Have you ever had anything break at just the right time? Neither have I. Sometimes you have a little warning that things are not doing well – a funny noise, a strange smell, a flashing light. Other times things just quit or fall apart while using them. Take my car, for instance—please. I had an unusual warning light come on my dashboard, so I got out the user’s manual. I learned the light meant there was a major engine problem: take the car immediately to the dealership right now, do not wait. Go! So I did. That was on August 30, 2024. It would take a long time to fix my car.

The engine had a broken head gasket. Eventually the necessary parts completed their tour of the world and arrived in early November. Then some of the parts got lost for a time. The tool used to install the vital parts broke. Two more weeks for the service department to get the new tool to fix my car. I was unhappy. It was New Year’s Eve when I confronted the owner of the dealership. He seemed eager to help. When they tested the repaired engine, it made a “funny noise, skipped and popped.” It took a couple more weeks to find someone brave enough to look and see what was wrong. Then a brand-new engine was ordered. Finally on February 6, 2025, I drove my car off the lot, then circled back for them to rotate and air-up the tires, which they had promised to do, because the car had been sitting in one place for five months and seven days! What was I writing about? Things break. The boiler broke at church.* Some breaks are harder than others and some broken things are harder to repair. Hearts, reputations, bones, and relationships, for instance, need patient understanding and healing grace.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Practice patience. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

* The Boiler Broke in the Education Building

Solutions are being explored for replacing the boiler in the furnace room of the education building which had an unrepairable break last week. This unit was installed in 1965. Parts are no longer available. In the meantime, there is no heat in that part of the building. 

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This is taken from an article I wrote in 2019. Still relevant today.

And furthermore, O God, smash them in the mouth and break all of their teeth.  It’s outrageous! In Psalm 58 the psalmist is raging against the faithless rulers, the judges, and religious leaders who pervert justice and promote violence everywhere. I can identify with the psalmist here. How easy it is to rage against perceived injustice with a call for cruel revenge.

God asks Jeremiah, Have you seen what my faithless people have done? They defile the land with prostitution and wickedness. It’s outrageous! God is raging against His own people for breaking the first commandment repeatedly, never repenting of their love for other gods. How easy it is to presume upon God’s mercy and overlook our own idols. (read Jeremiah 3:1-15)

The reason I left you in Crete was for you to straighten out the unfinished work and appoint blameless leaders, Paul admonishes Titus. There are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers…they must be silenced because they are ruining whole households.  It’s outrageous! Paul is upset that the households of faith in Crete were not reflecting the qualities of exemplary believers. Believers must be virtuous, faithful, self-controlled and secure in God’s love and grace. How easy it is for the cultural climate of our times to blunt our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (read Titus 1:1-16)

The Psalmist reminds us of the ways righteous indignation can quickly become bitter, violent and cruel.  Jeremiah’s word from the Lord reminds us that God expects our repentance for the deepest of sins. Paul’s word to Titus reminds us that faithfulness is a foundational Christian virtue. Cruelty is not a Christian virtue. Violence is not, injustice is not, hatred is not a Christian virtue. Political loyalty is not, name calling is not, revenge is not a Christian virtue. Neither are greed, bigotry, or corruption Christian virtues.  They’re outrageous, and faithless.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Honor Jesus today. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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During a recent Wednesday evening Bible study I mentioned we used to have an aquarium with catfish in our church nursery. When our daughters were young, a new staff member arrived on the scene with a love for fish. Jeff set up an expensive saltwater aquarium in his office, filled with live coral and exotic ocean fish. Also, he set up a             40-gallon freshwater tank in the nursery area. He filled it with the typical beautiful little fish and underwater displays that fascinate children and adults alike.  One winter we had a harsh few days of snow and ice, making it impossible to get to church. When the weather cleared enough to travel, it was discovered that the power had gone out at church, disabling the aquarium pumps and causing all the fish to die. It was a sad time. Jeff removed his saltwater aquarium but reset up the freshwater one in the nursery. 

