Guía de la iglesia

It was Alexander Pope who immortalized the words “To err, is human; to forgive, divine.” One of the inherent facts of being human is that we all commit sin. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans3:23), and John cautioned us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). So, while Alexander Pope penned his motto to encourage us to forgive one another, we should reflect on the great desire of the divine Savior to forgive all who come to Him. Repentance is not only for those caught in serious transgressions. Jesus intended that repentance would be consistently used by everyone. We all need the divine forgiveness that can only come from Christ. Question for Today: Is repentance a consistent practice in my life?

Reclining at his table, Simon had the Holy One of Israel in his house. The Prophet that Moses had foretold had accepted his invitation to share a meal. He would be face to face with the Resurrection and the Life. The moment he claimed to be living for had arrived. It should have been the highest and greatest honor for Simon to host the Messiah. But Simon was not amazed. As he looked at Jesus, all he saw was a dusty Nazarene with dirty feet. As a Pharisee, Simon likely had learned significant and memorized extensive portions of Scripture, exercised rigorous self-discipline, tithed accurately, spent much time serving God, and enjoyed a reputation as a godly man. And yet he loved the image of himself more than he loved the Son of God. Question for Today: Do I love the image of myself more than Jesus?

Sinfulness is the general characteristic of all mankind. We are all guilty before God. We are sinners by nature and by our own acts of transgression. Jesus comes calling sinners to follow him. That is you and me. Some of us do not realize we are the sick, in need of a doctor, because we have decided we are “righteous,” or at least more righteous than those other people over there. We are not tax collectors. We are not traitors. We are not enemies of the people. Compared to those kind of people, we are pretty righteous. But if we are not sinners, Jesus cannot help us. Jesus cannot get close to us, because we are not really inviting Jesus to our table. But if we know we need healing, Jesus pulls up a seat at our tables. Question for Today: Do I know I need Jesus?

We live in a world that likes to keep score. We are score keepers. Whoever has the most points wins. And keeping score takes place all the time in our world, not just in the athletic world. Holding onto offenses and/or keeping score of wrongs and rights are two of the greatest and most destructive behaviors of score keepers. To hold onto an offense we first have to judge the person who offended us. To keep score we have to put conditions on our acts of love, mercy and kindness and on others. Judgment and putting conditions on others will lead to hardness of the heart. And we will lose no matter how many points we have. Question for Today: Do I judge and put conditions on others?

One of the most fascinating things about Jesus is how much time He spent with people for the short time He spent on earth. His time was not spent expounding theological thoughts or giving doctrinal discourses. Jesus took His time to be with people: good people, bad people, hyper-religious people, self-condemned people, sick people, even a few dead people. Jesus made friends with disreputable sinners, people that society rejected: Zacchaeus, Matthew, the woman caught in adultery, the thief on the cross. He made friends with invisible people, those that society ignored or undervalued: Peter, James, John, and the rest of the disciples. He reached out to the blind and the lame and the lepers, and He healed them with no strings attached. He wasn’t faking anything. He was not putting on a show so we would think more highly of him. He was not trying to look relevant or win votes. He actually loved people. Imagine what our world would be like if we loved people like Jesus. Question for Today: Am I faking my love for people?

Building a fire is one of those things that you might sort of know how to do. A good fire requires three types of fuel. The first fuel is tinder which is small dry twigs. Next is kindling which is wood that is slightly larger than tinder, usually less than an inch in diameter. This will burn easily and get your fire going, building a coal bed for the larger wood. Finally, logs are the wood needed to go on the fire last. Logs build the fire up to the right size. But a fire is not just built. As the fire burns, it requires more wood. Therefore, a fire requires more than building. It also requires constant attention. The same is true for our relationships with Christ and each other. Our relationships require both building and constant attention. Otherwise, they burn out. Question for Today: Is my relationship with Christ and others burnt out?

Outside our homes, we have mats that say “welcome.” But the truth is that it is there so people can wipe their feet before they enter our house rather than really a welcome. The word “welcome” actually means a “greeting given due to joy upon someone’s arrival.” If that is the case, there are some people I do not welcome. I am selective in deciding who is welcomed into my home. So really my welcome is limited. It has some terms attached to it. But if I really meant welcome and really followed the example of Jesus, there would be no terms attached or limits to my welcome. Question for Today: Do I really welcome everyone into my home?

There are many TV shows about houses that appears to be beyond repair. But someone sees potential in a house and makes all the repairs and happily restore the house. They “fix” the house. We have a bad habit of trying to “fix” people, happily pointing out all the faults we find in them. We’d prefer to fix them rather than be with them. But people are different than houses. They know whether we are looking at them as a project or as a person. They know whether or not we see them. Jesus transformed lives by loving and caring and compassion, not by judging and chastising. He saves His chastising for the righteous religious leaders. If we want to be at the table with Jesus, we better be sure to remember that He has set a lot of seats, and invited a lot of friends to join Him already. If we want to be in the company of Jesus, we better start taking a good look at the company He keeps. Question for Today: Do I try to “fix” people instead of being with them?

