Pastors Corner

We hate to hear these words,”You have Cancer” but chances are you will hear those words at some time in your life. The reason may be poor nutrition. We look strong and healthy but our immune system is weak because the nutrition is cooked out or processed out of our food. Dr. Joel Fuhrman wrote a book titled”Super Immunity” He encourages us to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries. These foods will boost our immune system. The less you cook your food the better. Give up sugar (cancer loves sugar) and white flower and-you will live much longer. I am trying to follow his diet and I plan on winning the battle against cancer. I will let you know how I do.

I will read my Bible, I will pray, I will join or form a cell group where we will study the Bible, pray, care for each other, and be accountable to others for my spiritual progress, I will serve others, I will give my tithe (10 %) talents and time, I will worship God regularly, I will witness, telling others about Gods love for them expressed in Jesus Christ.

If we carry out these seven disciplines daily and weekly our lives will be transformed.

If you accept as a fact that God is loooking at you and you look back what changes do you notice?  

Recently we have watched people in many Islamic countries try to bring great changes to their governments. We do not know what the outcome will be. Will they have a new form of government or will the army or another dictator push them back into submission?

My hunch is that the Holy Spirit may be behind these recent movements. We can trace the unrest to outer circumstances like the desire for better life and higher paying jobs. Yet we must admit that these are desires God places in each one of us. As I read the Bible I do not find God wanting to control my every move or take away my ability to think or ask questions. But I do find God encouraging people to come to know him , grow and reach their full potential.  

God is inviting all of us into a loving relationship with him and each other. I hope you will accept the invitation and come on board.

I have a half ton Chevy pickup and a twin axle trailer. I use this combination to  pull my Model A truck to parades. Recently my brother and I  tried to load a small antique bulldozer onto it. The tracks were froze so we tried to put rollers under it. Half way up the trailer it looked like my trailer was bending and the back of my pickup was off the ground. Just then we lost it, down it came but the tracks broke loose in the big move. We decided that the bulldozer was too heavy for the trailer and truck. I realized I did not have equipment adequate for the job. Next time I will have a bigger truck and trailer.

That is how we grow, our way of thinking about things  is no longer adequate for us. Life has proved us wrong, now we have to rethink everything. At first this is scary for us, but after awhile we are able to make adjustments and look at the world from a different perspective. Growing is seldom comfortable but it is better to grow than run from reality into a pretend world of illusions.

God will help us as we struggle with our new world. The disciples were slow to grow because Jesus was giving them a different understanding of the Bible than what they were used to, but they did grow and open for our understanding the path of Christ to God for all of us.  Don’t be afraid to grow , to search, to ask questions, life will become less fearful for you.

I marvel at the resilient nature of quack grass. It is drought resistant and even if we kill it with chemicals it eventually comes back to life. It has a wide root system that can pick up water from a great distance. Quack grass really wants to live, you can walk on it, jump on it, hate it, drive your car on it, but it just keeps coming back. If Christians were like quack grass with a great root system we would not see so many quitters. The book of Hebrews warns us about quitting, quitting turning your back on Jesus can only lead to catastrophe. So stay with it. Hebrews 12:14-29

In chapter two of Colossians Paul tells the people to build the foundation of their life on Christ. Some teachers were telling them they need obey food laws and special days.

Paul assures them that when they were baptized they and their old way of being religious died and were buried with Christ and they were resurrected with Christ to live a new life.

Sometimes people come to our door with the message that we need to do some other special things. But really all we need is to have our sins forgiven in Jesus name and follow Christ’s teaching. We are truly liberated from the old ways and the spiritual powers that once dominated us.

So stay in Christ and build the foundation of your life on him.

The text begins with an expert in religious law asking Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds with a question, “what does the scripture say?” The man said, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself”

Jesus affirmed that if the man did this he would inherit eternal life. But the man wants to know who is his neighbor. He may wonder is it just other Jews, is it the person next door? As Jesus tells the story we discover that any one and every one is my neighbor.

It is not just the people of our own faith, it’s any one in need. If you want to have eternal life, you have to love God and others. Jesus put it another way, He said, “treat your neighbor the way you want to be treated” Matthew 7:12.

It takes strength, energy, and purpose to do it. The Samaritan had to take time energy and money to help the man along the road. But it is well worth it, God will treat us the way we treat others, Matthew 7:2.

As we love God and others we are rewarded with a greater portion of God’s presence in our lives ,the world becomes a better place and we become better persons. So come on, get involved, reach out to God.

John 13:31-38

Love is a visible manifestation of God’s presence. When people experience love without strings attached they often sense a Divine moment and feel God really cares for them. Love is something we can all express and it brings health to our own lives.

When Christ died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, it was God revealing himself to us, revealing his very nature and his intention’s towards us. Love is what attracted early people to the church. Where ever there is love God is active, so love one another. Stop worrying about yourself, surrender your life to Christ and let his love flow through you. Others will be helped and come to faith.

Paul’s short answer in 1st Corinthians 15:16-19 is that if Christ was not raised then you are still in your sins. In Paul’s thinking sin brought biological and spiritual death into the world. The key historical fact is that our first ancestors disobeyed God and the result was spiritual death, (banished from God) and biological death, we will return to the soil we were made from.  Genesis 3:19 The antidote to this terrible outcome is to obey God by having faith in Christ. Look at John 6:28-29 “What exactly does God want us to do?”,  the people asked. 29 Jesus answered, “God wants you to have faith in the one he sent”. The result of believing in Jesus is a better life now and resurrection from our dead bodies. To get the full story come to church this Easter.