New Year

Philippians 2:1
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

I have to just say, as we are on the doorstep of 2021, that 2020 has left so many of us angry, questioning, uneasy, on-edge, and even shellshocked. As we talk about the hope of 2021, I fear we will unwittingly drag 2020's baggage with us.

We are often so concerned with what is happening to us we are unaware of what is happening inside of us. I have said these words to you before and today I say them to you again - 2020 could be the year that while we were focused on what was happening to us, God was trying to deal with what was going on inside of us.

The Bible offers insights we need to lean into about how to move through hard times. 2020 has taken its toll on us here at Meadow Glade - we are a hurting community, but God has more for us. On January 2, we, your pastors, will begin teaching through Paul's letter to the Philippians.

From his prison cell, Paul heard of the struggles happening in the young church, and his heart was moved to help them.

The Philippian community was near-and-dear to Paul's heart. They had been active supporters of Paul's ministry when no on else was. Paul not only wrote a letter of encouragement and hope to them, he also sent Timothy and Epaphroditus. Each would encourage the church by sharing the Good News of the Gospel and Paul's love for them.

I am convinced, in 2021, we have been called to be like Timothy and Epaphroditus. In this time, when so many have lost hope, we are called to be an uplifting voice pointing to Jesus.

It is not always clear why God compels us to reach out to someone. Maybe you do not think you have anything to offer right now, but in faithfulness, since God has moved you, you do just that - you reach out. And maybe what you have to offer is a kindred broken spirit who has found hope in Jesus. Sometimes all someone needs to keep them going is knowing that someone else made it through.

Happy New Year, Meadow Glade Family

—Pastor Jackie

Christmas Eve and for Laurel and me the next few hours will be fun(ish). After the kids are in bed and they are hopefully asleep, we will put on a holiday movie and begin the arduous task of wrapping gifts.

Tomorrow we will watch all our hard work become undone in a flurry of little hands and smiling faces. it will be a flash of time and before we know the day will be over. We will have FaceTimed family and friends and hopefully eaten off the good dishes without any fatalities.

In all that we do over the next few days, the one thing I pray happens is that we actually stop. We stop to allow our hearts and minds to reconnect with the Joy that only comes from knowing Jesus. Maybe even stop thinking about the little pieces of Jesus’ birth story.

Think of an innkeeper who for most tellings of this story gets a bad reputation. However, have you ever thought they were filled with compassion for Mary and Joseph? Seeing her, seeing him, they offered the last place on earth you would want to have a baby, but it was shelter.

We stop and think about shepherds.

How would you respond if in the course of your normal daily routine an angel spoke to you? Invited you to have an upfront view of prophecy in the flesh. The Redeemer King had arrived, and you were asked to welcome Him. There are no Priests, Rabi's or governmental agents, just you and Jesus.

Maybe we stop and think of the Angel. Given the task of heralding the arrival of God in human form. He knows God is love but does he truly understand what God has done?

Have your heart melt over the power of Emmanuel, God with us.

This Christmas be overcome by His story and His love.

Merry Christmas

—Pastor Jackie

A Voice in the Wilderness

Here is a question you probably haven’t asked yourself: Why do the Gospel writers introduce the ministry of Jesus with Isaiah 40? It might seem like a pointless question, but understanding this helps us understand the theological significance that the Gospel writers are communicating!

Isaiah 40 contains the proclamation that ended the suffering of the exiles in Babylon. It was the decree of the Lord to comfort His people after 160 years of silence and 70 years of Exile. Although in the time of Jesus the Babylonian exile was over, the Jews still considered themselves to be in exile and in need of restoration. When they read Daniel 9, they saw two phases of their deliverance from exile: (1) the Babylonian exile would end after 70 years (Jer 29:10; Dan 9:2) and (2) as soon as their Babylonian exile was over, their "exile" (of a different sort) would be extended another 70 "weeks" (in prophetic time meaning 490 years). As far as the Jews were concerned, Isaiah 40 would not be completely fulfilled until the messiah came to end the exile.

