EAGERLY WAITING

EAGERLY WAITING
FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS – as we begin the experience of Advent. Each year as we approach the great festival of Christmas, we again contemplate all the events that led to the great joy that came to the children of earth. Advent is an active time of waiting, not a time to do nothing about our relationship with God. In Luke 21, Jesus talks about the prediction of the destruction of the temple, with wars and many deaths. Then he speaks of something very different:  25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.  28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”  Once again, after the destruction of the temple for the unfaithfulness of Israel, God holds out hope of redemption, a new way to walk with God.

Centuries before, God also spoke words of hope for the people of Israel, after they were enslaved and taken to Babylon in exile, for their unfaithfulness. Through the prophet Jeremiah, in chapter 23, Gods says:  14 “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

We are given an opportunity to examine our relationship with God and our intent to be faithful. Are we working at it at all? Are we working on it alone, or are we walking each day with God at our side? What will God see of our faithfulness and love? God gives us the hope of the future, of our redemption from a life without God. At the beginning of this new church year, we are given hope for the future, to grow in our faith and love, and walk humbly with our God; to examine our life and chart a new course of living in love, knowing that God is with us.   Loving God, who holds out hope, again and again to those who look for redemption. We look toward what we may experience this Advent, as you guide us through the season, looking toward the birth that will bring more hope to all. Help us re-examine our lives, and walk more often with you.   Amen.        PEACE

LET US BRING GOD’S LIGHT

LET US BRING GOD’S LIGHT
AND GLORY TO THE WORLD – by the way we show God’s love. We have the ability to show God’s light just the way the sun does. It may not be because of the same process, but it exists in us because God put it there, just as he put the power of light in the sun. Every day as we look at the sun and all the other wonderful parts of creation, we see God’s glory and the great love God has given to all of us through creation. It was into this creation and to all God’s children that God brought the greatest gift of all, the gift of the Christ child. How may we show God’s glory? The first way I always think of is to smile at everyone we meet. Such a little thing can give such joy. We never know who may be affected by this simple act. We do it because God wants us to share the joy. In just one day, it is most certainly going to bring a positive influence to at least one other person, besides ourselves. Beyond that, as we live out the intention to love, as God has loved us, we pass on the glory of God. The spirit will be working in us, to add to and perfect our efforts and bring us closer to what God intends for us. God continues to work in and through us, just as in Isaiah’s time. Isaiah 9:2  “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”

2 Corinthians 3, talks about how the people were glorifying God, by the way they were living their lives.   “Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it … This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.   4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.”   We are called to live our lives to glorify God and thereby show God’s love and light. That requires us to make a commitment to God and then ask for guidance from the Spirit, as we begin to let go of the distractions of modern life and turn off the voices that would take away our intentions of reflecting God’s glory. In this process we may make decisions that affect our buying and reject the influence of greedy companies, who want to sell products we don’t need, to support this lifestyle. When we intend to live life on a different basis, the Holy Spirit will help us move in that direction to reflect the light of God’s glory.  Joyful and loving God, we are humbled by your great gift of love in Jesus Christ. May we turn to the new life that will show our gratitude and reflect your glory in the way we live with others. Guide us in specific ways that will increase our awareness of how to live in this way. God of glory, feed us. We do this all in the name of the one who is to come, your beloved son, Jesus.   Amen.     PEACE

COME TO US, LORD JESUS

COME TO US, LORD JESUS
AND BRING THE PROMISE – that can remove the fears, so that we may receive the gifts you bring. Being on the other side of history from the coming of Jesus, we tend to forget that hints and promises of the coming of the Messiah were around for centuries. In this rather obscure reference from the book of Malachi, we hear a promise from God:  “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to God’s temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.  2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?”  This is not only the promise of the coming of “the Lord whom you seek,” but also the promise of a “messenger” “to prepare the way before me,” a declaration of a part of God’s plan that will come to pass. We see as well, that the promise of John the Baptist had long been awaited for those who knew the passage from Malachi. An alternate reading is from the Apocrypha and the book of Baruch, but repeats a familiar message to God’s people:  “Arise, O Jerusalem, … 9 For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of God’s glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from God.”

