BE SATISFIED IN GOD

BE SATISFIED IN GOD
AND CONTENT IN THE PATH GOD GIVES US – for God knows what we really need and will provide it. When we are in a relationship with God, this will be the result. We will not feel anxious for more, but our anxiety will be turned into wanting justice for God’s people and a desire to spread love, not hate. In a relationship with our loving God, we will be transformed, to live a life that is dedicated to sharing God’s love and mercy to all we encounter. From the beginning, we were created to have a relationship with God. The story of the Bible is the progression of the desire of God to have us be God’s children. When we fulfill that desire God has for us, we lead a different life than most of those in the world. We are especially exempt from fear when we put our trust completely in God. When we leave fear behind, we have more energy for doing what God needs us to do. And at our end, we will have a sense of peace about what we have done, as we did what God called us to do.

Paul says, in Philippians 4,  “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  13 I can do all this through God who gives me strength. … 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of this glory in Christ Jesus.”  The ultimate honor we could give to our loving God is to be found being faithful, at the moment when we leave this place, for the promised glory. Our relationship with our God will still continue.   I pray this poem is helpful to get a different perspective on what death is really like. I am grateful to have found it.

“Death is Nothing at All”  by Henry Scott Holland, an English clergyman, was written in 1910.

The poem was popularized by the Carmelite monks in Tallow, County Waterford.

Death is nothing at all, I have only slipped away to the next room.

I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.

Let it be spoken without effect. Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same that it ever was. There is absolute unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you. For an interval. Somewhere. Very near. Just around the corner.

All is well. Nothing is past; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before only better, infinitely happier and forever we will all be one together with Christ.  Amen.      PEACE    7 3 15

http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/A-beautiful-poem-for-the-departed-adopted-by-Irish-monks.html

GOD’S WORLD IS ONE OF ABUNDANCE

GOD’S WORLD IS ONE OF ABUNDANCE
INSTEAD OF THE WORLD’S SCARCITY – that causes fear. This is a basic understanding of the difference between God’s creation, the way God operates, as opposed to the way the world works. God is all about abundance, both in what God provides in creation and how we are treated by God. So when some of us have the understanding that God parcels out love only to those who deserve it, they have not understood God’s true nature. This is the way the world works. God loves us and comes from a framework of abundant love and unlimited blessings. God forgives us even before we ask and will not hold grudges against any of us.

In God’s economy, things do not behave as the world assumes they do. Even though we live in a physical world, we are also surrounded by a spiritual creation that is energy. In this kind of world, if you spend something in love it returns to you. So when we spend love through a smile, it adds to the surroundings. You have lost nothing and have gained a blessing from God because you shared love. The development of the digital world may help us understand this a little better. Author and teacher Jeffrey Allen uses the idea of an mp3 recording. It has the potential of being downloaded by those who choose it. It has a finite value and an infinite number of downloads. Its value increases when someone downloads it and there is one more place it will be used. That value has increased to the user. There is one more in the world. That is similar to the way God’s abundance works. The availability of God’s love is increased when it is shared with others. God shares blessings with us even when we feel undeserving of them. When we share love liberally, we are following God’s example. The Apostle Paul helps us with this in Ephesians 3: “16 I pray that from God’s glorious, unlimited resources God will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love is.  19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through this mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”     PEACE

WHOSE IMAGE OF YOURSELF ARE YOU LIVING OUT?

WHOSE IMAGE OF YOURSELF ARE YOU LIVING OUT?

I read a lot, mostly on Audible because my hands have a hard time holding a book for very long. So of those books I read, some are fiction and others are non-fiction. There is a fiction plot device used fairly often of a twenty-something who is struggling to live their own idea of what their life should be, while fighting the tide of those around them who think they know better what kind of a different life they should be living. The pressures from outside interests usually involve keeping up the community status quo, or living out some pre-programmed family script, one that everyone before has followed. The idea is that great catastrophe of some kind will happen if we don’t bow to the pressure of family or community. Many of us, in real life, face this challenge. From the beginning, God made it clear that we are given free will as a gift. God has ordained that each of us gets to make as many choices as are needed, in order to get to the life we have chosen to live. This is a familiar theme in fiction because it is so true to life. So many of us face the suffering of getting to live out who we are because the world says we are not allowed to do that. God does not agree. As we each receive the gift of life from God, we are also given a set of gifts and talents to use in loving ways, to improve the world for ourselves, each other and as part of God’s vision of a restored creation.

