pastor john's Weblog

Tomorrow is Christmas...yea...there will be presents under the tree, food in the kitchen and, hopefully, goodwill for all! But Rich Warren reminded me that some people will be leaving a gift untouched under the tree. That, of course, is the gift of Jesus himself to us...for many that one true gift will not be unwrapped and it is a shame, for Jesus gives us forgiveness, a purpose for our lives, and an everlasting home. I hope everyone who gathers around a tree Christmas morning will not leave that priceless gift unwrapped.

It's a lot of work to prepare, to get ready for something significant in your life. Preparation requires thought as well as action. It requires a plan as well as execution. It means that you have to take the time to get things together.

Christmas is one of those times, isn't it...where you have to think through what you are going to do, plan how you are going to handle decorations and gift buying and dinners and parties and, well, many, many things. And just think, Thanksgiving and all of the preparation it took is only just a few days ago...but here we go again!

The season of the church year right now is called Advent, and it is about preparation too...we prepare our hearts and minds to look again deeply into the "Light" that was born into the world. Somehow, that easily gets lost this time of year.

I heard a Christian rap song today about a guy who buys something at a store and the clerk says, "happy holidays." Now, this sets off this guy and he goes into a long rant about how his holiday is what the holiday is all about and that is Jesus. I thought it was pretty clever, and, you know, he is right. I'm going to have to try and find that song!

So, let don't just get stuck in just preparing for what will pass, but for what is eternal as well.

It's a lot of work to prepare, to get ready for something significant in your life. Preparation requires thought as well as action. It requires a plan as well as execution. It means that you have to take the time to get things together.

Christmas is one of those times, isn't it...where you have to think through what you are going to do, plan how you are going to handle decorations and gift buying and dinners and parties and, well, many, many things. And just think, Thanksgiving and all of the preparation it took is only just a few days ago...but here we go again!

The season of the church year right now is called Advent, and it is about preparation too...we prepare our hearts and minds to look again deeply into the "Light" that was born into the world. Somehow, that easily gets lost this time of year.

I heard a Christian rap song today about a guy who buys something at a store and the clerk says, "happy holidays." Now, this sets off this guy and he goes into a long rant about how his holiday is what the holiday is all about and that is Jesus. I thought it was pretty clever, and, you know, he is right. I'm going to have to try and find that song!

So, let don't just get stuck in just preparing for what will pass, but for what is eternal as well.

What are your dreams? Is there something way back there that hasn't happened, or been put aside, or been discouraged, or made fun of???

Those things that have been placed upon our hearts have great value and should not be ignored. God pulls us into the future and often puts something deep inside of us that is our true calling. So, don't ignore your dreams, pray about them, play with them, talk about them with others and see what doors begin to open up for you.

And please don't be a dream crusher...so often kids dreams are smashed on the altar of our "realism," and "practicality."

Let us dream dreams of wonderful things we can do and be for the Lord!

When was the last time you listened to the wind, or watched the sky turn from blue to yellow, to gold, to red, and then as darkness comes count the stars in the sky? When was the last time you deliberately stopped and paid attention to God's creation???

I think that there is a Word in creation that we can see and hear if we take time to pay attention. God speaks in the multi-colored pallet of this world.

I hope that you can take some time very soon to get connected once again to the natural world we all live in. What a shame it would be if we live such hurried and distracted lives that we miss out on something God places right before us each day.

Blessings and peace be with you.

Being in the world, but not of the world is a very difficult thing to pull off. The electronic media (from TV to the Internet) pulls us into a set of values that often stand at odds with Jesus. Paul would say that:

Gal.5:22-23 .But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

In the world we are being called to division, suspicion, judgement, harshness and self absorption...all of which fly in the face of our faith. I think that we need to continually absorb what Peter calls "pure spiritual milk," so that we are grounded in the basics of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We do that by reading and hearing the Good News...you can not read, study or hear the Gospel enough.

It is said that you need to reinforce neural pathways in your brain by repetition... "Pick up and read."

I love the Fall...what a beautiful time of year when the trees turn and the weather gets mild with a hint of chill on the wind...This time of year has inspired poets and writers over the years as they recall those magic moments of spotting a magnificent tree, or a wondrous sunrise, or a single leaf falling to the ground.

Today everyone is talking about Halloween, however, as they plan activities for their kids or plan to hold parties or go to them. What was once a one night event has morphed into a week long series of events around costumes and candy. We just had a "Trunk or Treat," night an organization held in our parking lot and I asked some of the parents there if this was it for tricker treating for their kids...they said, "no way," they were going to be Sunday night as well.

Candy is pretty important, especially if you are under 10, but, wow, this is getting like Christmas...I saw a lawn the other day that was completely covered with blow up witches and other scary stuff. I almost wrecked the other night when I came across a ghost bound in a chair right beside the road...I mean, "Come on Man..." what are you trying to do, get someone really killed.

You know I think that on Halloween we make fun of what we are most afraid of, which is death. And we create scary images of that fear in witches, ghosts and ghouls, which become symbols of our fear of death.

The good news is that as Christians we need have no fear of death, because death has been conquered in Christ Jesus our Lord. "Even though we die, yet shall we live." So, don't be afraid of all the horror that will fill our TV's and streets, instead fear what will really kill you forever, which is, as Jesus said, those things that will kill your soul.

Happy Halloween, and if you have any yummy cookies left, I am, uh, available!

I have been thinking about miracles this week. It seems to me that by and large most either think that miracles don't happen today, or have never experienced one so they seem kind of distant and unreal. In an incredible book (you can find on the right side of this page) Bruce Wilkinson takes on that feeling and shows how you and I can partner with God to deliver God's miracles to others...this requires faith and love and a whole lot of risk on our part...but, the result is that your Christian faith can become a vehicle for God to use for others sake. You can be an active part in what God is doing in the world that goes beyond good works and puts you in the middle of the work of the Kingdom of Heaven.

This sounds impossible, but it isn't...if we are willing we can see miracles happen right in front of us as God nudges us to reach out to others and with the power of the Holy Spirit give others what are supernatural gifts from God.

More Sunday...

This Fall many are saying that there is not going to be much color in the trees because of the lack of rain we had through the summer. That may be true, but if you have the occasion to go to Culpeper in the next several days, there is a tree right across from the stop light going to the hospital that is wonderful!

Who knew that death could be so beautiful! It is like I need that reminder every Fall.. I get so lost in doing life, that I forget that life here isn't going to go on and on and on...there is going to be an end. I wonder what it would be like to look at living from the perspective of our own end. Maybe a lot of things we weigh ourselves down with worrying around would all of a sudden become not so very important.

What I am always struck with in funerals is how people are not so interested in a persons accomplishments as they are about their character, about how they were able to love and be loved, about how they were able to be helpful and generous and kind, about how they cared for others, for children, for pets, for gardens and lawns and the earth.

Wow, when you look at life that way and are able to live that way death for us is beautiful too...

Sometimes you just have to know where the light is and move into it. Rocky is very good at that. Each day he goes looking for the light and, if it is not cloudy, is successful in finding it, even if the sun is only in one small spot.

My little pug teaches me a lot, and in this case he reminds me that the light is always there, I just have to go where it is... Sometimes that means looking and seeing what God is blessing in other places. Sometimes it means opening my eyes to what is right around me. Sometimes it means being ready to move where the light is heading.

It is a sunny day today, and I know Rocky has already found the light. I think I will go looking too!