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• The Shepherd’s Touch - The Shepherd's Touch: You can learn quite a bit about a person by looking at the friends they have, but probably nothing about their relation with God. Really? I think the reverse may very well be true. Look at those that God was close to: Abraham who "pimped" his wife. Then there is Jacob who cheated his brother. On the list of 'friends' were at least two murderers, Moses and David. Incidentally, David was also an adulterer. Each of these has their place in God's lessons. Oh, and so do we. We are all part of God's creation, least we forget. Philip Yancey in his book, The Bible Jesus Read, reminds us that we live in an era that has viewed our planet from the perspective of a spacecraft, looking like a tiny globe of blue and green suspended in the vastness of the universe. Which may cause us to wonder if we mattered at all. In the array of all that God has created, how can we be an object of value at all in the universe? Continue reading
• The True Heart of God - The True Heart of God: I read the passage from Isaiah and I couldn’t help but think of all the heart-break at our nation’s border, crowded with the oppressed from other nations, children separated from their parents, seeking a better life. One broken heart after another, each an individual human crisis and yet, taken together, we seem to have chaos. A problem of massive proportions, yet one for which we must find a blessed solution. That passage is part of a vision of Isaiah about Judah regarding their wickedness – our wickedness? The second passage reflected Judah’s efforts to honor God through sacrifices, offerings, and prayers. But without behavior that reflected God’s will, His Word was “I am not listening.” God desired them to turn from their wickedness, just like He desires for us to turn from our wickedness of attitude, lack of compassion and limited justice. God has given us a ‘road-map’ to His true heart in verse 17: Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Continue reading
• Second Law - Second Law: Deuteronomy. What do you know about Deuteronomy? Maybe the Ten Commandments? Anything else? How about this: Deuteronomy is the last of the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch (which Jews call the Torah). Philip Yancey calls it, “The grand summation, the first full blown oratory in the Bible, Moses’s final words to the children of Israel.” Other theologians call it the “Second Law”. But it is more than the Ten Commandments. Think about this, after 40 torturous years, the Israelites, more than 1 million people, are waiting at the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, and their leader, the oldest survivor of the exodus, would not be allowed to enter. This was a nation on the verge of establishing itself, but how does one do that without the main leader? Sure, Joshua was hand-picked for that role, yet what was the plan? In our modern era, we have seen that same scenario play out multiple times. Over the centuries, wars have disrupted organized governments, often removing the old leadership and requiring reorganization. In Europe, it changed the make-up of countries, borders, and unlikely leaders stepped up. Continue reading
• Life of Faith - Life of Faith: A week ago, March 19, Oswald Chambers had an exceptional devotional on faith, drawn from Abraham’s life. He made several pronouncements, that were revealing to me.  For example: “Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led.” I was thinking about that statement, trying to understand it, but another thought stuck its sharp elbows into the discussion – My will. How often do we resolved to follow our Lord without question, only to be side-tracked by our own desires, wishes and plans? Tell me, how willing are we to take the idol that we worship to the mountain and sacrifice it, send it up in smoke?  Maybe it means seriously reordering your priorities; prayerfully considering where the Lord is leading you, and letting Him determine what is important. Continue reading
• Prayer for our Loved Ones - A Prayer for our Loved Ones: Sometimes songwriters get it right, striking a responsive chord to the ear and to the heart.  Sometimes when you listen to the words carefully they speak to you in ways that is hard to explain. To me, the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s song, Forever Young, has a sacred tone, I prayerful statement that goes beyond the nature of a popular song. Dylan has been a prolific songwriter and so many of his songs seem to have thread of faith running through them, songs like “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, “Together through Life” and “Fallen Angels”. The lyrics of such songs speak to a man steeped in his faith. Read through the words of this song, as if prayerfully dedicating the blessings to your loved ones, little ones and the not so little. The meaning is clear, and the thread of faith runs true. May God bless and keep you always May your wishes all come true May you always do for others And let others do for you May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung May you stay forever young. Continue reading
• The Road Back - The Road Back – Lenten Week #6: The hero has committed to completing the journey at accepted that they may never return to their ordinary world. Have you ever returned from an ordeal as a changed person?  How were you received?  Were you able to maintain the new you or did you find yourself being pressured to become who you once were? After a life changing event, familiar relationships either anchor hold change us. how do you stay true to your new self? What does it mean to you, specifically, to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, follow Christ and lose your life? Continue reading
