Give Me A Sign

The Apostle Paul wrote: “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” As we move through this Christian season of Lent and approach Palm Sunday and Easter, we know that the message of the cross can sound rather foolish to some people. During difficult times we often begin to question the purpose and meaning of life. We say to God, “Please give me a sign!”

God does send signs! However, we have trouble understanding them. Or we are trying to find signs that prove what we want to say, and not what God really means. Or we don’t see the signs for what they are. In the Bible, Jesus gave sign after sign and many ignored him. He changed water into wine. He healed the sick and gave sight to the blind. He fed 5,000 with just 2 small fish and 5 small loaves. He healed leprosy and raised Lazarus from the dead. Many of Jesus’ followers and even the disciples would not or could not read the signs. Often, we are the same way.

There are signs of the presence of God everywhere! Every time someone reaches out to love and care for someone else; every time the poor and hungry are fed and cared for; every time a missionary doctor brings healing to those who are hurting; every time a child smiles and laughs because they know they are loved. Every time we offer unconditional love and forgiveness to others we see the presence of God.

Attending worship, prayer, study of scripture, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, all these things help us stand in the presence and love of God, and keep us focused. We have to maintain that focus and we have to take care of ourselves spiritually so that our faith stays fresh and our love of God and our love for God stays fresh. While trying to minister to others, while trying to live as followers of Jesus Christ, we need to make sure we keep our own spiritual houses in order. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said we can do that by “staying in love with God.”

We stay in love with God by faithful participation in what John Wesley called the “Means of Grace.” Those things which help us stay in love with God are attending worship, prayer, Christian fellowship, Bible Study, the Lord’s Supper and by being faithful stewards of all that God has given to us including our time, talent and money. That brings us back to the cross again. It may seem foolish, but the cross is the wisdom and power of God. The cross becomes our focal point, which allows us to see beyond the worldly view to the divine point of view. The cross is a bridge between God and humanity. So many times in life we wish that there were a place where we could leave the past behind and start over again. There is only one place in the world like that, and it is located on a hill called Calvary, at the foot of an old rugged cross.

Jesus gave us the ultimate sign when it was discovered the tomb was empty! Jesus has risen from the grave and He gives us eternal life! The tomb is empty, but not the promise. The tomb is empty, but not our lives. The tomb is empty, but not God’s love or the love we are called to share. The tomb is empty, but not our faith. The tomb is empty because Son of God is alive and so are we! Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate sign and it fills us with promise, possibility and purpose. See you in church!

Finder's Keepers

From The Pastor’s Pen

“Finder’s Keepers”

After reading Luke 15: 1 – 10, we discover a passage of Scripture about searching and finding. In this passage, Jesus not only illustrates the frantic nature of those doing the searching, He also shows how much rejoicing there is for the one who is found. When we look around our society we soon discover that there are so many that are lost. People are lost in materialism, entertainment, alcohol and drug abuse and the list goes on and on. The good news is that we have a God who doesn’t forget about the lost.

God doesn’t write anyone off as sinners unworthy of love, grace and forgiveness. God’s love and grace are too big for that. No matter how lost we become, God offers us love, grace and forgiveness. We have a Savior who searches for the lost. He is the Shepherd who leaves the 99 and searches for the one lost sheep. He is the woman with 10 silver coins and lost one. He sweeps and cleans high and low until we are found. Then all heaven rejoices because we have been brought home and the lost have been restored.

One of the things the scripture tells us is that there will be rejoicing over the lost that is found. It really is finder’s keepers. When you find that which was lost, you want to tell everyone. Don’t you start yelling and telling everyone when you have found the car keys you misplaced? That is the way God and the angels in heaven react when one comes to Jesus Christ for the very first time. There is rejoicing! God throws a party and we should rejoice with God.

The real problem with the Pharisees is that they wanted to be the keepers instead of the finders. And when we sit like the Pharisees were doing, and look down our nose at people who are different or people who are not living the faith, that is what we are doing, trying to be the keepers instead of the finders. When we sit in judgment of others, in essence, we have moved God out of God’s rightful throne and taken over. That is not our job; we are called to be seekers.

