Pain and Seeking

In Acts 17:26-27 we hear, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”

The following is a prayer by a torn and frustrated man:

My Lord, my Lord, won’t you come to me, I’ve been longing for you every day. Life has brought me pain, each day is just the same, and I just can’t make it all by myself. I was raised to always take care of things, thinking surely I’m in control. Then the bumps in the road put me on overload, and I start every day with a frown. I search and I search, always ending in the lurch, ‘Cause my will is trying to lead the way. Went from church to church seeking help in my search, but it’s something that can’t just be given. And then it began to dawn on me, I must first surrender to the Lord.Once I abandoned to him with all my might, I could see my destination door. My Lord, my Lord now you’ve come to me, ‘Cause I’m letting you be in charge. While the pain tries to gain, now your spirit makes it lame, I seek your will every day of my life. AMEN. (Anonymous)

Scripture reveals to us many reasons and ways to seek the Lord: John 4:23 tells us: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

And then in Hebrews 11:6 Paul is telling us: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

That which seems so simple and easy in knowing the spiritual life is so hard for us humans to deal with. We just can’t take the “me” out of our lives and turn things over to God.

In Jeremiah 29:13 God tells us again: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” And this is fortified in Deuteronomy 4:29: “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

How simple can it get, but how hard it is to follow as we are reminded of God’s need for our love as stated in Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

Seeking the Lord has no Barriers

You have probably seen TV commercials for a medicine or treatment that describe a product while showing people doing lots of neat things as if the medicine or treatment would turn their lives totally around. As the joy and wonder on their faces is being shown and the product is described, there is something else going on in the commercial.

An unseen speaker in the background is chatting away about the negative impact you might experience as a result of taking the product, especially those with certain health issues contained in a long list being quietly expressed. These medicines and treatments made to help you, could result in bad reactions or in some cases even death.

Seeking God to improve our lives is a much different story. God is with us always. When we turn to Him in all things, nothing can destroy us, as we are His Eternal Children. Whatever happens to us in this worldly life is overcome in our resurrection. No “Warning” is necessary.                                                                           

We hear in Romans 6:4-6, "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

An interesting way of looking at prayer and our life in Christ is shown in this story by an anonymous source. “Once a man was asked, ‘what did you gain by regularly praying to God?’ The man replied, ‘nothing, but let me tell you what I lost: Anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear of death.’ Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not gaining but losing; which ultimately is the gain.” (Anonymous)

Choosing not to seek the Lord in our lives is often for one of two reasons: 1) We just can’t believe in something we are not able to see and 2) We don’t feel worthy of God’s kind of love because of our sinful nature. In both cases we are ‘throwing out the baby with the bathwater.’ God’s longing for our friendship with Him is completely ignored.  

In Acts 17:24-28, we are reminded: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.  Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.  

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,  so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being….”                                       

We have nothing to do with our created life. While our own fathers and mothers brought us into this world, all humanity has and will be brought into this world by our Father God. We must recognize our deep blood connection with the Father and understand that He wants a close relationship with His created children. He created us and provides all things for us eternally.

Contemplating Our Lives

People tend to contemplate life as they live it from childhood to late life. A person’s particular take on life will guide them in how they see themselves in their life. There’s always a chance to change our direction in life, whether we seek guidance from God, a friend or take it on ourselves - or, maybe all of the above.

In my recent contemplation on my life, I wrote a poem that gives a general movement in my life over the years. I share it here for my reader’s consideration and to possibly encourage you to write your own poem about your life journey. You’ve probably thought about it many times and may have written some things down.

In many ways, life is being in a constant state of discontent, with occasional pauses to celebrate the blessings we have received and the good job we have done. I now offer you my poem about my life journey so far, with the hope that it will help you be intentional about reflecting on your life and praising God for His gift of life to us.

A Life Journey                                                                                                                                  
Life is a blessing, Don’t know when it willend, When I made choices in life, Didn’t know where me they would send. I missed the Lord’s guidance, When I was young, Trusting in His love, Was a song I’d not sung. I Needed to love Him, Yes, to love Him, Oh, Yes to love Him, Yes, to love Him.
I’d see other people, Reaching out for God’s hand, I saw the life they lived, It helped me understand.
When hit with misfortune, Others prayed for me, Lifted up to God’s presence, I began to see.
I felt He loved me, Yes, He loved me, And I loved Him, Oh, yes I loved Him. From that time forward, My life has been changed, I’m seeking His Will now, Yes I’ve been rearranged. All of the love that I’d missed, When Him I ignored, I’m now His disciple, Bringing folks to the Lord. And I love Him, Yes, I love Him, Oh, how I love Him, Yes, how I love Him. Life still holds misfortune, Mixed with joy that God sends, His promise of Eternal love, Gives me hope to the end. I’ll keep working His way, Oh, yes I will, To Him I have promised, That I won’t be still.
Thanks be to God! 

