November 30
While visiting a small Lutheran church in Massachusetts I found a sheaf of yellow dots with sticky backs in the guest register in the pew. A note said to put one of these dots on the face of your watch to remind you to take time to pray. Good idea I thought. I’m always looking at my watch.
Every time I look at my watch (or cell phone) now I see that yellow dot and pray. I need more yellow dots in my life How about you?
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” {1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Bill's Example
November 29
Bill was a family man, a partner in a large law firm and head of the community foundation board. I was on the staff. For years Bill had been quietly fighting cancer. He was back in the hospital this time he had his nose removed.“ I’ll have a dressing over the hole,” he said, “but I’m still going to the conference.” On the plane he was as upbeat as ever. Suddenly he sneezed. I blurted, “I didn’t know you could sneeze without a nose.” He smiled
“Sure, and I have a built in handkerchief.”
“The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul.” (Proverbs 16:17)
Bill was a family man, a partner in a large law firm and head of the community foundation board. I was on the staff. For years Bill had been quietly fighting cancer. He was back in the hospital this time he had his nose removed.“ I’ll have a dressing over the hole,” he said, “but I’m still going to the conference.” On the plane he was as upbeat as ever. Suddenly he sneezed. I blurted, “I didn’t know you could sneeze without a nose.” He smiled
“Sure, and I have a built in handkerchief.”
“The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul.” (Proverbs 16:17)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A Moving Day in DC
November 27
It had been a beautiful weekend to visit our nation’s capital. We visit the White House with a group but President Johnson remains upstairs. On Sunday we attend the National Cathedral where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is guest preacher. Driving to Connecticut we hear President Johnson say he will concentrate on seeking peace and will not seek reelection. It is a dark time for America. It would get worse. The following Thursday Dr. King is assassinated in Memphis
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”
(Matthew 5:9)
It had been a beautiful weekend to visit our nation’s capital. We visit the White House with a group but President Johnson remains upstairs. On Sunday we attend the National Cathedral where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is guest preacher. Driving to Connecticut we hear President Johnson say he will concentrate on seeking peace and will not seek reelection. It is a dark time for America. It would get worse. The following Thursday Dr. King is assassinated in Memphis
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”
(Matthew 5:9)
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Hand
November 26
There it is! The shadow of a hand is on my bedroom floor. I scream! My mother flicks on the light. I insist the hand was there. My mother turns out the light and sits on my bed. Soon the moonlight reappears on the floor. “Look,” I yell, “There is THE HAND.”I hear her gasp. My mother saw it too.She turns on the light. I can see a frown then a smile. She removes a cutout of Pinocchio waving from the wall. I am thankful for a mother who showed her boy compassion.
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
There it is! The shadow of a hand is on my bedroom floor. I scream! My mother flicks on the light. I insist the hand was there. My mother turns out the light and sits on my bed. Soon the moonlight reappears on the floor. “Look,” I yell, “There is THE HAND.”I hear her gasp. My mother saw it too.She turns on the light. I can see a frown then a smile. She removes a cutout of Pinocchio waving from the wall. I am thankful for a mother who showed her boy compassion.
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
Friday, November 25, 2011
Guardian Angel
November 24
An angel is “a messenger of God.” This is the first definition listed in the dictionary.
I stop in a coffee shop in a small city. The young woman behind the counter looks sad. I ask if she is OK. She tells me she has just come from the hospital where her mother is facing a sensitive operation in the morning. I say I will pray for her and her mom. A week later as I enter that shop I hear her say to another customer, “Here comes my guardian angel.” I’m not but God did use me to bring her hope.
“I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
An angel is “a messenger of God.” This is the first definition listed in the dictionary.
I stop in a coffee shop in a small city. The young woman behind the counter looks sad. I ask if she is OK. She tells me she has just come from the hospital where her mother is facing a sensitive operation in the morning. I say I will pray for her and her mom. A week later as I enter that shop I hear her say to another customer, “Here comes my guardian angel.” I’m not but God did use me to bring her hope.
“I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
November 24
We pack up the kids, the hot dishes and slide off to the church parish house.
There are about fifty adults and children at this neighborhood thanksgiving. We stand hand in hand giving thanks for all God’s bounty. We break bread and share the Lord’s Supper before eating our own.
