Gods Love and Grace

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God;

He is the faithful God,”

(Deuteronomy 7 v 9)

June and I are close to people of varied faiths. Through our association with each, we have come to a strong belief that we all worship the same God in different ways, and we all experience God’s grace.

Several years ago, we became good friends with the family of an executive from Pakistan, and it was our first real close relationship with a Muslim family. We were close to them in 2001 and observed the frustration that a true Muslim felt regarding September 11.

Recently a Jewish friend that I have known and liked for years shared with me that he does bible studies to learn about the Christian perspective. His strong family values, general upbeat personality, and strong ethical standards make him someone I am glad to know.

We have spent many Sundays with my family in Unitarian Meeting Houses when we return to Massachusetts. We are learning more about my mom’s grandparents, who were Unitarian ministers.

To avoid making this a 10,000-word essay, let me summarize some of our other relationships: A son in law who is a Southern Baptist, a brother in law who is a Catholic priest in the UK, a Buddhist sister in law, a Mormon best friend who lost touch with his faith, a Native American friend who has involved us in some spiritual activities, and the list goes on.

In each instance mentioned, June and I have experienced good friendships and observed solid, godly values in our friends. We have observed God working in our friends’ lives in most instances and see God’s grace at work in many ways. Most importantly, we have experienced God’s grace through our friends.

Thought for the Day: Recognize those around us that are different and try to befriend someone new. Seek out someone that looks at God differently. The Lord blesses them also.

Prayer for the Day: Dear faithful Lord and Father, the world is an incredible and wonderful creation. There are many peoples of all colors and beliefs. There are generation gaps, social differences, and economic separations. Often the differences get in the way of social graces. Today we pray for the ability to bring unity to the world.

Amen

23rd Psalm

 

School Days

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters..."
Psalms 23:1-2).

            In my grammar school years, the school day started by reading the 23^rd Psalm, Lord's prayer, and saluting the flag. Wow, by today's standards, that is powerful stuff. Let us take a look at this and see if we can apply it to our lives today.

        The first two lines above lead us to tranquility. Faith will take care of our wants, lead us to the inner peace we desire, and lead us to the restful place beside still waters.

 

"He refreshes and restores my life;
He leads in the paths of righteousness
for His namesake."
(Psalm23:3).

There are always periods when things in our lives need rebuilding. Thereare temptations to take the easy way. These verses point out that the way to get out of the "dumps" is to follow Him.

"Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff to comfort me."
(Psalm 23:4).

The Psalm points out that the Lord is with us and will guide and support us throughout our lives.

    Yes, today, our lives get filled with stress. As Christians, we have excellent tools to work within our daily lives. The more we let God lead us, the more we will be at peace.

Thought for Today: Let us reflect on our pandemic experiences. Read the 23rd Psalm and accept the help that God has available to us as we move forward. It will be a big help in locating those still waters we all seek.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, often stress builds up in our lives. It is a combination of hurts, anger, and resentments kept hidden inside of ourselves. When this occurs, I pray that I find a way to let you help and accept the guidance, protection, and support promised through our Christian faith. 

 

Our newspaper reported yesterday that Minneapolis is on track to have 10,000 gun shots fired this calendar year. We as citizens need to do what we can to bring peace to our world.

 

 Peace Together 

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

(John 15 vs. 4) 

            Often people say they are no longer interested in organized religion The ritual, rules, money, and hard 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. We need to pray that they locate it.  

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. 

            In 1954, Stuart Hamblen published the song “Open UpYour Heart” (and let the sunshine in.). Google shows that it was a big hit by the Maguire Sisters that year. It has since been used hundreds of times in cartoons, children's messages, and TV shows.  Jesus is our Lord and sunshine; we the people need to allow the sunshine 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; on our walks, at work, in our cars, and all phases of our day. Today we pray that we may stay in touch with you under all conditions.

 

 

To survive last weeks hurricane Ida, a tree needed strong roots. As Christians living in 2021 we also need strong roots and the courage to stand on our principles.

  Courageous  

“Be strong and very courageous.

 Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you;

 do not turn from it to the right or the left,

 that you may be successful wherever you go.

 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips;

 meditate on it day and night,

 so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

 Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

(Joshua 1 vs. 7&8) 

            The passage above is one that we need to apply in our daily lives. Our society is a distraction and getting through each day without drifting from our Christian standards seems to be more difficult than ever. We have over complicated our lives in developing our post-pandemic lifestyle. 

            Our Friday Bible study group has several guys who grew up on farms here in the mid-west. They talk about caring for the livestock in the morning; attending school for the day, (often a long mile walk) and the prize was getting home to help on the farm before doing the homework! That was not my life in Boston, my children’s lifestyle, and is certainly not my grandchildren’s today. 

