Weekly Devotions 2023 Continued

Jesus tells a parable that flies in the face of the world’s definition of fairness. And it runs counter to what our teachers taught us. It also contests everything about the work ethic our parents tried to instill in us. Anybody who has ever put in the hours and worked hard knows feelings of unfairness when a new person comes on board with less tenure and gets the promotion. This parable also speaks to those in the church. Maybe you’ve been in a certain denomination or church community for a long time and because of it, you

begin to think the church belongs to you and you resent the intrusion of new blood. This parable hits home and is a bit hard to swallow in many ways. 

 A vineyard owner needed workers to work his vineyard. So he went out in the streets in the early morning and recruited a few men. He went out again at lunchtime and recruited a few more men. And then just before evening he went out and hired the last group of men who had no work. He told his overseer to pay all the men the same wage. Those who worked all day, those who worked half a day and those who worked only an hour or so received the same pay. The men who had worked all day had also worked in the heat of the day and they railed against the vineyard owner crying this is not fair. Notice there was peace among all the workers–the first and the last until it was time to get paid. 

Do you ever get envious when someone you think does not deserve grace receives grace? Good question. Do you ever feel bitter when others succeed who you feel don’t deserve it? Or do you catch yourself saying “This is not fair” a lot? When envy begins to set in it chokes the joy right out of the gifts God has already given you. 

But Jesus’s questions, on the lips of the vineyard owner, hit like a ton of bricks: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last"(Matt 20:15-16). The whole parable and God’s character come to light in the last two verses. So what do we learn? 

First, God’s compassion is revealed. No matter when you enter the kingdom of God first or last, there is no seniority nor is there any superiority in God’s economy—all are equal. If you enter as a child, or you enter during your midlife or you enter in the last moments of your life—God welcomes each of us the same and each of us are equally dear to him. And all who serve God, if in our service, we give God our all, it doesn’t matter how long we have served him—old timer or newbie, before God all ranks the same. 

Secondly, we see clearly the generosity of God. For men who were without work, God provided work in the vineyard and a wage. God is generous with His grace and mercy. We cannot earn what God gives us. We don’t deserve it. What God gives us is out of the goodness of His heart. And everything we are given has its origin in God. What God gives is not pay, but a gift; not a reward, but grace. 

As Christians, we don’t work or serve for pay or a reward, our primary reason for serving is the privilege and joy we receive by serving the God who loves us more than we can ever love each other and more than we will ever love ourselves. Amen. 

Pastor Dona

18:35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." 

One of the more difficult and misunderstood parables in Scripture is Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. Forgiveness is almost always easier to talk about than to do. And when someone wrongs us we expect an apology. But when the shoe is on the other foot and we sin against a person, we often feel no shame nor guilt in being stingy grace and withholding forgiveness. Regardless, our need to forgive and Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness is sprinkled all over the New Testament. And there is no way around it. We must forgive each other if we want God to forgive us (Matt 5:7; 6:14-15; James 2:13). 

For Christians, forgiveness is the glue that holds us together as a community. There is no marriage or family relationship, no work relationship, no relationship in the church that will ever survive without forgiveness. 

The proverbial question many Christians have asked, is the same question Peter asked Jesus: how many times are we to forgive a person, seven times? Jesus answered him with a response that stuns most of us: "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times (Matt 18:22), This is not something many of us want to hear. Does this mean we are to be a doormat? No. Does this mean we are to succumb to other people’s bad behavior and let them walk all over us? No. Where is the justice in that? 

What Jesus is saying is make your forgiveness stick the first time. Forgiveness is extremely difficult work. In many cases you have to swallow your pride. You have to admit your wrong and that is hard to do. Why? Because when you or I admit our wrong we feel shame. We are embarrassed when our imperfections are on full display. And for some that is an unbearable position to be in. When we admit our sins to one another, the façade, the mask we wear most days falls away and we are left with our true self before others. Yes, we are imperfect people. Yes, we are imperfect Christians. And yes, we can really mess things up. But God’s love for us is greater than any sin we can commit and God gives us a way out this. It’s called forgiveness. 

Sometimes forgiveness takes time. It takes time to process and lay out the infraction before God. Sometimes, we have to ask the Holy Spirit to help us lay down the grievance. You see, when under stress or threat, we have a default position. Sometimes it’s a hot temper other times it’s holding a stubborn grudge. But none of these behaviors build up a relationship, instead they tear down. God calls us to do our own inner work and recognize 

within ourselves those behaviors that are not life-giving and change them for good. 

Jesus ends this parable with a qualifier. If you don’t forgive your brother or sister from the heart, your heavenly Father will not forgive you. What does Jesus mean—from the heart? When we apologize or when we forgive a person we are to do so with a repentant heart (with remorse and compassion). And we must not secretly or outwardly expect anything in return. We must mean every word we speak and carry it out. Words are just words floating in thin air if we don't live out forgiveness.

Let us praise God with all we are worth for the eternal gift of His mercy and grace. As I write this devotion and as you read it, we live forgiven in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Pastor Dona

There are so many leadership and self-help books written on how to manage conflict or have difficult conversations. Why? Because it is so hard for many people to confront others in healthy and life-giving ways. Many people fear conflict and avoid confronting an issue even at the cost of jeopardizing everything. If that is you, you know the wave of anxiety that comes over you when you are asked to confront. On the other hand, there are people who feed and magnify conflict until something very small becomes terribly big and unmanageable. But the longer I live the more I have come to realize trying to keep the peace at all costs many times costs me everything. 