In actuality, there are only two kinds of people in the world. Those who know and have the experienced the love, grace and forgiveness of God and those who have not. We are not called to judge others! Instead, we are called to seek and rejoice because someone else has found the love and grace and forgiveness of God. There are millions of finders but there can only be one keeper, and it is not you and I. God is our one keeper!

As finders, we are called to find the lost and then be part of the party and celebrate when they are found. Jesus looked beyond the outer person and looked beyond ones status in life, and loved and accepted everyone unconditionally. That is what every church should be like, because that is what God’s love is like, and that is what we are called to be like. We are called to look beyond the outer person and see a child of God, loved unconditionally by God. We are called to offer others spontaneous, authentic, and unconditional, grace filled love! Take time this week to pray, study your Bible and attend worship. See you in church!

Rev Jim Robinson
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mesquite

The Importance of Prayer, Worship and Bible Study

All of our communication devices and computers are supposed to help us slow down and take life easier. But they don’t. We meet ourselves coming and going. We live in a world that runs at a fevered pitch. Prayer and worship and Bible study is the antidote for the fevered pitch of this world. When you’ve let your stress and anxiety skyrocket to new heights, prayer and worship brings you back down to earth. Prayer, worship and Bible study also lifts you toward heaven. Prayer reminds us that we are not in control. Through prayer, we acknowledge that ultimately God is in control. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 5: 22 – 23 that, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we pray, attend worship and study our Bible, we are reminded us to use these fruits.

In 1932 Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr wrote what we know today as the Serenity Prayer. Most of us have heard part of it but have you ever heard it all? “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking as God did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that God will make all things right if I surrender to God’s will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with God forever in the next. Amen.”

Prayer, worship and Bible Study are also the fuel for faith. You can run out of gas in your spiritual life. If you spend more time watching TV, golfing and going to the casino than you do your devotional life, by studying God’s Word, praying, and attending worship, then you are probably running on empty. If you are running on empty in your spiritual and prayer life, you could find yourself stranded one of these days and being stranded spiritually is no fun. Scripture reminds us that Jesus went to a place to be alone and centered Himself in prayer. Jesus received wisdom, courage and strength from prayer and so can we.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Seek God and discover God and make God a power in your life. Without God all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights. Without God life is a meaningless drama with the decisive scenes missing. But with God, we are able to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope! With God, we are able to rise from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy! St. Augustine was right, we were made for God and we will be restless until we find rest in God. Take time this week to find your rest in God by taking time to pray, read your Bible and attend worship!

Focus on Jesus Christ

Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness so He could be alone with God. God knew the temptations were coming. God didn’t order the temptations or cause them; God just knew they would be there. Just before hand, God reminded Jesus of their relationship. God provided the Holy Spirit to strengthen Jesus.

In the wilderness of temptation, Jesus struggled to keep His ministry and purpose in focus. This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian Season that followers of Jesus Christ call Lent. As we move through this Lenten Season, the season of the 40 days leading up to Easter and the celebration or the Resurrection, we are called to keep our eyes and our focus on Jesus Christ. How do we do that? Worship is always a good place to start, especially worship where we celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion. At the Lord’s Table we are reminded who we are, and our relationship with God, and we are fed and filled with God’s grace.

There are other important ways to stay focused on the Cross as well. Self denial, prayer and Bible Study are so important. Self denial is an important Christian concept; it allows us to walk the same path Jesus walked. It allows us to feel some of what Jesus felt when He gave up everything for our sake. Over the ages people have given up all sorts of things like meat, sweets, chocolate, going to the movies and those kinds of things. Self denial is about making a sacrifice that makes a difference, focusing on the Cross and reminding ourselves what Christ gave up for us. I have listed a few things we might want to give up, not only during Lent, but give up permanently!

