Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
January 17, 2024
1 Peter 1:3-5

Happy Birthday! Happy 71st birthday to my big brother!

I remember another day some thirty years ago that I celebrated another kind of birthday with my brother – his baptism. What an evening that was! We started attending a little church his family attended, though he was not a believer at the time of his invitation to come to the church. Through some severe trials and troubles, the day came when my brother called me and said “sis, I have made my stand”, translation; “I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior”. Wow!

A little background; my brother is 7 years older than I am and we both had an older brother who passed away several years ago. When the two boys were very young, our parents immigrated to the United States from The Netherlands. They were sponsored by Trinity United Methodist Church in New Albany Indiana, and as such, became members of this church. Both of my brothers tolerated going to church with our parents and didn’t really subscribe to this whole salvation in Christ deal. When I came along I was well versed in the scriptures and loved just about anything the church had going on. Needless to say, my brother thought I was pretty weird. When I married and had children, I remember my brothers coming to visit us and both noticed how we had bible songs, and videos often playing for our kids. My brother, whose birthday it is today, thought that very odd, but again, tolerated it.

Fast forward to some 30 years ago after the birth of our fourth child and a traumatic exit from the military and illness that my husband was dealing with, BOOM! God intervenes and the Holy Spirit draws my brother to his wife’s pastor and well, the rest is history.

I am inspired by our reading for today; “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” I pray you too, will have experienced this “new Birth”, and if not, perhaps today is the day you will experience the love and provision of God in such a way that you too can have a new birth. Just in case I don’t hear from you if you do;

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
January 10, 2024
Psalm 90:12

Taking down the Christmas tree has never been one of my favorite activities and yet, a necessary one. However, I have some friends who live in a Senior Apartment building who had an 18 foot Christmas tree in the middle of their gathering place, which used to be a gymnasium and they would decorate it according to the different holidays throughout the year. It was an amazing sight. Not sure who the brave one was that climbed an 18 foot ladder to decorate all the way to the top, but I suspect it was not one of the Senior residents .

Something sad happened this year for my friends. After Christmas, when some of the residents popped into the gym for a time of fellowship, the tree was gone. Gone! All the wonderful decorations and all the anticipation of decorating for Valentines day, Easter, Independence Day…gone. Now I’m told it was put into storage for Christmas next year, but still, the gym looks and feels so empty without it, and my friends are very sad. What a way to start a new year.

Some of the folks told me they just cried and cried when they realized the tree was gone. They even apologized and asked me if it was wrong mourning a tree. I suggested that it wasn’t the tree, it was what it represented. For some, it was a symbol of life and hope, for some it had decorations that came with memories of folks that had lived there, but were there no longer. All I could say was that change is never easy, and forgiveness isn’t easy either, but like the necessity for me to take down my tree and, seemingly, the necessity for the apartment manager to take down the 18 foot tree, it had to be done. Don’t know the reasoning behind it all, I just know what’s done is done, and we have to find a way to move on.

I thought about my attitude about taking down my tree; Chore? Frustration with lights getting tangled? Hassel doing up and down the stairs? Or, opportunity to reflect and give thanks for another Christmas celebrated with my family, and yes, being thankful I live in a warm home where I can have a Christmas tree. Psalm 90:12; “Teach us [O Lord] to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Today, I’m seriously thinking about postponing taking down the Christmas tree, though the ornaments have all been boxed up. I think I just need one more day to pray for my friends who know their days are numbered and who need encouragement to walk through these precious days with wisdom-God’s wisdom. I need that encouragement too, how about you?

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
January 3, 2024
2 Corinthians 5:11-17

As I write this, I am sitting at my desk near a window and I see a bright blue sky with sunshine all around, my phone says it is a cool 41 degrees. Why is weather so important to me today? Well, I am reflecting on years past as I began a new year and as I was reading the above scripture I remembered just such a day in Idaho back in the mid 1980’s.

I was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, and relatively new to the military scene. Fortunately several of the other female Airmen befriended me and I felt more at home in this high-plains desert where, as my future husband would say, are as many women as you see trees. The point being there was lots of sage brush, lots of sand, and very few trees – get the point?

It was around Christmas week that all us girls gathered to help a friend of ours who was lucky enough to get leave to go back home for Christmas, pack for her trip. The rest of us had to stay on base.

We always made a big party out of anyone’s good fortune, and that day it was a riot of clothes flying everywhere, decisions about what to pack and what to leave behind as only one suitcase was allowed on the transport. What a time we had! When Christmas leave was over, our friend did not return to us. It seems there was black ice on a road she was travelling and she was killed in her car heading back to her parent’s house after visiting her fiancé. Needless to say, we were all devastated. In my grieving, I posted on her white board a portion of our scripture for today; “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

I realize that the context of this scripture is the Apostle Paul telling the First Century believers in Corinth that if they profess Christ, the old life they had of worshipping idols, taking advantage of people, being selfish etc. had to stop, because that is not the way of Christ. When a person comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ, that old life passes away and a new life begins.

