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

One Last Story

The room was dusty and cramped, as music stores often are, but orderly. Off to the right I heard the feeble attempts of a new violin learner to bring steady notes out of their new half sized violin. Cello had been my instrument for several years now and it was time, my teacher and parents decided, for me to have my own cello. I had been renting the cello I used. Yet I wasn’t so sure about it.

For several years I had played in different orchestras. They all had very good cellists in them and in comparing myself to them I didn’t feel like I played very well at all. I was uncertain if I should even continue the instrument or spend that much of my own money on it, as cellos can be several thousand dollars. Yet I consented to go cello shopping.

The assistant led us into the cello room. Cellos were lined up in little stands all around the room like soldiers at attention. Every cello was uniquely different. Some were bright red and shiny, others were dark maroon, some were orange and others had strips like a tiger. One cello was really heavy, another significantly lighter. Some were nicked with centuries of use. Others were shiny and spotless as if they were made yesterday. Each sounded different. One sounded like strings had been stretched across a cookie tin rather than a carved wooden box, another was soft and mellow, but had no projection.

After an hour or so one cello stood out among the rest. It was a new cello, made the summer before and had a slight orange tint to the wood grain. It had a great bass tone that makes cellos so distinctive and a treble that projected well. Still apprehensive about paying so much for it, I did like it very much.

We took the cello up to the desk to pay for it. When the associate looked up from the computer, I recognized her. “Hi, you are one of the cellist from the youth orchestra, right?” she greeted me. The past year I had been in an orchestra that did chamber groups, groups of 3-5 musicians who would meet with a coach each week and learn a chamber piece. I had liked her better than most of the other coaches. “Are you paying for this cello yourself?” she asked me. “Yes,” I told her. She then went into the other room. When she returned she said, “You were such a dedicated musician when I coached your group and I always enjoyed coaching for you. I talked with the owner and he told me to give you $200 off the price of the cello, to help you on your musical career.”

I couldn’t quite believe what she said. I didn’t think my playing had been noticed at all. And yet she called me a musician and thought I was worth enough to talk to the owner about me. Suddenly I felt that maybe I could be a musician. And at that moment I purposed to live up to the gift with all of the music I played. 

If you think back you can probably think of moments in your life when you were noticed and when someone believed in you more than you did. This past Sabbath we talked about the least of these. Sometimes people need food or clothes. And sometimes people need an encouraging word or a simple act that shows faith in who they are and what they can become.

 - Pastor Kristen

Fullness

How full are you feeling from Christmas? Whether we’re working still to digest that

scrumptious holiday feast or our souls are still overflowing from the love we felt from God and family, Christmas is all about a variety of fullness. There are lots of presents, lots of conversations, lots of activities, lots of meals, lots of blessings to be shared. We owe all of this fullness to our awesome God for sending us the gift of Jesus.

Colossians 2:9-10 says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” Jesus brought the fullness of God into this world for the purpose of us to experience this fullness. Christmas is for the purpose of filling our hearts with the fullness of the blessings which God intended for the world through Jesus Christ.

There are those, however, who haven’t had the chance to experience that fullness this Christmas.  The loss of a loved one, financial hardships, broken relationships, dividing distances of all kinds creep into the equation each year and often impede folks’ soul-tank from achieving full capacity.

Jesus entered the world for the purpose of experiencing life with us. He saw and experienced each hardship and trial. He saw, He suffered, He sacrificed, and through it all He still saved. He promises He is with us always. He sends us out on His mission to fill the earth with His message of fullness despite and to fight the emptiness still out there.

Fullness does not have to be just a feeling that fades. Fullness is a Friend named Jesus. He is here to stay. He is here to eliminate emptiness. He is here for the purpose of fullness forevermore.

 - Pastor Michael