Putting on a New Heart

At the end of Monday’s posting, I suggested that if we center our thoughts on God and our love for Him and Him alone, rather than on the “things” God could do for us, our hearts might be enlarged and transformed in new ways.  Well, that got me to thinking about a fictional character that we all know who suffered from a small heart:  the Grinch.  Now I know Christmas is another three months away, but the message from Dr. Seuss’ classic Christmas tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, has a life message that I think transcends the Christmas season. 

Every Christmas when I was a small child, I remember watching the cartoon and being scared to sleep that night.  The Grinch was this scary green “meanie” who hated Christmas and wanted every one to be as miserable as he was.  He thought that Christmas was all about the “stuff”: the presents, the trees, the ornaments and the feasts.  At the end of the story, however, he learned that despite the fact that he stole all the presents, trees, ornaments and food from the Whos in Whoville, he couldn’t stop Christmas from coming.  The Whos still gathered together and were singing and rejoicing. 

In the end, the Grinch comes to understand what Christmas is all about and his heart grows three sizes that day!  This “heart change” transforms his life forever! 

Perhaps we all need a “heart change” in our relationship with God.  A heart change that would result in rejoicing and celebrating God’s presence in our lives and in this world each day.  What if every day was like Christmas and Easter combined?  Can you imagine what that would be like?  I would guess that all of our lives and hearts would be enlarged and changed in new ways!

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove

from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

-- Ezekiel 36:26

Watch this clip from the movie version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” in which Jim Carrey plays the mean Grinch.  This is a touching clip where the Grinch’s heart grows and he begins to have tears for the first time.  He begins to “feel.”  His heart of stone gives way to a heart of flesh! Watch video>> 

Today, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Easter! 

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Desiring God for God

In his sermon this past weekend, Pastor Steve focused on an interesting and thought-provoking issue: the problem of idolatry.  Both the elder and the younger sons in our Gospel reading were guilty of idolatry.  The sons wanted the father’s “things” and not the father.  Pastor Steve also suggested that you and I can be guilty of idolatry as well.  We can come to church, pray, sing the songs, follow the Ten Commandments, teach Sunday School and confirmation, go to Bible studies... and still be guilty of idolatry.  We want the blessings of the Father like good health, wealth, a good job, thriving kids, a nice place to live and maybe even a “cool” car.  The list is endless.  We want the Father’s things and blessings, rather than merely the Father. 

Do you remember Tevye from the musical and movie “Fiddler on the Roof” ? While he was in the barn one day he prays a prayer asking God for wealth.  I know I’ve asked God for lots of “things” and “needs” over the years, so I can relate to Tevye’s prayer.  

“Oh Dear Lord, You made many, many poor people.  I realize, of course, that it’s no shame to be poor.  But it’s no great honor either.  So would it have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?”  Then he starts to sing a song many of us know well:  “If I Were a Rich Man.”  Watch the video>>

While we may laugh at Tevye’s prayer, I would bet that many of us have prayed a similar prayer asking God for something that we want.

Pastor Steve’s sermon got me to think about my own relationship with God in a new light and to ask a hard question:  Am I guilty of idolatry just like the sons in our Gospel reading were?  Yikes!  Do my prayers seem to be full of “requests” rather than just a “desire” to spend time with the Creator of the Universe?  With my Lord and Savior?  With my Father who calls me His child?  I would have to answer – Yes!  And, I suspect, if all of us were brutally honest, there are times when we ALL ask God for His blessings and for “things” we want.  We desire what He can do for us, but we don’t always desire spending time with God for who He is. 

So today, I would challenge each of us to look at our faith and relationship with God with a fresh set of eyes and a new heart.  What if you and I spent time with God today just because we desired His presence?  What if our prayers were not focused on our wants and needs, but on listening to God and spending time with Him and in His Word?  Perhaps, if we centered our thoughts on God, and our love for Him and Him alone, our hearts might be enlarged and transformed in new ways! 

