Daily Encourager – June 21, 2020

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1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.

3 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you rule the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

6 The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him. – Psalm 67

Happy Father’s Day to everyone! Many of you know the joy of being a parent, to know that you have been a part of creating someone that loves you in return, that perhaps knows you mistakes, and shortcoming, but loves you the same.  There is some real truth in knowing the loving relationship between a parent and child. Seeing it as a reflection of the type of relationship that Jesus has between him and our heavenly Father. 

It took me a long time to realize it, but Jesus teachings on how God is the heavenly Father, how Jesus desires that his followers would have a relationship with the Heavenly as he does, and Jesus expressions of how it is we can talk to our Heavenly Father are astonishing.

In every regard, God is the Almighty, God is ethereal, and human kind is so under God that we should not dare to look towards the face of God.  Even in the old testament of our Bible, those who have an encounter with God cover their faces, are afraid, feel that they are unworthy of being acknowledged by the divine.  Yet, Jesus teaches us to have the type of relationship with God, that we would have with an earthly father.

We can turn to God with all our emotions, when happy, sad, irritated, angry, and God wants to hear how our (us little individual humans) day has gone.  God wants us to come to him in the morning, with a hug, and hope for a spectacular day.  God wants to laugh with us, cry with us, and be with us through the hardships of life, as well as rejoice with us through the good stuff.

God, makes “his face shine upon us,” and that is a huge deal!

Today, for those who still have a father around, or have a child in which we are a father (or a mother) think about the love you have for your child, and that love that extended back towards your father.  We might remember hard times, or mistakes made either way, but it doesn’t  - at least I hope is doesn’t - neglect the love that is there.  The love that is a reflection of our relationship with the divine.  Our Heavenly Father, who loves us, blesses us, and want to have a relationship with us through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord.

May the face of God truly shine on us and bless us this Father’s Day! Happy Father’s Day!

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 20, 2020

He saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. - Titus 3:5

Renewal is something that comes around quite often, but not typically how we would like.  Most often when we think of renal that occurs regularly it’s something like our insurance premiums, or driver’s license, or car tag renewal that often mean money out of our pocket whether we like it or not. 

However, there is a greater renewal that happens all the time.  As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we are renewing the covenant between us and God.  When the Holy Spirit calls us to love where we once had not loved, we are renewed.  When we realize that something greater is happening in our lives than we could make for ourselves then our spiritual strength is being renewed, by God’s great mercy and grace. 

I am always perplexed and amazed by the might power of God’s work, in my life and the lives of others.  Because I truly know when something great is happening, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit work to build us up in community as the body of Christ.

We have been waiting for a renewal of sorts for many weeks.  Waiting to hear that it is safe to return to life as normal. Yet, the continued information says it’s not yet safe.  We want to see our friends, we want to come to church, we want to do so many things, but we do not yet know if we can.  We have now entered the first day of a new season – welcome to summer – but we are still awaiting our salvation.  However, the God of salvation has kept us safe thus far, and according to his mercy, as Paul writes to Titus, he will see us through washing and renewing us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We, at church, are working on plans, and seeking the conference permission to hold in-person worship soon.  However, it may not feel the same, there will be some changes, and restrictions, but these first steps will hopefully allow us to experience some of the joy of gathering.  Please know that in the process, what we are offering online will continue.  We know some of congregation will choose to remain at home, and we understand. We love and miss all of you, and the most important thing we can do in our faith is to keep each other safe.

May God’s mercy renew us today, with a hope that soon, someday soon, we may be washed and renewed again for the purpose of living for His Kingdom.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 19, 2020

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy. – Psalm 92:1-4

I strive to be professional in my work, and in the way that I relate to others. I treat others with respect, and work to be relational in all that I do.  It amazes me when new people ask where I’m from, because I wonder if I am able to hide the fact that at heart I’m a country boy.

I was born and raised, here in East Tennessee, and by country boy, what I mean is this. I have grown and picked a garden with family, I’ve broke beans on grandma’s porch, I’ve stacked hay in a barn on a hot summer day, I’ve walked barefoot in the creek, drove a 4x4 off road in the mud, you probably get the picture. 

Part of that southern, country heritage is also found in the church, and most of it has to do with singing.  I can remember going to church events on summer evenings when all we did was sing.  I grew up singing in the church, and to this day, I love to sing in the church.  Many of us feel the same way. The music of our faith connects us to God and to that great cloud of witness in which we want to be a part.  Some of the songs we have sung our whole lives have great meaning for us, and when we sing them we fell like little children, wrapped up in our heavenly Father’s arms.

Singing is a huge part of our worship.  However, as we look to being able to come back to worship in person again, singing is one of the things that we are NOT going to be able to do.  It hurts my soul a little to think of not hearing the congregation sing together.  However, this country boy has learned a couple things over the years.

1. There are plenty of people in the church who don’t like to sing, or don’t think they can sing.

2. There are others ways to engage in worship without singing.

The great part about those two things, is that as we come back together for in-person worship, we can still engage and participate, even though it might be different than we are accustomed.  We have a wealth of liturgy, psalms, calls and responses, and even opportunities to learn new ways of responding in worship with our voices.  So for those in the first category above, you might feel even more a part of worship than before, and for those like me, who love to sing, we can learn these ancient ways, that may be new to us.

