Quick thought from Seth

“I am weary.” That’s what I said to my wife last night when my head hit the pillow. I was expressing, describing an inner exhaustion that I have been feeling for some time now. In the words of Bilbo Baggins (this is a Lord of the Rings quote) “I feel thin, sort of stretched… like butter scraped over too much bread.” Perhaps you can relate. I think a lot of people deal with this anyway but particularly these days. The world has changed, our lives have changed, and there are so many people we disagree with and we know that they are wrong-and we are right. We are racked with anxieties – some on the surface and some subconscious. We are concerned about our kids, our work, our country, our church, our health… All this threatens us. Our souls, my soul is tired… why?   Last night, after my statement of self-pitty, Leah responded by quoting Jesus Christ – our, my Lord and Savior. “ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.   29  Take my yo...

Some time ago, I was watching the Andy Griffith Show and Andy and Barney were humming a toon. Barney asked what the song was called, and Andy said, “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood.” It was a hymn that I had never heard of, and the title sounded sort of strange so I looked it up. It has become one of my favorite songs. I was listening to it this morning (Chris Rice has a simple and powerful version of it  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cg_WB09_OI  ) and as I listened to the words, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts with you.    The first stanza goes like this: There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains   Do you know Christian that you have lost all your guilty stains? That the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you?    Ephesians 1:7, “   In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, accordin...

From 1965 to 1973 James Bond Stockdale (yes you read that right) served as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He had ejected out of his plane and parachuted into a village where he was held captive and treated brutally for 8 long years. While there he never gave in, in fact he became the leader of the resistance amongst the prisoners. He kept them strong and focused.   Years later he was asked how he got through it. He said, “ I never lost faith in the end of the story.  I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end, and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”    The interviewer then asked, “Who didn’t make it?” To which the then admiral replied, “Oh that’s easy, the optimists. They’re the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easte...

In John 13:35 Jesus famously said, “ This is how they will  know  that you are my disciples, if you have  love  for one another.”   Jesus says that the primary way people will come to believe in Him is if His disciples love each other.    A few chapters later in John 17:20-21 Jesus is praying for His disciples, when He says, “ I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,  [He is praying for us here, and He prays for one thing]  21  that they may all be one , just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us,  so that  the world may  believe  that you have sent me.”   People believing that Jesus is the Son of God depends on our being united, our loving each other so guess what Satan’s number one goal is when it comes to churches? Sowing seeds of division.   Over and over again Paul warns against divisions in th...

This crazy thing happens to Ezekiel that the prophet wrote about in Ezekiel 37 starting in verse 1.   The hand of the   Lord   was upon me, and   he brought me out in the Spirit of the   Lord   and set me down in the middle of the valley;   it was full of bones.   2  And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.   3  And he said to me,   “Son of man,   can these bones live?” And   I answered, “O Lord   God , you know.”   4  Then he said to me,   “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them,   O dry bones, hear the word of the   Lord .   5  Thus says the Lord   God   to these bones: Behold, I will cause   breath   to enter you, and you shall live.   6  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and   cover you with skin, and put breath in...

Greetings church! I hope that you all were able to have a meaningful thanksgiving in this crazy year! This morning I am thinking about Nascar – specifically about “pit stops”. I read this morning that pit stops are crucial to success in a race. Any given car is going to go at high speeds for 100’s of miles for long periods of time. This means that they will need new tires, their 18-gallon tank will need to be filled up, and there will likely be something things that break and need repaired along the way. As a result, a car will make 4-12 pit stops in a race given how long it is. When they do make a pit stop there is a crew waiting with tires, gas, air guns and whatever else they’ll need to get that car ready to get back into the race!  The pit stop is not the main thing a race car does. But the pit stop is essential to that main thing a race car does, which is race.   These are strange times indeed. COVID 19! What in the world is God doing through all of this? This past Sunday...

  Greetings everyone! Tomorrow is turkey day! What are you thankful for today? Today I am feeling particularly thankful for my friends. These people God has put in my life that I have fun with, share life with. These people who check on me, who challenge me, and encourage me.    At the beginning of his letter to the Philippians, Paul also feels grateful for his friends in Philippi. So much so that he passionately proclaims in verse 3,  “ I thank my God every time I remember you. ”   How about you? Who are the people in your life that you thank God for every time you think of them? Make a list – let them know!    Friends are a precious gift that we must never take for granted!    Friends look out for us, even if it means protecting us from ourselves! King Solomon writes in  Proverbs 27:6-7, “ Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”  Do you have friends who will call you out when they need too? T...