Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 9:38-40 bible study (May 6, 2024)

May 6, 2024: Monday Morning Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 9:38-40

Grace and Peace to you this Easter Monday. Yes, it is still Easter in the church. If you have wondered why we consider Easter as our main Holy Season, when it would almost seem that it should be Christmas, which in our nation is celebrated as a major economic event. In the Church, and in our lives, it is Easter which brings us into the fullness of God's Grace and Love for our lives through the suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. In fact, we can even tell of Easter's primacy when we just look at the Church Year Calendar. Christmas is celebrated for 12 days, and Easter is celebrated for 7 Sundays and Weeks. So here we are in May - and I wish you a heartfelt Happy Easter, and all of the joy and comfort that it brings to our lives. Please continue your prayers for all of the people who we have mentioned need our constant prayers. Steve who had prostate surgery and is now back at VA in need treatment for the gall bladder for. in and suffering. Jeff who has terminal cancer and about a year to live. Kandice who has cancer is very hard to treat. For Holly W's niece who has cancer. For me as I deal with too high blood pressure, and its complications in other ways as I thank God that I have survived my last major spike in pressure.

Start your day with God's Word

Today we are studying a very interesting little passage in Mark that indicates to us an answer about Christ's Words about the fact that there are other sheep in His fold about whom we know nothing, who will be welcomed in heaven with us.

The case here is that the disciples are frustrated by a man who is healing people in the name of Jesus Christ, but he is not one of Christ's intimate group of followers. Jesus' comment "If he is not against us, then he is for us" calls us to note that this "other" healer is doing the same good work as the disciples, and he is doing it in Christ's name. I suppose it is possible that this other healer really doesn't understand the power and authority that he has used by healing in Christ's name. Of course, some who claim to do Christ's Holy Work, not only have no idea the power that springs from the Name of the Savior, but they may also be doing all of it, for personal gain with no sense of where that heart of a healer should be doing good for the world. For you and me, there is no way to figure out who God receives in His Heavenly Kingdom. For us, we know that the only path is to be immersed in the righteousness of Christ, and to depend on His merit before God, knowing that our sins have been set aside by our belief in Jesus Christ, and with that freedom from the burden of our sin we are able to move into the world once again knowing that we are saved and that we have that same message of salvation to bring to the world of people. However, there will be others called home to heaven by Christ, and that is His place as the judge of all people to welcome those who might seem to have lived life outside of faith in Christ. You and I live in the certainty of salvation. For others there is hope that in their own goodness, Christ will receive them. We never hear of this outsider who heals in Christ's name again in this Gospel. The focus, instead, is on Christ, and all that His disciples must know in order to continue their work of building the church after Christ's ascension. There are truly good people outside of the Church in God's world, and we also know that there are some in the Church who by their words and deeds will be set aside by Christ at judgement time. We must all live with a heart for God, for Christ, and accept the Spirit's ever present guidance in our daily living, loving Christ above all else, and loving each person because they are also God's creation, remembering that it is not ever our job to judge others in terms of their salvation -- that is the place of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Though we may hate the deeds and speech of another person, because of Christ, we must still love that person, asking and allowing the Spirit to move their hearts. This is perhaps the most difficult task we will ever face. To refuse to do so, will place us at issue with our Lord Jesus Christ. Keeping Christ's commandment to love God above all else, and to love our neighbor as we love our selves, is the very center of our relationship with Jesus. In doing so, we have become Christ's friends.

Tomorrow, we move on to Mark 9:41-42. What does it look when we come to accept Christ in our lives? We’ll talk about some of that tomorrow.

With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study on Nehemiah 1:11b-2:10 (May 2, 2024)

May 1, 2024:  Thursday Bible Study on the Old Testament book of Nehemiah 1:11b-2:10

God's blessings and peace be with you on this desert spring day.

I want to thank our prayer chain at American, and any of the rest of you who were aware of my health issue with my blood pressure yesterday. I have battled high blood pressure for 18 years, sometimes with it at dangerously critical levels. Yesterday was one of those days. Ultimately, after having little success in bringing my pressure down with my regular rescue medication, I ended up in the emergency room for 5 hours.  My pressure lowered without any added medication, but it is still higher than it should be. I will be headed to a cardiologist in the next several weeks to get assessed for any cardiac issues that may have developed recently. I am working from home today again due to my need to try to catch up on the exhaustion of having a full day of really high blood pressure. Please continue to pray for me that my pressure goes down to its more normal lower level, and that this feeling of begin wiped out stops.

