Frozen Chosen!

“Praise the LORD

 How good it is to sing praises to our God,
   how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

…Sing to the LORD with grateful praise;

Praise the Lord”

(Psalm 147, vs. 1 & 7)

            Listening to Beth Moore recently she talked about evangelism, sharing our faith and singing praises. Not only during Sunday services but all week long! That is evangelism, an invitational ministry, a welcoming format. In our small Methodist church we are far from being evangelists. The young families are too busy and we in the older generation seem too tired. The actuality of it is we are too conservative. A term that I like is that we are the “frozen chosen.”

            Thirty years ago we had a gospel group come to our church for what they thought would be a rousing concert. The leader did all he could to get a group on Methodists to stomp their feet and clap their hands. He had limited success. We enjoyed the music but foot stomping was not an apt description!

            At a worship team meeting several years ago a group came to complain because people often applauded when our quartet or a soloist finished a piece. They requested that we put a notice in the announcements asking for no such show of pleasure or appreciation. As a team member I stated that if applause was outlawed they would have to deal with me standing upon a pew shouting “halleluiah-Amen!” Our pastor said “Pass the motion I want to see that!” I was blessed and the motion failed and we still applaud.

            We make decisions every day as to how we will interact with others. So today we will decide whether we will be inviting Christians or members of the frozen chosen!

Thought for Today: This week let’s mention our faith or our church to show someone why we are who we are. Let’s take our faith public!

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and father, in April in the north-land we awaiting the buds and flowers of spring while the south is in full bloom. However in all climates strife, tensions and un-Godly terrorist attacks take place. We need a divine intervention, the interjection of love and respect and the elimination of hate throughout the world. Today we pray that we may contribute to peace and help relax the tensions around the world.

Amen

Easter

Enjoy this wonderful day!

Control

Control

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
(Proverbs 3:5)

            One of my favorite Pickeringisms” is “All days are not created equal!”

We go through emotional valleys so that we may experience the peaks, the good times. Our faith is often tested in subtle ways. We find it easy to take the credit for recovery. After all, we take control and work our way through problems. That's the human way.

        Several years ago upon finishing a program at church, the pastor presented each of us with a pin, Christ's feet. The pin is symbolic of the footprints in the sand. It serves as a reminder that we never walk alone. When in control, we may not be aware and often do not feel God's presence. We tend to think of God as a "Macro" rather than a personal assistant.

       We are misleading ourselves when we think we are in full control. Our world is complex and there are too many outside factors for that. We need to always have trust in God as a partner.

Thought for Today: Today let's really control the ball. Keep our problems in our grasp! Yes, we can handle it all. Then after we have finished take out this meditation and think back to how we played out God's will, how He helped us in our many tasks and give Him thanks for the help.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, the world seems out of control. We are having doubt as to what role you are playing out with all the ills that exist. Economic struggles, terrorism, world poverty all seem to dominate our lives. It is hard for us to keep trust and show the love that is needed. We pray for some guidance. Guidance on how to trust you more, how do your will in tough times and to be a good follower of Christ's teachings.
Amen

Hope

Hope

"God, fill them with all hope, joy and peace

that they may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit..."

(Romans 15:13)

            There must be some lucky guy out there married to a woman named Hope. Isn’t that a great thought; awakening every morning with hope; drinking morning coffee with hope; never being too far from thinking about hope. I like that analogy and the reality is we can be all of those things because the Lord is always with us and through Him hope abounds.

            One day last Winter I sat down to write my message and nothing was happening. So I did exactly the wrong thing; I filled my coffee cup, read the paper and watched the local news. My mom was snowed in, there were several murders reported and of course some political issues. There was nothing there to inspire hope but plenty to pray about.  I commented to June when she awakened that it was a long time since I started my day that way and I hope it is longer next time.

            One of the greatest things about being a Christian is having hope.  When we look toward the future we must remember Proverb 23 vs. 18. “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Thought for Today: Let today be a day of hope and light!

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, today we give thanks for our everlasting hope and joy available to us through Jesus. We look forward to a day that we can contribute by showing others the way by example through our hope and light.

