We Are Lifted With WIngs Like Eagles

Reading from Isaiah 40:28-31 KJV - We shall not fall down. The Lord will lift us up as though we had the wings of an eagle.

No Discriminating For Any Reason

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 

                                                                                  (James 2:1-6 KJV)

To show favoritism to one means to discriminate against another. James warns against showing favoritism. Sadly, we see this way too often. People are discriminated against for their race, their sex, age, where they work or if they don't, how they dress. The list goes on and on.

I admit that there have been times in the past when I have purposely dressed down just to see if security would follow me around in particular stores. They usually did. In fact, I have been followed around even when I thought I was clothed all right. Not sure why; but, every now and then someone thinks that I might look suspect. On the other hand, if I wear my clergy collar, I almost always get a lot of friendly greetings no matter where I am.

Years ago, when kayaking the shores of Lake Superior, I pulled up on the shore of a town that I had visited often in the past. They had known me as a pastor and had been very friendly toward me when they had welcomed me in that capacity. This time; however, they apparently did not recognize me. I had been on the water for about a month and was wearing an old pair of Marine fatigues over my swimsuit. My hair was a ratted mess hanging out from under a baseball cap (the ratted hair is actually normal for me). I looked pretty forlorn. I needed to use a phone as there was no cell connection. I was not welcomed well. It took forever to find a pay phone as no one apparently had a phone that I could use to let my family know where I was.

When encountering others, it would do us all well to heed the words written by St. James, "If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (vs 3-4 NIV)

None of us like to be discriminated against. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matt 7:12 KJV)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." (2 Cor 13:14 KJV)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Judging By Appearances

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

                                                                                                         (1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7 KJV)

When Samuel was sent to anoint the son of Jesse that God had chosen to be the next king he looked at Eliab and decided that he looked like a king. But, God told him not to judge by their appearances. God does not choose by what people look like. He doesn't choose by their height, their weight nor does he judge by the color of their eyes, hair, or skin! He chooses by their character; their abilities, what is inside their hearts and minds. He knows each of us intimately and he knows what he will he accomplish through us. In the end, David the youngest son of Jesse who had been left in the fields to care for the sheep comes and is chosen by God to be anointed king. The least of the brothers is to be first in the kingdom.

It is too bad that as humans we often judge others by the way they look without considering what may be in their hearts. One of my granddaughters likes to routinely color her hair in various bright colors. Right now it is bright orange. A year and a half ago she moved near us and I took her around to job interviews. She is bright and very out-going as well a pretty conscientious worker. It so happened that on one day she had two job offers. She had a dilemma. Which one to accept? She had experience doing the work of one of the positions.  However, the management there wanted her to take out her piercings and dye her hair to a normal color. She had no experience for the other position but they did not care about her outward appearance. I encouraged her to accept the position that would allow her to be herself and keep her orange hair. I felt that she would enjoy working with people who weren't judging her by her appearance much more than working in the place where she had to change to be accepted. She went with the more relaxed place of work and is still working there. She really enjoys the people she works with as well as the work on most days.

Yesterday, she and and I went on a kayak tour. I have been kayaking since 1996 so I don't really need to be on a guided tour for safety's sake. But, I do not know the rivers all that well around Florida so I sometimes use tours so that I can familiarize myself with the waterways.  The river was a pretty lazy river. We did more floating than paddling. About halfway through the tour we turned to go back upstream. One of the guides came over to me and said he wanted to give me heads up that we would be going against the current so it might be a bit rougher. He did not warn anyone else; just the "old lady". I couldn't help but smile as I was pretty convinced that my paddling abilities were being judged by my wrinkles and graying hair. I was not offended. I've been around long enough to know he was probably genuinely concerned. He was actually a very nice young man. Smiling, I did let him know that I didn't think it would be a problem as I had on a few occasions kayaked Lake Superior in small craft warnings. That little paddle upstream was, of course, not a problem. In the flat land of Florida the creeks and rivers really are quite smooth paddling and most of the way back to the landing we were still floating and not paddling. I actually do like to paddle. In the future I will be careful what paddling tours I go on or find a good GPS app and skip the tours. I go for the scenery and this tour was particularly beautiful. But, a little bit of exercise doesn't hurt, either. 

We must be careful not to judge people's hearts or abilities by their outward appearances. This is repeated by God throughout the history of his people. He does not judge by appearances; nor should we.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Leviathans

Isaiah 17:12-13 KJV

There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast ma koide to play therein.                                                                                    (Psalm 104:26 KJV)

It is wise to give heed to the creatures of the seas and not just of the seas but all bodies of waters, even swamps.

One of my very few hobbies is kayaking. My first adventure in a kayak was a week long retreat kayaking a portion of the southern shore of Lake Superior. The water was pretty rough. On a couple of the days we were actually paddling during small craft warnings. It was awesome!  Pr. Peter sang hymns as he bobbed about in the waves a bit in front of me. We did have a couple of people fall out and get rides in vehicles to our following destinations. They were not comfortable and when you are not comfortable on the water you should probably get off of it. The winds and waves on the Great Lakes are another kind of Leviathan that can play pretty rough with small and large craft. It can be dangerous and the winds and the waves need to be respected. Know what you are doing if you are going to go out paddling on any body of water.

