Are you a God-Worshipper?
Over the years this is what I have heard about Sunday mornings from friends not able to make it to church. At some point, all of these have been told to me.
To tired
To Sick
I have to fix the toilet
I don’t see how it will help me
They’re just a bunch of hypocrites
Too much hassle to get kids ready
All they want is money
I got in too late last night
It’s Raining
I don’t like the music
Regardless of what has been said, in today’s society, there are many distractions, which will keep you away from church on Sunday mornings. Now many reasons are legit, and life happens Monday thru Saturday, and we are not in a cocoon to know that stuff happens. Its how we conduct ourselves Monday thru Saturday in which we will make a big impact. Small things can be done during the week that will keep you close to your faith.
On your commute, turn off your radio and have a conversation with God. Pick a time and be consistent.
Do one nice thing for someone every day.
Think positive; no one wants to be around a negative “Nelly.”
Hug your spouse/kids like you mean it once a day.
Stop thinking about how we cannot do something and start thinking how can I succeed with the tools I have.
Be Thankful.
In Psalm 22 verse 22 the psalmist talks about how he tells his friends what to expect when you come to worship, Regardless of your circumstances the last line says, “ He has been right there, listening”
“Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.”
Are you a God-worshipper? To be the worshipper, you have to celebrate surrender and know that God has never let you down and never looked the other way. Certainly, there are times in my life I have been mad at God. I did not understand the circumstances I was in or the prayers I have prayed that were not answered to my satisfaction. But, over time I have tried to give up control and have more faith in His will not mine.
In Psalm 29:29 “God makes his people strong. God gives his people peace”. And in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me and I will give you rest.”
Apple had a slogan for its company and employees years ago.
“We need to come up with something the public does not know it needs, but when they have it they cannot do with out it!”
All of us in one way or another have a cell phone near us at all times. Something we cannot do without. We don’t have to have it but its something we have grown to depend on and rely on for our everyday lives. Everything is at our fingertips.
In these times do not forget that our God has never given up on us and he is always there to listen. And you don’t need a phone for that.
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
Will Be Healed
In the book of Acts, chapter 5 verse 12 the Bible talks about the apostles healing many.
“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”
I want to look at few things in this scripture. “All believers would meet together on Solomon’s Colonnade (or Porch) no one else would join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. This just sounds eerily familiar in today’s society. Here is what I mean. We (Christians) meet in Church even though the door is always open the fear of joining or attending is still there. We don’t bite. It’s the fear of I am not perfect, what will everyone think of me. Oh and the excuse “this is not my kind of service, or the music is not what I prefer.” Do we really think that is an issue in Heaven? Its worshiping God for who he is. Bow down and worship him. The song by Hillsong “Touch the sky” says “I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground.” We find it difficult to admit we do not have it all together. And we sure don’t want to go into church in front of people and declare we are a mess. But the truth is you do not have to be in Church to fall on your knees to surrender to Christ. This can be your path; certainly the Church is here for you. To be honest, I am tired of people thinking ‘Oh so you’re a Christian” some how that can mean we are weak. Far from it, just because we are surrendering ourselves to the guidance of Jesus does not make us weak. It makes us strong.
“I can do everything thorough him who gives me strength.”
We can be a witness to anyone we come in contact with, knowing that we are not perfect nor will we every be, but thought the blood of Jesus he has paid for our sins and we are forgiven. The next part of the scripture is the last line “all of them were healed."
During the past year I have lost a very dear friend of the family to cancer, and 4 more family and friends are fighting it now or have completed their treatment. Growing up you never dwell or think about disease or addiction with people you know. It was always “someone else”. And as you grow older the more you realize it’s all of your friends and family.
I believe “all of them were healed” in that time was a statement for the ages. All who ask for God’s love and forgiveness will receive God’s grace. All of our prayers are not answered for healing. I sat at the bed side held my friends hand and prayed for healing of her body. She was not healed. She was still the same person I knew for years, full of wit and sassiness she had always been just in a much weaker state. I do know she had great love for God and she is walking on streets of gold. We miss her but she was healed.
