Monday Mornings in the Scripture with the Scrawling Shepherd #2 of 33

 Monday Staff Devotions Monday, September 19, 2022 (#2 of 33)

The Harmony Ministries website can be found HERE 

and the website for Harmony Christian School is HERE

You can also find us on Facebook at Harmony Ministries and Harmony Christian School

,,,and on YouTube at Harmony Ministries on YouTube

To continue what I was talking about last week with John the Baptist:

Matthew 11:1-6

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 

Have you ever had a moment, or a month, or a year of uncertainty!

You believe in God. You believe in Jesus. You know in your head, and even in your heart, that it’s all true, and that God is good, and He does love you, and He does care about what you’re going through, and He can fight your battles, overcome your obstacles, meet your needs, restore your joy.

But you need something, a word, a touch, a sigh to reassure you that Yes, it’s all true.

The songs you learned to sing as a child aren’t just nursery rhymes.

The stories of God’s victory aren’t fables, myths or legends.

John the Baptist went from prophet to prisoner, and all for doing what God had called him to do. He had been faithful, and now he was in jail, with little or no hope of escape or parole. So, he reached out for some reassurance, some certainty.

And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, adn the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

We don’t ever get to see or hear or read about John the Baptist’s reaction to receiving this message back from Jesus. In fact, the next time we read about John, he has been executed. But I believe that he got the reassurance, the certainty, that he asked for. And so, I am convinced, do you and I when we seek God with open eyes, ears, hands and hearts.

2022-2023 Harmony Ministries Staff Devotions #1 of 33

Dear Blog Reader,

This is a new series of articles in my too-long-inactive blog. It was originally written and presented to the Faculty and Staff of the Harmony Christian School in Middletown, New York. Harmony Christian School is one of the major ministries of Harmony Ministries, also located in Middletown, New York.

The Harmony Ministries website can be found HERE 

and the website for Harmony Christian School is HERE

You can also find us on Facebook at Harmony Ministries and Harmony Christian School

,,,and on YouTube at Harmony Ministries on YouTube

Each Monday this year, I intend to share with you some of my favorite Bible verses/passages, particularly in the context of you and I being part of the same ministry staff here at Harmony Ministries.

This morning I’m going to start with my “Life Verse”: John 3:30

John 3:25-30

Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”

John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The who who has the pride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Let’s take some time to consider what it is that each of us is seeking to accomplish here at Harmony Christian School. For some of us...

• It’s a job; 

• the schedule is nice; all the holidays, snow days, 2 months off in the summer; same schedule as your children

• It’s a steady, if modest, paycheck

• You’re gaining experience in your field; maybe working toward certification

Whatever your reason for taking this job, though, this is true for all of us: We are workers together in this part of the Kingdom of God.

To be successful, I believe it’s necessary to get myself--my ego, my ambitions, my pride--OUT OF THE WAY so that Christ can get the attention.

In short, He must increase, but I must decrease.

"The Exercise of Comfort" by guest author Don Ashley

The following is written by Don Ashley, my older brother. It came at a time when I, and others, really needed to hear it. 

Click HERE to hear this essay read by the author's brother, Dennis Ashley.

Dear friends are dealing with a new source of grief in their family. It’s not easy, and it follows on the heels of other very raw feelings of grief. I’d like to help, I’d like to give them the Bible verse that would alleviate their pain. I’d like to reach into our resources and pull out a solution for them. But the grief continues. All too often our prayers are in the category of banging our fists on God’s chest, and crying why! Why did this happen! What went wrong! What do I do now! I do want to include a few thoughts here, because in a time of suffering like this—this is where I go. This is what I cling to. Nothing fancy, no deep theology, just a relationship with God that gets subtly hinted at in the Bible.

 