• Preach? - Preach? When you read scripture and you come across the phrase, “Preach the word!” Do you have a reaction to that phrase? You know, like, I have not been called to preach, that is not my calling, that is nothing that I am able to do. Sometimes when we are confronted with the difficult, when we claim that we aren’t qualified, we are ignoring the fact that our Lord has equipped us in many subtle ways to be messengers of his Word. Messenger, one who shares a message, maybe not preaching, but simply living His message. You don’t originate the message, but you have been given the message throughout your life. When you embrace Christ as Lord and Savior, it is reflected in the way you live your life, you are, thus, sharing the message of Christ. Continue reading
• God Rested - God Rested: God rested? Well, no wonder he was tired, look what He had done! Not only all that, but he would soon have two unruly children that would cause more things He would have to deal with. Just thinking about all that, makes me tired! He needed a day of rest, right? Wait a minute, this is God, we're talking about. Let’s think about this. Let’s consider this from the standpoint of our spiritual thinking, not our flawed human thinking.  On the seventh day God rested from all His work. Contrary to how we understand the Scripture, God did create on the seventh day!  Yes, He created a wonderful gift for all of us. He blessed us with a special day, Sabbath, which we typically, and maybe erroneously, think of as Sunday. The Greek translation of the word Sabbath carries multiple meanings including taking ease, ceasing of work, and rest. In this translation, the word "worship" does not appear. Continue reading
• Litany of Humility - Litany of Humility: On this Friday in the Season of Lent, knowing as we do that the Sunday of Easter is coming, we remind ourselves of whose we are, using this Litany of Humility authored by Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta when he was Secretary of State to Pope Pius X, 1903-1914. May God bless your meditating on these thoughts. May God bless your meditating on these thoughts. O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus...That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen. Continue reading
• Love Your Neighbor - Love Your Neighbor: I’ve heard it said that loving your neighbor could be a full-time job.  If you get a promotion, and you have to move to a different city, you get new neighbors. Or, in my case, if my neighbor moves into the manor and others move into that next-door unit, I would have new neighbors. Why, it could get it downright exhausting! But, maybe that is not the point. In both the Mark and Luke reading, Jesus sets out two commandments: Loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If you have read ahead then you know that later Jesus tells us to Love others as He has loved us, and that is a heavy lift, more than exhausting. Let’s think about that one manana! What does that really mean, to love your neighbor? We could have fun with the Greek translation which suggests much more than what immediately comes to mind in our basically English-speaking language. But, let’s keep it simple. First note that the second commandment has two parts, self-love and other-love. Continue reading
• The Ordeal - The Ordeal – Lenten Week #5: The Hero faces tests, makes allies, and confronts enemies. Obstacles and fears cause the journey to teeter on the brink of failure. How has God demonstrated that He is love? What is the connection between God's love for us and the love we are to have for others? Do you call on God to help you stay focused on your journey?  Who are your allies and what are the roadblocks on your journey?  What allows us to emerge from an ordeal as better people? How can your ordeal be an opportunity for growth? Continue reading
• Scripture Check List - Scripture Check List: The expectations or characteristics of a Christian are scattered throughout the Bible. I don’t know if it’s helpful to be reminded what some of those characteristics are because it could cause us to feel uncomfortable in our own self-assured world. As Christians, of course, we like to think that we’re following the teachings of our Lord.  I believe we would all agree with that. But, let’s just see. We believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and that does free us as believers. We don’t need to judge or rate ourselves on those descriptors, they are only reminders of the characteristics of one who is saved. That is not to say we don’t need to work on some of those, it’s just a reminder that… we might need to work on some of those.  Continue reading
• Bread and Wine - Bread and Wine: In May of 1983, my father, who had been a minister in the United Church of Christ for nearly 60 years, wrote to Harper and Row Publishers in New York seeking permission to use a previously published poem, entitled Bread, in a book that he was compiling on practical religious philosophy. I don’t have a record of his request being granted. The book he had in mind never advanced beyond his collection of sermon notes and resources, when he passed away, five years later at age 94. It took some doing, digging deep into the Internet and the resources of Amazon, but I found the little poem and determined that the author was, in fact, unknown. Be gentle...when you touch bread. Continue reading
