Gleanings…

As February has the distinction of playing host to Groundhog Day, I take its arrival as another opportunity to draw from the lessons passed along in the movie by the same name.  If you have not seen this movie or it has been awhile, I recommend watching it at least once a year.  There is always something new to learn from it.

The premise of the movie is simple.  The male lead played by Bill Murray finds himself reliving one day of his life (Groundhog Day) over and over.  Unable to believe what is happening to him, he tries different strategies to break the cycle, all to no avail.  Everything he tries, even multiple suicide acts, only lead him back to the start of that day.

The female lead played by Andie MacDowell becomes Bill’s romantic interest.  It is she who helps him to see the great opportunity he has been given.  Thus, begins a journey through multiple self-improvement projects that he hopes will make him worthy of her love.  One notable transition is that as he seeks to become more lovable, he becomes more loving and caring for others.

How different it should be for Christians.  When we stop to examine what we do and why we do it, we often find that we are acting just as Bill’s character does.  Many Christians act as though they must make changes to who they are so that Jesus will love them.  How often do we take on project after project, commit to new or increasingly intense devotional practices, or some other activity that we hope will prove our love and devotion to Jesus?  If, or when, this is the case, the days need to reset back to when we first began following Jesus.

When we began our walk with Jesus, we began living in a relationship built upon his love for us.  All that was needed was for us to turn away from our self-serving ways (confession and repentance), accept his healing and help (baptism by water and the Holy Spirit), and begin living a relationship with others that aligned with his relationship with us (love God and your neighbor as you are loved).  Nothing we could do would make us more lovable and acceptable to God.

So, in this love we begin living each day as a gift.  Some days may be hard to bear; God’s help will see us through every time.  Some days will be filled with great joy and celebration; God shares in our rejoicing.  Some days will just be what they are; God is present.  In every moment of every day, in every place where we might go, God is already there and will use that time, place, and us to witness to his eternal love for all creation.

Bill’s character felt he needed to change in order to be loved; we are loved, and we change the way we live in gratitude.  Bill’s character had to repeat one day over until he learned to love; we are given new days to experience the fresh outpouring of God’s love on all.  So, which way are you living?  Which way would you prefer to live?  Let me know if I can help.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Braxton ><>

“Rise Against Hunger” meal packaging event

Thank You for your help!  We packaged 10,152 meals.

“Rise Against Hunger” meal packaging event

Saturday,   January 26 – set up at 9 am. 

Event time:  9:30 am

We need 50 volunteers to help package 10,152 meals.

These meals contain rice, soy, vegetables, and 23 essential vitamins and minerals and will help children and adults. Great opportunity for children and adults who need community volunteer hours.  Volunteers can drop in and stay for whatever length of time they have available to help.   

Fairview United Methodist Church
3901 Hamill Rd.  Hixson, TN 37343

For more information on Rise Against Hunger look on their website:  http://www.riseagainsthunger.org/get-involved/host-a-meal-packaging-event/

Gleanings…

Happy Christmastide!  You made it!  Actually, we made it through another season of advertisers’ hype and hyperbole, each one intent upon making this Christmas the one that would go down in the record books as the most costly one to date.  So, sit a moment and catch your breath before starting to pack Christmas away for another year, and let’s look at what we need to do to make this year one to remember.

Last month we talked about where to find new inspirations for how to improve our standard of living.  (Since it has been such a busy month, here is a refresher – we want to ask God to help us use the fruits of the Spirit more in our daily lives.)  To me, it naturally follows that now we should tackle how to improve our chances of sticking to our new resolutions.  The best design for improvement is just more wishing in the dark if we don’t put forth the effort to see it through.  With that in mind, here is a suggestion or two.

First off, decide right now to make it a practice to review your goal(s) and the means of achieving it(them) daily.  Start each morning refreshing your memory and noting what progress you have made.  If you did not make any progress, that’s fine.  Admit that you didn’t and commit to doing better today.  The important thing is to not give up.  It is also important not to stress about it.  We are not following the “no pain, no gain” theory here.

Next, use an appropriate form to remind yourself of your goal and course of action.  Some prefer low-tech so Post-it® notes on the mirror, refrigerator door, or some other daily accessed location will work.  People who like high-tech options can set up alarms on computers, tablets, and cell phones to remind them.  I don’t know which actually works best, but as long as you are reminded, it will be enough.

