See You in September

When I was in sixth grade, one of the most popular songs that spring was “See You In September” by The Happenings. It was a bittersweet song, celebrating the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, but lamenting the three-month separation from our friends and classmates.

As I remember, the girls would be crying while the boys would be rejoicing when the school year came to a close. With that in mind, our biweekly Nutshell will be going on a summer break, which might cause sadness for some and joy for others. Actually, we won’t go away entirely, but rather cut back to once a month. However, we plan to be back on a regular schedule in the fall. In the meantime, you may want to engage in some devotions of your own, if you are not already doing so. 

Our Daily Bread, a three-month devotional, is free of charge and available in the Narthex. There are also countless other devotionals that can be purchased online at a nominal price. Either way, be sure that you do not fall victim to what educators call the “Summer Melt,” when students regress intellectually because they stop reading and exploring their cerebral curiosity. 

Stay strong and vibrant in the coming months. Our faith should not take the summer off. Read scripture, peruse devotionals, and participate in small-group or family Bible studies so that your knowledge and your inspiration will not “melt” but rather flourish over the summer.

Breaking Bread Together

There are many theories as to why the nuclear family has fractured during the past 75 years, but I blame an unusual culprit — the TV Dinner. That’s right! Prior to the advent of the prepackaged frozen dinners in the 1950s and 1960s, families gathered around the dinner table most evenings to share the day’s activities and strengthen the foundation of the family unit. Now with the busy schedules of young families, which include sporting events, band concerts, theatre productions, and the like, most families just don’t eat together any longer, at least not very often.

What would happen if we made family meals more of a priority, at least once or twice a week? The Bible suggests that we should break bread together, including this passage from I Corinthians 10:16-17, which states, “Is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”

Of course, this passage is referring to the Communion table, where we share one loaf and draw closer to the Lord and to one another. Does it not also make sense for us to spend mealtime together at home whenever possible? Sharing conversation and fellowship over a meal is likely to result in unity.

Perhaps we can become more intentional about gathering together at the dinner table. It will almost certainly make us a stronger family unit, and the same is true for the communion table. The more frequently we gather together, the more likely we will grow stronger in faith and in friendship with those we know and those whom we’ve not yet met.

Navigating Rough Roads

I don’t really understand the roadwork that was done on Warner Hill leading up to the church last summer. When they scraped up the surface asphalt, I fully expected that they would replace it with a nice, new, smooth surface…but they didn’t.

Some have suggested that the rough surface would make the road easier to navigate during the snow and ice that would follow in winter. I’m not sure I agree with that, but who am I? I know little or nothing about road surfaces.

I do, however, know something about the figurative rough roads that we all encounter in life, and I’m sure you do, too. Sometimes we have no choice as to which direction we must go — there is only one route — but most times we have several options.

I guess the question is, what road are we on spiritually at the present time, and is it taking us in the direction we wish to go? The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah reminds us in 35:8 about a highway, which “shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” I guess we’re all fools at one time or another, but by following His pathway, we will never go too far astray because He is always watching over us.

Once we have chartered our route, we can then guide others so that they, too, will not lose their way, but rather follow the road to righteousness that leads to eternal life.

Faith is Not a Popularity Contest 

When I was in high school, being popular was very important to me, which is strange because I wasn’t all that popular. As I grew older, my quest for popularity gave way to simply being accepted by others. I guess in many ways I felt that I didn’t measure up to others; that I wasn’t as good as my classmates or co-workers.

When it comes to our faith, however, it doesn’t matter to God if you are popular or where you stack up against others. The one who created us doesn’t have ratings. He loves all people, and as we know from Scripture, it’s “the least among us” that are particularly near and dear to him.

In the Gospel of John (6:39), Jesus states, “this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” Later in that Gospel (18:9), he affirms that, in fact, he did not lose a single one of those whom he was given. In John 10:14-15, Jesus proclaims, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me —  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father —and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

So when it comes to faith, popularity is not an issue, only loyalty, honor, and reverence. It is our Lord’s mission and passion that all people will be redeemed and ascend to the Father’s Kingdom on the Day of Judgment. Any notion of popularity will be a non-factor.

Taking the Fall

Many years ago, when I played slow-pitch softball in Wooster’s Parks and Recreation
League, my teammates and I would often say, “Pick Me Up” after one of us made an out
and seemingly let the team down. In other words, do something to lift us up since we
failed to do so.

In our spiritual life, we often communicate that to the Lord, even though we might not
say it in those exact words. When we trip, stumble, or fall, we often cry out to Jesus,
“Pick me up, Lord” and invariably, he does.

As we know, he did much more than that for us at the end of His life. Not only did he pick
us up, He stood in for us, taking the sins of the world on His shoulders so that we would
not have to pay the wages of our misdeeds.

How often do we stand up or stand in for someone else? How often do we pardon the
actions of others? Probably not as often as we could or should.

Jesus was full of abundant grace and infinite mercy, and he calls on us to share those
blessings with others, forgiving them as He forgave us. Let us be ever mindful of God’s
unconditional love, and as we draw closer to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, let us
forgive others with kindness, consideration, and consolation, so that others may see
and embrace the power of reconciliation!