Pax,
Pastor Carol

Who Broke the Hummel Figurine? Not Me!

I’m sure you have all heard the saying “Confession is good for the soul.”  It may be good for us, but it can sure be tough to do sometimes. 

I remember when I was about eight years old and I broke one of my mom’s Hummel figurines.  I had always been told not to play with them or to touch them.  Well, I decided to take one off the mantle to just look at it.  I dropped it and it hit the fireplace door.  I had to think fast, so I hid it in my room.  That night I glued it together and put it in my closet to dry.  I figured it would be dry by morning so I could sneak it back on the mantle before my mom noticed it was gone.  It worked!  Well, not exactly.  It worked until the next time my mom dusted the mantle a week later.  Then I was in a boat-load of trouble! 

I think the whole neighborhood heard my mom, as she opened the back door and shouted, “Carol Ann Skjegstad, get in this house NOW!”  Boy, I knew I was in for it.  If only I had confessed to breaking the Hummel when it happened, I would have been so much better off.  In retrospect, confession would have truly been the better option, but at the time I was trying to avoid getting grounded.  Instead, I lived with the guilt that my mom would one day discover the broken Hummel, which she did.  If I would have confessed when it had happened, I would have been given a lengthy lecture, but because I confessed willingly, there would have been no penalty.  However, because I covered it up, lied about it and then denied that I had done it, I was grounded for two whole weeks.  I had plenty of time to think about what I had done! 

I still have my mom’s broken Hummel.  Every time I see it I’m reminded of that simple “life lesson” my mom taught me about sin and confession.  Yes, confession is not only good for the soul, but it is good for our overall health and well-being, too. 

Check out Morgan Cryar’s song called “What Sin?”  It’s a simple song with a profound message about how we don't need to struggle with all the guilt and shame of our sin because God forgives and forgets it as soon as we confess it.  Listen to "What Sin?">>

What a gift God’s forgiveness is to us!

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Sinner - Who? Me?

Pastor Steve’s sermon this past week, dealt with one of those areas we don’t like to talk about much: sin. We may admit making mistakes, errors, blunders or even crazy gaffes in judgment, but we no longer like to admit to sinning. Most of us would rather NOT deal with this issue. It makes us feel uncomfortable. For many, sin seems to be a rather archaic kind of churchy word that isn’t relevant for today’s world.

Many of us like to think we are not so bad, that we are “nice” people. If we compare ourselves to terrorists, hardened criminals or maybe even some of our neighbors, we may think we look pretty good—our sin doesn’t “smell that bad!” But when you and I compare ourselves to God’s standards, we see just how far short we all fall. We ALL have missed the mark! We ALL have sinned! Sin is sin in the eyes of God.

Over the centuries we have tried lots of things to try to solve the problem of sin—philosophy, morality, good works and all sorts of religions. We continued to live in a cycle of sin until Jesus came and died on the cross for YOU and for ME.

Think about this for a minute—the God of the universe loved us so much that He was willing to give up His life in place of YOU and ME so that we could live in total forgiveness. Through His death on the cross, Jesus forever removed the “barrier” that sin created between us and God. And, not only that, He removed all the penalty that sin brought to us —death, destruction, dysfunction, separation from God and brokenness. Jesus’ death on the cross was and is the supreme expression of God’s amazing love and grace for YOU and for ME.

Martin Luther, in his famous quote, “Simul iustus et Peccator,” reminds us that Christians are always “simultaneously saint and sinner.” While we live in God's grace, we are reminded that we are both forgiven and yet we are still sinners. We live with this “tension” between these two every day.

As these famous song lyrics remind me: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a WRETCH like ME!” Amen and Amen!

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Your "Spot" at the Table

As I was pondering “The Prodigal God” book this week, I started to think about the feast that the father threw for his lost son who returned home. I wondered who was seated around that table? Perhaps, the father, the younger son, other relatives and friends from the community were all at the table. We never learn from the parable if the elder son decides to join the feast or not. We are left to ponder that fact.