Throughout the gospels, Jesus’ emotional maturity and his emotional intelligence were so keenly developed in his encounters with the sins of others, that he is able to reduce the conflict. He understood that wherever people are gathered together in community there will always be some degree of conflict. For the church is not immune from conflict. And so Jesus laid down some very clear and kind guidelines for the church. And we are all the better for it. 

The first guideline is: if someone in the church sins against you, go directly to that person and explain the conflict or hurt in truth and love. If they listen to you and accept what you’ve said (without a tinge of defensiveness) the relationship can be restored. Many times people who fear confrontation rather than go to the person directly find a friend or someone else who will agree with them and take their side. This approach turns into gossip and it spreads like a wild fire. I also want to add, when we are approached on our behavior it is best to deeply listen, no gaslighting and learn from it. You will find that there is always some truth in a complaint. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron. Or to say it another way “tough love transforms. Secondly, Jesus says, if going directly to the member doesn’t gain you any ground, go back to the person with another person. This is not to gang up on them but they may find a way through the impasse, that you are blind to or too emotionally fused to the situation. And thirdly, if the conflict is still present, take the issue to the Christian fellowship. The church as a fellowship is a place of Christian prayer, Christian love and a place where personal relationships may be righted with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. That is to say, we are not to be either a doormat or become heavy handed legalist and abandon people with harsh judgment. 

When all these attempts fail, then Jesus says treat the person as a Gentile or tax collector— ouch! I am not sure I can to that. But wait a minute. Jesus befriended Gentiles, tax collectors and even prostitutes (Matt 5:46; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 15:1-7). He didn't find them hopeless. He sought to understand them in their sin, forgive them and ask them to repent. So what are we to do with a cantankerous person wielding trouble all over the place? Maybe the responsibility is on us to win them over. Maybe we are to love them. So often our response to the sin of another person is to secretly judge and talk about them but never confront. And how does this help anyone. But what I know of Jesus, he looks at the root cause of the conflict, into the heart of the stubborn person and sees good and potential. God also looks at how those who were managing conflict behave and manage themselves. For, we all have skin in the game. 

Jesus ends this conversation with “I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” What Jesus may well be saying is that the relationships we establish with one another here last not only in this lifetime but for all of eternity—therefore we must get them right. 

Pastor Dona

Matthew 16:21-28 

For whoever wishes to keep his life safe will lose it; and whoever losses his life for my sake will find it. For what shall a man be profited if he shall gain the whole world at the penalty of the price of his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well known among many Christians. He was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who was executed at the hands of the Nazi’s at the end of WWII. Before being sent to the firing squad naked, he was imprisoned for three years. As a prisoner, although his freedoms were taken away, his captors could not imprison his faith. During the two years between his arrest and death, Bonhoeffer never stopped writing letters, poems, prayers, outlines of future books and essays and exegeses of scripture. Collectively, his letters and prison papers document a great unburdening of an active and varied mind who would have influenced the world in so many ways. Yet never as much as his ultimate death would. Confinement and punishment squeeze the best and the worst from a person. It was Bonhoeffer who coined the phrase “cheap grace.” What is the meaning of cheap grace? “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” 

Matthew was writing somewhere between 80-90 AD. He was therefore writing in some of the bitterest days of persecution. And many people died and were martyred for their faith. 

In our day and generation, in our culture here in Sedona, it is not likely to be a question of martyrdom, but it still remains a reality that when we use our lives in a constant search for safety, security, ease and comfort. When we live for the world, we are never truly happy. Oh, we may be happy for a moment but it doesn’t last. Because worldly things are not meant to last—they are material things which have no eternal significance. When we are always chasing more money or chasing that golden carrot out in front of us, we lose sight of whose we are. Life becomes soft and flabby when it might have been a heart-opening adventure. Life becomes a selfish thing when it could have been life-giving, filled to the brim with joy and real lasting significance. 

This message is not only for us individually but Jesus’ message is also meant for the church. Are you and I playing it too safe? Has the church grown too comfortable? The Christian life is a life of risks. It has always been a life of risks. And if we don’t grasp this one truth then we are fooling ourselves. For whom do we have to fear? If God is for us, if God resides in us who or what can harm us? Really. Our sins have been forgiven. The devil can’t touch us. Even death has been conquered for us. What is left? 

We owe ourselves and everything else to Jesus Christ. And there is nothing we can give to Jesus in place of our lives—our money, our time, our acts of service are all good things don’t get me wrong. But God wants you to live your life for him and him alone. And that is where cheap grace is transformed into costly grace. 

Costly grace happens when we give our hearts to Jesus not for the sake of tradition, not for the sake of religion but the sake of the One who died for us and set us forever free from all the superficial things in this world that want to trip us up with a false sense of security and a false sense of who we are. 

For Bonhoeffer, the rickety scaffolding of Protestantism had finally tumbled to the ground in the wake of the German church’s complicity with the Nazis. A reckoning had come for the church. “If religion is the only garb in which Christianity is clothed - and this garb has looked very differently in different ages - what then is religionless Christianity?” (1944, Letter from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Eberhard Bethge). Amen. 

