“Generosity”

“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”
1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NRSV)

Most people do not like change. Change is difficult and requires an effort and most often a sacrifice in order to accommodate the change that is being made. However, in his book, Generosity, Gordon MacDonald talks about a different kind of change, “A life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19).

I distinctly remember the day I was pulling into my neighborhood when I got behind the garbage truck and had to wait behind the truck before attempting to move past it. As I sat there watching the man get the garbage, I felt compelled to reach into my purse and take out the only money I had – a twenty-dollar bill. I got out of the car and went to hand it to the man and to thank him for his hard work. I will never forget the look of gratitude on his face. I will never know what was going on in that man’s life as to why that twenty-dollar bill meant so much to him. However, what I do know is the joy it gave me to see this man receive some¬thing from me that I could do without.

What is so amazing to me is that when we respond to God’s voice in our hearts, the joy is so overwhelming and something incredible happens … we begin to change and become transformed into the likeness of Christ. So often, the unexpected and spontaneous acts of love and generosity are the moments that stand out the most in our lives. Jesus did the unexpected and turned our world upside down in ways that have caused us to think, behave, and respond where and when we might not have before. Jesus gave His life for us, a sacrifice that we can never compare or even imagine. However, as we grow in relationship with Jesus, our hearts will be transformed … an act of change that only God can create within our hearts. Our Christian response then becomes a reaction from that transformation where Christ is present in our lives! It is through our gen-erosity to others and to the Kingdom of Heaven that reveals our Lord Jesus who gives us joy when we respond to His love and mercy … A life that is truly life!

- Vicar Terri Landers

Pentecost Devotion

“CARE OF SELF”

During the Ministry Moment at worship yesterday, John Whetstone talked about the stewardship of self – caring for our own bodies. It is a very important and timely conversation to have.

When you come right down to it, the care of ourselves, our own bodies, should be fundamental to our response to God’s grace. God gave us our bodies, and wants our bodies to flourish and reflect the goodness of their Creator. How are we doing with that? It’s a dangerous and troubling question. How many of us…
… work too much, to the detriment of our bodies and our relation¬ships?
… worry too much, especially about those things we cannot control?
… eat too much – or at least eat the wrong kind of food?
… have our priorities all messed up? I heard a great quote once that says that “burnout happens not because we have too much to do, but because too much of what we have to do doesn’t matter.”
Twenty years ago a friend of mine named Ken Bakken wrote a book entitled “The Call to Wholeness”. In that book, Bakken writes…
“Our life-style seems to be a principal cause of many illnesses. The three most prescribed drugs in this country – Tagamet for peptic ulcers, Inderal for high blood pressure, and Valium for anxiety – offer a sad commentary on the way we have chosen to live as individuals and as a society. We are living in neutral”
The drugs have changed, but I wonder if the problem has!! With how we work and worry and eat and drink and make decisions, I wonder what the cost is to our bodies. And I wonder too – is it worth it? It’s easy to say yes. But when cancer hits, a heart attack happens, blood pressure goes through the roof, would we give the same answer?
I’m no doctor, but I wonder if we could do our bodies good, if we could stop living in neutral, by at least asking ourselves 3 questions:
Does how I spend my time, money, and energy really matter to anybody but me?
What one change to my life can I make that will bring me more joy?
How can I live a more balanced lifestyle, eat a more balanced diet, support a more balanced schedule?
Pardon me for being naïve, but I think if we spent more time focusing on those questions instead of some others, we would be more healthy, more fruitful, more faithful to the God who loaned us our bodies in the first place.
Pastor Dave

