The following is only one of the many amazing stories which we took away from our August Family Mission trip to the Blackfeet Indians near Glacier National Park in Montana. God was present in so many ways. We pray that seeds were planted and God's Spirit will provide the harvest.

       I sat down on two different occasions with Glen Horn, a middle aged Blackfeet man; artist and bead worker. He talked about his work as a creator of murals and other art work, his drum making, and the bead jewelry. I met his daughter and two grandchildren, beautiful Native American girls. Glen expressed his desire to pass on to his granddaughters the native language, crafts, and culture. I spoke at great length to Glen about his faith walk which he viewed as a relationship with the Creator, the creation, which includes the creatures of his world. I was able to share with Glen the story of Jesus and the open pathway to salvation through God’s grace. I believe seeds were planted in Glen’s heart as he seemed receptive to the “Jesus story” which certainly includes the Great Creator whom Glen seemed to love so much.

       I am reminded from this story, not only of God’s unlimited grace and love, and the power of his pursuit of us, but also of his omnipresence. Our team did not take God to the Blackfeet in our luggage; he was already at work there. We just joined him in his work. God never sleeps, his eyes and spirit are constantly roaming the earth, and his work never ends. What a privilege it was to join with others for a wonderful week working in a vastly different way, yet still in God’s kingdom! 

       I saw God in the faces of the little children as they painted the river rocks beside the UM teepee. I felt God’s presence as the homeless man received his sandwich and drink, bowing his head in prayer. I sensed God at work as we painted, mowed, and repaired the roof of the lady who had just lost her father. And God showed up as we gathered the last night to share our thoughts about each other, and the personal qualities we had seen during the week.

       And when we arrived back here in our homes, God’s presence was already here. He had never left.       

Choice and Responsibility

 

      In addition to the gifts which are given to us by the Holy Spirit listed by Paul in 1Corinthians 12, I believe there are others which are evident in the lives of every human. Genesis 1:26 is clear in that humans were created in the image of God. “Then God said, ‘Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness…’” As God created the first person, he placed within him the gifts, which reflect God’s image. I see these gifts as, dominion over all other created things, reason, moral self-consciousness, imagination, and limited creativity. I can also see faith, grace, and the continual hungering and thirsting after more of God as gifts flowing from him to us. The gift of being able to communicate with our Creator also figures prominently into this “image of God.”

      Perhaps, the most important gift from God to us comes from his very heart of love, the gift of free choice. God loves us so much that even from the very beginning he gave us the choice to serve him or serve the desires of our selves. Adam and Eve made that choice, and as a result, not only do we know good, but also evil. And because of free choice, we are forced to be responsible for our choices, whether they be good or evil.

      Adam and Eve sinned because of their own moral choices. They had no one to blame but themselves. God refused to let them blame each other, or even the serpent. We have no one to blame for our sin either, no one but ourselves.               

      Dorothy L. Sayer writes in “Dorothy L. Sayer: A Rage for Life, “The divine "scheme of things," as Christianity understands it, is at once extremely elastic and extremely rigid. It is elastic, in that it includes a large measure of liberty for the creature; it is rigid in that it includes the proviso that, however created beings choose to behave, they must accept responsibility of their own actions and endure the consequences.” As Christians, we have responsibilities to fulfill the tasks assigned to us as Christ’s disciples. We know that the consequences will be a life filled with God’s presence and in the end, everlasting life. We are responsible for that choice.

      But we are also free to choose a life filled with what we want for ourselves, a life without the embrace of a personal Savior. It is important for us to know that we must take responsibility for that choice also. No one else is responsible.

      Let’s make sure we continually make the right choices.

 Rev Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel UMC, August 26, 2012     

RELAXING WITH GRANDDADDY

GRANDDADDY, JOHN HOWARD, AND "KANA" AREN'T WE PROUD?

Lord, Help Us Reach Out

       There is a tendency deep within most of us to withdraw into ourselves when we are in close proximity to strangers. It is almost as if we wish to protect ourselves from anything or anyone who is different from us. Strangers are sometimes treated with indifference, silence, and even with hostility.