Nehemiah bible study

Today we continue in Nehemiah 1:11b (this means the second half of verse 11) thru 2:10. It is almost ironic that I spent all of my emergency room time praying to God with thanksgiving for every one of you who are so faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here in this passage of Nehemiah we know that after Nehemiah heard some devastating news about his homeland of Judah and the condition of the wall and gates of the settlement being destroyed and burned, he turns to the "the God of the Heavens", the God who you and I worship and accept as the only One True God of all things,  and in his distress for the people, he prays to God to be a part of the solution for the problems in Judah.  Having worked for 18 years as Artaxerxes' faithful butler, during which time it was his responsibility to keep the king safe through his oversight of the wine and food being served. In this passage we see Nehemiah as one who has been faithful in his service to the king, and whose work on the king's behalf has been appreciated. Though Nehemiah has prayed for God to use him, he understands how difficult it will be for him to come to the king with this ask, but with uncertainty about how Artaxerxes will respond, Nehemiah approaches the king with a face that is apparently feeling pretty certain about the danger and trouble he may be in as he approaches the king.  Obviously from the text, we discover that Artaxerxes truly cares for this long-time servant butler. The king wants to be certain that his trusted butler will return after this journey to help fix Jerusalem. IN this circumstance between king and servant, there is a miracle of reversal. Now Nehemiah is doing the asking for privilege that should belong only to the king in this relationship. I think that our relationship with God is exactly like this. We know that God's call rests on every one of us, and yet, on a day like yesterday, we sought God's service at our request, and when God chooses to respond to us, we really need to count every one of these actions from God as a certain miracle.  But how about this different approach from faithful exiled Nehemiah? He asks God to be the solution to a problem. Usually in our prayers, we are asking God to act, but here, the ask is to become the solution that God may use to complete His desired action. How long has it been since you have offered that prayer to God? I think that we all know that God uses us to be His solution to needs of the world, but how often do we actually ask to be the tools of God's successful work in our world?  Like Nehemiah we may have some fear about what we may face if God chooses to answer out prayer. Perhaps that makes us more unlikely to be a knowing instrument of God's work when we have asked God to use us.  The surprising thing here is that in His answer to Nehemiah God also works in the life of Artaxerxes to cause him to respond positively to this unusual request. 33 years ago I prayed to God to make me an instrument of His Gospel here in Tucson,  I can tell you that I received God's blessing and answer to serve at American Lutheran Church through both really great times, and in times of questions, thru joys and sorrows, and in times of celebration or despair.  And at that call meeting on the weekend of October 1990, Tucson Meet Yourself, God moved the people of American just like He did Artaxerxes. If we learn anything from Nehemiah's encounter with the king, it should be that The God of all things answers prayers that work His Will in the world in which we live. As we read to the end of this passage we learn that the king does more than send Nehemiah, he sends a large contingent of support, which is a good thing, because there are always those who oppose God's action just as they did when Nehemiah arrived to begin his work, and for another time,  just as some did at American.

May the Lord grant you joy in His Easter. With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 9:36-37 bible study (April 30, 2024)

April 30, 2024:  Tuesday Morning Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 9:36-37

Good morning and may these closing days of the Church Year Season of Easter find you still excited and filled with joy because Jesus has been resurrected and has now ascended to our Father in Heaven.

This morning, I woke up to being ill, but I will later catch a nap, and of course, Pastor's family transport service will still go on because Melody is only able to drive short distances until her knee replacement is more healed. This next Sunday at American is Gospel Music Sunday. We hope that you will join us for worship, and then come to the carry-in lunch after worship. The theme is Southwestern. If possible, let us know that you will be with us by calling the church office at 520-623-3661. For our regulars and members, we are already planning on most of you being with us. The other quick news is that after having one car die last week, (it needed a new battery) our van blew a radiator hose after I picked up the boys after school, so it is in the garage getting repaired. We hope that it will be back late today, or tomorrow.

Bible Study: exploring scripture together

Today we have a small two verse passage to consider from Mark 9:36-37.  Here we find Jesus still speaking with the disciples in that Rabbinical mode. He is trying to get them to understand what is important, as well as, what makes the followers of Christ so different from the world in how they live their lives and serve others as their ministry unfolds. I believe that we know that Jesus is fond of children.  After all, according to Mark He had younger siblings.  However, in this case of bringing a child into the midst of His teaching the disciples, he is making an example of what it meant to serve others. A child has little value in terms of its ability to produce to support the family, or to offer its wisdom in difficult to understand circumstances. A child is dependent on those who love him or her. They need their food, clothing, opportunities to be cleaned up, a shelter in which to live and rest, and to learn about life by teaching and/or by example. All of this being said, at least in our culture children are treasured and cherished above almost every other thing in a family's life!  A number of years ago, singer Ray Stevens sang a song which I have shared in prelude form, Jesus Loves the Little Children. This is most certainly true, but Jesus was speaking about the child He was holding as He taught, as a model of the kind of individuals that the disciples were meant to serve. They were called by Christ, and so are we, to bring the Gospel Good News as a gift for those who lives seem to be lost to the rest of the world. Yes, I know, the Gospel message is for everyone. But the reality is how we show Christ's love to those who we may really not want to have to spend any time. We know who these folks are. They stand on corners, their lives are usually between a rock and a hard place, they are unkept, unwashed, homeless, and more. These are the ones with whom we are called to present the Good News of Jesus' love for them. In this passage Jesus speaks more clearly about worthy and unworthy ambition. He tells His disciples to stand carefully in the purity of the Gospel when the relationship is reciprocal. Share the Gospel instead with those who are unable to give anything in return. Let their time with you be their gift and blessing. There should be no gain because we have chosen the relationship where that is possible, and it benefits us with status blessings in return. We must remember that we cannot earn Christ's gifts for our lives by anything that we say or do. We come with nothing to give that Christ does not already know. Our humble faith in Christ's Love comes when we know how little we deserve what Jesus brings for us, and we are sinners who He has given His life for! We know the words. Inasmuch as you have done it for the least of these, you have done it for me. It is in this way of loving all people, that we receive Christ, and through Him, our Father in Heaven. God bless you and keep you every day. With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim