Moving Out of the “Why Me?” Neighborhood

He didn’t just feel like he was a target, he was a target, although he didn’t know it, nor did he understand it, especially since had tried long and hard to do everything right. It all had crumbled so fast. First came the economic collapse, his ranching business was raided and destroyed by a wildfire. Then all of his children were killed in a tornado. Next came the collapse of his health, which was followed by his wife giving up on him and his friends accusing him of some underlying transgressions that caused it all. In his pain, anguish, confusion, and grief, Job cried, “Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? Why was I laid on my mother’s lap? Why did she nurse me at her breasts? Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace. I would be asleep and at rest” Job 3:11–13 (NLT).

“Why me?” “Why is this happening to me?” “It’s too much to bear.” “It does not feel right or fair?” “I just don’t understand, God!”

We fear what happened to Job: The things beyond our control. Natural and human evil engulfing us. Poverty, a life of humiliation – losing what we worked hard for. Death, a life of grief – losing those we love the most. Pain, a life of dependency – losing our health. Loneliness, having to defend ourselves – those we trust turning on us. Randomness, our doing good not paying off – not being able to figure things out.

“Why me (or us)?” is often accompanied by, “What did I do to deserve this?” Job’s friends thought that question had only one possible answer, “Think Job, you must have done something wrong!” Which must have been quite a big wrong considering the consequences Job was suffering. His friends’ theological calculations of, bad outcomes must have personal sinful causes just didn’t add up. Long before they asked, “What did you do?” Job had already wracked his brain in search of what he might have done wrong to deserve all this, and he couldn’t find anything.

We are more like Job’s friends than we’d like to admit. We live in a culture of “Karma” thinking – doing good or evil is always linked to being rewarded with good or evil. In Christian circles, this same thinking is dressed up in the various formulas of the prosperity gospel and health and wealth preaching. The problem is that joining the theological camp of Job’s friends never adds up to real life. It forgets that we live in a sinful, broken world with real evil and satanic powers, which/who don’t give a hoot about how much you and I have in our doing good or faith account. The reasoning of Job’s friends was as faulty then as it is now, and it is of little value and comfort when we find ourselves in that dark and painful corner of life where we cry, “Why me?”

Before Job’s life and circumstances unraveled, before he asked, “Why me?” God had had a conversation with satan about Job (Job 1:6-12). “Why not him?” God asked.

“You’ve been protecting him,” satan shot back.

True, but have at him,” God permitted, and satan did.

What a difference, Job’s question on earth was, “Why me?” but preceding it, the question in heaven coming from God’s lips was, “Why not him?”

Our, “Why me?” often implies, “It shouldn’t be me, this must be a mistake,” especially when it doesn’t add up, when there is no discernable sin or lack of faith.

“Why not him/her?” “Why me?” “Why not me?” if we are as serious about serving God like Job, about following Christ like Paul, and walking in the footsteps of the saints throughout the ages, we will have to wrestle ourselves through these questions. Begin with looking at Jesus. He is the first in a long line of faithful Why-not-me servants of God. When no one else in all of heaven and eternity was found to save sinners like you and me, by embracing humiliation, sacrifice, suffering, and death, Jesus said, ‘Why not me!” Consider the Apostle Paul, who pleaded with God to heal him but was given a “request denied” three times, and was instead told by Jesus, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT). Hearing this Paul was faced with making a major adjustment in his thinking, his theology, his outlook, and the way he processed his circumstances. He needed to move from “Why me?” “This shouldn’t be me!” to “Why not me?” and he did. Here is how he responded, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

May God grant you and me to never get stuck in the “Why me?” and may He help us to embrace the “Why not me?” by living out of Christ’s sufficient grace and our trust in sovereignty, greatness, goodness, power, and wisdom of God.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Sto! Pull Over! – part 1

Who or what are you willing to pull over for? For whom or what are you willing to stop the car, stop what you’re doing, and take a break from where you are going? A spectacular sunset? A fishing hole? A rare or odd sight? A friend’s call? Someone stranded by the road? Your child feeling sick in the back of the car? Something that aligns with your interests or smells of opportunity? …?

Have you ever wondered how much you missed because you couldn’t be interrupted, were too busy, couldn’t take a break from your earbuds, were too consumed with your own life, were occupied with your own agenda, were kept in check by your reservations and fears?