      We find this attitude of suspicion and indifference acted out toward those whom we do not know in the grocery store, the restaurant, on the telephone, and a in many places in our daily walk. It can even happen in churches. We place a wall between strangers and us. Yet Jesus tells us, “I was a stranger and you took me in.”

      Henri Nouwen, in his book “Reaching Out,” tells us, “…it is possible for men and women and obligatory for Christians to offer an open and hospitable space where strangers can cast off their strangeness and become our fellow human beings.” Hostility can be changed into hospitality, and hospitality has a Biblical connotation as Nouwen points out. By receiving strangers with holy hospitality, we become receptors of precious gifts, which may be carried by these strangers and therefore revealed and shared with us.

      Abraham received the three strangers and was given the gift of the promise of a son. When the widow showed kindness to Elijah, she received unlimited meal and oil and the raising of her son from the dead. The disciples on the road to Emmaus shared a meal with Jesus during which he revealed himself as the risen Lord.

      We never know when our reception of strangers will lead to blessings. This can be seen very clearly as we leave our “comfort zone” and go into Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world. The mission field is as close as our family and the next church pew, and as far away as Peru and Kenya. Wherever we go we find strangers, strangers with precious gifts waiting to share.

      Mission teams from our local church have just returned from places like; New York City, New Mexico, Montana, and Kenya. The stories brought back were filled with blessings and the precious gifts shared by strangers. Below is a poem written by Ellen Russell who traveled this summer with the Kenyan Mission Team.      

 Lord, Help Us Reach Out

 On the opposite side of shrinking planet earth

We know privileged lives are an accident of birth

In the midst of such poverty, filth and dust

Here, many folks' dreams are sadly crushed

Beautiful black eyes and contagious smiles

Melt our hearts and erase all the long miles

Here, we are so different yet we are the same

Lord, help us to serve and glorify your name

These folks need a chance to reach their goals

As they hold on to Jesus in their sweet souls

Struggling and striving to overcome so much

Reaching out for hope through a loving touch

So eager to know us and share their story

Together we worship and give God glory

A sea of tiny faces singing, "How are you?"

Flurries of fist bumps in the crowd we pass through

We tote heavy blocks and sand, water and such

For second-floor classrooms they need so much

Giving Bibles and desks, crayons and supplies

Knowing how much this improves their lives

Medicine to protect them and glasses to read

Clean water to drink or grow struggling seeds

Helping teachers -- an encouragement for all

Counseling pastors, painting classroom walls  

We fellowship joyously with these precious ones

Offering our best to God's daughters and sons

We willingly adopt these sweet orphans as ours

Praying to be used through God's wondrous powers

Yes, we pray to be used as you guide and direct

Father, may love and hope replace want and neglect

Help us we reach out, Lord, as your feet and hands

Making disciples of nations as your word commands

 Rev. Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel UMC, August 19, 2012

OUR GRANDCHILDREN

HERE ARE OUR PRECIOUS GRANDCHILDREN; JOHN HOWARD, SCOUT, AND SAWYER

Knowing Who We Are

      Many people spend much time, effort, and even money trying to “find themselves” and discover who they really are. This search for identity crosses most age groups and may involve young adults as well as middle age people who seem to be trying to find answers to life. Who am I? Where have I been? Where am I going? And what does all this mean? Some get interested in genealogy and begin to dig into the past in order to find their roots.

      I recall an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times by Associated Press reporter Marta Falconi who writes that anthropologists have spent three years reconstructing the left index fingerprint of Leonardo da Vinci. Apparently, da Vinci painted with his fingers and also ate while painting, leaving fingerprints in his painting and on his manuscripts. Scientists tell us that they can now determine different foods that da Vinci liked to eat, and may even be able to tell the ethnic origin of this famous person. The distinctive features of fingerprints may tell whether a person originates from an Arabic, European, or African ethic background. It seems that da Vinci’s mother may have been a slave from Tuscany, according to the experts who examined this composite fingerprint from Leonardo’s papers and paintings.

      It is interesting to know from where we came, our country of origin, and the names of our ancestors. But I think it is much more important and comforting to know that there is someone who already knows everything there is to know about each of us. God knows us better than we know ourselves.

