Fear Producing Discipleship

Luke 12:32-40

There is something in all of us that we are afraid of. Some are afraid of heights, some are afraid of water, some are afraid of a difficult health diagnosis, but we are all afraid of something. Before the year 2000 I was afraid of flying. Even when I had the opportunity to tour airplanes I was happy to get off of them because of the lack of space and the fear of flying, even when they were just on the ground. Something in me changed by the year 2000. I think it was because I came to understand the text of Luke 12:32-40.

In this text Jesus urges his followers to put their hearts and their treasure into heavenly deposits because nothing could happen to them there. No one could steal them and nothing would destroy them. Sometimes we have just too much in the way of security of our earthly possessions. We do this to help us feel safe, even though there are ways around these systems. Jesus warns us to be ready and prepared, for no one knows when Jesus is coming back. When we find security in our earthly things we neglect to place into security that which matters most. We forget to put our faith into the hands of the One who keeps us safe from the sting of death--Jesus. We ourselves fail at trying to save ourselves, but Christ does not fail and when our faith and trust is in him and we run with perseverance the race that is life then we are secure in our eternal destiny. Put your faith and trust in him who does not steal or destroy, Christ the Lord. Amen.

And We're Back

Well, it has been almost a month since I last posted here. In that time quite a bit has happened; not the least of which was that I moved to Stephenson, Michigan to begin ministry in two Covenant churches here. The move went very well and when we arrived at the parsonage on the 31st of July the house was clean, there was food in the new refrigerator, and in bags along the kitchen cabinets. They did a lot of work on the house, especially in the kitchen. They replaced the stove, the refrigerator, the counter tops, the floor, and gave the whole kitchen a new paint job. What a welcome! Then in the evening a bunch of families from one of the churches came and prepared supper and helped unload the truck. One guy, who works for a rigging company borrowed a fork lift and were able to take the upstairs stuff on that to a porch and inside. No navigating tight staircases, priceless! Then came the job of finding a place for everything, which still is not completely done, and organizing everyday stuff, an organizing my books. Next came the task of getting down to work and that began the following week. In the time since I have had a board meeting, met with several families from both churches, preached 3 times, worked on thing for fall, attended a local minister's text study group, wrote my "Statement of Faith" paper to obtain a "License for Pastoral Office" from the denomination, and had another birthday. It certainly has been a busy month!

We are definitely giving thanks and praise to God for some much needed rain that we received last night and this morning, but we do need more rain. The crops looked so promising at the beginning of July, so hopefully this will jumpstart the crops to grow and push to the end.