Identities

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:9-13

As I was driving to work one day, I followed a vehicle with a personalized license plate reading “JENZ MOM.” Of course, little else in my life has given me more pleasure than to be known as “Gina’s mom,“ and “Matt’s mom,” and “Erin’s mom.”  But I began to think about my other identities: wife, daughter, sister, “in-law“…grandmother, aunt, cousin…friend, neighbor, colleague, citizen. 

As I pondered, I came to realize that my most important identity is that of Christian, a child of God. For ultimately, it is my understanding of God’s love and my relationship with Christ which form the thoughts, words, and actions that shape and define all my other relationships. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is an incomparable privilege to be a “Child of God.” We thank You for Your unfailing love and pray that we can be worthy members of Your family. Amen. 

Judith Keller, reprinted from March 2009

Come and Worship – Come and Worship – Worship Christ the Newborn King

How do you worship? Is it always in the same place or do you find prayers coming at different times? The church is a house of worship and within its walls, we find beautiful music, learned persons speaking and wonderful friends. But this is in a building built for worship, built for music with all kinds of instruments and friends, some of whom we have known for years.

But in the garden watching a bumble bee sipping from a flower or a butterfly landing on a bush, it is also time to give thanks to our God. No instruments playing but you can hear the music of the branches on the trees and the birds calling and the buzzing of the bees. God made music. Earthly music calls you to worship. If you listen carefully, you can hear God calling.

In our land, we are allowed to worship freely. No one tells us where or how to worship. That has been curtailed some lately but we must pray to God that it will not vanish. Whether you worship only within the confines of your home or church or whether you include the world around you we all have God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Ghost in common. We can pray together that our world will always include music and words made by man and God. Amen

Carolyn Olsen

(photo shared by Donna Gustafson)

Some thoughts on Psalm 139

You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

    How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

    they would outnumber the grains of sand—

    when I awake, I am still with you.

If only you, God, would slay the wicked!

    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

They speak of you with evil intent;

    your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,

    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;

    I count them my enemies.

Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139

When reading this psalm from the Message Bible, a verse that really struck me was Psalm 139:6 which is a summary and overwhelming awareness of what the first 5 verses already discuss of God’s providential and incarnational presence.  Look at the first 5 verses and then read v. 6:

This is too much, too wonderful – I can’t take it all in!

But more is coming! Like, where can one flee or try to hide in God’s all-encompassing presence? If one goes to Hades, or to darkness, or to anywhere, it is still in the purview of God’s grace and presence. Light and dark are all open to God! One could not count the ways in which we are near God. For the sands of all the beaches, deserts, and oceans cannot contain such presence. Again, it is too much and too wonderful to take it all in.

So, yes, such intimate knowledge of God’s gracious presence is there from growth in the womb to birth. 

Now, feeling overwhelmed has a whole different perspective of how we deal with stress. Even in the face of evil and encounters that confront us with evil and threats, yet the overpowering presence of God out maneuvers and hedges around us to see us through such moments and stress. Again, it is too much and too wonderful to take it all in.

Yes, in 51 plus years of ministry and life, I have felt much stress and some quite overpowering, even when I felt powerless to continue. Thanks to friends of faith and an Incarnate Providence of God in Christ I could reach when there was nothing else to grasp.

I had a poster that hung on my study door with a kitten hanging by a rope with its paw in the rope! The saying on the poster was: “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on! “ 

Imagine the relief and letting go expressed in Psalm 139:22 – it is the release of stress that God does guide us through, even if it is too much and too wonderful to take all in.

“See for Yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—then guide me on the road to eternal life.”

Prayer: O Gracious God, when things get overwhelming, I pray that the encouragement and presence of your grace will hedge around me that I may fully be in awe of your care, even if it is too much and too wonderful to take it all in, through Christ I pray. Amen

Rev. Dr. John J. Duling, Honorably Retired

What Do We Have in Common?

