Gospel

What is Your Treasure?

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Matthew 13:52 ESV

It may surprise you to learn that I began Bible story telling, not with my special friends at nursing home, but with 5-8 year old boys at church. Royal Rangers was a program similar to the Boy Scouts, that our denomination offered and one day I came to sign our son up for class. Now I am not the parent who just drops his kiddo off, so I stayed to see what was going on. The man who leading the group was so delighted to have another adult around to help, that he disappeared on the third week and ta-da, I became their new leader!

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Needless to say my transition from, hey I want to help, to “Whoot there it is!” you’re in charge, was rough. Kids climbed up walls, bounced off each other and in general made me crazy. But in the midst of the mayhem when I was getting ready to tear out my hair, God began to teach me how to get and keep their attention with stories. In today’s scripture, Jesus gives us the inside scoop on how to teach others about His kingdom, and He calls it giving away our treasure.

So what makes something our treasure, and who are those scribes instructed in the kingdom? Now, I’ve been to college and have a piece of paper somewhere that will prove it, but what I really treasure is those lessons learned from when God answered my cries for help in the storms of life. He seems to specialize in using our problems as His classroom and in each one He gives us a treasure of grace to share with others. Also notice that Jesus points out, we need both new and old treasures. So don’t get too comfortable where you are because life is rarely smooth sailing for long. The Biblical weather forecast is for new storms on our horizons because each one offers us a new gift of God’s grace. So whether you are trying to keep the attention of a classroom full of eight year old’s, or are having a zoom session with seniors who can’t seem to figure out where to click so they can see the video, God wants to use you in ways to spread His treasure around. So what is your story? I know there are lots of great teachers out there among my readers, so why not share one of your treasures with us today?

Making The Ladder Fit

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22 ESV

A friend of ours told us a story about how his elderly father asked him to put a ladder into his tool shed. The problem was not that they didn’t want to help but that the shed was just too small.  No matter how they turned and twisted the ladder it wouldn’t go all the way in. But all through the struggle dad kept insisting that they keep trying! The message of about Jesus is a lot like that ladder. It is long enough to reach all the way to heaven but we need to present it in a way that fits into the shed.

Between the Coronavirus, cancelled church services and protest marches, people have a lot of stuff going on in their lives. We need to catch their attention in a hurry. A lot can be said about the shallowness of comments on Twitter but I love that it forces us to get to the point. In the same way if the gospel is going to be heard then we need to cut out unnecessary words; make a clear point and do it creatively. We have the best news in the universe – the love of God in Jesus Christ. There is nothing even remotely boring about His forgiveness or gift of salvation and eternal life. We just need to ask God for a way to share it that will be like a ladder short enough to fit into every heart!

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God’s Snail Mail

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Not long ago my wife sent a thank you note to our young pastor to encourage him during this time when our church doors are closed due to the Corona virus.  He quickly wrote back saying how he appreciated the time she had taken to send him good old fashioned snail mail. His comment got me to thinking about the value of letters. Some of my most treasured possessions are letters from my dad. One of my favorites is a Mother’s day letter that he wrote from Europe during WW2. Since my grandmother was from Italy, dad felt that writing in Italian would give her a special blessing as she worried and prayed for him back in the states.

Then I remembered  that God was the author of the first snail mail. That was when He came down on Mount Sinai and wrote with His finger on some stone tablets. In order to deliver them Moses had to lug them all the way down the mountain. Now some snails might have traveled almost as fast! But you might say – today God is more up to date. He isn’t using stone tablets anymore, He is writing on hearts. Well yes that is true but then ask yourself a question: “Which has lasted longer; those tablets or the hearts that He wrote on?”

When God wanted to show Himself to the world He choose to send a special delivery letter – The Word of God made flesh in the person of Jesus. Today He wants to write the love of Jesus on our own hearts for others to read. Though it might take a lifetime God is not in a hurry. He is looking for people patient enough to sit still long enough for Him to finish. Are you ready to become a part of His snail mail today? God is ready to start writing!