Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
March 27, 2024
John 13:33 + 37-38

Here we are in the middle of Holy Week and I am anticipating a wonderful Easter celebration. I am conscious though, that I should not move to quickly to the empty tomb without spending this time remembering the price Jesus paid for my sin. It is hard for me to think about such physical abuse as my Savior endured. It is hard for me to be still and allow myself to hear the cries for the pain my sin caused him. It is hard for me to bring a message to hurting people about the hurt sin brings, and even harder to bring that message to people who seemingly, aren’t hurting at all. So today, I am asking myself; Do I love to tell the story, the whole story? I want to.

Today, I am looking at the story of Peter’s denial of Christ. It must have even surprised Peter that he could do such a thing. Here, he had devoted himself fully to the Lord and often was the first to speak up, step up, and yes, even step in. Then something happens, he couldn’t wrap his mind around, and, well, he does exactly what Jesus said he would do: “Will you really lay your life down for me? I tell you the truth before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

A Sunday school lesson I recently read about this part of Holy week gave me some heavy food for thought; “What about us? How easily do we fail? Our silence, our lifestyles, our words, our friendships and our attitudes often deny Jesus just a blatantly as Peter’s declaration in John 18 that he was not a follower of Jesus. When we realize we have failed, our task is not to stay in that place. We must return to Christ. Peter returned to Christ and discovered Jesus eager to affirm him and give him a special assignment. (See John 21:15-22.)

Try taking some time this Holy Week to notice when you have failed Him, ask for forgiveness, and then look for your Holy assignment. I’ll be looking too .

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
March 19, 2024
John 14:1-3

This afternoon I celebrated a service of life, death and resurrection for a friend and former congregant. It was a joy to see so many gathered on a Tuesday afternoon to reconnect with each other and to remember a wonderful woman of faith.

I was filled with awe as family members and friends came forward to give testimonies of their life experience with this dear sweet lady. The preacher in me wants to say how having people share makes my job easier, and the friend in me wants to say, wow! I missed out on some really fun times because I had only known her these past 14 years.

At the cemetery, on this very cold and windy Tuesday, I shared from the text I have for you today; John 14:1-3; “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (NIV).

When I got home, I decided to go ahead and type up this week’s meditation, but where to start? Then my hands found a Meet With God study by Woodrow Kroll from 2007. In this particular issue, I read again the scripture from John 14:1-3 with new eyes. Here is a tidbit of Pastor Kroll’s teaching: “This lesson’s key verse gives us two golden action words to understand and apply: ‘let’ and ‘believe’. These two words anchor a choice that Jesus placed before His disciples and us. He essentially said, ‘Let not your heart be troubled; instead, let your heart believe in Me’. The same choice faces us every day. What are we going to let our hearts be—troubled or believing? Actually, our hearts are going to ‘be’ in some condition every day. Consider some of the reasons Jesus gave in John 14 to keep our hearts believing rather than troubled: Jesus’ identity. What trouble is greater than God (v. 1)?

Jesus’ home. What hope is greater than heaven (v.2)?

Jesus’ promise. What promise is greater than His promise of ‘a place for you’ (v.3)?”

I am now thinking of a song (I bet you are surprised – not). The song is “Turn your eyes upon Jesus” and the first verse begins; “O soul are you weary and troubled, no light in the darkness you see. There’s hope for a look at the Savior, a life more abundant and free…”

I hope you know the song and perhaps can finish the chorus as you go about your days looking for ways to believe rather than to be troubled.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
March 13, 2024
Matthew 9:27-30

I have a dear friend that I enjoy studying the bible with. She encourages me to see things from a different perspective, ideas that if I just kept to myself and my comfort zone I would never see or even attempt to understand. I’ve often admitted that there are many times when I feel as if my faith is weak, that I long to have a greater faith. She responded with a gift: A grain of mustard seed in a little charm on a necklace.

Of course, this got me to thinking about what Jesus told his disciples who wondered why they were not successful in healing a boy who had seizures, and this after some very successful healings before. Matthew quotes Jesus in chapter 17 and verse 20; “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing is impossible for you”.

Obviously, Jesus is using an illustration. I am more and more convinced as I grow in discipleship that the issue here is not how much faith a person has, as if it can be measured on a scale like a commodity. I am seeing a new perspective concerning faith. I believe Jesus is saying either you believe me and trust me, or you don’t, there’s no middle ground. Ouch!

