Thank you God for daily fare.
Feed your children everywhere.
And grant that we might show you care,
By our willingness to share. Amen
(be sure that the child understands
that fare is the same as food.)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
1st Sunday of Advent
On Sunday, Nov. 29, we will observe communion and light the first candle on the Advent Wreath, the Prophecy Candle. The prophets looked forward to God entering their world in such a way that it made a decisive difference in the salvation of the world.
Not only did God arrive in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, but the God revealed by Jesus keeps entering our lives even today. In the early 1980s, Cheri and I had started a church, Cristo del Valle, in the South Valley of Albuquerque, one of the poorest areas in the metro area. I was serving as president of the South Valley Area Council, a board devoted to improving the lives of South Valley residents, when I was privileged to meet Richard Rocco.
Richard was in his forties and living a life much different from the one of his youth. He had spent much of his adolescence in jail, but then God entered his life when an Army recruiter talked a judge out of sending Richard to prison, which would have been to age 21. He went in the Army at 17, and from then on stayed out of jail.
On May 24, 1970 Richard, who was a medic, volunteered for an urgent mission to evacuate critically wounded South Vietnamese Army personnel. His helicopter came under fire and had to crash-land. Richard suffered a broken wrist and hip, as well as a severely bruised back. Yet he ignored his injuries, and while under intense enemy fire, carried three severely injured crewmen across 20 meters of exposed territory to safety. He then collapsed and lost consciousness. For this act of courage, in 1974 he was awarded the Medal of Honor,
But Richard's story of service to others on Christ's behalf didn't stop there. Whereas more than 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, 60,000 veterans died from self-destructive behaviors in the first eighte years after the war ended. Richard helped far more of these than he did as a medic. He opened a Vet Center, organized a shelter for homeless vets, obtained funding for a veterans' nursing home, served as director of the state's Veteran's Service Commission, and won free college tuition for NM vets.
Richard used to tell me about veterans who refused to go to sleep. Their dreams were filled with such horrors that they would do anything to stay awake. He didn't suffer such nightmarmes, but on Oct. 31, 2002 he didn't wake up. At age 63 he died of cancer of the lungs and spine, cancer he thought had been caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Richard is just one of many people I know into whose life God entered in a decisive way. Who do you know? - DJ
Not only did God arrive in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, but the God revealed by Jesus keeps entering our lives even today. In the early 1980s, Cheri and I had started a church, Cristo del Valle, in the South Valley of Albuquerque, one of the poorest areas in the metro area. I was serving as president of the South Valley Area Council, a board devoted to improving the lives of South Valley residents, when I was privileged to meet Richard Rocco.
Richard was in his forties and living a life much different from the one of his youth. He had spent much of his adolescence in jail, but then God entered his life when an Army recruiter talked a judge out of sending Richard to prison, which would have been to age 21. He went in the Army at 17, and from then on stayed out of jail.
On May 24, 1970 Richard, who was a medic, volunteered for an urgent mission to evacuate critically wounded South Vietnamese Army personnel. His helicopter came under fire and had to crash-land. Richard suffered a broken wrist and hip, as well as a severely bruised back. Yet he ignored his injuries, and while under intense enemy fire, carried three severely injured crewmen across 20 meters of exposed territory to safety. He then collapsed and lost consciousness. For this act of courage, in 1974 he was awarded the Medal of Honor,
But Richard's story of service to others on Christ's behalf didn't stop there. Whereas more than 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, 60,000 veterans died from self-destructive behaviors in the first eighte years after the war ended. Richard helped far more of these than he did as a medic. He opened a Vet Center, organized a shelter for homeless vets, obtained funding for a veterans' nursing home, served as director of the state's Veteran's Service Commission, and won free college tuition for NM vets.
Richard used to tell me about veterans who refused to go to sleep. Their dreams were filled with such horrors that they would do anything to stay awake. He didn't suffer such nightmarmes, but on Oct. 31, 2002 he didn't wake up. At age 63 he died of cancer of the lungs and spine, cancer he thought had been caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Richard is just one of many people I know into whose life God entered in a decisive way. Who do you know? - DJ
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving Musings
One of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving is the advice, "Enough is enough."
