Archives: Watchword

A bit of scripture, short meditations and stories, prayers, news and maybe a touch of humor.

Without Ceasing?

WATCHWORD:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 19-22 Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil. The Message

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. NIV

 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil. NLT

 

Meditation:

Without Ceasing?

Here are three different versions of the same passage, each saying basically the same thing, but with slightly different twists. The emphasis is on prayer, of course, but is there a difference between “all the time”, “continually” and “never stop”? It does seem like the Apostle Paul is telling us to never stop praying. How do we do that and is there more to it?

What is it that you do all the time? You know, without ceasing, no matter what happens? Something you do, day in and day out, never stopping? Two people overheard speaking of a friend that “never stops talking”, or “he’s a constant complainer.”  No, that is not what is meant.

I can think of at least two things that you and I must do without ceasing: Breathe and our heart pumping away, pushing our blood around for our good health. Of course, those two things must happen and we do them without thinking. Again, I don’t think that is what is meant.

The Message version gives us a clue to Paul’s meaning: “you who belong to Christ Jesus”. Do we understand how inclusive that state of affairs is when we “belong to Christ Jesus”? We are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is, constantly, unceasingly.

Look at those passages again. It is not just praying that Paul is urging us to do. No, if we are Christ’s then we are called upon not to suppress the Spirit, not to stifle those who bring the Word but to test everything. We are to “check out” and hold on to what is good and to reject whatever is evil.

In a week I will be traveling to California, and, is my usual practice, I can feel the early sense of anxiety  beginning.  On this day, that negative feeling carried into my meditation time, and then I came upon this, written by  Mark Alan Williams:

“We may feel like we are at the edge of a precipice and about to fall. But, God allows us to go through trials to see if we will trust or doubt Him; and he wants us to trust him fully. The testing of your faith produces perseverance which makes us mature and complete.”

That short paragraph  reminded me that God is in charge, God loves us, and so what grounds do I have to worry? It was at that moment of awareness of God’s presence, that my feelings of anxiety faded.

We often read literal meaning into Scripture, and often it is the appropriate way to understand what God is saying to us. In this important passage, I believe the intent is more in line with this: If we are living the life of faith, then our communication with God is constant, our gratitude, our thankfulness and our awareness of forgiveness is all there in the love of Christ. God is good, all the time. Amen.

 

A Few Thoughts on Christianity:

  • Tithe if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk.
  • You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
  • Don’t wait for the hearse to take you to church.
  • Come early for a good seat in the back.
  • Life has many choices, Eternity has two. What’s yours?
  • The best vitamin for a Christian is B1.
  • Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due.

 

Closing Prayer:

Dear Lord, I come before you and ask for Your strength within me. A strength not of the world but of Your kingdom. To refrain from judgement and feast on love. To push out greed and hold tight to joy. To dispel pride and rise with humility. To quell anger and rest in self control. To shun greed and rest in giving. To turn from power and embrace service. To let go of resentment and rest in peace. To push through fear and walk forwards in grace. To run with faith, soar with forgiveness, and allow your eternal strength to abide with me. Amen.

 

Doubting Peter

WATCHWORD:

22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”  28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Matthew 14:22-31 Continue reading

In Memoriam

WATCHWORD:

“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him  should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16

“Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10 Continue reading

Deny Yourself

WATCHWORD:

22 “Never, Lord!” Peter said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Matthew 16:20-24

 

Meditation:

Deny Yourself

Back in 1971, I wrote a silly little essay entitled I’m Simply Grand! Here is just a small sample:

Don’t look at me I’m not to blame, I didn’t rain out your silly game. I didn’t bring the clouds so grey and cause the thunder to pound away and dampen down your Saturday! Don’t look at me I’m not the cause, I’m not known to have any flaws. I didn’t cause that bad grade. I didn’t cause the goof you made. And those extra pounds, I’m here to say, I didn’t make you bulge that way! Don’t look at me, I’m much too bright. My opinions are always right! I don’t recall raising my voice or ever making a bad choice…

Now, what did Jesus say? “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” That’s exactly what Jesus said — deny self.  So, how does one do that? How do I deny myself? Does that mean putting others first? Hmm. How does one do that, when I have this nagging little thought in the back of my mind that somehow I am better than that one?

Self. From the time we were small the emphasis was on building our self-esteem, our character, being who we are. It became so ingrained into our DNA, our self-interest DNA, that it has the power to blot out what God has designed and built in and corrupts our human nature for its own purposes. It is a subtle and sneaky transformation.

In the process of our becoming who we are, our individuality forms a hard outer layer that protects and surrounds our inner spiritual life. As individuality develops, it shoves others aside, separating, and isolating people. It happens as we subconsciously protect ourselves and defend the characteristics of the child within. When we place our individuality over our spiritual life, our Spirit will become isolated, and we’ve lost something of value we didn’t even know we had.

Were you ever told by a parent or a significant other in your life to stand up for who you are. We carry that mindset into our present day. As an adult, were you ever asked to do something challenging, perhaps giving a homily in church, and your first impulse was to say “I can’t do that.”  That’s because your individuality is blocking the way. That ‘you’ can’t believe because it’s focused on protecting and not risking. But your ‘spiritual you’ can’t help but believe and you are assured in your faith that the spirit of God is at work in you, saying I can do this because Christ will give me the strength.