Forgiveness by the Grace of God

We live in a country that is managed by politicians and government. Fortunately, we are a democracy and not a dictatorship. We get to vote who goes into political office. While our democracy was founded by faith based leaders, we are not a theocracy. In our democracy, the Church and State are separate, but live together in some sort of harmony. The influx of Non-Christian religions into America over the centuries has made it more difficult for government and politicians to declare us a Christian Nation.

The First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the government’s establishment of religion, which is interpreted as freedom of religion. Having said that, many in our nation still consider America to be a Christian based nation founded on Christian principles.  As we know, America has not always been faithful to its own founding notion that “All men are created equal.”  Ironically the slaves that were imported to America discovered Christianity and have used it to build hope in seeking equality even up to today.

Since the beginning of this democracy, our political leaders have sometimes invoked the Hand of God in the challenges that have faced our nation. Strong charismatic leadership by presidents and other leaders in government and military have lifted the hope and desire of our challenged country in times of war, internal conflict and many other challenges.

In spite of political persuasion, our leaders have led the nation with both full support and majority support in many ways. Whether issues of war, race, ethnicity, or economies, our leaders have addressed these things most times with phrases like, God Bless America.

Issues of racism continue today in many parts of our country. Our leaders have not been able to effectively address the issues in our cities that perpetuate poverty, crime and racism. America has recently been blessed by the responses to the murder of nine African Americans while attending a Bible Study in their church. As you know, one of the victims was the church Pastor and a State Senator in South Carolina.

For a number of reasons, recent similar events across our country have resulted in hate, looting and basically destruction of the communities around the incident. These have been lose/lose results with little coming together of all people in the community. In the Charleston, South Carolina, tragedy, the families and church friends of the victims set a Godly example for the whole world to see. Through the Grace of God, they were able to forgive the deranged murderer, even though he sat with his targets for an hour being welcomed in their Bible Study.           

The forgiveness shown to the murderer shocked the nation and has become a universal Bible lesson for humanity. Due to his personal relationship with the murdered Pastor and State Senator, our President was moved to deliver the eulogy for his friend and the other victims that may go down as the greatest moment in his presidency. The whole world was watching the funeral service.

The President deserves credit for putting together such a wonderful message, however like the rest of us, he was moved by the community’s forgiveness in such a way that allowed him to see God’s Grace in all of the sadness. His singing of Amazing Grace showed the depth of how this event impacted him. In Luke 23:43 we hear Jesus respond to the thief that turned to Him: “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church taught the world the forgiveness of Christ.

The Importance of Dots

Imagine the World Globe with dots all over it. Using dots on the globe is a way learning institutions, governments and the media show us certain information about things that impact us. It’s a way of describing the places that certain things are happening.  As I watched some dots on a television documentary the other day, I began to think about what prayer dots would look like on the globe. I wondered how prayer dots would look as they are happening over the world all day every day.

In my own life experience, I have been involved in personal prayer, family prayer, prayer and share groups, prayer for mission, various specific ministry organizations working together in prayer and of course regular Church services. Thinking about my weekly prayer and share group, I wondered, how many groups like mine are functioning all over God’s created planet Earth.

At the bottom of my “dot” wondering was a sense that each and every person or group is important to God.  Even though I am involved in only a few dots on the world global prayer activity, my dots are as bright as each of the other dots. To me, that emphasizes God’s ability to be with us in all things. He is present whether we turn to Him or not. God wants us to connect with him in all of our living.

In each of our prayer dots, we must know that our dot is as important to God as is any other dot around the world. We can experience God’s presence in the smallest of prayer situations and know we are as well heard as any other place on Earth.

Now that we’re comfortable with our prayer dots mingled with billions of other prayer dots, maybe we can relax and know that our job in this prayer relationship with God is important to God Himself. Seeking God, thanking Him, praising Him and turning our needs over to Him are a few of the ways we connect with Him regularly.   

In 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 St. Paul explains to us how we might approach prayer:
 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.  What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”

For Paul, connecting with God’s Spirit was an important part of communicating with God through prayer. We should let loose of our ego and allow the Lord to fill us with His Spirit. Surrendering to Him and waiting to be filled with His Spirit is the key.  

In Philippians 4:6, Paul goes on to say: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

St. Paul reminds us how constant our prayer life should be in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: ^“Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Keeping our bright prayer dots going along with the millions of other bright world prayer dots is so important to God. In connecting with God constantly through our prayer and actions, we are lights in this World for the Lord and much needed.

