January 24, 2021 Jonah 3.1-5,10 “Arise and Fast” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

We will bless the Lord at all times, and God’s praise will continually flow from our lips! 

Listen now to the record of the prophet Jonah 3.1–5, 10.

 3The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ²‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ ³So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 

⁴Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ ⁵And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

You may remember the story of the prophet Jonah who was called to speak to the people of Nineveh. His job was to bring them the good news of God’s love so that they could straighten up and fly right, so they could become God-fearing, good, and just and therefore receive all the blessings that come with a righteous life.

It was not the first time that God had directed Jonah to go to Nineveh. This was his second chance to do the right thing. The first time around, he regretted his disobedience because it landed him in the belly of a whale.

What a blessing it is to get a second chance! Some say grandchildren give us a second chance.

The book does not tell us why Jonah did not want to bring God’s word of good news to the people of Nineveh. History, however, gives us some hints.

Nineveh is in the Middle East near the areas we now call Iraq and Turkey. The city existed as far back as the Bronze Age 3000 -1200 BC years before Christ as well as the Iron Age 1200-600 years before Christ – give or take a few hundred years here and there. Nineveh was in its heyday during the emergence of the Assyrian Empire around 1055 BC. One of the kings made Nineveh the capital of Assyria. Back then it had a reputation for being a “great city.” A grand castle was built there. Ancient engineers constructed an elaborate and extensive water system in Nineveh. Every city needs plenty of water. There were miles of thick walls that dared any enemy to approach. There were parks for leisure pleasures, a sure sign of well-being and luxury. The beautiful hanging gardens of Babylon, called one of the Seven Wonders of the World

were said to be in the great city of Nineveh. It is perhaps kin to our local prestigious Longwood Gardens. With all that going on, it is no wonder that the city of Nineveh was well known and no doubt an enviable attraction for many.

According to the biblical prophets, the people of Nineveh had a lot to be proud of, but they had a ways to go in order to please God. History also calls Nineveh “sin city.” Could it have been that they were a little too proud. We know that too much of the wrong type of pride causes us to stumble and fall and break something like Humpty Dumpty. You know Humpty Dumpty who sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty who had a great fall, and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn’t put Humpty together again. We have seen the fall and rise of individuals, corporations, and governments throughout history. Last week we realized, but for the grace of God, our government may be the next to fall and crumble. The biblical book of Nahum chapter 3.1 calls Nineveh a “city of bloodshed.” Perhaps Jonah did not want God to bless them because his family or friends had been hurt or murdered by those nasty Ninevites.

We may want to hear the stories that tell how they fell short of God’s glory. Inquiring minds want to know the details. The text does not give us any explanations and there is little reward for curiosity about the sins of others. What we need to know is the good news that we are God’s precious children, true treasures, and God loves us with an everlasting love. Not only are we beloved, we are special, favored and forgiven. God sees us and desires to be close to us in every way. On a daily basis, God looks beyond our faults and sees our need. We are the apple of God’s eye.

Somebody say “Amen!”

Still, we can think about what it takes to be called “sinful,” “wicked,” “evil,” and without God’s approval. This week I am reading through the book or Revelation which has one of many biblical references to things that are offensive to God.  

Revelation chapter 9.20 notes that even after seeing people die of a terrible plague, witnesses were not inspired to repent and surrender to God; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood— idols that cannot see or hear or walk. (they were relying on greed, manipulation, lies and deceit). Nor did they repent of their murders, their sexual immorality, their thefts and their magic arts (which means using potions and drugs).

The unrepentant often reap the calamity that they have sown. God does not punish or bless people the way we humans do. God’s ways are not our ways. It puzzles us and may even infuriate us, as it did Jonah, when we see God loving and kissing up on the ones that have hurt us deeply. It can be disheartening to see beautiful blessings poured day after day on those who curse us. We are not immediately consoled upon hearing the Heavenly echo of 2 Chronicles 20.15 the battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s; or the refrain to the righteous in Deuteronomy 32.35 “Vengeance is mine. I will repay.”

