Truth

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24 NRSV)

It is not enough to be spiritual as some would say. Personal spirituality can mean a variety of things to a variety of people. It does not tell me anything concrete when someone tells me that they are spiritual. We are all spiritual beings. But, there is only one truth that leads to the Father. What I want to know is if you worship the God who is the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

All these other gods that we concoct for ourselves are not the truth. They will lead us astray. They will divert our path from "The Way." Jesus is the only "Way."

Teach us your way, O Lord, that we may walk in your truth; give us undivided hearts to revere your name. Amen (Psalm 86:11)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Patience

"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph 4:1-3

There are times when my patience really wants to fly out the window. It can be a struggle to be patient with those who continue to make the same mistakes over and over again and wonder why they are having such a hard time in life.

A friend of mine once warned me that I should be very careful what I asked God for because He answers our prayers and we may not like the way in which He answers them. She was warning me against asking God to give me patience. She had asked for patience in caring for her family and He had answered. He helped her to learn to be patient by refining. As things grew even more troubled in her family, she learned to be patient with others even as she continued to care for and love them. She also learned to trust God in all things.

My friend has gone through a lot of trials. Yet, she is patient and kind and has an uncanny gift for maintaining unity in the bond of peace.

May we all bear one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Come Down!

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

    that the mountains would tremble before you!
 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake before you!

                                                      Isaiah 64:1-2 NIV
                          
I know this prayer from Isaiah. No, I haven't memorized it. But, I know it. From the depths of my heart, I have prayed it on many occasions. And, I have a feeling that I'm probably not alone in having prayed a prayer similar to this one from time to time; when things get rough; when you feel persecuted or alone. Is there anyone among us who has never thought or prayed: "This is enough. Please, make your presence known to all people so the world; the whole world could live in peace already!"

Yet, Isaiah reminds us that we have all become like one who is unclean and all of our righteous deeds are like filthy cloth. It's not just everyone else. We are all guilty and our iniquities; our sins, just as the wind, have taken us away out of God's presence.

But, we're not out of God's presence. He is with us. In spite of the fact that we often do not hear nor do we see the answer, the prayer has been answered. For God did indeed come down to us. The great God Almighty; the creator of heaven and earth, came down to earth to meet humankind right where we are. As we drifted further and further away from God's good will for us, He, Himself, broke open the heavens and came down, as a little child, to be one of us.

The one who formed us with his own hands, who breathed his breath of life into us, took on the form of man in order that he might live with us that we might be reconciled to Him and live whole and abundant lives in Him.

There may be and probably will be days when we will think: "Oh, Lord God, break down the heavens already and come down quickly. Show us your majesty. Show us your greatness. Make the mountains quake so that all of the nations will tremble and fall down to honor you." Then may God bring to your remembrance that He, in fact has already broken through and come down to earth; to us. He assumed the very nature of His created humankind and came down, not to destroy His or our enemies; but, to save us all. He came to reconcile us to Himself and to one another through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace – Pr. J

I Will Give You Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-29 NIV)

So many people seeking rest for their souls in the world today. Yet, they seek it in all the wrong places. There seems, at times, that there is nothing one can say or do, to help them to understand that Jesus truly can give us the rest we need. Unwilling to take up his yoke and to learn from Jesus; we take upon ourselves a much heavier yoke, stumbling and often falling.  For some awful reason, we would prefer to do everything our own way; the harder way.

If, today, you find, that you are weary and burdened with the cares of the world, toss aside the yoke that is holding you down and find rest at the feet of our LORD and King, Jesus the Christ. Go to Him; learn from him, and He will give you rest.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Two Things I Ask

Two things I ask of you;

    do not deny them to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

    give me neither poverty nor riches;

    feed me with the food that I need,

or I shall be full, and deny you,

    and say, “Who is the Lord?”

or I shall be poor, and steal,

    and profane the name of my God.

Prov 30:7-9

 

 

Give us this day our daily bread and help us to live with integrity glorifying your Holy Name, Lord.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

When You Abuse Others; You Abuse Jesus

 

     “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

   “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

   “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’"

                                                                                                      Matthew 25:37-46 NIV

I have had a lot to think about over night. I spent yesterday at the Sheriff's Department in Domestic Violence Training for clergy. I've been around for awhile so I'm pretty well aware of all of the symptoms and signs of abuse as I have witnessed a lot of it. But, I needed some help in what I, as a pastor, could possible do about it. How do I confront it in a way that is helpful to the survivor (and prayerfully there is a survivor)?

Often Christian survivors of abuse will make excuses; justify the abuser's actions, by using misperceived notions about what God demands of them in a relationship. They actually use scripture to justify the abuser's actions. They assume that God would want them to keep the vows that they made to obey the other without considering that Jesus has commanded us to love one another. Abuse is not love. We are to love one another even as Jesus loves us. Jesus does not and has not ever abused us. He has only loved us so unconditionally that he was willing to be abused for us! When someone abuses the person they have promised to love for the rest of their lives they have already broken the covenant that's been made between the two of them. The survivor should not feel as though they bear the burden of guilt for the broken covenant. (Psalms 55:20-21)

Jesus told the disciples and he tells us that what we do to others, and that includes our spouses, we do to Jesus. Would you really assault Jesus? Would you make excuses for anyone abusing Jesus?

