Trust in the Lord 

 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
(Jeremiah 17:7-10) 

        In the 1990s, June and I enjoyed four weeks of vacation. It was not easy when surrounded by world events. While staying in Pyrford, south of London, there were concerns regarding a serial rapist that had just struck for the ninth time. A sniper started shooting in Washington, DC. There was a bomb in Bali and then a plane crash. It is easy to ask, “Where is God in all of this?” It is logical, by human standards, to feel concerned and helpless. We felt guilty while enjoying a vacation amongst the tragedies. 

        Somehow, through prayer and understanding, we need to keep the faith we have in the Lord. He does not expect us to understand everything, love and trust Him to put it all together. Together we need to demonstrate this trust and love to others through times of stress and tragedy. We need to be like a tree with roots planted by the stream. We need to be fresh and always bear the fruit of the Lord;  to have this fruit available when others need it.

Thought for Today: Today, let us focus on our fruit and understand what our faith can do for others with less understanding. Let us pray and keep our spiritual fruits fresh to share them with those in need.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, we come to you confused by world events. We are concerned about our issues; unemployment, depleted retirement funds, sickness, and many other problems. Throughout all of this, we pray that we may recognize our role as servants and that we make our spiritual fruits available to those in need.

Amen

 

I Yam What I Yam

I Yam What I Yam 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,"

(Phillipiama 4-13) 

Was Popeye a philosopher? Cartoonists often are. When Popeye was confronted with difficult situations, he would state, "I yam what I yam?" gulp down his spinach and defend right!

        We are not all Popeyes, and we are expected to conform, often to standards below our Christian faith standards, and may face difficulties if we do not. In any case, it is necessary to understand who we are, what we are, and keep the Lord in our daily lives. We need our "spinach."

.
         In many ways, we are continually fighting an image syndrome. Conformity is the word, and clones are the result. Quite often, we get flack because we don't fit.
    How did some of the prophets or John the Baptist fit in with the rest of their society? Probably not too well at times, and they were special.

 
    The truth is you are you. You are who God created you to be, and he wants you to know who you are and understand your individual characteristics. God created you and then broke the mold. No one else is exactly like you.

 
        You are unique, and it is all right to be you. Don't let others shape you. That is God's task. He started with you, he will finish with you, and he will be with you. He is our spinach.

 

He does want you to be you.

Thought for the Day: Let us search for the person that God wants us to be so that we may serve him better.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we travel through our weekly chores, we need to see a way to help You. We often lose track of your plan, and sometimes we are too busy and do not understand it. This week we pray that each of us may find a better way to serve You and make life better for everyone.
Amen.

 

 

Special Days

Special Days 

^” This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

(Psalm 118v 24) 

            There are 365 days every year. Our goal and challenge are to enjoy every day. We can not allow our finances, a boss, or other outside influences to steal pleasure from any day. God put us here to be happy, and we need to do that for Him. 

OK, let’s get real. Some days are just a drag, and things go wrong. God rains on our parade, our back goes out again, etc. When negative things get in the way, we have a hard choice to make. We can choose to have a bad day or trust our faith and give thanks for what went right. Some days it seems that the only thing to give thanks for is that it is over. Well, that’s enough to make it a good day. 

We all have problems and challenges that will take longer than one day to resolve. Many issues seem unsolvable. We need to remember two important things. When we live one day at a time, we simplify our solutions. If we do not get it today, we can work on it tomorrow. When we believe an issue is unsolvable, we need to remember that the Lord is with us, and He can change the rules. We need to pray and turn unsolvable matters over to the Lord. 

Allowing God to be with us every day guarantees that we will have a good day. 

Thought for the Day: This will be a wonderful week for all of us. We will walk through the challenges and bless the Lord for the experiences and lessons that we learn one day at a time. 

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord and father, we are often confused by our world. There are problems that we want to fix now and can not. This week we give thanks for the many things that go well and the blessings that we have. We give thanks and pray that we may cheerfully contribute to your plan. 

 

Brotherly Love

 

 Brotherly Love 

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

 Honor one another above yourselves.”

(Romans 12vs 10) 

            Paul is saying that the person closest to or standing next to you deserves dignity and honor at any moment in time. In many cases, that is not how it works. We are an overloaded society and rarely give the person near us enough of our thoughts. We care about thinking too far ahead rather than in the present, and we need to slow down.             

            My point is that we should not forget to consider or care for everyone, even when we do not have time. Christ served everyone; He made time for lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, and all of the “unclean” and needy as well as his disciples. We are often called or approached by a friend or acquaintance for advice or help at an inconvenient time. When that happens, we often look at our watch while they talk, space out and not listen, and then brush them off as quickly as possible- Wow, WWJD on that one. 

            The above is a real problem faced by all of us almost daily. We have deadlines in our lives and people that matter long term; our families and career colleagues. With that in mind, how do we deal with others who come for help when we do not have time. We need to pray about that, about how we can be considerate and tolerant.   

Thought for Today: Let’s focus on being caring when we are interrupted by a friend. We always need to find ways to share our Christian love. Let us ask how Jesus would deal with the telemarketer. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today I will meet someone in need, and I won’t have time to listen. Today when that happens, I pray and hear in your name, as Jesus would.

Amen

 

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.