Fear Not - Listen Much

Jesus spoke to Peter as Peter's fear caused him to sink into the water. Seeing Jesus walking on the water Peter asked to come with Him. Jesus commanded him to come but the strong wind frightened Peter and he began to sink. Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:22-33 NRSV). How often do we cry out to come to Jesus and get faint hearted and distracted before we get there?

A reading from scripture or a meditation might inspire us. The Sunday morning sermon may cause us to say, "What a coincidence, the preacher is talking about the very thing that I need to do in my life to resolve my situation." The unfortunate thing is that many times we falter as we try to respond to the inspiration. Like the strong wind that distracted Peter, things can distract us and keep us from fulfilling the message that God sends to us through a life event.

In matters of Faith there is no such thing as being "in over your head". In the natural life there are times when we're put down or rejected because we've tried to move beyond our skills and talents. God's only requirement is that we turn to him and have faith in him. Smart or dumb, rich or poor, the fare is faith.

I often tell a childhood story about my inability to catch a baseball that was hit high in the air. I would become unfocused and nervous as I waited for the ball to come down. I just couldn't keep my eyes on the ball. By the time the ball was near to the ground my quandary was that either I would miss catching the ball altogether or it would hit me in the head. Instead of being a part of the game I was reduced to being a target.

It's so easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. During a spiritual mission in my home church community a number of years ago, Canon Bryan Greene of England told a group of us, "Don't think that salvation is in doing the busy work around the church. That will get you nowhere." He told us that there is only one thing that we should do. He said to us, "Keep your eyes on Christ!"

Many would like to blame their times of struggle on someone else. Our parents seem to be easiest to blame for our problems, however; in Ezekiel 18:1-4 we are told: "...The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge...this proverb shall no more be used by you... "

The Lord goes on to say, "Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine; it is only the person who sins that shall die". It is comforting to know that God does not hold us responsible for another's sin. Our children are not accountable for our sins and we are not accountable for their sins. This the Lord revealed to Ezekiel.

On another level, however, we must be responsible for what we are teaching and modeling for our own and future generations. We are called to share the Lord with our children and all those that we contact. We are called to live and share the life of Christ. Many times and in unique ways a child can teach the parent something about the Godly life. It is ultimately, however, the individual's responsibility to keep God's law.

Living and sharing the Gospel is what is important in life. It is what God is calling us to do. What does our lifestyle communicate to our children, to our friends and neighbors? This is where the work is. Our own personal discipline to keep our eyes on Christ is the key. It's no coincidence that disciple and discipline share the same first seven letters.

And the Good News is that through Christ's crucifixion and atonement for our sin, we can start anew. When we turn to the Lord and dedicate our lives to Him, our loving and guiding creator, Ezekiel reminds us that God does not remember our sins. Let us never turn back to our old and sinful ways.

And I pray: ‘Heavenly Father, help me to live and reflect Your essence. Give me the strength to discipline my life in You. Prepare me to be Your influence in the lives of all those I touch. Give me the courage to take a stand for You and make it my own. Give me the courage to be bold in the world for You. In the name of Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I pray. AMEN’

Doubting God

A lifelong friend recently asked me, “What did Jesus mean when he said ‘Father, Why have you forsaken me.’ If Jesus could doubt God, surely sometimes we can too and still love him. I tell my wife of 45 years sometimes I have doubts about her. She doesn’t like it and says after 45 years of marriage and 5 years of dating you sometimes have doubts about me? I say yes I do.”

The following is my answer to his question: In order for God to communicate more directly with his people, He sent Jesus in human form. Jesus was the Son of God & the Son of Man. He had to live His life as both, which was tough for him. Many of his words on the Cross reflect and connect back to Psalm 22, including "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me."

Jesus was sent by God to take on the sins of the whole world. At that moment on the cross in taking on our sin, it was such a load that for one moment He was separated from God with that load of sin upon Him. Jesus had to doubt God a bit so we could understand the magnitude of God's Sacrifice for us.

It is through the suffering of Jesus that we are made whole in knowing what God was willing to put Himself through in the suffering of Jesus. Our Father died for us through Christ, which is the largest sacrifice a Father could make for His children. All of Jesus’ suffering and even His questioning of His Father only make clear what God was willing to do for us.

Having said that, we must realize that we children of God do have times when we doubt God. Jesus doubted God for a few seconds in His burden that we will never see the likes of in our lives. Because of our human nature, we like to be in control and many times wonder why God is leading us or not leading us in the direction we think He should lead us. It always gets back to the question as to how attentive we are in listening to God and how much our desires cloud God’s wishes for us.

In Jeremiah 29:11-13 we are reminded of God’s intentions: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’” And then in Proverbs 3:5-7 we hear: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.”

God does not have an on and off switch that we can use at our discretion. It’s our own personal switch we use to turn Him on and off. God’s switch is always on. Therefore, it’s up to us to keep our internal switch for Him in the “on” position as much as possible. When we do that, we minimize the doubt that sometimes comes upon us.

The classic doubting story in the Bible concerns the doubting of 100 year old Abraham and 90 year old Sarah. In their doubting that God could bring forth a child in Sarah’s womb, whose name would be Isaac, son of Abraham, God said to them in Genesis 18:14: “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

While we may not have the kind of close conversations with the Lord that Abraham and Sarah had, we need to seek Him as much as possible in every aspect of our lives. Sarah even laughed to herself as she overheard God in His conversation with Abraham in telling him that Sarah would have a child at the age of 90. Her doubt is like our doubt in that we don’t trust God and His leadership in our lives. What seems like reality to use is far from that which God is able to do in our lives.

God has lifted our burden with His sacrifice for us. Jesus took on our burden of sin and should convince us that any doubting of God is useless.

God's Free Ammo!

Some of us older folks remember a song inspired by the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. involvement in World War II. This patriotic song written by Frank Loesser has been mistakenly attributed to others as it became a battle cry of many soldiers. This song entitled "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is about a chaplain that is with some sailors under air attack.

