Keep the Fire Burning: A Farewell Sermon for Long's United Methodist Church

            This sermon is going to be different from any sermon I’ve preached for you.  Really, it’s going to be different than any sermon I’ve ever preached for anyone.  ‘I have preached sermons for the last time in a few places, as a lay speaker.  Actually many times the first sermon was also the last.  I have never knowingly preached a farewell sermon.  I don’t know how to do that.  When I don’t know how to do something I look to see how such things may be presented in the Bible.  Well either that or I google it.  Google did well for me in teaching me how to keep a campfire lit, how to set up my tent, how to quickly set up and tear down an EZ up….but it wasn’t very much help with this task so I turned to the Bible for help with this one, thus the two scriptures I picked out this morning:  Moses’ farewell to Israel and Jesus’ farewell prayer for his followers.  I do not claim to be anywhere close to the holiness of either of these men-but they do know how to give a good farewell, so I am borrowing from them to bid you farewell. 

            I begin with Jesus.  “The time has come.”  Of course Jesus is saying the time has come for him to leave this World.  God willing, that is not the case for me.  The time, for me, has come has come as a united to Methodist Minister, to itinerate to the next place the Bishop has discerned could benefit from my gifts and graces.  When the Bishop calls I must get on my horse or in this day in my KIA, and go.  I am looking forward to this, to being able to proclaim the good news of God’s love to another community, and to do so every week.  However, I am keenly aware that looking forward is only possible because of the trust and faith you placed in me.

            I walked into this church for the first time about 5 or 6 years ago.  I remember Mabel being here and Opal Lee.  Jim and Marilyn were the first people I met.  I remember Marilyn asking me if I wanted my check made out to the Gideons.  She thought I was speaking for the Gideons.  Unfortunately I’m afraid I don’t meet the eligibility requirements to be a Gideon.  I googled it, just to make sure.  Nope, I don’t have the right plumbing.  Then I met Charlie who let me know he couldn’t do two things at once so I would need to lead the whole service.  So, it was here, in this pulpit that I led me first full service.  Here is what I remember most about that first visit.  Friends of mine visited here that morning and as I was teaching Sunday School back at Long’s Chapel, my friend brought up how much her children enjoyed the service.  Believe it or not their enjoyment had NOTHING to do with the wonderful sermon I preached, or the way I led the congregation in Worship or the beautiful benediction I gave.  No, their enjoyment had to do with lollipops, lollipops given by Ms. Jane and hugs given by many of you in the congregation.  It had to do with having that intergenerational contact and relationship.  That kind of thing can get lost in large churches when it’s very easy for age groups to get Siloed and for a child to never meet a person over the age of 50 much less have a relationship with them.  So guess what?  My friend began intentionally seeking intergenerational opportunities not just for her kids but for all Long’s Chapel Families.  Do you see what I’m telling you Long’s?  The Love of God that you shared on one particular Sunday morning, through the giving of lollipops and a few hugs as you shared the peace of Christ sparked an entire ministry in another church a few miles down the road.  Who knows how many lives have been touched and transformed by that! You AMAZE ME!!!!!

            Not only do you amaze and inspire me but you have equipped me and empowered me.  Jesus says of his disciples in verses 6-8:  “

 

⁶ “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from this world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ This is because I gave them the words that you gave me, and they received them. They truly understood that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.[1]

 

            I say the same of you.  You believed that I have been gifted and sent by God.  It is because of that trust that I am a certified candidate for ministry.  It is because of that trust that I continue to be a licensed local pastor.  It is because of that truth that I am enabled to make my life’s work the proclaiming of the Good News of God’s love to those persons who have felt rejected, ostracized and orphaned by the church.  Imagine the number of lives that may be transformed by yet again one simple act made by this congregation. 