We do best when we put God first, above our emotions, above our dreams, above our plans. Surprisingly, the people of Nineveh turned from their wicked ways when Jonah preached God’s word to them. Minds changing does not happen often, but it happens. When the Ninevites realized that God expected better of them and was determined to destroy their city, they united together and changed the course of their history. Scholars debate about whether the story of Jonah is a fact or fable. It is real, whether or not it is true.

There comes a time in all of our lives that there is illuminated before us a path that God is asking us to take. It may be a path that we have known about for a long time. It may be a path that we have dreaded taking. It may be a path that we would prefer to curse God and die rather than take the path. It may even be a path that we have waited for a long time for God to make a way for us to take.

We find paths of pride in our family relations. We refuse to listen, to speak up, to give, to forgive, to forget, to let go and let God. Who is it that is suffering because we are persisting in a pathway of pride?

Some paths are paths of pride that can be found in our relationships at work, in ministry, among our neighbors in the community where we fail to let go of an attitude and let God speak through us and to us and make us new. Who is holding their breath, waiting to exhale, and anxiously waiting for us to make the next right move, to let go and let God’s will be done in a certain situation?

The Ninevites cast down their pride and found their way back to a good place with God. Verse 5 says they united in prayer and fasting. That is, with God’s help, they untied the shackles by which Satan had them bound. They united hearing David’s Psalm 133.1 – How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in UNITY. They fought by fasting. They freed themselves by fasting. They fueled their faith by fasting.

Fasting is g r e a t

because fasting does at least three things. First, fasting is a way to be lifted up when we are at your lowest point. Fasting is humbling ourselves before an almighty God. The one who is humble will be lifted up by God into the very arms of God like little children.

The Ninevites’ fast was a way of bowing down to God and bowing below God and not above God. Fasting helps us see what God is seeing, and feel what God is feeling. This week’s news shared a story of a man who broke his leg and wore a cast.

He noticed one day when he took his dog for a walk that the dog had started to limp. He took him to the vet thinking the worst, but the vet assured him that the dog was simply sympathizing with his master. That is what fasting does for us. It helps us stay connected step by step and sympathize with our master.

Fasting was a way for the Ninevites to declare in their heart and to each other that God loved them and had a wonderful plan for their lives. They had, no doubt, understood God’s word I Chronicles 7. 14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It does not get better than that!

After hearing Jonah, verse 5 says “They believed God.” They found healing and hope and who among us cannot use more healing and hope somewhere in our lives.

Secondly, fasting shines a bright light on our situation when we are powerless and don’t know what to do. When Judah’s King Jehoshaphat was attacked and overwhelmed by several enemies ganging up on them, he called for folks to unite in a fast and in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 verse 12 he prays for God’s help saying, “Aren’t you going to judge them, God. We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO.” God did answer their prayers and God did help them win the battle. Fasting opened a window for them to receive God’s power and guidance. That is how we are praying these days as we face the coronavirus. We need God as we face the enemy, whether it be political, medical, or emotional.

Thirdly, fasting is a spiritual exercise that makes us strong for whatever ministry to which God has called us. There is much talk these days about how important it is to stay healthy by strengthening your core - that is the center of our bodies.

 Strengthening our core makes every part of the body work better. A doctor told me that my neck and back pain would be lessened if I did certain exercises that he gave me to strengthen my core. I confess, I mostly do the exercises sporadically; as a result, I have less pain sporadically. When I am on a roll, I do the exercises more often and I feel better more often.

We have no good excuse for not exercising. If you google exercises designed by fitness experts to strengthen your core, there will be too many to count some easier than others. It is the same with the spiritual exercise of fasting. There are many ways to fast. We need not get anxious about how to exercise the spiritual discipline of fasting. We need not worry about how they fasted in the bible, whether they fasted from all food, certain foods, with water or without water, two hours, two days, or two weeks. What matters is that we just do it.

