Devotional 3-1-09

Peaks and Valleys

10And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Last week, on Transfiguration Sunday, we were reminded that we are not to stay on the mountaintop forever to soak in a dazzling, wonderful worship experience. There’s ministry waiting for us in the valleys.

In our Gospel passage for today, the first Sunday of Lent, we receive a similar reminder. Mark tells us the story of Jesus’ baptism, during which a voice from heaven speaks the familiar words that will later be echoed on the Mount of Transfiguration: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

What a moment. Can you imagine? Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, the heavens were torn apart and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, as those magnificent words were spoken from on high. What would you imagine would be the human response to that kind of recognition?

“Ha! I’m King of the World! Look at me!”

No time for self-absorption or reveling in the moment. Mark tells us that immediately, the Spirit—the same Spirit—drove him into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan.
This admission may come as a shock to some of you who know of my ego, but the Spirit has never descended on me like a dove—or any other kind of bird for that matter. Nor have I been driven into the desert to be tempted by Satan for forty days, a record I hope to keep intact! But I have experienced spiritual highs and lows.

I am aware of the temptation to drink in the good times and revel in spiritual highs. And I know the emptiness of spiritually low points and the temptation to ask where God went. I find that I get lost in self-absorption during both the peaks and valleys of my spiritual life. In looking back, though, I can see how good times and bad have prepared me and strengthened me to discern God’s will for me.

We spend these forty days of Lent as a time in the wilderness. We give up things and take things on as a Lenten Discipline. In this period of darkness, we know of the bright promise of spring and resurrection, a promise captured so beautifully and poetically in Natalie Sleeth’s Hymn of Promise:

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 2-27-09

Scripture: Job 33: 31-33
Listen Job and attend to me; be silent and I myself will speak. If you have any arguments, answer me; speak and I would gladly find you proved right; but it you have none, listen to me: keep silence and I will teach you wisdom.

The following was actually not my dream, but I liked it so much that I want to share it with you --

The Interview with God Poem

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"So you would like to interview me?" God asked.

"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled. "My time is eternity. What questions do you have in mind for me?"

"What surprises you most about humankind?"

God answered, "That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again."

"That they lose their health to make money...and then lose their money to restore their health."

"That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.
"That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived."

God's hand took mine, and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked, "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

"To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved."

"To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others."

"To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness."

"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them."

"To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least."

"To learn that there are people who love them deary, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings."

"To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently."

"To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves."

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly. "Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said, "Just know that I am here...always."

(Author unknown)

Closing Prayer:
Oh, heavenly Father, we realize that there are many things about your children that surprise and disappoint you. But please, "don't give up on us." We hope that you will regard us as "a work in progress" as we try to absorb the wisdom that you have spread before us and as we strive to emulate your son whom you sent to us as an example to live by. And, Father, make us constantly aware that you are with us -- always.

Charlie Lewis

Devotional 2-26-09

Mercy and Mystery
How recent the season of the manger,
And God’s beloved little Boy.
Now that Boy is in danger,
And a cross will be employed.

Lent has many reasons,
With Ashes just to begin.
To the last supper and crucifixion,
Then Easter and born again.

Let our souls become pregnant,
With thoughts of Him and prayer.
The essence of His life points out,
How much He really cares.
Just turn away from evil,
And return to His word.
He will heal us ever so sinful,
The resurrection of the Lord.

Jerome R. Guerrein
Copyright © 2009

Devotional 2-24-09

Days of Elijah

These are the days of Elijah,
Declaring the word of the Lord:
And these are the days of Your servant Moses,
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword,
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
'Prepare ye the way of the Lord!'*

On Ash Wednesday, my twelve-year-old son is fond of asking me, “What are you going to give up?” He likes to be in the know, and I suspect that he is hoping to catch me “cheating,” so that he can point it out. I find it hard to explain to him that I don’t think that is what Lent is all about.

A few years ago, I was struggling through a ministry task that I just didn’t want to do. I was committed to do it, but I was worried about whether it was the right thing to do or not. I think my resistance to the task was based in fear of the unknown, but I had to follow it through because it was my job. A friend said to me, “Perhaps you are here for just such a time as this.”

Do you recognize the line? It’s a paraphrase of a verse from Esther.

Where do you stand today? Have you been placed in that spot “for just such a time as this?” We face fear today – fear of unknown economic conditions, fear of loss and failure, fear of change -- and yet, God does not call us to fear. He calls us to discipleship.

Take a look around. Where is God calling you to action? Where is He calling you to use your gifts? Your talent? Perhaps you already know the answer to that question. Perhaps you, like me, have been objecting to God, sending Him all of the reasons why you believe that He has the “wrong number” when He is calling you.

Take a look around. You have been called to just such a time as this. Now is the time. Now is the time when the need is greatest. Now is the time when we can each make a difference. Now is the time that God is calling you.

There is a song, sung by many, including Twila Paris, called Days of Elijah. “These are the days of great trial, of famine and darkness and sword.” But these are the days to which you are called.
These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh;
And these are the days of Your servant David,
Rebuilding a temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in Your world,
And we are the laborers in Your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord!*

Kim Matthews