The scene is the disciples, gathered with Jesus, in Acts 1. It's an extended visit rather than the drive-by sightings previously described. The disciples are therefore excited. They sense a big change, they sense that their leader is a leader with unparalleled power.  They get up the courage to ask, "Lord, is it at this time that you are going to establish your kingdom?" It's a natural assumption, and they are eager for the information. That leads us up to Acts 1:7, when Jesus says "It's not for you to know...but you will receive power". How often we hear the 8th verse, that begins with "but".  This is so often the situation we see, or even enter ourselves. What we're facing, blindly, makes us eager for the information, that is, the answer. But the spiritual answer is that power is more valuable than answers. The power to go through. The power to get through. It's a test of faith, because, desperate for answers, we trudge on, trusting that God is aware and acting on our behalf. And in the times we need it most, we start out by feeling that promise as weak. So how do we proceed? It isn't by giving answers. I cried out to God when I was unable to help someone, feeling that the equipment we are given is woefully inadequate. What do we have! Well, we can think. And then, we can give a comforting hug. We can pull out an encouraging Bible passage. We can pray for, and with, the person in need. We have the comfort and support of others for us as well, and we have the Holy Spirit. I am embarrassed to admit that I complained to God that those "tools" seemed woefully inadequate. What I wanted was a spell, or a staff of power, or something else of Biblical origin that could slay the problem before me. But the comfort did come--in the sense that list of tools is all anyone is given, or, guide me if you know another! This list, I believe, is the plan of God. And if I use it right, I'll see that I am never intended to be the answer-man. That God's plan is two-fold: my job is to enter the relationship again, with the person that needs me, but the second, best part, is to remember that it is God who does the heavy lifting. Take His yoke? Really?  I like to think I'm helping, and God smiles and looks that the weakling in the yoke-bar beside Him and says, "See, we can do this. I'm seeing that image of the tiny lion cub roaring in victory, but it is the Lion King behind the cub doing using his power.

 

I can usually sum up my need by recalling a simple little song we used in Vacation Bible School, because I loved watching the kids sing it. It was a key to relief for me—it might not be the key to unlock your need, but perhaps it will bring you closer to the One who says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”

 

At a time like this.

At a time like this.

At a time like this, OHHH!!!

I need the Lord to help me.

The Outcasts, both Real and Imagined (Part 4 in the "Normal Is Moving" series)

NEW! Now you can LISTEN to the author read this essay. Click here: Listen to the Scrawling Shepherd read this essay


Poor sinners, outcasts, at the edge of the crowd. Wanting to see, wanting to hear, wanting to draw near, but not daring to risk being noticed, being rejected.

Perhaps he or she is thinking "They know me. They know who I am, what I've done. They'll never let me in. They'll never let me get close. And they are right. I don't deserve it."

But also, they might be thinking "but what He is saying has the ring of truth. He's speaking in an accent of love and of mercy. Maybe He won't turn me away, even if those around Him do."

In the last few weeks since church services have gone ONLINE ONLY, something different and WONDERFUL has been happening. Well really, many different and wonderful things have been and are happening. I haven't noticed ALL of them. If you have noticed any, why don't you go ahead and write about what you've noticed?

The thing I have noticed and want to comment on is this: some people who for any number of reasons have found themselves no longer comfortable or welcome attending a local church are finding their way back by joining ONLINE. Online, they won't be confronted with glares, stares, or suspicious glances. There, they won't be shunned or snubbed. They can see, they can hear, they can move up close to the front safely and without fear because they are present ONLINE ONLY.

Jesus was often surrounded by crowds of people, leaning in intently to see Him and to hear what He might say, and especially to see what miracle He might DO. The word about Him traveled quickly in whatever parts He traveled through. There are quite a few instances recorded in the Gospels where some of these very "outcasts" or "social pariahs" were among those trying to see and hear Jesus.

Sometimes, they were sick people. Lepers, the literal unclean outcasts of their day. They were required by law to keep social distance from healthy people, lest they infect them. Jesus never shunned them or turned away in outrage, disgust, or fear. As far as I can tell, there is no record of Jesus ever encountering a leper and leaving him or her in the same condition as when they first met. (Of course, Jesus was immune to any virus or illness. He didn't have to wear a mask or maintain a safe social distance.)

Once there was a hated tax collector, named Zaccheus. He was not a nice man. He had betrayed his own people, working for the Romans, and further, cheating his countrymen to become wealthy at their expense. Yet he, too, wanted to see this man Jesus for himself, hear what he was saying. He wasn't a very tall person, and couldn't get close enough to see Jesus. Certainly, his neighbors were not willing to make room for him! I can imagine them shouldering him aside, crowding together all the tighter to keep him from getting close. So, a clever man, Zaccheus climbed a tree to be able to see. Not only did Zaccheus see Jesus, but Jesus saw Zaccheus, and called to him by name. Oh, I bet that the "in" crowd didn't like it that Jesus went to visit Zaccheus in his own house! (This story is found in Luke 19:1-10 if you'd like to read it for yourself!)