You all are invited to join together with me in an occasional fast anytime. Monday mornings before noon – liquids only and prayers for those suffering with addictions. Tuesday – fruit and vegetables only – praying for a health and strength to do ministry. Thursday morning no meat before 9 and prayers for families everywhere. Thursday sundown to Friday sundown prayers to hear God’s direction in order to be purged and blessed with breakthroughs and go to the next level of spiritual depth.

The Ninevites fasted and they did it together. It may have only been that one time after they were warned that their city would be destroyed in 40 days. Nevertheless, their unity untied the shackles by which Satan had them bound. What mattered most is that they humbled themselves before a mighty God, that they looked to God understanding that they were powerless to change themselves and hadn’t a clue as to what to do, What matters is that they were strengthening themselves to manage ministry and miracles that mattered to many.  

In spite of their reputation for sinning and shedding blood, in spite of the fact that they were on a destructive path, they listened to the warnings of a prophet who could easily have been their victim at one point. They heard God’s voice and they changed their minds as well as their ways.

Jonah must have been a mighty powerful witness if they changed their minds so dramatically. Did the Ninevites know whether or not some of their people had caused harm to some of his people? Could they could sense that any hate Jonah could be feeling was nonexistent? Was Jonah seeing them through God’s eyes, looking beyond their faults and seeing their need? We do not have the inside scoop on what motivated them to turn to God. We are left with the idea that Jonah’s obedience and change of heart changed the course of history. Perhaps that is what it will take for our communities and our country to be saved as well!

Instead of calamity, the people changed their minds. Then their situation changed.

Still, around 600 BC, records shows that Nineveh was no longer considered to be a great city. Inquiring minds want to know what happened to Nineveh. The fact of the matter is, that again and again, and again, as gospel singer Donnie McClurkin sings: We fall down, but we get up. We fall down, but we get up. For a saint is just a sinner who fell down, but we couldn't stay there, and got up.

We may not know all the details of the story of the Ninevites, but what matters most is what is happening to you and to me. It mattes that God is with us to lift us up from our lowest point into God’s loving arms, to empower us in the face the attacks of the enemies that are stronger we are. God will accompany us as we fast for two hours or 12 hours, fanning the flames of our faith, fueling our spiritual fortitude, and fighting the good fight of faith. May our love for God stir us up until we unite with the world wide Christian community in a fast. Amen.

 

Let us pray.

Kind God, when we are empty, you fill us up. We offer ourselves to you to feed our hungry souls until we want no more. We come to you, the well that never runs dry. Help us to see ourselves as you see us and as our neighbor sees us. Speak to our hearts a truth that will set us free, free from the enemy within us and without that torments us, free to follow that path that you have illuminated us to follow, free to humble ourselves below you and not above you that we might see what is most important to you and that we might feel the compassion and forgiveness that you feel. 

Next week for Youth Sunday we have a musical feast with the Word and songs.” If you would like to make your contribution to the great ministry and mission of Bethel, the website is

Or you can send it to 952 Bethel Church Road, Spring City, Pa. 19475. God bless you!

 

 

 

 

 

January 17, 2021 I Samuel 3.1-20 “Arise and Hear” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 For this is the day that the Lord has made, and we are rejoicing and being glad in it. Arise and Hear.

Let’s begin with the scripture lesson from 1 Samuel 3.1-20

3Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 

³the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’^* and he said, ‘Here I am!’ ⁵and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. 

⁶The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.

⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ 

¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹²On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,^* and he did not restrain them. 

¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.’15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ 

¹⁷Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

There are two books in the bible named after the prophet Samuel, First Samuel and Second Samuel. First Samuel tells the story of Samuel who was one of the prophetic leaders serving among the 15 Judges that governed Israel for over 300 years. It tells of his childhood and his anointing of Israel’s first King Saul and his tumultuous reign. First Samuel ends with King Saul’s death by suicide on the battlefield with the Philistines.

