What Does The Christian Say?

This is the message given in the Wheatland Parish Sunday, June 29. 2014.  The Bible verses used are Genesis 6:14-16, 7:1-4. 7-17.

            We’re in the third week of our sermon series on Noah.  We looked at God telling Noah to build the ark, and Noah having the faith to believe and trust God.  We looked at God going into detail about exactly how the ark was to be built.  So what’s next?

            Well, next Noah actually has to build the darn thing.  I mean, can you imagine being Noah?  God tells you to build this boat, this ark, and you believe that it really is God telling you to do it.  But how?  How are you supposed to do it?  

I mean, this is not a little raft we’re talking about.  This is one great big honking boat.  We don’t even know if Noah had any skills in boat-building.  All we’re really told about Noah is that he was a man of the soil, a farmer.  Now, a lot of farmers do have mechanical and carpentry skills, but still, to build a great big boat like this?  Big enough for at least two of every animal, every bird, everything?

And even if Noah had the skills, where was he going to get the wood?  It’s not like he could just run down to the local lumberyard and get it.  I don’t think they had a Menard’s back then.  And he needed nails or something to hold it together.  He needed to get pitch to coat it and seal it.

And where was Noah going to get all this food?  I mean, he had to have enough food for himself, for his family, for all of these animals, all of these birds, everything.  I don’t think Walmart would’ve had all that stuff.  And after he got it, Noah had to figure out a way that it would not spoil before it was needed.  And, as far as we can tell, Noah did not know just how much food he would need.  God said it would rain for forty days and forty nights, but that did not mean they’d be able to just get off the ark then.  Noah did not know how long it would be before the flood waters went down.

And in fact, we’re told that it was a lot more than forty days.  It was one hundred fifty days before the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat.  And it was two and a half more months before the tops of the mountains actually became visible.  And it was months after that before they could actually get off the ark.  And it was still longer before they could’ve actually planted crops and found food.  We’re talking about at least a year’s worth of food Noah would’ve had to have on the ark.

And you know what else?  Noah only got one chance to get this right.  I mean, if the ark sprung a leak, or if Noah did not have enough food, or if something else went wrong, there was going to be nothing Noah could do about it.  He had to get it right the first time, because if he did not, he was not going to get a second chance.

The point is that what Noah was being asked to do here was an incredible undertaking.  We’re heard the story so often that a lot of times we don’t think about that.  And the Bible really does not make much of it, either.  God tells Noah to do all this stuff and the Bible just says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

But there was an incredible amount of work Noah had to do.  And we don’t know how much of it he had to do by himself.  He had three sons, so maybe they helped him.  We don’t know if he had anyone working for him.  I suppose he could have.  But still, think of it.

Noah must have felt overwhelmed by what he was being asked to do.  Think of how long it must’ve taken for Noah to get this ark built.  Day after day after day, working on this big boat.  Not being able to work on it every day, because he presumably still had to get his farm work done.  If he did not do it, then his sons would’ve had to, so they would not have been able to help him.  Everyone else wondering what in the world he was doing.  Wondering if old Noah had finally lost it, if he’d gone goofy or something.  Making fun of him behind his back, or maybe even to his face.

Even Noah’s wife and kids may have thought he was crazy.  After all, God had not spoken to them.  God had not told them Noah was supposed to build an ark.  If I told you I’d heard the voice of God telling me to build a huge boat and put all the animals and birds and reptiles on it, what would you think?  You’d think I’d gone nuts, right?  Even Wanda’d probably think I’d gone nuts.  This would sound like the craziest think you’d ever heard of.

So here’s the point.  We know that we are supposed to serve God.  But most of us, myself included, say that without really thinking about it too much.  We don’t really expect God to ask too much of us.  We don’t expect God to ask us to do anything that’s really hard, or that would take a really long time.  We don’t expect God to ask us to make any significant changes in our lifestyle.  We’re willing to serve God, but we think--and again, I include myself it this--we think God won’t ask us to do anything that would require any great sacrifice on our part.  In fact, a lot of times, what we do is serve God in our spare time, in the time we’ve got left after we’ve done all the “important” things we have to do.  

Now, don’t take this the wrong way.  I am not saying we’re all hypocrites.  I am not saying that we don’t believe in God or that we’re not sincere in our faith.  What I’m saying is that most of us don’t really think about how much serving God could change our lives.  We don’t think about what it would actually mean for ourselves and our families if we truly dedicated our lives to God.  We don’t think about how much we would need to change if we truly tried to serve God with everything we do.

And Noah may not have thought much about that, either.  He may have just been living his life, doing his best, trying to be a good guy, growing his crops, raising his family, helping his neighbors when he could.  He may have thought he was just about as committed to God as he needed to be.  He may have thought he was doing okay.

And then, out of nowhere, here comes God.  And God asks Noah to do something really, really hard.  It was something that did not make a whole lot of sense to Noah, probably.  And even if Noah understood it, it was something that seemed completely overwhelming to him.  It was something that was going to turn Noah’s nice, simple farming life upside down.

That’s what God does.  And you never know when God may ask it of you.  And I never know when God may ask it of me.  You and I may be living our lives, doing our best, trying to be good people, trying to help our neighbors when we can.  We probably figure we’re about as committed to God as we need to be.  We figure we’re doing okay.  

And then, out of nowhere, here comes God.  And God may ask us to do something really, really hard.  God may ask us to do something that does not make a whole lot of sense to us.  And what God’s asking us to do may seem completely overwhelming.  And it may be something that will turn our nice, simple lives upside down.

That’s what God did to Noah.  And Noah said--okay.  Okay, I’ll do it.  I don’t know how I’m going to do it.  I don’t know where I’m going to get all the material I need.  I don’t know who, if anyone, I can get to help me.  I don’t know how long it’s going to take me.  But okay.  I’ll do it.  I’ll do it, God, because I know who you are.  And I know that if you’re telling me to do this, then you’ll help me find a way.

So what about you?  And what about me?  What are we going to say?  And don’t think God would never choose you for something like this.  I’m sure Noah never thought God would choose him for something like this.  Noah was just this guy, you know?  It does not matter if you think you’re a common, ordinary person.  Noah was a common, ordinary person, too.  If God had not chosen Noah, we’d have never heard of him.  God often chooses common, ordinary people.  People like you.  And people like me.

And God often chooses common, ordinary churches, too.  God chooses churches to do things that are really, really hard sometimes.  And sometimes they don’t make a lot of sense.  And sometimes they’re overwhelming.  And sometimes, God asks us to do something that may turn our nice, church upside down, too.  If God does that, what are we going to say?

