Tag Archives: Trust

Trusting God

Lent

March 7, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. –Genesis 15:1-6

Abram had a very close personal relationship with God. He discussed everything with God even the fact that he and his wife were unable to conceive a child. Hannah also had this same type of relationship with God. It does not get more personal than that. I have, I guess, a forever habit of starting my prayers with several titles for God, Dear Heavenly Father, or Creator of All. I sense that God has gotten used to my habit and patiently waits for me to get to the point. God does already know who God is. I now realize that I need to tell myself who I am addressing and to acknowledge my respect for God. Is not that why we seek the most qualified person we know to get advice about something?

Abram trusted God, and we can too.

1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your trustworthiness in a world that sometimes cannot be trusted. Amen.

*First and second verse with the refrain of Trust and Obey by John H. Sammis, see at https://hymnary.org/text/when_we_walk_with_the_lord

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.

Believe and Trust

Lent
March 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:8b-13

But what does it say?
‘The word is near you,
   on your lips and in your heart’
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
–Romans 10:8-10

I do not know why I get distracted by the word believe. Perhaps I have heard too many times people expressing beliefs about God that are foreign to me. It is as if our stating that we believe something makes it so.  I have heard people state that our diplomatic policy is based on believing and verifying.  I know I am arguing semantics, but I think it is important that we understand what Paul is saying in the scripture above that to truly relate to God we are not waiting for a final survey that proves us right or wrong but are accepting an absolute.

The Greek word pisteuó translated as believe here is the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of his soul”; thus it stands α. absolutely to trust in Jesus or in God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something

I participated in a ropes course several years ago where participants were asked to cross their arms over their chests and fall straight-legged back into the arms of fellow participants who were serving as catchers. I did believe the catchers would do their job, but it took absolute trust to fall.

We live in a world where trust is sparse and even when we believe something, we are often skeptical. If ever there was a time for us to turn our eyes upon a Savior we can trust with all our minds, hearts, and souls it is now.

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: O Lord we cry to you as the father asking for his son to be healed did when he said: ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ (Mark :24) as we try to follow you in a world full of principalities and powers pulling us in every direction away from you. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4100.htm
**First verse of Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus by Lauren Daigle see at https://www.google.com/search?q=turn+your+eyes+upon+jesus+lyrics&oq=turn+you&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.1140995j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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.

Unexpected Grace

Jesus’ Ministry
January 7, 2019

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

Oklahoma City received record breaking torrents of ice, rain, sleet and snow this week that began about the time I drove away from an auto dealership in a courtesy car having left my recently damaged car with them. The courtesy car was a much newer model of my seven-year-old car and was equipped with a lot of new stuff, mainly electronics, with which I was not familiar.  When the man helping me with the loaner handed me a little rectangular thing instead of a key, I thought this is going to be interesting. He showed me how to use it to enter the car and explain how the push button starter worked. I had seen that type thing before many years ago as a child on a very old tractor. What goes around comes around. The car was already covered with ice cycles formed from the ice melting from the defrosting windows. I do not remember praying, as I gingerly back out of the parking place and headed for the street.

The first thing for which I was verbally thankful was that the wiper controls and lights were all in the same place as in my car. I then was thankful that the ground temperature was not cold enough yet to freeze further the slush through which I was driving. I settled into the patience required for stop and go traffic and making room for two fire trucks and one ambulance that sped through the throng of cars.  Making it home safely, I did thank God for God’s wonderful presence whether I have enough sense to ask for it or not.

The promise in the above scripture is for real. Praying on the fly is often the norm through the greatest struggles. Continually working to improve our relationship with God gives us the faith to trust that God will be with us when we pass through the waters or its equivalent, unexpectedly.

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for your constant presence when we need it the most. 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.

Perfect in Weakness

Living in the Spirit
July 6, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.  –2 Corinthians 12:7b-10

What does the sentence “power is made perfect in weakness” mean? I see at least three possible interpretations. Personal weakness can be a source of empathy. I cannot reach the top shelf in the grocery store become I am short. Am I more apt to see the child or person in a wheel chair trying to reach an item that is easily accessible to me? Empathy is not automatically a result of weakness, but it can be. People who are also fully capable of reaching the top shelf can have empathy too and they may just by nature be emphatic. We also all can learn empathy. Lack of the ability to see the consequences others experience that we do not is a major source of what is dubbed “white privilege.”