The second book of Samuel tells of David, also anointed to serve by Samuel. David reigned as King in spite of the fact that he murdered one of his own soldiers to hide the fact that he had stolen his wife.

Samuel was a judge among judges on the bench who served before Israel decided they would be ruled by kings. 

Samuel was also a prophet. That is, his claim to fame was that he was a spokesperson for. Prophets speak the truth even when it is hard to hear. Biblical prophets risked their lives telling an unpopular truth. Jesus was among the many prophets who quickly found themselves on the hit list of leaders of organized crime. There were clearly prophets who spoke the truth and predicted outcomes and consequences that came to pass. There were also false prophets who would say anything they were paid to say or whatever they wanted to say, or whatever the company rules twisted their arms to say.

Just like Jesus, there very little mess that was credible mess in Samuel’s reputation as he went about his ministry. There was plenty of mystery, majesty, miracles, and marvelous outcomes. People believed he was sent from God. There are people that we believe are sent by God today. When they speak, we listen.

Hannah was exceedingly happy to give birth to Samuel. She had been ridiculed, tormented, laughed under the table because for a long time, she did not seem to be able to have a baby. That’s what ancient society did to barren women in her day. Not having children was embarrassing. People believed there was some secret sin for which God was punishing the couple. The cultural pendulum swings to and fro and in some instances, people get away with anything as long as they do not get caught. There are plenty of tax files, birth certificates, and unrecorded conversations that are happily kept private, and not just for those of public figures.

Hannah begged God to give her a son so people would stop looking at her like she had two heads. She was so grateful when God delivered her from the gainsayers, naysayers, and talebearers that she dedicated her son to God and sent him as a little boy

 

to serve in the temple as a trainee.  That was good news for Eli the priest, for he was getting old and his eyes were growing dim. There is always room for more helping hands. 

One of Samuel’s job in the temple was to help Eli keep the light going until daybreak. The light was a symbol and signal that God was ever present and still in the blessing business. The light was a fire that called witnesses to toss their sins into a blaze of destruction and to welcome the refining flames that purify our hearts of gold. 

It was late, so Samuel and his mentor Eli had gone to bed. The text tells us that something unusual happened when “…the lamp of God had not yet gone out.” Samuel heard the voice of the Lord calling his name but he thought it was Eli. “Samuel. Samuel.” Perhaps Samuel thought Eli needed him to get him a glass of water or to open the temple doors for a late night visitor coming for prayer. So, Samuel went to Eli’s room, saying “You called me?” Eli told him to go back to bed.

This happened a couple times when it finally occurred to Eli that Samuel was not dreaming nor was he delusional, but he was hearing the very voice of God calling him because God had something important to say.

Verse 1 tells us that the word of the Lord was rare in those days and visions were not widespread. Those must have been some terrible days. Times are terrible when the preachers have no words to preach and the leaders have no visions to share to see that the ministry of the church  continues. In those days the word of the Lord was rare and visions were not widespread. It is important to hear God’s call and listen to God’s words so that we can arise and get to where God is calling us.

If we are not hearing God, we are probably not hearing each other either. It is very concerning when we do not hear what is on the mind of even one member of a family. If their opinion is not known, their preference is not heard, their thoughts are not shared in one way or another, for there are many ways to speak and to hear. It is best for us to begin searching for how and why that one has been muted, gagged, silenced, ignored, unheard.

For it is often that very voice that we do not hear because our distractions keep us from listening, it is often that very voice that we choose not to hear because our pride and lack of spiritual growth won’t allow us, it is THAT VOICE that God is most urgently and repeatedly calling us to hear. For, who among us can bear the heartbreak of a beloved child of God who is muted, gagged, silenced, ignored, or unheard, before we arise to hear what is unsaid?

Samuel heard God calling. Human hearing is an intricate and delicate design. Our handmade efforts can barely comprehend nor duplicate the hearing ear. But God can take us far above the limits and the losses of our hearing. Hellen Keller is a perfect example. She was born in Alabama and before the age of two was deaf as well as blind. By God’s grace, she became a writer, civil rights advocate, and an advocate for persons living with disabilities.

