Author: John Grimm

God has brought me far. I still have a ways to go. But I am not the only one, am I? Follow me on

Asking by Faith

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment

James 1:2-8 (NIV)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

By John Grimm

Trials?  What trials?  That seems to be one approach to living through this pandemic.  We know of men and women who are no longer involved in any church, of any kind, because of restrictions placed upon churches during this pandemic.  Instead of facing trials, some men and women have tried to avoid any trial during the pandemic.

Trials!  What trials!  That’s a different approach. Yes, we have placed restrictions upon churches during this pandemic.  But in the midst of all of that, consider what God has helped us learn. We can be disciples of Christ during this pandemic through active participation in church.

Before this pandemic, I had never pastored a church during a pandemic.  I am sure that before this pandemic, you did not know how to live through a pandemic.  We can expect God to give us wisdom so that we may become mature in Christ during this pandemic. 

If we are avoiding trials, then are we double-minded and unstable in all we do?  Faith in  God was possible before the pandemic.  Faith in God is possible through the pandemic.  Once we leave the pandemic behind, we should find our perseverance is closer to finishing its work in us.

God, thank you that you have been with us through this pandemic.  When we asked you for wisdom about how to face trials caused by this pandemic, you have generously given to us!  What a joy it is to be alive during a pandemic and see how you continue to give to us!  May our brothers and sisters in Christ who are not involved in church because of the pandemic find this joy that we have from placing our faith in you.  In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

As Indeed You Are Doing?

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NRSV)

1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

By John Grimm

I cannot count how many times that I have read these verses.  Well, to be honest, I have heard only a portion of these verses being emphasized.  It appears that in my life I have heard many people only quote verse one and two.  What about verses three through eleven, do they matter to us?

Paul is emphasizing how we Christians are to live, remembering that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  Faith, love, and salvation are our themes as we live as children of light and children of the day.  It is through our Lord Jesus Christ that we live, now and later.  Salvation is ours in Christ now.  The day of the Lord is later, and salvation is ours also at that time.

You can be encouraged with this info.  You can build up other Christians with this news.  Paul says that is “as indeed you are doing.”  However, we know what we have been doing.  We stopped reading after verse two.  God help us!  As we live as children of the night or of darkness, we have not been able or willing to encourage one another or to build up each other. 

Will you take time today to recognize the salvation you have in Jesus?  Will you start encouraging and building up other Christians, even today? 

God, as I live in Christ, nothing will surprise me about the day of the Lord.  Yet, I have not grasped the salvation I have in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Forgive me for my slowness of living as a child of light and a child of the day.  In this day, may other Christians find encouragement and be built up in Christ by my words and actions.  In the Name of Jesus, I hope to be found on the day of the Lord, amen.

Holy Ones

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment 
Psalm 34:9-14 (NRSV)
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
    for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life,
    and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
    and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
    seek peace, and pursue it.

By John Grimm

Is this psalm written for us?  Are we “his holy ones”?  The answer to these questions depends upon whether we fear the Lord.  This psalm helps us define fear of the Lord.

It appears the state of fearing the Lord has to do with seeking the Lord.  It might be that as we pursue the Lord, we gain a sense of awe regarding how the Lord does what the Lord does.  On this level, we realize the fear of the Lord is what we as individuals can do.

We also notice that the fear of the Lord can be taught.  We can listen to someone who has had experience with the Lord.  The instructions for having the fear of the Lord show us two facts.  First, it is our responsibility to avoid speaking evil and deceit.  The second fact is that fearing the Lord involves physically doing good and pursuing peace.

From the whole of the Bible, we see that we are holy ones because of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.  As we believe in Jesus, we become holy.  It is by living in the fear of the Lord that we receive the position of being holy ones.  It appears that this psalm was written for us and that we can be “his holy ones.”  Now, let us seek the Lord and learn from those who know about faith in Jesus Christ.

Almighty God, thank you for making us your holy ones.  We had wanted for so much before we found you.  You satisfy us and instruct us in how to live as your holy ones.  It is good to know that by faith in Jesus we can be holy as you are holy.  May we be found to be your holy ones, even this day.  In the Name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Building Up the Neighbor

~ John Grimm ~ 3 Comments

Romans 15:1-6 (NRSV)

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.  May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

By John Grimm

Do we label the weak in our local church?  If we do, are they those who have less money than us?  How about those who are chronically ill?  Would the weak be those who are always complaining about something or other in the church?

It might turn out that as we are attempting to label the weak that we discover we are the weak.  For our labeling the “weak” may be an insult to all others in the local church!

Paul is instructing the church in Rome to not please themselves.  For when we are pleasing ourselves, do we take notice of our neighbors?  Thankfully, we have the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to instruct us on how to be steadfast in the faith God has given to us.