But let me offer another option.  How about setting a time for reading your Bible and a devotion, and then spending a moment in prayer?  If you make your goal and course of action a matter of daily prayer, not only will you stand a better chance of making measurable progress, but you will also be talking with the one who is best able to help you accomplish your goal.

Why all of this effort?  The answer is quite simple: we are to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.  We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, comfort the sick and dying, and visit those in prison.  In short, our lives are for God’s use so that all might hear the Good News and live in the kingdom of heaven/God.  And, as all are the children of the one God, we are talking about our sisters and brothers here.

There is much conversation these days about how our churches are suffering attendance loss.  It is so much a problem that book shelves cannot hold all of the new help manuals and guidebooks.  If we stop for a moment and think about it, I believe we will see that our problem is really that people who do not know the love of God are having a hard time seeing it in us.  Thus, they smile and pass us by when we invite them to worship with us.  So, our decision to improve our lives by using the gifts we have been given can have the effect of showing the love of God in action and that is something people are more likely to respond to.

So, I pray that you will have great success with your resolutions for the new year.  May God use us to accomplish that which we are uniquely created for and may God be praised in our efforts.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Braxton ><>

Thank you to everyone who donated to this wonderful organization!

The Union Gospel Mission is a men’s faith-based,  residential,  program that helps individuals with life-controlling issues find their purpose in life through a personal relationship with Christ.

UGM started in 1950 and has been serving the homeless community in Chattanooga and the Tri-State area for over 65 years providing over 2 million meals, 1 million shelter sleep nights, and over 1 million hours of community service.

Gleanings…

Well, it’s the end of another year.  Is there anything that you planned to do that did not get done?  So many of our years start out well and we have such good intentions, but something happens along the way and we end up watching most of our resolutions freeze and then melt away.  Maybe we need to spend some time this month looking for a way to improve our track record.

How do you decide what your resolutions for the year will be?  Do you look at what didn’t get done last year and decide to try again?  Has someone told you about the success they had putting a new practice in place and you thought it sounded like something you would like to do?  Maybe you have spent time looking at the top ten resolutions for the year and decided to try one or two of them.  If so, looks like it will be another disappointing year.

Resolutions are not “one size fits all”—not even close.  Instead, they are as unique and individual as we are.  So, it pays to spend a little time selecting what new and potentially exciting change we will undertake so as to be a better person going forward.  Most of all, we should ask for help and not from just anybody, we need to ask God.

Okay, I can hear it already—I just went from preaching to meddling.  Well, maybe, and maybe not.  Seriously, who wants you to be the best you can be more than God does?  After all, if it hadn’t been for God’s meddling in your life, where would you be today?  It just makes sense that if we truly want to be better, there’s no better person to ask than the one who formed us and breathed life into us.  And, God won’t steer you wrong.

So, here are a few ideas that you might include in your prayers for guidance.  How can we include any or all of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control into a course of action for the new year?  Yes, these are the fruit of the Spirit, but we can always learn new ways to incorporate them into our daily lives.  And, I expect they will help us more than the items on anyone’s “top ten” list.

So much of the world wants their lives to be better.  May our witness be that God’s gifts help us to be just that—renewed, restored, reenergized, and revitalized to give glory to God.

Happy Advent,

Pastor Braxton ><>

FAIRVIEW UMC CHOIR & FRIENDS PRESENT:

 “God’s gifts for the season”
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2018, 6:00 P.M.

Come receive your gift!

Refreshments and Fellowship after the program.

 FAIRVIEW UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
3901 HAMILL RD. HIXSON, TN 37343

Items Needed for Men only:

Shampoo, Bar Soap, Toothpaste, Toothbrush, Shaving Cream, Disposable Razors, Deodorant, Aspirin, Pain Relievers, Anti-biotic Ointment, Bandages, Toilet Paper, Twin Sheets, Pillow Cases, Bath Towel, Wash Cloths, Reading Glasses, Pens, Paper, Underwear, Undershirts, Pajamas, Socks, Clothing, Dress Clothes, Coats, Shoes, Boots, Winter Gloves, Winter Caps, Bibles (KJV) Lg. Print

Donations may be brought in through — Sunday, December 9.

