Garage Sale Sorting

[From 5-18-15]

"You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us."

(2 Corinthians 9:11)

This Saturday we're having a garage sale.  After 15 years of living in the same place, we need to get rid of a fair amount of "stuff" we're no longer actively using (and thus, it has been collecting dust in some corner of some room in our house for years!).  

As I'm getting ready for Saturday, I'm going through items one by one.  Some things bring to mind a particular person that I'd like to give it to: certain books, poker chips, our soccer tent, etc.  My first reaction is to give it away.  But then greed creeps in and I contemplate how much it could fetch if I put it up for sale at the garage sale on Saturday?!?!

In the end, I think I'll give much of it away to friends, after all.  People have been SO GENEROUS to us over the years.  It's such a joy to bless people with something they'll use and appreciate.  

Paul reminds us of this truth in his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth.  They'd pledged to give money to help the "home church" in Jerusalem.  He's now reminding them of the blessings that come from living lives of generosity.  May I keep learning from that.

Letters of Recommendation

"Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?  Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts."

(2 Corinthians 3:1-3)

It's scholarship season for many high school and college students.  I write a fair amount of letters of recommendation every year.  Committees need letter of rec, so they can get a better sense of the candidate applying for their grants.  A well-written letter can be the difference in a person's application that separates him/her from the rest of the pack.

Paul knew about letter of recommendation.  How important they can be in many situations.  But he saw something even greater - the testimony of another person's life - especially in relationship to his own life!  Paul loved the church in Corinth.  They'd lived together, loved, laughed, cried, & struggled.  But through it all, they were one!  One body... one spirit... one Lord among them.  Want to know what Paul was like?  Look at the people of Corinth.  They reflected Paul & his ministry.  Paul didn't need any official letters from folks telling him how good of a pastor he was.  No. Those relationships were already written on his heart in indelible ink, for all the world to see!

I kind of feel like this is what I'm going through now.  As I get ready to depart, I know I've been shaped by the people of Aiea UMC.  I know I've helped shape them, too.  Do you want to know what our ministry was like together?  Just look at the people.  They're my letters of recommendation!  People who laugh, love, care, commit, reach out, and feel for one another.  Because that's the work of the Spirit in all of us.  That's what we've tried to do together.

Will I be successful in Palmdale?  Who knows.  Personally, I don't think God calls us to be "successful."  I think God calls us to be faithful.  Will my ministry with the people of Palmdale be fruitful?  I sure hope & pray that is so.  But I don't need any "official" letters of recommendation from our denomination to tell me how well I did at Aiea UMC.  Those letters of rec are already written on my heart... and on the hearts of those who make up our ohana.

Thank you, everyone.

Long enough.

"The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.  Resume your journey...'"

(Deuteronomy 1:6-7a)

15 years is a long time.  I've never lived in one place longer than I've lived here in Aiea.  So much goodness has taken place here.  My children have grown up here (Ezra from 1st grade though high school; Emily from preschool through high school).  I've grown as a pastor, follower of Jesus, husband, father, and friend.  I've rediscovered the power of Scripture to speak into my life.  My marriage has grown.  I've developed hobbies (painting & photography) that will carry me through my life.  It's been an amazing 15 years.  And this chapter now comes to a close on June 30.

Moses led the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the Wilderness.  It was both amazing and frustrating at the same time.  God's presence & power was amazing!  The peoples' grumbling and dissatisfaction with the lack of "amenities" was frustrating.

Then they hit Mount Horeb.  The place where God spoke to them.  They experienced God's voice and presence in a real & powerful way.  They received "the Law" (including the 10 Commandments).  Sure, there was that unfortunate golden-calf incident, but for the most part this was an oasis to them in a sea of uncertainty.  And now it's time to go.

"You have stayed long enough on this mountain," God says.  Long enough.  What needed to happen has happened.  Rest and rejuvenation has taken place.  A strong foundation has been laid.  Now it's time to "resume your journey."

I was very surprised when my DS called to say I should expect another DS's call.  I knew that meant I was moving.  Out of Hawaii.  It was a difficult prospect to imagine I'd have to "leave the mountain" of Aiea (and Hawaii, for that matter).  I have stayed long enough.  I have given and received what God intended for me.  I have grown and been stretched.  I have loved, and loved, and loved... and cried with a community of faith, as situations arose.

I will not leave this mountain the same as how I came.  I am a completely different (renewed!) person.  Praise God!

It's time to resume my journey.

"Watergate?"

"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water.  Thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock."

(Numbers 20:7-8)

It's an interesting story, this one.  The people are thirsty.  There's no water.  They're grumbling.  Again.  God gives Moses a way out - a way to provide for the needs of the people.  Moses does that.  But not exactly the way God asked him to.  So he got scolded.  It's a curious story.

