The Masks Are Coming Off

by David FortunePastor's BlogPosted on Comments are Disabled

There’s a fair deal of controversy in many parts of the world over whether or not people should be wearing some kind of face mask to help control the spread of COVID 19. It has become a particular issue in many churches. I confess that I don’t understand all the hype. After all, Christians have been wearing masks to church for years and years. That’s right. I’m calling you out. Long before the coronavirus came along you were already wearing a mask at church. You put on your best face to try and disguise the real you. You wore a mask to show others what a good Christian you were. You used a mask to hide your hurt and disappointments. You covered up your weaknesses and you presented an image to people of who you wanted to be. We all do it. We all put on our best face for others but especially in church. But the masks are starting to come off. That happens when people are under stress, cracks appear and the real you begins to show through. It is often ugly but at least it is honest. Under the current stress our tempers are short. We demand our own way.  Selfishness rules the day. We are frustrated about the things we cannot control and we can no longer hold onto the mask that we have used for so long. Jesus said, “You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known.” (Luke 12:2 The Message) It’s okay to be stressed out in this environment. It’s okay to acknowledge that we are fearful and feel like life is out of control. It’s okay to be honest about what is really happening in our homes under the stress we are in. This is a time that calls for real transparency and real honesty about who we are and what we are experiencing. It’s only when you take the mask off that you can receive God’s help, strength and forgiveness. It is only with his assistance that you can be transformed and changed into the person He created you to be. When you take the mask off you invite him (and others) into your life. Wearing a medical mask might save a life but wearing a religious mask could cost you your life.

On Racism

by David FortunePastor's BlogPosted on Comments are Disabled

On the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the people in the Upper Room, they spilled into the street speaking in other tongues. People from different parts of the world, “Parthians, Medes and Elamites, Egypt and the parts of Libya,” heard their own language being spoken and wondered, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12) What it meant was that the Kingdom of God was for everyone. There is no longer any division between different groups of people, “Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female.”(Galatians 3:28) The coming of the Spirit meant that God was forming a new people and skin color, religious background, gender, and economical status would not matter. It’s been hard to watch the news out of the U.S. this past week as protests have been spurred on by racial injustice. To be fair, racism isn’t just an American problem, it is found everywhere. It certainly isn’t any less hidden here in Europe. I’m grateful for police but when the systems that are to serve the people fail, it is important that citizens speak up. Unfortunately, the Church (universal) has not always lived up to the promise and power of the Day of Pentecost. Far too often, the Church has been a place of segregation and suspicion rather than unity and healing. Too often we have failed to practice the command of Jesus to ‘love one another.’      How can things change? For Christians, it starts with repentance, an examination of our heart. This can be painful. We often aren’t prepared for what we find. But it’s important that we look at our attitudes and assumptions about people who are different from us. It’s important we don’t simply think this is someone else’s sin. It’s important we ask God and others for forgiveness. Then comes a commitment to change, repentance means a “turning away” from the things of the past. It means living in a new way. It calls us to stand and protect the dignity of all people who are made in the image of God. It calls on us to speak out when injustice robs people of their rights and freedoms.   Before we blame the media, the police, certain people groups or government leaders, let us look at our own heart. Pray that God removes anything that is not pleasing to him and that he would give us the courage to follow him even when it goes against the way of the world.  And let us pray together: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;Where there is sadness, joy.”   Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Amen.

Are You A Good Person?

by David FortunePastor's BlogPosted on Comments are Disabled

How can you tell if someone is a ‘good’ person or a ‘bad’ person? Well one approach currently making the rounds on the internet is called the Shopping Cart Theory. While kind of silly it represents a certain kind of thinking in our world. It goes like this: The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognise is the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return a shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it. No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you or kill you for not returning the shopping cart, you gain nothing for returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct. A person who is unable to do this is no better than an animal, an absolute savage who can only be made to do what is right by threatening them with law and the force that stands behind it. The shopping cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society. Wow, where do we start with that? While this may be a new approach the idea behind it is as old as humanity. It assumes our moral ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’ can somehow be quantified and measured by behaviour. However, we know that this ultimately falls short about telling us the truth. A serial killer may be a very responsible person and always return the shopping cart. We like to have a measurement because it gives us a sense of comfort, of knowing whether or not we are on the right track. So it’s helpful to remember that the Christian belief about being a morally good person is found in Christ alone. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) So here’s the takeaway – be a decent member of society and return your shopping cart. That’s just good practice. But just remember that doesn’t make you a ‘good’ person, we are all relying on God’s gift for that qualification. P.S. I return my cart to get the deposit back.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

by David FortunePastor's BlogPosted on Comments are Disabled

About this time every May, when I was growing up, we would start planting our family garden. We lived out in the country and so the garden was a large one. My father would get the soil ready by running the rototiller over it a few times and breaking up the land. When the time came for planting it was all hands on deck, the whole family had to help out.   The largest section of the garden was for potatoes since it was the staple vegetable throughout the winter months. Then there were carrots, peas and beans. Tomatoes never seemed to be overly successful because they were more dependent on good weather. The vegetable I liked the least seems to be the most productive, zucchini (aka courgette). From only one small patch the zucchini vines would take over whole sections of the garden and keep producing fruit until the first fall frost. There is something exciting about watching a garden grow and yield its fruit. It’s a sign of life. It was always amazing to me how from a few dead seeds we were able to have an abundance of vegetables throughout the winter. That’s how life works. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24) This is important to remember as we pass through this season of the coronavirus. While things look bleak it is not hopeless. God is at work in our hearts and lives. He has planted seeds that will bear fruit in the months to come. So look after the garden that God has given to you at this time. Watch it carefully because soon you’ll be able to see some little green sprouts popping up from the ground. That’s the first sign of life returning.

Time To Clean Out

by David FortunePastor's BlogPosted on Comments are Disabled

Earlier this month, Paul Willis, a hog farmer in Iowa, received a post card from his sister, Annie. She mailed it 33 years ago while visiting the Grand Canyon. That’s why they call it ‘snail mail’.

There Will Be A Time

by David FortunePastor's BlogPosted on Comments are Disabled

We are in a season – a time – we don’t understand. It will be many more days, perhaps months or years, before we come to understand the purpose of this season we are in.