| Delights and
Disappointments |
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Delights and
disappointments. They both occur frequently in all human
lives. Let’s look at a couple of these for a minute. In the
delights department, consider the following:
• I had to go to Hawaii for a business trip for the mission board (no, really). We needed to rent a car, so I reserved a compact. I looked for a Metro or a Sentra in space C4. Instead, C4 contained a convertible Mustang. Delight. • On an episode of Storage Wars, one buyer tried to bid up the others and ended up paying $650 for a locker with beat-up furniture, a bed frame and a kid’s bike in it. As he threw the junk out, he noticed that one drawer of the dresser was quite heavy. In it was a coin collection worth over $12,000. Delight. On the disappointment side, see how you would feel about the following: • A Dad told his teenage son that he and his mother were going to buy a new car. The son sarcastically commented, “a clunker I’m sure.” His Dad replied, “It has three initials, I think you’ll like it.” The teen thought BMW, Jaguar XKE or the like. His Dad came home with a KIA. Disappointment. • A woman was told she would receive two treasured pieces of her grandma’s jewelry in the will. She did—both costume jewelry grandma had made in high school. Disappointment. Even Jesus faced disappointments and delights. He was delighted by his wonderful confession of faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Jesus was appalled by Peter’s denial in the courtyard of Pilate. Jesus loved it when the crowds came to hear Him speak of the Kingdom of God. He was frustrated when those same crowds wanted to make Him into the King of Israel. Did you ever notice the cause and effects of both? Disappointments (like the Garden of Eden) are the spawn of |
disobedience. Delights
(like
Enoch who walked with God) are the direct result of dedication and
doing the right thing. Because of sin, there will be disappointments. Because of God, there will be delights. King David, who knew of both, said “Delight your way in the Lord! Trust also in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4) And in Ps. 22:5, David reminded Israel that “In God Israel trusted and were not disappointed.” Those who listen to the Lord find blessings and happiness in their lives. Their lives are by no means perfect, but they handle the challenges with a wisdom and a contentment that can only come from God. When troubles come to the believer, the question is not WHY the sadness has come, but HOW am I going to deal with it. God has the answers. He reminds us, "Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” When people seek their own desires at the expense of others, sadness and sorrow result. When God’s will is ignored, destruction is sure to follow. How many family problems are not caused by selfishness? Alcoholism, drug abuse and anger and so many other ills are all fruit from the tree named ‘me first’. How many relationships are not pushed over the edge of a cliff by the sin of me? Disappointments of sin and people can only be overcome by the love and forgiveness that God works in our hearts. Peter was welcomed back. David was too. He was an Old Testament ‘prodigal son’. He disappointed God, himself and Israel. Yet, he was led to delight in God’s chastisement which led him to confess his downfall and be forgiven. No matter what happens, we can be assured of the same. As long as we live on Earth, we will be troubled by disappointments and comforted by pleasures. People will let us down but God will lift us up. |
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Something to Think
About…The Wrong Question
Who was responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus? Were the Jews responsible? The Anti-Defamation League is keenly interested in the answer. Their purpose is to oppose any anti-Semitism and seek justice, especially for Jews. Pope Benedict recently published a book in which he maintains that the Jews as a whole were not responsible for Jesus’ death. Instead he maintains only a few leaders were. Yes, the Jewish leaders were responsible for the death of Jesus. They brought down this curse upon themselves: “Let His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matt. 27:25) But that curse is not a curse upon all Jews. Peter, James, John and the other disciples were Jews. When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, Peter spoke to the crowd of assembled Jews and 3000 of them came to believe on Jesus as the promised Messiah. Did the curse apply to them? It was not the entire Jewish race that rejected Jesus. Later when Paul, a Jew from Tarsus came to faith, he became the apostle to the non-Jews. The gentiles would enter God’s kingdom by the same way the Jewish believers would—by faith in Christ. Often Paul was rejected in the Jewish synagogues. It made him very sad. “I have great sorrow in my heart” for his native countrymen who would not believe—in spite of their advantages. Why ask who is responsible for the death of Jesus? Sadly, persecution of the Jews has occurred over the centuries, a sin that flows from the hearts of even Christians. Anti-Semitism cannot be justified by claiming the Jews killed Jesus. Who was responsible for the death of Jesus is the wrong question, I think. Benedict appears to offer absolution for an event that God had prophesied. That seems more for political correctness than for the Gospel. In my opinion, affixing the blame or innocence distorts the message of the Gospel. The death of Jesus occurred because of the sins of the entire human race, regardless of human origin. I’m guilty and so is every other human. Better questions would be: ‘What do you think of Jesus’ or ‘What will happen to those who reject the forgiveness, life and salvation that Jesus offers?’ and ‘What is the real issue here?’ Is it not faith? The Kingdom of God is for all people. As Jesus said, “Come unto all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest!” (Matt. 11:28) The real question is, ‘Will I receive Jesus too?’ Pastor John Braun |
ANNUAL VOTERS MEETING HILITES: Pastor will be implementing a new series of Small Groups so that everyone can find one to fit your schedule and topics that are of interest to you. It will start in September… We will be putting stories about Good Shepherd in the local Christian magazine called Impact… Our lay ministers will handle the services while pastor is on vacation since he cannot get a substitute. Our called lay ministers are Ed Evans, Gene Langendorff, Ron Kerst and Patrick Tesler … Ed Evans and Tim Harsch were elected to the church council… Our June offerings were $12,160 while our expenses were $12,670. For the fiscal year, offerings are ahead of expenses. Our membership is up to 98 communicants and 127 souls… A new fiscal budget of $138,850 was adopted. Last year our offerings were $142,797 while our expenses were $135,054. A new air conditioning unit and carpeting for part of the parsonage needs to be done… WIZARD OF OZ: If there is interest, we’ll be taking a group to see the show in Walnut Creek on a September Sunday afternoon. If we have 10 or more people, tickets are $22. See Pastor if interested. Ron Kerst plays in the orchestra. FAMILY DAY AT THE POOL: Last week about 20 members enjoyed the Community Center pool on East Ave. It was so popular that we have scheduled another one on Aug. 28th. Patrick Tesler has details. NEW USHERING SCHEDULE: Ushers greet people, give out bulletins, light/extinguish candles, make sure doors are closed, and gather the offering. They also assist at Baptisms. Any communicant member can usher. This is a simple way to serve the Lord and your fellow members. See Gary Maass. |
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| SONDAY IN THE
PARK: On Aug. 21st, we’ll have our annual Sonday in the
Park. We’ll have our regular 9:00 service at church. Then
we’ll have a second service at May Nissen Park at 10:30. Tim Mann
will lead our music on his guitar. Following that, we have our
church picnic and activities. It’s a fun day. Bring a
friend! BIBLE CLASS NEWS: The Small groups which meet on Tuesday will take a break until the beginning of September when a NEW SERIES OF BIBLE CLASSES will be unveiled. We’re trying to find topics and times so that everyone can be a part of one Bible Study Group! The video & discussion of God’s Most Marvelous Creation- Man and his Inmost Being has already looked at the cardio-vascular system and cells & tissues in the Sunday morning class. We’ll look at earsand eyes soon. BIBLE BASICS CLASS, the class which answers all your Bible questions, has moved to MONDAY NIGHTS at 7:00. This is the entry level class and should be taken every five years. BIBLE CAMP: Bible Camp was a big success. It will be one week later next year, July 15th-21st due to scheduling at the campgrounds. It’s for 4th -12th graders. TEEN LOCK-IN The Bible Camp people are hosting a teen lock-in on Aug. 12 from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00a.m. in Citrus Heights. If you want to stay up all nite, play fun games, eat pizza, go to a movie have a water balloon fight and ‘hang’ with your friends, talk to Pastor. |
Humor- The Catholic Dictionary BULLETIN: 1. Parish information, read only during the sermon. 2. Catholic air conditioning unit. 3. Your receipt for attending Mass. CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the congregation to lip-sync. HOLY WATER: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY. HYMN: A song of praise, usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation's range. INCENSE: Holy Smoke! MANGER: 1. Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph wasn't covered by an HMO. 2. The Bible's way of showing us that holiday travel has always been rough. PEW: A medieval torture device still found in many Churches. PROCESSIONAL: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass, consisting of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats. RELICS: People who have been going to Mass for so long, they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand. TEN COMMANDMENTS: The most important Top Ten list not given by David Letterman. USHERS: The priests ‘muscle men’. When spelled with an ‘H’ in the front, those whose job it is to keep others quiet (to avoid waking—and embarrassing— the sleepers). |