For those who knew these promises, it was still difficult to believe that after centuries, God was finally fulfilling what had been promised for so long. We have the benefit of both the promises and the evidence of those promises coming into being, and we still find it a challenge to believe and then respond to God. We question the accuracy of the many times the stories have been told and wonder if the fantastic promises and the outcomes could be real. And yet with all the evidence God still requires us to take a leap of faith as our response to all that was predicted and all that has come to pass.

Our faith is not something we can practice without the connection to the living God. It is not the way God has designed it to work. Our faith must be a vital and constant relationship with God, our creator, who came to us as a small and vulnerable child and remains in our lives as the living spirit, our sustainer. From Johann Olearius, his hymn “Comfort, Comfort O My People,”

“For the herald’s voice is calling in the desert far and near,
bidding us to make repentance since the realm of God is here.
For God’s glory evermore shall be known o’er all the world;
and all flesh shall see the token that God’s word is never broken.”

Oh God, who began the preparation long ago, help us to prepare again for the coming of truth and light to the world, and each of our lives. Help us reach out to the light in faith and love, that we may be guided to spread your message of love in our own unique ways, as you have prepared for us. Guide us through the fear, to speak and act in your love for others.  Amen.    PEACE

WAITING IN ANTICIPATION

WAITING IN ANTICIPATION
AND EXCITEMENT – and yet patience, for what God is bringing is possible with God’s help. This situation is comparable to the end of pregnancy. As someone who has been through this several times, I can relate to this feeling. For those who have not experienced this, it is a time when the end is in sight, so it is becoming very exciting. But it is also a time of great discomfort and can even be a time of serious complications, as the child inside puts greater and greater stress on organs and systems in the mother’s body, crowding out the space they would normally occupy. In the midst of great joy and anticipation, there can be pain. And of course, there is the pain of childbirth itself to be endured, in order for the joy of birth to take place. This can all be compared to life, as this passage from Romans 8 describes it.  22 “We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain like a woman ready to give birth to a child. 23 Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us God’s own children. I mean we are waiting for our bodies to be made free. 24 We were saved to have this hope. If we can see what we are waiting for, that is not really hope. People don’t hope for something they already have. 25 But we are hoping for something we don’t have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently.”

Whether we think of it or not, our life is a process, of learning and growing and some of that involves suffering in order to learn and grow into a different person than we were last week. This is all in the direction of becoming the person God created us to be, and the journey we are on in order to get to that person. Because of some of the choices we make, it may even be necessary to go through a re-birth to get to where we will need to be, as the child of God we have been created to be. Through all of our journey, the Holy Spirit is with us and is the very reason we can have the patience to see there is a greater life ahead and endure the suffering we are going through, as we grow into what God has designed for us.  Compassionate God, who shows us merciful love through the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are grateful. Remind us of this strength we have been given to help us endure and still live with the hope of a greater future. Remind us also to share this vision with others, as an encouragement toward their greater future.  Amen.      PEACE