We arrived as strangers but we leave filled with fellowship with others who are grateful for God’s blessings. This is a Thanksgiving I shall long remember. I pray your thanksgiving was joyful and memorable.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. (Psalm 95:2)
We pack up the kids, the hot dishes and slide off to the church parish house.
There are about fifty adults and children at this neighborhood thanksgiving. We stand hand in hand giving thanks for all God’s bounty. We break bread and share the Lord’s Supper before eating our own.
We arrived as strangers but we leave filled with fellowship with others who are grateful for God’s blessings. This is a Thanksgiving I shall long remember. I pray your thanksgiving was joyful and memorable.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. (Psalm 95:2)
Cheerful Gicer
November 23
“She is desperate,” the secretary said, “I thought you might be willing to help. She can rent a car and get to the hospital and back for fifty dollars.” Joy drops the money off at the church office. The next day while rummaging through a desk. Joy found $65 she had put away for something she has forgotten about. (Hmmm). She learns the lady received a ride to the hospital but spent $23 on gas and tolls. She returned the $27 to the church office.
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
(2 Corinthians 9:7)
“She is desperate,” the secretary said, “I thought you might be willing to help. She can rent a car and get to the hospital and back for fifty dollars.” Joy drops the money off at the church office. The next day while rummaging through a desk. Joy found $65 she had put away for something she has forgotten about. (Hmmm). She learns the lady received a ride to the hospital but spent $23 on gas and tolls. She returned the $27 to the church office.
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
(2 Corinthians 9:7)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Learning from the Geese
November 22
Canadian geese fly in a V formation, which actually helps the individual bird fly higher and longer than if it flew alone. Several geese honk encouragement to the leader up front and when the point bird tires, another takes its place. If one bird is wounded or sick and leaves the formation, two will go with it for protection. The two will stay with the injured bird until it recovers or dies. The remaining two will return to another flock.
We can learn a lot from those traits of the Canadian geese.
“In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.” (Psalms 57:1)
Canadian geese fly in a V formation, which actually helps the individual bird fly higher and longer than if it flew alone. Several geese honk encouragement to the leader up front and when the point bird tires, another takes its place. If one bird is wounded or sick and leaves the formation, two will go with it for protection. The two will stay with the injured bird until it recovers or dies. The remaining two will return to another flock.
We can learn a lot from those traits of the Canadian geese.
“In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.” (Psalms 57:1)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Turning Point
November 21
Turning Points! These are the defining moments in our lives. My wife Joy’s turning point came at a Billy Graham crusade in Hartford Ct. “I responded to the call that night,” she says, “but I didn’t come to the Lord until I decided to follow Him wherever He wants me to go.”
The real turning point is when a life is turned from the world to God, from me to Thee.Have yoy had you turning point?
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Turning Points! These are the defining moments in our lives. My wife Joy’s turning point came at a Billy Graham crusade in Hartford Ct. “I responded to the call that night,” she says, “but I didn’t come to the Lord until I decided to follow Him wherever He wants me to go.”
The real turning point is when a life is turned from the world to God, from me to Thee.Have yoy had you turning point?
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Jack's Miracle
Week of November 20
Good Friday Jack was working out at the gym, as he often did. Without warning he collapsed on a weight machine and slid to the floor. A cardiac nurse happened to be working out nearby. She normally would not have been at the gym at that hour but a schedule change at work allowed her workout. She had the presence to remove vomit from Jack’s mouth which cleared his air passage. Jack, unconscious but breathing on his own was rushed to a nearby hospital.
In the emergency room Jack remained unconscious, a couple of times the doctors lost a pulse. He remained in a coma. The doctor told his wife that a cat scan showed no activity. If he regained consciousness he probably would be a vegetable.
Jack’s youngest daughter, Colleen, a high school student, told her mom not to believe the doctor.
“Our God is bigger than that,” she said. Later after the rest of the family arrived Colleen found her way to the Chapel. She was alone. She prayed for God’s healing power. She said she clearly her a voice in her head say, “I will restore those (brain) cells Sunday to glorify my son’s resurrection.”
When she reported this revelation to her family she was met with skepticism, heads shaking in disbelief, and eyes rolling. The next day Jack was still in a
comma and on life support. Twice Colleen, in talking to her dad, got such a strong reaction on the monitoring machine that the nurses came in the room. The second time she was asked her to leave the hospital room. She insisted her dad was going to be ok. “You don’t know my God or my dad,” she told the nurses as she left.
