T Mobile (or whatever carrier you like) sent out an important text message to all cell phones, with a once in a lifetime offer for those who switch over and use their service.  Many phones either weren’t tuned in or just didn’t care about the message and deleted it right away.  Others received the message and got really excited at first, but when they realized, they would have to change how they were used to doing things they just went back to their old carrier.  Other cell phones loved the offer and started using it, but their old carrier kept on promising even better deals.  Not sure what to do, and afraid they might miss out on a better deal, they finally went back to their old carrier (who never really fulfilled all their big promises).  Some of the cell phones who got the text welcomed it and really made the change.  They have not regretted it but have great reception and service for life.  
The great carrier is God, the text message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Some just never get the message or tune it right out.  Others get excited for a time, but when they realize they will need to make some changes in their lives default back to their original life.  Others receive the gospel and for a time do great, but FOMO (fear of missing out) causes them to question this new life and is it really worth the commitment, so they go back to their old ways.  Some receive the message and grow in their relationship with this carrier and find what they have now is so much better than anything that old carrier could have ever given them.
If God’s not the one carrying you, make the switch.  He’s already paid all the fees.
 
Don
 

           “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.”  Luke 19:41
           How do we respond to those caught up in sin?  The answer to that today seems to be with glee in pointing out their sin, in pride that we are so much better than they are, and a spirit of self-righteous judgement.  Much of the Church today is more interested in calling out sinners and not calling to sinners of the love and mercy found in Jesus.  When Jesus entered Jerusalem the week before he was crucified he didn’t look down on the city and proclaim, “I hope you burn.”  He wasn’t planning his revenge or saying “You’ll get yours soon enough.”  He wept over the city.  He hurt for them because here he was their Messiah bringing peace to them and they wouldn’t receive it.  He wasn’t being prideful in his remarks, he was broken for them. 
         In Matthew 9:35, 36 we read, “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”   Can we say we look at the world with compassion?  Do we hurt for those who are lost, even the ones who don’t realize it.  What I see too often of the church in our culture are people more interested in being right, than in being righteous, people clinging to power instead of clinging to the cross.  Our response to sin should be a broken heart, both for our sin and the need for repentance and the sin of the world, because they are broken and need the mercy of God.
               How will you choose to respond?
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                            Don
 

​   Paul told the church at Corinth, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” I Corinthians 11:1, but what does that mean? Are we to walk around in a robe and sandals? Do we need to learn to speak Aramaic and eat a kosher diet? A.J. Jacobs is a philosopher, author and prankster who often gathers his material by actually living out an idea.  Once he spent time being completely honest and saying what was on his mind because a psychologist had written about the importance of being completely honest. So, if his wife asked him how an outfit made her look, he had to give an honest answer. 
 
   One of the biggest challenges he did was to try to live according to the Old Testament law for a year. He may have taken it a little far in wearing robes and sandals, but that’s part of his style. The law says that adultery is to be punished by stoning. So, he decided to carry around a stone in his pocket and if he met someone who had committed adultery, he would pull out the stone and throw it at them.  Well, at one point he is telling this to a guy who says, “Well, I’ve committed adultery, are you going to stone me?”  And A.J. pulled out his stone and threw it at the man, who then became rather upset with him.
 
   Are we to take Paul’s word to that level, what does it mean to “Be like Christ”?  I think we can safely hang up our robes, but since it is summer you might want to wear your sandals.  And Jesus came to save us from trying to follow each and every law or interpretation of the law, so you don’t need to carry around stones.  In fact, on that account, even Jesus when he had the chance to throw a stone didn’t, and encouraged others also to not throw stones, but find forgiveness.  In case you don’t remember that one read John 8.  To be like Jesus means more than following his dress and customs, it means to think and act as he would have.  His attitudes need to be our attitudes.  The way to learn this is to immerse ourselves in the gospels, not just Jesus’ teaching but how he lived.  We may find that many of the ideas and attitudes we were raised with are not reflected in how Jesus lived.  We tend to be judgmental of those who aren’t like us, but Jesus was open and receptive to these people.  We seem to think the best way to influence our society for good is to pass laws making them obey, while Jesus first sought to win their heart.