• Gloom, Despair, Misery - Gloom, Despair, Misery: Hee Haw was a funny/corny TV show that was fairly popular for nearly 25 years, ending in 1992. Buck Owens and Roy Clark were a couple of stars of the show and their version of “Gloom, Despair, and Agony” drew applause and laughs each time they trotted it out. Remember it? Gloom, despair, and agony on me,  Deep, dark depression, excessive misery, If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me. I would’ve added another verse but I really don’t want to offend anyone. Sufficient to note that in some crazy – funny way we can relate a little to all that. Not that we haven’t some gloom, despair and misery in our lives, but we do have adversity, setbacks, and matters that just don’t go according to our plans.  Sometimes those little bumps in the road get us down, and dims our usual sunny disposition.  Sometimes the bump turns into a mountain and in those moments, we’re likely to cry out to “Jesus help me!” Continue reading
• Relevance? - Relevance? Oswald Chambers once said that Psalms teach us how to pray; Job teaches us how to suffer; the Song of Solomon teaches us how to love; Proverbs teaches us how to live, and Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy life. Philip Yancey, on the other hand, tells us that he turns to Job, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Prophets, not to be taught something, but out of his own doubts and struggles. He calls those books companions for his pilgrimage because in them he discovers himself. Interesting. How do you discover yourself? In the March 11 Watchword  I quoted this from T. S. Eliot: “We shall not cease from searching, and the end of all our searching will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”   What is the starting point for the search of discovery?  I don’t believe its a book of the Bible, I think that’s the next point.  I think the starting point often is a simple prayer: “Help me, Lord,” and the search begins in the light of His presence. Continue reading
• Have You seen the Father? - Have You seen the Father? How about you?  Have you seen the Father? Have you felt His presence?  Have you looked around, really looked around with eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see if you can find Him? Perhaps you have heard the Father if you listen very carefully to what is happening all around you, perhaps you have heard Him.  Maybe in the voice of a neighbor, maybe in the call of a bluebird, or maybe it came through a spontaneous and unexpected visit.  Have you seen the Father? Maybe, like Philip, you ask: “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” And you hear Him tell you: “Don’t you know me, even after I have been with you such a long time? Anyone who has seen all that I have created has seen the Father.” That would seem to make it clear that Jesus is the fullest possible encounter with God’s Glory, and we are privy to that day in and day out.   Continue reading
• Crossing the First Threshold - Crossing the First Threshold – Lenten Week #4: The hero has finally committed to the journey, crossing from the familiar world to the unknown, from which there is no turning back. Have you ever experienced a moment when you could tell beyond any doubt that you had changed?  Do you ever encounter some of your "old grave clothes" that you must shed to feel truly free in Christ? When in the past have you crossed a threshold into the unknown? Do you need to take that step now? Continue reading
• In the Wilderness - In the Wilderness: I stood there, wanting to walk away, turn my back on that situation and not get involved. It was none of my business, yet, something wasn’t right, and I knew it. Then that voice again, “walk away, walk away, this doesn’t concern you”, echoed against my resistance. But it was by business, and I waded in, and it made a difference. We may not be in the wilderness as Jesus was, and yet the temptations are all around. Satan speaks so sweetly, so enticingly, and we are torn.  Admit it or not, there’s often a war going on between the devil and our better angels.  Do we go one way or the other, the choice is ours.  Maybe that way leads to inconvenience, a difficult decision that may cost you dearly, yet, it is the right choice. Or maybe you hear that other voice, so friendly, so assured “You’re really going to put yourself out and you have no idea how much it will cost you. Just forget it, no one will know, no one will hold it against you.” Continue reading
• Stop Judging! - Stop Judging! In 1980, Johnny Lee had a hit record in the country western scene entitled “Looking for Love in all The Wrong Places.”  Forgive me, Lord, but that song popped up in my mind on the morning of February 28, as I was reading Sarah Young’s devotional “Jesus Calling”. Actually, the devotional was very good, and it addressed the way we evaluate and judge ourselves, and compare ourselves with other people. That really spoke to me and I know from experience that such behavior can produce feelings of pride or inferiority; sometimes a mixture of both, at the same time. Comparing can be destructive and while we have cautioned our children to avoid it, too often we embrace it, even though we know it’s wrong and meaningless. Continue reading
• Difficulty In Trusting - The Difficulty of Trusting: Years ago, I rode the elevator to the top floor of the Sears Tower in Chicago and looked out over the city and then down to Michigan Avenue and the Miracle Mile. I suddenly had a queasy feeling and involuntarily stepped back from the window. I had that same sensation when, as senior class sponsor, I chaperoned a group of my high school students to New York and we stood on the observation platform of the Empire State Building. While we joked about looking down, I was not comfortable. Are you adverse to heights? Do you have a kind of a weird feeling when you look down from a height, maybe a cliff while you’re hiking, or at the Grand Canyon at an Overlook? It’s not a comfortable feeling. This morning I read Our Daily Bread and was reminded about Charles Blondin, who, in 1859, became the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope! Continue reading