Lately, my kayaking is done in waters in Florida; mostly swamp lands and murky creeks. The leviathans that can be seen there are mostly snakes and alligators. They too need to be respected and kept a safe distance away. When I first started kayaking I did some internet searching to find out what to do if an alligator attacks your kayak. The state web-site says something to the effect of just hit it sharply on the snout with your paddle.  Thankfully, I have not had to try that!

There are Leviathans on land as well. They can be of the human kind. What they think is just fun or funny can often be dangerous to themselves and to others. The playfulness of these Leviathans does not always seem to be so playful to the victims of these Leviathans. It can be quite frightening. Hitting them on the snout with a paddle doesn't do much good. In times like that we trust in the ways of the Lord. We trust and we put our hope in Him because He, as He implied to Job  (Job 41 KJV), is the only one that can manage a Leviathan.

May God keep you from all danger and harm.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

He Gives Strength To The Weary

 

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

                                                                                  (Isa 40:28-31 KJV)

I was on a sabbatical kayaking on the southern shore of Lake Superior. The stretch I was traveling that day was in a remote area. There was no cell service. There were no roads. There were no homes along this stretch of shoreline. There was only the woods. There was also a storm that came up once I was on the water. The rain was light; but, there was a lot of wind and some really rough wave action. It was not the first time that I had paddled during small craft warnings. If it had not been for my husband waiting at a park with lunch for me at the end of this stretch I would have pulled up on shore and set up my tent until the weather calmed down. But, he was expecting me and I knew if I was way too late he would have the Coast Guard out looking for me. Although, weary from battling the wind and waves I was determined to keep going. 

I was finally quite exhausted. The wind and the rain had gotten worse so I decided to go ashore and eat a little bit of lunch and hopefully the storm would die down a bit. The landing was a little rough; but, not too bad. I ate lunch taking cover under a tree from at least some of the rain. The prospect of launching was a little daunting as the water grew fiercer. I love Lake Superior; but, she is something to be very wary of so I laid down and fell asleep  waiting for her to calm down a bit. When I opened my eyes I beheld a bald eagle on a limb above me; looking down; watching me. I could see his eyes plainly. I could see every wet feather on his head. I remembered this verse from Isaiah: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

I got up and back out on the water with the assurance that God was with me and that my strength was renewed. The launch was way rougher than the landing as I struggled against the waves to get back out and far enough from shore where it was not quite so rough. It took me some time to get to the park where my husband was waiting. What should have been a three no longer than a four hour paddle had turned into over a six hour journey. And... yes, he had grown very worried. But, thankfully he had not called the Coast Guard, yet! 

There are many days that we grow weary. Sometimes the storms of life wear us out. Sometimes the lack of storms can actually make us weary of life; weary of the same old things. But, no matter what causes us to grow weary and to lose our strength or our courage to move forward, we can know that God is with us. We can be confident that He will give us power and strength. He gives us the courage to rise up with wings like eagles and keep going no matter what challenges the days will bring us.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Weary Will Rise Up With Wings Like Eagles

Even youths will faint and be weary,

and the young will fall exhausted;

³¹ 

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:30-31 NRSV)

I am no longer a youth. There are days that cause me to wonder why I have not fallen completely exhausted. There are days when I would like to. But, for those who are called by the Lord to serve, we do not fall. We might lie down for a bit; but, we do not crumble to the ground. We may have to wait a bit until the Lord has completely renewed our strength. We do not give up because we know that if we wait upon him, he will surely lift us up.  

While kayaking along the shore of Lake Superior, years ago, I got caught in a storm. There were no roads; no towns; not even houses for many, many miles. I had my cell phone on me; but, there was no cell service along that stretch of the shore. I kept paddling for as long as I could because my husband was waiting for me about ten miles down the shore with lunch and I knew he would be panicking when he didn't hear from me. The going was very slow. It finally got so rough that I finally had to pull onto a sandy beach. I was hesitant in doing so because I knew although the landing would go okay; I wasn't sure how I'd launch again if the wind and waves did not calm down.

I pulled the kayak up under a tree and ate lunch. I lay down to watch the water. It didn't take me long to fall asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was looking into the eyes of a bald eagle. He was sitting in the branches above me, watching me. He was so close that I could see every single wet feather on his head. He, too, had taken a break from the storm. When he finally flew back out over the water, I knew that I had rested on that shore long enough. Although the winds had not slowed down much, my strength had been renewed. I was ready. As expected, I got pretty wet launching the kayak and it took twice the time it should have to get to where my husband was waiting and worrying. But, I was ready to go.

According to the prophet Isaiah: even youth will grow weary; but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and we shall mount up with wings like eagles. 

