tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10687614844509997402024-03-05T10:31:30.135-08:00Future HopeBill Te Winkle, pastor of Hope Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, tries to put into words the one hope which guides us today and into our future. This blog site closed on December 23, 2022. For current information go to www.hoperc.com.Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.comBlogger417125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-63242757531768797742022-12-24T06:56:00.000-08:002022-12-24T06:56:39.774-08:00Christmas Eve's Great Mystery<p> <b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">O great mystery,</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">and wonderful
sacrament,</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">that animals should see
the new-born Lord…<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>O Magnum Mysterium</i>, Morten
Lauridsen </b><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">At his birth, Jesus feels at
home in that stable. Animals. Humanity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">With His Creation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Allow the music </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">(links/lyrics
below)</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> to stir your heart, meditating on this night’s great mystery. Bathe in
its warmth, light, hope.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Merry Christmas!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Pastor
Bill<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">P.S. Thank you for being
faithful readers. I pray some of the 417 writings in these 14 volumes stirred
your faith, compelling you to love God and your neighbors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Manger is full.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Tomb is empty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The best is coming!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Alleluia!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Amen!!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Video: King’s College Choir</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KvrbYZB2vY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KvrbYZB2vY</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Music: Nordic Chamber Choir</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn5ken3RJBo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn5ken3RJBo</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b><b>Latin text</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O magnum mysterium,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">et admirabile
sacramentum,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">ut animalia
viderent Dominum natum,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;">iacentem in
praesepio!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-MX" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;">Beata
Virgo, cujus viscera<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">meruerunt portare<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dominum Iesum Christum.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alleluia!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>English translation<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O great mystery,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and wonderful sacrament,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that animals should see the new-born Lord,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">lying in a manger!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed is the Virgin whose womb<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">was worthy to bear<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">our Saviour, Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alleluia!<o:p></o:p></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-17191681773638462392022-12-17T06:23:00.002-08:002022-12-17T06:23:22.160-08:00Christmas is Near!<p> <b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Advent is a period of
preparation for Christmas but, unlike Lent, it is not a period of
penance. It is a period that focuses us on joy….We come to realize more
each year how…beautiful is a life lived in concert with the Jesus who came to
show us the way. We learn the joy of anticipation, the joy of delighting
in a sense of the presence of God all around us, the joy of looking for the
second coming of Christ, the joy of living in the surety of even more life in
the future.”</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">–Joan Chittister, <i>The
Liturgical Year</i>, p. 66<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Source: inwardoutward.org<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Perhaps waiting for Christmas
is one way we never grow up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Maybe we’ve figured out who
Santa is, but we still love to anticipate surprise gifts, right?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or maybe for you it’s the
anticipation of a once-a-year family gathering, even if it does mean a little
added drama for a few days.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This last weekend of Advent waiting
is precious because we know that if Christmas is near, Jesus is near.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That’s an eternal truth, of
course, but it’s good to have a reminder that joy is being born anew.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christmas is near!