This sage advice immediately needs to be applied to food. Andy Rooney reminds us that the two biggest sellers in any bookstore are cookbooks and diet books. One tells us how to prepare our food and the other tells us how not to eat any of it. These wouldn't be best-sellers if we lived by "enough is enough."
Orson Welles once said, "My doctor has advised me to give up intimate dinners for four, unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me."
Champion archer Rick McKinney confesses that he regularly eats chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. His basic four food groups are Big Macs, fries, shakes, and lemon tarts.
A scientist has computed that the average human being eats 16 times his/her weight every year, whereas a horse eats only 8 times its weight.
A child watched as his dad finished off seconds and then thirds at the Thanksgiving table. When the dad loosened his belt, the boy said, "Look Mom, Dad's moving his decimal point over two places!"
Editor Horace Greeley told of receiving a letter from a woman: "Our church is in dire financial straits. We've tried everything to keep it going - a strawberry festival, an oyster supper, a turkey dinner, and a box social. What would you suggest?" Greeley wrote back, "Try Christianity."
Well, enough of this is enough. Happy Thanksgiving. -DJ
This sage advice immediately needs to be applied to food. Andy Rooney reminds us that the two biggest sellers in any bookstore are cookbooks and diet books. One tells us how to prepare our food and the other tells us how not to eat any of it. These wouldn't be best-sellers if we lived by "enough is enough."
Orson Welles once said, "My doctor has advised me to give up intimate dinners for four, unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me."
Champion archer Rick McKinney confesses that he regularly eats chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. His basic four food groups are Big Macs, fries, shakes, and lemon tarts.
A scientist has computed that the average human being eats 16 times his/her weight every year, whereas a horse eats only 8 times its weight.
A child watched as his dad finished off seconds and then thirds at the Thanksgiving table. When the dad loosened his belt, the boy said, "Look Mom, Dad's moving his decimal point over two places!"
Editor Horace Greeley told of receiving a letter from a woman: "Our church is in dire financial straits. We've tried everything to keep it going - a strawberry festival, an oyster supper, a turkey dinner, and a box social. What would you suggest?" Greeley wrote back, "Try Christianity."
Well, enough of this is enough. Happy Thanksgiving. -DJ
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Lukewarm Devotion
"I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth." - Revelation 3: 15, 16 - Jesus to the church at Sardis
A soldier overseas was writing his girlfriend when he decided that a telegram would make more of an impression. He then gave the following message to the telegraph opererator, "I love you, I love you, I love you. John."
The telegraph operator told the young man, "For the same amount of money you can add one more word." And so to get his money's worth, the soldier changed his message to, "I love you, I love you, I love you. Cordially, John."
Too often we profess that we love God, but then some temptation interferes and our devotion becomes lukewarm rather than hot. We give it cordially rather than lovingly. The soldier should have gone with his heart, period. His mistake was giving in to the lure of getting his money's worth with just one more word.
When it comes to loving God, we've already gotten far more than we deserve - the grace of Jesus Christ. Love, love, love is a joyous bargain! - DJ
A soldier overseas was writing his girlfriend when he decided that a telegram would make more of an impression. He then gave the following message to the telegraph opererator, "I love you, I love you, I love you. John."
The telegraph operator told the young man, "For the same amount of money you can add one more word." And so to get his money's worth, the soldier changed his message to, "I love you, I love you, I love you. Cordially, John."
Too often we profess that we love God, but then some temptation interferes and our devotion becomes lukewarm rather than hot. We give it cordially rather than lovingly. The soldier should have gone with his heart, period. His mistake was giving in to the lure of getting his money's worth with just one more word.
When it comes to loving God, we've already gotten far more than we deserve - the grace of Jesus Christ. Love, love, love is a joyous bargain! - DJ
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
“Give Until It Helps, Not Until It Hurts.”
Pastor’s Column. “Give Until It Helps, Not Until It Hurts.”
Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Cor. 9:7.
There was once a wealthy man who was not known for his generosity to the church. The annual stewardship drive was underway, and the stewardship committee decided to pay the man a call. Upon their visit, the chairperson of the committee asked the man if the church might depend on him for a significant pledge that year.