What does it mean that the prophet Samuel could hear the voice of God calling his name? We would all probably agree that Samuel was having a supernatural experience. We know there are things happening in us and around us that are inexplicable and unobtainable. No mere human can duplicate the voice of God. We cannot command God to speak on demand. God’s voice is among those forces that are beyond our control and beyond our understanding.

Such forces are within all of creation. Can we begin to comprehend that the heart never rests from its beating like other muscles or that the beats are not perfectly synchronized, but always a little off. I appreciate the discovery in a recent scientific brief that tells how scientists have discovered a little hint of the mechanics of how a baby grows in the womb. It reminds me of making pizza dough.  They see evidence of cells  bending, squeezing, pulling, and pushing in mostly unforeseen, undetected, and incomprehensible forces beyond our control. There is something going on in us and around us all the time that is supernatural. That bending, squeezing, pulling, and pushing that makes a baby grow in the womb is also often what makes us grow in every other way, physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.

Of course, we can believe it was God’s voice that Samuel was hearing!

Samuel heard God calling him. When he answered, God told him more than he wanted to hear and definitely more than Eli wanted to hear. What Samuel heard was important but not very pleasant.

Samuel heard God’s judgment against Eli for not disciplining his sons when they disrespected God’s house and the people of God. They had failed miserably to make the appropriate  PROPITIATION for their sins. That is, to agree with God about right and wrong and to please God with a right attitude until God was satisfied to continue in a covenant relationship with them. They had also failed to make   EXPIATION for their wrongdoing. That is, after breaking the law, after breaking their vows and their covenant, it was their job to make any victims whole again, to do what is fair and just, to make up for what has been taken, damaged, or lost. God was not pleased and nobody seemed to care.

Samuel did not want to tell Eli the bad news that God had had enough. Eli insisted on hearing it anyway. Yet, he did not seem concerned or afraid of the consequences. He just said ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

Eli’s complacency and indifference to God’s will and judgment is no surprise. It is rare that any of us run to repent, nor are we in a hurry to rise up and hear what God has to say.

But whenever the Holy Spirit gets a hold on us, and when we do find ourselves surrendering and submitting to the will of God, we hear at least three things. Number one we hear God calling us to come closer to the throne of grace and mercy to love and be loved by God and one another, and no doubt we rejoice. Praise and thanksgiving flow freely from our hearts. Secondly, we hear God’s call to serve those in need. Then justice and mercy are fulfilled. That generates peace throughout the land. Thirdly, we hear God’s call to listen to the cries of the brokenhearted. That brings us closer to God and one another in unimaginably endurable ways.

Like Eli, we may not be spiritually strong and mature enough to hear the cries of each other’s broken hearts and God’s plan to use us to comfort and console one another in our need. Nevertheless, those who do answer the call, encounter the unseen and unspeakable riches of heaven.

God hears every broken heart. It is a blessing to be heard. It is good to hear what God hears. We live in a broken world, so says Rev. Cameron Trimble of Emory University. She wrote a devotional this week called Let it Break. She writes:

Insurrection in breaking our sense of national identity. White racism is breaking black lives. National leaders are breaking our laws and institutions. Our economic policy is disproportionately breaking the poor. Our fear of each other is breaking our communities. Our denial of reality is breaking our hope for a better world.

Everything is breaking.

As scary as it is...let it break. 

Let it break our bigotry. Let it break our hate. Let it break our fear, our privilege, our aggression, our silence. Let it break our delusions, our failed national leaders, our systems that oppress. Let it all break.

When we give up the hope of fixing our systems, we free ourselves to create new ones.  

Yes, everything is breaking. Let it break. A better world is possible when we let go of this one.

 

Let us pray. Open our ears Lord, that we might hear your voice, that we might hear the cries of those around us weeping through the night, that we might share the joy that comes with the morning. Deliver us from the coronavirus and all that is not like you.