            Even as a retiree with good calendar control we get waylaid and off-target. The easy path is not always the Godly path. It takes a certain amount of courage to say no to a distraction and even more to do what needs to be done. It is important to recognize when our control is slipping away. Then we need to slow down, meditate and pray for guidance. The correct path will always be clear and the courage to take it is available. God is with us but we need to let Him into our day. 

Thought for Today:  Today let us slow down, smell the roses, and exhibit our good side. Let this be a relaxing and productive day. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, as COVID changes our world, we pray for peace, love, and enjoyment. We pray that we can contribute to each of those things by doing your will here on earth.

Amen

Hitch Hiking

 

"No Servant can serve two masters.

Either he will hate the one and love the other,

or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money."

(Luke 16 vs. 13 and Matthew 6 vs. 24)

 

            In the 1950s, as teenagers, hitchhiking was one of our primary means of transportation. We hitched to the ball field, to the next town, the beach; wherever busses did not go we hitched. When mom would give me a nickel for the bus,  we would stand there with my thumb out hoping to save the nickel to buy candy! There were a lot of fond memories generated by the people met and the rides shared. 

            H. Norman Wright in his book All My Strength writes about hitchhikers. Below are his thoughts:

“But consider the hitchhiker for a moment. He wants a free ride. He has no responsibility at all for the vehicle. He doesn't have to buy a car, pay insurance, upkeep or gas. Have you ever had a hitchhiker who volunteered to pay for gas? Not likely. He wants a free ride, a comfortable ride, a safe ride, and sometimes imposes upon you to take him out of your way. It's as though he expects you to do this for him.  

There are a lot of spiritual hitchhikers today. They know the Lord, but they want a free ride. They want all the benefits of being a Christian but none of the responsibilities or the costs. No accountability, no commitment, no willingness to serve, and if it begins to cost, they bailout. 

    The decision to serve God or serve ONES self is a big one. We can't serve both. We can hitchhike in our faith or we can serve our God. The ride is better with Him. 

Thought for Today: Let us think about the hitchhiker and the driver. The driver is a willing giver. The hitchhiker has a need and thus is a taker. That describes Christians very well and it is OK to be a taker. We do need to decide which we are, which we will be rather than what we want to be. This season let us take a step forward and up. Let us pursue a better ride.

 

 

Straight to our Heart

“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD^[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.”

(Isaiah 40 vs. 3) 

            When driving in the UK where the roads are windy and twisty, occasionally we come to a long straight road that goes on for miles. My wife, a Brit, explained to me that those are ancient Roman roads laid out 2000 years ago. I found that impressive. 

            In ancient times leaders built roads for their armies to move. They are long and straight and efficient so they could move quickly. The valleys are filled by pushing the tops of the hills. They facilitated the need. In New England where I grew up, there are very few straight roads. They paved the cow paths and horse trails which tended to follow the river beds. It is tough for strangers to find their way. 

            The message today is that we need to be sure of our road to the lord; that it needs to straight. There needs to be a straight connection between God and our hearts. We need to allow the simplest two way travel possible in our complex world; straight to our heart. 

Thought for Today: Today let’s think about where our road takes us; where are we going. Perhaps we can take a few bends out and travel straight. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, we live in a complex world and are surrounded by too much activity and are overcommitted. Today we thank you for being with us and pray that we may keep our hearts open to you and stay on a straight and holy path.

Amen

 

Winning

  Winning

 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of

compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so

that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we have

received from God."

 (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) 

            Who in our lives are the winners? Some say the one with the most toys wins. That is a materialistic one-liner that gives me goosebumps. However, in our society today, we pursue "things" instead of happiness and peace. So who are the real winners and how do they win? 

God placed us here to be his stewards with our priority to be sharing the gifts we received from Him with others. That seems to be a very tall order. However, we always feel great when we have reached out and helped a friend or stranger. Is that not when we feel the best? 

God gives us resources in many different forms. We have money that we earn and the knowledge that we have learned. We graciously share these things with our families and children and that makes us feel good. Many people also reach out beyond their family units and share. There are ways to share and sow the seeds that God has given us to plant, and we are real winners when we reach out and share our gifts.

Thought for Today: Let us look for an opportunity to help someone; perhaps someone who is sick, someone hurting or someone lonely. If we fail in finding someone, let’s share some extra with our Church. Sharing a bit will make us feel better. 

Prayer for Today:  Heavenly Father, we are living in a troubled world. Civil unrest, road rage, families in strife, and other tragic incidences. Today we pray for an opportunity to help and share with someone, an opportunity to demonstrate your Grace through our actions.

Amen.