If you’re like me then you have spent much of your week pondering our current reality of “social distancing” in hopes of mitigating the spread of the Covid 19 virus. Many people have expressed that it feels like this is a bad dream, or as posted on Facebook, some kind of “make belief story written by a fourth grader.”

Like me, you may also question whether the threat of the virus warrants the recommendation from our government to avoid all unnecessary contact with those we normally share life with.  (That being said, I also believe I must submit to those who are in authority). It doesn’t take long to realize that our means of slowing the spread of the virus is already having a significant impact on our lives, relationally, financially, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Will I ever be able to touch my face again!? 🙂

And like me, as a result of the sudden halt of our normal daily routines and the uncertainty of when, or if, normal ever returns, the number of times you approach the throne of grace now far exceeds the number of times you wash your hands each day.

As I process the shock of our current reality, one of my favorite stories from 1 Samuel 30 comes to mind. And again, not exactly like the pandemic we’re dealing with, but it’s a story filled with fear, anxiety, anger and a brief period of social distancing which causes David to seek God’s divine help.

The story goes like this, “David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

“When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

Imagine being away from your family and community on a business trip for a few weeks, only to return to find your community has been totally destroyed and your family has been kidnapped. And even worse, you were responsible. Imagine the level of anxiety, fear, and loneliness David immediately felt while walking through the rubble, and even more so, when he discovered his closest allies want to kill him.

And how did David respond to the devastation of his home and community and the uncertainty of the fate of his family? It says, “But David found strength in the Lord.” Or in the NASB it says, “And David strengthened himself in the Lord.”

I’ve been thinking about that verse a lot this week? What action did David take in order to strengthen himself in the Lord? I wonder, did David spend a lot of time on Facebook or Snapchat?  And in light of all that is unfolding in our world, how do I “strengthen myself in the Lord?”

Not saying this is the only way to strengthen yourself in the Lord, but it begins by finding a quiet place to pray. Even Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). Be authentic with God; acknowledge all the different emotions you are feeling. And yes, spend time rehearsing the promises of God found in the written and living Word of God. Spend time in worship; worship through song has a natural way of connecting your heart to the heart of God. And let me also add, nothing wrong with reading other people’s devotional insights, but let me encourage you to have your own encounter with God. Maybe take some time and write your own Psalm and share it with your family. Inquire of the Lord what you can do, and then walk in radical obedience      (1 Samuel 30:7-8).

May it be so with you and me that during this unexpected trial that we grow in “strengthening ourselves in the Lord.” I’m excited to hear about your encounters with God!!

Grace to you! And God be with you til we meet again, Mike Altena

As one who enjoys watching sports, one of my favorite seasons is the college basketball tournament called March Madness. Based on their season’s record, difficulty of schedule, or being the conference champions, today (March 15) would have been the day 68 teams would have been selected to play in the NCAA tournament; all with hopes of making the “Big Dance” in Atlanta on April 4-6.

However as many of you are aware, the NCAA March Madness has been cancelled and replaced by a new March Madness, the COVID-19 virus. And by referring to it as “madness,” I am referring to the madness of how Americans are responding to the threat of the coronavirus. I fully understand the reasoning behind the cancellations of all kinds of events around the world. And I agree we should do whatever we can to minimize the effects of spreading the virus; however, hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bottled water, and wearing hazardous material suits on airplanes seems like pandemonium to me.

When reflecting on my response and the response of others to the threat of being infected by the virus, I am reminded of my desire to control the destiny of my life. I have been forced to think about what I value most deeply and even more importantly what I believe about God’s providence and protection.

Although it isn’t a story about the frenzied panic of the masses, one of my favorite stories of overwhelming fear on the part of the disciples is when they experienced a sudden storm that popped up while they were crossing the Sea of Galilee. The story is found in Matthew 8:23-27.

²³ Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

²⁷ The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

Like us in the frenzy of our current March Madness, the disciples were gripped by fear believing that they were going to die. And not only die, they were going to die the worst kind of death; they were going to drown (The Jewish people had a great fear of what was lurking under the water). By the fact that Jesus was sleeping, the disciples also made an assumption that he didn’t care about their well-being. And it revealed what they believed about Jesus’ ability to protect them.

