Pastor's Ponderings: Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:13-21 (March 10, 2025)

March 10, 2025:  Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:13-21

May the living Christ, and the Spirit's gift of faith be your strength and your courage on this new day.

Today our lives are full of uncertainty.  There are wars, and mass immigrations, investors shake as the market continues to plunge deeper into the territory of losses, and many have growing concern for the strength of their retirement resources, there are many health concerns too, and hosts of other uncertainties in our lives.  Today let's try to remember in prayer all who find themselves caught in these times of uncertainty.  Please pray for Tricia, Nancy, Pam, Jeff, Kandice, and for me too, as I await another 6 month check for my prostate cancer in about two weeks.  Pray that we might all turn to Christ for our strength as we move from day to day.  I thank God for all of the prayers which you offer throughout the week.  Our prayers are really more important than we often realize as we give thanks for the Love of Christ which sustains us in our lives.

Today we are in chapter 5:13-21 of Paul's letter to the Galatians.  Though Paul continues to speak to how we are all to understand Christ, and the amazing power of His presence in our lives, it is evident through Paul's writing that there is great potential for problems in the Galatian churches in the newly gained sense of freedom that Paul speaks of that comes to us all through the sacrifice that Jesus makes on the cross, paying the price for the sin and brokenness of our lives.  In the nature of our sin, the very first thing that we come to think in this newly gained freedom is that we are free to do anything which we want to do, and if that is the case, such an approach to this new freedom would be, and is, a massive mistake about what Christ hopes for, and has come for, in our lives.  When Melody and I lived in Des Moines, IA for fourteen months, I had the wonderful opportunity to take a group of 7th grade boys and girls to Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota for an eight-day outing, back packing in all of our food and supplies, carrying our canoes when we had to move over a beaver dam barrier or take them across land areas.  On that journey we were free to go wherever we wanted as long as our college-aged guide was willing to take us, so we didn't get lost.  One of our few obligations in all the freedom of that canoeing journey was that everything we carried into the Boundary Waters area had to be carried out.  In other words, in our freedom, we could have chosen to ignore that "what goes in must be carried out" rule for our behavior.  We chose to be diligent about our litter and kept areas where we camped clean and tidy.  As Christians, we cared about treating the areas we were in with respect, honoring the rules, even though it would have been easier to just leave our trash.  After all, who would know?  In our eight days out, we almost never saw anyone else, except bears and loons, and massive snapping turtles.  In all of this we were free, I mean really free to do whatever we wanted.  But based on our faith lives, and guides who loved the Boundary Waters, we were free to treat this area with the greatest respect, appreciating how important it was to express our freedom for the benefit of this irreplaceable national treasure.

According to Paul Christians are truly set free in their lives because of Christ's sacrifice.  That means that no longer are we bound to the law by having to keep it all to attain our place in the LORD'S heavenly kingdom.  In fact, we are unable to do that!  But as children of the Resurrected Christ, in the freedom that Christ brings to us through faith, we are called to "Love God first above all else, and our neighbor as we love ourselves".  We are set free in Christ to love God, and to love one another.  That freedom would never abuse God's love for us by harming others.  We are free to love God's creation, and all of the people who live on this planet with us.  And when we don't do so well at this, we have the sacrifice of Christ which calls us to confession for our failure in this great commandment for living our lives, and in His love for us, we can know that we are forgiven and then may set out again to share God's gift of love in more appropriate ways.  It is not that we cast aside the 10 commandments, but we hold them close to our hearts and keep them to our very best ability, as thanks to our God who loves us beyond measure.  The imagery that Paul uses when he speaks of the actions of the flesh has dual meaning.  It is a way for Paul to continue speaking to the issue of circumcision giving a man a superior place in the Christian community, which Paul makes most clear is no longer necessary, and when he speaks of the flesh in another way, it is to clearly state that all who believe in Christ are saved, and all are equal before the LORD, and in the church.  Circumcision does not bring some higher status for those who have come through the law, than those whose entrance into the community is by, and through, the love of Christ.  In fact, the highest thanks any one can give for Christ's gift of freedom is to love God first, and then to act with that love in all the places of our lives. 

God bless you today, with the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 9:1-18 (March 6, 2025)

March 6, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 9:1-18

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I pray that your day moves smoothly from hour to hour, and that at this day's end you are filled with the Peace of Christ which passes all understanding.  Please stay safe on this very windy day.  One semi-truck has already been flipped over on the highway at the Speedway crossing, with traffic backed up for miles.  It seems to have backed up traffic all over the downtown including Aviation at Broadway.  I know this because I was stuck in traffic this morning on the way to getting the boys to school.  Today please pray for the people who are looking for work.  Just a few of those include our sons Jesse (he is interviewing today at Baskin Robbins), our Joshua who continues his search for a full-time job, though he now has 25 hours a week work tutoring high school students helping to get them ready for testing that colleges require for admission.  Josh has been out of work for six months, and our Josiah also needs to find work.  Chris is also looking for work as an advocate for those who are struggling to move out of their addiction issues.  Of course, please continue prayers for our list of folks who are facing treatments for their cancer diagnosis, and for Teri who continues with hope to have her hip joint replaced if the surrounding bones heal. 