The second possible interpretation is that our weaknesses build the fortitude to surpass our ability to achieve what seems impossible. When I worked at a children’s hospital, I was assign the amputee clinic. There was a teenage boy, basketball star, who had lost a leg in a farming accident. He was determined to continue playing basketball. I do not know who had the more determination to make that happen the youth or the representative from the prosthetic company trying to devise a limb that would make it possible. This was in 1975 and that company finally created a limb that worked which was the forerunner of the amazing work being done now.

The third interpretation is the foundation of the other two. Our weaknesses teach us how to trust in God, in others, and in ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, free us from any bitterness that might overcome us because of our weaknesses, open us to all the possibilities of empathy, fortitude, and trust that stem from those weaknesses. 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.

Blind Trust

Living in the Spirit
May 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’ –Isaiah 6:1-3

Is this an example of blind trust? When the Seraphs covered their faces did they cover their eyes? Bats, I understand, come equipped with something akin to radar; I do not know about Seraphs.  Getting up in the pitch black of the night after a storm has knocked out not only my house lights but the street lights as well is a nerving, to say the least, although I am well acquainted with the positioning of the furniture as I feel for walls and dresser to find my way. I usually keep a battery-operated lamp within arm’s reach for that very reason. We city dwellers are used to artificial light and do not particularly like turning onto a street that lacks public lighting. A big yard light on a pole in our circle drive was one of the electrical appliances installed when electricity became available to our farm when I was a child. It made a lot of difference.

God is all the light we need. Faith is the trust that God will always be our radar as we make our journey through life. We do not know what the future holds. We cannot account for the consequences of the actions of all whose purposes may or may not be for the betterment of others including our own at times. When greed and lust for power get in the way of God’s plans for our world, God routes us around and sometimes through the debris left behind encouraging our continuous work toward instigating the Kingdom of God on earth. God’s love is greater than all evil powers. On that certainty, we can soar.

.Prayer: In the dark times of our experiences guide and direct us and bring us into your glory. 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.

Healing

Eastertide
April 9, 2018

Scripture Reading: Acts 3:12-19

When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 5and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. –Acts 3:12-16

When I was a child a well-known faith healer had a regular show on one of our local television stations. My family sometimes watched this program. People would line up and come one at a time to be healed and he would place his hands on them and pray loudly and fervently for their healing. Some used crutches or canes and left them behind as they walked away rejoicing. For others, there was no definitive proof of their healing, but they reported the loss of pain or feeling better. I do not recall my parent’s attitude or reaction to these healings. My parents were the ones choosing to watch. I doubt if they gave much thought to what a little kid like me might think. The faith healer always asked for contributions to support his ministry and he sent back an autographed photo of himself. We got one.  He assured people he would pray for their requests.

I probably thought the healings were real at the time. I do not know when or why we quit watching but we did. I knew the stories of Jesus’ healings and the healings that the disciples did as reported in our scripture above. I also do not remember when I grew skeptical of such practices. Many years later a friend of mine was going through her mother’s papers after the mother’s sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death. The daughter found a postcard response from this same man’s ministry thanking her mother for her financial gift and assuring her that the ministry’s prayer team was praying for her healing. The daughter assumed her mother had had symptoms of which no one else in the family was aware.

Working as a social worker at a children’s hospital led me to experience that unexplainable healings do occur, and the support of intercessional prayer does make a difference. I also wonder if the gospel writers chose not to describe instances of Jesus praying for someone when the answer was “no.” Well except in one instance, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ (Matthew 26:39) was answered “no.”

Loving one another entails accompanying people on whatever path they encounter. As God is present with us in all things, we too are called to be present with one another sharing the burdens and joys of life. God deals with false prophets and God hears and answers all our prayers no matter how we make God aware of our concerns.

Prayer: Lord, we live in a world in which the ability to trust has faded. Forgive us when our trust in you is shaken by possible misrepresentation of your acts. Guide our discernment. 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.

Faith Not Seen

wpid-wp-1415681701178Lent
March 24, 2016

Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. –John 20:3-10

What was it that the other disciple believed? My first thought was he believed Jesus had been raised from the dead, but then it goes on to say that they did not yet understand about Jesus’ rising from the dead.

English is a challenging language. We have, for example, transitive and intransitive verbs. The former requires an object for its action. The later does not. The verb “believe” can be either. When used in the intransitive form it means: to have a firm or wholehearted religious conviction or persuasion: to regard the existence of God as a fact. When used as a transitive verb it means: to take as true, valid, or honest.* The Greek word translated here, pisteuó, is more in line with the intransitive form of the English word believed—had faith in.

