God of the Future

    

      Even before the dawn of human creation, God, in his Triune council, thought about the future. His design was to create a world occupied by human beings created by him to worship and serve him forever. And ever since that creation, humans have turned their faces toward the future. It is because of our creation in God’s image, our historical relationship with God, and the eternity that he has placed in our hearts, that we can be called a people of the future.

      If we are to be a covenant people with God as our creator and sustainer, we must also be focused on the future. If we are to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our thoughts must be on a future with him.

      We look back on the Old Testament examples and find people looking forward to the future. There we find a constant looking for what will happen next, when will the Christ come, when will we find peace?

       Noah looked at the covenant of the rainbow and saw a renewal of the earlier promise to Adam, to re-populate the earth and never another flood to destroy the earth. Abraham trusted God that he would be the father of not only the nation of Israel, but a spiritual father to all who believed in the future. Joseph knew that one day his people would leave Egypt and return to the land God had promised. He said, “When we return, take my bones with you and bury them in our land.” Moses and Joshua believed in the future of the Promised Land, and with God led the people back home.

      Jesus looked down on the small band of disciples, as he ascended back to heaven, and placed the future of his church in their hands saying, “Go into all the world, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching what I have taught you.” Jesus believed in the future when he said that he would send the Holy Spirit and that he, Jesus, would return one day.

      We learn from the past, and we treasure it. We live in the present and realize how important every minute is. But our faces are turned to the future, the future of the next second, next hour, and the next day. Through the miracle of technology, I have placed the heartbeat of our soon-to-be-born grandson on the ring tone of my cell phone, because I believe in the future. I plant bushes and bulbs in my yard with the spring in mind. We must not stop planning for the next day.

      So we pray for our children, grandchildren, spouses, and ourselves. We pray and hope for a better job, a more concerned church, and for health and retirement. All the while, we must realize that it is in the future that we will find hope for the present.  

      And we keep on praying for those who need spiritual and physical healing. The answers will come, maybe this afternoon, maybe next week, or even next spring. God’s time is not our time and his thoughts are not the way we think. The God who created us, provides for us, and loves us so much will be with us in the future.

      So we take some of the past, live confidently in the present, as we serve a God who walks with us into the future.

 

Rev. Tim McConnell, Peachtree UMC, October 16, 2011

 

 

Using Our Gifts

      We all have received gifts at different times in our lives; birthdays, Christmas, graduations, special accomplishments, and anniversaries. These are gifts given with no obligation to reciprocate other than a note or word of thanks. In another sense, gifts can be thought of as abilities and talents given to us by the specific code of our DNA, such as, the gifts of music, sports, foreign languages, mathematics, etc.

      By looking somewhat deeper and with a different perspective, we can discover what Scripture calls “spiritual gifts.” Paul referred to these gifts on several occasions in his New Testament writings. These spiritual gifts have some similarities to the natural gifts, but are subtly different. Spiritual gifts are given freely by God’s grace to each of us to be used in his work to build his kingdom here on earth by making disciples.

      Can you imagine going to your own birthday party, opening all the wonderful gifts, and somehow neglecting to open one, or even two? Or, even worse, just imagine that you decided not to open a certain one, instead you place it in a closet soon to be forgotten. The unopened gift.

      We all have been given spiritual gifts and each of those gifts is important. It is left up to us to identify the gifts we have, and then learn how and where to use them. God takes his willing people, gives them gifts as tools, and places his disciples in the areas of greatest need.

      James Harnish, in his “A Disciple’s Path, a Guide for United

Methodists,” expresses well the powerful sense of urgency about the decisions we make concerning the use of our gifts.

      He writes, “There are children who may never hear the stories of Jesus if people with the gift of teaching do not teach them. There are lost, confused, spiritually searching people who may never experience God's love unless people with the gift of evangelism share the good news with them. There are adults who may never grow in their understanding of Scripture until someone with the gift of discernment guides them. There are people who may never find their way into the church until people with the gift of hospitality welcome them. There are people with broken hearts and broken lives who may never find healing until people with the gift of intercession pray for them. There are new opportunities for new ministries that may never be accomplished unless people with the gift of leadership show others the way. There are lonely, isolated people who may never find their way into Christian community until people with the gift of mercy extend care to them. There are important issues of justice and peace that never will be confronted until people with the gift of prophecy confront them.

       In short, God has work to be done in this world that will not get done until we offer the stubborn ounces of our weight to make it happen.”

Rev Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel UMC, October 14, 2012

Preparations

      It seems that we spent a good portion of our time preparing for some event, or activity. We prepare each day in varying degrees for the next day at our workplace, classroom, or our day working at home. Much preparation goes into planning for trips, vacations, and even the career paths we will take.

      As we move from season to season, we see preparations being made for the transition between summer and winter, then winter back to summer. In this fall season, we see the animals preparing for the months when food will be unavailable. We hear chain saws cutting firewood, and see mulch being placed around the yard plants for protection against the cold. We know it is wise to make preparations for every phase of our lives.