Pastor Dona

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a]This is the first and greatest commandment.3And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well known among many Christians. He was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who was executed at the hands of the Nazi’s at the end of WWII. Before being sent to the firing squad naked, he was imprisoned for three years. As a prisoner, although his freedoms were taken away, his captors could not imprison his faith. During the two years between his arrest and death, Bonhoeffer never stopped writing letters, poems, prayers, outlines of future books and essays and exegeses of scripture. Collectively, his letters and prison papers document a great unburdening of an active and varied mind who would have influenced the world in so many ways. Yet never as much as his ultimate death would. Confinement and punishment squeeze the best and the worst from a person. It was Bonhoeffer who coined the phrase “cheap grace.” What is the meaning of cheap grace? “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” 

Matthew was writing somewhere between 80-90 AD. He was therefore writing in some of the bitterest days of persecution. And many people died and were martyred for their faith.  

In our day and generation, in our culture here in Sedona, it is not likely to be a question of martyrdom, but it still remains a reality that when we use our lives in a constant search for safety, security, ease and comfort. When we live for the world, we are never truly happy. Oh, we may be happy for a moment but it doesn’t last. Because worldly things are not meant to last—they are material things which have no eternal significance. When we are always chasing more money or chasing that golden carrot out in front of us, we lose sight of whose we are. Life becomes soft and flabby when it might have been a heart-opening adventure. Life becomes a selfish thing when it could have been life-giving, filled to the brim with joy and real lasting significance. 

This message is not only for us individually but Jesus’ message is also meant for the church. Are you and I playing it too safe? Has the church grown too comfortable? The Christian life is a life of risks. It has always been a life of risks. And if we don’t grasp this one truth then we are fooling ourselves. For whom do we have to fear? If God is for us, if God resides in us who or what can harm us? Really. Our sins have been forgiven. The devil can’t touch us. Even death has been conquered for us. What is left? 

We owe ourselves and everything else to Jesus Christ. And there is nothing we can give to Jesus in place of our lives—our money, our time, our acts of service are all good things don’t get me wrong. But God wants you to live your life for him and him alone. And that is where cheap grace is transformed into costly grace. 

Costly grace happens when we give our hearts to Jesus not for the sake of tradition, not for the sake of religion but the sake of the One who died for us and set us forever free from all the superficial things in this world that want to trip us up with a false sense of security and a false sense of who we are. 

For Bonhoeffer, the rickety scaffolding of Protestantism had finally tumbled to the ground in the wake of the German church’s complicity with the Nazis. A reckoning had come for the church. “If religion is the only garb in which Christianity is clothed - and this garb has looked very differently in different ages - what then is religionless Christianity?” (1944, Letter from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Eberhard Bethge). Amen. 

Pastor Dona

We toss around the word “love” a lot. We speak of love for country, love of one’s profession, love between friends and love between family members...but do we ever say we love people? How we answer this question tells us a lot about our faith and relationship with God. 

What is love? When did we first discover how to love? Where does love come from? Love comes from God. All love originates in God. For God is love (1 John 4:16b). And we are nearer to God when we do love. The greatest single statement in the Bible is “God is love.” Profoundly and simply put, love is the explanation of creation—hummingbirds, cactus, the air we breathe and the water we drink are all born out of God’s love. 

Sometimes we are bound to wonder why God created this world. The disobedience and the lack of human response is a continual grief to him. Why should he create a world which was to bring him so much trouble and heartache? Why then did God create us? God created us to love us. God cannot exist in lonely isolation. If God is love, then God has to have something to love. And that is where you and I come in. 

Human love is a response to Divine love. We love because God first chose to love us. And God’s love was made visible, became real to us in Jesus Christ. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, humanity got its first real look at love. A love that holds nothing back. A love that doesn’t strike back or defend. A love that goes to the mat for the sinner. A love that suffers and sacrifices beyond which no human sacrifice can possibly go. 

Although we can’t see God, what we can see is his effect. We cannot see the wind, but we see what it can do as it moves branches on a tree. And so it is with God, when God comes to reside within the soul of a person, that person is clothed with the love of God “and” the love for other people. Therefore, the only way to prove that God is within our hearts is constantly to show and demonstrate love for others. “For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:20-21). 

When I have an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion with His will, even affecting our feelings, then I learn to look at other people not simply through my eyes, my own internal preferences and my feelings but from the eyes and feelings of Jesus Christ. 

It is only by God’s grace that God loves me. I can’t make God love me. I am not in control of that. So, I am always at the mercy of God’s love. And so the only thing that makes be special as a person is that God chose to love me. To say you love God and worship Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you hate this person or shun that person or you don’t like these people, if God is in you it is just not possible. 

Do you and I have a genuine love for people? You know love covers a multitude of sin. And love covers the multitude of imperfections, quirks and wonky behaviors in each of us. So, it is “always” wise to err on the side of grace and love. For when we offer love and grace to others in radical ways the love of God in Jesus is revealed. And that is what attracts people to God and softens hearts—the way we love others! 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

Fear is undoubtedly one of the most far reaching emotions among human beings. Fear causes anxiety. In today’s world whether it be the rise and fall of the stock market, political infighting or the chaos of emotional instability which pervades our world today—all is regulated by fear. 

For some of us, when things happen in our lives we will tend to fear the worst. But fear can also be a vital response to physical and emotional danger—it produces within us the “fight or flight” response. So, whether it is a rattlesnake, speaking in public, elevators or flying in an airplane—fear is a very real emotion and it can immobilize us or compel us to move in a new direction. 

In Matthew Chapter 14, Peter is in a boat when a sudden storm strikes the disciples small fishing boat. The waves begin to rock the boat. Suddenly Jesus appears walking on the water. Jesus calls to Peter, “Peter get out of the boat come to me.” Peter in faith climbs over the side of the boat and takes a few steps on the water towards Jesus. But then Peter begins to sink. He takes his eyes off Jesus and immediately fear takes over. And then Peter shouts three powerful words from the gut of his stomach, “Lord save me.” And the Lord saves Peter from drowning. 

