Clever Free Methodist

  As we near the Thanksgiving holiday, I can’t help but think of David’s prayer of praise. We find that in the Old Testament.   1 Chronicles 29:10-19 , “David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.   Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.   Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.   Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”   As we gather with friends and family around the table for our Thanksgiving meal, I pray that we will be reminded of the greatest Thanksgiving of all. However, I am not speaking of the holiday in November!   The greatest thanksgiving, for most Christians, is celebrated dur

  I was reading through one of my daily devotionals and, like always, there are those that strike me in a stronger way. This particular day highlighted Luke 15:2, which makes one profound statement: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” There’s nothing complicated about what Jesus is doing! I believe it is our approach to ministry that complicates the steps we take to introduce Jesus to others. Jesus had no boundaries. He was willing to engage Samaritans as much as the Jews and Gentiles. There are times we get so focused on “getting them saved” or “getting them to Church” that we forget the most important “first step” of establishing a relationship . Befriending and showing the love of God by being a neighbor and friend. This devotion went on to say, “God rejects sin but not sinners. He seeks them out to free them from the misery. All love should work thus: not condemning but helping even if it is only with a silent prayer. Do I pray for the conversion of souls?” My c

  We are human and prone to mistakes, misunderstandings, and other influences towards our fallen nature that keep us from being absolutely perfect. There are those times where we may find exceptional achievement, but most times we fall short in some way.   Perfection, however, is not an illusion. It is something that we can strive for in our spiritual lives. Jesus challenges a rich man with such a goal. Matthew 19:21 , “Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect , go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”   Why would Jesus give this man what appears to be a nearly impossible task? It would seem impossible if we didn’t understand the word “perfect.” The word is not implying that we should be continually living without fault. This form of perfection relates to love .   Jesus is literally addressing the unconditional love of agape. In other words, Jesus is saying that we must strive to love as God does which includes exp

  We find a very uncomfortable statement made by Jesus to Peter in  Luke 22:31 , that reads,  “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.”  What is more intriguing is that Jesus doesn’t stop it or prevent it from happening, but rather prays that Peter’s faith would not fail during the sifting. It is a prayer for our faith as well! What is this sifting? The word used for “sift” means  “inward agitation to try one's faith to the verge of overthrow”  or can have a figurative interpretation to mean “to riddle.” One of the greatest acts of “sifting” by Satan is his use of doubt in God or to question God. One of the earliest examples is from  Genesis 3:1  when Satan tried to get Eve to doubt God when he questioned,  “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Satan’s tactics were no different with Jesus during Christ’s 40-days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan will always try to trick us into accepting his offers on t

  We all have some type of device to track time. On our phone. Our watch. A clock on the wall. Some even spend great sums of money to have a grandfather clock to chime the top of the hour as well as each quarter hour. Time matters. We schedule events for a particular part of the day based on time. Our favorite television program or educational classes are at a specific time each week. We have meetings, briefings, and other functions all have a set amount of time they last. However, when it comes to the life of the Church, we have a tendency to expect it to be regulated to a certain amount of time as well especially the Sunday worship service. We have allowed social norms to dictate worship to a one hour service. People have grown accustomed to that hour and now naturally expect that all church services to be one hour and no more. Through that understanding there has grown a population in the church that struggles to accommodate more than one hour. They become fidgety and restless

  There is a wonderful southern community along the Gulf of Mexico in Texas called Corpus Christi. When I was stationed in Texas, at Fort Sam Houston, it was a joy, as an Army Chaplain, to lead marriage retreats in the luxurious hotels built along those Corpus Christi beaches. It never dawned on me about the meaning of that name until becoming an Army Chaplain and getting to spend a lot of time with colleagues who were Catholic Priests. The name “Corpus Christi” is Latin and means “the Body of Christ.” For Catholics and some protestant denominations, “Corpus Christi” is a very special time of remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made giving his body upon the Cross for our redemption and salvation. Today, this remembrance of “Corpus Christi” (Body of Christ) is also known as “The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.”   So, what is this? This is a time they set aside after Pentecost to honor Jesus Christ, who they believe is really, truly and substantially present under the appearance

