Pastor Tom's Journal

What will make America great?

  “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.” — Romans 14:1, ESV We sometimes pounce on the weak with our own opinions. They are struggling to believe, to find their places in God’s purpose, to discover some definition of themselves in Him, and to understand His calling. Then we start scratching at some area of weakness or prodding at some point of contention, sanding the rough spots of their growing edges. We discourage them with our quarreling and crush their spirits with our compulsion for absolute accuracy over every fine point. It is as if we do not believe that the one who began a good work in them is capable of completing it.. Paul says that we should embrace a spirit of welcome, especially for the weak of faith. Is the weak one welcome in our community? For each of us here, the word, “welcome” is a preview of a great welcome to come. WELCOME W for We When we are here, we are we and our we is expanding. There is no limit to our ...

Sarah Bernhardt as Mary Magdalene (1887), painting by Alfred Stevens. Oil on canvas, 111.8 cm × 77.3 cm (44 in × 30.4 in). Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent I will get this one thing out of the way: Mary Magdalen did not look like a beautiful blond, 19th century, American actress named Sarah Bernhardt. However, the portrait by Stevens captures her vulnerability, love, humanity, and inner beauty. Now, we can move on. This is Mary's feast day and it merits a dive into some of the history, biblical thought, and resources around her life so that you can do your own study and write your own commentary. In any life, there are lessons. I encourage you to find the lessons of her life.   As darkness faded into dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came, bereft, to the tomb, sensing that she would never again call any man, "Teacher," or "Master." Those days had passed with all of their possibilities, hopes, and assurances that life made sense because her teacher had ...

#Question4Group - What is your organization doing to anticipate and survive a cyber attack like the one we recently experienced? An acronym to guide you to be prepared and to survive inevitable attacks. We learn lessons every time there is a catastrophe or potential catastrophe like this. I say that we learn them, but I mean that we could learn them if we would pay attention, reflect, consider, plan, execute, and anticipate. Lessons we would all acknowledge, but we cannot say we have learned until we implement strategies are: 1. We are vulnerable and getting more vulnerable daily because we are growing more dependent upon technology. 2. We have sources and resources for protection. They cost time and money, but they can help eliminate, ameliorate, or minimize great loss. 3. The old Cold War notion of the domino effect applies to our digital world and networks today. When one sector goes down, all are potentially effected. 4. The suffering that is possible when the network crashes does ...

Mark, in his redactor's comments, observes that the disciples' hearts were hard and, thus, they were amazed at Jesus' power and presence. He sites, as a reason for their hardness, as well as a result, that they did not understand the meaning of the feeding of the 5000. So, that raises a very important question: What is the meaning of that moment? What does it say about Jesus' compassion, his presence, his attention, his power, and the difference he makes in our lives and in the world? Consider Jesus, compassionate and suffering with us when we are without direction, hurting with us when we are alone at sea in a storm, patient with us when our hearts are hard, present with us working mighty wonders. Don't throw out Jesus in your deconstruction and reconstruction. Consider Jesus. Touch the edge of his clothing if nothing else. Great things can happen all in one day. Mark 6:30-56

 

  . Love fulfils the entire law

  Photo by  Chip Vincent  on  Unsplash I frequently see comments I have written that protest violence as I browse the memories sections of my social media platforms. Without doing some checking, I usually have lost track of the event that prompted my comment. It is a sad state of affairs when they all blend together. This was such a comment: As we read the news, we are overwhelmed with sadness because of the violence of our humanity. If we have any sense that we are evolving rather than devolving in maturity, it must churn within our collective gut. We do not consider such things normative. We wretch within and our hearts go out to grieving families and suffering injured . Outrage at the insanity or evil or whatever prompts such deed is of lesser comfort than the call to pray for the well being of those whose lives have been so irreversibly invaded. Yet, we do, also, pray as we act: God grant shalom that passes understanding and the truth that the comm...

Frankly, I'm Too Busy and Broke. We only have so much mental, physical, and emotional energy. If we spend it, it is spent. If we spend it fretting about something that takes care of itself, then we have wasted it. Evil doers, their successes, their deeds, and their devices have an expiration date. We all do. They, as we, set their courses by choices. We do not have to supervise their outcomes to insure that evil is not rewarded or that it is left unchecked. It is not our job to meddle and it wastes our energy. While we are called to work for justice for others and to hold out the way of righteousness, repentance, and grace, it is not our assignment to exercise judgment - even within our own minds and hearts. If a man we once knew to be evil turns, it is because something wonderful has happened in his heart. If not, it is deeply sad, but our ultimately sadness is for him and for the God who grieves for His loss of one He has loved and invited to return - a faded blade of grass and a...

 

There are three positive choices put forth by the singer of songs that have the capacity to negate negative choices. We can make choices in each of these areas. When anger arises, we can refrain from it. Namely, we can deal it out of the predominant place in our decision-making. When wrath seems attractive, we can forsake it. Leave it behind. Give it no voice at the table. When we are drawn toward fretting and stewing, we can decide to stop feeding it; it has no valuable outcome for us or for anyone else. "Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil." - Psalm 37:8