Regardless of how we may feel, the truth is even if we can’t sing out loud, or in the congregation, our hearts will continue to sing because the steadfast love of God meets us day and night, has each day we have been apart, and will continue to do so, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 18, 2020

Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you? – Psalm 85:6

Sometimes the days seems long. It seems as though we haven’t gone anywhere, or done much of anything.  Those days, I wonder if we might ever know what it’s like to be back in a society where there is no fear, where we feel free to engage in social activity.  I long for days of social gatherings at church, and among friends.  It is days like that I feel very disconnected from ministry and sometimes life in general.

I still know that my family is there, and I am glad to have them with me safe and sound, especially after a health scare with our middle child a little over a week ago.  However, I begin to feel the need to cry out, when, Lord, when will this be over and we can get back to life? Then I turn on the news (I know, big mistake), and just yesterday I heard someone say, that about wearing masks in public that “we need to continue this behavior, and the behavior of social distancing, even more now, as we create this habit into the future.”  Upon hearing this, I have to wonder, will it really become normalized to wear a mask when out in public?

More and more each day we become fatigued with thoughts of quarantine and self-isolation. We keep hoping for better news, and a better world.  and we hear the words of the psalmist, and realize people have been waiting for such news, forever.  There are always those who seek to hear of a better world, always those who seek salvation, and the restoration of life.

God sometimes seems distant, sometimes feels distant form what is going on in our life, or in the world, but I assure you, in faith, God is the midst of it all.  God is there speaking peace where there is no peace, God is there offering healing and insight to those on the front lines of healthcare. God is there with you, even now, offering comfort and companionship with His Holy Spirit.  When those days seem long, take a deep breath, and be still, know that God is there. God’s steadfast love surrounds you, as it does me and all of us.  God is preparing us for something greater.  Verse 9 of the psalm says “surely his salvation is at hand…that his glory may dwell in our land.” 

I believer God’s steadfast love will see us through, even in this prolonged time apart, and one day we shall rejoice in His presence, together, again.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 17, 2020

God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
    maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” – Psalm 82:1-4

A little bit of Biblical history, today. Most of us don’t realize that the Bible is almost exclusively written from the perspective of the underdog.  The people of God, Israel, are always under attack from some other power, that seeks to subdue, enslave, or rule over them.  This also follows true for the New Testament, as its contents were written during a time of Rome as the world’s super-power, and we have all heard about the martyrdom of essentially every one of the apostles, those who weren’t martyred, were exiled, which might have been worse. 

The reality that we have the scriptures as all, is in the opinion of most, a miracle.  Yet, so often we don’t really think about that lowly position when we read the scriptures.  Today, we read from a psalm that is attributed to Asaph.  There are three biblical figures named Asaph, but there were also a guild of musicians during the first temple period known as Asaphites. It is not clear whether this song is sung in the particular style of the Asaphites, or if it is attributed to one of the biblical figures, one of whom was appointed by David to be set aside to sing praises to God.

What we can understand from the psalm, however, is that at the time it was written, those who were weak, orphaned, lowly, needy, destitute, etc. were in need to God’s divine help.  Those who were the outcast of the underdogs did not receive the justice that the writer believed God should give them, instead they were still in the hands of the wicked. 

These are hard words for us rationalize within a modern context. We, the church, want to help, offer what we can for others, but we don't always know that to do.  We rationalize the help we offer to others, the missions in which we participate, as good and helpful, and they are. Yet, sometimes I wonder if we could use our status in the world to truly help others? Let me offer a small parable.

A person is stuck in a hole, they are lonely, hungry, tired, and they don’t know how to get out.  Someone walks along and has some leftover food, and says the one in the hole; “would you like something to eat? And gives them their leftover. The one in the hole is grateful for the offering, the one who gave the food feels confident they have helped, and moves on.  A second person walks past the hole, hears someone crying.  They stop, sit, and talk with the person offering words of hope and compassion.  At some point this person’s phone rings and they need to move on, but they feel good that they have helped the person stuck in the hole feel connected to another human being. Finally, a day or so later, another person sees this one who has been stuck in the hole, and asks, “would you like to get out?” “Yes!” the one in the hole replies, “but I don’t know how.”  This person reaches a hand down, and does all within their power to help the stuck person out of the hole.  Together, they work to see that hole is filled, so that no one else will fall in and become stuck.

Which of the three “helpers” exemplifies Jesus teaching on love for neighbor?

Yes, I know an argument could be made for all three, however, it is the one who stays by the side, who offers a hand of deliverance, and works to bring justice by filling in the hole that truly does what Jesus has done for us. 

The injustice we see in the world around us is that person stuck in hole of which they know not how to get out.  What can we do with our positions to offer help, and bring justice, and create a world with no hole in which to fall?  May God’s Holy Spirit give us the courage and understanding to do what is right in the eyes of God, and in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 16, 2020

5 [God] established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, 7so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8 and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. – Psalm 78:5-8

Every once in a while, when reading the psalms, we come across one like today. One that gives a little bit of the history of God’s grace and mercy to the people of God’s choosing, namely Israel.  Within these psalms, what we learn is that God continues to be gracious, God continues to be merciful, God has done everything, but the people continue to lack gratitude.

