Slowing Down to Run Well

Senior Pastor Steve Thulson

I once heard a Chinese proverb: 

When you walk, walk. 
          When you sit, sit. 
                    Whatever you do, do not wobble.

I suppose it means to do what you do clearly, intently and fully: whether it’s diving into work or pulling back into play.

I have a way of “wobbling.” My multitasking can end up fragmenting me more than fulfilling some focused purpose.  My breaks can land me in escapes like TV that barely cover-up a restless stewing about the tasks that didn’t get done. There’s neither fruitful labor nor peaceful rest. I could blame our driven, busy and hurried culture; except that culture is in me as much as I in it.

Yet all the more, I am in Christ. And he is in me.

I hear the still but strong voice of Jesus say “Come to me and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:29). He gives a deep rest even as we also take up his “yoke” of actively working with him, and take up our “crosses” of sharing in his suffering that’s redemptive. He leads us into work and rest that’s not “wobbling.” As we hear the Apostle Paul say: “Whatever you do… do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Colossians 3:17). That’s a way of saying “Do all you do in the presence of Jesus – with him, not just for him, much less apart from him.

Part of our church family’s focus this Fall and beyond is slowing down to run well. That’s not about being slow because you don’t run well – even if that’s the literal case for some us now! It’s growing into a freedom to let God run the universe and find peace in the place you get within that – no more, no less. It’s finding a pace – sometimes moving fast, sometimes being absolutely still – that’s “in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). In the words of Eugene Peterson paraphrasing Jesus, it’s learning  “the unforced rhythms of grace” (Matthew 11:30 in The Message).  

By his grace, that’s the “run” Jesus has me on. How about you?

Joy In Anything?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  James 1:2 (NIV)

Two weeks ago Pastor Steve's sermon,"Between Plan A...and Unplanned Z" (click here to listen) brought us to think about all that was going on when Paul and Silas visited Philippi.(Acts 16)  All of their plans A,B,and C were disrupted by unplanned X,Y,Z, which became God's plans.  The sharing at the end of worship was remarkable - example after example was given of God redeeming our failed plans (with the pain and frustration those failed plans caused) to bring good and glory to Himself.

I have been there many times: times where hopes and dreams did not play out as I planned.  Yet, I experienced God's faithfulness as a love gift from the Father to bring hope.  Jeremiah 29:11 came to life over and over again as I let go of my plans and embraced what God was doing.  I could see God's plan for me was not to harm me but to bring me "hope and a future."

But now back to where I started.  James 1:2 says to consider it pure joy whenever I face trials - when every failed plan A,B or C occurs.  That's hard.  I can say I love God, and I do.  I can say I trust God, and I do.  But to consider it pure joy, PURE JOY, to walk through the confusion and hardship as a result of the trials and failed plans?  James goes on to give the outcomes .  Trials lead to faith tested.  Faith tested leads to perseverance.  Perseverance leads to my becoming mature and complete, not lacking anything. In other words, it leads me to become more and more like Jesus.  When put that way, I can consider it pure joy when I come face to face with any trial.

Do your work in me, Lord; in us all.

“Mary!”

Pastor of Worship and Staff, David Dillon

As a seasoned substitute teacher my wife Heather has learned, within five minutes of entering a new classroom, which students' names she needs to know. See, there is power in knowing a person’s name, which is easily observed when a disruptive student hears their name and now knows their cover has been blown and anonymity is no more!

Of course there is a positive side to this too. Knowing a person’s name is honoring to them and often the first step toward a relationship. Hearing your name lovingly spoken by a spouse or parent allows you to rest in the familiar and comfortable place of I belong and I am valued.

In John 20 a broken-hearted Mary unexpectedly hears her name called out by the risen Jesus. Confusion, joy, wonder, and amazement must have simultaneously bombarded her thoughts. Hadn’t she seen him dead on the cross? But now, just as real and palpable as the stone that no longer covers his tomb, she hears, “Mary!” Oswald Chambers notes that she immediately recognized a personal history with the one who spoke. Everything he had done and said to her suddenly became even more true.

Can you recall times when your heart’s ear has heard Jesus call your name? What was that like? What about now - do you hear Him lovingly speak it?

Sometimes, like Mary, I think he speaks our name after a time of silence to surprise us and remind us that we do have a history with Him. During those silent times we can have a well-founded hope of that coming surprise. Other times we may wonder if there is just too much earwax in the way of really hearing him and we doubt his unique love for us. Then there are those times when we experience an ongoing intimate connection with him. In God’s economy, all of these seasons can be used by him to deepen our love for Him.

No matter where you find yourself on the continuum, Scripture assures us of his love for each of us. As the perfect Father, there is nothing that he desires more than to be intimately involved in each of his children’s lives. Isaiah 49:15 puts it like this: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

Because he knows you by name.

Today

Senior Pastor, Steve Thulson

 Our church family just lost a gift from God. His name was Bob Jepsen. On July 22, he succumbed to cancer, diagnosed just a few weeks before his death at the age of eighty. About nine years ago, Bob became one of our very first deaf attenders. He rarely missed a Sunday. Complementing his strong rugged physique – with big mustache and sideburns – was his childlike innocence, even “sweetness.” We’ll miss him.

Bob’s daughter Renee says he never tired of telling her and everyone else to remember this:

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

We’ve all heard that line. Maybe so many times, you might even yawn or roll your eyes. And yet it’s undeniably true. And more than a thin greeting card cliché, it can carry a weighty reminder with a hope-giving invitation.

Bob Jepsen

Think about “today.” Yet one more revolution of the earth: 86,400 seconds – each a flicker of “present” that’s simply the rush of an unlived future into an irretrievable past. Yet that elusive sense of “now” can be seen not merely as a flicker of ticks on the clock, but as a flow of life. The river of “now” can be seen as an ongoing gift from God whose great love and unfailing compassions “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). Each fleeting moment holds his infinite Presence and his ability to use our pasts and direct our futures for his glory, others’ good and our own joy.  

A man who seemed to have wasted his life was slowly dying in excruciating pain by inhumane execution. His “today” was the worst of all his days. Next to him, dying, was Jesus who turned and spoke. What was said totally redefined and redirected the man’s present: “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

“Today… with me.”

Today is probably not dying day for you. It probably does not seem a whole lot different from a thousand other days. Yet it’s a “first.” It’s “new.” If you’ll trust and welcome the risen Jesus, this is a day filled with him.