The next day, Easter morning, there was a banging at Colleen's bedroom door. It was her little brother reporting that, “Dad woke up.”
An excited Colleen, while driving to the hospital stopped at every convenience store she passed to exclaim “Behold the Lamb of God, my dad is healed.” She arrived at the hospital to find her dad sitting up and being his old feisty self.
When Colleen returned home that day and turned on her favorite Christian station the first thing she heard was “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Jack Reilly
Tucson, Arizona (as told by his daughter)
Good Friday Jack was working out at the gym, as he often did. Without warning he collapsed on a weight machine and slid to the floor. A cardiac nurse happened to be working out nearby. She normally would not have been at the gym at that hour but a schedule change at work allowed her workout. She had the presence to remove vomit from Jack’s mouth which cleared his air passage. Jack, unconscious but breathing on his own was rushed to a nearby hospital.
In the emergency room Jack remained unconscious, a couple of times the doctors lost a pulse. He remained in a coma. The doctor told his wife that a cat scan showed no activity. If he regained consciousness he probably would be a vegetable.
Jack’s youngest daughter, Colleen, a high school student, told her mom not to believe the doctor.
“Our God is bigger than that,” she said. Later after the rest of the family arrived Colleen found her way to the Chapel. She was alone. She prayed for God’s healing power. She said she clearly her a voice in her head say, “I will restore those (brain) cells Sunday to glorify my son’s resurrection.”
When she reported this revelation to her family she was met with skepticism, heads shaking in disbelief, and eyes rolling. The next day Jack was still in a
comma and on life support. Twice Colleen, in talking to her dad, got such a strong reaction on the monitoring machine that the nurses came in the room. The second time she was asked her to leave the hospital room. She insisted her dad was going to be ok. “You don’t know my God or my dad,” she told the nurses as she left.
The next day, Easter morning, there was a banging at Colleen's bedroom door. It was her little brother reporting that, “Dad woke up.”
An excited Colleen, while driving to the hospital stopped at every convenience store she passed to exclaim “Behold the Lamb of God, my dad is healed.” She arrived at the hospital to find her dad sitting up and being his old feisty self.
When Colleen returned home that day and turned on her favorite Christian station the first thing she heard was “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Jack Reilly
Tucson, Arizona (as told by his daughter)
Where does the Sun Go.
November 20
A small voice from the back seat asks, “Where does the sun go? I reply, “I’ll show you when we get home,” I bring a flashlight (sun) and grab an orange (earth) and there in the dining room I explain the cosmos to a four-year-old.
A week later driving home as the sun sets I hear “There goes the sun behind the orange.” I should have told her where the sun comes from not where it goes.
“Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4)
A small voice from the back seat asks, “Where does the sun go? I reply, “I’ll show you when we get home,” I bring a flashlight (sun) and grab an orange (earth) and there in the dining room I explain the cosmos to a four-year-old.
A week later driving home as the sun sets I hear “There goes the sun behind the orange.” I should have told her where the sun comes from not where it goes.
“Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4)
Mordern David and Goliath
November 19
This time the battlefield is downtown Montpelier,Vt. Goliath is a major ice cream maker and David is an Italian Ice vendor whose slingshot is a one page flyer protesting being barred from a festival sponsored by the giant. The flyer works. The vendor is invited to the festival. The giant is not slain, just cut down to size. I know God is smiling. I’ll bet an ice cream or a dish of Italian ice on that.
“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves,for the battle is the Lord’s. (l Samuel 17:47 NIV)
This time the battlefield is downtown Montpelier,Vt. Goliath is a major ice cream maker and David is an Italian Ice vendor whose slingshot is a one page flyer protesting being barred from a festival sponsored by the giant. The flyer works. The vendor is invited to the festival. The giant is not slain, just cut down to size. I know God is smiling. I’ll bet an ice cream or a dish of Italian ice on that.
“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves,for the battle is the Lord’s. (l Samuel 17:47 NIV)
Keep Praying
November 18
A friend in our church is going in for an operation for breast cancer. I pray briefly right then for the Lord’s mercy and hand in that surgery.
Later that day I learn that her operation went well and the surgeon thought it was a success. I quietly say,” Thank you Lord for a prayer answered.” I’m blown away when I hear that her whole office stopped what they were doing and prayed when she went into surgery and didn’t stop praying until she came out.
“Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:28)
A friend in our church is going in for an operation for breast cancer. I pray briefly right then for the Lord’s mercy and hand in that surgery.