What we do to others we do to Jesus!

May God teach us to love Him and others even as He loves us all.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Think On Good Things

"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  (Philippians 4:8 NRSV)

If our minds stay in the gutter; we will end up living our lives in the gutter. If our minds stay focused on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, then we will live in His Kingdom. The work of our hands and every step that we take will naturally gravitate toward the things that we are focused on.

Whatever or whomever it is that we trust; that which we put our faith in, that is our god. Will it be the things of this world or the one who loves us so much; the one who wants us to live in His presence so much, that He was willing to die that we might be forgiven our lustful and sinful ways and be reconciled to Him?

Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt 6:20)

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit may God help us to treasure the one who is most worthy of praise, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Preach The Word In All Seasons

Monastery at Valaam, Russia

Paul is anticipating his death and so closes this letter to Timothy encouraging him to come quickly to even while he gives Timothy instruction on ministry. "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction," he writes. (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV) 

Just as the many deserted Jesus in his last hours, Paul found that many had also deserted him. He warns Timothy to especially watch out for Alexander who did him great harm. There were those and are those today who have and who will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths. They will listen only to what will please their itching ears. They will come up against you for proclaiming the truth. Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all duties of your ministry. (2 Tim 4:3-4)

It is not easy as one might think to proclaim the message of God in Christ Jesus. There will be many who will want you out of their lives, even dead. They do not want to hear the truth. The Word of God, is after all, a two-edged sword: one edge to stab the conscience; the other to heal the wounded soul. Be aware of those who would attack you for the truth. But, do not worry unduly about them for God is with you and for you. With patience, continue to proclaim the good news to all who would hear.

"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all." (2 Tim 4:22)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Serenity

"If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you."  (James 1:5 NRSV)

Every now and then, as I attempt to fix the things that I cannot fix, I am reminded of the serenity prayer that was written by Reinhold Niebuhr.  
     

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

It is difficult to watch others suffer. Sometimes we can help them. Sometimes, we cannot do anything except to pray for them. Sometimes, we lack the wisdom to know the difference so we go about spinning our wheels trying to fix that which only God can fix. And... sometimes in the spinning of our wheels we end up making things worse.

Wisdom will help us to determine what we can and should change and what we must trust to God alone. When God gives us the knowledge and the wisdom of how we are to proceed, it would be very wise indeed to follow His directions. Ignoring what God has taught or told you (whether directly or through others) is definitely not wise.

May God grant us all the wisdom to listen to Him and the courage to do what He asks of us and go where He would send us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Seek

"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matt 7:7-8 NRSV

This morning I would really like the Lord to produce a sermon for me. It would be nice if I didn't have to focus on writing it; but, that's not how it works. God is not going to send a sermon directly to my printer. I must do some listening, some searching, in order to know what He would have me say at worship on Sunday.

God does, indeed, gift us with good gifts without our asking. He gave us His only begotten Son without our asking; without our even realizing that we needed him. But, sometimes we must ask in order to for us to be open to hear His word and His will for us. It is not a matter of God not giving them to us freely for He surely will. However, it is a matter of whether we are willing to receive them or not. And... so we finally ask when we are finally ready to receive.

The older I get, the more I realize that in order to know and do God's will I have to actively seek to practice the presence of God so that I can hear Him. I have to actively seek Him because my human nature would shut Him out as I attempt to go it alone, without Him. This, I have found, is not a very wise idea. Of course, God is always with me; but, there are times when I shut the door on Him and I do not listen; I do not hear His word or His will. Without Him, I can do nothing good. But, with Him all things are possible.

So ask the Lord to open your ears and your heart and your mind so that you can know God's good will for all people. Then spend some time in His word and in prayerful listening so that you can know Him for there is nothing more precious than knowing the Lord. For this reason Christ died for us that we might be reconciled to God our Father through him. 

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt 6:33

God's Peace - Pr. J

A Gentle Tongue Is A Tree Of Life

I know that I have been guilty of having spoken wrongly or too quickly on more than one occasion resulting in hurting the spirit of others.  However, I usually realize I have done so as soon as I've done it and can attempt to rectify it or at least apologize.

I have difficulty understanding why some people do not understand how badly they have hurt someone with their witty comments. Maybe don't realize how damaging their tongues can be to the spirits; the lives of the ones who bear the brunt of their wit. Sarcasm really is not that funny. It is hurtful. Intentional sarcasm breaks the spirit.

May God help us to speak with gentle tongues that we will do no harm to the spirits of others.

