Tag: Scripture

Jesus as Shepherd

A lesson paraphrased from Ministry Matters:
To understand this passage, it helps to learn that multiple shepherds often kept all the sheep of their village in one fold (fenced area). When it was time to separate the flocks, each shepherd called their own sheep, using a unique call. The sheep from each flock recognized their own shepherd’s call and left the sheepfold only with that shepherd.

John 10:23-30
Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.
What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Devotional, May 3, 2022

Pray and consider how this appeal in Romans 12:1-8 (NRSV) speaks to your spirit.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”

Choose Wisely – Problem or Solution

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Watching our three very different dogs’ natural behavior, it occured to me how much we humans are like that

One peed in the yard, then the other two just had to sniff around and contribute their pee in the same spot.

When you see someone’s unpleasantness on social media, do you contribute your mess too?

In that same theme, when you see someone making a positive difference, do you join in and help (or do something else to make a difference)?

Do you feel competitive like when our dogs fight over who gets the best toy? We can place 3 balls within their reach, but they all want the same one. Friends, there is enough work to go around, and enough Jesus for every person, and we can choose to be part of the solution, rather than contributing to the problem!

No Excuses – Press On!

When you share your faith, it’s not always accepted by others.  You know that some are thinking (or even saying) “What gives you the right to tell me anything?  You’re not such hot stuff yourself, I know about your past!”

Keep this verse in your heart and press on.  Let those slings and arrows of others bounce off your armor of God, you have a new life in Christ, my friend.  Hear the word of the Lord, through the Apostle Paul:

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”       Philippians 3:12

Don’t be discouraged, don’t give up – pray for them as you continue following the call God put on your own life, through the Holy Spirit, and confirmation from others.

What Would Jesus Do?

To know “what would Jesus do?”  Go to the source – read and learn for yourself.  You may be surprised what (or how) He would do/act!

If you are not sure where to find the record of Jesus’s words and actions, find a Bible translation you can understand, then look through the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as a good start.

To go deeper, look through other scriptures to see what was said about Jesus – both before and after He physically walked the earth.  If questions arise as you study, find a person mature in faith to talk with, perhaps even to mentor you – it’s fascinating to have these discussions!

National Flags at Church

Greetings and peace in the name of the Lord.  (see scriptural references at the end of this essay.)per

I respect the enthusiasm many people have for displaying their patriotic flags.  In this article, I am only focusing on the issue of whether or not it’s appropriate to fly any national flags inside or outside a church.

I have prayed, studied the scriptures, and sought God’s guidance on the issue of flying a national flag at a house of worship.  I share here some points that speak to my heart.  I love my country and I’m grateful that God chose for me to be born here, it’s given me advantages I wouldn’t have elsewhere – especially freedom of religion.  Our current socio-political climate is such that we are in serious danger of even losing that freedom now.

We Christ-followers need to bear the blame for some of this shift, we have not always done well at loving our “enemies” (however that word is defined), or loving those we believe to be sinners, even within our own congregations.  We can do better, with God’s help and a big helping of humility “…they will know we are Christian by our love…”   [see John 13:35, below]

This essay is not about patriotism; it’s about the purpose of church, the people of God, gathered to honor and worship and learn and grow in God.  Installing a national flag at church, where the focus is supposed to be undivided, only for the worship of God, means mixing nationalism with Christianity.  How many times have you heard someone refer to “God and country” as if they were inseparably intertwined?

Scripture shows over and over that the Lord was both saddened and angered when the Israelites lost focus on their first love, and started mixing loyalties by including secular or pagan practices (and icons) in their worship places and times.  The house of the Lord is sanctuary, holy, set apart from all other things.

America’s founding fathers followed scriptural principles when they put in writing that there should be separation of church and state.  The state cannot run the churches, nor establish a national religion, as in some other countries.  We who follow Christ, would certainly love if everyone felt like we do and worship God, but we follow His example and do not coerce anyone to faith, nor force them to stay.

As Christians, we have taken His name as our own, and we follow the great commission, representing Him to the world.  God loves all His people, not just one country, ethnicity, political persuasion, or people-group.  How strong is our commitment to Christ’s great commission for His followers?  Perhaps a truly missions-minded church could consider flying many nations’ flags, to remind everyone that the world is full of God’s people and we are to love them all, like God does.

A final note about National flags at churches who also fly the “Christian” flag.  Is the Church “under America” or is America “one nation under God”?  To follow American flag protocol, It implies that country is more important than God, when the national flag is flown higher than the so-called Christian flag.  How does God view our agreement to hold “flag protocol” as an authority higher than God.

If you disagree, I bear you no ill will for holding a different position from mine.  I pledge myself to seek the Lord’s will and live counter-culturally when the culture is in opposition to scripture.  Jesus was radically counter-cultural and He asks for the same from us, sisters and brothers.

Peace, RevDonnaH

SOME OF THE SEVERAL SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES FOR THIS TOPIC:

Exodus 20:3  “Thou shall have no other gods before me.”  [MY NOTE:  I wonder if God would consider the flag to be an idol? Even if He approved of having just one nation’s flag flown at His house of worship, how would He most likely feel about the national flag being larger and higher than the one that is supposed to represent the Christian faith?]

John 13:35    “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Acts 5:29   “We must obey God rather than men!”  [MY NOTE:  We pledge allegiance only to him.]

Romans 2:11   “For God does not show favoritism.”

Romans 12:2    “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Colossians 3:10-12     “10and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him– 11a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. 12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;”

Galatians 3:28    “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 2:3-4     3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.     [MY NOTE:  Paul is telling Christians to please God, our Commanding Officer, rather than people.]

1 Peter 1:17     17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 2:13-17     13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.   [MY NOTE:  We are instructed to submit to the governing authorities where we live, but we are not instructed to hold them as above God.]