In the short section of the passage above, we hear that God established for his people a law, that they should follow.  The understanding is that this law might be difficult for those who have lived against it, for those, who are adults hearing this law for the first time.  However, they are to teach this law to their children, who are to teach this law to their children, and so on, and the hope is that one day a generation will actually click with these concepts and start to live according to God’s command.

After several thousand years of this not happening, God finally sends us Jesus. Jesus comes and live in such a way that embodied the grace of God, the essence of the law, and the ways of God’s kingdom, that we are simply asked to follow that example.  That generation, the one of the apostles, were asked to be witnesses to all that had been done by Jesus, and through the power of the Holy Spirit to live as examples of what Jesus embodied.  In doing so, those who learn from the disciples would also imitate them as they imitate Christ (the apostles Paul says exactly those words in several of his letters; 1 Cor. 11:1, Eph. 5:1, 1 Thes. 1:6). The idea here, is that we have a living example of how we should live, and our task to is to follow that example.

Flash forward a few decades, and the church is already debating what Christ really means by some of his teachings, the work of the apostles is refuted, and many are executed or excommunicated.  If we continue this thread on until today’s time, what we find is a world with hundreds of denominations, none of which can agree on certain aspects of faith, yet all claim to know God’s truth.  At the same time, in society, we can’t even agree on what it is to treat another human with love and respect, and argue about which lives matter.  

The truth of the matter is that we need to learn how to be a generation that “sets our hope in God.” We cannot forget the work that God has done in our lives, and we should treat others with the love in which God has treated others.  We should offer forgiveness like that which God has offered us, and we should be accepting of others as God has accepted us. 

I know we can read those words, and quickly agree, but the real point is when we actually put words into action, and choose to live in a way that reflects what we believe. When I think about the things I see in our world today, I hear in my heart, loudly the words of the psalmist: “that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.” I believe we can be better, we can choose to do better, we can be a people who are faithful to love God in word, in deed, and especially in our relationships with others.

May God give us guidance to be his people, obedient to his law of love, now and always. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 14, 2020

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 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:48 

What does perfection look like?  We honestly, could say that depends. It depends on what we are talking about. Perfection in school might be an “A+” or a 4.0 grade, however, with advanced courses offered now in many schools, the grading scale pushed beyond the 4.0. If we were talking about Olympic sports, we would consider “10” the perfect score. And there are many other rankings we might put on various things; the perfect cookie, the perfect meal, the perfect afternoon, etc.

Yet, as we come to the close of chapter 5, the opening chapter of the sermon on the mount, we hear Jesus use this word “perfect,” and says we must be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.  We have to be perfectly like God.  But how is that possible?

In the Jewish culture, and especially among the pharisees, they would have known exactly what Jesus was referring to.  In the books of the Law, and especially in what we know as the book of Leviticus, we see something similar to the phrase used over and over again.  Except, the translation we see says that we are to “be hoy, as God is holy.”  In the context of what Jesus is teaching, perfection is all about holiness.  The holiness that restores in us the image of our creator.  As you will hear in the sermon, Jesus takes a bunch of laws that are part of the society in which the Jews are living, and takes them a little further, pushes them to realize that actions, and intent; faith and deed both matter in the way we interact with one another, and with God. The point ending with the above verse, reminding the people that God’s intent was that we would know and live the perfect love of God in the grace we have received, and the grace that we offer.

Our holiness, our perfection, is not perfect in the sense of getting everything right, or in any worldly idea of perfection. Our true perfection is in recognizing the face of God in one another, and drawing closer to God, close to our neighbor, and uniting in the love of Christ for all creation, in doing so, we begin to understand what it truly is to holy, and to see holiness in all that God has made.

May you have a wonderfully blessed Sunday!

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 13, 2020

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! – Psalm 27:13-14

When we think of everything that has happened in our world this year, we begin to wonder if the psalmist is correct in saying verse 13, above.  I know I have read the psalm before in the midst of trial and strife, and questioned, “will we really see the goodness of the lord in the land of living?”  Again, now, we might wonder is it possible given our world’s seemingly endless list of problems.

However, the key to understanding how we get to see the goodness of God, is found much earlier in the psalm.  This Psalm attribute to king David is a call for confidence; a confidence that is only found in God. The psalmist first remarks that it is the Lord who is light and salvation. When we are going through dark times, it is sometimes difficult to see the light, but we know, deep down that Jesus is the light of the world.

The same Jesus that brought us out of the pit, who gave us life eternal, the same Jesus who shed his own blood that the world, through him, might be saved. He is our light, he is our salvation, and he is one with God the Father, and has given us the Holy Spirit to ignite a light within us that can shine in those dark times, that can bring joy to our own being, as well as be a help to others.

We know that the majority of folks agree that the darkness we see in the world is wrong, and they want it to get better. They themselves choose to do better, speak better, and treat others as they wish to be treated.  What we miss sometimes, is the reality that when someone else is going through such darkness, we have to shine our light even brighter that they might find a way out. When we see evil and injustice in the world, we have to stand and shine our light by speaking up. When we join the voices that speak against evil, God gives us the confidence of which the psalmists speaks, God teaches us and gives us a voice that joins with others, and shines a light brighter and brighter until the darkness disappears.