Later that day I learn that her operation went well and the surgeon thought it was a success. I quietly say,” Thank you Lord for a prayer answered.” I’m blown away when I hear that her whole office stopped what they were doing and prayed when she went into surgery and didn’t stop praying until she came out.
“Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:28)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thank God for Life and Death
November 17
When I read that line in a newsletter I thought, “right on.” I hadn’t thought about praising God for death before but I should. Art, who authored the newsletter, wrote “I walked into ‘Granma’s’ room to see if she wanted anything when I realized that she is not there. She is alive in Heaven with Jesus.”
My daughter called me six months after her grandfather died and said, “I just realized Pop Pops is not here, I can’t call him anymore.” That realization can be a lonely moment or it can be a freeing one.
For believing Christians, death is not end but a beginning.
“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
When I read that line in a newsletter I thought, “right on.” I hadn’t thought about praising God for death before but I should. Art, who authored the newsletter, wrote “I walked into ‘Granma’s’ room to see if she wanted anything when I realized that she is not there. She is alive in Heaven with Jesus.”
My daughter called me six months after her grandfather died and said, “I just realized Pop Pops is not here, I can’t call him anymore.” That realization can be a lonely moment or it can be a freeing one.
For believing Christians, death is not end but a beginning.
“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Fear of Bridges
November 16
Time to face my fear of big bridges and trust God. The Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay looms in the distance.I start reciting the 23rd Psalm.
I start up the main span “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” I’m shaking. “yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me.” My sweaty hands grip the steering wheel.
“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” I'm at the highest point.
“You prepare a table in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil.” The sky brightens. “My cup runs over.” God is faithful.
Now I know what the statement means--Fear knocks at the door and faith answers and noone is there. I have driven over that bridge several times since without any fear.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” (From Psalm 23)
Time to face my fear of big bridges and trust God. The Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay looms in the distance.I start reciting the 23rd Psalm.
I start up the main span “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” I’m shaking. “yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me.” My sweaty hands grip the steering wheel.
“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” I'm at the highest point.
“You prepare a table in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil.” The sky brightens. “My cup runs over.” God is faithful.
Now I know what the statement means--Fear knocks at the door and faith answers and noone is there. I have driven over that bridge several times since without any fear.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” (From Psalm 23)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Love Light
November 14
She said she felt sick and could I come right home. I just had a thought to call.
I found her in bed with a temperature.
Seeing her eyes, I was struck by how real love can be. I remembered a preacher saying, “Our love is like a light, which instantly dispels the darkness. Sometimes the light is shut out when a door is closed but that isn’t the light’s fault. The moment the door is reopened the light is there.”
God’s love is like that, I thought. On this night our bedroom was filled with His love light. We left the door wide open.
“Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
She said she felt sick and could I come right home. I just had a thought to call.
I found her in bed with a temperature.
Seeing her eyes, I was struck by how real love can be. I remembered a preacher saying, “Our love is like a light, which instantly dispels the darkness. Sometimes the light is shut out when a door is closed but that isn’t the light’s fault. The moment the door is reopened the light is there.”
God’s love is like that, I thought. On this night our bedroom was filled with His love light. We left the door wide open.
“Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Cantaloupe
November 13
Cantaloupe is my favorite. I marvel at the master gardener who conceived this delicious and wholesome food. We plant the seed, maybe weed a little and then harvest the crop. Our partner provides the earth, the seed, the sun, the water and all that is needed for growth. He asks for the first ten per cent of the yield and we get to keep ninety per cent. What a great deal.
Have I kept my part of the bargain? Have I thanked my Partner for my 90%?
“We made ordinances to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord.” (Nehemiah10:35)
Cantaloupe is my favorite. I marvel at the master gardener who conceived this delicious and wholesome food. We plant the seed, maybe weed a little and then harvest the crop. Our partner provides the earth, the seed, the sun, the water and all that is needed for growth. He asks for the first ten per cent of the yield and we get to keep ninety per cent. What a great deal.
Have I kept my part of the bargain? Have I thanked my Partner for my 90%?
“We made ordinances to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord.” (Nehemiah10:35)
Asking God for a Sign
November 12
We first met her at a divorce recovery small group Joy and I facilitated. She said at her lowest point a friend invited her to a birthday party for a six-year-old boy. While there she felt so lonely she retreated from the party and wandered into the living room and stood before a stone fireplace with her head bowed and prayed.
