Tag Archives: fear

The Sky is Not Falling

right-pathLiving in the Spirit
September 16, 2016

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

For there is one God;
   there is also one mediator between God and humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
who gave himself a ransom for all —this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. –1 Timothy 2:4-7

Have we not all been appointed as heralds spreading the news of the awesome love of God coming to us in human form? Jesus came modeling for us God’s love. He even gave his life to demonstrate the level of God’s love. I find myself occasionally clucking around like Chicken Little*, “The Sky is falling, the sky is falling.” When I should be doing everything I can to reassure the world that fear has no place in the Kingdom of God. And I should be doing everything a can to assure love rules our world.

Remember the story, Chicken Little and her friends, in all their panic caused by an acorn falling on her head, rush to find the king to save them. They eventually run right into the den of Foxy Loxy never to be seen again.

Kingdom building may not be glamorous or thrilling in the eyes of the world. It demands everything we have. Remember Jesus described it as the Pearl of Great Price. (Matthew 13:45-46) I guess we all need to evaluate our priorities.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I get caught up in the frenzy of the news cycles. Order my life, help me synch my priorities with yours for I know Whom I have believed, And am persuaded that He is able To keep that which I’ve committed Unto Him against that day**. Amen.

 

*Folktale read at http://eleaston.com/chicken.html
**From the chorus of I Know Whom I Have Believed by Daniel W. Whittle. See at http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/I_Know_Whom_I_Have_Believed/

Photo credit <!– HTML Credit Code for Can Stock Photo–>
<a href=”http://www.canstockphoto.com”>(c) Can Stock Photo</a>

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

A Loving Trustworthy God

Trust GodLiving in the Spirit
July 23, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-13

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
   Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
     for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ –Luke 11:1-4

I honestly do not remember a time in my life when I did not pray. I do not remember being taught to pray, but I surely was. We prayed before every meal. My mother prayed every evening on her knees at her bedside. Example is a great teacher.

Jesus was a great example for his disciples, and they indicated hunger to learn more. He taught a simple prayer. First, it recognizes the omnipotent, all-powerful nature of God. It then, in the briefest of statements, gives Jesus’ purpose, which he passed on to us: to bring about God’s Kingdom on the earth. Nourished by a request for sustenance, I think both spiritual and physical, we are enabled to ask for forgiveness of our sins and to forgive the sins of others. The final phrase in Luke’s reporting of the Lord’s prayer is not in Matthew’s more familiar rendition. Luke includes a plea for not bringing us to the time of trial, which speaks to our human fears as well as trust in a loving God.

It feels like a time a trial now and fear leans heavy on us. It reminds me of Helen Keller’s saying, I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet. It is a time to trust in a loving God.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace*.

Prayer: Lord, so nourish us with your love that love becomes the only response we can make to those people and events that cause us fear. Amen.

*Chorus from Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus, Helen H. Lemmel. See at http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Turn_Your_Eyes_upon_Jesus/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Go and Do Likewise

Stangers no moreLiving in the Spirit
July 10, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ –Luke 29-37

When did we get so scared of one another? Is it still a carry over from 9/11 fifteen years later? Is it a reaction to having too much knowledge of the world about us with our easy access to instant news? I usually eat lunch with the noon news in the background that most often leads with a report of a shooting or robbery or car chase that had occurred the night before. I sometimes wonder if I prefer to live in the oblivion of not knowing the realities of our world today.

One of the lessons learned from living in tornado alley is there is relief, but no joy in the storm’s path changing course and missing one’s own home for it will most likely hit someone else’s. There is not much that can be done to avoid natural disasters. Storm shelters protect life. Early warning systems are crucial as is well-organized responses to damage.

The storms we face from our fear of one another are not the same as natural disasters. Based on human failings, they seem to be beyond our understanding. To conquer them we must face them. Ugly as they turn out to be, we will never eradicate them until we demonstrate a willingness to deal honestly with them. These failings are as old as time, and we are not the first generation to be caught in their web. We need to learn from our ancestors in faith who did not deal with them well and the ones who did. We need to trust that God in infinite love will provide the answers that we need if we open our total beings to God’s guidance. Like the story of the Good Samaritan we may need to determine if our religion is getting in the way of our hearing God’s leading us in the ability to love like Jesus loves.

Prayer: Lord, make us mindful of our own limitations in fully loving each other. Show us the way to rise above our fears and enter fully into your grace in building a world ruled by love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, 
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Do This and You will Live

Let justice rollLiving in the Spirit
July 9, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.* ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
–Luke 10:25-28

If you read these daily devotions regularly, I am sure you have discerned that there are primarily three scriptures that inform the bases of my faith:

  • Micah 6:8b, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
  • Psalm 51:10-12, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.*
  • Any form of Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, including our scripture today.