Moses’ life changed because of an interruption, a rare sight. Don’t forget, he was 80, the age when we are fairly set in our ways, when we are tempted to think the best years of our life are behind us. He’d settled into a nice routine, was watching sheep, when God pulled him over with a rare sight, “the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up? When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered” Exodus 3:2-4 (HCSB).

Maybe God has been trying to pull you over, to stop you, in order to recalibrate your life no matter what your age. Maybe that’s why you are experiencing things that are out of the ordinary, have shaken your routine, have forced you to stop. Maybe the best and wisest thing to do is for you to listen to God and tell Him, “I am here, I am listening.”

No one was better at pulling over and stopping than Jesus. He was on His way to Jerusalem; His destiny was waiting for Him there. He had no plans to stop as he passed through Jericho. Until, he saw a middle-aged small man in a tree. He could’ve thought, “There are some odd people in this town,” but instead he pulled over, parted the crowd, looked up at the bottom of the sycamore tree, and said “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house” Luke 19:5 (HCSB). That moment changed Zach’s life!

Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus was actually the second interruption at Jericho. At the other end of town, a blind beggar was trying to get Jesus’ attention from the back of the crowd by incessantly yelling, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me” Luke 18:35. They told him to shut up, Jesus had better and more important things to do than to take time out for him. Jesus obviously thought differently, thought that in the big scheme of things it was important to take the time to hear, help, and heal blind and desperate Bartimaeus.

It’s one thing to stop at a unique and strange sight, it is quite another to stop where desperation dwells, where mercy and real help are needed. Jesus didn’t pause for the resort comforts of Jericho, but He did put on the brakes for two desperate souls. Maybe we need to learn from that?

Jesus was on His way to heal a dying girl. Her dad was trying to rush Him there before it was too late, there was no time to waste, no time for unscheduled stops. That’s when Jesus suddenly stopped, “Who touched me?” Luke 8:45, he asked turning around.

“Could’ve been anybody, look at the crowd we’ve passed through” they told Him.

“Someone did touch Me,” Jesus insisted, “I know that power has gone out from Me” Luke 8:46.

A woman stepped forward, “It was me, Lord.” And Jesus took the time to hear her story of chronic illness, her futile search for a cure, and how touching Him cured her. Meanwhile, the little girl had died. (If you want to know what happened to her you need to read the rest of Luke 8).

Amazing, isn’t it?! Jesus noticed that desperate woman’s single touch in the midst of a pressing crowd and hurried walk to a terminally ill girl’s bedside. Maybe this is a good place to stop and be reminded that the same Spirit that dwelled in Jesus dwells in every believer and the Holy Spirit is more than able to give us the eyes, the ears, and the alertness and sensitivity of Christ. But we will have to learn to stop and engage with who or what God puts in front of us.

            To God be all glory. Love You, Pastor Hans

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Be a Comforter

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion (mercies) and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV, parenthesis mine)

 You and I are created in the image of God, which encompasses our incredible and beautiful capacity to love and care for each other. It is not a matter of if but when you and I will experience loss and grief and will have a need for comfort. Nor will it be a matter of if but rather when you and I will be called on to engage with someone else’s loss and grief, to contribute comfort with our capacity to be compassionate and merciful, and use our own experiences of being comforted.

Since it is not a question of if but when, the most important thing to focus on is how.

1. Simply show up. Be there.

The word comfort in the scripture above is about coming alongside, being a paraclete, which is what the Holy Spirit is called. The thing about God is that He doesn’t shun or bail on people who are going through the pain of loss, are reeling with sorrow, are stricken with grief. He shows up to comfort them. “Blessed (by God) are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” Matthew 5:4 (NIV).

Nothing much happens unless we show up, and it doesn’t matter how many tools we have in our comforting toolbox, being a tool in the hand of “the God of all comfort” is enough to get started. Will you feel uncomfortable, won’t know what to say, be at a loss at what exactly to do? Yes, you will. But the Holy Spirit, the Master Comforter, will not be at a loss of how to use you, your capacity to love and care, and your own experiences of loss, grief, and being comforted. Showing up in itself is a way of comforting.