Amen

Draw Nearer to God!

Draw Nearer to God

"Therefore, brothers, since we have
confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
 let us draw near to God
with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith..."
(Hebrews 10:19-22)

        We often slip into moods that weaken our spirituality and faith. In life, fear, anger, lack of trust (doubt) often get more attention than they deserve. It is normal for humans to let them dominate their thoughts but it is also not a healthy way to live.

        At a meeting recently, the subject of "angry unhappy people" was being discussed. There are unfortunate people that have not forgiven enough. They have hung on to so many resentments that they have become cynical, angry, unhappy or all of the above. It almost seems that this is a penance for not practicing forgiveness.

       We need to somehow live closer to Jesus example; to forgive and to believe that out of this life will come peace. Draw nearer to God. Spirituality and faith are works in progress. Let God take our hand to find peace and tranquility and continue spiritual growth.

Thought for Today: Today let us selfishly think about ourselves. Focus on our own faith. Certainly we will have opportunity to be angry and frustrated. This week we need to recognize when that occurs, act more like Jesus and "draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith... ".

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today we pray for the world leaders.  We pray that the world draws near to you and that peace will prevail. 

Open Up

Open Up to Joy and Love

"Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates;
behold, the King of glory waits;...
Fling wide the portals of your heart;
make it a temple set apart from
earthly use for heaven's employ,
adorned with prayer and love and joy."
(Lift Up your Heads, ye Mighty Gates)
(George Weissel, 1642; Methodist Hymnal 213)

       What does it take to be positive and happy? When we are sad, blue or hurt, what is the best way to fix ourselves? That's correct, "fix ourselves". We chose our moods and often hang on to our hurts and remorse. We are responsible for our attitudes and can work to adjust them.

        Several years ago while doing volunteer work in treatment facilities, it was common to see patients carrying a plastic garbage bag. It was called a "pity bag" and used to symbolize the emotional garbage that was being carried by the patient. I hope that those bags did well for the patient because they did me a lot of good. It is a helpful concept to know that we can chose to throw away our troubles. The tough part is learning how.

        There are two messages that we need to remember to keep on the positive side of life. First is to remember that God is with us and second is to:..Fling wide the portals of our hearts... and let Him help out. With His help we can throw away most garbage and stay positive.

Thought for Today: Our lives and weeks are full of choices that we need to make; routine and difficult. This week let us allow God to help us with the tough decisions. Let us pray about them.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, this week we pray for the peace and hope promised through our faith. We give prayers of joy for your gifts and the many blessings in our lives. We pray that through our example of love and joy we may influence those around us.
Amen

Positive Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement

…Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,

 just as in fact you are doing."

(1 Thessalonians 5 vs11)

        In my high school years of football, our coach was a negative motivator. It seemed that everything we did was wrong. The best complement we ever received was a "good job, but...”. The criticism after “the but" was all that I ever remembered. None of us believed that we were very good and we were not having any fun. In 1956, three of us quit the team to go to private schools for a variety of reasons. There was a large article in the local paper about how significant a loss it was to the local high school team because they lost some great players. All three of us were really surprised at the compliments given to us by the coach.

        At my new school, I found my way to a swim coach named Al Houston. Al was caring man, a positive motivator and would have two or three swimmers at each Olympic Games. Receiving positive motivation was a wonderful experience. The team all felt good, worked hard, we liked Al and each other. We were also the best team in the northeast. We learned to focus on excellence, not letting each other down and generally care about each other.

        This is a strong message. We are in challenging political and economic times and there is a lot of negativity in the world. Each day we read and see bad news. To stay positive we need to follow the lead of Christ and demonstrate our love and caring.   We need to show our fellowship toward others.

Thought for Today: Today we will have the opportunity to be negative. School teachers will have a mischievous child, salesmen will lose an order, the weather may not be good... and we will want to whine. When that happens, stop and meditate, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up". Let us all have a positively great day.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly father, today we pray for those with negative ideas, those with aggression toward humanity and their victims. We pray for them and the opportunity to influence with them in a positive way.
Amen