Clever Free Methodist

  Waiting can be challenging when it involves other people, events, or programs. Does it sometimes seem like an eternity when we must patiently wait for something to arrive, start or end? We wait for someone to return from an errand, for the service to start, for the class to end, and perhaps for your pizza to arrive hot and on time. Waiting can be tolerable if we know, from experience, that everything normally works out in the end. The UPS truck eventually brings the delivery, the curtain opens and the movie starts, the class lecture finally ends, and our pizza arrives before we starve to death. However, there is a waiting process that really doesn’t involve literal waiting around. It involves us living our lives actively engaged, hopeful and watchful that what we are waiting for is already underway and could come at any moment. We are talking about the second advent of Jesus Christ. Many of us are familiar with the first advent when Jesus entered the world in the flesh as a n

  We have heard it said many times that there are two sides to every issue. That is true for the most part. I think that despite a sizeable amount of those whose stance is more towards the middle, we are seeing a wider gap forming between those “on the left” and those “on the right.” Are we slowly beginning to see the “middle” eroding away? The pandemic, presidential election, and the various aspects of the “shutdowns” such as mask-mandates, staying home, and vaccines, have created a wealth of hostility, opinions, anxiety and arguments….to say the least. I believe we have come to the point where it is “one side or the other” with no middle ground. Yet, there is still a place in which to stand that encompasses it all. In times of polarized responses around the world today, there is still a way to navigate the uncharted waters to be a holy people that love, serve, and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Despite the sides we choose to stand and the beliefs we have regarding sen

  We love waiting, don’t we? Probably not. Well, now that we have the world at our fingertips within the confines of our phones to talk, chat, search, browse and play games, we admit waiting isn’t as bad as it use to be. There are times when stopping to sit for a while is somewhat nice. But, that’s if we have our phones with us at the time. There are many times of waiting that test our patience such as running late and having to stop for a red traffic light. Waiting for FedEx to get that package to your door. Waiting for the commercials to be over so you can get back to enjoying your program. The passing of time has its lessons as well as its seasons and journeys. In regards to time, I can’t help but think of the One who is the Master of all time. I am speaking of our Heavenly Father. As many of us know, 2 Peter 3:8 , “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” The Lord God is not only the Ma