About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25 NIV)
I love my Lutheran Church! I love our focus on grace. I love the hymns and the worship songs. I love the liturgy, both traditional and newer. I love that there is order to our worship services. I know I will have the opportunity for confession and forgiveness, statement of faith, prayers of the people, etc. BUT... there is always room for improvement.
I think those of us from denominations that worship liturgically have a lot to learn from those who don't. I think we become too dependant on our bulletins, worship books and projections screens. We don't do "spontanous" very well.
What if we were in Paul and Sila's circumstances? How many hymns could we sing by heart? How many scripture passages could we share? Are we too dependent on the idea that worship only takes place inside a church building... that we have to have the words? Not just the words to the hymns, but even the words we use to worship?
How about it Lutherans? Can you confess in your own words? Can you express your faith without using the words of a Creed? Can you share the peace with your neighbor without upbeat music in the background? Can you sing every verse of your favorite hymn/worship song by heart? Can you express your love for God without the words being printed out for you?
Try worshiping at home alone or with family. Break away from the familiarity of a well-ordered worship service every now and then. Just love God and feel God's love back.
Holy God,
Help us to reconnect to the very heart of worship... our love for you. Amen.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Faith and Works
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (James 2:14-18 NIV)
Our church is planning to participate in the ELCA's "God's work. Our hands." day. It's a day when we all don our yellow shirts with the above slogan imprinted on them and go out and do good works. Odd for Lutherans, isn't it? As the story of the dying old crotchety Lutheran pastor goes.... his last words were, "darn right I'm going to heaven! I haven't done a good work in all my life!"
We Lutherans are big on "saved by grace through faith, and not by works." And as a good Lutheran I embrace this wonderful, freeing notion. It is good to know that I can't mess up my salvation just because I'm human. But James doesn't let us off the hook completely. He reminds us that if we live our lives ignoring the pain and suffering and needs of others, then we must not really have faith at all.
I'm looking forward to our day of serving. Not because we are going to be "showing off" our good works by wearing our yellow shirts and not because I think doing something like this will get me into heaven. It is because we will be serving by helping those less fortunate. We will be feeding the hungry and helping out our local Christian Ministry that tries so hard to help those in our community with food, clothing, rent and utility bills. And I want to help. I want to have a part in easing the burdens of my neighbors.
I want to help, because my faith makes me hate suffering and need. My faith drives me to do good works. Jesus didn't heal and serve others so that he could get to heaven and it is the Jesus in each of the faithful that drives our own good works, not the idea of a future mansion on streets of gold.
James and Paul do not contridict each other. They compliment what each other is saying. Real faith leads to good works.
Lord Jesus,
Help me to love as you love and who you love and with the sacrificial power of your love. Amen.
Our church is planning to participate in the ELCA's "God's work. Our hands." day. It's a day when we all don our yellow shirts with the above slogan imprinted on them and go out and do good works. Odd for Lutherans, isn't it? As the story of the dying old crotchety Lutheran pastor goes.... his last words were, "darn right I'm going to heaven! I haven't done a good work in all my life!"
We Lutherans are big on "saved by grace through faith, and not by works." And as a good Lutheran I embrace this wonderful, freeing notion. It is good to know that I can't mess up my salvation just because I'm human. But James doesn't let us off the hook completely. He reminds us that if we live our lives ignoring the pain and suffering and needs of others, then we must not really have faith at all.
I'm looking forward to our day of serving. Not because we are going to be "showing off" our good works by wearing our yellow shirts and not because I think doing something like this will get me into heaven. It is because we will be serving by helping those less fortunate. We will be feeding the hungry and helping out our local Christian Ministry that tries so hard to help those in our community with food, clothing, rent and utility bills. And I want to help. I want to have a part in easing the burdens of my neighbors.
I want to help, because my faith makes me hate suffering and need. My faith drives me to do good works. Jesus didn't heal and serve others so that he could get to heaven and it is the Jesus in each of the faithful that drives our own good works, not the idea of a future mansion on streets of gold.
James and Paul do not contridict each other. They compliment what each other is saying. Real faith leads to good works.
Lord Jesus,
Help me to love as you love and who you love and with the sacrificial power of your love. Amen.
