestled in an automatic turner, so my main concern is maintaining a constant 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit and keeping the humidity at 55 percent.
It’s tough work, but someone’s got to do it.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23)
As we work our way through Holy Week, I think about how Matthew uses the image of a Mother Hen protecting her chicks – and how that’s what God would done with His people in Israel and would have us to do, today.
Now, I’m not going to kid myself that all 40 eggs are going to hatch starting next week. Joe, the rooster, came to us from a good friend’s hobby farm about six weeks ago and he seems more concerned with eating than anything else. I’ll be please with 65 percent.
The ones that hatch, however, have a fighting chance of living large at Sillerud. They will, however, be ridiculously dumb. They wander into places that are not safe. They tend to be mean to each other. (Bullies aren’t just for middle school, my friends.) They fight amongst themselves about who gets to roost at the top and peck dents into each other’s eggs if given the chance.
There is one old hen, a Rhode Island Red. She is a little different.
Dave Schultz gave us 6 hens 3 years ago when he was moving off the farm and this was one of them. She wanders over when the boys or I are outside. She lets us pick her up and seems to enjoy human interaction. When she’s sitting in a nesting box and I’m out gathering eggs, I don’t chase her out like I do the rest. She’s a favorite, no doubt.
The metaphor of God protecting us under His wings as a Mother Hen works, if only because chicks don’t listen any better than we do.
Heavenly Father, please help me to be more like that old Rhode Island Red –simply enjoying life in your presence. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
The day after Easter will mark Day 21 since we collected the first of our hen eggs and placed them gently into the incubator in Oliver’s bedroom. And before you think too deeply about hatching chicks in the bedroom of a 16-year-old, just know that he occupies half the basement of the parsonage – the Man Cave as his older brother called it when he lived therein.
Everyday, I check on the eggs. The 40 eggs are nestled in an automatic turner, so my main concern is maintaining a constant 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit and keeping the humidity at 55 percent.
It’s tough work, but someone’s got to do it.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23)
As we work our way through Holy Week, I think about how Matthew uses the image of a Mother Hen protecting her chicks – and how that’s what God would done with His people in Israel and would have us to do, today.
Now, I’m not going to kid myself that all 40 eggs are going to hatch starting next week. Joe, the rooster, came to us from a good friend’s hobby farm about six weeks ago and he seems more concerned with eating than anything else. I’ll be please with 65 percent.
The ones that hatch, however, have a fighting chance of living large at Sillerud. They will, however, be ridiculously dumb. They wander into places that are not safe. They tend to be mean to each other. (Bullies aren’t just for middle school, my friends.) They fight amongst themselves about who gets to roost at the top and peck dents into each other’s eggs if given the chance.
There is one old hen, a Rhode Island Red. She is a little different.
Dave Schultz gave us 6 hens 3 years ago when he was moving off the farm and this was one of them. She wanders over when the boys or I are outside. She lets us pick her up and seems to enjoy human interaction. When she’s sitting in a nesting box and I’m out gathering eggs, I don’t chase her out like I do the rest. She’s a favorite, no doubt.
The metaphor of God protecting us under His wings as a Mother Hen works, if only because chicks don’t listen any better than we do.
Heavenly Father, please help me to be more like that old Rhode Island Red –simply enjoying life in your presence. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
art project ignites all ages
Finding the Law (and Nemo)
A Shared Message by Pastors Daryl and Jennifer thul based on exodus 19/20
There are whole bunch of places in the Bible where the law is referred to as a gift from God, as absolutely good, and as a prized possession of the Hebrew people.
While I never gave it a whole lot of thought, it did seem a little strange to brag about the commandments.
But in today’s reading, we find out that the Decalogue (that’s the fancy scholarly term for the “10”) truly is a present God gave His people through Moses. Because it’s not just about the law: It’s about the relationship: I am the Lord your God is how it starts.
And I’ll need to explain the rest using Finding Nemo as the example.
Please raise your hand if you’ve seen the movie.
For those of you that haven’t, Nemo is a little fish living in a Great Barrier Reef with his dad (His name is Marlin) and he’s getting ready to go to school for the first time.
Marlin might seem a little fretful, probably because he is.
But the big rule he gives Nemo is to not go over the edge into the deep water. It’s a simple rule. A rule put in place out of love and out of understanding the danger that is out in the big water.
Nemo, goaded by his classmates and maybe a little embarrassed by his over protective dad, goes out – touches the bottom hull of a boat (Quote of the movie: “He touched the butt!”) and gets scooped up by a scuba diver.
And this is all of 5 minutes into the film.
Nemo’s dad then spends the remainder of the film doing everything he can possibly do to save his child, a child who had willfully disobeyed him and pretty much brought the situation to himself.