Noah said okay.  I’ll do it.  I don’t know how I’m going to do it.  It seems overwhelming to me.  It does not make much sense to me.  But I’ll do it.  I’ll do it, because I know who you are, God, and I trust you.

What are we going to say?

Love In Context

This is the message given at the WOW! (Worship on Wednesday) service in Gettysburg June 25, 2014.  The Bible verses used are 2 Timothy 3:10--4:5.

            In this summer sermon series, we’ve been looking at “Three-sixteens”, Chapter three, verse sixteen in various books of the New Testament.  That was inspired, of course, by John Three, Sixteen, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not parish but shall have everlasting life.”  Tonight, we look at Second Timothy Three, Sixteen:  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”

            That’s a pretty important verse.  It tells us that the words of the Bible come from God.  It tells us that therefore the Bible is our ultimate authority for understanding God’s word.

            And I suspect that probably all of us here would agree with that.  We’d all agree that the Bible comes from God, that it contains God’s message to us, and that it’s our ultimate authority for knowing God’s will.

            But the question is, what exactly do we mean by that?  Does it mean that we have to take everything in the Bible literally?  Does it mean, for example, that we have to believe in a literal six days of creation, no matter what science tells us?  Does it mean that we have to take all the Old Testament laws literally?  I mean, Exodus says we should take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  Leviticus says a blasphemer is to be taken out and stoned.  It says a disobedient child is to be taken out and stoned, too.  And what about all those laws about sacrificing animals and stuff?  And all those laws about foods we can eat and we cannot eat.  If, as Paul says, all scripture is God-breathed, are we messing up and ignoring the word of God by not doing all that?

            Well, apparently we don’t think so.  I mean, if we did, we’d be doing all those things, and we’re not.  So we must think it’s okay to ignore some of those things in the Old Testament and still believe that the Bible is God’s word to us.

            But the question is, why do we think that?  Why do we think it’s okay to ignore some parts of the Bible and not other parts?  I mean, there’s got to be a reason, and the reason has to be more than just that we don’t like those parts.  

You know, Jesus said a bunch of stuff that we don’t always like, either.  Jesus said that we’re supposed to love our enemies.  Jesus said if someone hits us on the right cheek, we’re supposed to offer the left.  Jesus said if someone asks for our coat, we’re supposed to give them our shirt, too.  There’s all kinds of stuff Jesus said that we don’t like but we don’t feel free to ignore.  We don’t always do the stuff Jesus said, but we agree we’re supposed to.  We don’t just say that stuff does not apply any more.

Besides, if we’re free to ignore certain parts of the Bible just because we don’t like them, then we don’t have a Bible at all.  After all, the parts of the Bible I like may not be the same parts you like, and the parts I don’t like may not be the same parts you don’t like.  If we can ignore parts just because we don’t like them, then I have the gospel according to me and you have the gospel according to you.  And the Bible has no authority whatsoever any more.

So what is our basis for saying we don’t have to follow certain parts of the Bible?  Well, I think we have to look at a couple of things.

For one thing, we need to remember the reason we have the Bible in the first place.  As we said a few weeks ago about the story of Noah, the Bible was not written to teach us about science or history or geography or anything like that.  The Bible was written to teach us about God, about ourselves, and about our relationship with God.  The Bible was written to teach us about the importance of faith in God.  When we read the Bible, we need to remember that and interpret it with that in mind.

Also, while we say that the Bible contains timeless truths, and I believe that it does, we need to remember that it was also written at a specific time for a specific audience.  God’s truth does not change, but God is smart enough to present God’s truth in ways that make it possible for the people God is talking to to understand it.  

The early chapters of Genesis, for example, were first heard by people who believed the earth is flat.  Trying to explain to them about planets and stars and galaxies would’ve made no sense to them.  It would be like trying to explain calculus to a two-year-old.  Calculus makes sense--or so they tell me--but it would not make sense to a two-year-old, because a two-year-old’s mind is not developed enough to understand it.  Parents explain things to their children in ways that their children can understand.  And God explained things in Genesis, and in all of the Bible, in ways that the people of that time could understand.

So, we need to understand that society has advanced in some ways since the Bible was written.  For example, when God said “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, that was actually a more humane legal system than what people had at that time.  The standard back then was a life for an eye and a life for a tooth.  “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” sounds barbaric to us, but it was actually an advancement for people of that time.

Now all that may be true and helpful, but it still does not provide a standard for us to decide how we know what parts of the Bible we don’t have to follow any more.  But another thing that may help is to know that this is not a new problem.  It was a problem in Jesus’ time, too.

After all, Jesus did not always follow all the Jewish laws, either.  And Jesus got into trouble for it.  But Jesus provided what I think is the standard for all of this.  And some of you may know where I’m going with this.  It’s a place we’ve been before.  Jesus said that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love other people.

And remember, these are not two separate things.  Jesus said the first commandment is to love God, but then he said the second, to love other people, is just like the first.  We cannot love God without loving the people God created.  All of them.  And when we show love to other people, we are showing love to God.  These two things cannot be separated.  They must always come together.

The reason for those Old Testament laws in the first place was to show love for God and for other people.  But what happened is that they became rituals.  People did them because they thought they were supposed to, with no love in their hearts.  And then they used those laws to criticize and oppress other people, the opposite of loving them.

Love God and love our neighbor.  The two greatest commandments.  Jesus said it was on these two commandments that the entire law hangs.  Jesus said that the ultimate law, the one on which all other laws depend, is the law of love.

So where does that leave us in terms of tonight’s “three-sixteen”?  After all, the Apostle Paul, writing to his young friend Timothy, said “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”  He did not say just some of it is God-breathed.  He did not say just some of it is useful.  He said all of it is.  How do we square that with what we’ve just been saying?  For that matter, how do we square it with the way we live our lives, which is to ignore a lot of the stuff in the Bible.  

Well, I still think Paul’s statement is true.  I still think all scripture is God-breathed.  I believe the entire Bible comes from God and contains truth from God.  But it order to understand the truth of scripture, we need to read it in context.  We need to read it in the context of the time it was written, we need to read it in the context of the people for whom it was originally written, and we need to read it in the context of the rest of the Bible.  That’s the only way we can get to the true meaning of God’s word as contained in the Bible.

Jesus said the ultimate law is the law of love.  If we keep that in mind, we’ll be able to understand the truth contained in God’s word.  And if we live with that in mind, we’ll be able to live as God’s people in God’s world.