Hallelujah!</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-85712582383527580792022-12-10T06:55:00.000-08:002022-12-10T06:55:09.595-08:00Surviving Blizzards<p> <b><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Honey
Bees Wait</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">…(T)hey’re clustered together
inside (an oak tree), queen at the heart of their sisterhood. The fine,
transparent wings they beat hard in summer’s heat—a constant buzzing fan to
keep the hive from cooking—they hold, now, folded and still. The tiny muscles
to which those wings are attached shiver. One honey bee shivering her flight
muscles does not make much heat. But twenty thousand, huddled together,
shivering, can keep the queen and the colony’s honey supply at their core at a
tropical ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit, even as blizzard winds, inches away,
flail the trunk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>–Gayle Boss, <em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">All Creation
Waits: the Advent Mystery of New Beginnings</span></em>, p. 14<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Surviving winter’s darkness,
waiting for spring’s light, is a hard part of life for most of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In a time when our culture
expects us to be merry and bright, we are feeling sad and dull.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Perhaps December need not be the
busiest month. Maybe this isn’t the season to eat and drink more than a body
really needs. Buzz around less. Cuddle more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;"><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Say ‘no’ to some invitations. Tell
the truth: tonight, I am spending time holding still, staying warm until the
blizzard passes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-44629908298393565272022-12-03T05:42:00.000-08:002022-12-03T05:42:00.174-08:00Indestructible Root<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Isaiah 11:1,10 A shoot will come up from
the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. …The
Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples….</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The key to a seed’s survival is the success of
its root taking anchor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Science writer Hope Jahren shares how the
roots will face frost, drought, and greedy jaws (but) ‘If the root takes root,
then the plant becomes all but indestructible: Tear apart everything above
ground—everything—and most plants can still grow rebelliously back from just
one intact root. More than once. More than twice.’”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Adapted from Hope Jahren, Lab Girl (Kopf,
2016), pages 45-46<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Our Advent Hope is built on the promise that
the Root of Jesse, Jesus Messiah, has taken such deep root in our lives that we
cannot be shaken, no matter the storms that assail us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If your world feels like a windswept tree being torn apart,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>remember that the Root of Jesse is so firmly
embedded in your spirit that you will survive. More than once. More than twice.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The key to your survival is the Root’s firm
anchor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Root of Jesse will stand as a banner. So
will you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-72871229493688109852022-11-12T07:22:00.005-08:002022-11-12T07:22:55.336-08:00A Friend Like Steve<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A friend loves at all
times,</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs
17:17<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That’s Steve.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">At Steve’s funeral his son,
Chad, offered three words to the large gathering of Steve’s family and friends which
sum up Steve’s character:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Kindness, Respect, Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My experiences with Steve through
his too-brief life proved those words to be true. Our last meeting gives you an
idea. As I walked to the first tee for my first competitive golf match since my
stroke five months earlier, Steve greeted me with his trademark smile and soft
voice with the kind of welcoming words that put my nervousness at ease. Now I knew
that if my first shot went sailing across the road, well, Steve understood. It
was my second shot that sailed wildly into the ditch, and off he went, hunting
through weeds I couldn’t traverse. </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">“A brother is born for a time of
adversity.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I am blessed to have many
friends like Steve, but Steve was a model friend. In losing a friend like Steve
I learned anew how important it is to have and to be a friend like Steve, born to
be with friends in times of adversity.</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-20211254398925545342022-11-05T08:05:00.002-07:002022-11-05T08:05:43.732-07:00"Are You Catholic?"<p> <b><span style="font-size: large;">John 17:20-21a “My prayer
is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through
their message, that all of them may be one…”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b>Friday closed with a nurse’s call,
asking if I could pray over a dying man.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>I entered the hospital room to
the greeting, “Are you Catholic?” I told the grieving family, no, I am a
Protestant minister, but I was the only available minister/priest. The dying
man’s wife looked in my eyes, ‘Well, I guess God hears your prayers too.” My heart-felt
reply was, “Yes, God doesn’t have all these
barriers that we have erected between us.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>The family looked at each
other, then nodded. Together we prayed their
dying husband and father into the arms of his Savior, Jesus Christ.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>Why has the Church of Jesus
Christ so miserably failed to live into Jesus’ final prayer? Why do the ‘people
in the pews’ understand the truth that in Christ we are all one so much better
than the religious leaders who teach them?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>Truth is, I am ‘catholic’,
believing in ‘the holy catholic (of all times and places) church.’ (Apostles
Creed) May human-bound denominations learn to live what we profess.</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-28830402429050480382022-10-29T07:48:00.003-07:002022-10-29T07:48:34.982-07:00Spirits and Saints<div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Halloween is my least
favorite holiday. Sorry kids, small and big. I am not opposed to costumes (I
was a theatre major); nor candy (have you seen my shape?). I loved saying <i>“Trick
or Treat for UNICEF” </i>when I was a boy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><o:p> </o:p>What bothers me is that we celebrate
only half of what Halloween represents. Halloween started to keep the spirits away on October 31. People dressed
up in disguises to avoid detection by roaming spirits. Churches held “All
Hallows Eve” services to ward away the spirits until the dawn of All Hallows
(Saints) Day on Nov. 1, which was the celebration of the saints in heaven. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><o:p> </o:p>Along the way we lost
the superstitions but still celebrate only the darkness. We stopped remembering
the light on All Saints Day, November 1, a day set aside to remember all those
who truly did die in Christ and now live and reign with him. (Cue “<i>For All
the Saints</i>”, and if you don’t know it, find it on YouTube!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><o:p> </o:p>Yes, call me Halloween
Scrooge. I wish all of you ghosts and goblins a safe and happy Trick or Treat,
but, please, on Tuesday, remember a saint you love who lives in light.</span></div>
Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-5445584499641340012022-10-15T08:20:00.002-07:002022-10-15T08:20:48.460-07:00Tick Tock...Tik Tok<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Luke 18:8 “However, when the
Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>I believe the church exists
to tell the next generation that Jesus alive.