Monday, July 29, 2013
All About Relationship
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7, 8 NIV)
It was a great week at Vacation Bible School last week. Cecelia LOVES VBS and she was so excited the entire time. Those of you who know her know that Cece is not shy and speaking in front of a crowd doesn't scare her in the least. As a matter of fact, if she sees a microphone, she will do whatever it takes to speak or sing into it. She had many mike opportunities during VBS as Pastor Chad would ask the group of 40-some kids every evening... "What did you learn yesterday?" "What did you learn today?" "What God-sightings did you have?" And each day at the opening and closing, Pastor Chad would ask for a volunteer to pray. On the second day at closing, to Cece's delight, she was chosen. She went to the front of the group, and spoke clearly into the microphone: "Lord Jesus, Thank you for the food today. We ate it. We liked it. Amen."
That short prayer brought so much joy to my heart. And it made me think how much more joy it brought to Our Father's heart. He didn't need fancier words. He didn't need it to be longer. And he still knew every request, need and desire in her heart. I know that God blessed that prayer every bit as much as the prayer done in fasting, tears and bloodied knees.
God already knows what we need before we ask him. There are no special words to pray or special way to pray that is going to make our prayer heard above all others. Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of good books and studies on prayer. But they are not designed to make God listen more closely or answer more quickly. Rather, they are designed to teach us how to be a good participant in answering our own prayers.
The point of prayer is mostly for our own good. What God gets out of it is the joy of the relationship. It is exactly like that with our own children. We know what they need. And we want them to have everything they need and even those things that will bring them joy. But when they come to us and ask, it builds the relationship. We get joy out of knowing that they feel comfortable coming to us with their needs and desires. A first prayer from a small child brings a much joy to God's heart as the final prayer of a great-grandfather on his death bed.
It's all about the relationship building.
Father,
Thank your for the privilidge of prayer. When we use it, we like it. Amen.
It was a great week at Vacation Bible School last week. Cecelia LOVES VBS and she was so excited the entire time. Those of you who know her know that Cece is not shy and speaking in front of a crowd doesn't scare her in the least. As a matter of fact, if she sees a microphone, she will do whatever it takes to speak or sing into it. She had many mike opportunities during VBS as Pastor Chad would ask the group of 40-some kids every evening... "What did you learn yesterday?" "What did you learn today?" "What God-sightings did you have?" And each day at the opening and closing, Pastor Chad would ask for a volunteer to pray. On the second day at closing, to Cece's delight, she was chosen. She went to the front of the group, and spoke clearly into the microphone: "Lord Jesus, Thank you for the food today. We ate it. We liked it. Amen."
That short prayer brought so much joy to my heart. And it made me think how much more joy it brought to Our Father's heart. He didn't need fancier words. He didn't need it to be longer. And he still knew every request, need and desire in her heart. I know that God blessed that prayer every bit as much as the prayer done in fasting, tears and bloodied knees.
God already knows what we need before we ask him. There are no special words to pray or special way to pray that is going to make our prayer heard above all others. Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of good books and studies on prayer. But they are not designed to make God listen more closely or answer more quickly. Rather, they are designed to teach us how to be a good participant in answering our own prayers.
The point of prayer is mostly for our own good. What God gets out of it is the joy of the relationship. It is exactly like that with our own children. We know what they need. And we want them to have everything they need and even those things that will bring them joy. But when they come to us and ask, it builds the relationship. We get joy out of knowing that they feel comfortable coming to us with their needs and desires. A first prayer from a small child brings a much joy to God's heart as the final prayer of a great-grandfather on his death bed.
It's all about the relationship building.
Father,
Thank your for the privilidge of prayer. When we use it, we like it. Amen.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Introducing Jesus
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. (Acts 17:22, 23 NIV)
At Vacation Bible School this week, the children have been learning a lot about Paul. Most of the stories have come from the Book of Acts. Although many of us do not study Acts as much as we should, there are many great stories there. Who doesn't love when Jesus knocks Saul (Paul) off his high horse? And how 'bout those tongues of fire and the wind whipping up the Holy Spirit so fiercly that onlookers thought they must be drunk? And you gotta love when Paul's preaching got so long (and maybe a touch boring?) that a young man fell asleep and fell out the window!
But the story from the scripture above is awesome. Pastor Chad and I were talking about it last night, and how it is a great model for us today as we try to reach out to others. In the Bible story, Paul's preaching was overheard by some very smart Greek scholars. They were curious and wanted to know about this "new" foriegn god Paul was talking about.