The God of the Details

This is the message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish Sunday, June 22, 2014.  The Bible verses used are Genesis 6:13--7:5.

            Last week, in the first of our sermon series on Noah, we talked about how to be able to trust someone we have to have a relationship with them.  The thing is, when it comes to having a relationship with God, that’s not always as easy as it sounds.  It’s not that we don’t want to have a relationship with God.  It’s just that, sometimes, we have a hard time believing that God wants to have a relationship with us.

            It’s not that we think God does not love us, at least not necessarily.  It’s just that, well, God is so far beyond us.  God is so big, and so mighty, and so powerful.  God is omniscient and omnipresent and all these other ten-dollar words that say that God is way beyond anything we can ever imagine.  And so, we think, why should a God that’s that big and that powerful want to have a relationship with me?

            And then, too, we think, I’m such a small part of the world, really.  I mean, there are over seven billion people on earth.  Even if God wants to, could God actually have a personal relationship with over seven billion people?  How’s that even possible?  And there’s certainly nothing special about me.  With over seven billion people in the world, why would God choose to have a relationship with me?

            Again, this is different from saying God loves us.  It’s possible to love a group of people without having a personal relationship with them.  I’ll give you a couple of examples.

            A friend of mine has made several mission trips to Haiti.  When he talks about the people of Haiti, you can hear and feel the love he has for them.  But he only has a personal relationship with a handful of them.  That’s not a criticism of him, it’s just the way it is and the way it has to be.  He loves them all, but most of them he does not and cannot have a relationship with.

            Or take the storms we had this week.  First, there was the tornado that hit Pilger, Nebraska.  My heart went out to those people, because it’s easy for me to put myself in their place.  I care about those people.  But I don’t have a personal relationship with them.  I don’t actually know any of those people.  But then, later in the week, I heard about the potential flooding in the North Sioux City/McCook Lake/Dakota Dunes area where we lived before we came here.  And then we heard about the tornado that destroyed much of Wessington Springs, where we lived for seventeen years.  And suddenly my love took on a whole different dimension.  Because I know those people.  I have a personal relationship with them.  I did not just feel bad.  I wanted to know everything that was going on there.  I wished there was some way I could help right away.

            Here’s the distinction, or at least one of them.  When we have a relationship with someone, we care about the details.  We don’t want to just know that they’re safe and well.  When we have a relationship with someone, we want to know everything that’s going on with them.  We want to know all about their life.  We want to know what they’re doing, how they’re spending their time.  We want to know if they’re happy or sad, and what made them that way.  When we have a relationship with someone, we want to know about all the details of their life.

            And that’s what we need to realize about God.  God is not just this big, mighty, powerful God who’s only interested in the big picture.  That’s part of who God is, but it’s not all God is.  God is interested in the big picture--in fact, God is in charge of the big picture--but God is interested in all the little details, too.  God is interested in the details of your life, and God is interested in the details of my life.  Because God wants to have a relationship with us, God is also a God of the details.

            And that brings us to our reading from Genesis.  Some of this is what we read last week, but we also picked up the parts we skipped.  And the parts we skipped last week are the details.

            God told Noah to build an ark, a big boat that will protect him and his family from the storm and will save all the animals, too.  But that’s not all God did not just tell Noah to build a boat and leave it at that.  God went into detail.  

God told Noah the exact dimensions the ark was supposed to be.  God gave the exact length, the exact width, and the exact height the ark was supposed to be.  And don’t be thrown off by that word “cubit”, it’s just a length of measurement.  People back then knew what it meant.  It’s just like saying feet or yards or meters or something like that.  In fact, I don’t know what the Bible translators don’t translate that into feet or yards or meters, other than just tradition.  When God said something should be so many cubits, Noah knew exactly the distance God was talking about.

But God went into a lot more detail than just that.  God told Noah to put a roof on the ark.  God told Noah to leave an opening below the roof, and God told Noah exactly how big that opening was supposed to be.  God told Noah exactly how many decks to make the ark.  God told Noah where to put the door to the ark.  Then God told Noah exactly how many pairs of each animal he was supposed to take on the ark.  And just to make sure there were no slip-ups, God specifically said each pair was supposed to be one male and one female.  And then God told Noah exactly when it was going to rain and God told Noah exactly how long it was going to rain.

Now, God would not have had to do all that.  God could’ve just said to Noah, “Make sure you build it big enough” and left Noah to figure it out.  But God did not do that.  God went into detail because God is not just the God of the big picture.  God is also the God of the details.

And because God is the God of the details, God is interested in the details of your life.  And God is interested in the details of my life.  Those details of our lives are what make us who we are.  The details, the little things, the things we do every day, are the things that make you you.  And they’re the things that make me me.

Jesus told us that God is so interested in us that God knows the number of hairs on each one of our heads.  Now that’s a detail.  That’s a detail we don’t even know about ourselves.  Do you know the number of hairs on your head?  I don’t even know how I’d go about trying to count them.  But God knows the number of hairs on each one of our heads, because God is the God of the details.

The fact that God is interested in the details of our lives means that we, you and I, can have a relationship with God.  But it means more than that.  The fact that God is interested in the details of our lives means that there is nothing we cannot talk to God about.  It’s true that nothing is too big for God, but it’s also true that nothing is too small for God.

The things that are important to us are important to God, because God has a personal relationship with us, and that’s how a relationship works.  When you have a relationship with someone, the things that are important to them are important to you and vice versa.  Think of the people you have a close relationship with, and I’ll bet you find that’s true.  For example, It’s important to Wanda that I be able to watch ballgames.  That’s not because she cares about ballgames herself, but because we have a close relationship, and so the things that are important to me are important to her.  It’s important to me that Wanda be able to do ceramics.  That’s not because I have any desire to ever do ceramics myself, but because we have a close relationship, and so the things that are important her are important to me.

            That’s the kind of relationship God wants to have with each one of us.  What that means is that no matter what’s on our minds or in our hearts, we can go to God with them.  God won’t laugh at us.  God won’t think we’re a bother.  God won’t think we’re wasting God’s time.  If it’s important to us, then it’s important to God, because we have a close relationship with God.

            In fact, in a way, going to God with the small things shows how strong our faith in God really is.  What I mean is that everyone goes to God with the big things.  Even people who are not all that religious will often pray when there’s a serious problem, when death is close or when there’s a serious illness or something like that.  But when we go to God with the small things, too, we’re showing that we want to be in a relationship with God.  Not only that, we’re showing that we believe our relationship with God is close enough that God will care about the small things, the details.  We’re showing that we’re not worried that we’ll be bothering God or wasting God’s time.  We’re showing that we trust God to care about us because of the relationship we have with God.

