More Like Jonah than Jesus

Last week, as Lauryl and I drove along a Georgia highway, we were able to listen to our Meadow Glade Sabbath School discussion lead by Shelly Opdycke, Shelly Williams, and Alex Browning. It was such a blessing to hear these ladies break down the book of Jonah in ways I had never thought of before.

As Alex read the last chapter of Jonah, these words really hit me as never before.

Jonah 4:1-2

'Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it — when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready, at the drop of a hat, to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!"'

Jonah had a unique view of God’s character (being in the belly of a whale will do that), but somehow he was unable or unwilling for that God to show up in Nineveh. We can speculate about his motivates for not wanting to go, but at the end of the day he didn’t want the God of mercy, he wanted the God of wrath and judgment.

Jonah may have been spat out of the great fish, but he really never left there. Even while he walked around the city of Nineveh, speaking God’s message, he was still running from God.

So he sat outside the city waiting, wanting destruction and chaos. His heart was set in one direction. What scares me is that after all Jonah had been through and after all that he had seen, he was still unable to allow God to be God.

When we look at the ministry of Jesus and His interactions with the religious leaders, I see shades of the spirit that was in Jonah. Many could not accept Jesus because He extended grace and mercy to those whom religion found unacceptable. The words leveled against Jesus should give us all pause - “He eats with sinners". Let that sink deep into our hearts today.

As Seventh-day Adventist Christ-followers where do we find ourselves? Are we more like Jonah than like Jesus? The question is simple and I hope it leads us to take an honest look at our calling to live-out and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

—Pastor Jackie

The Gift of Remembering

Part of the preparation for ordination in the Oregon Conference is something called "Theological Review." The ordination candidate writes a theological reflection on a distinct piece of Adventist theology, shares it with the ministerial department, and then sits with some ordained pastors in the conference who ask the candidate questions about their theological views and sense of calling. When I sat for mine, God did something really special.

The opening prompt was, "Tell us about your journey with God and how God has grown you."

I talked about my childhood, my ministry, my traumas, my scars, my successes, my learnings, and I shared about how God, through all these things, woke me up to my need for Him and how He meets that need. All of this filled me with a joy I did not have walking into the room. Remembering the ways God has acted in our lives actually changes us. Perhaps this is why the fourth commandment is set aside as a time to remember God as Creator (Exodus 20) and Savior (Deuteronomy 5).

I want to share remembering with you. Take a couple of minutes today and jot down the high points of your journey with God. How has God sustained you? How has God been a friend to you? How has God stirred you up to growth and action? Then shoot me a line about what happened to you as you practiced remembering. I'd love to hear your story.

—Pastor Jonny Moor

Bartimaeus & Paul

This past Sabbath we studied the difficult decision Bartimaeus had to make. Would he remain blind, but have guaranteed income as a beggar? Or receive his sight but lose his income? It was a lose-lose situation. Bartimaeus chose to receive his sight! Although his healing would bring new difficulties, for him it was worth it because at least he would see Jesus! (Luke 18:35-42)

Bartimaeus' story brings to mind a famous passage, Philippians 4:13. In context, Paul speaks about how his financial support had plummeted, which caused him much suffering. But through it all, he learned that “in whatever state I am, to be content” (v11). He finishes his thought by saying: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

But what are these “things” he can do? The context tells us: he is referring to suffering. He is saying, “In all situations, whether they are of need or plenty, I am physically able to get through them because Christ strengthens me.”

We often use this passage to encourage ourselves when we are not content, but this passage is ALL about contentment. It is about learning to be content with whatever we have, in whatever situation we find ourselves. It is about trusting that Christ is enough in our time of need and that He will strengthen us in order to weather the storms (Psalm 46:1).

In his healing, Bartimaeus embodies the true meaning of Philippians 4:13. We do not know what came next, but as we saw last Sabbath, it probably was not easy (“because the healing hurts more than the initial injury”). But we can be sure that with Paul, in his new difficulties, he said “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Although there may be new difficulties in our healing, Christ is with us, strengthening us all the way.

—Pastor Alex

Good Grace

Grace - this incredible gift from God. This abundance of forgiveness, love, acceptance, and joy all bundled into this one word. Sometimes I am afraid we use it solely to talk about forgiveness of sins. It is that, but oh, so much more. Grace is the good gifts of God poured out on us. Here are a few places that I have seen God's grace in our church and community just in the past few weeks.

1. A full pastoral complement! In my years as a pastor, filling the open positions on a staff takes months, at the least. Our process truly started in March, and by July we have two new, amazing pastors, making us a fully staffed church. This is absolutely God's grace at work.

2. Caring for others - I have heard story after story of this community finding ways to care for others. In this society that says "me first", I have seen God's grace through you all. Choosing to live by God's standards, instead of this worlds, is absolutely only possible through grace.