God’s laws are not for God.
Get that?
The 10 Commandments are a means by which God can mess with his creation. These aren’t the rules that make you scratch your head and wonder the reason behind the them.
The laws protect us from ourselves.
Except they don’t much of the time. Because we don’t need Moses to have come down the mountain twice with the laws for us to know them. Martin Luther wrote 500 years ago that he believed that God already wrote the laws on all of our hearts. We know right from wrong. We know how God would have us to live our lives.
And written or unwritten, we aren’t very good at following the rules.
We’re like Nemo, who did what he wanted to do and got caught up in stuff he could not get out of, no matter how hard he tried.
God, like Marlin, has pretty much spent 95 percent of your life story chasing after you, too.
So God put some skin in the game. He sent His Son to do for us what we could not do for ourselves: Namely bring us into full relationship with our Creator.
We are, through Jesus, the adopted sons and daughters of God the Father, Jesus’ brother.
And having adopted a young boy many years ago, I can tell you that bringing new children into your home can be disruptive and challenging.
Because these kids are pretty broken. And maybe you’re sitting there thinking that you are a part of this metaphor – but you are. Because you are broken, too.
But through adoption, God have claimed you as His own. The waters of your baptism flow into forever, the cross on your forehead exclaiming to whom you belong.
So what?
Well, sisters and brothers: The law still applies – even moreso.
You are called to be ambassadors of God’s love into the world. The commandments, when we follow them, are a testament to God’s love.
Work hard at showing God’s love – and how do we do that?
Not killing is not enough. The other half of that commandment is to build people up.
Not bearing false witness is not enough. The other half of that commandment is to stick up for people.
Keeping the Sabbath is about finding time for God and for yourself. Slow down on a regular basis. Be still and know God is God.
That is all.
Maybe not quite. To quote Dorie: “Keep on Swimming!”
This is a story Bishop Jon wrote about the LYO Board, of which Oliver Thul and Riley Kirk are members. Way to represent!
Your
Lutheran Youth Organization
Leadership
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson
We are thankful for the new leadership God is calling forth in many areas in our congregations and synod. Here is a picture of your synod's Lutheran Youth Organization board members on a retreat earlier this year, building community and planning our upcoming youth gatherings.
This group of adults and youth, plan and execute your synod's Jr. High and Sr. High Youth Gatherings. They also become a key leadership incubation period for the people in the group and for many beyond it. This group also helps youth ministers who are uncompensated and compensated youth ministry directors in congregations deepen their skills and support.
Your synod has a Youth Ministry Coordinator, Sarah Hausken, who convenes, encourages and seeks to develop our youth ministry. We are thankful for her contributions, the contributions of this team and the contributions of all who engage in youth ministry in any form as we seek to receive the gifts of God in our young adults and youth.
In our congregations with or without formal youth programs, we are called to love the gift God has given in our young people and young adults.
Your
Lutheran Youth Organization
Leadership
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson
We are thankful for the new leadership God is calling forth in many areas in our congregations and synod. Here is a picture of your synod's Lutheran Youth Organization board members on a retreat earlier this year, building community and planning our upcoming youth gatherings.
This group of adults and youth, plan and execute your synod's Jr. High and Sr. High Youth Gatherings. They also become a key leadership incubation period for the people in the group and for many beyond it. This group also helps youth ministers who are uncompensated and compensated youth ministry directors in congregations deepen their skills and support.
Your synod has a Youth Ministry Coordinator, Sarah Hausken, who convenes, encourages and seeks to develop our youth ministry. We are thankful for her contributions, the contributions of this team and the contributions of all who engage in youth ministry in any form as we seek to receive the gifts of God in our young adults and youth.
In our congregations with or without formal youth programs, we are called to love the gift God has given in our young people and young adults.
Facebook Prayers
By Chip Borgstadt VibrantFaith@Home Paul often told his friends that every time he thought about them, he gave thanks to God. Try following Paul's example every time you check Facebook by posting a prayer on a friend's timeline. Activity Plan Say this prayer aloud to begin: God, you have blessed me with many friends. Help me be a blessing to them, as well. Amen.
Material courtesy: http://www.vibrantfaithathome.org/ "Stars" image: MKHMarketing |
Pictured above are Cheryl and Carl Peterson, active members and just all around good people.
Church Softball Monday, July 21, marks the second week of the Balaton Church League Softball Play-Offs and Trinity is looking to improve on last summer's second place finish. All are welcome out at the ball field on Maple, starting at 7 p.m. J.A.M. will again be offering concessions, to include the famous hotdogs slathered in Methodist BBQ. Come join in on the fun cheering on our team! |