            God is the God of the details.  God knew exactly how big the ark needed to be.  God knows exactly the number of hairs on each of our heads.  And God knows and cares about every last detail of our lives.

            God is both the God of the big picture and the God of the details.  Because of that, we can go to God with everything, big and small.  God cares about it all, because God not only loves us, God wants to have a close relationship with us.

God's Temple

This is the message given at the WOW (Worship on Wednesday) service at the Gettysburg United Methodist Church on June 18, 2014.  The Bible verses used are 1 Corinthians 3:3-23.

            The theme of Wednesday night sermon series is “Three-sixteens”, looking at Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen in a variety of books in the New Testament.  Tonight we look at First Corinthians 3:16--”Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

            It seems to me that this one little verse--just one sentence, seventeen words--says an awful lot to us.  The first thing it says, at least to me, is that each and every one of us is very special and very important to God.  I mean, think about this.  You are God’s temple.  Not just your physical body, but everything about you.  Your mind, your heart, your body, your soul.  Your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your desires.  Everything about you, everything that makes you you, is God’s temple.

            That’s pretty cool, you know.  Because the temple was a really special place.  Especially the original temple, the one built by King Solomon.  The Bible goes on and on about that first temple.  It gives the exact dimensions of it, which were directed by God.  It gives all the materials the temple was made out of, which were also directed by God.  

And this first temple was made out of the best, the most expensive stuff available.  It was made of cedar and juniper.  It was made of special stone from a special quarry.  There were all sorts of ornate carvings.  And everything was overlaid with silver and gold and gold and bronze.  There were tens of thousands of people who worked on that first temple, and it still took them seven years to build it, that’s how incredible it was.  And of course, the cost of it was enormous.  It’s been estimated that it would cost over two hundred billion of today’s dollars to build that temple.

            And the thing is, the Apostle Paul, and the people of Corinth that he was writing to, would’ve known all that.  What Paul was telling them, and what Paul is telling us, is that each one of us, you and me, is just as valuable as that temple.  Each one of us is just as beautiful as that temple.  Each one of us has been created out of the best stuff available.  And each one of us has been made according to exact specifications that came from God.

            That’s pretty awesome to think about.  If that does not make us feel good about ourselves I don’t know what will.  To think that we were made to God’s exact specifications with as much care as it took to make the most beautiful, most expensive building that has ever existed on earth.  That’s pretty good.

            But of course, there was a reason the temple was made the way it was.  Maybe you know what it is.  The temple was not just a place of worship, the way the church is now.  The temple was thought of as, quite literally, the house of God.  The temple was where God lived.  That was not just a metaphor or something--they believed in it literally.  The temple was where God physically lived.  That’s why it was so important that it be built the way it was.  They were not just building a house of God.  They were building a house for God.  And they wanted to build a house that was worthy of God, to the extent that it’s possible for humans to build a house that’s worthy of God.

            So when Paul says “the Spirit dwells in your midst”, that was not just poetic license.  That was not just something Paul was saying because it sounded good.  Paul meant it literally.  Paul was saying that just as God lives in the temple, the Spirit of God lives in each of us.

            Now that’s a pretty awesome thing to think about, too.  To think that God’s Spirit physically lives in each one of us.  That God’s Spirit lives in me.  That God’s Spirit lives in you.  That the Spirit of the Almighty, all-powerful God would live in us.  That’s quite an honor.  That’s pretty good, too.

            But while it’s a pretty awesome thing to think about, it’s also a pretty awesome responsibility.  Because just as the temple was made to be a house worthy of God, to the extent it’s possible for humans to do that, you and I need to make ourselves worthy of God, to the extent it’s possible for us to do that.  If you and I are God’s temple, if God’s Spirit is going to literally live in us, then we need to do everything we can to be that perfect, beautiful temple that is worthy of having God live in it.

            What does that mean?  Well, it means we need to take a look at every aspect of our lives.  Because, as I said, when Paul says that we are God’s temple, he’s talking about every aspect of our lives.  Our physical body is part of it, but only a part.  Our thoughts are part of it, too.  So are our feelings.  Our minds, our hearts, our bodies, our souls, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our desires, everything about us, everything that makes us who we are, is part of God’s temple.

            That means we need to make everything about ourselves worthy of God, to the extent that we possibly can.  Our thoughts need to be worthy of God.  Our words need to be worthy of God.  Our feelings need to be worthy of God.  Our emotions need to be worthy of God.  Our hopes and dreams need to be worthy of God.  If you and I are God’s temple, then everything about us needs to be worthy of God.

            That’s a pretty tall order.  I certainly have not done it.  I’ve had my moments--I suspect each of us has had our moments--but I certainly am not worthy of having God dwell in me.  I don’t know anyone who is.

            But maybe that’s the point.  Because you know, as great and fantastic as that first temple was, for all the billions of dollars and all the man-hours it took to build it, it still was not really worthy of being the house of God.  It may have been the best, fanciest, most expensive building that ever was or ever will be, but it still was not worthy of being a place for God to live.  It’s simply not possible.  No building built by humans, no matter how much it costs or how long it takes to build, could ever be worthy of being the dwelling place of the almighty, all-powerful, awesome, perfect, holy God.

            And no human being, no matter how good, no matter how righteous, no matter how generous or loving or caring they are, can ever be worthy of being the dwelling place of the almighty, all-powerful, awesome, perfect, holy God either.  It’s simply not possible.  That is, it’s not possible for us.  But it is possible for God.

            See, God takes our best efforts and makes them better.  That first temple, as great as it was, was not worthy of God.  But God took the best efforts of the people of Israel and blessed them and made them worthy of God.  And that’s what God will do for us.  God will take our best efforts and bless them and make them worthy of God.

            So our part in this, what we need to do, is make sure we’re giving God our best efforts.  Our thoughts are not going to worthy of God--but we need to make our best effort to make them that way.  Our words--certainly my words--are not going to be worthy of God--but we need to make our best effort to make them that way.  Our feelings, our emotions, our hopes, our dreams, are not going to be worthy of God--but we need to make our best effort to make them that way.  If we do, then God will take our best efforts and bless them and make them worthy of God.

            And the best way I know to do that is to spend time with God.  That means prayer, of course, and it means reading the Bible, but it also means just spending time in God’s presence.  Spending time thinking about who God is.  Spending time thinking about all the things God does.  Spending time thinking about all the times God has been there for us.  Spending time thinking about all the gifts God has given us.  Spending time thinking about all the times we did not get what we wanted, but later on got something better.  Spending time thinking about how everything we have and everything we are comes from God.