May you be granted the peace that comes with knowing that God is with you and no matter what the storm, the Lord will lift you up.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Are We Prepared?

  “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

  At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

  Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

  ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

  But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

  Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

  But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

  Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

                                                                                                           (Matt 25:1-13 NIV)

I am often reminded that I should take more time for myself. I am not always clear on what that actually means. I do have a couple of hobbies:  kayaking and photography. There is a certain amount of preparation needed to actually "do" these hobbies and I really don't have a lot of time to spare for them. Any free time I have is usually spent on the dock watching the fish jump, the alligators swim and watching the birds watch me while I talk with God.

I have often been told that if I really wanted to I would make time for theses hobbies. It is a matter of setting priorities. Indeed, it is! Spending alone time with God is more necessary to me for my well-being than any hobby or other diversion. I love spending time with Jesus way more than any worldly diversion that might please me. Jesus is the priority in my life and so in my spare hours, which are not really spare; but, necessary for my own well-being, I spend alone time with God. I spend my  time alone with Him praying and studying the word found in the scriptures so that I am more prepared to do His will.  But, I do wonder, sometimes, if I am really prepared for him to return in full glory. Just as the ten bridesmaids did not put oil in their lamps preparation for the groom to come and get them for the wedding, I wonder if we are prepared for the day he returns to take us to himself.

St. Peter encouraged us to "... prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance."  (1 Peter 1:13-14 NIV)

Are we prepared?

God's Peace - Pr. J

Still Waters

Video: Kayaking on a peaceful day in Huron Bay on Lake Superior

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Psalm 23 KJV

It is no secret that I love the water. I enjoy being beside still waters and even on them. I even enjoy the storms because for me they are reminder that God is with me. I have no need to fear for nothing can happen without the Lord knowing what is going on. He is with me always.

The water reminds me that I have been washed in the waters of baptism. The storms remind me that I have been baptized by the Spirit and I am reassured that by the goodness and mercy of God I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Even this day, I abide in His Kingdom for He is with me.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Leviathan

 Huron Bay the last time Cassie and I went Kayaking together

"In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword—his fierce, great and powerful sword—Leviathan  the gliding serpent,  Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea." (Isa 27:1 NIV)
 

Leviathan, the great sea monster, is mentioned a few times in Scripture. In addition to Isaiah 27, you can find mention of Leviathan in Job 3:8, Job 41:1, Job 41:12, Psalm 74:14, and Psalm 104:26.

 

On the rare occasions that I've found myself out on the lake in the midst of a storm I've thought of God overpowering Leviathan. OK - so they are not rare occasions. It seems like the wind picks up almost every time I am out on a boat (big or small) on a large mass of water. I actually warn people that they should not take me fishing unless they want a storm or their motor to conk out... Others should not take me out with them if they don't want to play with Leviathan, or maybe it's God, out in the middle of the water. I don't mind the storms. I know that the LORD is with me, even in the storms. The rushing wind reminds me of the power of the Holy Spirit. God is big enough to destroy Leviathan. He is big enough to protect me, if that is His will. But, if I'm not up to another storm, I stay as close to home as I can with my kayak...

 

Symbolically, the sea refers to a large number of people. So, for those of you who are big into the Revelation of John, the dragon that comes out of the sea in the book of Revelation most probably refers to the fact that the evil one will come from among the people. "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name." (Rev 13:1) We are not looking for a literal dragon to come out of a literal sea, but an evil that comes from the midst of the people. Revelation is filled with symbolism. Please, do not take it literally.

 

The picture of the evil one may be a bit alarming; but, remember the promise found in Isaiah today: The LORD will slay the evil one in the midst of the people. There may be times when things seem just awful. There may be times when your leviathan decides it's time to play with you. But, know this: the LORD will surely rescue His people. He is our very help in the time of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Water And The Word In Abundance, Please!

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Rom 6:3-5 NIV)

Each morning as the sun begins to rise, I go and sit on the dock in my backyard and watch the fish jump and the alligators swimming around in the creek. I thoroughly enjoy being near the water. In years past, I enjoyed diving. But, my dive buddy (my husband) gave it up when we lived in Michigan because he did not like the cold waters. I gave it up with him. I miss it at times. Now, I mostly kayak, when I have the time, so that I can feel the flow of the water beneath me. Paddling or floating along in the quiet of the early morning gives me the opportunity to talk to and listen to God without interruption. The water is a reminder of the life I (we) have been given through the washing of water and the Word.

By water and the Word we were baptized into the Body of Christ. Human beings, all animals and plants need water to survive. But, more importantly we need the Word to truly live life and to receive the promise of eternal life in God's presence. I suffer greatly when either of these two things; the water or the Word, are absent in abundance in my life. Yes... I need lots of both!

I cannot look upon a body of water without being reminded that we have been drowned in the waters of Baptism and now live through faith in the Christ who was raised from the dead for us and for our salvation.

I am (and hopefully you are) a child of God, drowned in the waters of baptism and raised by the mighty Word of God. 

God's Peace - Pr. J