I was in my early 20’s when I experienced this sudden loss of a friend, I realized how important it was to make the most of the time we have. I am so thankful we celebrated and shared our love for her before she went home (literally).

Here’s a New Year’s thought; spend some time intentionally loving the people around you. Celebrate the life God has given you, show and tell people that you care. Just as the previous verse in our scripture today reads; “we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view…” How about we begin this year asking the Holy Spirit to help us see people the way God sees them; all created in His image, all loved unconditionally, all needing the hope of salvation that comes through Christ Jesus, God’s only begotten son.

Happy New Year! Happy New You!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
December 27, 2023
Matthew 2:13-15

A dear friend loaned me a book I had never seen before; “The Spider Who Saved Christmas – A Legend” written by Raymond Arroyo. I was intrigued because I never thought of spiders as people savers. I know of a pig that was saved by a very intelligent spider, but this was the first time I read a story of how a spider risked her life spinning web upon web to protect someone, and not just anyone, but little Jesus and his mommy and daddy.

The summary on the back reads, in part; “The Spider who saved Christmas spins the tale of Nephila, a cave dwelling spider who encounters a trio of visitors running for their lives. The spider miraculously risks her all to offer them a special gift—and a timeless lesson. This instant classic reveals the origin of Christmas tinsel and reminds us that hope can always be found—even in the dark places where we least expect it.” The passage of scripture I have chosen for this week tells the story of Joseph being warned in a dream that King Herod is out to kill baby Jesus. The backdrop is that the evil Herod took no chances and declared that all baby boys age two and under should be murdered. The chase was on and thanks to the Wisemen, who, unknowingly, revealed to the king that a new king of the Jews was to be born, well, that did it, and Herod devised a horrible plan to ensure that he alone would be known as The King of the Jews. Hence this Legend of a spider in a cave where Mary and Joseph seek refuge for their baby Jesus, the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I don’t want to give away too much, because I hope you will look for this book at your local library, or maybe even order a copy online and cherish it every Christmas season, but I do want to make a comment. I was drawn into this story like I have never been before, I marveled at the quiet faithfulness and bravery of Mary. It must have been her worst nightmare to have to flee back into the wilderness with a very young baby, and poor Joseph, he was trying his best to learn how to be a father to his Savior and a loving and supportive husband to his young wife. Ultimately, the spider does an amazing thing and as little as she was and as fragile as her webs were, she used what she had to save a family she had never known before, she was simply driven by a God given inspiration.

Perhaps you’ve been dodging a God-given inspiration and believe that you don’t have what it takes. Here’s a thought for us all; just use what you have and God will take care of the rest.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
December 20, 2023
Matthew 2:18-25, Luke 1:26-38

Today is the first day of “Winter” or “Christmas” break for my grandkids and they are excited! One of the things one of my grandsons said that he was looking forward to during break was not only Christmas Day, but also no homework assignments . I remember feeling exactly the same way; sleeping in, eating cereal in front of the T.V., lounging around in my pajamas all day, you probably have some memories of school break you could add here.

It is ironic then, that I should come across an Advent devotional that issued a “Christmas Assignment”. In his devotional A Season of Joy, A celebration of Christmas, Dr. David Jeremiah writes for this day; “Joseph and Mary were given an assignment by God; Be stewards of the life of God’s Son. And they did what is required of all stewards—they were faithful. They weren’t chosen for this assignment because they were perfect but because they were willing, obedient, and faithful. Those traits of Mary and Joseph make them a model of faithfulness for us this Christmas. There is a Christmas assignment for us all: to bring the living Christ into the world around us and reveal Him to those who don’t know Him”.

There are many ways we can be beacons of light to show the way to the Savior; we can write cards of encouragement, make calls on the phone, or better yet, go in person. We can share a meal, some homemade goodies and perhaps add a note with a reference to the Christmas Story from Matthew or Luke. Whatever way the Holy Spirit leads you to lead someone to the Lord, just do it. One way I have been blessed, even just today, was in the grocery store (ugh, I dreaded it thinking there would be lots and lots of “Grinches” out there). It turned out that everyone I came in contact with were smiling and very helpful and many simply said “Merry Christmas”. Wow! I am so thankful for their witness even with a simple smile and greeting.

Perhaps that’s were our assignment starts; with a smile. I looked back on my desk calendar and found this helpful quote; “A smile is the lighting system of the face and the heating system of the heart”. Why not turn on the lights and heat up the room.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
December 12, 2023
Luke 1:37

I have been reviewing again the wonderful Christmas story as told by Luke. Again, and again I am amazed how such a familiar story still surprises me when I carefully read and re read how God became flesh and dwelt among us.