My prayer is anyone who comes in the doors of the Church “Will be healed” and know that God’s love is available and they will never feel like they are intruding.
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
Environmental Holiness
I have a confession to make. Most of the time, my blogs just reflect whatever I’m trying to process myself. I’m definitely not an expert on the history of Israel, I haven’t been an activist concerning abuse in the church before, and I’m always talking to other pastors trying to get multiple sides of the story because I just don’t know what I don’t know. Over Christmas break, there were a series of events that caused me to really think about something called environmental holiness. At least that’s the fancy way to really talk about should we recycle.
I visited my sister in California who just had her second kid. In her house, they have two trash cans, and on the wall above each trash can they had drawn “landfill” with a frowny face, and “glass, paper, plastic” over the other one with the recycle symbol. I’ve never been so convicted of a stupid frowny face in my life. It got compounded by all the things that Californians do on a regular basis that caught me off guard. They used biodegradable straws everywhere, the grocery store didn’t give you bags, forcing you to either bring your own reusable bags or buy them from the store, they promoted carpooling with HOV lanes and parking centers and phone numbers all designed to reduce pollution (but probably mostly traffic, because traffic is awful).
Then, in one of my youth pastor groups, someone asked what our views on the theology of recycling was. There was mostly support for recycling, people would quote some scripture about God placing man as care takers of the earth and it seemed like a positive conversation… until we found out the reason it was brought up in the first place. This guy’s pastor had thrown away some trash in the youth’s recycling bin and said “well the Earth is only temporary”. And there it was, while we were all assuming that recycling lined up with just about any interpretation of the Bible from specific verses to broad strokes, we were faced with there are people who can still take another stance on scripture and come to the complete opposite conclusion.
To be clear, even thought the Bible never specifically addresses recycling, I personally think that you can make very strong arguments that environmental holiness is a thing and that God cares about how we treat the world. Recycling is one aspect of that. But at some point, if you really have to go to the lengths of hermeneutics and exegesis to determine if you should recycle there are some bigger issues. We shouldn’t have to invoke God to come to the conclusion we need to take care of His creation.
One of the more curious things I’ve been dealing with is that non Christians tend to have a very different set of moral standards, or at least a different cause for those standards. They don’t steal, not because the Bible says “thou shall not steal” but because they inherently understand that that hurts the other person. California, one of the more unchurched states in America, has this inherent understanding that we should protect the earth, not because God created it, but because they want their kids to breath clean air, see the great barrier reef, or just be able to go outside and enjoy nature.
So I guess the real question isn’t “Would God want us to recycle?” and then we research that and try to make Bible verses fit into our modern day context. Rather, I think we should be asking ourselves “how is it the rest of the world already understands the need and importance of this but we are still trying to Biblically justify it?”
While it’s a little late for New Years resolutions, I still think this is the perfect time to start being more aware of how wasteful we all are. Take those extra two steps to throw your bottle into the recycling bin (or better yet, use a reusable bottle), buy an extra trash can and mark it recycling, or just bring your own bags to Walmart next time.
Give Thanks
The holiday season has ended, the lights are put away, or plans are in process to put away the lights, and the ornaments are wrapped so they will not break and be opened up with anticipation for next year.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No presents just get together and enjoy a meal and each other’s company. One of my favorite stories is of a grandson who asked his grandfather if he would like to join him for a prayer. Grandpa said yes I would, “Do you want me to pray?” Grandpa asked. Grandson said no I would. As they both kneeled down to pray at the coffee table, the grandson said “Dear Lord…………..Thank you. Amen.
Just simple. How many times have we made events more complicated than they should be?