Come to the Table this Sunday at Turning Point UMC Enjoy some fresh melon beginning at 9:45 AM Grace at the Table 10:30 AM

If we get to pick our seats, our choice of seats is always around others that are like us. In high school, everyone knew where their seats were. The “nerdy” types sat with each other, and the popular kids, football players and cheerleaders, all sit together, and the band kids would sit at another table, and so on. Everyone sat at the same tables every day. What we learned in our school days tends to stick with us. So when it comes to mealtimes, we are mostly creatures of habit. We tend to sit in the same places and eat with the same people. Not all of us and not all of the time. But most of us, most of the time. Jesus’s eating habits in the gospels, then, are noticeably different. His choices of eating companions step outside of our norms. Apparently nothing much has changed in 2000 years, because the religious leaders in Jesus’ day just couldn’t get over how many customs Jesus was always breaking when he sat down to eat with folks. We need to pay attention and practice what Jesus said at meals and who he ate with, and what others said about his choice of meal companions, and about what he taught at the table. Question for Today: At the table, do I choose what kind of people I sit with?

In Jesus’ time, tax collectors were pretty much hated by the people. These were Jews who were taking advantage of everyone by collecting Rome’s taxes plus a surcharge to line their own pockets. To many, they were considered “outsiders” and just as much enemies as the Romans. Jesus eating a meal with a tax collector would be like me and you having dinner with a loan shark. Our friends and family probably would not be impressed. But Jesus wanted this man, even if he was an enemy of the people, to be saved and follow Him. Each of us, before we came to Christ, were God’s enemies. Jesus loves us so much that He not only wanted to make us friends, but He also wanted to make us family. And His loves covers our “enemies” as well. Question for Today: Do I know any “enemies” who need Jesus?

Many want to come to church on Sunday and sing praises to the Lord, but refuse to allow the Lord to come into their homes. Luke writes, “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them” (Luke 5:28-29). Levi wanted Jesus in his home. Levi hungered to spend more time with the Lord. There was a desire to witness. He invited many of his old friends and associates to the feast. Levi used his own home as tool to reach others with the gospel because he wanted them to meet Christ as well. Question for Today: What do I have that I could use to reach others?

For two days there has not been a daily devotion. Checked website Monday. There was nothing there. Checked again Tuesday nothing there. Was it forgotten or does it no longer exist? Maybe the writer got tired of a daily production. Think about everything that had to happen for this morning to exist. The earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life. The earth is located the right distance from the sun. Any closer, we would burn up. Any farther away, we would be frozen. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees. Gravity remains consistent. The earth rotates in the same 24 hours. These are only a few things that have to take place for us to live. And God sees that these things and much, much more takes place every moment for life to exist. Whether we love Him or not, God sure does love us. We are never forgotten. God never gets tired of taking care of us. He shows up every day. Question for Today: Have I forgotten how much God loves me?

A recent headline questioned, “What Makes People Happy?” The article explained that psychologists now know it is not great riches that make for happiness but friends and forgiveness. The experts reported that materialism, the gaining of “things” is actually toxic for happiness. In contrast, studies with thousands of people showed that the happiest people are those who surround themselves with family and friends, do not care about keeping up with the Joneses, lose themselves in daily activities and other people, and most important, forgive easily. Jesus told us these truths a long time ago. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” No psychologists or studies needed. We just need to trust Jesus for the truth. Question for Today: Do I trust Jesus for the truth?

In the corporate world, the profit and loss statement is a vital and important account that sums up the health of a business. It is reviewed often to make sure the company is on target and that adjustments are made properly. I only wish the same amount of diligence was given to our souls. According to Jesus, the soul is the most valuable asset we have. He asks each of us a very important question: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” If we look at our lives like a profit and loss statement, are we on target according to Jesus? Or do we need to make proper adjustments? Question for Today: What would a profit and loss statement of my life look like?

If you dangle a carrot in front of someone or offer them a carrot, you try to persuade them to do something by offering them a reward. Money and earthly things are the carrots the Enemy uses to dangle in front of us as rewards in this life. Little by little this dangling turns us into covetous people. We may never make Forbes’ list of the wealthiest people in the world, but covetous people have a way of getting their hands on stuff. There is never a feeling of being satisfied with what one has for a heart filled with covetousness. There is always the longing for more, more, more. Jesus asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Are we listening? Our souls are the most valuable thing we own. Are we willing to trade it for carrots? Question for Today: Am I trading my soul for things?

What does losing our lives for Jesus sake look like? For John Huss and John Wycliffe it was willingly facing death for refusing to denounce their faith, knowing that Jesus had warned, "If you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father." For Jim Elliot and Nate Saint and three others it was refusing to use their guns against the attacking natives, believing that dying for Christ was far more important than killing unbelievers who would never have another chance at salvation. Take time and look up what caused these to lose their lives. And we think we are having a bad day. For hundreds, even thousands of years, there have been those who have stood firm in the gospel despite being persecuted, laughed at, and at times, slaughtered. But a shift has taken place. Now, as followers of Jesus Christ, not only do we shy away from persecution and hardship, we question Jesus in the midst of it. Are we really willing to lose our lives for His sake? Question for Today: Am I willing to be persecuted, laughed at, or even slaughtered for the sake of Jesus?

Tables are one of the most important places of human connection. We’re often most fully alive to life when sharing a meal around a table. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, to find that throughout the Bible God has a way of showing up at tables. Come to the Table this Sunday at Turning Point UMC 10:30 AM.

Great day at the BIG EGG HUNT! Thanks for COMING!