Devotional 2-18-11

“Bragging about God”

How is your life different because you are a Christian? That is what I have been contemplating for the last two weeks. This has not been an easy task. I cannot remember a time that I did not believe in God. He was always there. But what if I hadn’t been raised in the church? What if my parents had not taught me to pray? How would my life be different? What different choices might I have made?

My faith grounds me. It gives me rules to follow. That’s good because I am a rules follower. I like knowing what the rules are -- knowing what is expected of me. I would like to say that I always follow these rules. Unfortunately the more I study the Bible and attend church, the more I find I need to work on. Hopefully this makes me less judgmental of others and keeps me humble when I invariably fall short. My faith gives me strength, not mine, but the strength that comes from God. I know God has carried me through some very difficult, very stressful times. My faith gives me peace, an inner core of calm. Yes, I get stressed. Can you be alive today and care about others and not be stressed occasionally? The difference is the inner core of peace that I can tap into during difficult times. The inner peace that come from God.

I believe that I am a different person than I would be without my faith. My priorities would be different and my values would be different, so I would have lived my life differently. I am a much happier person because of my faith. All of this is a gift from God. I need to thank Him for it all, but I also need to tell others that I don’t do things on my own--that what I do and who I am is with a lot of help from God!

So what about you? How would your life be different? How will you tell others? I will be saying, “With a lot of help from God!”

Margaret Williams

Devotional 2-11-11

Psalm 119:1-8

When I sat down with JM Kid’s Club one Sunday evening, I thought it would be neat to have the children take part in helping me with a devotional writing. We all know that inspiration comes in the most unexpected ways. The following is today’s Psalm excerpt, paraphrased and slightly modified by members of our Kid’s Club.


If you follow God’s rules, you’ll be eternally happy.
Blamelessness is like a chain, and someone else will be inspired by you.
If you do the right thing no matter what, you’ll be a happy person.
I will work hard to follow God’s light.
I won’t be embarrassed if I focus on God’s rules.
I will praise God and try to live a sinless life.
I will always try to follow God’s laws.
I hope that He doesn’t let me down or give up on me.

I would like to share with you that the children had no concern that God would ever let them down or give up on them, as mentioned in the scripture. I pray that all of us could emulate their faith. When the scripture is worded like this, I ask myself why it is so difficult to walk in God’s light. I feel sheepish, because it really can be simple. Had I chosen just to write something on this Psalm by myself, I doubt it would have been so perfect.


'Out of the mouths of babes oft times come gems’

Natalie Wray

Devotional 2-4-11

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Isaiah 58:6-7

Churches expend a great deal of energy trying to figure out how to worship. Should it be traditional or contemporary? Pipe organ or praise band? Chairs or pews? Ordered or spontaneous? Well-meaning people make passionate arguments that one form or another is somehow superior, whether superior is defined as more rooted in scripture and tradition or more likely to draw in more people.

I’m not pointing fingers—this is confession time for me. I’ve been in a lot of those discussions for several years, and have made some of those impassioned pleas. I want a worship style that is pleasing to me, that makes feel happy and good. I want to come to church, enjoy my time there, and leave feeling better.

I am convicted by this week’s lectionary passages, and particularly the reading from Isaiah 58, a portion of which is printed above. True worship, according to the prophet, is about more than ritual to make me feel better. True worship requires us to get involved, not only during the 11:00 a.m. hour, but the rest of the week. Piety, singing hymns, and praying, in and of themselves, will not bring about God’s kingdom of justice and righteousness. God expects us to act to make the kingdom a reality. Who will feed the hungry if not us?

Here are some startling statistics from Bread for the World, the non-profit hunger-fighting organization led by David Beckmann:

• 925 million people are hungry.
• Almost 16,000 children die each day from hunger-related causes. (That's one child every five seconds).
• In 2008, nearly 9 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. One third of these deaths are due directly or indirectly to hunger and malnutrition.

Am I looking for a worship experience that will move me to participate in ending hunger? Or do I want worship to lull me into continued complacency?

If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. Isaiah 58:10-12

As worshiping Christians, we should be about the business of ending hunger. We’d better get busy.

Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 1-28-11

Whew! That Was Close

There is a commercial break in your favorite TV show. You seize the moment to round up a snack. Once in the kitchen you admire your food selection and speed of preparation; a stacked high sandwich, a piece of (still moist) chocolate cake and a tall, cool beverage. And now,Yikes, the realization that you have three things to carry and only two hands to carry them with. It would take too long to ferret out a tray so you compromise. The cake is shorter than the sandwich, less likely to topple – its plate gets to set on top of the drinking glass, the sandwich held in the free hand. You hear your show about to return to the airwaves, you spin and WHOA!!! The wheels almost come off the bus. But thanks to your cat-like reflexes, you maintain your balance, you juggle just a bit, and, yes, you manage to save the food, the floor and everyone’s eardrums. As you head back to TV-land you mutter the words, “Whew! That was close.” Calamity avoided.