      We must remember that God in his Triune power created each of us in his own image-the image of love. Therefore, since God created us, he knows our thoughts, our plans, the workings of our bodies, and our needs and wants. Paul writes that even when we are at loss for words to express our prayers, the Holy Spirit takes our thoughts and prays for us. There is nothing that can be hidden from the all-knowing eyes of our heavenly Father.

      In Psalm 127:2 we learn that God takes care of us in every detail, even giving us sleep. How wonderful is God’s gift of sleep! In another reference we find that God keeps track of our tossing and turning while we sleep.

      God knows how many hairs we have on our head. Now this information may seem trivial, yet it points to the intense involvement God has in our lives.

      Even while we were in our mother’s womb, the hand of God was evident as we were “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that even before we were formed or conceived, God knew us.

      God doesn’t need a research team to study a composite of our fingerprint to know all about us. He created us, loves us, wants us to obey and serve him. God also cares for us in a detailed way. This is what makes him, our God.

      So, while our genealogy is important and interesting, we should find great comfort in trusting in our God who knows all about us. Let’s trust and obey him!

Rev Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel, August 12, 2012

Staying in Rhythm

      I know very little about the Olympic sport of rowing, but I have learned some interesting facts that may be useful in our spiritual life. The rowers sit in the boat facing backwards, looking while they row towards a person called a coxswain. The coxswain has the important job of steering the boat and calling out the cadence for the rowers to find and keep a consistent rhythm. The rowers must keep their eyes on the coxswain as well as listening very intently to the instructions as they are called out. The rhythm of the oars going in and out of the water is set by the coxswain and must be maintained in order for correct speed and direction to be achieved.

      As we think of rhythm, our thoughts may go the natural cycles of the world in which we live. The writer of Ecclesiastes gives us a list of the rhythms and cycles of life and nature. In chapter five we find “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose… A time to be born, a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to harvest.” The list goes on as we begin to see rhythms in our natural, as well as, our spiritual lives.

      If we look closely at the manner in which we live our lives, we will begin to see patterns and rhythms, and the ups and downs of the human existence. Seasons of the year often contribute to the rhythms of our lives. Habits are formed, and then broken. We find ourselves doing certain activities consistently and in a certain rhythm, and then suddenly, one day we realize that the rhythm has changed. Sometimes situations and events change our rhythms, and it is uncomfortable and undesirable.

      If an activity is done for a considerable length of time at the same rhythm, the activity can become boring, losing its purpose and excitement. Maybe that is why we subconsciously from time to time change the rhythm of our work and play time. We go to bed earlier, and maybe get up earlier. We change the time we eat our meals, or what we eat. We take a vacation, or do something different each weekend. These are changes in rhythm.

      This brings us back to the rowers and their coxswain. In the river or the ocean of life, we are the rowers on our faith journey, facing backwards, not knowing exactly where we are going. However, we are not rowing alone, because we have Jesus as our coxswain. He is the one who calls out the directions, who provides the rhythm of journey, and keeps his eyes on us.

As we row, we find ourselves in unity with the others, but only as long as each person stays in rhythm with Jesus.

      Just as the coxswain becomes the center of the rowers’ existence, Jesus must become the center for the true disciple. It is around this center that all other activities of life must revolve. Without Jesus providing the rhythms of our journey, we lose our way. So let’s stay in rhythm with Jesus.

Rev Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel UMC, August 5, 2012  

A Journey of Faith

August 3, 2012

Another week in ministry at Long's Chapel has put me in a spirit of thankfulness. I am thankful for the opportunity to do ministry (God's ministry) along side of people , both lay and clergy who are committed to their discipleship and making disciples of others. Today, I look forward to our mission trip to the Blackfeet tribe in Browning, Montana. We will stay at the Browning UM Parish as we do our work among God's people. We know God's work is already in progress, so we will join in for a week. I am excited about the opportunities that will present themselves. I am thankful for my wife, Debbie, who is constantly beside me wherever God takes us. How proud I am of my daughter, Leah, who will head up this trip. She is the answer to my prayers. Our son-in-law David, our newest grandson, John Howard, will also be with us. Sarah, Chad, Tanya, Collin, Paige, and Kendall round out our team. We are in God's hands.