   To live like Jesus is radical, and uncomfortable.  Truly living like Jesus will mean that you will often find yourself at odds with the people around you, out of step with popular media and ideas.  But isn’t that what we are called to do?  Paul said that we are not to let the world press us into its mold, in other words, the attitudes and ideas that are expressed around us.  We are to have our minds transformed by what God would have us know and think.  Many of you are thinking that I’m referring to the liberal media and folks on Wall Street.  Read the gospels again.  Who is Jesus most at odds with?  When the church puts power and politics a head of mercy and real faith, we are out of step with the one who really matters. 
 
   Go back to the verse we started with and read the verses leading up to Paul’s statement.  From I Corinthians 10:23 on he is talking about how we should live our freedom in Christ, and it isn’t to please ourselves or to fit into what those around us want.  We are to live in such a way to be Christ to those around us.  Sometimes that will mean putting aside our attitudes and doing what is best for the other person.  Sometimes the best we can do for the other person is to show them the example of Christ.  In all things we are to show love and forgiveness, because that is how Christ lived.

​                          Don

   Our adult Sunday School class is having a great study on the person of the Holy Spirit.  Doris Rodriguez is leading a study written by Charles Stanley on the topic, but really everyone is joining in and sharing.  I would encourage you do get up on Sunday mornings and be at the church around 9:45, it is well worth it.
   One of the ideas that comes up over and over is how we see the Holy Spirit and how he fits into our life as a Christian.  Many of us grew up at a time when we really didn’t talk about him (often he was just an it).  We kind of ran away from him, which is hard to do since he is the part of God that lives within us as Christians.  We saw him as more of an intruder instead of an indweller.  But the Holy Spirit is a central part of God’s promise to us.  In baptism we receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).  He is a guarantee to us of our future inheritance, a deposit or down payment from God to us (Ephesians 1:13,14).  He is our comforter, our guide, our source of strength and ability.  He is our intimate connection to God (Romans 8:26,27).  So to diminish his place in our lives is to diminish God’s role in our lives and to rob us of all the blessings that God wants us to have.
   When I realize that God is present with me each and every moment, not only is that a comfort it is also a challenge.  It’s harder to willfully sin when you feel that presence right there with you.  When you were growing up did you cuss in front of mom and dad, or did you find yourself much more aware of how you were acting and talking?  That presence should be felt at all times, both as an encouragement and as a reminder.  We need to see the Spirit as a part of our life in Christ.  We need to be aware that wherever we are he is in our presence.  We simply need to SEE the Holy Spirit, because he is right here, right now.
   I hope to SEE you in Sunday School this coming Sunday.
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               Don
 

The older I get the more nostalgic I become. It's easy to think about the "good ol' days" with a wistful smile.  Much of the world today still looks like it did fifty years ago, and then again so much looks so so different. I see a lot of this looking back, longing for the good ol' days, on the faces of so many today. But would we really go back if we could, and would things really be as great as they are in our memory? When I watch reruns of the shows that were must see back then I find them silly (and not always in a good way) and wonder why I thought they were so great.  
 
Some things though still hold true. The feel of a warm Spring Day still feels as great to me now as it did back then. A good hamburger still makes my mouth water. I still believe that character matters more in a person than how much money or power they have. And my need for Jesus and what he did for me on the cross is even more precious. The cross of Christ and its importance has not dimmed in all the centuries since then. If we want to go back, we need to go back to the cross, hopefully we never left it. If you want to make America great, or our own lives or our family for that matter, we need to go back to the cross.
 
Easter is still relevant; it is still the most significant fact in history. There are not many things you can say that about that are centuries old. Not only has the message of the cross not lost its meaning if anything it is more needed today. What the 21st century tells me is that our wants may look a little different, but our needs have never changed. So this Easter take a step back and look at the cross all over again.  It may be the old old story, but it has never been truer and more needed than it is today.
 
