Kingdom of God

Fill My Hands

May 28, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

There is significant pain in the world today. So many are in need. As followers of Jesus, we cannot ignore the plight of the sick, hurting, hungry, disabled, elderly, or dispossessed. We have so much. My prayer is for God to fill my hands so I can share what He gives me with others in need. I’m not particular about what God might put in my hands. He knows best what those around me need, so I’ll leave the details to Him.

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I know He blesses us all with a unique blend of skills, talents, and passions. What He fills your hands with may differ from that with which He fills mine. That’s the beauty of the Kingdom of God. We are all different and able in concert to be used in ways we could never accomplish on our own.

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Time Keeps On Slipping

May 25, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

There’s an old song that says, “Time keeps on slipping into the future”. As most of the world has been sequestered in their homes for the past couple of months, I’ve noticed time seems to pass faster than ever before. Others have begun noticing it as well (see “Why time seems to be going faster while we are in lockdown”). Add this to the phenomenon of time passing by more quickly the older you get

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(I don’t know if there’s evidence for this, but it’s something an older person told me when I was younger, and I have found it to be true in my life), and time keeps on slipping not just into the future, but out of my hands. The time we hold today will be gone tomorrow, never to return.

Unified

April 16, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Throughout history, we’ve seen times of trouble unify people around a common cause or enemy. In a divided world of hatred, offense, and self-interest, we could use some unity today. Perhaps something as insidious as a global pandemic will have the silver lining of unifying humanity, banding us together to fight the virus inflicting many and disrupting life as we knew it.

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Only time will tell. What I do know, as followers of Christ, His call is always for us to be unified, not only when trouble abounds. Our unity is so important that Jesus made it the subject of His last prayer for us before He allowed Himself to be crucified (John 17:20-23).

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Times Like These

March 23, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

In times like these, it’s easy to lose our way. The needle on our internal compass seems a bit jumpy. The culture of a 24/7 news cycle can overwhelm with information and confuse us about what to believe. Stress and anxiety threaten to overcome our best intentions and defenses. Times like these bring out the best, and too often, the worst in humanity.

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For followers of Jesus, we can have peace. Our Lord is the Prince of Peace, and His grace and mercy are not in short supply. And yet, we seem to forget these truths when we need them most. Instead of relying on the peace and power of our Creator, we give in to the siren song of the crowd. There is no comfort there. We find comfort only in the arms of Jesus.

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Jesus is Not an Institution

January 13, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

A pastor shared a cartoon drawing of Mary and baby Jesus. In the cartoon, Mary is comforting Jesus and asks if he had a nightmare. Jesus replies, “Yes, I dreamed I became an institution!” I don’t know what your reaction is to this, whether it’s laughter, disgust, or ambivalence. For me, it cut me to the core. What would Jesus think if He came back today to assess the state of the Church?

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What are we doing with and to the plan He has for our redemption? He spent His life showing how we should love and care for others. That is the essence of why the Church exists. God intends for us to represent Him here on earth. Instead, we’ve become just another business organization complete with heavy debts and ever-increasing administrative budgets.