I am convinced that God wants to bring us into union with himself, but unless we are willing to give up our right to ourselves, we cannot. What Jesus said about denying self, means to deny our independent right to ourselves. If we do that, then the real part of our spiritual life is allowed the opportunity to grow, and we begin to truly  follow, and take on the image of our Lord. So be it.

 

Praying Psalm 51:10-13:

 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Teach me to lift others up and to love them as you love me. Amen.

 

Love Everyone?

WATCHWORD:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love just as I obey my father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes your joy will overflow. This is my commandment: love each other in the same way i have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:10-13 Continue reading

More Than Enough

WATCHWORD:

9 Then Boaz said to the witnesses and to the crowd standing around, “You have seen that today I have bought all the property of Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon, from Naomi, 10 and that with it I have purchased Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife, so that she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband.” 11 And all the people standing there and the witnesses replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman, who has now come into your home, as fertile as Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you be a great and successful man in Bethlehem, 12 and may the descendants the Lord will give you from this young woman be as numerous and honorable as those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.” 13 So Boaz married Ruth, and when he slept with her, the Lord gave her a son. Ruth 4:9-13 Continue reading

Missing Watchwords, But Not Lost

WATCHWORD

I am a MIGHTY GOD. Nothing is too difficult for Me. Nothing is impossible. Jeremiah 32:27

The errors and the disruptions of humans are no match for our Lord. A little inconvenience, maybe, but nothing that cannot be set right. He tells us, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.”  2 Corinthians 12:9 Continue reading

A Conversation with God

Meditation

A Conversation with God

Some time ago, my daughter found this conversation with God on a Facebook page and passed it on to us as our Meditation for today. It was written by John Roedel and it is such a good and appropriate message, and so I share it with  you. As you read this, keep in mind, this is you and God having a conversation.

Me: Hey God.
God: Hello…
Me: I’m falling apart. Can you put me back together?
God: I would rather not.
Me: Why?
God: Because you aren’t a puzzle.
Me: What about all of the pieces of my life that are falling down onto the ground?
God: Let them stay there for a while. They fell off for a reason. Take some time and decide if you need any of those pieces back.
Me: You don’t understand! I’m breaking down!
God: No – you don’t understand. You are breaking through. What you are feeling are just growing pains. You are shedding the things and the people in your life that are holding you back. You aren’t falling apart. You are falling into place. Relax. Take some deep breaths and allow those things you don’t need anymore, to fall off of you. Quit holding onto the pieces that don’t fit you anymore. Let them fall off. Let them go.
Me: Once I start doing that, what will be left of me?
God: Only the very best pieces of you.
Me: I’m scared of changing.
God: I keep telling you – You aren’t changing! You are becoming!
Me: Becoming who?
God: Becoming who I created you to be! A person of light and love and charity and hope and courage and joy and mercy and grace and compassion. I made you for more than the shallow pieces you have decided to adorn yourself with that you cling to with such greed and fear. Let those things fall off of you. I love you! Don’t change! … Become! Become! Become who I made you to be. I’m going to keep telling you this until you remember it.
Me: There goes another piece.
God: Yep. Let it be.
Me: So… I’m not broken?
God: Of course Not! – You are breaking like the dawn. It’s a new day.  Become!!!

 

Commentary:

Life is filled with unexpected pits and twists. What has been happening to you over these past two years, since the pandemic ? Some have drawn closer to family, loved ones, friends – crediting your own need and your common sense. It seems that most of us have drawn closer to God and our faith – Thank you, Lord.

Truth – During this time, I sense that God has matured us in our faith, in ways we could not have anticipated. We have drawn closer to the Word. Our pattern of church attendance has altered somewhat. We have changed in ways that bless the lives of others, and ourselves, even today.

Regardless of changes, our Lord beckons us to peace, day by day. Life in Christ will not be the same, it will be different in a bright, new way. Listen to the voice within, telling us of the doors He will open, and the spiritual food He will provide, and the graces that will abound. You are breaking like the dawn. Wait for the Holy One’s direction. Become! Be at peace, and know.

GRACE — God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

 

Closing with The Prayer of Saint Francis – or Is It?

Many people, would consider the following, as a prayer of St Francis, would name this one, but it is not, in fact, by St. Francis, but comes from an unknown French source, and was first written around 1913. The prayer does capture the spirit of Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

(I posted this Watchword nearly two years ago, but it seemed right to repeat it following the Watchword A Conversation with a Friend. These imagined conversations may very well touch us where we live. May God bless your meditations. — Stan)

Conversation with a Friend

WATCHWORD:

23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”  Mark 9:23-24 Continue reading

The Spirit of Truth

WATCHWORD:

15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! John 14:15-17 The Message

I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 2 Corinthians 6:16  Continue reading

WPF

WATCHWORD:

20 Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, 21 for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22

 11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance,  13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”  And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Luke 17:11-19

 46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road. Mark 10:46-52 Continue reading

Milestones

WATCHWORD:

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  1 John 4:7-8

 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5 Continue reading