The prayer “Lord save me,” are I believe the three most powerful words in the universe. In times when we panic, in times when it feels like are options are closing in on us and we feel choked up with fear uttering the words “Lord save me” is truly a powerful antidote to what we fear the most. When Martin Luther was thrown into prison by Pope Leo for heresy, it is said he wrestled in his cell all night with the devil of fear. Worn out mentally fatigued by fearing his own death, he prayed the words—Lord save me. Over and over again he prayed the mantra and the Lord saved him! 

When we find ourselves fearing for our lives, our safety, our security, our health or just fearing the worst of any situation pray the words Peter and Luther prayed, “Lord save me.” God will save you. You will feel his peace flood into your heart. For it is God’s greatest desire to quell our fears. God wants us to live free of fear and anxiety not just in our heads but also in our hearts! Amen. 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

Galilee must have been a place where it was hard to be alone. Josephus tells us in his time the region of Galilee was a small country, with over 200 towns and villages. And each town had no less than 15,000 people. It was a highly populated place. When Jesus heard the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded, he grieved and was upset. He wanted to be alone. So, he found a boat and drifted out to sea to be alone with his thoughts, to pray and get away from the crowds. 

But getting in the boat didn’t really fulfill his need for rest, because when the boat drifted to the other side, the crowds were there all the same waiting for him—the sick, the dying and the poor. 

So what did Jesus do? Did he get irritated? Did he ignore them all to take care of his own needs? Sometimes we have to do that and that is okay. No. He got out of the boat and healed the sick. And when evening came and the sun was setting, he generously fed the crowd that would not leave him alone. He emptied himself and fed the crowd with his own spiritual compassion. 

As Jesus took the meager amount of fish and loaves of bread into his divine power he then multiplied the loaves and asked the disciples to feed 5000+. And believe it not—there was plenty of food and then some. 

This miracle tells clearly the place of the disciple in the work of Christ. Jesus gave to the disciples and the disciples then gave to the crowd. Oh I am sure there were people in that crowd that day that had brought enough food to share. But for some reason maybe they chose to keep it for themselves. 

Our human efforts are often meager and fall short, but when God is involved, under his power our efforts are multiplied. In the Church, it’s so easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed by the daunting task of ministry. In this miracle, we see something beautiful happening. The disciples needed Jesus and Jesus needed the disciples. If there is a sick child who needs cared for or a hungry person who needs fed or a discouraged widow who needs to be lifted up or a lonely stranger who needs welcomed, Jesus needs you and I to do it. And he will generously provide for your needs and equip you with additional energy, stamina and hope to do it. 

They call this miracle “Feeding the Five Thousand,” God multiplying the loaves and fish. But maybe, just maybe the real miracle was Jesus demonstrating unprecedented generosity. God’s generous love was so radically poured out on the crowd, that whatever was selfish, rejecting and stingy within them turned into indescribable joy. The joy of watching hundreds of fish flopping and loaves of bread being tossed about and every hungry person fed. Generosity and joy are both hallmarks of Christian way. 

Are you a keeper or a giver? Would you call yourself a generous person? How do you give yourself to others? In what ways—time, volunteer your talents or provide funding sources to help those in need? 

May you and I find ourselves this Sunday worshiping the God who gives us “everything” we need and very often when we need it most! 

May we find ourselves this Sunday in reckless abandon (unrestrained surrender & passion, without regard for convention, appearances, good sense,

or risk) thanking God for his generosity and his unremitting compassion towards us. God alone feeds hungry hearts with the bread from heaven. And in Christ we will never go hungry. We will “always” have enough. Amen. 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

This week, we gather up the rest of Jesus’ parables in Matthew Chapter 13. These are companion parables and Jesus is sharing these parables with his disciples. 

What are the common threads and themes that join these two parables together? In both parables we have a man who finds a valuable treasure and is willing to sacrifice his life, “sell all” to obtain it. The treasure or pearl represents the Kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God is something of priceless value and we will hold onto it if we know we got. In these two parables Jesus is speaking to his disciples and the Church are the recipients of these two parables. The man finds a treasure, a pearl and is willing to risk it all to obtain it. The man is filled with joy and finding this valuable thing and is will to invest himself fully. In regards to the Kingdom of God, when God finds us, when God chooses us it is a monumental thing. It is the greatest life-giving thing in all the world to have. 

Although much of the time we forget God’s importance in our lives. And much of the time we don’t want to invest any more than we have to. We want the benefits of Jesus without a lot of commitments. 

In Matthew’s Church, much like in today’s congregations, the Church was threatened from within and without by moral decay, sleepiness, false doctrine and persecution just to single out broad areas of pressing problems. Mathew’s call is for radical obedience. In the Church that was experiencing unprecedented turmoil and suffering, to be a disciple means to be unremittingly dedicated to doing the will of God. Lip service and good intentions are not good enough. The Church now more than ever needs deeply committed followers of Jesus who give themselves fully—heart, mind, body and soul to doing the will of God! 

“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...,” that will always be out prayer and our mission. And doing the will of God is no easy feat. It takes inner work, it takes lots of forgiveness, it takes loving the

unlovable and it takes putting Jesus Christ above all wealth and riches and above all the other earthly opportunities we are given. Amen. 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

In Palestine, tares were one of the curses against which a farmer had to labor. Tares were a weed called bearded darnel. In their early stages, the tares so closely resembled the wheat that it was impossible to distinguish one from another. Farmers would not dare to separate one from another because often the roots of both plants were intertwined and plucking up the bad would pull out the good. But at harvest time, the tares would have to be separated out because tares were quite poisonous to eat. 