As we begin this New Year, with new expectations, do not let the busy-ness of our lives take over. Just because we are busy does not mean we are productive or focused. In all circumstances, we are to pray.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4:6-7
I have a bad tendency of losing my keys. There is something about misplacing something you know you just had in your hands, and it cannot be found, and it is nowhere in sight. I know I am not the only one that does this. So many times I have just sat down and calmed down, gathered my thoughts and my keys are just where I left them, right in front of me. We all do it. We find ourselves worked up, sometimes to a boiling point over the smallest things. God is right there with us through the great times, the hard times, the times we are mad at God and those times we are too busy to say thanks.
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Jeremiah 23:23
So as this New Year is underway, and we have all wrote 2017 in the past week somewhere and had to erase it and put 2018. Do not let our lives get so caught up in ourselves we forget to give thanks. Look around and count your blessings. We are blessed.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17
God Bless,
Mike Conrad
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
City of Peace?
On Dec. 6th, President Trump made the following announcement, “Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital… This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.” Over 20 days later many of us still have more questions than answers. I’m guessing some of the more common questions are: isn’t Jerusalem already the capital? Shouldn’t we support Israel? Why is this a big deal? So here are five things that you might need to know about Jerusalem. (Warning: This is a heavy history post)
1. Jerusalem is one of the most important cities in three major world religions.
And this is why Jerusalem is such a fought over area. The three major religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three of these religions trace their roots back to Abraham, and from Abraham to King David who first captured the city between 1005-999 BCE. For the Jews, this is where the temple was built, where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, and where most religious festivals are centered. For Christians, in addition to the Jewish significance, it is the place where Jesus spent a lot of his time teaching and healing people in the temple courts, performed miracles, had the last supper, prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, was crucified, resurrected and ascended into Heaven. For Muslims, Jerusalem, more specifically the Dome of the Rock, is where Muhammad ascended to Heaven and received the second pillar of Islam (praying five times a day). And since Abraham, David, Solomon, and Jesus are also prophets in Islam, the city carries significance for many of the same reasons that Christians hold it significant.
2. Jerusalem has rarely belonged just to the Jews.
To say Jerusalem has seen some hardship is an understatement. When David first took Jerusalem 3000 years ago, it belonged to the Jebusites, and therefore wasn’t part of the land allotted among the 12 tribes. This meant that David could set it up as the capital city to signify a united Israel and not show favoritism to one tribe over another. When the kingdom divided in 930 BCE after Solomon’s death, Jerusalem became the capital of the Kingdom of Judea. Judah was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and many Jews were exiled. Enough Jews returned to Jerusalem between 538-515 BCE that they were able to rebuild the temple. Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem again 332 BCE, and it remained under Greek rule until the Romans captured it in 63 BCE. Israel remained under Roman rule, and then Byzantine rule until 614 CE. It was mainly under Arab rule until the Crusades where Christians and Muslims fought for hundreds of years over religiously significant sites. The Mamluks controlled Jerusalem from about 1291-1516 (if you’ve never heard of the Mamluk it’s ok, I hadn’t either). The Ottoman Empire took control for the next 400 years before losing it to the British during World War One.
This is where we come to the crux of the current conflict. In 1947 the United Nations came up with a plan for the British Mandate to be terminated and for Jerusalem to become an international state, or “corpus separated.” Basically, the plan was for Jerusalem to not be owned or controlled by any one group of people. This would allow all three religions to have access to their holy sites and have some benefits for the Palestinians and Jews. The Jewish Agency for Palestine accepted the plan, but Arab leaders refused to sign anything that had any form of territorial division. This started the Arab-Israeli wars, which saw Jerusalem declared the capital of Israel in 1949, and the final Arab-Israeli war was a six-day war in 1967 in which Israel declares Jerusalem unified and gets us pretty close to today’s current state of affairs. All in All, Jerusalem has been “destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked an additional 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times," according to Eric H. Cline’s tally in Jerusalem Besieged.
