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? (Psalm 22:1)

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1).

Did you know that these two (very different!) Psalms were placed next to each other – I suspect for good reason.  They reflect the polar opposites of our lives; they reflect the range of our emotions, of our prayers, of our experiences – from desperation to trust; from despair to hope; from despondency to confidence – and everything in between.

If you have lived on this earth for any length of time you have
experienced both of these Psalms (which is part of the beauty of the Psalms).  They both give expression to feelings you may not know you have or know how to express.

I love the honesty of the Psalms, embracing fully the beautiful

Both “poles” give me permission and encouragement to share honestly with God.  And both Psalms give me hope, that “joy comes in the morning,” that “light comes after the darkness,” that “all will be well, and all will be well.”

Cliff

CHURCH NEWS:

O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength.  How great is his joy in
the victories you give.  You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head (Psalm 21:1 – 3).

We call this a “Royal Psalm” as it refers to the King of Israel,
presumably King David, but in the life of the Church it, along with
other similar Psalms, came to be seen as a reference to the King of
kings, even Jesus the Christ.  Reading it through this lens makes a
beautiful connection with Jesus.

Understood properly, this Psalm is also about us – followers of Jesus whom Jesus elevates to – dare we say it – to royal status, but the royalty that embraces service on behalf of others.

Do you perhaps remember that beautiful line from the movie “Cider

Cliff

CHURCH NEWS:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard (Psalm 19: 1 – 3). 

If you haven’t already, look up – up to the skies, and around – at the trees, and flowers and grass, and water and behold – the beauty and majesty of God! The Yes, of God!  These are all visual, tangible declarations of God, shouting for any who will hear – the glory of God.

Feel it, hear it every time you visit Christ By The Sea’s amazing campus – such beauty, such majesty!  And I know that the trend has been and maybe still is to create these multi-imaged, amazing technicolored spaces in modern worship centers – but I’ll take our windows looking out onto God’s trees and ponds and resurrection ferns and sky any day, every day – because they are declaring NOT the ingenuity/superficiality of humans, but the GLORY of God; may we have ears to hear and eyes to see! 

 Cliff

CHURCH NEWS:

·        Ria Bakker died on Tuesday, May 23. Please keep Adrian and the Bakker family in your prayers.

·        The Florida Annual Conference (Annual Meeting) is June 10-13 in Orlando. Please pray for the delegates.

·        Sign up NOW for Vacation Bible School being held July 10-14

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with self-centered people. You know, the people that just seem to only think about themselves. Working with them is the worst. You probably have someone like this in your life, who just really gets you angry every time you think about all the self-centered things they have done. We know the only way they will change is with Jesus, but we still have a difficult time interacting with them.

Today’s verse struck a chord with me because it showed how Jesus viewed people who were not followers of him. He said they were harassed and helpless. Those are two things we don’t want to have in our lives, harassment and helplessness. There is nothing worse than feeling helpless, like you don’t have control of a situation. Jesus says that this is what these self-centered people are feeling. What a horrible way to live life! No wonder they care about themselves more than others. They are just trying to bring some stability to their lives.

Not only do we learn how Jesus viewed them, but also how he felt for them. Jesus had compassion for them and tells us to pray for them in the next verse. How convicting! Often times there is not a drop of compassion in me as I interact with these people, but Jesus did have compassion.

When we have the heart of Jesus we will begin to see those around us with the eyes of Jesus. Stop right now and ask Jesus to give you His heart and His view for the challenging people around you.

Have a blessed week,

Cliff

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a

Henri Nouwen writes: “Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

Gentle is the one who does “not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick” (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let’s dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.”

May we be reminders of God’s presence to others as we go through our day.
Peace,
CLIFF

CHURCH NEWS:

Think about the Christian you want to be. What qualities do you want to have? More compassion? More conviction? More courage? What attitudes do you want to discontinue? Greed? Guilt? Endless negativity? Here’s the good news. You can. With God’s help you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be—indeed, the person God made you to be. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we can live “from glory to glory.” The walls of Jericho—they are already condemned. The giants are already on the run. The deed to your new life is already signed. It just falls to you to possess the land. 

Cliff

CHURCH NEWS:

Join us at 6:15 this evening to hear about the recent trip to Cuba.

The next Habitat work day is May 6.

There are two important items I need to share with you today. First, the vandal who broke our windows has been caught and is currently in jail on several charges, including ours. Please keep this young man in your prayers as he is in a very bad place emotionally. He will be incarcerated for several weeks until the courts make a further decision. I cannot share anything more with you as the person is a minor and the investigation is ongoing.

Also, at our Church Council meeting on Tuesday, the 25^th at 4pm, we will have the principal of Beachland Elementary here to speak to us about the changes at the school both in demographics and to the physical plant. Mrs. Barker will be sharing how we can partner more fully with the school and make a difference in the lives of the students and the teachers. I encourage everyone to come and hear her presentation in Ratcliff Hall.

I hope to see you at the golf tournament on Saturday afternoon!

Cliff

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week, a week in which Christian tradition marks the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. It is a week in which we retell and remember a biblical account fraught with violence and tension, political intrigue, and incredible cruelty.

Holy Week invites us to know the narrative of these final days experientially. It is a week marked by the darkest shadows, the insanity of political machination, the tenderness of a communal meal, and the way of the cross. It is also a week filled with hope, a week that culminates in the mystery of an empty tomb. It is a week in which we know anew that God always, mysteriously brings forth life out of death.

Enter the week, enter the story. And listen with your deepest self as the events of the week unfold.

HOLY WEEK WORSHIP:

Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Thursday at 6:00 pm (Ratcliff Hall)

Friday at 7:00 pm

Saturday is the Easter Cantata at 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm

Easter Sunday at 8:30, 9:40, and 11:00 am

I read a devotional titled “Old Timers” this past weekend. This scripture from Hebrews was used and it made me think of the “cloud of witnesses” I was with from Thursday to Saturday. I was with my clergy covenant group, a group of 10 brothers whom I love and respect. The group has been meeting for over 30 years, but I have only been with them for 15 years. Half of them are retired now, so we are feeling like “Old-Timers” when we see the young clergy at district and conference meetings.

These guys have been “ a cloud of witnesses” for me for the past 15 years as they have mentored me, prayed for me, let me cry and be angry, and have held me accountable. I know that without them, I would not be in ministry today.

While I have many other “witnesses from my past, these guys have been the core for the past 15 years.

Who are your “cloud of witnesses”? Who are the people who have prayed for you, guided you in faith, taught you about being a disciple, and walked beside in times of trial?

God bless all of our “witnesses”.

Have a blessed week!

Cliff

CHURCH NEWS:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12

I had a meeting with a friend this week which reminded me of an important lesson. There are people of all ages, shapes, backgrounds who do not feel either loved or lovable. In my life, I have been so blessed to have had parents who loved me deeply, family members who express their love regularly, great friends who show their love for me, and a wonderful church that lets me know in many ways that I am loved. These gifts of love make it simple for me to know that God loves me as well.

But, this is not true for many people. Far too many people do not believe they are loved or even lovable. This gives us a critical task. It is to express love to others in such a way that they come to believe they are loved and to know they are very lovable. Jesus would not only expect this of us, but he feels so deeply about it that he even makes it a command.

So, in case you don’t know it….GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I!

Cliff

CHURCH NEWS:

April 12 Wednesday Lenten Worship, 6:30pm

April 13 Maundy Thursday Worship 6:00pm in Ratcliff Hall with a Middle Eastern simple meal and communion. (reservations requested)

April 14 Good Friday worship 7:00pm

April 15 Easter Cantata 4:30 and 7:00pm