ON OUR JOURNEY

ON OUR JOURNEY
OF LOVE – and transformation, we encounter God’s influence in others. Allowing ourselves to see God in others is something we have to decide we want to do. The cultural world and the strong influence of media has had a very limiting effect on what we are willing to pay attention to in our lives. My daughter and I have been on parallel paths of spiritual awakening the past few years. Our experiences continue to encourage each other in the new paths we are being led to follow. What she is encountering as God works in her and how she is opening to new experiences enhances my own outlook and opens me to see new things in my own experience. For all of us, if our intention is to grow in the faith, we can study scripture and other writings. We can pray and open ourselves to the Holy Spirit. It is only when we are open to the gifts others bring to us, through a community, that we will fully experience what God intends for us. Our growth may even stop for a time if we are not open to what others may bring us. When we are not living the life God intends for us, we miss the opportunities God will present. So how can we open ourselves to what others will bring us? One way is to be in community, around others living in God’s love, who challenge us in good ways and help us grow in our faith. Psalm 146 and the parallel in Matthew 25 encourage us to serve others in ministry and humble service.  “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the strangers; God upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked God brings to ruin. … Praise the Lord!” And from Matthew 25:40b   ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Our faith journey is following the path of love – learning to love God, to love ourselves, to love and care for God’s creation, and to love others as ourselves. The two necessary allies that we must have by our sides are God and others. It is not a trip we can take by ourselves. Yes, there will be times when we need to reflect and be alone. God will also be there because God is within us. Then it will be time to return to God’s great family. In serving others and learning to love all kinds of folks, we will learn unimagined lessons we need to learn. Every time we extend ourselves to others in love, the love returns to us in full measure. We don’t lose, we gain love. Love comes back to us every time we give it, without strings. Love is part of God’s grace, that unconditional love God shows us all. When we give love unconditionally, it comes back. There is NOTHING this world offers that will show us the way, or what it will be like. We must take this step in faith, always knowing that God is within us. The world has no interest in showing us the way. God is willing to help us with every step, if we are open. On our lifelong journey of love, it requires us to move forward not knowing what will happen next. It will not be the journey of faith that it is, if we do not trust God with each step we take.    God of love and faith, we thank you for the blessings of others that you surround us with. Overcome our fear to take the next step into the unknown and bless us with those who will respond, when we show love. Guide us to keep taking steps forward, feeling your love and support around us and within.  Amen.      PEACE

GOD OFFERS US A JOURNEY

GOD OFFERS US A JOURNEY
A JOURNEY TO WHOLENESS – if we allow the process God offers to bring us there. Coming to wholeness is a lifelong journey. All that God has put in place will support and guide us on our journey to wholeness. On the way to this state of love are a lot of lessons to be learned. The world brings us hate, fear and loneliness. God’s love brings acceptance of ourselves and others, casts out our fear and helps us connect to others. My daughter brought me this little story by Ram Dass that helps us here. He talks about an experience of walking in the woods and being touched by the condition of each tree. He allows that they have grown in response to where they are. He is not critical of their shape or size. He allows that one didn’t have enough light where it is, so it bent or twisted to get to the light. He doesn’t get emotional about it. He understands what has shaped their life. He is not constantly saying critical things about what they are or are not, as he observes them. They just are, for whatever reason, shaped that way. He finishes with “so I practice turning people into trees, which means appreciating them just the way they are.” The growth experience he describes is a good example of how God speaks to us even through the broken creation. When we can see how the trees respond to their environment and how it has shaped them, it can also be a lesson for us concerning people. We never know how people have adapted just to survive their environment. It helps us turn off the critical messages the world offers in favor of what God has to teach us about loving each other, despite the obstacles.

This all reminds me of the interaction in John 4 of the Samaritan woman and Jesus. Since she was a woman of Samaria, she would be used to the Hebrews avoiding her. They were considered as half-breeds and had very low stature among Jews, so they were to be avoided as unclean. And yet this Jesus gets into a conversation with her. Since she had been married many times, probably as a matter of survival for her, that also would have hurt her standing in the community. This woman was used to criticism. And then Jesus speaks to her with respect and even insight, not as one who wanted to put her down or ignore her, but without judgment. She was a person worthy of respect in his eyes. What a liberating experience this would have been for her. It also shows that the disciples were learning lessons of love as well. 27 “Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’ 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ ”  Dear and loving God, may we learn lessons of love and see the Messiah in encounters with others of your family. Help us reach past our own obstacles of fear and distrust so we can touch others with the love that only comes from and through you, to be shared with everyone we encounter. Our journey is part of your plan, so encourage us to keep opening and allowing you to work your love within us.    Amen.       PEACE   

 by Beth Lewis Rennig

RECEIVE THE GLORY

RECEIVE THE GLORY
MEANT FOR US – from the beginning. Who knows when it happened?  It really doesn’t matter when because the only thing that matters is we got off track, from what God has provided for us. God had in mind a very different world than the one we have created. Think about the vision of a loving and peaceful creation, where all live in harmony and then compare that to what our world is really like. We are shown the intention of God and the plan God had for us in this from Romans 8.   28 “We know that God works all things together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to God’s purpose. 29 God knew them before God made the world. And God decided that they would be like God’s Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. 30 God planned for them to be like the Son. God called them and made them right. And those who God made right, God also gave God’s glory.”