Months later an enterprising mother added three fish to the nursery tank. Her father had recently stocked his farm pond with catfish, so she captured three fingerling catfish and carefully transported them to the church. They were as cute as three-inch catfish could be. The fish were somewhat stunned by their whole ordeal, and just huddled together at the bottom, hiding in the plants. The next day when we looked in on them, all the other fish in the aquarium were missing. The catfish were feeling better. The keepers of the aquarium eventually figured out which other fish were safe from the three little catfish. The catfish proved to be a helpful distraction for first-time toddlers and others, welcoming them to our church family. Over the years the catfish grew fatter, but not much longer. They only grew to about 8 inches long. Their diet and the size of the fish tank stunted their growth. Despite their limited beauty and size, they became a unique symbol that everyone was welcome in this place. Do not forget to entertain (show hospitality to) strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Entertain angels. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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I remember stepping out of a rural church on a cloudless moonless night and seeing the heavens stretched out before me. It took my breath away. Our mission team was in southeast India. I had brought the message in a rural concrete church building that had only recently been equipped with a power line. The service was slightly marred because I had forgotten to take off my shoes at first and no one had reminded me of my mistake. It went against their acceptable way to worship. Americans don’t think of their church floors as holy ground. The people were gracious and forgiving.

It was dark outside after the service except for the headlights of the cars as they were leaving the area. The vastness of the Milky Way is indescribable. Artificial lights have robbed us of our ability to truly see the heavens like our ancestors could see, even 50 years ago. City lights, floodlights, and security lights reveal what is close around us, but fade our views of the night sky. 

Psalm 19 points us to the universe as we stand in awe of the silent heavenly praise that can be witnessed from any and every place on our planet. Look for tonight’s glorious display of six planets dancing in a chorus line across our crisp skies, to be joined by a seventh planet next month. Behold the sun running its victory laps around us declaring the majesty of our Creator.  Soon the magnetic poles of the sun will switch, creating a beauty best seen through the latest satellite images from NASA. How many ways can we declare the qualities of the Word of God? It is sweet, good and beautiful news shining with clarity in the ruggedness of a world of constant breaking bad news. And what about our own words.  How fitting are the everyday words we speak or think. My definition of worry is deep meditation on one’s fears.  

The psalmist concludes with three humble prayers. It is that last verse, that concluding prayer, which convinced me to develop the habit of praying Psalm 19:14, basically each day, but especially when facing high pressure situations and conversations. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

(Adapted from Bro. Darryl’s Reflections for the Center for Congregational Ethics, for January 24, 2025)

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​As believers we can find ourselves involved in situations or conversations that may be delicate or difficult. We may want to help but are hesitant because we do not want to make matters worse. These may be divine appointments, where you are the right person to bear witness to a receptive person at just the right moment.Many of these conversations center on medical issues or personal relationships. In a message about mental illness and mental health issues, I once outlined these six guides for holding compassionate conversations that I always seek to practice.

Meet people where they are, not where you think they should be. Compassion starts with respect and dignity.

Listen to their story. Be slow to talk or give advice. Let them unburden in the moment. Listening is the time to keep quiet and understand what they may be communicating. 

Remember, you are not their doctor. Even though medical, psychological or other symptoms may be expressed, or your opinion sought, you are not their doctor.

Set reasonable time and place limits. With deep issues, some people can be overwhelming in their need for conversation. Compassionate conversations are best when held in appropriate places, for agreed upon lengths of time. For example, if you have only 15 minutes for a conversation, agree upon that time frame at the start, or set a better length of time for later. 

Offer an in-the-moment prayer. Ask them how best to pray. Do not always assume that you know what prayer you should offer on their behalf. Ask them, and then pray for that request right then.

Leave them with a word of hope and grace. Conclude your conversation with encouraging words of hope and grace.Point them to Jesus.

