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Dear Friends,
I am thrilled that our congregation has stepped up to pass on our faith to our children. We had enough volunteers for children’s ministry that we will be able to expand the number of classes offered. Praise God! I also want to say how proud I am of you all for your generosity to the community of West, Texas. Between designated funds and 10% of our offerings a week ago, we will be sending a total of $525.25 to help in the recovery efforts there. Praise God again! (We had 80 adults and 44 children in worship).

Devotion: Faith and “I Can’t”
Heb. 11- Because it is so long, I will not provide it here, but encourage you to read it in your own bible.

After reading this chapter, I was struck by something. It has always been there, but this time it stirred in my soul. (I will get to that in a moment.) Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Faith is trusting that God is and that God works for the good. So I asked myself a question regarding all of these people listed in this chapter. Did they have faith that God could change them & their world? Did they have faith that God wanted to change them & their world? I believe the answer is yes. Now what about us? Do we believe God can and wants to change us and our world? Although we may not feel a resounding YES coming from within, I believe the answer is still yes. If this is the case, why does there seem to be the difference in what these faith characters saw and did and us? This is what stirred in me. They believed and acted. Sometimes I think our hang-up is that we “believe” God can, but we say to God, “I can’t.” God like a parent hears us say, “I can’t” and he longs to show us that we can in Him. Just like our parents told us, “Can’t isn’t a word,” or “don’t say you can’t, try,” etc. In these examples, God is showing us that through Him we CAN change and we CAN change our world. However, we must be willing to participate in His changing us and the world. There it is. We don’t fear that God can’t, or doesn’t want to change us and our world, but maybe we simply fear that He wants us to participate, to do something, to act on our FAITH! May our FAITH drive us to YES WE (God & us) CAN!

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
It was wonderful to be back in worship with everyone this week! (We had 76 adults and 50 children in worship).

Devotion: Integrity, Faith, and Stuff.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

At the heart of these two segments of Scripture is the statement, “No one can serve two masters.” I believe this scripture has a great deal to say to us as Christian parents and believers about our societal obsession with money and things. I believe it has to do with our integrity. Are we single minded or trying to play on both sides of the fence? As you can see with the above sections of Scripture, this obsession has two side. One is wanting more, working for more, and having more – the “Keeping up with the Joneses” syndrome. On the other side, is that of worrying about all this stuff. From the more to the need, our worries can become just as overwhelming as the desire for more. You may have heard this, but I want to make an analogy. Did you know people who have hit a phone pole with their car were focused on the phone pole? Those that missed the phone pole focused on the area away from the phone pole. So I guess my question to all of us is this, What do our children or others around us see us focused on? Do their hear us talking about stuff? Do they hear us worrying about money? Or, do they observe us seeking God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness with a single minded obsession? Are we passing down a legacy of stuff, or a legacy of integrity in our faith?

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
I missed seeing everyone this weekend, except those on the men’s retreat. I pray and believe you were blessed by Amy’s bringing The Word to you. I look forward to seeing everyone Sunday!(We had 73 adults and 36 children in worship).

Devotion: Everyone Loves a Test, Right?
Most people like I Corinthians 13, the LOVE chapter. We hear it with nostalgia and hopefully at least positive memories of our own wedding or someone else’s. We may wax eloquent about LOVE, or think of some movie that gives us warm fuzzies. However, how often have we looked at this chapter on love and considered it a measuring rod or test of where we are in living out our faith in the world? What about how we are doing in passing this core belief on to our children? Is this a part of our legacy? Consider a portion of it with me:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, if we are to love our enemies, if no greater love does a person have than to lay down their lives for a friend, if Jesus did that for us, if GOD IS LOVE…
Then how are we doing? Both at receiving that LOVE and giving that LOVE? Pass it on!

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
as many of you may know Rob and Kristen Shaver are in Boston and Kristen was running the marathon. I have gotten in touch with Rob and they are okay. Kristen finished earlier and they were down the road eating when the blast happened. Please be in prayer for all those affected by this tragedy.

In His Grace
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
Wow! What a powerful Holy Week and Easter Celebration! Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!! (We had 117 adults and 57 children in worship).

Devotion: You are witnesses!
Luke 24:48
48 You are witnesses of these things. (NIV)
You may know that Jesus appeared to His disciples later on the Day of Resurrection. In this encounter, Jesus encourages the Disciples, even those who still doubted. He walked them through all the Scriptures said about His life, death, and resurrection. Then, he made a brief but powerful statement, “You are witnesses of these things.” You have seen and now understand what God is doing through Jesus Christ. The implication being, now go and share your witness to the world. So I am inviting anyone who reads these lines to share your witness of God’s work in your life over this past Lent/Easter Season. Don’t wait, share His Life in you with someone, somewhere, and even right here on this post!
I will go first. As this season comes to an end, I am aware that I did not do as well with my Lenten addition of making the most of the moments God gave me. I did ok, but know as usual that I could have done better. A couple of moments that stand out to me are 1. Maundy Thursday as I removed my stole and thought with my being, “I wish I could go with him to the cross, if only to comfort him.” At the same time realizing I could not, for it was His to bear and He was the only one who could accomplish forgiveness for the world. Maybe I was arrogant in that moment, but I longed for Christ not to have to suffer alone. 2. Walking the labyrinth on Good Friday, I sensed Christ calling me to die with him. Not in some noble way or just to die to those things I know are bad. It was a call to die to even what I believe is good in order to accomplish God’s best. Hard to explain, but I had more of a realization that I must die with Christ in order that He might live within me. The last thing I witness to is the LIFE of Christ in The Ridge! How powerful a witness you all are to the transforming power of God! I loved celebrating the resurrection with you all. God is not dead, he is surely alive! Not mostly alive, but ALL ALIVE!!!! Praise God.