“Caring for Creation” – Aug. 8, 2011

Christian Stewardship – Are You Doing Your Best?
When asked, most of us would acknowledge that we are stewards of what God has given us. We generally know what being a steward means and what our responsibilities are. But when asked the question, “Are you doing your best?” how would we answer?
In my work, I evaluate behaviors, actions, and consequences of individuals and organi¬zations associated with commercial nuclear power plants to ensure they are striving for excellence and doing their best. Most of the individuals I evaluate under¬stand that not doing one’s best can lead to things not going as planned, nuclear sys¬tems not perform¬ing as designed, or even worse, a nuclear accident.
To aid the nuclear workers to do the right things, make the right decisions, and do their best, they use a number of tools that guide them through many behavior processes and decision making. Also, the individuals are highly trained and educated so as to under¬stand the technology they work with. But, as stewards of God’s gifts and not some special technology, we sometimes feel we don’t have the tools nor the necessary training to understand what God wants us to do.
There is an old African-American proverb that states: “God makes three requests of His children: Do the best you can, where you are, and with what you have, NOW.” We know that God gave each of us special talents and gifts for taking care of His crea¬tion, and our faith and trust in Him ensures we will have the necessary guidance to do our best.
Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” This tells me that in ALL our endeavors, we need to strive and do our best regardless what the human world may tell us. And since everything we have, want, or need is from God, doesn’t that mean that we are stewards of everything? Why not do your best?
- Ralph Schwartzbeck

The Stewardship of Creation

What Does it Mean to be a Good Steward of Creation?

Webster defines stewardship as our “responsibility to manage life and property with proper regard for the rights of others.” Although this is a secular definition we can also apply it to God, humankind, animal life and all of our natural resources. The challenge to mankind is for us to sustain what God has created in as close to its original form as possible.

While God has intended us to interact and use all that He has created as part of the natural order, there often is conflict in doing so. How do we fish without overfishing? How do we extract natural resources without depleting the ongoing supply? How do we revitalize the soil that we use for agriculture? How do we manufacture without polluting? We, as humans, are asked to use our imperfect reasoning to make the “trade off” decisions to maintain the balance of what was originally given to mankind.

Today’s concern with maintaining the environment is no doubt God’s intent. However, it’s just as important to recognize that God’s gift to humankind is to avail ourselves of these gifts. We need to fish and raise animal and plant life for food and shelter. We need the use of natural resources such as water, coal, gas and oil as energy sources. But how do we assure ourselves of an ongoing supply? This is God’s challenge and expectation of us.

- Frank Pepe

“Caring for God’s Creation”

“Caring for Creation”

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. – Genesis 1

My childhood was in a rural setting of farming and timber far away from a city. I spent so much time outside working on the farm driving a tractor, riding a horse, taking care of cattle, or taking care of crops. When I wasn’t at work on the farm, I was enjoying what nature offered me. I loved fishing on the lakes and rivers or hunting in the forest which surrounded our home. What a great way to grow up and live close to nature. As I look back on those years, I now realize how I took so much for granted and never truly appre¬¬ciated God’s creation of this wonderful earth. I never appreciated the rolling fields of crops, the wonderful lakes and rivers, the deep forest where I spent so much time, or the creatures who populated these regions. Since I never truly appreciated this was God’s creation, it never crossed my mind of our responsibility to take care of it. I under¬stood the need to take care it in such a way for farming, but not protecting God’s creation.
I began to truly recognize and appreciate what God had created when Martha and I started scuba diving. We did most of our diving in Cozumel and the underwater world there is beyond words or pictures to describe. The water is crystal clear, the sponges are abundant and so colorful, the coral heads are huge and full of life, the fans are waving in the currents, and the sea life is a large aquarium. To see Angel fish over a foot tall, Parrot fish a few feet long, large turtles, rays, eels, sharks, octopuses, and much more, really heightens your appreciation of God’s creation. Experi¬enc¬ing this new world and its beauty also started me on the path of taking care of it. Many times during our dives we would see trash on the bottom and whenever possible someone in our group would collect the litter and bring it back to the dive boat. I never understood how anyone could spoil this beauty by tossing litter from their boats.

We are not required to travel away from Marietta to appreciate the beauty God’s creation. We can see it on our walks by the Chattahoochee, our hikes up Kennesaw Mountain, our bike rides on the Silver Comet Trail, or from our deck at home as we watch nature in our own yard.

I have shared with you a few of my experiences with God’s creation and the beauty in this great world. It is our responsibility to protect and appreciate it. As we are moving about in our lives, take a moment and appreciate the beauty, but also take a moment and pick up that one piece of litter, then another, then another.

- Jim Strickland

”The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and take car of it.” – Genesis 2