At that moment in time and place, the other disciple, at the very least, felt deeply that there indeed was much more to this story than he could comprehend and at the same moment had complete faith that this Jesus, he had followed so devoutly, was the real deal.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1

Prayer: Lord, at times we get hung up on proving things, fact checking. Guide us in differentiated the things for which it is important to fact check and the great mysteries of your love that deepens each time we experience faith in you without proof. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/believe

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.

The Fuel of Love

faith works-nohostLiving in the Spirit
September 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: James 2:1-17

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. –James 2:14-17

Works vs faith, one of the great theological discourses of all times, often finds its way back to this scripture in James. One of my favorite church sign quotes I saw many years ago was “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.” But faith is not merely what we believe. Particularly those of us who are inheritors of the science of reason. For what we believe is often rooted in what is provable, what the facts support. Faith is about trust and trust is centered in relationship.

True, it could be argued that trust itself is the result of our testing relationships, keeping a scorecard of how often what was promised was delivered. I am in the process right now of changing from a bank I have used for 30+ years because after hours of time spent on the phone and in actually going to the bank, I cannot access my account since the bank upgraded to a different computer system. I have lost trust in the bank to safely care for my money.

Faith and trust in God goes deeper than a checklist of services delivered or not. It rest in the sure and certain knowledge of God’s eternal, unconditional love. It is that fuel that fires our response to nurture the wellbeing of ourselves and others.

Prayer: Called as partners in Christ’ service, with your love as the source of our love, use our love to nurture the wellbeing of ourselves and others. 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.

Dance, Dance

Jesus loveLiving in the Spirit
August 23, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 6:56-69

66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” –John 6:66-69

These are hard, hard words to digest. Eat my flesh; drink my blood. It is not surprising that many disciples turned back. Even the ones who stayed were less than enthusiastic. Where else could they go? Some turned back because they thought he was crazy. Some turned back because they understood what he was asking. Ever been there? I have. I have felt the hopelessness of situations that led me to the feet of Jesus because it was the only place I had left to go. I am not proud of that. I wish I had at all times the faith and trust and especially the hope in Christ every time I must face a challenge but I sometimes have weak knees even as I have experienced the power of God working in my life in similar situations.

I remember once coming home from a particularly disappointing day of failure at work. My soul was disturbed and I could find no peace so I tried an imaging prayer, I had been reading about where one imagined her or himself in one of the stories of Jesus. I chose the story of the woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears. As I sat, in my mind’s eye, at Jesus’ feet feeling really sorry for myself, he reached down tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Let’s dance.” And he waltzed me off into the air turning and whirling like pros with our feet never touching the ground. Never had that happened to me before and never since but it was the most amazing way to refresh my hope and get me out of my self-pity. I now grin every time I sing or hear Lord of the Dance* particularly the chorus:

Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all, wherever you may be
And I lead you all in the dance, said he

Prayer: Lead us Lord, keep us from defeating ourselves, from turning away from you just as we begin to make sense of your mission. Grant us your peace of spirit as we strive to do your will. Amen.

*Lord of the Dance by Sydney Carter see at http://celtic-lyrics.com/lyrics/309.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.

Right Words

FarmerAdvent
December 22, 2014

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3

 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
   and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
   to spring up before all the nations. — Isaiah 61:11

Saint Augustine advised Christians to Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. This phrase sounds to me more like something a farmer would said and not a man who spent his younger years in wealth and hedonism. In those years the closest he came to a garden was probably when he was caught stealing fruit for a snack*.  The phrase is good advice. By the time he said it, he had turned his life around.

The advice does go along with the life of a farmer who works very hard at his vocation but is totally dependent upon the nurture of the earth and nature in general for a crop to result. It is an interesting commingling of faith and works. In our scripture today, Isaiah is telling a people who no longer trust in themselves and are most likely strongly questioning whether God was truly with them that just as nature causes what is sown in the earth to grow at the proper time so too will God cause righteousness/justice to become a reality for all people that indeed will be a time for praise.

Isaiah had a tough job giving people hope in a time of hopelessness. We are also called to give hope to the world. We do that every time we share the story of Jesus particularly in the way we live our faith, but if need be, in our actual word. The writers of Matthew and Luke have given us a great script from which we can start the conversation.

Prayer: Lord, I hate it when people try to cram something down my throat and I don’t want to come off like that to others. I think it just turns them off. I do love you and you have made such a difference in my life, I want to tell others but I don’t know what to say or do. Give me the right words when words are right and right actions when leading by example speaks louder than words. Amen.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo

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.