Don
 

​   I often look for humor in life and usually find it in the strangest places and not always where others may find it.  Lately, we’ve all been getting a lot of political ads and flyers (glad the primaries are almost over) and one message on many of them is a statement to the effect “I will fight for conservative values.”  Or “I will stand up for traditional values”.  Now most of you right now are saying, “And what’s funny about that?”  To me that statement is like a Dallas Cowboys’ fan saying “I’m gonna yell as loud as I can for the Cowboys and I don’t care who hears me.” while standing on the 50 yard line in Cowboy stadium surrounded by 100,000 fans.  It’s easy to make those claims when in the company of like-minded folks, it’s another thing to do that when it really matters.
   Well now that I’ve offended politicians and Cowboy fans alike let me get to the real point of all this.  As Christians we are often making the same mistake.  We praise God on Sunday and declare our love for him and then the rest of the week we are as quiet as little church mice.  I remember growing up and going to church camp in the summers.  It was so easy for that week to walk the walk and talk the talk.  Actually, to do otherwise would have been a lot harder, to curse God or act like you didn’t care about him or church.  But once the week was over and everyone went home for most of us it was back to the Sunday Christian act and the rest of the week we were just our normal selves.  Church is not where we live out our Christian values and then pack them away the rest of the week.  Church is where we go to encourage one another so that we can then get back out and live our testimony.  If we only speak up for Jesus when everyone else around us is doing so, what’s the big deal? 
   Everyday evangelism isn’t going door-to-door and hitting people over the head with your Bible.  It shouldn’t be something forced.  It is being ready and willing to share why you believe in Jesus when the opportunity comes up.  It is your testimony about what Jesus has done in your life.  These opportunities come because our life is different from the ones around us.  During stressful times, hard times, times of loss and uncertainty we are living differently than those without Jesus and it shows.  If the only time we live our faith is when surrounded by others who feel the same it really doesn’t mean much.  It’s like turning on a light in board daylight, it doesn’t make a difference.  But turn on that same light in the middle of the night and it shines out bright and strong, and others will notice.  So don’t be that guy who tells you how strong he is from the comfort of an easy chair, be the one in the middle of doubters willing to say “I believe”.
 
   Don
 

   The hymn, “Whiter than Snow” begins with the line “Lord Jesus I long to be perfectly whole”.  That is true for many of us, a desire to have it all together, to have perfect lives, to be whiter than snow.  We generally connect being whole with being sinless, with being perfect by overcoming all our shortcomings and sins.  But let’s consider something else.  I was listening to a podcast this week and the speaker talked about wholeness not from the point of denying and getting rid of all our shortcomings, but in coming to terms with the whole of who we are.  Yes, I make mistakes, yes, I come up short all too often.  But those things are also a part of my story, those sins and shortcomings have helped to shape me.  If I deny those parts of me, I’m not stronger or smarter.  If I own my mistakes and even learn from them that’s when I grow.  The person who insists they have no sin, never makes a mistake, never let’s God, others or even themselves down first of all is a liar according to 1 John 1:8.  Even more to the point they are a fool, a fool being someone who thinks one thing is true when in reality the truth is far from them.
   Being able to own my past, my shortcomings, my sin doesn’t make me less than others, it puts me in a position to grow and learn.  Think of someone you think is not only a truly great person, but a good person.  Are they boastful, arrogant, or are they open to accepting criticism?  Can they accept that there are areas they still need to grow in?  Do they accept the wholeness of their life?  John goes on to say that those who do admit their sin then find forgiveness from God.  When I deny a part of my life how can I be whole before God?  It is in admitting and claiming my imperfections that God can work in me. 
   It may also be true that what I see as a shortcoming God sees as a strength and blessing.  The Apostle Paul thought his thorn in the flesh was a hinderance in his life and for the gospel.  He prayed fervently for God to remove it.  God’s answer was that what Paul saw as a hinderance was an important lesson for Paul.  We could add that countless people have found strength in reading about Paul’s struggle and God’s answer to trust in him more.  And so, we like Paul can say that it is in our weakness that God is strong.  The person who denies or hides his or her shortcomings not only is lying to God and themselves, but they are also missing out on being a testimony to others.
   So, if we are to be perfectly whole we can’t leave parts of ourselves just laying around.  We need to bring the whole of who we are to God and let him make of us what he would, messes, mistakes, shortcomings and all.
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                                               Don
 

