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2022 The Christian Journey 1 4 22L Wesley’s Final Words 3 15 22 Stormy Weather 12 30 22 2021 A Call To Action 4 1 21 |
2020 Making It A Great Day! 3 18 20 Don’t Worry – Be Happy 6 16 20 I Belong To RSA, Do You? 7 9 20 |
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Tuesday, January 4, 2022 |
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Scripture: Ephesians 2: 8-10 (NIV Study Bible) - "For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Message: We, as Christians, and especially as Methodist, should feel that our journey in being wholly Christian is never over. And at this time of year, we fondly remember how Jesus transformed the world with His message of love. How do we grow into being a person totally devoted to Christ and filled with love? Recently, I learned something new about John Wesley. First, he never stopped evolving as a Christian, always looking for more meaning, more understanding, and for what else was needed to be wholly Christian. In college he wrote in his journal what he thought was needed to be saved: "1. Not being so bad as other people; 2. Having still a kindness for religion; and 3. Reading the Bible, going to church, and saying my prayers." Sounds almost reasonable, but he learned later that he had it all wrong; you don't "do things" to be saved. Fifteen or twenty years later he finally learned the truth: God's grace is not earned by doing things; it is a gift freely given to those who believe and receive it. It is then that we do good works because we have been saved, not because we believe good works are required to be saved. A subtle difference, but, oh, so important. In the scripture, it also says that God "prepares" us for the specific good works that we should do. Are you living the way of life that God prepared and continues to prepare for you? Prayer: Dear Lord, take my hand and guide me in Your ways, as I move through my Justifying Grace. I cannot do this alone; I need You; I need my church; I need my Christian brothers and sisters to keep me focused on Your love. Amen! Larry Koch |
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Tuesday March 15, 2022 |
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Scripture: Matthew 7:24-25 (NIV) – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Message: Near the end of his life John Wesley wrote: “I am not afraid that the people called Methodist should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”1 Wesley was intent on being wholly Christian, not half Christian. Are we falling into the trap that Wesley described? I look around and wonder what foundation our faith is really built on. Have we really studied the theology that we profess, have we rid ourselves of all hatred, have we really forgiven others, do we love everyone (even our enemies), do we embrace a positive attitude each and every day? Just believing we are a Christian is not enough, we have to live that life every day; and when we do, that is the road to true contentment. Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared us, equipped us, trained us, and has us ready to do His good works once we have accepted Christ by faith. Read the Sermon on the Mount again in Matthew Chapters 5-7 and be attentive to what instruction is provided. God’s Kingdom will only come on Earth and the Church can only stay vibrant when, with God’s help, we hold firm to our doctrine, keep the Spirit alive in our hearts, and live a disciplined and wholly Christian life. Prayer: Let’s open our hearts to pray: Father, not only have I sinned, I continue to be distracted by this World around me. Open my eyes to You and help me live truly the life You prepared me to live. Amen. Larry Koch 1. “Thoughts Upon Methodism Volume 9” by John Wesley. 1786. Public Domain. |
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Christmastide - Friday, December 30, 2022 |
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Scripture: Matthew 5:45b (ESV) – “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Message: Here I am just two days before Hurricane Ian is about to hit Florida and potentially bring Maitland some serious rain and wind. Not that I am normally a worrier, but granted, this time some troublesome thoughts are going through my mind: What do I need to do to keep my family and home safe? How will I help keep my friends safe? What do I need to do to have my church (where I work) prepared for this storm? Why didn’t I buy gas for my generator last week before the lines got so long? What will happen to the poor people in Southwest Florida where major flooding is expected? Why does God create such bad storms? Then I take a deep breath and remember that God does not create, or cause such events. The World does its thing, and we must live with and deal with whatever the World throws at us. So, what part does God play in such events? I know He listens to our prayers, and I know that some of them He can’t respond to like I would want (God, make this storm go away). I also know that God is always with me as long as I am with Him. He can keep me feeling peaceful and He can remove from me some of my fear. He will help me think clearly to answer most of the questions above and give me the courage and strength to deal with whatever happens. Before this is published, there will be other serious events that occur in my life and in your life. How God responds depends on how we respond. When we are open to Him, He will be constantly with us, enabling us to find comfort and peace no matter what unfolds in the World around us. Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace and love. Remind me constantly that You are indeed with me and all I have to do is believe. Amen. Larry Koch |
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Monday, April 5, 2021 |
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Scripture: Matthew 6:9b-13 (KJV) - "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." Message: We frequently recite the Lord's Prayer without paying too much attention to the specific meaning of what we are saying. I think I recited the prayer 10,023 times before I paid attention to the words, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven". Of course we want God to have His will be done on earth - but wait, if that was His job, it would have been done already, right? No, it is not a job He has taken on, it is a call to action for us. We are praying and saying that we are taking on the challenge to make God's will be done on earth. It is us who can make this happen, one person at a time (unless you are called to the pulpit, then you can preach to a crowd). For the rest of us, we are the ones to bring God's will to the people around us, maybe one person at a time; every day that is our call to action. If you want to know specifically how to go about doing that, read the "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew 5, 6, and 7; it only takes about 20 minutes because that is how long any sermon should be. Prayer: Jesus, I praise Your name, I confess that I am a sinner, I admit that I have failed to spread Your good news when I had the opportunity. Please forgive me for these failings; and guide me in what I can do to bring Your Kingdom to the world around me. Amen. Larry Koch |