The world has all sorts of ulterior motives concerning our lives. It does not respect the God-given right to choose who we are and why we want to live our life in certain ways. The world is jealous of someone having more than what they deserve and envious of those who seem to unfairly have more. These judgments are very subjective and not at all rational or logical. They are highly emotional and fed by evil intent. Yet, we are taught to seek out the world’s approval of who we should be. Then the family weighs in to add their opinion.

If we have some kind of relationship with God, then this is a source of supportive guidance, untainted by jealousy and envy. Instead, it comes from a place of unconditional love. In that same spirit, Jesus promised another advocate, the Holy Spirit, for the disciples to relate to after Jesus death. He says, “17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees God nor knows God. You know God, because God abides with you, and God will be in you.”  This is the second of the awesome gifts we all have available to us, from God. The first is Jesus, with the power to count us always loved and forgiven. The second is the Holy Spirit as an advocate, to guide in every situation, good or bad. This is how fully and completely God shows up in us. As we grow in our relationship with God, we will learn how to be our best selves, to live a joyful, productive and fulfilling life, that will seem right to us. God protects and defends our right to become who we are created to be. Through God, we will be able to become who we need to be, in the face of all who might disagree with our choices. God is always present to us so that we will have the right to make the choices we make. God is available in us so that we have the opportunities we need to find the person we truly are.  Loving God, we are grateful for your defense of our right to choose freely. Help us see the vision of who we might be. Give us the courage to pursue the choices we need to make, in order to become our best version of ourselves. Support us in shining the light of truth on the world around us so that others are encouraged to become their best selves.  Amen.     PEACE

GOD HELPS US NAVIGATE THE EDGES

GOD HELPS US NAVIGATE THE EDGES
OF LIFE – between the cultural world and a dedicated life with God. The line we are called to walk is a challenge. The edges between one way of life and another are not easily seen, at first. With practice, they become more visible and with God’s help, we are able to navigate them with grace and a sure-footed tread. Jesus knew the path would not be easy. So he  gave us this direction in Matthew 11:29.  “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (NRSV)  The everyday life of following the path God’s shows us is filled with ways of using what God provides for us. This passage from Matthew is only one of the countless ways God provides for our life of devotion. God always gives us what we need. Developing our relationship with God is in response to God first acting within us. Prayer is the most easily used spiritual practice, probably because it can be done anywhere and at any time, as long as we are willing to connect with God.

24/7 prayer is a different kind of experience from more formal ways we might pray. On our part, it simply involves opening our heart to God and leaving it open all day and every day. This allows God to keep acting in us as always. It allows us to be more aware of what God is doing within us, for our good and the good of the world. This is how we will learn to know what is in God’s heart. The Holy Spirit is always prompting us with experiences of love and awareness we need to understand, in order to know how we should live on the edges. If we keep thinking about someone, in particular, it is because there is something happening in their life we need to know and perhaps support. This is usually someone we have a strong connection to and may care about them deeply. At other times, it may be a call to pray for that person. That could or first response, in any case. We may feel the urge to contact them or even see them. I urge you to take these experiences seriously. God is behind this if it seems rooted in love and concern.

At other times, we may feel called to get involved in an issue that is of great concern to us. It may have a personal connection for us or someone close to us. Keep paying attention to the urgings and watch for opportunities that present themselves to us. Surprisingly, it may end up being something we do on a small scale rather than jumping into the larger issue immediately. Keep looking around. There may be a need with someone we already know and become more aware of because of the Spirit’s nudgings. Prayer is our best ally here. We keep in touch with the experiences we are having and then ask questions to better understand. We will be given clarity when we ask and even given more guidance to better know what God wants us to do. If we don’t ask, it will be much harder for us to know what steps we should take. We are more likely to just do nothing because of our uncertainties. This will not help God’s people or ourselves. God wants and needs us to be productive in this life we are given. 1 John 5:14 helps us.  “And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what God wants, God hears us.”  We have only scratched the surface of understanding the value of 24/7 prayer and how it can support our life with God. Oh God, you love us and want to live in a relationship where we are aware of and hear the loving guidance you give us. Help us open to your voice so we may know when you loving nudges are prompting us to extend ourselves to others. Show us how to learn the lessons you provide so we will have the resources we need to meet the challenges of life on the edges of the cultural world and the realm of your loving rule. May we find the paths you have laid out for us, rich with love and grace, amid the rubble the world has created to obscure our paths.  Amen.     PEACE

