Author Archives: reveds

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About reveds

Occupation: Pastor, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Lennox, SD Education: BS - Christian Education, Sterling College; MDiv. - Princeton Theological Seminary Family: Married, with Four children. Hobbies: Running (will someday run a marathon), Sci-Fi (especially Doctor Who and Sherlock), Theater, and anything else my kids will let me do.

One Thing

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“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
(Psalm 27:4)

In case you haven’t noticed, I have taken a bit of a hiatus from this Midweek Message. I guess it has been over a month since I last posted a message.  As you may already know, there’s been a lot going on in my life: a transfer to a new denomination (from the PCUSA to PCA), finishing one pastoral call and beginning another, selling and buying a home, helping shepherd my family through the emotional roller coaster of moving, and – oh yeah – leading the church through the observance of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. I didn’t intend to take four weeks off from writing this post, it just got lost in the shuffle.

It feels a little odd here in the office this week, my books are all packed, the desk is cleared off, and there only a couple days remaining before I will have officially left the PCUCA for a new call. What then do I say?

I want to say that I have been truly blessed to serve as the pastor of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Cherokee.  Over the past 9 years, this congregation has walked along side of me, helping me to become a better pastor, a more effective communicator (the last few weeks notwithstanding), and showing tremendous patience and love along the way. You have heard some sermons that would have been better had they never been preached, some prayers that went a little too long, and some jokes that forgot to be funny. My hope and prayer is that you were ultimately blessed by faithful preaching and teaching, that you will remember my time here as one of encouragement and growth, and that God would be pleased in His Church.

There is one last thing I want to leave you with.  For some reason, as I write this, I keep hearing Jack Palance as Curly saying – “Just One Thing!”

one thing

Well… in the movie, Curly tells Mitch that everyone has to figure out what that “one thing” is for themselves.  I get that, but if we take that to its logical end, we end up with chaos as everyone pursues that thing that makes them happy regardless of what that means to anyone else.

No, there is “One Thing” that is the greatest thing for each and every one of us, the “One Thing” we must pursue, the “One Thing” we must know.  This “One Thing” is the source of our greatest joy and happiness, the foundation of our peace and security.  This “One Thing” brings meaning to life, hope in the midst of despair, comfort in times of trouble.  This “One Thing” is the same “One Thing” for you and for me, and has been the “One and Only Thing” yesterday, today, and forever.  Have I given it away?

Here’s the One Thing – “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead… as preached in my gospel” (2 Tim 2:8). I hope that in time I will be remembered at Memorial Presbyterian as a good preacher and pastor and a loving and devoted father. I hope that my activity in the Cherokee Community Theater will be remembered well. I would like to think that I have made a lasting impression here, and that I will be remembered after I am gone.

More than all of that, though, I hope and pray that you will remember Christ, our risen Lord. I have labored to make Him known, to proclaim His Gospel, to make His grace and mercy known, to magnify His goodness, to draw all people to Him. Even if I am forgotten, even if my exploits and endeavors fade into oblivion, remember Jesus Christ.

Remember Christ.  When discouraged because life is difficult and the burden is heavy: remember Christ whose “yoke is easy, and whose burden is light.” When pressured to compromise on your faith and your values in order to fit in with the world: remember Christ who has come to “bring salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives” as we await His appearing (Titus 2:11-13). When you stand for your faith and feel alone in this world: remember Christ, who has promised that He would be with us, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).

I am truly grateful for the time that I have had at Memorial Presbyterian as your pastor. I pray that God will continue to strengthen and encourage this congregation. And I hope and pray that in everything you will continue to hold fast to this One Thing – Remember Jesus Christ, Risen from the Dead!

SDG

The Anxiety of Spiritual Forgetfulness

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Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
(Mark 8:18)

Why do we get so anxious about things?

Seriously, we stress, we panic, we fuss, we fret, over everything. We act as though the rising of the sun and the setting of the same depend upon our ability to get things done in a timely and orderly manner. When one thing starts to get out of our grasp, we freak out like the world is going to end. (And by “we,” I mean ME.) The Psalmist said it this way, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me” (Psalm 43:5).

I think the reason why we get this way, the reason I get this way, is forgetfulness.  It’s not that I forget that there is a God, I just forget that God’s promises, God’s power, God’s grace applies to every situation.  The rest of that verse from the Psalms says, “Why are you cast down… Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”  Being reminded of God’s salvation, of our hope in Him – there is no better cure for anxiety, stress, and panic.  “Be still and know that I am God” – that’s what God says to the panicky, the anxious, the worried.  Perhaps today we could write it:

Keep Calm
Carry On
God’s in Control

We need to be reminded of this. Frequently.

Let me illustrate this briefly.  As you all know I have accepted a new pastoral call, and will be moving to South Dakota soon.  Knowing that selling a house in a small town can sometimes take months, we put our house on the market in mid-February, hoping that we’d be able to sell it just before we needed to move.

We just sold our house in 1 week. We put a sign in the yard on a Monday, by Sunday we had a contract. We live in a small community in NW Iowa, so selling a house that quickly and for the price we wanted is pretty much unheard of, one might say, miraculous.  We were ecstatic.

But how did I respond?  I immediately began to worry that I wouldn’t be able to find a house to move into in our new community.  The market there doesn’t have too many listings, especially for a family of 6, within our price range.  I panicked.  What if we don’t find a house? How far will I have to commute? Will my family be homeless?

Wow!  Didn’t God just do something amazing? Did He not just show us His mighty hand? Won’t God, cannot God, do it again?

The Good News is, I’m not alone in this spiritual forgetfulness.

The Israelites, less than a week after walking through the Red Sea, complained that they couldn’t find water, and worried that God would let them die (Ex. 15:22-25).  Elijah, having just conquered 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, immediately ran into the wilderness and asked to die when Jezebel threatened to kill him (1 Kings 18-19). The disciples, having just witnessed Christ feeding 4000 people, started arguing amongst themselves because they forgot to bring along any bread (Mark 8:14-21).  They were in the boat with the One who had just fed 4,000 people; and yet they were worried because they forgot to bring along any bread!

I think that this is the fundamental reason why we stress, fret, and worry. We forget what God has done. We think that our problems are greater that God’s vision, our troubles are too much for Him to bear. We worry that God might just not be watching, might just not be able…

Oh weary heart, full of care, has God not shown His grace to be sufficient to meet your every need?  Has God not proven His faithfulness, time and again?  Has God not promised that “though weeping may tarry for the night, joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5)? Has God not promised to be your salvation, and that for those who love God all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28).

We need to remember, we need to be reminded, we need to keep this before us at all times.  Maybe that’s why Paul, in his encouragement to Timothy said, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead” (2 Tim 2:8). We need to constantly remember that He is risen, He is alive, He rules and reigns over us and for us, He holds all things in His hands.  All our anxious cares subside in the strength of His everlasting arms.

Why are you anxious, oh my soul? Why so disturbed? Hope in God, for He is your salvation.  He is your God!

Soli Deo Gloria