Every year Christians prepare for the birth of Christ. We remember how Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph.  We reflect on the beauty of the incarnation-God becoming human and dwelling among us.  We often celebrate the greatest gift by giving gifts to one another.  We do this every year.  Advent helps us prepare for the birth of Christ again and again.

Advent isn't just preparation to remember a past moment.  It is also a season when we look forward in hope to the second coming of Christ.  The incarnation is a sign and symbol of the willingness of God, at the Creator of the universe, to enter into our lives.  This willingness wasn't just a one-time event.  It changes everything for those of us who follow Jesus.  Although this is a core focus of the advent season, perhaps we ought to reflect on the second coming of Christ every day of our lives-not in trying to predict Christ's return or attempting to read the "signs of the times" or using anything and everything as an excuse that confirms the end is near.  Instead, we should seek to order our lives in preparation for the new heaven and the new earth toward which Scripture points us.

God's willingness to come and to come again is an invitation to us to live as if God is here now. God-with-us isn't a past experience or merely a future hope - it is a current reality. But to live this way requires that we respond to what God has already done, is doing, and will do; and it also requires a willingness to give ourselves fully to God.

This Advent season, as we remember the great gift of the incarnation and look forward to the return of our Lord and Savior and the renewal of all things, may we prepare by living faithfully and recognizing that all are invited to discipleship.  May we participate in the redemptive work of God through the incarnation and in our anticipation of the culmination of God's work in the world.

So come, peasant, king and everyone - come and follow the one who was, who is, and who is to come.  God is with us. Will the shape of our lives reflect this truth?

by Ann Reed

Here we are, beginning the Red Letter Challenge.  I thought it might be interesting to reflect on the beginning, and then to reflect again at the end of the study.  

For me, one challenge to face will be keeping up the pace.  I’m much like the hare in "The Tortoise and the Hare”; a big start and a slow finish.  It will take resolve and a lot of prayer to finish well.  

Another challenge will be to really take an honest look at where I am in my Christian walk.  I get used to mediocre and find that it is sometimes a comfortable place to be.  Growing spiritually is never really comfortable in the process.  I guess it is a “no pain/no gain philosophy.”  But honestly, the Church throughout the country is in a hard place.  If we are going to make a difference, we have to step up and be accounted for.  Easy to say, harder to do.

What makes this challenge great is that we are all in it together.  If we are struggling, others can back us up with prayer.  If we are being successful, we can be the backup prayer warriors.  I cannot imagine how wonderful it will be for God to use us in a mighty way!  What will that even look like?

I hope that if you have not committed to this study, you will think about it.  There are times when we are not “there”.  I know this and shared it during Easter.  But, if God is leading you, if you are dissatisfied with how your walk is, if you are excited to grow, then JUMP IN!  It’s gonna be GREAT!

by Ann Reed

During these “ last days” of Covid, many of us (me, of course) have found ourselves slipping into some bad habits.  Habits, that under normal situations, would have never even been considered.  For instance, I might be guilty of picking up a shirt and thinking, “ I haven’t really worn it out of the house; I’ll wear it again” — for the third time!  I scavenge socks.  You might even find a spoon in the living room.  I know, because as I sit here, I’m looking at it.  I’m not on a strict schedule for cleaning the bathroom and the list goes on.  These horrible habits being formed are a slippage into teenage behaviors, things I know better than to do.  But it seems, in this present time, to be easier to not do what I know is right.  

This is how sin grabs us.  We get tired, we get complacent, we get lazy.  How easy is it to grab church online while in our pj’s, making breakfast, planning our day, glancing at the screen occasionally?  IT IS EASY.  Pretty soon, the “more important things” as the Bible references in Philippians 1:9-11, fall to the wayside to be picked up later, if we get around to it.

Normally during Lent, one might give something up for 40 days so that more time can be spent concentrating on God.  Depending on how serious the person is depends on how meaningful the experience can be.  Several people from church have chosen to do this.  

