Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida

During my freshman year of college I took a baby programming course, and I remember (which is amazing, since it was the fall of 1961) the first assignment very well. The professor asked us to write detailed instructions for tying our shoes. That evening I found that it was a seemingly impossible task. At the next class he had us trade papers and follow the instructions in tying our shoes. What a disaster! None of us was successful. Of course, hundreds, if not thousands, of children learn to tie their shoes every day, but they don’t do it following detailed, linearly organized instructions like those needed by a computer.

​Most of the difficulty in the above assignment came in writing the instructions, but it is also very hard to follow step-by-step directions. If you’ve ever had to assemble a product following directions written in another country by an engineer whose native language is not English, then you know what I mean. As another example, I find it very frustrating to follow the directions of the GPS in my car. I have a need to understand where I’m going and somehow “see” the big picture. Whenever the GPS goes wrong (e.g. it gives the wrong directions to our house), I can’t help saying to Paulette, “See what I mean.” Somehow the best instructions (for humans) include information at both the micro and the macro level.

​By the time of Christ, it was a real challenge to follow the directions for living a Godly life. You had to obey the 613 commandments in the Old Testament as well as the rulings of the legal scholars that had studied them over the centuries. Every situation required a carefully reasoned interpretation. The problem was that the details had obscured the general principles such as the one given by Micah: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” It was like trying to tie your shoes using written instructions (you know they did wear sandals). Today our instructions are easy: repent and accept God’s grace.

​Thank God for Velcro. Thank God for His grace.

Read Micah 6:1-8 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim

It’s an ongoing story, actually. God’s story, with a chapter that is played out every morning in Swenson Hall, where church work blends with a recovery meeting. Many of you reading this are members, so you know the particulars.

You can picture it. On days like today, the fellowship area, or “big room” is pre-set for our monthly ladies luncheon. That means The AA Breakfast Club must crowd into our “Garden Room.” They don’t complain. It means I hear what’s being said in their meeting, because it’s closer to my office. I leave the door open.

Just now, as a prompt for what to write, I heard words of faith, eloquently expressed. Being in recovery means willing to be honest about your…stuff. Struggling to get through another day of sobriety. It reminds me, and hopefully you as well, of our depraved brokenness. The churched are not more righteous than the “nons”. The danger is being in the cruise control mode of driving our Christian vehicle. Thinking that we are on the right side, the good side of the road. It is only by trusting in God that we don’t slip into neutral or reverse. “Jesus, Take the Wheel” sings Carrie Underwood.

I cherish what I overhear from the Garden Room or the kitchen. It is genuine; it is sincere. It is a chapter in the story that is ours, continuing on toward the return of Jesus. The unconditional love is assured at all times and in all places. Give thanks, dear blog reader!

Pastor Art

Jeremiah lived in very difficult times.  God continually spoke to him, words of warning for the evil, injustice and idolatry around him in Judah.  Jermiah had to stand alone against the crowd, for he spoke “uncomfortable truths” to the people of Judah.  He wept for his people, but he obeyed God.  He spoke the truth.

Sometimes I look at these Old Testament prophets, wondering what they could possibly have to say to us.  And then I look around me.  Injustice, hatred and evil surround us today, much as it did in the time of Jeremiah.  God must weep over our land, just as he did over Judah.  Not so much has changed.  Nation fight against nation.  We discriminate between nationalities, between races and colors, and even between the rich and the poor. 

God still speaks to us today, even through the words of a prophet who lived in about 500 AD.  But God also gave words of hope for Jeremiah to share.   The people of Judah would first have to suffer 70 years of exile in Babylon, before God called them back, but there were words of hope.

Jeremiah 29:11-13-
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.  When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” 

This is hope for us in the 21^st century as well.  We are discouraged, we are afraid, we don’t know where to turn.  We don’t know what lies ahead.  But our God still has plans for our welfare, he hears us.  Call upon him, seek him, pray to him . . . he may test us first . . . . but he has not forgotten us.  Do not give up hope!

Judy

When the sky has a few random grey clouds, yet the sun is shining, I just love it when the rays pour through the clouds.  Immediately, I picture it as heaven and my loved ones shining through to let me know they are in God’s arms.  It is a favorite view of mine.

What about a cornflower blue sky that has absolutely NO clouds?  No little feathery fluffs.  No cotton ball-like clumps. No wispy stretches of threadbare whiteness. Simply a completely clear, brilliant blue sky. This viewing reminds me of Acts 24:16, “Because of this, I try with all my strength to always maintain a clear conscience before God and man.” Viewing a stunning cornflower blue sky shows me there is NOTHING separating me from God’s view, from His understanding, from His goodness or from His unconditional love.  Nothing!  I simply LOVE these emotions I feel. Knowing God is as close as my breath, but still envisioning a glimpse into His perfect world of heaven-to-come, I am awed by the cornflower blue sky.  Our Father knows us inside and out. Our words before we speak them, He knows.  Our deepest thoughts are known to Him. He has indeed prepared a place for us, who believe in Him (John 3:16). My sky viewings, be it rays of sun through grey tinted clouds or the cornflower, crystal clear sky, are my hugs from God. Stunning glimpses of Him.