Today we are moving into the 9th Psalm, verses 1-18.  I want you to understand that Psalm 9 and 10 are connected.  Today we are dealing with the first part of this combination in Psalm 9.  Like the others that we have been studying this one is also attributed to David.  This Psalm indicates that a really great way to come to prayer is to take the time to remember the long list of God's actions for His children throughout their relationship with Him.  For you and me that certainly includes remembering some of the Old Testament actions on behalf of the faithful ones.  We could certainly start with Abraham and Sarah, even though they doubted that what God promised Abraham could happen in their old age, they did indeed conceive and have their son Isaac.  When asked to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham's trust in God brought a different sacrifice that would be made in place of his son.  David and his battle with an overwhelming enemy Goliath.  His victory was given by God, the very same God who guided him to his kingship over the Hebrews.  We often forget Samson and his final victory over the enemies who had blinded and entrapped him.  We must also remember Jacob's faithfulness, and God's presence as Jacob benefited from the lies of his uncle Labin. Perhaps the greatest blessing of God was His action to free the slaves in Egypt, culminating with their safety from the Angel of Death (an act of resurrection), and God's presence and sustaining presence with the Hebrews as they wondered in the wilderness.  The promises of God to restore His people in exile so that they might reestablish the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.  The New Testament is filled with God's inbreaking through Jesus as he teaches God's Truth, heals the ill, and feeds the masses.  He brings miracle after miracle, including raising Lazarus and others after their deaths.  And in the face of it all, the greatest of all, the Resurrection of our Savior, setting us all free from the burden of death.  The praises of this Psalm, and all of the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament, really prepare us to offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God in addition to our usual requests for His action and help.  This is important for us, especially when we are faced with the tough circumstances which happen in every one of our lives.  As we look at these works of God's Love for His people who also have, like us, faced struggle after struggle, both of their own making, and from the impacts of outside forces, we know how it is that our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit really do favor His human creation.  Our outcries for justice, as they have been for 1000's of years, are heard by God, and have moved Him to action in many and varied ways for the benefit of the faithful.  All of God's actions for His people should result in the strengthening of our faith.  Our God will never ignore our appeals for justice and for God's help in our lives.

With the Love of Christ for our lives, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:13-21 (March 4, 2025)

March 4, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:13-21

May the Name of Christ be on your lips, and in your heart today and always!

Our prayer chain offered prayers yesterday for another Brandon, a worker where Joanna is employed.  He was doing maintenance work on the building when he fell four stories through a skylight. He is hospitalized with multiple broken bones, but his doctors say that he will survive this accident.  Please pray for Dianne, Kandice, Jeff, Tricia, Steve, as well as me.  All of us have cancer and really do need your continuing prayers.  Please pray for Teri who will get news from her surgeon about whether or not her hip is healing in a way that will allow it to be repaired.  That news will come today for Teri.  Let us pray too for Tricia, who is also getting test results which we pray are encouraging.  

In today's reading from Paul's letter to the Galatian church we must finally realize that there have been multiple problems in the community due to the teaching of a person or group who is encouraging the strict following of Jewish "law".  Paul continues to hit this issue head on in our reading this morning.  The purpose in God's sending His Son to suffer and die, was that we might be set free from the burden of our sinfulness under the law, God's interim solution given to the Jews.  Now we have the power and might of the Son.  Through His action we are set free.  Initially this sounds like it will allow us to do whatever we want to do; nothing is a restriction any more since the believer is in Christ.  Oops!  That is not right for us!  We are set free to be for God.  That little three letter word is really important here.  Just as the word is in the consecration of the Communion meal.  This is my body.  This is my Blood.  In these words, Christ indicates His living presence in, with, and around the bread and wine of the Communion meal.  For is another one of these words in this passage.  Without its freedom to do anything would be how all of this would be viewed.  However, Christ tells us that the freedom in His sacrifice is so that all believers can be for God.  Paul goes on to quote Christ's own Words that we are meant to love like God loves.  The law which bound God's children has now, through Christ, brought freedom.  Some Christians do indeed think that they are free to ignore others they find too out of place in their houses of worship, turning those undesirable ones away from the Love of Christ, our love for them through Christ, and the fullness of God's grace for them.  To do so places the perpetrator in grave danger, they might lose their very souls through such behavior.  Oh! Just a minute!  We all do that sometimes.  But guided by the Spirit we are brought to our knees in confession.  If we have someone who we cannot bear, and we have not treated them with loving kindness, then we are the bearers of the darkness of that world where hope and love do not exist.  In these circumstances we are called to confession, forgiveness, and contrition before our LORD.  Having been forgiven, it is upon us to change our hearts in that particular relationship, because Jesus did it for us first!  His example is clear.  Are you and I willing to act with a changed heart (metanoia in Greek)?  As your pastor I believe that you would remove from serving the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your midst if I did that to anyone!  So, are all of you pure of heart and acting out of kindness and love for those with whom you have had a problem at some time in your life?  In the Gospel Music we have a song titled "Get on Board”. If you are stuck in the land of darkness, don't you think it's time for you to get on board?  This is exactly what Paul is attempting to get across to the new Galatian Christians.  The requirement of God's forgiveness through Christ is that through the Spirit's gift of faith we are set free to love just like Christ has, and always will, always ready to cover us with His Love, selflessness and giving, even to His very last breath on the cross, and today thousands of years into the future, and beyond, to love us always!

Thanks for being here with me this morning.

In Christ's Love for us all, Pastor Kim