Here it
is the second week of January. How have your resolutions been going? I
mentioned that I wanted to fast from negativity both personally and socially. I
want to report that I have not been totally successful but am doing better. I
have been hiding negative divisive comments on social media without even
reading them. I have found about 5-10 each day on my wall. None of them from
the original person who posted them but were re-posts from others. Most of them
have been from people from the far right and aimed at inflaming and denigrating
those who would disagree with them. I have also had some from the far left
doing the same thing. Having a debate as to what one disagrees about is an
expression of free speech, as long as, it represents what one thinks and
believes without name-calling or blaming others. There are days I wonder if I
would have to hide 90% of my Facebook page. I am concerned that some of these re-posts from both sides come from people I know. I am challenged with choosing
to fast from that negativity. I am reminded of what Jesus says about loving
even those who differ from you and even those who are enemies. So I continue to
not engage in the rhetoric and instead focus on trying to be more like Christ.
The
church that Nancy and I are attending has begun a new sermon series, “Brand
New.” You can catch Rev. Dr. Craig Finnestad sermon at weomaha.com. He used a
sermon illustration that particularly spoke to me. He used the idea of two 5-gallon
buckets, one filled with dirty water and one filled with clean water. He asked
what would happen if you would pour the clean water into the dirty water? For
me that is insightful about how many times in my life I would try to do things
to find that I still felt the same as before. He went on to say, “The brand new
you who has hope for the future cannot emerge until you get rid what is taking
space the brand-new thing needs…Our vision of the future should shape our
agenda in the present… Holding on is believing in the past. Letting go is
knowing there is a future.” I have been reflecting on these statements as to
how they apply to my life. How can I empty my bucket of dirty water that
prevents me from accepting the clean water? Pastor Craig also used the scripture from
John about abiding in Jesus as the vine that leads to improved fruit. I believe
we struggle with trying to do it ourselves rather than surrendering to Jesus.
For me, the process of emptying the dirty water is more of a process than just
expecting to dump it all out at once. I can’t wait to see where we are heading
with the sermons. A big thank you to you, Craig.
Today
also marks our life group meeting following our holidays. We are going to be
spending the next 11 weeks studying a book of the Bible that the members wanted
to study. It is can be one of the most frustrating and fearful books which of
course is Revelation. With all its symbolism, allusions to the Hebrew scriptures,
what has been fictionalized and the frightful imagery, it is challenging to see
this letter to be one of hope and encouragement. Our first meeting is tonight.
I believe we will first start to discuss what the members think or heard about
the letter. I hope that we can begin to look at reading this through the eyes
of John who wrote this in about 95 CE. Knowing some of the historical context of the writing
and the audience that this was the first readers, may help us look at how some
of the issues John was trying to address continue even today. We will talk
about apocalyptic writings from the Hebrew scriptures and even found in parts
of the Christian scriptures. It should be fun. We will see.
Until
next Tuesday, think about what needs to be let go of to let God happen.
Blessings Eldon
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