God is missing!
Two little boys, ages eight and ten, were excessively mischievous.
The two were always getting into trouble and their parents could be confident that if any mischief occurred in their town, their two young sons were involved in some capacity. The parents were at their wit’s end as to what to do about their sons’ behavior.
The parents had heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children in the past, so they contacted him, and he agreed to give it his best shot. He asked to see the boys individually, so the eight-year-old was sent to meet with him first. The clergyman sat the boy down and asked him sternly, “Where is God?”
The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?” Again the boy made no attempt to answer, so the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face, “WHERE IS GOD?”
At that, the boy bolted from the room, ran directly home, and slammed himself in his closet. His older brother followed him into the closet and said, “What happened?”
The younger brother replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time. God is missing and they think we did it!”
This funny piece begs the question is God missing from some aspect of your life?
Is God showing up consistently in your life?
In your relationships…in how you speak to and about others?
The tradition of the Lenten season is addition by subtraction; to give something up (Shame? From our Feb. 22 sermon topic) reminding us that Jesus would sacrifice everything for us, dying on the cross. Where is God in your life?
Blessings, Pastor Michael
- Daylight saving time begins, March 8, 2026
- Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2026
- First day of spring, March 20, 2026
- Holy Week, March 29-April 5, 2026
- Palm/Passion Sunday, March 29, 2026
Faith That Blooms Anew
“Why are you anxious?” asked our Lord. Then He said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28–29, NIV)
Jesus’ words remind us that just as God clothes the lilies of the field in beauty and splendor, he also provides faithfully for his people. The same Creator who tends to the flowers of spring cares for every detail of our lives.
People of faith come to see that truth unfold year after year — in the budding trees, the soft blossoms, and the steady return of color after winter’s gray. God’s reliability is woven into creation itself.
As poet Adeline Whitney once wrote:
God does not send strange flowers every year,
When the Spring wind blows o’er the pleasant places,
The same dear things lift up the same fair faces,
The violet is here.
Each spring, those familiar blooms whisper the same promise: God is faithful still.
The Choice to be Human
Both Adam and Jesus faced the same temptation—the lure to “be like God.” Adam reached for divinity and stepped over the line, bringing sin and separation into the world. Jesus, however, chose humility. He remained obedient, fully human, and through His obedience brought redemption to all.
Adam’s choice turned humanity into a burden; Jesus’ faithfulness made humanity a blessing. The irony is striking: the one who tried to be God failed even to live as a man, while the one who was content to be human became known as the Son of God.
As Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV) reminds us, “[Christ Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.” May we follow His example in humility and obedience.
I Believe
I believe in the God of fruit time and harvest who makes the land to bear gifts in its time and fills our tables with the bounty of his hand;
I believe in Jesus Christ his Son, who was the first fruit of those that slept, and brings us to spiritual tables where our cups are always full;
I believe in the Holy Spirit, who causes us to remember all for which we are grateful and teaches us to see a relationship between our gifts and the giver;
I believe in the world as the arena of my spiritual life, where I am to share hospitality with the stranger; for in so doing I shall fulfill the desires of him who has given me everything, and of his Son and the Holy Spirit. —John Killinger in Lost in Wonder, Love & Praise
The King No One Expected
Sometimes we speak—or even shout—the truth without realizing just how right we are. That’s exactly what happened on the first Palm Sunday.
Jesus entered Jerusalem not on a prize-worthy stallion, but on a young, humble donkey. The crowd erupted in joy, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” They waved palm branches, symbols of peace, and hailed Jesus as their king.
Was He a king? Jesus didn’t deny it. When the Pharisees told him to silence the crowd, he replied, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Later, Pilate—the Roman governor—mocked the religious leaders by saying, “Here is your king.” The chief priests bristled with anger, shouting, “We have no king but Caesar!”
When Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, he made one last jab at the furious crowd. John 19:19 tells us he ordered a sign to be placed above the cross. Written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, it declared:
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
The chief priests demanded the sign be changed, but Pilate refused. “What I have written, I have written,” he said. Was Jesus a king? The witnesses of His resurrection knew the answer. In Acts 17:7, the early believers were accused of “saying there is another king, Jesus.” And the book of Revelation looks ahead to the day when all creation will know the truth:
“The Lamb will triumph … for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” — Revelation 17:14