You are late for church. The speed limit gets a wee bit of a work out, and the STOP signs don’t get their full One Mississippi, Two Missi…. Oh, now a traffic signal looms on the horizon. Can you make it? Will it change to green when you need it to? As you get closer you can see that the perpendicular signal has changed to yellow – that means yours should change to green very soon. You could stay at speed (or a little faster) and zoom right through. Something makes you flinch; you tap the brake and begin slowing as if to stop, and WHOOOSH! The car approaching the yellow light must have also been late for something because the driver interpreted the intermediate caution light as HIT THE GAS so as to not be held up by a red light. Had you maintained your original intent, a crash would have been unavoidable. You get stopped in time and again mutter the words, “Whew! That was close.” Catastrophe avoided.

While returning to Galilee from Judea, Jesus did, in GPS language, some ‘recalculating’. He went through Samaria. Without delving too deeply into history or geography, suffice it to say – that was a no-no. He encounters a woman at a well. A woman whose life would never be the same again. He is where he is not supposed to be, doing something he is not supposed to do with someone he not supposed to do it with. He was a man, a Jew, talking to a woman, a Samaritan. I wonder if when the sun had set on the day, and she had had a chance to reflect on all that had taken place, which perhaps shouldn’t have taken place, if she thought to herself, “Whew! That was close.” A lifetime of ridicule and bitterness and not knowing God avoided.

I have two scars on my back. To the casual observer they are not un-alike. One is positioned directly over my spine – directly above the disc between the L4 and L5 vertebrae. It was put there by the skilled, caring hands of a surgical team determined, I would like to think, to give me back my life. The ruptured disc beneath had halted all meaningful existence. I think back on the decision that had to be made to ‘go under the knife.’ I was forty and had never been in the hospital. I played and re-played the surgeon’s words about medication and therapy and how surgery was probably the only real solution. Scared, I went forward. When I awoke from the operation and had no pain, when just a few days later I could walk, literally thousands of feet further than before, I knew that the decision had been the right one. I sometimes think back on that time painfully aware of how near I came to Plan B (which was no surgery) and say to myself, “Whew! That was close.” A life of pain and inactivity avoided.

The second scar actually took residence before the surgical scar. It is a little higher on my back and just about an inch from my spine. It came to be a part of my life when, at age twelve, while helping my dad with yard work at my grandparent’s house, I slipped and fell on a hatchet. I can’t see the scar. Occasionally while on a beach vacation my sons will mention it or while applying suntan lotion Kim will rub a finger over it and make a tut-tutting noise. I do think about it sometimes. Its nearness to my spine. Its potential to have wreaked havoc or killed. And I think, “Whew! That was close.” A life of paralysis avoided.

Attending a downtown church and in the off hours attempting to support a downtown economy, we have all been approached by individuals needing assistance. I know I have. And, much to my shame, I must say that I may have taken to an art-form the spotting up ahead of someone I think may be such a person and purposefully directing myself away. Judging, when I have no right to judge (not to mention the direct order to Judge Not…). I then smugly mutter to myself, “Whew! That was close.” Confrontation avoided. Oh, but wait. What else was avoided?

Rewind and don’t deviate. Don’t re-direct. To the casual observer two people are passing on the street. An entirely different thought process results in an entirely different outcome. Offer a kind word. Offer help if able. Show grace and kindness. A life of wondering if people care, if there is a God, if there is hope –avoided. “I almost didn’t get a chance to help him/her.” “Whew. That was close.”

Lord, help me - us – to step out of our comfort zone. To go through Samaria even though it may not be popular or proper. Let us show You to those around us. Amen.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

Steve Matthews

Devotional 1-21-11

Walk in the Way that Leads to Life

A couple of weeks ago, Jack asked us to touch the water in the baptismal font and to “remember our baptism.” We came toward the altar, dipped our hands into the water, and remembered that we are claimed by God, beautiful in his sight, and loved beyond measure.

I was seven when I was baptized, and I can remember it, but on that day two weeks ago, it wasn’t my baptism I was remembering. I watched my 17-year-old son walk down the aisle, touch the water, and I remembered his baptism. He was not quite one year old when we brought him to the altar at Johnson Memorial. Our family sat together in two front pews and brought this new human being forward to the altar rail. I listened as the choir sang the responses in the liturgy, and as the congregation promised to surround our son with love and forgiveness and to pray for him, so that he would become a disciple of Christ, and walk in the way that leads to life. On that day, and on every day before and since, God has reached down, touched our son, and claimed him as His own.