      Every year around this time, we begin to see signs and advertisements for flu immunization in preparation against a disease, which surprisingly still takes human lives each year. So, we take the shot to help prepare our bodies against the germs which cause the flu.

     Just as preparations need to be made in the natural world for winter, any changing season, or for any event, God intends for us to be spiritually ready to face whatever may come our way. It is possible with all that life has to throw at us that we could lose our way, slipping off the path that God has made for us, and maybe even taking our hand from his to try to find our own way. We know that trying to face things in life without God would be a mistake, but it happens to people who are not prepared.

      We can prepare ourselves for whatever each day may bring, or the ups and downs of our spiritual seasons by following a path of spiritual disciplines. This path will lead us into a life that is Christ-centered, filled with a love of God and a love for each other.

      This path must involve daily prayer as a communication tool to form an intimate relationship with God. Our prayer will need to be deeply rooted in meditative reflection and study of Scripture.

      Then, we must not neglect to join with other believers in corporate worship and small group fellowship. We do this so that we can experience and praise God together, and grow as disciples. The effectiveness of Christ’s Church is in the unity of its individual members.

      In order to prepare ourselves even further, we realize that our financial resources and our spiritual gifts are given to us so that we can give them back to God. We give freely from a heart that is motivated by God’s love. We learn to serve without the expectation of anything in return.

      As we begin to practice these disciplines, the desire to tell others the story of Jesus begins to take root in our minds and heart. What we have begun to experience as disciples will need to be told to others. Therefore, personal evangelism begins to become part of our way of living and thinking.

      Let’s try these spiritual disciplines as we think of preparing ourselves for God’s kingdom here and now, and into eternity.

 

Rev Tim McConnell Long’s Chapel UMC October 7, 2012    

Questions from Jesus

      In Matthew 16:13-20 we find two of the most important questions asked by Jesus as recorded in scripture. As he was discussing with his disciples, these two questions came up. “Who do the people say I am?” And then the second question was a little more penetrating and definitely personal, “Who do you say I am?” These questions demanded a confession as an answer.

      We read that the disciples answered the first question by saying, “Some people say you are John the Baptist, others Elijah, and some even say you are Jeremiah, or some other prophet.” Then after Jesus had heard the public opinion report from the people, and the evaluation of his ministry, he asked the most important question of all time, the central question of history, and the question that if we get the answer right, we get eternity right. “Who do you say I am?”

      There was perhaps much shuffling of feet and clearing of throats until finally Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Then Jesus said, “You are blessed, Peter. Blessed because you didn’t come up with this answer and confession on your own, you didn’t read it in a book, or hear this in the synagogue. You’ve been talking to God and it is he who has revealed who I am to you.” You see how important it is for us to stay connected to God? When we are in touch with God, he tells us things. He reveals himself to us.

      Jesus praised Peter for his belief and quickly said, “Upon this rock, (“Peter” means rock) I will build my church.” Notice how quickly Jesus takes Peter’s confession of faith and turns it into an action of faith. We can talk all day about what we believe about Jesus, but it is the action that counts.

Jesus tells Peter, “Since you know who I am, I am going to tell you who you are. You, and all the disciples who will follow you down through the years, will be the foundation of my church. You will be the builder of my church. And to my church I will give the keys to the kingdom. The church will be the ‘keeper of the keys.’ We have work to do.”

     If we believe that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” then what difference does that make in our daily lives? Is what Jesus did for us on the cross so weak, and God’s grace so cheap, that we can say we are Christians, followers of Jesus, and go on living we way we always have? Jesus told Peter to not stop with just believing, but take the next step of living what you believe.

      Belief should produce action, and with action comes a transformed life.

Are we living so close to God that he has revealed Jesus to us as the way, the truth, and the life? The keys to his kingdom? Who is Jesus to you and to me?

Rev. Tim McConnell Long’s Chapel UMC September 30, 2012

Mission Trip Highlights

      Here are some of the reflections and thoughts expressed by my wife, Debbie, from our recent mission trip.

      “I would like to share just some of the highlights that I will always cherish from our trip to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana .....definitely a highlight of my Christian walk! I will be forever grateful to Long's Chapel UMC for allowing Leah Mehaffey the privilege of heading this family mission trip and preparing our team with tools of prayer, journaling, compassion and service as a powerful outreach for each of us!

Each night, after a day of services rendered to the community, the team would gather around the tables to share “God stories” from the day. We shared tears, laughter, concerns and devotions as prayers and hugs were given and received.

      Each day there were new “God moments” for us. The scenery alone was a big God moment as we saw wild horses roaming the terrain and the mountain formations with their definition in some ways similar to our Smokey Mountains. Glacier National Park was breathing taking, while words do not seem adequate to describe their splendor. God, and only God, could have handcrafted such a canvas!