Please join your witnesses to mine by posting your own witness to God’s work in your life!

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
It was wonderful to be back in Worship with everyone this week. I know you were blessed last week through worship and the preaching of Matt Bridges. Thanks Matt. I also want to welcome Haylin and celebrate the baptism into Christ’s grace and our community of faith. (We had 86 adults and 54 children in worship).

Devotion: Mirror Mirror
Luke 20:9-19
9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’[a]?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

We all want to stand in front of a mirror and love what we see. We all want to be justified and believe we are right and stand on the high ground. We all hope that the mirror is gentle, but it rarely is. The more one “travels” with God and Jesus; the more we open ourselves to His transforming Word, the more likely it is that God through Christ and the Holy Spirit will place a mirror in front of us. They will allow us to see everything good and bad about ourselves.
This is what is happening in this story. The “religious” have just tried to trap Jesus spiritually in order to kill him. Jesus responds with this mirror gazing story. They see themselves as clear as day. They recognize their own filth and rejection of God’s purpose. And yet, immediately after this, they try and trap Jesus Politically in order to get Him in trouble with Rome. Then, their hands would be clean. As I read Scripture, Jesus seems to make the “religious” most uncomfortable. It is this same mirror in front of our faces that reflects back things we would rather not own.
Yet, Jesus Christ still went to the Cross of Easter! He went because of and for the “religious”. He also went because of and for the “unreligious.” He went not in spite of all, but because of all. This is the heart of God’s unearned favor for all of humanity. This is God’s love for us all! This is the Gospel! Jesus — longing for us to look in the mirror and see Him!

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
Sunday was a great day to celebrate the ministry of Dr. Mark Alexander with Western Hills. Thank you all who came and gave witness to the fruit of his vision for our community of faith! (I believe we had 45 adults and 20 children join us for worship at WHUMC on Sunday).

Devotion: Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The first half of the first sentence here seems harmless enough, but I believe it holds a great key to understanding much of the passages that begin this way in the book of Luke. “On their way,” can mean many things, but as I recall this passage occurs not long after Luke proclaims Jesus resolutely setting out for Jerusalem. He has chosen to go and sacrifice himself for the world. This is where they are “on their way” to. So with this in mind, let’s consider what Jesus is asking of Martha and Mary. Is this really a battle between those who want to sit and soak and those who wish to go and do? Or, is it about what is needed in this time and in this place? I don’t think Jesus is making some universal statement here that we should all simply sit and soak because in many places in the Gospel, Jesus calls his followers to go and do. So now what? What does this statement mean for them? For us?

I believe Jesus knowing that they may have little time left is calling Martha, who may tend to worry about every detail and element that needs to be just right, to slow down and realize that Jesus wants to love her and teach her even if everything is not perfect. She has this overwhelming sense of responsibility that turns into worry and then becoming upset, even lashing out at Jesus for not calling out Mary for not helping.

Maybe for us, in this season of Lent, God might call us to give up stressing over the many things that could distract us from receiving the love and teaching of Jesus. Maybe this year, we don’t feel like our house and our lives have to be perfect to “entertain” Jesus or anyone else he calls us to love. Maybe we recognize that even in His darkest journey, Christ longs to sit with us, to share with us, to commune with us. Will we put down the distractions and choose to be with Jesus?

In His Grace,

Bill Case

Dear Friends,
As we move toward our church meetings I just want to encourage everyone to be in prayer. I believe God has great things in store for us as a community. I simply ask that each of us take time to seek God and consider what God is already doing among us and how we might join in that ministry. Thank you for being the church you are and for being open to what God has for us. (We had 81 adults and 43 children in worship Sunday).

Devotion: Acts 2:14-18
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.

How has God’s Spirit called and empowered us to become the embodiment of who Christ is? As the Spirit rests upon our community of faith, what dreams, visions, and prophecy has God granted? Have we both individually and corporately made time to listen, to hear God’s perspective and plan? Please take time to consider who God has made us to be, both individually and corporately. What gifts and graces? What audacious dreams? What small but powerful actions? Who have we been, and who will we become, right here in El Paso, TX? Pray and listen as we seek together the creative word of God among us.

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
It was good to see many of you on Sunday. As we move into this year, I just want to ask everyone to be in prayer for our church and its future. As many of you know we will be meeting to discuss our future and seek God’s guidance as we do so. I hope and pray your week will go well. (We had 87 adults and 49 children in worship Sunday).

Devotion:
Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Everyone wants to be heard. And I believe most hope that God is listening. However, in our daily lives do we talk with God? Do we actually convers with God and listen for what answers may come? Or do we simply complain or become anxious about our situation, yet never consciously seek God and His wisdom? Maybe before we let our minds go crazy or we unload on a friend, we could take time to share with God and then be silent. Not just silence, but a quiet eagerness to hear from God. May we fill our lives with such conversations that God’s peace rules our lives.

In His Grace,
Bill Case

Dear Friends,
What a wonderful time of worship we had Sunday! It is good to know that God is among us and working through us, Amen. I pray you are blessed this week and look forward to seeing you all this coming Sunday. (We had 76 adults and 61 children in worship Sunday).

Devotion: God is Good
Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Let us take time this week to be silent and listen for God; to open our eyes, look around us at creation and see God at work; consider just how blessed we are and how good God is. So, that is our devotion. Live your life this week attentive to Who God is and What God is doing. Stop long enough to taste and see that God is Good!

In His Grace,
Bill Case