Clever Free Methodist

  Tensions are high. Conversations can sometimes become toxic. Protests. Riots. Fighting. Division. We can probably list more, but we get the point. Since the time that Cain killed his brother Able (Genesis 4:8-16), humanity has developed friction in its relationships and has put prerequisites on the ability to love unconditionally. The last year of Presidential leadership, elections and the inauguration combined with the pandemic of COVID-19, many have become anxious enough to retreat back to their groups of identity where they have become polarized into becoming angry, fearful, and willing to “take sides” against their own families and fellow Americans. Sadly, we see the same patterns developing in the Church. We have allowed the events and the ways of this world to not only distract us, but to pull us back into its ways and ideologies. May we never forget the words of Jesus in John 18:36 , “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to...

  Santa Claus has to be, without a doubt, one of the most recognizable icons of the Christmas season. But with this status of “icon” comes the annual and seasonable tradition of thinking that this holiday symbol “overshadows” Jesus Christ who is the true meaning being Christmas. Instead of thinking of Santa Claus as some blasphemous replacement for the baby Jesus, I honestly feel we can use the characteristics of Santa to teach those who don’t know Jesus Christ is a wonderful lesson about the Divine Majesty of God. It is God’s Divine Majesty that has perplexed the world for centuries. It is hard for our human minds to fathom that a Holy God would take on human flesh. As Martin Luther was noted as saying, “The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding.” That is why we turn to jolly old Saint Nicholas. The one true God who gave us Jesus (John 3:16-17) can be discovered and the concept of Him becoming flesh, can be...

Once again, we find ourselves in the joy of singing the beloved Christmas and Advent hymns during worship. I also find myself grinning in child-like humor as I chuckle as we sometimes struggle to properly pronounce some of the words in those hymns. We struggle because some of those words are either in French or Latin. One hymn is obvious as the French word is in the title of “The First Noel.” The second hymn, the Latin words are not so obvious in the hymn as they are reserved for the “refrain.” Let’s take a look at the “easy” one entitled “The First Noel” as the song tells the story of the announcement of the birth of Jesus through the Angelic announcement and the prominence of the brilliance of the Bethlehem star. The word “Noel” is French and translates into the English word “Christmas.” The word can also mean “good news” or used as our word “birthday.” The beloved hymn’s “refrain” could literally be saying “Good news! It’s Christmas! Good news! It’s the birthday of a King! Bor...

  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...

  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...

  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 th...

  The world seems to be in panic, anxiety and chaos due to the Coronavirus “pandemic” and efforts to control it…or us. It could be both. But that is not the reason for this article. Yes, the world could be labeled as a “disorganized circus” right now, but there is more going on than a presidential election and a bunch of conspiracy theories, riots, protests, viruses and control-freaks trying to rule the world. The bottom line for me to ponder is this: “why is God allowing all this to happen? What is His Divine Purpose for letting so many wild and vicious cycles of human sinfulness play out across the globe?” It is outside the realm of human logic and mortal reasoning. However, we can still ponder the “why” of it all. First, we start with Isaiah 55:8-9 , “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” We must realize...