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God's Bilge Pump

11/29/2017

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​"It's always a good sermon when the preacher speaks the Word for an hour-and-a- half and it seems like twenty minutes."  Pastor Josh's response to a preacher he listened to just recently.  He went to Alabama for a meeting and left on a Thursday morning.
     As he pulled out of the driveway, he saw his cows.  This set him to worrying.  Worrying about what might happen when he was gone.  He has a couple of cows that might need tending and he wouldn't be there.  Any number of other things could happen while he was gone.  It was weighing on him.
     When he got back, he saw the cows standing out in the pasture.  He pulled up, got the bucket out, rattled it, and hollered at them.  In a minute their heads popped up and, then, here they came.  Still remembering the sermon he'd heard, he silently thought, "I hope I'm as smart as those cows when Jesus calls for me.  That I just come running."
     A fine opening for a fine sermon.  He switched gears and started talking about when he used to fish.  He was a big fisherman and has many stories to tell.  This time it was about a crack in the boat and how they were using a bilge pump to keep the water out of the boat.
     On this particular trip, it was during a fishing tournament, Pastor Josh looked down and saw water in the boat.  He asked his partner, "Is the bilge pump running?"  His partner replied, "Why, you don't hear it running?"  "I can hear it running but I don't see water running out."  That's when they realized they were in trouble.
     This brings us to Mark 4:35-41.  Jesus has been teaching a multitude by the seaside.  It's in the beginning of the chapter.  He decides to leave and go to the other side.  As they are crossing to the other side, a great storm comes up.  The water is rising in the boat.  It says so in verse 37, "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
     Some of these disciples that were crossing with him had been fishermen--just like Pastor Josh and his partner.  And just like Josh and his partner, they realized they were in trouble.  
     The story is a familiar one.  Jesus is with them.  They wake him up and he talks to them of their faith.  They've heard the parable of the mustard seed. (It's in the same chapter of Mark.)  He says, "Peace be still." and it's all over.
     What does all this mean?  God is able to calm the storms in everyone's lives.  It's like the worry over leaving to go on a trip.  It's like the water filling up in the boat.  It's like all of the uncertainties of life.  It takes faith on the part of every believer to trust that God keeps his word.   "...But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5:20)  Believe it.  Believe it on a personal basis.  Take it as a personal warranty on the "bilge pump" for your life.  Yes, God does have a bilge pump for the problems of your life.  That's what Pastor Josh said and I believe him.
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Woe to them that are at ease in Zion

11/13/2017

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"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion..." (Amos 6:1)  It's a warning--don't rest on your laurels--it ain't over til it's over.  Woe and ease in the same sentence should command immediate attention.  Woe suggests all kinds of grief, and ease describes the kind of people this woe is going to descend on.  It should make the hair stand up on the back of the neck or at least perk the ears up.
     "Ease can put people in danger.  Today, people are at ease and no one goes to church." said the preacher during the opening moments of his sermon.  Just like the parable Jesus told in Matthew 22.  It's the story of the father having a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his servants with invitations for the event.  Verse 5 clearly states that the guests made light of it and went on doing other things.
     Here comes the danger part of being so casual and comfortable:  verse 7.  After the servants were mistreated and killed, the father sent his army to deal with the murderers and burn their cities.  It's a parable, yes, but it's saying something about God.  God calls (invites) people that are at ease (comfortable living in their sin, maybe even thinking that they are good people).  Woe to them for making light of it.
     A day of reckoning is coming.  No one knows exactly when.  That's the tricky part.  God wants people to be ready, the devil doesn't.  It's just like the shepherd tending his flock.  He doesn't know when danger (a lion, coyote, or bear) will appear.  He is always ready for it, though.  Knowing that being vigilant is the best approach to dealing with the enemy will save his sheep.
     In Matthew 24, Jesus gives the disciples a glimpse into the end times.  Verse 12 also says that many will grow cold and indifferent.  On the heels of that is verse 13 which says that those who endure to the end shall be saved.  Jesus said it in Luke 9:62, "...no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
     Woe to them that are at ease.  A warning to stay in the fight.  There's a very real war going on between good and evil, heaven and hell, God and Satan.  Satan is a wily character.  He would gladly lull people into a sense that it's not really as bad as all that.  Retirement for christians is not until Christ returns.
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    Linda Johnson

    Linda Johnson moved to Douglas County with her husband Tom 12 years ago after retiring from teaching. Following Tom's death in 2016, Linda began facilitating a grief support group called GriefShare through Sweden Church.​ She serves as the Sunday School teacher for our High School class. Her "Layman's Pen" articles are also published in the local paper, The Douglas County Herald. 

    Andrea Strong

    Andrea is Pastor Joshua Strong's wife. She also serves Sweden Church as Church Secretary, website administrator, and Sunday School teacher to the Intermediate Class.

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