And the children--don't forget the children! Some parents were wanting Jesus to bless their children--what parent doesn't want that?-- and they were trying to get close to Jesus, but of course, children are supposed to be seen, and not heard, so the disciples, thinking that they were doing a good job of crowd management, tried to shoo them away. Jesus wasn't having it, though. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away. (that's from Matthew 19:14-15)

There are other examples, too. Jesus is far more welcoming to the socially underprivileged than most of His followers are. Maybe we have good intentions, such as they are, and maybe we can even cite chapter and verse to justify our opinions and actions. I wonder, though, if Jesus would agree with our attitude toward those that we have judged "undeserving" of His attention. There's this one thing Jesus said that really troubles me sometimes: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." (That's from Mark 9:42, but this saying of Jesus is also recorded by Matthew in 18:6 and Luke in 17:2. Seems like these words made quite an impression on the disciples who heard it "Live" also.)

How does this look today? Those people who are finding their way back to "church", to worship, to the teaching of God's Word, to prayer, and hopefully ultimately to God, are like Zaccheus, or the lepers, or the woman caught in an adulterous act, or even the noisy children. To some, they have no right, no place at the feet of Jesus. But to Jesus? Well, He's spoken quite clearly on that subject. Who really "deserves" to come near to God? Of course we all know that the answer to that question is "NOBODY! Certainly not ME!"

And yet, Jesus has made it possible for any of us, for ALL of us, to draw near to Him. He has taken my unworthiness, my uncleanness, my unfitness, my disease, my contagion, my filth, my sin, and paid for it. "Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow."

When this time of social distancing at last is at an end, and those of us who have been deprived of our assembling together return together, I'm praying that we come together with enough room for those who have felt unwelcome and unwelcomed. If I am part of the reason that you don't feel welcome or comfortable in church, PLEASE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Come with me to the "altar" and let's kneel together in joyful thanks that Jesus has made enough room for all of us.



If you liked this article, perhaps you'll also enjoy reading the previous articles in this "Normal Is Moving" series. You can find them HERE:

Part 1: "Normal Is Moving"
Part 2: "Closing the Distance"
Part 3: "Real Connections Take Real Effort"

The Great Conspiracy

NEW! Now you can listen to this essay, read by the author, by clicking here: "The Great Conspiracy", read by the Scrawling Shepherd


You've heard some of the various many theories about why people are getting sick and dying right now. "Coronavirus" or COVID-19 is the culprit. It's an aggressive and highly contagious virus, passed by the most casual human contact, airborne.

Or is it? Is it actually the 5G wireless signal that's being blasted, unseen, through our airwaves in millimeter-wavelength, empowering our wireless devices and killing us?

Or is it a state/military-sponsored biological weapon, tested first on native population before being employed against enemy peoples?

Is it the elite top few most powerful and wealthy people and corporations in the world, working in concert to "thin the herd" to save the world from it's greatest threat and enemy: humankind?

Or is it something else?

I don't know.

I DO know about one Great Conspiracy, though, and because I've fully "bought in" to this one, none of the rest of them really give me much anxiety.

The GREAT Conspiracy was launched long, long ago. Before Time began, in fact. There are Three Conspirators, acting in perfect Oneness, Unity and Harmony, and with absolutely no discord, and with no malice or evil or selfish intention. Their identity is not a secret. They've disclosed Themselves to the world in the personifications of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(Author's NOTE: This is NOT intended to be understood as quoting or even paraphrasing of Scripture--this is just my hypothetical imagining of a supposed conversation based upon what we DO KNOW from revealed Scripture. No well-meaning but cranky critic needs to denounce me for twisting or distorting Scripture or putting words in God's mouth that He never spoke.)

It began, more or less, when One said,

[Overheard in an undisclosed location code-named "Heaven":]

"Let us make humankind in our image..."

As the Conversation went on, perhaps it went a little like this...just bits and pieces of the whole exchange.

ONE:  "We'll give them independent will and freedom of action. We want them to choose to trust Us, to love Us, to obey Us, for the right reasons."
ALL:  "Agreed."
ONE:  "We know, of course, that they won't choose Us every time. Or even many times. We know that they will rebel. They'll be deceived. Disillusioned. And We're going to have to take action against that rebellion."
ALL:  "Agreed."
ONE:  "It will go on and on and on, and get worse and worse and worse."
ALL:  "Yes."
ONE:  "They won't be able to stop. They won't be able to fix what they break. Even if they want to, they won't find their way back to Us."
ONE:  "You are correct. They will need Help. They are going to be like sheep. And so, they will need a Shepherd. A Good Shepherd."
ALL:  "Yes, that's right."
Then the Son said,
SON:  "I'll do it. When the time is right, I'll go and join them. I'll live among them, and show them who We are. And, finally, I will lay down my life for those sheep."
ALL: "It's the only way. They can't be redeemed in any other way."
SON:  "I will do it. There is no other way. I will give up My life."
FATHER: "Let it be so. But I will not let the grave hold You. Three days only, and no more. Forevermore."
SON: "Agreed."
SPIRIT: "Agreed."
ALL: "Let it be so."

