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Wednesday, June 03 2020
I am weary, God, but I can prevail.” Proverbs 30:1 (NIV) These words began a small group discussion first thing Monday morning. It is a strange sentence in Hebrew. Two words that may be personal names. One means “weary” or “devoured” and the other means “God is with me.” The night before, I fell asleep after a phone call from my daughter distressed by the situation in her city, our state, and our nation. She said, “I am sad.” Weary and sad sum up how I feel right now. I am weary and sad for my friends of color – people I have known and loved for many years – who are so weary and sad. I am weary and sad for my friends who look more like me – for what makes them weary and sad. I am weary and sad for people who feel hated and I feel weary and sad for those who hate – “hatred corrodes the container that carries it” (quoted at George H.W. Bush’s funeral). I am weary and sad because I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me and because it seems all I can do is feel sorry for other people. My heart breaks for the brokenness of people of every race, color, creed or any other identifier. My heart breaks for parents trying to help their children make sense of a broken world. My heart breaks for my own brokenness. Different things cause fear and anxiety in each of us but all of us know fear and anxiety. When I understand my own, perhaps I can empathize with that of another. I do not know all my questions and I certainly do not know yours. I do not have any answers, but this is what I know: God created us in His image and chose to call Himself our Father. Jesus taught us how to pray starting with “Our Father.” It reminds me of two things. God loves me like a Father and God loves everybody else like a Father – no matter where they are from or what they have done, the color of the skin or the sins they have committed. How I treat another person is of utmost seriousness to God! As a father, nothing hurts me more than what hurts my children – so I know the Father is hurting because I know all of His children are hurting. Jesus demonstrated God’s love for us – the self-sacrificial willing of our good at great cost to Himself. Every life is worth the blood of Jesus; no life is worth more and no life is worth less. Jesus bore our sins and the pain it causes us and others. No one understands that pain more than He does. Thus, we must be very careful with the pain of others – even when we do not understand it. When others are in pain, we are called to comfort. The cross is the place where absolute justice meets abundant mercy. May the cross be the lens through which we see everything! The Holy Spirit jealously desires to dwell in all who welcome Him. Every human life is one God wants to inhabit and transform – no matter skin tone or dress style, language or lifestyle. The scene around the throne in heaven is Jesus in the center with redeemed people of every tribe, tongue, kindred and nation gathered around in adoring worship! If this is God’s desire and dream, should we desire or dream any less. So we are weary but this God is with us! May we learn to feel what God feels, desire what God desires, think what God thinks, and do what God does. May we learn to love what He loves because He loves us so much and love like He loves because He loves us so well. Your friend Steve Wise Thursday, May 28 2020
Dear friends, Ekklessia, the word for “church” in the New Testament, has nothing to do with buildings and everything to do with people. It is defined as a gathering of people called out of their homes into some public place or assembly. The New Testament defines the Church as those who have been called out of sin and death and into the kingdom of God. This ekklesia of Christ is often called the body or bride of Christ which shows the importance of the community of faith. Eugene Peterson writes, “The gospel is never [just] for individuals but always for a people. Sin fragments us, separates us, and sentences us to solitary confinement. Gospel restores us, unites us, and sets us in community…Love cannot exist in isolation: away from others, love bloats into pride” (Reversed Thunder, 43). Thus, being together is a very important aspect and practice of our faith. Community is where we are formed and shaped, to learn how to be loved and to love. Our Sunday worship serves as one of the most important things we can do and do together as believers and followers of Jesus. Even CNN, in an article entitled “4 Reasons Why the Rush To Reopen Churches Goes Beyond Politics,” recognizes the importance of community in the Christian faith. They understand that Sunday assemblies are a “most ancient tradition,” “at the very origins of Christianity,” and “important for this day.” We are excited to begin the process of regathering this Sunday, May 31st. We will start a new teaching series on the first 5 chapters of the book of Revelation – the Last Word. This material contains letters to seven churches in Asia Minor preparing them to deal with uncertain times and challenges to their faith. I am looking forward to this conversation together. We will have two in person worship options while continuing to live stream our service at 9:30am – here. We encourage those in our most vulnerable populations to continue to worship with us from home. Our two live options are:
I look forward to worshipping with all of you and being able to see some of you! Your friend, Sunday, May 24 2020
Dear friends, The writer of Hebrews, in the “salad of Scripture,” [dad joke alert] urges: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). We have not been forsaking assembling together but we have not been able to meet together now for 10 weeks. But I am excited that is about to change! We plan to gather for worship again on May 31st. Rest assured that our livestream service will continue indefinitely for those who are in vulnerable populations or are not comfortable with returning to larger gatherings. But we have two options for gathered worship. We will follow guidelines laid out by medical professionals and governmental institutions for both services.
