Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

The word peace shows up over 370 times in the Bible. Jesus includes peacemakers in the beatitudes as those who will be seen as children of God. Jesus was a peacemaker himself. He came to bring an end to the enmity between us and God. He sought restoration and healing for this relationship through the Cross. His pain and suffering were caused by our sin. Seeking this peace between God and man cost Jesus everything.

Peacemakers are the ones who stand in the space between. They seek the points of conflict and look for resolutions. They put their wellbeing on the line for the sake of peace. They hold the tension of conflict in order to draw people together. They are often misunderstood and looked at as fools who hope beyond reason. Peacemakers are children of God who seek the image of God in others. The point to things that connect rather than things that divide.

In a culture that seems so intent on division it is hard to be a peacemaker. It is hard to work for restoration and reconciliation in a world where conflicts define us. When image is an amalgam of causes and responses we have a hard time getting people to look at the things that make them the same. When we are always looking for the thing that makes “us” different from “them” it is hard to function as a peacemaker. Christ sought peace for us before we even acknowledged our need for it:   ‎ “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (ESV, Romans 5:6-8)

In light of the resurrection of Jesus we have the chance to examine our lives and look for places in need of reconciliation. We can function as those who seek peace in our lives and the lives of those around us. We can invite people to accept the peace offered by Jesus. We can live as those who are blessed by Christ in the beatitude above, children of God and makers of peace.

I just got back from being fitted for my required uniform to be an official Medford Fire-Rescue Chaplain. I am excited to take this step to serve our community and reach out to those in crisis situations. It is a great chance to connect more with our area and build relationships for God’s kingdom. To do this effectively I need to have the right stuff. I need to get a bag together with all the things I might need on a call. I need to get the uniform. I need to make sure people know who I am and what my heart is for this ministry opportunity.

            As Christians we need to get similarly kitted out. We need to get the uniform (Christ’s Righteousness) and have the tools necessary (Holy Spirit as our guide) in order to serve effectively in the Kingdom. These things help people identify us and understand what our purpose is in this world:  to know Christ and make Him known. We are representatives of a larger organization, we are in service to it, we are not in charge but are connected to those that are. We need the right stuff to do this well. This season of Lent leading up to Easter is about Jesus and the temptation, denial of self and connection to God. We take our old lives and lay them before Jesus and He provides us with new ones that identify us as part of His Kingdom. I hope that you take time to reflect on what Jesus calls you to and offers you.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the mid-year meeting for our region. It was a good time of vision casting for our future together. As we talked together about who we wanted to be the focus on Christ and His mission of redemption for our world was at the forefront. We are a people that thirst for God’s righteousness and are creating a vision together of how we can live that out over the next 10 years. This is a hopeful vision of a vibrant community of believers working together to fulfill the great commission in our region and throughout the world. I am excited to see what it is that God does in our lives over the coming years as we seek to fulfill the vision we have been given.

Here is the report from the Clerks on our time together:

“Northwest Yearly Meeting's Vision Day was held Saturday, January 27th at Sherwood Friends Church with over 200 people in attendance!!  All eight areas and 33 of the 44 churches remaining in NWYM were represented.  A lot of brainstorming, sharing, and visioning was done throughout the day.  Planning Day followed on January 28th when the Task Force met on the George Fox University Campus.  This all-day meeting summarized vision statements from the previous day to draft a vision statement of NWYM.  Based on the vision, the Task Force began discerning priorities for NWYM in the upcoming months and years.

Within the next week, the clerks will send a more detailed report on the areas of priority that emerged during Vision Day.”

Brad Holton, Presiding Clerk

Debbie Harrison, Assistant Presiding Clerk

New Beginnings. A fresh start. A clean slate. These are what we long for in a new year. 2017 is over. 2018 is just beginning and has that New Year sense of hope. We hope that this year will be better than the last one. That we won’t face as much trial or struggle. We hope for something new.