When he is asked to say a prayer for those sailors engaged in battle, he laid down his Bible and took charge of one of the ship’s guns. As he started firing the gun at the attacking planes, he starts singing, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition and we’ll all stay free.”

God’s plan for His children was certainly not for us to go to battle with each other and kill each other in our inability to get along in this world. God speaks to us through the Words of Jesus in the Gospel of John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This spiritual battle for the Lord is not one that requires us to lie down and let the evil of the world tramp on us. Yes, Jesus tells us to turn the other check and be slapped yet again and to forgive our enemies. Due to the complicated nature of knowing when and if to defend ourselves, we will not discuss it here, but recommend you do your own research for clarification. Isaiah 14:5-7 certainly describes God’s own battle against the evil of the world.

God’s idea of spiritual battle is that we should be soldiers of the cross, accepting and spreading Christ’s Kingdom around the world. This is a battle where the ammunition is the Word of God and the love that He wants His children to have for each other. If you don’t think this is a battle, just look around the world and view the never ending hatred some have for others. Hatred that turns to taking the lives of others for ungodly purposes. As we see in our world, there are bad against good and bad against bad in this refusal to love one another.

Psalm 150:1-6 teaches all of us in saying: “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!”

How could we possibly praise God in the way spoken in Psalm 150, yet turn against His Word and hate others. There are too many citizens and leaders in this world that don’t connect with God in a way that calls them to love others. If they claim a God that allows hatred and murder, he is a false god. As Christians, we believe in one Creator God and we must discount any claims of another. We must forgive others, but not join them in their ungodly or false godly hatred and killing. We must praise God and pass the spiritual ammunition.”  

In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Paul talks about the Godly battle in his life in saying: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

So we get medals, even a crown, in seeking God in our lives, not waging a worldly battle, but a Godly fighting of the good fight in Him. Paul informs us further in Galatians 4:8, ^“But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. And continues in Romans 8:31b ^“If God is for us, who can be against us? So the question for us becomes: How is our ammo supply for praising the Lord and passing it on to others?

St. Paul, Our Instructor

I have a friend that thinks the New Testament of the Bible should be called the gospel of Paul. My friend is critical of that Testament because he thinks St. Paul overpowers the Word of God in the Gospel of Jesus. He thinks Paul dominates the New Testament too much.
                                               

I disagree with my friend. The Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus is quite sufficient to inform us about that which God expects of us in our lives. St. Paul serves as the guide as to how we understand and integrate the Gospel of Jesus into our lives. If other folks are like me, I always try to assemble a product before I’ve read the instructions. I think that the list of parts, and what they do, is enough for me to know as I start assembling the product I will depend on.

If our New Testament was without the letters of St. Paul, we would know the main parts of the Gospel and what they’re supposed to do in our lives, but we’d be blind on how to make the Gospel work for us. St. Paul helps us understand just how we can use and benefit from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.    

Let’s take a look at a portion of Paul’s guidance for us in Philippians 4:1-9: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

My goal is to be able to live Paul's exhortation as given here to the Philippians. I want to get up every morning shouting it. I want to have it on my lips at midday. I want to sing myself to sleep with it at night. Rejoice in the Lord! Make me gentle! I know that You are near, Lord! I shall not worry! I humbly make my requests to You in prayer with thanksgiving! Your peace will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus!

My life is a song to the Lord. And like Him it has no beginning and no end. It is the first thing on my lips and the last each day. I have been touched deeply by His Spirit and I cannot forget what He has shown me. In my time of trial he held me up. He carried me through my chaotic journey. He restored me inside and out. He was there when nothing else would do. He protected me before I knew I was threatened. I praise Him in all things, for only He can solve the puzzle and see the answers.

He disciplines me behind His woodshed regularly. I am better when I return. Knowing Him makes my life more difficult, for now I have a way to measure how I'm doing in His name. His gentleness teaches me the way to treat my brothers and sisters. His peace does surpass all understanding. He makes me want to go with Him, but he has work right here for me to do. I mustn't think of any job as too large or too small that He desires to have me take ownership in.

St. Paul told Titus in his letter to him (2:1-15): "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

The Twenty-third Psalm reveals the Shepherd nature of our Lord and gives us, His Sheep, the confidence that He is always with us. When we live life with this blessing, keeping Him foremost in our thoughts and prayers, we can be His disciples in this world.

Anger is as Anger does!

We’ve been taught that anger is not a good thing. However; it’s hard for us to go immediately to forgiveness when someone has made us very angry. Anger is not a good state for us to be in, but it’s hard for us to control it when we’ve been wronged by someone. After all, even Jesus had times of anger with people.

In John 2:13-22 we are reminded of a very angry Jesus: “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”  Ok, I guess it’s alright for us to be angry about things and people. Well, maybe not. Jesus’ anger was because of a disregard for God’s house. Most times, our anger is not based on something that is directly connected to God.

We must forgive others as soon as possible after our anger has reached its peak. Our anger actually turns inward upon us and causes us to be ashamed of ourselves and to realize that our anger has actually cut us off from God’s love. The longer we stay angry, the deeper we become separated from God. It turns a situation of feeling justified in our anger to one of self punishment. It makes us incapable of love and acceptance of love, only making a bad situation worse.

It is unlikely that in this natural world we might never experience anger. It’s going to come, so we’d better be prepared for it. The more we love and enjoy another person, the greater the impact it has on our relationship with them. It’s a bit easier to be angry at someone we don’t know well. The consequences escalate, the deeper our relationship.  How then do we resolve a situation of anger toward another?

You’ve heard people say, “I can forgive them, but I can’t forget what they did.” That sounds reasonable, but God wants more from us. When possible, God wants us not only to forgive, but to be reconciled with the person and be in God’s community as partners again. When we are angry at someone, we tend to focus totally on what they did and not who they really are. This narrow focus makes it harder to forgive and reconcile with that person.

