Monday, August 31, 2020

HOW LONG MUST WE WAIT?

        I am not good at waiting. I like to know when the wait will be over. The hardest wait is when you don’t know if something will even happen. It’s like when you call a repairman to fix an appliance and they say they will come next Wednesday “between 8 AM and 4 PM." So you wait for that day to come and then wait all day, only to get a late call saying they need to reschedule. Frustrating!

        For ten years, every month I visited Darlene in her home to give her Holy Communion, and we would talk about family and world news. I tried to reassure her how we must trust our Lord Jesus who will help us along the way. And each visit, without fail, she would ask, “Do you think He is coming soon, Pastor?” Then we would pray and I'd give her Christ’s Body and Blood with thanksgiving. Jesus finally came to take Darlene home. 

        For many things, all we can do is wait and depend on promises. Jesus told His disciples He would be leaving them, and they would need to wait for His return which would come, “in a little while.” (John 16:16) When He told them of terrible things that would happen on the earth, they asked Him when these would happen. He said, “No one knows the day nor hour - not even the Son - only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) 

         With all of today’s dissatisfaction and rioting, frustrating disease procedures, political game-playing, and general lack of common sense among people, we may wish we could know when the end will come. But that time is in the hands of God the Father, not government or clever people whose sole purpose is to make sure it will never come. But there is a purpose for our wait. We are to keep busy praising God and showing His love to those struggling even more than we are.

        Jesus spoke of troubles in the end times, and said we must not give up hope during the wait. “He who endures to the end will be saved,” He promised in Matthew 24. But just sitting and waiting is fruitless. We must make good use of our time helping those who have their own struggles and share with them the hope we have. Waiting alone does no good; we must wait with purpose, faith and hope. 

        None of us should try to create our end. It is far  better that we trust the Creator until He signals our time on earth is over. The Divine Repairman will keep His Word. As we wait, each day let us help and encourage one another In the Faith.

“Surely I am coming soon.” (Revelation 22:20)

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

ARE THINGS AS BAD AS THEY SEEM?


        It must be a good time to be a pessimist! If you like seeing the darker side of things, today you have it very good. With Covid19, election-year politics, riots, drug problems, deficit spending, school insecurity and world unrest, who can avoid feeling that things are falling apart? 

But are things really as bad as we’re told? First all, I think we all need to take a deep breath and a look at things carefully. It’s hard to believe we are in greater danger today than we were during the last century with its Great Depression, World Wars, nuclear threats or even Viet Nam. The “Good Old Days” weren’t all that great with poor medicine, harder work and horse flies!

The reality is that, in most places of the world, homicide rates are falling, assault rates have declined, kids are safer than before, politicians don’t lie as easily, and mass killings have dropped from their peak in the 1940s. While we may feel society isn’t as gentle and honoring as it should be, it’s still better than before, partly because there is more awareness and more ways to assure people are protected.

So how can we get less paranoid about the state of the world? Don’t expect the Media to help. News is all about things now, real or imagined. It’s not about things that don’t happen. You won’t hear the Media say, “Here we are in a country where war has not broken out.” Or, “Here is a city where people honor the police and don’t riot.”  You won’t hear a newscaster say, “These candidates are good examples to follow.” As long as there’s rumor, conflict or violence somewhere, those events will fill the headlines, news shows and online blogs. 

The Good News is that Jesus hasn’t disappeared. He is still our living Savior, because God still loves His creation. The world today is no more out-of-kilter than it’s ever been. Yes, we still need to work hard correcting some things, but we also need more thankfulness and less griping. 

In college a half century ago, one of the first Bible verses we studied was, “This is the day the Lord has made - Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 188:24) I think it was with a professor who was tired of hearing griping students! 


How about joining me in giving thanks to be alive today?


Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

Thursday, August 20, 2020

HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOU?

         Have you ever considered how important you are to others? If you weren’t around, how would life be for them or even for you? A neighbor who is new to our cul de sac put her trash barrel out last evening and during the night a bear got into it. (It’s autumn bear feeding time around here). I went over this morning to help clean up the mess and told her not to be embarrassed because we’ve all learned this lesson the hard way.

        God uses us to help others. No matter what our occupation or role in life, we can be His arms, legs and voices to reach out to others with His help. We cannot supply everyone’s needs, but we each can help some folks a little. Our daily tasks, our gifts and even our casual assistance can provide a welcome service. Ultimately our service to people is also service to God. “Service With A Smile,” I recall an advertisement saying years ago.

        God gives us all extra time, abilities and resources so that we can help others who need it. With our gifts of time, talents and treasures, God is helping them, and He’s also helping us. 

        God’s greatest gift to us is not wealth or health or even family. It is forgiveness of our sins that gives us a better life now, and hope for life eternal with Jesus. With His precious gift of hope, we can live our lives fully here on earth and there in heaven with all its joys of eternal rest.

        You and I are very important to others! We all have a little something to offer those in need. No matter if we think can or should do it or not, we should at least try. May God lead us to realize this as we do our daily tasks with thanksgiving.

        “The eyes of all look to You O Lord, and You give them their food at the proper time.” (Psalm 145:15)

We need to help others, for their sake as well as our own.

Rev. Bob Tasler  www.bobtasler.com

Monday, August 10, 2020

SAILING IN OUR TINY BOAT

 

Dear friends,
        Yesterday’s Gospel Lesson at worship was about Jesus calming the storm while in a boat with His disciples. As it was read, I recalled the Breton Fisherman’s Prayer: “Dear God, be good to me; the sea is so wide and my boat is so small.”
        What a great prayer for our times! It’s easy to remember and can be be prayed often, whether in a time of personal or family crisis, a great need in the home, church, workplace or nation, or a time when we just need some personal calm and peace. 
        Life is like a long and difficult journey across a wide and unknown sea. It is easy to get tossed about or even lost. Even a large boat can get pushed about by the winds of fear and trouble.
        Sometimes we think we’re the only boat in the sea and fail to look for other boats we could help or those that could help us in the storm. We may spend our time pointing out the mistakes of other boats, or fall asleep at the rudder and let our boat drift into uncharted and dangerous waters. 
        But we are not alone at sea; Jesus, the Captain of our souls, is with us! He gives us the Chart and Compass of His Holy Word. Life is easier when we follow His Lighthouse Beacon, rather than the whims of enlightened little captains who are also wandering in the waters. We do well to pray often, “Dear God, be good to me; the sea is so wide and my boat is so small.”
        Sometimes we act as if we’re steering a battleship or a destroyer, charging others in the fleet. Other times our boat gets stuck in the mud, and we cry out or even fight the other passengers. We may act as if our boat is merely for our own pleasure and not also for rescuing others, so we sail in circles, going nowhere. “Dear God, be good to me; the sea is so wide and my boat is so small.”
        The Bible says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) Our hope and help lies not in the strength of our boat, nor the skill of our sailing, but in the Ruler of wind and waves.
        Jesus our Captain can bring us through the dangers of the wide sea, if we only trust Him. He will guide us through the storms and into the calm of His safe haven. It is because of Him that we can have godly joy amid any gloom and fear all around.
 
“Dear God, be good to me; the sea is so wide and my boat is so small.”
 
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com