February 2018
Message from Pastor Tom,
While a lot of us are
still trying to hang onto some of our New Years’ Resolutions as we have done year
after year, Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Valentine's day is like an
extension of Christmas. It's a socially acceptable time to talk about love, and
that means talking about Jesus! It's also an easy time to recount the things
you are thankful for in your loved ones. As Matthew 5:16 states, “In the same
way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise
your heavenly Father” (NIV), the more
love you express, the more the divine light will shine through you. So let your
heart be filled with love, as it is the foundation for everything you do.
Valentine's day also
reminds me of the old favorite movie Ground
Hog Day, where they keep reliving the same actions day after day. Let me
ask you this… in your spiritual preparation of your personal walk with Christ,
are you still doing the same actions over and over again feeling you are
Serving Jesus the best you can? Or ask yourself this… are you really striving to
be more like Jesus? I
find it helpful in one's spiritual preparation to take the
time to read the life
teaching of Paul’s principles and behavior, both personal and social, as they
were above reproach. Our parents or other role models are typically the first
to teach us our ethical boundaries, instilling a strong sense of right and wrong,
teaching us how to love. How they behave has a strong impact as well,
contributing to our sense of morality. Personal ethics are also developed by
our feelings. When we do something that is against our morals, we feel bad,
guilty or ashamed, and possibly even feel unloved. When we do something that
fits into our ethical idea of what we consider “right” we feel good, proud or
happy. These personal feelings help us make ethical decisions. Ethics is simply
a code of conduct based on our moral principles, or what we do when no one is
looking. Some people act one way when they are in a group of people where their
actions can be judged, and entirely another way when they are alone. As
Christians, the more we love, the more we study the Bible and develop our
personal relationship with God, our moral integrity grows as the Holy Spirit
drives this within us. Therefore our ethics, or code of conduct, should guide
us in doing the same thing whether we are alone or in a group, because we as
Christians know God is always watching and we are never truly alone. Remember, "We
love because he first loved us," 1 John 4:19.
The last thing I would
like to leave you in this Valentines message is this. A lot of people are empty
during this time of year. They need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s
expend our energy there. Let’s expend our energy in proclaiming the Gospel,
because the heart of the matter is that people are lost. They need Christ, and
we need to take that message to them.
Heidi and I would like
to wish you a very happy Valentine's Day filled with God’s love and peace. We
would like to share with you again the Valentine's quotation we did last year
from Gilda Radner, “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need
you.’ Mature love says: ‘I need you because I love you.’" Thank you for
taking the time to read this and I hope it spiritually enriches you. As always,
please do not hesitate to leave me a comment if I can be of assistance to you in any way.
Blessings from a Pastor
and his wife,
Tom and Heidi Bumgarner