            It is because of these things, and out of my deep love for you that I will continue to pray for you every day, just as Jesus prayed for his followers:  “Watch over them in God’s name.”  (vs. 9) “Keep them safe from evil, (vs. 15) and “Make them Holy in truth, your word is truth.” (vs. 17)

            Not only will I pray for you as Jesus did his followers but I will also pray as Jesus did “for those who will believe because of you.”  My friends if you remember nothing else about me or what I teach and preach I pray that you remember “
Thy Kingdom Com on Earth as it is in heaven.”  We are not to wait for death to experience God’s Kingdom-the reign of God’s love.  We can and do experience it right here and right now.  The Christian life is meant to be lived in community and I’m not talking about the people inside the walls of this church building.  I am talking about what happens when we leave the four walls of this building and carry what we experience in here-out there.  I wrote this sermon sitting beside a camp fire.  (For those of you who follow me on face book you’ve been waiting to see where the fire was going to come in…well here it is.)  I was able to keep that fire going for over 5 hours.  Here are some things I noticed.  First:  To keep the fire going I had to add new logs.  When I first began preaching as a lay speaker here I would inevitably overhear conversations from the Sunday school room or from the front steps that went something like this:  “What are we going to do about our little church?”  “Do you think they will let us stay open?”  “I’m afraid they are going to shut our doors.”  I heard it almost every time.  But, you know what?  I haven’t heard those conversations in the last couple of years.  You’ve added some logs.  How did you add those logs?  David and I came because we had experienced your love and you were a mile from our house. Sandy, Marie and the kids came because it was an intimate church, close to home and Sandy had visited once before and enjoyed the love she felt in this place.  Chris and Natasha came because they had a relationship with Charlie and when they were struggling and looking for God, looking for hope in what seemed hopeless times- they came here, and they stayed, until they moved, because you showed them love.  Delcie and Hayley are here, well because Charlie fell in Love.  All kidding aside though, I imagine she stays because of the relationships that have been extended to her in this place.  Mary and Molly came because they knew Sandy and Marie.  Sandy and Marie had spread the good news of what happens in this place.  What is it that happens in this place?  Relationships happen, love happens, community happens.  That is how you add logs.  Keep doing it! 

            The second thing I noticed about the fire is that sometimes I would think the fire was over, it was about to burn out.  There were just a few embers left.  Then I would see a whole new flame strike out.  This would happen when a piece of log that had strayed away from the fire or that the fire had strayed away from would be touched by an ember from a nearby log and would catch on fire all over again.  It has done my heart good to experience Louise in this space over the last several weeks.  I only met Louise at Easter time.  Oh how I enjoyed by visit with her. A few weeks later she was back among us.  Why?  She was back among us because she was touch by the ember of another log when Marilyn called her and as they talked Louise shared her longing to be back in church.  Marilyn offered to pick her up, and here she is back among us.  You must encourage each other to keep the fire going.  You must take note when people stray away.  Find out what is keeping them at home.  There might just be something you can do to remove that obstacle. 

            So I pray.  I pray for all those people yet to come but who will come because you’ve built relationships, you’ve shared the good news and you’ve removed obstacles that prevent people from coming.  I pray that people will be added and as they are you all are one just as Christ is one with God. 

            Finally, Jesus says I wish you could go with me.  Jesus did not want to leave his disciples behind.  I wish I could take every one of you, Rennie too, with me.  I wish you could see and experience the fruits of your investment.  I can’t take you with me though.  There is work to be done right here and you are the laborers for that work!

            Before Moses left Israel he gave a long speech in which he gave a blessing to each tribe of Israel.  I considered doing that this morning with each household represented here.  But time is an obstacle for that-so instead be watching the mail in the next couple of weeks for your blessing.  In the meantime let me just say may God Bless you and Keep you.  May your fires continue to burn bright as you work in this community to bring God’s Kingdom to earth.  I Love you all.  In the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

 

 

---

[1] Common English Bible Accessed at www.biblegateway.com June 21, 2014

Hope Even When You are Melting-Sermon Preached at Longs UMC March 23, 2014

This sermon was preached in Memory of Louise Hunter Greenwood and Robert Brown.  Both who showed amazing faith and hope in the midst of "melting." 

