Bonus Blog - Focus - Be a Blessing

     I participated in an exercise this morning where everyone in the virtual room was given the opportunity to discuss what we missed about being able to be physically present in church. It's a normal sentiment when there is any kind of lack. I wonder, though, if focusing on what we miss does not distract from seeing what God is doing. Please understand, if you were in that "room," that I am not criticizing what we did there. Shared  suffering is suffering divided, I think. Still, I follow some on Christian Twitter who  lamented missing their favorite pizza shop or coffee house, as though that is a real loss, or even a permanent one.

     We live in confidence that, even in our current situation, or more specifically, especially because of our current situation, that God is at work. To be fair, we had that conversation last week. This group is not focused on what they do not have. I have been challenged in the last week or two that our calling is to be a blessing to others. Especially for those of us who are still working and remain healthy, it is our mission to find ways to bless other people. That blessing may come in the form of simple kindness to others and may extend to any area where God has blessed us and desires that we pass that blessing on to others.

     I am reminded that, in a time of suffering, Paul prayed to God that he would be relieved of his discomfort. God's reply to him in recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:9
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (NASB)
   God's grace is sufficient not just for our situation, but to empower us to be a blessing to others.


Popular posts from this blog

Welcome

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves."                           Matthew 10:16 (NASB)     Pastors generally are a decent group of people who have difficult jobs working with people who are hurting and needy. It breeds a certain special kind of compassion. It also sometimes leaves them open to the occasional scam artist. We generally have the tools to keep ourselves out of trouble with people coming in person (thank you church boards), but it seems like once or twice each year, we get an email from some pastor or another on our district warning us that their email has been hacked and not to respond to requests for financial assistance. Most pastors are not noted for their tech savvy.     As a pastor and an IT professional, I always cringe a little when those emails come. Many of our pastors have the "innocent as doves" part down (med...
Read more

The Man Who is God (Matthew 9:1-8) 21 February 2023

  On any given day, you will find people on social media who will proudly proclaim “Jesus never said he was God.” You will hear several different kinds of people with different motivations who make the claim. There is the ill-informed atheist who shouldn’t really care what Jesus did or didn’t claim, since he doesn’t believe in God in the first place. The exvangelical who has “deconstructed” his faith to the point that it is difficult to put back together again. Then there is the Muslim who believes Jesus was a prophet and, as such, could not claim deity. While it is true that Jesus didn’t go around proclaiming Himself to be God with skin on, there are numerous places where he made claims where he equated himself with God, whom he often identified as “Father.” Today’s passage includes one of these. Explanation In this short passage, Jesus arrives in Nazareth (his own city) and encounters a paralytic who had been brought to him. He is moved by the faith of this group, but says ...
Read more

Miracle Baby – Jesus the Christ

 Luke 1:34-38 (ESV) And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.   Explanation It is easy to become too familiar with certain Bible stories, and the stories around Jesus’ conception and birth certainly rank in that category. In this passage, Mary isn’t just finding she’s going to have a baby under the most unusual circumstances. God is going to fulfill His greatest prophecy. Israel’s messiah is to be born. She, of course, is confused about the mechanics of the promise, as...
Read more