My Thoughts and Reflections

As we draw near to the end of the Easter season we also draw near to the end of a season filled with joyful praise and worship. It is a season full of joy-filled praise and worship because we’re intentionally celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Christ’s death and his resurrection, we wouldn’t have the forgiveness of our sins that we have or live with the hope of resurrection that comes to us through him. So what comes next? After Easter comes the season of Pentecost, marking the beginning of the church when the disciples of Jesus Christ received the Holy Spirit and began spreading the good news of the gospel throughout the world. During Pentecost, we see a shift in our focus. We turn from a focused celebration of the resurrection to a focus on joining the first disciples in Christ's mission to spread the news about Jesus to those who have not yet heard and accepted the gospel. We focus on working with the Holy Spirit to grow the kingdo...

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5 (NIV) When we come to church each Sunday, we come expecting an encounter with God. However, do you expect an encounter with God on a daily basis too?  What do your daily encounters with God look like?  Are they a quick thirty second prayer to get the day going? Are they mealtime prayers and a quick one before you drift off to sleep?  Or, are they consistent meetings each day in scripture, prayer, and solitude?  Whenever our meetings with God take place and however our meetings with God take place, we’re still meeting with the one and only holy God of the universe!   When Moses met with God at the burning bush, he was not expecting to meet God and he certainly did not understand how he should have been prepared to be meeting with God too.  God told him to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.  T...

But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress. Psalm 59:16 (NRSV) Yesterday was Sunday, the day that I worship with my church family each week.  It is the day that we gather to pray, hear the word, celebrate sacraments, and sing.  There are so many things and reasons to sing about regarding our great God.. We can sing of God's might and for his great and mighty deeds.  Throughout history, God has manifested his might through Creation, the Flood, bringing Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and ultimately, through defeating Satan, sin, and death through Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection! We can sing of God's unending love that he shows us each and every day!  How else could we describe it that we are forgiven for our sins and that each new morning brings with it a clean slate with which we can serve God with our day?  Go...

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD."  - Psalm 150:6 (NIV) The final verse of the book of Psalms is a call to all living creatures to praise the LORD.  The whole psalm calls all living creatures in heaven and on earth to praise God for all of his acts of power and for his surpassing greatness.   Trees, birds, "beasts of the field," and the fish have been praising God today; have you praised God yet today? As Christians, we have so much to be thankful to God for.  God has forgiven us of all of our sins, rescued us from the penalty of our sins, which is eternal death and separation from God, and he has also opened up a way for us to have a personal relationship with him now and for eternity!  These are surely some acts of power and of surpassing greatness. Not only has God forgiven our sins and promised salvation to us, but he also has performed many great and wonderful acts in creation and for his people thro...

“I, even I, am the   Lord ,   and apart from me there is no savior.  I have revealed and saved and proclaimed - I, and not some foreign god among you.  You are my witnesses," declares the   Lord , “that I am God.  Yes, and from ancient days   I am he.  No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?"  - Isaiah 43:11-13 (NIV) In the world today, we find ourselves bombarded by religious claims from all sources.  Other religions claim to have the truth or a truth.  Atheists claim that there is no God.  We may be tempted to allow ourselves to ponder the validity of our own God during some darker days in our lives.  In these tough times and even in the best of times, we always can use a reminder of just how powerful of a God we serve!  Look at the emphasis that God places at the beginning of this passage, “I, even I, am the Lord.”  This is the same as a little child attempting to ...