December 1, 2025
Starting at the Beginning
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
John 1:1-2
The Gospel of John is considered by many Biblical scholars to be a bit different. While Matthew and Luke include the birth narratives of Jesus and Mark dives right in with the start of Jesus’s ministry, John begins at THE beginning. According to John’s theology, Jesus (referred to as the Word in our verse) was there, part and parcel of God and a full partner in the creation story. John makes no secret of Jesus’ divine nature and his part in the Trinity.
I thought it appropriate that we start our season of Advent devotionals at THE beginning. As I considered this verse, I was reminded that we use this verse to begin our narration of the birth story on Christmas Eve. In fact, during that service we bookend the birth stories from Matthew and Luke with words from John. The above verse opens the narrative, and we close with John 14. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” These verses help to understand that Jesus was both human and divine and his coming to live among us was part of the Lord’s plan for humanities’ salvation.
When we speak about the Advent/Christmas season it becomes easy to want to jump ahead to Christmas. We long to sing the carols of Christmas instead of the hymns of Advent. We count the days until we gather in the candlelight and sing Silent Night. But the celebration can also be found in the preparation. Not just the external preparations, such as the lights and the tree, but the internal preparedness as well. Considering in our hearts and minds what it is that we need to do to get our spiritual being ready for the rejoicing. This does not need to be a solemn task; it can be joyful as well. May each of us find a way in which to increase our joy, hope, peace, and love as we count off the days until the we join together in singing Joy to the World!
Peace,
Pastor Chuck
November 25, 2025
Tested by Praise?
“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise he receives.”
Proverbs 27:21
With this week being a short work week, I decided to move Proverbs Wednesday forward a day. As I leafed through the book of Proverbs, I came across the above verse that intrigued me. I have to say the thought of a person being tested by praise caused me to pause. As most humans, I view praise as being a good thing. After all, does not everyone like to be recognized for their efforts? So how might someone be tested by it.
Perhaps it is not receiving praise that is the trial. It may be our reaction to being praised that is what tests us. Do we accept the recognition humbly? Does the praise go to our heads and make us feel we are more valuable than we truly are? How does that approval affect our behavior going forward? Do we begin to expect acclamation for all our actions, no matter how small?
As with most aspects of life, moderation might be the answer to these questions. While it can be affirming to be praised, too much of it can warp our view of our self-worth. If we begin to expect, or worse yet, demand praise, then it can begin to eat away at our soul. If we surround ourselves with people whose value to us is based upon their ability to feed our ego, we lose sight of our most important relationship, which is with our Lord!
When our thoughts and actions are driven by a desire for glory and self-acclamation, we are creating distance from others, and from the Lord. Let us understand that whatever praise we may receive from others offers temporary satisfaction. It is the acclamation of our Lord, that we can earn through a life serving each other, that should be our ultimate goal. May it be so for us today!
Peace,
Pastor Chuck
November 24, 2025
Seeing to It!
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Colossians 2:8
There is some debate amongst Biblical scholars about whether Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians. Some say he did, some question if it was written by one of Paul’s followers. While the question of authorship will never be settled fully, we still can identify the message found within this letter. Essentially it is clear that the author believes that the teaching of Christ is the supreme guide to live one’s life by. In our devotional verse, the people of the Colossian church are warned not to be deceived by philosophy or human traditions. These human traditions no longer apply since they have accepted Christ as their Lord.
Colosse was in Asia Minor, just across the Aegean Sea from Greece, the home of philosophy. Philosophy was a major part of the thinking of people of that time in that area. Much of philosophic thought was counter to the teaching of Christ. There is also a reference here to, “human traditions.” This might be interpreted as either the Law of the Jews or the societal mores of the time. In any case, the author firmly states that these philosophies and traditions hold no value and distract believers from the truth that can found in Christ.
We may read these words and think that we would never be distracted in our faith by outside interests. In reality, it can happen to us rather easily. There are so many interferences that can clutter up our lives and cause to lose our faithful focus. Whether these distractions are rooted in our personal lives, the pull of society around us, or simply because we become weary, we can lose our way. But as we ponder the beginning of the Advent/Christmas season that is looming on the horizon, we can consider how to regain our focus. May we find time in these coming weeks to shut out those things that might draw our attention elsewhere and center ourselves around the journey to Bethlehem and the joy that we find in the birth of the Christ child!
Peace,
Pastor Chuck
November 20, 2025
Bad Shepherds!
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:1
Our devotional verse this morning comes from our first reading for Sunday morning. These are the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. In this passage the Lord is condemning the leadership of the Jewish people. Those leaders are the shepherds referred to in this verse. They have not cared for the people of Israel. Their flock is going to be scattered and the shepherds will be punished for their misdeeds and failures. The day is coming when the Lord will raise up a new king who will be faithful shepherd and who care for the people. This is interpreted as being a prophecy of the coming of a savoir who would be Christ.
As a child I learned a lot from the Looney Tunes cartoons each Saturday morning. Every time I hear music from the Barber of Seville on the classical station I think of Bugs Bunny. Another recurring character was Sam the Sheepdog who punched in and out each day as he protected the sheep. Despite the devious machinations of Ralph the Coyote, Sam never failed to protect his sheep.
All this aside, we find shepherds playing a large role in the birth narrative of the Christ child in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus refers to himself as the, “Good Shepherd” in the Gospel of John. (John 10:11a) It seems that being a shepherd, while not generally being thought of as a princely occupation, was viewed as an honorable profession in Israel. Perhaps the world might be a better place if more people sought to be a humble, honorable shepherd of the people in their lives. May we, as followers of Christ, seek to inspire others by caring for those around us with the model of the good shepherd as our template!
Peace,
Pastor Chuck
November 19, 2025
Temporary Satisfaction?
“Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.”
Proverbs 10:2
When I first started reflecting on the above Proverbs Wednesday verse, I was perplexed about the connection between the sections of the verse. I understand the concept of treasure obtained through unethical practices being of no value. Although that does not seem to stop some people from continuing their efforts to accumulate ill-gotten items. But how does that line up with the words about righteousness being the antidote of death?
Perhaps is has something to do with the viewpoint by which we make our decisions. Are we operating out of a desire for immediate gratification? If so, and the larger consequences are not a concern for us, then we might tend to grasp temporary satisfaction without regard to the source of that fulfilment. However, if we approach our decision making from the perspective of how our actions effect our eternal soul, we may have to adjust our thinking.
At first blush this sounds like a daunting task, considering the eternal consequences as we try to decide between an order of buffalo wings or the house salad at the 99. Well, perhaps that may not be a good example, but you get my point. It would be difficult making your way through the day with your future hanging on each decision. Perhaps a simpler way of viewing this might center around us trusting ourselves to make sound decisions based upon our understanding of Christ and his teachings.
If actions benefit us, but cause harm to others, they are to be avoided. If we turn away from another human in need, we need to turn back. If we seek to glorify ourselves instead of glorifying the Lord, we need to reconsider our motives. By seeking to live out Jesus’ command to love the Lord and each other, we live a life of righteousness for which we will be rewarded with the greatest of treasures, an eternal relationship with our God!
Peace,
Pastor Chuck