Pastor Nate's Blog

As many of you know, my wife and I just had our first child and we are so excited!  Many people... did I mention MANY people... told me, "Oh, your life is going to change!"  And as much as you prepare for something like that, when it comes it is always like a cool wave of water splashing over your whole body beginning square in the face.  I could have never prepared for the way it would effect me, biologically, chemically, and spiritually.  It is truly a religious experience!  Time seemed to stand still, hours passed in seconds and seconds froze still into what seemed like hours.  Senses were heightened and dulled at the same time.  New forces began pulling my soul in new directions.  Change... yes, I feel it.  I can only imagine it is something akin to what a caterpillar may feel like as it changes into a butterfly.  Truly speechless, truly amazing.         Coming to salvation through Jesus Christ is often a similar kind of experience.  These mountain top encounters energize and carry our faith through our lives.  I'm curious how others have experienced the transforming power of life, whether it be in Christ, in parenthood or any other experience. 

We've probably all heard of the term "saddle up" or "man up" or even "woman up" to be fair... but recently I heard someone talking about how we are called to "disciple up".  I thought that was a pretty good suggestion and I'm offering that to everyone as a personal challenge because I believe that is what God is calling us to do... disciple up!  Since we are Lutherans, we of course spend a lot of time talking about grace, and rightfully so!  Without grace- all hope is lost.  It is grace that gives us the hope of eternal life, but it is also grace that gives us the hope to LEAD A NEW LIFE... here and now.  So it is in that grace that we are called to rise to the challenge.               You know, in dealing with alcoholics or addicts, in order to help them stop the destructive behavior they must begin to realize that nobody just takes a drink or engages in the addictive behavior "out of the blue"!  No, it is a long process that builds up over time to explode in the destructive behavior.  So it is important to begin learning how to recognize the triggers.  It's kind of like, if you can stop a wave when it is just a little ripple in the water- well that's much easier than waiting until it becomes a five story tidal wave- and trying to stop it then.  So that is a practical way to begin raising the standard of our lives.  Before we begin gossiping or complaining or otherwise being disgruntled... take a moment, take a deep breath and ask yourself why you are feeling like this... what is going on inside you that leads to this kind of behavior?  Then, acknowledge and accept those feelings, remind yourself that you are loved and that all will be well, remind yourself of God's grace... and then choose to take a different path.  You could even try doing exactly the opposite of your previous inclination, instead of gossiping- ask the group to join you in prayer, instead of complaining- offer to be a part of a solution... in other words "disciple up!"  And let's all find ways to support one another in this call!

Well, summer is here and for me, summertime is the time to slow down, relax and enjoy life.  However... that seems to be harder to do than ever, but it has also never been more important.  So it's kind of strange, I feel the pressure to relax.  I must exert effort to not exert effort.  It sounds kind of strange and it feels that way too.  But if we don't make it a point to do, it so easily slips away.  How much of our lives have we missed because we were not in the moment?  How many times have we been somewhere else in our minds and not fully present to what is happening right in front of us?  The answer... too often!  I'd really like to hear how you stay in the presence of life rather than distracted from it.  I'd like to hear about the ways you try to stop and breathe in deeply the gift of the moment.  Share your comments and let us all gain strength and encouragement from one another to not let life pass us by while we were busy doing other things.  Tell us about it, what's in your heart?

On April 25th, I invited everyone to join me in a challenge.  If you want to view this sermon, click on the link to the right under Recent Sermons, "The Challenge."  The challenge is to evangelize and share your faith this summer... without using any words.  Let's try to show them we are Christians by our love, by our actions, not by our words.  I'd like to use this space to share our experiences of this challenge.  This is not to brag or bring undue pride.  The point is to share how it is that we've witnessed to our faith without words.  The sharing of our stories enriches us all, so please share here as we support one another in this challenge.    

Pastor Nate