Convicted

The story of Mary and Martha in our Gospels reading today has always convicted me.

Luke 10:38-42 

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,  but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

I am reminded that often it is not so much what I do but how and especially why I do things. This is true especially in the Church. It is easy to get caught up in activity and miss one of the core teachings from Jesus. We  can serve on teams, sing in the choir, serve as ushers, even lead as pastors...the list goes on and on, and yet in all this activity we can lose  sight of the very important reality of spending time with Jesus.

I love to work, but at the same time I realize  that I can become consumed with the work that I do and forget to just stop and sit at times. One of the  practices which I encourage others to do, and I have practiced for many years now, is the practice of getting alone in solitude. It is in those  times I connect with the Master Creator of the  universe.  It is in those times that my soul sings songs of praise  and worship; it  is in those times that  I stop and listen to hear what God may be  trying to say to me.  Meaning, if I am too busy, I might just miss these most  wonderful times in my life.

In the midst of a fast, we have a great  opportunity to have one of those alone times--just you and God! Why not do that  right now?  Right where you are. Take 15 minutes and listen, sing, pray, or whatever you need to do to hear again the  voice of  the  Master.


Blessings
Pastor Rip

Click the link below to go o the Gospels reading plan.
TODAY'S GOSPEL READING

My Friends Cross

This is a first day of sorts for me. Yesterday was spent in moving our belongings into the place I will call home.  It’s a nice place overlooking a lake, and as I look out my window I can see ducks swimming, and a cool breeze is blowing.  It’s nice to have a place like this, yet it is just a place and not my final destination.

I’m in transition.  What that means is I need to learn to adapt.  Learn how to apply what I know to the place I find myself in.  As this relates to spiritual realities, I need to apply the teachings of Jesus and the scriptures to my surroundings.

I have a practice that whenever I move into a new home the first item I place in a position of importance is a cross that was given to me early in my ministry. It is old and outdated to other more detailed crosses; yet, it receives the place of honor in each and every home I have lived in. I place it in this position of honor, not because it is a masterpiece of art, but because it was a gift of LOVE from a friend.

In spiritual discipleship, sometimes we practice these things that are not pretty or even popular; however, we continue to do them because of who we know to be our friend.   Every time we practice a discipline like fasting (which we will do starting tonight at 6pm to Friday night at 6pm), we do so not because it is easy but because it is the right thing to do.

So here are three practical things to do during a FAST:

• Start with prayer.  Ask God to lead you in this. Stop throughout the day and ask God to keep you on track and end the fast with a prayer of thanksgiving.   
• Drink plenty of clear fluids.
• Scripture teaches us to wash our face, anointing our head with oil, and don’t go around sad or somber.

And because this is only a one day fast, I am planning a nice meal on Friday evening in my new home, where I can see the cross made by my good friend.

Blessings,

Pastor Rip

BTY, I will be online most of the day on Friday if you want some encouragement or just need to visit about staying the course.

youversion.com/reading-plans

Fasting Often?

OK, folks, here goes. I am going to talk about FASTING…now if you are still reading past that last line, please be encouraged. There are many directions I could take with this idea of fasting. Suffice it to say, all you need do is a quick Internet search and you will find a variety of ideas and Bible verses to back them up. Some of the stuff is good, but most of it, I think, is used to prove a point the writer is trying to make.

However, when I look at this passage from Matthew’s Gospel (chapter 6), I see “fasting” as a relational invitation. That would be consistent with Jesus’ teaching on prayer and giving mentioned in the same chapter. I do believe that there are other positive results that come from fasting, but it really comes down to one BIG idea; when I fast, I simply want to know Christ more and myself less.

What that means is that I want to discover that He is more important than food. He is more important than a particular self-gratifying activity. He (GOD) is more important than even life itself.

Now that is a bold statement, and to be honest I am not there yet. But I am growing in that direction and fasting helps remind me that this life is about responding to a relationship with the one who created all there is even life itself. Are there other benefits from fasting?  Yes, I believe so, but the most important is for me to understand just how important God really is in me. If I can discover that God really is important in my life through this simple practice, well then, I believe that life can be more full and meaningful because the trivial loses its influence.

SO…this Friday I invite you to set aside 24 hours through the act of fasting. I will begin at 6PM Thursday evening and end at 6PM Friday evening only drinking clear fluids. Can you do it?

Please note that if you have a medical condition that would keep you from participation in a food fast, you might substitute some other activity where you can join with me on the journey.

I am looking forward to hearing your stories of discovery with the God who loves us all so much.

Pastor Rip

Click the link below to go to:

Todays Reading plan from the Gospels

The Big Three

This is day 6 in our reading through the Gospels. Actually, this is where for me it gets exciting. It is here that we gleen some of the rich teaching from Jesus. Matthew gives us the "Lord's Prayer," Luke gives us the "Beatitudes," and John shows us this amazing story of the feeding of the 5000. Rich stuff to say the least!   But what does it mean if there is no application for our lives?


 One of the passages which spoke to me today was from Matthew. Here we find a very interesting road map for Spirtual Discipleship. I'lI call them the big three. In this reading, we discover three things we SHOULD do. The first thing I noticed is that these are not suggestions for living a better life; these are not popular "How-to Books" from a respected leadership guru. This is a simple road map given by God to enable us to live life free from self-control.

 It consists of three points, When you GIVE!  When you PRAY! and When you FAST--the reality of this third point, and my confession to you, is that this is an area of life that I sometimes struggle with. Well, let's be honest. Giving and praying are great, they make me feel good inside, but to put fasting in the same place of importance for  the Christian life is rather scary.

Here is something to ponder.  We give insight to those struggling with finances to put God to the test; in fact, God invites us to  test  Him in this area of our lives so that He can prove Himself faithful. (Reference Malachi 3:10.) We encourage all to pray during times of great  trouble as well as in the good times; yet when it comes to fasting, we don't talk much about Jesus' words where He says "WHEN YOU FAST!"

OK, so here is a challenge. I invite you to a one day fast this Friday, August 17th.  I will give us some directions over the next few days as to what this would look like.


Would love to hear your feedback on this part of Scripture.
 Pastor Rip

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