Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
John 20:19-29
April 12, 2023

“Doubt and Wisdom go hand in hand"

I got a phone call from a dear friend whom I have not seen in years. She heard that Mark and I are expecting our 5th grandchild in November and wanted to congratulate us. In the course of the conversation she expressed her concern for the recent shooting event in Louisville KY. Funny how a conversation about new life turned into a conversation about lives taken too early. She and I agreed the world is becoming more insane every year. It’s enough to make you doubt your faith. Doubt your faith in humanity, and even doubt your faith in God. After all, couldn’t God prevent such tragedy? Where is God anyway?

My heart goes out to the families who unknowingly celebrated their last Easter with their loved ones. I can’t imagine what the family of the young man who did the killing must be going through. Here is yet another reason why God’s people need to pray constantly. Pray as The Holy Spirit leads you, looking to God’s word to guide so you will be able to discern His voice.

Today’s scripture reading is a reminder to me that doubting isn’t always a bad thing. Doubting can lead me to ask questions; age old questions and new questions. It was Thomas’ doubt that proved him to be faithful. He took Jesus at his word and when the Savior said that people should be careful not to believe everything everyone says because many would come pretending to be the Savior only to mislead and manipulate them.

Pastor Michelle Morris states; “We cannot grow in our discipleship, our faith, our wisdom without asking new questions and raising new inquiries. And we will not be inspired to ask such questions if we do not have doubts” (Adult Bible Studies, Abingdon Press, Sprint 2023 pg. 45).

So, if you are experiencing doubt, take it to the Lord in prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through your reading of the above scripture and others you are led to explore, then quietly listen for direction. May God bless you as you journey with Jesus in His Word. Wisdom is on the way.

AMEN!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Matthew 28:1-10
April 5, 2023 

This Sunday we will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. A historical fact and a spiritual joy. In a Sunday School class I attend, the lesson for this week focuses on overturned expectations and the purpose in the power of the resurrection; “Because of that Sunday, the very things the women were probably experiencing on their way to the tomb lost their power and sting as they ran from it. They left the threat of death behind them.”

Christians are Easter People and as such, while we experience the pain of loss, “it is that the power of that pain will not overwhelm us.” I am learning here that the resurrection of Christ changes everything. It changes the way I face death and dying. It also changes the way I live. How I treat others, how I work through the day to day troubles that come my way. It gives me the power to say I will not be overcome, because He is always with me in the power of the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.

I love the way Pastor Michelle Morris in this Sunday School lesson describes the purpose of this power; “If this world could know the fullness of what it means to serve God faithfully through love of neighbor, if everyone saw themselves and everyone else as a beloved child of God, if everyone was valued the way God values each of us, the reign of God would break full through, and death and all of its power would be no more” (Adult Bible Studies, Cokesbury Publishers; Spring 2023, vol. 30, No. 3, pgs. 61-62).

The last verse of a favorite Easter hymn, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, summarizes this well; “King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia! ALLELUIA! He is Risen!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
John 3:1-3 + Matthew 18:1-4 + 1John 3:1
March 22, 2023

I have been reviewing again the telling of Nicodemus and his encounter with Christ in which Jesus declares “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

As I am studying, I am also preparing for my grandchildren to come and play at Oma’s house while their parents do their work. It is interesting to note that the text I have been studying is a reminder that God has no grandchildren, He only has children. The encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus is one in which Nicodemus is being exposed to the reality that he cannot depend on anything, any tradition, or even his lineage to ensure his salvation, it is only through a spiritual new birth that he, and anyone, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Isn’t it wonderful how much God loves us that he allows each one of us to choose Him daily as our loving Heavenly Father! The Apostle John states it well; “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” When my grandchildren come over to spend the day with me, I try my very best to just focus on them. Housework and church work take a back seat, there are 24 hours in the day and seven days in the week for me to choose other times and days to work, this is precious memory making, Jesus sharing, creative problem-solving time for us together. God does the same for each one of his children. He lavishes his love and attention on us, and we ought to take time to thank him and consider how we might love others into the Kingdom. Take note, that this will be very humbling.

God has a word for this too; “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18: 3-4).

I am often humbled by my kids and grandkids, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Some of the best lessons about in humility have come through my time with them. Some of the best lessons in humility have also come from my time with my Heavenly Father.

Max Lucado states it well; “Humility is the soil out of which the fruit of the Spirit grows”.

AMEN!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Psalm 23
March 15, 2023

I am sitting at the kitchen table of a home new to my husband and I, and I am admiring the beautiful blue sky and the freshly mown grass thanking God that for the first time in several years my sweet hubby was physically able to navigate the riding mower and seemed to enjoy doing so, even if it is only 42 degrees . You see, several years ago my sweet man was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus which makes walking, driving and general physical activity feel like he is on a dock in a very tumultuous bay. Once diagnosed, he had surgery to implant a shunt which would decrease the water pressure on his brain. It was amazing to see how he improved even a day after the surgery. He was then able to drive again and move about with less wavering, but it’s still there, and he often tells me that he still feels like he is on a dock, but the waves are a bit calmer.

Recently, I was chatting with a dear friend whose husband is going through a painful illness and as we talked and prayed I felt a nudging by the Holy Spirit to tell her that perhaps this is one of the ways we walk through the Valley of the Shadow. It’s scary and painful sometimes to see loved ones suffer, but we keep walking and believing that one day it will be as it should be, as God originally designed life to be.

The Psalmist writes: “Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of death [another translation says ‘through the darkest valley’] I will fear no evil, for you are with me”.