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER – Part 4

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER – Part 4

Having this kind of life is accomplished through a series of practical steps, taken over time. Once begun, it will be a journey for the rest of our lives. How we begin will vary in each of us. From my own experience, I know it can come early in life and from a great need of comfort and unconditional love, not necessarily a conscious decision. My parents were older and did not have the patience or understanding of children’s normal behavior, in order to cope with the day to day frustrations. I have a memory of seeing color and beautiful patterns and movement when I closed my eyes to sleep. I judge that this was before the age of four. I now know this is the same experience we can have in meditation. Also, at some point in early childhood, I have the sense of being given physical comfort on a spiritual level. At some point, although I have no memory of it, my father was sexually abusing me. My mother is my hero because she stopped him, somehow. He retaliated with emotional abuse of all of us, my mother getting the worst of it. Through all this, I had this strong sense of a comforting love that was there no matter what happened. So I can look back now and know that, with each positive experience of comfort and unconditional love, I accepted it and was grateful. Thus began my early relationship with God.

This set a pattern of receiving and accepting with gratitude that continued and grew. When I was 7, my mother started taking my sister and me to Church School. It was then that I began to understand the source of this comforting love I had known for so long. I have speculated before, that because my relationship with God began before any conscious decision, I was not attracted to doing the things the church taught as a way of getting closer to God. In fact, many of the standard practices may get in the way of coming very close to God. {More about this tomorrow.] I was already being guided by the Holy Spirit, so written prayers were stiff and felt ineffectual to me. I was connecting to God through my heart, not my brain. I have since discovered that God has given me a gift of knowing truth when I experience. So I know when written prayers are not from the heart and sincere. There are many of them out there. This has taught me to connect to God means to open our hearts to God. We cannot fake anything with God, since God knows us completely. Once we open our hearts to God, we will know God is responding because things will start to happen. It will be different for each of us, according to who we are and what gifts God has given us. We will assuredly become more aware of certain things God is showing us. Our understanding will grow and become deeper. We will have ah-ha moments and be given words to say when we need them and we will know they just came into our brains, unbidden and in answer to our need at the time. As time continues, we will begin to understand the many ways God’s grace will make itself known to us. This does not cause uncertainty because it happens in response to our need. It will bring a sense of fun and surprise. We cannot control any of this. If we try, we will only get in the way of it happening. God works in us totally through unconditional love for us. This will be an experience of our heart and spirit. This is how we can begin to live a life of openness to God, in prayer, on a 24/7 basis.  Loving God, we are grateful that you are within us, waiting for the day we decide to open to you. Help us take those first steps and learn to open hearts completely to your love and grace. Reassure our fears and show us how much better our lives will be with you. Teach us how to open our hearts in prayer.  Amen.     PEACE

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER – Part 3

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER – Part 3

At this point, many of you are getting it and others are struggling and may be confused. Let me first say that I was inspired to do 24/7 prayer by the example of Jesus and those early believers, including some of the mystics, who made their devotion to God an active part of their lives.  42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.  From these two short verses, we can gain a good picture of what kind of life they were living. First, they were working as a community. So each one of them was not doing the same thing as everyone else. We know from Jesus and Paul that we are all called to use our own gifts and talents in whatever ways seems appropriate for God. So that alone distinguished what each was doing. As a group, they were each spending some time in sharing meals with others, while celebrating the Lord’s Supper. From day to day, it must have varied as to how much teaching and healing they each did. They all devoted themselves to prayer. They could not have accomplished any of the other work if they had not been keeping up their connection to God – praying.

 

We do not hear of them working. Elsewhere it is suggested there were those in the larger community who gave them financial support. Even if they did sometimes work, as Paul did, they were still able to pray. When we think of prayer in different ways, like resting our minds on God just to keep that spiritual connection, that is how it is possible to go through a day of activities while staying connected to God, our source. We might think of it as staying plugged into God. We may have our brain doing other tasks. It is still possible to maintain that connection to God in the background. Computers function in this way all the time. Our brains are infinitely more capable than a PC. It is possible to have our bodies doing one thing, while our spirit is tied into God and ready for the directions we may pick up, to help us in various ways – conquer problems that scare us, meet with people we are unsure how to handle or be more loving than we thought it was possible to be. Prayer that keeps us connected to God is the way believers need to live each day.  Romans 8: 26-27 – “the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit itself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. God can see what is in people’s hearts. And knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for the people in the way God wants.”