It’s fun to imagine what actually happened in the boat. Like, I imagine one or more of them shaking Jesus, trying to awaken him. And then finally when they succeed in waking Jesus, did he just lift his head a little bit and say, “Why are you so afraid? You have so little faith!” And then did he go back to sleep? J Oh wait, I guess he didn’t go back to sleep because Matthew remembers Jesus getting up and then speaking to the storm, commanding it to stop.

This part of the story gives us great comfort in the midst of our current storm. First we have to remember, this story reminds us of the spiritual battle in the heavenlies. I believe Satan orchestrated the storm to destroy Jesus and his disciples. But Jesus demonstrates here that he has both the authority and the power to stop any storm whenever he wants. Likewise, we might be afraid that Jesus is asleep; he’s not paying attention to how this virus might destroy our lives (or any other trial we might be going through). But the truth is that Jesus will allow the storm of this virus to last only as long as he sees necessary in order to accomplish his will.

The good news is, while God never promised he would keep us from dying, but rather, even if we die, he will keep us. And so together we can say with great faith the words of Psalm 31:13-14, “…there is terror on every side….But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “you are MY God.” My times are in YOUR hands…”

Grace to you and Peace during this season of madness,

Mike Altena

If you were to pause and reflect on the ministry of American Reformed Church over the past three years, would you say we have made progress towards the intended outcome of our ministry efforts?  Some of you might think, well I’m not sure what the intended outcomes of our ministry efforts are.

And for those who would agree that we have made progress over the past three years towards our ministry efforts, let me ask you, how would you measure that?

Since last October the Ridder: Churches Learning Change Team has been working on defining some measurable outcomes for our ministry. Basically we were challenged to consider what is the intended goal of our ministry—why are we doing it—and are we succeeding?

In order to help us process our work, we have been reading Gil Rendle’s book, Doing the Math of Mission: Fruits, Faithfulness and Metrics. In chapter one Rendle makes this sobering statement, “At the heart of the church’s struggle to be fruitful is a common non-profit dilemma: nonprofits routinely do not know what difference they are trying to make. In other words, nonprofits (including churches) do not know what outcome they are trying to produce.”

After telling a story to illustrate one church’s lack of clarity on why they were doing what they were doing, a situation came up where a church board needed to make a decision on whether or not to baptize the baby of a mom who was an inactive member of that church. They decided to proceed with the baptism, “Because you never know what good can come of it years later.”

Is that the goal of why we baptize babies, or of why we put so much time and energy into Sunday School, Pioneer Club, Youth Groups, Vacation Bible School (which by the way, that team is already busy preparing), Bible studies, etc.—“because you never know what good can come of it later”?

Rendle then goes on to tell how, because churches don’t know what they are measuring, they end up focusing on counting. Counting things like how much money is given in the offering each week and how many attended worship. He would argue that there is nothing wrong with counting; it’s just that what we count identifies our “resources,” while what we measure identifies our intended outcome.

For example, in 2019 our giving was down $ 8,184 and our average worship attendance was down 3 people than the previous year. Those numbers represent counted resources. However those numbers may also represent a measurable difference in the spiritual condition of our congregation as well.

So if counting and measuring are both important, then obviously it’s important to be clear about the outcome of what we are doing and why we are doing it. As Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” Rendle defines an outcome as “The measurable difference you believe God has called you to make in this next chapter of your life.”

After much discussion at many meetings, I believe the difference that God has called this ministry to make is to “Apprentice next generations to passionately communicate and demonstrate the gospel message of the Kingdom.” I believe that is an accurate description of our mission to make disciples who obey everything Jesus commanded. So then, if “Apprenticing next generations to passionately communicate and demonstrate the gospel message of the Kingdom” was our intended outcome over the past three years, now could you say we have been making measureable progress towards that goal?

Identifying measurable progress has also become a challenging part of the conversation; can you measure—how do you measure—if a person is becoming more passionate about communicating and demonstrating the message of the kingdom?

Well Jesus had much to say about counting and measuring. For example, from Matthew 7:16-20, ¹⁶ “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ₁₈ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ₁₉ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

May it be said of you and me that our lives reflect measurable growth in communicating and demonstrating the message of the King and his kingdom!