It is God who brought us together to be the local church.  For it is in the local church, and not denominational offices, that disciples of Jesus Christ are made.  Since God has brought us together, he knows we can have harmony with one another, rather than labels.  Through the harmony that God grants to us, we do give glory to God.  Our voices are united in praising the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God, we have often labeled our neighbors within our local church as being weak or strong.  Forgive us for attempting to please ourselves with lofty thoughts of ourselves and insulting other disciples of Jesus Christ.  As we read the Bible, show us how to live in harmony with one another.  We praise you for Jesus and for drawing us to faith in Jesus through the local church.  As we live in harmony, may we be found to be living in the Name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Ready to Eat

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment

1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!

By John Grimm

Over the years as a pastor, I have witnessed individuals refuse to receive Holy Communion.  I know there have been individuals and churches that taught we are not worthy to receive Holy Communion.  However, as we learn from John Wesley, what Jesus commands, we do.

Why do we need Holy Communion?  We need to receive forgiveness from God and be reminded that we have forgiveness from God.  Receiving Holy Communion often helps us to live a forgiven life.  Receiving the broken bread and the poured-out wine also helps us to forgive.  That is why some individuals refuse to receive the bread and the wine.

On occasion, it takes time to forgive someone.  We know we need to forgive.  We know we will be better for it when we do forgive.  Refraining from Holy Communion until we forgive another disciple of Jesus Christ is appropriate.  We need not delay in giving forgiveness, for we know not what tomorrow holds.  Knowing our forgiving another person affects our receiving forgiveness from God changes our understanding of Holy Communion. 

Both forgiving one another and receiving the Lord’s Supper are commands from Jesus.  We can do both.  Receiving the Lord’s Supper without forgiving one another is like eating at home.  We overcome divisions in our local churches when we recognize we are members of the church of God.  We re-member ourselves to the body of Christ when we forgive one another.  Let our love for one another be genuine as we live as the body of Christ, faithfully receiving Holy Communion and forgiving one another.

Jesus, thank you for dying for us.  You have shown us how to forgive one another.  As we forgive one another we can eat the Lord’s Supper.  Thank you for your commands which give us life.  Heal the divisions in our local churches so the world can see the Body of Christ living in our local churches.  Amen.

Satisfied

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment 
Psalm 145:10-18 (NRSV)
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
    and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
    and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
    satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
    and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.

By John Grimm

When our dogs are ready to eat, they will let us know they need food.  Even if we arrive home after being gone for a while and the dogs have been in their kennels for many hours, they want their food.  Once we feed our dogs, then they will settle down.  Not only are the dogs satisfied by our presence, but their satisfaction is enhanced by having some food in their bellies!

We have felt that our effort to rescue dogs is how God satisfies the desires of these particular canines.  We also notice God provides food for squirrels, deer, and even birds from our bird feeders!  It is a joy to hear the birds sing praises to God when the Lord satisfies them.  The animals depend upon God and those the Lord has created to care for this world’s inhabitants.

Calling upon the Lord Jesus in truth has been helpful for me.  As people read this devotion and this psalm, perhaps we all can find it is good to call upon the Lord.  We all can be honest with God regarding our failures, our sins and our needs.  The Lord is faithful and gracious.  The Lord is near to all who call upon him.  If we need to be satisfied, maybe it is time for us to call on the Lord.

Jesus, thank you for satisfying the needs of every living thing.  Knowing how the Lord’s kingdom and dominion continues from the first of creation until now, we discover how good you are.  Thank you for using us in caring for creatures both great and small.  Thank you for satisfying us in this lifetime.  Amen.

Idols?

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment

Jeremiah 10:1-16 (NRSV)

By John Grimm

Idols?  Yes, sometimes Christians do have idols.  Maybe our idols are wood with silver and gold on it, like an ornate cross or a home.  Maybe our idols are our electronic devices that we carry constantly.  As we know, our idols cannot do evil or do good.

It is possible that we can learn once again to fear the King of the Nations.  Besides, it is the Lord who made the wood, the metal, and everything else we see and touch.  We can have a healthy respect, an awe, toward the true God.  That prospect is better than continuously turning to unwise idols, of whatever design!  When a people continually turn from God, then the people, the nation, will be punished by God.

Thankfully, we can trust Jesus Christ.  For it is when we turn to Jesus, and not to idols, that we can know and enjoy the living God and the everlasting King.  Knowing that God has come in the flesh, that is Jesus, we gain much wisdom.  Fearing the Lord is better for us than honoring idols.