When considering what I might give up for Lent, it just felt like I have been in such a long season of having to let go of things.  Things that have always meant such a great deal, but that God was now choosing for me to let loose of them.  As in many of our seasons of growth, there is a time of self-denial and of dryness.  This seems to be necessary in order for us to look to God for our answers and direction.  How much better is a cool drink of water after being thirsty for a time?

So...during this season of Lent, even if we have not been lead to “let go” of something, if we have not been lead to “remain in this place”, let’s follow Christ to the cross.  As painful as it can be, it is only at the cross where we find our redemption.  The sacrifice wasn’t just for others, but it was specifically for me.  It was my sin that was covered and I need never to forget the debt that was paid.

The old hymns says, When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. - - - 

The only thing I brought to this great salvation plan was my sin.  Everything else was Christ.  The only acceptable response is to bow before Him.

By Ann Reed

As the new year begins, people make the effort to clean out closets, drawers, cabinets, etc. all in the effort of a “fresh beginning”.  I’ve noticed, though, that as we age, it becomes a much more daunting process:  weeding through, discarding the useless...and that’s where the battle begins for many of us, discarding.  For some, they just toss without a care, for others, it is a great battle.  To be fair, I have thrown away items that I ended up needing a month later.  There is nothing more frustrating.  

After a time, the useless items are just plain interesting to look at every now and then.  In my defense, Dad was much the same way.  He had two or three large boxes in his closet that he would pull down on occasion.  They were such treasures to us children.  Some items were collected from his time in the Air Force, so they came from places we could only dream of going.  The pictures were from his life before us.  This is really strange to children as we have the tendency to think our parents exist only for our benefit.  What life could they have possibly had without kids? And some things were collected from our own lives, such as the original super balls that were absconded due to our somewhat reckless nature of throwing them in the house.

So on this cold, dreary morning, I am going through some drawers and cabinets.  As usual, there are numerous trinkets collected over the years.  Some are important and others, just junk.     Some have great memories attached to them and other items are so random with no memory what’s-so-ever.  And even if there is no recollection of an item, they still serve the purpose of marking eras of time and change.  For instance, a miniature lighter that cost a quarter from a bubblegum machine.  I kid you not, a bubblegum machine.  There are many watches from our good friend, Timex.  The particular watch pictured is one bought from Magic Mart and reminds me of a time when I constantly watched time to the point it was making me crazy.  I found a collector thimble from my grandmother and little whittlings from when our family was waiting for Uncle Richard to leave this world.  One was carved by Uncle Russ, and little did we know, he would also succumb to death way too early, as well.  

The junk in our lives can provide entertainment on a cold, winter’s day.  It can serve to remind us of where we have been and how we managed.  It is often a reflection of who we are and how we came to be.  But the thing about junk is that it can easily get out of control.  One box can become ten, can become 50.  If you don’t believe me, watch Hoarders.  It will give you perspective.   

The same is true for our Spiritual life.  We can get bogged down with all the junk in our lives, holding on to the past, to the busyness, and to our “junkie attitudes”.   It doesn’t take long before that junk can overrun us as we find ourselves in a hoard of spiritual decline.  Perhaps this is the season where we can look at what we are holding on to and what needs to be cast aside?   Perhaps we can empty ourselves in order for God to fill us.  Then, and only then, are we able to be used by God for His purpose.  Spring is coming.  Are we ready?  

Each Christmas season, we sing together, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”, ushering in the Advent season.  It is a reminder of those silent years between the Old and New Testaments (over 400 years, just to be clear!).  Generation after generation waited for the Messiah.  One might wonder if they ever felt hopeless?  

For the first time in our generation, we have found ourselves in a period of waiting, truly waiting. And we don’t do it well.  This inability to remain in place should have been a skill acquired and mastered long ago, but yet, here we are, struggling together.  Some of us more than others.