We may be far from seeing our worlds darkness disappear, but I believe, if we wait for the Lord, if we speak with the Lord asks us, and use the language of light and love, we will truly one day see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Until then, keep shining, my friends.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 12, 2020

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace… ~ Ephesians 4:1-3

In class one day a young boy looked up from his work, and whispered to one of his classmates; “psst, what’s the difference between ignorance and apathy?”  The classmate responded, “I don’t know, I don’t care.”  Confused, the young lad went back to what he was doing.

Sometimes, the answers are right in front of us. They are given so directly and distinctly, yet they fly right over our head. Even when the answers are right in front of us, we still can’t quite understand how to get it right, and by “it”, I mean life.  When do we start to get right in life?

Paul, in his many epistles, teaches a great deal of theology, and the theology that Paul teaches is based on his understanding of God, and his relationship with Christ, who he fully believes and was witness that Christ died and was raised again to bring all people into relationship together. 

This is a big deal for someone like Paul, who would have believed that his people (the Jewish people) are the only people that mattered to God.  But something changed in Paul, something happened. No longer was he apathetic towards the Gentiles, or the nations of other peoples’ different from him.  Part of his change comes the revelation of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Paul was never an ignorant person, in fact, he was very well educated.  More so than many of the disciples who followed Jesus.  Paul was ignorant, however, of the resurrection, as in, until Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he did not believe it to be true.

I don’t know how each of you came to faith, but sometimes it isn’t through the “bright-light” experience.  Sometimes ignorance is cured through meticulous study.  Apathy, on the other hand, is only cured by one thing; love. We need a love that causes us to care for one another, and with such care we can begin to love beyond ourselves and our close acquaintances. In many instances in our world, we might say  “I don’t know what’s right, so I don’t care what you think;” however the better response might be “I don’t know what’s right, could you help me understand.”

I believe the Christ-centered life happens when we begin to care so deeply for one another, that it is for the glory of God that we work together, that we reconcile, that we listen to one another, that we love and serve one another.  Paul says, “bear one another in love.” And this is the start to keeping the unity, to getting past the “I don’t cares,” and learning to overcome the “I don’t knows.” Then we might start getting life right, together.

As we begin to explore how we might re-open church for in-person worship services, we are have to learn through many of the “I don’t knows." But please know we care deeply for everyone who might want to attend, and want to make worship at St. Mark a safe place for all to come and experience the overwhelming love of God.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 11, 2020

Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. – Psalm 73:1

I truly hope you will take time to read Psalm 73 in its entirety, today.  The psalm is one that gets to the heart of one who truly desires God above the ways of the world, in my opinion.

The world is constantly finding new ways to distract us from what matters most. In these past months where the world was shut down, turned upside down, we found a ton of new distractions.  We might have found that we spent more time on social media, more time watching tv, more time eating snacks, more snacks that we like to eat.  Yes, I meant to say that both ways. 

Truth is, we found that we had more time on our hands and no place to go, I remember one day seeing something come across my screen that said: “after quarantine will you emerge a monk, a hunk, a drunk, or a chunk, the choice is yours.”

I chuckled when I saw it, but there was some serious truth behind the choice. What we choose to do, to focus on, and how we live each day, matters.

This time could have been spent doing exercise, and getting into a more healthy lifestyle. I’ll be honest, we tried this, and for a little bit of time, I was down a few pounds. Between daily walks around the neighborhood, working in the yard, I felt pretty good. But I’m still far from any “goal weight.”  Yet, there are others who may have done better treating their body as a temple (hunk).

I have heard from some friends, who have let stress get to them, and have moved in a negative direction, increasing their alcohol intake, finding new drinks to mix, or discovering that the wine opener works just as well in morning as it does in the evening. After all, even Jesus turned water into wine, when the wine ran out (drunk). And of course there are those who have lost all self-control (chunk), and have found themselves constantly in the pantry, my children among them.

This time apart could have drawn us closer to God, spending more time reading and studying, it could have been a time to do deep research, or spend in prayer drawing closer to God (monk). 

Sometimes, however it is easy for us to get distracted by the other things of this world, and even begin to wish or idolize those who seemingly have it better than we do.  The psalmist says “21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.”

Yet, then the psalmist is reminded that even at our worst, God still holds us fast.  So no matter how you have spent this time apart, or continue to do so, please know that God holds you fast and I pray the divine presence is ever present in your mind and heart, today and always. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 10, 2020

…Out of Christ fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. – John 1:16

What is grace?  Is it the belief that we have the free and unmerited favor of God?  Is it the manifestation of salvation in the sinner’s life?  Is grace the blessing we receive, whether expected or not?  Yes, grace is all of these things.  Grace is the very essence of knowing the honor and glory of God, having been in the presence of God, even unaware, and knowing that it is all going to be okay.

In his memoir book, All is Grace, Bennan Manning says this:

“My message, unchanged for more than fifty years, is this: God loves 
you unconditionally, as you are and not as you should be, because 
nobody is as they should be. It is the message of grace…A grace 
that pays the eager beaver who works all day long the same wages 
as the grinning drunk who shows up at ten till five…A grace that 
hikes up the robe and runs breakneck toward the prodigal reeking 
of sin and wraps him up and decides to throw a party no ifs, ands, 
or buts…This grace is indiscriminate compassion. It works without 
asking anything of us…Grace is sufficient even though we huff and 
puff with all our might to try to find something or someone it cannot 
cover. Grace is enough…Jesus is enough.”