Almighty God, we have placed things of our own making as higher than you.  We have worshiped things instead of you.  As we place faith in Jesus, repeatedly, we find that you forgive us.  Thank you that our fear, our awe, and our respect for you grow as we continue to follow Jesus.  Help our neighbors and loved ones discover you as the living God, before any nation endures your indignation.  In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Struggling for You

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment

Colossians 2:1-5 (NRSV)

For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face.  I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments.  For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

By John Grimm

Watching cars and SUVs go by is fascinating.  Each vehicle is heading hither or yon, maybe to an appointment or on a work assignment. The kids might be going to or coming back from ball practice. And as we race about, we’re all potentially in need of assistance, grateful to receive it when in need. 

We who are part of the church on occasion might have someone offer us spiritual assistance, by way of prayer and other means.  As we read about Paul’s compassion for the church in Colossae and in Laodicea, it is not an occasional gesture that he gives.  As we know Christ Jesus is interceding for us right now, Paul is encouraging us, by his example, to struggle for other Christians.  Why would we want to struggle in such ways?

We struggle for other Christians so their hearts may be encouraged, and they would be united in love.  It is difficult to have the assured understanding and the knowledge of Christ himself when we feel disconnected from other Christians.  It is the Holy Spirit who connects every disciple of Jesus Christ.  This connection can be found in every local church, across international borders, and across denominational boundaries.  We grow in wisdom and knowledge of Jesus Christ as we experience Christian connectedness.

It also is good to see the morale and the firmness of other Christians’ faith in Christ, as it refreshes our own faith in Christ!  A single stalk of corn cannot produce a good yield by itself.  It takes multiple rows of corn to pollinate each other for a good yield to be produced.  That is how it is with Christians.  As we struggle for the sake of other Christians, we all are encouraged.

Almighty God, thank you for the disciples of Jesus Christ on this planet.  As sisters and brothers in Christ are perplexed, struggling, battered, and feeling abandoned, we lift them up to you.  May each disciple and each church know Christ in full.  We ask that you strengthen us all, so we know we grow firm in our faith.  Amen.

Mercy and Contempt

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment 
Psalm 123 (NRSV)
A Song of Ascents.

To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    until he has mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.

By John Grimm

I noticed something cool about my dogs.  When they are lying on the floor or on the ground, they will look up at me.  When they greet me when I arrive at home, the dogs will look up at me.  They look up to me because they know they can trust me.  Or they are looking for their next treat!

Yes, it is about trust when we are lifting up our eyes to the Lord our God.  It is God who can be trusted to give us mercy.  God will correct us, but he also has mercy for us.  Sometimes, we will have to continuously look to the Lord our God.  In the process, it will be a good idea to repent of known and unknown sins.  God hears the prayers of a repentant heart.

Now, those who have been contemptuous toward us and scorned us, what do we do about them?  As this psalm leaves out any retribution, we also leave out any retribution.  It has happened that as God has had mercy on people, those others who have had contempt and scorn towards God’s people actually turn to God.  God will take care of those who give contempt and scorn.  We need not concern ourselves with that.  We do continue to look for the one enthroned in the heavens so we may see him and receive mercy.

O Lord, more than our master or our mistress give us their attention, you give your attention to us.  When we seek you, we find you.  May we know your mercy as people give us contempt and scorn.  May even those who give us contempt and scorn receive your mercy, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

At the Funeral

~ John Grimm ~ 1 Comment 
Psalm 130
A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
    Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
    so that you may be revered.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.

By John Grimm

When attending a United Methodist Church member’s funeral, we most likely have heard this psalm read during the “Entrance” of the Service of Death and Resurrection.  This service is found in the United Methodist Hymnal, 870, and the Book of Worship.  After acknowledging our grief, this psalm is read.  It is both a confession of sin and an expression of hope.

As we are all created equal by God, hearing this psalm read at numerous funerals is appropriate.  To humbly ask the Lord for something can be hard.  It is at funerals of our loved ones and friends that we seem to be begging for hope for our life without the departed.  As this psalm moves toward hope, it sets the tone for the rest of the service as Old and New Testament Lessons, Psalm 23, and a Gospel reading are read during a funeral.  It is these lessons that draw out what hope in Jesus Christ looks like.

We know our sins.  Our iniquities are ever before us.  Our transgressions weigh us down.  By going to God in prayer, we confess our wrongs.  This psalm reminds us of the Lord who redeems and forgives.  That is where hope comes, knowing that the Lord redeems and forgives us, and our departed loved ones.

Almighty God, thank you that when we cry out to you, you hear our confessions.  It is by your steadfast love that we have hope.  We thank you for forgiving and redeeming us.  Our hope in you is what carries us through times of grief.  Thank you that Jesus is our hope.  It is in Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.