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells another parable, it is about the coming judgment. His parable teaches us that there will always be a hostile power in the world,
seeking and waiting to destroy the good seed. It teaches us that both kinds of influence act upon our lives—the good and the bad. 

It also teaches us how hard it is to distinguish between those who are in the kingdom and those who are not. Some people may appear good but in fact are bad. Some people may appear bad but are really good. So, we are not to be so quick to judge without knowing all the facts. This parable flies in the face of universalism—everyone is heir to the kingdom of God regardless of faith in Jesus Christ. 

It also teaches us not to be so quick to judge. Judgment is not our responsibility. Pluck out the bad tares and you pull the wheat out with it. Judgment must wait until the harvest. Judgment must come at the end. For we are so prone to make huge mistakes. No one who only sees part of a thing, part of a person can judge the whole. As Psalm 139 says, the Lord searches the hearts of his creatures. He knows their thoughts before they are spoken. God sees the good and bad. God discerns our motives—pure or impure. And it teaches that there is only one person who has the right to judge and that one person is God. Only God knows, discerns and sees the whole of a person’s life. While we only see a sliver. 

There will be a judgment for sure. But for those who put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ, they will be covered with the blood of the Lamb. Each of us every day are living our lives at the mercy of God. For as Paul says, we all fall short (Romans 3). We are all sinners and yet those who chose Christ live forgiven. We all do what we don’t want to do. And we are all broken to some degree. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, Christ died for all humanity. And you and I along with and entire world needs a Savior, a God of infinite grace and mercy. And the world has a Savior—Jesus Christ! Amen. 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

Do you remember when you first heard God speak to you? Maybe you were young or maybe it was in the twilight years of your life when you truly heard the voice of God. 

I grew up in a secular Christian home. My parents were doing what many people did in the 50s and 60s. We went to church every Sunday, but we never prayed, let alone mention the name of God or Jesus in our home. Church was something we did rather than who we were. But it wasn’t until after college, that I truly heard God speak to me. And it forever changed my life. Until then, I believe the soil of my heart was rather hard. 

In Mathew 13, Jesus is in a boat lakeside and is using the boat as his pulpit. Jesus sees on one of the hills a sower, sowing seed and immediately breaks into a parable regarding faith and the Word of God. 

The fate of any spoken word depends on those who hear it. And it takes an open heart, a listening heart, a longing for something more type heart to hear the voice of God. Paul says in Roman 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing—and hearing by the word of God.” 

There are several types of hearers. There are hearers with shut minds. There are people into whose minds the word has no more chance of gaining entry than the seed has settling into dry ground beaten hard by feet. An unteachable spirit can erect barriers that can be difficult to break down. Of course, we have no power to open someone’s only God can do that. But nonetheless it’s hard soil.

Then there are the hearers with minds like shallow ground. People who are at the mercy of any new craze. They take up a new thing quickly and just as quickly drop it. They fail to things out and think things through. It is possible to be like that with the word. 

And then there are the hearers who have so many things going on in life that the most important things in life get crowded out. There is never any time to hear the word. They are too busy to pray or to study God’s word—oh they have their opinions and can pontificate but what they say is not rooted in the word. 

And then there are people who are like good ground, cultivated soil. Their minds, their hearts are open. They have a teachable spirit. And they hear God’s voice through his word continually whispering in their ears. And they translate what they hear into action— good deeds. They produce good fruit. The word so infuses itself in their hearts that their love for God and others is no longer shallow or superficial but genuine. You can feel, see and taste it. 

This week, we were planting some new trees in our yard. We only have a thin surface of soil before you hit solid rock. So the landscaper jackhammered huge holes in the rock and filled the holes with good, loose humus. Then he planted each tree. And they are growing! 

What condition is the soil in your heart? Is your mind open or shut? Is your heart hard and you long for a heart that is softened with love? Maybe your heart is shallow towards God? Wherever you find yourself in this parable—you can pray and boldly ask God to increase your faith. He will do it! 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

We may say “seeing is believing,” but in the Bible for the most part, “hearing is believing” too. We do a lot of talking in this life. In this noisy, distracting world, it is difficult to truly hear. People talk past each other, eager to be heard but somehow deaf to what is being said. You may hear someone but not be listening. And hearing can be far different than listening. Listening to one another takes energy. Listening for God to speak takes patience. It also stills the anxiety in our souls. I don’t know about you, but when things get confusing, I have learned over the years to stop talking and step back. I take a pause. For in the pause, I hear the true stirrings of God’s voice, his encouragement, his assurance and I hear my own sin. 

In Genesis 22, we are given the heart wrenching and redemptive story of Abraham’s testing and the sacrifice of his only beloved son Isaac. This story has so many other dimensions. But I want to focus on Abraham’s ability to listen for God’s voice in the midst of what God is calling him to do. 

In the recent movie, “His Only Son,” Abraham has been called by God to do the unthinkable, the unimaginable—sacrifice his son, the son he had waited for his entire life. 

Most of the film shows Abraham and his son walking to Mount Moriah. It is a long journey. Of course Isaac had no idea he has going to be sacrificed but his father did. For Abraham, the walk must have been excruciating. The darkness of his silent thoughts, his unheard cries to the Lord, visualizing the act of killing his son as his son walked with him—a haunting image. 

