Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 29 (September 4, 2025)

September 4, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Old Testament of Psalm 29

Blessings and Peace, (and maybe some rain!) on this wonderfully cool Thursday morning.  I am praying today for all the lives which have been thrown into upheaval by the actions of our government, from the laying off 10s of 1000s of Federal workers, to those moved out of the country because of their immigration status.  These people have lost the protections of our constitution as to a right for a status hearing before a judge, and even some U.S. citizens have been removed from the country!  At some point, we in the Church, must recognize that if some people are removed by members of ICE who are masked without names, and those detained receive no legal hearing, that it may not be long before the such an action might, and could, reach out to remove those of us who do not meet the faith standard and judging actions of the Christian Nationalist movement in our country.  I have spent many hours with two women in our congregation who watched this happen in their own nation of Germany in World War II.  They both knew what was happening to their neighbors, their friends, even the professional people who served their communities, and at least at first, they thought it would never happen to them, but it did.  One fled their homeland for Canada, the other became a prisoner.  I live in a home with two dark skinned young adults.  Both carry state IDs, but I worry that they will be denied their rights if they are picked up by ICE or National Guard, or some assigned branch of our military for our protection, armed to harm our nation's citizens if some government leader deems such an action appropriate.  I say these things to you, because I truly believe that to ignore these actions in our midst might set each one of us up to lose rights we thought were guaranteed to us constitutionally.  Just something to think about.  I want you to know that you certainly have the privilege of disagreeing with me, and that I will still love you with all my heart, because in our differences we are all called to unity in the Savior.

Though there are always those in power who think that they are like gods, the 29th Psalm which we are reading today makes it very clear that it is always the LORD God of Hosts who is in charge, and who takes in His hands the care of the faithful, and who is the Creator and the One in charge of all things in creation.  There must have been plenty of times when David sat in Jerusalem thinking about how the tribal and national kings acted like they were really the ones in charge, even of creation itself.  This Psalm makes it clear exactly how David thought about his own relationship to the LORD, and because of the fullness of the power of the LORD in all things, David knew in his heart that his faith in the LORD was singularly the most important part of his own kingship in Israel.  We all should know that there can be many things which we make gods in our lives, and even in the thinking of the world of people of faith that would designate and believe in some gods other than the LORD.  But to do so means that too many people believe that by their actions, their prayers, they can cause their god to move in ways that are pleasing to the faithful.  The LORD, in whom we espouse our faith, is identified in the Old Testament only by himself.  When Moses asks, "who shall I say has sent me?" The LORD'S reply is to name Himself I AM WHO I AM, AND I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE!  Throughout the Bible we see the LORD being exactly that.  In this Psalm David's expression of faith is that he sees all things in his world moved by the LORD, and David is the witness to it all, expressing confidence in the LORD'S desire to provide abundantly for His Hebrew people.  The things that you and I are witness to show us that even in God's independence from fulfilling our every dream and wish, the LORD will do what is right, and good, and just!  The LORD's intent is for the well-being of His faithful ones.  I know, then why do some of the most faithful have to suffer so much?  I certainly don't have an answer, but you and I need to know that our LORD always acts with Grace in the lives of the faithful, though it is not always easy.  All you must do is read the first part of my study today, to get the feeling that our prayers are important in all things, especially when there is such earthly injustice running rampant here at home, and around the world in wars and in the amassing of armaments that can destroy us all.

The Lord is our God! There is no other!

In His Love and Power, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 4:5-12 (September 2, 2025)

September 2, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 4:5-12

Dear Ones, I hope that you have had a good weekend with some time to relax, or perhaps get yard work done, or spend some time with extended family. We had a quiet weekend, but on Sunday morning, the Donut and Coffee Fellowship went very well, and was well attended. I only stayed briefly but I believe there were close to 15 people who came to share early Sunday morning fellowship before the worship service. This coming Sunday is Gospel Music Sunday, which means we will have a meal after service. This meal will be a hot dog picnic. The cost is $1 per person, with a dinner size frank, buns, chili, and other condiments provided, and we are asking participants to bring a picnic style dish to share. We will have a couple of birthdays in the group, so Melody and I will provide a nice birthday cake too. Foodies of Faith had eight in attendance at the Cheesecake Factory, and that number included Rev. Kurt Fangmeier, our good friend, and Pastor of Sierra Ev. Lutheran Church in Sierra Vista. It was great to see him again, and our Jesse was with us too, having helped with getting folks in and out of our van. What a great time we all had… good food, and cheesecake too! Next month we will head back to the Bread and Butter Cafe for our outing. Please offer prayers of thanksgiving that Joanna and Kelly's dog Raya has been healed and is home recovering. Continue Prayers for Larry who continues in the hospital after back surgery with critical other health issues. His wife is Joyce. Prayers for Annette and Steve. Both are facing health issues in the coming weeks. Pray for God's healing touch to be with them both.

