Opening our eyes...

Are there people in your life who you are ignoring?

Are there people you want nothing to do with?

Are there people you can’t forgive?

Sometimes as I am driving around with my four year old son, I will hear him shout out, “Dad!  They need a bag!!”  He is referring to the Matthew Kits we have in our car.  These kits offer supplies to people who are experiencing homelessness.  My son always has his eyes open to look for people who might be in need, and he can’t wait to offer a little bit of love to the world.

There are days I can become callused to the needs of others around me.  It is easy to see the imperfections.  It is easy to think of reasons why I can’t help.  However, our scripture passage this week calls us to look at the world with love.  We are not called to fix every problem.  We are not called to heal every wound.  However, we can see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.  We can allow God’s Spirit to flow through us when we offer a genuine smile to our neighbor.

This week I hope I can be a little bit more like my son.  I want to look out at the world and open my eyes to love.  I hope and pray we can all live with this kind of faith…

Blessings!

Pastor Brian

Rediscovering Joy

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were talking about some of the trips we have taken.  Our oldest child has had a number of great experiences.  We have taken him camping all across the west, and we have carried him to the top mountains in Nevada, California, Arizona, and Colorado.  As much as we love all these trips, we really haven’t gone on any big adventures in the past year.  We were just trying to get a basic sleep schedule figured out with our second child, and it seemed absurd to throw all that out the window to spend the night together in a tent!

Crazy or not, we decided it was time for an outdoor experience.  We were tired of the heat, and we were craving the fresh mountain air.  My wife found a spot in Pine Valley, Utah, which really wasn’t far from us, but it felt like a different world!  We spent time hiking, sitting around a campfire, and splashing in the creek.  Both kids handled the nights well too.  We went through a pretty good thunderstorm our second night and the kids barely flinched!  Sure there were exhausting moments, but we grew so much as a family!  It was a blessing just to cherish the world around us, and it was a blessing to take time to cherish each other!

 

Today, in our scripture passage, Jesus is going to describe what it means to be lost and found.  There is joy in finding the lost.  There is also joy in rediscovering part of ourselves that we forgot we had.  To me, this is part of the reason I love camping trips.  I am always surrounded by my wonderful family, but sometimes I need an intentional trip to remind me of the joy that God has already blessed me with!  God is always seeking after us, blessing us, and sharing love with us.  I hope we can all take time to find ourselves and discover the blessings around us!

Peace!!

Brian Ward

Loving the Outdoors!!  :)

The view from our tent!

Faith and a Canoe

When I was a teenager, I took a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota.  I traveled with a group from my church, and the trip became one of the most memorable experiences in my faith journey.  Everything was awe inspiring.  We had almost perfect weather, and I remember enjoying even the longest portages.  (This is saying something, because I always portaged with a canoe over my head!!!)  I don’t even remember the mosquitoes being too awful!  I simply recall the amazing landscapes, the loon calls, the stars, and the amazing people around me.  In the end, I couldn’t wait to go back and share the experience with others!

 

It has been almost 20 years since that first canoe trip, and although I have been backpacking in many other places, I have never returned to the Boundary Waters.  However, last week my wife and I moved one step closer to such an adventure.  We took our four year old son on a short canoe trip from willow beach to the emerald caves on the Colorado River.  We went with some of the young adults from the church, and we figured it would be a great way to introduce our child to canoeing.  He loved splashing around in the water, but we discovered that it was pretty hard for him to trust that wobbly old canoe.  He really did quite well, but faith does not always come easy when a speed boat rushes by!  By the end, he was ready to be back on shore…  We will have to wait a few more years for that epic canoe trip with the family. J

 

Sometimes life, like a canoe trip, requires trust.  We don’t really know where God is leading us or how we are going to get through the waves.  However, we are called to be disciples.  God promises to lead us on an amazing journey if we let go, have faith, and follow.   

Do you believe God has wonderful plans in mind for you?  Do you believe you are called to something beautiful?  We are going to make mistakes on our journey.  We are going to mess up and fall in the lake at times, but each day is an opportunity to take another step with Christ.  Each day is another opportunity to walk in love toward something beautiful… 

Blessings!

Brian

Searching for true joy

Do you like following the rules? 

I’m not aware of too many individuals who loved growing up with firm boundaries.  However, I know plenty of people, including myself, who benefited immensely from rules.  We may have hated them in the moment, but they had a real significance! 

A few days ago, I was responsible for putting my oldest son to bed.  We were out late at a park, and by the time we got home, it was already late.  We should have immediately started our evening routine, but I decided to let him have another snack… Then he wanted to play more… Then he wanted an extra story… I naively thought I could break the rules and just enjoy a fun evening.  However, it is probably unsurprising to learn that the night ended with a bit of chaos! J

 

I find the psychology of law and order to be fascinating.  Humans have a tendency to try and fight the law. However, people also need structure to thrive.  I know my kids need it, and I do too!  People have told me this before, but it is powerful to see firsthand. 