How did Abraham manage this? What kept Abraham from going insane with the horrific request to sacrifice his son? What kept Abraham from panicking, babbling on and on and shaking his fist at God? He could have quit. No. Abraham listened. He listened for that still small voice. He prayerfully listened for God’s voice to quell his fear and to quiet his heart so he could gather the spiritual strength to move forward with God’s plan. Abraham’s faith was rigorously tested. And Isaac’s life was spared. In this story, we see the power of God’s love and redemption on full display. 

Life is hard most days. And sometimes our fears and complaints get the best of us. They have a way of nipping at our heels, discoloring our goodness and what God is actually trying to work out in us 

But the Christian life, is a listening life. Every day and in every way God speaks to our hearts. God is speaking in the thoughts we think, the words we speak and the actions we take. What in your life right now needs your spiritual listening ear, a spiritual pause? In what situation do you need to stop talking and take a pause. Where do you need to stop talking so you can hear your Master’s voice and not the voices of fear, discouragement, blame and shame. God’s voice is the one true voice—the only voice that redeems us. Your Lord
will provide! 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

Sparrows are a common bird. They are small in size and weigh no more than an ounce. Of course there are much more powerful birds such as eagles or condors. And there are certainly more exotic birds like the birds in the Amazon with colorful plumage. No sparrows, are very common birds found in most parts of the word. 

Jesus warns his disciples that following him is both life-giving and dangerous. He warns them of the powers that are always at work behind the scenes. Political powers and institutional powers are often hidden and not easily recognized. So he tells his disciples to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves.” They must also be aware of people who pretend to be sheep, but instead are wolves—the enemy. Worldly powers will want to tarnish their reputations when they resist false prophesies. These worldly powers will want to bring the disciples down when they go against the status quo. And yet, they are to rest their lives, our souls in God’s sovereign care—a tall order! Everything that is corrupt and everything that is deceptive will in time be disclosed. The Truth will be made known. So, they are not to fear any     

worldly power or person. Fear God instead. God is who they should fear. 

It’s so easy to get tripped-up by the wrong thing—the ways of man and the hype in the world. But Jesus reminds us to live godly lives. To stay focused on Him and He will take care of the rest. The powers that rule this world may save us for a while, may hold off the inevitable—but these powers are powerless to save a person’s soul. 

So, Jesus tells them a parable. He says, “Don’t be afraid. Do not fear.” Even the smallest bird, the sparrow, has God the Father present with it as it falls to the ground. God hears. God sees. God feels in his own heart—every sparrow in any part of the world when it falls to the ground. So how much more can we trust that God hears us? That God sees and values us? That we are not alone in our suffering? God keeps closer track of us, has more intimate knowledge of us, than we do of ourselves—that’s how God knows how many hairs are on our heads! 

The sovereignty of God is the fact that He is the Lord over creation; as 

sovereign, He exercises his rule. This rule is exercised through God’s 

authority as King, His control over all things, and his presence with his covenantal people and throughout His creation. And thus, we rest our lives, 

our worries and suffering in the sovereignty of God. The battle is His. 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

As a young child, I rode in the back seat of my parent’s station wagon. Too young to drive, I was a dependent passenger. In the back seat I was either teasing my younger sister or counting stop signs. I had no idea about the roads and how we got to wherever we were going. But when I started driving (without a smart phone and GPS) it was a whole different matter. Getting around town for the first few months was terrifying. So I took a city map with me to help me find my way. 

Up until this moment in Mathew’s Gospel (9:35-10:8), Jesus’ disciples were passengers in the car and Jesus was doing all the driving. Jesus was healing the sick. And the disciples were watching. Jesus was being confronted by the Pharisees with their distortions of the law and their heavy-handed use of it. And the disciples were watching. Jesus also healed many and raised the dead and again they watched from the backseat. Up until now, Jesus made all the decisions. Up until now following Jesus was new and exciting. But now Jesus says to his disciples, I am sending you out not to the Gentiles, not to the Samaritans but to the lost sheep of Israel. The honeymoon is over. You can just hear his disciples, “You want us to do what? We are to heal and undergo persecution and be dragged out of the synagogues and be separated from family members. You gotta be kidding?” 

Why does Jesus ask so much of us? Because he gave us so much. He said to his disciples, “You received without payment. Now give without payment.” 

Maybe, if we can put aside our reluctance and our fear, we will feel the weight, the power, and — dare I say it? — the glory of this calling. 

Jesus gives his disciples a few instructions before they go. They are to find worthy households to visit and offer peace to those who live there. This peace is a supernatural (spiritual) peace. If those in the house reject their message and are of evil and immoral reputation, this will hinder their usefulness. So, they are to shake the dust from their feet and move on. Time is of the

essence.

So many people are given the opportunity to embrace God’s message. So many people are given the invitation to worship Jesus and they turn a deaf ear to it. Some opportunities are lost forever. It is one of the great facts of life time and time again, an opportunity comes to us and does not come back. To those in Palestine, the disciples were coming with the gospel but many would have nothing to do with it. The tragedy of life is so often the tragedy of a lost opportunity. What opportunity have you been given? And more importantly, what will you do with it?  

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

The Sabbath: Lev 23:3 “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord. 

After God created the earth and everything in it, on the seventh day God rested. It’s difficult to imagine God resting but Scripture is very clear that even God needs to rest. 

Much like the air we breathe or the water we drink, human beings need rest. It is necessary to keep one’s soul alive. 