Galatians 6:2 reminds us to Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.Compassionate conversations are not always easy, but they can ease the load, shine a light in the darkness and provide a friend for the journey.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Prepare for your divine appointments. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

​

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My New Year’s tradition has become finding a word of the year that expresses my hope and shapes my thinking for the months ahead. This year I have settled on the phrase, Choose Joy. I believe that I may be running a low-grade depression, like most everyone I encounter these days, because of the dreariness of a constant stream of bad news everywhere. I need a refocus for 2025. It is always appropriate to grieve, cry, and face sadness, just like any of the other emotions we experience every day. I just want to remind myself to choose joy as often as possible.

Joy is a choice of rebellion against the doom-scrollers. Joy is radical when the crowds around you wallow in the muck of tedious complaints. Joy is not necessarily optimism, but optimists look for the joy. Winston Churchill is often quoted as saying, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”  I clipped an article once on The Seven Qualities of an Optimist:  1) They express gratitude. 2) They donate their time and energy. 3) They are interested in others. 4) They surround themselves with up-beat people. 5) They do not listen to naysayers. 6) They forgive others. 7) They smile. 

Optimist is not a Biblical word, but joy is. To me the seven qualities listed here reflect a Biblical lifestyle of  joy and faith. Those who live by faith, joy, and hope express gratitude to God and others every single day. They donate their time, energy and money in service and ministry. They are genuinely interested in their neighbors. They surround themselves with likeminded believers and mentors. They pray about the critics and the discouragers. They forgive and forgive. And they take joy in walking everyday with their Lord. This is more than positive thinking; it is confident living. It is more than seeing the opportunity; it is embracing the very call of God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Choose joy. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Our neighbors across the street from us have added a spotlighted outdoor nativity scene that is classier than ours. Much classier. We still have not gotten ours unboxed. It has been a busy month.  Many of the houses around us are decorated with all kinds of lights and displays, with an occasional star mounted up high. Santa and the reindeer are everywhere. So are snowmen and multicolored trees. But the display on the lawn or in the window does not mean much unless the Christ of Christmas is in our heart. Each year I look to some of my favorite carols to point the way to our newborn King.

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. The unsuspecting town, filled with grumbling taxpayers and weary travelers, becomes the focal point of God’s divine plan of redemption. The King is coming.

Come Thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free. From our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in Thee. The King is born with a kingdom mission of forgiveness, salvation and grace. Cast your deepest, darkest burdens before Him, and He will give you rest.

O come, desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind. Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. The King, who is the Prince of Peace, longs to heal the broken-hearted, mend broken relationships and fill the world with Good News of great joy. Trust His word. Trust His love.

Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for a slave is our brother, And in His name all oppression shall cease. The King’s life example, His unmatched wisdom, His cruel death on our behalf, and His resurrection overcoming all sin, guilt and even death itself, cause us to bow before Jesus, The King of Kings, and honor His Great Commandment to love others as He loves us.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. For He alone is worthy!  And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Sometimes a malady comes along for which there needs no better a descriptor.  Brain Rot, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration. Brain Rot—is what you might know as endlessly scrolling Facebook, SnapChat, TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, We Chat, Threads, Truth Social, X, You Tube, and on and on. It is like watching the same television station hour after hour, or the opposite, constantly channel surfing. Brain Rot is the 2024 Word of the Year. According to the OED, the term was first used in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau, in his book Walden, comparing the devaluation of intellectual ideas to a mental form of potato rot. I have run across a sub-set of the malady called PDF Brain Rot, a classification afflicting students and employees required to read vast quantities of digital books, research papers, and AI summaries of such materials.  

There is a remedy for brain rot. I suggest three simple ways to lessen the brain rot that may be infecting us.  1. Make something. Use your creativity—draw, cook, sew, plant, build, write, sing, listen.  2. Help someone. Find a need. Make a visit. Serve a meal. Volunteer.  3.  Develop a new spiritual discipline. Explore a time of simplicity, fasting (not just food), generosity (not just money), confession, humility, silence.

