Pastor's Note | Saturday, May 17th

Our recent series of messages around the theme The Art of Battling Giants has been particularly meaningful to me and I hope it has been significant to you as well. In particular I have been reminded that life is filled with threats that loom large - whether those have to do with finances, health, relationships, family dynamics, or things happening in our community or even in other parts of the world - we are impacted and often find ourselves fearful, perplexed, and disheartened.

I have also been reminded that hand-in-hand with battling overt "giants" or threats is the reality that, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6.12). What our physical eyes do not see is that behind the scenes a continuing battle rages between the forces that are in opposition to God's rule and the forces of God's Kingdom.

That's why we need equipment for battling spiritual giants that threaten to upend and overwhelm us. Paul describes this equipment as "God's armor" - "the belt of truth... the breastplate of righteousness... feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel... the shield of faith... the helmet of salvation... and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (see Ephesians 6.13-17). Can you picture being clad in this armor when the giants of illness, or threat of death, or anxiety, or discouragement, or financial need, or whatever circumstances come your way? With them we repel evil, fear, and falsehood. With them we appropriate the power of God's truth, the vitality of hope in a risen Lord, and the prevailing strength of the Spirit of God.

Recently Connie and I attended the West Coast Presbyterian Pastors Conference at Mount Hermon in the Santa Cruz mountains. We were encouraged by Ben Patterson, a Presbyterian pastor and currently Chaplain at Westmont College, to pray the Psalms. This has been invigorating to say the least, and has better equipped us to "strap on the armor of God." To pray the Psalms is to read them and interact with the ideas, the heart-felt cries to God, the expressions of awe and wonder in who God is and what God has done, and then to make those things the center of our prayer. For instance in Psalm 3, David is being chased by his son Absalom and his henchmen. David acknowledges "How many are my foes, O Lord... but you are a shield around me... you bestow glory on me and are the lifter of my head." That is one incredible prayer! It should be the prayer of our hearts when giants loom large and when we exercise the art of battling those giants.

One quick update. As of this writing we have received over $186,000 in giving and/or pledged giving towards the financial commitment of $240,000 made as part of our Joint Solution for dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA). On June 7th our Joint Solution will be presented a second time to the Presbytery of Los Ranchos for its action. Please pray for the approval of our Joint Solution (and if you haven't yet pledged, you can do so right here on our website!). Thank you very much.

Pastor Jim