Growing in grace,

Mike Altena

Super Bowl LIV has come and gone and unless you are a fanatic football fan, or you were stimulated or repulsed by the half time display of soft porn, it likely has become a meaningless memory. That being said, often times in big games like this there is a rags to riches story. Such was the case for the center for the Kansas City Chiefs football team, Austin Reiter.

In 2016 Austin was a center for the Cleveland Browns. The team went 1-15. In 2017, Austin returned for another season with the Browns, only this time was limited to special teams offensive line play. The team went 0-16. That’s the worst two year stretch of any franchise in the NFL.

Before the start of the 2018 season, Cleveland released him. Arguably the worst team the NFL has ever seen determined that Austin Reiter wasn’t good enough to play for it anymore. From the outside looking in, this made sense, your team goes 1-31 and you might as well clean house. After all, exactly how good could a special team’s player be who couldn’t crack an offensive line rotation that allowed a whopping 50 sacks in 2015 and also allowed their quarterback to be hit an additional 130 times?

Reider didn’t have much pedigree to argue. He was a two-star recruit out of high school before signing with South Florida. Then the Washington Redskins drafted him in 2014, but not until the seventh round. He spent his entire time in Washington on the practice squad and obviously no one in Cleveland thought much of him either. Maybe, it was fair to wonder if having the Browns fire him was a sign his NFL career was over.

“One man’s trash,” Reiter said, smiling, on Sunday night (of the Super Bowl), “is another man’s treasure.” Reiter, 28, was standing in the middle of the celebratory swirl of the Kansas City Chiefs locker room. He was wearing a Super Bowl champion hat on his head and a Super Bowl champion t-shirt over his shoulder pads. He was about to get his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy, give it a kiss, and pose for     a picture.

The guy who couldn’t make it on one of the worst teams in the league had just been a starting center on the best team in the league. After playing in four games in 2018, the Kansas City chiefs rewarded Austin with a two-year guaranteed contract with up to $5.5 million “The NFL is crazy,” Reiter said. “The Lord works in mysterious way and here I am.”

After reflecting on Austin’s story, I began to think about all the “unlikely heroes” in the Bible—men and women whose “teams” would have released for their lack of integrity or productivity. The fact that Jesus called Peter to leave his career as a fisherman and follow him likely meant that Peter was not a very good student in school. We know about all the times Peter spoke before thinking and especially the time when Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was (what a lying dogfaced pony soldier).

And yet Jesus never gave up on Peter. After Peter reaffirmed his love for Jesus and receiving Jesus’ forgiveness, Jesus re-signed Peter by saying, “Follow me.”

Peter would go on to become one of the great Apostles and would come to understand his reward saying, “What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. (I Peter 1:4). What a rags to   riches story!!

And may it be so for you and me. Don’t ever give up; God’s not done with you. The Lord works in mysterious ways. You’ll play a part on his winning team!

Pressing on to win the prize,

Mike Altena

Hey dads, as you begin to think about New Year’s resolutions, I wonder if this might be a worthwhile investment of your time. I’ll find out how we can register. Mike Altena

Hello brothers and sisters!  My name is Caleb Haverdink.  I am nothing special, just a regular dad and husband who has lived in NW Iowa his entire life.  But I’m very excited for an opportunity that is coming to Maurice Reformed Church on February 29, 2020.  Jerrad Lopes, if you haven’t heard of him, is a pastor in a ministry that he has been serving in for a few years now called Dad Tired.  Yep!  That’s right!  Dad Tired.

He hosts a podcast weekly, which is how I got introduced to the ministry where he gives insight, teaching, and direction on many topics related to men living out the gospel through the various areas of our lives.  The podcast has been downloaded over 1.3 million times now and hundreds of thousands of men listen to the podcast each week.  He has worked with other men in the ministry such as Matt Chandler, Bob Goff, Jon Acuff, Paul David Tripp, Shane Claiborne, and Jefferson Bethke to help equip men to be the husbands and dads that God is calling them to be. He has hosted well-known people such as Tony Dungy, Alfred Morris, Anthony Oneal, Remi Adeleke, Ryan Stevenson, Jon Foreman, Rhett Walker, and Andy Crouch just to name a few.

Jerrad is the author of the best-selling devotional Stop Behaving and his recent release Dad Tired and Loving It.  Dad Tired is a ministry that helps men live out the gospel through their marriage, leading their family, and their personal lives.  In his words, he uses the platforms of marriage and parenting to be able to preach about the gospel.