      The Blackfeet Nation Pow-Wow was another stand-out for me as village children gathered around our mission table and painted plain river rocks with special flowers and rainbows while using their own imaginative creations … humming as they painted. All were blessed who witnessed these small gifts from the Lord.

      Having come hundreds of miles to serve others and share the love of Jesus with unknown children, I was blessed to get to spend time with my grandson "Huck" and Kendall, a third grade member of our team. I was delighted that I had a few hours of special moments to spend with Huck and Kendall. I was honored to have quality devotion time with this precious child Kendall that I had just come to know on the mission. We read from the “Upper Room” and the devotion was talking about exactly what we were doing on the mission trip! Huck was peacefully sleeping as we prayed over him and talked about the importance of having a daily devotion.

      Saturday came and we headed back home. A bucket of emotions flooded my soul and I thought my ministry had stayed in Montana. This ministry that I had been preparing for almost a year was over! But soon I realized our GOD is bigger than just one mission, and he knew that our team was still in the business of serving.

      We now had safely landed in Atlanta and were actually on our last leg of the trek. We had to load on a trans-rail to take us to our shuttle bus. Most people had to stand, but I was fortunate enough to get a seat. There was plenty of room comfortably for two more people. The doors were slowly shutting when a beautiful, young, Spanish woman quickly stepped in followed by her male companion. She had her luggage and he had his. He spoke roughly to her and slapped her across her neck. She flinched and he abruptly grabbed his luggage and fled out the door, leaving her behind. She was visibly shaken. Those close by were staring at her. She was humiliated and embarrassed as well as wounded. I felt the Lord nudge me to scoot over to her and ask her if she was alright? She looked into my eyes with tears in hers and wept uncontrollably saying ... “He doesn’t love me.” I put my arm around her and pulled her tight to me and told her, “But God loves you and you are worth more than what he (her companion) ..just did to you.” I told her, “You are beautiful and God is with you!” She laid her head in my lap and cried as I stroked her hair. The train stopped at our destination. I asked her, “Are you going to be alright?” and she said "yes" with a shy smile and we hugged. Her name is Dora. I have prayed many times for her, and I praise our God for allowing me to do as Matthew teaches us using Jesus’ words—“If you do for the least of these, you have done it for me.”

      There is no end to the mission trip that God has planned for his disciples. We are always “sent.”

By God's Grace,

Debbie McConnell

We have many pictures of our Family Mission Trip to Montana back in August 2012. You may go to the link below to access more of these great pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.387966241271309.80293.100001738084271&type=1&l=efe3c2d26f

Surprised By God

      Have there been moments in your life when you just knew with certainty that God had shown up? Maybe in recent days or weeks you have had one of these “God moments” as he surprised you with his presence. Many times we find ourselves expecting God’s “big surprises” while overlooking the smaller ones.

      God’s “big surprises” includes the use of a flood to destroy the world that he had created, dividing the Red Sea so that his people could escape, and then coming to earth as one of us so we could be reconciled with him again.

      Then there are the “little surprises.” God telling Abraham what he was about to do with Sodom as they walked along the road. God getting Moses’ attention with the burning bush in the desert, and showing up in a cave with Elijah. Jesus finding Zacchaeus in a tree and then going to supper with him. Jesus sitting beside the well talking to a Sumerian woman.

      If we look at the beginning of Abraham’s story, maybe we can hear God say, “I want you to go from your home and I will go with you. Through your faith and trust I will establish the real way of salvation. I will use you to build my kingdom.” What a surprise this must have been to Abram! Five chapters later Abram and his wife have another surprise. (Genesis 17:15-19) God surprised Abraham and Sarah by changing their names and announcing that Sarah would have a baby at ninety years old. We see Abraham falling down on the ground from laughing so hard.

      Does God ever surprise us today with tests of our faith? I believe our lives too are filled with “God moments,” surprises both big and small. Maybe the most important “God moment” for us is similar to the one Nicodemus had in his encounter with Jesus in John 3:1-17. When Nicodemus asked what he must do to be part of Jesus’ kingdom, Jesus’ surprising answer was, “You must be born again. Your life must start over and be radically changed.” What a surprise that must have been to Nicodemus!

      Imagine the surprise of Paul when he found out that the God whom he so faithfully served was the same person as Jesus whom he so faithfully opposed and persecuted.

      C.S. Lewis, who went from atheist to believer, wrote in his book Surprised by Joy; “Picture me alone in my room, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared came upon me…I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed; perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England…a prodigal was brought in God’s kingdom kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape.” Lewis goes on to say that the biggest surprise of all was the realization that in all the years of resisting salvation, Jesus was there all the time.

      God sends his Spirit to convict us, he leads us along a journey when we don’t know the way, he opens doors of opportunity which seem impossible to us, and he makes serious demands on our lives. And he makes available to each of us the gift of “new birth.” God is full of surprises. Has he surprised you lately?

Rev. Tim McConnell, Long’s Chapel UMC, September 16,2012