Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
July 26, 2023

"Free by Holding On"

I am so blessed to get to hear so many people share how they have come to faith and have found that they are released from all the trouble this world has to offer. At the same time, I witness that coming to faith in Christ doesn’t always calm the storm that you and I may be facing, but, as I have heard it said; “He may not calm the storm, but He can calm his child”. I believe that calming is a freedom that God offers, and often times God uses his children to be that comfort, that joy in the midst of struggle, that peace that only the Holy Spirit can provide.

Our scripture for today reads: “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’”

What does Jesus teach? Well, I took a look at his great sermon on the Mount and reviewed again that we are blessed no matter what happens when our hope is in Christ who secures the future (Matthew 5-7). If you find yourself in the midst of a great struggle, take heart, you are not alone. Contact a friend, and call out to Jesus and remember; “The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Amen.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
July 20, 2023

"Unity"

“What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms…”

Yep, that’s the hymn running through my mind this morning. I am getting a picture of me leaning on one side and someone else leaning on the other side of Jesus. I picture him standing firm as we both lean heavily into him and he remains upright while holding us both.

Today’s scripture is inspired by Pastor Betsy Haas who writes in her lesson from Adult Bible Study Series for July 23. The scripture is a lesson from the Apostle Paul who is confronting divisions in the church in Corinth; “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought”. Pastor Haas reflects; “Don’t overlook how Paul began his reproachment. He addressed them as brothers, reminding them that they were a family. He made his appeal in Christ’s name, literally calling on the one who cannot be divided. What a beautiful reminder that whenever we need to address disunity in our lives, we should start by acknowledging that we are brothers and sisters in Christ” (ISSN 0149-8347 Summer 2023).

My Dad had the same idea whenever he had to deal with disunity, in the home, at work, or even at church. He always said; “Let’s start with what we have in common and then look at what we do not have in common and see which one is more important”. What good advice, and yet, how often I go the shorter route and jump into what is wrong with that with which I disagree. Today, I want to encourage you as I encourage myself in writing this, to Lean into Jesus and not away from those with whom I may disagree. May His Holy Spirit enlighten each one of us again today, to trust the Lord more and what we think we know less.

Amen.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
July 12, 2023

"Be Your Beautiful Self"

I have been enjoying a little more time with the grandkids this week and it has been a learning experience. I love sharing with them songs, stories and especially Bible stories. At the same time, they love teaching me a thing or two about how they perceive life to be and God’s hand in it all. We were at the table playing a rousing game of slap jack when the youngest, who is 4, started singing a song about wishing she were a beautiful singing rock star. Her cousin, who is 6, pipes up immediately and says, “How about just being your own beautiful self? God made you, that should be good enough”.

Wow! I just sat there, shuffling cards and smiling while nodding my head. Psalm 139:13-14 puts it beautifully; “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well”. So, the next time you check your hair before you head out the door and take a second look at the flaws you think you see, remember, “just be your own beautiful self, smile and know God made you and loves you. Someone you may meet in the next 24 hours, might need that encouragement too.

Amen.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Matthew 12:34-37
June 28, 2023

"Words"

Sometimes, during my bible time, I read words that sting me. Almost literally, I feel a burning inside of me. I believe it is a reminder to breathe in God’s word as I breathe them out in speaking it out loud. When I do, the Word really becomes alive and active. This morning was another stinging moment. Try reading the above passage from Matthew 12 out loud and see if you feel a bit of a sting too. In context, Jesus is reprimanding the Pharisees who were condemning him for healing on the Sabbath and they were accusing him of driving out Satan by using the power of Satan. Jesus was teaching them that their own words convicted them because; “A house divided cannot stand” (Matthew 12:25).

Here comes the stinger for today; “But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (12:36-37). Ouch!

I was having a conversation with a dear friend the other day concerning the part that says “every man will give an account for every careless word…”, and I jokingly said; “Well, I feel sorry for everyone who is standing in line behind me at the judgment, because it will take me a very long time to give an account for every careless word”.

The reality is that this is no joking matter. Before I fall too deep into the pit of self-pity, join me in a prayer from Psalm19:13-14; “Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me, then will I be upright and innocent of great transgressions. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”.

Amen.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
June 28, 2023

The Way of Love

In my efforts to organize my new office in our new home, I came across a little book and the title caught my eye; I Am A Church Member, written by Thomas Rainer. I suppose the reason why it caught my eye today is because I have been reviewing my new contract with the little church in which I serve. One of the requirements to be the Pastor is that I become a member of the congregation. For some of you, this may be a “Duh” moment, but you need to realize, as a United Methodist Pastor I was always a member of the Conference and my Pastor was my Superintendent. This Sunday I will celebrate becoming a member of Hursttown Church in Corydon Indiana and I plan on taking my membership to my heart.

