Trust, Trust, Trust.

Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” And now we are standing here inside your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a well built city, knit together as a single unit. All the people of Israel- The Lord’s people- make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the Lord as the Law requires. Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who live this city prosper. O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be with you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

We have spent the past week in the beauty of the mountains of Los Cocos, so once again, my heart has been led to the Psalms of Ascent. They are a special group of songs that people of the Jewish faith would sing as they would travel regularly to the holy city of Jerusalem. Jesus and his disciples would have sung these songs as part of their travels. We are reminded that they are called the Psalms of Ascent because Jerusalem was built on top of a hill or mountain, so they would literally sing these Psalms as they ascended to the top of the hill.

Listen again to how the writer described the city they were traveling to…
Jerusalem was a well built city, a single unit, so the Jewish people would take a lot pride in their craftsmanship. They built a great city to honor God. It held such importance in the lives of the people that if you were “God’s people”, you would make a pilgrimage their yearly if not more often. Jerusalem is where the thrones of judgment sit and it is the representative place for the line of the greatest king in the history of their people. Jerusalem is the city that decides and rules that which is right in the eyes of God and the people. Jerusalem is a city where one can prosper, and ultimately it is the great representative of peace. If there is peace in Jerusalem, there will be peace in their lives.

What a description, what a picture, what hope they had. So picture now, Jesus and his disciples singing this song as they walked up the hill. If only Jerusalem would be what they wished it to be. If only their expectations came true about their beloved city. If only.

Jerusalem, however, was not always what its people desired or thought it was. Look at how Jesus describes the beloved city in Luke 13:34 - O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers.

Interesting isn’t it. Just imagine, Jesus singing a song about the glory of Jerusalem from the Psalms, then in the midst of his teaching and ministry in the Gospel of Luke, he corrects Jerusalem’s leaders and brings an indictment against the city itself as those who kill prophets and stone the messengers of God. But before we get to ahead of ourselves thinking that Jesus only came to judge the city, listen to what he says next in verse 35. “How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”

So what happens now to Jerusalem and us when we don’t let Jesus gather us? “And now look, your house is left to you, empty and desolate.” For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

You see, here is the key issue. Jesus wants to bring us close to himself. Will we let him? Jesus will not force us, but when we resist God’s love and close our hearts, we are left just like Jerusalem, empty and desolate. So it should not surprise us when we try to meet the need in our hearts with things other than Christ, and at the end of the day we still have a space to fill. Nothing will satisfy the desire of our hearts like the love of Christ. It is a very place that God created in us for his own Spirit to reside. But people fill it with all sorts of things. Even things which we would consider to be “good” will not meet that need at the end of the day.

Jerusalem is not a bad place, but when the focus is moved from God to the city, there will never be peace. Are we ultimately going to put our trust in a city, nation, or system, or will we put our trust in the Lord? Will we allow for him to bring us to himself?

Towards the end of Jesus’ ministry he sang this song again. Here is how Luke describes the scene this time. Luke 19: 41-44 – But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to cry. I wonder if Jesus weeps over our lives. I wonder if we have built ourselves up to such glory that we don’t even need the Savior anymore. We don’t need to listen to God’s voice so we kill the prophets, we stone God’s messengers, and we push away anyone that would want to speak truth into our lives. So our savior rides in, cries, and tells us like it is. Jesus said in the very next verse, “I wish that even today you would find the way of peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you. They will crush you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you.

Jesus sang this song and then entered the city in a Triumphal Entry. The people were so excited that they threw their coats at his feet and waved palm branches in the air. They thought Jesus came back to restore their city, they thought that Jesus came to restore their nation, they thought wrong. Jesus came to restore their hearts. Jesus came to restore their lives. But many then and still today, “reject the opportunity God is offering.” Today, for us, let it not be so. God is offering each one of us an opportunity to recognize the peace that he gives. He is offering us a life that is lived close to Jesus where he can bring us to himself. God is offering salvation to us today. God is offering his grace which is free to all. We must trust him. We must not resist. We must not reject him.

There is a song that says, “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I have proved him over and over. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus; O for grace to trust you more." Trust Him today.

New Artist on the Rise

If you haven't heard of him yet, then you must listen to William Fitzsimmons. He is truly one of the greatest new folk artists on the rise. Learn more about him at http://www.williamfitzsimmons.com/

New Album- Sparrow and the Crow: My Review

William branches out a bit musically by adding new instruments and flavors to his songs. A thematic album with an overwhelming sense of authenticity and openness leads the listener down a path of self-reflection. There is a nice mix of songs, but William stays true to the singer/songwriter genre by giving us at least one good ole fashioned acoustic song. You can picture him all alone simply with his guitar doing his thing. I would love to see this album performed live. His skill is evident on the recording, but it is live that you really see William at his best on the guitar. In my humble opinion, and I know it is humble... he is simply the BEST acoustic player I have ever seen. All he needs now is to get rid of the floppy winter hat and move to a skull cap approach and he would be Seacrest and TRL ready.

Favorite Song off the Album: Tough Decision, but recently I always go first to "If you would come back home." Fantastic.

Take a listen and Enjoy!

Sermon Series-

When God Speaks

Sermon Series: St. Peter's UMC

April 19-May 17

Are you listening?

Thoughts on the Church

Brand new to Blogging.... First entry ever. (I know, I am about a decade behind).

I am currently reading a book entitled, 'Who Stole My Church: What to do when the church you love tries to enter the 21st Century.'

It has been very interesting so far, and I can't comment too much because I haven't finished it yet, but let me make a comment or two just on the title...

This is where we find ourselves today isn't it... at least in some mainline denominations.
We are so concerned about the church that we forget to be the church. Why does the church exist? Who does it exist for?

What happens in unhealthy systems is that the system loses its vision. There is no longer a problem to solve or a need to meet. So the system begins to run simply out of the basis and context of the past operating systems. 'We do things this way and for this reason', but it seems that no one can accurately explain why. Emotional attachments are made with the people in the system and they begin to fall in love with the way things were, or the way they still want things to be now. They want church to be for them today what it was for them yesterday. But the problem is... what about the church of tomorrow. And here then lies part of the issue to address: Church isn't working for the younger generation anymore. They don't want what they had as a child. They don't want what their parents or grandparents have. They want their own way to express and define Christian Community.

So we as a church already in the 21st Century, try to move there. We are about 20-30 years behind the curve. Healthy organizations have some form of updating or change every quarter to year, while we only have a change when there is a new pastor.

But look at the title again: Who stole? my? church?
Stole: People feel that the church is being taken out from under them, and you know what... they are right. If you have failed to do anything to meet the need in a community or to be who God has called the church to be, then I am all for church stealing. If someone won't take the necessary steps to do what has to be done, then someone will.
My: Is it yours... really? Come on.

These are just a few thoughts. The book is really interesting though and I encourage you to read it, because your mainline parishioners are either reading it themselves, or they are saying it.

Take care,