“I asked for a sign of help from God. I lifted my head and through my tears I saw a framed copy of “Footprints” hanging over the fireplace.
“Call on Me in your day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will give me the glory.” (Psalm 50:15)
We first met her at a divorce recovery small group Joy and I facilitated. She said at her lowest point a friend invited her to a birthday party for a six-year-old boy. While there she felt so lonely she retreated from the party and wandered into the living room and stood before a stone fireplace with her head bowed and prayed.
“I asked for a sign of help from God. I lifted my head and through my tears I saw a framed copy of “Footprints” hanging over the fireplace.
“Call on Me in your day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will give me the glory.” (Psalm 50:15)
Rainbows
November 11
My daughter, age eight, ran toward the brilliant rainbow descending into some trees. She is back quickly. “Did you find a pot of gold?” She shrugs, "Nope, just another campsite." Twenty years later visiting Hawaii together she borrows my camera and walks off. When she returns to the beach I point out a rainbow. “That’s why I borrowed your camera, I wanted to surprise you when you get home. She was my rainbow that day, for rainbows are signs of a special bond.
“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:13)
My daughter, age eight, ran toward the brilliant rainbow descending into some trees. She is back quickly. “Did you find a pot of gold?” She shrugs, "Nope, just another campsite." Twenty years later visiting Hawaii together she borrows my camera and walks off. When she returns to the beach I point out a rainbow. “That’s why I borrowed your camera, I wanted to surprise you when you get home. She was my rainbow that day, for rainbows are signs of a special bond.
“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:13)
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Short Chnged
November 10
“I need a little change for food," he asks?
“I don’t have any change but I have a dollar,” which I hand him.
“Thanks,” he says, “a hotdog costs $1.49. Do you have fifty cents?”
I bristle. “That’s it, I told you I didn’t have any change,” I say, knowing I have another dollar in my pocket.
He hurries off. I have given to the poor but reluctantly. “God loves a cheerful giver.” ( 2 Corinthians 9:7)
I return to my Bible lying on the park bench and read:
“Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
“I need a little change for food," he asks?
“I don’t have any change but I have a dollar,” which I hand him.
“Thanks,” he says, “a hotdog costs $1.49. Do you have fifty cents?”
I bristle. “That’s it, I told you I didn’t have any change,” I say, knowing I have another dollar in my pocket.
He hurries off. I have given to the poor but reluctantly. “God loves a cheerful giver.” ( 2 Corinthians 9:7)
I return to my Bible lying on the park bench and read:
“Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Pathways
November 9
The preacher lists different pathways people take to feel close to God:
1. Relational…with other people
2. Contemplative- solitude ( Joy’s path)
3. Serving- feel closest when serving
4. Creation- feel God through nature
5. Intellectual-reading/study (mine)
6. Activist-the action people, leaders,
7. Worship- feel closest when worshiping
We may feel close spiritually with one or more on the list but there is one true pathway for all of us.
"Jesus said,"I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14: 5-6)
The preacher lists different pathways people take to feel close to God:
1. Relational…with other people
2. Contemplative- solitude ( Joy’s path)
3. Serving- feel closest when serving
4. Creation- feel God through nature
5. Intellectual-reading/study (mine)
6. Activist-the action people, leaders,
7. Worship- feel closest when worshiping
We may feel close spiritually with one or more on the list but there is one true pathway for all of us.
"Jesus said,"I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14: 5-6)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Fruit Trees
November 7
When I was growing up Rhode Island there was a small pear tree and a large apple tree in our yard. All we had to do was pick and enjoy the fruit at the end of the summer and rake the leaves at the end of the fall. God did all the rest.
Our family, friends and neighbors enjoyed plenty of tasty fruit throughout our eighteen years there. It wasn’t until long after we moved that I thanked God for the bounty from those trees. What do you need to thank him for?
“Others fell on good ground and yielded a crop of a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears let him hear.” (Matthew 13:8-9)
When I was growing up Rhode Island there was a small pear tree and a large apple tree in our yard. All we had to do was pick and enjoy the fruit at the end of the summer and rake the leaves at the end of the fall. God did all the rest.
Our family, friends and neighbors enjoyed plenty of tasty fruit throughout our eighteen years there. It wasn’t until long after we moved that I thanked God for the bounty from those trees. What do you need to thank him for?