One of the mistakes we make when another has angered us is to try to recruit others to our side of the situation, which only causes more problems in our community.  An attempt to circle the community against the other person only complicates things and serves no one any benefit. Of course, if others hear of the discord on their own and form their own opinion, our forgiveness and reconciliation of the person becomes an even greater need for the community.

In Scripture, Luke 15: 11-32, a good example of forgiveness is the parable of the Prodigal Son, which we are all familiar with. The father ordered the fatted calf killed to be eaten in celebration for the return of his wayward son to the disgruntlement of the son that kept serving his father in the fields while his brother wasted his inheritance. Now that’s forgiveness and reconciliation. The father did not focus on the sons misdeeds, but instead celebrated the son’s life and his return.

 In the event that we have been so severely hurt by someone’s actions that reconciliation is difficult, we should wait and pray for a time when it makes sense to rejoin our brother or sister. If we are seeking God in our lives, He will lead us in a direction that will be most beneficial under the circumstances.

Forgiving others is difficult sometimes, but forgiving ourselves usually proves to be the most difficult. Not forgiving another or our self provides Satan with a great opportunity. We play right into his hands every time we are so convinced by principle that our un-forgiveness is justified. Are we to, "be outwitted by Satan"?  

Comfort in Seeking God

We live in a world where the righteous, that is the morally right and virtuous, are in the minority. For those who seek the Lord and His Righteousness in their lives, the story in Genesis 18 is certainly a relief in this immoral world. When speaking to the Lord about the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asks a series of questions as to the sparing of the city according to how many righteous versus unrighteous live there.

When Abraham gets to the least amount of righteous the Lord would spare the city for, the Lord still replies in verses 32 and 33, “Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there? And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”  So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.”

In the world we live in today, we take some comfort that the Lord won’t destroy it due to the small percentage of righteous folks. Of course in our time, man is coming closer and closer to being able to destroy his neighbor, which could set off a chain reaction with man destroying the world, this wonderful gift from God.

Since we have little or no control over what the rest of the world will do with their lives, we are called in Matthew 6:33-34, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” We certainly hope that others will follow this advice as well.

Assuming we are not as morally right and virtuous as we should be, we must have a plan. The Lord may not destroy a city with as few as ten righteous, however, we must seek Him and His Righteousness daily to understand His path for us in this life.

Now we begin to think about bad things happening to good people and how that fits into the greater picture of living and the promise of eternal life. While God said He would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there were only ten righteous people there, He wasn’t saying that people wouldn’t have bad things happen to them whether righteous or unrighteous.

We must seek God in our lives so we will know Him better and He can communicate with us in His Will for the world and for our part in that. We do not live our lives on our own until we die and then hook up with God. We should be seeking communication with God daily if not minute by minute. When we do this, our relationship with God carries us through all things, even the bad things. When our skin and bones drop off at what we call death, our spirit continues in the relationship that we have been seeking with our Creator God on into eternity. We can’t be certain how that will work out if we never get to know Him in our natural lives.

In Jeremiah 29:13 God reveals to us, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Our relationship with our Creator is not meant to be a casual affair. We can’t afford to get into the “put off” mode. There may be many things in life that we can “put off”; however, seeking God in our lives continuously is not one of them. God leaves it up to us to make that decision. His love for us, His children, should be enough to draw us to Him.

In Psalm 121:1-2 the psalmist says, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  Exodus 15:2 further exclaims: “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, the God of my father, and I will exalt him.”

In Proverbs 28:9 we are a bit shaken by God’s strong words: “If one turns away his ear from hearing My teachings, even his prayer is not heard.” Let’s hope we can all seek the Lord our God in our lives and profit from it.

 

Salt and Light

As the story of our creation is told in Genesis, we are informed that in the beginning God created heaven and earth. He created the creatures in the sea, the birds in the sky and the animals on the land. He created man to watch over these creatures and ultimately each other. He gave man "free will" to choose the way man would behave.

So it is and has been and will be that man chooses how he will react to life's circumstances, to his environment, to his fellow man, to himself and to God.

As each new child is born, that child may be born into an environment where people have chosen “God's way", have chosen a "sinful way" or some combination of the two. The latter is the more likely. There are an infinite number of combinations of good and evil in every life. Some lives in tremendous sin and others almost godlike, from Charles Manson to Mother Teresa.

We can be effective for the Lord in the world or we can let the world snuff us out.  In Matthew 5:13, Jesus explains to us:  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

It may not be fair that one might be born into a sinful environment, having no choice in the matter. The whole world is sinful, so in reality everyone is born into a sinful environment. The fact that one life may have more obstacles and challenges than another cannot be denied. This sin was and is man’s choice, not God’s. The "Garden of Eden" story is repeated millions of times daily.

What is fair? It is fair that God's grace is available, unconditionally, to every man and woman. It is fair that God loves us unconditionally. It is fair that we, each of us, can choose to open our hearts and minds to the love of God or ignore Him. It is fair that we can respond to the ups and downs of life in any way we choose. It is fair that we can choose to perpetuate the sin which has gone before or reject it by living our lives with God at the Center. We can literally be “born again” when we are ready to meet life with the “Holy Spirit” at our side.

God sent His son Jesus Christ to show us. Man killed the messenger, but by his death Jesus took on the sins of the world (John 3:16). He left a legacy of lessons reported in the New Testament of the Bible. It is fair that we are born into the "Holy Spirit”. Once we recognize it, it’s our job to do something with it. We can start anew, love the Lord and pass it on.

We will always have difficult challenges. At the end of our very short stay on earth we will lose the right of "free will" and God will take us to His chest. We should try every day to seek God in anticipation of that day. We can recall the Gospel of John 1:1-5. "When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was. The Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through him all things came to be; no single thing was created without him. All that came to be was alive with his life, and that life was the light men. The light shines on in the dark, and the darkness has never mastered it.”    