            If we spend that kind of time with God, we’re more likely to give God our best efforts.  Not out of force or obligation, but because we’ll want to.  When we think about how awesome, how incredible God is, when we think of everything God has given us, we want to give God our best efforts.  It does not feel like an effort.  It feels like a joy.

            So this week, that’s what I’d invite you to do.  Spend time with God.  Think about who God is and what God does.  Think of all the gifts God has given you.  And then give God your best efforts.  God will bless those efforts and make them worthy of God.

            You, and I, are God’s temple.  God’s Spirit dwells within us.  That’s an incredible honor.  Let’s do all we can to be worthy of it.

It's a Gift

The message given at the Oahe Manor service Sunday, June 15, 2014 in Gettysburg.  The Bible verses used are Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19.

            I cannot pretend to know what it’s like to be your age and to be living here.  I can see some things, and I can understand some of it, but that’s about as close as I can come.  I know, though, that there have to times when it’s not easy.  All of us, no matter what our situation is, have times that are not easy.

            When we have those times, it’s hard to feel very thankful to God.  We wonder just what it is we have to be thankful for, because at that moment we’re hurting.  We’re suffering.  Maybe physically, maybe emotionally, maybe some other way, but we’re in pain.  And when we’re in pain, it’s hard to feel very thankful.  In fact, when we’re hurting like that, and especially when it feels like the hurting may not be going to stop, it can be really hard to trust God at all.

            It seems to me that when we’re in a situation like that, that’s when we find out just how real our faith is.  Because at that point, we have a choice.  We can give up on God, decide that God does not care or that God is does not hear us.  In fact, we can decide that God does not exist at all.  Or, we can continue to trust God and continue to believe that God is there and does hear us even when we don’t really understand what’s going on or why.

            I think that to an extent, what we decide depends on what our view of God is.  Do we think that if God loves us, God is obligated to make life easy for us?  Do we think that, if God loves us, God owes it to us to take away our pain, keep us from ever hurting, and make us happy?

            There are times when it seems like do.  We’d never put it like that, but that’s what it comes down to.  When we blame God for things being the way they are, when we get upset with God because things are the way they are, when say God should’ve prevented this or that from happening, we’re really pretty much saying that God owed it to us to make things better for us, and that God let us down.

            Now, I’m not pointing a finger here.  I’ve done these things, too.  I still do sometimes.  But it’s not a very good thing to do.  It’s kind of arrogant of us, really.  God does not owe it to us to make us happy.  God does not owe us anything.  God did not have to give us life in the first place.  Any good thing we get in our lives is a gift from God, not an obligation.

            And that’s what our psalm talks about.  The writer of the psalm understands that not only does God not owe us anything, but we owe God everything.  And he recognizes that there’s no way we can pay God back for it.  He asks the questions, “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?”

            And the only answer he can come up with is to serve God.  To do what God wants him to do.  To live the way God wants to live.  And to live in an attitude of thankfulness for all God has done for him.

            And that really is about all we can do.  What else is there?  There’s nothing we can do to repay God.  The only thing we can do is serve God as best we can.

            And even that is nowhere near sufficient.  I mean, think about it.  This is the almighty, all-powerful God we’re talking about here.  Is there anything we can do for God that God could not do without us, if God so chose?  No.  There’s no amount of money we can give, there’s no amount of time we can give, there’s no amount of anything we can give, that would do something for God that God could not do without us if God wanted to.

            What that means is that God does not need our service.  God allows our service.  God allows us to help in the way a parent or grandparent allows a five-year-old to “help” with chores.  There’s nothing the five-year-old can do that actually helps--in fact, the parent or grandparent could probably get the chores done faster if the five-year-old was not there at all.  But the five-year-old is allowed to “help” because the parent or grandparent wants to teach them some things and because, out of love, they just like having the kid around.  That’s how God is with us.  God could get things done faster and better without our help, but God allows us to help because God wants to teach us some things and because God, out of love, just likes having us around.

            And what that means is that even our service is not a gift from us to God.  It’s a gift from God to us.  God allows us to serve.  God allows us to be in God’s presence, and to help God, because God loves us, and for no other reason.

            So the next time we get down, the next time we get discouraged, the next time we wonder why God is not taking away our pain, let’s remember this.  Let’s remember that God does not owe us anything.  We owe God everything.  And let’s decide to serve God to the best of our ability.  And let’s remember that even our service to God is a gift from God to us.  It’s a gift God gives us because God loves us.  And that’s something to be thankful for.

Getting to Know You

This is the message given in the United Methodist Churches of the Wheatland Parish Sunday, June 15, 2014.  The Bible verses used are Genesis 6:9-14, 17-19, 22.

            A few months ago, a movie came out about the story of Noah.  Now, I have not seen the movie.  I understand they took some liberties with the story, as Hollywood tends to do, but I’m not qualified to say whether it’s a good movie or not.

            It struck me, though, that the actual story of Noah, as it’s presented in the Bible, is dramatic enough the way it is.  But the really interesting thing, to me, is to look at the lessons we can learn from Noah’s story.  After all, as we’ve said before, the main reason these stories are in the Bible is not to teach us about history or about geography or about science or about any of those things.  The main reason these stories are in the Bible is to teach us about God and about our faith.

            So today, we’re going to start a sermon series called “The Story of Noah”.  We’re going to look at the story of Noah, as it’s presented in the Bible, and look at the lessons we can learn from it.

            We start with the beginning of the story.  God tells Noah that God’s going to destroy the earth because it’s corrupt.  So, Noah, you build an ark for yourself and your family and all the animals.  And then, we’re told, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

            That’s all it says.  It says nothing about what Noah thought about all this.  It says nothing about how he felt.  It’s like Noah’s thoughts and feelings about all this did not matter.

            In fact, in a way, it’s like Noah himself did not matter.  We’re told very little about him.  We’re told his age.  We’re told that he had three kids, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  We’re told he had a wife, although we don’t know her name.  We’re told later on that Noah was “a man of the soil”, presumably meaning that he raised crops.  We’re told that after the flood was over he planted a vineyard.

            And that’s about it.  That’s about all we know about Noah.  But we know he was a human being, and as a human being, if all this happened to you, you’d have to kind of wonder, right?  You’d have to have some questions

            I mean, think about it.  You’re minding your own business one day, and all of a sudden you hear the voice of God talking to you.  And God tells you some pretty incredible stuff.  God tells you that God’s going to put an end to the huamn race.  God tells you to make an ark, gives you directions for how to make it, and tells you to put your family in it.  Then God tells you to put all the animals and birds and every other creature that moves along the ground in the ark, too.  And you’re supposed to take enough food for everybody, too.

