Pastor Tom's Journal

  Christ in You; Hope of Glory Riches of his mystery, Struggling, but encouraged, United in love, Assured, Faithful, Continuing, Abounding, Christ in you, Hope of Glory. Amen. Prayer and statement of reality. Epistle Reading Colossians 1:24-2:7 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully...

  Christology and "Humanology" A Prayer on Tap   There is nothing that stands between us and the God of the Universe as we honestly pray.  I need a prayer song and I need it now!   So, the heart has insisted with restless desperation more than once.   Psalm 38 is a template of timely prayer for anyone who has suffered or is suffering. It gives voice and emotion to the cry of the heart that struggles to emerge. It holds a mirror before our souls so that we can know what we may be feeling within.   The psalm takes our innermost thoughts and makes them accessible to us so that we might express them to God.   We do not always have words. The prayers of the ancients provide us with words that we can borrow on the occasion of our pain.    We do not always have a keen sense of what we are feeling. The psalms suggest possibilities.   We can pray these words and feelings with confidence that, whether or not they are accurate for our l...

  “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.” — Psalm 25:4 I cannot see far into the distance, God. Twists and turns lie before me. I know there is a path. I can see its beginning. I cannot see where it goes beyond tomorrow. Yet … I run, I leap, I fall, I plunge into the mystery. I do not need to know it all. Certainty with redundancy has lost its radiance. It retains no power to attract my heart. Mystery envelops divinity and Divinity envelops mystery. Into that cloud I must go without hesitation In trepidation. I shall be at home there, drawn to Thee, By Thee. I cannot tell you what I shall find. Nor can I describe what I see there. I cannot tell you how or why I know except that In Thy embrace, I am known. And the love that has taken hold of me has held me tightly In the grip of mercy. And being there, and going there, and sensing that destiny, I can somehow remain here, And be here, living on purpose. In community of fellow travelers, I celebrate the joy Of another world … ...

Psuedo-science-archeology-history is fascinating fiction. Somehow, I was blessed to be able to have Star Trek and X-Files for that and, at least, Trek was semi-plausible. Now, we are confusing fact with fiction it effects policy and bad policy endangers lives. I would have loved to attend a lecture like this when I was at Tech in the 70s. Keep up the good work., Milo.

Early “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.”- John 20:1   It was early.   It was before the rising of the sun. It was still dark.   It was dark on the face of the earth, and it was dark in the hearts of the women who had come to the grave to anoint the body of Jesus.   The darkness that surrounds us can be discouraging. But darkness within us can be overwhelming.   These faithful women were facing the darkness of grief, despair, disappointment, and were still in shock. Yet, they were doing what needed to be done. They were acting as the immediate family of their master and Lord, and they were coming to his tomb to perform the necessary rituals of their faith and culture.   All they could probably do was put one foot in front of the other and go through the motions through their emotions. Dazed by sorrow, they let love lea...

I have a sure-fired way to reduce unwanted and programmed calls on my  phone.   Do you want to hear it?   OK - I answer enthusiastically -really enthusiastically, just like a recording,   "Gooooooood afternoon! This is Tom Sims of the Sims ressssss-i-dence. I hope you're having a great day. How are things where you are?"   If there has not been a click by then, I start singing something like, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ...." and making up words like .... "Won't you speak to me-ee."   Computer dialing systems are designed to filter out computer answering systems and if they think you are one, they will hang up.   Real people will laugh and wait.   Here is an example:

 

Popular television shows aside, we are all looking for a view, viewpoint, or overview that begets perspective on lives that are otherwise, quite confusing. What do we do? What do we think? How do we filter in the essential and out the extraneous? If everything matters, does nothing truly matter? If nothing matters, why bother? Well, everything does matter and some things matter more in the moment and the secret is to discern the moment and to be in it. Then, other moments will gather around the appropriate poles like magnetic dust and form a picture. And wherever you are, the view will be clear. Jesus said,  "Seek and ye shall find." Your task is to find the moments to abandon all tasks and seek. Just seek. Seekers find. Non-seekers stumble. Grace often intervenes and surprises them - probably because there is something inside all of us that is always seeking. But folks with their eyes and hearts open stand a better chance than the rest of grasping the view at the right momen...

  An Everlasting Love   The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. - Jeremiah 31:3 .   Sentimentality suggests that human love can be eternal. In the genre of romance literature, film, opera, and popular music, the theme is often repeated with lyrical style and sweet harmony. We come to believe that “true love” lasts forever without great effort, commitment, or struggle. The fact is that human love is fickle, self-serving, and often lazy. Separation may not make the heart grow fonder; it may in fact, make it wander. Hard times often drive a wedge between even the most starry-eyed lovers. Many a marriage, friendship, business relationship, or family tie has been severed over some petty disagreement. Harsh words have been the precipitating cause of animosity between people. Even churches have split over selfish and petty disagreements. Where is this everlasting lov...