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- Memory Verse – 2/4 - Memory Verse – 2/4: Romans 8:28 is one of the best-known verses in Romans and probably one of the best-known verses in the whole Bible. I think that is because we are joined together in one common fact of life – we all suffer. We suffered with pain, with loss, with hardships that seemed almost unbearable, and there are times when we want to know what God’s relationship to our suffering is. Did He cause it? Does He care what we’re going through? Can He do anything about it? Verse 28 doesn’t tell us that God causes people to suffer, and it doesn't say that God considers suffering in and of itself to be good. Continue reading
- Memory Verse – 1/4 - Memory Verse – 1/5: What have you committed to memory during your lifetime? When we were children it probably was the alphabet, then it was counting, then maybe it was multiplication tables, then we probably got into more complicated matters: Spelling, especially complicated words. Maybe science formulas, and on and on it went, one new thing, committed to our memory, after another. How about Bible verses? Were they part of your memory discipline? Continue reading
- Hell? - Hell? Hell? Strange topic for a meditation. In my research for A Life for Barabbas I found some interesting and, for me, unknown bits of fact, related to the idea of hell. Despite the deep meditations on evil and the afterlife in Jewish tradition, the concept of hell is not clearly developed. For example, Chaim Pearl and Reuben S. Brookes, in A Guide to Jewish Knowledge argue: "In regard to life after death, ‘Judaism adopted a stand of its own. … Having provided the belief in the deathlessness of the soul, the authoritative teaching of Judaism warns us against useless speculation about the details of the afterlife. The Jewish faith teaches us to concentrate all our efforts and energy in conducting ourselves as children of God in this world, here and now." Continue reading
- Ego and Sufficiency - Ego and Sufficiency: I think it’s hard to admit that there are times when we are often mired in evil thoughts, impulsive thoughts at the moment, thoughts that if we had a moment to think about we would not have had them. Often thoughts lead to action. While self-sufficiency can be a positive trait, too often we judge others behavior, by our excellent life skills, as if our self-sufficiency is the stuff that others should aspire to. Continue reading
- Alzheimer’s and the Invisible God - Alzheimer’s and the Invisible God: I started this meditation after I was given a story about a loved one who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. The loved one was 62, and she had passed away just three years later. It is a sad, and often repeated, story, but one of love and the strength of a care-giver. I don’t think anyone can research this topic without wondering if any of these symptoms are showing up in their own everyday life. Alzheimer’s is such a cruel disease, taking away common thought processes, behavior, and memory. I have trouble remembering names, is that a sign? Continue reading
- Do Not Be Afraid - Do Not Be Afraid: I was doing a little bit of research for a Watchword on the subject of Hell and came across some interesting statistics on a slightly different topic, Fear. Here’s a little trivia fact: In the Bible there are 365 references to fear and its variances, such as being afraid, worry, fretting, etc. Just the phrase “fear not” appears slightly over 100 times in the Old Testament, and slightly over 40 times in the New Testament. Despite the number of cautions God presents to us against being afraid, we fragile humans still invest a lot of time, and health and worrying, not just about tomorrow, but often about things that have long passed. We fear our way into an early grave. We fear our way into gray hair and wrinkles. Continue reading
- Christ at Work - Christ at Work: I’m reading John Ortberg’s book, Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus, and learning so much of history and truth about the impact of Christianity on the development of our civilization. The author has done a truly deep dive into research and history, uncovering many connectors to Jesus and Christianity. World-wide the impact has been amazing. Languages have been invented so that people would be able to read about Jesus. Monks in monasteries throughout the world, were dedicated to the laborious task of copying every scrap of Holy Writ that came to them. Eye glasses were invented for monks who needed them to pore over texts. The first use of them printing press and movable type was to print copies of the Bible in translations for the people. The vast majority of pioneers of science viewed their work as “learning to think God’s thoughts.” The historical impact of Jesus’ thinking is so pervasive that it is often taken for granted. Christ at work. Continue reading
