A bit of scripture, short meditations and stories, prayers, news and maybe a touch of humor.
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, ‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’ Luke 21:1-4
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Continue reading
O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1-3
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever. Psalm 118:29
I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 1:9
Cockeyed with Gratitude
Have you ever been cockeyed with gratitude? You know, when thankfulness fills your eyes with tears, and your heart is so full that it fair will burst, and all of your words are adjectives of grace and joy. Have you ever been that cockeyed with gratitude?
You know in a very real sense, I think that deep feeling of God’s presence produces all of that, so that even the smallest things in your life take on a shine, a glistening polish of newness even though it’s old, as old as you are, yet its new. It’s when you know that life is good. It’s when you know that there is so much more beyond what you have experienced, or what you will experience to the very end of this life. It is that knowledge that puts the simonize on life for you know there is so much more to come.
And as you contemplate that, you get cockeyed, and your smile simply doesn’t leave your face, or your heart. God’s blessings, sometimes inexpressible, often can only be felt, and, yet, you know whose you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord. Look at me, I’m cockeyed with gratitude.
My daughter, Beth, sent us this beautiful prose that inspired the cockeyed gratitude devotional. Thank you, Billy Collins:
As If to Demonstrate an Eclipse
I pick an orange from a wicker basket
and place it on the table to represent the sun.
Then down at the other end
a blue and white marble becomes the earth
and nearby I lay the little moon of an aspirin.
I get a glass from a cabinet, open a bottle of wine,
then I sit in a ladder-back chair,
a benevolent god presiding over a miniature creation myth.
and I begin to sing a homemade canticle of thanks
for this perfect little arrangement,
for not making the earth too hot or cold
not making it spin too fast or slow
so that the grove of orange trees
and the owl become possible,
not to mention the rolling wave,
the play of clouds, geese in flight,
and the Z of lightning on a dark lake.
Then I fill my glass again
and give thanks for the trout,
the oak, and the yellow feather,
singing the room full of shadows,
as sun and earth and moon
circle one another in their impeccable orbits
and I get more and more cockeyed with gratitude.
Isn’t that interesting, in a down-to-earth sort of way, with common words, yet uncommon thoughts of grace and gratitude. Even in our respective circumstances there is reason, there is cause to brim-over with peace and love for the maker of the stars, our Lord and Savior. Time to say thank you, Lord, over and over again. So be it.
Review your prayer list, and renew your prayers. We all need them, along with our gratitude. Pray for renewed hope in each of us, hope to overcome our anxiety, our fears, our missing of loved ones.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Lord, teach me to offer you a heart of thanksgiving and praise in all my daily experiences of life. Teach me to be joyful always, to pray continually and to give thanks in all my circumstances. I accept them as Your will for my life. I long to bring pleasure to Your heart daily. Break the power of the enemy in my life. Defeat Him through my sacrifice of praise. Change my outlook and attitude into one of joyful contentment with my present circumstances. I thank You, Lord.. Amen.
13 Little children were brought for Jesus to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. “Don’t bother him,” they said. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and don’t prevent them. For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” 15 And he put his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. Matthew 19:13-15 Continue reading
Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:14-18
Be Still and Know
How do you cope with the constant busy-ness that is our world? How do you juggle so many things on your calendar, and it builds to the point where something has got to change? And you wring your hands and struggle to find some point in your daily life where you can breathe, and relax, but you can’t seem to find a scrap of time. Where do you start?
Think what the psalmist is telling us. “Be still.” Quiet your mind, force yourself to find a corner, somewhere away from your calendar and the demands of work or home. It is not easy to give in and do things differently, but it is easier than being upset and miserable.
The creator of the universe wants a word with you and he can’t talk to you if you are always on the go. But you must listen, and the more you listen, the more you begin to understand the language our Lord uses to reach out to us. Sometimes He speaks to us in the circumstances that surround our lives. Sometimes he speaks in the language of health problems that force us to take a break. Sometimes he speaks in the language of a child, or the greeting we get from our pet that brings comfort. The point is, our Lord and savior doesn’t always use words as we mortals use, but the meaning becomes clear the more you remain tuned in to His message.
The second point is that you must be prepared to receive him, to hear his voice on a regular basis, and that requires you to obey his commandments and prayerfully come to him, acknowledging him in everything you do. When we make it our lifestyle to be identified with Jesus Christ and faithfully be a doer of the word, His messages become more clear and understandable, and the rewards obvious.