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image according to our likeness."  Genesis 1:26

For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:4-5

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12 

Donna Gustafson recently told me of our fall worship theme, "What we hold in common." Consulting with my family, my daughter suggested we all have bodies. My grandson's wife, a minister, immediately smiled and started quoting scriptures that referred to our bodies and the church. Some bodies are small, some are large. Some are short and some are tall. Bodies and hair and eyes come in different colors. Our bodies start as infants, grow into children and teenagers, and then into adults. Finally, our bodies show the signs of aging with arthritic hands, graying hair, and changes in our abilities. Some of our bodies are healthy while others have chronic illnesses. There is so much to say about our bodies. 

Paul teaches us that we are not just arms, or legs, or other body parts, but we need all our parts (members) to function and to live. So it is with Christians and the church. All of us have differences in our physical bodies, but we are one body in Christ. We have many different gifts and talents and roles in the church, but we make up one body of believers, children of God in his own image, the living breath of the Holy Spirit in all of us. We have all these things in common. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for creating us in your image. Thank you for loving us despite all our differences. Thank you for sending your son Jesus to us in the form of a human body so we could better understand you and the kingdom of heaven. Help us love one another for all the things we have in common. Amen 

Nancy Hall

The Message of the Spider Web

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Hebrews 6:10-15

Earlier this summer, as I went out to water the flowers on our deck, I noticed four thin, silvery threads connecting the deck railing to several leaves on one of the plants…the beginnings of a spider web. As the week progressed, the spider web grew a few threads each day until I noticed the spider finally taking its rest in the middle of the web. I sat one morning, looking at the web, and reflected on the patience and time the spider had painstakingly taken to complete its masterpiece. It seemed in no hurry to finish its task and when it had finally accomplished what it set out to do, it rested and, I imagined, enjoyed the fruits of its labor.

As I reflected on the spider’s patience, a smile formed on my face as I remembered a song I used to sing to our sons when they were much, much younger and would show their impatience and frustration to me at various times.

“Have patience, have patience. Don’t be in such a hurry. 

When you are impatient, you only start to worry. 

Remember, remember, that God is patient, too.

And think about the times when others had to wait on you.”

Being patient takes a great deal of self-control and is mentioned over and over again in God’s Word. As we find ourselves in situations that try our patience, may we remember the message of the spider and take our time to allow the “masterpieces” of our lives to unfold, allowing us to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Prayer: Master Planner of our lives, we thank you for your Word and the various messages you have shared with us about the importance of patience. We pray you will guide us in our quest for more patience and self-control as we allow the scripts of our personal lives, and the life of our congregation, to unfold as you have set forth.  Amen

Patty Niemann (reprinted from May 2013)

Words from Psalm 73

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 

Words from Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1 

Words from Psalm 18

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. Psalm 18:2 

Words from Psalm 37

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

Happy Labor Day!

 

Lead and Guide Me

For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:3

OK, what am I supposed to be like, how can I be good and how will you lead me? I read a good plan for me in the Institute for Creation Research “Days of Praise” booklet I get from their Dallas, Texas location. I have visited the ICR in Dallas numerous times and brought many family members to see their creation display. I encourage you all to go there if you are in Dallas.

Good people expect God’s blessing (Proverbs 12:2.) God has been so good to me. Several times he has provided just what I needed by people who helped me. We built this house at 9223 Pioneer Court in 1993. I did not know at that time Bryce and I would need the large bathroom, the roomy bedroom and so many other parts of this house that make it easy for us to be here in our old ages. Who knew? I have learned to expect blessings.

Good people secure their children (Proverbs 13:22). Acts & Facts magazine from ICR in 2026 states “Here’s one thing you’ll likely never see: a parent sitting their child down and saying, ‘Now this is how you tell a lie.’ We all come by lying naturally, Adam and Eve did it too.” We all try to get our children to tell the truth.