 

I am so excited to share with you the good news of the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ and what that means for us that I don’t know whether to shout, to cry tears of joy, or to dance. Paul gives us a clue in this text, we are to celebrate and so celebrate is what I am going to do today.  I am going to celebrate  Just as Paul celebrated in being able to share the magnificence of God, in his justification, his suffering and his reconciliation with God, we today have these very things to celebrate so let’s not waste any time Let’s celebrate!

We continue looking this morning at Paul’s letter to the Romans.  We are given an interpretive clue right off the bat when the first word of our text is therefore.  Whenever we see the word therefore in the Bible, the writer is saying make sure you know and understand what I just wrote before you proceed forward.  In this instance Paul is talking about the fact that he has just established that both Jew and Greek are part of the covenant God made with Abraham.  Israel doesn’t have dibs on God’s grace and love.  God’s grace, love and peace are for all. Knowing that we can all approach the next part of the text knowing it is for us, justified by Christ’s faithful obedience even unto death.  That is the first thing we celebrate!  We celebrate that while there is nothing we can do to justify ourselves, Christ’s faithful obedience unto death has justified us.  In that moment we were pardoned and the restoration of ourselves into the image of God we were created to be began!  NT Wright says that in his death Jesus has ushered us all who believe into a room where we now stand, a place characterized by the presence and sustaining love of God” This is the grace into which we stand and that is something to be celebrated! 

Paul says hold onto your seat though.  If you think that’s great there is more.  Not only do we celebrate in being justified, at peace with God, standing in God’s grace.  We also celebrate in our suffering.  What?  What do you mean celebrate in our suffering?  I will never forget the moment I got the call that my best friend’s mom was quickly losing her battle with cancer at the young age of 43. I was devastated, I was in my first year of seminary and I was already in the midst of questions that I didn’t know the answers to.  Many first year students in seminary talk about losing their Jesus.  I was quickly losing my Jesus and this wasn’t helping matters.  Louise’s life had been marked by more suffering than any one person should have to endure and I didn’t understand.  That question of where God is when bad things happen to good people was coming to the forefront of my thoughts and my confusions.  In that moment a good friend looked at me and said “I envy Louise right now.”  He went onto explain to me that “Louise is knowing God right now more intimately and more fully then I could ever imagine, and I envy that.  He was right, when asked for a word as she laid on her death bed she awoke for just long enough to recite Psalm 91 which includes a promise for long life.  Yet, there she lay dying.  This week our community lost a wonderful man when they lost Robert Brown.  We’ve been praying for Robert over the last 3 years.  Elsie has requested prayer for him.  Andrew has requested prayer for him.  Many of us know and love his wife and know all the suffering she has endured over the years.  Our hearts hurt as she and Robert battled this cancer together over the last 3 years.  Last Sunday at Long’s Chapel Robert gave his “God Story” through video to the congregation.  The video was taped within the couple of weeks preceding and Robert knew his battle with cancer was near its end.  As the members of Long’s chapel watched that video, Robert laid in a bed at the Homestead Hospice with one foot still here and the other in the very presence of God.  What did Robert say in his God story?  He said:

 “Even though I am melting as we speak I’m so glad I’ve made it to this day.  As I look around, I thank God for the gifts that he’s given me and that I got to lie to this time.  There’s always hope.  My story is to say as I fought through the cancer I was dealing with stuff that made me realize that everyone has struggles in life.  I am not alone.  With God I am not alone, I am never alone.  And he has given me the strength to see through, as I’ve told my wife recently, I can do this with God, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  That is where I am in my life.  I have not given up hope and I know that he’s behind me and he’s behind my family and those who are losing hope have to know that hope is always here, right behind the chair you’re sitting in.  I couldn’t sit here any longer, I wanted to come and share with you that there is hope.”[1]

 

He knew he was dying…..yet there was still hope.  You see friends when we are suffering we are not alone.  God is with us and gives us the endurance and strength.  Write these words down.  Suffering produces endurance, endurances produces character, character produces hope.  Now say it with me suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope.  Don’t forget that.  We have hope because we have God’s love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is always with us!  That is something to celebrate! 