January 10 2021 Mark 1.4-11 “Arise and Repent” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 January 10 2021 Mark 1.4-11 “Arise and Repent” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 

This has indeed been a week of drama. Our confidence remains in God. Though the mountains fall into the sea and the earth give way, we will not fear so Psalm 46 reminds us. We are here to worship! Listen to Donna reminding us of a tune to be a blessing. 

The Gospel of Mark tells us that John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 

Have you ever heard of such a thing? A crowd gathered to repent in order to have their debt of sin forgiven. If you have ever attended an old fashioned tent meeting or revival service, you may have heard a fire and brimstone preacher warning listeners they were going to hell if they did not stop all that sinning, but Heaven awaits them if they turn from their wicked ways and bow humbly before God. Such preaching used to be quite common.

Things have changed in America, for the moment anyway. From age to age such fierce preaching gives way to more merciful and perhaps a more light-handed and lenient gospel. Whatever the case, God’s word does not change. Whether we understand it completely of not, whether we wholeheartedly accept and abide by it or not, whether we want it or not, God’s word does not change. God’s call for love and justice and mercy and forgiveness are always a part of God’s conversation and command to us. The call may be gentle. It may be firm, but God’s voice is always resounding.

There may still be some preachers around whom some of us experience as tormentors attempting to scare us straight -  straight out of hell and hopefully into Heaven.

Some do it with manipulation. Some do it for money. Whatever John was doing in the wilderness, the record says that everyone in Jerusalem and Judea were coming, confessing their sins and standing in line to be baptized. (Of course it was not every ONE.) At times, we hold the bible to an unreasonable standard. In our daily conversation, we may say everyone or all the time, but it is a matter of speech to emphasize, rather than to quantify. So, we dare not reject a holy God who may speak to us in ordinary language, who speaks in whatever way God chooses. We dare not make excuses for neglecting biblical studies based on our expectations.

In any case, we have to wonder. Did John scare the devil out of them? Were they sincere in their confession and conversion or were they just playing church? Were they following the crowd for culture’s sake? Maybe they were seeking attention or being dramatic? We cannot always know what is in a person’s heart.

John isolated himself in the wilderness. Verse 6 says,⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 

If you ever find yourself isolated in a dark and dreary wilderness, seeing John would be of great comfort to you. You would know by the way he dressed and by the way he acted that you were very important to him and that he had something respectful to say that would be especially meaningful to you. He wore camel’s hair –

the symbol of a man powerful and prophetic because he walked in the spiritual disciplines and devotion of God. His powerful words would mesmerize your mind and quiet the roar of your worries to a whisper. You would recognize them as coming from the depths of God’s loving heart to you.

John wore a leather belt around his waist.

In other words, he was girded up, braced and embraced by a surround-sound stereo of truth. God knows the truth is just what you need to be healed and strengthened for every journey forward.

John told everyone in verse 7 that Jesus was coming and Jesus was more powerful than he was and that he was not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of Jesus’ sandals.” John could say, “I look powerful and by God’s grace, I am powerful, but keep a look out, for the one who is coming after me who is even more powerful. I am not worthy to touch him.

I heard that once a little boy accidentally touched a U.S. president’s shoe. Security must have been on the alert because touching someone of such importance is a criminal offense even for a little boy.

John had learned to let go of his pride. He knew that only when he humbled himself really lowly-like that he would be in a position to be lifted up to the perfect place that God had designed for him.

There comes a time in our journey when we also know in our hearts that there is someone more powerful than we will ever be and no matter if we lower ourselves enough to barely reach his feet, we will still have much farther to go before realizing the height of his greatness.

We are sinners. We mess up. We have to constantly clean up our act or we will risk spiritual infection and disease. Isn’t spiritual sickness just like this virus that is running wild in our world today? Sin is everywhere. Just like lawyers, doctors, politicians, sociologists, preachers, theologians, regular people, and psychologists are working day and night to get rid of the virus. Some who practice their faith in an almighty God are also working day and night to get rid of sin, too. We cannot help, at times to fear that we will be the next victim of some unknown evil lurking in the shadows of our lives. Still, we fight to curb the infection of sin and sickness.