All is grace, Manning would say, it’s there is every breath in the lungs of every person who needs it, and the truth is we all need it.  Nothing is too big for grace, nor is anything too small for grace.  Grace can be found each and every day as we look into the eyes of someone who needs to know they are loved by God, or in the voice telling us we are loved.  From birth till final breath, and everything we may do in between this is what we need most in this life; grace and the understanding that it is already given freely and openly. 

Just as God has given grace unto us, we are also called to share it in the same way with others.  Truth is, however, grace is something much easier received than given.  We all have moments that we are not proud, and grace is what gets us through.  In the climate in which we live, it seems as though grace is far from us, but assure you it is not. Grace is as close as offering an apology, understanding someone’s anger, caring about someone’s well-being no matter the situation.  Grace is the ability to offer forgiveness for words that may have been misspoken or misunderstood. Grace if found in the patients we have with leaders who are navigating unchartered waters to reopen church, businesses, society. Grace is understanding that God has loved us as flawed as we all are, and asked us to see not the flaw, but the creator in each face, for we are all made in his image of love.

May the grace of God give you peace today, and always.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 9, 2020

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. – Psalm 62:8

When life is good, and all is well, it is easy to trust in God.  Especially for people of faith, to know that God has us in his arms, is taking care of us, and to know God’s blessings. It’s easy to trust in God when all is well. However, there are plenty of times in life when everything is not all well.  When we are shaken, or full of worry and even doubt.

How do we maintain trust in such times?

For me, there is a line in an old hymn that kind of hope, it’s the second verse of the hymn Come, Thou fount of Every Blessing.  The line says: “Here I raise my Ebeneezer / Hither by thy help I’ve come. And I hope by thy good pleasure / Safely to arrive at home.”

It may seem odd to think about that line giving hope, but there is a story. In the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 7 we learn what the name Ebeneezer means – “thus far the Lord has helped us.” Within this story we learn that even in times that aren’t seemingly so great, when we look back, see, and remember all the times that God has been with us, then we can be assured that if God has been with us through all that, then God is with us now, and will be with us through future trials.

Time and again, we can look back and see the ebeneezers that have been erected of which we knew God was with us, and with God’s people, why should God abandon us now, especially since we know that God will never leave nor forsake us.  It’s a reminder that even when we are shaken, when life gets troubling, or troublesome; even when we don’t think we can go on.  God is there, as God has always been, holding us, encouraging us, uplifting us, and carrying us through the trails of life on our journey home.

We all wish life could be joyful at all times, but Scripture teaches us to even sing praise in the midst of sorrow for God is still with us, whipping tears, mending hearts, and helping us onward and upward towards the divine kingdom.

May we all be uplifted, and remember God is with us today and always. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 8, 2020

It is better to go to the house of mourning
    than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of everyone,
    and the living will lay it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
    for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
    but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
- Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

We’ve missed out on quite a bit these last few months.  I have especially held sorrow for those whose weddings have been postponed, whose graduation ceremony was postponed or not what they envisioned, and many more. There are so many events that should have happened, but have either been changed or cancelled.

One event on my mind today, is our Annual Conference as the people of Holston in the United Methodist Church. Some might say that Annual Conference hasn’t been as great over the last several years because of all the arguing over decisions that are being made at the general conference level concerning human sexuality, and even the potential splitting of the United Methodist Church as we know it.  However, Annual Conference is also the place we celebrate the many wonderful things that are happening in the church.  It is a chance for clergy and laity to see one another in one place, who typically live at great distance from one another.

Annual Conference is when we celebrate those whose ministry has come to a close with retirement, and ignite into ministry those who have been called and are about to be commissioned and ordained. These events will still happen, but like other events this year it won’t be the same. 

This week would have been that time of gathering, and celebrating, as well as debating, and working towards resolutions.  My heart is a little sad to miss this time, however, as I really pay attention to the teacher in Ecclesiastes, the sadness of the heart is where it is made glad and wise.  In our current sadness, I realize that we in the church aren’t arguing over the same issues as we have in the past few years. Instead we are working together to see that the church continues in a time of coronavirus, as well as sharing resources to make sure we stay connected with the most vulnerable.  I also see the church coming together to take a stronger stand against systematic racism, and in our mourning, and in our sadness, we have been moved to a greater action of love and brother/sisterhood.

Yes, we can be saddened by many things, we can be mournful, but we must remember that the Lord turns our mourning into dancing, and calls our hearts to look up.  For things are getting better, will get better, and God is leading us to rejoice again.  And maybe in our rejoicing we can forget about those things that have previously divided us, and work to make a better world, by focusing on the things that unite us instead.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 7, 2020

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The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. – Psalm 51:17

This is one of my favorite psalms, as the psalmist teaches us to pray for mercy, for pardon, and especially to be clean in the sight of the Lord.  It makes us reflect on what it is that the Lord wants or requires of us, as we seek to please God, and live according to the law of love. This call to accept God’s love and live into it, is to understand our worth as well as the worth of every others person God has called by the Holy Spirit.

