Belay-tionship

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.  - Isaiah 26: 3-4

“I’m falling!”  Jed called out from near the top of the climb. “Gotcha!” I yelled back as I took in an armful of rope and held it firmly, waiting for the upward jerk as all the slack was pulled taught at his fall. It was the first week of summer camp, and Jed and I were working together to set up some climbing routes for our campers. A few minutes earlier as we had looked at the wall in front of us, Jed pointed to one route and said, “This route is rated harder than I usually can lead climb, but it doesn’t look too bad. I’m willing to give it a go. Will you belay me?”

In a basic rock climbing setup the belayer is the person on the opposite end of the rope from the climber. As a climber moves up the route, the belayer feeds the rope through a device called an ATC, which allows them, with the help of physics, to catch the climber via the rope if the climber was to fall. In a lead climbing situation like Jed and I were in, there’s potential for a longer fall than in a basic top rope set up. A climber can sometimes fall ten, twenty or even forty feet down. In a fall, not only can the climber potentially hit the ground, the belayer can get yanked up against the wall. A climber must trust that the belayer will pay attention and react smoothly if the climber falls. And the belayer must trust that the climber will do all they can to not fall. The relationship between the belayer and the climber involves a lot of trust both ways. Thankfully long falls are rare and most of the time injury is prevented.

While Jed and I had both done a lot of climbing on our own, it was still the beginning of the summer and since we had only known each other for a few days we didn’t have much climbing experience together. Yet to accomplish our job we had to trust each other. I had to trust that Jed was going to climb the climb and Jed had a trust that I would fulfill my duties as a belayer.

And so here it was that we found ourselves on the brink of Jed falling and myself being pulled up against the wall he was climbing. I watched as he peeled off the wall and fell. Thankfully it was only a short fall and I didn’t get pulled up against the rock. After a brief rest Jed tried again and was able to make it to the top of the route and set the rope for the campers. Both of us were a bit shaky when he got back down to the bottom, and gave each other a chalky high five. “ I guess we have started our belay-tionship.” Jed said.

This Sabbath Alyssa talked about the importance of relationships. When humans want to get to know someone new, we don’t usually start off by sharing our whole life story and everything that is important to us with that person.  We don’t know if the other person will hurt us or let us down. To get to know them we might start by sharing something small that is important to us or asking help with a simple thing. In the climbing story above, Jed and I trusted each other to climb together. Over the course of time, if these moments of trust are met with good results, then  a strong and trusting relationship is built. 

In the same way that human relationships require trust function, our relationship with God requires trust. For some of us who are just starting to explore the possibility of a relationship with God, we may have wondered how people who have known God for a long time can just trust that He exists. This is a valid feeling to have since we have had only a few interactions with God so far. There hasn’t been time for trust to be built up. The next step for us may be to take a look around our life and see if there is something that we can trust God with. It doesn’t have to be the big thing yet. Just something.  Then look for how he responds to us.

For others of us who have known God for some time and are looking for a way to take our relationship with God to the next level, trust is an important part in our relationship with God too!  The next step for us may be to take a look around our life and see if there’s anything that’s important to us that we haven’t trusted God with yet. This will take some deep soul searching and brutally honest conversations with ourselves. Then based on our experiences of trust with God in the past, trust him with this too. And look for how he responds.

The start of my belay-tionship with Jed was an important part in building trust for the rest of the summer. We went on to have many more fun adventures together because of that trust. I hope that this week you will be able to find your next level of trust with God.

 - Pastor Kristen

Growing a Longer List of Friends

Romans 16:3-9 says, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus.  They risked their lives for me.  Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.  Greet also the church that meets at their house.  Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.  Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.  Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me.  They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.  Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.  Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.  Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.  Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.  Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.  Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.”

Paul's list of people he wanted to greet was exhaustive.  Before Jesus Christ comes into a person's heart it's easy to see people as exhausting.  Jesus can turn change our exasperated attitude toward people, however, to one of deep gratitude.

God has blessed us by meeting some wonderful, salt-of-the-earth people in our years of ministry.   There are so many who are willing to go to great lengths to show love, friendship, grace and help because they have received the same and much more through the power of Jesus Christ in their lives.  And this is especially true of Meadow Glade!  We are so grateful for the wonderful friends we have made and continue to make here.  This past Tuesday night we gathered in the sanctuary for our church business meeting.  How wonderful it was to look out and see so many dear friends.  May God bless us in 2025 as we pray to make many more new and eternal friends!

 - Pastor Michael

An Orchid Story

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecc 3:11

I looked down at the shriveled bud lying on the windowsill under my orchid plant and wondered what had gone wrong. When I moved to my apartment, the plant had four buds forming on it. I was excited to see it bloom, as orchid flowers are so intricate, delicate, and showcase Gods’ amazing artistry. If taken care of, they last an amazingly long time. But they are also very sensitive and if damaged, shrivel up in minutes.

Unfortunately, the first bud shriveled and fell off. I figured it might have been because of some trauma during the move. But as the days went by, two more buds fell off. I was afraid that the remaining one would also fall off. Through some research about orchids, I remembered that orchids like indirect sunlight. The orchid was sitting on the sill of a south facing window where it got bright sunlight. So, I moved it to a north facing window, where sunlight never directly hit it, but it got lots of daylight. And I waited, hoping this would save the last bud on my orchid.

To my delight the remaining bud didn’t shrivel up. It has now swelled much bigger than any of the previous buds. Any day now it will unfold into a beautiful flower. In addition, there are four new buds that are also growing happily. Soon this orchid will be heavily laden with pretty flowers.