Good people are satisfied with life (Proverbs 14:14) I am so thankful Bryce and I can be here, enjoy and share Firethorn pool, resort and golf with children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. How could I not be satisfied when God has given us 6 children, 11 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren? Life is awesome. 

Good people love wisdom (Matthew 12:35). I was so lucky I had gone with several friends to Doane to finish my degree in teaching. Because of that, the athletic director felt I had the wisdom to take on the men’s tennis team at Wesleyan University after assisting with the women’s team with my friend, Tom Tipton. I don’t know that I was wiser, but the 10 years I coached both teams at Wesleyan were some of my most fruitful and fun years. The students were wonderful and our trips to the national tournaments were so fun. How did I ever take 10 or 20 college kids around the country? The kids I taught have shown up teaching my children and heading up tennis programs like at Firethorn.

Good people are just people (Luke 23:50) and good people are full of faith (Acts 11:24).

I see our children giving the guidance of these verses to their children and grandchildren all the time. God is leading and guiding our family in all generations.  

Sandra Hilsabeck

Overcoming Negative Values

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evildoers. Proverbs 4:14 

Train children in the right way and when old they will not stray. Proverbs 22:6

We all are living in a populated society where a variety of personal values are practiced and interchanged. It seems that daily news items inform us of a newly revealed "scam" that has occurred. Or, that some innocent person has been taken advantage of or harmed in some way. There appears to be too many who want to harm or destroy others. How can we overcome this type of destructive character that some others have?

As I was growing and maturing, I remember being advised by adults to be aware of the action of others my age and recognize that I would develop and be known by the standards similar to those with whom I associated and accompanied. Our value system can be influenced through our relationships, in addition to the teachings we receive. Therefore, parents, educational institutions, and Christianity have a huge task to prevent and overcome negative values and attitudes, and to develop positive action and beliefs instead.

The programs of our Eastridge Church are so important in our local task to do this. Our worship and Christian Education programs will promote and teach the positive values and Christian attitudes needed in our society today. 

Jesus said, "Let your life so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." The people around us need to see that the results of a Christian's life do make a difference between how the Christian lives and how others live! May our lives at Eastridge Church reflect the Lord we love and about whom we have been taught.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father:  We pray for Your guidance and direction so that our culture may reflect the standards of Your creation.  Help us to establish and share these Christian values that follow the teachings of Your Son that He brought to this earth.  Amen

Lauren Holcombe (reprinted from 2016)

Words from the book of Luke

For with God nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:37 

His Eye Is on the Sparrow and He Watches Me

Next door, my neighbor feeds birds.  She does not intend to but she also feeds squirrels. They hang upside down every morning eating from her “squirrel proof” feeder. She rants and raves but nothing seems to help her problem.

She does try many kinds of homemade solutions. She greases the pole but the squirrel still just finds another way. Sometimes jumping from a nearby limb instead of climbing the pole. It reminds me of humans trying different ways of climbing mountain tops or even advancing in their workplace.

Another solution is to raise the pole higher but this only makes the squirrel’s drop from a nearby limb easier. The squirrels race along the fence to enter my yard and dig deep holes in the mulch or sod to bury their acorns. Again, I think of people burying their heads in the sand instead of looking out for others. Or amassing fortunes to be used later. 

The squirrels also can take the easy way out and just eat the cherries in my tree or the strawberries before I can pick them.  Again, man comes to mind.  Just take the easy way out and not plan for tomorrow.

As fall approaches, I see the squirrels scurrying around carrying acorns from under my tree to nearby holes in other trees. They are planning for the winter just as humans plan for tomorrow.

I laugh as I see the squirrel hanging upside down from her bird feeder. But I know that God’s eye is on the sparrow and he is probably watching those squirrels. Which means his eye is also on me and you and just as I enjoy and laugh at the squirrels, he is probably watching you and me and I can only hope he is laughing not crying at what you and I are doing today and tomorrow. We all have this in common, God is watching us.