I’m reminded of this story: There was a young girl named Sasha who asked that one wish. She wasn’t very popular, was quite shy, and didn’t have a personality that was able to make friends.  Often she was laughed at or made fun of, simply because she didn’t interact with people.  She was an only child to a single parent, and thus spent most of her time alone.  Sasha was asked her one wish, and this is what it was.

“I wish to be worthy of love,” she said.

When her wish was spoken aloud was instantly given her, but nothing about her changed.  Sasha looked in the mirror, she tried to have new thoughts, she searched deep in her heart, and repeated again and again, nothing has changed.

And that was the point.  Nothing had to change for Sasha to be worthy of love, because everybody is worthy of love.

We need to be reminded as the church that as we are made clean we are called, then, to be one, as there is one God and Father of all, whose saving activity fills the cosmos, who is over all and through all and in all. The very act of being united in such a way is Trinitarian.  The unity of the church is rooted in the eternal uniting of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt.  We cannot, do not, and did not create this unity, this unity simply existed, but we are called to nurture and care for it in the way that nurture and care for one another, with humility, gentleness, patience and love for one another. 

We live out of the divine gift of love, the gift of God’s worthiness as we share it and bear it with one another.  It is so wonderful a gift of God; we are all created differently and distinctly, even identical twins have their own unique fingerprint, and as some could tell you, their own individual personalities.  We are all created differently, yet we are all called to be together to be in unity with one another as with Christ.  God gave us the fundamental unity of the church, but God also gave the church a rich diversity in each of its members.  Every person in the church is worthy of the grace of God, just as every person who has life is worthy of the grace of God.  And to each the Holy Spirit calls, equips, and gives people to the church.

The goal behind the unity of the church is not a uniformity, where everyone is exactly the same.  Instead, a unity which reflects, and serves God’s reconciling grace for the entirety of creation in Christ.  If we never encountered people whose opinions, whose lifestyles, whose stories of how God has impacted their life, that are different from our own, then how would we ever be able to reach people who are different from ourselves?

We need to have such encounters and learn to love people who differ from us both within and within the greater community. God’s kingdom is diverse, and it’s rich diversity needs representation in our lives as we seek to build God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 6, 2020

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. 8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands
– Psalm 138:7-8

As I looked at the scriptures for the daily encourager, I came across the evening psalm, and those opening words of the verses I shared, simply glared at me. “Though I walk in the midst of trouble…” It seems as though we have been living our lives walking in the midst of trouble.  We think things are starting to look up, and the world might get better; then something else comes along and we drop our heads once more.

Unfortunately, it seems as though it is the same trouble that has been plaguing us for decades. We could insert comments here about racism, corrupt politics, bad political decisions, economic unrest, civil unrest, or the current global pandemic. Truth is there are many kinds of trouble that we face, and these troubles have faced many in our world for as long as we might try to remember. I spoke yesterday of having humility and understanding as we navigate through trying times, and as we try to interact with others whose view and perception differs from our own.

Kindness, humility, and love, I truly believe are key when we walk through the midst of trouble.  It is easy for us to allow our tempers to go unchecked, easy for us to allow emotions to create a quick, but perhaps not well thought response.  I also believe that it is God’s Holy Spirit that can bring a sense of calm to what could become a relationship breaking moment.  For we seek not to break relationships with God nor neighbor, but to mend and strengthen them.

As I read the psalm, I see the praise of God for a divine answer to prayer that brought strength to the soul of writer. In this praise the psalmist understand that God is the one who is worthy of the praise of all kings and kingdoms, and even as we enter the closing verse shared above, what we know is that when troubles do arise (and they will) it is God’s Spirit that preserves us.  I want to make note of one thing, here. The words of the psalm say, “against the wrath of my enemies.” When we think of anger against us, and even enemies, who do we envision? For many of us it probably isn’t other nations, or groups of people who are different from us. It is perhaps someone who we have had a strong relationship, but something went wrong, and that relationship was broken. With this in mind, we should be reminded that the steadfast love of the Lord, working in us, is to mend such relationships, to bring peace among all peoples. Isn’t that the purpose of the Lord for the church, for us?

God, through Jesus Christ called on all who would be save to do the work of sharing the gospel, of proclaiming peace, of mending relationships, and creating new ones.  In short, we say, make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The world may seem big, and may seem to have too many troubles to fix.  However, in the relationships of our lifetime, we can be those who seek peaceful resolution, knowing that we may not all think alike, but it does not prevent us from loving alike.

May the love of Christ uplift and bind us to God and to one another, now and always. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager - June 5, 2020

Daily Encourager - June 5, 2020

The Heart of Humility

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but to also to the interests of others. Have, in you, the same mindset as Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 2:3-5

In a world of disharmony, discontent, and disagreement, how do you get people to work together? 

Yes, I know that is a loaded question. It is painful sometimes to see the state of the world.  We live in what is perhaps the most technologically advanced civilization that has ever existed.  We have the ability to communicate in every language, and across oceans simply with a cell phone.  We can interact with almost every nation and culture, and have learned much from one another, but we still don’t have harmony. 