Finally, our team of folks has worked hard to come up with a great plan to get us re-connected wisely, effectively and in a healthy way. Please take time to thank Rachel Segars, Matt Smith, Loring Aument, Karen Copley, Dr. Jay Bearden, and Cathy Hyatt for their efforts. Your friend, Steve Wise Thursday, May 14 2020
Dear friends, After the tornado decided to leave 3 trees on my roof, I remember going to my house with my chainsaw in hand not knowing where to start. I felt like I was trying to put out a forest fire with a water pistol. And then people started showing up. Each one did what little they could and eventually we dug out. Now that the coronavirus has wreaked its havoc, many of us are looking around at the damage caused and wonder where to start. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). This comes right after he identifies the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control – which never break the Law. Paul then makes direct application – restore the wayward and help the struggling in real and tangible ways. The word “bear” refers to taking up something with one’s own hands and speaks of personal involvement. A burden deals with anything heavy, troublesome or weighs one down. This could be physical, relational, emotional, or spiritual. After 8 weeks of the Corona-vacation or the shutdown (depending on how you see it), many if not all of us are burdened in some way, shape or form. These burdens may relate to job loss, financial stress, or relational difficulties. They may involve difficult emotions, hard decisions, and unpleasant choices. Now is the time for us to take care of one another and find ways to bear one another’s burdens. This is what being the church – the community of Jesus – is about. So let me encourage those among us who are presently strong to be alert to the needs of those who are weakened at this time. Look after those you know. When you hear about that “thing” - make the phone call, write the note, reach out to check on them. And let me encourage those who are weakened to reach out to others for help – perhaps with a close friend, a small group, or an elder or minister of the Church. Sometimes we can feel like everybody knows and nobody cares when in fact everybody cares but nobody knows. So in the words of Paul translated by Eugene Peterson in The Message: “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Your friend Steve Wise Tuesday, May 05 2020
Dear friends, The political conversation focuses on the re-opening of our nation. Personal conversations center on the return to some kind of “normal.” As a church, we turn our thoughts to the re-opening of the Church for worship and fellowship. The rebuilding of the Temple recorded in the book of Ezra (3:10-13) and Zechariah (4:10) teaches some important lessons for us in this process. In 539 BC, Zerubbabel, the appointed governor, led the Judean Exiles back to Jerusalem from Babylon. Cyrus, the Persian King, granted him authority to rebuild the Temple which had been destroyed in 586BC. The priests mark the completion of the foundation – the first step in the process – with a worship service. The singers praised the Lord, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” Priests sang this same refrain hundreds of years before when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city and when Solomon finished the Temple. The Psalmists use it on 5 different occasions. Jeremiah refers to it when he promises restoration to Judah after their coming exile. This is prophecy fulfilled right in the pages of Scripture! The people respond in two very different ways. One group “shouted with a great shout” – an expression of excitement like a battle cry or a victory chant at the conclusion of this first step. Others, mostly priests and elders with some memory of the original Temple, “wept with a loud voice.” Does their emotion reveal disappointment over the reduced size or gratitude for seeing this new day or a little of both? The shouts and cries were so loud “one could not distinguish the sound of joy from the sound of weeping.” Zechariah responds to these weepers with a promise and a challenge. He assures them Zerubbabel will finish this Temple. He also confronts them for “despising the day of small beginnings.” Zechariah’s promise would be fulfilled – but it would take another 20 years. Construction would be stopped by local opposition and a new Persian king. But the message is clear – do not judge the finished product by the steps along the way. We are not rebuilding a Temple but we are preparing to re-open our Church. Ezra and Zechariah teach us some important lessons. First, changes – known and unknown - are happening all around us. Things will be different! Our return to corporate worship may not look like we think it will or feel like we think it should. This may cause sorrow and frustration for some of us. Second, celebrating steps along the way is not the same thing as being finished. But celebrating steps is important. Third, we can defeat discouragement in the process by worshiping along the way. Joy comes through reminding ourselves, as the Judeans did, of God’s goodness and love. Dave Gunderson, in a