2. Speak truth.

“Therefore comfort one another with these words” 1 Thessalonians 4:18 (NASB). Actually, let me back up, don’t say much at all. Especially stay away from talking about yourself, explanations of the why, platitudes, and theologically hollow sentimentalism. Job, the man in the Bible who lost his wealth, children, and health in short order, was blessed by his caring friends showing up to be with him in his pain and grief. Yeah! The trouble started when they opened their mouths to explain to Job why all this tragedy had struck him. They should have stayed quiet. On the other hand, the best person to point someone to in their sorrow and grief is God. Not because He will answer all our questions or make it all go away, but because there is no one better to lean on, to be anchored in, to be held by. So, speak and pray the truth of scripture, carefully, tenderly, and without being preachy.

I have also found that since God gave us two ears, it is best to listen before speaking, especially when with the hurting, the grieving. Words of truth are much better given and received after listening and being listened to.

3. Use your experiences of being comforted.

Mel buried the love of his life, Aggie Lou, and he was lost and paralyzed in his grief. He couldn’t deal with the paperwork, the bills, simple stuff he had done all his life. Gerry, who had buried two husbands, showed up at his doorstep. Did she want to be there? Did she know Mel could be a handful? “How about I help you with that,” she said after she noticed the pile of papers and envelopes on the table. She knew what it was like, and she was a bookkeeper, and she went to work, comforting.

Comfort isn’t just administered through words but also through using our hands, our skills, through doing simple stuff that is both thoughtful and helpful.

“… we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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Jesus Wept – Grieving Towards Joy

Jesus wept. John 11:35

Weeping is appropriate at the grave of your good friend, child, spouse, relative, …

Weeping is appropriate when you are told, “I am leaving you for someone else,” when you are abandoned, rejected, and despised.

Weeping is appropriate when the doctor gives you, or someone you love and care about, some very bad news.

Weeping is appropriate when you get a call from jail in the middle of the night.

Weeping is appropriate when someone you trusted has hurt you, used you, abused you, slandered you, betrayed you.

Weeping is appropriate when you are in pain, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Weeping is appropriate when violence, injustice, and evil touch you.

Weeping is appropriate when you are at your wit’s end, at the end your rope, hanging on by a hair, are helpless, and alone.

Weeping is appropriate when hit by the tragic, traumatic, overwhelming, heart-wrenching, brutal, and shattering.

Weeping is appropriate when your business goes under, your job is canceled, your livelihood falls apart, your dreams die, or disaster strikes.

Weeping is appropriate when evil thrives, wrong rules, goodness is laughed at, and righteousness is spat on.

Weeping is appropriate when it is our sin, our wrongdoing, our bad decisions, our evil that are the source of sorrow and grief to God and others.

Weeping is appropriate no matter the source of the pain, sorrow, and grief.

Jesus wept.

I’m not a good weeper. Some have their bladders mounted behind their eyes, and some, like me, have tear glands smaller than a mouse’s. But, Jesus wept, publicly, for all to see and hear. He was gripped with deep sorrow, not, as those standing by assumed, over his friend Lazarus’s death, whom he raised from the dead moments later, but over the relentless reality of death itself, the stubborn unbelief surrounding him, the lostness of humanity altogether. He felt the weight, the wrong, the need, the cost, and the grief of God over all of sinful and dying mankind. He didn’t get mad like Moses or became cynical, stoic, apathetic, pragmatic, pessimistic, or polemic like so many others. Instead,

Jesus wept.

He didn’t bypass the cemetery, death, and loss, nor the weeping, pain, and grief of others, nor his own grief. He wept. That’s more than just a few tears and then sucking it up. That’s not closing your eyes, ears, and heart desperately trying to quickly run out of the “valley of deep darkness” – “the valley of the shadow of death.” That is walking through that valley where we are meant to weep and grief at the pace determined by the shepherd for the entire length of the valley. Mercifully, it is also the valley we can completely count on and depend on God, on Christ, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the valley of deep darkness, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” Psalm 23:4 (NASB, italics mine). Sorrow and grief meet us at the dead-end of loss, brokenness, regret, senselessness, and meaninglessness. But not so in the hands of God, with his presence and the tip of His staff He both comforts us and leads us through to the other side, to life that is victorious, filled with purpose, and dripping with meaning, despite, and shaped by, pain, sorrow, and grief.

