PASTOR’S CORNER, David Hoffman, First Church of the Nazarene, Liberal

In March 1987, my wife, Barbara, and I anticipated the first few days of Spring Break. We both taught full-time as well as held administrative responsibilities at Nazarene Indian Bible College in Albuquerque, NM.

We had the first three days off of Spring Break to rest, so we decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. We packed our luggage and snacks and headed west to Arizona.

I felt congested and tired, so I took some Tylenol. I shrugged away the weakness thinking it was just sinus or a cold. It was late when we arrived at Winslow, Ariz., so we checked into a motel. After I brought the last suitcase to the room, I felt very warm inside and began to perspire. I laid across the bed, then I ran a high fever. No medicine we packed touched the fever. I hardly slept all night. The next morning Barbara called the local hospital, and they told her to bring me to the emergency room. The nurse drew blood, and a few minutes later she began to wheel me down the hallway to a room. Barbara asked, “Where are you taking my husband?

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rusty Husted, First United Methodist Church, Liberal

My Sabbath is on Fridays. Since I am a pastor and my Sundays are busy, I try my best to practice my Sabbath on Fridays. I usually don’t answer my phone or look at emails or do any “church” business. Of course, like all things I struggle doing this, but if it were a normal Sabbath I would watch a worship service online. I try to attend an online service on Fridays along with my wife, who is also a pastor, so we worship together on Fridays.

This article is not about Sabbath, although I could write a lot on that topic. I want to talk about the Law or better the Commandments.

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rusty Husted, First United Methodist Church, Liberal

Should we question God? Should we test God? These two questions tend to be taboo when we reference our relationship with God. Sometimes we are taught that if you question or test God that your faith is weak. We usually point to the story of Job to correct our thinking on these two matters.

We also can point to Jesus’ temptation in Matthew 4 where Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6 when He says, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” However, this is in reference to when Israel complained that God did not care for them in Exodus 17. So, it was a test of God’s character, which is what satan was tempting Jesus with. In my opinion not the same issue when it comes to testing or questioning God. Does God ever condemn us if we question or test God? Moses questions God in Exodus 31 about destroying the Israelites when they created a golden calf. Let us not forget how Gideon tested God in Judges 6. So, there are instances when God is both questioned and tested. However, this may not be the best route to take in our relationship with God, but if it is taken, we do not stand condemned as a lack of faith. In fact, in one instance God tells us to test Him; Malachi 3. It is from this chapter that I will talk about the importance of tithing and offerings.

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rusty Husted, First United Methodist Church, Liberal

Lately, I have been thinking about anxiety. I have been contemplating the effects of anxiety in our culture. Not just our Western culture, but the culture of Christians in the Church. It comes as no shock that there is a lot of anxiety in the air.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, anxiety is “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it”. Anxiety is felt as worried, nervousness, and unease about a situation or relationship. Anxiety triggers our “fight or flight” reflex. Ultimately, anxiety can lead to depression. Anxiety influences our work, family, and church, basically anytime we are in a group setting, anxiety will influence these settings.