Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings
September 15, 2011In my last post I mentioned “The Lord’s Prayer” and the forgiveness it requires of us. Please read it, meditate on it and note that Jesus feels it is so important to forgive He explains the forgiveness part. This scripture was copied from the International Standard Version.
Mat 6:9 “Therefore, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Mat 6:10 May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us today our daily bread,
Mat 6:12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
Mat 6:13 And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
Mat 6:14 For if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mat 6:15 But if you do not forgive people their offenses, your Father will not forgive your offenses.”
Holding grudges, being spiteful, living a life where you are always ticked off at someone is not the life that brings us closer to God. Unforgiveness that we hold on to keeps us from growing spiritually and moves us in directions that God does not want us to go. Jesus knew this and gave us a daily prayer that would remind us of how important forgiveness is to us. Keep your faith walk in line with the scriptures and your walk will be in line with God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Pray this prayer like you mean it. Not just from rote memory. Jesus gave it to us because it is important and means something to each of us.
Have a blessed day by making it a day in which you practice forgiveness,
Randy
Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings
September 12, 2011
A sunset like this brings peace to my soul. Scenes like this remind me of the wonderful God Creator and His Peace filled Spirit.
Is forgiveness a word in your vocabulary? It is a word in Matthew 18:21-35. Peter thinks that he has gone well beyond what Rabbinic law calls for when he tells Jesus he should forgive a whole whopping 7 times. Rabbinic law says that you should forgive 3 times but not the fourth. Jesus’ response is Seventy Seven times or Seven times Seventy depending on the translation you are reading. Jesus then tells us about the king who forgives the debt of his servant. A debt that is of such large size that it is not possible for any one man to amass. When the king finds out that his servant would not forgive a very minor debt from someone else he has his servant arrested and thrown into prison to be tortured until repays that exorbitant debt.
This parable leaves no doubt that Jesus teaches us to forgive those who sin against us. We also see it in “The Lord’s Prayer”, you know the part about forgive me as I have forgiven those who sin against me. The life we lead has to be one of forgiveness. A forgiveness led life is a life that gives a very positive witness by not being bound up in hatred, prejudice, spite and vengeance. These very negative emotions are against all that Jesus teaches us and are absolutely not a part of the love walk we are all supposed to be a part of in the world God has given us.
Does unforgiveness routinely block your witness? Are there times when you actually say you hate someone? Are there times when you just want to get even? These are all results of unforgiveness and this is why Jesus speaks so often of forgiveness and loving your neighbor.
Forgiveness for some is easy and for others it is the hardest task we will ever be able to undertake. It is just not a natural action but a supernatural action that we can only make happen because the Holy Spirit is alive and working within our hearts, giving us the spiritual growth that allows us to resist our instincts toward the negative feelings. Keep strong in your faith, study your scripture and always know that forgiveness is the way of Jesus Christ.
Have a great day and be at peace with the world,
Randy
Our Church Service Begins
September 4, 2011
This is how we begin our church service at Wesley United Methodist Church. As you can see we are a small church that begins asking for God’s blessings on our country and our Church. Come join us in worship, prayer and praise.
Thanks to my Son in Law, Jeremy Parzen, for the film clip.
Pastors Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings
September 3, 2011In Matthew’s scripture reading from 18:15-20, Jesus is giving instructions to His disciples.
Mat 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and confront him while the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two others with you so that ‘every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
Mat 18:17 If, however, he ignores them, tell it to the congregation. If he also ignores the congregation, regard him as a gentile and a tax collector.
Mat 18:18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Furthermore, truly I tell you that if two of you agree on earth about anything you request, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”
I believe Jesus is giving this instruction to His disciples and us as a last resort. Everything else Jesus teaches us is to help keep us from getting to this point in a relationship. Just a couple of examples are in the beatitudes. Matthew 5:5, “How blessed are those who are humble, for it is they who will inherit the earth!” and Matthew 5:9, “How blessed are those who make peace, for it is they who will be called God’s children!” Being humble and being a peacemaker are in the beatitudes because Jesus knew our human condition and our tendency toward pride and self serving righteousness. There are many other examples to give but to me these two are the most important. When we humble ourselves before our God, we humble ourselves before our brothers and sisters in Christ we will seek to live in peace and act out our most important call to be servants to each other. Being right or justified in our feelings becomes much less important as we see the way of peace and love Jesus teaches us.
Be strong in your faith and humble in your spirit. Bold in your efforts to share the “Word” with others while having a servant attitude. Faith, Hope and Love, Abide in these three but Love is the greatest.
Have a great Holiday weekend,
Randy
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 