Think back to your childhood. Did you have a specific place at the dining room or kitchen table that was “YOUR” spot? I know I always sat in the same spot at the table for every meal. And when I was growing up and would visit my grandparents on their farm in Vining, MN, my grandparents had “their” places at the table and us grandkids had our “spots” at the table as well. My grandmother always sat nearest the kitchen. She would often get up and run to the refrigerator and stove so she could get things as people needed them or if she had to quick pull the blueberry pie out from the oven as it finished baking during dinner.

My grandparents’ 100-year-old dining room table is now in my house and, when I look at that table, it brings back some awesome family memories. I remember the wonderful food (even the lutefisk), the many discussions about the happenings of the day, the belly-wrenching laughter, the tears and, most importantly, I remember the unconditional love that was shown at that table.

Check out this sentimental and touching song about family, home and love called “Mama’s Table” sung by the Oak Ridge Boys.

Watch video>>

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Calling ALL Prodigals

Starting this week, we are beginning a thought-provoking teaching series on the prodigal son, based on the book “The Prodigal God” by Dr. Timothy Keller.

Keller’s book presents an interesting slant to this well-known parable. He suggests that both the younger brother and the elder brother are both lost and alienated from the father. One tries to get the father’s things by being super-bad and taking his father’s money so he can seek his own path in the world; while the other tries to get the father’s things by being super- good and relentlessly obedient all in hopes of inheriting the remaining two-thirds of his father’s estate. Both want the father’s things, but not the father.

“Within the story, Jesus teaches that the two most common ways to live are both spiritual dead ends. He shows how the plotlines of our lives can only find a resolution, a happy ending in Him, in His person, and work.” (p. 128 – Keller)

Jesus’ goal in this parable is not only for us to see the difference between the two brothers and the two groups of on-lookers, but to also insert ourselves into this parable. We are asked to move from being a spectator to being a participant.

Could it be that this parable not only “rocked” the Pharisees world in a huge way when Jesus told it, but that it “rocks” our world today as well? After all, this radical teaching of Jesus basically was a complete reversal of what the Pharisees had been taught.

So, as we insert ourselves into this story, we might find ourselves in the same shocked state that the Pharisees found themselves in! It’s hard when we start to insert ourselves into this parable, isn’t it? It may be even a bit painful.

Could it be that you and I are guilty of the same judgmental views that the Pharisees were guilty of? Could it be that we are ALL in need of a deeper understanding of God’s grace and forgiveness? Could it be that we are ALL sinners saved by grace? I think if we were really honest we would say “yes,”

When we look at the parable of the lost son in Luke 15, Jesus turns the tables on the faith of the “establishment” and basically tells the Pharisees that all that they believed, all that they’ve been taught, is actually the opposite.

Here Jesus wants to be in “community” with sinners. That was just not done! Religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not eat or converse with “sinners!” I’m sure the Pharisees were thinking to themselves – “this isn’t how we do things!” We can only imagine how shocked they must have been by Jesus’ words, actions and its implications. This was a game changer!

Perhaps you are also shocked by the words of Jesus in this parable. Maybe today is the day for all of us to not only re-examine our faith, our relationships and our attitudes about others, but to also turn our hearts over to Jesus, and invite Him to “heal” our hearts. After all, Jesus is the only one who can bring us “home” and His invitation is the same yesterday, today and forever. ALL of us are sinners, but ALL of us are invited to the “feast” – younger brothers and elder bothers. The question is -- will you come?

I hope you will come on this seven week journey as we look at some of the interesting and tough questions and issues that this sermon series is sure to illicit. Share your thoughts and insights with me and your fellow blog followers (click on "Comments" below). It is certain to be an interesting journey for us all!

Pax,

Pastor Carol