My grandmother, a strong, intelligent woman, who had very little opportunities in life for herself, focused her efforts on teaching her grandchildren.  We learned writing skills, reading, sewing etc. But a lesson particularly difficult for a left-handed, highly inquisitive (she said nosey) child was learning to wait patiently.  Over and over she would say to me, “Hold your taters”, an old saying with an unknown origin.  What she was trying to impart was that sometimes there is a need to wait, to be patient, to hold still.  What I learned was, “I DON’T HAVE TATERS!”  Continuously she tried; but the task of waiting never seemed natural to me.  I didn’t understand why I needed to learn that skill.

But yet, here we are in the greatest period of waiting ever imagined.  It is no longer a grandmother’s voice in my year, but God, Himself.  The Bible teaches us to, “ Be still and know that I am God.”  

It is in our earthly nature to move in order to do as we please, but it is in the waiting, in the stillness, that we see God.  It is in this silent communion that we gain understanding and direction for our lives.

Advent means “The Coming”.  Let us take this season of waiting to remember who is our King.  Let us remember He has a plan for us and He will come again. He’s got this!

Stepping outside on what seems to be an autumn afternoon, I noticed the trees in my front yard.  These are ornamental and lose their leaves fairly early in the season.  Because the trees are planted in the front yard and close to the house, it is important to keep pruned correctly.  When all the leaves are on, it can be a bit tricky to decide what stays and what gets lopped off.  But when everything is stripped away, it presents a clearer picture.   Growing in the middle of the tree are several little tiny limbs.  These limbs rob the tree of nutrients, literally sucking the life out of the tree.  They also bare leaves and can keep the sun from getting down deep into the middle.  So this said, very soon it will be time to carefully prune the tree.

In the past, people didn't want their trees around the house to grow large, so every few years they would take a great big saw and just cut everything.  This left the trunk and four or five large limb stubs.  They looked horrible.  And what homeowners thought was being beneficial, was actually causing more problems.  Bunches of little limbs started growing from the stubs, none of which were strong.  Additionally, water stayed in the cluster and caused rot.  No one really likes leaf raking all that much and these trees produced tons more leaves.  So in this effort to protect one's home, it was actually creating more trouble.  We won't even discuss the practice of painting the bottom trunks of trees.  I have no idea what that was about.

So what is all this talk of trees?  It made me take pause to wonder what kind of "limb" am I and do I contribute to God's work or do I "hang out in the fringes" sucking the energy out of the effort?  This seems harsh, but just as the tree sheds its leaves making the issues more visible, when we allow ourselves to be stripped of our Christian outer cover, we are available for careful pruning.  And so the metaphor of the tree can apply to us as members of a church body, or it can be applied on a more personal level.  What parts of my life are draining my Christian walk?  Am I allowing God to prune those areas or am I just "growing wild and crazy"?  If we are honest, there is probably more desire to be free to grow as we want than to step up and be pruned.  The process can be quite painful, but in the end, we are sturdy, strong, and really, more flexible to move where God takes us.

So if we are willing to be individually pruned and begin to gain strength in the Lord, then we can think of ourselves as part of a grove of trees, with the grove representing the Church.  So just as the Master Gardener takes care of every individual tree, He also takes care of the whole.  If all the trees are growing and producing well, then we are in place to have a huge harvest.  I believe God desires this harvest, but each of us has to be willing to allow the Gardener to have His way within our lives.  Do I really want to be the one that keeps our church from meeting its potential for the Lord?

When the leaves fall from the trees, people often take lights or lanterns to keep them from looking so bare.   And while the shimmer is pretty to look at, nothing takes the place of their summer and autumn beauty.  (I started to put, Let's get naked for the Lord, but it just didn’t come our right...so)  Let us use this season we are in to examine ourselves and to allow God to create in us what His vision is for our life, for His Church, for our world.        