Today we continue in our Bible Study on the Acts of the Apostles, and we see the result of Peter's healing of the sick man on the Sabbath at the temple. Evidently the doing of good is a concern of the temple leaders, including the people who have been set up as judges over the events that have taken place there. They are powerful, and anxious to maintain the income that is gained from the controls and judgements which they make. To have something like Peter healing the sick in the temple could be a real problem for them if those who are at the temple begin to doubt their authority. So, the Sanhedrin is gathered to take action and find out exactly what has happened at the gate of the temple, an action in which Peter has been deeply involved. As we know from earlier healing that Christ did on the sabbath in synagogues, there is a great concern in such healing being a breaking of the Hebrew/Jewish laws for what is allowed on the sabbath. The other thing you and I must remember is that it is Peter who has denied Christ three times on the night of His trial. Now, here is Peter in a sticky situation. Will he stand up to the temple judges? Will he run away from what he has done? Will his faith be strong enough now to be the "Rock" on which the Church was to be built? It is here, that Peter, faced by the powerful members of the Sanhedrin, gives all the due for this healing to the power of the person who the temple leaders had killed by crucifixion just a few weeks ago. No longer was Peter afraid of speaking truth to power at this hearing. Instead, Peter's witness was steadfast, confident, and bold! However, what we see in this passage is greater than these things. Peter is filled with the courage of Christ's gift of the Spirit and Faith in his life. He has become a new man for the proclaiming of Christ. I really think that one of our shortcomings in our lives today is that we think such courage is unavailable to us. Our words and deeds of faith have the power to bring amazing healing to the world, and to the Ones to whom they are given. When we genuinely invite others to join us, to come to know the Christ of God and His Spirit, our lives, and theirs, are transformed, not by our power, but by the power of our Christ, God's Son, who is in, with, and around us always, keeping and fulfilling His promise to be with us until the end of the age.

Thanks for being with me this morning.

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 28 (August 28, 2025)

August 28, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Old Testament of Psalm 28

Good morning my dear friends, I write today with confidence in our Lord to be present with each family and their children who endured that mass shooting at the Catholic Church in Minneapolis yesterday. As I listened to the news in my van, parked at the boys’ school waiting for pickup, I wept. It will never stop until we have moral, ethical, and honest leadership in our country from the White House down to local governments. We all need to keep praying as we move to support common sense gun control in our nation. What was meant to be a one-shot rifle in the colonies, is now guaranteed access to rapid fire, high-power guns that place all who are innocent at very high risk. As a child, I remember the Cuban crises in the 60s, along with practices to get under our desks for nuclear attack, and yes, the rare tornado too. We know how naive this training really was, especially now when any of us could be target at any time, in any place, even our churches, synagogues, and mosques, places where safety has always been assumed and respected. But today there are no guarantees about such things. Only national, state, and local government action is going to help in this crisis and devaluation of life. Of course, we must pray for our Lord's guidance in all of this as well. Please pray for Sharyn. Her little dog was injured by a coyote this morning and had to be sent on her way to God's Heaven. I know you might question me about this, but even Martin Luther believed in a place in heaven for these loving house pets with whom we have been so close during their lives. I am confident in my babies, Honey, Big and Little, Macbeth, Molly, our own German short hair Gretchen, Brownie, Opal, Ruby, Pax our wonderful pit bull terrier, and today Chloe is in our home, a little Yorkie. It would be hard to believe that God didn't provide heavenly care for our perfect, devoted, protectors with bark or bite, or both, loving, intelligent, best friends and soul healers! Enough about these things. Pray too for Robert and Larry who are both recovering from surgery, for all who are battling cancer, Tricia, Kandice, and myself, and for Steve and Annette who are both headed to surgery in the not-too-distant future. This Sunday we have Gospel Music rehearsal after service, and tomorrow our out to lunch group will gather at Cheesecake Factory on the outside grounds of the Tucson Mall.

Today we are looking at the 28th Psalm of David. There are several God approaches to people who live in Israel. David's Psalm is about the difference between the way in which God responds to the faithful, and the unfaithful. Everyone in that time in Jerusalem was certainly not a faithful Jew. To many their possessions were their God, even though they might worship, pray, and believe, the One True God of their king David, and who is our God does not look favorably on the idea that HIs blessings will benefit us economically, with money and power.  I know that sometimes David is kind of full of himself, but he is a person of great faith, who knows that everything, the peace of Israel, crops growing in the fields, enough to feed the nation, and even his own reign as king is totally reliant on God's actions on behalf of David's people.  There have always been plenty of people who use their "faith" in God for self-benefit. They are really using God to convince others that if they will just be faithful to the individual, God will bless them with abundant wealth just like the profit maker who has the best of everything because that person was faithful first. Their Rolls Royce cars, private jets, $10,000 watches, and $8000 suits, and world travel too, are all because God just wants that preacher to be wealthy because of their faith. Many of these charlatans have been exposed, but there are still plenty of them out there, especially that now their message can be live streamed for the vulnerable to hear. David was a true servant of God, humbling himself before the Lord, thanking God for all things in the life the nation and in his personal life too. God's protection, peace, love, support in all things when the faithful people move to serve others with their time, talents, and resources, given not to get more for themselves, but out of thanksgiving to God for the blessing of our Savior and God's truth in our midst is what David, and all of us who follow, humbling ourselves before our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of life.  We must always remember that everything which we do in work, from the most mundane, to the most sophisticated, is really the Hands of God working His way through us into the world. Wealth is not really a problem, especially when we know with humility that it is meant to be used as a blessing for others.

Please remember that there will be no study on Labor Day.

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim