Pastor Tom's Journal

Let’s reflect on Psalm 38 together a little bit this morning from the singer of sacred songs, the psalmist. Let’s hear what he is praying and see where it may allow us to find a deeper place of prayer. “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; * do not punish me in your wrath. For your arrows have already pierced me, * and your hand presses hard upon me. There is no health in my flesh, because of your indignation; * there is no soundness in my body, because of my sin. For my iniquities overwhelm me; * like a heavy burden they are too much for me to bear. My wounds stink and fester * by reason of my foolishness. I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; * I go about in mourning all the day long. My loins are filled with searing pain; * there is no health in my body. I am utterly numb and crushed; * I wail, because of the groaning of my heart. O Lord, you know all my desires, * and my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart is pounding, my strength has failed me, * and the brightness of my ...

Into the Depths OF THE MYSTERY OF PRAYER Prayer is the human experience of a deep spiritual mystery. Mutual communication with God is going on far beneath the surface of our lives. Not only do we often not know what to pray, we often know not what we are praying. Red more at  Diving In

Mark 6:1-12  New International Version Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.  When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.   “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?  Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.   Jesus said to them,  “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”  He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.   Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.  Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave th...

Wandering as we do, We wander ... sojourners, Strangers in an alien land. None of us is settled. We plant, we grow, we build, But yet, we know, we wander And wonder about that place For which our longing leads. Over Jordan .... Over Home. I am, as the troubadour, A wayfarer A stranger Stepping step after step On an undetermined path toward A predetermined destination. Traveling. World of woe. World of wonder as well. Destination ahead. A bright land.

  Sin Is an Opportunist "But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness." Did sin take advantage of the commandment to create all kinds of covetousness or is Paul saying that sin is inactive without the law?. It seems that both statements are somewhat true, but must be considered in light of the whole body of teaching and a larger context. Go for the point that Paul in making: We are now free, not to do wrong, but to live rightly. We have a clean slate and a new beginning. But what about sin? DO NOT THINK ABOUT ICE CREAM What did you just think about? I thought so. May I suggest something else? Be aware of your options and the forces working within you and take charge of your choices? You now have a choice. Yes, sin is an opportunist, but so is righteousness. God's power can help you make the right choices today. That is the power of living under grace rather than merely law. Romans:1-12   D o you not know,...

  Photo by  Kyle Glenn  on  Unsplash Mark 5 Each of these had an identity crisis. One man was so torn by the forces within him that he no longer knew his true name. A woman had allowed herself to be defined by a persistent illness. A little girl was being defined by a death that would not ultimately prevail. Get Up Little Girl "Little girl, " he called, "Damsel," indeed, a damsel in distress, ""Talitha cum," he cried, “Get up!" And she got up. There can be no reign if death when Jesus comes. There can be no victory of infirmity when Jesus is present. There is no harshness or cold indifference. There is no unsympathetic dismissal of the pain of the moment. Jesus will speak to us whether we are dead or alive and, inside of ourselves, we will hear and rise. Little boy, little girl, little man, little woman, hear the voice of Jesus, "Get up." He speaks with affection, compassion, and absolute authority. “Get up!” You who have fallen asleep ...

How to Avoid Rash Stupidity April 16, 2015 When we act out of gut reactions, we often say and do things we either regret or should regret. Acting on instinct does not say much about setting us apart from other mammalian creatures. Instincts are useful, but are not dominant for us as human beings. The psalmist gives us three ideas that can help us and protect us from stupid, rash behaviors. 1. Know who you are - You are a person set apart for a higher purpose and a Higher Person. "But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;" This is one you can consult about the matter as well: "the LORD hears when I call to him." 2. Know what you feel. Go ahead and be angry, but divorce that anger from your next decision. By acknowledging your anger, you dis-empower it from control. "Be angry, and do not sin ..." 3. Know what you know - Ponder on your bed. That means, from a place of rest and removal from the world, consider your options, commitments, and t...

Kathleen Peterson, https://www.kathleenpetersonart.com Filled with Awe “And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, ‘What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? ’” -Mark 4:41 It was when Jesus brought calm that the disciplines found the space to experience the fear. What they had been experiencing before that was the terror and dread of being shipwrecked in the storm. Now, however, it was a kind of holy fear, an experience of the unknown for which they had no frame of reference. What do you do with that? So, the fear that the men had when Jesus calmed the sea was not terror, it was breathtaking awe. It was that overwhelming disorientation that comes when you realize that you control nothing. It is coming to understand, with Anselm, that there is a God who is greater than anything we can conceive of or imagine. We are knocked off of our feet by the magnitude of the divine presence. We are enveloped in glory. We are struck down by power. At the ...

What was on your mind when you woke up this morning? How has it guided your day? How has it affected your choices? how has it informed your planning? How has it inspired or motivated you? Think about the importance of a good start and plan one for tomorrow.

  Why do we say that Juneteenth is a celebration for all when it applied to formerly enslaved people of African descent in Texas? It is because, when we learn to love freedom, the freedom of one is the freedom of all. We all share in its blessings when received and in its deprivation when it is withheld. On Juneteenth, we remember the initiative  to inform and enforce the liberation of slaves in slavery's final frontier of the rebel states. Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. The date, June 19, 1865, refers to the day when enslaved African Americans, basically, in Texas, learned of their emancipation. The star represents Texas, the Lone Star State, as well as the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states. Read More at https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/discrimination/celebrating-freedom-juneteenth-and-emancipation-da...

"Take your candle. Go light your world."

  One of these pictures is my father in his Navy uniform. He never got on a ship. He flew to San Diego. He flew to Morocco where he occupied a listening outpost and decoded whatever was coded. That's all I could know without him having to kill me. He took pictures all over that country and seemed to have a great time. But those were tough times and everyone who enlisted was in harm's way. I don't think any sailor ever wrote as many letters home to his parents and sister as Jack Sims did. The BIG Deal About Fatherhood It is a BIG deal. B - We recognize the BEST of manhood in a good father. It is the best of manhood because it is an expression of the image of God in Him where he exercises the gifts that flow from the Fatherhood of God through his life and into the lives of his children. When a man is connected to the best God has to offer, he can give his best to others. Men were built for fatherhood and challenged in that role. I - We celebrate INTEGRITY. My father taught it...