The Wonders of Waiting

Exodus 24:12-16 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

"The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and the commandments I have written for the people’s instruction.” Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the leaders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Take all your disagreements to them.” So Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. "

When God created the world in six days...the first part of creation waited until what was created to be created in the end. It watched and waited in wonder what the final "product" would be. When God was done with the final installment of creation it was "very good." Something good happened in the waiting...something very good! The seventh day was a day set apart to spend with God and creation.

Now here we have Moses...doing the waiting game again. He had to wait six days...just as creation did...to see the finished product. It was something good and would help the Israelites understand what was required of them...God's chosen people. It was a time of wait...it was a time of expectancy...it was a time that Moses may have spent in prayer. We don't know for sure. At the end of Moses wait the Lord called to Moses...he had a divine appointment to keep...a time to be with God as well...a time when he would hear God's voice of instruction.

We too have our time of waiting to hear God's voice of instruction to us. But...our time of waiting is a time when we can strengthen our faith...a time to exam ourselves as we wait for that divine appointment that awaits us in the end. It is a time when we learn to listen for that still, small voice of the Lord on the winds of change. Each time we have that divine appointment we are ultimately change in some way or another. It is our time to wait until we see the glory of God...for our faces to shine as Moses did after his divine appointment...his meeting with the Great I Am.

Are you in that time of waiting? Are you in a time that seems to be strengthening you "spiritual" muscles? Take heart...something good comes out of our wait...hold on and wait for your appointment. God is faithful. He will call you into His courts for an appointment with the King. Just be still and know He is God.

Amen?!

Right Where We Are

This is something that i compiled from an e-mail and a devotion I read today...

Right Where We Are

No one is perfect. At some point we've all hurt someone; we’ve all made foolish decisions; we've all told lies; and we've all had bad thoughts. The fact is – for the rest of our earthly lives – we‘ll have to crucify our ungodly desires on a daily basis. Our sinful nature never goes away; we simply become better at dominating it.

It is important for us to remember that we are imperfect people chosen by God to do His perfect will. God doesn't wait until we're perfect to use us. If He did, none of us would ever be used!

Our "calling" is a journey. Through each stage of our struggles and growth, God is able to work through us – right where we are.

Satan will try to use our weaknesses against us. He'll tell us that we're unworthy, unfit, and unqualified. But God uses our weaknesses to make us stronger. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Apostle Paul wrote:

"Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. [God] told me, ‘My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness'" (The Message Bible).

Although we should always pursue spiritual growth, the Word of God reminds us that we don't have to be perfect to be used by God. David committed adultery and murder. Jacob was a liar. Elijah's faith in God wavered. And Solomon (described as the wisest man on earth) made unwise choices.

Be confident in knowing this: God doesn't want us to stay where we are, but He'll use us right where we are. More importantly, if we are able to be honest about our shortcomings, God can use our weaknesses to make us – and other people – stronger.

**When God takes something from your grasp, he's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence. "The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." **


Amen?!

Romans 13:9-10

The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Now this is the whole point behind my sermon. If you love...you don't live by the world but by the law of love. We seem to get lost in the "feeling of love" and forget that we are commanded to love. It is not a "suggestion"...it's not "if you feel like it"...it doesn't even mean "only those in my church." It means everyone...everywhere...at all times.

Mercy Versus Retribution Sermon

Pastor Ruth Foss

Suncook UMC
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
February 20, 2011
Psalm 25:8-10 Gods Word Translation
Psalm 119:33-40 Gods Word Translation
Leviticus 19:9-18 The Message Bible
Matthew 5:38-48 The Message Bible

“Mercy versus Retribution”

I can’t believe what I have been hearing on the news about the Middle East and the surrounding countries. All the protests and fighting has gotten to be out of control. We hear about how the military, that’s supposed to keep people safe, have been committing atrocities in those countries. We have heard about them killing protesters while they sleep…setting fires to tents and gunning people down while they are sleeping. We are talking about women and children that are there with their husbands and parents trying to fight for their freedom. It completely saddens me…and we wonder what is happening to this world and humankind…why must this happen…how can anyone justify what they are doing?

What has happened to mercy and justice? These military personnel are feeling justified in what they are doing. They are acting out the “law of war” instead of the “Law of Mercy”…the mixed up law of man and the world instead of the righteous law of God and heaven.

