Thursday, December 30, 2010
Something to think about.
“Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” (Eccl. 11:4) In other words, if you wait for perfect conditions you’ll never get anything done.
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday 2nd Jan
“Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples—the one who would betray him—said, "That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer."(Jn. 12:3-5)
Matthew’s account of this story adds that Jesus said, “wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be talked about in her memory." What was so remarkable about Mary’s action that Jesus said she had done a beautiful thing and that it would be told in years to come? I want to notice several things from this story. First, because this was a spontaneous action of love, it was a beautiful thing. Whatever we do out of love for Jesus, no matter how simple or small, it’s a beautiful thing. We are always concerned with the “bigness” of our action but Jesus is concerned only with the heart; with “why” we did it. A simple glass of water given out of love for Jesus to a thirsty traveler is remembered by Jesus. (Matt. 25) Second, she did what she could; what was in her power to do. And third, she did it when the impulse moved her. Because she did it then instead of waiting she was the only one who actually anointed Jesus for His burial. The woman came on Sunday morning to anoint Jesus but He was gone!
Love seizes the moment. Love does what it can and does it “now”. Don’t wait for tomorrow to say “I love you” or, “Please forgive me”. Don’t wait for tomorrow to mend the broken relationship. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring or if there will even be a tomorrow for us. So do it and do it now.
Pastor Don.
“Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples—the one who would betray him—said, "That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer."(Jn. 12:3-5)
Matthew’s account of this story adds that Jesus said, “wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be talked about in her memory." What was so remarkable about Mary’s action that Jesus said she had done a beautiful thing and that it would be told in years to come? I want to notice several things from this story. First, because this was a spontaneous action of love, it was a beautiful thing. Whatever we do out of love for Jesus, no matter how simple or small, it’s a beautiful thing. We are always concerned with the “bigness” of our action but Jesus is concerned only with the heart; with “why” we did it. A simple glass of water given out of love for Jesus to a thirsty traveler is remembered by Jesus. (Matt. 25) Second, she did what she could; what was in her power to do. And third, she did it when the impulse moved her. Because she did it then instead of waiting she was the only one who actually anointed Jesus for His burial. The woman came on Sunday morning to anoint Jesus but He was gone!
Love seizes the moment. Love does what it can and does it “now”. Don’t wait for tomorrow to say “I love you” or, “Please forgive me”. Don’t wait for tomorrow to mend the broken relationship. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring or if there will even be a tomorrow for us. So do it and do it now.
Pastor Don.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday 26th
Every year we celebrate Christmas – the birth of Jesus. And every year we try hard to keep fresh in our hearts the shear wonder of this event! God in human skin! Immanuel, God with us! What an amazing truth! But, what is the significance of this baby born in Bethlehem? What is the message that God wants us to understand from the fact that He became flesh and lived among us? The Bible tells us that God’s creation declares irrefutably that God exists. Paul tells us that there is no excuse for dismissing the truth of God’s existence. So, what does Jesus, born of a woman in a little town called Bethlehem, say about God that the creation cannot tell us? Through creation we believe that there IS a God, through Jesus we believe IN God. Believing that there is a God and believing IN God are two different things. The baby Jesus tells me something about the kind of person God is, and, the baby Jesus tells me that God who created me and who knows me intimately wants me to know Him! He wants me to share every moment of my life with Him. He wants me to know what my purpose in life is. He teaches me these things by living life with me. A man who was losing his battle with leukemia put it this way, "I have learned that life is not like a VCR, you can't fast forward the bad parts. But I have also learned that Jesus Christ is in every frame, and right now that's enough."
How do I know that Jesus is in every frame? I know because of the baby Jesus.
Pastor Don.
Every year we celebrate Christmas – the birth of Jesus. And every year we try hard to keep fresh in our hearts the shear wonder of this event! God in human skin! Immanuel, God with us! What an amazing truth! But, what is the significance of this baby born in Bethlehem? What is the message that God wants us to understand from the fact that He became flesh and lived among us? The Bible tells us that God’s creation declares irrefutably that God exists. Paul tells us that there is no excuse for dismissing the truth of God’s existence. So, what does Jesus, born of a woman in a little town called Bethlehem, say about God that the creation cannot tell us? Through creation we believe that there IS a God, through Jesus we believe IN God. Believing that there is a God and believing IN God are two different things. The baby Jesus tells me something about the kind of person God is, and, the baby Jesus tells me that God who created me and who knows me intimately wants me to know Him! He wants me to share every moment of my life with Him. He wants me to know what my purpose in life is. He teaches me these things by living life with me. A man who was losing his battle with leukemia put it this way, "I have learned that life is not like a VCR, you can't fast forward the bad parts. But I have also learned that Jesus Christ is in every frame, and right now that's enough."
How do I know that Jesus is in every frame? I know because of the baby Jesus.
Pastor Don.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Something to think about.
"That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it was performed." - Brother Lawrence
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Dec. 12th
Everyone has Dark Days.
The longest nights of the whole year occur during the Christmas season. It's interesting that when we are in the darkest part of the year, Christmas reminds us of the true light that pierced our darkness. Jesus said, “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander around in darkness." (John 12:46 TLB) Jesus is not talking about physical darkness in this verse. He is talking about personal darkness. There are days when we're afraid to face the world. There are days when you don't feel like it's worth the effort. You don't want to see anybody. All you want to do is just quit life and throw in the towel. All of us experience days like these. We have days that are dark with disappointment, dark with doubt or depression. Christmas reminds me that God became flesh and lived among us to show us that He loves us. Christmas gives me hope in the face of my disappointments. Jesus gives me hope because he is Immanuel--which means, "God with us." – He is with me; he hasn’t left me to face life on my own. HOPE is the message of Christmas, hope leads me to believe that the light will dispel the darkness; that the light will remove my doubt by replacing it with a quite confidence in the love of God; the light will lift my depression because all is not lost Jesus is my savior! If you’re in a dark place right now I pray that Christmas – the message of hope – will bring the light back into your life.
Pastor Don.
Everyone has Dark Days.
The longest nights of the whole year occur during the Christmas season. It's interesting that when we are in the darkest part of the year, Christmas reminds us of the true light that pierced our darkness. Jesus said, “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander around in darkness." (John 12:46 TLB) Jesus is not talking about physical darkness in this verse. He is talking about personal darkness. There are days when we're afraid to face the world. There are days when you don't feel like it's worth the effort. You don't want to see anybody. All you want to do is just quit life and throw in the towel. All of us experience days like these. We have days that are dark with disappointment, dark with doubt or depression. Christmas reminds me that God became flesh and lived among us to show us that He loves us. Christmas gives me hope in the face of my disappointments. Jesus gives me hope because he is Immanuel--which means, "God with us." – He is with me; he hasn’t left me to face life on my own. HOPE is the message of Christmas, hope leads me to believe that the light will dispel the darkness; that the light will remove my doubt by replacing it with a quite confidence in the love of God; the light will lift my depression because all is not lost Jesus is my savior! If you’re in a dark place right now I pray that Christmas – the message of hope – will bring the light back into your life.
Pastor Don.
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