THANKS FOR THE RAIN!

        Thanks for all your prayers about keeping rain away from last week’s Best Practices in Ministry Conference in Phoenix. God sent rain anyway, which was greatly needed in the desert. About 2,500 hardy souls braved the chilly and soggy 40 degree days to learn new ways and meet new friends in ministry in our congregations, schools and organizations which share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it was all free. The speaker sessions and tons of food cost the attendees nothing. Wow!

        Despite the wet chill, there were many smiles, an abundance of food and much laughter. Nearly all who came said it was better weather than what they’d left back home. But it was chilling being outside for two days. In my younger days, I’d have quickly shaken it off, but it was Sunday noon before I finally warmed up. 

        I commend Pastor Jeff Schrank and the hundreds of volunteers from Christ Church-Lutheran, as well as their church and school staff for all their effort. Their dedication to hosting this event and helping bring new ideas, directions and methods to 2,500 attendees from the hundreds of congregations and organizations they represented. I can attest there were a couple of hundred folks, young and old, who were exhausted from being on their feet and giving aid to all who came.

        It was great to be there among the members of the Body of Christ. St. Paul wrote, “Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Again Paul said, “Christ Himself gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

        The Body of Christ is a marvelous creation of the Holy Spirit. It’s living parts bring their skills and dedication, energy and faith to help share the Good News of Jesus Christ. There is much news in the world, some of it good and most of it bad. But there’s no better news than Jesus, the Word of God in the flesh who gave His life for us that we might give God’s Good News and hope to a world struggling to find hope and understand its purpose. 

        All of us believers can share the hope we have in Jesus. May we all be encouraged by the hope we also need, as we live out each day.

Thank You, Lord, for all the people and all the rain!

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com 

AM I REALLY A GOOD PERSON?

        I had an MRI this morning to see why my neck has been so stiff and sore. It’s not easy remaining still for those 15-20 minutes, but it is possible. If you ever have an MRI, close your eyes during the entire test. Don’t open them until it’s over. I’ve found that’s the best way to deal with claustrophobia.

        Stiff necked, Pastor Bob? Doesn’t the Bible talk about that and having a hard heart too? (2 Chronicles 36:13) I’ll guess I’ll see ifI have both of those this summer when I have a scheduled heart MRI. We can be sure, though, that no matter what tests may show, we are all a bit stiff necked and hard-hearted.

        Are you a good person? What do you see when you look in the mirror? Last Thursday Carol and I were leaving downtown Phoenix when a red light stopped us at an intersection, and a young woman held up a sign to get a donation. It said, “2 Honest 2 Steal, 2 Ugly 2 Prostitute. Please Help Me! ” I chuckled at her honesty and would have given her money had not the light turned green. 

        Honesty is not practiced enough in our world today. “I’m a good person. I haven’t sinned today,” we may say. Really - a good person? Maybe we haven’t stolen, killed or committed adultery, but can we really say that makes us a good person?

        The Bible says we don’t just commit sin, we are sinners. It’s in our nature to rebel against God’s Law, no matter how good we try to be. Following Jesus can help us avoid some sin, but it doesn’t take away the reality of that we’re still sinful, and therefore we need Jesus’ forgiveness. Despite how good we may feel we are, we will always need Jesus. We can never be good enough without God’s mercy in Jesus.

        God’s Word, Bible, says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) It also says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

        Do your best today to be a good person, but always remember you’re only good enough because of Jesus. 

“Please Help Me!”

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

INFANTICIDE IS NOW LEGAL??

        I doubt that whoever first said “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile” could have imagined that American citizens would one day be trying - and succeeding - to make infanticide legal. There have always been some people in every culture capable of being so (confused, warped, misinformed, selfish - your choice) as to treat babies as disposable. But I didn’t think I’d live to see the day the governor of a state would want to make it happen.

        Yet last week we heard Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam join New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in explaining it’s proper and right to bear a child into the world, make it comfortable and then call a meeting to see if it should be allowed to live. Their actions prove once again, “The unthinkable becomes thinkable, then acceptable, and then preferable.” 

