Pastoral Blog

Nothing matters as what a person believes about the world around us. Below are two versions of Psalm 23. Which one fits what you believe about the world.

The unfettered pursuit of happiness is my shepherd, I will not be thwarted.

            The grass is always greener on the other side,

a little white water never hurt anybody,

and excitement keeps me going.

This pursuit takes me down the path of self-fulfillment

for my well-being.

Even though I risk my health

and damage people around me,

I will fear no evil:

I have insurance;

My doctor and my lawyer

will make it all okay again.

The entertainment world reassures me,

            when others judge me,

that most people are like me.

            I can handle this!

Surely pleasure and security will follow me

            all the days of my life,

and I will shop the malls of America forever.

OR

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The path we choose makes all the difference.

                                                                                                        Pastor Bo Matthews

“These are the words of him whose head and hair are white like wool, as white as snow, and whose eyes are like blazing fire: I know your concern for the poor and the suffering. He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.

“I know your passion to balance the righteous demands of my commandments with the unfailing need for mercy by sinners. You have not cast the first stone. You have tried to remove the plank from your own eye before trying to remove the splinter from the eye of your brother.

“And yet, I have this against you: You are anxious and distracted by many things. The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things threaten to choke the word of God in you. Purity of heart is to will one thing. I counsel you to seek me first. All these other things will then fall into place.

“You are also like the eye that says to the hand, “I don’t need you;” and like the head that says to the foot, “I don’t need you.” Without your brothers and sisters in other churches you are as clumsy as a hand without an eye to guide it or a head without a foot to do its bidding. I counsel you to remember that you are part of a whole. If you do not repent, I will give you over to anxiety and the illusion of your self-sufficiency.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

The Book of Revelation for our time.

                                                                                                   Pastor Bo

I want to alert you to a troubling possibility that points the American political process in a direction it must not go. For example, click here  to see what Chuck Colson says about this possibility. Click here to see a video of the Archbishop of Chicago on this possibility. Evangelicals and Catholics in great numbers are together on this one.

Political and economic power can become a terrible evil. The book of Revelation expresses that possibility in Revelation 13. Verse two says: The dragon (the devil) gave the beast (Rome) his power and his throne and great authority. It is a grave accusation against the political order to say that it has become demonic. John made it because the Roman political order had turned coercive and even violent toward the Church.  He (the beast) was given (by the devil) power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.

I am not making that accusation. I do want to alert you to another disturbing trend that points the American political order in a direction it must not go.

Our new spire has evoked a number of positive comments  from folks within BVBC as well as the local community. Joy Cronauer of our congregation recently sent me a note saying, “I can not tell you how much I love the design of the steeple! It fills me with hope each time I see it!”

Such comments are always encouraging to hear. They remind us of the power of symbols. We know that the spire, with its distinctive use of symbols of our faith, is not the object of our hope. But it does serve as a powerful reminder of the ultimate hope we have in Christ.

I am inspired by Joy’s note. I am grateful to George Yu for his creative and distinctive design of our builidng. I thank God for the vision He has laid before us, even in the midst of these difficult times. It is exciting to think what God might accomplish through the ministry of BVBC as we go forward in faith. Let’s pray that God will use the symolism in the spire to touch the hearts of many peole who dirve by here, or see it from 202, that somehow they will understand it is a symbol of hope, and that they will come here in search of the ultimate source of that Hope.

Pastor Bill