Today finds me sitting on the wide expanse of porch not 15 minutes away from the beach.  But instead of bright sunny weather marking the beginning of the new day, it is raining.  In our mind, rain is for the mountains;  we come to the coast for sunshine.  In reality, both destinations require precipitation, whether we want it or not.  In reality, no one controls the weather, but God.  This particular morning, neighbors are resting from the cleanup after a hurricane.  They are appreciating the soft rain after the massive winds and downpour.  As human beings, we want our desires to be met.  Sometimes, those desires can be quite self-serving.

Some women in the church are studying the book of Haggai.  (If you didn't join in, I suggest you buy the book on your own and watch the posted videos.  Shameless plug). Today, God was telling the people of Israel, us, to:  Set our hearts on the journey.  The people had set out to rebuild the temple, but they got caught up with their own desires.  They forgot why they had taken the journey to begin with.  This is so typical in the lives of people.  We get all excited about what we're doing, but it never takes long for our minds to wonder and then to venture off to our own agenda.  Pretty soon, we totally forget what we are doing for the Lord because we are just too busy to be bothered.

Remember being a kid and how excited even the smallest adventures could be?  Children can be so exuberant in their discoveries.  If you take them out in the woods, there are endless opportunities.  There is a host of things to look for, hills to climb, fallen trees to walk.  When the girls were small they couldn't wait to walk.  As they grew, more coaxing was required in order to get them going, but once in the woods, they always had a good time.  This provides us with a picture of how we might look to God.  As new Christians, we are ready, full throttle.  But with the aging process, we want to pick and choose how to serve the Lord.  Sometimes, we are just plain lazy and want to stay in our "paneled houses" for comfort's sake.  It is amazing anything is accomplished in God's Kingdom with what He has to work with.  But....

As my sight drifts across the road to a neighbor's house, a young father drops off his little girl for daycare.  While holding an umbrella to shield her from the rain; she looks up and smiles.  Holding tight, she is guided across the yard to the shelter of the porch.  Our Lord is the same, no matter how old we become.  He is so patient and kind, wanting our best.  Not just for His children, but also for those who do not know Him.

If ever there was a time to stay in our houses; if ever there was a time to be about the Lord's business...  Let us just reach up our hands in faith and allow God to work in us and through us.  Let us be exuberant in our discovery of His perfect plan for our lives.  

My old dog, Jack, has developed a new habit since the weather warmed.  After returning from a walk, he resists going to the door; he actually stands back and refuses to move to the steps.  I end up putting him on the outside tether (he cannot be trusted) and come through the door alone.  Now the funny thing about this is that he may actually come in two minutes later, but only on his own terms.  Surely there is some dog explanation for this behavior, but for this post, we won't worry about that.

The question of the day is,  "Are we any different about moving through metaphoric doors in our life?".  We have seen the results of people who bound through doors that should have never even been opened.  It is catastrophic for all involved.  But we have also seen what happens when people refuse to move from the place they have grown too comfortable, even if it wasn't good for them.  Why is it, that we, as humans, want to be totally in charge of our "doors"?

Growing up, the doors in our house were open most of the time.  The only closed door was Dad's bedroom when he was day-sleeping.  As a Railroader, he worked all hours of the clock, and so, more often than not, he was a day sleeper.  If his door was closed, the whole house had to be quiet.  But, all other doors were open.  As teenagers, we craved more privacy and so we started shutting our doors when in our room.  Mother used to fuss, and the more she fussed, the more we wanted our door shut.  As I look back to try and understand our teenage selves, the only explanation is that we needed to "be in control" of our space.  

In my "old age", I want doors to be open.  Fire safety now states bedroom doors be closed at night, but that is uncomfortable for me.  I want to be able to see the babies in their beds.  My bedroom door is always open; enabling me to hear other noises in the house.  Do you see the control thing happening here?  The same thing is true, spiritually.  The most difficult thing to do is to allow a door to be closed.  I always say, "lets just leave it cracked",  we might want to go back.  

