God is with Us!

God is with Us

"Now Moses was a very humble man,
more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth"
(Numbers 12:3)

         Like Moses, we are not always enthusiastic about what God wants. We are a humble lot, conservative and considerate of others views and feelings. Almost to a fault. We are humble before God.
        However, in our lives we are often asked to perform tasks that require an assertive posture. Many of us are leaders in the community, at work and at church. We are often leaders that require strength while still being humble. That is being a good leader.

   God's response to Moses was "...I will be with you." and he will be with us always.
        When you are feeling hesitant and inferior, God says, "I will be with you."

        When you are wondering if you can make it another day with the job stress, He says, "I will be with you."

        When you're faced with a tough decision and wondering what to do, He says, "I will be with you."

        When you are experiencing great joy, God is with you.

        You may be a bit reluctant, as was Moses, but we need to remember that as we go through life, God is with us always.

Thought for Today: Today we need to remember that we are not alone. Through our faith we have help meeting our obligations. Let us take control of situations in a humble manner and allow ourselves to be led through the tasks ahead.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father we thank you for being with us. We are often confused in a world of activity. Often when things go well, we feel that we controlled the situation. We pray that we can recognize and celebrate your involvement in our everyday lives and have the forethought to give you thanks through our actions and prayers.
Amen 

Success

Success

“I saw that wisdom is better than folly

Just as light is better than darkness."

(Ecclesiastes 2:13)

            In our democratic society, we are pressed into a competitive market place for our goods and services. That is supposed to be what makes America great. Success is often a matter of having more "stuff". We are building 5, 6 and 7,000 square foot houses, owning bigger boats, luxury cars abound etc. All this is very good for the economy, but is it good for our souls?

Aristotle Onassis definition of success was to "... keep climbing higher and higher-just for the thrill."

Barbra Streisand said, “success for me is having ten honeydew melons and eating only the best part of each."

            Because you are reading this today, I pray that your definition is more closely better represented by Dr. Gary Rossberg's perspective:

    “Success is not just a matter of money, power and ego, but also issues of the heart; like compassion, bravery, generosity and love. It is an issue of character, not performance. ...of being the person God wanted you to be, not how much salary you can pull down. ...".

            If we sit in our homes surrounded by our "stuff" and still feel underachieved; if we sit on the couch next to our spouse and still feel lonely; we need to go back to the simple things we learned growing up and search our faith for the definition of success. We will find that Rossberg is very close to the answer.

Thought for Today:  Today let us look at our calendars and try to evaluate where our efforts are taking us. Let us review our goals and our interactions with others. Let us fit our lives into Rossberg's perspective rather than the more material views of success.

Prayer for Today: Dear heavenly Father, our world has changed. Terror seems to be taking over well beyond faith and love. Somehow we pray for an answer to how it all fits Your plan. We pray for your guidance and somehow for the ability to keep the power of your light above the darkness that seems to be closing

around us. Amen.

BUSYness!

 BUSYness

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure  ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”

(2 Timothy 4: 6 & 7)

            Those of you that have been Good News buddies for a while know that I relate closely with the many race analogies used by Paul in his letters. They are meaningful today because I have a sense that the events around the world have thrown us in to a high state of BUSYness. (Spell-check hates that word but I like it!). In Paul’s message above he is not talking about a marathon, a work week, getting to the children’s activities; it has nothing to do with our BUSYness. It has to do with keeping our faith peaked during the process of life.

            This was triggered today because retired old Bob is too busy with fun stuff, teaching swimming, helping others in need, increasing my exercise program and generally being Bob. For the second day in a row I woke up before the sun with activities and obligations pushing my spirituality from the forefront. I can tell when that happens because I am not at peace during the day and I generally start reading the newspaper with my coffee; back to my old ways.

                        The following is the story of a friend with the right idea!   A good friend that has five children and one was in a weekend tournament. The dreaded event occurred; he made it to the championship game on Sunday morning- OOPs there goes the Lord into the back seat. NO, that is not the story! The game was 40 miles away, it was a Minnesota winter day with freezing rain (June and I had trouble going three miles to church.). My friend got is family up very early, left several hours early and attended services in the tournament city before the game. They took the time to recharge their spiritual batteries when they could. That’s a story worth telling and a family with great priorities.

Thought for the Day: In a counter to Paul's message about the race, I also read the following from the 23^rd Psalm: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul”. Take a prayer break today and every day.

Prayer for Today: Dear father, today we pray for personal peace.

Peace Together!

Peace Together

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you.”

(John 15 vs. 4)

            Often people tell me they are no longer interested in organized religion The ritual, rules, money and work did not do it for them; shame on them and shame on their church. There are others that change churches often searching for something they never quite find. They are sad and typically don’t know what they are after.

In general those described above are less than happy in their lives.

            Jesus message is clear, He is with us always. When we are searching and restless the ball is in our court; we are the problem. These are the times that we are out of touch with the Holy Spirit; not taking the time to open our hearts. When we are spiritually down and out, we need to look at ourselves first.

            There was a song in the 50’s that said, “…open up your hearts and let the sun shine in.” We need to allow the Lord in so that we may find peace together.

Thought for Today: Today let us open our hearts to the Lord. Let’s find peace with Him.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we thank you for being with us; joining us on our walks, at work, in our cars and in all phases of our day. Today we pray that we may stay in touch with you under all conditions.

Amen