The man said to the chairperson, “Did you know that I have a widowed mother who has no means of support other than me?” No, the committee did not know that. “Did you know that my sister’s no-good husband abandoned her, and that she has no support for her five kids other than me?” No, the committee did not. “And did you know that I have a brother who was crippled in an automobile wreck? Other than me, he also has no support for his wife and kids.”
Embarrassed, the committee replied that they did not know about the man’s brother either. “Well,” said the man. “If I’ve never given any of them one single penny, why should I give anything to the church?”
When it comes to how much we give to the work of Jesus’ church, people may advise us to give until it hurts. That may not be very good advice. It would have hurt the man above to give a penny. Better advice might be to give until it helps, which the man was entirely capable of doing. Give until we can see that our giving helps make a difference on Jesus’ behalf, until the good news is clearly proclaimed and lives are transformed.
God loves a cheerful giver (above). I doubt that we get all that cheery when it hurts us. Rather, we are cheerful when our giving helps, when we can see that we’ve helped make a good difference in the lives of others, the work of the church.
Stewardship Consecration Sunday this year at Grace is Sunday, Nov. 22. You can mail your pledge cards in at any time, as well as your Time and Talent surveys, or you can drop them by Aline’s office. But you can also come forward as an act of worship during the closing hymn and place your card in a designated basket.
DJ
Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Cor. 9:7.
There was once a wealthy man who was not known for his generosity to the church. The annual stewardship drive was underway, and the stewardship committee decided to pay the man a call. Upon their visit, the chairperson of the committee asked the man if the church might depend on him for a significant pledge that year.
The man said to the chairperson, “Did you know that I have a widowed mother who has no means of support other than me?” No, the committee did not know that. “Did you know that my sister’s no-good husband abandoned her, and that she has no support for her five kids other than me?” No, the committee did not. “And did you know that I have a brother who was crippled in an automobile wreck? Other than me, he also has no support for his wife and kids.”
Embarrassed, the committee replied that they did not know about the man’s brother either. “Well,” said the man. “If I’ve never given any of them one single penny, why should I give anything to the church?”
When it comes to how much we give to the work of Jesus’ church, people may advise us to give until it hurts. That may not be very good advice. It would have hurt the man above to give a penny. Better advice might be to give until it helps, which the man was entirely capable of doing. Give until we can see that our giving helps make a difference on Jesus’ behalf, until the good news is clearly proclaimed and lives are transformed.
God loves a cheerful giver (above). I doubt that we get all that cheery when it hurts us. Rather, we are cheerful when our giving helps, when we can see that we’ve helped make a good difference in the lives of others, the work of the church.
Stewardship Consecration Sunday this year at Grace is Sunday, Nov. 22. You can mail your pledge cards in at any time, as well as your Time and Talent surveys, or you can drop them by Aline’s office. But you can also come forward as an act of worship during the closing hymn and place your card in a designated basket.
DJ
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Stewardship Consecration Sunday Nov. 22
A Concern of the Church. Stewardship Consecration Sunday is Nov. 22. As stewards (responsible managers) of all that God entrusts to us, we will be making a 2010 commitment to our faith journey that pertains to the five Core Commitments recently adopted at Grace. Again, they are the following:
G – give sacrificially of the financial capability given us by God. If you can stretch yourself and tithe, do so. But if you are presently in a position where you cannot, give the percentage of your income that you can. Studies have shown that when we mindlessly drop money into the offering plate during the year, as opposed to giving our donations prayerful thought, we give on the average 1.7% of our income. Can we do better?
R – reach out and invite someone who doesn’t have a church home to Grace. Do so ASAP, but also be thinking about whom you can invite to our Christmas Eve service. More about this later.
A – attend worship regularly so that in a world filled with worthless values, your life is founded on the truth of God’s word.
C- cultivate your ministry gifts, i.e., be a responsible steward of time and talent.
E - engage in prayer, Bible study, and devotional reading during the week so that your faith stays kindled. Remember that seven days without worship makes one weak.