Taking Out the Trash

When we take our trash to the curb each week, we set the bin in place and walk back to
the house, never giving much thought to where it goes — until there is a problem. Last
month, for some reason, they failed to dump our bin into the truck. Sheri called several
times, and they said they would send another crew out, but, alas, they never did.
Fortunately, it was very cold, so there would be no odor until it was picked up the
following week.

All of this made me wonder what happens to our personal trash — the sins we commit
in our lives. Where do they go when we confess and repent? The obvious answer is that
they just disappear, having been atoned for thousands of years ago when Jesus hung
on the cross and shouldered the burden of all of our sins.

How lucky are we that we don’t have to take our sins to the curb and hope that they get
picked up each week. How blessed are we that we don’t have to worry about disposing
of our iniquities.

There are many passages in Scripture about the forgiveness (and subsequent disposal)
of sins, but one of my favorites comes from I John 1:9, which states that “if we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”

So, not only are we forgiven when we confess, but we are also cleansed, leaving our
souls free from the bondage and burden of sin.

Correction Without Condemnation

I never liked getting yelled at as a child. Even as I grew older, I was always uncomfortable, even embarrassed, when someone would correct me. It took years for me to understand and accept what my Mother told me many times early in life: “It’s for your own good.”

Even my Fit Bit scolds me when I haven’t moved enough, sort of like my younger years when I would be lounging on the couch and my Dad would remind me that it’s time to get up and mow the lawn.

Most of us don’t like to be corrected or criticized, but eventually we realize that it is, in fact, for our own good. Where we draw the line, however, is at condemnation. The God that we serve admonishes us, but He does not condemn. The Gospel of John, one verse after the most famous of all verses (3:16), states that “God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Romans 8 (1-4) affirms that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

The Power of God’s Forgiveness

Having recently returned from a few days in sunny, but not so warm, Florida, I found
myself mesmerized by the soothing sound of the ocean and the gentle waves as they
landed softly on the shore. What really caught my attention was the power of the waves
to erase all of the blemishes along the shoreline and leave the sand perfectly smooth
and pristine, as if it had never been touched.

All of this caused me to reflect on the great power of God’s forgiveness and His ability to
wipe away our sins and make us whole again. No matter how deep or wide the marks of
sin on our soul, the agonizing sacrifice of our Lord on the cross, and His glorious
resurrection from the tomb, are so powerful that no evidence of the damage or
destruction ever remains.

Scripture has a lot to say about forgiveness, including this passage (from 1 John:1-9),
which states, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.”

Sometimes our sin overwhelms us and causes us to think that what we have done or
failed to do is unforgiveable, but that is simply not true. We need to know that He
passionately wants to restore, reconcile, redeem, and renew us, so that none of us
would be lost. In the end, His abundant grace and infinite mercy leaves us perfect and
pristine, just like the freshly washed sand on the shore.

When it Comes to Spiritual Food, Be Sure to Clean Your Plate

When it comes to food, I am just as likely to get it on me as in me. Whether it’s ketchup,
mustard, gravy, or spaghetti sauce, chances are I will wear it after a meal or a snack. I
know, I need to be more careful in the future.

It’s kind of the same with the Word of God — sometimes we are able to consume it
entirely, but other times, it slips away and fails to enter our hearts. Jeremiah 15:16
reminds us that “[His] words were found, and [we] ate them, and [His] words became to
[us] a joy and the delight of [our] heart, for [we] are called by [His] name, O Lord, God of
hosts.”

God’s Word is, indeed, of great value, and none of it should be wasted. Isaiah 55:11
says that when God’s Word goes out from His mouth, it will not return to Him empty,
but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it.

When we were growing up, our mothers often told us that we had to “clean our plate”
before we could go back outside and play. Perhaps we should apply Mom’s advice to
our intake of Scripture. When it comes to the Word of God, we have an endless buffet of
spiritual wisdom, which provides guidance, clarity, comfort, and peace. So we should be
sure to “dig in” and even go back for a second helping.

Opportunities to Spread the Christmas Spirit Extend into the New Year

The call came in early on Christmas morning, but I was not there to hear it. A woman’s
voice left a message on the church’s answering machine at about 7:30 a.m. “We’re a
family of five, and we have nothing to eat,” she said. “I was laid off, my husband lost his
job, and our three children are hungry. Is there anything you can do to help us?”

How does one say “No” to such a request? I quickly returned the call, doublechecked
the address, and loaded up a box of cereal, bread, peanut butter, jelly, Ramen Noodles,
and several cans of vegetables and fruit. I then left the church in search and headed to
their apartment. When I finally arrived, the couple came out to greet me, and they were
extraordinarily grateful, but I couldn’t help but wonder, if I did not respond to their needs, who would?

The moral of the story is that so often, there are people living in poverty right in our own
community. Not only can we not afford to look past them, it is also our call as Christians
to actively look for them. Jesus said, “whatever you do for these, the least of my
Brethren, you do unto me.”

My invitation to all of you in this new year, is to actively seek the downtrodden, and
reach out to them by providing assistance in any way you can, just as our Lord instructs
us to do. By doing so, we will find that the true Spirit of Christmas can last all year long.