God thought rest for the soul was so important that He made “rest” one of The Ten (commandments) and called it the holy Sabbath. And Sabbath is not only meant for humans, but animals and fields too—all of life is to take a day off from the toil and stress of their labors to worship the Creator. Even animals are to graze in the pasture with no yoke and plow around their necks. 

God is so amazing. His sovereign care and how He loves his creatures is made evident by the command to practice holy Sabbath. 

Our bodies need rest. We all need a good night sleep from the work and stresses of each day. But just as important as our bodies need rest so do our souls. 

Mark Buchanan writes in his book The Rest of God, “Most of us feel utterly ransacked. We are waylaid by endless demands and stifling routines. Even our vacations have a panicky, task-like edge to them. “If only I had more time,” is the mantra of our age. But is this the real problem?” 

Sabbath frees us from our need to achieve or our need to compete with each other. One of the reasons Sabbath is so freeing is that when we cease working, we dispense with the need to create our own futures. 

So how should one practice Sabbath? Marva Dawn in Christianity Today argues, “By focusing on beauty, worship and rest on one day we can be more aware and faithful on the other six days of the week. The Sabbath can

become a garden park amid ‘the technization of life,’ returning us to a place of tranquility and intimacy with God...Wise advice.” 

So how does one practice Sabbath? We are called to assemble as a community to worship the God who created us. And worship fills us with the love of God. When we feed on His word, commune and pray and our souls go into the new week replenished and not half-empty. We are to enjoy the splendor of God’s creation found in each other, our families and friends and creation itself. Maybe cease the notifications on your smartphone for a day. Maybe cease and desist working on your computer or surfing the internet to make room for things that are “holyother”thanworldlythings. And remember not to be too legalistic for “The Sabbath was made for man and not the man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

On Christmas Eve 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell celebrated humanity's first orbit around the moon by reading ten verses of Genesis. 

Even the most nonreligious person would have recognized the evocative words. In fact, the astronauts read first ten verses of the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." I still remember how those words read from outer space stirred my heart. Listening to NASA's crackly radio transmissions was amazing. Planet earth never looked so beautiful, so mysterious—pictures sent back of a blue and green orb suspended in the vast
darkness of space reminded all of us of how fragile and small we are. 

In the beginning God created the earth. Before Adam and Eve could bite into the forbidden fruit which brought the darkness of original sin into the world and destroyed the divine order, God’s original “goodness” was already at work. As God’s Spirt hovered over the deep, God spoke life into being. And as he created each living thing, God’s constant refrain was “...God saw that it was good.” 

God’s divine goodness, his divine genius, his creativity, his splendor was all on display in creation. His goodness was woven into every nook and cranny of the universe, even before sin existed. Think of that for a moment. The goodness of God existed prior to sin. And it is very much at work today. As one song states, “God’s goodness is running after us. 

Genesis 1:27-28 tells us that God created every human being in his image— male and female. And then God put his divine blessing upon them, that they would be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. He also instructed them to have dominion. The Hebrew word for rule or dominion is “radah.” One       Hebrew scholar translated the word rule this way: “to actively partner with God in taking the world forward.” OT Scholar Terrence Freitheim translates dominion not as one who dominates over creation but as one who “shepherds” creation in reaching it full potential. We begin to hear echoes of 

holy stewardship—protector, care-taker and shepherd. 

And so you and I are called not to dominate or be willful towards each other 

and creation, but we are to shepherd one another, helping each other reach our full potential in Jesus Christ, who is also Creator (Col 1) with the Father and Holy Spirit in the Godhead. 

In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “this freedom to rule includes being bound to the creatures who are ruled...[they] constitute the world in which I live, without which I cease to be...I am not free from [them] in any sense of my essential being...my spirit having no need of nature...On the contrary, in my whole being, in my creatureliness, I belong wholly to this world; it bear me, 

nurtures me, holds me.” 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

Fifty days after the first Easter, the church was born. It was not only born but it was also given a mission—to proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And as we are told in Scripture, Christ is the head of the Church (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18). The church (the bride of Christ), belongs to the one who created her. And He, the Groom will one day return for her. As much as we sometimes think we own the church, we don’t. It is His. 

The Greek word for fifty (50) is “Pentecost.” And so every year, fifty days after Easter, many congregations celebrate the ancestral story of the Church, the day of Pentecost.

Steeped as we are in modern Western culture, it's easy to forget that we worship a Jewish Messiah. But Jesus was Jewish, and Christianity is deeply rooted in Judaism. The first Christians never thought otherwise because they themselves were Jews. To them, Christianity was not a different religion from Judaism—it was the fulfillment of all that was written in the law and the prophets. In today’s culture, with all its fracturing and complexity, many of us have lost our ancestral family story. Where we came from, who shaped us, as well as how each of us were formed throughout the generations—all these things are a part of who we are today— whether we deny or embrace it. And so it is with the church which is represented in every local congregation in every time and place— the church has a long and glorious history. 

The church was birthed through Jesus who was born Jewish and yet primarily rejected by his people. He was adopted by both Jewish and Gentile followers whose early culture was rooted in Judaism. Therefore, the early church was simply considered a “Jewish sect,” but by AD 365 Constantine and the various councils removed the majority of the Jewish culture from “Christianity” and gave it a more Roman expression. In doing so the church lost some of its Jewish roots and identity. 

On Sunday, we will take a closer look at a very famous episode in the book of Acts, the day of Pentecost. What makes this unique is the descent of the Holy Spirit. There’s a sense in which the Old Testament people of God became the New Testament people of God because the Holy Spirit came down with a transforming power that had never been known before. In a certain sense, the people of God were getting rebooted, relaunched in fullness of the Spirit. 