That is a truth we need to remember, especially when life doesn’t seem to make sense. There is so much suffering in our world, and there doesn’t seem to be a cure, at least not on this side of Heaven. But we keep on walking and we keep on believing. Giving up is not the answer, if it were God would not have sent his Son to redeem us. What would be the point?

Thanks be to God, he did and he does walk with us even in the darkest valley.

AMEN!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
2 Corinthians 5:17
March 8, 2023

My husband and I recently bought a home new to us. Over the past month I was surveying what work would be needed to get it in ship shape before we moved in because I know how we love to procrastinate and before we are fully “in” I determined that some major projects needed to be addressed (not sure my hubby was in full agreement ). One of the “biggies” on my list is the landscaping. So many dead or dying things, so many overgrown things and sooooo many weeds. From the street you wouldn’t really see so much detail, but I sure did and I knew that every time I walked up our sidewalk to enter the house I would mumble to myself; “somebody needs to do something about this”.

Recently, I ventured out into the yard, taking a break from my inside projects and saw a beautiful sight, Daffodils. Yellow, white, tiny, larger, just a lovely array of Daffodils. In that moment, all the stuff that seemed bad, looked so much better. There was beauty there all the time, I just couldn’t see it. All of this reminded me of our scripture for today; “If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old is gone, the new is here.” I want to encourage you to take some time this week in the season of Lent, to look around at all that is really good and really beautiful and remember, that even if the work is still there to clean up whatever is wrong, there is beauty to encourage you to keep at it.

AMEN!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
John 15:4 +9 +15
March 1, 2023

When I was very young I had a hard time paying attention to instructions. It seems I was very distracted by other activities or even my imagination wondering around (I can already hear someone saying, as they read this, “She still does ). My parents were very patient with me, but there were many times when they would say out of desperation “Just stay put”. Now, I don’t know that this statement is a very good example of proper English, but I will say, it got my attention. When Jesus taught his followers, he often used phrases that were meant to get their attention. Just like me, the people he was trying to teach were distracted. They had worries, and fears and plans for the future, yet, Jesus desperately wanted them to pay very close attention as the day was coming when he would leave this world and return to the Father.

John 15 tells the lesson of the Vine and the Branches. It is here that Jesus is telling the people that unless they put forth a concerted effort to remain close to his teachings and follow his commands, they would be useless in the kingdom work of the Gospel; “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” And again, Jesus says; “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” Jesus wants his followers to trust and obey him, not out of fear of punishment, but out of love; “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” By Staying Put with Jesus we can be light and love bearers in a world that lives in the darkness of anger and anxiety. Maxie Dunham puts it this way; “Nothing gives more powerful witness to our friendship with Christ , and nothing is more effective in bringing others to claiming their chosenness by Christ than our love…For that reason, friends of The Friend should themselves be friends” (That’s What The Man Said, pg.68-69).

AMEN!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Psalm 139:23-24
February 22, 2023

The celebration of Lent has been a part of traditional church liturgy for several denominations, for many generations. Ash Wednesday begins the journey of Lent which guides us through forty days of prayer, fasting, and time to intentionally grow in faith and love for God and our neighbors. We also remember the significance of the forty days in the wilderness where Jesus was tempted by the devil which really was an excruciating time of preparation for the ministry that God planned for his son. All of this to prepare ourselves for ministry that God has planned for all of his children, and this time will lead us to the great celebration of Easter-Resurrection Sunday.

When we receive the ashes, many of us will hear the words; “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return”. These words may sound very hopeless and sorrowful, and yet I hear them as words of God’s abiding presence. Remember that the first human was created from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7) and because of the sin that Adam and Eve participated in, they would then be resigned to eventually die. But God in his great mercy provided a way for us to be reunited with him through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross and the glory of his resurrection. Those who believe and put their trust in Jesus will have their mortal bodies return to the dust of the earth and then be clothed with immortality (1 Corinthians 15:54).

I invite you to begin this journey of Lent today. As you seek God’s will and way I would encourage you to pray this beautiful passage in Psalm 139; “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

AMEN!

Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Psalm 19:13-14
February 15, 2023

Yesterday was “God Loves you Best Day”, or for others it was Valentines Day. One of the blessings I have on Tuesdays is sharing a worship time with some very fine folks in a senior living apartment complex. We enjoyed a time of singing and praying and engaged in a conversational message about how God loves us and wants us to love others. We were focused on 1 John 4:10; ”This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”.  We even celebrated a wedding Anniversary on top of it all.

As I was driving home, I listened to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman; Love Take Me Over and I guess it just stuck while I was sleeping. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning and realized I had the subject for this week’s meditation – Love. Duh, Edith, pretty slow sometimes Steven Curtis Chapman shared in a video recording that he wrote this song shortly after the sudden death of his daughter Maria, and while he was praying with his other kids before school one day, he just broke out in a prayer that the Lord would guard his mind and mouth to be an example for his children and a blessing to others. He reflected on one of my favorite, yet challenging verses; Psalm 19:13-14; “Keep back your servant from willful sins, let them not have dominion over me, then will I be upright and innocent from great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, my redeemer.”

It would seem that the only way we will ever truly love is when we remember how much God loves us and he loves everyone the same way, so we ought to do the same. Steven’s chorus to his song is part of his prayer; “Love, take these thoughts that I’m thinking, Love take these words that I’m speaking. Love take me over. Love fill up all of my space, stand right here in my place. Love hear this prayer that I’m praying, Love, Love take me over”.

AMEN!