Understanding Resurrection

As Easter approaches we experience the human Jesus dying on the cross and becoming the Christ we all worship. He came as God’s Word and confirmed for us what God has always been like through His Love & Grace. The life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, establishes a connection that we sometimes don’t know how to live and use.

We hate to think that we can be like Jesus, but that is exactly the message He was communicating. Richard Rohr has published recent meditations about the human & divine Jesus and how we have trouble seeing ourselves in that light. Yes, He was human and divine and we just can’t plug ourselves into the divine part of Him and make it a part of us. Through the Holy Spirit we can connect with that we know is the divine and live it in our lives. Jesus is not too bashful to tell us that He expects us to connect with His divinity. That was the mission God put Him on.

Jesus tried His best to communicate this to the disciples and had to come back to them before His Ascension to finish the message He had tried so hard to instill in them. He had to do many things to be sure they got the message that it’s alright to connect with the divine in our personal ministry for the Lord. We are called to be in this together with Him forever and ever!

In John 20:11-18 we hear, "But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

These were the instructions given to Mary Magdalene by Jesus in the garden near His tomb. Mary thought that He was the gardener at first, but soon she realized that this was Jesus speaking to her. This message sent by Jesus to the disciples, marks the beginning of the realization by them of the Resurrection.

By making it clear that His Father is our Father and that His God is our God, Jesus ties the knot on our eternal relationship with God. He is now no longer in danger and the promise is that if we turn to Him, we are in God's care also. The beautiful part about the resurrection story is that we can make it our story today. We can have the new life that Jesus talks about.

We can participate as a receiver of the good news and as a deliverer of it like Mary in this story. We can experience the same love and grace from God as if we ourselves were there looking into the empty tomb and hearing the words from the gardener who turns out to be Jesus himself. We can run and tell others of the miracle of Christ's ascension and His connecting us with God our Father and His Father forever.

This Christianity is an inclusive thing. We have a connection right to the top through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. No burnt offerings or other special requirements are needed. We must only turn to Him and accept His love and grace. In the business world there is something called a "golden parachute." This is a well-funded retirement package for the highly compensated that ensures quality of life for the rest of the retiree's life. God gives all of us a gift that ensures quality of eternal life.

My prayer for help in achieving His Will in my life is: “Father God, Thank You for being my friend for eternity. Getting to know You better every day forever is hard to get used to, but I think I'm going to like it. Thank You in Jesus' name. AMEN.”

Saving Help is Here

The Bible is full of cries from God’s children to be saved in their lives. In Psalm 69:1-3 we hear, “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried, mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.”

Our faith is tested time after time and we finally put our trust in the Lord. Our human nature is many times working against us as we know we should seek the Lord.  As is said in Jeremiah 17:14 we hear, “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.”

St. Paul wakes us up as he states in Romans 14:7-8: "We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's."

Most of us live too much to ourselves. Even if we believe that when we die that we die to the Lord, it is hard for us to give up ourselves and live to the Lord. Our personal control over our lives is hard to relinquish. And why is that? We lack faith in the Lord. We have more faith in an investment in the Stock Market.

We deny the one to whom we belong. We have no trouble identifying with our natural parents. We know that "this is my mother and this is my father." Many adopted children long to know their real parents and search for years to find them. It is important for us to know where we come from and who we come from in a natural sense.

If we believe that God created life along with all that there is to support it, why would we not have a stronger sense of wanting to know God than to know our natural parents? No doubt our natural parent relationships are important, but God created us humans and all the things that cause reproduction and birth to happen.

Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26)." Jesus is not saying that we should specifically hate our loved ones and hate our own lives. He is trying to show us by comparison how much more we should love and follow Him.

If something about our lives or our kinfolk comes between Jesus and us, then we should hold fast with Him. The trick is, if we all turn to Him and follow Him, it is no longer an issue about our relationships as individuals versus our relationship with Him. We are all to turn to Him regardless of life and relationships.

It is just this thing that leads us astray. We would rather disappoint God than to disappoint a parent, a friend or a business associate. We are more concerned about the moment than we are about eternal life with our true Father.

In Psalm 54:1 we hear, “God! Save me by your name; defend me by your might!”

I say this prayer for saving help: “Father God, I pray that You help me start changing that portion of my life that I live to myself, so that I may live to You more and more and achieve Your everlasting kingdom. AMEN.”

The Waiting Game

In Psalm 62:5-8 we hear,
"My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us."

Are we willing to wait in silence for God? We are hyperactive and impatient when it comes to waiting on God. In our fast-pace world we need answers and solutions now! God doesn't work that way. He's more like your doctor. You know, you sign-in and take a seat in the waiting room. You look at several magazines before your name is called. After weighing you in and taking your blood pressure the nurse takes you into an examining room that is about 33 degrees F. and tells you to take most of your clothes off.