        As Georgi Boorman wrote today in The Federalist, “Where is this evil coming from and how do we stop it?” Her article answers her question well.

        Certainly, abortion and infanticide have been practiced in history, but not in America and certainly not among Christians. It’s bad enough that “enlightened thinkers” of the past - Cicero, Seneca, Aristotle, etc. - believed it proper to drown, kill or dispose of children deemed sickly, deformed or otherwise disposable. But some people of “progressive” states are now considering disposal of any newborn, no matter how normal, healthy or cute, as long as the mother and/or others think the child is inconvenient. Babies ought never be considered discardable trash.

        Judeo-Christian morality has tried to save us from this kind of evil. Up until the epic 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision of SCOTUS, it succeeded well. But “Give them an inch…” is surely showing itself true in most states, especially New York and Virginia. Who will be next?

        Murder, the needless and selfish taking of human life, has always been forbidden in the Bible. “You shall not commit murder” (Matthew 19:18) has been and always will be  in the Ten Commandments. But after two millennia of laws enacted against it, are we now to think infanticide is okay? 

        It’s time for moral people to stand against those who would tell us this kind of murder is acceptable and preferable. It’s time for Christians to say, “Enough!”

Lord God, forgive us for letting this happen in our nation.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com 

"CHANCE" SOLVES EVERYTHING?

        I saw a Cuyler Black cartoon print going around the weekend of the annual March for Life earlier this month. It showed two snowmen in a yard, one saying to the other, “Don’t be absurd! Nobody made us! We evolved by chance from snowflakes.” Yes, truly!! Who in their right mind would think that possible? But snowmen are merely frozen molecules of H2O. Where did the carrot nose, hat, coal buttons and stick arms get there? By chance?

        I’m reading - for the third time - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Zondervan, 1987), a joint work by Phillip Yancey, best-selling author and editor at Christianity Today, and Dr. Paul Brand, renowned hand surgeon and specialist in treating leprosy. The two present a fascinating approach to explaining how the human body works - how the many thousands of types of cells work together to help us walk, talk, feel or process food, as well as repair itself, soothe our hurts, give us pleasure, defend weaker cells, or do a thousand other things different types of cells do for the body. The authors call it “cell cooperation.” 

        Besides understandable lessons in anatomy, the book insightfully compares cell cooperation to the Body of Christ, the Church, and how indispensable each of us are in that Body. The book also re-affirms how impossible is could be for all these cells to “evolve by chance” as secularists would have us believe. 

        Acts 17:28 tells us, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” If we humans think it absurd that snowmen could be made by the chance falling of snowflakes, how can we think it’s possible for a human life to appear by chance? That should surely qualify as absurdity. 

        Perhaps we should learn how we are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made before we accept beliefs that chance evolution solves the secret to life. God has made us with such intricate and amazing bodies, not chance. There can be no other solution.

Thank You, Lord God, for giving us bodies and minds to “live and move and have our being.”

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

JESUS IS OUR BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS

        Fifty years ago Simon and Garfunkel recorded the popular song, “Bridge Over Trouble Waters.” Its gentle words encourage us to be a helpful connection for troubled people. The chorus line went: “Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will lay me down.” One of its verses said, “When you’re down and out, feeling low, I’m by your side, I will comfort you.” It was good sentiment, urging people to lend a helping hand to the troubled.
        Part of what made that song a success was its contrast to the pained songs of war protesters or the angst-ridden screeches of drug culture music. A “Bridge Over Trouble Waters” is still a wonderful concept for times like these. There many troubled waters we, our children and our friends must navigate these days.
        It’s comforting to know this is why Jesus came to earth, to be the connection between us and God. He is the One who shows sinners to way to the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. He is the bridge between us wayward children and our eternal loving Parent, the One who created us, cares for us and welcomes us home.
        1 Timothy 2:56 tells us, “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus.” He is God’s Bridge over life’s troubled waters we can walk all the days of our lives. Through Him we can live joyfully and purposefully now, and cross over into eternity when He calls us home.