So even when we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit will do the praying through us. We will be changed by this, as we allow it to happen, so that we will become better at being open to God, while recognizing what to pray for and how to do it.   Loving and merciful God, who has said many times that you will always listen to our prayers, we humbly come to you. We are grateful that you love us enough to listen. Help us believe in that promise and become confident in your mercy and guidance. Show us how to connect to you with our heart, not just our brains. Thank you for your loving kindness to us, in all things.  Amen.     PEACE

 Quietly connecting to God.

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER – Part 2

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER – Part 2

To get to a 24/7 life of prayer was an intentional decision I made many years ago. From then, it was not a lot of work. As usual, I remained open to God and was shown the way to get there. When we try hard and work at it, without giving God the room to show us the way, we just get in the way and slow down the process of God acting in our lives.

Being faithful to this process was not hard either. God rewards us for following this way. The rewards are not worldly ones though. Rather they appear as little things sometimes, like seeing some beauty or joy we have never seen before. They come in larger forms like knowing the closer presence of God. This is not anything I can explain very well. It is just a conviction you know is true. As these experiences occur over and over, we become ever more confident in how God works within us. We are also rewarded by surprising experiences that God knows will delight us.

None of this is anything I take credit for. It is totally a gift from God, a product of a growing relationship. As this practice of 24/7 prayer grows, it leads to unimaginable knowledge and understanding. I don’t think I can describe what this is, because it has just become a part of me. It enhances and makes more focused my abilities to work for God in the world.

Something that I didn’t expect is the lessening of how I think about me and more about others. It has allowed me to shed the traps of judgment and is turning my heart into one that wants only good for others. This transformation has made me more invested in working for what God wants this world to be like. It is showing me ways I can be a part of that wonderful work God is doing. God may even show us how others are doing the work in their surroundings, fulfilling their own relationship with God.  This passage from 2 Corinthians 4 may help us understand more of what a relationship with God could be, living in the power from God.  1 “God, with infinite mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up. 2 But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly, showing everyone who we are. Then they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are in God’s sight. 3 If the Good News that we preach is hidden, it is hidden only to those who are lost. 4 The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God. 5 We do not preach about ourselves, but we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we are your servants for Jesus. 6 God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” This is the same God who made this light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.”   O God, who longs for a connection with us, we ask assistance in coming into your presence with an open heart and a willing spirit. We look for your guidance and are grateful for your readiness to be in relationship with us, a partnership for good. Open our hearts to you at all times, while protecting us from the evil that would seek to harm us. Show us how to discern the difference between love and selfishness. Gird us for each day’s work in your name.   Amen.       PEACE

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER

AN ORDINARY LIFE OF PRAYER

Ordinary does not mean unimportant. Ordinary, in this case, means it has an everyday nature or discipline to it. I experience it as every minute of every day. From the inside, it is a life of both conscious and unconscious prayer.

Ordinary is familiar and means it is both comfortable and a comfort too. Prayer seen in this way is a refuge for the challenges of life. It is like the soft warm arms of a loved one wrapping arms around us to share and support the heavy load, the pains and pressures of life.

Prayer is a gift given by a loving God, that functions in many ways. God created us to have a relationship with us. So prayer has always been one means of communication in order to bring that relationship to life. Prayer can give comfort, reassurance and direction, clarity, courage and a road to travel. It is not magical but it is mystical – full of mystery and wonder. It seems unexplainable and may even seem scary. I have never found it scary at all. There are many other emotions that are felt – love, comfort, reassurance, confidence, peace, patience, and an understanding heart.  Psalm 34:17: “The Lord hears good people when they cry out to God, and saves them from all their troubles.”

Prayer will be felt differently, depending on how we are living our lives at any given time. God knows us better than we know ourselves, so God also understands best how to reach us. If we are open to listening for God, we are more able to hear and see what God wants us to do. That, after all, is the point of why God has given us our life.

Even if we are not in tune with God, we are still likely to have things happen in our lives that are divinely designed to move us closer to God. If we are in a loving relationship with God, the goal of reaching a life of prayer, as I have described it, becomes much more likely to evolve, as we live a life of devotion and commitment to God.