Fifteen or twenty minutes later with an inch of ice on your body you hear the doctor talking to a patient in the next room. It sounds like they are going to talk forever. The conversation finally stops and you know that you're next. You wait another ten minutes during which time you put most of your clothes back on, and sure enough the doctor opens the door and looks at you like, "Why aren't you ready for me to examine you?" The message here is that God takes much longer!

In our impatience with God, we decide that we might as well try some other avenues since God is taking His time. That usually compounds whatever problem we are trying to deal with. Usually by the time God checks his messages, we're in the damage control phase or maybe our fate is a done deal and we need redemption. Our impatience with God can actually precipitate a problem. If we will only wait on Him, "His time" will take over. He may create a pause, a stop, a slow motion or even speed things up if "His time" requires it. As a friend said the other day, "Einstein didn't come up with the 'theory of relativity', he borrowed it from God!"

The Psalmist continues, "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." Things don't seem to change much for us humans. With all of our modern advancements, we have the same challenges that humans faced all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Every generation has to push the envelope to its limit. It's human nature. That's why God sent Jesus. After the fall in the Garden, it just didn't look like we humans were going to be able to get it right. So out of His love for us, He sent His Son to teach us and then sacrificed Him to atone for our sinful condition.

I say this prayer many times, “Dear Lord, Thank You for caring so much. Help me to be patient with You. Give me the strength to wait until I can't wait any longer and then wait a little bit more. You are the all-knowing one, so I shouldn't second-guess You. It will only hurt me. Help me understand David when he sings his Psalm to me saying, ‘On God rests my deliverance and my honor...’" AMEN.

Our Holy Responsibility

"Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is a popular Christian hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel. The first verse & chorus go like this:

“There are loved ones in the glory, whose dear forms you often miss. When you close your earthly story, will you join them in their bliss?  Chorus: Will the circle be unbroken, By and by, by and by? Is a better home awaiting In the sky, in the sky?”

This circle is discussed in many ways and goes as far back as St. Paul’s discussion and witness to keeping this circle alive in our lives. We have the power to break the circle, but are always given another chance as we live out our days in this world.

In Colossians 1:15-23, we hear Paul testify to his conversion in saying: "And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him---provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel."

In the joy that comes when we truly turn to the Lord and follow Him, there is no need to look back other than to say, ‘I don't know what took me so long, but thanks be to God that I finally got the message.’ I have seen people in their seventies and eighties fully experiencing the Lord for the first time.

While we can't relive the past, once we've found the Lord we can share Him with others with a sense of urgency so that they might live a greater part of their lives holy and blameless and irreproachable before Him. Keeping our faith becomes our challenge once we've heard and experienced the hope of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Paul was not perfect, but his servant hood of the gospel cannot be questioned. He pushed the envelope of this life to an extreme in order that others might share in the love that he found in serving the Lord. His life was in danger every moment, but the brand that he wore was irremovable. He was secure in his hope and in the promise that he found in the new life in Christ.

St. Paul says of Jesus, "For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." God has gone out of His way to reconcile us with Himself. What He has done is hard to understand in strictly human terms. He continues to want to make peace with us even in our continuing rebellion against Him in our natural lives.

The very things that seem necessary for survival in the natural world can be our undoing in our relationship with God. Once we understand that we are important enough to God that He accepts us blameless before Him as an encouragement for us to come to Him, like Paul, we will become servants of the gospel.

God sacrificed the one who was the image of Himself in order that we might have a chance to return to Him our creator. Our challenge is to live for Him and worship Him in such a way that we do not break the circle.

Being UP for Jesus

A friend recently sent me a posting on the “Yahoo Answers” page. It was posted by a person named Sepia and is the best answer to date on the question: “What is the two letter word in the English language that has the most meanings?” In searching several dictionaries, I found, as well, that the suggested word has many meanings and uses. If not at the top of the list, the word is close to the top.  

This two letter word that has more meanings than most two letter words is the word ‘UP’. It can be an adverb, a preposition, an adjective, a noun or a verb. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides many meanings and uses for the word ‘UP’.

I began thinking about the use of the word ‘UP’ in our churches, which includes the Bible, our liturgy our music and the coming and going about our churches. I have taken some of the uses posted by Sepia, as well as the dictionary itself, and created a shotgun list of the uses of ‘UP’ in our churches.

We look ‘UP’ to Heaven in prayer when seeking the Lord and when we realize we’re living in sin, we hopefully wake ‘UP’. At a Church meeting, many topics come ‘UP’. Some of the attendees speak ‘UP’.  Our church officers come ‘UP’ for election every so often. The church secretary writes ‘UP’ the minutes of our meetings.