Carolyn Olsen

(photo shared by Donna Gustafson)

Words from the book of Joshua

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 

The Tests in Our Lives

Consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-5

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in time of testing they fall away. Luke 8:13

For many years I worked beside a colleague who, after frustrating conversations or interactions, would observe ruefully, “That ______... he/she is a test.”  Then we would chuckle, knowing that each of us had been at some point (or many points) a similarly disconcerting test to our students and coworkers. In fact, even after retiring, I’ve continued to be a test to others. A high-spirited 7th grader, with whom I worked this spring as a volunteer tutor, didn’t always appreciate my encouragement to attend to conventions for pronouncing consonants. Sighing, he announced, “Mrs. Stelk, you are running my battery down.” After a momentary pause, we both shared a laugh before getting back to the text. 

Tests have been part of the human experience since recorded history began.  I’m sure that, like the Israelites, 40 years of wandering in the desert eating manna and quail every day would have run any of our batteries down a bit. Likewise, many current events feel as though they present a test of faith. I must admit, I don’t always (or even often) consider such tests pure joy. Guess I still have some maturing to do….

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for providing strength to persevere when we face tests and trials. Help us to comprehend the joy that comes through cultivating true and deep roots of lasting faith in you. We ask for your forgiveness when we fall away in times of distress. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Barry and Alinda Stelk (reprinted from 2018)

Thy love has broken every barrier down

 "....and the one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out..."-John 6:37

Just As I Am, Thy love unknown

has broken every barrier down... 

One of my favorite sermons Pastor Melodie preached was during my first few weeks my family and I came to Eastridge. She preached earnestly about falling in love with Jesus again and caring most about "the least of these" meaning the children in our church family and community. 

I was reminded of this last night when we joyously had a choir rehearsal that Brian put together. Each person who came in the room, new or old choir friends, children of choir members, people who had sung in choir many years or those who it was their first time, each person was greeted by Brian and by other choir friends. The smiles on their faces as we sang hymns filled my heart with such joy.  When we got to the verse of Just As I Am about love breaking down every barrier and then sang Jesus Loves Me, I couldn't but help feel tears in my eyes. After the choir rehearsal, my kids ran down the hall and were greeted so enthusiastically by choir members. I was reminded once again of the amazing way a church choir lives out the gospel of Jesus Christ! Breaking down those barriers in love, from a hug, or a smile, or helping someone learn their notes. A church choir is such an amazing thing! People from the congregation gathering to prepare for worship!

Brian always lets us know about something happening on Sunday. What the sermon is about, or if there is a baptism, or helps us think about the text of a hymn or anthem. What a blessing it is to prepare our hearts for what God has laid on the hearts of Pastor Melodie or Pastor Thomas to share. What a blessing it is to enter that sanctuary on Sunday to hear the Word, to celebrate the sacraments, and to see a group of our congregation at the front helping, not only to lead us in worship, but remind us that ALL are welcome. To remind us that God, who is LOVE, has broken every barrier down! 

Thanks be to God.

Brent Shaw (reprinted from 2021)

GBR (Go Big Red) - Fall is Approaching

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22 

The last days of summer are upon us. School has started, and the weather swings between hot and rainy. In the Bible, God often speaks about the changing of seasons, a reminder that change is inevitable, though it can be challenging for many of us. We each have a favorite season, cherished for different reasons.

I used to love summer because it meant my kids were out of school, giving us endless days at the pool, long trips to Broken Bow, and late nights together. But now, summer is my busiest time of year for work, and I don’t get to enjoy those moments with my little ones as they are young adults now. Just as the seasons change, our feelings toward them can change too, and that’s okay.

I have a friend who dreads winter because it triggers her depression, while another friend struggles with the holidays because she is alone. The seasons of life shift, and with them, our experiences and emotions, but God is present in every season, guiding us through each change.

Becky Rankin (reprinted from fall 2024)

Words from Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 

Words from the book of James

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. James 1:19