3. There is a difference in the nation of Israel and the decedents of Israel.
This might seem obvious, but I think this is an important distinction to make. During all of the conflicts, exiles, and conquests (not to mention marriages) very few people can tell you which of the 12 tribes they descended from. Even before Jesus’ time, several people converted to Judaism (Esther 8:17 gives us one of those instances) and what we call the Old Testament was translated into Greek which leads to many Greeks becoming converts who were later called Gentiles. GotQuestions.org has this to say:
“It is a common misunderstanding that following the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in the Jewish-Roman wars of ad 70 and 135, the Jews of Palestine were driven from the land as a people and that modern diaspora Jews are their descendants. There never was a great “dispersion” or “mass exile” of Jews following the Jewish-Roman wars of ad 70 and 135. Most of the Jews were “people of the land”… peasant farmers indifferent to politics but devoted to their homeland. Keeping a low profile, they remained in Palestine, many becoming Christians and Muslims under Byzantine and Arab rule. As mentioned earlier, Jews of the Diaspora, including the ancestors of today’s northern European, Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazim, continued to be largely the descendants of proselytes. Today, dark-eyed, brown-skinned Palestinians are more likely to be Abraham’s physical descendants than the light-skinned northern European Ashkenazim displacing them.”
Even today, about a quarter or Israel’s population is non-Jewish. I bring this up to try to accentuate the difference between a people group and a political state. Support for Israel is not synonymous with support of God’s people.
4. The word you are looking for is Zionist.
It’s a pretty common belief among Christians that Israel belongs to the Jews. This hasn’t always been the case though, and it has gained a lot of popularity in America since the formation of the Moral Majority the 1970’s and a famous televangelist saying in 1980 that “I firmly believe God has blessed America because America has blessed the Jew. If this nation wants her fields to remain white with grain, her scientific achievements to remain notable, and her freedom to remain intact, America must continue to stand with Israel.” A Zionist wants Jewish people to return to Israel to claim their homeland according to the Bible. A Christian Zionist sees this as one of the steps required for Jesus to return to Earth.
Another term you might hear in this conversation is Dispensationalist Christian, which is a view that Christianity has restored lost elements of Judaism. Again, Jews returning to Jerusalem is a big step to the end of the world. However, in this scenario, two thirds of the Jews will die, and the other third will convert to Christianity. Both Zionists and Dispensationalist Christians have ulterior motives for their support of Israel. Whether it comes from a gratitude for being part of the Christian story, hopes in speeding up the coming of Jesus, or hoping to eventually convert the Jews to Christianity, their support of the nation of Israel has very little to do with the country of Israel itself, and in fact their political stances are usually very different (Jews leaning more liberal while Zionists and Dispensationalist are more conservative).
If you are looking for more information or things to look into yourself, another major view is Supersessionism, or Replacement Theology, in which Christians have “replaced” the Jews as God’s chosen people.
5. The Methodist church has made an official statement concerning Jerusalem.
The full statement can be found here. However, this is an excerpt:
“The decision by the President of the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy there goes against 70 years of consensus within the international community that Jerusalem should be an international city, a city of peace, open to people of all faiths. As pilgrims who have ourselves visited Jerusalem, we know first hand the deep significance it holds for people of many faiths.
The United Nation’s partition plan adopted November 29, 1947, called for Jerusalem and Bethlehem to be a corpus separatum (a separate entity) that would be open to all. Today, not one government has its embassy in Jerusalem. Every U.S. president from Truman until now has affirmed that any final status of Jerusalem must embrace such openness and be negotiated by Israel and the Palestinian people.
United Methodists have long supported the international consensus that the things that make for just and lasting peace in the Middle East must include a shared Jerusalem. Our General Conference declares: “Jerusalem is sacred to all children of Abraham: Jews, Muslims, and Christians. We have a vision of a shared Jerusalem, as a city of peace and reconciliation, where indigenous Palestinians and Israelis can live as neighbors and, along with visitors and tourists, have access to holy sites and exercise freedom of religious expression. The peaceful resolution of Jerusalem’s status is crucial to the success of the whole process of making a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.”