We have committees in church to call ‘UP’ members about coming events or needs in the church. We sometimes brighten ‘UP’ a church room or area. We polish ‘UP’ certain silver and brass items we use in our church. At church dinners we warm ‘UP’ the leftovers and clean ‘UP’ the kitchen. We lock ‘UP’ the church after our Sunday Services. We fix ‘UP’ old church appliances and other damaged items in need of repair.

We sing Stand ‘UP’, Stand ‘UP’ for Jesus many times during the year. We read and sing John 6:40, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and ‘I will raise him ‘UP’ on the last day.’”

Unfortunately, even in churches, some people stir ‘UP’ trouble. We line ‘UP’ for tickets to a church fund raising event. We work ‘UP’ an appetite for church dinners. We sometimes think ‘UP’ excuses not to go to church or to a church function. We typically get dressed ‘UP’ for Church Services. The Church Kitchen drain sometimes needs to be opened ‘UP’ because it is stopped ‘UP’.                          

We open ‘UP’ the church in the morning but we close it ‘UP’ at night. Church members volunteer for jobs and ministry in church if they’re ‘UP’ to it. We sometimes read ‘UP’ to 7 devotions a week as we seek to nourish our spirit in the Lord. We try not to give ‘UP’ in seeking the Lord in our lives, so we don’t wind ‘Up’ in trouble.

We need to allow God to take ‘UP’ some of our time. Letters from St. Paul take ‘UP’ many pages in the New Testament. We strive to build ‘UP’ our strength in the Lord, never giving ‘UP’ our hope. We do, however, give ‘UP’ things during Lent.

All Sundays are not sunny. Some cloud ‘UP’, but later clear ‘UP’. We try to get ‘UP’ and go to church no matter what the weather is. The church garden soaks ‘UP’ the rain, but soon dries ‘UP’.

In Ephesians 4:29 we hear,” Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building ‘UP’, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” In Isaiah 40:9 we hear, “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee ‘UP’ into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift ‘UP’ thy voice with strength; lift it ‘UP’, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”

Ministry vs. Fear

In the Book of Acts 18:1-11 we hear, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you..."  Paul was opposed and reviled in the synagogue in Corinth. He then went out to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles in the surrounding area. The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision one night saying, "Do not be afraid..." Paul went on to convert and baptize in Corinth for a year and a half.

In Paul's vision that night the Lord went on to say, "...no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people." We are not as alone as we sometimes think that we are. We must be the "many in this city" who are God's people. We must help one another so that none are alone.

There are different kinds of fear that we can have in our work for the Lord. In the situation that Paul was in, he had fear of the disagreeable. In life we also have fear of sticking our nose into someone else’s business, a fear of getting involved in a situation where we may not be welcomed. But God has a way of leading us to take steps that are a gateway to His Grace.

I had been on a trip out of town several years ago and as I boarded a return airline flight home, I noticed a couple who had to split up in different seat rows. Since my seat was next to the husband, I offered to swap seats with the wife so that they could sit together. They gladly accepted. I took the lady's seat and prepared for our departure.

 A young Japanese girl took the seat beside me. As the plane started down the runway, the flight was aborted. When the pilot announced engine trouble, I could tell that the girl was confused. It turned out that she was a foreign exchange student on her way to her new home in America. Her English speech and understanding was poor.

I tried to explain to Yoko what had happened. I even tried drawing pictures to help explain. I asked her what her destination was. She named a town that very few people would have recognized. It just happened to be a town where my church has a camp. It's about two hours from my home. My family has gone there regularly over the years.

After we were guided back to the terminal, I called my home airport and had Yoko’s foster parents paged. They responded and I told them what had happened and that I would look after Yoko. We shared stories about their town and my church camp there.

After a three hour delay, we took-off and made it home. I visited with Yoko and her foster parents as we waited for our baggage. We made plans to get together the next time my family went to our church's camp. Yoko was to be in America for one year. It's amazing what giving up my seat on the plane led me into. I was given the opportunity to help someone who was alone. I found several new friends to boot. I'm going to look harder for ways to "give up my seat." When we try it, God guarantees us a great experience.

In James 2:14-17 we hear, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

God's Choices in Creation

I’ve often wondered what God was thinking when He created the Universe. Was He bored with things and decided to occupy His time in a better way? Was he like an artist and just started painting on His canvas? Maybe whatever came into his mind he would start creating as one thing led to another. Was He getting lonely and as He began creating, He decided to create something in His image to maybe be friends with? In Genesis 1:27 we hear, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” In Paul’s letter to the Colossians 1:16 we hear, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

The way God went about doing His Creating becomes more interesting as we observe how He provided for us and how He configured us humans, His children. We may have been created in God’s Image, but we certainly aren’t just like God. He wasn’t looking to create partners that were equal to Him. Why would He make us to be Gods and flood creation with many Gods? In Deuteronomy 4:35 we hear, “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.”