In Matthew 5:18, Jesus says he came to fulfill every letter of the law.  He clearly knew the law was important.  Nevertheless, he would break rules all the time.  He would heal on the Sabbath.  He touched the unclean.  He took a stand for God even when that meant execution…

I think we all need structure, but there are also seasons to ask questions.  There are seasons in life when law and order bring joy.  There are other times when these strict rules can suffocate us…  Today I hope you can find a place to reflect.  When is structure life giving?  When have the rules prevented you from seeing the greater joy of God’s Kingdom?  Jesus pointed out that we cannot always see the difference ourselves.  Usually, we have pretty bad judgment.  We reject the law when we need it the most.  We also will embrace the law when it is suffocating us.  Perhaps we all need an outside voice to hear us, reflect with us, and break our hearts of stone.  That is what the church is for.  I hope we can all be honest with who we are this week.  I hope we can feel accepted in Christ’s arms, and I hope we can be motivated to grow every day!

Blessings!

Brian

Cherish Love

Have you ever found yourself looking at old photographs?  I know it is kind of cliché to talk about how quickly time flies by, but I find it amazing to look back see where I have come from. 

My four year old son also loves to look at pictures.  He loves to see himself visiting Grandma and Grandpa.  He loves to look back at old camping trips, birthday parties, and he even takes time to remember the foster girl we took care of almost two years ago.  Life can bring its share of difficulties, but I believe it is important to cherish the moments too…  

Birthday Memories!

Last we my youngest child celebrated his first birthday.  Time really has flown by, and in so many ways it is all a blur!  The sleepless nights, the cleaning that never ends, and the relentless tornado of our lives moving us forward… it can all get pretty exhausting.  Today I am grateful for opportunities to look back.  I had a few extra moments with my son this morning to look at pictures, laugh, and tell stories.  I hope we can all find moments in the coming weeks to cherish the love that is among us.  I hope we can see that there is more than just chaos.  Let’s choose love this week!

Blessings!

PB

Bringing Love and Fire!

For as long as I can remember, Jesus has been an incredible source of comfort.  I grew up singing Jesus Loves Me, and to this day I believe Christ loves all the people of the world.  These are attributes that I have valued my entire life, and I cherish passing them on to my kids…

However, Jesus was also a fairly complex individual.  Certainly he always cared about love, grace, and forgiveness, but there was more to him… Take the words of Jesus from Luke 12:49:

“I came to hurl fire to the earth, and O’ how I wish it were already kindled.”

-Jesus

Yikes!  These words are part of our scripture passage this week, and they are not read in very many children’s books.  Nor are these words sung in any of the fun Jesus songs I know. J  This side of Jesus seems totally different from the one I grew up with, and I’m not always sure what to make of that.  I have heard people use these words to condemn others, but I don’t for a minute believe Jesus ever wanted to destroy another human’s life... 

Jesus lived everyday sharing love with fishermen, tax collectors, and the outcasts.  Jesus also spent time reaching out to the scribes, Pharisees, and powerful rulers at the time.  He wanted to bring the good news to everyone!  I think our scripture today is more about burning down the barriers that prevent us from seeing who God truly is. 

Almost every week I travel around the Las Vegas valley visiting all kinds of people, including those nearing the final stages of life.  This can be an exhausting task.  There is fear.  There is pain.  There is also a feeling of loss and grief that can be overwhelming.  However, I really believe these moments are sacred.  There is something special about declaring the promise of love among people who are all ready to listen.  There are so many distractions in our world.  There are so many moments when we give up on ourselves.  I believe Jesus wants us to burn all of these distractions away so that we can hear the real promise of Grace.  That is the beauty of these visits with people.  We are taking a moment to get rid of everything else that doesn’t matter and hear a real promise.  Today, that is my hope and prayer for all of you.  I pray that you could let go and hear a real promise of Grace. 

Blessings!

PB

Have no fear...

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

-Luke 12:22-23

Don't let the worries win!

Seriously, how powerful is this scripture passage!  I have read the average American spends one hour and fifty minutes worrying every day.  Personally, I can become anxious over the most ridiculous things, like what is for dinner!  First we have to decide what we want.  Next, we have to see what we have.  Finally, we have to find time to cook, listen to kids who want something else, and eventually we wind up with quesadillas anyway.  In the end, it should be a simple task, but it can cause undo stress.

Jesus continues:

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

-Luke 12:24

In many ways, Jesus lived in a very different world from us.  The ancient people of Israel faced oppression and death on a regular basis.  However, there are still plenty of moments of judgement, hostility, and shame in our world.  Instead of celebrating God’s gifts, we can trample each other to celebrate ourselves. 

The final part of our scripture says this:

“Have no fear, little flock, for your Father eagerly desires to give you the kingdom.

-Luke 12:32

God isn’t trying to judge you or shame you.  God eagerly desires to give you the Kingdom.  You don’t have to earn it!  However, we can lose sight of the grace God provides if we let our worries drag us down.  God is desperately reaching out to shower you with love.  My hope and prayer would be that you could open your heart and receive it!

Peace,

Pastor Brian