A Blessed Nation

I am a Patriot!

I love the United States of America.

I love my country in which I live.

I love to watch the Stars and Stripes of Old Glory fly.

I love the people of my country

I love life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

I love freedom of religion, I love freedom of speech

I love freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, the freedom to bear arms.

I love The United States of America.

But I love God more. I Love God More!

There was a time when we had the Ten Commandments on the wall of the cafeteria.

There was a time that we took time in the morning to pray.

There was a time that the Bible was considered to be school literature.

There was a time when we said the pledge without anyone objecting.

There was a time when saying something is a sin was not considered a hate crime.

There was a time when being tolerant still meant you could have a Christian opinion.

But I love God More! I love God more.

Most of us can recently recall when our nation was a nation that held Judeo-Christian values.

We recall Presidents and political leaders praying in public.

We remember them asking for God to bless America.

We remember when the Rev. Billy Graham was one of the frequent advisors to the president.

We remember when Israel was considered to be an ally and not a preventer of peace.

We remember when America stood for freedom and justice.

And then I recall that I Love God more! I Love God More!

Our Nation has seen tragedy and victory.

Our Nation has fallen apart and stood together.

Our Nation grown in numbers and been high in spirit.

Our Nation has been struck down and yet bounced back up.

Our Nation has fought hard and yet abounds in compassion.

Our Nation has been compromised and yet been idolized.

And Still, I know I love God more! I love God more.

Long ago the Psalmist wrote:

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! ¹³ The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; ¹⁴ from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, ¹⁵  he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. Psalm 33:12-15 (ESV)

Is God watching us now? Is God seeing our deeds? Are we still part of God’s heritage? Are we a blessed Nation? Are we one Nation under God?

All I can do is answer for myself! I am a Patriot. I Love the United States of America.

But I love God More! I love God more!

Reflecting on Renewal

Luke 5:16 (ESV) ¹⁶ But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Ahh, thanks I needed this. Have you said that before? I hope you have. My question is how often does the average pastor truly get away from the office and the church to be alone and pray? I would imagine that it is not nearly enough. I know so many folks that the only time they get out of the office is to make it to the hospital. I am not sure that is what Jesus intended ministry to be like. To be alone gives us a new perspective. We find that it is one of the very things that Jesus did over and over to keep his head in the ministry game. Ministry is tough. We have to be tough. And yet, like sandpaper on the skin, it will do more than irritate. I think it is necessary to step away so that we do not become too calloused. I share with you all to just take some time for reflection and renewal. It does not need to be much or even very long. Just go to a desolate place and pray. I believe that you will be renewed and will be blessed.

Relevance in Worship

I am one of those people who love to try new things. I like to go new places, try new restaurants and foods. Also I like to have new and inventive ideas for worship. This last Sunday was one such day.

First I want to say how awesome the people of Brushton UMC are in putting up with me. They have given me allowance to experiment, grow and heal. It is true that I owe them so very much. So let me tell you what happened last Sunday that truly opened my eyes.

It was one of those miserable January days in the NY North Country to say the least. The night before had brought us some snow and lots of freezing rain. My driveway was like a skating rink and the roads were icy. There was very little little travel going on and we knew that several cars were in the ditch. It was one of those days where I called several people and contemplated canceling the worship service. In the end, we called off Sunday School that morning and told people to use good judgement as to if they should try to make it in or not. When it came for worship we had only a small group, maybe a fifth of our normal attendance. But none of that was going to let any of us was going to let the weather or the attendance size get us down. In fact, I believe the intimate size of the group let to a very special movement of God.

I opened the service with a special Christmas number that I had done the week before. We continued with two congregational hymns and then had our offering. Normally we have communion on the first Sunday of the month but we decided to wait until next week for that. To continue, I did something that I had always wanted to do for many years. Of those present I asked for three different people to pick out three different sections or verses from the Bible. Then I asked for two minutes to read the verses and prepare. It was from those verses I would prepare a Gospel message for all of us there.

The first verse that was suggested was 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (ESV) ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies, ²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil. The second verse that was shared was from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, and lastly a short verse from James 1:17. I took only couple minutes as everyone was still looking up the verses for themselves and then I let the Holy Spirit lead me where He will.

There was no perfection to be found, neither was there an eloquence of words and structure. Instead there was something raw and beautiful. I do not recollect any exact words only that the theme that seemed to come out was from 1 Thes 5:16. This is the time for joy, this is the time for rejoicing. We have been through times of good and bad. There have been lots of seasons in our lives but what he gives us now is what is to be treasured and shared with the world around us. It is amazing that I can not remember most of what I said. So I leave it to the Holy Spirit to give meaning to the words spoken and the whole time of worship.

We concluded the service with the joys and prayers of the people. Not being able to speak for everyone, I got the overall feeling of being blessed. We sang our song of peace ("Shalom to You") and all went our way.

For some people this may not have been a big deal or something that was significant to them. For myself, I wanted to share how amazing God is. From the voices of a few came praise enough to fill the heavens. Praise God for His goodness! Even in midst of a few we find the relevance of worship.