These are broad statements and I’m sure there are places where harmony and unity may happen.  However, even if there are groups that works together in harmony they are often at odds with another group. The root of disharmony, in my opinion, is found in our inability to first see where we do agree.

The psalmist writes: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1).

How the unity of the psalmist relates to what Paul writes in Philippians about humility leads us the understand the “when.”   People live together in unity when they are not looking to their own interests, but to the interests of others.  In other words, when there is humility, there is the beginning of harmony.

Humility is, I believe, a key to truly listening and working together to find common ground, to build a better world and to see the Kingdom of God.  After all, Paul does follow up the call to humility with a call to have the same mindset as Christ. 

The call to humility, however, is not a call to let others have their way. When both or all parties enter a conversation humbly they are seeking to understand the perspective of the other, they want and seek to find places to agree, they truly listen and help to uplift one another in the midst of the conversation so that harmony can be reached. 

Many are hurting and fearful in our world about many different topics, and especially those topics that affect them, personally.  Yet, as the church, we have a task ever before us, and that is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  I don’t believe we can allow things that are happening beyond us to affect that mission.  I believe we need to focus on what it is we can do, and in the humility of service to those here in our little corner of Knoxville, we are called to shine with the light and love of Christ. 

So, yes, pray that humility can happen there; but let us also not neglect to have the humility of Christ as we continue to offer our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, at St. Mark United Methodist Church, and to our neighbors who still need us to share with them the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Sam

Daily Encourager – June 4, 2020

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” – Luke 18:1-8

Above we read a lesser known of the parables from the gospel of Luke, but with all that has been happening in our nation, and around the world we should pay close attention to its meaning.

I don’t know about you, but over the last 2 months or so, I have begun to read and hear things through a different lens. It is not that the way of interpreting the text are any different, but the reality in which we live is shifting, and with those shifts come new understanding to old and even familiar texts. When we fully immerse ourselves with the teaching of Jesus, understanding the political climate in which he lived as a Jewish man whose territory was under Roman authority, we begin to see the teachings a little differently.

Just yesterday, I was driving to take our mission buckets to Fairview United Methodist Church so they can make their way to Zimbabwe. As I was driving with the radio on, a very familiar song came on the radio, but it sounded very different this time.  The song known as “For What it’s Worth” written in 1966 by Stephen Stills and originally performed by Buffalo Springfield.  But as I listened to that song in the light of the protests going on around our nation, and the images of the National Guard being deployed in some areas, all of a sudden this song had a different feel.  This song that predates me, was written in a time when such unrest and action was happening in our nation once before. This song used to be a part of history, but now it seems very current.

In the same way, as I read Jesus parable form Luke 18, we see that a widow who is seeking justice, continuously goes to an unjust, ungodly Judge.  According to Jesus this earthly judge couldn’t care less about anyone. Yet, because of the widow’s persistence, because of the widow’s picketing, protesting, persistence in begging for justice; the parable says she is granted the justice she seeks.  In the same way, Jesus says, God grants justice to those who cry out in prayer.

We all know the power of prayer. We have prayed over the sick, the grieving, for healing of body, mind, soul, relationships for many.  We pray to give thanks for God for the many blessings we know he has given us both of which we are aware, and even unaware.  We pray for forgiveness, often, cause we need it. Yet, right now, we need to truly petition God in prayer to bring a peaceful resolve in our nation. We need to pray that our leaders would have good sense, and ears to hear.  We need to pray that voices can be heard, peacefully, and that justice will prevail.  Many in our world are hurting, we are living in fear of a virus, or political unrest, or economic unrest, or unremitting racism. We need to persistently, and continuously call out to God for justice, for grace, for love to be our guide, that we might learn what it is to truly care for sisters and brothers as we do ourselves.  I hope you will spend time today praying that God would bring justice.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 3, 2020

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ – Luke 15:3-6

This is one of the better known parables of Jesus. We have heard time-and-again how Jesus is the good shepherd who will leave the 99 to find the one who is lost.  We know that Jesus wants all lost in totality.  We have heard it said that Jesus love, mercy, and grace, is out there to bring home every lost sheep, every lost soul, and that the kingdom is not complete until all have been gathered into the fold of our Saviors arms.

We know this Scripture, we have heard many lessons on it, and yet we find ourselves always learning something new. 

Most of the time we focus on the one. The one who is lost, the one who has strayed, the one who is not with the rest.  The crowd wants to see the one returned.  And when you know that you are that one that Jesus sought, you know how important is that the shepherd cared for you.  Lately, however, our world has been too busy focusing on the ninety-nine. 

You see the ninety-nine are safe. The ninety-nine are doing what they are supposed to be doing. They are keeping out of trouble, keeping themselves and their families safe. The ninety-nine are just going about their business as best they can.  Yet, it is the ninety-nine who are also complaining about the focus on the one. And we go, what?  Or at least I do.

The ministry of Jesus is focused on growing and building a community that is seeking to live in peace with God and with one another.  If you are already a part of such community, praise be to God! Now, help do the work of finding the one.