The final step is to surrender to our Lord and Savior, and allow God’s spirit to lead you out of a stressful lifestyle into one of peace and joy. It is not as easy as my writing it, but the end result is the reward. May it be so with each of you. Amen.
Help me, Lord, to hear and to understand the murmurings of your Holy Spirit within me. But more than that, Lord, help me to act according to the leadership of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. Philippians 4:13 NTL
Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. 4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ 5 I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. Job 42:1-5 NLT Continue reading
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: 1We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. 5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. 7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. 8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:1-8 Continue reading
5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. 6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? 7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. Psalm 89:5-7
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day… John 6:50-71
An Invisible Presence
In a back issue of The Evangel, a publication of the Association of Lutheran Churches, there is an article by James Hoefer, entitled The Invisible Enemy. We may immediately think of the pandemic and how it upended our lives and created changes in our usually socialized existence. It would be hard to argue about that.
In his article, Dr. Hoefer speaks of the power of darkness. He makes this statement: “But a deeper dive into the Biblical portrayal brings some surprises! There we find that everything we see in the visible, physical realm is caused, provoked, or at least influenced by something in the invisible, spiritual realm.”
Spirits? Humbug! Everything can be answered with science or our five senses. Everything! Really? How about, who you are? Or, science? Why are you here, reading this?
Let me get my two cents in here: How would you explain how an 86-year-old man writing a Christian book for the first time has it published? Or how about this, the same man, now 88-year-old, gets his second book published? Or, one more, the now 90-year-old man gets his third Christian book published? Hmm. How do you explain that with science or the senses? Just wait until muy next book comes out. That one will really surprise you!
Allyson Kieda, author for Our Daily Bread, has reflected on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, writing “There are different kinds of gifts…service…working…but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. The Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all believers in Jesus.” I believe that my writings, or the writings of any number of authors or journaling person, or painter, or sculpture, or composer, or singer, these are all the result of inspiration or gifts given by the Creator, King of the Universe. Every one influenced by an invisible, spiritual force.
Okay, back to humbug. If you have difficulty getting your heart and mind around the concept of a Holy Spirit influencing our lives, inspiring our acts or otherwise leading us on God-given pathways. I understand. Our earthbound language is sometimes difficult in translating the spiritual factors that we believe are bound in biblical works in an understandable and translatable form the key to unlocking the language of the Bible is an open mind, a belief in God and a heart attuned to the murmurings of the Holy Spirit.
The point is, we don’t really know nor do we fully understand the whole concept of the spirit world or eternal life. Yes, we read the Bible, and, maybe, carefully research it in great depth, but until we are there, face to face with our Creator God, we can’t really know, we just need to believe.
Elie Wiesel tells of a conversation with a child: What are you writing, the child asked. Stories, Elie replies. True stories? Stories about people we know? Some. Are they true? Some are. Well, if they aren’t true, they must be lies. Wiesel struggles with a response. How to explain the truth of story, when the content is inspired or written to teach?
We are that child, and the stories are God’s story, His Holy Word. How do we understand His Word? Do we dig deeper? We may resist literal understanding of what we read in the pages of His Journal, our Bible. To me, there are three shades to understanding the Bible: If it is written in the Bible, I believe it, and I do. If it is written in the Bible, I believe it, but I struggle to understand it, and that is alright. Better yet, if it is written in the Bible, I want to understand it and I want God to help me find meaning. So, if you are like me, in the end, we talk to Him and He communicates with us. Right? That is where the Holy Spirit within each of us comes into the picture.
So, how does Elie Wiesel answer the child? If a story is not true, yet teaches, is it a lie? How could a man become ‘living bread’, and feed us? How, indeed. Do you believe it? That requires thought and prayer, and faith. Amen.
The Inn on Jericho Road is a story of doubting the miracles of God even when they play out before our very eyes. Join the ‘Good Samaritan’ on his travels just days behind the ministry of Jesus, in the aftermath of Jesus’ miracles and it may open your understanding of the human trait of doubting what can’t be seen, even when you have the taste of the bread Jesus gave. Get it in hardcover, paperback or as an eBook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite online bookstore.
I believe, Lord, help my unbelief. This is a prayer that most of us have as we surrender our lives to the Lord. We pray that you will understand fully, and come to our age, to strengthen our faith. Help us to be a turn to the Holy Spirit within, and be willing to follow the memories of that voice. You are our Lord and Savior, and it’s in your name we offer these prayers. Amen.