3. Finances - These are hard times. And yet, through these times, you have stepped up. Those who can, have reached out and offered to help those who are struggling. Those who have let us know that they're struggling, because of you, we can help. And, as we have let you know that we continue to be significantly behind in our overall church budget, you stepped up, and in June, for the first time this year, we made budget (even exceeded it by a small margin!) - something that doesn't always happen in summer months under normal conditions. Grace, grace and more grace. Thank you!

I could go on! Does acknowledging God's absolute grace mean these aren't hard times? Um, no. These are hard times. And, God's grace also means that we will continue to be cared about and loved through it all. I am so grateful.

—Jana Lee

Change

Acts 3: 12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

This past week, in my sermon "A Voice In the Wilderness", I mentioned this text. It stood out to me as a significant view into the mission and ministry of John the Baptist. As you read it, think about the implications of this text in your own life.

Tax collectors and soldiers were both the highest of traitors. Considered outcasts and sinners they were shunned from temple life.

Rome had wars to finance, as well as all their governing agencies around the world, and they financed it all through tax monies. Local, indigenous people were often given the task of collecting Roman tax. Each of these tax collectors had a specified amount that their territory was required to contribute to the tax coffers. Once that tax quota was reached however, it was all too common to abuse the system, overtax the residents in their territory, and gain significant personal wealth. If we look at the story of Zaccheus it shows us some of the social and cultural costs of being a tax collector.

The Roman army was not made up of just Roman citizens, they also conscripted military "volunteers" from regions that they conquered. This, just like collecting taxes, placed the burden of keeping order and following Roman law, in the hands of your friends and family members. Fear, intimidation, and brute force were how soldiers maintained order.

So, what drew them to John? Were the tax collectors hanging around to see if this was a good place to set up for business? Were the soldiers there because they were assigned to find out what was going on by the Jordan? Regardless of the why, something happened when John spoke and invited people to look deeper at what God wanted for them.

The Holy Spirit spoke to their hearts and change happened. In front of their friends, family, and maybe even the victims of their greed or brutality, they declared that God came first.

Let's not pass over this moment as just ordinary. Here we see how John set the stage for what the ministry of Jesus was going to look like to: the centurion, the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Matthew, Simon the Zealot . . . the list goes on.

While encountering John, both the tax collectors and soldiers knew they had to live differently. They would still work for Rome, but they would now live to represent God. This is the power of the Gospel to change and redefine us.

Is our understanding of the Gospel this big? Allow God to move you into a deeper understanding of His grace and His power to change us. Wrestle with this question "Teacher (Father), what shall we do now?"

—Jackie James

Protecting God?

When I was at Walla Walla, I met someone who had a unique perspective on certain concepts in the Bible. It was like, everything you thought you knew, she looked at with an alternative lens. One thing in particular caught my attention. She said, "People try and protect God when in prayer". I was confused until she explained further. She said, "How many times do we pray for the clearly possible, but not the necessary impossible?"

This brought me to a piece in I Kings 3 verses 4-15. This is the story where Solomon was told by God to ask for anything that he would want the Lord to give unto him. Out of all the things Solomon could have asked for - fame, wealth, a perfect life, etc - he asked for wisdom.

Solomon asked for wisdom so he could lead his kingdom in a prosperous and righteous way. Because of that request, God gave him great wisdom. But, God also gave Solomon great wealth and honor. Solomon's cup was overflowing with the riches of God.

Like my friend said, I think we often pray for the little things, the manageable things, the things that are just annoyances. But, when it comes to the impossible things, we think there is no way - like they are too big for God. For Solomon, he probably thought it was impossible to run the nation. But God is a God of the impossibles. God can handle it. We don't need to protect God. Like Solomon, let God work powerfully in our lives.

—Mitchell Powers

II Chronicles 24:4-7

This week, I have been studying the above passage in Scripture on King Joash. The story is only one chapter, but it has really hit me with some tough lessons.

Joash was only seven-years-old when he became king, following the reign of a brutal and pagan ruler. At some point, Joash saw the dilapidated conditions of the Temple and the missing sacred vessels. He knew Moses had laid out a plan for upkeep of the Temple, so he reminded the Priest and Levites of this part of their job.

The Temple’s beauty was not only in the building itself, but also in the ornate gold, silver, and jeweled vessels used during worship services. Did the Priest and Levites need to be reminded to their duty? Did they see the deteriorating Temple or had they gotten so accustomed to it, that it all seemed normal?

Joash saw it and knew something wasn’t right, and that something had to be done. When his direction was not followed, he didn’t back down. He called the Chief Priest and demanded action.

We can get so accustomed to living with dysfunction, it can seem normal - even acceptable. God is always calling us to live richer and fuller lives. This means God has to confront the dysfunction within us. In my own life, God has used His Word, the wisdom of friends, and even difficult life lessons to deal with the dysfunction within me.

What about you? Is there something in your life that has seemed normal, maybe even acceptable, that God is revealing to you as dysfunction? Maybe it’s too embarrassing to admit, or maybe you just don’t know what to do. You are not alone. There is power in the gift of community.

Joash saw the Temple regain its rightful glory because he called upon the community to help.

—Pastor Jackie