Thank You, Jesus, for being our Eternal Bridge.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

OH MY GOD!

Have you ever said, “Oh my God!” and considered what those three words mean? Have you ever thought of that phrase as an expression of gratitude? How do we show our gratitude when we are truly grateful?

One night in the desert I saw a marvelous sunset, its vibrant colors on fleecy clouds in a clear and changing sky with deepening reds, yellows and blues. It was a sight only God could create in such grand fashion. I quietly said, “Oh my God!” because it was so beautiful and so fleeting.

“Oh my God!” a teenager says. I have often been critical of hearing those words flippantly spoken, yet they can have great meaning. Something worthwhile was seen, a connection made to cause us to cry out to our Creator, “Oh my God!”

Sometimes our day starts out grey and chilly, but ends with a warm display of brilliance we could not have imagined. Today is God’s gift, and this very moment it is the only thing we can truly own. Today has such great value to our existence that gratitude to Him should be our response.

Today we will experience life, our own and the lives of others. Let’s open our eyes and see the sky and the weather. It is wondrous and ever changing. Look at the faces of the people you meet. They are unique, original and perhaps interesting, and you have eyes to see them. Millions cannot see with eyes like yours, for their world is darkness.

Turn on the faucet and see the clean water coming out, hot or cold, and realize many millions do not have this gift you take for granted. Smile at a friend and realize for just a moment the value of that person smiling back at you. Perhaps they like you, maybe even love you.

God loves you forever through Jesus, His Son. If you can count even a few small blessings in your life, then let your gratitude overflow to others around you, and also to your Creator. Then it is most appropriate to say, “Oh my God!”

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)

God loves to hear us call out to Him, no matter when it is.

CHOOSING THE GOOD

Dear friends,

        When can we finally say “Enough!” ? When can we choose another way? A professor once told his class he’d been a fair pianist in his youth. His mother required him to take piano lessons, twelve years in all, and he became quite skilled, accompanying church or family or performing a piece others delighted to hear. He didn’t always like doing it, but he continued because he had the skills and felt he was needed.

        Then one day he realized he didn’t want to play piano any longer. “I didn’t dislike the music, but I just didn’t want to play it any more,” he said. “People asked why I’d stopped and urged me to go back to the keyboard. They said I was too skilled to stop, and some even said I was wrong. But I made my choice and I’ve felt it was the right one.” Dr. Walter Bartling told us this as a seminary professor, a teacher of the New Testament, not music.

        God has given us capabilities to make choices. Some of our choices are good, but others are not. Some choices may be impossible. I can’t just wake up some day and say I’ll never eat food again (I need it), or I’m going to run a marathon (Impossible!). But just because we’ve done something in the past doesn’t mean we must keep doing it. I’m not referring to major or essential choices, whether or not to believe in God or to end my life. I refer to our minor choices, what to do today or avoid, what to wear, where to go or what to consume. Not all choices are equally possible or good. We choose according to our needs, and that can be difficult.

        As Jesus lived, prayed and learned the Holy Scriptures, He discovered why He had come to the earth. His Heavenly Father showed Him what was needed - to save the world from eternal destruction. Since sin had come into God’s creation, it had become doomed, headed for needless disaster. 

        Jesus followed God’s prompting and became God’s Divine Intervention for the world, and He continued on His path through life. He could not one day just stop being a Savior, although in the Garden of Gethsemane it was tempting. He didn’t say, “Enough!” and walk away. He chose to stay on course and do what we needed but could not achieve ourselves.

        Yet, one day our Lord said just that. He was at the end of His earthly life, dying on Calvary’s cross, and finally He said, “It is finished!”(John 19:30) He had completed His chosen task, and we praise Him that He stuck with it to the end. 

        As you make your choices today, do you best to see they are good ones. Ask the Lord to guide you and help you choose what will build up, not tear down. Let Him help you hold on to the good and set aside what is not.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for helping us choose what is good.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com