And it was so.

And it IS so.

And because of this, no earthly conspiracy by any bad actor or actors will prevail. God knows the hearts and thoughts of every one of us, whether we acknowledge Him or not. No scheme or plot conceived in secret and launched from the shadows will defeat God's Eternal Plan. God knows these things, has always known them, and has taken them all into account. Some, He thwarts. Others, He blunts. Some He shines the light of day upon, that it will become known what we have and are doing, what evil we have conceived in our hearts and wrought by our hands.

God declares to His people in Isaiah 54:17--"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD.

Elsewhere God speaks over us these words that bring us hope and confidence in response to any action accusation that any force or power opposing  us may bring:

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose...

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:28, 35-39)

Conspirators of the world: beware. Your plans are KNOWN. As God declared to King Belshazzar of Babylonia, "MENE--God has numbered the days of your reign and is about to bring it to an end."

"TEKEL--you have been weighed on [God's] scales and found deficient."

"PERES--your kingdom has been divided and given over to your [enemies.]"

(Daniel 5:25-28)

I still believe. And I am thankful for that First, that Greatest, Conspiracy. It has a name by which it has come to be known for millennia. The name: The Gospel.

Amen.

Is Easter Cancelled?

NEW! Now you can listen to the author read this essay by clicking the link here: Is Easter Cancelled? read by the author, The Scrawling Shepherd


Is Easter cancelled?

I saw this question earlier today on a friend's Facebook post. It may have been just a rhetorical question, or it may have been a request for information about a specific event planned or scheduled by or for a specific church or group. It doesn't matter. I saw that question, and that was all it took to send my mind galloping through the array of dictionaries, thesauruses (thesaurii?) and textbooks to write this, my next article.

Is Easter cancelled this year because we're all confined to quarters? On quarantine? Maintaining safe social distancing? If churches are still closed, how can we celebrate Easter? Oh, the pretty new Easter dresses for Mother and daughters; the new bow ties and pastel colored clothing for all the family...alas, what can we do?

My dear wife is groaning at the thought of not being able to have the family together after Church on Sunday for Easter Feast. Secretly I'm thinking "that's more ham and deviled eggs for me." (Side note: why are they called "deviled eggs?" and why in the world do we think of them as part of the Easter feast? Is it because we consume deviled eggs in symbolic demonstration of Jesus consuming the Devil's hold on us? Hmmm...I think I'll go with that.)

So, is Easter really cancelled? HAH! Not hardly. We cannot cancel Easter. It's not an event. It's just something that we celebrate each year about an event that already happened. No, not an event. THE event. The most important, significant, incredible, amazing, miraculous occurrence in the whole of the history of everything that was, is, or ever will be. The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who was and is known to be both Lord and Christ, is the pivotal moment in time. It did and does change everything.

And, when it comes down to it, even if not one single person on earth uttered one single word about Easter on this coming April 12; if no one says "He is Risen!" and if no one answers back "He is Risen indeed!", it won't matter. If not a single person turns to hymn #216 and sings "Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o'er His foes,", or #217 "Christ the Lord is ris'n today, a-a-a-a-a-le-lu-ia", or even #213 "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow..." or #220 "You ask me how I know He lives...He LIVES within my heart!". Even if none of those things happen this coming Sunday, well, He is risen, just the same.

If not one of those things would happen, well, it wouldn't change anything. Easter is not cancelled. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ happened, and nothing can or will ever overturn that truth.

We're going to observe Holy Week in the best ways we can figure out, in spite of our current "handicaps." Our home group plans to gather via video conference to mark Good Friday together. Our church family will worship together on Resurrection Sunday morning from our living rooms. I know I'll be singing at the top of my lungs. You won't hear me from your house (except Kelly. Kelly, if you're reading this, then yes. You WILL hear me there at your house.) but God is going to hear my voice on Easter. He IS risen! He IS risen--INDEED!

Here's a couple of people who agree:

Rise Again, by Dallas Holm

What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong

Happy Easter, friends!