Jesus wept.

Which also means He stopped weeping. It is a good thing to be comforted in sorrow, for, “I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears. My eye has wasted away with grief …” Psalm 6:6-7 (NASB), to come to end, to be lifted out of grief, “Weeping may last for the night, a season. But a shout of joy comes in the morning” Psalm 30:5 (NASB, italics mine). Grief is never meant to be the final destination. It is good to remember that are also tears of joy.

            To God be all glory. Love You, Pastor Hans

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Grief

 It was a scorching hot day. Only a handful of people had come to the old country cemetery and were huddling in the shade of an oak tree in front of a casket suspended over an open grave. His ex-wife had called, asking me if I would come and officiate, “Since I knew him,” which meant I had spoken with him a few times. It also meant I knew he had had a mean, hard-drinking, lonely, and godless reputation.

 After the casket was lowered and before I spoke the closing prayer I asked if anyone wanted to say something. No one did, except a young woman, “I’m his daughter and want to say something,” she said while taking off her sunglasses to look straight at me, “I’m glad the miserable, &#@%* SOB is dead. Too bad it wasn’t sooner.”

 That was a lot of grief, long pain, and bitter sorrow spilling out at that graveside. I believed her; she clearly wasn’t mourning her father’s (I am certain she wouldn’t call him Dad) death. Nevertheless, she was mourning, she was grieving. Awful and unspoken things of the past, unhealed wounds filled with angry and bitter puss, a boiling pit of what should’ve and what could have been, birthed those harsh and bitter words. She was in her car driving off before I finished and dismissed the rest.

 They are buried next to each other, my younger brother Friedrich, my Mama, and my Dad. Each leaving a different fingerprint of grief. Fritz, the kindest most thoughtful person you could ever meet, a gift of a brother, became mentally ill at 23 and tragically took his own life. My Mama, beloved by all who knew her, exceptional in all the best ways, a saint to my brothers and me, struck down by a heart attack. My Dad, a conglomeration of paradoxes, contradictions, and conflicts – a very, very mixed bag. My brother’s innocence and helplessness did not lessen the grief and pain. My Mama’s love and goodness did not spare us life-shaking grief and deepest sorrow. My Dad dying with his mixed bag in hand also meant the opportunities to write a better ending were gone. Grief extends over losses in the past, the absence in the present, and things stolen from the future.

 In this life there is no escape from experiencing grief, feeling the pain of loss, and becoming a source of and contributor to someone else’s grief. The first death in the Bible is not of natural causes at a ripe old age. No, it is the murder of Abel at the hands of his own brother, Cain (Genesis 4). So much loss, pain, and grief. An outstanding life ended, a family torn apart, two parents’ hearts ripped out, the murderer son in the grip of evil, memories of the past filled with pain, the future cheated and changed.

 When it comes to death, loss, sorrow, and grief, nothing has changed since the days of Cain and Abel, the ocean of tears keeps rising, the echo of weeping is adding voices. But there is also another reality that is unchanged, both hope and comfort can be found in the living eternal God and the victor over evil, sin, and death, Jesus Christ.

 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NLT2)

 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT2)

 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (NASB)

 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT2)

 There is no one better to turn to in your grief, no matter what kind, than the God who gives us life and breath, who cares more about us than we can imagine. There is no one better to cling to in our grief than Jesus Christ who won the battle we cannot win and vanquished the despair we cannot escape.

            To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

P.S. A 13-week GriefShare group is starting up this Wednesday, March 2^nd, 6:30 pm, @ our church. For more information contact me 209 247-9235.

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How to Be a Peacemaker – A Better Garden

Deceit, deception, falsehood, treachery is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. Proverbs 12:20 (ESV, italics mine)

For a few years the garden boxes I just tore out produced some beautiful crops and then something changed. Growing something became a struggle, and finally, the results were not worth the effort. The root cause literally were roots, the nearby oak had stealthily invaded the underground, sucking up the water, leaching out the nutrients, waging an underground war, and winning. And I had thought keeping the gophers out was going to be the biggest problem, but they never made through the metal mesh at the bottom of the boxes.

In the absence of peace few good things grow but worthless weeds seem to thrive, everything becomes a struggle, joy is constantly drained, and the temptation of “if you can’t beat them, join them” grows.