            How would you react to that?  Some of you may be old enough to remember the old Bill Cosby routine where God is talking to Noah and Noah hears all this and says stuff like, “Come on, now.  Who is this really?  Am I on Candid Camera?”  If you’ve never heard the routine, go to YouTube or somewhere and find it, because it’s great.  The reason it’s so great is that it describes how you or I would probably react if we were Noah.

            I mean, if I was even convinced that it was God at all, I’d have a lot of questions.  Like, why did you pick me?  How am I supposed to build an ark?  What exactly is an ark, anyway?  And where I am supposed to get all that wood?    How am I supposed to get all these animals on this ark?  What am I supposed to do with them after I have them?  Where am I going to get enough food for all these animals, let alone my family?  Where am I going to keep it?  What if everybody thinks I’ve gone nuts?  In fact, what if I have gone nuts?  What if I only think it’s God telling me all this stuff?

            If Noah thought any of that, we’re not told.  I suspect he did not, though.  And here’s why I suspect that.  There’s one more thing we’re told about Noah that I did not mention.  Maybe some of you caught it.  We’re told that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

            We don’t get details about that.  We don’t know what it was about Noah that made him a righteous man.  But we know some of the things it probably would’ve meant in Noah’s day.  Being a righteous man would’ve meant spending time in prayer.  Being a righteous man would’ve meant realizing that all the good things you had came from God.  Being a righteous man would’ve meant centering your life around God.  When it says Noah walked faithfully with God, that’s what it means:  that God was always a part of Noah’s life.

            And that’s why Noah did not have all those questions you or I might have.  That’s why Noah was able to hear all this incredible stuff from God and just take it in stride.  That’s why, when God told Noah to do all these things, Noah just went and did them, no questions asked.  Because Noah walked faithfully with God.  God was always a part of Noah’s life.  Another way of saying that is that Noah had a relationship with God.  And because Noah had that relationship with God, Noah knew he could trust God even when God was asking him to do stuff that, to Noah, probably did not make a lot of sense.

Because that’s the only way trust really works.  Trust grows out of a relationship.  Trust does not come from a position or a title.  Trust does not come from power or money.  Trust comes from getting to know someone really well.  Trust comes from having someone be there for us.  Trust comes from someone helping us when we need help, listening when we need someone to talk to, laughing with us, crying with us.  Trust comes from having someone walk with us at the important times of our lives.

            Think about the people you trust the most.  I’ll bet they fit that description.  It could be a spouse.  It could be parents or siblings or other relatives.  It could be friends.  But whoever it is, they’re people you have a relationship with, right?  They’re people you know really well.  They’re people who’ve been there for you.  They’re people you know will be there for you again, if and when you need them.  They’re the people you know you could call at any time, day or night, and if you told them you needed them they’d be there as fast as they could.

            Noah walked faithfully with God.  Noah had a relationship with God.  Noah knew God well, and God knew Noah well.  Because of that relationship, Noah knew he could trust God.  He trusted God so much that even when God told him to do something that did not make sense, and even when Noah did not know how in the world he was ever going to be able to do it, he went and did it anyway.  He trusted God enough to know that if God wanted him to do it, then it must be the right thing to do.  And he trusted God enough to know that if God wanted him to do it, God would provide him with a way to do it.

            So that’s the first lesson from the real story of Noah.  Trust.  Walk faithfully with God.  Get to know God well.  Have a relationship with God that’s strong enough to make us trust God.  Trust God enough that even if God tells us to do something that does not make sense to us, and even if we don’t know how in the world we’ll ever be able to do it, we’ll go and do it anyway.

            Do you have that kind of relationship with God?  Do I?  If not, we need to do something about that.  And if so, we still need to work at it, because relationships are always something we need to work at.  Any time we take a relationship for granted, we run the risk of losing that relationship.

So, to get a relationship with God, or to keep a relationship with God, we need to work at it.  We need to get to know God well.  We need to spend more time in prayer.  We need to do more to recognize that all the good things we have come from God.  And we need to do more to center our lives around God.

Get to know God.  Because God will always be there for us.  God has been there for us in the past, God is there for us now, and God will be there for us in the future.  God will help us when we need help, listen when we need someone to talk to, laugh with us and cry with us.  God will walk with us through all the important times in our lives.  And God will walk with us through all the other times, too.

Noah trusted God.  You and I can trust God, too.  If we spend time with God and have a relationship with God, if we get to know God well, you and I will be able to trust God, just like Noah did.

Right and Wrong

This is the message given at the Oahe Manor Communion service Thursday, June 12, 2014 in Gettysburg.  The Bible verses used are Galatians 5:16-24.

Well, in that reading, the Apostle Paul gives us quite a list of things that are what he calls “acts of the sinful nature”, and also a pretty good list of things that are the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  We obviously don’t have time to go through all of them in detail today, so I’m just going to discuss one aspect of them.  Paul says that acts of the sinful nature include “discord, dissensions, and factions”.  And he says the fruit of the spirit is “peace, patience, and gentleness”.

The reason I’m choosing these is that I think these are things almost all of us struggle with.  I mean, all the acts of the sinful nature are bad, of course, but some of us are not tempted with things like witchcraft of fits of rage or drunkenness.  But almost all of us are subject to doing things and saying things that lead to discord and dissension and factions.

What those terms mean, basically, are that we all are tempted to say things or do things that make people mad, that divide us, that separate us from each other.  Now, we usually don’t think of it that way.  We don’t usually sit down and say, “I think I’ll say something that’s going to start an argument.  I think I’ll go out of my way to make people choose sides and be upset with each other.”  We don’t usually think that way at all.

What we do, though, sometimes, is insist that we’re right.  And by doing so, we also insist that anyone who disagrees with us has to be wrong.  Now again, we don’t usually do this with bad intent.  We’re convinced that we really are right.  And we’re convinced that if people would just think about it more, they’d realize we’re right.  And we’re convinced that everybody would be better off if they’d just realize we’re right.  Our intentions often are good.  But the way we follow through on those intentions is not.

Now, obviously, we all have a right to have opinions.  And we have a right to express our opinions.  But we need to do that in a way that does not lead to the acts of the sinful nature.  We need to express our opinions in a way that does not lead to discord and dissension and factions.  We need to express our opinions in a way that leads to peace.  We need to express our opinions with patience and gentleness.