Then I read the Gallup world-wide survey of teens which reveals that
while 47% of all teens believe Jesus was crucified, only 33% believe Jesus rose
again. Among <i>Christian</i> teens, <i>only 50%</i> say that Jesus is resurrected.
Read that again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p><i>Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.</i> <i>Now</i>
is the time to get our Message to the next generation. Why do we have difficulty
engaging teens in conversations which explore the basic, faith-defining, Christian
truths? How do we share the faith today?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>Learn to live like Jesus is alive. If Jesus
isn’t alive, then Christianity is dead.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>Check out Christian Tik Tok
influencers, young Christians expressing their faith in ways that I never could
imagine. Teens learn faith in <i>something</i> every day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>If Christianity has a future,
then the Church needs to learn how to communicate truths to teens in methods
that reach their eyes and ears.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p>Parents, grandparents,
churches, are we truly committed to doing what we can to make sure Jesus finds
faith on the earth when he comes looking?</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-19324926262488616272022-10-08T06:55:00.000-07:002022-10-08T06:55:15.565-07:00"Essential Prayers"<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the circumstances of
life change faster than we can comprehend.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the world in which we
live seems to be falling apart at the seams.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When you cannot think of one
word to say to a God whose existence, perhaps, you wonder about.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, when words escape you,
here are two prayers you can memorize and draw upon to lift to God:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Help me, help me, help
me.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Thank you, thank you,
thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">She has a third prayer for those rare times when everything goes just right,
maybe even better than you dared hope. Memorize this one too:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Wow!”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God is listening. Every day.
Pray.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Sources:
<i><span style="background: white; color: #3f4857; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">Anne Lamott (2012). “Help, Thanks, Wow: The
Three Essential Prayers”</span> Penguin; Anne Lamott (2000). “Traveling
Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, p. 75, Anchor</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-80601368855696658592022-09-17T06:12:00.000-07:002022-09-17T06:12:03.715-07:00Mountain Rescue Team<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Luke 15:4 “<sup> </sup>“Suppose
one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the
ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If Jesus was teaching near
the mountains of Colorado:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Suppose one hiker on a nearby
mountain is lost or falls. Wouldn’t my people race into the mountains find him,
expending all their strength and skill to bring him home? I tell you, there is
no greater comfort to loved ones than to know their lost son has been found.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On September 7, 2022, the Alamosa
Volunteer Search and Rescue Team received a distress call from hikers that Justin,
a young but experienced mountain hiker, tragically fell 300 feet to his instant
death. Caring hikers marked the place, standing watch until the rescue team arrived.