Instead of Paul telling them how wrong they were to worship so many gods when there was "obviously" only one True God, he met them where they were. He said, "I can see you are very religious! Why you even have an altar to an unknown god! Let me tell you about my God."
When we tell people that their belief system is wrong, we erect walls right away. Our faith needs to be introduced, not shoved down people's throats. Paul knew this. And he knew he wasn't dealing with dummies. He spoke to them on their level and honored their own beliefs.
It is absolutely ok to let other people have their own faith system. Our job is to introduce our Jesus. And it is the job of the Holy Spirit to proceed from there. We can honor others' faith without watering down our own. We should just meet people where they are and love them. We are all in different places in our walk of faith and we grow at different rates. It's ok.
Lord Jesus,
Help us to learn how to share you with others in a way that doesn't put up walls. Help us to introduce you gently and with love. Amen.
At Vacation Bible School this week, the children have been learning a lot about Paul. Most of the stories have come from the Book of Acts. Although many of us do not study Acts as much as we should, there are many great stories there. Who doesn't love when Jesus knocks Saul (Paul) off his high horse? And how 'bout those tongues of fire and the wind whipping up the Holy Spirit so fiercly that onlookers thought they must be drunk? And you gotta love when Paul's preaching got so long (and maybe a touch boring?) that a young man fell asleep and fell out the window!
But the story from the scripture above is awesome. Pastor Chad and I were talking about it last night, and how it is a great model for us today as we try to reach out to others. In the Bible story, Paul's preaching was overheard by some very smart Greek scholars. They were curious and wanted to know about this "new" foriegn god Paul was talking about.
Instead of Paul telling them how wrong they were to worship so many gods when there was "obviously" only one True God, he met them where they were. He said, "I can see you are very religious! Why you even have an altar to an unknown god! Let me tell you about my God."
When we tell people that their belief system is wrong, we erect walls right away. Our faith needs to be introduced, not shoved down people's throats. Paul knew this. And he knew he wasn't dealing with dummies. He spoke to them on their level and honored their own beliefs.
It is absolutely ok to let other people have their own faith system. Our job is to introduce our Jesus. And it is the job of the Holy Spirit to proceed from there. We can honor others' faith without watering down our own. We should just meet people where they are and love them. We are all in different places in our walk of faith and we grow at different rates. It's ok.
Lord Jesus,
Help us to learn how to share you with others in a way that doesn't put up walls. Help us to introduce you gently and with love. Amen.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Sacrifice
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:43, 44 NIV)
A Facebook friend shared this unattributed quote:
It is sad, but today we think of being merely inconvenienced as a "sacrifice." Can we really count it a sacrifice to give time or money to a person, church or charity if we aren't taking it from something important in our lives? Giving from our "extra" is not a sacrifice. If we won't miss it... if it isn't hard to give up... it isn't really a sacrifice.
Thinking about it in that way, makes me realize how little I truly do sacrifice. And I remember the times that I have really, truly sacrificed and how amazing it was... how much joy it gave me to do so... that paradox that makes my loss also my deep-down joy.
In baseeball, a sacrifice play occurs when the batter intentionally hits the ball in such a manner as to advance teammates on the bases while the batter is thrown out. A sacrifice play is a purposeful out for the betterment of the team. In our lives, when we sacrifice, our loss should make the world at least a tiny bit better - a hungry person fed, a hurt person healing, a lost person saved.
Think about sacrifice today. How it has been done for you. How you have done it for others. How you might do it today.
Father,
You sacrificed the unthinkable for me. Help me to truly sacrifice for others that this world might be a little better. Amen.
A Facebook friend shared this unattributed quote:
"Value the people who sacrifice their something for you, because maybe that something was their everything."Something about that quote grabbed me and I began to think about those who have sacrificed for me... in big ways and small ways. From my own mother, to mere aquaintances. That led me to begin thinking about ways in which I make sacrifices for others. And then I began to think about the word, "sacrifice."
It is sad, but today we think of being merely inconvenienced as a "sacrifice." Can we really count it a sacrifice to give time or money to a person, church or charity if we aren't taking it from something important in our lives? Giving from our "extra" is not a sacrifice. If we won't miss it... if it isn't hard to give up... it isn't really a sacrifice.
