The Laborer Is Worthy
So many parts to this day, Father, and I am grateful that You were the glue that kept it all together.
Luke 10:7 (<<click to read the passage)
As many of you know, I am a pastor – a bi-vocational pastor – but that by no means makes me any less a pastor. In my lifetime I have served in a total of seven churches both in full- and part-time positions. I have worked in just about every area of church ministry – music, youth, children, and now I serve two congregations as the pastor. I’m not sure how else to label it, as I am the only paid ministerial staff at both.
I find great pleasure and satisfaction in serving as a bi-vocational pastor. In my very first “paid” position, I didn’t really have the title of pastor…I was in college at the time. But I was a youth leader and was blessed to serve under a wonderful, compassionate pastor. His name was Tom Lasley and he, himself, had served as a bi-vocational pastor for a good part of his life. He was an educator by trade and before retirement had served as a school superintendent – all the while pastoring in a local church. I remember him saying to me on more than one occasion that small churches deserved good pastors, too, not just the big ones. Following his example, I continue to be blessed.
I cannot tell you what my income has been at any church I have served – not even the churches I currently serve. I have been well provided for by them all. My needs have been met and I truly have wanted for nothing while under their care. I have been appreciated. I know that I have been loved. The people with whom I sojourned on this side of eternity were there for me and I have been there for them.
Oh, sure, there have been many challenges along the way, but I have no complaints. In their care to me, my churches – all seven of them – have taken excellent care of me and my family.
When Jesus sent forth his disciples, He was sending them into the unknown. They would minister in many ways and to a wide variety of people. Jesus himself encouraged them to not hesitate in accepting the hospitality of those caring for them. Yes, they had needs but those needs would be met because “the laborer is worthy of his wages.”
My congregations are not perfect…but then neither am I. We work together. We journey together, side by side. When one falls, the other extends a lifting hand. That is the Church.
Lord Jesus, help those who serve and those who serve them to both be all about serving You. Help us all to appreciate the best in each other and to readily forgive when we fail. Amen.
May 19th, 2020, Tue, 9:02 pm
Purveyor of Peace
The last few verses of Psalm 66 have so much to say!
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
……and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
…..praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
…..the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
…..He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
…..or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
Luke 10:4-7 (<<click to read the passage)
Before I settled down to write tonight, I took a look at Facebook. Earlier I had shared some pictures and videos of the aftereffects of the heavy rain we experienced earlier this evening and I was looking at the responses.
As I flipped through some other posts, it was just so disheartening… I enjoy interacting with friends and family via Facebook and of course that is one way I can share my writings from More than Useless. I strive daily to be a purveyor of peace. I do my best to be positive and caring and to show love and support to all. But seriously, on more than one occasion in the last couple of weeks, I have considered just not reading anymore…period! I don’t get very far before hate and division are screaming in my face.
Are you a purveyor of peace? That is, do you spread peace? It is becoming more and more of a challenge in our world to be an individual of peace but an even greater challenge is to be the kind of person that can get peace out into a world where peace is really in very short supply…but there seem to be so few takers…
We should be diligent in our peace purveying, but Jesus makes it clear that we can only do what we can do. It is not something we are to stress over.
“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. vs.5,6 (NLT)
Give a generous portion of peace, and either they accept it and are blessed, or they reject it and our blessing returns to us.
A portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew’s Gospel, He shared what has become known as the Beatitudes. One of them has to do with peace.
“Blessed [spiritually calm with life-joy in God’s favor] are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they will [express His character and] be called the sons of God. Matthew 5:9 (AMP)
Once more Jesus admonishes the gift of peace and the blessing that accompanies it.
Lord Jesus, we are in a world divided…and we are divided on so many fronts. Those who may have been like-minded in the past all seem to be on multiple sides of the same fence. It is maddening! But you are the ultimate purveyor of peace. We seem to be so far away for the angelic proclamation at your birth, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14 (NIV)
May Your peace rest upon us once more. Amen.
May 18th, 2020, Mon, 9:01 pm
Peace
It is a psalm kind of day and I loved the verses from my sermon this morning!
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 …Sing the glory of his name;
……make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Psalm 66:1-3a (NIV)
Luke 10:4-7 (<<click to read the passage)
Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God] to this house.’ And if anyone of peace is there [someone who is sweet-spirited and hospitable], your [blessing of] peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. vs.5,6 (AMP)
Just reading through these few verses, these are the ones that jumped out at me.
Peace seems to be a rare commodity today. Anger? There are tons of anger. Selfishness? It runs rampant. Division? Our entire culture seems to be split right down the middle! But peace? Oh, that it would we could be doused with a deluge of peace.
A little bit of reading from the Jesus Walk Bible Study Series helped my understanding.
The Greek word eirene “peace” is a translation of the rich Hebrew word shalom. It has a wide meaning, but the root idea is “well-being.” It can carry the concepts of bodily health, prosperity, a friendly relationship.” But it also carries a strong religious usage. Shalom is the gift of Yahweh, so the word moves into the concept of the gift of God’s salvation and wholeness.
One of the verses that were referenced for a better understanding of shalom being the gift of Yahweh (God’s formal name in Scripture) is Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV).
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
And then of course, what did that make me think of? One of my favorite songs from my days in the Collegians choir at my alma mater, Mt. Vernon Nazarene College (now University).