Grant is now 17. His thoughts and ours are turning to “What’s next?” He’s sitting for college entrance exams, filling out college applications and thinking about his future. What’s next?

I hear the echoes of Grant’s Church family promising to love him and pray for him. I’m grateful for how the Body of Christ has embraced him as he has grown from a toddler to a teenager. I pray that we have given him a firm foundation for whatever comes next.

In the Gospel lectionary reading for the week, James and John are working with their father, Zebedee. All three of them are in a boat, mending nets. Jesus approaches them, and he calls the two brothers into discipleship. James and John immediately leave their nets and follow Christ.

I wonder what Zebedee thought as his sons left. Had he spent a lifetime wondering “What’s next” for these two men? Did he worry about them? I’m certain that as they walked away from him, following Christ, his thoughts followed them, asking “What’s next?” for his two sons.

It’s an important question for our son, for these two young men, and it’s an important question for us. We are claimed by God – what’s next?

Do we hear the call of Christ? Are we willing to drop everything and follow him? Will we do it immediately?

How are we preparing the way for those who come after us? Are we teaching about Christ? Are we helping to build the faith of others – our sons, our daughters in the faith? Are we paving the way so that others can walk in the way that leads to life?

Kim Matthews

Devotional 1-14-11

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory. --Romans 5: 1-2

Ticket, please

My 3-year-old grandson was at my house recently and I wanted something to keep him entertained while I did some work in the kitchen. I brought out my ark, a hand-carved wooden ark I bought at a craft show years ago that includes Mr. and Mrs. Noah along with two of a number of animals. Thurston decided to make a parade of the animals going toward the ark and the line wound from the dining room into the kitchen. Then he decided the animals should have a ticket to get on the ark and as I gave him a pad of sticky-notes to use as tickets I thought to myself, "Good thing we humans don't need a ticket."

A few weeks later, I took on a task at church--cleaning out and defrosting a couple of little refrigerators. A friend commented that I had taken on quite a job and I replied, "Well, if this won't get me into heaven, nothing will." I quickly added, "I know better--my theology isn't that messed up!"

We like to conjure up the image of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates with his giant book of the details of our lives. I guess we came up with that mental picture because that's the way we would run heaven. You cheated on your math test in 4th grade, you don't get in. You didn't teach Sunday School or Bible School or sing in the choir, you must be kidding!. Ah, you never missed a Sunday, come right in. But that's not God's way. Maybe God's way is almost too easy for us to comprehend. In Romans 10:13, Paul tells us, "For, every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." The ticket is already punched, we just have to pick it up. And we don't have to jump through hoops to get it--just pick it up!

Anita Gardner Farrell

Devotional 1-7-11

Marilyn Holleron wrote this devotional for the Christmas meeting of the Young at Heart at our church. The meeting was cancelled because of snow (I’m already tired of snow, and it’s the first week of January), so this is its premier…

Christmas is a time of traditions. Traditions make us who we are - they give us security, comfort, satisfaction, and they help children set the course for what is meaningful in life. Think of your traditions. Traditions don’t need to go on forever, but maybe for a season of your life. Going to the zoo each New Years Day was great when the children were young, but when they are older going to midnight mass may appeal. A group of JM church friends spend several days together in the fall at a state park. Each morning the first thing we do after breakfast is to have a period of devotion where each one participates. A tradition for us here at the church each month with friends is our Young at Heart meeting. A tradition.

In our family when I suggested at the Thanksgiving table a few years ago that we each tell for what we are thankful, there was some groaning and rolling of the eyes, but the next year it was obvious that attention had been given to this thought. It continues (a tradition) to be an important part of our holiday meal. Our family has learned to express what we are feeling, and to express our beliefs. Is this what Jesus ask of us? The tradition of singing the Johnny Appleseed song as our grace before meals has gone on for years. Girlfriends, and significant others were alerted ahead of time that this is something we always do, in a circle and holding hands. Tradition.

Many of you have heard about our 20 something year custom of making gingerbread houses together. I can’t adequately describe the bonding of family that has been the result of this tradition.

It is important to let some things go, but if it is meaningful, you will know that also.

Frederick Buechner say in his book “Telling the Truth” –“You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.”

Traditions--- there is significance in everything we do in life. God has given us each a foundation and then all that we do and think is a part of what makes us who we are today and what we continue to become.

A wise man once said, “Life is granted to no one on a permanent basis. It is a privilege, and we must use it wisely. It is up to each of us to make of it what we can.”

Prayer: Thank you for the traditions of our life. Thank you for the guidance you give us, that we may better serve you and do your will while we are here on earth. Thank you for your son that you have given, that we better understand how you would have us to live. Continue to guide us in all that we do. In your son’s name we pray. Amen

Marilyn Holleron