Thinking about it in that way, makes me realize how little I truly do sacrifice. And I remember the times that I have really, truly sacrificed and how amazing it was... how much joy it gave me to do so... that paradox that makes my loss also my deep-down joy.
In baseeball, a sacrifice play occurs when the batter intentionally hits the ball in such a manner as to advance teammates on the bases while the batter is thrown out. A sacrifice play is a purposeful out for the betterment of the team. In our lives, when we sacrifice, our loss should make the world at least a tiny bit better - a hungry person fed, a hurt person healing, a lost person saved.
Think about sacrifice today. How it has been done for you. How you have done it for others. How you might do it today.
Father,
You sacrificed the unthinkable for me. Help me to truly sacrifice for others that this world might be a little better. Amen.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Best Friends
Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. (Psalm 146:3 NIV)
When she was right around three years old, my granddaughter, Cecelia began learning about the concept of "best friends." Imagine my utter and absolute joy when she snuggled up to me and said, "Kaymee, you are my BEST FRIEND!" Wow! Not her Opah whom she obviously adores... not her "other" grandma (yay!)... not even her mommy or daddy. Nope. ME. I was her BEST friend!
Well, my bubble burst shortly thereafter when she was snuggled into her Opah and I overheard her say, "Opah, you are my BEST friend!" Then another day we were talking about her day at daycare and she told me about some little boy who was her "best friend." I couldn't take it anymore... I said, "But I thought I was your best friend." She said, "You are, but I have lots and lots of best friends!"
And she does. Whenever Cecelia interacts with another person, she is there. She makes them feel like they are the center of her life. Her little friends seek her out each week at church and are disappointed when she is not there. When she is with me, I am her favorite grandma, but when she is with her Nanna, Nanna is her favorite grandma. And I am absolutely ok with that.
Lately, Cecelia has been making a distinction between her BFF's. Someone who dances with her is her "dancing BFF." Someone who reads with her is her "reading BFF." If you wear the same color green that she happens to be wearing, you will be her "green BFF." Yesterday, I put a braid in her hair and put one in mine as well so that I could be her "braid BFF."
We can never have too many BFF's. I wish I were more like Cecelia in that regard. I wish I could make each person I interact with feel as important and special as they each are. I wish I could focus more on the areas we have in common than what makes us different.
But the most important reason to have a lot of BFFs is because people disappoint. And when they do, we will have others in our lives to help us move on. So at the top of our BEST FRIEND list, we need to put our Lord and Friend and Brother, Jesus. Because he will never, ever dissapoint us. He's always got our back. And if every person in our life deserts us, he will not. It's the best thing I've found about being a Christian. I am never truly lonely. And my God always makes me feel as special as I am.
Lord Jesus, my Friend and Brother,
Help me to make everyone I meet today my best friend. May I make them feel every bit as special as and wonderful as I know they are. Amen.
When she was right around three years old, my granddaughter, Cecelia began learning about the concept of "best friends." Imagine my utter and absolute joy when she snuggled up to me and said, "Kaymee, you are my BEST FRIEND!" Wow! Not her Opah whom she obviously adores... not her "other" grandma (yay!)... not even her mommy or daddy. Nope. ME. I was her BEST friend!
Well, my bubble burst shortly thereafter when she was snuggled into her Opah and I overheard her say, "Opah, you are my BEST friend!" Then another day we were talking about her day at daycare and she told me about some little boy who was her "best friend." I couldn't take it anymore... I said, "But I thought I was your best friend." She said, "You are, but I have lots and lots of best friends!"
And she does. Whenever Cecelia interacts with another person, she is there. She makes them feel like they are the center of her life. Her little friends seek her out each week at church and are disappointed when she is not there. When she is with me, I am her favorite grandma, but when she is with her Nanna, Nanna is her favorite grandma. And I am absolutely ok with that.
Lately, Cecelia has been making a distinction between her BFF's. Someone who dances with her is her "dancing BFF." Someone who reads with her is her "reading BFF." If you wear the same color green that she happens to be wearing, you will be her "green BFF." Yesterday, I put a braid in her hair and put one in mine as well so that I could be her "braid BFF."
We can never have too many BFF's. I wish I were more like Cecelia in that regard. I wish I could make each person I interact with feel as important and special as they each are. I wish I could focus more on the areas we have in common than what makes us different.