Our scripture passage for today is quite short, but when read in the context of the encounter of Mary, the Angel and Elizabeth, I find it quite encouraging; “For no word from God will ever fail” (NIV), “no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment” (Amplified Bible). What a great reminder; we can trust in God’s word to be fulfilled. Maybe you are asking “what are we waiting for?” Perhaps someone reading this is waiting for a healing; a physical healing, an emotional healing, a relational healing, there are lots of things that need healing. Perhaps someone is waiting for a very special event to occur; a wedding day, a baby to be born, moving into a new home, there are lots of things we wait for with great expectation.

Such was the case for Elizabeth and her cousin Mary. They were truly waiting with great expectations and, no doubt, great fear and anxiety, even though the angel said “Do not be afraid”. Do you ever find those words disconcerting as opposed to comforting? When someone begins a statement with “Now, don’t worry”, or “No need to be afraid”, well, to be honest, if I wasn’t worried or afraid before they said that to me, I certainly become so after they say that to me.

I was reminded by a dear Pastor friend of mine that in these days where we celebrate the joy of Christmas, many are experiencing sorrow or sadness. We have to remember that joy isn’t always synonymous with happiness. There is a lot of unhappiness around us, and yet, God is still working to fulfill all his promises, the biggest one for me is his promise to return in his son Jesus Christ and that gives me a lasting joy, I hope it helps you too. My friend went on to say that some of the sorrow and sadness comes when a person’s expectations are not being met. He suggested that we pray for God to help us make our expectations what his expectations are and then watch and see how he fulfills them. Good advice, I think.

Happy midweek to you and may you find encouragement today knowing that “No word from God will ever fail”.

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
December 5, 2023
1 John 1:5-7

Have you noticed how early it gets dark in the evening and how long it stays dark in the morning? Now I realize this is nothing new for the region in which I live, but it still surprises me how quickly winter sets in around here. That’s why it is such a joy for me to see all the Christmas lights on homes and stores. Our little town square has a gathering place that has many trees and a gazebo all covered in beautiful lights. It’s hard to keep my eyes on the road as I drive past it.

Our scripture for today reminds us of the importance of walking in the light of Christ’s love; “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; and in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin”.

Isn’t it good to know that God is never in darkness. Jesus is the light of the world and his Holy Spirit is our guide. My prayer for us; “Gracious God, thank you for sending us the light of the world in your son our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for leaving your Holy Spirit with us to guide us in loving you and loving others more and more each day. Please forgive us when we step away from the light of your love and cut someone short with our words or actions. In your mercy, show us the way and please help us to walk in the light so we can find greater fellowship with you and the people among which you place us. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray and in the power of the Holy Spirit, may we gratefully receive all that you would have us to have.”

Amen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
November 29, 2023
Luke 2:22-38

Are you familiar with an item known as a “Hope Chest”? I remember my parents had a small cedar chest at the foot of their bed that was filled with all kinds of household items. I would sneak in their room, and thinking no one was watching, I would rummage through bedding, towels, hand knitted baby items and Delft cups and plates.

I would stare at the Dutch recipe books and literature hoping to get an idea of what was written by the pictures included in them. You probably can tell by what I’ve written that we are a Dutch family. My parents immigrated to the United States in the 1950’s and they had very high hopes for their new life as they settled into their new home in New Albany, Indiana.

Looking back on such memories as the “Hope Chest” reminds me that my mom and her mom cared to save precious items for their children, and as the youngest of my siblings, I felt especially cared for as my brothers didn’t really care about the items in the chest, but I thought of them as treasures. All this reminds me that during this time of year, with Christmas drawing closer and closer, I can plan and prepare for the coming of someone very special; Jesus.

In my faith tradition, we celebrate the season of Advent. The word Advent simply means “coming” or “arrival” and carries with it a deep sense of expectation, waiting, anticipation, and longing. It is a series of four Sunday’s where we commemorate four aspects of the Christian faith; Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. This week is the first week of Advent and I have been reading and praying about the hope we can have in Christ Jesus. The scripture for this meditation comes from the Gospel of Luke and tells the story of two amazing, faithful, elderly people who never gave up hope, looking for the Messiah to come. Though it had been thousands of years since God made his covenant with his people and promised a deliverer, Simeon and Anna never stopped waiting and hoping.

There are many in the world who are on the edge of giving up hope. It is easy enough to understand with so much pain, suffering and confusion, and yet it is an opportunity to be that person who invests not only material possessions, but spiritual truths in the people with which we have influence. You see, the hope of which I speak is not what many might understand as wishful thinking, but a solid, unchangeable, unmovable spiritual reality that came in the first Advent when God became flesh in the form of a long-expected messiah and even in the form of a sweet baby boy.

My daughter reminded us all during her part of our thanksgiving prayer that we are to be very thankful for hope that carries us through even the darkest times. I would like to invite you to do the same. May each of us come to know the hope that God gives in trusting him, to give an encouraging word, a helpful hand or simply share an attitude of joy which can make a great difference for someone who has given up hope.

Amen!