There are many lost ones in our society today, who need someone to show them genuine love and care. There are many who have been outcast, even by the church, even by Christians, and they need to know that their experience doesn’t represent the Christ we serve.  We serve a Lord who seeks all, who cares for all, whose life was given for all.  I hope and pray we, as a society, can learn that caring for others is our call, that loving others as we would love ourselves, is our banner.  We are the people who represent the almighty God, who gave us the Holy Spirit that we would do the work of unity.  Church it is time to unify for the lost and multiplying, and we’ve got work to do.

I hope you will join me in praying for our nation, for cities that are not at rest, and the communities who need to find again the work of peace. 

Almighty God, may your spirit guide voices of peace to speak up. Let us seek to hear our sisters and brothers who are angry. Let us have hearts and minds to understand their concerns, let us seek to shine the light of Jesus into the darkness, and help us, Lord help us to be a people that reflect a better way of living, in the grace and mercy you have shown us in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Grace & Peace to you,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 2, 2020

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” – Luke 17:7-10

When we think about worship, most often what we imagine is a place where we have gathered together, heard the word proclaimed, sung songs, and shared in times of prayer.  A few more dedicated would also consider the any time spent reading/studying the bible to be worship as well. And I like to believe that some even would consider singing along to that praise CD in the car worship, which I agree.  Truth is worship takes all kinds of different forms.  However, the form of worship that Jesus speaks of most, in my opinion, is the worship that comes in the form of service.

In fact, one of the Hebrew words that is often translated worship, can also mean serve, work, labor, toil.  Jesus was want we know call a servant leader.  He was a leader, one of the greatest leaders we know, but not in the sense of worldly leadership.  Jesus was a servant, yet he was followed by many, and many more wanted to work for him.  Jesus is our Lord, and those who follow him today, are striving to learn from the humility of love, service and care Jesus has implanted in us by his grace.

In Luke 17, Jesus is talking to his disciples about stumbling. Within the context of a few verse he teaches them about sin, forgiveness in faith, and about the duty everyone has to both forgive and to serve.  At the end of this little lesson he tells them the above parable.

Now, the disciples, from what we know, were not men who would have been prestigious enough to have servants, aside from possible Levi (the tax collector). Most of the time, we associate Jesus followers with the poor and the outcast.  However, many of Jesus followers could have been servants.  They would have understood Jesus reference from having to work under such conditions.  Yet, what Jesus teaches is something that we perhaps should really pay attention to in our current generation.  Jesus tells these disciples that a servant is someone who does for others; not for thanks, not for reward, not for recognition, but because she/he is a servant. A servant simply does what is asked, what is expected, what is pleasing to the one they serve.

Many of us may not think of that as sounding appealing, or we may think it beneath us, because we all like to be recognized, we all like to hear the “thank you,” we want someone to appreciate what we have done.  Yet, the humility that comes from true servanthood understands that we are recognized, if not by human eyes and hearts, but by God, who will one day say to us, “well done good and faithful servant, come in and rest.” When we get to that point in our faith, what we find is the more we can do for others, the closer to God we feel, we find that worship is more about serving out of love for God and neighbor, that it ever was about gathering and singing.

I know we look forwards to the gathering and singing part, and we will work towards that, but in the meantime, perhaps as we are able, we think of those whom God places in front of us to serve, so that we might worship Him in our service to others.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Daily Encourager – June 1, 2020

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. – Matthew 12:33

This week just marked one year since we moved into our new house here in Knoxville, as I prepared for my appointment at St. Mark. The neighborhood in which we live had many new homes being built, and that have been completed in the year since we moved in.  Over that year, we have had the opportunity to meet neighbors, and get to know some very well.  During these last few months while we have spent more time at home than anticipated, and with the nice weather and being able to work in yard, we’ve gotten to talk (with proper distance) with our neighbors much more than before.

The woman who lives next door to us, is taking up gardening, and wanted to put some raised beds at the back of her yard. It was the same time I was working on moving dirt to better level my yard. She needed part of a hill side removed, and I could use the dirt.  So I helped her by removing and leveling a place in her yard, and she helped me by providing a little more of the dirt we needed.  As a “thank you” for the work done to get her yard prepared, she gave us a potted strawberry plant (she had one too many).

We attempted to take care of the plant, watered it, and found a nice place to hang it up. We would have gotten a few strawberries off of it, if the birds hadn’t gotten to them first.  Then we forgot to do something.  Around mother’s day the temperatures one night got very cold, and we forgot to bring the plant in, or put a cover of it.  We continued to care for the plant, but unfortunately the plant had been bit by frost, and it didn’t survive. It was a good plant, the strawberries looked like they would have been wonderful, unfortunately something went wrong, the fruit, and then the plant went bad.

When Jesus speaks to the those “who have ears to hear” he tells them a quick little parable about a tree and it’s fruit. The truth is, we are most recognized by what we do, how we interact with one another, and the a attitude in which we treat others. We are recognized by our fruit.

There are times, that our fruit starts out good, just like our strawberry plant, but something happens, and perhaps we aren’t producing the same good and faithful fruit anymore.  Unlike our strawberry plant, however, the care and nurturing given to us by God, and our connection to a family of faith can get us going again, and help us to once again, produce good fruit.

I know it’s been a while since we have had the opportunity to encourage one another in person and through our Sunday School classes, and Bible studies, however, I hope and pray each day you are encouraged by God, and that you are nurturing the love of God inside of you, that you might produce good fruit now and always for the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Sam