            As Christians we are offered this not just one day a year but every day. Christ offers us new life each morning. Scripture tells us “‎Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17) The offering of Christ is Newness. We come to Him with an old and battered life, hard used and worn, and He gives us a new life bursting with opportunity and love. I hope that this New Year you accept Christ’s New Life for you each day.

From September 19^th through 30^th I had the opportunity to join Esther Mae Hinshaw (Newberg Emerging) and Tracy Wilson (Silverton) on a trip to visit Johan and Judy Maurer in Russia. This was a wonderful experience full of amazing moments. We spent time in Moscow orienting ourselves to some of the Russian history and culture by visiting some popular sites and museums. After a few days there we traveled to Elektrostal and got the chance to stay with one of the Maurer’s students, Sergei, in his home.

This was the highlight of the trip for me. We got to play a lot of games together and learn about Sergei and his fellow students. We were immersed in the culture of Russia and got to have some wonderful conversations until the wee small hours of the morning.  We also visited the institute that Johan and Judy taught at and helped one of the other teachers with some of his classes for high school students. These times of speaking with and learning from the students about their country and how they see the world were so enlightening and I am very grateful that we had the chance to join Johan and Judy there for a short time and see their home and the lives they had built there.

We finished our trip in Saint Petersburg. We visited the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood and other historical sites, we went to the Winter Palace which is home to a beautiful collection of paintings and artifacts that span the last 4-500 years. This time also gave us a chance to reflect on some of the things we had experienced and to hear about some of the tragic history of the city and country.

As much as we enjoyed traveling all over the country and spending time with students one of the most memorable things was joining our Russian Friends for worship. We sat in silence together sharing the Spirit’s peace together and had a lovely time of fellowship. To me this was a beautiful preview of our future together with the Lord.

 As I am preparing for my upcoming trip to Russia I am thinking about the opportunity I will have to experience God’s presence in another culture. I am looking forward to all that I will learn from our Russian friends and their experiences with Jesus in their daily lives. I wonder what wonders I will experience in that place and with the people that God has planned for me to be with during my time there. I am also thinking of my family. They are worried that I am going to a potentially dangerous area at a volatile time. They think I am a little crazy for going to Russia when tensions between our nations are so high. They question the wisdom of such actions and I am tempted to agree with them. They have always been good about looking out for me and their care for me in this instance is shown by their worry.

Sometimes God asks us to do things that don’t make sense to the world. Things which are exciting and scary and life changing. Things that push us and pull us into being the people that God created us to be. We are asked to imagine a world where God is going before us and with us and after us no matter the situation we face. We are tasked with having a faith beyond reason. Writing about the opportunity that God has given me has to start with recognizing that He is already doing things to make this trip something that honors Him. In spite of the potential for this situation to go wrong I am trusting that God will use whatever happens for His purposes and plans. I may not understand why this thing or that thing happens on this earth but I trust that God is working in and through them for His purposes and one day I will look back at what has happened and recognize that the faith I place in my Savior is not beyond reason at all.

Hello Friends,

I am excited! I have been asked to join a small team of Northwest Yearly Meeting Friends on a trip to Russia in September. This is an honor and opportunity for me to use my gifts as a minister of the gospel in a new context and to learn about a culture that has fascinated me for years. The trip is planned as a journey of encouragement and learning about our Russian brothers and sisters.

The leaders of this trip, Johan and Judy Maurer, have lived for over 9 years outside of Moscow, developing a ministry with students and young adults. They would like to have me on the trip specifically to work with these young people. Interacting with my Russian peers would give them an example of a young person for whom following Jesus is the core of their life.

If you think that this is a valuable endeavor I ask for your support. If you would like to help make this trip a possibility please do so by sending funds to Northwest Yearly Meeting (200 North Meridian Street, Newberg, OR 97132) marked “Jesse Davis – Russia” – this is a tax-deductible gift and you would receive a receipt from the yearly meeting for your records. I need a total of $2500 and currently have $1000 raised already.

