MEMORIAL DAY

It’s hard to believe that Memorial Day is upon us once again. While we may have a variety of plans for tomorrow, let’s not forget that it is a day of remembering the men and women who died in service of our country in the Armed Forces. All who served, and their families, made sacrifices, but some paid the ultimate price. I pray that we always treasure our freedoms and honor those who have served to protect them—for us and for others. 

Days like Memorial Day are important. They bring certain things to remembrance that ought not be forgotten.  As I think about it, many of our holidays are days of either special recognition (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veteran’s Day) or remembrance (Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, and Memorial Day). I’m sure others could be listed, but I think we get the point … there are things that we need to remember and recognize.

The same is true regarding our Christian heritage. When I think of memorials, two things come to mind: the stones of remembrance in Joshua 4, and the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. In Joshua 4, twelve stones were taken from the midst of the Jordan and were used to create a memorial for generations to come, so that they would remember how Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry ground at the hand of God. Hebrews 11 walks us through history showing us how several heroes of the faith persevered and triumphed in their walk with God. What amazes me is the ending of this chapter: “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Heb 11:39-40 ESV) In these two verses, we are connected to all those people through Jesus Christ. What a privilege!

 

So, this Memorial Day, please take time to remember the price that was paid for our freedom: by those who died in service of our country and by Jesus Christ, the “founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). 

In His grip,

Pastor Decker

CULTIVATION

 

Over the past week or so, the fields around the parsonage have undergone a transformation. Where one field had the remains of corn stalks and the other had grown over with other vegetation and grasses, the fields have now been cultivated—worked and prepared for planting.  Unless you have a no-till planter, which drills into the soil and deposits the seed, it’s this preliminary work of cultivation that makes the harvest possible. It takes time and effort, but is necessary work.

The life of a Christian also takes cultivation—we don’t grow to maturity over night. And, just like the farmer has to cultivate his fields year after year, we must regularly and actively cultivate our faith. To do this, we must spend regular time in God’s Word, prayer, and with God’s people. Consider the following passages and cultivate your faith:

 1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (ESV)

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV)

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (ESV)

Colossians 1:28-29  [Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (ESV)

Hebrews 10:23-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

I hope these passages have been a helpful reminder to keep cultivating your faith. 

In His grip,  

Pastor Decker

GOD AND ORDER

This past Tuesday, Janette and I got a fresh appreciation for an orderly and well-run program by seeing the opposite. Our boys are playing baseball in Kingston again this year, and we went to a coaches meeting hoping that things would be well organized by now, but we found that they were not. 

When it came to getting our equipment, we both thought it would be a matter of picking up a couple of bags each and making sure everything we needed was in them. It was a rude surprise to discover that the equipment was in chaos. Even worse, some of the equipment that we used last year was not even there. Instead of grabbing our bags and being ready to go, we had to sort through totes of equipment and scrounge for what we needed. In the end, we were able to assemble the necessary gear for our teams, but we are still amazed how much of a mess it was.

That makes me all the more thankful that God is a God of order. When He created this world, He didn’t just make wild guesses about how things should be formed or how they would hold together. After each day of creation, we’re told that “God saw that it was good.” And, after the creation was completed, He declared it “very good.” Sadly, by Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin was introduced to the human race, and the goodness and order of creation was “subjected to futility” and is “in bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:20-22). But, still, God maintains order in the universe: 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17 ESV—emphasis mine)

 Even in the midst of chaos and struggle, that Truth provides great security, doesn’t it? As the old chorus goes, “He’s got the whole world in His hands …” While scientist may keep looking for the Higgs boson, or so-called “god particle,” we know that it is God, Himself who holds all things together. Even while Satan wreaks havoc, God maintains order … in the universe and in each of our lives. So, even when it feels like your life is in chaos, remember, God is still in control! 

 In His grip, 

 Pastor Decker

STAINS

I imagine that we’ve all dealt with stains before. Maybe it’s a pen that leaked, or that time you wore a white shirt to a spaghetti dinner, the grease spot that just won’t come out of your pants, or the permanent marker that your child used on your walls or on their clothes... Any of these can be frustrating, and can do damage to something you hoped would last a long time. 

Other times, things just get dirty … and those things are more easily cleaned. I’m not sure what it was, but someone’s dish must have leaked after last week’s pot-luck, and the evidence was on the stairs and in the church foyer. Granted, it only took a couple of minutes to clean up with a mop, but I image their car was a little more difficult to clean. 

But, then, there are stains that sin leaves. Sometimes the stains (we could also say, scars) come in the form of guilt. Other times, they could be broken relationships. For some sins, the stains could actually be diseases. I’m sure the list could go on. Like a bad stain, these things are not easily remedied and can have lasting implications. As Isaiah 1:18 says, our sins were “like scarlet” and “red like crimson.”  No amount of washing, apologizing, or restitution could take away the stain(s).  Unlike some stains, the stain of sin could not be wiped away by any amount of bleach. 

But, Isaiah 1:18 also says our sins could still become “white as snow” and “like wool.” However, in contrast to a normal stain, the only cure for our sin stain is blood … not just any blood, but the blood of Christ. As the old hymn goes, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” He became our Passover Lamb. As Romans 3:23-26 says,

... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (ESV)

What a tremendous gift … that God would declare us justified, redeem us through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). If you are a child of God, I hope you celebrate that today! 

In His grip, 

Pastor Decker