But the most important reason to have a lot of BFFs is because people disappoint. And when they do, we will have others in our lives to help us move on. So at the top of our BEST FRIEND list, we need to put our Lord and Friend and Brother, Jesus. Because he will never, ever dissapoint us. He's always got our back. And if every person in our life deserts us, he will not. It's the best thing I've found about being a Christian. I am never truly lonely. And my God always makes me feel as special as I am.
Lord Jesus, my Friend and Brother,
Help me to make everyone I meet today my best friend. May I make them feel every bit as special as and wonderful as I know they are. Amen.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The Right Directions
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25:4, 5 NIV)
Have you ever had a hard time finding your driving destination even with plenty of directions? Last week, my extended family rented a great big 7-bedroom house up in Boone to have a vacation/family reunion. But it wasn't easy to find. We logged in the coordinates on our GPS's and I printed a map from Yahoo Maps. They gave different directions. Then we got an email from the owner that said, "Don't follow your GPS or online maps. They will confuse you." And then he gave us his own set of directions. The problem was, his directions assumed you came onto one road from a specific (but unknown to us) direction when we came in from another. We stoppped to ask locals directions, but they are as confused about the back mountain roads as any out-of-towner. We finally followed the GPS and it got us there.... but it took us on some pretty frightening winding, weaving gravel and dirt roads with steep cliffs in the pouring rain! Once we got there, we could take the owner's directions backwards and found our fatal move. These roads weren't perfectly smooth traveling either, but it was easy to see that it was a much better way. Going out to town and back was much easier once we knew the easy way.
Our spiritual lives are like that. We get directions from everywhere. Books, internet, TV, family, friends, our own church and even other churches that our sure our own church has the wrong directions. When we follow our own way or the way of someone else who is equally confused, we are going to find some pretty scary roads. And it is going to take a lot longer to arrive where God is trying to get us to go.
We need to use the Owner's directions to begin with. He knows where we need to go, and the best path for us to take. The roads aren't always going to be smooth and easy. The sharp turns and bumpy paths make the destination all the more desirable. But once we learn to travel the Owner's path, it's easy to see that his way is absolutely the best way.
The only way to get directions from the Owner is... from the Owner. Others may give you the Owner's directions with their own "short cuts." Some have misinterpreted the Owner's directions and you just might fall off a cliff!
Life is hard enough when you have the right directions. Go to the Source. He has your way mapped out and he will be there to help you over the steep hills and lead you back when you get too close to edge of the cliffs. Prayer. Bible study. Worship. You will find your directions in these.
Lord God,
Guide me in this day. Help me avoid the pitfalls that I seem to find day after day. Keep me from falling over the edge and bring me to the end of the day filled with the joy that comes from following your path. Amen.
Have you ever had a hard time finding your driving destination even with plenty of directions? Last week, my extended family rented a great big 7-bedroom house up in Boone to have a vacation/family reunion. But it wasn't easy to find. We logged in the coordinates on our GPS's and I printed a map from Yahoo Maps. They gave different directions. Then we got an email from the owner that said, "Don't follow your GPS or online maps. They will confuse you." And then he gave us his own set of directions. The problem was, his directions assumed you came onto one road from a specific (but unknown to us) direction when we came in from another. We stoppped to ask locals directions, but they are as confused about the back mountain roads as any out-of-towner. We finally followed the GPS and it got us there.... but it took us on some pretty frightening winding, weaving gravel and dirt roads with steep cliffs in the pouring rain! Once we got there, we could take the owner's directions backwards and found our fatal move. These roads weren't perfectly smooth traveling either, but it was easy to see that it was a much better way. Going out to town and back was much easier once we knew the easy way.
Our spiritual lives are like that. We get directions from everywhere. Books, internet, TV, family, friends, our own church and even other churches that our sure our own church has the wrong directions. When we follow our own way or the way of someone else who is equally confused, we are going to find some pretty scary roads. And it is going to take a lot longer to arrive where God is trying to get us to go.
We need to use the Owner's directions to begin with. He knows where we need to go, and the best path for us to take. The roads aren't always going to be smooth and easy. The sharp turns and bumpy paths make the destination all the more desirable. But once we learn to travel the Owner's path, it's easy to see that his way is absolutely the best way.