​       “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”  Micah 5:2
       Mary is pregnant, not just a little pregnant but it-could-happen-at-any-moment pregnant.  She and Joseph are living in Nazareth, but scripture says the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem some 70 miles away.  For us that doesn’t sound like a difficult trip, even if we had to walk it.  But remember the roads were not paved and not altogether safe.  They had to travel through Samaria which meant they may or may not find housing for the evening since Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along.  And yes, Mary is great with child.  Would Joseph just on a whim pack his pregnant wife up and hike 70 miles to Bethlehem just for a holiday?  Probably not. 
         But as the old saying (not scripture) says “God moves in mysterious ways.”  Caesar Augustus had called a census, and the workers don’t come to you, you must go to your hometown.  So Joseph heads to his hometown.  If you have looked at Jesus’ genealogy you know that he was a descendent of David, and so was Mary.  So off to David’s hometown they go, Bethlehem.  I’m sure Caesar wasn’t thinking about helping God fulfill prophesy, but he wasn’t the one in charge.  God has a plan and purpose for us, and while we may not recognize how the events of our lives are in his control, God is.  In the birth of Jesus, we see God moving to carry out his will, that is just one of the lessons that the Christmas has to teach us.  

     Don
 

   Well November is here which means Turkey Day isn’t far off.  That was my way of referring to Thanksgiving when I was much younger and to be honest that was a big part of the meaning of Thanksgiving.  I loved the excitement and getting together with family, but I really loved the food.  I knew we were to be thankful for everything, but turkey stood out most in my mind.  I guess my reasons for giving thanks were limited to the events of the day.  As I’ve gotten older my reasons for being thankful have grown along with my waistline.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m still grateful for turkey but family and friends are even more exciting.  The blessings I count go beyond one day and there are many reasons to give thanks.
   One of my favorite images from scripture is found in the first few verses of Philippians:  “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 1:3-6
   I love the image of the Apostle Paul, sitting in house arrest with guards stationed around him and yet there is a smile on his face as he begins to write a letter to the church in Philippi.  The memories of his time and ministry with them was sweet and for a moment his current situation was of no great concern to him.  He had a reason to be thankful and a reason for joy and even a reason to hope.  It wasn’t just the memory of his time in Philippi which was a mixed bag of wonderful memories and some pretty harsh ones (being beaten and thrown in jail).  His reason for thanks was their partnership in the gospel, these folks were held in his heart.  You might say that Paul was counting his blessings.
   Too often we give a wink and a nod to Thanksgiving.  We know we should be thankful and we are but don’t ask us for much in the way of details.  We are blessed and have so much, but maybe not as much as we would like, and not anywhere near as much as our neighbor down the street.  We hurry through the thanks part so we can get into the turkey and on to the football game.  So I’m suggesting we give a “reasoned thanks” this year.  Slow down for a few minutes, think for a few minutes and come up with some reasons for your thankfulness.  After that you can devour the turkey and fixin’s, then on to the game and the food induced coma we call a nap.
By the way, I’m thankful for ya’ll and our partnership in Carthage.  Happy Thanksgiving!
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   Don
 

            No matter your political views, your view of the pandemic or climate change, one thing is for sure Bob Dylan was right, “The times they are a changing.”  Dylan wrote that song in 1963, and those were times when it seemed life as it had been being turned upside down.  And today we find a lot of truth and anxiety in the repeat of history.  But there has always been times of great upheaval and life taking off in different directions.  Our parents and grandparents felt that a hundred years ago.  Our society went from being mainly rural to a great flight of folks moving to cities.  War seemed around every corner with the feeling that life as we knew it could soon be over.  Yet out of those times came the greatest growth our country has seen. 
   The disciples themselves faced uncertainty and change.  One of the greatest challenges they faced was seeing Jesus, their Lord, crucified.  They believed that he would be here, if not forever, at least for a long time.  They believed he would lead a great revolt against Rome and restore the greatness of Israel.  Yet here he was hanging on a cross, dying.  The evening before, in the upper room, Jesus had shared with them all of this and his plan for getting them through.  They would receive another helper, the Holy Spirit, and he would be with them and guide them through all of this.  At the time they didn’t understand and the next day I’m sure his words never crossed their minds.  But over the next few weeks, as he appeared to them and reminded them, the message began to sink in.  On the day of Pentecost they stood before the very people who had yelled “Crucify him” and proclaimed the gospel message.   They then went on to preach their message across the known world.
   Things may feel out of control these days, but don’t fear, God is still in control.  His Spirit is still active today, leading us and strengthening us even in days of uncertainty.
Don