The Gospel writers saw the coming of Jesus as the fulfillment of this promise! Jesus marked the end of the exile! The end of divine silence! In Jesus the Christ, the Holy One of Israel speaks! In Christ, God comforts His people and frees them from their bondage–both physical and spiritual. Although it took a long time, God kept His promise. For it is written, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Is 40:8). Christ is our freedom (Ps 119:45; Jn 8:36; Gal 5:1, 13-14).

During the Advent season, Christians all around the world take this time to celebrate God's faithfulness in keeping His Word. What is tragic, however, is that Americans plan on worshipping a poor king who was born in a stinky manger, by spending 3.6-5.2% over 2019 in holiday shopping. Despite a pandemic wreaking havoc on the economy, the NRF forecasts that Americans still plan on spending between 755.3 - $766.7 billion!

Gifts are great, but… “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Is 40:28). And in the coming of His Son, He has kept His promise! He has decreed comfort and freedom for us! And so, we now look to the future when Christ will come again. Instead of spending enormous amounts of money this season on things we do not need, why don’t we, in response to God's faithfulness, join John the Baptist in preparing the way for the King?

Here is a short list I shared this past Sabbath of ways we can prepare the way for Jesus this season:

• Listen Empathically

• Be present in the moment

• Rejoice in the good. Build people up.

• Pray without ceasing

• Testify to the light (voice the good you see in others and the world)

• Be the voice and let Christ be the Word.

• Build close and loving friendships with people outside the church

• Forgive/be reconciled

• Be honest with someone about what you are doing

• Confess your personal sin to God or a trusted friend

• Studying Scripture

• Starting a spiritual discipline (talk to me if you would like guidance on this)

In keeping with His promise in Isaiah 40, Christ came into the world. And in Keeping with His word (Jn 14:3), He will come again. Let us prepare the Way for the Lord.

—Pastor Alex Portillo

A Demonstration of Selfless Love

At the beginning of my freshman year, in one of my first classes, a girl in the row next to me dropped her pencil. I picked it up and gave it to her. That's when I met Eden. We were fast friends. But over the first couple of years of high school, I didn't value her as much as she valued me. There would be times when she would reach out and, whether it was because of my peers or my priorities, I would be distant. There were times I was great but also some times, again and again, I made the same mistake. She wasn't constantly seeking a romantic relationship or anything; she just really valued me and wanted to help me out any time she could. She did countless gestures that helped me out or made me happy. But at times, far too consistently, I under-appreciated her efforts and even hurt her. She never let that get her down, and I still remember the day when I stepped back and realized all of the times she put in the effort and I let her down. After that, I began appreciating her more and more, and now we have been dating for over 10 months. At any point, it would have been considered normal for her to give up on me, but she didn't. That is selfless love.

So many times in our lives we under-appreciate God’s love for us. We feel God is intruding on our plans and our lives. Once we set aside our ungratefulness and pride we can truly accept God's selfless love for us.

—Aidan Scalf

Thank You, Lord

Breathe in… breathe out.

 Do it again, only this time close your eyes and be mindful. Listen, pay attention to your body and your surroundings. Feel the air come through your nose, expand your lungs, and lift your chest. Feel the earth beneath your feet, and hear the world around you. Allow yourself to be bored and unstimulated for just a moment.

 (stop reading, this will still be here when you get back)

 What did you feel? if you actually did it, you should feel more relaxed and in tune with yourself and your surroundings. What did you hear? Feel? See?

 I heard my lungs expanding, my wife laughing, birds singing and water droplets from last night’s rain. I felt my dog's soft coat touching my foot and the warmth of my clothes. I smelled brewing coffee and a burning candle. When I opened my eyes I saw the morning sun beaming into my living room and fish swimming in the backyard pond.