So what does all this mean for you and I? We need to ask the same question the crowd asked that day: “What does this mean?” It means that God’s people are now filled with the Holy Spirit. And what does being filled with the Spirit mean: the power of God from outside us, now for the first time lives inside us, this supernatural power creates an inner wonder and hunger for God, a universal message of salvation and the kingdom of God is proclaimed, a new man now stands on the mountain and eternity enters time! 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

Jesus entered this world shrouded in mystery (the incarnation) and he left this world in mystery. At some point Jesus had to leave his earthly ministry. He had to return to the Godhead and take up his place at the right hand of the Father. And it is there that Jesus continues his ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation—constantly praying and interceding for you and I. In fact as I write this message to you, Jesus is praying for me and praying for you that our hearts will be opened to the many wonders and mysteries of the gospel. 

When Paul gave a defense for the resurrection of Christ, many in the crowd mocked and jeered him. Some rolled their eyes while others were convinced and believed his message.

Jesus’ earthly ministry, like all ministries had to come to an end. His public ministry only lasted three years. But as N.T. Wright has stated, in those three years Jesus was able to leaven the whole world with the love of God.

After his resurrection, Luke makes it clear in The Acts of The Apostles, that Jesus for a period of forty days continued to appear to his disciples—to encourage and assure them. Now in his final appearance, Jesus gives the disciples their mission—to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the

supernatural power from God. And then they are to go out into the world preaching repentance and forgiveness.

So Jesus, led the disciples out to a place called Bethany. He lifted up his hands and he blessed them. And while he was still speaking, he was taken up to heaven.

To the disciples the ascension of Jesus meant three things: First, it was an ending. The disciples had known Jesus in both flesh and blood—the physical, emotional and spiritual Jesus. They could touch him, laugh and cry with him, debate and be rebuked by him, and were loved by him. They were linked to someone now through the Spirt who was independent of both time and space. Secondly, you would think that the disciples had left Jesus’ departure sad and brokenhearted. But nothing could be further from the truth. They left with a great sense of joy. The Jesus of earth now became the Christ of heaven. And thirdly, the disciples now had a friend not only on earth but in heaven. And Jesus, their holy companion was preparing a place for them. He was awaiting their arrival. As he awaits our arrival. As followers of Christ, to die is not to go out into the dark, it is to go to him.

Rev. Timothy Keller, a renown pastor, teacher and theologian died yesterday. On Aug 17, 2017 he Tweeted: “Buddha's Final Words: Strive unceasingly. Jesus' Final Words: It is finished.” Tim Keller’s last words: “There is no downside for me, in the slightest. I am ready to see Jesus.”

One question we need to ask ourselves is: Are you and I ready to see Jesus?

But until we see Jesus, we’ve been given the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit. To comfort us, to encourage us and prepare us until it’s our time to be joined with him!

Luke reports that soon after Jesus’ ascension (departure), the disciples were found in the temple, continually praising God—rejoicing in the happy ending. It’s not an accident that Luke’s gospel ends where it began, in the House of God.

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona

This Sunday, we find Paul alone in Athens. It is about 50 A.D. His spirit was deeply vexed as he saw the whole city full of idols. Athens was a university town. The greatest in the world. And people came from everywhere far and wide to study there. Athens was also a city of gods. It is said that Athens had more statues of gods than all the rest of Greece put together. It was easier to meet a god than another person. There was also a great city square where people met to talk. It was much sooner than later that Paul found this city square and met the leading philosophers of Athens. They took Paul to the Areopagas (Greek for Mars Hill). The Areopagas was a Greek temple, a court which dealt with cases of homicide and had the oversight of public morals. 

So here is where we find Paul—all alone and surrounded by a mecca of other gods. It might have daunted anyone one else, but not Paul, who was never ashamed of the gospel. 

When Paul gave a defense for the resurrection of Christ, many in the crowd mocked and jeered him. Some rolled their eyes while others were convinced and believed his message.

Paul was not in the least embarrassed nor was he ashamed—afraid of what others might think of him.  

To the Greeks, being raised back to life had all the appeal of a root canal without anesthetic. Escape from the body was the goal. So the prospect of getting your body back by-and-by seemed less like a glorious reward and more like a cruel punishment. And any god worth his salt would surely know that much. So they left shaking their heads and repressing some giggles. 

Imagine for a moment if you were standing alone at the Stupa or at the center of Tlaquepaque, an outdoor shopping mall in Sedona. Imagine yourself meeting with new-agers and retired intellectuals (agnostics) giving a speech about Jesus—life, death and resurrection. What would you say? Where would you start? What would you do as people sneered and shunned you? Does the thought of this leave you a little queasy? 

Sedona is a mecca for “other” gods such as crystal shops. And it is good to reminded of its lure and attraction. II got a pop-up on my iPhone for a church called the “Church of the Golden Age.” What do they profess? They sell channeled messages, healing and meditation on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Google Sedona and it calls Sedona the epicenter of mystical mania. And of course, I am not telling anyone who lives in Sedona anything new. However, we who live here have a great opportunity before us. Like Paul, God calls us out of the culture. God calls us to be prepared in season and out of season, when it’s convenient and inconvenient to share our faith with others, we are to take what we learn and experience on Sunday mornings and go out in the world and speak those truths to others (2 Tim 4). It is easy to “clock in” and “clock out” of our faith, erroneously believing that we represent God at church but not throughout the week. 

In His abundant and unconditional love, 

Pastor Dona