Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 10:35-40 bible study (June 11, 2024)

June 11, 2024:  Tuesday Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 10:35-40

May the Lovingkindness of Jesus Christ surround you throughout this day and always.

If you have not read this passage for a while, be prepared to get a picture of how these everyday men who were selected by Christ are having some pretty aggressive thoughts about the advantages that might be available to them once Jesus met his end in Jerusalem. It sounds kind of ruthless, doesn't it?  There are some things about James and John that we may not know. They seem overly ambitious, but it may be because they were ones who were invited to be with Jesus and Peter on some of those times when they witnessed amazing events. (the Transfiguration)  They may have also been more aggressive because they came from a family with resources and influence, so they may have had a great deal more experience in the world of business, but that alone tells us that they were not really well connected yet to the idea that Jesus was going to heal the brokenness of the world by His sacrifice in Jerusalem, and that the disciples would all be involved in the message of the Gospel by their commitment to doing its work through the church that Christ would gift to them.  The reality that you and I know is that regardless of their past experience, the new church would flounder in Jerusalem, but flourish outside of Israel, and the new mission to the Jews would use up James' and Johns' resources, and they would become dependent on the gifts which Paul would bring to them from his collections in Asia Minor.  As an aside, in Matthew the writer attempts of soften this raw ambition by saying that it was their mother who requested the action by Jesus before His death, but the writer of the Gospel of Mark exposes the hard reality of the disciples who were still not really seeing the whole picture, and how involved they would be after Christ's death.  Another part of this passage in Mark is how the term "cup" is used. In the 23rd Psalm the cup overflows with goodness and mercy, all the work of our good and loving God. Yet, here, the use of the word "cup" is different.  Here it is the intent of God that His Son, and our Lord Jesus Christ, should suffer on behalf of the people that He has created. This cup is filled with the wrath of God's judgement on behalf of all of creation, and it is to be consumed by the Savior in humble obedience to the Father. James and John really do not understand that this cup is filled with the deadliness of the world's sin. Indeed, many of the disciples will suffer fates like Christ is to suffer, and others will pay their life price in other ways, like Peter, crucified upside down on the cross. Though these deaths are unable to pay the price of sin, they are just a part of being those who are committed in their lives to teaching the truth of God's Love in Jesus Christ, and they die because the power of this message is a threat to those who want instead to wield the power of the darkness in the world.  Ultimately, many of the disciples will indeed bear in their lives the "cup" that took the life of Christ.  In His very Jewish way, Mark indicates that it is only God who determines how a person's life will move. God knows because He knows how the choices in our lives that have been made will affect our life and work, and by the power of the Holy Spirit already knows the “yes” of our faith. In the whole picture of God's plan for His creation, we only see a miniscule piece, God knows all the rest, the impact of our lives and how we fit into His plan, which could well mean a long life filled with joy in Christ, or a shortened life in spite of our strong faith,  God's will for us is immutable and right, though you and I may wonder why when we only see a tiniest piece of the whole Holy plan in which God is in control in all things.    Be with you on Thursday for another part of the Nehemiah study.

In Christ's Love, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 10:32-34 bible study (June 10, 2024)

June 10, 2024:  Monday Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 10:32-34

May the Blessing and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you this morning as we turn from the busyness of this day to the Word of God,

It is really easy for us to rise in the morning, and to forget our relationship with God because we have so many other things for this day that lie ahead of us, and we often feel the need to get started because the list is almost always pretty long.  I am hopeful that the on-line Bible studies that we are doing every week help us to refocus on the most important relationship of our lives, the one that is ours through Jesus Christ with our Father in Heaven. I am so thankful for the writers of the Gospels and the letters of Paul. They really do help to keep the love of Christ for our lives alive throughout the week as we consider the writings of the Gospel of Mark and the O.T. book of Nehemiah. We are truly blessed to be able to have these ancient texts available to us whenever we choose to turn to them.

This next Sunday, the education hour starts at 9AM, and worship begins at 10AM. I am hopeful that you will find the time to make it this week. I know that there is always plenty to do, even on Sundays. Our son James is on a summer league for basketball, and some of the games are scheduled for worship time on Sunday mornings. I know he is disappointed that he is not able to play the early scheduled games because of our commitments to Sunday morning services, but he knows that we are willing to give over any other time of the day to his getting to play with his teammates from high school. This Friday and Saturday are Synod assembly days in Phoenix. Sharyn Burt and I will be attending as the representatives for American. This year the assembly will elect a bishop for who will be in the office for the next 6 years. Please keep the assembly in your prayers and keep our driving back and forth to Phoenix in your prayers as well. It will be some really long days. Thank you so much for your partnership in prayer every day.