All the above are ultimately a matter between you and God. Give your commitment to Christ’s ministry prayerful consideration. The only commitments reported to the church are G & C, those of your financial and ministry (Time & Talent) giving. There will be a basket in which to place these forms the front of the sanctuary during the worship service Nov. 22 - DJ
G – give sacrificially of the financial capability given us by God. If you can stretch yourself and tithe, do so. But if you are presently in a position where you cannot, give the percentage of your income that you can. Studies have shown that when we mindlessly drop money into the offering plate during the year, as opposed to giving our donations prayerful thought, we give on the average 1.7% of our income. Can we do better?
R – reach out and invite someone who doesn’t have a church home to Grace. Do so ASAP, but also be thinking about whom you can invite to our Christmas Eve service. More about this later.
A – attend worship regularly so that in a world filled with worthless values, your life is founded on the truth of God’s word.
C- cultivate your ministry gifts, i.e., be a responsible steward of time and talent.
E - engage in prayer, Bible study, and devotional reading during the week so that your faith stays kindled. Remember that seven days without worship makes one weak.
All the above are ultimately a matter between you and God. Give your commitment to Christ’s ministry prayerful consideration. The only commitments reported to the church are G & C, those of your financial and ministry (Time & Talent) giving. There will be a basket in which to place these forms the front of the sanctuary during the worship service Nov. 22 - DJ
Devotion for November
Devotion 11/10/09. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Nothing can happen to us that God cannot use for our wellbeing; and we know this if we love God and seek his purpose for our lives. But if we ignore God’s supportive, healing presence and seek no more than our own agenda, our lives may never get back on track after the blows of life derail us.
If we aren’t receptive to God at work for our good, we become an obstacle to what God is trying to do in and through us. Rather than cooperating with God’s purpose, and trying to overcome the damage that has occurred, we become part of the problem rather than part of the solution. We want our way rather than God’s way. Impasse, at least for the time being.
Still, the promise is this: there is no situation so hopeless that God cannot enter it and change us for the better.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for constantly seeking my wellbeing. Give me grace so that I might do the same. Amen
DJ
Nothing can happen to us that God cannot use for our wellbeing; and we know this if we love God and seek his purpose for our lives. But if we ignore God’s supportive, healing presence and seek no more than our own agenda, our lives may never get back on track after the blows of life derail us.
If we aren’t receptive to God at work for our good, we become an obstacle to what God is trying to do in and through us. Rather than cooperating with God’s purpose, and trying to overcome the damage that has occurred, we become part of the problem rather than part of the solution. We want our way rather than God’s way. Impasse, at least for the time being.
Still, the promise is this: there is no situation so hopeless that God cannot enter it and change us for the better.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for constantly seeking my wellbeing. Give me grace so that I might do the same. Amen
DJ
Hospitality to Strangers
Pastor’s Column. 11/10/09. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13: 2.
Maybe Abraham didn’t realize that he was entertaining angels, but nowadays hospitable people are more so the angels. As you move across the country they feed you and offer you the use of their guestroom. They make sure you are well-cared for, and so you just naturally want to return their graciousness by showing them respect and courtesy. Easier said than done.
Why? Staying in a guestroom is tricky. The bed is so picture perfect that lest you unruffle its ruffles, you think it better to sleep on the floor. There are shams and duvets and comforters and afghans and quilts stacked high above the sheets. And millions of pillows! European pillows, standard pillows, neck pillows, etc. If you were actually in the bed with all the coverings and pillows on top of you, could you move? Or would you have to stay in an uncomfortable position until your host came to your rescue the next morning.
Then there’s the guest bathroom. Here again you want to show your respect to your host, so can you actually use the towels or are they merely decorative? One would be a really poor guest if he/she accidentally used a decorative washcloth on his/her body, not to mention left a decorative shower curtain wet and mildewy.
It would be a real help if guest quarters came with a user’s guide.
DJ
Maybe Abraham didn’t realize that he was entertaining angels, but nowadays hospitable people are more so the angels. As you move across the country they feed you and offer you the use of their guestroom. They make sure you are well-cared for, and so you just naturally want to return their graciousness by showing them respect and courtesy. Easier said than done.
Why? Staying in a guestroom is tricky. The bed is so picture perfect that lest you unruffle its ruffles, you think it better to sleep on the floor. There are shams and duvets and comforters and afghans and quilts stacked high above the sheets. And millions of pillows! European pillows, standard pillows, neck pillows, etc. If you were actually in the bed with all the coverings and pillows on top of you, could you move? Or would you have to stay in an uncomfortable position until your host came to your rescue the next morning.