- Being Rich - Being Rich: Are you rich? No? Are you poor? No? For each of us, one answer is right and one answer is wrong. Real life and real living are not related to how much cash, stocks or investments you have. There are no dollar signs connected to our real wealth, our richness. There are two ways of being rich—have a lot, or want very little. While in the deep recesses of our thinking, we might aspire for more, adjusting our wants is easier, more attainable, for most of us. Many people make themselves miserable by wanting more than they can ever have, or actually need. They suffer from “thingitis,” an insatiable desire for more, better, and newer things. Continue reading
- Our Shema - Our Shema: Let us review how all of this started. A baby was born, was circumcised and given the name Jesus. He avoided being killed at age 2, wowed the teachers and the Pharisees at age 12, probably during His bar mitzvah. He grew up in a very small town of about 150, just a few miles from the border with Samaria, and learned the carpentry trade from His dad. When He was about 30, He journeyed to the Jordan River to be baptized by His cousin John, and then went on retreat into the barren desert to experience temptations, the same temptations that seem to plague you and I. Shortly after His return to Nazareth, He left for Capernaum, purchased a small plot of land and built His house. Without advertisement or proclamation in the Square, He seemed to draw people to Him because of what He was saying and His friendly and approachable attitude. Continue reading
- Into the Wilderness - Into the Wilderness: Into the wilderness? Did you wonder why did the spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness? David Guzik reminds us that Jesus was in his early 30’s, had grown up around sinners during those early years, and now was identifying with their sins and their temptations. “This was a necessary part of His ministry, so He truly was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness.” Thomas Merton, in his book, Thoughts in Solitude, shares what we might consider to be a contrary view of wilderness then you and I may hold. There are times in our lives where we find ourselves spiritually dry, in a wilderness of our own making, where we struggle to find a way out. Continue reading
- Suffering Revisited - Suffering Revisited: The pastor intoned, "Suffering is part of life and is the pathway to joy." He spoke of the "already" and the "not yet" when referring to us and pain or suffering. C.S.Lewis can speak to us about pain. Can you recall a scene from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe of the most powerful Lion shedding tear after tear? It is a beautiful word picture, a poignant reminder that pain and suffering is no respecter of good health or strength. You have probably heard this Lewis quote: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain and suffering: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Continue reading
- Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses - Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses: Within my circle of friends, there are six of us who over a relatively short span of years, have been caregivers, and stood in witness as God called our spouses home. What an array of loving people, they are, touching others, and being a blessing to all. Our grief was no match for the power of love that radiated from the beloved, even as life ebbed. Anyone who has been privileged to be part of that blessed process, knows that there are times when we feel as if God isn’t with us in our troubles. A time when we could celebrate the life but we can’t bring ourselves to celebrate the death, and especially the manner of dying. Those are times when we can’t “see” God, but if we were honest with ourselves, we can recall the times when God has helped and protected our loved one, and ourselves. Continue reading
- Read the Bible - Read the Bible: Years ago, I read through the Bible, just straight through from Genesis to Revelations. I told myself: “I did it, I read the whole Bible. Yippee!” What’s wrong with that? Well for one thing, my only goal was to read through the Bible! Get it done, move right on through. Another thing wrong with that had to do with digestion. How many of those passages I read, did I chew on and swallowed, that became part of me? Yep, you’re right, just a few, if any. Okay, now I am reading through Paul’s epistles, slowly, one letter at a time, often rereading to capture the meaning. I just finished 1 Thessalonians 4, and it’s surprising how the meaning, or Paul’s intent in writing the letter, has deeper meaning for me. As I read and considered, in human terms, what was happening in Thessalonica at the time, and Paul’s predicament, it dressed up the words and took on more meaning. Continue reading