I have a starting-over-plan for the garden boxes, accounting for both subterranean invaders, the oak roots and the gophers. I am going to set the new boxes on concrete slabs (If you have better ideas, I am all ears). Yes, it will be a lot of work. Hesch, just digging out the dirt and tearing out the old boxes was a serious effort. However, our subject is being peacemakers. Maybe you are so worn out, so hopeless, so frustrated, hurt, angry, bitter, and even vengeful that making a peace plan is the furthest thing on your mind. Maybe you already have gone down the “if you can’t beat them, …” road, after all, “it takes two to Tango” when it comes to peace, doesn’t it?

There are few questions you have to settle in your mind and heart if you want to be a peacemaker:

• Why should I? Because God told you, and Jesus showed you that being a peacemaker is what He wants you to be, and is the better way to live and die.
• Is it really worth it? Yes, yes, and yes! As much as there is no comparison between a sun-ripened tomato picked fresh of the vine and some greenhouse-grown tomato looking thing that has never seen a sunray. Yes, because “those who plan peace have joy!”

When you plan for peace, you have to drop and adopt:

• You have to drop what our world thinks is normal and adopt what Jesus tells you is normal. This is a very difficult thing to do, especially when there is no reciprocal response to your peace-plan. Always remember peacemakers are not manipulators, Jesus never manipulated anyone.
• You have to drop, dig up the roots of hurt, frustration, anger, bitterness, and vengeance. You maybe able to blame their origin on someone else, but after a while, it is you who keeps them alive, waters them, and will be increasingly drained, corrupted, and rendered joyless by them. Making a peace-plan is the first step in no longer allowing those bitter roots yielding control over your garden; it is the first step of draining the puss that keeps the pain alive. Then replant, adopt Jesus’s strategy of not allowing evil to grow anything in your life but instead planting what truly brings joy (Galatians 5:16-25, 2 Peter 1:3-9, James 3:13-18), allowing those things to grow deep roots, letting them help you to respond to life, circumstances, and people like a peacemaker, “The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult” Proverbs 12:16 (ESV).
• You have to drop the excuses why you can’t, why you won’t, and those who tell you why you shouldn’t, why it is okay for you to keep doing what you’re doing, even to respond to evil with evil. What others throw at you does not relieve you of your own responsibility of doing what is right, good, and Christlike – You have to adopt Christlike responsibility and perseverance for your own life, reactions, responses, and decisions. Christ responded, acted, spoke like His Heavenly Father wanted Him to. He didn’t gauge things by what was culturally acceptable, what those around Him were echoing, what His friends advised Him, and what evil and temptation tried to entice Him to act like. Instead, He kept orienting Himself on what pleased God, by His Father’s will, and He kept entrusting Himself to the ways, wisdom, and goodness of God Almighty (1 Peter 2:21-25)

It’s always the right time to work on your peacemaker garden, so get to it!

            To God be all glory. Love and peace to you, Pastor Hans

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Helpless + Hopeless = Happy

Helpless + Hopeless = Happy

 

A  crazy man, out of his mind, demonically controlled, isolated, abandoned, and feared.

A woman incurably sick, beyond the ability of medicine, robbed of dignity, normalcy, and wealth.

A little girl, with great parents, loved, dead.

 

These three fell into the pit that reeks of helpless and hopeless, an abyss so deep they cannot climb out of it. Their helplessness and hopelessness are not just their own, but their families, those who love and care for them are also engulfed in their powerlessness, pain, frustration, and grief. They, like us, know the equation: helpless + hopeless = hurt, horrific, horrible, harrowing, hellacious.

Mark, like the other Gospel writers, tells us about the reality and truth of Jesus Christ, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” Mark 1:1 (NIV). Right out of the gate Mark informs you and me that Jesus is not ordinary, not one among many, more than a prophet, more than a holy man, but the very Son of God, divine, sovereign, Creator and Sustainer of all things – good news, the equation changer.

They were real people, that crazy man, that sick and desperate woman, that very dead girl, as real as the people in our lives, in our families, our community, our coworkers, classmates, and friends. They were stuck in the helpless/hopeless equation. People stayed away from them, didn’t touch them, were made uncomfortable by them and their story. “What a shame,” “What do you say?” I wonder, how long it took for people to no longer ask the crazy man’s family about him? How much time passed before folks no longer asked the woman how she was? When do we stop talking with the grieving about their loved ones?

