NEVER ABANDONED

Church Street is the main north-south thoroughfare through my community. I travel it in one direction or another several times a day. Parked alongside Church Street in a no-parking zone, just off the edge of the street, is a gray minivan. A plastic bag is stuck through its front window, a universal sign of a disabled vehicle (as opposed to a scofflaw parking in a no parking zone). The minivan has now remained unmoved for well over a week.

Ironically, it is a commercial van. The sign on its side says “Macro Inc.-Catastrophy Response Services.” ( I did a double-take the first time I saw it.) Either they had a catastrophe to respond to that has prevented them from returning, or they need catastrophic services themselves. Right now their abandoned vehicle doesn’t provide good advertising.

As I write this devotional, someone has just called to tell me that they are really up against a lot of pressure. They feel like they’re being overwhelmed and requested prayer (which I did
Immediately over the phone). Overwhelmed they may feel, but not abandoned—not as long as they have some praying for them and God watching over them.

The apostle Paul knew this experience, but out his experience comes a powerful truth.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing
power comes from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on
every side, not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted,
but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

God works in and through our lives, even in the toughest circumstances. He is working to reveal His gift of abundant and eternal life – and that is perhaps most evident, when we knocked down or off the road of life.

This email devotional is published on behalf of the Church of God of Landisville and its friends. © 2009 by Stephen L Dunn. All rights reserved. Email subscription matters should be sent to www.coglandisville@ coglandisville.org. Direct communication with Steve to sdunnpastor@coglandisville.org.

PASTOR STEVE AND JESUS

This painting, entitled "Love", is the work of Richard and Frances Hook. It has hung in every office that I have occupied since 1975. It is a powerful image of Christ that I have been drawn to since the very first time I saw it.

A number of years ago I took it from its perch on my office wall into the sanctuary to use it as an objective lesson for my children's sermon. I wanted to talk to the children about how God loves children and to the adults (who are always listening to a children's sermon) about the simple trust that characterizes the faith of a child.

Attempting to engage the children in a dialogue, I held up the painting and asked, "Who is this a picture of?" Five year old, blond-haired Lailah raised her hand knowingly. Her answer, "It's Pastor Steve and Jesus." I started to correct her and then was struck with the discernment of her words. It is exactly who it is. I am a child of God and the foundation of my life is the knowledge that Jesus loves me. The essence of my faith is that I face the world (now at age 58) with the assurance that I am secure in the arms of Christ Who gave His life for me. I trust Him because I have no doubt--God loves me.

The verse that comes to my mind is this--paraphrasing John 17, "He has loved us from the foundation of the world."

HUMILITY

"Humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord, and in due time He will lift you up."
- 1 Peter 5:6

One of my favorite shows, AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, had its finale last night. There were five finalists: Voices of Glory, The Texas Tenors, Recycled Percussion, Barbara Padilla, and Kevin Skinner. Voices of Glory were a family of three African American kids who got their start singing for a seriously ill mother who was in a coma. Their voices and love brought healing to their mom, who was present that night. The Texas Tenors were three brothers who got together less than a year ago and began singing in part to honor their father. Recycled Percussion were bunch of crazies from a small town in New Hampshire--and they repeatedly shared the message, "Kids of America, you should not let small beginnings stop you from following your dreams." Barbara Padilla was a mother who survived cancer, went back to get her Masters degree in music, and sang out of a heart of faith to encourage other cancer survivors to never give up. Kevin Skinner was an out-of-work chicken catcher (you heard me right)who used his down time to sing and to spend time with his family, who were always a centerpiece in his life.

What impressed me was not simply the talent--incredible talent ... Barbara was a classical opera singer who will soon travel the world ... Kevin was a country singer whose voice astounded us with its heart and clarity ... what impressed me was the humility of each of these finalists. They didn't start out polished. A dream moved them but not a greedy ambition. They were supportive of one another. They were grateful for their opportunity. But most of all, they exhibited an incredible humility that never seemed to leave them. The two ultimate finalists - Barbara and Kevin seemed genuinely stunned by their success, and were filled with tears of joy.
No fist pumps, high fives, not a touch of arrogance. HUMILITY.

In a world of self-promotion, self-serving manipulation, celebrity arrogance, hard core drive for success ... genuine humility is both refreshing and itself a powerful lesson.

By the way, country won out over classics. Kevin Skinner was the winner of a contest that originally had 110,000 contestants.

This devotional is published on behalf of the Church of God of Landisville and its friends. (C) 2009 by Stephen Dunn. All rights reserved. www.coglandisville.org

THERE IS JOY IN JESUS

"There is Joy in Jesus"
Reading: Philippians 4.2-11

Why is this man laughing?

Because he's Jesus. He is Jesus the Joy-Bringer.

Ironically, His joy comes from sacrifice--from serving. His joy comes from investing His life in giving others a new life. His joy is rooted in an unconditional love that surrenders temporary happiness for ultimate significance.

Where does YOUR joy come from?