I feel like the father of the little boy that was brought to Jesus for healing. The father in desperation cried out to Jesus; “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” to this Jesus responds “’If you can’?” said Jesus,’ everything is possible for him who believes.’ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:22-24).

In our main scripture for today Jesus meets two blind men who call out to him; “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”. Jesus looks at them and simply asks; “‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ ‘Yes Lord,’ they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.” So, I ask you, how much faith do you think you have? How can you know? Does it change from one circumstance to another? This might be a good time to ponder what you understand faith in God to be. Sit still for a bit and listen for the Holy Spirit to guide you.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
February 29, 2024
1 Kings 19:9-13 – Psalm 43

As I move through these 40 days of Lent, I am reminded daily of God’s desire to communicate with his children. The devotions I read and the scriptures I study all seem to say to me; “Listen up Edith, God is speaking a word for you that will make all the difference in the way you handle this day”. With that said, one of the readings comes from a mini devotional entitled Grace For Today; Psalm 43:3; “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell”. The writer closes the devotional this way; “Be sensitive to the whisperings and stirrings of the Holy Spirit in your life, and face the future with faith and hope”.

True to form for me, this led me to “chase rabbits” concerning the idea of “the whisperings of the Holy Spirit from God’s mountain”, and I landed on a pretty familiar passage from 1 Kings concerning the prophet Elijah, who was running and hiding from the wicked Jezebel. After doing amazing things through Elijah, the wicked queen frightens him so much that he tries to hide, even from God, but God says to him; “What are you doing here, Elijah?” to which the prophet replies with a litany of all the good things he has been doing for the Lord and yet he is being pursued by Jezebel (after, humiliating her and her priests-never underestimate a woman humiliated ). Here we come to the passage that ties into the theme for today, 1 Kings 19:11-13; “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the Presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” It is here that God speaks with Elijah and reveals to him that the plan is for him to return from the direction he came (as scary as that might be) and find his successor, Elisha.

Is life throwing some heavy challenges your way? Are you fearful that you are alone to face the obstacles and decisions you must make? I can tell you that today I am being challenged. I need to make some decisions that are not comfortable for me. I’d rather have someone else take this responsibility, but the reality is, it is my responsibility and God will guide me in the light of his word, where He dwells and He will speak to me IF I will be still enough to hear the “whisperings and stirrings of the Holy Spirit”.

Take some time today, and the remainder of this week to just stop and listen. You might be surprised at what you hear.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
February 21, 2024
Ephesians 3:16-19

From where I am sitting today, it is a glorious day. The weather is amazing, the birds are singing, my home is quiet and peaceful, I have visited with a dear friend and more visits to follow this week. I don’t know why I am so blessed, but I am so thankful and pray forgiveness for not remaining thankful no matter what comes my way. Some of you who are reading this probably want to stop reading because you are not having the same kind of day I am currently experiencing, but don’t leave this page just yet, I have a word of encouragement for you and a reminder for all of us.

Our passage for today reads: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (NIV).

I woke up this morning to an alarm from our security system. It took me a while to discover what set it off, it was a power failure due to fallen trees in our neighborhood. I noticed that even though the power was out, I still had electricity. The reason is that our new home came equipped with a generator that kicks on when the power goes out. Sweet! Then it came to me, God was giving me an illustration for today’s meditation. I felt the Spirit asking me; “How’s your spiritual generator working?” I thought to myself that the bible is full of references to power, Holy Spirit power, and perhaps I need to stay more in tune with that power and not depend so much on what I think I can do myself. The scripture for today is obviously a prayer. The Apostle Paul was praying this for the church in Ephesus, and not only this one group of believers for all believers everywhere, hence, it is a prayer for you and me. Notice how he references “power”; “…he may strengthen you with power through the Spirit…And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints…” Isn’t it interesting to see that this Holy Spirit Power is rooted in love. Love for God and love for others. That kind of love, Agape/God’s love demonstrated by Christ, is the spiritual generator that kicks in when we don’t have the strength to take the next step.

You may not have an alarm going off to check your spiritual generator, but don’t wait for an alarm, check it now. I realize I need a regular check-up, how about you? “and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
February 14, 2024
Bible Matthew 6:5-15

Happy first day of the Lenten Season and Happy Valentines Day! What a wonderful day to remember and even celebrate Ash Wednesday, on a day where nearly everyone around me is sharing heart shaped candy, cards with hearts on them, heart shaped boxes containing wonderful chocolates and even amazingly creative heart shaped balloons. So many ways to say “I Love You”.