Loving God, thank you for your willingness to reach out to us and draw us in, for your desire to build a relationship, and your steadfast love for us in everything. We are humbled and grateful for this devotion. Help us realize how deeply this goes and encourage us in returning this devotion to you, through a life of prayer and devotion to you, however, we are guided to live out such a life.  Amen.     PEACE

WHEN SENSELESS TRAGEDY OCCURS

WHEN SENSELESS TRAGEDY OCCURS
OUR BEST AND ONLY HELP IS GOD – and the Holy Spirit is ready to support and sustain us, when we ask. Even though the tragedies we hear about in the media are upsetting, especially when it involves people who do not deserve the death they suffered, it helps us to be reminded that God is still here in our lives. God’s plan is still going forward and we still are needed to answer our call to obedience and love for all others. In fact, it is all the more important that we as believers continue to tell the good news of God’s love and mercy. When others do not show mercy, we can not crumble. Telling the story is too important and the Holy Spirit will help us find the words and respond with the appropriate deeds.

It is fitting that this hymn should appear here today, since it was the theme at the United Church of Christ’s General Synod meeting in 1999, and the anniversary of the creation of the UCC, in Cleveland, Ohio in 1957. This year’s meeting is currently happening in Minneapolis. I hope this hymn will be a blessing and also a prayer.

For Times Like These in Which We Live

 [O For A Thousand Tongue]  or  [O God Our Help In Ages Past]

1. For times like these in which we live

Grant us your strength, O God;

To us your Holy Spirit give,

To spread your truth abroad.

2. Help us discern your holy will,

Creation to restore;

Your gracious purpose now fulfill,

One world forevermore.

3. O keep us faithful to our task

As seasons come and go;

And work through us, we humbly ask,

Your love to tell and show.

4. Our faith and hope, O God, renew,

And do not let us miss

Your call to us to live for you

At such a time as this.   Amen.     PEACE

Based on the theme of the 22nd General Synod of the United Church of Christ and the 2000 Annual Meeting of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ. Copyright (c) 1999 by Robert A. Lewis. All rights reserved. However, permission is hereby granted for this hymn to be copied for use in worship services or in other church gatherings provided that the following credit line is used: “Reprinted with permission.  Copyright (c) 1999 by Robert A. Lewis.”

PRAYING FOR OTHERS IN NEED

PRAYING FOR OTHERS IN NEED
IS WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO – and then consider what else we can do to alleviate hardship or pain. Last year “The Hunger Site” on Facebook had a quote from Pope Francis, where he urges: “pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works.”  There are many passages in both the Old and New Testaments that tell us to give relief to those in need. In Isaiah 61:1-2 we see a broad perspective of what the Lord calls us to do: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;”  And in this passage from Proverbs 14:31, we see how the mind and heart of God is directly connected to the poor,  “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”  Then Proverbs 22 assures:  “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”   Note in all the passages that we are called not only to fill physical needs, but we also see in the words of Jesus from Luke 4, he was called “to bring good news to the poor”, giving spiritual relief, compassion and mercy to heal wounded souls. When we give to those in need, we honor our call from God, and the heart of the mission of Jesus.

There is another way we can love God and love others. We love and honor God when we support others around us. We will need to ask God in our praying for help to become more aware of the subtleties of need. Others are sometimes embarrassed by need and are not able to ask for help. Being a compassionate presence that communicates love and acceptance is a way of opening a door to help others. A non-anxious presence will do a lot around a person who is in grief or pain, to calm and begin a process where God can directly help, through the inner presence of the Holy Spirit. This would be a very spontaneous kind of prayer, done as soon as we are aware of a person in need of this kind of help. There are many who are ready and willing to help with physical needs. But we can become very uncomfortable with things like grief. If we are in a position to touch them between the shoulders, while not making them uncomfortable and then praying for their spiritual relief from suffering through our intervention with the Holy Spirit, we have responded to God’s call to alleviate suffering in an unusual way, that not many are able or willing to do.  Loving God, we pray that you will help us become attuned to those subtle needs around us, and learn to recognize how we might be a loving presence, and a channel for the Holy Spirit’s work within those who are suffering. We thank you that we are called to be a part of this great work of healing.   Amen.        PEACE

The Hunger Site is a wonderful internet destination, and one of a number of charities that are a part of “The Greater Good”, where we can accomplish a lot in very little time. I encourage you to visit and see how we can all help. I have used “Greater Good” and their related sites for gift giving. It is a wonderful way to honor causes of your choice while giving useful items to loved ones, and in some cases, supporting workshops of artisans all over the world.

http://thehungersite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/ths/home