Soul on Fire

Today's devotion is simple- what sets your soul on fire?  I love this new song from Third Day.  It speaks to me in those times when I feel like my spirit could use a little bit of a jump-start.  It's a great way to think about our faith - running towards God, longing to be on fire for the One who created us.  

Maybe tonight you're feeling fired up - if so give God thanks for that which you are grateful!

Maybe tonight you're tired out and not feeling so on fire in faith - what might change in your world to free you up for joy?

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.

Genesis 16:1-6The Message (MSG)

16 1-2 Sarai, Abram’s wife, hadn’t yet produced a child.

She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her.” Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.

3-4 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place. He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.

5 Sarai told Abram, “It’s all your fault that I’m suffering this abuse. I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she’s pregnant, she treats me like I’m nothing. May God decide which of us is right.”

6 “You decide,” said Abram. “Your maid is your business.”

Sarai was abusive to Hagar and Hagar ran away.

At this point in the story of Abram and Sarai God has called them away from home and promised two very important things for a man of that day:  1) Offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky 2) Lots of land, fertile and vast.  The majority of the time Abram is extremely trusting of God, as is Sarai.  When it comes to offspring, though he has a bit of fear that God will not come through on God's promise.  Abram is old, after all...and Sarai isn't getting any younger.  

In a small group on Wednesday nights we have been reading Genesis all semester. We just read this portion of the story and I must admit it is so much fun to watch as students react to the crazy things taking place as God's journey with God's people begins.  We just read about Lot, Lot's wife, and his crazy daughters only to land here with Sarai saying one thing and then being overtaken with jealousy and anger about the outcome of her decision.

I imagine that there are some men out there who are thinking some of us women still act a lot like Sarai!  She gave her servant to her husband in order that an heir be born, yet when he did as he was told she began to hate the situation, hate her servant and pretty much blame it on her husband.  This Biblical soap-opera is caused not only because of doubt in God's promise, but also because Sarai took the matter into her own hands.  Sarai had a solution, or so she thought, but she had no idea the toll it would take or how the consequences would effect all involved.  

It's easy to think "I got this" when confronted by a difficult test of patience.  It often feels easier to do something ourselves, our way, rather than allow someone else the opportunity.  God was faithful to the covenant He made with Abram, but not on the timeline that Sarai desired.  Abram knew and trusted in God, yet went along with Sarai's plan.  Often, taking matters into our own hands prevents us from realizing the power of God's timing.  Sometimes I think God is just asking us to wait for the details to fall into place.  Often it is in the waiting that we learn the most.  

Are there "things" in your life that you really want to control?  Are there places where God is telling you to wait, yet promising to be faithful to you? The challenge is for us not to turn into Sarai, but to open ourselves fully to the movement of the Spirit in our lives (which doesn't always do exactly as we think it might!)

Prayer:  Dear God, so often I am like Sarai, wanting to control.  So often I am like Abram and go along with the rush of the world failing to see how quickly I turn from your faithful promise in my life.  I pray that you would help me to let go of my desire to control, that I might live fully into Your promise of faithfulness.  Amen.  

Counting Steps

When I moved to Big Rapids I decided it was time to get serious about getting back into good shape.  I played a lot of basketball in my younger years and never had to even think about spending extra time in a gym trying to stay fit.  Since my seminary days I have struggled in making myself a priority, and boy is ministry a challenge to the waistline!  If there is anything sweet around I can skip real food with no problem.  It is a struggle!  I know the level of stress and the amount of sitting that come with a job in ministry can really be dangerous if we aren't intentional about making time for exercise.  Thus, as I joined the gym here in town I also signed up for a trainer who has kicked my butt for the last five months.  

The hardest part of this journey hasn't been the work of it, I actually enjoy feeling whipped by the end of the workout.  It hasn't been the unbelievable soreness that came with getting myself really moving again.  That hardest part has been overcoming that tendency that lots of us have to compare ourselves with others, or to worry that we look silly or should be embarrassed.  Thankfully my trainer and the other staff at the gym is super encouraging.

Throughout this journey (that is most definitely a work in progress) I have realized that if I want to embrace today I can't compare myself to the past or worry that I am not measuring up to the standards of other people.  I saw a picture of myself when I played basketball in college and boy would I love to be that fit again - but if I focus too much on that I will miss the joy of regaining the strength that comes in the journey of caring for myself today.  

As pastors this is an area that we are questioned about more than ever.  Pastor burn-out is a serious issue that takes good pastors out of churches.  Lots of young pastors that I know have already decided to move on and away from serving God in this capacity.  It's not only pastors though that must take the time to care for themselves.  It is all of us.  

Psalm 139 reminds me often that God is a God of intimacy and relationship.

13-16 

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

before I’d even lived one day

For me, this struggle occurs as I try to get healthy.  For others the struggle of comparison and the weight of other's expectations limits their professional or personal success.  I share this to remind us that being vulnerable can be a really great way for God to embrace and encourage us where we need it most.  Besides, God knows us inside and out anyway!