This experience will only be possible with your support. I ask that you prayerfully consider giving to this journey. Even if you are unable to give financial support at this time your prayers for a successful and fruitful trip are needed.

I recently went to Cannon Beach for a wedding of some friends. I drove up and spent a couple days with the family in a beach house doing way more than I thought I would need to. Helping out with the wedding and reception set up was in my wheelhouse but about an hour and a half before the wedding the mother of the bride was working on some final things and I asked what she needed me to do and she responded, “Make these boutonnieres!” In that moment, I knew that I couldn’t say “I can’t do that.”  So, I just responded, “Yes, Ma’am.” I made the boutonnieres and the wedding went off without a hitch (except two people got hitched, but that was the whole point of the wedding in the first place).

I did not expect to be needed as a flower arranger/boutonniere maker but I am glad I was able to be present and support my friends as much as I could. I just wanted to spend some time with them and have a little beach fun. Often in our lives we find ourselves with one expectation of what a situation will require of us and the reality of that situation requires something more from us than we knew we were capable of. This was the case for me at the wedding in Cannon Beach and is generally the case for me in my work as a minister of the gospel. I find myself in situations that I expected to go one way and do not go that way at all. I find myself growing and learning in these situations, I find that these are the moments when I am challenged by God and am surprised at how capable I am in meeting that challenge with His help. I may just want a little beach fun but God has more in store for me and a better story comes out of the situation. When I surrender my expectations for a situation to God, He inevitably exceeds them and shows me more about who He is and who I am in those moments. 

Spring time growing up was a time for exploring the world around me and finding wonder around every corner. It was also a time for June Bugs. These crazy bugs flew around and would often congregate around the screen door to our house. They were attracted by the light on our front porch and without fail each evening as we turned the light on a fleet of these guys would head towards the light. The trajectories they took often looked like a group of sleepy drivers weaving all over the place and up and down. They would strike the house, door, light, and anything close to it. In their rush to get to the light they often wounded themselves. They were so eager by what attracted them that they flew a bit recklessly.

                I wonder what our attraction to Christ looks like to others. Does it seem reckless? Do we look like a fleet of sleepy drivers weaving all over the place as we head to our destination? Maybe we seem like we are floating slowly towards Him? As we head into the summer season I hope that we consider what our desire for Christ looks like in our lives. I hope that we can find ourselves moving towards Him on a daily basis. Like clockwork I hope that when Christ shines His light on us we go flying towards Him and His love. I hope that we are a little bit more like June Bugs.

Some of you may have noticed that there is some work being done on the parsonage. We are currently working on redoing much of the interior. This means that walls, electrical, and our heat/air conditioning systems are all being worked on! This process has been pretty amazing to see. We are finding a bunch of neat things from the lives of those who have inhabited the space. Anytime you do a big project like this there are surprises and some of them are pretty cool! Old notebooks and pictures, odd construction quirks, doors hidden behind walls and all sorts of other things have been seen for the first time in years. As the walls are stripped and the carpets removed and the work of deconstruction shifts to the work of reconstruction the “real work” begins. Anyone can tear something down. It takes a craftsman to rebuild though. Someone who knows the job and has practiced and worked on projects like this before.

            As we lean on craftsmen for the reconstruction/renewal of the house we also lean on Christ for the renovation and renewal of our lives. We come to him needing to be reshaped and rebuilt. After years of hard use some brokenness is to be expected. As we invite Christ into our brokenness we may be tempted to hide the things that may need fixing. When the designer of the house comes back to do the renovations you are sure to have a good experience, and you certainly aren’t going to be able to hide the problem areas! Some things may be harder for us to let him work on but if we trust his vision for our lives then we give those long held things up. We may not be able to visual the finished product but Christ knows the beginning, middle, and end of our lives and we can trust him to do his best for us.  Let Christ work on your life and give his vision for you a chance!