                But wait……there is more.  After Paul expounds on God’s love for us, his great love for us that is so great that even when we are alienated from God, even when we are hostile toward God, we are reconciled to God through Jesus.  He says yep, there is even more to celebrate.  Not only are we justified, not only do we have hope even in our suffering, but we have received reconciliation.  I looked up the word reconciliation in the Eerdmans’s dictionary of the Bible.  It says that to be reconciled means that there is a changed relationship in which formerly estranged persons experience a restored harmony.  Because of the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ we are reconciled to God.  “God is the perfect reconciler.  Death and resurrection restored all people to a right relationship with God and summoned every believer to cooperate in this ministry of reconciliation.” (Erdman, 1112-1113) 2 Corinthians 5:18says: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”  We celebrate today in the fact that we through the death and resurrection of Christ we are everyone invited into reconciliation with God.  God is always there, never leaves us, and never forsakes us.  Now we are to respond to that by seeking reconciliation in our world, in our communities, in our church, in our families.  Who do you need to reconcile with this morning.  Who are you estranged from?  Who do you hold a grudge against and avoid being around.   My friend God reconciled God’s self to you, won’t you take the steps to reconcile with others. 

                In a few moments we are invited to the table to feast on the gifts of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  We come to the table in celebration of the fact that God loves deeply each and every one of us.  We come to the table in celebration of the fact that by the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ we have been pardoned.  We come to the table in celebration of even our times of suffering for in those times of suffering we are made strong and given hope through the outpouring of God’s love through the presence of the Holy Spirit with us.  We come to the table in celebration of the fact that we are reconciled with God. 

                We are going to sing our song of response this morning.  It is a song that celebrates that marvelous infinite grace of God in which we stand.  The altar is open this morning.  As you celebrate your reconciliation with God, as you celebrate standing in this room of grace that Jesus brings you into, do you need to bring others into the room of God’s grace by way of extending that grace to others?  Make that commitment today, either where you sit or stand or here at this altar. Now, let’s celebrate this marvelous, infinite Grace in which we stand.  In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Amen. 

---

[1] Robert’s full story can be seen at http://www.longschapel.com/media.php?pageID=106

Seeking God, Seeking Kingdom, Seeking Life

Luke 11:1-13

Focal Luke 11:2-4

 2-4 So he said, “When you pray, say,

Father,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.”  (The Message accessed at www.biblegateway.com)

Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is shorter, direct and to the point.  The disciples asked Jesus how to prayer and this was how he responded.  Sometimes it is hard to know how to pray, what to say.  Sometimes we get caught up wanting to use the right words, have the right posture, be in the right place.  We make it much more complicated than it should ever be.  I like the way the message portrays the prayer.  Sometimes, when I pray, I use the Lord's Prayer to structure my own prayer, expanding each element.  It is interesting that in none of the synoptics does the Lord's Prayer include petitions for other people.  It gives me pause to wonder, it gives me something else to consider.  I personally add those prayers of petition into my prayers.  

Jesus goes on to use an example of a persistent person who gets what he is asking for through persistence.  He says Ask and it shall be given, Seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you.  We seek God's Kingdom.  I have to quote Dallas Willard again today.  Dallas states that we should seek God's kingdom in every face to face encounter we have.  To do so transforms us, our relationships, and others.  

We ask for our "daily bread", that which we need.  Notice the model prayer is asking for what we need to sustain our life, not what we desire or want.  

Finally we ask to be forgiven, forgiving and in right relationship with God through the resistance to temptations to be outside of right relationship with God.  

Can you start out your day with this prayer?  Can this prayer become your life mantra?  Can this prayer become more than something we recite on Sunday morning.  Can this prayer become embodied within each of us and within our community of faith.  Knock on the door of God's heart and the doors the the Kingdom will swing wide open and you will enter in!  Thanks be to God.  

God, Neighbor and Self

Luke 10:25-32

Focal Passage:  Luke 10:26-28

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all yourheart and with all your soul and with all yourstrength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love yourneighbor as yourself."