God Peace - Pr. J

In The Name Of Jesus The Church Grows

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. (Acts 3:6-8 NIV)

Church budgets often end up being the central focus of many congregations and denominations. How are we going to keep going if we can't pay the bills? I guess one question we might need to ask is what are we intending to keep going. Are we here to keep the buildings that were built by human hands together? Or, are we here as part of the living temple, built not by human hands; but, by the blood of Jesus Christ?

Peter, who is considered by many as the first "Pope" was broke. He had no money to share with anyone. He had no money to be used for building up buildings. John who was with Peter at the time had no money. None of the apostles, except maybe for the tax collector Matthew, was wealthy. They were not wealthy; they had no money to build building; but, somehow under their direction the early church grew by leaps and bounds. It was not money that grew the church; but, the power of the Spirit of Christ working in and through them. It was by reaching out to people in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that the church on earth grew by leaps and bounds.

Peter was broke. But, he was willing to share what he did have with others. And, what he had was worth so much more than silver and gold. He could bless the crippled man in the name of Jesus the Christ so that this man could live life more fully. He jumped up praising God, healthy and whole. He could walk and would no longer need to beg. 

Money might get us a building or even a cathedral or two. But, we don't need money to share what God has given us through Jesus the Christ. He has given us Jesus. We have the name of Jesus and in him we have more to share with others than any amount of money can buy.

May God help us to focus on the real treasure and that treasure is Jesus the Christ. Let us praise God for all that He has done for us and share the awesomeness of Jesus with anyone and everyone in any need and we are all in need. We are all beggars who rely on the love and gifts of God to live life most fully in this world and the Kingdom to come. Let us share with others what we do have. Let us share the love of God through Jesus the Christ. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Desire To Depart And Be With Christ?

Safely home means you made it home; but, does not mean you

escaped all trials and tribulations in the getting there.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Philippians 1:20-24 NIV)

I have just finished reading Eric Metaxas' Bonhoeffer Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very good book to read. In recent years, I have not read much literature outside of the Holy Scriptures for at least a couple of reasons. First, I really haven't found much recent work that was worth reading; and secondly, my poor eyesight requires me to wear bifocals which are a bother and to continually adjust the position of the book in order to see the letters. But, when this book was given to me I felt I should at least try. In the reading of Bonhoeffer I recognized another reason that has probably steered me away from reading too much. That reason is because "good literature" is born out of the human condition and the human condition is not in such a good state. What I see in the world around me today is bad enough without being reminded of even more sorrows.

Bonhoeffer brought me to tears more than once as I read about Dietrich's struggle to discern the will of God and then to do it for the good of the people. He strived to be faithful to God and to his call as a child of God and as a pastor. He was unwilling to serve in the German Army, not because he was afraid of dying; but, because he would not participate in the murder of innocent people. Yet, at the same time he was willing to put his own life on the line as he conspired to assassinate Hitler.

I read with tears over and over again the words from a sermon that he preached while he was pastor in London:

No one has yet believed in God and the kingdom of God, no one has yet heard of the realm of the resurrected and not been homesick, from that hour, waiting and looking forward joyfully to being released from bodily existence.

Dietrich knew and desired to be at home with our Father in the Kingdom prepared for us. Yet, very much like St. Paul, while he lived in the flesh here in this world he was willing to serve God and humankind whenever and however God directed him to serve even if it meant being tortured and executed. Executed; after all, would return him home to our Father.

Yes, I wept much through the reading of the book. I wept to see such great love in a man for our God and for all of humankind.  Such love seems so rare.

God help us to love enough to be willing to sacrifice our personal needs so that the will of God is done through us for the good of others.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Say No To Temptations

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Cor 10:13 NIV)

Having lived my entire life with people who had substance abuse problems; when the "Just Say No" slogan was being used in the school systems it rather irritated me. After all, I wondered did the people who were pushing the "Just Say No" program have any clue how difficult it really is to get clean? It is; after all, a disease.

Fast forward to today and, having served as a substance abuse counselor myself, now I feel confident that:  Yes, they most probably did know. Most of the people who I have known who treat substance abuse addictions have gone through it themselves. They know how hard it is. They also are living examples that it is possible to live a much fuller life without mind altering substances.

The first step in any twelve step program is to first admit that you have a problem and that you need help. Unless you recognize a problem there is no way that you will desire to seek help and it is virtually impossible to go into recovery without help. Paul writes to the Corinthians that God will provide a way out. He will help. It is always very tempting to just keep doing the same old thing. It is difficult to change our way of living. It is difficult to say no. But, God does not tempt us beyond the place where we can say no. He always provides alternatives to succumbing to temptation. 

The second and third steps of the 12-step recovery program are to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity and make a  decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. 

God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can say no to. You really can "Just Say No" but, it is necessary to trust God to provide a way out; an alternative lifestyle and then to help you live that new life in Christ. 

May God help all who suffer from addictions to trust in Him as they seek His help.

God's Peace - Pr. Judy