WATCHWORD:
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:26 Continue reading
Archives: Watchword
A bit of scripture, short meditations and stories, prayers, news and maybe a touch of humor.
But as for Me…
WATCHWORD:
14 So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:14-15 Continue reading
Artificial Worship?
WATCHWORD:
6 The Mighty God, the Eternal—God of past, present, and future —
7 “Listen, My people, I have something to say: O Israel, My testimony comes against you; I am God, your God.8 I am not going to scold you because of your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are always before Me.
9 I will not accept the best bull from your fields or goats from your meadow, 10 For they are already Mine, just as the forest beast and the cattle grazing over a thousand hills are Mine. 11 Every bird flying over the mountains I know; every animal roaming over the fields belongs to Me. 12 I would not come to you if I were hungry, for the world and all it contains are Mine. 13 Do you really think I eat bull meat? Or drink goat’s blood?
14 Set out a sacrifice I can accept: your thankfulness. Be true to your word to the Most High. 15 When you are in trouble, call for Me. I will come and rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
16 But to those acting against Him, God says, “Who do you think you are? Listing off My laws, acting as if your life is in alignment with My ways? 17 For it’s clear that you despise My guidance; you throw My wise words over your shoulder. 18 You play with thieves, spend your time with adulterers.19 Evil runs out of your mouth; your tongue is wrapped in deceit. 20 You sit back and gossip about your brother; you slander your mother’s son. 21 While you did these things, I kept silent; somehow you got the idea that I was like you. But now My silence ends, and I am going to indict you. I’ll state the charge against you clearly, face-to-face.
22 All you who have forgotten Me, your God, should think about what I have said, or I will tear you apart and leave no one to save you. 23 Set out a sacrifice I can accept: your thankfulness. Do this, and you will honor Me. Those who straighten up their lives will know the saving grace of God.” Psalm 50:6-23 The Voice Continue reading
Whatever Is Unjust
WATCHWORD:
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 Now one final thing; Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9 Continue reading
Salt and Light
WATCHWORD:
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:13-16
5b make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5b-8 Continue reading
Proclamation
WATCHWORD:
6 “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. John 17:6-8 Continue reading
Forgiveness?
WATCHWORD:
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:30-32 Continue reading
Do We Fear Death?
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. John 11:25 Continue reading
Power of the Past
WATCHWORD:
These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into men whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
That is what is meant by the Scriptures which say that no mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:9
“If I can?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if you have faith.” Mark 9:23 Continue reading
A Little Corner of Hell?
WATCHWORD:
I have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy. Habakkuk 3:2
25 “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:25-26 Continue reading
God Bless America!
WATCHWORD:
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people he chose for his inheritance. Psalm 33:12
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior. Timothy 2:1-3 Continue reading
Christ-Centered Person
WATCHWORD:
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. John 4:7
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
Meditation:
Christ-Centered Person
I share with you a meditation I originally posted in a July 2020 Watchword. This bit of poetry by Gertrude Roberts Rays touches a responsive chord in describing a truly Christ-centered person. As you read this, feel the meaning behind the words, and be blessed.
He Met Me in the Quiet Village
He met me in the quiet village street—
And stopped and stood and talked a while—
Did lend himself entire to me. Moments fleet
Raced by! He taught me how to be a Friend.
He led me in my groping to a King,
And in his meek simplicity I caught
A soul-illumined likeness of the thing
That men call love in his own person wrought.
He lifted me to the eternal crystal height
Where he abode from early morn ‘til late,
The while he walked the earth with kindly might
In quiet gentleness that makes men great.
My Friend, my Teacher, Prophet, God-filled Man—
A Masterpiece in life’s unfolding plan.
Isn’t that a beautiful and blessed piece of poetry. As you read that, prayer-like, you can almost get caught up in the presence of God. For me the phrase “He taught me how to be a Friend”, brought tears of wonder. And “…he walked the earth with kindly might in quiet gentleness that makes men great” should cause the poet in each of us to pause and ponder that truth.
In the interest of honesty, I found that prose as the dedication in a little book entitled What He Lived By, honoring Edward Increase Bosworth, Dean of The Oberlin Graduate School of Theology. Dean Bosworth was my dad’s favorite professor in Seminary in the early part of the 1920s. The book, compiled in 1931, is a collection of Bosworth’s prayers. My dad honored me by giving me the good Dean’s name.
Dad only spoke to me once about Dean Bosworth. As a child, I never knew why I had that name, I wondered and, at time, resented it because in my young mind it was hard to spell and Stanley was hard enough! The answer came in 1974 when he gave this little book, and told me that Dean Bosworth was the greatest man of God that he ever knew. That is when my pique turned into pride.
“He taught me how to be a friend.” How do you teach that? What are the nuances of that process that results in learning that Grace?
A few years ago, I wrote an essay entitled “Not by Accident” where I explored that process, that means of communicating and teaching those graces that make a person of God. In that essay I asked, how do we teach love, or faith, or trust, or generosity, or compassion? I then made the following observation:
“We learn compassion because we have seen it in action. We have watched those that we love and respect, reach out to others and make a difference. We learn love, perhaps, because we have felt it, and because it was part and partial of our lives from our earliest remembrances. We learn trust because we have relied on it and it did not disappoint. We learn about faith because of the model that was right there in front of us as we grew up, and then it became our own.”
I think that is part of how we embrace those qualities, but it is not complete. The qualities that make for a Christian are God-given graces. We don’t earn them, we don’t copy them, we don’t need to define them, we just need to act them out: Go and make disciples, do likewise, love as I have loved you, to name just a few of Christ’s lessons.
Who were your models growing up? Were you aware of the affect they were having on you? How have you passed those on? Whether we are conscious of them or not we do pass on, both the good and the bad, the language and the habits, our little idiosyncrasies, speech mannerisms, and on down a very long list, all of which get passed on, in one form or another, to those who look up to us, who have counted on us.
I have had occasion to think about Dean Bosworth, and what his qualities were that impressed my dad and so many others. I read many of his prayers and I can imagine him standing in front of his class teaching, sometimes theology, sometimes humor, always Christ.
Oswald Chambers reminds us — “It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things.” He went on to explain that we cannot imitate the very nature of Jesus, it is either in you or it is not. The point is, in those given situations, we might ask ourselves, what would Jesus do? But, if you have Jesus, then you already know the answer. Amen.
Prayer of Comfort:
God of love and mercy, embrace all those whose hearts today overflow with grief, unanswered questions and such a sense of loss. Grant them space to express their tears. Hold them close through the coming days. Help them, Lord, to feel the intimate closeness of Your Presence. These prayers we offer in the Name of Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