Look up and see Him. It’s powerful!

Jill

I just came in the house from doing a little gardening. After a cool drink and a little rest, I started thinking about my garden a bit more. One of the things I like about living in Florida is I can garden a goodly portion of the year. It is one of my passions, probably stemming from being raised on a farm. I loved the seasons of planting, watching the crops grow and ultimately the harvest of the crops whether it was wheat or corn, the family vegetable garden or the many flowers in our yard.

Gardening has always given me a sense of peace and wellbeing. I feel God’s presence as I perform this task and know “digging in the dirt” puts me in direct contact with God’s creation. It makes me more aware of the beauty and order of God’s work. Adam was the first gardener. God placed him in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of it, making it one of the original callings…to be caretakers of the Earth.

Gardening has also taught me to be patient, faithful and disciplined. You have to be patient to wait for the seeds to grow, kind of like gaining spiritual maturity. Gardeners trust that the seeds will grow, even when they cannot see it happening until the plants poke their sprouts out of the soil. This is similar to walking by faith, when not being able to see the results as soon as we would like, but having the faith it will happen. Discipline is necessary for gardening to be successful as well. One has to attend to it daily, just like our walk with our Lord.

If our crops are successful, they go on to feed millions of people. On a smaller scale, we can share the bounty and beauty of our produce with friends, family and those in need. Sharing is a way to bless others and love our neighbors as God has instructed us to do. 

Gardens and fields are often quiet places which are ideal for prayer, meditation or reading scriptures and daily devotions. Remember that God went to the garden in Gethsemane to pray before his crucifixion as he needed to talk to God His Father. I often find myself praying in the solitude and peace of my garden as I work the soil.

We are blessed in so many ways by God our Father. He gave us this beautiful world to live in and care for. Most importantly however, He loves us unconditionally and gave Jesus, His Son to sacrifice His life to save us from our sins. Our blessed lives can continue on into eternity by believing in Him and following His words. Thanks be to God!

Patty

 Recently, I was blessed with a couple of encounters with these tiny, fast moving, fascinating creations. Well, it was one encounter with a hummingbird and one with a hummingbird moth which I thought was a real hummingbird until I did a little research.

On Sunday morning as I was getting ready for a small, pop-up family reunion, I took a minute to look out the window at my son Seth’s beautiful flower garden. There was a tiny hummingbird flirting from cone flower to hydrangea. When it flew right up to the window, I realized that there was no screen in the open window! For a few seconds, I wondered what I would do if the little bird flew into the room.

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to make any extreme moves as the hummingbird nodded a greeting and took off after another bit of nectar. I stayed very still and was able to enjoy an up-close and personal view of this magnificent creature.

Then, just this evening Rich and I were on our deck and watching the sun set over the lake. We never tire of this amazing display of God’s love. Rich was at one end of the deck and I at the other; there is a row of flower boxes on the front of the deck. Rich looked up and quietly spoke, “I can’t tell if this is a hummingbird or an insect. It’s wings are moving a mile a minute and it is diving in and out of the flowers. It’s coming your way.” I, having become a recent expert on hummingbirds, pronounced that the teeny-tiny, brownish red being that I saw was a hummingbird.  It poked into a few more flowers and flew off into the twilight.

Well, don’t you know that when I took a minute to look up hummingbirds, I found that there is a moth which has many of the same characteristics of the bird and they are often mistaken for each other. This evening’s flyer was the moth.

What a treat to see both miracles in two days! I cannot look at the hummingbirds, moths and sunsets without feeling God’s unconditional love surrounding me.  What gifts! Incredible creations with attributes and abilities beyond imagination, all for us to appreciate and cherish.

Let God’s unconditional love surround you and give you wings to fly above the chaos of a world beyond our control.  Always remember that God loves you. How? Unconditionally!

Terri

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

So here comes one of those quotes that is going send your brain into a spin. “Everything that is said or written about the Holy Trinity is in no way really so or true.” What! Is this some atheist spouting off? No, it’s one of the great medieval German mystics, Meister Eckhart. He was getting at the problem of talking about God. We are limited by our language. We simply can’t put God into words without saying something wrong or leaving something out. It’s a human shortcoming. 