Sometimes we may feel like we are the orchid. We try to put out beautiful things into the world, but it all falls flat. Just like the orchid, our environment is significant in our ability to flourish. So this is an invitation to consider your environment and how it affects your life. What does your room or house look like? Who are the people you hang out with? Do you ever let yourself relax and soak in the feeling of a beautiful space? What are you trying to do and what environment will help you achieve that?

- Pastor Kristen

How Easy We Forget

Let’s begin with a short, random quiz. What did you have for lunch last Sabbath? What did you wear to church? What was the sermon about last week? (Don’t tell me if you don’t remember the last one). If you’re like me, it’s easy to forget. What if the quiz went something like this? Where was your favorite vacation? What were your colors for your wedding or graduation? Where were you baptized? Was that a little easier?

The question isn’t that we forget so easily, but why. Perhaps our mind doesn’t work as we’d like. Maybe because we face many distractions? Or, we just don’t think it important enough to store in our long term memory. We tend to remember significant moments in our lives more than the everyday events.

I’m amazed at those who have a gift for remembering names, birthdays, and anniversaries of others. And when they remember those milestones in our lives how do we respond? Hopefully with gratitude. Yet, even the best at remembering can’t remember everything.

That it isn’t so with God. The Bible declares that He loves you so much that He can’t and won’t forget you. Let me share a few thoughts from scripture. Did you know that God knew all of your days before you were formed? (Ps. 139:16) Or that God knows every hair on your head? (Mt. 10:30) Or that you are engraved on the palms of God’s hands? (Is. 49:16) It’s all there, and more. And not just you and me, but for all of his creation. Let that sink in. We are among the 8 billion people and God knows everything about each of us, and amazingly loves us the same. Even the best of us forgets others from time to time, but God never does. Examining my own life, I know it to be true. And I’m eternally grateful. How about you?

 - Pastor Jim

Keep Doing Good

Matthew 13:33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Have you ever forgotten about something and then remembered about it after it’s too late?  Well something like that happened to me not long ago. It was baking day and I wanted to make sweet rolls. I mixed all of the flour and oil and water and yeast and all the other ingredients together until it was a soft ball of dough. When it was all mixed together I picked out a bowl that was about three times as big as the dough and set the dough in the bottom of it. Then I put the bowl with the dough into the warm oven to let it rise.

A while later, I realize that I had forgotten to check the dough to see if it was ready to form into rolls and bake. When I opened the oven door, I stared at what I saw. It was almost as if the dough had turned into its own little monster. It had risen so much that it was dripping over the edge of the bowl and all over the floor of the oven.

That’s what yeast does when it’s put into dough. It may start out as small and insignificant compared to the amount of flour and other ingredients that are added, but it’s the ingredient that makes the dough grow and become light and fluffy bread.

And that’s very much like the growth that happens when a little bit of God’s love comes in touch with a person. It just starts to grow so it overflows!

In the New Testament yeast isn’t just used to signify the growth of good things. It also is used to demonstrate how bad things can grow. Paul talks about this in Galatians. He says, “A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good. At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Gal 6:7-9.

Think about your life alongside the growth of yeast. What little bad things could grow into being big overwhelming bad things? And likewise, what little good things could grow into being big amazing good things? Why don’t you try doing one good thing this week and see how it grows?

 - Pastor Kristen

22 Spiritual Reflection Questions

Happy New Year Friends! I thought it would be nice to share a possible New Year’s Resolution that you could use for your Spiritual Life. Below are John Wesley’s 22 questions that he and his small group would reflect on often to shape and form their walk with Jesus. They have been a tremendous help in my spiritual formation. I would encourage you to think, pray and journal through one question a day, for the next 22 days.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?

4. Can I be trusted?

5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7. Did the Bible live in me today?

8. Did I give the Bible time to speak to me everyday?

9. Am I enjoying prayer?

10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?

11. Do I pray about the money I spend?

12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

13. Do I disobey God in anything?

14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?

17. How do I spend my spare time?

18. Am I proud?

19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?

20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?

21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?

22. Is Christ real to me?

-Pastor Evan

Down and Up

My brother and I used to have access to a mechanic’s pit for servicing vehicles when I was young.  We loved to climb down into that mysterious, dark, oil-stained concrete cavern.  Being small, it was much larger than it would probably look today.  One thing I noticed about our deep dives into the dark pit:  Every time we were in it, we were always looking up.

Joseph was thrown into a dry cistern by his brothers (Genesis 37).  His brothers were tired of him making such a splash with his bold dreams and bright-colored coat.  One thing we see throughout Joseph's journey, in all of his moments of heartbreak, Joseph continued to look up.  In the deep pit it would have been easy for Joseph to have been consumed by despair, yet Joseph kept his composure because He knew where to look for help:  Up.

God was working in Joseph's life in wonderful ways.  There were Messianic hints everywhere to be found!  The Hebrew term for Joseph's coat of many colors was "ketonet passim" which literally translates to "a coat of stripes."  Isaiah 53:3-5 prophesies about Jesus, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

In 2025 we will experience ups and downs.  Planet earth is a pit of brokenness in need of a remodel from its Creator Jesus Christ!  Jesus knew what it was like to be in our place, in our pit.  He was despised and rejected yet by His stripes we are healed.  Every time we face a pit, hopefully we know where to naturally look.  Look up!  Jesus understands.  Jesus is there for us.  Jesus is coming soon to make everything new.  Jesus is always there when we’re down and He’s always willing to lift us up.

 - Pastor Michael