Give us complaining. Instead, “In everything give thanks.” Always focus on the positive!
Give up looking at other people’s worst attributes. Instead, concentrate on their best points. Give up gossip and speaking unkindly. Instead, let your speech be generous and understanding. Give up your hatred of anyone or anything. Instead, learn the discipline of unconditional love. “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Give up your worries and anxieties. They are too heavy for you to carry anyway. Instead, trust God with them. Live today and let God’s grace be sufficient. Give up TV one evening a week. Instead, visit someone who is lonely or sick. Give up buying anything but essentials for yourself. Instead, give the money to God. The money you would spend on the luxuries could help someone meet basic needs. We are called to be stewards of God’s riches, not consumers. Give up prejudice, bigotry and judging others by appearances. Instead, learn to give up yourself to God. There is only one who has the right to judge, Jesus Christ.

We know that overcoming temptation makes us stronger and helps us keep our focus. Make a commitment this week to pray, read your Bible and attend worship. The whole point of the Lenten Season is to keep our lives and our hearts focused on Jesus Christ and His amazing grace and unconditional love for everyone!

The Catch of the Day

Jesus pulled in the “Catch of the Day” when he hauled in Peter, James, John and Andrew that day by the Sea of Galilee. It might not have been his biggest catch, but it certainly was the “Catch of the Day.” Each of these disciples would have their own times when they too, would make a “Catch of the Day” I believe that, “If you can dream it, you can do it!” Israel dreamed of the coming of the Messiah. When Jesus showed up, many of them thought it was too good to be true and would not accept Jesus for who He was. But there were those like Peter, James, John and Andrew, who knew immediately and dropped everything to follow. The dream not only lived in them, but the dream had become alive in them and began to coalesce into a vision! What helped with that dream coalescing into a vision was the vision which Jesus had. Jesus had a vision of the world where there was no more guilt or sin. Jesus had a vision where the virtues of honesty, truthfulness, trust and care prevailed. A world where the love of God and the love for God, and the love for our neighbors rules everything we do!

Jesus called this world the “Kingdom of God.” God’s Kingdom is not of power and might. God’s Kingdom does not have any physical borders, but is a Kingdom that lives in the heart. God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom with a King who moves us to do what is right, simply because we know it is right. God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom where the King moves us to love one another because we have experienced God’s love for us. God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom filled with people whose purpose is to honor God with their lives. That is the vision Jesus had and the vision that captured Peter, James, John and Andrew. Their Dream had coalesced into a vision and that vision became their mission! A mission that Jesus confirmed at His ascension, Jesus told them “Go, into all the world making disciples of every nation, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit.” That was their mission. That is what their followers did. That is what the followers of the followers did all the way down to us! That is what we are called to do, as well. When have the dream and the vision, the mission is not difficult at all, because we carry such “Good News!”

Pastor Jim Robinson

Mesquite United Methodist Church
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mesquite

Black History Month

Spotlight on: Booker T. Washington

Writer, black leader, educator: Born Booker Taliaferro Washington on April 5, 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. The son of a white slave owner and a black slave, Washington was freed after emancipation (1865) and worked as a houseboy where he learned to read and write. He studied to be a teacher at Hampton Institute, Virginia, and eventually became a writer and speaker on black issues and struggles. In 1881, Washington was appointed principal of the newly opened Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, and built it up into a major center of black education. By cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, he helped raise funds to establish and operate hundreds of small community schools and institutions of higher education for blacks. Though he was strongly criticized by W. E. B. Du Bois and his policies were repudiated by the civil rights movement, Washington remains the foremost black leader of the late 1800s. He received national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895 and won white support through his acceptance of the separation of blacks and whites. His autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read.