“Others fell on good ground and yielded a crop of a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears let him hear.” (Matthew 13:8-9)
The Meaning of Life
November 6
What is the meaning of life? Isn’t this the question of man down through the ages?
A local camera crew went to the man in the street to find out. Some responses: “The meaning of life is to have fun and love others.” “Avoid Death!” “Sex” “Darn if I know.” “Take care of Mother Earth.”
Jesus answered the question this way:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first commandment. The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew (22:37-40)
What is the meaning of life? Isn’t this the question of man down through the ages?
A local camera crew went to the man in the street to find out. Some responses: “The meaning of life is to have fun and love others.” “Avoid Death!” “Sex” “Darn if I know.” “Take care of Mother Earth.”
Jesus answered the question this way:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first commandment. The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew (22:37-40)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Names and Addresses
November 5
Joy and I join others at the front of the church. The visiting preacher and the regular senior minister hand out 3x5 cards and pencils and asks each of us to print our name and address. We all pray together. The ministers vow to pray for each of us by name everyday for a month. They ask us to pray for them daily. We say we will. The cards are placed on a table at the foot of a small wooden cross.
God doesn’t need our names and addresses God knows where to find us. The cross is there so we can find God.
"Come take up the cross, and follow Me." (Mark 10:21)
Joy and I join others at the front of the church. The visiting preacher and the regular senior minister hand out 3x5 cards and pencils and asks each of us to print our name and address. We all pray together. The ministers vow to pray for each of us by name everyday for a month. They ask us to pray for them daily. We say we will. The cards are placed on a table at the foot of a small wooden cross.
God doesn’t need our names and addresses God knows where to find us. The cross is there so we can find God.
"Come take up the cross, and follow Me." (Mark 10:21)
Give it Away
November 3
He has been stuck since his last operation. He is on disability, is ending rehab and is totally depressed. I pray for guidance. At
lunch he says, “I’m challenged physically but I’m ok mentally and spiritually.”
“You are not OK!” I retort. “ You are caught up in your pain and fears and it is consuming you.” He stares at me. “What you are saying is that I have the grace but I’m keeping it to myself. I need to give it away.” I nod. We stand and hug..
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me.” (Acts 1:8)
He has been stuck since his last operation. He is on disability, is ending rehab and is totally depressed. I pray for guidance. At
lunch he says, “I’m challenged physically but I’m ok mentally and spiritually.”
“You are not OK!” I retort. “ You are caught up in your pain and fears and it is consuming you.” He stares at me. “What you are saying is that I have the grace but I’m keeping it to myself. I need to give it away.” I nod. We stand and hug..
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me.” (Acts 1:8)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Perfect Gentleman
November 2
He is a perfect gentleman,” Joy says. “He is gentle, patient and kind. When I make a mistake he doesn’t throw it in my face. He lets me be me. That is a real gentleman.”
“How can anyone who demands things be done his way be a perfect gentleman?”
“You don’t understand me but he does.” I’m feeling totally inadequate now. “I try to be a gentleman,” I suggest.
“You are.” she says, “But you are not a perfect gentleman-- “ only God is the perfect gentleman.”
“As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (2 Samuel 22:31)
He is a perfect gentleman,” Joy says. “He is gentle, patient and kind. When I make a mistake he doesn’t throw it in my face. He lets me be me. That is a real gentleman.”
“How can anyone who demands things be done his way be a perfect gentleman?”
“You don’t understand me but he does.” I’m feeling totally inadequate now. “I try to be a gentleman,” I suggest.
“You are.” she says, “But you are not a perfect gentleman-- “ only God is the perfect gentleman.”
“As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (2 Samuel 22:31)
Choices
November 1
A lady calls seeking a title for the church bulletin. I blurt out “Choices.” So that is the topic for my talk on Layman’s Sunday. Later I realize that the message I delivered that day was intended for me. I need to make the right choices in my life. I am a pretend Christian, going to church and saying the right things but not walking the walk. I needed to choose God as the priority in my life. I began by heeding the scripture read at that layman’s service.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be open to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
A lady calls seeking a title for the church bulletin. I blurt out “Choices.” So that is the topic for my talk on Layman’s Sunday. Later I realize that the message I delivered that day was intended for me. I need to make the right choices in my life. I am a pretend Christian, going to church and saying the right things but not walking the walk. I needed to choose God as the priority in my life. I began by heeding the scripture read at that layman’s service.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be open to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
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