 Before I did this exercise, I was stressed. I was thinking to myself, “what am I going write about? What does God want me to say about gratitude?” I was staring at the blinking line on Word. All I could sense was my work, my computer, and my Bible in front of me. So, as I usually do, I stopped, pulled back, closed my eyes, and breathed. I said a quiet “thank you, Lord” in the exhale, and then, all of a sudden, my eyes were opened to see God's goodness. Breathe in my lungs, a beautiful wife, the song of birds, rain to refresh the earth, a cute dog, clothes on my back, good coffee, a cozy candle, beautiful fish, and the gift of another day of life.

 When we become mindful, we are able to see what is truly there; we are able to catch what we miss when we are in motion. Like a photo, the goodness of God is best captured when we are still. Even if it seems like there is very little, or much, to be grateful for, if we can bring ourselves be still and mindful our eyes would be opened up to see so much more.

 And when we see more, our hearts become all the fuller with gratitude and thanksgiving. The Apostle Paul wrote, [give] thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20 ESV).

 As we all take this time to give thanks, stop and breathe for a moment, that your eyes may be open to see more than you see now. And as you exhale, say “thank you Lord.”

 Happy Thanksgiving.

—Pastor Alex Portillo

Be Made Available to the King

In the most painful moment of Jesus’s death, where he drew his last breath, that was when we found most, our joy, our freedom.

God is love (1 John 4:8). His love, completely contrasting to the world’s dying love, is unfailing, steadfast, faithful, committed, and eternal. Jesus loved, so he sacrificed, he suffered. God loved, so he sacrificed, he suffered.

Today, as our heavenly Father is calling your name, engraved in the palm of his hand, calling you to open up your heart, your wounds, so that he may dwell in you- will you open up your heart to him? Are you ready to dive deeper into God’s love? And if you are ready, if you are willing, he is just as ready to dive deeper as you are. He is always ready to unconditionally love you.

Availability; capability of advantageous use. Because of Jesus, who is abundantly enough, you are capable and enough to serve for his purpose.

Let’s take a moment to be available to him right now.

Lord, thank you for always working in us. For gently tapping our hearts to show us your faithful love. Today, we lay down our selfish desires, our brokenness, our hurt, our anger, all down, so we may fully experience your glorious presence. You are our redeemer, our helper, our military aid, our rock, our foundation, and we look up to you in these troubling times. Let us be made willing to love you deeper today, to be surrounded by your love. Amen.

P.S.

Thank you from the deepest depths of my heart, Meadow Glade Church, for opening up your hearts to accept the word of God and what he had put in my heart. My prayers go out to each and every one of you.

love,

—Amy Akeda

A brief letter to a church I love, in the middle of a difficult time in our nation's history

I begin by letting you know I wrote this when the results of the election and the responses from various groups around the country were still unsure (recognizing they still may be unsure even at the time I read this to you). I know some of us may be elated and some of us may be devastated. I know some of us are anxious and some of us are at peace. We do not know everything going on around us in our country, but we know it is, has, and will continue to affect our church life together.

I have two messages. First, God is here for you. Our God does not abandon us when we feel our country has failed us. Our God does not abandon us when we feel our country has excelled for us. Our God did not abandon the Israelite's when they were in Egypt. God did not forget the people under Marxist Communism, nor Apartheid, nor genocide, nor democracies at the best and worst. God can support you, reach out.

Second, we are here for you. When I say we, I mean your pastors. When I say we, I mean your leaders. When I say we, I mean your fellow church members. If you are in pain, we are here to support you, to pray for you, to listen to you, to love you. I know a couple of us pastors may feel foreign to you with all the changes, but I invite you not to let any unfamiliarity you may have with us be a barrier between us! Perhaps God has brought us together at this time for just this purpose so we can go through a difficult time together. You can find our phone numbers and emails all over the place. We can support you, reach out.

—Jonny Moor