Coming to the Still Waters

The perfect passage for this quote is what we went through as a body of believers of Jesus at Stillwater Community Chapel last Sunday.  Judas is said to have remorse or regret for what he had done.  His remorse didn't take him to the Father or to Jesus but rather back to those he had made a pack with.  It would also lead him to continue on the path of man on what to do with sin.   This passage was our first in chapter 27 but it is the third of looking at individuals around Jesus who is headed to the cross.  We had devoted Mary of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  We had self-confident Peter.  We have this week the just remorseful Judas.  Next week we will have the perceptive and people pleaser Pilate.   This topic of remorse and repentance has dominated my thoughts this week.  It turned into these two lists for me. Remorse: regret change your mind on how you feel your plan enacted follow the world's solutions Repentance: to make a tu...

The mountains are coming alive with color.  Here is a quartet of columbine.  The splash of color signifies new life after the season of snow.  The whiteness is replaced by all the colors of the rainbow.  The ultimate " whiteness " is Jesus as without sin and what comes from His sacrificial season here are those of us of different colors and from different places blossoming from the forgiveness of our sins and putting on a show for His glory.  There is my metaphor for the day. We finished up chapter 26 of Matthew with a deep look at the denials of Peter.  The denials are actually lies and somehow that makes it more serious in my eyes.  These lies of Peter progress in intensity.  First , it is deflection back onto the servant girl that she is the crazy one to bring this up.  Second is Peter making physical distance and finding the shadows of the gateway.  Third , Peter vows with an oath upon himself that he doesn't know the man Jesus....

  The roof project has been completed!  We can't say " thank you Lord " enough.  We were able to raise $61,105.00 of the $110,000.00 so far.  Funds came in from all over the United States.  When you crest the rise on US Hwy 34 just before the church, the green roof catches you eye.  The problem areas were addressed and the very brittle shingles came off with hardly any effort.  The roofing company we hired did a fantastic job and clean up was exceptional with it spanning over 2 Sundays.  We have a 20 year warranty on workmanship, 20 years from the insurance company on replacement value and 50 years on the shingles themselves.   We are also in the time of the year that we have visitors from all over each Sunday.  We might only see them once but we are thankful to connect with brothers and sisters in Christ from other parts of the country or just across the pass to the Front Range.  We strive to be a beacon of the gospel of Jesus...

  If you look closely in the mirror you can see me.  I have actually taken the bus a couple of times.  I have enough time to do my weekly errands in town and also to take my current book that I am reading and get through some more chapters.  People are also talkative on the bus so I get to strike up some conversations.  It has only been a couple of weeks but people are using this service between Granby to our south and Grand Lake to our north.  Maybe I will get to know the bus drivers who are stopping at a church for one of their stops. Above this park overlooking Grand Lake and its small beach are benches and yesterday I was able to watch 2 F-16s fly over the lake at eye level 3 times.  It must have been a training run.  This was a little excitement to one of the places I go to read and study and also a popular spot for Stephanie and I for our Sunday afternoon non-dairy ice cream treat.  It is summer so town is busting at the seams almost ev...

  We are one of the stops of the Gold Line known as the Rocky Express between Granby and Grand Lake.  It is a free service.  I have figured out that I can hop on the bus, do my business in town and then catch a ride back.  It also services the Amtrak train stop in Granby to shuttle people up to Grand Lake.  Our front pull through parking lot works well for this and it runs 3 times a day.   In the background you can see that the church is now ready for shingles this week.  The drip edge is being completed today.  This is a huge project for such a little congregation and it shows how big our God is!  We rejoiced in our annual meeting of $60,880.00 raised of the $110,000.00. A month ago I switched out the starter on our 2012 Honda Odyssey van with 263,000 miles.  It worked a month and then it acted up like before.  I bought a new battery which was 6 years old but to no avail.  I pulled the new starter out and had it bench tes...

  It has started.  By the end of the day our roof will be all ice and shield and ready for shingles next week.  The goal is to be completed by next Friday.  We have raised so far $60,580.00 of the $110,000.00 project.  A huge thank you to all who have helped us with this.  Your contributions will add this building as a place to gather for worship for years to come! Our annual meeting is this Sunday where we map out the new year and look at what has happened in the last.  It has been a time for me to tie up loose ends like church insurance, financial reports and budgets, and the process forward with our constitution and bylaws.  I have been very busy while Stephanie has been away to Florida but soon home! On a sad but going home report, Stephanie's father, Harry passed on to glory on Thursday, June 4th.  Stephanie and her mom and sister were caring for him in his home until the end.  I am thankful to say that I had 2 dads.  I thought...

 It is the time of mowing in Colorado.  It usually doesn't last long and for us it is taming the weeds and dandelions.  Another task of a small town pastor that I have done over the 40 years of ministry.  It has always been a great time to think through again the message coming up on Sunday.  June 1 is not only our 41st wedding anniversary but also our 40th anniversary of full-time ministry. Sometimes 40 years means covering for each other at times.  Stephanie is in Florida caring for her parents so I had the privilege of getting the Family Dinner Night ready.  It was wings' night along with potato salad and baked beans.  All things I could handle.  It is a time of grief for Steph.  We lost our dog of 11 years, Buddy, just recently to cancer and now she is sitting beside her father in his last stages of life.  The last words and last actions can be so vital to hear and see.  I am so thankful Stephanie is there as I was last yea...