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Wednesday, March 18, 2020 |
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Scripture: Matthew 26:69-70 (NIV) – “Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. ‘You also were with Jesus of Galilee,’ she said. But he denied it before them all. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said." Message: For those familiar with this scripture, the rest of the story is well known. Peter denied Christ three times. Even though Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times, Peter still had a choice. How often does a mother know what her child will do, and even though she says, “don’t eat that cookie before supper”, she knows that the temptation is irresistible. All of us have to make choices. Nothing is thrown at us that we don’t have a choice about how we will deal with it. Just as we can choose the attitude we embrace for the day, also we can continually make good, Christ centered, choices in all circumstances. Making the right choice is not always easy, or obvious. Dealing with an angry person can be difficult and sometimes requires tough choices. Some people are a continual negative influence on us and the correct choice is to help them if they are willing to be helped; if not, then we should put them out of our lives. We shouldn’t let those that have a negative influence on us bring us down; we need to remove them from our lives before their influence causes us to make bad decisions. We can all choose to make great choices and “Make it a great day”, every day! Prayer: Let us be guided by Your Love, and only by Your Love, for every decision we make. Amen. Larry Koch |
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Tuesday June 16, 2020 - "The Connection" Series |
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Scripture: Matthew 6:25a, 34 (NIV Study Bible) – “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, …. do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Message: I really like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. To me this lays out clearly the theology that Jesus introduced to His disciples and subsequently to all of us. He begins by telling us how to be happy when He lists the eight Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are those who….’ You will be ‘blessed’ if you do these things. When you are blessed, you will be happy. Happiness comes from within. Seeking pleasure does not lead to happiness. Being blessed by our own actions will lead us to happiness. Then Jesus gives us a list of things we should do, and then He again reminds us of this: ‘Don’t worry, be happy.’ It is not a difficult path once we are committed to being and staying on the path. It will get messy. We are living in a messy world with so many things that want to distract us and take us off of the path. It’s just like our marriage vows; we don’t walk away just because it gets bumpy…. no, we committed to the institution of marriage and we commit to making it work. Likewise, we commit to a life centered around Jesus and just because it gets rough and we sometimes stray, it does not mean we are lost. We find our way back to the path and there we find that we can be happy again. Jesus, foremost, wants us to be happy on this earth, so do not worry about tomorrow, just learn how to be happy today. Jesus will be in control if we let Him. He may not change what is going on around us, but He will show us how to be happy in spite of these difficult times. I think He wants us to smile a lot. Prayer: Jesus, I love You and I commit my life to You. You and I both know that I will mess up from time to time and I want You to know that with Your help I will make it back to the path. Amen. Larry Koch |
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Thursday, July 9, 2020 - "The Connection" Series |
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Scripture: Psalm 51:1-2 (NIV) – “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Message: I consider myself a member of the RSA group. This is not a real group, but if it were, it would be called the Recovering Sinners Anonymous Group. As much as I try, I cannot be perfect (actually sometimes I don’t try quite as hard as I could). My life, like that of most of the people I know, is a little bit messy. And that is Okay and I believe Jesus understands and accepts that we will not be perfect. Who, beside Him, in the Bible was perfect? That would be a whole 12 week Bible Study to understand that no one was. As with the other groups that help people change their habits, let’s talk about how RSA members can improve. As I have written in a previous devotion, please read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 – 7 where Jesus lays out a specific 10 step program for becoming, and returning to be, a good follower of Christ. We should do the things He lays out to be blessed (or happy) called the Beatitudes. He gives us some simple suggestions, like build your faith with a solid foundation (on a rock), associate with good people, pray a lot, be generous with your wealth, live simply, don’t accumulate worldly treasure (that does not bring happiness), instead build your treasure in your faith and in your love for others and for Christ. Yes, I am a recovering sinner which means that I wake everyday with the difficult task of working hard to stay on the path. When I make a wrong step, I then know I have to make it right again. So what I say is “let’s make this a great day”. Please join me in prayer: Prayer: Jesus, I know I am not going to be a perfect Christian this week. I will do something that does not come from a position of Love, something for which I need to ask Your forgiveness, but before that, Lord, I know that I must first learn how to forgive others and to right any wrongs I have committed. Amen. Larry Koch |
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