In God’s Revelation to John 4:11we hear the 24 Elders as they fall down from their thrones in praise in saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” To put it in the worldly vernacular, “God is a one man show.”                                                                      

Even though God is fully in charge, He wants to be friends with us and use us to carry out His Will in this world. Yes, we are “Christian Soldiers” and if we understand God’s Word through our Lord Jesus Christ we have that connection as Christians back to God from the very beginning. Jesus the Christ was and is the Word of God.

As we hear in John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

As Jesus, who is the Word of God tells us in John 15:14-15, “You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

In Psalm 8:4-9 we hear, “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.  Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Maybe it will help us understand why God created us if we think about why we humans have children.  Do we want someone to take care of us when we get old? Is it just to carry on the family name? Is it because we love babies? Is it human nature? Does something tell us we’re supposed to? Does it give the joy of existence to another? Is it to give us grandchildren? Is it to cement our love for our mate? How do we compare with God? He gave us our reasons to procreate according to His Will in making us His people.

Our Dogs under our tables

Most of us have at least one pet of some kind. We have them for a variety of reasons: It gives us a sense of comfort having them around. They help keep all kinds of creatures from taking over our homes. They please our children. They are a form of security for our home. They are like having children around for empty nesters. And lastly, they eat the crumbs under our tables and other places in our homes!

For me, I experience much from my pet called Pompey. He is a Maltese. Pets can be like angels to us and like us unconditionally. That sense of being a love to us can help our attitudes in our daily living. Our relationship with our pets is a two-way street. We receive from them and we return the favor by pampering them, holding them, petting them and letting them have the crumbs under our table in addition to a few special treats. We are their masters, and they love us.

The Gospel according to Matthew tells us, in the 15^th Chapter, the story of the Canaanite woman who came to Jesus for the removal of a demon that had possessed her daughter. We learn how Jesus was willing to embrace non-believers that surrender to Him. At first Jesus ignored her and she began to bother the disciples. They begged Jesus to send her away, but He told them that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But things began to change for the Canaanite women.

In Chapter 15:25-28 we hear, “Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”

There is another deeper aspect I learn from having my dog Pompey. He shows me an example as to how my relationship with God should work. Not that I am a god to Pompey, but his way of relating to me, his master, is how I should relate to God, my Master.

Pompey seeks my presence nearly all the time. When I’m around, he wants to sit with me on my chair or on the couch. He wants me to reach out and pet him and talk to him. Even though he doesn’t fully understand what I say to him, he senses my tone of voice and knows that I love him and like being with him. And of course, if he needs to go outside to do his duties, he lets me know with his paws or a bark. He doesn’t want to do the wrong thing in his master’s house. His eating the crumbs, under my table, is a bonus for me and him as together we keep our house clean.

 Jesus is the living Word of God. In the story of the Canaanite woman, He lets us know that no matter who we are, where we come from or what we have done, He receives us and blesses us when we turn to Him and surrender ourselves to Him in our lives.

As we play masters to our pets, let us observe them, and learn from them. We can certainly see many comparisons as to how we should relate to our Master in Heaven, in seeing how our pets relate to us, their master. One of the traits that our pets have is unconditional love for us. Now that is surely something that we humans struggle with. Even though our greatest commandment from the Lord instructs us, our pets have an edge on us in fulfilling this commandment.

Our Work and Trust

One of my daughters-in-law that visited during the Christmas holidays is an inspiration and a blessing to me. It’s been over a year now that as she was exercising, she experienced some pain in her upper back and weakness in her right leg. It was caused by a slow growing tumor on her spine that had been there for a number of years. The surgery for its removal was very damaging, causing paralyses in both of her legs. The good news is that it was a benign tumor. She is much disciplined in her professional and personal rehab. She does her part and she has turned the rest over to God.

During her visit this Christmas, she shared with the family in a deep way about her affliction and about how she is dealing with it. While she is intent about doing her part in her recovery, she is aware of the mindset necessary to aid in her full or partial recovery. Her faith is two-fold: She believes that she can get better in doing her part and she has faith in God that His will be done in her life. Whether it is in her and her doctor’s plan or in God’s plan she explains that she needs belief and faith in both plans.

She takes St. Paul’s words seriously as he stated in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Another aspect of my daughter-in-law’s journey in healing seems more specific to her, but again, it is a two-fold action that includes her and the Lord. She realizes that she must reach out and do things to impact her healing, whether for personal gain or in seeking God in her life. In both instances, she sees a need to give and sacrifice in order to receive benefit and blessing. For her this is true for her part and is needed in seeking God’s help in His part of her healing.

She finds support in Isaiah 40:31 in hearing: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

I have been with my daughter-in-law only a few times during the past year, as we live a good distance apart. I have, however, been able to see marked differences in her progress each time. She has gone from wheelchair only, to a walker, to a cane in these past visits. In this holiday season visit, I have seen a determined young woman take short journeys step by step, inch by inch without the aid of a cane or other device.

I see and hear that although she is doing much of the physical work in her improvement, she still holds to her convictions of a disciplined effort to do her part and trust God in His part in her life. She lives God’s Word through St. Paul in Hebrews 11:1-40: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.”

My daughter-in-law knows there are no guarantees for her, but she mirrors Psalm 112:7: “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”

Holding the One Who Saves Us – The Gift of Faith

At Christmastide, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, do we have a sense of being rescued? It is hard to think of rescue when for many of us it is a time of receiving and giving gift upon gift. The material smothers any awareness of rescue. The only rescue that we might contemplate is the rescue from an excessive amount of things bought on credit. It is difficult for us to focus on God's gift of rescuing us from the power of darkness through Christ Jesus.

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians 1:9-20 we hear in part: "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

There is a story in Luke (2:22-40 NRSV) that tells about the baby Jesus being presented to the Lord at the temple in Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph. There was a devout man named Simeon who was guided by the Spirit to come into the temple at this time. As Luke tells us, "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah." Luke goes on to tell us that when Simeon saw the baby Jesus he, "...took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples...'"

Simeon truly felt rescued. He had finally seen his Savior and held Him in his arms. Simeon was ready to face death with the knowledge of salvation. Our time on earth is short and we, like Simeon, have the blessing of knowing the Messiah, our Savior, Emmanuel, in our time. Each Christmas it is proper for us to hold the baby Jesus in our arms and give thanks to God for sending His only Son to rescue us from the power of darkness. We are redeemed and forgiven through Christ. The gift of salvation is ours in His kingdom. We may not want to put Him down until next Christmas.

As children of our Lord and Master we have a great inheritance. As does any heir, we have a choice as to what to do with it. At this time of celebration of the birth of Jesus, it is important that we reflect, as St. Paul did in Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7, on the reason for Christ's coming and its meaning as our inheritance. Faith is a greater master than the law. If we practice it, faith is our key to God's kingdom.

No worldly ruler can conquer our faith. What a gift God has given us through His Son. It is an inheritance unmatched in the natural world. In John's Gospel (1:1-18 NRSV) in speaking of Christ he says, "From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known." John, the baptizer, recognized this as he prepared the way for his cousin Jesus.

When the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus while John was baptizing Him, it was obvious to John that Jesus was without sin. The child that was born in a manger became God's teacher and finally a perfect offering for our sin, as He was without sin. Instead of the law being our guide and master, we have become the heirs of faith in God through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

This is the Christmas story that we must take with us and live out in the coming year. We have a great inheritance. We must use it wisely. We must love God and one another with our faith at the very center of us. No man can destroy it. It is ours to keep for eternity.

This is what St. Paul tells us in Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7. "Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith...But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God."

Being Blessed by and Blessing God

We humans tend to focus on our own need for blessings from God and don’t usually think about returning the favor and blessing God. The Bible is full of passages that refer to blessing God. It seems that blessing God is a way of praising Him.

God is happy to send His Love and Grace to us at all times. Whether a personal need or a need in our mission as His apostles in the world, God is certainly blessed when we turn to Him and seek His Will in the world. So it seems that in taking His blessing upon us and using it to help Him build His Kingdom, we are blessing Him and praising His name in all the world.

In Psalm 16:7 we hear the psalmist saying, “I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.” In blessing God the psalmist is praising Him. The psalmist goes even further in Psalm 103:1in saying, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!”

Our challenge is in asking the question, how do I get into a relationship with God so that I feel His blessings and I praise and bless Him? How do we begin to feel like the psalmist when he says in Psalm 103:22, “Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!”?

As we know through our experiences in seeking the Lord in our lives, it is difficult to turn our attention to God in all things. We must first recognize how great He is in our lives when we turn to Him as did the psalmist say in Psalm 104:1, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,…”

The discipline required of us is essential for reaching out and inviting our Lord and God into our lives in all things. In Proverbs 28:9 we hear, “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” We have trouble accepting and relating to each other. This is true also in our relationship with God, but the stakes are very much higher. We must allow the influence of the Gospel of Jesus to mold us and change us so that we can relate to the world through His guidance.

 I have a lifetime friend named Chuck who continues to have full awareness of his role in life even in his retirement years. He recently said, “My life has been a very humble miracle. I have tried to be there for my family and true friends. Amen.” He never quits thinking about how to please, bless and praise the Lord. He mirrors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in forgiving and accepting all who seek the Lord in their lives and might come to him for help or advice. He is a mentor, a coach and an advocate for the Lord.