The only way to get directions from the Owner is... from the Owner. Others may give you the Owner's directions with their own "short cuts." Some have misinterpreted the Owner's directions and you just might fall off a cliff!
Life is hard enough when you have the right directions. Go to the Source. He has your way mapped out and he will be there to help you over the steep hills and lead you back when you get too close to edge of the cliffs. Prayer. Bible study. Worship. You will find your directions in these.
Lord God,
Guide me in this day. Help me avoid the pitfalls that I seem to find day after day. Keep me from falling over the edge and bring me to the end of the day filled with the joy that comes from following your path. Amen.
Monday, July 15, 2013
What's Mine is Yours
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29 NIV)
Just a little bit of politics today...
In Pastor Chad's sermon yesterday, he pointed out that we can react to what we have or don't have in different ways:
Just a little bit of politics today...
In Pastor Chad's sermon yesterday, he pointed out that we can react to what we have or don't have in different ways:
- What's yours is mine and I'm going to take it
- What's mine is mine and I'm going to keep it
It's clear to see that the first way is wrong. But according to Jesus' teaching, the second way is also wrong. Only society encourages us to believe that it is right. But both are based on greed and selfishness. Jesus tells us to look at it a different way:
- What's mine is yours and I am blessed to be able to give it.
The problem politically is that, like any morality, we cannot legislate it. We can legislate the first one by making laws against stealing and defrauding the system. We can legislate the second by creating higher taxes and making laws against tax evasion. But we can't make laws to make people feel the joy of giving freely. It is a change that has to come from the inside.
This country's two-party system has become split so widely over the last decade or two. Each party is so sure the other party is pure evil. But guess what. I feel sure that the Republicans don't hate poor people and I am also sure that democrats don't want to take away anyone's freedoms. We are all just trying to come up with solutions to today's problems from different angles.
So how do we do it Jesus' way? We can't legislate it. Higher taxes will just make people angry and taking away food stamps will just make the poor poorer. The change has to come from the inside. And it has to start with each one of us. We each need to find the ministry we are passionate about and work at it passionately.
Maybe we won't save the whole country. But like the little boy throwing starfish back into the sea, we can make a difference in our little sphere of influence. And maybe one day, our own actions will even influence society enough that it can say that the right way to look at what we have is, "What's mine is yours and I am blessed to be able to give it."
Change our hearts, O God. May we be more like you. Amen.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
First Steps
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:10 NIV)
My 9-month-old granddaughter, Emma, will be walking very soon. She is at the "cruising" stage where she will take little steps while holding onto furniture. When she gets to the end of a couch and is looking longingly at the footstool a short space away but out of reach, a parent or grandparent will hold out their arms and and encourage her to take that first littl step on her own. She is not quite ready, so the arms come in closer until she really doesn't have to let go of the couch to take hold of the waiting hands and she is moved to the prized footstool. How cruel it would be to move those hands the second she decides to trust! She would have trust issues the rest of her life.
Throughout scripture we are reassured that we can trust God. His hands are always there when we need them. If he even onced moved those waiting arms when they were needed the most, "trust" would not be one of the top biblical themes. Trust is built on experience. One failure is all it takes to erode it. We see it in human relationships all the time. Trust can be rebuilt, but it is a slow and painful process to all parties in the relationship. Consistency is crucial.
God is trustworthy because he is perfectly, eternally consistant. He is always there to comfort, to encourage, and to pick us up when we fall. And we only fall when we fail to trust him completely. Even though we know God's love for us is even greater than our love for our own children and grandchildren, like Emma, we are often not ready to take that step into God's encouraging arms. We prefer the safety of the firm couch to the untested experience God has waiting for us.
How limited Emma's life would be if she continued to need furniture next to her to walk. She would miss out on a world filled with wonders and amazing experiences. I wonder how much we miss, when we turn away from God's encouraging arms to hold on to our own couches?
Lord God,
Give us the courage and trust we need to walk away from the couch to your waiting arms. Help us to discover that we can do it and that you are there to make sure we succeed. Amen.
My 9-month-old granddaughter, Emma, will be walking very soon. She is at the "cruising" stage where she will take little steps while holding onto furniture. When she gets to the end of a couch and is looking longingly at the footstool a short space away but out of reach, a parent or grandparent will hold out their arms and and encourage her to take that first littl step on her own. She is not quite ready, so the arms come in closer until she really doesn't have to let go of the couch to take hold of the waiting hands and she is moved to the prized footstool. How cruel it would be to move those hands the second she decides to trust! She would have trust issues the rest of her life.