Visit Mesquite United Methodist home page
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mesquite

The Sweet Scent of God's Amazing Grace

In the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Luke, the Pharisees didn’t think Jesus was a very good judge of character. Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus to dinner and our scripture reminds us of the following: “A woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.” This woman was what the Pharisees and many of us today would call “damaged goods.” She was probably a prostitute. We know that because a decent woman never let her hair down in public. Simon and those gathered with Jesus were first confronted with this woman’s tears. I am sure they were simply tears of shame and frustration. She was a sinner with a bad reputation and it was totally scandalous for this unclean woman to enter the house of a righteous Pharisee named Simon. It was even more scandalous that she knelt by the feet of the guest of honor and wet his feet with her tears. It was scandalous that she poured her perfume over the feet of Jesus. It was scandalous that she dried his feet with her hair. Everyone was offended; everyone that is, except Jesus. Everyone else saw “damaged goods.” Jesus saw a precious child of God and loved her unconditionally. Everyone else saw unrighteousness, and Jesus saw a sin sick soul that needed to be cleansed. Everyone else saw a prostitute, Jesus saw a lost daughter of God needing to find her way home. All we know is that she was considered an outcast and then she encountered Jesus who said: “I believe in you!” Jesus, tells her he understands and He loves her unconditionally, no matter what it was she did. No wonder this woman wanted to show her love and respect for Jesus. She came offering the only things she had left to give, her tears, her perfume and herself. Have you ever given someone something you thought was a great gift, only to have them accept it, but not with the enthusiasm you expected? That’s the attitude the woman heard from those gathered with Jesus at Simon’s table. Those gathered around Jesus were filled with judgment and condemnation! The woman, though, ignored their comments and their stares. So enthralled with who Jesus was, so moved by His love for her and others like her, the downtrodden and fallen, she poured out her soul and bathed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. The beautiful smell of her gift filled the room. However, there was a smell more beautiful that made her perfume smell like nothing. That was the sweet scent of God’s amazing grace. The Pharisee sat in judgment. All he saw was the woman’s sin, not her need, not her potential, not her worth, just her sin. But not Jesus! Jesus recognized the presence and action of this woman as profound gratitude and pure love sparked by the God’s grace. Jesus spoke to Simon and then to the woman. To Simon: “Her great love shows that her many sins have been forgiven.” And to her: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Not only was forgiveness poured out upon her, but in that outpouring, her brokenness was healed. She had been redeemed and made whole by the unconditional love and grace of Jesus Christ. That second chance, that new start is why Jesus died on the cross. Jesus poured out His life for you and for me. He poured out His life so we could experience and smell the sweet scent of God’s amazing grace. Like Jesus, we are called, not to sit in judgment like Simon, but to welcome everyone who is seeking that very same redemption, and offer them God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and the sweet scent of God’s amazing grace!

Visit Mesquite United Methodist home page
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mesquite

What Should We Do In The New Year

The world around us often tells us we are not worth very much. However, the Biblical estimate of a single person’s worth is beyond human comprehension. On the very first page, the Bible says that we are created in God’s image. We are the creation of a God who loves us so much, values us so highly, that God sent His only Son to die on the cross so that we can live.

Through Jesus Christ, God became one of us in order to tell us in the most dramatic way possible; just how much God loves and treasures us. In the Bible, we discover John the Baptist proclaiming the “Good News” of Jesus Christ. People heard it, received it and asked, “What should we do?” That is an important question for all of us as we face a New Year. “What should we do in 2009?”

I believe we must participate and persist. How do we participate? Make sure in the midst of the busyness of your everyday activities that you take time to turn your heart and spirit toward God. Make time each day for silence, devotions, reading your Bible and prayer. Another very important way to participate is to make sure you attend worship every weekend. Attending worship allows us to give our thanks and praise to God. Worship also gives us the opportunity to recharge our spiritual batteries. When we get involved and participate in a church, we have the opportunity to grow in our journey of faith and reach out in love and care to others.

During the New Year, we also need to persist. We have just celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must remember His glorious birth all year long! We need to persist and keep Jesus and His purpose in our lives. We must keep Jesus and His teachings in our every thought, every deed and every word. If we all did that, can you imagine just how different this world would be? Take time during the New Year to participate and persist in turning your heart and spirit toward God!

Visit Mesquite United Methodist home page
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/mesquite

“Great Things Come In Small Packages”

Isn’t it wonderful that the old saying, “Great things come in small packages,” still holds true, especially at Christmas. That small bundle wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger was an incredible gift. It wasn’t very big and it wasn’t wrapped in anything more than the simple beauty of God’s love and a mother’s love. This was the greatest gift the world has ever seen and a gift that changed the world.