Today, because of their caring acts, and the brave, heroic efforts of the Alamosa
team to carry Justin’s body up from the place he fell, the family has the comfort
of knowing he is not lost.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We can send Justin home to
Jesus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We, the church of Jesus
Christ, are called to search the wilderness, the mountains, bringing the lost
home.</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-90322404152141569092022-09-10T06:33:00.002-07:002022-09-10T06:33:26.274-07:00What God Sees in You<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">1 Samuel 16:7b “The LORD
does not look at the things people look at. People look at outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sometimes God’s ‘ask’ seems
impossible for us. But God does not ask you to do anything, to take on any task
or responsibilities that you cannot do with God’s help.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If you judge your
capabilities using the standards the world uses, you may feel inadequate to the
task. Perhaps on your own you are. But when God chooses you, anoints your head
as God’s servant, you will find the courage and strength to accomplish God’s
call.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Doing God’s will is rarely
easy or ‘fun’ in the worldly sense.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Yet faithfully
doing God’s will brings rewards that the world cannot offer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What does God see in you that
the world does not see? Your heart. Your heart for God’s people. Your heart for
the disenfranchised, the lonely, the mourners, the little children.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If God is calling you into a
new or a difficult role of service examine your heart.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Saying ‘yes’ to God means ‘putting
your heart’ into the call. God knows the strength of your heart. Do you?</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-32608081851865067292022-09-03T07:09:00.003-07:002022-09-03T07:09:29.927-07:00Where Alan Waits<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Leaves of Grass/Song of
Myself,</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> 52, by Walt Whitman (excerpt)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I depart as air, I shake
my white locks at the runaway sun,<br />
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I bequeath myself to the
dirt to grow from the grass I love,<br />
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You will hardly know who I
am or what I mean,<br />
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,<br />
And filter and fibre your blood.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Failing to fetch me at
first keep encouraged,<br />
Missing me one place search another,<br />
I stop somewhere waiting for you.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My good and faithful friend,
Alan, I miss you. I miss your stories and secrets. You prepared your beloved
wife and sons and, oh, that grandbaby, for this day. But they miss you, more
than I know. Your many friends, such dear, dear friends you had, they miss you.
You and they know why. We all miss you, gone too soon from this earth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We will all be inspecting the
fibers of our boot-soles for evidence of the place you have stopped to wait for
us to find you. Until then, my wonderful friend, </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Shalom!</i></b></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-55640199023913793282022-07-16T07:15:00.002-07:002022-07-16T07:15:25.562-07:00"The Place God Is Calling You To"<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Galatians 6:9 “Let us not
become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Frederick Buechner wrote</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">,
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the
world’s deep hunger meet.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I encourage to take reflect
on these questions:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <span> </span>1.<span> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is the one thing I do in life that brings me deep gladness?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Not necessarily happiness,
but something like joy, something that makes you so glad you want to sing.</span></p>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What can I do with that something that brings me deep gladness to
meet a deep hunger in the world? <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Not save the world by
yourself. Not change the world by yourself. Just fill some deep hunger with
that one thing that gives you deep gladness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To be a disciple should not
be a matter of hard, unrewarding work that makes you weary.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It is a matter of service,
yes, but when we figure out God’s call on our lives it is done in places where
your gladness finds its ultimate purpose.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That good work you do for
Jesus is going to reap a harvest. Servants of God, be deeply glad!</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-27055836442253818392022-07-09T08:24:00.003-07:002022-07-09T08:24:49.047-07:00Praying Like a Mother<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">1 Samuel 1:13,15 “Hannah
was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.
’I am a woman who is deeply troubled….pouring out my soul to the LORD.’”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hannah desperately wanted a
baby. She turned to the LORD in such fervent prayer that she appeared to her
priest as a drunken woman.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hannah didn’t
care about her appearance; what she cared about was pouring out the troubles of
her soul to the LORD.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What troubles your soul
today? Is it something so dear to you that you are willing to start praying
like a mother prays for her baby to be conceived?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If you are praying for some
new opportunity, or healing, or for a child to find her way in life, start by
earnestly praying in your heart.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hannah’s prayer was answered
in the person of Samuel (</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">‘Because I asked the LORD for him.’</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">), and she
prayed again:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“My heart rejoices in the
LORD…There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no Rock like our God.”