This week in the USA we have once again experienced two questionable police shootings of black men and the killing of five police officers with the wounding of seven others who were providing protection for peaceful protesters to vent their frustration resulting from the earlier police shootings. Throughout the year, we have had irresponsible people and media exploiting our fears of the other to their financial or political benefit fueling the flames of divisiveness. Why are any of us surprised that innocent lives are being lost in the name of greed and power?

We are each responsible for our own behavior. We are each responsible for the well-being of all. Words matter. Actions matter. Love works when it is applied.

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit*. Make us whole, make us one, and let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24). Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Reaping God’s Crops

sowingseedLent
February 26, 2016

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. –1 Corinthians 10:12-13

As you sow, so shall you reap is an old proverb of unknown origin but perhaps based on Galatians 6:7 for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap in the King James Version. It is essentially what Paul says in our scripture today as he outlines incidents of folly people have brought on themselves. We do a lot of that.

How do we avoid sowing sorrow in our lives? So much of what we do that concludes with bad outcomes are misplaced anger or fear or other emotions. Somethings the anger or fear is merited but our reaction to it is not appropriate. Other times our emotions are based in investing ourselves in the lesser things of life, knowing full well that there is a better way. When we drink too much and drive is a good example. When we love our spouse and do not want that relationship to end but indulge in an extramarital affair because it just presented itself and seemed like a good thing to do at the time is another.

Curbing the beasts within us should be handled readily by applying a little common sense, a little self-restraint and yet we do not. When we let other things become our gods we invest the trust in them that is only real when invested in the one true God. Working out our relationship with God is the best way to order our whole lives.

Prayer: Lord forgive me when I let the lesser gods of the world entice me away from you. Hang in there with me, O God. Hold tight when I am tempted to fall. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Changing

darkness-miserable-songsLent
February 25, 2016

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-23

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. –1Corinthians 10:1-5

John tells us that Christ was with God at creation. Paul tells us here that Christ was the rock from which our ancestors in the faith drank in the wilderness. God has loved us ever since he created us. God loves us still and will forevermore. We seem to be the ones who take flights of fancy into wildernesses from which we cannot get out. And God even follows us into those dark places of the soul.

It is really, really hard to change. I remember a foster child whose mother was seriously mentally ill. Until he was about ten years old, he thought her behavior was the way all mothers acted. Chaos at home was his norm. As children they hid from attackers that were not present and dodged airplanes in their house that they could neither see nor hear. He had to relearn how to love. He did love his mother and I never questioned that she loved him and the other children. It was not the way they would experience love in the rest of the world and they had to live in the rest of the world and still love their mother as the person that she was. Tough challenge for a child. Tough challenge for anyone.

This child had no control over his world those first ten or so years. Most of us do have the option of making different choices than the ones we make. We can choose to wander around in a wilderness and whine about our situation or we can trust God to walk with us out of the darkness and into God’s light. It is not easy because as bad as our situation might be it is where we have established a level of comfort. Walking away from comfort is never easy. Paul is telling the Corinthians and he is telling us to step out into the light. God is always with us.

Prayer: Lord, we live in times that are viewed as dark and fearful. Reignite us as children of your light and let us show those stuck in darkness your way, your truth, and your life. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Fearful Futures

safe_in_his_presence-297520-300x300Epiphany
January 4, 2016

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord,
   he who created you, O Jacob,
   he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
   and the flame shall not consume you. –Isaiah 43:1-2

Some animal made a great effort to get into the attic of my house following an ice storm that left long icicles hanging from all the eaves. The animals walk across my roof sounded like the giants from the storybooks of my childhood. It was definitely not my routine visiting squirrels. It made the weirdest loud high-pitched screeching sound. It was dark outside and I could not see anything from my enclosed porch and trust me when I say, I did not venture out the door of my safe harbor to determine what the source of the noise was. My neighbor said he had heard the animal too and had seen recently a possum and a raccoon in the neighborhood, but I doubt it was either of those animal. My guess was a large feral cat.

While I sat in the comfort of my warm house protected from not only wandering animals but also ice and other elements, it struck me how frightening it must be on the run as a refugee. My church purchases blankets each year through Church World Services that literally may be the only shelter some of these people have.

In our scripture today, Isaiah is writing for Israelite refugees reminding them of God’s presence in all aspects of life even floods and fires. As I write this some of the worst flooding in recorded history is occurring in Missouri. Wildfires have plagued the western part of our country for months. We all need to be reminded of God’s abiding presence in meeting life’s challenges, but just as importantly we need to remember that we are God’s partners in bringing comfort to those escaping danger from whatever its source.