The Dad Tired ministry has had an incredible impact on my life by providing teaching moments, insights, gut checks, challenges, and encouragement.  A few months ago, I felt the nudge from the Holy Spirit to not only STEP outside my comfort zone, but to completely LEAP out and to contact Jerrad and invite him to Maurice Reformed Church.

The one day event on February 29, 2020 is titled Stop Behaving.  As Jerrad says in talking about this conference, “Your family doesn’t need a man who behaves well.  They need a man whose heart has been radically changed by Jesus.”

I want to invite you and the fathers and husbands in and around your congregation to attend.  Learn about healthy marriage practices, how to speak the gospel into your children, spiritual leadership principles, and develop Christ-centered family traditions.  Each participant also will receive a copy of the devotional Stop Behaving.  I included a link below that directs you to a site that gives information about the agenda for the day, some testimonials, and a couple of videos from Jerrad that show a little more of his heart and how God is using the Dad Tired ministry.  I would love for you and as many men that you know to come and learn, laugh, grow, experience, be challenged, and be radically changed.

https://www.dadtired.com/conference.html 

More specific details of the conference will be available soon as to the cost(estimated to be approximately $25/participant depending on sponsors), space available, etc.  If you have any questions or would like to help in the planning of the event, please feel free to contact me at cjhaverdink@gmail.com or my cell phone, 712-463-3241.

In 1994, the Russian Department of Education asked two Americans to go to Russia and teach morals and ethics based on biblical principles. They went to public schools, prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage where 100 children had been left in the care of this orphanage. The Americans related the following story…

Since it was nearing the holiday season, we wanted the orphans to hear the Christmas story for the first time. Throughout the story, the children and the staff listened in amazement. After telling the story, we gave the children pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger.
Each child was given a small paper square cut from yellow napkins we had brought along. Following instructions, the children tore the paper into strips to lay in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel cut from a discarded nightgown, were used for the baby’s blanket. A baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their mangers as I walked among them. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat waiting after he had finished his project. He looked about six years old. As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the boy why there were two babies in the manger. I thought perhaps he had misunderstood the story. The child began to repeat the story very seriously. For one who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related it accurately, until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha said, “And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mama and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him, but I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did.
I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, ‘If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?’ And Jesus told me, ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.’ So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him for always.”
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him, FOR ALWAYS.

I love this story in that it invites me to treasure and ponder the wonder of Jesus’ humble birth. Like Misha, if I were to repeat the story of Jesus’ incarnation, how would I retell the story in order to help you understand how Jesus has brought hope and healing to the broken parts of my life? If I were to repeat the story of Jesus’ incarnation, it would likely include how Jesus values me apart from my performance or productivity. It would likely include my telling about his grace that covers my besetting sins. And it certainly would include the peace I have in knowing Immanuel, and more importantly, that Immanuel knows me.

Ok, now your turn. Like Misha, how would you repeat the story of how Jesus has brought hope and healing to your brokenness?

Bringing you good news of great joy…

Mike Altena

Since the General Synod meeting in June of this year, the Consistory has been keeping up to date with the work of the 2020 Team. For those who aren’t able  to keep up with the updates on the RCA website, I am including the latest update below:

The Vision 2020 Team met October 28–29, 2019, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, continuing the work that God and the General Synod have called us to do. That work is currently focused on discerning the best way forward out of the three scenarios we’ve been researching, narrowing the options based on intensive dialogue, feedback we’ve heard, and in faithfulness to God. 

We’re having good conversation. As we’ve built trust, built relationship, and built friendships, we’re doing our work. It’s very open. Every one of us has had courage to speak, and that courage enriches our work and pushes us further. We’re listening well, and we’re honing in on something.

We have narrowed down our work and reached consensus on a framework to bring to General Synod 2020. As we have listened to God, to each other, and to feedback we’ve received, a possibility is emerging that brings together some of the best elements of the “three scenarios.”  This possibility began to germinate at our September meeting, and was refined as we reflected, pinpointed its problems, and identified its strengths. 