As with all forms of fungus and mildew, actual sunlight is the best disinfectant. Take a walk around the block or sit in front of a sunny window. You will begin to feel a real difference.  Brain rot happens because we are bored, exhausted, or unfulfilled in some areas of our inner being.  Read Psalm 37:30-40 and examine yourself before God. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Let in the light. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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 by Kevin Avery

When following Jesus, there are no shortcuts. Life doesn’t become easier simply because we love Him and trust Him—Jesus is not a genie in a bottle. Neither does it mean life will always become harder just for believing in Jesus, though persecution certainly happens when we follow Him with all our heart. We oversimplify to assume Jesus will make our life easier or harder. Either perspective needs to be transformed because the truth is: Life is Jesus. Truth is Jesus. The same thinking applies to the journey we are taking. The journey is—at least should be—Jesus. I do not mean this in a philosophical way like when Pilot asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). I mean it in a transformative way. 

In John 14:6, Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. When John wrote this verse, he was using Greek. Often, the Greek term ὁδός (hodos) is translated as way, as when Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. However, it can be translated literally as road, path, or journey, or figuratively as way (or manner) of thinking, feeling, or deciding. Most English translations of John 14:6 use the figurative way. However, I believe all these possible translations have much merit. Everything about a believer’s life, whether literal or figurative, should point to Jesus and be about Him. 

In this manner of thinking, I understand that whether we are blessed with treasure—like being married to an amazing wife—or afflicted with adversity—like dealing with an autoimmune disease—everything is a part of our journey to know our Heavenly Father through Jesus. Each day as Hebrews 12:2 tells us, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Every difficulty or joy we encounter is a chance to know Jesus better. In addition, we are on this journey together, even if some members, like me, are homebound. Thankfully, at Braden Park, homebound members are just a phone call away, and prayer is not limited to a location. As Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, it begins: Our Father who is in heaven … and what a blessing it is to pray for and pray with other disciples of Christ Jesus.

Rev. Kevin Avery is our former missionary to China. Through his on-line ministry with ITEE Global, he encourages and prays with pastors in Asia, Africa and the US. (iteeg.org)

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Of all the books in my bookcases, one has a treasured place in my heart. I have mentioned this before. It is called Bible Biographies, edited by Robert Sears and published in 1848. It belonged to Rev. Abraham V. Leonardson, my grandmother’s grandfather on my mother’s side. He received it as a gift of appreciation in 1880. Abram Leonardson, as he called himself, was a Methodist circuit-riding pastor between the Civil War and World War 1. I have a couple of his Bibles, a small number of scrapbooks and this volume on the lives of the people of the Bible that is illustrated with scores of engravings. He and I have been ministering about 100 years apart. He was licensed to the Gospel ministry in 1867, and I was licensed in 1966.

My great-great grandfather served churches in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. He would pastor as many as four churches at a time, preaching one Sunday a month at each, taking his wagon, later his buggy, to the next church. He was also a writer and turned many of his thoughts into newspaper articles, which he kept in his scrapbooks. Many of the scrapbooks were lost to time but in the few that I possess, his articles focused on holy living, temperance, and faithful prayer. His Bibles are filled with sermon notes and outlines, and even the occasional illustration. In many of his sermons he cried out against materialism. He suggested a better way was humility. He longed for people to find holiness in relationship with Christ.

To A.V. Leonardson, materialism was another word for greed. For our day materialism has been dressed up and passed off as consumerism that is necessary for a thriving economy. The appeal is to our pride, vanity, and pocketbook. Move out of the way Thanksgiving, you are being replaced—the world of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and consumer greed is heading straight for Christmas. Same old sin, only with better marketing, and more costly than ever.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Find humility this holiday. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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