Throughout scripture we are reassured that we can trust God. His hands are always there when we need them. If he even onced moved those waiting arms when they were needed the most, "trust" would not be one of the top biblical themes. Trust is built on experience. One failure is all it takes to erode it. We see it in human relationships all the time. Trust can be rebuilt, but it is a slow and painful process to all parties in the relationship. Consistency is crucial.
God is trustworthy because he is perfectly, eternally consistant. He is always there to comfort, to encourage, and to pick us up when we fall. And we only fall when we fail to trust him completely. Even though we know God's love for us is even greater than our love for our own children and grandchildren, like Emma, we are often not ready to take that step into God's encouraging arms. We prefer the safety of the firm couch to the untested experience God has waiting for us.
How limited Emma's life would be if she continued to need furniture next to her to walk. She would miss out on a world filled with wonders and amazing experiences. I wonder how much we miss, when we turn away from God's encouraging arms to hold on to our own couches?
Lord God,
Give us the courage and trust we need to walk away from the couch to your waiting arms. Help us to discover that we can do it and that you are there to make sure we succeed. Amen.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Letting Go
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (Luke 9:24 NIV)
I love the spiritual paradoxes that Jesus teaches throughout the gospels. But this one from the verse above is one of the greatest. "If you try too hard to keep that which is precious to you, you will lose it; if you really want to keep it, give it away." Or "You can't have what you cannot let go of, but you may keep that which you can."
I think the thing about it is, when we hold on too tightly to anything... treasure, loved ones, our own lives... we cease to possess them because they have actually come to possess us. Just look at our lives these days. We are so afraid of losing what we have that we have become a nation that lives in fear of losing it all. We live behind locked doors with fancy security systems with guns under our pillows. We keep pepper spray on our key chains. We are afraid to enjoy a walk by ourselves or stop to ask someone who appears stranded if they need any help.
We have become possessed by our possession and by our tight hold on our own lives and the lives of those we love. We lack the freedom that Jesus wants for us. No, we shouldn't become careless. We need to be concerned for our safety and we should take reasonable measures to protect our possessions. But it should not rule our lives. It should not overrule our compassion. It should not stop us from living life.
In Pastor Chad's sermon yesterday we learned how not to be an "I want to follow Jesus, but..." Christian. This giving up what we so desperately try to hold on to is a huge step in getting rid of all the "buts" in our lives. And it is much easier to let go of these things when we finally realize that none of it is really ours anyway.
Father,
Help us to understand, deep down in our souls, that we don't really own anything or anyone. It can all be gone in an instant no matter how hard we try to hold on. Help us to release our grasp so that we can really enjoy all that you have blessed us with. Amen.
I love the spiritual paradoxes that Jesus teaches throughout the gospels. But this one from the verse above is one of the greatest. "If you try too hard to keep that which is precious to you, you will lose it; if you really want to keep it, give it away." Or "You can't have what you cannot let go of, but you may keep that which you can."
I think the thing about it is, when we hold on too tightly to anything... treasure, loved ones, our own lives... we cease to possess them because they have actually come to possess us. Just look at our lives these days. We are so afraid of losing what we have that we have become a nation that lives in fear of losing it all. We live behind locked doors with fancy security systems with guns under our pillows. We keep pepper spray on our key chains. We are afraid to enjoy a walk by ourselves or stop to ask someone who appears stranded if they need any help.
We have become possessed by our possession and by our tight hold on our own lives and the lives of those we love. We lack the freedom that Jesus wants for us. No, we shouldn't become careless. We need to be concerned for our safety and we should take reasonable measures to protect our possessions. But it should not rule our lives. It should not overrule our compassion. It should not stop us from living life.
In Pastor Chad's sermon yesterday we learned how not to be an "I want to follow Jesus, but..." Christian. This giving up what we so desperately try to hold on to is a huge step in getting rid of all the "buts" in our lives. And it is much easier to let go of these things when we finally realize that none of it is really ours anyway.
Father,
Help us to understand, deep down in our souls, that we don't really own anything or anyone. It can all be gone in an instant no matter how hard we try to hold on. Help us to release our grasp so that we can really enjoy all that you have blessed us with. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)