A crucial moment that shifted our understanding was recognizing the difference between General Synod statements on human sexuality and the functional reality of our structure. This team believes the denomination has existed for a long time with functional diversity. Historically, we have been united around our standards, and because of the way our polity works, functionally the RCA is theologically diverse about a range of topics, including human sexuality, infant baptism, women in church leadership, and others. Our practices vary from classis to classis and congregation to congregation. 

Our team’s role is not to define the RCA’s stance on human sexuality or other differences of conviction but to recommend a way forward in light of our functional diversity. So we asked ourselves: in a structure with functional diversity, what are our next faithful steps? 

We are now focusing on recommendations that will increase clarity about the RCA’s identity as a denomination that embraces this functional diversity, and that will provide a pathway for a mutually generous exit for those who can’t live within this diversity. We are also exploring recommendations to restructure the denomination to better support a 21st century church. 

This represents new clarity for the team, and we celebrate this. We understand there is a high level of complexity involved as we move forward. These are the broad strokes of a plan that is in early stages, and much may change as we continue to move forward. We have formed three sub teams to work on various aspects of this proposal between now and our next meeting in January. At our next meeting, we’ll meet with subject experts to help us craft our recommendations….

Above all, we remember that we are all people of the resurrection. We are God’s beloved children, and God has redeemed us and given us hope for the future. We are grateful for the movement of God’s Spirit among us.

We long for prayer support as we continue to move forward with greater clarity.

The Vision 2020 Team

I find this update very interesting since it leads me to wonder if we will be packing our bags very soon. The Consistory is planning on holding a meeting after the worship service on December 8 to discuss the three scenarios with anyone who might be interested. Copies of the three scenarios are available on the back table in the foyer for those who would like to gain a better understanding of what is being prosed for the future of the RCA.

Grace to you, and peace.

Mike Altena

This past Sunday, our Sunday school class spent our time reflecting on the story in Matthew 16 of when Jesus asked the disciples “Who do you say the Son of Man is?” If you are familiar with the story then you remember that Simon Peter answered this most important question by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To which Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”

Jesus could have said to Peter, “Nice job Peter, you got the answer right,” but instead Jesus alerted Peter    to the fact that he was “blessed” to have received the gift of revelation from the Father about the nature of his  Son, Jesus.

This past week I’ve been meditating on how “blessed” I also am in having received that revelation from Father about the nature and person of Jesus Christ as well as the gift of faith to believe that revelation.

Then, on Wednesday night I met a member of our congregation in the hallway by my office and I asked how she was doing. She said she was “blessed” and proceeded to share with me several ways she was blessed. Again, I believe it is a wonderful gift when Father makes us aware of how blessed we are.

On another occasion, Jesus revealed more truth to those who gathered to hear his teaching about how a person would know if they’re blessed. And just in case you’re not sure if you’re blessed, I’ve included Jesus’ examples from Matthew 5 to help you. (And please, take your time; revelation rarely occurs when you’re in a hurry).

^1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

³ “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵ “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

⁶ “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

⁷ “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

⁹ “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

¹⁰ “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

^11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

So how about it, did Jesus’ list help you discover at least one way you are blessed? Any fresh revelations? For me today, verse 5. May it be so with you and me that we would be growing in our understanding of all the ways we are blessed!

And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you…,

Mike Altena

I was recently visiting with a member of our congregation and he shared with me that it seemed like the picture on his television was getting darker so he invited his grandson to come over to his home to check out his television to see if there was any way he could make the picture brighter. In addition he mentioned how he had gradually lost his ability to read the newspaper. Well, a few weeks ago he had cataract surgery in which they removed the cloudy lens of his eye and replaced it with an artificial one that was clear. He said, “Within a day I could read the newspaper without glasses again and the television was also remarkably clear.”

As I was reflecting on his story, Jesus’ words from Luke 11:34 immediately came to mind.

³⁴ “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.”

Here Jesus describes how our perception affects our soul. When Jesus refers to healthy eyes, he meant eyes that not only see well, but also that perceive well. So it’s not only what we see, but how we perceive that impacts our ability to live as the light of the world. Bad eyes lead to bad perception, but if our spiritual eyes are good, our body, soul and spirit will be illuminated. Just like, if we are in a well lit room, we see things clearly and therefore are able to easily navigate around the obstacles in the room. On the other hand walking in a dark room will often result in walking into tables and chairs and doorways.