How appropriate then, to have on the Christian church calendar this day to remember that life is short, and that we are to take some extra time loving God more and loving others more as a result of our love for God. Many have the tradition of giving up something for Lent, I have done that off and on over the years. I remember Ash Wednesday 2020 and we were at the beginning of the COVID pandemic where so many were constrained to stay at home, or wherever they found themselves. I was meeting, via Zoom, with fellow clergy to help support one another as we were entering a time that was threatening the very life of the church. We were discussing how we would be celebrating Lent with our church families even if we couldn’t meet in person. I suggested that we had already given up so much, that perhaps it was time to do something more; a new way to study scripture, a more concerted effort to communicate God’s love and presence, and even a new way to pray.

Our scripture for today gives us a glimpse of Jesus doing just that with his followers; we call it “The Lord’s Prayer”. Now this may not be a new way for you to pray. You may be in a congregation, like mine, who recites together this prayer during worship, and particularly at Holy Communion time. So, what’s new? Well, for me, I had grown up praying “and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”, recently I was challenged by one of my children to consider praying “and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”.

Funny, how changing one word makes this prayer all the more honest and personal. When you read our passage for today notice how Jesus says in verse 14 of Matthew chapter 6; “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Ouch! Can we just go back to Debts or Trespasses? Suddenly a scripture comes to mind from a previous midweek posting; “Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). Okay, then, love is the key and it is often expressed in forgiveness, which is so much easier to say than to do. It’s sort of like when I was a little kid and we had a valentine exchange at school. My teacher said we were to have a valentine for every student in the class. What? I was supposed to write out on a valentine card the names of the people I did not like, and would not forgive them for making fun of me? Fine, I did, and even if they tore my card up, which happened, I was to be kind.

Yep, tis the season to love; love God and love others. Just like a song I learned as a youth and to sing as a round; Love, love, love, love, the gospel in a word is love. Love your neighbor as your brother, love, love, love.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
February 7, 2024
Matthew 6:6:19-21

This afternoon I am blessed to be sitting in my office at home with the window open. I can’t believe it is this warm on the 7th of February. I hear birds chirping as if Spring has come already. Hold on everybody, I’m not sure the early Spring that the groundhog predicted is here just yet, but I will rejoice and be glad anyway. It feels like I should be doing some Spring Cleaning, I have “stuff” stuffed in places I need to clean out, but, since it isn’t really Spring just yet, I think I will wait .

Our scripture passage for today speaks about “stuff” as “treasures”. I’ve heard it said that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, either way, junk or treasure, I fear I have too much. Here’s what Jesus taught; “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I believe the main thrust of this teaching is to be careful what motivates us. First, to be motivated to spend our time and resources on what brings God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. For my day to day life here, I believe Jesus wants me to be cautious in my consumer driven, materialistic culture, to ask if what I am collecting is a treasure that will bless, or junk we don’t need. I am reminded of a conversation I had with a dear friend when I was packing up to move. I asked in frustration’ “How did I get all this stuff?”

She responded quickly; “One Walmart bag at a time”.

My desk calendar puts it well; “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?”

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
January 31, 2024
Isaiah 40:21-23, 25-31

Serenity – “A state of being tranquil, peaceful, unclouded and clear” (Webster’s II University Dictionary). Ah, that sounds wonderful. Have you ever been in that state? I have visited many states in my time; the state of confusion, the state of anxiety, the state of fear, I’ve been in a fitful state, an angry state, and even a hopeful state, which has led me, many times to Serenity, that clear, unclouded, peaceful and tranquil place where I simply trust God and rest in Him. How about you? What state do you visit most?

I would love to say that I spend more time in Serenity than any of the other states, but that would not be truthful. Still, this meditation is to encourage all of you who might be traveling between states, just now, to find comfort in the above listed scripture passage in which God speaks to a people venturing into many of the tear-filled states like those I have listed. The original audience is the people of Judah who are living a slave like existence under Babylonian rule in the nation of Babylon, so far from home. They are becoming hopeless that brighter days will ever come, and even less hopeful that they will ever see the home they remember ever again. A portion of our passage today reads; “To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal? Says the Holy One…Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

I have a little card with The Serenity prayer by Reinhnold Niebuhr that helps summarize what I hope to do, to encourage you to pray as you travel between states; “God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to Your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.”

Amen!