Who Am I?

Psalm 22:1-2

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”

Last Sunday, Pastor Doug shared a powerful sermon based on Psalm 22. The description of King David’s sufferings unmistakably mirrors that of Jesus Christ upon the cross. In his moment of intense persecution, David shares his deepest feelings of despair, “I am a worm and not a human.” (Verse 6)

There have been times in my life when something has made me feel rather “worm-ish”. Perhaps there are too many instances to list here: a friend’s betrayal, a broken promise, an overwhelming task, a cutting insult, a lost treasure, a forgotten date, a blow to the face, etc. How do we overcome these feelings of inadequacy and rejection? We can turn to God’s Word to see ourselves in the light of God’s saving mercy through Jesus Christ (adapted from Neil T. Anderson’s book Victory Over the Darkness):

I am the salt of the earth. (Matt 5:13)

I am the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14)

I am a child of God. (John 1:12)

I am a part of the True Vine, a channel of Christ’s life. (John 15:1,5)

I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)

I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear his fruit. (John 15:16)

I am a slave (servant) of righteousness. (Romans 6:18)

I am a child of God; God is spiritually my Father. (Romans 8:14, 15; Galatians 3:26; 4:6)

I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing his inheritance with Him. (Romans 8:17)

I am a temple – a dwelling place – of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me. (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)

I am united with the Lord and am one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17)

I am a member of Christ’s Body. (1 Cor. 12:27; Ephesians 5:30)

I am a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17)

I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:18,19)

I am a saint. (1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2)

I am God’s workmanship – His handiwork – born anew in Christ to do His work. (Eph. 2:10)

I am righteous and holy. (Eph. 4:24)

I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. (Eph. 2:6; Phil. 3:20)

I am hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3)

I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. (1 Pet. 2:5)

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. (Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4)

I am a child of light and not of darkness. (1 Thess. 5:5)

I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. (1 Pet. 2:11)

I am an enemy of the Devil. (1 Pet. 5:8)

I am born of God, and the evil one – the Devil – cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

I am not the Great “I Am” (Ex. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58), but by the grace of God I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10).

These promises reveal our true nature when we are redeemed by the Blood of Christ. If you have not yet received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you do so TODAY! Let us take a moment each day to prayerfully thank Jesus for his life, death, and resurrection as well as rejoice in the new identity and purpose this brings to our own lives!

With Christ’s love,

Lincoln Skinner, Associate Minister

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Oneonta’s Monday Evening Spiritual Formation Group

What does it mean to imitate Christ?  Arthur Simon, founder of the international organization Bread for the World, grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and was taught by his father that “even the cows should know you are a Christian by the way you treat them.”  Last Monday, the Spiritual Formation Group studied the pattern of Jesus’ life and ministry as set forth in Mark 1:35-42.  In a nutshell, Jesus set an example of meditation, proclamation and compassion. Meditation (or spending quiet time alone with God) is necessary to face the challenges with which we are presented.  As a medieval monk prayed, “Lord, temper with tranquility our manifold activity, that we may do our work for thee with very great simplicity.” Proclamation (or preaching) was essential to Jesus’ ministry.  All Christian living is proclamation of that which masters us.  By deed as well as by word, we make a statement about the things in which we believe and an expression of our faith. Compassion (or love) is a natural blossom from the seed planted in meditation; and proclamation is futile without compassion.  As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe so aptly stated, “The highest cannot be spoken, it can only be acted” and “Knowing is not enough; we must apply.  Willing is not enough, we must do.” May the example that Christ gives us draw us to a fuller commitment of our lives to His way so that even the cows will know we are Christians! Next week the Spiritual Formation Group will explore the disciplines of silence and solitude and how they provide perspective and fuel for the soul. -Bernice Worley

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The Home of the Puritans Loses its Religion (Part 1)

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. (John 4:34-36 NIV)

First the bad news, John Cotton would not be happy! Does it frighten me? No!

I have taken my title from a Los Angeles Times article dated Monday, March 16, 2009. The article by Joanna Lin reports the findings of the American Religious Identification Survey 2008. The upshot of the article is the number of Americans claiming no religion has nearly doubled. Of interest was that the New England region of the United States has surpassed the West Coast in its abandonment of religion! The cradle of Pilgrim congregationalism and the new frontier for it are fast becoming spiritually nonaligned. I thought to myself, “Hey they are talking about us!” “They have us going and coming.

While the Los Angeles Times article was on page four, a similar article appeared on the front page of USA Today seven days ago. I believe the title of the article was “‘Nones’ Now 15% of the Population.” It looks like since 1990 the number of people who claim ‘no religion’ has grown from 8% to 15%! That means if the present trends continue for the next 60 years, 57% of all Americans will be claiming no religion!

Now the good news – this is nothing new – and it actually presents the church of today with an unprecedented opportunity. It is often the case that the solution to a problem is bound up in the problem itself.

The bad news provides an answer. In USA Today, Kathy Lynn Grossman quotes Barry Kosmin as saying: “These people aren’t secularized. They’re not thinking about religion and rejecting it; they’re not thinking about it at all …” Do you see the solution? The solution is to reach out to the people around us and introduce them to Christ. If Kosmin is right, these are people who are neutral about religion.

When Jesus’ disciples demurred at his offer of the Gospel to the Samaritan woman and her Samaritan friends, he told them the fields were ripe for the harvest, all they had to do was look around them. In Matthew Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few!” In both cases he is telling his disciples: reach out to those around you and you will have success!

If the statistics of the American Religious Identification Survey are correct, that means that within a five mile radius of Oneonta there are 198,000 people who don’t have religion on their radar. That’s a harvest field ripe for the picking.

We think of Lent as a time of introspection. Perhaps the church of the 21st century should use times like Lent to be extroverted. Do you think Oneonta can lead the way?

Your Pastor and Friend,
Doug Brandt

Pastor Doug

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Buzz Lightyear the Theologian

Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. (Ps 147:5 KJV)

Buzz Lightyear, the famous Toy Story character, is a space-traveling toy action hero who comes to life and believes the advertising on his box. To infinity and beyond is the mission statement for his intergalactic quest. When I first watched this movie, I was amused by that line. Adult hyperbole is one of the things that make it a great movie.

Over the years I have thought about that phrase. I have come to believe that our culture believes Buzz Lightyear. As a result, we have lost the meaning of the word infinity. We use phrases like infinite patience when we speak of someone’s ability to endure the daily commute from San Bernardino to Los Angeles. When we use terms such as unlimited wealth we mean to speak of an amount of money so large we could never spend it! Such speaking is pure hyperbole and only hyperbole!

Infinite means to be boundless, measureless, not bound by time and space. By definition, infinity can’t be measured, even by Buzz Lightyear! Yet we lay out the ruler to try and measure it. Perhaps we who are bound by time and space use measurement to account for ourselves – to justify our existence?

A.W. Tozer said: “We poor human creatures are constantly being frustrated by limitations imposed on us from without and within. The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver’s shuttle. Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency, we are forced to lay our instruments down.”

Infinity by definition cannot be measured. Infinity is attributed to God; the concept is bound up in the very definition of God. There are no degrees in God – He is neither big nor small. He is simply beyond all that! That’s good news for us! Because God is infinite, that means he has infinite resources to give us. Verse 6 of Psalm 147 states: “He lifts up the meek …” It looks like to me from this text that He shares His infinite resources to those who are finite! That after all is the premise of our faith.

If Buzz Lightyear had a brain and knew about God, what would his tag line be? It might be something like – With God to infinity!

Your Pastor and Friend,

Doug Brandt

Pastor Doug

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