(2:1,2)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">May God hear your heart’s petition
and praise as you pray like a mother.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dedicated to our great
niece Robbi Jean, b. 7.8.22</span></i></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-1692444482806438652022-07-02T06:56:00.000-07:002022-07-02T06:56:04.991-07:00"For Heroes Proved"<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“O beautiful for heroes proved
in liberating strife,</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Who more than self their
country loved, and mercy more than life!” </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">America, the Beautiful</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> (Katherine Lee Bates)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Independence Day.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">While we, as a nation, cannot agree on much
(anything?) these days, perhaps on this holiday weekend we can agree that those
who put their names to the Declaration of Independence are heroes. With the
stoke of a pen they set in motion the creation of a government of, by and for the
people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The signers understood that
their mission was urgent, and that they would die…either together or separately
for their beliefs. Heroic courage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">These are they who more than
self their country loved.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who are today’s heroes? Who rises
up to risk their life and security for the sake of preserving freedom?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For this grand experiment in forming
a more perfect union to continue heroes are still needed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the hardest part of
preserving democracy is persuading ‘we the people’ to follow heroes, not pretenders.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On this 4</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> of
July, </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">pray for God’s blessing on our
nation: that we the people will be wise enough to know and follow the heroes
proved in the struggle to keep America beautiful.</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-36602184772622440792022-06-25T07:33:00.003-07:002022-06-25T07:33:47.591-07:00Knowing Your Own Strength<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Judges 16:20 “Samson, the
Philistines are upon you! ”He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as
before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had
left him.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who are the “Philistines” in
your life these days?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Perhaps the news of the day
has brought you to despair, and you feel like the ‘Philistines’ have won.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or perhaps the ‘Philistines’
in your life are health, finances, addictions, even old age’s creakiness.
Perhaps you are beset by doubts, grief, shame, or guilt.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The real lesson of Samson’s
story is that he gave in to the wiles of the world, trusting in his own
strength, which was too weak to defeat the enemy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Are you trusting in your own
strength to overcome your enemies? Are you despairing of your future because
you refuse to dwell with the Lord?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We all have enemies which we
need to defeat if we are to become the person God intends us to be.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Don’t rely on your own strength. Draw on the strength
of the Lord through prayer, worship, community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Invite the Lord to be with
you today, to provide you with the inner strength to defeat your ‘Philistines.’</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-79729209174019542272022-06-18T06:33:00.002-07:002022-06-18T06:33:47.787-07:00God? Test, Test (pt. 2)<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Judges 6:17 Gideon
replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it
is really you talking to me.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">After the first sign God gave
to Gideon, God sent Gideon to destroy the false gods Gideon’s neighbors worshiped.
<i>(See ‘God? Test, Test’ Pt. 1)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Gideon’s second request for a
sign is the famous fleece test. Gideon set up a test to see if God was really
with him as he was going into battle against Israel’s enemies. (Judges 6:36-40)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If God played along with
Gideon’s test, there was every expectation that Gideon would lead an army into
a battle in which he could very well lose his life. Before you ask God for a sign
you had better be ready to go to work for God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You cannot say ‘no’ to God’s ‘go.’</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If God has confirmed that God is with you in
the battle into which God is sending you, then you need to gather up the
courage to confront the enemy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, before you decide to do a little microphone check on whether God is really there,
be prepared to say ‘yes’ if God answers, </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">‘Here I am. You will go.’</span> </p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-40296074852224884902022-06-11T07:40:00.005-07:002022-06-11T07:40:49.391-07:00God? Test, Test (pt. 1)<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Judges 6:13 “Pardon me, my
lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this
happened to us?”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God’s people felt
abandoned.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Their 401k’s were drying up.