Ideas are powerful things and they have additional power when resources are brought together to help those ideas become reality. And yet in our imperfect world, nothing that we can conceive will ever work out perfectly. Any designer or engineer knows there are three elements in any commercial project that must be considered: concept, money and time. Whatever the situation, there are always 3 factors that will influence the outcome. Those 3 may vary but the one most interested in the outcome can only control two of those factors. We cannot control all three. So we are forced to make a choice. What is more important to us? Perhaps we must stick to a budget and it must be finished on time. Then some of the details of the concept or design will need to be modified in order to meet the other two factors. This principle can be applied to anything we plan and helps us realistically anticipate the outcome, in human terms. This principle also applies to God’s plans for the world and all of us in it.

God has in mind a plan with a particular outcome, that is the New Creation or the creation made right. The whole world will work the way God originally intended and God has a plan to get there. We have been given the freedom to choose when and how we respond to God. It is our choice if we ever choose to respond to God’s call, and get involved. When and if we do, there is glory awaiting our choice. It will be in many forms, as many as are conceived in God’s love. We are called by God and we can decide when and how we will answer this call. Those are the two options we have in God’s plan. We cannot alter the fact that we are called. God wants us to be part of the plan and things have been prepared for our response. God is waiting with open arms.     O God of creation, help us see that we are loved. Open our eyes to see how you have prepared creation to include each of us. Challenge us to respond to your love and mercy so we may become a part of the grand plan to restore creation.   Amen.       PEACE

THE JOYS OF SHARING GOD’S LOVE

THE JOYS OF SHARING GOD’S LOVE
ARE A GIFT FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT – and a delight in our lives, beyond what we might imagine. This blog often talks about the many ways we share God’s love with others. It becomes a blessing for us when we are able to open ourselves to the Spirit within us and let the energy that comes from the Holy Spirit go out through us to wherever it is needed. This is known as channeling, and it is an ability from God so that what God needs to happen will happen, and with power. From the time of Moses, when God said Aaron would be given the words to say to the King of Egypt, along with the prophets throughout the Old Testament and down through the centuries. Too many people to count have been given this ability to receive words or ideas from God so that God’s work can be accomplished. In Luke 21, we see Jesus yet again preparing the disciples to be able to speak God’s truth in love, when they are challenged. 14  “So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, 15 for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!”
 
The opponents we face may not always look like the enemy but God needs us to speak the truth in love and embody God’s love for all we meet or connect with in any way. This will not happen in our own strength. God will provide what we need to do it, whatever is needed at the time. When we allow God to work in us and through us, using the gifts we have been given, we will be channeling God’s love through what we do. But how does this really happen? It may sound scary but it is quite the opposite. We will feel a range of emotions – from a sense of something good happening around us to a feeling of giddy joy, so that we may want to giggle with unrestrained happiness. Being a part of God’s work of love will have longer-term benefits too. Our lives will smooth out, and we will find it easier to handle the bumps of life because God is with us through it all. What we give up, in terms of trying to control life, will not be missed. God’s control is loving and beneficial in everything we do. It doesn’t require a lot of effort. It is an act of letting go while we are bathed in God’s grace. We do need not to feel any shame.

It may be a great time to try God’s way of love, as we are between having expressed gratitude for the gifts we have been given and are approaching the coming of Advent, when we let God help us prepare for the coming of God’s greatest gift, the one who came to redeem us all from the weight of sin and instead brings us unconditional love.   O Loving God, who always has our benefit in mind, we are grateful for such love. Help us learn to let go of wanting to maintain our control, and increasingly trust in your loving way of doing things. Guide us to allow your love to be channeled through us, so that we may help you do more work for the Kingdom. In the name of the one who is to come, your son and our Redeemer, Jesus.    Amen.       PEACE

WHY BE GRATEFUL

WHY BE GRATEFUL
TO GOD FOR OUR BLESSINGS? Those who love God are naturally inspired to express gratitude. It is a product of what happens when we become more aware of God and creation. Psalm 8 attempts to describe this phenomenon.  “O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. 2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers – the moon and the stars you set in place – 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? 5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority – 7 the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, 8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. 9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!”  When we allow ourselves to be open to the wonders of the universe, we can’t stop expressing awe at the glory of God’s creation.

