Tuesday, June 23, 2026

​​

​

And pointing to his disciples, Jesus said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother sister and mother."  (Matthew 12:49-50)

 

 

Jesus was a master at using ordinary situations to communicate eternal truths.

 

In Matthew chapter twelve, Jesus was speaking to people crowded into a house.  His mother and His brothers arrived, wanting to speak with Him.

 

Oddly, once Jesus was alerted to the presence of his family, He did not immediately exit the house and meet with them.

 

Instead, Jesus made a radical declaration to the crowd.

 

Pointing to His disciples, Jesus said, “Here is my family!”  “In fact,” Jesus said, “everybody who does the will of my Father is a member of the family!"

 

Jesus did not deny, or discount, His mother or His brothers who were waiting outside.

 

Rather, Jesus declared a true kinship existed, not only between those who were His disciples, but also between those who were his disciples and Himself.

 

Even as we praise Jesus our Savior and King, we must remember Jesus is also our brother.

 

We obey and serve Jesus our Savior and King.

 

We confide in, and lean on, Jesus our brother.

 

We have become the true kindred of Jesus.

​

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl

Monday, June 22, 2026

 

Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  (Luke 14:26-27)

 

So therefore, none of you can become my disciples if you do not give up all your possessions.  (Luke 14:33)

 

 

“Hate” is a strong word.  It’s also a word that grabs our attention.

 

The Jews—including Jesus—often employed a verbal tactic called hyperbole.  Hyperbole is the same tactic we employ when we want to place great stress on something.

“It took forever for the server to bring our food.  (If you got your food, it didn’t really take “forever.”)

 

“I'm dead tired!"  (Not if you are telling us about how tired you are.)

 

“The car flew by us on the interstate.”  (I suspect the car actually had four wheels on the ground the whole time.)

 

When Jesus said we must hate our loved ones (and our own lives) in order to be His disciple, He was saying He, Jesus, must come first, before even those closest to us.

 

Jesus said we must carry the cross if we are to be His disciples.  (Our crosses are not the difficulties placed upon us by the vicissitudes of life.  Crosses are burdens voluntarily lifted and carried on behalf of others.)

 

Jesus rounded off his comments about the cost of discipleship by speaking about our possessions.  In order to follow Jesus we must give up our possessions.

 

I believe this means we must place all of our possessions in the service of our Lord.  We don’t need to give away in order to give up.  (Of course, here we must be careful we don't fool ourselves.)

 

Long ago a man wrote about his conversion to Christ.  He decided he needed to attend church regularly.  At the time, he was living with his mother and his siblings.  They all objected greatly to his attending Sunday services, and each week presented him with a barrage of reasons why he should not go.

 

They resented his attending church, believing it was some sort threat to their own relationship with him.

 

In one sense they were correct.  In another sense they were not.

 

In Christ those whom we love dearly must become secondary to Christ Himself.

 

Paradoxically, this new secondary position is infinitely higher than the primary position our loved ones once held.

​

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl

Friday, June 19, 2026

​​

​​

Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  (2 Corinthians 9:7)

 

 

Some years ago I visited a church very different from what I was accustomed to both in terms of its ethnicity and its culture.

 

A visiting pastor was leading the service that day.

 

This visiting pastor spoke at length of the sacrifice and devotion of the current pastor of the congregation.

 

The visiting pastor then proceeded to call for a love offering for the current pastor—who was sitting in the front pew.  The visiting pastor directed the entire congregation to process to the front in order to place their offerings in a basket.

 

As the last of the people filed by, the visiting pastor looked into the basket and declared, “This is not enough!"  

 

The current pastor needed an offering large enough so that when he took his family out for dinner it would not be to “Micky D's.”  Off we went, for a second time, marching dutifully to the front of the church to place more money in the basket.

 

At the time I couldn't remember the specific Scripture reference above.  I did, however, remember something about God loving a cheerful giver.  This giving seemed to be less than “cheerful."

 

In retrospect, the members of that congregation were probably aware from the get-go they would be making a second pass by the offering plate, and so planned their initial contribution accordingly.

 

Still, custom or not, I didn't think highly of the process.

 

While such a process might result in a larger offering, I wondered if the tactic was less than biblical.

The Apostle Paul told us to give according to how we have made up our mind (not from emotional manipulation).

 

He told us not to give reluctantly or under compulsion (which ultimately leads resentment).

 

Finally, Paul told us to give cheerfully, (with joy in the fact that we can contribute).

 

Oh, and one more thing...

 

Paul declared the Lord Himself will provide us with every blessing so that we can share abundantly (2 Corinthians 9:8).

 

In other words, our cheerful giving arises from the knowledge all our resources come as a blessing from the Lord in the first place.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Thursday, June 18, 2026

​​

I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.  (Philippians 4:18)

 

 

The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians near the end of his life, as he sat as a prisoner in Rome.  Paul was awaiting trial before Caesar.  Paul certainly expected his trial would result in his conviction and execution.

 

Old, worn out, and soon to be condemned to death, Paul wrote his most joyous letter, his letter to the Philippians.

 

The church in Philippi had sent gifts to Paul.  Gifts brought by a man named Epaphroditus.  These gifts were heartfelt expressions of their love for him.

 

Paul was deeply touched.

 

These gifts were, at the same time, both meager and also extravagant.  The modest gifts of the Philippians were extraordinary because they were inspired by their devotion to Christ, and their affection for Paul.

 

Paul wrote to the Philippians of how he was now fully satisfied.

 

Isn’t that the way with gifts?

 

Simple gifts become profound when they are inspired by the heart.

 

Let us realize how terribly important—and holy—are the simple gifts we give.

 

I suspect our generosity has touched the hearts of more people than we realize, as we have given out reverence for Christ.

 

Few will respond to our generosity as the Apostle Paul responded to the generosity of the Philippians, with a heartfelt letter.

 

Nonetheless, may we continue to be generous in all things, in the name of Jesus.

 

For, what matters most is how our gifts are “acceptable and pleasing to God."

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

 

To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One.  (Isaiah 40:25)

 

 

One of the ways we understand ourselves, and others, is through comparison.

 

Any one of us (or someone else) might be...

​

Mad as a hornet;

 

Weak as a kitten;

 

Dumb as a rock;

 

Quick as a cat;

 

Quiet as a mouse;

 

Stubborn as a mule.

 

Strong as a ox;

 

…you get the idea.

 

In the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, the Lord God proclaims that He is beyond compare.  In vain do human beings try to find something worthy of comparing to the Lord.  God is simply too holy.

 

So, how might we even begin to understand the Lord?

 

We come to know the Lord God as we consider His actions, His saving actions toward stubborn and sinful human beings, like us.

​

“He gives power to the faint,

and strengthens the powerless.”  (Isaiah 40:29)

 

We recognize the Lord through what He has done.  What He has done for us.

 

The One who is beyond compare has entered into His creation, and into our lives, through Jesus Christ and the Spirit.

 

Because of this, we can know Him.

​

Blessings, 

Pastor Karl