St. Paul blessed and praised the Lord. In Ephesians 1:3 he says,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”….. We may think that we don’t deserve the blessings of God because of who we are, but this is a giving up without playing the game.  We don’t expect our favorite football team to think this way. Why should we give up before we live life wholly and Holy.

The Good News is that through the blood of Christ we are forgiven. Through Christ, God gives mercy to all who turn to Him. We need to expect the same from ourselves as we sometimes expect from others; whether mothers, fathers, children, spouses, workmates and friends. To bless the Lord means to praise in all things. If we can truly praise Him, we will impact the world.

In Search of the Living Water

In the Gospel of John 7:37-52, Jesus tells us in part, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'"

St. John's explanation of these words of Jesus is, "Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

The Holy Spirit stays very busy. Many people are thirsty for peace and a meaning of life. It is through the Holy Spirit that we can come to Christ Jesus for a drink of the "living water". Once our heart is primed, the living water received will pour out of us by many times.

The circuitous and long route that we take for our drink of the "living water" can be amazing. Adventurers and Explorers go searching for experiences that ultimately teach them something simple about life.

Admiral Richard Byrd was obsessed with being the first to fly over the North and South Poles. After achieving these feats he was still not satisfied. He led another expedition to the Antarctic to establish a winter weather station near the South Pole. Having a team of over fifty men at base camp to chose from, Byrd made a last minute decision to man the station by himself for the winter months.

Byrd was taken 120 miles over treacherous ice to the weather outpost and left on his own. Seven months later he had to be rescued as he was near death from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator that he used at the remote station. He had a lot of time alone at the outpost to think about life.

Finally, this last real adventure of Byrd's taught him a few simple things about life and family. This absentee husband and father had to leave his family and go thousands of miles into unexplored territory to find out that his joy was there at the beginning of his long journey.

We are like Admiral Byrd. We search the world over for a drink of the "living water" only to find it frozen. We have to bring it home with us to let it thaw out so that we can truly understand its meaning to us.

As the character "Dorothy" in the movie The Wizard of Oz said, "There's no place like home." We must be at home with the Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is there through the Spirit that by believing we can drink the "living water" and it will flow like a river from our heart.

Thoughts about our Creator

Our Lord God has been involved in our lives from the beginning of Creation. He has known us before our birth and has helped us in all that we do and will do in turning to Him. No matter what treacherous storms come upon us, He is there and will be in the future. We look forward to spending eternity with Him.

Psalm 90:1-2 speaks to us in saying, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

As we stand in God’s shadow that He casts from His resting place, we live in His security. Nothing can separate us from Him and this is our comfort no matter what happens to our physical presence and existence on Earth. God’s care for us is an easy task for Him as His strength controls all things and our defense is guaranteed.

Long before our Earth’s place in creation and its features and were determined, our Lord and God has been with us and His everlasting presence is eternal with us. God’s time is unlike our worldly time. It knows no beginning or end. The beginning of His creation is like a yesterday to Him. The limits of our sequential time have no affect on God’s time.

We, the children of God, are always in the today, the now. We don’t exist in yesterday or in tomorrow, so all our efforts should be directed to the present moment of life lived. Like the waters of a river, our today keeps moving from upstream to downstream, never resting in the same place.

God is our hope for our today’s to come.  He guides us while we live our lives and takes us into His presence when this life is done. It is then we turn our clocks to God’s Time, which is eternal.    

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is like a huge rock in the middle of the ocean. The gospel rock is our salvation. The ocean currents are the natural world's pull on us. If we spend all of our time swimming in the surf or floating in our raft we drift away from the gospel and the Lord. There is nothing out in the vast ocean that can save us. If there is trouble we must get back to the gospel rock. If we drift too far out from the rock and into the strong ocean currents, we will pay a price. Our safety is on the rock. The ocean's waters may be enticing, but our true salvation is on the rock.

When I compare life to this metaphor of the gospel rock in the ocean I can get a better view of the situation that we are all in. We live most of our lives in the surf around the gospel island rock. We live out in the surf because of our sinful nature. The abuse of our God given free will moves us off of the island and into the surf.

Jesus the Christ has provided us a way out of our sin by His invitation to come back to the island rock, which is covered with the fruit of the gospel. We have become comfortable living in the surf and we enjoy our journeys out into the deep. We have been offered an opportunity to come back to shore, but we are slow to return because we figure that it will always be there. We risk everything by allowing ourselves to be moved by the currents in the ocean world. We spend most of our existence trying to get out of troublesome situations that the worldly currents have put us in. We must quickly start swimming to Shore.

In Paul’s letter to the Hebrews 2:1-10 we hear:

"Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"