Jesus goes on to shed more “light” on this matter in Matthew 5:14-16 in saying: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We must seek to be as pure as the best salt in the world, with a glow that lights up everyone around us. As His light shines upon us, let us pass it on and be a “salty light” in the world.

Tackling Our Healing & Recovery

It’s sometimes hard to know where to start when we are in need of healing and recovery. Do we just ask God to intervene and then sit back and wait? There’s probably a little more to it. Our healing is a two-way street. We have to be seeking God in a sincere and constant way. While we are doing that, God can work with us and communicate with us much better. Then He can lead us through our part of our healing while He is doing His part.

Proverbs 4:20-22 can get us started in saying, “My son, give attention to my words; let your ear be turned to my sayings.  Let them not go from your eyes; keep them deep in your heart.  For they are life to him who gets them, and strength to all his flesh.” This healing and recovery thing requires a large commitment by us, as we let God work His ways.

One of our two lovely daughters-in-law, mother of our only grandchild, has had a setback recently. She has been very active in her life, held down a job, kept trim and has lived in a moral way recognizing the Lord in her life. She is a very independent person, doing her part in whatever she undertakes. Then one day things suddenly changed.

As a part of her exercise program, she has been attending Yoga classes to help her stay fit. She was at a class one day doing her stretching exercises when something popped. Her back was in deep pain, she started fainting and vomiting. She was rushed to the hospital, where preliminary indications were that she had an inoperable tumor on her spine that had finally ruptured. She had no previous warning of this issue.

She was taken to a spinal specialty clinic, where it was determined that most of it could be removed and that it was benign. Unfortunately, much damage had been done in the rupturing and the surgery to remove added to that damage. Both of her legs were paralyzed. She spent a month in a rehab unit before being released to her home for follow-up therapy three times a week. She also has a personal trainer that works with her at home the other 4 days.

While she has been very disciplined in her rehab activities, her doctors say that it will take up to a year for any significant improvement with no guarantee of returning to normal. She lives out of state, but my wife and I stay in close touch with her, our son and granddaughter.  We have made several visits to help out and for moral support. My wife told her that she is so “tough”.  With great enthusiasm she responded, “I’m not tough, I have to get better.”

In a recent communication with her, she said that she had found comfort in Holy Scripture and especially in a version of Psalm 37:34 (Living Bible) that she had edited to be in ‘first person’ as if they were her words. She paraphrased that scripture in this way: “I won’t be impatient for God to act, I will travel steadily along his pathway and in due season He will honor me with every blessing.” She is working hard on her part and trusting God on His part.

My daughter-in-law is faithful in her rehabilitation with technicians and trainers, but realizes that her faith in the Lord is even more important.  In Mark 5:34 we are told: “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’"

In James 3:14-15 we hear: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

My wife and I have been inspired by our daughter-in-law. She married our son 16 years ago and we thought we knew her pretty well. We’ve loved her all these years, but the way she is responding to this life altering situation, has brought even more joy to our relationship with her. Her daughter, our granddaughter, will grow from seeing her mother respond to life’s bumps and hurdles in this way. Our son is also blessed to have such a life partner.

An approach to getting along

One would think there is plenty of direction in Christianity to teach us how to get along with each other. Bible scripture gives us much to think about.  In the Gospel of Matthew 22:36-40, we learn: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”  Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” These words of Jesus don’t leave much wiggle room, but we still have a hard time living in to them.

We may even draw on other traditions to further support what Jesus was saying. There are many traditions that are older than recorded history. One principle of such an old Chinese tradition was the principle of Chung Fu, which means Inner Truth. It was introduced into Confucianism at some point. These principles can help nudge us into our already existing Christian principles and commandments.

In Chung Fu, the idea is to be like the wind blowing across the lake. The invisible action of the wind creates to noticeable ripples in the water. Our goal should be to interact with others in a way that is not clouded with prejudice or other predispositions about a person. If you proceed in life relationships this way, you are more invisible to the other person and your behavior toward them is more effective. To have a deep influence on others you must have a good understanding of them.

In love, our partner must trust us deeply.  In order for this to manifest itself in our relationship, we must take the time to thoroughly understand our partner. In business or professional situations, we must be straightforward in our communications. They must be honest and sincere. We must cultivate a deep and compassionate understanding of the people affecting our lives

We must communicate and cooperate effectively with those around us. To do this and be successful we need to take the time to thoroughly understand their natures. Our prejudice, predispositions, or any other negative must be put aside or their receptivity will be lessened and truth will not be reached. Once we thoroughly understand someone, we can work on gaining their trust; however, Chung Fu principles warn that this needs to be for a mutual benefit, not just our benefit. Without honesty and sincerity, progress cannot be achieved.

We must be gentle in our relationships and not jump to conclusions before we have a deep understanding of the other person. There must be a mutual confidence in this relationship in order to build trust and activate beneficial results.

The light generated in a relationship developed in this way will shine on, in and through each of the parties, so that a clear and clean spirit can do its work.  The inner truth that is manifest in this must grow great before its influence can be truly felt.  

In Hebrews 12:14-16, St. Paul reminds us: ^“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled..”

And then in Romans 12:15-28, Paul continues to support what we have been pondering above in saying: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”  

While we have taken a side trip to the Chung Fu principles, we have only proven that what we need in our lives can be found in Holy Scripture. Our side trip reveals that we must do a better job in practicing our own traditions in Christianity. There is much that we pass by; like a ship passing by its port in the night.

WHATEVER!

I know a lot of people that use the word, “whatever”, in an odd way. It’s almost as if they don’t give a hoot about what you’ve just said to them. It seems to be a put down. They don't care about what you said. The term seems to be used to dismiss a previous statement and express indifference.  It is usually considered offensive and impolite.

