For years now I have operated with the following definition of “Disciple”?

A Disciple is someone who is called by and follows Jesus.

One of Satan’s greatest deceptions is the belief that being a Christian is the most important part of who we are. Did you catch the deception here? It’s subtle and crafty, but should we really expect any less from the father of lies.

Being a Christian is not a part of life, because God cannot be relegated to just a part of anything. Christianity is not just something we believe or associate with and it’s not just a set of values. Being a Christian means we are Disciples of Jesus Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus means we are a people who have been called by Him into faith and now follow Him in every-thing and with everything.

When there is a question, He answers it. When we don’t know which way to go, He leads us. When we are trapped in our own guilt and shame, He frees us. If we have it, He provided it. There is nothing that happens in this world, in which He is unaware or uninvolved. There is no part of us that is separate from Him. For in Jesus, we live and move and have our being.

Over the next few months you are going to hear me start using this phrase, “Discipleship is Life.” This phrase is designed to blur and hopefully shatter the fences we place around our lives so that the Christian parts of our lives do not meet up with the rest. The only way to do this is to listen to the Word of the one whom we follow and the goal is to become comfortable with who we are…Disciples of Jesus Christ.

 

In His Grip,
Pastor Guy Roberts

I can only ever remember being truly lost one time. This happened while hunting the north woods of Minnesota. The day could not have been more perfect and grouse were flushing right and left as I wandered road after road. Life was grand. I remember thinking out loud, “Wow could this day get any better?”

This experience taught me many life lessons, but one of the most profound, was how easy it is to be lost and not realize it. For those who follow the Lord, our hope has never been de-pendent on our ability to find our way back to Him, but in the sure and certain hope that he has rescued us. But living here in this world, while being not of the world, can provide moments of uncertainty.

I believe we are living in a culture and time that varies between Life is Grand and “Where am I?” While we know that belonging to Jesus means we are never lost, trying to get our bearings in a world as messed as ours, can provide an experience I would call, Culture Shock.

This year Zion will be offering Vacation Bible School for all ages. We are partnering with Lutheran Island Camp to provide a family centered experience. The children and youth will be learning about the 5th Day of Creation, when God spoke into existence all the flying things. The adults will be learning to deal with CULTURE SHOCK. In the adult education time, we will reflect on how we got to where we are today, examine the challenges we face and explore the opportunities that exist for Discipleship in the Home, the Church and the Community.

Please come. Bring your family, your neighbors and your friends. Let’s make this the best VBS ever, in the history of VBS.

Pastor Guy Roberts

“I thought you forgave me?”

“Then why are you bringing this up again? You’re supposed to forgive and forget.”

My guess is you’ve experienced this conversation at some point in life, probably from both points of view. All of us have forgiven others and been forgiven by others. And all of us have struggled with forgetting.

 

This is because forgetting is impossible. We are not capable of it. If something needs to be forgiven, it’s because sin has struck and left its mark, often turning into a scar.

 

You can’t forget sin; you can only deal with it. Which is exactly what Jesus Christ does. He deals with it. He puts sin to death on the cross, at your baptism and everyday since through the work of His Body the church. Our struggle isn’t with forgetting, because that’s impossible. Our struggle is with forgiving, which is also impossible apart from Jesus.

 

This is why the conversation above sounds so familiar.When someone replays a sinful offense, over and over, brewing and stewing, even though they already grudgingly spoke the obligated words of forgiveness, then the problem isn’t really forgetting. The problem is someone hasn’t forgiven. The problem is us and our struggle to let Jesus do what He does and deal with it.

 

Forgive and Forget? Don’t waste your time trying to forget, just forgive and remember differently. Re-member that we are both forgiven and able to forgive. That’s enough, because He is enough.

In His Grip,
Pastor Guy Roberts