timely article about change, gives us four important attitudes and actions to cultivate as we re-open our Church. First, operate in gratitude rather than nostalgia. Give thanks for the past rather than comparing it to the present. Second, anticipation replaces uncertainty. We look for the things God wants to teach and do in this time rather than living out of fear and anxiety. Thirdly, communication minimizes confusion and the tendency to withdraw or attack in irritation or frustration. The antidote is working hard to understand one another and to help others understand us. And finally, active participation moves us beyond mere excitement. Spectators turn into players. Our session has established a team of people to help guide us through the process of reopening. This team will work closely with our staff to determine the wisest, most efficient, and healthiest ways of returning to our corporate gatherings. We are asking each of you to fill out this survey ASAP to help us in our prayerful planning. We encourage multiple responses from each household (i.e. spouses and children). Your friend Steve Wise Wednesday, April 29 2020
Dear friends, In Ephesians 5:16-17, Paul writes “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” By my count, today is day 45 of the Corona-cation. The word evil means bad, harmful or injurious. 45 evil days and counting! Scripture teaches and Jesus demonstrates that God has the remarkable ability to take the worst evil and turn it into the greatest good. This is not always apparent in the moment. For many of us, this is one of the biggest tests we have faced! Paul advises us to be thoughtful and wise. Wisdom can be defined as skill in the art of living when the moral boundary lines are unclear. It means knowing what to do when it is difficult to know what to do. We demonstrate wisdom when we make the most of our time – literally exchange it for something of greater value or use it for a better purpose. This wisdom enables us to understand and interpret God’s will in the midst of any and every situation. In the words of a friend, it means not being a doofus! As we approach a 2nd month of a very different experience of time than we are used to, I want to make sure I know what the Father wants to teach me in this time so I won’t forget it as I move back into a more “normal” life or into a new “normal.” I would encourage you to take some time to reflect on what you have been learning in these days and write it down for future reference. This is always a good spiritual discipline or practice; but it is especially pertinent and applicable now. For me, one major lesson regards the best way to love other people. I am learning that loving people well involves managing my own anxieties and expectations in healthy and realistic ways. I fail others when I transmit my fears to them or my expectations onto them. My own spiritual formation is the best thing I can do for anybody else. Not a lesson I didn’t already know on some level, but certainly a graduate level course I didn’t necessarily sign up for. But I trust that the Lord is teaching me something here I could not learn anywhere else. So here’s the question of the day, what is the Lord is teaching you in these difficult days? * Recommending elders – We are Presbyterian, which means we are governed by elders (presbuteros is Greek for “elder). We are beginning our process earlier this year to allow the Nominating Ministry Team more time to prayerfully discern who the Lord might be calling to serve as an elder. They will be receiving recommendations through May. Please pray about people you might recommend and for the Nominating Ministry Team. You can find a form here. * Continue to join us for livestreamed service at 9:30am on Sundays - https://wpcspartanburg.org/live. * You can view past services on this site as well. * We are beginning to discuss our plans for re-opening the Church for corporate worship and fellowship. More information will be coming in the days ahead. Please pray for the team of people charged with this task. Your friend Steve Wise Tuesday, April 21 2020
Dear friends,
As you participate in our livestream services, please notice a small wooden cross on the Communion Table. The story of that cross is one you need to know. You can read the full text here. The cross was made by our own Jim Brady from the wood of an oak tree felled by the tornado(s) that ripped through our community. Though originally purposed for the Fellowship Hall during our overflow Easter services, it was re-purposed for our sanctuary during the pandemic. It serves as a reminder of the Father’s protection and provision during this past local catastrophe and assures us of His protection and provision in this present and international crisis. The Creed we recite each Sunday represents in words the beauty of the Gospel that has stood through times as perilous and uncertain as ours – wars and rumors of wars, disasters and disease, kings and kingdoms, ages and epochs. So too this Cross serves as a visual representation of the beauty of the Gospel that carried us through some difficult days, carries us through these difficult days, and will carry us through to the Day when all disease, disaster and death will be swallowed up in health, wholeness, and life in the goodness and love of God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. * A few new options this week –(email blast and Realm for details)