- Changing the World - Changing the World: The Spelling Bee competition was now down to two Junior High students. Round after round continued, trying to settle the championship. The moderator announced: “The word is Egalitarianism”. The girl nervously approached the microphone and asked that the word be used in a sentence. The moderator replied: “Egalitarianism is the doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights.” She slowly spelled the word, but omitted one of the ‘i’s and was received the sound of a foghorn, a missed word. Sadly, she returned to her seat. Her opponent approached with a confident smile. He promptly substituted the first ‘a’ with an ‘o’ and was stunned to hear the foghorn, which brought a smile to his opponent. I wonder how many of us could have spelled Egalitarianism on the first go-round or would we to hear the foghorn judging us? But it’s not the spelling of the word, it’s the meaning of the word that’s important. Historian Thomas Cahill says that Galatians 3:28 was the first statement of egalitarianism in human literature. Continue reading
- All the Time - All the Time: 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? 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 “she never stops talking”, or “he’s a constant complainer.” No, that is not what is meant. Continue reading
- Remembering God - Remembering God: A farmer was showing his visiting city-dwelling friend around his farm. "Watch this!" he said. He gave a whistle and his little dog came running from the house, herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that's some dog -- what's her name?" The forgetful farmer thought for a minute and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That's it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog of ours?" Continue reading
- Worry - Worry: As you read this I’m in the middle of a 26-day, multi-leg journey from Indiana to Illinois to Colorado to California to Illinois, then back to Indiana. This has involved many details of stopping the mail, arranging for plants to be watered, airline tickets, car rental, hotel rentals, and then there’s the simple matter of packing, taking all my electronics, clothing, what shoes shall I take, what’s the weather at my various destinations? On top of that, I take so many meds in the morning and so many in the evening, times 26 days! Goodness! Worry, worry, worry! I did notice that all the worrying I was doing was making me extremely happy, and all the complications just magically disappeared, all because I was worrying. Do you buy that? No? Good. Continue reading
- At His Word - At His Word: We have called this a Pandemic, this scourge of Covid 19. Worldwide, we have seen over 3,450,000 deaths due to the epidemic. Loved ones have passed, alone, in isolation and sadness, and we can do nothing but pray and trust. The Pandemic has brought out the heroes in so many of us. In fact, we have redefined the term “hero”, and discovered that heroes are right here in our own homes, in our own communities, and most certainly in our hospitals. And we celebrate these common ordinary people who have stepped up and gone far beyond the call of duty. Parents becoming teachers within their own at homes; retired doctors, nurses and other medical specialists coming back to serve us at risk, and so many others voluntarily, putting themselves at risk, to accomplish the greater good. Continue reading
- New Wine - New Wine: One story I am writing follows a dishonest merchant, Shimon, who meets Jesus and the impact gradually changes him. That story of the man turning water into wine made me realize that it was important for me. It wasn’t the miracle, if that actually had happened, it was message of that story. The more I thought about that, the more I wondered if, symbolically, my life was changing from the water of my old life, into the rich wine of a new life that I was becoming.” That bit of writing was an epiphany for me, but I think it holds true. When we accept Christ, embrace all that it means to commit, we are leaving our old, sinful life behind and putting on a new nature, righteous and holy. In one way, this has nothing to do with religion, but it has everything to do with spiritual faith. Continue reading
- Greatest of All Time - Greatest of All Time: I like the references to light that we find in the Scriptures. So many of them are on our lists of “favorites”. I especially love the book of John and we often reference passages in the writing of these meditations. No one is better at capturing the Impact of Jesus on humanity. His redemptive life and death have benefited all people, including those who rejected him. He is a light that shines on the just and the unjust. I believe, too often, when we study the Bible, gather in groups to discuss content, look into the life and times of Jesus, we focus on his stories, on his parables, and his compassion. Somewhere in all of those discussions, and commentaries we sometimes lose, pardon the expression, the “human Jesus” whose impact has shaped so much of what is right in this world. Continue reading