HE'S LOSING IT !

Psalm 78

Last Sunday I preached a sermon called "Working Smarter." It's core illustration was the story from last week's devotional about my adventure in plumbing. I spoke in detail about the scriptural understanding of working smarter found in Colossians.

The sermon was well-received by some but sparked a little controversy or concern in others. "Didn't he just use that story in another sermon recently?" was the comment my associate, Pastor Barry heard in his Sunday School Class. Similar comments were expressed in other quarters. But the gist of it was "is he losing it?" Losing it professionally, as in getting a little careless in sermon prep or losing it mentally, as in the early onset of senility.

The humor in all of this was that I had not previously it used in a sermon. (Pastors do repeat illustrations when they preach in one congregation over a long period of time. That is generally intentional, because some illustrations should be repeated for effect--or because there is a new generation who has not heard that story that is now in the audience. I have three, a moose story and a flower bed story and one about a lady named Emma that even get requested.) No, in this case, I had simply used it with a smaller audience -- my devotional subscription list -- as I was preparing to preach to the much larger audience which would be my Sunday morning congregation.

It is nice to know my stories are remembered.

Stories, we know, are part of the way God reveals Himself ... stories intended to be repeated over and over from audience to audience and generation to generation.

"O my people, hear my teachings; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old ... We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord ..."

This devotional is published on behalf of the Church of God of Landisville and its friends (C) 2009 by Stephen Dunn.All rights reserved.

WORKING SMARTER

"Whatever you do in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord ...." - Colossians 3:17

I am not always the most efficient worker. Sometimes it takes me twice as long to get something done as I think it should. Many years ago I decided to replace the faucet in our kitchen sink. It had been leaking, much to Dianne's annoyance. It didn't annoy all that much--but when she told me we were wasting money--that motivated me. As a homeowner with little money, I thought, "Go to Sears, buy a faucet, and put it in." So off to Sears I went.

The salesman assured me it would be a simple task. It would take me maybe 30-45 minutes to accomplish. Since I am not much of a handyman, I decided to wait until I had nothing better to do. So one night around nine o'clock I decided to tackle it. First problem, I had to find the wrench needed (I had everything else I needed in the kit.) Once that was located, I started to take off the old faucet, only to find that this required me to get under the sink to do so.

There I found that the depth of our sink did not accommodate my short-handled wrench. I needed a long-handled one. Since I did not own one I went next door to my neighbor's house. Dick WAS a handy man and he had almost every tool imaginable. He had the needed tool. By now I had easily killed the salesman's "30-45 minutes."

Dick followed me home. There I discovered that no amount of effort with new tool would budge the old faucet. "Let's just take the whole sink out," suggested Dick (now we were past the first hour of this project.) That made sense, so we started -- only to discover that the sink was anchored into the cabinetry. Whoever had put the sink in must have feared earthquakes or just had too much time on his hands. He had anchored it in MORE THAN 30 PLACES. Now we had to remove drawers, wedge ourselves into many small place (and did I tell you? Go in search of NEW TOOLS).

Finally, after three hours--we got the sink out, the old faucet removed, the new one replaced and the sink back in place (this time with perhaps a dozen anchor points). Guess what?

You guessed it--the new faucet leaked, as well.

After that I determined that you can work or you can work smarter. There is little satisfaction in work that requires a lot of effort and produces minimal results. And there's no merit in working faster if the job still isn't done right. It's not about the work--it's about the results.

Jesus reminds us that the best results for our work come when we work according to His purposes, following His plans,and doing it to help people honor Him. In the end that is the work that will be effective and whose results will be lasting.

TEN POUNDS

"Ten Pounds" (Romans 7.24)

Somewhere in the last three weeks I have lost ten pounds and I’m not going looking for it. Seriously, I have managed to lose ten pounds. I am not entirely sure why. I’ve watched my diet a little bit more than usual and cut down on portions—but that’s about it. I can’t credit five rounds of golf in two weeks because I rode a car most of the time.

Losing weight is a difficult thing for a diabetic to do—even though we are encouraged to do our best. The primary problem is that diabetic medicines have the effect of “putting weight on” despite good diet and proper exercise. The very medicine that protects you from the ravages of blood sugar seems to attract unwanted pounds.

The apostle Paul reminds us that our battle against sin is an uphill one—because the things we ought not to do, we still find ourselves tempted to do; because our flesh wars against our spirit. Yet we do not give up or give in. We do our best to serve God, but the best thing we can do is depend upon God in His power and grace to help us overcome that sin. Growing discouraged about the battle or fixated on what is yet to be accomplished is never helpful. Fixing our eyes on Jesus and living by His power is what ultimately helps.

This email devotional is published on behalf of the Church of God of Landisville and its friends. © 2009 by Stephen L. Dunn. All rights reserved. Subscribe or unsubscribe by emailing Patty at coglandisville@coglandisville.org. You can also find this on-line at www.drstevesdevotional@blogspot.com