And it is affecting children and adults all around the world. The other day my mom, Ray and I were having a discussion about what was going on in the Middle East and Shyanne came into the room while we were talking. After a moment of standing there she piped up with “Yah…and I heard that they set fire to a tent and a little girl told their mother that they should do something…they should tell the military about what was happening, they will do something to stop this from happening. And the mother replied…it’s the military that is doing this to us.” Out of the mouth of a child…she sees what is happening and is saddened by what she is hearing…

Last week I talked about laws…about rules…that we have been given by God to live by. I talked about how we have a choice between good and evil…between life and death. We have a choice to help others instead of helping our selves to everything that we feel we “deserve.” Leviticus 19:9-18 gives us rules about how we should treat others…it tells us (give a synopsis of the scripture) words to live by…words the world needs to hear and understand…words that will heal the nations if we but just listen and obey…

We as Christians…as humankind…are called to a better way of life. We are called to a radical…an outlandish way of life (by the worlds standards any way)…an extraordinary way of life. In Matthew 5:38-48, Jesus calls us to a way of life that is both confusing and challenging for us. It reads (and I’m reading from the Message Bible…of course…)

Jesus removes the boundaries of love…we no longer need to just love others that love us. Jesus opened the floodgates of love to ALL of those that we come in contact with us…Our friends as well as our enemies. This love has nothing to do with feelings but it has everything to do with doing…loving no matter what. It is only through the blood and love of Jesus that we can achieve this type of agape love…this all consuming, no holds barred type of love. Agape love…the love that was displayed on the Cross of Calvary…the love that kept Jesus on the cross for you and for me.

This love is not just for those who do good (But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us)…it is not limited to kin (God sent him (Jesus) to pay for the freedom of those who were controlled by these laws so that we would be adopted as his children…It’s not limited to those who love us (We love each other because he loved us first…God love us first…not the other way around…for God so LOVED the world that He sent His only begotten Son, Lord Jesus Christ)

Love…it really does make the world go round, not money as so many think…it is what the world needs now (in the words of Dionne Warwick…) Church…we need to get it right…we need to love as Christ loved and still loves us to this day. With our faults and shortcomings…all the way…no holds barred…in that Agape way that God loved us first. How will you react to others that are different than you…how will you treat your fellow human…how will you show that Agape love to those in need? Just think what could happen if you and I truly lived out that commandment to “love others as ourselves”.

Let us pray…

Loving and Gracious God…we thank you that you loved us first. Help us to show your loves to those around us…especially to those who we may feel are the unlovely in our lives. Help us to be your ambassadors of hope and love. May we help others know the saving and loving grace of your Son Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we pray.

Amen…amen and amen…

Sermon

Here is my sermon from this morning. I pray you are all blessed in the reading. It is using the RCL scripture...

Pastor Ruth Foss

Suncook UMC

Sunday February 13, 2011

Psalm 18:1-3, 46 Gods Word Translation

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 New Living Translation

Matthew 5:21-37 Common English Bible

Matthew 5:17 Common English Bible

A Life or Death Situation

(Aka…A Fine Line Between Heaven and Hell)

Rules…there are so many rules around us. There are rules on how you should drive…rules on how you should act in public as well as in your home…good rules that help us and bad rules that exclude and alienate others. We grew up with rules that our parents gave us. I mean these are to just name a few…there are so many rules that it is confusing at times which rules we are to follow when.

When we read the Old Testament of the Bible we can get really confused about rules. There are rules about how the temple was to be set up…rules about how to worship…rules about what to eat and how to eat it…rules about what the Priest should wear…the list is so long I don’t really think we could cover them in the time for my sermon…it’s a no wonder the Israelites kept sinning…they couldn’t keep up with the many rules they had…but all kidding aside, rules are mostly there to keep us safe from harm…

Last week…Pastor Huntley read a piece of scripture that has made me think a lot about the laws in the bible…I have thought about how vital…if at all…they are to my life as a Christian. The Scripture I am talking about is the one from Matthew 5:17 that read… (And I am quoting the Common English Bible)

“Don’t even begin to think that I have come to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I haven’t come to do away with them but to fulfill them.”