You find all three, the man, the woman, and the girl in Mark, chapter five, helpless and hopeless – until – until – Jesus shows up, and, because of who He is, the Son of God, changes helpless + hopeless to happy. He does not shy away from the lunatic demoniac; He doesn’t mind the unclean, sick, and desperate woman touching Him; He doesn’t stop going to the girl’s house simply because she died. He does so because He wants everyone to know who He is: The Son of God, sovereign over all evil, all of life, all people, death, and all helplessness and hopelessness. He is the eternal Good News.

Most of us have been to Mark, chapter five, if not all, at least in part. I have. Evil, mental illness, chronic sickness, death. Without Jesus, they trap and condemn us to the grave of eternal helplessness and hopelessness. You have to wonder about those three and their families, you just have to. What do you think the crazy man told others about Jesus after Jesus put him in his “right mind?” What did the woman tell others after she was healed? What did the girl, after she was restored to life, think and say about Jesus for the rest of her life? How did these three engage with helpless and hopeless people after their encounter with Jesus?

1 Corinthians 13:13 tells me, as a follower of Jesus, as Christian, to be a person of faith, hope, and love. I believe that means I should not shy away from the helpless and hopeless people and situations, but to show up with the faith, hope, and love I have found in Jesus, to live the Jesus equation.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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COVID-19

In a matter of no time at all, and seemingly out of nowhere, COVID-19 (Corona Virus) has spread around the globe, infecting, killing, spreading fears. Governments panicking, health officials scrambling, stock markets tumbling, tourism collapsing, people wearing masks.

Church Mutual Insurance (our church’s provider) send out the following information:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people in the United States have little immediate risk of exposure to this virus. The virus is not currently spreading widely in the United States. However, it is likely that person-to-person spread will continue to occur and that, at some point, widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur.

Action Steps

1. Stay informed – the situation with the coronavirus is fluid and the CDCis updating its website daily with the latest information and advice for the public.
2. Remember to take everyday preventive actions that are always recommended to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:
   • Avoid close contact with sick people.
   • While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible. Stay home if you are sick.
   • Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
   • Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs.
   • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub with at least 60% alcohol.
3. The CDC and State Department have issued advisories asking people to avoid all nonessential travel to China and South Korea at this time. Travel alerts have also been issued for Japan, Italy and Iran.

I would add that, besides following the advice above, we ought to also pray for those infected, the officials in charge of public health, the medical people caring for the sick, and the researchers working on a cure.

Finally, there is also a spiritual dimension. We reminded how fragile life and our way of life are, sickness and death are ever-present and inescapable realities. With the COVID-19 virus and any other disease, we will rejoice over finding just one cure. While we are searching and praying for that cure, there already exists a cure for death – Jesus Christ, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” John 11:25 (NIV).

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

 

 

 

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Hardness of Heart

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36 (NIV)

It is tough to be merciful with a hard heart and it is impossible to be godly and Christlike with a hard heart.

It is a lot easier to accuse everyone else of wrong, of hardness of heart than to address our own heart condition.

At the Sabbath (church) service they were hoping Jesus would do something they could nail him on (sad). You can be sure your heart is hard when you’re waiting for people to mess up. What would he do for the man with the crippled hand? Would he break the man-made Sabbath interpretations and regulations? If he did, they were ready to pounce, to accuse, to raise a stink – something hard hearts love to do.

Jesus didn’t disappoint, in fact, he called the disabled man up front, had him stretch out his crippled hand (the thing he was hiding) for all to see, and healed him. However, before doing so he asked a question, “Is it lawful on Sabbath to do good or to harm, to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4). That’s an easy question with an easy answer, but they didn’t want to answer, hard hearts hate to be exposed to be cornered, to answer questions that prove them wrong.

Their hardness of heart made Jesus angry and it grieved him. They were willing to let a man stay crippled for the sake of their man-made rules, their authority to enforce them, and their way of life. You know your heart is hard when there is an opportunity to do good and show compassion and you bypass it not because God’s law is hindering you, but because you love your own way, rules, opinions, and politics more.