Sin, like the virus, can be so overwhelming that we have no choice but to look beyond ourselves to a higher power in order to get rid of the terrorizing consequences.

There are two words for sin in the scriptures.

One means to miss the mark as in not hitting a certain target. The other means to trespass as in to cross a line that should not be crossed.

We are sinners. We come short. Practicing our faith makes us grow and mature so we can make our mark.

God’s word can help us, even heal us. No prayer may leave us with no spiritual power. Little prayer little power. Much prayer, much power. We come short.

When we go too far in our rebellion or ignorance. We step into a mess. We fall into the mud pits and sewage holes of this world. Sin assaults our psyche, bends our brains, and insults the good life that God has given us. We may become motley, dirty, stained, sin sick, aching for righteousness, and if we are in our right mind, we want to be cured, refreshed, cleaned up, and made new. Or, we may feel angry enough to break something like Moses did, we may run away like Jonah or like Lot’s wife, we may turn our back on a path that leads us to safety.

The crowd that came to be baptized by John was trying to start fresh and go in the direction that God was leading.

John tells them “⁸I have baptized you with water; but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Our baptism is a very powerful symbol of our recognizing that as the song says “We fall down but we get up.” because God is always available to help us clean up our act and continue on the journey with Jesus. I am reading a book by a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health. The book is entitled Clean.

Preventative medicine doctor James Hamblin starts off by saying, “I never shower anymore.” This doctor’s basic premise is that we are wasting our money on lots of products like perfumed soaps that leave us dirty with toxic chemicals and that take the oils out of our skin and hair. Then we use expensive conditioners that put the oil back in.

He says not showering did not make him smell bad, but the times he did smell bad his research showed that it had more to do with stress, sleep deprivation, and generally not thriving, more so from not applying some fancy deodorant.

It is true. We become clean inside and out when we live a healthy lifestyle which includes eating well, spending time in nature and keeping our stress down. God helps us live a lifestyle that is clean because it is holy.

We cannot stay clean on our own. Each time we baptize a baby we remember OUR baptism. We remember as Isaiah says “Even our righteousness is as filthy rags.” We need God’s tender care on a daily basis. We cannot remove the stains of our sin without the help of God. Baptism reminds us that we need God in our life.

Jesus left Heaven’s glory and came to us in the flesh. Even he was determined to be baptized as verse 9 tells us. 

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Something spectacular and wonderful happens to all of us after we are baptized. We are reminded that we are beloved. God is pleased. It is good to please God, for God is so good to us. Have you counted your blessings lately?

Whatever we do today, we do not want to socially distance ourselves from God or spiritually distance ourselves from the family of God. If we wash our hands for twenty seconds to remove any unrighteousness and filthiness from our souls, wouldn’t we lower the risk of contamination to ourselves and those near and dear to us? Instead of singing Happy Birthday, try saying the Lord’s Prayer, or Psalm 23 or saying “I surrender, Lord.“

Together, we can do this. Remember your baptism and give thanks that we serve a God who makes us clean and new each day. Amen.

Let us pray. Lord of love, we give you thanks this day for cleaning us from the messes we make so easily and so habitually. Bless us to look beyond each other’s faults in order to see their needs, to take the plank out our own eye before trying to take the speck out of our neighbor’s eye, to come empty so that you can fill us as you see fit. Have mercy upon those who suffer. Send us to be keepers of our brothers and sisters, to feed the lambs and take care of the sheep, to take nothing for our journey but instead to depend on you.

The Lord be with you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.

Next week we go to I Samuel 3.1-20 with the message “Arise and Hear.” If you would like to make your contribution to the great ministry and mission of Bethel, the website is bethelumcchurch.com. 

Or you can send it to 952 Bethel Church Road, Spring City, Pa. 19475. God bless you!