Real Connections with Others Take Real Effort (Part 3 in the "Normal Is Moving" Series)

NEW! Now you can listen to the author reading this essay HERE: Listen to the Scrawling Shepherd read this essay


I've mentioned this before to those who know me, or who have read other things I've written: I am in introvert by nature. Talking to "strangers", to new people I'm just meeting, or even to acquaintances does not come easy to me. I do it, because I know that it's important. It is just always an effort to me to do it. I comes with a cost. I have to spend emotional capital, resources, to engage in conversation.

For me, this is especially true with "chit-chat," with "small talk", with conversation just about anything at all. Filler. That's how I see it. Something to fill the silences, the pauses. Some people seem to need it, or at least, to want it. Not me. I'm comfortable with silence. It's a part of who I am, my personality.  Carrying on this kind of conversation, for me, does not come naturally or easily. I can do it, but it is often awkward and feels, at least to me, like maybe I'm "trying too hard." I really don't know if the other person notices my discomfort or feels my awkwardness. If so, they don't say anything about it. Maybe they just politely continue on, while thinking "what's wrong with this poor guy? Is he daft?"

Well, enough about that. Here's the point I'm trying to build up to: really connecting with others requires real effort. Right now, almost EVERY interaction I have with ANYBODY and EVERYBODY is taking place in a telephone call, an email, a text message, or especially, a Zoom videoconference call or meeting. I'll talk about the Zoom meeting in particular. The Zoom call is planned, scheduled, arranged, set up, hosted. It can be recorded. There are steps to take to set up a call. There are steps to be taken to accept an invitation to join a call. There is protocol to follow while in (on?) the call. For most of us this is quite new. I know that Skype and Facetime and some others have been around for awhile now, but I've never been much of a fan of them. Doesn't matter. Right now, this is how we are connecting with one another.

As a teacher, I'm using Google Hangouts Meet, which is yet another video conferencing "app". We're using Meet because it's part of the Google Suite of software applications our school is using for creating, storing, sharing, and distributing data and content relating our our educational objectives. (That sounds like propaganda as I read it back. It is, unfortunately, exactly the way my mind sees it. Poor me.) I (and my colleagues with me) are using this application to conduct live teaching sessions engaging with our students "face to face" in real time. They see and hear me, along with whatever content on my computer that I choose to share with them. I see and hear them (although it's amusing to me how many of my students want to leave their cameras and microphones turned off. Turns out that at least one student uses that ploy to sign into class on his computer and then walk away. But that's a matter for a different forum entirely.)

Using video conferencing to teach, or to conduct a board meeting, a church leaders meeting, a home group Bible study meeting are all things I've done with frequency in the last two weeks. You're probably familiar with what I'm talking about, and perhaps you're using these tools even more often than I do. They all require some degree of intentional effort to make the connection happen. That brings me, finally, to the point of this post. I've been giving some deliberate thought to the way I connect with people. (Reference my previous post in the series called "Closing the Distance" --click on that title to follow the link to the article.)

Making and maintaining relationships with others requires deliberate effort on your part. Sometimes the effort seems light, and the joy you find in the relationship makes you overlook, or even forget, that you're spending effort to participate in that relationship. My marriage to Kelly is a great example. Unlike me, Kelly is extroverted by nature. She wants to connect and engage with people; she craves it, and she's very, very good at it. To me as an observer, it seems effortless to her. I sometimes watch ice skating on television. The really, really accomplished skaters make it look so easy, so natural, to graceful, so effortless. And then I remember me on ice skates on a frozen lake, or most recently, an indoor ice arena. That is how I imagine the relative ease of making and maintaining relationships for a person like Kelly as compared to the same tasks for a person like me.

The bottom line in this, for me, is the "want to." I am aware now, more than ever, that connecting with people requires deliberate effort. And I can do it, if I really want to. And right now, I do. (Really want to, that is.)

Normal Is Moving. And I'm coming with it, whatever it is, and wherever it ends up. See you there!


(Personal note to "Unknown." If you are not "Unknown" please stop reading now. Thanks.
Dear Unknown:

Thanks for your encouraging comments on some of the blog articles you've read. I appreciate you wanting to keep your name private and unpublished. I respect that. Just between you and me, though, I'm curious about your identity. I am uncertain if you are someone I know personally, a family member or friend, or someone I know casually or professionally, or possibly someone I've never met in person. If you're willing to let me know, privately, who you are, I would very much appreciate it, and I promise not to reveal your true identity to the others who might read my blog. I believe that there is a way to contact me directly somewhere in this blog, but if you can't find it, post in an anonymous comment how to reach you, or tell me to need to know how to reach me. Thanks so much!

And if you are not "Unknown" and you are still reading this: not cool, man.