* We continue to livestream one service at 9:30 am – https://wpcspartanburg.org/live. Past services are also available at that site. In your prayers include:
Your friend Steve Wise Tuesday, April 14 2020
Dear friends, The Tuesday after Easter – the joy of that day turns back to the mundaneness of this day. We are back to working from home or worrying about being at work. We are worrying about finding a job or worrying about how to keep people employed. We are dealing with the frustration of homeschooling our children or being alone in our place of residence. We can’t wait for this thing to be over but can’t seem to see any end in sight. It really is a marathon and not a sprint. An epic movie and not a sit-com. This is hard work! Paul told the Galatians, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Galatians 6:7-9). We celebrate Easter once a year to remind each other why we need not “lose heart” the rest of the year. We learn to trust that our Father is both our provider and our protector. We learn to trust Him in the everyday affairs of our lives – living our lives before Him and in pursuit of the things that please Him to His glory, our own good, and the benefit of others. Part of this process is praying – communicating with God about the day-to-day realities of our lives. Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer that encourages us to begin our prayer by meditating on our relationship this good and loving God revealed in Jesus. We then pray the ability to love what He loves as we seek His kingdom in our lives and in the world. Then we lay before God our needs for today, our failures of the past, and our concerns about the future. Prayer is an intimate interaction with God. Philip Yancey writes: “Prayer does not work according to a fixed formula: Get your life in order, say the right words, and the desired result will come. If that were true, Job would have avoided much suffering, Paul would have shed his thorn in the flesh, and Jesus would never have gone to Golgotha. Between the two questions “Does God answer prayer?” and “Will God grant my specific prayer for this sick child or this particular injustice?” lies a great pool of mystery (From PRAYER: Does It Make Any Difference?). For some reason, God likes to come to us in the mystery. But He always comes in goodness and love. So do not lose heart – keep doing the hard but good work of prayer! * A few new options this week –(email blast and Realm for details) - Community prayer 12:30-1:30 – zoom call - Wednesday evening Bible study – 6:30-7:30pm - Sunday morning post-worship discussion – 11:00-12:00 * We continue to livestream one service at 9:30 am – https://wpcspartanburg.org/live. Past services are also available at that site. In your prayers include:
Your friend Steve Wise Saturday, April 11 2020
Dear friends, It’s late in the afternoon on Saturday before Easter. I feel the sadness of not being able to gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus together because of our “stay-at-home” order. On the Saturday after Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus’ disciples had placed themselves under a similar order. Hiding behind barred doors and haunted by their own failures, they must have felt the ‘darkness’ in their own souls. I wonder why Jesus would he leave his disciples hanging for this long. Why didn’t He rise again on Saturday morning? What made 48 hours better than 24? Or 2 days better than 1? Or 2 sleepless nights preferable to 1 bad night’s sleep? But would that have made it any easier? Would it have not been so difficult if it were only the worst day of their lives and not the worst two days of their lives? Of course, they did not know they would face more days like this. But the news of the next day would change how they would respond. Here’s my hunch – Jesus was teaching them that the only way to go through something is to go through it. Not incredibly profound but absolutely true. They experienced the joy of Easter by going through the sorrow of Saturday. The bright light of Sunday could only follow the darkness of that Sabbath. For them, the strength to stand the furnace of persecution must be forged in the fire of the hopeless waiting of those 48 hours. Jesus’ ½ brother, James, may have had this day in mind when he opens his letter to fellow believers, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (hupomone). And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). Even as Jesus lay in the tomb those many hours, He was at work in the lives of His disciples strengthening their faith. So we feel the ‘darkness’ of this holy Saturday in ways we may never have before and hope never to again. Personal things along with international pandemics leave us feeling locked away in fear. But it is in the midst of this that Jesus is doing something in us that can only be done in us here. He does not cause it but He will not waste it! Let us pray that we will not miss it!