Christmas is more than presents under the tree and all the parties. Christmas is the day the promises of God are fulfilled. Christmas is the day that God put on skin and bones, and stepped into a stable in Bethlehem to be born of Mary and laid in a manger. This is the day that the Word and the loving grace of God was wrapped in the ordinary. The creative, loving God of all mercy came in the tiniest, most fragile package ever given, the Christ Child. The Gospel of John reminds us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us!” With the excitement of a child who has seen the sleigh and reindeer on Christmas Eve, we saw Jesus!

It wasn’t a dream. Jesus was right here with us. We walked and talked with Him. Jesus touched us, led us and fed us. We beheld His glory! Jesus truly is the Son of God! There is a great difference between letters and phone calls. Anybody who has ever been away from home for a long time knows what I mean. Phone calls are great. They have the advantage of immediacy, you instantly hear the person's voice and know their mood, but once you hang up the experience is over. There’s a lingering memory but not much else.

A letter, on the other hand, is tangible. You can see it, feel it, touch it and read it over and over again. Letters are physical, a message to hold and to grasp. A message to clutch to your heart or wave in the air. In this babe of Bethlehem, in Christ Jesus, God sent us a personal letter, a tangible, physical, personal love letter. The message of God’s love became the messenger. The messenger came special delivery and was laid in a manger in Bethlehem. Since the birth of Jesus, the world has never been the same.

God so loved the world that God became one of us. That is the glorious message of Christmas! “Great things come in small packages,” God came, not wrapped in glitz and glitter. God arrived as a tiny baby in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes; just to show us how much we are loved. That’s the gift of Christmas!

The “Gift of Purpose”

When we open our Bible and read Luke 1:30 we hear an Angel say to Mary “Do not be afraid.” I don’t think the Angel was so much calming Mary’s fears over the Angel’s appearance, but rather the Angel was calming her down, because of the wonderful message the Angel was bringing. I have admired Mary and her response for a long time. She doesn’t appear to have argued. The only question she asked was, “How?” “How can this be?” Maybe Mary realized immediately that the gift of God, and the Angel, was really the “Gift of Purpose.” Maybe Mary understood something most of us often miss, that the purpose of life is always bigger than our experience of life.

The purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, and to make a difference in this world we live in, even if it’s only in the life of one other person! My contention and the contention of the Angel, the Gospels, the Church and even Mary, is that we have been told where to go and what to do. As followers of Jesus Christ, we received a “Gift of Purpose.” The “Gift of Purpose” came wrapped in swaddling cloths in a manger. Is there a purpose for your life? Absolutely! Listen to what God says through Jeremiah 29:11. “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” The good news is that we have a future of hope! I think that Mary might have understood something that takes some of us a long time to understand. If there is no point to life, if there is no meaning or purpose to life, then there is no “Power” for life. The sad truth is that we cannot live without purpose and meaning. How many people do you know, who reach a certain age or a certain point in their life, and they just give up? They are no longer active and involved. They have lost their purpose. Proverbs says it best, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Mary inspires us to move beyond simply acknowledging our purpose and having our lives empowered. Mary challenges us to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit and to put our purpose into practice! Like Mary, you and I have been given a great gift in this “Gift of Purpose,” but it won’t do us any good unless we unwrap it and put our purpose into practice in a powerful way.

As we celebrate Christmas we remember that God became flesh and blood and reached out to us. In the reaching out, in that grasping of our hand, God in Jesus Christ rescued us from sin and death. Not only that, but the minute we reached out and grabbed Christ’s outstretched hand, we were given a gift like no other. Once we connect with Jesus Christ, we are given the “Gift of Purpose” and the power to practice it. Christmas is a wonderful time to commit or recommit your life to Christ and discover your purpose. Discover your purpose this Christmas; and if you already know your purpose then renew your purpose by giving thanks. Open that gift under the tree and tap into the power of the Holy Spirit. The “Gift of Purpose,” is truly is a gift from God!