The Union Gospel Mission is a men’s faith-based,  residential,  program that helps individuals with life-controlling issues find their purpose in life through a personal relationship with Christ.

UGM started in 1950 and has been serving the homeless community in Chattanooga and the Tri-State area for over 65 years providing over 2 million meals, 1 million shelter sleep nights, and over 1 million hours of community service.

Our  focus is : Meeting Needs, Making Change and Magnifying Christ!

Gleanings…

Have you had enough, yet?  As I watch the campaign ads for one candidate and then the other in this year’s political election frenzy, I am cut to the core by the amount of abuse they heap upon each other.  While I am aware that political campaigning has, seemingly always, used a considerable amount of invective and inuendo to differentiate one from one’s opponent, this year’s level of attack has set a new high (or low).  And I thought it was bad two years ago.

That being said, I am glad that we will soon enter the season of Advent.  It always fills me with hope that we can learn how to live peacefully with all of God’s creation.  The one born in Bethlehem, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus the Messiah (Christ) came to help us rightly connect with the Creator.  His life and teachings remind us that the way to peace and joy in our lives does not come from having the “right” people in elected positions.  Instead, we experience peace and joy when we follow Jesus’ example of extending love and mercy to all.

I love the song, Let There be Peace on Earth.  It reminds me that if I want something bad enough, I must make it a priority for how I live.  In order to experience peace and joy in my life, I must treat others as though it is a priority for them, too.  Taking that to the next step, if I am inconsistent in how I treat others, I cannot expect others to act in a consistent manner with me.

And, so, I move into the last part of 2018 hoping and praying for a season of peace and joy and struggling to make it a priority for how I live with others.  I know that nothing gets better just by our wanting it to change.  Instead, it takes consistent and persistent effort on our parts to be the change we desire.  Therefore, it is my invitation to you to join with me in extending the love and mercy that we want to receive from others.  May the lives we lead be the witnesses to the love of God that others are seeking.

Peace,

Pastor Braxton ><>

Gleanings…

Is it just me or do you feel this, too?  I feel that one of the greatest challenges we must deal with as followers of Jesus is the need to walk with Jesus each and every day.  So often we are challenged to turn aside, sit down, or just, plain quit.  Yet, those are not the directions we were given when we first answered his call.

What causes us to want to modify the relationship?  Could it be that we get a little bit discouraged when things don’t suddenly change for the better?  Could it be that we don’t feel we are making any progress?  Could it be that we get tired of following the same routine day after day when we cannot see that it is making any difference?  The answer to these, and many more, is probably “Yes.”

I am not aware of anyone who is particularly fond of doing the same thing repeatedly when the results do not appear to change.  We all like to feel that we are helping to make a difference.  We like to feel that our efforts are helping to improve our, or someone else’s, life.  I expect that we also want to know that someone is paying attention to our efforts.  A “thank you” every now and then never hurts.

Our time with Jesus, though, can seem to be a lot of effort with little to show for it.  People still have hard times, get sick, face adversities, struggle with self-worth, and die long before we feel they should.  In many ways, our lives as followers of Jesus do not seem to be much different from those who do not follow him except that, maybe, they have better parties.  (Hmm.  No, that’s not true.)

So, what is the answer?  What should we do?  I am always touched by the story of Peter’s redemption after he had denied knowing Jesus three times.  There by the sea following Jesus’ resurrection, Peter is reminded that the call to discipleship is fairly simple.  First, feed Jesus’ lambs.  We are to feed the newborns in the faith so that they learn the love of God and to love God.  Second, we are to tend and feed Jesus’ sheep.  Watching over one another, binding up wounds, ensuring good nutrition, and deflecting the attacks of “wolves” is essential for maintaining the flock.

Last of all, Jesus told Peter, “Follow me.”  This can be the most difficult part when we do not know what lies ahead.  When life presents us with tough times or calls for tough choices, though, we can know that we need not worry for the one who has called us will always be there to carry us through.

Eugene Peterson wrote a book exploring the gift of the Psalms for our lives.  The title, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction”, says it all.  I invite you to look for a copy if you would like to explore the life of discipleship further.  In the meantime, remember that all journeys are best shared with a friend.  Find a sister or brother in Christ with whom you can safely journey, and may you know peace.

Blessings,

Pastor Braxton ><>