Finally, for your viewing pleasure and your soul – perhaps may favorite song of all - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR6jVbCdgxI Your friend Steve Wise Wednesday, April 08 2020
Dear friends, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; – Psalm 139:23-24 You may have noticed that we have used this as our Prayer of Confession for the past several weeks. This has not been the result of laziness or an oversight. The repeated practice of this prayer would serve us well in any season. It serves us especially well during this season of waiting and uncertainty. These verses end one of the most beautiful Psalms about our value to God and God’s constant presence with us. David asserts at the beginning that the Lord knows everything about him and then concludes this song with the desire for the Lord to know him and reveal to him both his self-destructive worries and hurtful behaviors. In this prayer, we have an image of mining for precious metals. We ask God to dig into us like a miner for gold hidden well below the surface. We then request that the Lord discover our thoughts, imaginations, feelings, and desires AND to reveal them to us. The prayer is for God to know us as we really are in the depth of our being and to enable us to have greater self-awareness. But the prayer does not stop here. We move from this discovery into trying or testing. This word was commonly used for assaying metals or determining their authenticity and worth. We ask the Lord to test our divided opinions about people and things that create anxiety in us. These divided opinions are the different stories we tell ourselves or narratives we weave in our minds about the past and the future that disturb us and disrupt our lives. The prayer presses further, beyond our motivations and thoughts to our behavior. We ask God to inspect our actions for pain and sorrow they have caused to other people with our words and action, our silence and inaction. The word for hurtful also refers to idols. The theme of idolatry runs throughout Scripture. Idolatry is finding our worth or centering our identity in anyone or anything other than God. When we fail to find our worth and center our identity in God, we end up hurting other people in our selfish pursuits for the fulfillment our idols always fail to give us. It comes out in our words and behaviors. It is the essence of sin and it is sinister and subtle. We need the Lord to show us because we cannot see it in ourselves. Finally, we ask God to lead us and guide us in an eternal way of life – to become the kind of people we want to be forever. This is not something I can do by myself but it is not something the Father will do without me. This prayer takes an incredible amount of self-honesty and bears fruit in self-awareness. This self-awareness helps us to love others well – with our words and with our actions. We begin to learn about the real effect we have on others and allow the Lord to transform us from the inside out. So in light of this prayer and the times in which we are living, the Lord seems to be teaching me that the best way I can love other people – in my home, in our church, in our community, and in our world – is to ask the Lord to help me manage my own anxiety so my words and actions toward others are not coming from a place of selfish fear but trust in the Lord. * Holy Week Services online - https://wpcspartanburg.org/live - Maundy Thursday – 6pm - Good Friday – 6pm - Easter Sunday – 9:30am – We encourage you to dress up and honor your family traditions. Let’s make this one of the best Easter celebrations ever! Your friend Steve Wise |
Words cannot describe the gratitude and love we (our whole team) have for you! Walking in the sanctuary to the beautiful gift of your faces filling the pews was overwhelming. It was a joy to walking the pews and look at each picture – giving thanks for you and praying for you in the circumstances and situations I know about AND the ones that I don’t. I find myself choking back tears through a big smile as I think about it. Your love for us and your encouragement of our whole team is overwhelming! You can see a 30-second video of those pictures with our Worship Team singing “Love will Hold us Together” 
We gather weekly at: 
