Tag Archives: Relationship

Greetings!

Living in the Spirit
November 22, 2018

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: 

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. –Revelation 1:4-6

I do not remember the last time a wrote a letter and sent it by mail. I do send cards that may have a quick note wishing improved health or sympathy. Most of my written communication including birthday wishes is completed via email, Facebook, or texting. None include anything like the gracious words John uses to address the seven churches of Asia. I wonder if we have lost something from such courtesies or gained something from expediency—probably a little of both.

The closest I come to explain my connection with the recipient of my emails is included in genealogy inquiries. I must tell the recipient how I think I relate to them, so they can hopefully fill in some of the blanks about my ancestors. Last summer I emailed a very nice gentleman in England after seeing a reference to one of his relatives that might have related to one of mine. It did not but he went the second mile and checked the local magistrate’s records to see if there was any other information about my relative in his city. His finding nothing told me I was on the wrong track and needed to follow other clues.

The inner working of the family of God is all about relationships, how we love God and love one another. It really is as simple as thought. We can choose to follow the example of John or the gentleman from England by establishing how we are related and going the second mile to assure that all are flourishing in their roles as members of such a great family or we can choose to ignore each other or live in disharmony. I think God prefers the example John sets.

Prayer: Lord, enable our communion with you and with others always to nourish, never to starve them of 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Come Away

southwest-edmonton-farmersLiving in the Spirit
August 25, 2015

Scripture Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13

12 The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away. –Song of Solomon 2:12-13

Spring is in the air in our scripture today. The first crops are beginning to appear. Here is Oklahoma those first eatable treats are often the ingredients for a fresh salad: lettuce, perhaps some radishes, and green onions. There is nothing like those meals from the first sprouts of spring.

On a farm, those first fruits are signs of the beginning of a season of a lot of hard work. Twelve hour days, perhaps more, in the hot sun spent plowing, planting, nourishing, weeding, harvesting. Just before the busy season kicks in full throttle would indeed be a great time to invest in relaxation and rekindling of relationship.

We city dwellers live in a society not so much driven by the seasons. Our work may fluctuate because of the rhythms of the business we are in, more than the sun and the moon and the earth turning on its axis, but our need for rest and re-creation, for Sabbath, is just as important as the need of the farmer.

Our ability to form lasting relationships with others depends on our commitment to those relationships. So does our relationship with God.

Prayer: Lord, bless our work and our time of re-creation so that we may bear much fruit for you. Bless our relationships with others so that we may grow in 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.

Quench My Thirst

Holy SpiritAdvent
December 11, 2014

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.—1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Quench is not a word I use very often. I am most acquainted with its use when talking about quenching a thirst, which means to satisfy* the thirst. Are we not to satisfy the spirit? If we dig deeper into the source of the word quench, the word extinguish is also used. Now that makes more sense in our modern use of language. When we extinguish a fire we put it out, stop it from burning. Thus when we quench a thirst, we are extinguishing it. The Greek word, sbennumi, translated here as quench does not have satisfy in its definition.**  Besides extinguish it does include the words suppress and thwart.

Now you may not share my intrigue with words and the way we use them, but I think we need to understand what Paul is saying to us. How do we suppress or thwart the Spirit or, worse yet totally extinguish the Spirit? Paul was a bit of a mystic. He talks about his relationship with the Spirit and when and how it guided him. Our post rationalistic world is perhaps not as comfortable describing such experiences. We prefer to talk about a still small voice that tweaks our conscience and wonder if that small voice is from God or not.

Faith like all relationships involves habits of communication. When we or our friends talk about someone who is having relationship problems we say, “They just cannot seem to talk to each other anymore.”  Something is suppressing or thwarting their communication and until that “something” is identified and dealt with the relationship will continue to diminish until it is extinguished. So too goes our relationship with the Spirit. It takes work to make relationships flourish. It takes our commitment to communicate our fears and frustrations with God so that the lines of communication can work and we can be confident in that still small voice.

Prayer: Lord, quench my thirst to have a meaningful relationship with you. Clear away my fears and my hesitations. Make me whole in my relationship with you so that I can do your work wholly with others. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/quench
**http://biblehub.com/greek/4570.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.