 

In recent times the word has become a very popular way to express oneself.  It is used to block further conversation on a subject. It leaves the other person without a way to respond.  Anything we suggest can be blocked by the retort of "whatever". In today’s social media on the internet it is used by shorthand in typing w/e, meaning whatever.

People sometimes say, “Whatever”, when they have lost an argument. Maybe sometimes they say the w/e word as a way of being OK with what you’ve just said, but really don’t have a horse in the race. At any rate, I guess we’re stuck with this slang usage for awhile.

There are plenty of other proper uses of the word whatever that don’t carry quite the negativity. It is used in phrases like: take whatever you want; whatever he says, they won't believe him; whatever do you mean by that; do whatever you like; you have our support, whatever you decide; whatever decision he made I would support it; and take whatever action is needed, to name a few.

I’ve done a search of Holy Scripture and find that Philippians 4:8 is packed with the word, whatever.  Let’s take a look at how it is used by St. Paul: ^“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Well now, that seems to put a different twist on the word, whatever. Here St. Paul uses it to target the things in our lives that are beneficial to us in our seeking the Lord. In Mark 13:11, we see another use of whatever: “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”
Mark also uses the, whatever, word in 11:24; “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” As it turns out the, whatever word, is used many, many times in Holy Scripture. The following are more examples:

Genesis 2:19 “Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”  Genesis 8:19 “Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.”  Genesis 21:12 “But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.” Genesis 31:16  “For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”
 

This search of Holy Scripture for the whatever word, could go on forever. It is used in so many ways, but doesn’t seem to stand alone very well, as our modern culture sometimes uses it. It seems to need a lot of help in its proper use. While some use it to discount or ignore, its use in the Bible certainly helps raise important things to our attention.

The next time someone states the one word, “whatever”, a good response might be Hallelujah!

Life, Death and Our Spirit

In our religious beliefs, we are seeking to know our Creator God and recognize that we humans have some sort of soul or spirit that is part of us.  We can sense that spirit in each other and have faith that it is an eternal life promise. When we think of most friends and family during their lives and after their death, we certainly sense some kind of spirit relating to them. They had a spirit about them in all that they did in this world and we still sense their spirit after their natural death.

We are all tiny physical pieces of our vast universe, God’s Creation, but we see ourselves as spirits whose souls have always existed. While our mortal bodies seem to be separate from our spirit, we are in some sense immortal in our spirit as we leave these short natural lives to be in God’s Eternal Kingdom.

God does not measure time with a clock. Each of us will experience our own death at a worldly time unknown to us. We are, however, on God’s Time. Einstein probably understood that more than anyone with his theory of Relativity, the thought of which brings us closer together with all humanity that has ever been.

St. Paul tells us in a portion of Chapter 8 of his letter to the Romans: “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you …though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness……nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ben Franklin once wrote to a deceased friend’s family (in part), “Our friend and we were invited abroad on a party of pleasure, which is to last forever.  His chair was ready first, and he goes before us.  We could not all conveniently start together; and why should you and I be grieved at this, since we are soon to follow, and know where to find him? Adieu, Ben Franklin”

My personal certainty of God’s Love, Grace and gift of Eternal Life with Him comes from my revelation experience with Him through His Spirit. During a 10-hour brain tumor surgery and a 30-day recovery at UAB Hospital in Birmingham in 1993, I was forgiven and comforted by Him. My fear of death was removed. He even gave me a glimpse into His Eternal Kingdom. Nothing has changed that understanding I received some 20-years ago.
 
More than one hundred years ago, a man of faith wrote the following piece that has been a help to me and many others over the years. It represents a communication from a deceased family member or friend. It is probably what those we have lost over the years would like to tell us: 

 “Death is nothing at all…I have only slipped away into the next room…I am I and you are you…whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by my old familiar name; speak to me in the easy way which you always used.  Put no difference into your tone; wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.  Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.  Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.  Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effect, without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant.  It is the same as it ever was; there is absolutely unbroken continuity.  What is this death but a negligible accident?  Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?  I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner…All is well.” (By Henry Scott Holland, 1847-1918, a Canon of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England.)


We are called, as those before us, to nurture our spirit as we live out our lives in the Lord. Our personal spirit, when enhanced by a close relationship with God, is a gift to us and others in our natural lives in this world and our eternal lives in His Kingdom.

Being Yourself

A friend of mine once told me that he liked to go to places like New Orleans, New York and San Francisco because he could feel more like himself in those environs than at home. There was a certain freedom for him in going out of town and turning loose of that self within him. He said it made him see life differently and it gave him a sense of creativity to be even more than he was.

I often wondered just what it was that caused him to feel that way. Was he able to do things not acceptable in his home environment? What was it about these away from home places that freed him up? Was it not possible for him to get freed up at home? Was this some sort of escape from something for him?

It’s not unusual for people to enjoy travel to see different places and things around our country and the world, but most people see that as a way of educating themselves about the world around them, not a way of escaping from their everyday lives. Travel can allow us to take time out to view the world around us, but not escape from who we are in our home communities.

Being aware of the world around us is certainly informative and helpful in our lives, but we can’t live everywhere all the time. We must be able to be ourselves where we live and not have to go elsewhere to find out who we are. Knowing more about the world around us should help us be ourselves at home. We can take the good and the bad we see in the world and help improve our home environments.

In Romans 12:2, St. Paul tells us: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Seeking places and things to free up ourselves is not worthy to offer up to God. If He is not in it with us, we waste our time. Peace, Grace and Comfort comes from God and Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Our searches without them are dead end roads.

In 1 Samuel 16:6-7, we hear:  “So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”  Does my friend see something in the places he likes to journey to, that are not of the Lord? Like Samuel, is he looking at the outward appearance of things and not to the heart of things?

