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- Saturday, June 13 – Favorites - Favorite passages from the Bible. We all have them. Maybe it was a passage that we memorized when we were a child and it stuck with us, taking on real meaning when we became adults and we drew closer to our Lord. The Proverbs passage was a favorite of Glenn Hawkins, a long-time member of Men in Mission, the men’s Bible Study group at our church. He spoke of how meaningful it was to him at an especially difficult moment in his life. That testimony had an impact on my life and the lives of others. Philippians 4:13 is a passage that touched the lives of so many of my friends and loved ones over the years when strength to overcome difficulty was needed. That passage had power to calm and to bring courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Continue reading
- Friday, June 12 – Sing A New Song - Ever have your heart so full of joy that it seems you can’t stop singing, or humming or even dancing? You want to shout, “I feel goooood!” You can say that you were happy, but it’s more than that, far more than that. The Psalmist tells us to sing to the Lord a new song. That doesn’t mean you need to compose a song, plunk it out on your guitar, or bow it out on your cello. The early Christians in their zeal for worship composed psalms, many of which were indeed a new song. Our hymns accomplish the same purpose, and our heart-song joy is unique to each of us. I think at the very heart of our joy is the knowledge we have been invited to come to Him and he gives us rest. How do we do that? Continue reading
- Thursday, June 11 – Radical Self-forgiveness - My daughter Beth, who has been reading Watchword from the start, received this lengthy letter/essay from her friend, Annie Lamott. Beth thought this was right in keeping with the theme and the intent of Watchword Network. This was striking bit of writing and raised many ideas and thoughts that have made their way through Watchword over these many months. Think of this as a letter from a fellow Christian, struggling, as we are, to come out of this storm, closer to our Lord and Savior: Our pastor’s sister died last night, and so she won’t be preaching today. Our tiny church of 30 is in collective mourning for both of them, although none of us had ever met the sister. Here on this side of eternity, we are asked to survive un-survivable loss, and times of wailing, gnashing of teeth, heartbreak. It’s not a good system. If I was God’s West Coast representative, a job for which I am uniquely suited, I would have created an easier way through life, a way that made more sense and didn’t hurt as much. Continue reading
- Wednesday, June 10 – Are We Lost? II - Part 2: I don’t believe that spiritual discernment is a single thing, an isolated act, or a change in broad behavior. Or even a change of heart, or a change of mind. Spiritual discernment is all of those things, and so much more. In some ways, spiritual discernment is a bit like a learning process. When you know that you should do something, and you do it, you realize that you know more, that you understand more fully a situation, or a person, or yourself, or where the Lord is leading you. Too often, I believe, that if we were to examine closely, where our spiritual walk was not a central focus of our belief, we would find that it might track back to something that we should have done, but failed, because, at the time, there didn’t seem to be an immediate call for our involvement. Continue reading
- Tuesday, June 9 – Are We Lost? I - Part 1: I wonder what thoughts have occurred to us, early in this time of isolation and change, when it felt as if we were lost, out on the desert, or possibly out on the ocean, where the familiar, and the comfortable no longer existed, that all this was somehow planned. Or, perhaps, you felt like you’re in a storm, buffeted about, disorganized, your True North lost in the wind and the rain, desperately seeking direction. After a time, maybe for you, and for me, the memory of the familiar, that was comfortable and seemed right, gets a bit foggy, and something else fills that space. Maybe this is the hand of the Lord, using the storm as a way for us to be removed from that ease, that comfort, and set us apart where only God is the True North, where Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Continue reading
- Our Failures?* - Jesus is not praying for us in our success! He is praying for us in our failures! Wow. What a statement! Do you believe that? Jesus is rejoicing in the success He sees in our lives, which is different than the success we may aspire to, and the success He sees in us does not surprise Him. He has equipped us for that success, He has foreordained that we would succeed. So, in our equipping and in the foreordaining, He has set the stage for what would follow…our success through His will. Now, what about our stumbles, those times when we ‘pass by on the other side’, or did not do to the ‘least of these my brothers’? Why would Jesus pray for our failures? He is not praying for our failures, He is praying for us, that next time when confronted with need, or service, or outreach, we would be like the Good Samaritan, that we would not lose heart, that we would draw ever closer to Him. When that happens, we see through eyes are opened to His will for success. Continue reading