BThomas Rainer speaks of the importance of 1 Corinthians 13 and how church “membership means everything we say and do is based on a biblical foundation of love”; “So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love…We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete…But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation; Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love” (The Message Bible 1 Corinthians 13:3, 9, 13).

I love this quote from Rainer; “If we could just abide by the principles of the love chapter, we would have completely healthy churches. It would be a revolution!” Prayer: Most gracious and loving God, please guide us in the power of your Holy Spirit to see how important it is to become a member of the Body of Christ, and to take that membership seriously so that all people will know we are Christians by our love. It is in the mighty name of Jesus we pray and in the power of the Holy Spirit may we receive all that you would have us to have.

Amen.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Psalm 85:4-6
June 16, 2023

Renewed, Restored, Revived

I read recently about a revival that happened in Whales during the early twentieth century. It seems over one hundred thousand people came to faith in Christ in less than a year.

Because of this great outpouring of the Holy Spirit the pubs and saloons closed for lack of business, courts were empty of criminals to judge and even the mules that worked the mines were affected. “Many of the mules had to be retrained as they were previously taught to respond to vulgar commands, but when the men got cleaned up, their language did as well, and the mules had to learn a new vocabulary” (Help is Here by Max Lucado, pg.114).

Max Lucado continues; “May the need arise to retrain some mules today”. I think sometimes I am a stubborn mule. I often lose patience with myself and others mostly because I do not do some things I need to do in a timely fashion and find myself in a rush. I can also be stubborn with my ideas of how things ought to be done, refusing to take the time to prayerfully consider the ideas of others. I don’t think I am alone in having bouts of stubbornness, so I think I got a message from the Lord during this time of preparing a midweek meditation. Thank you Lord, for not giving up on me. The psalmist writes in our text for today: “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?”

Renewal, Restoration and Revival all bring change, and even if change is difficult, these types of changes can be great blessings, so I sing: “Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen! Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive us again.”

Amen.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
John 16:7, Psalm 139:7-8
June 7, 2023

Coming and Going

Leaving something or someone I love is very difficult for me and I am relatively sure that most who are reading this probably would say the same. Still, I have done a lot of coming and going in these short 63 years on the earth. I left home right after I graduated from High School and within a year I moved to the headquarters for Habitat for Humanity located in Americus Georgia. A year and a half later, I left my friends and work there to begin a new job and start college. Within 2 years I was moving again as I was starting, what I thought was a new career in the Air Force and was headed to basic training in Texas. The Air Force moved me to Idaho, where I met my handsome hubby. Jumping ahead nearly 37 years, I find myself going again, as I am leaving one congregation I love to begin a new chapter in ministry. Leaving is very hard but is part of the journey.

I imagine it was hard for Jesus’ disciples to see him leave not long after they got him back in the resurrection. Jesus tried to comfort his friends when he told them that it was to their advantage that he left so a new adventure could begin with The Holy Spirit (see John 16:7).

In his book Help is Here, Max Lucado reflects on this leaving; “I’m envisioning some furrowed brows on the faces of the disciples. What could be better than the presence of Jesus beside them? To be able to ask Jesus questions, to hear his teaching, to watch his actions. To have Jesus near you. Could anything be better? Something could – the Spirit within you. Jesus limited himself to the physical body. He could be in only one place at a time. Jesus was a regional force; the Spirit is a global force. There is no place that he is not!”

The Psalmist writes; “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8).

Perhaps you are doing some “coming and going” and it is uncomfortable or maybe even very sad. Please know you are not alone. Trust the God who made you, and trust his gift of the Holy Spirit to guide you in what may turn out to be quite the adventure.

AMEN.

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Acts 2:42-47
May 31, 2023

The Community of Faith - The Church

I like words, perhaps that is why I use so many of them. One of the things I like about words is finding what they have in common, which brings me to the words Community and Communion. You see the root word for both is Comm and both stem from a Latin word Communitas which means fellowship or to share in common. In our text for today we see the format for the early church. They were to “devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer…All believers were together and had everything in common.”

After Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit to all believers, the church began to grow by leaps and bounds; “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The churches I have been associated with did a pretty good job with Fellowship, which usually meant lots of good food. They also did a good job when it came to teaching. I have been blessed to have shared Holy Communion in lots of different congregations and settings and in several ways. I am so grateful for a Christian upbringing and for the sweet fellowship I share with many wonderful fellow followers of Christ.

I will say, that the pandemic wounded the church when it came to gathering together and sharing in common as so many now are fearful to be very close to other people and are very hesitant to touch anything that anyone else has touched, hence, Communion looks different now than before that dreaded virus. I long to go back to a common loaf and a common cup. It is such a picture of what Jesus prayed for his followers to be One as he and the Father are One. Ironically, my very desire for The Common has the potential to cause dissention and separation, so, I press on and I pray you will too. May the Lord help us all find more and more ways to be one with each other. It truly begins with being one with the Lord. Like the song says; “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity may one day be restored…”

AMEN.