The streets weren’t safe. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Running away
and hiding seemed like the only good option.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why had this happened? God’s
people forgot their identity. They worshipped false gods. They expected all of
God’s blessings, but they refused to live lives that showed their gratitude to
God. You couldn’t tell God’s people from their neighbors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The people abandoned God. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But God is more faithful to his people than
God’s people are to God. God appointed Gideon to lead God’s people in battle to
restore peace and prosperity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The first step was to get rid
of the false gods people were worshiping. If we expect the Lord to be with us,
shouldn’t we be willing to demonstrate with our lives our own loyalty to God?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The second step was defeating
the enemies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Gideon wasn’t so sure that God
was really the One giving orders. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He
didn’t want to go out and engage the enemy unless it really was God who was speaking.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How do you know if God is
speaking to you?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-36878067199969080302022-06-04T06:48:00.003-07:002022-06-04T06:58:09.991-07:00When Women Lead God's People<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Judges 5:7 Villagers in
Israel would not fight;</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
they held back until I, Deborah, arose,<br />
until I arose, a mother in Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On Pentecost Peter quotes the
prophet Joel to make the point that the Spirit of God falls on both women and
men. (Acts 2:18)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The people of Israel knew
this truth because of Israel’s “Mother Deborah”, their Judge who led God’s people
in a victory over their enemies through her willingness to lead the men into
battle.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Is one reason for the Church’s
current decline because so many refuse to see that women as well as men are
called to lead God’s people? Many in the Church are intentionally deaf to the leadership
voice of women, to their songs which brings wisdom and courage to the battle
against the enemies and evil that surround us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My prayer on this Pentecost
weekend is that the Spirit of God will open the eyes, ears, and minds of the
worldwide Church to the truth of God’s Word: when women lead God’s people,
offering up God’s prophetic words, God’s people are victorious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I thank God for all the “Deborahs”
with whom it is my privilege to serve God’s people. Lead the way!</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-70481866351832143962022-05-21T07:31:00.000-07:002022-05-21T07:31:16.069-07:00You Have a Choice<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Joshua 24:15 “…Choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we
will serve the LORD.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Don’t you love that you get a
choice?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God doesn’t force anyone into
service. You might say that some are ‘strongly encouraged’, but no one has the final
choice made for them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The LORD loves us so much
that the LORD desires a voluntary response motivated by a reciprocal love for God.
“We love because God first loved us.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You have a choice. You can
serve the gods worshiped by society, gods like profit, ego, possessions. Or you
can choose the LORD, who commands love as his servants first and second
priorities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Choices have consequences. That’s
why we get to decide.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Choosing to serve the LORD
means that we make room to actively participate in worshipping communities. If
our lives are so busy that we do not ‘have time’ to attend worship, whom have
we chosen to serve?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Serving the LORD means that
we choose to love our enemies, care for the poor, and walk humbly. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or do we prefer the choices society’s gods are
offering: revenge, selfishness, and pride?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Don’t you love that you get a
choice?</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-89762336250333371092022-05-14T07:50:00.004-07:002022-05-14T07:50:54.114-07:00Courage for the Journey<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Joshua 1:7a “Be strong and
very courageous.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Second on my ‘power walking playlist’
is </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Bad Day</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> (ironically, by Daniel Powter).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">One of the lines is “</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">You're
faking a smile with the coffee to go</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">”. Who cannot relate to that picture? Then
the song works toward the chorus:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">'Cause you had a bad day<br />
You're taking one down<br />
You sing a sad song just to turn it around…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My playlist moves on to other,
happier lyrics. But I keep </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Bad Day </i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">second because it reminds me of how I
sometimes feel at the start of a day or a walk.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">After Moses died God passed the
baton of the leadership relay to Joshua.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Joshua had been in training, but now he had to lead.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God didn’t promise him it would be an easy
journey, but he did promise, </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">“I will give you ever place where you set your
foot.” (v.3)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God’s next instruction was
critical: </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">‘be strong and very courageous.’ </i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Very. Courageous.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You, my dear friend, may be
having a bad day, walking a very difficult part of your journey. God en</span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>courage</i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">s
you: listen for the reminders to keep on movin’ and groovin’. Very courageously.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The songs get better.