1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11 Continue reading
1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3
37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 Matthew 10:37-39 Continue reading
1 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. 4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. 5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:1-5
The Better Way
The writer of Psalm 25 moves between the need for help and thoughts of trust in God. The writer wants to know the right way to go. Who has not been lost or had to make a difficult decision? Or uncertain about which way to turn. We look for someone to help us make a right decision: a family member, a friend, Pastor, or a teacher.
On most days our travel is familiar and as we move ahead with our lives, we’re on familiar ground. We stay on the known, the prescribed and paved road. Then there other days, when decisions were called for, where indecision was haunting us like a grey cloud. Walking the familiar trail is one thing, we can continue, but when we come to a path that leads away in a different direction. A path where the ground is well beaten down by the feet of those who have chosen this way, maybe because it was easier or faster or close? Perhaps it was simply more beautiful. Should I go in that direction, should I make that decision, would it be best, or should I stay with the familiar?
The psalmist has placed a marker near the path, a prayer that stops me when I am lost or have a difficult decision to make: Show me your way, Lord, teach me Your paths. Which is the better way? Ask and He will guide you.
So, we travel along in confidence born in the guidance our Lord and when we come to a detour of indecision we simply pause in our journey to ask faithful God lead me down the right pathway. It takes trust and faith in our Lord, but He is faithful and true.
Inspired by a devotional in The Word In Season.
In seven Days, on November 12, my book The Inn on Jericho Road will be released by Palmetto Publishing to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and online book stores everywhere. Get it in hardback, paperback, kindle, nook formats. And the author (that’s me!) thanks you very much. Autographed for you? Of course. Get. it to me. … I’ve got the pen. — Stan Escott
Thank you for your guidance and your leadership Lord during those times when I just don’t know which way to go. Thank you for being with me yesterday, today and I know you’ll be there for tomorrows throughout my life. Thank you for friends, for health, for all the graces that you’ve given me. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us. In Jesus name. Amen
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. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.” Luke 17:11-19
A Month of Thanks
Don’t miss the question that Jesus asked, “Has no one returned to give glory to God?”
The German philosopher Meister Eckhart once wrote: “If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ that will suffice.”
I think we underestimate the importance of the ‘thank you’. The acknowledgment of a gift given, assistance provided, support extended, or simply friendship that has no qualifications, it’s just always there, and ‘thank you’ speaks volumes.
Thanksgiving is an opportunity to think back on what we have been given…and to give something in return: thanks. Actually, “thanks” seems too small a word. Gratitude may be better. Gratitude is like a personality characteristic, it just shows up nearly all the time in all that we do. We are here, in this place to give gratitude. Maybe we should call this month “Gratitude-giving.” We are here to honor, with grateful hearts, what God has done for us.
The scripture tells us to ask and we shall receive, and to knock and it will be opened. So, we ask, and we knock. And…? But what happens then? In Luke’s telling of it, 10 people are cured by Jesus of leprosy. Only one comes back to say thank you. To complicate matters, the person who comes back is a Samaritan. He isn’t Jewish. To have any contact between Jews and Samaritan was taboo. Yet, there it was, and it was the Samaritan that returned to express gratitude.
Here is a point of fact about Luke. Of all the disciples, Luke was the only one that was not Jewish. His gospel was written for those, like himself, who were on the outside, perhaps looking in? A clear statement that Christ’s message was meant for everyone. But note, in the gospel story, not everyone comes back. Implicit in this passage is the idea that something is missing. Giving thanks is a vital and necessary part of our relationship with God.
Most of us know someone who is having a difficult time this Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s medical. Maybe loneliness. Where are the blessings for these and others who are feeling, in a particular way, burdened, afflicted, cursed?
That is why we are here: to pray those words of support and thankfulness, and to make them matter. We know there are many ways to communicate, and keeping in touch has great value because it expresses caring, and love. It is our way of ‘Loving our neighbor as Christ loves us.’
Let’s remind ourselves of God’s blessings, wherever we find them, however they come to us. And give thanks for them, every day, in every moment. So be it.
A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough. “Pop, what are you talking about?” the son screams. “We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the father says. “We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her.” Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like heck they’re getting divorced,” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.” She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, “You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up. The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife with a smile. “Okay, honey,” he says, “they’re coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way.”
Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family. Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness. Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and for the whole of our lives. Thank you for friends, for health, and for grace. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us.
So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned over to the Romans soldiers to be crucified. Mark 15:15 Continue reading