Researchers have shown that expressing gratitude actually has a biological effect on the parasympathetic part of the nervous system resulting in both slowing and smoothing out the rhythm of the heart. Only God could conceive of this. Karen Krakower Kaplan says – “Gratitude is noticing the extraordinary in the ordinary. And then taking the nanosecond to feel it.” We can feel gratitude for creation and everything in it, as well as people in our lives. This Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to say thank you to someone who has done something you appreciate. We might say “thank you” for listening, for doing a job we can’t bring ourselves to do, or accomplishing something we perhaps thought just couldn’t be done. There are so many reasons to not just count our blessing, but to go further by extending a thank you to someone as an act of love.   Loving God, who has given us so much to express our gratitude for, help us see those around us to whom we can say thank you for what they contribute to the life of others around them. Guide us to become more aware of what others do and thank them on a regular basis with not only words but in other ways of expressing our love for what they do and are as loving people.  Amen.    PEACE

APPRECIATING GOD’S GLORIOUS GIFTS

APPRECIATING GOD’S GLORIOUS GIFTS
IN CREATION AND LEARNING TO USE THEM – is a challenge. Our modern world offers us a seemingly inexhaustible supply of goods or stuff. If we watch TV or are on the internet, we see a reality created by media and consumerism pushing us to buy until we can’t buy any more. Those of us who cannot resist this pressure are often driven to financial ruin, as they succumb to the pressure. And yet, we no longer have as many avenues open to us because some things that used to be made are not available or we have lost the knowledge of using things that were once a part of life in other times and cultures. I often feel as though I have to step outside of the predominant culture into an alternate reality to understand and utilize things long forgotten by most people. I am referring to natural substances in creation, particularly those that have healing properties. I have always been drawn to using natural materials and eating naturally. More recently I have stepped up my efforts to support and correct situations my husband has been facing. The fact that he twice almost died from the effects of prescription medicines has only encouraged me to find alternative natural ways of supporting his body and reducing his medical problems. As I study and learn about the capabilities of natural substances, I am reminded of how God has given us everything we need.

We have alarmingly polluted the earth and our food sources leading to cancer. God, on the other hand, has provided certain foods that kill cancer. The problem is to learn about them when it is in direct competition to big pharma’s making money interests. I have mentioned before about the ancient prehistoric cultures who knew about the healing uses of herbs and were skilled at diagnosing and treating their people, guiding them back to health, not a long-term dependence on drugs. Those same ancient cultures knew about the power inherent in minerals and learned to focus the energy in them for the good of the people they served. In Exodus 28, as God was preparing to raise up Aaron as the new leader [high priest] after Moses, he directed the leaders to make specific garments for Aaron to wear. Included was a breastplate covered with certain minerals:    17 “Mount four rows of gemstones on it. The first row will contain a red carnelian, a pale-green peridot, and an emerald. 18 The second row will contain a turquoise, a blue lapis lazuli, and a white moonstone. 19 The third row will contain an orange jacinth, an agate, and a purple amethyst. 20 The fourth row will contain a blue-green beryl, an onyx, and a green jasper. … 21 Each stone will represent one of the twelve sons of Israel, and the name of that tribe will be engraved on it like a seal.”   The names of those stones may not be accurate since their names have changed through the centuries, and not all that are mentioned were available in that region. The importance of using these stones is the fact that they have energy within them and God wanted their power to be used. All of these substances have ingredients that are beneficial to life and we are called to use what God has given us for our benefit, so that we may live more fully and completely. Using the substances God has provided is all toward the goal of becoming who we are created to be.  Wise God, you who have planned creation for the benefit of all. Help us learn about these gifts you have given us, to live life more fully and to your glory and praise.  Amen.      PEACE