Everyday our eyes filter thousands of images that are good or evil, beneficial or harmful, and our perception of them, the meaning we give to them, or the story we tell ourselves about them inform our world view. If we perceive goodness, goodness will radiate outward from within our hearts and minds. However, if we allow our eyes to linger on evil, eventually darkness will begin to emanate from within and can corrupt us and those around us.

In preparing for our message on putting on the belt of truth, I am reminded of II Corinthians 11:14 where Paul alerts us to the fact that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. The number one scheme of the devil to destroy you and me is to cloud our vision—to make us think we found the light when it’s actually the darkness of a false light. His intention is to slowly blind us to the truth and therefore corrupt our minds and eventually our behavior.

Using his army of demons and those who follow him, the father of lies continually parades a never ending stream of evil for us to gaze upon. In addition to all the images that feed the lust of our eyes and the lusts of our flesh, Satan would also try to deceive us into thinking that he is actually winning the battle between light and dark and that God is helplessly trying to figure out how to stop him.

Satan would love nothing more for us than to focus on the darkness of a health issue that doesn’t appear to be improving, on strained relationships, on the rising cost of providing for your family, on the current challenge of the harvest including yields and commodity prices, on the political turmoil in America, on the inability of the church to be the light of the world…and the list goes on and on.

But not so with you and me. Let’s pause and invite Jesus to perform his spiritual cataract surgery on you and me. Jesus is the light of the world. In this world we will have trouble, but the Truth is, he has overcome all that we perceive as darkness.  ³⁵ “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”     Hide it under a bushel, NO!! Mike Altena

On Saturday, September 14, ESPN’S “College Game Day” was broadcasted from Ames, Iowa prior to the football matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones. During the broadcast, Carson King held up a homemade sign that could be seen in the background which read, “Busch Light Supply Needs Replenished” followed by his Venmo user name. (Venmo is a means of sending money through social media).

Kings’s phone immediately started ringing with notifications from Venmo. Within 30 minutes, the 24 year old had received donations of over $400. King was quite surprised he would receive any donations since it was intended as a joke.

After speaking with his family about it, he decided that, minus the cost of a case of Busch Light, he’d give the rest of the money to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. As word spread of his plans to donate the money, more and more people decided to contribute. Eventually, Venmo and Busch Beer offered matching funds and by Sunday morning, the contributions—including Venmo and Busch matches—had raised 1.14 million dollars and more money was still coming in.

In addition to the matching funds, Busch Beer sweetened the deal by offering King, now dubbed the “Iowa Legend” a year’s supply of Busch Light and they were going to put his picture and name on the cans of Busch Light.

King was ecstatic about reaching the one million dollar mark and now has set a goal of raising two million dollars for the Children’s Hospital by the end of the month. Kind of a cool story, right?

Well after hearing about the unfolding story, the Des Moines Register decided to send a reporter to interview King. However before doing so, the reporter dug into King’s past social media posts and discovered that when he was 16 years old, King apparently sent a racial tweet. Deciding the seven year old media post was pertinent information to the outcome of the story, the Des Moines Registered published the Tweet. Busch Beer soon heard about the young man’s foolish mistake, and although they are still going to honor their donation to the children’s Hospital, they announced they are cutting any ties with King.

Hearing that the Des Moines Register had discovered his foolish social media post of seven years ago, Carson King immediately apologized to the public for his comments. Venmo announced they have forgiven King, acknowledging we all say and do stupid things when we are young. Now there is an outcry against the Des Moines Register for ruining the story by publishing needless information.

When I reflect on the story several thoughts come to mind. Doing something as a joke can have surprising outcomes that can change your life in a hurry; be careful when doing something as a joke. Be careful what you post on social media, you never know how it might be used against you. In my opinion, for the Register to publicize King’s social media post from when he was in high school was senseless. Like the Apostle Paul, I am grateful that God doesn’t hold my past against me, but rather can use it for his glory.

Maybe the Des Moines Register could also learn a thing or two about mercy from Paul’s testimony in I Timothy 1:15-16.  “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”

There is no doubt that sometimes we will pay the price for our past sin, however I praise God that he keeps no record of my wrongs and that his love covers a multitude of sins. And may it be so with you and me that we would be quick to drop our rocks.

Grace to you and peace, Mike Altena