Following in Loyalty

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Ruth: 1:16

Hitler imprisoned a German pastor, Martin Niemoeller, for eight years. He spent some time in prisons and concentration camps, including Dachau. Hitler realized that if Niemoeller, a First World War hero, could be persuaded to join his cause then much opposition would collapse, so he sent a former friend of Niemoeller to visit him, a friend who now supported the Nazis. Seeing Niemoeller in his cell, the one time friend is reported as saying, "Martin, Martin! Why are you here?" To which he received from Niemoeller the response, "My friend! Why are you not here?" 

Brothers and Sisters, Pastor Niemoeller refused to stray from his convictions as a follower and witness of Jesus Christ. Another story of loyalty resides in the Book of Ruth when Naomi was leaving Moab and going back to Judah. We see that Naomi released Ruth and Oprah from loyalty, as Oprah returned home Ruth fell at the knees of Naomi and begged to go to Judah with her. Yes, we see stories of loyalty to others as well as loyalty to God in the form of Ruth and Pastor Niemoeller.

Brothers and Sisters, my prayer for you this day is that as followers of Christ, you will stay true to your convictions. Witness to others as the Body of Christ, and go in the knowledge that the path of Christ is the path that will always lead you home. Don’t stray from God's path but stay true to the one who paid our eternal debt.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Pastor Tim's Benton Blog: The Missional Church

Pastor Tim's Benton Blog: The Missional Church

The Missional Church

Pastor Tim's Benton Blog: Facebook Snap Judgments

Pastor Tim's Benton Blog: Facebook Snap Judgments: James 4:12   ESV  There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbo...

Facebook Snap Judgments

James 4:12 ESV 

There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

This morning as I was on Facebook scrolling down the page I caught myself looking at posts and judging the posts. Instead of discernment I was making snap judgement s from just a few comments and statements on a status page.

I often wonder if we as a people often judge others too quickly without often knowing the facts, or may I say "the truth?" With the rise and social norm of social media, we have been given the ability to judge others from a distance with the scrolling of a computer screen.

Has social media made us a less caring people through snap judgements in which physical emotion has ceased to become a factor in decision making? 

Beloved my prayer for all of us this day is that we will take time to pray for others and physically walk with them in their lives before we process on what we think of their situations.

The Book of James tells us that God is the great decision maker for the world, and ours is not to judge or condemn, especially if social media is our only evidence gathering tool.

Beloved, leave the judging to God and let us work on loving our neighbors as ourselves.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Tears of Joy, Tears of Life

Psalm 16:11 ESV 

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  

Whether it be my tears of joy at my son's wedding last week or watching a new father's joyful tears this morning at the birth of his daughter, tears can be a good because they represent a heart that is filled with deep and abiding love.

Often we speak of tears of sorrow, but so soon after Easter I would like to speak of tears of Joy in reference to our lives and our relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Easter is an emotional time that brings God's people together from tears of sorrow at the crucifixion to tears of joy at the resurrection. 

With Christ's overcoming the sting of death we were given the gift of eternal life and never having to shed a sorrow tear again.

Beloved, my prayer for you is the realization that we are people of the resurrection and people of the victory. God loves us so much that he provided life for us in which there used to be only deaths darkness. 

My prayer for you this day is that tears of joy be yours whenever a tear is shed, and that we as followers of Christ nurture others in being able to cry in joy rather then sorrow.

This is the day that Lord has made.

Pastor Tim

New Life and a Clean Slate

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

We recently celebrated Palm Sunday and I was blessed to officiate the wedding ceremony for my son and his fiance. As my son and future daughter-in-law stood before God and witnesses I recalled that on a Palm Sunday years ago my son was baptized into his new life in Jesus Christ. What an awesome day it was for a wedding as to celebrate another opportunity for a new life in Christ through our Christian marriages.

Yes, this Palm Sunday was a joy in the fact that my son was married, but the true joy was the opportunity to celebrate the joyful entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Living one's life in joy is how God truly wishes us to lead our lives. This Holy week that begins in joy will soon turn to despair and mourning as Christ is arrested and crucified. But that is not the way God intends it to end, because true joy returns on Easter morning with the empty tomb and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Beloved, we as followers of Christ are given many opportunities to begin life anew and with a clean slate. When we are baptized into new life in Christ we are given the blessing of never being the same again as God gives us a brand new clean slate as to document our lives. Additionally, when we are married, and have our children, we are given the opportunity to begin that life with a clean slate of possibilities. 

Yes, our lives are a clean slate with Jesus, and it all began with the Joy of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem that would lead to the joy of the empty tomb in which Christ defeated the sting of death on humanity. My prayer for you today is that you recall your new life in your baptisms, as well as the joy that Christ has given us to make each life event a clean slate of possibilities.

Go out in joy this week, and know that through Christ Jesus we are not past dwellers but rather his people moving into the future with endless possibilities.

This is the day that the Lord has made.