Witness

Anyone ever talk to God and hope for God to speak in return?  My prayer for our community of faith is that we will listen carefully to where God leads us.  My prayer is that we will take message of gracious God–a God of love, God of life, God of healing, God of hope, to people who need to hear it.  Whether they’ve heard it before and turned away, we have an opportunity to take it to them.  Maybe they’ve never heard it, or at least never had it shared in real, meaningful, genuine manner.  My prayer is that we might keep it real, that we can all witness to this amazing love.

Jesus once taught his disciple to “pray always, and not lose heart.”    After all, a common prayer is, “How long, Lord—won’t you answer me???”  As the story goes, however, Jesus recently taught those Twelve to pray—“Thy Kingdom Come…”  Now things are heatin’ up.  They come closer and closer to Jerusalem and those who seek to kill Jesus.  It’s as if he says, ”Don’t lose heart now; not now when it gets tough.”  These are the ones who must lead in witnessing to the faith, to God’s love in Christ, to a whole new way of living faith.   Jesus has given them something to believe in, now is the time to believe it.

One of my best friends is also a seminary classmate.  The summer after we graduated he worked construction–a job before he started serving his first congregation.  He was regularly razzed by co-workers, and ”Preach” became his nickname, (he probably got it because he spoke up when the Lord’s name was taken in vain).  One day he rode the truck to pick up supplies.  The driver of course, turned to a conversation about God, as was usually the case in a one-on-one.  “I read my bible, have my own prayers, believe in God on my own, but I don’t need church!”  My friend replied in what I believe to be the most profound fashion. “Maybe not,” he said, “I’ll give you that.  Maybe you don’t need church.  But I’ll guarantee you one thing.  Someone there NEEDS YOU!”

I  think of some other friends, one lost wife to cancer at young age leaving a young daughter,  some who can’t shake addictions, others with a host of troubles.  They need some Good New.  Who is on your heart today?  How do they need the gracious love of Christ?  How might you bring it to them?

Peace,

Kris Gorden

The One Who Showed Mercy …

[Jesus asked the lawyer], “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”  He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”  Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”–Luke 10:36-37

“I don’t have the time.”  ”Other plans were already made.”  ”This is just too much of a risk.”  ”I can’t handle dealing with other people’s problems.”  ”I really have too many more important things to do right now.”
 

These are a mere sampling of my own responses to those who “fall in the hands of robbers.”  Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the motivators of fear, guilt and shame are powerful and that it is too easy to succumb to such driving factors.  Yet the bare truth behind Jesus’ familiar parable is that we all find ourselves in each of these characters.  We all pass by on the other side, each of us comes through on occasion with the compassion of the Good Samaritan, and at some time or another every one of us is like the man left for dead and in need of mercy.
Rather than guilt or shame or fear, Jesus offers a more counter-cultural perspective.  The only things more powerful is love.  Love can indeed change the world…sometimes on a grand scale, and more often one hurting, beaten-up-by-the-world person at a time.  Take it from one who was lying for dead on the side of a road:  It’s a matter of life and death.

Peace,  
Kris Gorden, Pastor