Then there’s the guest bathroom. Here again you want to show your respect to your host, so can you actually use the towels or are they merely decorative? One would be a really poor guest if he/she accidentally used a decorative washcloth on his/her body, not to mention left a decorative shower curtain wet and mildewy.
It would be a real help if guest quarters came with a user’s guide.
DJ
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
MOVING MO STUFF TO MO PLACES
And Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things. Only one is necessary."
Jesus' words should be printed on every moving van in the USA. Packing to move cross country is a pain and a big worry. Indeed, the number one rule of packing is this: the more you pack, the more there is to pack. Why? Evidently your belongings are of the opinion that moving from one state to another is a really fun thing to do. So these allegedly precious possessions invite their relatives - stuff you didn't even know was in your house - to join them in the move. Suddenly, what you thought was going to be something on the scale of a small picnic turns into a family reunion.
And do your belongings - the whole realm of things you and/or the movers put in boxes and load onto the truck - practice abstinence? No. Suddenly they begin multiplying like rabbits. What had once been a drawer with a couple of sensible items in it now overflows with junk, which is the spawn of sensible items. Jesus has it right. "Only one things is necessary;" two will cause you trouble.
The number two rule of packing is this: the more you pack, the more you make new discoveries - like a secret passageway to an unknown dungeon beneath your house that you had totally forgotten about. And according to the realtor, a person whose business it is to know about these things, both the passageway and the dungeon have to be cleaned and repainted before you can put your house on the market. You may even have to phone an electrician because dungeons tend to be poorly lighted, and as everyone knows, you cannot sell a house with a dimly lit dungeon in this market.
The number three rule of packing is this: you pack up your stuff, put it in the moving van, drive across country only to take it out and put it in another house, from which your stuff will have to be moved again one day, proving that there really is no end to the pain and worry of moving. You may think that you are immune from ever moving again - after all, you got your "moving" shot when you got your flu shot and your shingles shot - but wrong. You're only in remission.
This Sunday, Nov. 8, the sermon will be "Practices of Christianity," based on Jeremiah 35: 1-11 and Mark 7: 1-13. I may use as sermon illustrations really embarrassing stories about members of the former congregation I served - i.e., people who live where I moved from to get here, including Martha Martha. But Cheri and I are here!
Jesus' words should be printed on every moving van in the USA. Packing to move cross country is a pain and a big worry. Indeed, the number one rule of packing is this: the more you pack, the more there is to pack. Why? Evidently your belongings are of the opinion that moving from one state to another is a really fun thing to do. So these allegedly precious possessions invite their relatives - stuff you didn't even know was in your house - to join them in the move. Suddenly, what you thought was going to be something on the scale of a small picnic turns into a family reunion.
And do your belongings - the whole realm of things you and/or the movers put in boxes and load onto the truck - practice abstinence? No. Suddenly they begin multiplying like rabbits. What had once been a drawer with a couple of sensible items in it now overflows with junk, which is the spawn of sensible items. Jesus has it right. "Only one things is necessary;" two will cause you trouble.
The number two rule of packing is this: the more you pack, the more you make new discoveries - like a secret passageway to an unknown dungeon beneath your house that you had totally forgotten about. And according to the realtor, a person whose business it is to know about these things, both the passageway and the dungeon have to be cleaned and repainted before you can put your house on the market. You may even have to phone an electrician because dungeons tend to be poorly lighted, and as everyone knows, you cannot sell a house with a dimly lit dungeon in this market.
The number three rule of packing is this: you pack up your stuff, put it in the moving van, drive across country only to take it out and put it in another house, from which your stuff will have to be moved again one day, proving that there really is no end to the pain and worry of moving. You may think that you are immune from ever moving again - after all, you got your "moving" shot when you got your flu shot and your shingles shot - but wrong. You're only in remission.
This Sunday, Nov. 8, the sermon will be "Practices of Christianity," based on Jeremiah 35: 1-11 and Mark 7: 1-13. I may use as sermon illustrations really embarrassing stories about members of the former congregation I served - i.e., people who live where I moved from to get here, including Martha Martha. But Cheri and I are here!
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