When I was teaching religious studies, I used to do this thought experiment. Describe to me the taste of a strawberry. Answer were, sweet, seedy, red. And then I’d stop them. Red is a color. You see red. You don’t taste it. Now they were in trouble. Word’s failed them.

It’s even worse in explaining God. We have lots and lots of words to talk about God, but are they ever enough? One of my seminary professors used to talk about the deus absconditus, the hidden God (he liked showing off in Latin.) No matter how much we think we know about God, there is always more-the great mystery. 

Acknowledging the limits of understanding of God keeps us humble. But if we’re really limited in what we can say about God, how will we ever tell people about God? Here’s the advice attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”

Huh? Figure it out for yourself. I can’t explain it. I don’t have the words.

Read Isaiah 45:15 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

Most of us have probably been accused, at one time or another, of joining in an endeavor but not giving it our best effort! The common expression for this is “dialing it in!”

I’d like to share with you a little story about a work experience.

When a water main broke, I needed to act quickly. It was my job. My supervisor was out of town one day when a pipe burst. I was still new at this and couldn’t locate the crucial valve to shut down the leak.

What to do! I called my supervisor, but I had to leave a message explaining the problem. Now I needed to calm down. So I prayed to God for His help – help to settle down, think clearly and make wise decisions. In a cooler frame of mind I shut off the water to a larger section of the neighborhood; that would minimize the damage. When my boss called back he gave me the information I needed to locate the faulty valve, isolate the leaky pipe and repair it quickly.

I never forgot that experience. That hectic situation had forced me to rely on God so I could calmly assess what I needed to do.

Thinking back I recall other tricky situations; times when important people weren’t available to help; times when I leaned on God’s help to “calm me down and get me through.”

I think of the loss of our child in the 4th month of my wife’s pregnancy. I remember facing cancer (and being healed). I think of our struggles as both of us face chronic illnesses. And in every case, when I turned to Abba Father God, He was always instantly available.

My prayers weren’t always answered as I thought, but by embracing His loving answers I was calmed and able to muddle through. Better yet, I would be able to share His love with others when they went through similar situations.

You see, God doesn’t just “dial it in.” He’s there. In his ever-present intervention He shows us what we need to do. He’s there when we need Him. Amen?

Remember, God loves You unconditionally.

Posted with fond memories of our dear friend, Joey

Local readers of this blog may know this about me. That is, I love a good craft beer. I love most any beer, actually, as long as it’s robust. It’s fun to try new flavors. I especially enjoy a repast at Hiatus, which is less than a five-minute drive from Joy. I call the proprietor Lucas “The Mad Scientist” as he is always working on the next unique concoction. The most interesting conversations happen there. If I’m “collared up” in my clergy shirt, I love to break the ice by saying, “So – a Lutheran pastor walks into a bar,…”

A few Fridays ago, eleven members from our church gathered there for “Holy Hiatus”. It was – and still is – my hope that we can engage the patrons around us in conversations about God, the church, and where we can find them around us. I bet we will learn a lot, and the Holy Spirit might show up and lead us down an enlightening theological road. I feel that when we venture outside of church walls with their meeting rooms for the “club”, we will process differently; we will talk differently with more spiritual depth. Truth be told, it might be a more biblical approach. More like Jesus, albeit sans beer or alcohol.

Here’s the invite to you: meet me there this coming Friday, July 18^th at 7:00. They also have good edibles! The address is:

                   6230 SW S.R. 200, Unit 5,  Ocala  34476

We are loved by God unconditionally. You will not be judged for being seen at a brewery, especially if the object is to share the Good News here on earth as it is in heaven.

Pastor Art

In our home we have many clocks.  Their tick-tocks and chimes are an ever-present sign of the passage of time.   I think there’s a tick-tock to be heard in each room.  We’ve become accustomed to the sounds of our clocks, and we often don’t hear them at all.  But in quiet times, they are a constant comfort.

I experience time in such different ways.  Minutes waiting for a doctor to appear can take an eternity.  Minutes that pass when I’m a little late and frantically trying to get ready, they just fly by in a nanosecond.  The minutes of a lonely day can move at a snail’s pace.  And yet in these golden ages of life, the years seem to fly by. 

The dictionary defines time so simply.  “The measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues.” 

Ecclesiastes tells us more about time and the various life experiences that will occupy a “time” in our lives.  The passage can be a reality check; not all of these times will be pleasant or welcome.  And yet, there will be times of joy and accomplishment as well.  In these turbulent times in our nation, perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes has a message of encouragement for us.

¹ To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: ² A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; ³ A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; ⁴ A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; ⁵ A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶ A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; ⁷ A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; ⁸ A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Whatever “time” you are experiencing as you read this, may the God of unconditional love bless you and keep you.

Judy