Today's Lenten Refelction completes the 10th chapter of Luke.  The disciples and others continue to follow Jesus on the journey to Jerusalem and we walk with them.  Jesus continues to instruct the disciples in hopes that they will soon "get it."  Both of the stories are well known stories of the Bible. In the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus defines who are neighbor is.  In the story that follows Jesus lets the disciples know through his interactions with Mary and Martha, that the busyness of life should not interrupt the more important things of life, such as spending time with and listening to the teachings of Jesus.  As Bishop Ken Carter pointed out this week in a reflection he posted on these passages, Luke designed these stories to be read together.  There is a lesson to be taught in looking at them as a whole story.  I posted Ken's reflection on my facebook page for you to review.  The Bishop points out that it is through spending time with Jesus and learning his teachings we are then equipped for showing compassion to our neighbors.  Jesus defines neighbor as anyone who comes across out daily path with a need.  

As I consider this I am again reminded of something I heard Dallas Willard say in a broadcast I am currently listening to.  He said that no ones obituary ever reads __________ had a wonderful car, was a great housekeeper, had pretty teeth, and so on.  No people are not remembered by the busyness of their lives, they are remembered by their kindness, by their compassion.  

The other thing I want to point out about our focal verses for today is that we are to love neighbor as self.  My 4th grade Sunday School teacher, Marietta Crayton, pointed out to me that this verse tells us that it is important that we love ourselves.  It is important for us to see ourselves as the creatures God created in God's own image.  I am 45 years old, some 37 years past the 4th grade and I have never forgotten that lesson.  It left an imprint on my heart.  It was a simple yet profound message as she had us peer into a box to see something that Jesus loved.  In that box was a mirror reflecting my own image.  God loves me.  

Take time out tonight to sit at the feet of Jesus just as Mary did.  Soak up the love and learn to love yourself as Jesus loves you.  Then take that heart full of love and let it spill out onto those who cross your path in need, for those are your neighbors.  

The Gospel Jesus Preaches

Luke 10:1-24

Focal Passage:  9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.  Luke 10:9(NIV)  taken from www.biblegateway.com

As our journey to Jersulem moves forward into Luke chapter 10 Jesus exapands the harvest workers beyond the 12 apostles.  He appoints around 70 people to go out into the villages to proclaim the good news.  I discovered a Jewel yesterday when I downloaded what I thought was a typical John Ortberg Book for my next listening excursion on my commute.  It turns out that I downloaded a whole conference that featured Dr. Dallas Willard.  The conference, given 3 months before Willard's death has been turned into a book study entitled:

Living in Christ's Presence
Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God

More information can be found at www.dwillard.org.  I think I have discovered a jewel in Dallas Willard though my 1 hour exposure to his writings is hardly enough to fully endorse.  However, his teaching thus far in this book speaks into our scripture for today.  

We are all called to be workers in the harvest.  There is a lot we could unpack in these 24 verses but I want to focus on verse 9.  Dallas Willard, in this book, poses the question:  "What is Jesus's Gospel?" He points out that evangelism today tends to focus on winning converts through a message of "what are the minimum requirements for going to heaven when you die."  Think about it?  Isn't that true?  While he points out that God is gracious enough to use this as a jumping off point for people, it was not Jesus's Gospel.  Jesus' gospel was "The kingdom of God has come near to you."  Matthew records the great Commission:  "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV from www.biblegateway.com)  He did not say go and tell people how to get into heaven.  He said go and make disciples.  What is a disciple?  Webster's dictionary states that it is someone who "accepts and spreads the teachings of a famous person."  The call is not just accept Jesus as your saviour.  The call is to accept Jesus as your teacher and teach others his teachings.  Embody those teachings.  When you look at what the gospel of Jesus is, it doesn't take long to realize that the gospel message Jesus brings is the "good news of the Kingdom of God."  The kingdom of God is open to us right now.  By following the teachings of Jesus we experience the Kingdom of God "On earth as it is in Heaven."  Wilard goes on to point out that disciples are not for the church, disciples are made by the church for the world.  Are we doing enough in our churches to make disciples or are we preaching and teaching a message of "these are the minimum requirements to get into heaven when you die?"  My challenge for you today is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ by learning his teachings and living them out for by doing so you don't have to wait until you die to experience the Kingdom of God for the Kingdom of God is available to you right now.  So, get in the yoke with Jesus and let him lead you and guide you!  