What are we called to be in our environments? Shouldn’t we be seeking God in this and not trying to be freed up in the natural world? The way we can best be ourselves is to consult with our Creator Father. Who would know better what we have been created to be. If we don’t listen to Him while we’re at home, a travel location will not be of much help. He’s with us at home and in travel, sending us His Love and Grace.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul reminds us of Christ’s message to him: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

So, it looks like “being ourselves” is found at home and everywhere we invite God to be with us. No matter the calamities of life that send us elsewhere to look, God is with us in our weaknesses. It is in all of the ups and downs of our lives, that we are lead when we turn to the Lord.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul again reminds us: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  Paul goes on in Hebrews 11:1, to confirm that faith is our ‘being ourselves’ tool: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

A New Year should begin every day

For many years our American culture has looked at New Year’s Eve as a time for celebration. For some this involves drunkenness and wild behavior.  Of course, the bible is full of warnings about this kind of behavior. For example, in         1 Peter 4:3 we hear: “You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry.” New Year's festivities are not new. The ancients celebrated a new year in many different ways, including worshipping certain Gods at the beginning of the year in order to get favor and sometimes for their destiny to be revealed.

New Years Eve and New Years Day are not Christian days of celebration, but we can make them so. As a matter of fact, we can make every day of our lives a day of celebration in the Lord. St. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Even those who have not known God in their lives, are encouraged by St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” While we enjoy the days of Christian Celebration in our lives like Easter and Christmas, they are certainly worthy of our joy, but they do tend to come and go before we know it. The season of Lent, which is the six weeks leading up to Easter gives us more time to think things through. It helps to prepare us in our life in Christ through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial leading up to when Jesus is crucified and resurrected on Easter Day.

We have shared recently about the season of Advent, the coming of Christ, leading us up to the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It begins four weeks before Christmas, but it is not celebrated in all Christian Churches. This is a time of reflection and renewal for us as we anticipate the coming of The Lord.
Let’s stop and think a bit more about the celebration of the New Year. Like the time of self-denial and repentance during Lent, folks do make New Year’s resolutions with the idea of making a change in their lives in some fashion to give them a fresh start for the year.  Would you consider making every day the first day of the year to come? Or maybe you already practice this kind of thinking. You know, “today is the first day of the rest of your life” kind of mentality.

We are all called to be so connected to God through Christ and His Holy Spirit, that we can communicate with Him daily, minute by minute in our lives. Scripture speaks to us in so many ways about this. In Psalm 51:10 and 12,the psalmist says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

In Romans 12:2, St. Paul reminds us: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  St. Paul goes on to remind us in Colossians 3:8-10: “But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.”

So the celebration days of all kind are good if they celebrate God’s blessings to us in our lives. However, in order to be able to truthfully celebrate, we must live ninety-nine percent of our time seeking God through Christ and His Spirit in all that we think and do. Daily discipline in the Lord makes the celebration times all the more meaningful and joyful. HAPPY NEW DAY!

Christmas: Just getting started

For much of Christianity, Christmas Day is the beginning of a twelve day celebration that ends on the twelfth night just before January 6^th, which is declared by many as the revelation of God to man through Jesus Christ. This date is referred to as the Epiphany. While there are several versions about when this Epiphany time came, a much accepted version is that this day is when the Magi visited the baby Jesus and thus Jesus, Son of God and Son of man was introduced physically to the Gentile world. So don’t go taking down your trees and other decorations on Christmas Day. There’s more to celebrate.

Many Christian traditions honor a Saint or an event on each of the twelve days of Christmas leading up to January 6^th, The Epiphany.  There are very few of us that haven’t sung “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song at some point in our lives. Have you ever wondered just what each of the gifts “my true love sent to me” mean? Is the meaning deeper than we know?

Some would have us believe that it was a secret code used by oppressed Christians in 17^th and 18^th century England. Others say that it was just a playful way of teaching new Christians (young and old) the basics of the faith, a kind of Catechism. Nonetheless, it has lasted for almost three hundred years and is loved by many. The following is the meaning of the twelve days of the song according to tradition. On each of the twelve days, my true love sent to me:

 

First Day - The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Second Day - Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Third Day - Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
Fourth Day - The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
Fifth Day - The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
Sixth Day - The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seventh Day - Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
Eighth Day - The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Ninth Day - Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
Tenth Day - The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
Eleventh Day - The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
Twelfth Day - The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

 

Whatever the origin and correct intention of this song, it’s still useful and enjoyable in our time as we seek to understand our faith in new ways. It is also a reminder that Christmas is a season that begins on Christmas Day and ends on January 5^th, 12^th night. We modern Christians seem to do our Christmas celebrating not long after Thanksgiving Day and tend to end it soon after or on Christmas Day.

 

The idea that Christmas is a celebration that lasts for 12-days beginning on Christmas day is practiced in different ways in the multiple Christian traditions, but who can say that it is not a worthwhile practice for those who celebrate this way. It certainly deepens our faith to recognize Saints and events in our history as well as to remember the many aspects of our faith that are underlying in The Twelve Days of Christmas song. The idea of continuing the celebration for 12-days after the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ connects us more with the life of Christ and God’s purposes in and through Him.    

God with us +++ God's Word

What a gift God has given us. In addition to the gift of life that He gave us, He loved His created children so much that He decided to get much more up close and personal with us by sending His Son to talk with us.  In Isaiah 9:6 we hear: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Don't you love it when God's plan comes together? Isaiah was foretold through God’s Spirit of the coming of the one who would be "God with us." The angel of the Lord was busy getting Mary and Joseph on board and then going out to give the shepherds the "good news of great joy." In Luke 2:1-20 we hear: "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." This was followed by a multitude of the heavenly host saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

The event of the birth of Jesus is amazing. Who would have thought that for us, all eternity would be impacted by the birth of this helpless child? What were the chances of this child living past child birth, not to mention growing up to become the, "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16)? The chances were great because it was God Himself coming to us through His only Son who was Himself without sin. His life taught us and gave us the great example to follow. His death atoned for our sin and gave us the hope of salvation.

