The Pastor's Perspective

  "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  -   Micah 6:8     I believe w e live in a world that seems to be saturated with discussions about justice, fairness, and truth. It seems to be something that we hear a lot about these days. It seems there is always someone championing for change for one thing or another. There seems to be more and more people willing to speak out and call out injustices that they see going on in this world. This is not a bad thing necessary and it certainly beats the alternative of silence in the face of iniquity and inequality.      As followers of Jesus, our hearts resonate deeply with these concepts or at least I believe they should. We read the powerful pronouncements of the prophets, the compassionate acts of Jesus, and the calls for righteous living throughout the Scriptures. Verses about caring for the w...

     There is a story about a Civil War soldier who had  a peculiar strategy for survival. This Confederate soldier thought one day that he would put on a blue Union coat and gray Confederate trousers. What this soldier thought was that if he would do this it might shield him from enemy fire. Surely, he reasoned, neither side would target someone who appears to be one of their own. With his disguise complete he decided to test his theory out. So the soldier tiptoed  out onto the field, confident in his clever camouflage. The result, was not what he expected! A barrage of bullets from both sides came hurling at him. His failed attempt to appease everyone left him vulnerable to everyone.     I  shared this story because I believe it paints a vivid picture of the perilous path of compromise, especially when it comes to our Christian faith. The desire to fit in, to avoid conflict, to find common ground can be a powerful lure. One that many find themse...

       As a parent I think we all have had this common experience. You ask your kids to do something simple – put away their shoes, clear their plates – and you get a cheerful, "Okay, I will!" Any experienced parent knows not to get their hopes up. Because fast forward an hour (or three), and you discover the task remains untouched. Then you begin to hear the excuses and reasons why the simple task was left undone.       As a bus monitor, I see this play out daily. The rules are clear: "Sit down properly," "Stay in your seat while the bus is moving." It's not a mystery, and by this point in the school year, it shouldn't be a challenge. I mean we are not talking rocket science, right? Yet, the wiggles, the wandering, the outright refusal to comply persist. It's not a lack of understanding; it's a failure to obey, a resistance to immediate action.      But before we cast too many stones at these minor's, let's take a long, hard look i...

            You know, the other day I was just thinking about how things change when they're...connected. Like, when you plug in your phone that has lost all its juice. One moment it is just a very expensive paper weight. Unable to take calls or send them, even the spam calls can't get to you ( on second thought that don't sound to bad) Yet when you plug that phone into the charger; Suddenly, it's not just a dead piece of tech anymore. It's alive, buzzing with information, possibilities. You are able to connect to others, and others can connect to you.      This got me thinking about how that plays out in our lives, not just with gadgets, but with everything. We crave connection, don't we? To people, to ideas, to something bigger than ourselves. We were built for connection. Science has shown time and again how we all need to be connected. As God has said it is not good for man to be alone (Gen 2:10). Even the most introverted perso...

       Depiction of Exodus 16 We often find ourselves reflecting on moments of spiritual triumph, those times when our faith felt vibrant and alive. Yet, the challenge lies in maintaining that fervor amidst the daily grind. As my father would say, "It's not how you start, but how you finish that matters." This adage echoes a profound truth, particularly in our spiritual journey. It's not the initial spark that defines us, but the consistent flame we carry through life's ebbs and flows that matters most.      There have been many pastors who have started off strong only to be found no longer serving God later in there life. There have been Christians who at one time were faithfully serving the Lord, yet now they are no longer to be found in church, let alone involved in any kind of service for the Lord. There have been many who's faith started out as a blaze, that has now dwindled down to a mere ember.       King Solomon, a man of un...

     Missionary John G. Paton Ever feel like you're surrounded? Not by well-meaning friends bearing casserole dishes and well wishes. Instead you feel surrounded by a hostile force, a looming dread that threatens to consume everything you know or love? Yeah...me neither, well not in a literal since that is. However I have had moments in my life when I felt I could not breath, and life seemed overwhelming. I have been in some situations in my life that I did not know how I was ever going to make it.       But imagine this: you're a missionary, deep in the South Pacific, and a war party of angry locals has encircled your humble headquarters, torches flickering, intent on making you and your family a human bonfire.       That's exactly what John G. Paton faced. One night, the air thick with menace, he and his wife did the only thing they could: they prayed. Not a casual "bless this mess" kind of prayer, but a deep, desperate plea for d...

    Have you e ver been mesmerized by a chameleon? That incredible little lizard with the superpower to vanish into its surroundings, changing colors and patterns in the blink of an eye. It’s a survival tactic, a way to stay hidden, undetected. God's creation is pretty ingenious, right?     From the way they walk, to the way there eyes move independently from one another. The creature is pretty fascinating. Yet the one thing most people remember most about chameleons is how they can change there color's to blend in with the rest of the world. That is probably its most distinct and remembered characteristic.       But what if that incredible ability, that instinct to blend in, started creeping into our spiritual lives? What if, as followers of Jesus, we began to adopt a similar camouflage, subtly (or not so subtly) changing our colors to match the world around us? For many Christians this is a very distinct possibility. It may even be something th...

My Great Grandpa Roy Stonewall Johnson with his perpetual motion machine      My great-grandfather, Roy Stonewall Johnson, a man of many talents— served in both the Army and the Navy, and a serious tinkerer. He had a dream, a wild one at that: to build a perpetual motion machine. You know, the kind that runs forever without needing any extra juice. A machine that could power your car without gas, light your home without bills. Sounds like a sci-fi dream, right?      Humans have been chasing this dream since the Middle Ages. So my great-grandfather was not alone in his desire to make such a machine. Imagine, a device that defies the need for external energy! The possibilities are mind-boggling. But, as my great-grandfather likely discovered, there's a tiny, or rather, a huge problem: the laws of thermodynamics.      Those pesky laws, the first and second, tell us that in a closed system, energy inevitably dissipates. Kinetic energy, the energy...

       "Imagine you're on a road trip, and suddenly, the weather turns. What started as a gentle drizzle escalates into a torrential downpour. Visibility plummets, the wind howls, and you're gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white. Your kids who were once talking, playing and at times fighting, are now quite. You've driven in rain before, but this feels different, overwhelming. That feeling of being tossed about, of being at the mercy of forces beyond your control? That’s a taste of what the disciples experienced on the Sea of Galilee one day. It’s also a feeling many of us know well, when life’s unexpected storms hit, and we find ourselves wondering if we’ll make it through. We’re all familiar with the feeling of fear and anxiety when life throws us a curve ball." "Let's dive into Mark 4:35-41. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as...

          Imagine a world turned upside down. A leader, Jesus Christ, revered and followed, is brutally executed in the most brutal of ways. Hope seems extinguished. Fear grips those who were closest, his disciples, their dreams shattered. This isn't a fictional drama; it's a historical moment that forever altered the course of humanity.      Think about it: what if everything you believed, everything you placed your trust in, rested on a single, pivotal event? That's the core of the Christian faith, a belief system that has resonated through centuries. It's the idea that Jesus Christ, declared dead, defied the very laws of nature and returned to life—his resurrection.       Now, picture those closest to him, his disciples. They were terrified. They were convinced their own lives were in danger. They were broken and in great despair. They certainly weren't expecting a resurrection, even though Jesus had told them it would...