- Is God in My Pumpkin?* - Stan Ott is a long-time Presbyterian pastor who has seen the church through transformational eyes and theology. Years ago, I attended a conference where Stan was one of the speakers, he told a little story about a time, during the Halloween season, when his three-year-old daughter interrupted his early morning meditation time. He invited his daughter onto his lap, and explained to her that she would need to be quiet, but you could talk to God if she liked. The child remained in thoughtful silence for a time, then whispered, "Is God here?” Yes, Stan replied, God is here. Then after a period of silence, she whispered, “Is God everywhere?” Yes, God is everywhere. Another a period of silence, then she whispered again, “Is God in my pumpkin”. Trying to keep a straight face, Stan replied, Yes, God is in your pumpkin. To which his daughter replied, “Why is God in my pumpkin?” Continue reading
- Saturday, June 6 – Imitation of Jesus - How has the happenings throughout society, the science part and the protest part, impacted your Christian walk? There are some obvious reasons for a change, an impact: Churches are closed to all but “essential” services. Some long-standing outreach, support and Bible studies have greatly limited access to the facilities of their church. For the most part, these are geography matters, except those few times when politics rears its ugly head. Outreach and Bible studies can relocate to locations outside the ‘home’ church, while some of the support issues become very limited. The mental health matter is more difficult to deal with in this environment. Continue reading
- The Enemy Within - The scene is a room, far from the marketplace in Jerusalem. The location is shared in secret among the followers and disciples, for they are afraid of the Romans and the Pharisees. Jesus came and stood among them, saying, “do not be afraid”. He walked around the room, showing the wounds He had suffered, in His wrists, His feet, His side. He paused at one disciple and they spoke quietly, a private conversation, then Thomas knelt, head bowed, tears in his eyes. Forgiveness. Then Jesus spoke to those disciples, and to us, saying, “Go and forgive each other, love your enemies, pray for those who insult you, come as a child, trusting, forgiving.” Continue reading
- Thursday, June 4 – Wake Up!* - We wake up to another day. Is this the day the Lord has given us? Yes. Do we rejoice? Do we? Are we glad? Or, do we take one look at the TV and realize things have not changed, or if they have, we cannot see it. We pray for security and safety for our family, for our children, for our circle of friends, for the nation, for those we do not know, in places where we’ve never been. The thought may occur to us, that our prayers to God cannot be heard above the cries of the crowds that fill our streets in protest of injustice, or above the crash of breaking glass, and the emptiness of words spoken by our so-called leaders. And we may wonder where are you, Jesus? Continue reading
- Wednesday, June – Once the Storm is Over* - A poem by Haruki Murakami: And once the storm is over. you won’t remember how you made it through, how do you manage to survive. you won’t even be sure, in fact, that the storm is over. But one thing is certain. when you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. that’s what the storm is all about. And Jesus asks us, “Why are you afraid?” and we have no answer because, in our fragile-faith lives, we think it is obvious why we are afraid. As if to reinforce that thought, we look around us and, sure enough, there it is, cause to be afraid. Continue reading
- Tuesday, June 2 – What’s Next? - What’s next? In the 1999 TV series, West Wing, there are multiple episodes where the President, played by Martin Sheen, after hearing all the discussion on a topic, asks the question, ‘What’s next?’ which signals the end of one topic, now is the time to move on to the next. What’s next? For the apostles, the followers of Jesus, and members of The Way, the temple is behind them. The tongues of fire and the wind is behind. What the Master had promised, the Holy Spirit, was now within them. Their brief time with Jesus on earth was over and, yes, they knew the lessons, the memories were clear; what they have seen and heard. But, now, there on that street in Jerusalem, the question: What’s next? Continue reading
- Monday, June 1 – At Jesus Feet II* - Part 2: Yesterday was Pentecost, the 49th day from Easter. The infilling of the Holy Spirit, equipping the disciples, and us, to be the eyes, the voice and the hands of the Lord. Our faith journeys are many and varied, but each one is led by that Holy Spirit. Yesterday we considered the walk that Mark followed to discipleship. Today, let’s consider the journey followed by others that helped transform God’s Will into our own path to belief. Biblical facts mixed with a bit of fiction: Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee. The four boys had lived in the city all their lives, and had grown up to become fisherman, in partnership with their fathers. It was a good life, they made an adequate living. Continue reading