You see, when the followers of Jesus are divided, when there’s dissension among us, when we split up into factions, we cannot be as effective.  We cannot do as good a job of bringing people to God.  Christians arguing among themselves, no matter what they’re arguing about, does not serve God.

Now, that does not mean we need to agree on everything.  We can disagree, and we can discuss the things we disagree about.  But again, those discussions need to take place with a peaceful spirit.  They need to take place with patience and gentleness.  They need to take place with an effort to understand where the other person is coming from.  They need to take place with an understanding that we can disagree and still be friends.  They need to take place with an understanding that you can disagree with me and be a faithful follower of Christ, and I can disagree with you and be a faithful follower of Christ.  We can disagree, but still be united in our love of God, in our desire to serve God, and in our desire to share God’s word and show God’s love to others.

This sounds good and logical and maybe even obvious in theory, but it can be a lot harder to practice.  I have trouble with it sometimes myself.  I’m a lot better than I used to be, but I’m still tempted all the time to get into arguments about stuff.  I’m still convinced that I’m right about a lot of things.  It’s a temptation I always have to fight.

And one of the ways I fight it is to ask myself this question:  “If I get into an argument about that, how’s it going to help anything?”  And the answer, most of the time, is that it’s not.  It’s not going to help anything.  I won’t convince the other person I’m right.  All we’ll do is get mad at each other.  And then the people observing us will start to take sides.  And pretty soon we’re all divided and upset with each other.  And we’re that much farther away from bringing people to Christ.

So maybe that’ll work for you, too.  The next time you’re tempted to say something that might lead to an argument, ask yourself, “How’s that going to help anything?”  If it’s not, then maybe don’t say it.  Or maybe find a different way to say it, a way that won’t lead to dissension.  And if someone disagrees, maybe just let it go.  Or, if not, just realize that the person who disagrees is just as well-intentioned as we are, and wants what’s best just like we do.

Discord, dissensions, and factions are not fruits of the Holy Spirit.  Peacefulness, patience, and gentleness are.  So let’s try to speak and act in ways that promote peacefulness, patience, and gentleness every chance we get.

One on One

This is the message from the WOW! (Worship on Wednesday) service at the Gettysburg United Methodist Church on June 11, 2014.  The Bible verses used are 2 Corinthians 3:4-18.

            A lot of you probably know John, Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen, right?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.”  That’s a great verse, obviously.  Some would say it’s the greatest verse in the Bible.  God sent the divine Son, Jesus Christ, into this earthly world specifically and purposefully to die so that our sins could be forgiven.

            But that’s not what we’re going to talk about tonight.  Well, it kind of is, but we’re going to approach it a different way.  I was reading the Bible one time, and I noticed that a lot of the books of the New Testament have a Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen, and an awful lot of them are really meaningful.  

Now, I don’t know what that means.  In fact, I don’t know that it means anything at all.  It could just be a coincidence.  After all, every book of the Bible does not have a great verse in Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen.  In fact, some books don’t even have a Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen.  But when I was noticing this, I thought, “Hey, there’s an idea for a sermon series!”

So, what we’re going to do on these Wednesday nights is look at Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen in a lot of different books of the New Testament.  And we’re going to start with Second Corinthians Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen.  “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

Now, maybe you’re thinking “Well, that’s not much of a deal.”  And taken out of context like that, it’s not much of a deal.  So let’s put it into some context so we can see what the deal is about it.

“Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”  A little earlier in this passage, and we read it a little while ago, the Apostle Paul, who wrote this, tells what that veil is that he’s referring to.  It’s a reference to Moses.

Moses, of course, was the greatest prophet of all time.  He’s the one who led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.  And he talked to God directly.  Moses would go into the presence of God.  And when he left God’s presence, there’d be this unearthly glow about him.  Especially in his face, we’re told that Moses’ face was radiant with this divine glow.  And frankly, it scared the heck out of everybody.  So the people made Moses put something over his face, this veil, so they could not see this unreal, unearthly glow that he had.

And this veil came to symbolize the relationship God had with people.  At that time, God did not have a relationship with the average, ordinary person.  God’s word was not available to everybody.  God only spoke to certain people, prophets and priests.  And only those certain people could speak to God, too.

You know, we take prayer for granted sometimes.  We just assume that we can pray to God any time we want to, and that God will be available to us and will hear our prayer.  And that’s true, but it was not always that way.  In Moses’ time, if someone wanted to talk to God, they went to Moses, and Moses would relay the message.  

And of course, if you were going to bother either Moses or God with something, it had to be something pretty important.  You would not ask for just ordinary day-to-day help.  It had to be something really urgent, almost a matter of life and death, before you would think of making a request to God.

In other words, the common, ordinary person did not have a personal relationship with God at that time.  There was no thought that God loves me as an individual.  I mean, God loved the Nation of Israel and would protect it.  And God might love a specific great prophet like Moses.  But there was no thought that God loved ordinary people, that God would love Harley Smidlap or Joe Shlabotnik.  

After all, God was God.  God was way up there, somewhere, great and powerful and almighty.  The people of Israel were just happy that God cared about them as a whole.  That God might care about the average person was beyond their comprehension.

The reason there was no relationship between God and the average person was because of sin.  God is perfect.  God is sinless.  The prophets were, well, not perfect or sinless, but they were considered pretty close.  And besides, they’d been touched by God.  I mean, again, Moses had this unearthly glow around him every time he’d touch with God.  People figured, well, that had to purify Moses somehow, right?  So yeah, Moses could have a relationship with God.  But the average, sinful person could not.  Our sin simply made for too big of a difference, too big of a gap, too big of a separation between us and God.

And then Jesus came.  And Jesus clearly had this one-on-one relationship with God.  That’s why people who did not know who Jesus was figured he must be a prophet.  He had to be a prophet.  Who else could have that kind of a relationship with God?

But Jesus said no.  God is not just the God of the Prophets.  God is not just the God of the Nation as a whole.  God is your God.  You, and you, and you.  And me.  God is available to each and every one of us.

Jesus said each and every one of us can have a personal relationship with God.  And people said, well, how can that be?  How can we sinful people have a relationship with the perfect sinless God?

And Jesus said, I’ll show you.  And then he died.  But of course that’s not really accurate.  Jesus did not just die.  Jesus allowed himself to be killed.  He allowed himself to be killed as punishment for a crime that he was not guilty of, for sins he did not commit.  He took the punishment that should have gone to you and to me, for our sins.