Alleluia.</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-11972627156251023562022-05-07T07:49:00.000-07:002022-05-07T07:49:12.093-07:00"Out of the Depths"<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Psalm 30:1a I will
exalt you, Lord,</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
for you lifted me out of the depths…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I didn’t understand the poet
until 2:00 a.m. on Easter morning, April 17, 2022.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">40 hours after a stroke, lying
in a hospital bed unable to sleep, unable to feel most of my right side, I
finally grasped the poet’s meaning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In seminary I read a textbook
titled </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Out of the Depths</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. In all the years since, I hadn’t experienced ‘the
depths’ until that morning. Then, out of the depths, I cried out to God, “Jesus,
what is the point of going on with my life?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, out of the depths, Jesus
answered. Not with an audible voice, but with an answer my brain, my heart, my
soul, heard as clear as a bell. </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">“There’s more work to do, Bill.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Understood. My call to work
with the beautiful people of Hope Church, feeding and caring for the sheep, was
not over. We have more work to do. And I should be there to help.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I understand what it feels
like to be lifted by the Lord out of the depths.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> is resurrection life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <span> </span></o:p></span><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Lord my
God, I will praise you forever. (v. 12)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-56726999439500490322022-04-09T06:27:00.004-07:002022-04-09T06:27:51.290-07:00Hopes for the Donkey and You<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice
greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king
comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey…</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dear Readers, as you
approach your Palm Sunday and Holy Week, I am hoping for you as the poet hopes for the
donkey. Be brave. Trust Jesus. Serve Jesus.
Love Jesus.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Poet Thinks About The
Donkey</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> by Mary Oliver</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #4f4f4f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the outskirts of Jerusalem</span></p><p class="" style="background-color: white; color: #4f4f4f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 80px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">the donkey waited.<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />Not especially brave, or filled with understanding,<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />he stood and waited.</p><p class="" style="background-color: white; color: #4f4f4f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 80px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">How horses, turned out into the meadow,<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" /> leap with delight!<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />How doves, released from their cages,<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" /> clatter away, splashed with sunlight.</em></p><p class="" style="background-color: white; color: #4f4f4f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 80px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited.<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />Then he let himself be led away.<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />Then he let the stranger mount.</p><p class="" style="background-color: white; color: #4f4f4f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 80px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never had he seen such crowds!<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.</p><p class="" style="background-color: white; color: #4f4f4f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 80px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope, finally, he felt brave.<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him,<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" />as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.</p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-65274186479946064252022-04-02T08:26:00.003-07:002022-04-02T08:26:56.472-07:00An Aroma Pleasing to God<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Numbers 28:24</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <b>In this way present the food offering every day
for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the Lord….</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">2 Corinthians 2:15</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <b>For we are to God the pleasing aroma of
Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Name an aroma or two that is
pleasing to you. What does just the thought of that aroma trigger in your mind?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What aromas awaken in our minds
pleasing memories and an invitation to all whose senses are awakened by them? </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Buttered popcorn, freshly baked bread, a baby’s
powdered skin, a brat fry.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The aromas of Israel’s food
sacrifices were ‘pleasing to the Lord.’ because they were acts of obedient worship.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Christ’s obedient act of worship,
his sacrifice on the Cross, </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">produced an aroma
pleasing to God, reminding God of the salvation of God’s children.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We are not the sacrifice. We
are the aroma the sacrifice produces, a daily reminder to God of Christ’s sacrifice.
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A daily affirmation to ourselves and those
we meet that Jesus loves us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Is your life an aroma pleasing
to God and inviting to your neighbors?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">May the pleasing aroma of
Christ fill every room.</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068761484450999740.post-14288957942383421472022-03-26T08:28:00.001-07:002022-03-26T08:28:16.018-07:00Seeing Grasshoppers<p> <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Numbers 13:30 “We should
go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Numbers 13:33 “We seemed
like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When God offers you a
blessing that requires a step of faith to receive there are two ways you can
respond: in faith or in fear.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The people of Israel were at the
doorway to the Promised Land. The exploration team came back with two reports.
The minority saw a land of milk and honey, just as God had promised (verse 30).
The majority saw a land filled with giants, compared to whom the Israelites were
grasshoppers. (v. 33)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The majority’s bad report grew
out of fear. The minority report was built on faith in God’s promise: God will deliver
us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Because the majority saw
grasshoppers instead of the Promised Land the Israelites wandered for 40 years
in the wilderness.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Choices have
consequences.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When God offers you a blessing
don’t consider yourself inadequate or unworthy. Grasp it with a courageous
faith in God who is greater than your challenges.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Go up in faith and possess
God’s promise to you. You certainly can do it!</span></p>Bill Te Winklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332041417175443264noreply@blogger.com0