How should we respond to these miraculous things? For me the answer is easy. The doing of it is a little more difficult. Inside each of us is the potential to mirror the life of Jesus by turning to God in and for all things. If we open ourselves to Him, He will show Himself to us and through us to those we contact. Our goal is not to be God on earth; Jesus fulfilled that role once for all. But we must seek to offer ourselves to God, to be used as a conduit for His love.

There are some that view our world as a “Battlefield”.  Given the history of man, one might agree with this view. We are imperfect people, but God still expects us to live in peace and love. He could have made us loving robots from the beginning, but He wanted us to understand life as a beautiful gift on our own. By coming to us through His Word in Christ Jesus, He shows us all the ways that our world does not have to be a battlefield. We are called by Him to bring peace, joy and love to the world as His messengers in Christ.

A child has been given to us who is Christ the Lord. He was sent by the Father to help us better understand our importance in God's Kingdom. We are meant to be part of God's plan for His creation. Our lives are miracles as well. God has done much work to create us in His image. As we celebrate the event of God being with us through the life of Christ, let us commit to loving one another as He has loved us. Let us mirror Him to each other. God's plan is ongoing and is eternal. Let us do our part to keep it coming together. Let a child be born in us today.

John cements the coming of the Jesus, the messiah, in Chapter 1:1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Trusting One Another

Recently an organization name General Social Survey (GSS) released information pertaining to a national poll revealing a change in our societal interaction in America. The GSS mission is defined in the following statement: “The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations.” For more information go online to http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/. 

GSS has found that Americans trust each other less than they have in the past 40 years and maybe less than ever. The same type survey done in 1972 indicated that half the people surveyed agreed that most people can be trusted. Some 40 years later, the recent survey indicates that only one third of the people surveyed agreed that most people can be trusted. In hearing these statistics, our minds race to think of changes in American Society and how this feeling about other people has evolved.

Many Biblical verses, mostly from the Old Testament, lead us in this way: Psalm 118:8 tells us, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man;” Micah 7:5, “Put no trust in a neighbor, have no confidence in a friend, guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms;” Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”
Do these verses tell us it’s alright not to trust each other? Is this GSS Poll on how our trusting of one another is declining a sign we are trusting in the Lord more and that’s good? Don’t you think it’s a little more complicated than that? Let’s look at some of the levels of mistrust that were revealed in the survey. 

The survey says: 1) Seventy-eight percent only trust people they meet while traveling “just somewhat,” “not too much” or “not at all.” 2) Fifty-five percent don’t trust people who they hire to do work in their homes. 3) Seventy-five percent mistrust people who are also driving cars while they drive. 4) Eighty-one percent said that they trust politicians in Washington to do the right thing “only some of the time.”
Let’s look into this declining trust in one another a little deeper. Could it be that our lack of trust of others is because we are not acting out our best from within ourselves and thus we are experts in bad behavior and see it readily in others? Let’s turn to the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In Luke 10:27 we hear, ‘And he answered,’ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Wow, maybe we don’t love ourselves and that reflects in how we love and trust others. In Matthew 5:38-39 we hear, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” I shout another “Wow” for that guidance from Jesus. 

I find myself and others I interact with wanting to strike out at those who are irritating, disagreeable or have different opinions about things. I don’t see any footnotes in the Gospel of Jesus that say, *use your own judgment.* If you want to really test yourself, take a look at Matthew 6:14-15 where the Lord tells us, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

So much has changed in our society and culture in the past 40 years. If we don’t like something or someone, we just go to the internet social media sites and let it all hang out. We can react instantly about something and it goes around the world in a few seconds. We are influenced by others who react as quickly as we do. When our lives don’t go our way we seek ways to escape through alcohol, drugs or other addictions. The advice from Jesus, 2,000 years ago, is still the best guidance in dealing with trusting others. Maybe if we corrected some of our own issues and trusted in the Lord in all we think and do, it would be easier to trust others. Maybe we’re not being the example to others that we should be.

Thanksgiving Forever!

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, but shouldn’t we continue to be thankful for the blessings of this life?  We say there are lots of things in life that we’re not thankful for, but should that stop us from being thankful?  I once worked for a man who had a saying something like this: ‘Work is being in a constant state of discontent, interrupted occasionally by brief periods of celebration for a job well done.’

I think this comment by my old boss can actually be applied to life. Yes, life is sort of a constant state of discontent, interrupted occasionally by brief periods of celebration for a life well lived. As you know, the colonists that came to this country seeking a new life lived hard lives and endured many dangers.  Some died while coming to what is now America, as they attempted to fulfill their dream.

At that first organized time of thanks in 1621, the Plymouth colonists shared a fall feast with the local Indians they connected with during their colonization of America. As the land soon to be America continued to be colonized and organized, other groups and eventually other states celebrated times of thanksgiving on their own. This continued for a couple of centuries before President Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

In 1620, the small ship named the Mayflower began a journey carrying about 100 passengers, as it left England. Those passengers were seeking religious freedom and the hope for prosperity in the New World.  It took the Mayflower about 66 days to cross the Atlantic and we can only imagine the dangers they encountered during this voyage.  The aim of this voyage was to land near what is now New York City, but they ended up landing near Cape Cod. They missed their landing site by a few hundred miles, but were certainly glad to see land of any kind. A month later they continued across the bay to the mainland and settled in the place they called Plymouth.

It was very late fall when they first landed and they experienced a very harsh winter. Disease and overexposure to the elements burdened them and most of them stayed on board the Mayflower during this time.  As spring approached, only half of the original passengers and crew were still alive. The survivors finally left the ship and began to settle the area. They were greeted by an Indian, who surprisingly did so in English. You may remember the Indian, Squanto, who had been captured by an English sea captain and escaped some time later. This surprised the Pilgrims, as you can imagine.