Jesus didn’t abolish the Law but fulfilled it. Jesus even validates and expands…unpacks…some of these laws in Matthew 5:21-37. Listen to what Jesus had to say: (Read Matthew 5:21-37 from the common English Bible)

So many “Christians” today say that they live under the law of grace and not under the law of the Old Testament. They think that they can do whatever they want and will be covered by grace. Well…it is true we live under grace but this is the way that I see it...Yes we are under grace but we are still under the Law of Moses and the prophets. We still need to “act accordingly” but when we mess up…and we as humankind has proved that we will at times…this is where the grace comes in. we no longer have to offer a “burnt offering” for our sin…remember, Jesus was the last sacrifice for sin…what we need to offer is a heart that is changed, a life that turns away from sin and back to God. Now that’s REAL GRACE. There is a choice here of which way we want to go.

In “Alice in Wonderland”, there is a scene where Alice is at a cross roads and she is not sure which way to go. The Cheshire cat asks here where she is going and she says she doesn’t know. Well the cat then tells her that it doesn’t make a difference which she chooses then. We as Christians have a road and a road map to follow, the Bible. Even though the way may be a little confusing and hard at times, if we stay on the path our future is bright, when we stray off that path we are in danger of going down a path that leads to darkness and death.

Just as the Israelites were challenged with a choice of life and goodness or death and sin, we too are offered the same choice in our lives. It is difficult at times to discern which is which. We sometimes think that something will lead to life (a certain job, a certain way of life, a certain relationship in our lives) actually can lead to death. So what are we to do? Beloved brothers and sisters…God has chosen us to be His…God has given us rules to live by…if we look at something and it will harm others, then maybe we should turn and run in the other direction…God gives life but sin only gives death. We have a life or death situation here. We have a choice to make…chose life and live abundantly in the presence of our Creator or chose death and live in the way of a fallen world. Which will you chose? There is a fine line between Heaven and Hell. How will you choose to walk it?

Let us pray…

Loving God, Giver of all that is good, we pray for your guidance as we live the lives you have given us. Help us to discern your will, help us to choose the right path. We thank you that you offer us Mercy and Grace in our lives. May we be ever mindful that we are yours and are loved beyond comprehension. We love you and give you all praise and honor through our Redeemer and Esteemer, Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen…amen…and amen.

I'll Wear My Own Suit Thank You...

1 Sammuel 17:38-40 The Message Bible
38-39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge. David told Saul, "I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this." And he took it all off. 40 Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

There are so many today that are trying to find their way in the world...in ministry...in life. The problem with some is that they don't know the way so they try to copy others only to find that they are only a "poor copy of the original." This is discouraging and gives the feeling of failure and sadness because you just can;t find your "niche" in life.

David was a shepherd by trait...it was all he knew. He also knew that God had given him the strength to beat a lion an a bear and was able to save his fathers flock. He knew that God would give him the victory if David trusted in God. Well...he knew he could have victory over Goliath with God's help. Saul tried to fit David for battle in stuff that David never wore before...things that worked for some so Saul thought it would work for David...David might have even thought the same in the beginning. (sound familiar...thinking that what others have...what others have done might work for you)

But David realized that the armor that Saul offered him was just not his style. It was too heavy...he couldn't move and be himself..the person God made him to be (when we take on the "costume of others" we may be stifling what God intended us to be. The costume is to heavy and just doesn't fit...we can't let our own personality and talents show through this costume).

David was smart...he threw off the armor of man and put on his armor of God...his trust that God would give the victory...all David needed was fighting tools that God made him proficient with...five smooth stones and a sling.

Well...David gets the victory over the Goliath in the path of the Israelites with just one stone and God's help.I actually have five smooth stones in my office by my water fountain...they are there to remind me that the battle is the Lords...He will help me take down the Goliath situations in my life if I will trust in Him and let God be God. I find myself holding them at times as I go to the Lord in prayer over certain situations. They help me feel better  some how. Maybe because the are a tangible thing that i can hold that reminds me of Gods promises. They also remind me that, like David, God has given me certain abilities...certain gifts...unique only to me. How can I not use them for the God's pupose and use some else's. That' like saying to God "thanks but no thanks...I think so and so's ablitlities are better so I'll use theirs. Thanks anyway for the gifts but you see God...they are  just not good enough to get the job done." (Cue bolt of lightning...lol).

When reading the Upper Room devotional this week (http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/default.asp?month=2&day=1&year=2011) I was reminded of the story of David and his victory...I was reminded that God has given me and you special abilities and gifts to be used for the kingdom. I shouldn't want someone else's armor...it probably won't fit right...

May we always remember to be ourselves as we serve the Kigdom. It's the only way that God can use our "special ablities" for the greater good of all...

Amen?!