Thanks be to God.  

Yes, But

Luke 9:57-62

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

I can't help but think of Whoopi Goldberg and Sister Act when I read that first verse.  However the upbeat song and dance of Sister Act doesn't match well with the rest of the scene here.  Three different men are called to discipleship and three different men have excuses for delaying their response to the call.  This hits home with me.  I played the yes, but game with God for Six years.  It just didn't make sense to me that God would call me to quit my job, let go of the security, calling not only me but my family to that kind of sacrifice.  In my mind I was putting my family first.  We couldn't live without my salary.  It seemed illogical to me.  Yes, God I will proclaim the good news but surely you only want me to do that part time.  Yes, God, I will proclaim the good news but I'm only a few years away from retirement, let me retire first and maintain my security.  Yes.....but.  Jesus lets the disciples know here that there is not room for yes, buts in discipleship.  To be a disciple is to become like Jesus.  It's not an easy road.  You may find yourself homeless.  There will be times that discipleship conflicts with family responsibilities. These are tough words, these are hard words.  There are still times that I question the wisdom of giving up my social work salary, taking on new debt, and leaving my family for half the week.  There are certainly others who think I'm crazy.  Who does that at 45 years old?  What I can tell you is that I have no regrets.  I've never felt more free then I do right now, being obedient to the call no matter how crazy it may seem.  I've never felt more free then I do right now, depending on God for my every need.  God provides, God is with us.  What have you been saying yes, but to.  Commit to your Yes right now.  You will not regret it! 

Finding a Place of Welcome

Luke 9:51-56

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them[a]?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them.56 Then he and his disciples went to another village. (NIV from www.biblegateway.com)

It is that time.  Jesus has been preparing his disciple for the trip they will begin today.  He has sent them out on their own, he has now twice warned them of his impending departure, he has corrected them when they haven't gotten it.  Now it is time to begin that walk to Jerusalem, the center of it all.  He set's out resolutely with a mission in mind, nothing will deter him.  He wants to go straight there.  He chooses to go through Samaria.  Typically when one travels to Jerusalem they will go around Samaria because Samaria and Jerusalem are enemies.  They do not get along.  To go through Samaria to Jerusalem is to risk ones life but Jesus does not let this deter him.  He will meet with the enemy.  His choice to go through Samaria signals to us an example that we are all part of the Kingdom of God and we need to learn to erase the borders, to live at peace with one another.  Jesus, however does not just show up.  He makes preparations by sending 2 messengers ahead to prepare a way for him.  He sends messengers to let the Samaritans know they are coming through, to get permission for the journey.  This village didn't accept that.  They said he was not welcome.  What did Jesus do?  He respected that they were not ready.  James and John wanted to "call fire down from heaven."  Jesus rebuked them.  Violence was not the answer.  One translation goes further to say that Jesus told them he didn't come to destroy life but to save it.  So, instead of forcing their way into and through a Samaritan Village that did not welcome them and were not ready for them, they chose a different village to go through and a different Village welcomed them.  

Who is not welcoming you?  We read everyday about different places that are not welcoming to this group or that group.  The example Jesus gives us is one of diplomacy.  It's not effective to force your way in with "guns a blazing."  It is not transformative to "rain down fire from heaven."  Earlier Jesus had instructed his disciples about people who did not welcome them.  He said  "If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  (Luke 9:5-6, NIV at www.biblegateway.com)  Jesus here sets the example.  He moves on.  If you are not welcome in one place, rest assured you will be welcome in another.  Find that place of welcome for you and pray for the transformation of hearts in the places that do not welcome.  Be a bringer of peace.  Make preparations for Peace.  

Thanks be to God.