  The book of Sirach may not be one you are familiar with unless you have studied the Old Testament or, perhaps, grew up in the Catholic faith. Sirach 35:1-12 speaks of stewardship and sacrifice which is quite relevant for us, today.   1 He who keeps the law makes many offerings;     he who heeds the commandments sacrifices a peace offering. 2  He who returns a kindness offers fine flour,     and he who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering. 3  To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord,     and to forsake unrighteousness is atonement. 4  Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed, 5      for all these things are to be done because of the commandment. 6  The offering of a righteous man anoints the altar,     and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High. 7  The sacrifice of a righteous man is acceptable,     and the memory of it will not be forgotten. 8  Glorify the Lord generously,     and do not stint the first fruits of your hands. 9  With every gift show a che

  While a student at Liberty University, I always remembered the words of Dr. Jerry Falwell who told us “You do not determine a man’s greatness by his talents or wealth, as the world does, but rather by what it takes to discourage him.”   It is safe to say, when the heat is turned up or when obstacles and challenges mount, we feel like it is so much easier to just throw up our hands, quit, and sometimes, just give up completely. It’s not easy to get the wind knocked out of you and face having to start all over again.   The same can be said for the Church. When life is challenged, forces bear down on us, and commitments get out of hand, it always seems that the Church and ministry-related events are the first things we get rid of in order to gain more room in our schedule. Let’s be honest that we struggle with making God, our faith, and ministry a priority.   I believe when the first response is to skip Church, not attend Church events, or to simply quit, give up and go home, we can lea

We have reached the pinnacle of the Christian faith: Holy Week. For some, it is referred to as “The Triduum” which begins after Palm Sunday and includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Resurrection. Why is this so special….or, maybe be bold enough to ask, “why should I care?”   Well, Holy Week is the most solemn and glorious week in Christianity, the pinnacle of the liturgical year. This is because Holy Week commemorates the final week of Our Lord's life and the establishment of the New Covenant. Here is why we should care :   HOLY THURSDAY: Jesus sets the example. He washes the Disciples’ feet (John 13:14-15) and gathers them in the Upper Room. Here Jesus is literally celebrating the Jewish Passover with them….but then, stops at the institution of the Third Cup (Cup of Blessing) …as told in Mark 14:22-26, Jesus introduces the NEW covenant by telling his Disciples to both “eat” and “drink” his body and blood given and shed for them (and for us).   I am sure, knowing the steps o

There is, hidden within the passage from Mark 7:31-37 , a powerful one-word command from Jesus.  In fact, it is the one and only word he spoke in this event of healing a deaf man who was also mute. We see what Jesus accomplished in verses 33-35 , “After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “ Ephphatha !” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.” Jesus spoke in his native language, which was Aramaic, a word that meant “be opened.” Jesus uses this word to heal a man who could not hear nor communicate. Ephphatha (ef-fah-thah). Jesus commands the man’s ears to open and his tongue to loosen. The man can now hear and speak because of Jesus! May we, too, receive the gift of Ephphatha? This gift that we can receive was part of the mission in which Jesus came to acc

While listening to a religious devotional program the other day, I heard two distinct phrases from the New Testament reading out of  Hebrews 10:32-39.  They are from verses 35 and 39 which state,  “so, don’t throw away your confidence,”  and  “we do not belong to those who shrink back.” The world is difficult, challenging and obviously bent to evil and selfishness. It is rather easy sometimes to become discouraged with the state of the Church, Believers, and even our own direction of life. The urge to quit, surrender or to just flat out stop trying so hard or refraining from putting forth so much effort has come to mind for consideration. This is where the  passage in Hebrews  comes to encourage us to keep the faith and stay grounded in Jesus Christ. Nothing that this world could offer us is of any worth or value in comparison to our priceless faith in Jesus Christ and spending eternity with Him. Even hardship, difficulty, disappointments, loss, and any of life’s traumas do not contain