The current conductor of that ensemble recently gathered the current choir and several alumni to join in a virtual choral presentation of this inspirational piece. It is wonderfully put together both musically and visually. The singing vocalist’s faces are set in the windows of their beautiful chapel.
Please take a moment and listen…and may you find peace settling in your spirit. …and don’t hesitate to pass that peace along.
May 17th, 2020, Sun, 7:26 pm
Vulnerable
Father, Your might was showcased out our window as a storm in all its splendor flew by! The calm and the sun have returned, and all is well. What a mighty God we serve!
Luke 10:3 (<<click to read the passage)
According to Merriam-Webster,
vulnerable adjective
….: capable of being physically or emotionally wounded
Shouldn’t that be our life’s goal? Isn’t that something, early on, that we instill in our children? Isn’t that something we all set out to accomplish every day? “Alright world, heads up! Today I am going to be…vulnerable!”
Bad idea, you say? You’re having none of that? Not happening on your watch?
Jumping back into Luke 10, I stopped at verse 3. Remember Jesus is sending out a troupe of disciples in pairs to towns that he was planning to visit. Many needed to hear the good news that he intended to share, and they were His forerunners. After speaking of the need for workers for the great harvest of souls to come, He commands them,
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. (NIV)
A portion of a study on the Blue Letter Bible website says,
Jesus commands them to go with a certain kind of heart, that trusts in God and doesn’t seek to abuse and manipulate people. Going as lambs among wolves doesn’t sound very attractive to us! Yet, it is exactly as Jesus was sent, and how the power of God worked through Him mightily.
Isn’t that what gives us pause? We are believers! We are more than conquerors! …but going out as “lambs among wolves”? Talk about being vulnerable!
“Yet, it is exactly as Jesus was sent…”
The King of Heaven placed Himself, willingly, into the womb of a young Israelite girl. Is there anything more vulnerable than a newborn child? Infinite deliberately placing Himself into finite.
Nothing about His life was easy. He exerted His power, not for His own gain, but for the benefit of those in need. He hungered but fed the hungry. He grew weary but did not withhold His attention from those who craved His touch. He was always on call and literally had to slip away in the quiet morning hours to spend much needed time with His Father.
Our Almighty Creator God allowed Himself to be betrayed, tried, convicted, beaten, and crucified on a cruel cross as…a lamb.
In his Bible Commentary, Matthew Henry, in reference to Luke 10:3, stated,
Your enemies will be as wolves, bloody and cruel, and ready to pull you to pieces; in their threatenings and revilings, they will be as howling wolves to terrify you; in their persecutions of you, they will be as ravening wolves to tear you.
It’s easy to see it applying to Jesus, but to us?
Henry goes on to say,
But you must be as lambs, peaceable and patient, though made an easy prey of. It would have been very hard thus to be sent forth as sheep among wolves, if he had not endued them with his spirit and courage.
Jesus asks nothing of us that He has not already done.
Again, I will address the mentality of those with a “my rights” mentality. We are sent by a wounded Savior to touch a world that will just as readily accept our extended hand of mercy as it will just as readily bite it off.
There are no guarantees. There are no apologies. The opening word in verse 3 is “Go!” It is not a suggestion…it is a command. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies leads the way…by example…and we must readily follow. Then, and only then, will we be endued with His spirit and courage. It is exactly as Jesus was sent, and how the power of God worked through Him mightily and will work through us, as well.
The way of vulnerability is not easy, but it is the way we must go.
May 14th, 2020, Thurs, 6:46 pm
Not in Our Budget
As this day is winding down, Father, may my mind and heart be attentive to Your direction. Amen.
*********
Well, this afternoon I took time to do some much-needed cleaning on my bus – #25. Though we will continue to deliver lunches through the last day of “school” – June 3rd – we were asked to have the bulk of everything tidied up by this Friday.
I have not quite finished cleaning #25 yet, in that I need to mop my floor and then thoroughly wipe down the area where my feet go when I drive – but that will have to wait. And I’m not really sure how long that wait will be.
A couple of weeks ago, the computer that takes care of the elaborate emissions components on my bus had an issue. Our fine mechanics have done everything they know to do, cleaning some parts, and replacing others as needed. But they cannot go any further. Everything they have done so far has involved communication via phone calls with International – the manufacturer of my bus. And now they’ve hit a wall. At this point, it has to be hooked up to a diagnostic computer to see what ails it. So, tomorrow morning, bright and early, #25 gets to make a trip to Zanesville. …ugh….
As I have said, we have great mechanics but without the proper software (and it is quite expensive, I am told, and not in our budget – at least not in the near future) you can only do what you know to do.
How often do we go through life only doing what we know to do? We take care of business the best we know how, but there are many things in life that we just can’t handle. We need someone with a greater understanding of the situations in which we find ourselves. What we need, is to get ourselves back to our manufacturer – our Creator. Only He can help us. It makes no difference how much experience we have; there are some things that we just can’t fix.
And before we begin thinking we can do it ourselves; we have to realize that paying for the answers to all of our life’s questions is not – and can never possibly be in our budget. Only One has paid the price and it was at great cost that He did so.
Jesus fulfills the prophecy found in Isaiah 44:22,
“I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.” (NLT)
Only Jesus, our Creator, can fix what ails us because He alone was able to pay the price, and I, for one, am eternally grateful.
May 13th, 2020, Wed, 8:29 pm