Squanto helped the Pilgrims in regaining their health and stability, by teaching them how to grow corn and other crops, and fish the local streams.  In November, at the end of their first year in America, the Colonists harvested their first corn crop and the celebration of thanks began. The relationship the Colonists had with the local Indians lasted more than 50 years. Unfortunately, it is one of the few significant positive relationships between the European settlers and the Native Americans.

The actual celebration feast lasted three days as the colonists invited the local Indians to join them. The Indians probably contributed more to the celebration than did the Pilgrims.  The Indian cooking methods and spices made the event very elaborate.  After the celebration, it was back to work and most likely to a “state of discontent” for the Colonists as they continued to forge their way into their new life, occasionally taking time to celebrate their blessings received through their good works.

Communication with God

Communicating with God is probably the most difficult task for us, His children. In order to be successful in the message receiving and sending process, we have to be intentional about building our information base in Him through reading and following His Word in the Bible. Jesus came to us as God’s Word and we must take Him seriously.

The law and the prophets of the Old Testament add to our base of understanding, and Jesus clarified and simplified God’s expectations of us in His Gospel. Coaches of sports teams usually tell their players that the most important thing in their training for success is working hard on the fundamentals of the sport. As Christians seeking a relationship with God, we must work hard on the fundamentals of our faith.

God’s Word in the Bible is our training ground as we seek to turn a one way conversation into a two way conversation. God communicates to us through His Spirit, but if our fundamentals are not developed, the sending and receiving with God is full of interference.

There are several instances in the life of Jesus where the disciples and others around Him actually heard God communicating with His Son. As in John 12:30, “Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.” Jesus is in constant communication with God, He wanted us to know that communication on some level was possible. For us, that is the work of God’s Holy Spirit.

Even when we think we’re interacting with God in our prayers and our listening, we can still mess things up. Going back as far as Abraham we have been tempted to do God’s work for Him. In Genesis 15:4, God promised Abraham a son, but Abraham and Sarah took things into their own hands and instead of waiting for a spirit planted son in Sarah, they engaged Sarah’s slave Hagar to sleep with Abraham and give birth to a son.

In ignoring God’s promise, Abraham and Sarah created an issue that lives with us in today’s world. After they were gifted by the birth of a son together as God had promised, the Ishmael vs. Isaac tension began and continues to play out in our world today. Yes, even Abraham and Sarah took a break from the fundamentals of faith and got off of God’s track for them.

Our challenge is to build up our fundamentals in faith and wait for Gods friendly nudge in the direction of His Will for us. We can recognize it as His Will for us when we don’t see it as something we can control and carry out without His help. It is like going out on a weak limb for Him with the confidence that He will not let it break.  

I can remember many times in my life when I felt led by God to help someone in a particular situation they were in. Most times I have taken the risk that my action would be accepted for what it was and not viewed as my having a personal ulterior motive in doing it. Even when we feel led on a path for reconciliation in a personal matter, we must only do that which feels God led and not cave into the, “Oh, I can fix it” posture.

God’s leadership in our lives flows through His Holy Spirit. As hard as we try to hear what He is telling us, we humans can sometimes misunderstand His communications. This should not stop us from seeking God’s leadership in our lives. We’ll miss the mark occasionally, but our batting average will stay high as long as we don’t give up and we keep working on those fundamentals of our faith.

We must keep attentive to those Godly nudges through His Spirit. If we feel we are being led and not trying to lead, most times that limb we crawl out on will be sturdy enough for God’s work. In 2^nd Timothy 3:16-17, we are reminded: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Being Saved

There is a story of unknown origin to me, about four men who went fishing. In the story one of the men walks out on an old and decaying pier. As the man is making his way out to a good fishing position, the pier collapses. He begins thrashing about screaming that he cannot swim.

Two of the other three men on the bank also cannot swim and they frantically urge the one member of their group who can swim to save their drowning colleague. Seconds turn into minutes and still the man just stands there seemingly uncaring.

The other men became angry and could not understand why the one person who could save their friend just stood there watching. As the exhausted and drowning man was going down for the last time suddenly the man jumped in and pulled his friend to shore.

As the drowning man was recovering on the side of the river, the other men fussed at the rescuer and asked him "Why, why did you almost let our friend die?" He replied. "I knew that I had to wait until he knew that he could not save himself. He had to want to be saved before I could save him."

I went rafting on the Ocoee River in Tennessee some years ago and felt like the fellow in this story. I fell out of the raft, got my sandal caught in between some rocks and started taking on water. I was able to pull my foot out of my trapped sandal and continued to be carried down the river over several sets of rapids.

About the time I thought I was going to drown, I was washed close to another raft and was pulled aboard by the raft members. My stomach was full of water and it had begun to run over into my windpipe. What do these two stories tell us about being saved, our salvation?

The words of the lifesaver of the first story, "I knew that I had to wait until he knew that he could not save himself. He had to want to be saved before I could save him," probably best describes how God views us in our lives concerning our salvation or being saved.

In Matthew 19:25-26, Jesus explains: “When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."In Ephesians 2:8-9, St. Paul goes further in saying, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

In going down the rapids of the Ocoee River, taking water into my body, I had faith that somehow I would be rescued by someone. It was my mistake that I came out of the raft, but it was another raft crew 100 yards down the river that was able to save me just before I completed my drowning on this life-threatening journey alone.

The lessons learned from these water-danger stories are instructive to our lives in this world. It is not that things will always come out favorable for us in the normal and the threatening times in our lives, but that faith in God passes all understanding and we are His no matter the outcome.

In a revelation from God’s Holy Spirit during a personal life threatening surgery, I came to understand our eternal relationship with God. I saw that no matter if I lived or died, I would be with Him always. In seeking Him in my life I’ve found a peace that denies any physical worldly harm that may come to me, as separating me from God. This is being saved and this is our salvation.