Prayer: We thank you God for your abiding presence in all that we face ourselves and ask for your strength and support as we venture forth to be present with others with fearful futures. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Practicing the Presence

Sensible-thingLiving in the Spirit
October 21, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 34:1-8 (9-20)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
   happy are those who take refuge in him. –Psalm 34:4-8

Think of the look on a child’s face the first time he stand alone, the first time she ties her own shoes, or the first time he rides a bike without training wheels that is what radiance looks like. We often talk of radiant brides and there is a radiance on the face of athletes when they score the winning shot or cross the finish line. It is amazing how fulfilled even the last contestant in a marathon looks when he or she crosses that line. God is with us continuously when we are trying to be the person God created us to be.

What fears are holding us back from fulfilling our goals? Have we chosen the right goals in the first place? While there is fear in possible failure is there deep satisfaction in each point of progress we make as we pursue our dreams? This Psalm is attributed to David as he feigned madness to avoid being killed. (1 Samuel 21) Whether that is true or not, David practiced the presence of God in all of his achievements and even in his sins. We would do well to practice God’s presence in every aspect of our lives for the Lord is good.

Prayer:
God, who touchest earth with beauty,
make my heart anew;
with thy Spirit recreate me,
pure and strong and true. 

Like thy springs and running waters,
make me crystal pure;
like thy rocks of towering grandeur,
make me strong and sure.* Amen.

*First and second verse of God who Touches Earth with Beauty by Mary Susanne Edgar see at http://lyrics.astraweb.com/display/110/hymns..unknown..god_who_touchest_earth_with_beauty.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Family of God

One in ChristLiving in the Spirit
October 2, 2015

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying,
‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.’ –Hebrews 2:10-13

The quote in our scripture today is taken from Psalm 22:22. We are probably more familiar with the first verse of this Psalm for it was the words Jesus quoted from the cross: My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Apparently the early church saw Jesus in all of this Psalm, which ultimately ends in oneness and justice for all God’s people whom Jesus viewed as his brothers and sisters, the family of God.

Yet it seems we as God’s avowed followers, are further apart than ever. We clump together in silos of our own making defining God in terms that fit our needs, fill our hungers, and in the short term quiet our fears. We need to let God out of those tubes. It is time for a rebirth in and through God toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom of which Jesus taught. We want more and more and are never satisfied, are over-sated and still empty, and are letting our fears of change drive us to long for things we thought once existed but never did.

If ever we needed a savior, it is now. Praise be to God we have one. We must get to know him for who he was, is, and is to come. We may be surprised at how very much we will find Jesus Christ is exactly what we needed all along.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for defining you in my image. Remold me and make me like thee divine* so that I may be a part of the solutions to our separateness not a cause. Amen.

*From the hymn Are you Able by Earl Marlatt  See at Http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/r/aryeable.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Team Jesus

FearEastertide
May 3, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 15:1-8

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. –John 15:6-8

Billy Donovan is coming to town. It was announced recently that the current coach of the Florida Gators NCAA team had been hired to coach the Oklahoma City NBA basketball team. He was introduced to Oklahoma with words that indicated he was selected because he fit the Thunder cultural ideals: hard worker, drive to win, team oriented, strength of character, concern for the emotional wellbeing of his players as well as the athletics, doesn’t let his ego get in the way of the team.

In a very real sense, we are called to be the players, administrators, marketers, trainers, counselors, doctors, scouters, for Team Jesus. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you… It seems that these traits of the Thunder culture describe a part of our working toward the fruition of the Kingdom of God.

Just as God has gifted the Thunder players with amazing basketball skills, God has gifted each of us with some piece of the talents needed to make God’s way the way of the whole world, but we are responsible for honing our skills and using them to that purpose. It is a full time job that in many cases must be done while we are living our lives with jobs and family responsibilities. No one ever said it would be easy, but in our scripture today Jesus clearly says that when we are working, preferably together, toward the goal of turning the world toward God we are never alone.

It is an audacious promise that our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ will provide anything we ask toward the bearing of much fruit as his disciples, but we are called to be an audacious people fearless and bold.

Let us be today’s Christians. Let us not take fright at the boldness of today’s church. With Christ’s light let us illuminate even the most hideous caverns of the human person: torture, jail, plunder, want, chronic illness. The oppressed must be saved, not with a revolutionary salvation, in mere human fashion, but with the holy revolution of the Son of Man, who dies on the cross to cleanse God’s image, which is soiled in today’s humanity, a humanity so enslaved, so selfish, so sinful.
― Oscar A. Romero, The Violence of Love

Prayer: Lord, make us bold in our discipleship whether it takes the strength to standup to injustice or acts of simple kindness to heal the wounds of the oppressed. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.