The peculiarities of what went wrong are this: Moses was told to command the rock to yield water.  Instead, he used the infamous staff (ala 10 Plagues & Red Sea fame) and hit the rock.  Twice. 

So was the original plan more God-honoring (meaning the people would know the water was a gift from God with mere words, but might attribute the precision of the hitting to Moses' doing)?  Or was it simply the fact that they didn't follow God's commands explicitly?

But there's one other factor: the words spoken by Moses.  "Listen you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" (v.10).   Could it be Moses was taking all the credit for this gift of water here, giving none to God?  This could be a far greater sin.  I know how easy it is to assume all the blessings in life come from hard work and personal "talent".  WRONG!  It's all from God.  As a pastor, I need to make sure that I give God the credit for all of the success and blessings in my ministry.  It's really not about me at all.  It's about God.  Period.

Palmdale House Search

[From April 27, 2015]

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations."

(Psalm 90:1)

Jody & I got back from a trip where we spent 3 days in Palmdale, CA last week.  Though I wasn't able to get together with many of the Palmdale UMC members (our Conference asks that pastors who are moving severely limit contact with the new church prior to July 1), we did get to look for a house to rent.  Rev. Jim Powell (the current PUMC pastor) and his lovely wife, Stephanie, were very gracious hosts and helped us in this endeavor.

Jim drove us around and gave us a whirlwind tour of the Palmdale community.  He showed us areas he thought would be good for us to live in (and some areas we should probably think twice about before choosing). 

Then we saw some 3-bedroom places... some 4-bedroom places... even a 5-bedroom house (though a couple of the bedrooms in that home were super-small!).  A few of the places showed great promise & potential.  But none appeared to be 'the one' (Jody said we'd know it when we walked in!).

We won't be back before July 1.  We may or may not find a place by then.  But Psalm 90 reminds me not to worry.  GOD IS OUR HOME.  We'll be fine.  God will provide the right place in His time.  AMEN.

Accurately

[From April 13, 2015]

"Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria.  He was an eloquent man, well-verses in scriptures.  He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus..."

(Acts 18:24-25)

Some people are just better speakers than the rest of us.  That's no secret.  We all can list folks that we admire for their oratory prowess.  Pastors, politicians, entertainers... some simply seem to be gifted with great speaking skills.

Apollos was one of those types of people.  The author of Acts tells us that he was a native of Alexandria, well-versed in Scripture, and eloquent... who spoke with "burning enthusiasm."  Sounds like all the makings of a charismatic leader.  But there have been more than a few charismatic leaders who've led people astray over the centuries.  Even ones who were "well-versed in Scripture" (anyone remember Jim Jones?!?).

The note that I picked up on today re: Apollos, however, was that he "taught accurately the things concerning Jesus."  Wow.  That's a great thing to be known for, isn't it?  That we represent Jesus accurately: His love and grace... his forgiveness & reconciliation... his challenge and call to give ourselves completely to God... and to love others unconditionally.  I'd be honored to have that said of me, for sure.

The very best?

[From April 10, 2015]

"If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you shall offer a male without blemish..."

(Leviticus 1:3)

A couple of months ago I found a small gift-bag outside the church office door.  Someone had left it prior to our office opening for the day.  That's not an uncommon practice, actually.  Some folks are off to work prior to the regular work hours, and drop off items for donation or use later in the day. 

Inside this particular package there were a lemon scone mix, a jar of lemon curd (from the UK, no less!), and a jar of sweet cream (another UK delicacy).  It had all the makings of a breakfast party in one little bag!  I was so excited!! It wasn't the kind of items usually requested for our food pantry, so I assumed this was a gift to the office.  I took it home anticipating the joy that would ensue whenever we dove into it.

Last week visitors from England came to stay with us.  I thought it would be the perfect time to mix up the scones!  Jody assembled the mix as directed, but they didn't look quite right going into the oven.  Then totally didn't look right coming out of the oven!!  That's when we examined the bag again.  Expiration date on the scone mix: 2013.  D'oh!  No wonder it didn't come out right.  The yeast/leavening agent had expired.  We checked the expiration dates on the jars... also 2013.  Dang.

Too often, it seems, we fail to give our very best to the LORD.  Leviticus 1:3 commands that the Israelites give the very best of their livestock to God as an offering (an unblemished male).  Why? Because God give us His best all the time.  But we, as followers, often give God what's leftover, unwanted or outdated.  We justify our actions with "something is better than nothing."  WRONG.  God deserves our very best.  All the time.  No exceptions.

Just think what God might be able to do with our very best!!!