  One of the tomato plants for the deck this year.  The house is looking like a greenhouse lately as we get ready for the growing season window in this part of the country.  Stephanie has the green thumb and I'm the water boy. We finished up Jesus' 5th sermon, the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 & 25, this Sunday.  It was great to go through this passage again with Jesus speaking directly about His 2nd coming.  He makes it clear that there are only 2 groups and 2 destinations.  This week we looked at His sheep on His right hand and the goats on the left.  One is judged to eternal life and the other to eternal punishment.   It was interesting to see how Jesus used possession when speaking about His sheep and left off the possession when He talked about the goats.  Jesus also went back to the theme of focusing more on the " how " rather than the " when " and " what ."  He focused on how the sheep were responding and how the goats w...

The logo above represents an investigation that is going a little deeper tonight in the fellowship hall of the church.  We, as an small independent church, are exploring options that would help us with spiritual oversight and financial sustainability.  This is just one of the avenues we have been praying about.  As we think about the possibility of coming under the " umbrella " of another, we have to discern that this organization is also in total submission to the word of God.  From what I know of the EFCA, I believe they are and I am thankful for the opportunity to hear from a representative of the district about their Bible based mission, purpose and vision.  Pray with us and for us that we would see if this is the direction in which we should pursue for God's glory. We are nearing the end of the Olivet Discourse and Jesus has been generally answering the " when " and " what " questions of His disciples but also specifically answering the " how...

  Being 61 and approaching 62, it is part of me to be " old school ."  I count it a privilege to live through all the technological changes in the life of not only our world but the church.   I went from bulletin boards to handouts to overhead projectors to screens to webpages to video platforms to apps and it keeps going on.  The picture above is some of my " old school " coming out that you see in the lobby of our church.  I try to keep this white board up to date with the latest at SCC.  You have to be able to read my printing and I am amazed at how we have adapted to pull out our cell phones and take a pic of it.  What was old still works at times and sometimes it has even more impact than the new stuff.  I think I have well adapted to communicating via email and cherish personal responses that come into my inbox but a hand written letter that has made it through the USPS system to my mailbox still takes it to another level.   J...

  It is the last day of April and the snow is coming down again.  You can see the small leaves coming out on the aspen trees in the picture and the haze of snow in the distance.  We welcome any precipation after a winter of pretty much no snow at the 8400 elevation mark.  Any assistance naturally against forest fires stops any type of complaining about the weather. The white haze in the background is snow coming down.  This is our front window of the church.  I have always loved stain glass windows and these come to life at the close of the day with the sun setting down on Elk Mountain.   Jesus gives His disciples a 4 fold message of "no one knows the day or the hour."  He will bring this up again once more in the next passage.  It will also be a part of His dialogue with them just prior to His ascension in Acts 1.  It amazes me that so many books are written toying with the opposite of what Jesus is saying.  So many prediction...

  I don't think I have posted this picture of the main entrance to the church.  It must have been taken in the late fall.  I snapped it because of the moon above and this is my path taken from our living quarters to my office.  The moon made me think of one of the specific events that Jesus gives us in this passage of scripture.  Jesus gives specific events that must happen prior to the end of times and His 2nd coming.  What was created by Him will be de-created in a sense. Jesus goes back into the second half of His general outline in v.4-14.  The first half (v.4-8) ends with the beginning of sorrows or birth pains.  I always loved the imagery that Jesus uses when the birthing process is brought up.  The labor pains some from less severe to severe and from less frequent to almost constant.  In the wake of the whole process you know that someone is coming.  In looking at the end times we have to look at the pains that are coming and...

Maybe this drum set given to the church is a good illustration of the title of this blog.  We were given this drum set.  I have switched out the cymbals to perforated ones to reduce the ring but allow the drummer to play with sticks more naturally.  We have purchased these foam rings (one yet for the floor tom) to reduce the volume while producing a fuller tone.  We purchased a foam hammer for the kicker drum.  A drummer's throne and also separate headset with volume control from the house feed to supply a balanced output from the rest of the platform.  What is missing?  A drummer... the one to come!   On a side note, I really love these drum head rings.  I have taken apart the toms and spare to put inside foam above and below and then retuned the drums.  These you just lay on the drum and it does that all for you.  What a difference instantly.  The foam kicker allowed me to take the stuffing in the kicker drum away. ...

The trails are drying up.  A 6 mile hike this morning and venturing up to 9200 ft.  Looks promising to go higher later this week.  I am working on my new hiking map of the area and filling in some trails I couldn't get to with the snowshoes.  I am thankful for the resale hiking shop in town.  I picked up this vintage Thermos with foldable spoon and the hot soup was so delicious on the trail.  I have a new water filter to try out this year too. Another Resurrection Sunday and I ventured into the book of John.  He tells us very plainly what the purpose or mission of this gospel in John 20:30-31 (LSB). Therefore many others signs Jesus also did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John makes mention of the signs that Jesus did again in the next chapter, John 21:24-25 (LSB). This is...