Jesus healed the crippled man. The Synagogue should’ve exploded with cheers and praise, but hard hearts have a hard time cheering for those who expose them, even when they do incredible good. Instead, there is an eerie silence in the synagogue following the healing. I have to believe there were some who wanted to cheer and clap, but, to their shame, they let themselves be held in check by the hard hearts of their leaders. They were waiting to see what their leaders, their group would do and then, regrettably, fell in line with the silence when “Hallelujahs” were in order. Silence produced by hardness of heart is never good.

Rather than change those religious hard hearts “went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus” Mark 3:6 (NIV). Hard hearts find each and encourage each other (as do tender hearts). Can you see Jesus at any border hiding behind man-made rules? Would Christ applaud Captain Carola Rackete who steered Sea-Watch 3 filled with refugees into an Italian harbor although she was ordered not to and was promptly arrested? Who have you been criticizing, deploring, so much so that you can longer see any good they do? Are you staying silent both in the face of wrong and good because that is not what your group, your party, opposes and does not cheer? Towards whom do you have a hard heart?

Porosis is the Greek word used here by Mark. They had porosis of the heart, “moral ossification” (Robertson), the hardening of muscle tissue, meaning that which was meant to be soft became hard. The other word used in the New Testament for hardness of heart is sklerokardia. Maybe you have heard of osteoporosis – bones becoming brittle or arteriosclerosis – hardening/thickening of the arteries. You can go to the doctor for these conditions, although they are not necessarily easy to treat. Who do you go to with hardness of heart? God. You and I can trust him when he says, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT2).

Don’t live another week with hardness of heart.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

 

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Little Big Things – Words – How We Say What We Say

Little Big Things – Words – How We Say What We Say

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17 (NLT2)

As a lousy speller, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate “spell check” and “Grammarly,” without them these p-notes of mine would be unreadable, although I am sure many of still cringe at my use of the English language. However, spell-checking by itself is not enough, it won’t pick up using a rightly spelled wrong word, it won’t reign in my twisted grammar. My words need multiple checks, yours probably do too. It is like that with all of our words, all our communications, because it is not just what we say that is important but also how we say it. Love and kindness, and humility are not optional to the serious Christian life, to a Holy Spirit filled and directed life. You can say, “I love you,” and not really mean it. Were you ever told to apologize right now and say, “I’m sorry,” but you really didn’t mean it and although you said the words you weren’t sorry one bit?

Can you be too loving, too kind, too humble, too meek? Maybe, but judging by my own self and most people I have met we are not even close to the too loving, too kind, too humble line, so we might as well hide behind it.

We are capable, you know, to speak words and even say difficult things wrapped in love. We can decide to propagate our speech with kindness. We are able to check our pride, to edit our tendency to self-promote, to look at things from more than our own viewpoints, to use our words to benefit the listeners.

Just because we want to say it does not mean we should, especially if we are mad, disgusted, frustrated, bitter, disappointed, hurt, rushed, exhausted, betrayed, unappreciated, under-valued, treated wrongly, or are suffering an injustice. “Well it needed to be said and I’m glad I said it!” sounds good, but still is no excuse to leave love, kindness, and humility behind. We are so good at defending ourselves even when we are wrong, aren’t we?

Scripture tells us to:

• “Speak the truth in love.”Ephesians 4:1
• “What is desirable in a man is his kindness, And it is better to be a poor man than a liar. Proverbs 19:22 (NASB)
• A woman of excellence,“She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26 (NASB)
• “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 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 3:12-17 (NIV)

 What happens when we divorce our words from the right attitudes, a godly tone, a Christlike heart? It becomes easy to speak (and type) harsh, self-righteous, divisive, manipulative, destructive, hateful, two-faced, deceptive, proud and arrogant words. Good words are robbed of their ability to bless, to heal, to encourage, to produce good. An “I love you,” becomes twisted. An “I am so sorry,” drives a deeper wedge. A good word or praise breeds distrust, “What does he really want.” Listeners are not better off for having heard them.

Right words are almost impossible without a right heart, but oh how refreshing it is to be on the listening end of right words from a good heart. The two of us, let’s keep praying and practicing the scripture below and both of us will be better off be. “May the words of my mouth (all my words) and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 (NIV, parenthesis mine)

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

 

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