A good lesson has been retirement this year.   Once that letter gets approved and they fill your position, there is no turning back.  It is nothing short of a swift, "move on" kind of moment.  Between retirement and our current pandemic, I am learning that the only one in control is the Good Lord, himself.  As the dust settles on this crazy life of mine, it is my hope to relinquish the control more and more in order that Christ can do His good work in me.  If He wants to open a door, I want to bravely walk through it.  If He wants to close a door, I want to be accepting of that without complaint or misgiving.  Life is a journey, and hopefully, lessons will be learned along the way, as we ever serve.  Let us walk on, together, encouraging one another!
  

Dewey McKinney was a Wyoming County icon for church music.  He was a local barber by trade, but singing was his passion.  Not only did he direct the choir at Rockcastle, he was known throughout the State for singing schools, quartets, singing conventions, etc.  He sold used pianos on the side and pushed parents to get their kids lessons.   Once a kid knew how to play some hymns, he wanted them playing in church.  He could endure some bad playing; I know, firsthand.  He believed in trying again and again no matter how painful it was for everyone.

What I remember most about Dewey was his ability to apply a song to any life situation.  If somebody was not living like they were supposed to, he might sing, "My Lord Keeps a Record".  He had a southern gospel song for every occasion.  While some may have found this to be annoying, I loved it!  And after way too many years, I find myself doing the same thing; but my repertoire of songs sometimes strays into other genres.  For instance, while driving around on Sunday evening, I was contemplating the changes Covid 19 has wrought on our congregation.  Within seconds, I am singing "Memories" by Barbara Streisand.  What is so wonderful about this is that now we can go to Youtube and see the performance and I did after arriving home. So a sad moment turned into a great one!

This week, my song will be, "The Long and Winding Road".  After forty years in one job, I will be retiring.  We spend our entire career thinking about the day we can retire and now that the time has come, it doesn’t seem to be quite as glorious as it once did.  Perhaps it has something to do with time.   But, as we all know, time marches on, regardless of whether or not  we are prepared.

And so, as we come to this understanding, the most important song for each and every one of us is, "It is Well With My Soul".  For those who don't know Christ, making that decision is the single most pivotal thing you will ever do in your life.  But for those of us who do know Christ, we need to evaluate whether or not we are living with Him as the Lord of our lives.  Do we allow Him to work within us and to determine our path?  And then one day, we will all sing together, "When We All Get to Heaven", what day of rejoicing that will be!  Because we all know, "Friends are Friends Forever" if the Lord's the Lord of them.

Eleven months ago, I had a conversation with Kristi. While driving home from church, I remember telling her I would be willing to help fill the pulpit but, ''I am not supposed to be the Pastor''. God has blessed me with a wise partner who has His will in her heart. Her words to me that day still ring clear in my mind. She said ''We've always wondered what it would be like. We've always wondered if this was for us. Let's embrace this and run with it. At the end, we may realize it is not what we are supposed to do. Or, we may say, 'yes we are supposed to be pastoring somewhere.'"

How grateful I am to have her. If not for her words, would I, personally, and we, as Cook Memorial, be where we are right now? I have been in churches where the Pastor has stepped down. I have been on Pulpit Committees who search for someone to fill the void. I have seen what other churches have gone through to fill the position of Pastor. I don't know if I have ever seen a transition that has gone like this. I am amazed at what God has done! In one year, I went from wondering what my purpose was as a member/Deacon of Cook Memorial Baptist Church to being voted in as Pastor of a church. And the congregation has grown very dear to me and my wife. I am humbled by God's way of working things out the way He does, His providence (remember 6/14/2020 sermon). I am humbled by the love and support I receive from each of you.

I'm excited to see where the journey leads, as we work together serving Him. Cook Memorial is a body of biblically solid believers. It's time to ''hit the streets'' of our community and be the ''city on a hill'' He has called us to be! How many of you are like me? As soon as an opportunity presents itself, you instantly discredit yourself as being the one to ''make it happen''. Who are you robbing of a blessing? I know two for sure, yourself and your Pastor.