{"id":7358,"date":"2020-03-31T18:14:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T23:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/?post_type=ctc_sermon&#038;p=7358"},"modified":"2020-03-31T18:14:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T23:14:34","slug":"pastors-chat-tuesday-march-31-2020","status":"publish","type":"ctc_sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/sermons\/pastors-chat-tuesday-march-31-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor&#8217;s Chat:  Tuesday, March 31, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s been said that \u201cyou don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got \u2018till it\u2019s gone.\u201d  It could be that something you took for granted is gone and now you miss it.  Or, it could be that when you\u2019ve lost something you thought was really important you discover that actually wasn\u2019t.  You just don\u2019t know . . . until it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, did you stop to think today about how wonderful it is to not have pain in your feet when you\u2019re walking?  We take our feet for granted, but if you get pain in your feet or if something about your feet keeps you from walking, then you realize just how wonderful it would be to have good feet again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or maybe you\u2019ve had the opposite experience. We can get so tangled up with people and things which we may think we really want and enjoy, only to realize when it\u2019s gone how draining and difficult those things made our lives.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wonder if kids know what they\u2019ve got in their health and strength.  Many kids are really excited about what they can do on their smart phones and tablets and game consoles.  But those things will always be around and the technology will only get better and better.  Meanwhile, their youth and their strength and eventually their health will diminish.  A woman I know who is in her 90&#8217;s recently told me that \u201cyouth\u201d is wasted on the young because they don\u2019t realize how precious it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At times like this, we have an opportunity to evaluate what is most important in life.  We hear lots of kids saying that while it\u2019s been nice to be off from school, they\u2019re kind of bored and they miss seeing their friends.  Sure, they\u2019ve got social media, but they\u2019ve discovered that \u201cit\u2019s not the same.\u201d  Many kids complain about having to go to school . . . until they can\u2019t. And while they can\u2019t do after school activities or hang out at the mall or go to movies, maybe they\u2019re learning that getting to know Mom and Dad who are working at home isn\u2019t so bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For those who don\u2019t get seriously ill or aren\u2019t at risk of dying from this corona virus, there may actually be a silver lining to these strange times we\u2019re in.  Times like these can lead us to view our family and friends differently, as more valuable than we thought before this happened.  Times like this can get us thinking about and even talking about spiritual issues like \u201cDoes God pay attention to what\u2019s going on?  Does God care?  Will God be there to watch over me if I\u2019m sick or What happens when a person dies?  Will we see them again?  Will we know each other? Maybe the things we talk about in Sunday School and youth group and Bible classes are more important that I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is something I\u2019ve been noticing in the past couple weeks: I\u2019ve noticed a couple who usually like to go out and socialize with lots of people who\u2019ve now discovered the simple pleasure of sitting together around a back yard fire or just playing a board game.  I\u2019ve noticed a man who\u2019s concerned about a parent with emphysema who shouldn\u2019t go out because they\u2019re at high risk; but now their adult child realizes that they need to pay more attention to the needs of their aging parents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps, like me, you\u2019ve heard similar things from those who lived through the Great Depression or the years of World War.  People have commented, \u201cWe didn\u2019t know that we were poor.\u201d  The family would be together working in the kitchen or sitting around the radio. People would write letters or visit with the neighbors.  Kids would be outside until dark and then up with the sun, not realizing that by being active they were combating obesity or diabetes or heart disease.  People didn\u2019t have to go to the gym because they worked in the garden or walked to the store<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, I\u2019m not saying that this pandemic is a good thing.  Many people will get very sick and many will die. But there are some lessons in life that don\u2019t get appreciated or valued unless they are learned through hard times. You may not appreciate the promise of our Lord Jesus who said, \u201cLet not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me\u201d until you actually experience some trouble.  And what did the Apostle Paul mean when he told the Philippians, \u201cDo not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.\u201d Maybe the anxiousness we have about these uncertain times will help us see the calm and peace which God can give.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the same way, sin is not a good thing at all!  But if you\u2019ve committed a whopper of a sin then you can see better the grace and mercy of God in offering free and complete forgiveness through Jesus.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can\u2019t help but have our lives shaken up by this pandemic.  But perhaps this is a good time to look carefully and evaluate the things that we once thought were important and the things that we didn\u2019t.  Maybe we need to re-prioritize things.  And I think we should take another look at what God says about the priorities that we need.  He is, actually, pretty wise, you know!  For instance, you may have thought \u201cYou shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain\u201d simply meant, \u201cdon\u2019t cuss or swear.\u201d  But maybe in all of this we can see more clearly the great blessing and privilege we have to call upon God, by name, when we need Him.  Hold onto God\u2019s Name as precious and holy so that when you really need it you will realize the great blessing and power that comes with it.  See the difference?   Maybe there is more wisdom and insight in the Word of God than we had thought!  Well, of course there is.  But this is a really good time to think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please pray with me:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been said that \u201cyou don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got \u2018till it\u2019s gone.\u201d It could be that something you took for granted is gone and now you miss it. Or, it could be that when you\u2019ve lost something you thought was really important you discover that actually wasn\u2019t. You just don\u2019t know . . . until it\u2019s gone. For example, did you&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","ctc_sermon_topic":[],"ctc_sermon_book":[],"ctc_sermon_series":[],"ctc_sermon_speaker":[],"ctc_sermon_tag":[],"class_list":["post-7358","ctc_sermon","type-ctc_sermon","status-publish","hentry","ctfw-no-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/7358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ctc_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/7358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7361,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/7358\/revisions\/7361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_topic?post=7358"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_book?post=7358"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_series?post=7358"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_speaker?post=7358"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oslcmankato.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_tag?post=7358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}