Friday, May 8, 2026

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Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters, Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  (Hebrews 13:1-2)

 

 

Expanding on yesterday’s theme of forgetting, and not forgetting...

 

My second favorite story of forgetting was provided to me by an Alaskan bush pilot.

 

As our twin-engine Cessna 310 waited in line to depart from Anchorage airport, I chatted with the pilot, a man who had retired from United Airlines after spending years flying Boeing 747s.  Upon retirement, he moved to Alaska to fly for a missionary aviation organization.

 

Our wait was long, so our conversation went on for some time.  I asked him about the challenges of flying in Alaska.  He said the main challenge was to never become complacent.

 

Then he told me about one of his many landings in Anchorage.  He said it was a perfect landing, until he noticed the propellers had stopped turning.  He had forgotten to lower the landing gear and was skidding down the runway on the belly of the airplane.

 

He could not believe, after all his years of flying, he had made such a glaring error.

 

The moral of the story was, never ever become complacent.

 

The moral of the story for us is, never become complacent when it comes to walking with Jesus.

 

We ought never think, “I have those virtues mastered."

 

We're always learning.  We're always forgetting, and so we're always repenting and beginning again.

 

Pilots have “check-lists” for taking-offs and landings.  They run through those written (or electronic) checklists every time they do something they have done hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.

 

Similarly, we have a kind of “check-list” in God’s Word.  We place ourselves (and sometimes others) in peril when we set this “check-list" aside.

 

God’s Word tells us, “Don’t forget to show hospitality."

 

Let us be willing to “check-off” this task over and over again.

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Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Thursday, May 7, 2026

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Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters, Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  (Hebrews 13:1-2)

 

 

What causes us to forget?

 

We forget when our minds become focused on something else.

“I was so busy with (                     ) that I forgot to (                     ).

 

“I got so caught up in my (                      ) that I forgot about (                        ).

 

“I was so preoccupied with (                       ) that I completely forgot to (                        ).

 

My favorite story of forgetting involves a pastor who, on a beautiful Saturday morning, decided to go fly fishing.  He got up early and drove to a stream up in the mountains of Colorado.

 

As he stood knee deep in the water casting his line, he was hit with a horrible thought.  Shocked, he looked at his watch and realized he was, at that very moment, supposed to be officiating a wedding at his church.

 

How could he forget such a thing?  He had led the rehearsal the evening before!  He drove to the nearest store (this was before cell phones) and called the church.  People were shaking their heads, but mostly they were relieved he was OK.

 

This pastor had become so engrossed in the idea of fishing, something he loved to do, that he forgot all about the wedding.

 

(Whenever I forget something I recall this story.  It has a way of putting my mistakes into perspective.)

 

The writer of Hebrews encourages his fellow Christians to keep in mind how their hospitality toward strangers just might be hospitality shown towards angels.

 

Let’s pray that today, when given opportunities to show hospitality, in ways both great and small, we would remember how we might be welcoming even angels, God’s messengers.

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

 

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  (Ephesians 5:1)

 

 

Some examples are too far above-and-beyond our capabilities to be of much practical help.

Is Michael Jordan a helpful example for us to follow so we can learn to leap really high?

 

Would Einstein be a helpful example for us to follow to help with our math skills?

 

Would it inspire us if someone told us we should sing like Pavarotti?

 

The Apostle Paul tells us we should follow the example of God Himself.

 

How might we even begin to implement Paul’s advice?

 

First, Paul tells us to follow God’s example as dearly loved children.  We are not expected to “be like God.”  We are called to "act like God’s children," because that’s who we are.

 

When we help a child learn, we do not demand the child exhibit the proficiency of an adult.  Rather, we help the child move toward greater proficiency.

 

Second, God has provided both proof of His love, and also an example of what “walking in the way of love” looks like.  The stories of Jesus provide us with concrete examples of walking in the way of God’s love.

 

Perhaps as we follow Jesus, as we walk in the way of love, we will provide for God just a whiff of a fragrant offering.

 

Wouldn’t that be wonderful!

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Blessings, 

Pastor Karl

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

 

 

The last aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit is telling.

 

Lest we think we have no active part to play in expressing the Fruit of the Spirit, lest we think the Fruit of the Spirit will arise “naturally,” without our effort, the Apostle Paul adds the words, “Self-Control."

 

We do well to emphasize the word “self."

 

The Fruit of the Spirit is expressed in our lives as the Spirit does His work, and as we do our part.  We are not called to be passive receivers of the Fruit of the Spirit.  Rather, we are called to be active agents in making the Fruit of the Spirit manifest.

 

While we never take credit of the Fruit of the Spirit, we also never simply sit back, do nothing, and expect the Spirit’s Fruit to automatically arise.

 

We need...

(1) The Spirit’s work, and

 

(2) Our effort.

 

Nothing less will do.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl

Monday, May 4, 2026

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

 

 

I would be hard-pressed to name a fruit I don’t like.

 

While I am not keen on sitting down and eating a whole lemon (I know someone who is), most fruits taste good to me.

 

Still, I have my favorites.  I would choose strawberries over a pineapple.  I would choose blueberries over a kiwi.

 

Since we all have our favorite fruits, we do well to take careful note of the Apostle Paul’s words regarding the fruit of the Spirit.  

Paul does not tell us about the fruits (plural) of the Spirit.

 

Paul tells us of the fruit (singular) of the Spirit!

 

We are not to pick and choose our favorite “flavor," and then ignore what we don't have a “taste for."

 

We shouldn't say, “I’ll show kindness, but forbearance (patience) is not really my thing, I really don’t care for that very much."

 

The fruit of the Spirit is to be seen in our lives in all of the ways Paul lists.

 

Have we been neglectful in displaying one, or more, of the aspects of the one fruit of the Spirit?

 

Are there one or two we need to allow to shine forth more obviously in our words and deeds?

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Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl