Loopholes

 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,  “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’  they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” Matthew 15:1-9

    Last week I had a chance to research this passage for a sermon and found that even anceint people found loopholes.  Really. They were called to honor their parents by taking care of them- physically and financially. They were called to share their belongings with their parents but they found a way around it! Here is what they did. They would "dedicate" thier belongings to God and then claim they couldn't share them with their parents because they were for God. That my friends is a loophole.

   But Jesus was on to them and he let them know it. It always pains me when Jesus uses the word hypocites! Ouch. I hate it because it reminds me how easy it is for us to fall short and do the wrong thing when we think it won't matter.  Its so easy to find a way around the hard stuff. We side step the truth, we avoid the conflict, we find a way to meet our needs first. But as follwers of the Risen One, we are called to a straight path- no loopholes.

Its not easy but God has shown us how. Jesus. His life is a model for our lives. Jesus did what God asked him to do even when it was hard. No short cuts or loopholes even though he could have found an easier way. God calls us to give our lives over to Him. If we trust God we will have what we need to live the truth, resolve the conflict, care for others before ourselves.

Praying for straight paths for our lives as we follow Christ.

  Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-7

Lesson Two

Lesson 2: Relax.

We are here on a mission- we have work to get done. How exciting to be in another country and working in a Methodist Church. It reminds me how awesome it is to be part of the connectional system we share in the Methodist denomination.

Our job this week is to prepare the building for a second floor. But that is not the only project. There are fences to paint, stucco to apply, a sign to repair, a driveway to dig out, and a list of other possible projects if time allows. When we got started we were pretty focused on the tasks in front of us and then we had to step back and take a deep breath and remember that one of important “tasks” we needed to include on our list is -relationships.

There are so many people we are coming into contact with that we need to be sure we take time to understand the culture we are working in and spend some of our time on the relationships in front of us.

The list of possibilities for new relationships is as long as our list of tasks. We have new friends from the US who are part of the team who came to serve. We will be serving together in the name of Christ. There are new friends at the  Inglesia de La Restauracion Methodista Unida -people who work at the church and people who come here for refuge. And there are people from the surrounding community who pass by the gate each day as we are working. It is easy to see that we have more similarities then differences. There are children running around (laughing and playing), women fixing lunch in the church kitchen, people working on projects together and people who love Christ worshipping together.

The second lesson I have learned is that the relationships matter- so we will take a cookie and coffee break mid-day and relax for a bit.

^“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 28-31



Jesus, name above all names             

Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.  

Emmanuel, God is with us. 

Blessed Redeemer, Living word. 

Jesus- name above all names. The words of this song were ringing in my ears Sunday morning at the 10:00 worship at Le Iglesia de La Restauracion Methodista Unida (for those of us who only speak English- The United Methodist Church of the Restoration).

The service was in Spanish but there were a few things that clearly spoke to us beyond the language barrier.

The name of Jesus Christ (Cristo Jesus). We prayed, we sang, we prayed some more and we heard the message. And in each prayer or song the name Cristo Jesus reminded us all why were are here and how we are joined together with these other worshippers. Our hands were raised in praise as we sang together to the name above all names. Awesome.

The sermon offered us more than you would expect for not being able to understand the language. Pastor Victor was gracious enough to include words like suffering and hope in English- we got the message. We know where the hope comes from- even when suffering is near. The Blessed Redeemer.

I will admit that my Spanish is terrible but there were a few other words that confirm our unity in Christ: Jesucristo esta agui and Gracias a Dios!

Amen. Worship was amazing.



Lesson One

 "Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous.
     Yes, wait patiently for the LORD."    Psalm 27:13-14 (NLT)

Lesson One from Mission Team!

   Our trip began with a flight delay due to weather! the good new is that the connecting flight was also delayed- we finally arrived 3 hours late! Patience is lesson number one (this will be a refresher lesson during the week I am sure!).

Sometimes the most awesome things can happen while we are waiting. God can allow us to see, hear, understand, and desire things we may miss in our busy lives. So we wait- sometimes even when we don't want to. God is going to do great things with our mission team this week. I can't wait!

Heartbreak and Gratitude - An unlikely pair.

We have had heartbreak. Losing my mother-in- law the week before Christmas brought a cloud of grief to our family. Once again Greg and I, Greg's dad, his sisters and their families and our children have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. We re-grieved the loss of two sisters. Our hearts are hurting.

On the plane as I made my way home I was reminded of Paul's words,

"Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:1-5 NLT) "but we rejoice in our trials..." Rejoicing was not what I was feeling.

But I was reading The Jesus Mission and in it Steven Scottt says that a grateful heart  is a visible sign of faith. The more I considered Paul's call to rejoice amid the heartbreak and Scott's reminder that a grateful heart reveals faith in Christ, the more I realize I have a lot to be grateful for:

I am deeply grateful for a mother-in- law who treated me like a daughter and leaves behind a legacy of love and faith.

I am so grateful for a family that walks through grief together with patience, compassion, and a commitment to unity.

I am grateful for friends who have comforted us, cared for us, and prayed for us during  times of grief.

And I am grateful for the promises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I don't know how we could walk through the heartaches of life without hope that God will walk beside us in this life and receive us into a glorious eternal life when we leave this place! I don't know how we would get through the grief if we didn't have faith that we have purpose in this life. I am grateful for a God who is all knowing so we don't have to be!

I am grateful for the promise that there will be a time when the tears and sufferings will be gone and rejoicing will be all we have to do! 

Until then -I will continue to be grateful for all that I have in front of me.

Grateful for the blessings,

Dawn