- Sunday, May 31 – At Jesus Feet I* - Part 1: Let me describe to you in a word picture. You are in Jerusalem, at the house of Mary. She’s expecting Jesus and his friends to arrive soon, and she is preparing a simple meal. She’s looking forward to this time together, it is always a good evening, filled with stories and humor. And here they are, Jesus and many of his disciples and followers, they smile as they file in and make themselves at home in the gathering room. They have been here many times, using Mary’s house life a fellowship hall, a church. These times together follow a comfortable routine, because everyone likes the easy way Jesus has of relating to all those present and they like what he has to say and they listen. It will be later when we understand fully those conversations; friendly, full of humor and lessons in life are from not a man but God himself. But who do you say I am? You are the Messiah. Continue reading
- Saturday, May 30 – Chasing after the Wind* - This is kind of a depressing passage, until you get to the clincher, at the end. And, I suppose, we could look at some things in our past that has been pretty much drudgery, a chasing after the wind. That captures those down times, those times when things were not going our way, when all of life seemed to be an uphill climb. In this morning’s Our Daily Bread reading, much of that ‘seeking after the wind’ specifics are listed in the preceding verses to this morning’s passage; riches, grand work projects and philosophical inquiries. Each one in the interest of finding happiness. Seeking, searching, chasing after happiness. Continue reading
- Last Resort? - Earlier this week, I was contacted by my editor who explained there were two soft spots in my manuscript that I needed to address, and that otherwise it was ready to go to formatting. Formatting is the step before design and publication, so I was both excited and a bit intimidated by a real or imagined deadline. Within an hour, I was hard at work addressing those soft spots, making corrections along the way and preparing to send it back to my editor. I was so satisfied with what I had done in making those adjustments that I relaxed with a little Netflix, and that night slept like a baby. So, so much at peace. The next day, I was excited to return to my MacBook, to finish and send it back to my editor. But, when I tried to open up the page that I had work so diligently on the day before, I could not find it! Continue reading
- Thursday, May 28 – Cause and Effect* - Thomas Kelly, in his book A Testament of Devotion, has a chapter entitled “The Light Within” where he writes that deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul. It is a Holy Place, what he calls a Divine Center, where resides a speaking voice. It is that speaking voice that we sometimes call conscience, that we turn to, continuously, whether we are aware of it or not. Kelly goes on to say that the Light Within is what it “illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of man”. It is that Light Within that allows us to see the good in others. It is the Light Within that allows us to sense the needs of others and urges us to respond. Continue reading
- Wednesday, May 27 – Invisible People - Good morning. For some cockeyed reason, I got to thinking about the people in our lives that have no faces. Oh, they have faces, alright, but they are invisible people. You rarely see them. They may live next door and yet… Maybe, they lost their job, then, strangely, they disappeared, right there within your knowledge, and your awareness. Maybe, recently, they lost their spouse, and you never see them. The question is, when adversity strike others and we know of their plight, do we have an obligation to act, based on Love? Recently someone sent me a book that was first released in 1946. My copy is 1952, and it is a treasure. The title is Death By Bread Alone. Continue reading
- The Presence of God - The Presence of God: It seems to me that we hear a lot of words, many of them, born out of an advanced course in theology, some of which truly do have practical meanings for us if we but understood. The reference to Genesis and Jonah are just two of many instances throughout the Bible of the Presence of God in lives. We practice the Presence of the Lord in our lives through our readings, through our prayer-life and through our ministry. What is the difference between ‘Manifest Presence of God’, and ‘Omni Presence of God’? Does it matter to us who are trying to maintain our understanding of our faith? I think it is helpful and reassuring to know the difference because it reflects the fullness of God’s Presence. Continue reading
- God’s Yard Sale - On this day, I offer a departure from our usual format. A story, a personal story, perhaps your story. As you read this, you are the “ME”, and consider this a prayer conversation with God. ME: Well, Lord, I am really beginning to like most of this New Normal. It’s relaxing, it has opened my eyes to so many of your gifts and graces. It has given me a greater appreciation for my neighbors, my friends and all of my loved ones. It has shown me new ways of relating to others. I really do appreciate almost everything contained in this New Normal of Yours…except, maybe not being able to reach out and shake a hand, or give a person hug, or go to a movie, or worship at my church, or dine out -- Continue reading