We begin in Mark 10 this morning with the beginning of Christ's determined journey to Jerusalem. Mark makes it very clear for us in this passage 10:32-34 that Jesus has placed himself in front of the disciples on the road. He knows what lies ahead, and there is no one else who can really understand, or soften the difficulty of His choice to now head south to Jerusalem and the end of His life. In the next passage for today we will see that the disciples are still thinking that they may receive some benefit from what Jesus has chosen to do, and that is certainly a part of their conversations as they walk behind Jesus. Note that when Jesus pauses to talk to the disciples that His Words are really precise. Here there is no lingering theological teaching. Instead, it is just the plain fact that what is coming is now immanent, and it will mean that this final physical and emotional attack on Christ will end with His death on the cross. Earlier in the Gospel Mark’s description of what will happen has been more vague and out there some time in the future for Jesus, but now the end is rapidly approaching, and it will be more terrible than the disciples have ever imagined. Jesus tells them precisely what will happen. What they have really never had to think about very much would now be constantly on their minds the closer they got to Jerusalem. The disciples had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and, as I stated a little earlier, they knew that eventually He would die, but it had really been on the back burner of their thinking. Of course, you and I know that will definitely change in the very near future for them. But, based on the next part of our passage for today, it was obvious that some were thinking of what we might call a power grab in the Kingdom.

After a while, Jesus turned to the disciples and as the earlier part of our passage today tells us clearly told the disciples the harshness of the His coming ordeal. But during this journey back to Jerusalem, two of the disciples were preparing to ask Jesus for a "give".

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study on Nehemiah 5:6-19 (June 6, 2024)

June 6, 2024:  Thursday Bible Study on the Old Testament book of Nehemiah 5:6-19

Grace and Peace to you on this very warm Thursday morning.

Today I am going to jump right into the study, because I have a late morning Echo Cardiogram.

Today's reading from Nehemiah, tells us a great deal about who this man really is. Not only has he come to call for the rebuilding of the wall and gate, but he has also shown by his leadership that sacrifice is what is really necessary if the restoration project in Jerusalem is going to succeed. That includes Nehemiah's own sacrifice. He leads not only in words, but also by example.

The first crisis was to get the people who were lending money and goods to the builders to relent from charging any interest for their help. The world doesn't take long to break into the lives of even very faithful people, and to cause them to slip in the ways in which they would normally remain faithful.  This entire passage fits well together from top to bottom. The commitment of the lenders to stop their money-making ways at the expense of their Judahite brothers and sisters happens only because of what we discover is going on every day as Nehemiah sets up a massive meal un. taking and feeding of the 150 or more men and women who are working on the wall and the gate. Multiple animals are used for that evening meal, with plenty of other food as well, including wine, which was the preferred drink to water, because of health issues which consuming water often caused at this time in history. Because of Nehemiah's generosity and commitment to the project which he has encouraged to get done, others too, when reminded by Nehemiah's example and by his stern words about what will make for the success of the rebuilding, take up the challenge. How much are we like this in the church? If our clergy leader is unwilling to answer the call for increased giving, or for some special project which others might spurn, then the people of a parish usually find themselves responding less positively to the appeal. However, if the leadership is up front about their commitment, just like Nehemiah, then the congregation is much more likely to make mutual sacrifices and greater commitment to what is being asked for. The fact that Nehemiah is willing and ready to speak up to the injustice and lack of faith of those who are charging interest and taking property as payment and or collateral, is also a really good example for us as members of the one true church of Jesus Christ. As I said before, it is pretty easy to get on a wrong path, thinking that path to be what would please God the most. In our own nation we have a great problem with Christian Nationalism, and the drive of people and congregations involved in it to think that power and money are the resources that will please God, and in those churches, people even believe in the destruction of those who do not agree with them.  I am so glad to be a part of a thinking, confessing, and Christ centered church, where our great guide is not  power and wealth, rather it is Christ's guidance to Love God above all things, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, which is really the fullness of the 10 commandments, and to do so out of thanksgiving for the salvation we have received from our Savior.  Regrettably, churches, where Christian Nationalism is the lie of their lives, have lost their way in their service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so like Nehemiah, we must be willing to confront it as unchristian. I guess you know now how I really feel about this crisis for Christians in our nation today.  We can never assume that just because the church is involved that it is right. We have to use the gift of discernment to be certain about the work of the Gospel that we do in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Keep me in your prayers today please, as I go through this process at the doctor's office. God bless you all.

In Christ's love, Pastor Kim