​A blessed day to all
There are times when we are going about our day in a routine fashion when something we come across impacts us in a meaningful way.  This occurred to me this week during my reading.  I am blessed with the opportunity to spend more time among my books that your average bear.  The preparation of sermons, lessons, trying to stay informed, and always seeking to find books that will enable me to improve in ministry, allows me to read quite a bit.  I am always finding treasure nuggets in what I read as I go through my day but every now and then, something seems to stand out a bit more. 
I came across a phrase: “You are a trophy of God’s grace”.  As the words sank in, I could do nothing but stop what I was doing and begin to thank God for His love and marvel at the awesome reminder of His grace that was driven home by that sentence.
Many of our generation often joke, or complain, about the ease with which trophies are given out to kids today.  With the noble intention of enhancing children’s self-esteem and promote a sense of inclusiveness, we have eliminated the significance of what trophies stood for in our time.  A trophy represented a significant accomplishment. It was a recognition that the one whose name was on the trophy had worked hard and had demonstrated discipline and talent. 
Those who have trophies that were earned, rather than simply given, can look at those trophies and recall what those trophies cost. They remember the hours of practice, the sacrifices made, and the effort required to win those trophies.  It is along those lines that the significance of the words, “You are a trophy of God’s grace” penetrated my heart.
I imagined Christ looking at us as His trophies lined up one after the other and saying to the host of heaven, “That trophy cost me a flogging”; “That trophy costs required me to wear a crown of thorns”; “That trophy was won by having nails driven into my hands and feet”; “That trophy was won when a lance was driven into my side”.
We are not “participation trophies”. Christ worked hard, demonstrated discipline through obedience, and gave all to win us.  Let us never forget the cost of us being trophies of His grace.
Have a blessed week, Vic

When we examine the Pauline letters, we see that Paul often wrote to address a problem in the local church that was reported to him. Some problems were unique to one local church, other problems seem to be evident in one form or another in every congregation. Such similarity in issues is noted in how Paul used different words to say the same thing to different churches.
Among the problems that plagued the early church was division.  Division in methodology, division in the role of men and women, division in whom to follow, division on matters of food, drink, and attire. Some of the more serious issues were divisions on how to handle sinful behavior and the proper attitude to have when celebrating the Lord’s supper. These divisions had a negative impact on the church’s purpose, testimony, and proclamation of the gospel.
When writing to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 1:10, [No I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.]  His call for unity addressed one of the issues in the chapter three of 1Corinthians. After basically telling them they were not acting in a mature fashion (defined as acting in a fleshly manner rather than a spiritual one) he went on to say in 1Corinthians 3:3-4, [for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people? For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos”, are you not ordinary people?]  Paul’s use of the word “ordinary” was not complimentary.  Other of his writings, in harmony with other New Testament authors, stipulate that children of God, disciples of Christ, and proclaimers of the gospel, are anything but ordinary. I say this not in a personal prideful manner, but being a follower of Christ means we are called to be extraordinary people.  We are called to be extraordinary in purpose, in our testimony, and in how we treat each other.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9 [What has been, it is what will be, and what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.] One of the principles put forth in that text is that we will repeat many of our mistakes thinking they are somehow new ones.  Today, in the church we are practicing the division that Paul spoke against with the words, “I am for masks”, and “I am against masks”; “I am pro-vaccine”, “I am anti-vaccine”.  Each view is supported by things that have been written, medical experts that support one view or another, and, to be honest, by people (on both sides) that should just be quiet.  We seem to be blind to the fact that in our zeal to champion our particular view, we are in disharmony, provide a picture of division to non-Christians, and hamper the proclamation of the gospel by polluting it with issues that have nothing to do with the message of Christ as savior.   We need to remember our calling, our purpose and that we are not to behave as ordinary people. 
All my blessings, Vic

​A good day to all
Those that know me have likely either engaged with me in a conversation on baseball or suffered while I spoke on baseball.  For those of us who struggle to remain faithful to our Seattle team, there is little question that we deal with disappointment on a regular basis. There are few things as disappointing as seeing one’s team lose the game in the bottom of the 9th inning or in extra innings.  Recently I suffered a similar disappointment when in one Sunday I am joyfully announcing that we were free to gather for worship without masks, which was followed within a short span of time that we needed to suspend worship due to COVID infections. I will confess that it can be a challenge to deal with such setbacks.  In the last few weeks, I have been part of the decision to suspend worship services, seen a dear friend hospitalized, had another friend tell me they were choosing to leave our congregation. All this had forced to re-evaluate all the plans that seemed on the verge of coming to fruition after a long COVID imposed moratorium.  I pondered such questions as “How do we regain a forward momentum?”  “How can we gain ground when our Sunday numbers are down because a number of members still watch from home?”  I look around and see COVID fatigue; a few folks scrambling to keep the wheels turning, and some plans again placed on the back burner.  If I were to choose to focus on only that, I would likely curl into a fetal position and asked not to be bothered until we are past this point in history. 
However, that is not what I choose to focus on.  I think of Paul’s words in Colossians 3:2-3 [Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.]  I think of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8 [Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of Praise, think about these things.]  When I contemplate Paul’s words, I am reminded of who I am in Christ and the things that should demand my focus. These things are not the things that cause disappointment.  “Whatever is true”: Among the things that are true is that God called twelve disciples just as messed up and imperfect as us and said, “Go change the world.”  The challenges and disappointments I mentioned pale in comparison to what they faced.  And yet, through their obedience and faith, the world was never the same.  We can choose to focus on our disappointments and challenges, or we can choose to remember who we are in Christ, what He has told us to do, and what is possible through faith and obedience. 
Have a blessed week, Vic

Good day to all,
There is an old story about a farmer who wondered if animals had church denominational differences. So he decided to experiment a bit. He first tossed his golden retriever into the water and the dog happily swum and frolicked in the water. The farmer decided, "Golden retrievers are Baptists". He then tossed in a turkey and it came up out of the water gobbling away. The farmer declared, "turkeys are Pentecostal". He then grabbed his wife's cat and as he got near the water, the cat began hissing and doing its best to get away. The farmer said, "cats are Presbyterian". Of course this is a little church humor using baptism by immersion as the catalyst. 
There is another story about farm animals. Two animals decide to collaborate in a project. The project was fixing the farmer a good breakfast of ham and eggs. The two animals were a pig and a chicken. Needless to say, the level of commitment of the pig to the project was somewhat greater. 
In Matthew 16:24-25 we read, Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Jesus was laying out the level of commitment that those who choose to be HIs disciples are to live out.  He is calling for the level of commitment the pig displayed for the farmer's breakfast.
There are times that we speak of giving it all up for Jesus but the level of sacrifice we have in mind is the level the chicken displayed and not the pig.
There is not question that as a church, we recently hit a snag.  We need to keep in mind that God is bigger than any snag. And we are to remember the level of commitment we are called for to get past any challenge we face as a church.
Wishing you the best of weeks, from one pig to fellow pigs,
​Vic