And when Jesus did that, he took away that gap that existed between us and God.  It went away.  Jesus, by dying and by rising into heaven, made it possible for you and me to have that one-on-one relationship with God.  That’s what Paul is talking about when he says, “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”  

When we have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, when we believe in him, we don’t have to be afraid of God any more.  We don’t have to feel like God could not possibly care about an ordinary person like you or me.  We can know that God does care.  God does love Harley Smidlap and Joe Shlabotnik.  And God loves you.  And God loves me.

And that’s how this relates back to John Chapter Three, Verse Sixteen.  God loved the world so much that God sent the divine Son, Jesus Christ, into this earthly world specifically and purposefully to die so that our sins could be forgiven.  And when that happened, our relationship with God was restored.  The veil, the separation between us and God, is gone.

You and I can pray to God any time we want to.  God will be available to us and will hear our prayer.  But we should never take that for granted.  Our relationship with God is not something that God owes to us.  It’s not something we deserve.  It’s not something we could ever earn.  It’s something that God gives us as a gift.  

But even though that relationship is a gift to us, it was not free.  We were able to get that gift only because Jesus paid the price for it.  We say all the time that Jesus died to save us and give us eternal life, and that’s true, but there’s more to it than that.  Jesus did not die just to save us.  Jesus did not even die just to give us eternal life.  Jesus died so we could come to know God personally.  Jesus died so we could have a personal, one-to-one relationship with God.  

Jesus died so we could pray to God about everything.  Big things.  Small things.  Things that affect the world.  Things that affect our lives.  We can pray for peace, or justice, or courage, or strength, or healing, or any of a hundred other things.  We can do that because Jesus made it possible.  That’s something we should never, ever take for granted.  We should always treasure it for the incredible gift it is.

When you and I turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  The gap is closed.  There is no longer anything on earth or in heaven that separates us from the love of God.  God loves us so much that God sent the Son into the world, not to just to save the world, not just to give us eternal life, but to give us a life in which you and I can have a personal, one-on-one relationship with the almighty, sinless, perfect God.  There could be no greater gift on earth or in heaven than that.

Forgiveness and Kindness

Our message in the Wheatland Parish on Sunday, June 8, 2014 was presented by guest speaker Gerri Carpenter of Onida!

           During our morning Bible Study, we have been studying Proverbs and one of the lessons that has really resonated with me was Lesson 5, "The Power of Friendship and Community". Especially Proverbs 17:9, "Those who erase a sin by forgiveness show love but those who talk about it come between close friends".
            Mother Teresa is credited with saying: People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

          I have been really thinking about how we need to be kinder. How many of you are not kind? Did you know that kindness is like another layer of clothing you should put on each day? Colossians 3:12 says "You are God's chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don't be proud. Be kind and patient." Kindness is something you put on. To me that means you can CHOOSE to be kind. Each morning as you are getting dressed, add some kindness as you put on your shoes and socks.  And as you walk out the door, grab some extra kindness along with your car keys.

         God's kindness is without limit. Kindness breaks down barriers and boundaries.  It opens doors and will open the door to the fullness of God's love and fellowship. Kindness takes in the objectionable and critical and welcomes those filled with bitterness and resentment. We who believe should be showing others the riches of God's incredible kindness. God offers His kindness to those who don't deserve it. Do we??

        The story of the Good Samaritan shows us several different types of people. Today we meet these same types of people in our everyday life. Also, when we look in the mirror, which of the following types of people look back at us?

        The first type is The Selfish and Hostile type, represented by the robbers. They are only interested in what THEY want. They will make their way up the success ladder no matter who they have to step on, who they have to use or who they have to hurt. In James 4:1-2, it says, "Why do you fight and argue among yourselves? Isn't it because of your sinful longings? They fight inside you. You want something, but you can't get it. You kill and want what others have. But you can't have what your want so you argue and fight."
  

        The priest and the Levite represent the next type of people, The Indifferent. We would expect either or both of them to stop and help, but instead they cross over to the other side of the road. Maybe they were so overwhelmed by other things that they thought they had nothing to offer. Indifferent people lack a compassionate heart. They won't kick you when you're down, but they sure won't help you up either. They ignore you and just keep walking.

        They could also represent the third type of person: The Legalistic. These type of people justify their indifference by following man made rules instead of God's higher law, which is to love one another. A couple of examples of these manmade laws might be: "if I were to stop to help, I will be late for work" or "If I am kind to that person, my friends won't include me anymore".

        And finally, the fourth kind of person is represented by The Samaritan, who is kind and compassionate. Kindness takes action. The Samaritan didn't pass by, he stopped to help. 1 Corinthian 13 says, "Love is kind". In other words, love takes action and finds expression though kindness. Kindness is love serving. To serve others requires actions such as giving and sharing or perhaps just a kind word. When was the last time you said a kind word to someone that needed encouragement? And don't we all need encouragement almost every day?

        Bruce and I just got home from a great trip to Minneapolis. Both of us were very impressed with how kind almost every person we met was. The people that worked in the stores, etc. were some of the most upbeat, smiling people we have encountered in a long time. And yes, that's supposed to be their job, but they went over and above what would be normally expected. Not only were they kind, but even on the hiways, this country bumpkin was granted many openings by people that didn't HAVE to let me in. And at the Twin's game, we met several people that were friendly and kind. All of this made for a totally awesome week...whereas the last time I was there for the same conference, it was exactly the opposite. The person that was trying to check me in at the motel was condescending and rude. The one restaurant I went into acted like they couldn't see me. And guess what? We didn't stay in that motel OR go back to that restaurant.

        There is a story about an elderly lady that always went to her local post office to buy her stamps. Just before Christmas one horribly cold winter, she was standing in a very long line to buy some stamps. A gentleman standing in line with her told her, "Ma'am, you don't have to wait in line to get stamps, you can buy them from the machine in the lobby." She replied, "I know, but the machine doesn't give me a smile and ask about my arthritis". The machine could only give stamps. The employees gave stamps AND kindness.
  

        We each have the ability to be kind to the people that we meet in our day. But we also have the ability to be mean, condescending and rude. Which one will we choose in our day? Do we remind them of their shortcomings? Or do we cover their mistakes and show them love and kindness? Will we use kindness as a part of our clothing?

        I read a quote on Face Book the other day and it says a lot. "Your most powerful testimony is how you treat people AFTER the church service is over." What is our testimony?

        Dear Father, As we go through our daily lives, help us add kindness to our clothing each day. Bless each of us with your love and kindness. Help us not to see the faults in others, but to cover their mistakes with forgiveness. Help us not to judge each other, but to show each other love. In your loving and forgiving name I pray. Amen