Community Lutheran Church

Reflections on Ash Wednesday and Lent

Fat Tuesday is past. The feasting and the dancing are now done. The time for celebration has past and the time for reflection has come. No longer surrounded by the reveling throngs and cheering crowds, I now sit alone. The darkness around me has changed and is now cold, unattractive. I now begin to see it for what it is – empty, meaningless, and without hope.

Why was I so consumed with it? How could I have been so deceived by the darkness? Why didn’t I realize I was blind and could not see? Where has the light gone? How long will the darkness remain, trying to entice me with its empty promises and surrounding me in hopelessness?

As I wait on God, seeking His light once again, my former attraction to the darkness is now interrupted. The warm light of Christ envelopes me with love and hope. Now I only remember the darkness to bask in this light, so that the light will be clearer and more distinct in my mind and my life.

Now I do not embrace the darkness, nor do I fear it. I allow it only to remind me of the glory of the light and my desperate need for it. The power of the light is now stronger for me than the power of the darkness. The light is more attractive to me once again. Balance is restored. I am at peace.

Things have changed in me. Now I yearn for the light. There is an unquenchable hunger and thirst for the things of God and His presence. Yes, to just bask in the warm soft glow of God, consumed by His glory, that is where I want to linger. Drinking deeply from the infinite well of His love, soaked to my core by the unending waterfall of His joy, and floating carelessly on the calm pool of His peace I rest.

My Savior was raised to new life, and because of Him, so have I. The glory and joy of Easter are now my daily experience, not simply an event once each year. My desire for the light of Christ in my life is now unchallenged. The things of the darkness which I sought in my deception are now pale and insignificant to me. The purpose of Lent is now realized.

January & February 2010

Starting Over

Even though January 1 is really simply another day like any other, the change from one year to the next is a milestone in our lives. It gives us an opportunity to start over. Typically, starting over takes the form of setting New Year’s resolutions and goals. We resolve to reach a goal at some point in the year ahead of us.

For many of us, these goals are very similar to the goals of last year because we failed to achieve them, so we decide to start over. One of the main reasons we are less than successful in our “do-overs” is that we do not sufficiently seek or utilize God’s wisdom and power to help us achieve our goal. Here’s how:

1. We must first seek and apply God’s wisdom in setting our goals and then developing the action plan to reach them. James 1:5-8 says, “If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.”
2. Secondly, we must ask for and then apply God’s strength to accomplish the things He tells us to do in order to accomplish the goal we have set with His wisdom. In his letter to the Christ followers in Philippi, Paul gives us an example of doing this. “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.”  Philippians 4:12-13.
3. We often need resources to help us achieve our goals. After we have sought God’s wisdom in setting our goal and the plan to reach it, and after we have asked for God’s power to implement the plan, we may also need to ask God to provide what we need. Later in that same letter to the Philippians, Paul thanks them for helping to supply his needs and encourages them by telling them, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:19.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of setting your own goals and then asking God to bless them. If you have not consulted God before you set them or have not been remaining faithful to Him, it is presumptuous to ask His blessing. Again, this is an area where James gives us some good advice:

“Look here, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.” James 4:13-16.

If you charged ahead of God and have already made some resolutions or set some goals, bring them humbly before Him and ask if He agrees with them, and give Him the permission to change them if He sees fit. Then ask His help to remain faithful to Him in worship, serving, prayer, and studying His Word. Remember “But don’t just to listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22. May God bless you as you work to accomplish His goals for you.

December 2000

Being the Family of God

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. You love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  John 13:34-35

The approach of the holidays often brings mixed feelings for many people. There is the joy of the celebrations, the worship of our new born King, and the expectation of a new year. These positive emotions are sometimes overwhelmed by other feelings, however.

The stress of planning and preparing for parties, battling crowds, and purchasing gifts can diminish the feelings of joy we experience. For some people, though, there is an even more powerful source of stress – our family. The first holidays after a loved one has died can bring up new feelings of grief and sorrow.

Then, for a variety of reasons, there are some family members we’d rather not have to deal with each holiday season. These are the people we secretly hope will decide not to visit us this year. Occasionally, our feelings about them are so strong we don’t even invite them to join us any longer.

Whether its grief or broken relationships, these powerful feelings can rob us of the joy we could be experiencing during the holidays. They draw our attention away from the real reason for the season, Jesus Christ. When our focus wanders from our Savior, we can easily become consumed by our negative emotions and become depressed or hopeless.

This is both ironic and tragic, since Christmas in particular is intended to remind us of the hope we have because Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins, to bring us back into God’s family, and to provide us the ability to fulfill the command He gave us above through the Holy Spirit.

As God’s family, our love for one another should be the hallmark of our faith. It should be a source of comfort and encouragement when our earthly families disappoint us. Unfortunately, personality differences, misunderstandings, and conflicts can get in the way of our loving one another in the manner which Christ commands. This is why our Lord emphasizes the need to be loving and forgiving.

In Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus says, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” In Luke 6:37-38 Jesus expands on this idea, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together and to make room for more, running over, pouring into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

When we as members of God’s family practice these things in the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, we can fulfill Christ’s command to love one another as He has loved us. Though our earthly families may make the holidays more challenging, we should be able to turn to God’s family and receive the unconditional love and acceptance which God gives us to share generously with one another.

Let us resolve to love one another in God’s family with the love of Jesus our Savior and Lord, and may we pray for ourselves and each other that God will give us the desire, strength, and grace to do so for His glory, and so that others will see His love in us and come to faith in Him!

More about Pastor Tim

Pastor Tim Jones graduated in 2003 from Bethel Seminary San Diego with his Master of Divinity degree. Our church called him to be our pastor before his graduation, and he has been serving the Lord here at Community Lutheran ever since.

He and his wife, Loida, were formerly missionaries with Youth With a Mission in the southern Philippines, near Loida's hometown. In addition to being a missionary, she was also a pastor and Bible school teacher there.

During his seminary training, Pastor Tim regularly preached at Scripps Ranch Christian Church and occasionally at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in San Diego.

Leading people into a deeper relationship with God is his passion. As he seeks to follow Jesus Christ with his whole life, he encourages others to do the same through his teaching, counseling, and preaching. 

You can find him on Face Book and Twitter, and he encourages you to contact him via EMAIL with any questions you may have about following Christ or our church. 

Though he has lived in many parts of the country while his father was in the Navy, he is a San Diego native. He and Loida now live in Oceanside with their two sons.