Can you relate?  How difficult is it for you to be vulnerable with others?  With God?

Prayer:  Loving God you knit me together, sculpting from nothing to something.  I pray that my heart and mind are open to receiving the love you have poured out for all of your children.  Help us to be our real selves, confident and comfortable in our own skin, quirks and all.  Help us to see Your image within us, as we also do our best to see that image in others.  Amen.  

Tempted.

The Test

4 1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”

4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”

5-6 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.”

7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”

8-9 For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.”

10 Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”

11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs.

The test.  The temptation.  We all have them and sometimes they are really hard to resist.  Matthew goes into quite a bit of detail when it comes to this story.  Some of you may have heard Mark's much shorter version last week in worship.  Jesus is confronted with the worst of temptations as Satan tries to win him over.  The third test offered Jesus the power of the world.  Jesus lets him know that his loyalty is to God alone.  

Love of power continues to corrupt the world, halting the growth of societies, oppressing people, and preventing people's most basic needs from being met.  Often it stunts any sort of progress or movement forward as people's access to education or money is limited.  

Power is tempting.  Like Christ we must keep our hearts focused on God to prevent the love of power and control that can easily creep into our own lives.  While on a much different level, our desire to control and have power over situations (and people) really limits our availability to God.  If we are so busy trying to control everything or worrying about what might occur, we fail to recognize that God is the true source of life and life abundant!  

By what are you most tempted?  Do you struggle with a need to have control over things, lest something not work out the way you desire?  What would it take for you really trust God, even with the smallest details of your life? 

I think these are some of the hardest parts of living a life of faith.  Yet I know that when we desire to control less and really dig into our lives of discipleship our need for control really lessens.  May we, like Christ, trust in God before all others.  May we, like Christ, believe in the power of God over all other powers.  And, may we, like Christ offer ourselves fully to God's work through and around us.  

amen.  

Blessed

The Scripture reading for today kind of speaks for itself.  

It comes from 1 Peter 3:

8-12 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Whoever wants to embrace life

    and see the day fill up with good,

Here’s what you do:

    Say nothing evil or hurtful;

Snub evil and cultivate good;

    run after peace for all you’re worth.

God looks on all this with approval,

    listening and responding well to what he’s asked;

But he turns his back

    on those who do evil things.

13-18 If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

Ouch.  I have read this many times today and know that I have a lot of work to do in some of these areas.  That piece about sarcasm may have been written specifically for me.  How about you? It is hard to control our tongues, though we know that words can often cut deeply.  The Scripture encourages us to look at the good our words can do - saying that the opposite of that biting sarcasm is actually blessing.  We are called to bless others and in the process we too receive blessings.  

It is easy to speak in generalities about being blessed.  If you got specific, what would you list as your greatest blessings?  Think back over the last 12 hours, how have you been a blessing? What has blessed you?

In my life these days I am blessed by the joy and laughter, jokes and deep conversations that seem to happen as students gather at the Wesley House.  Today in the midst of preparing tacos for Taco Tuesday lunch one of the students got really excited about orange Koolaid.  When she realized there was Sunny D it was even more exciting.  Then others joined in with joy over this $2 bottle of OJ.  It's moments like that one that cause me to remember that no matter how much there is to get done, or how cold and nasty it is outside, we really do live surrounded by joy and blessings.  

How are you living these days?  Are you blessing others? Are you finding joy?  Running after peace?  Embracing life?

One of the most beautiful people I have ever known is a woman named Elaine.  Elaine played the piano at my first church and she was in her 80's.  She introduced me to this great old hymn, Count Your Blessings.  The first verse and chorus are simple: 

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God has done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.  

If you're reading this today it would be awesome if you'd share what it is that has blessed you.  Sometimes I think it helps us not take things for granted when we share in the joy of others. 

As they say in Africa:

BE BLESSED!

Me < God

Do you ever wonder if you're doing enough for God?  Have you been praying that a certain someone would come to know Jesus for a long time, with no progress?  Does attending church ever feel like a burden because you know when you get there you will be put to work?  Do you check the caller ID before you answer the phone in case your pastor (or other church acquaintance) might be calling to ask you to serve on a committee or in leadership?  Have you experienced guilt in saying no or having to back out of a church/faith obligation? Maybe you've left a time of worship thinking you'll never go back because you couldn't stand the music?  Have you ever said something about a sermon/worship time like, "I'm not sure I will be back, I got nothing out of it"?  

Here's the thing that I want you to hear.  Say it out loud:  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.  Say it again, maybe you need to say it in the mirror so you can see yourself.  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.

We live in a culture that offers us things we want at rapid speeds.  We can order anything we can think of online, only to have it placed directly outside our front door in a matter of days.  So much of the world is about us that it is SO easy to think that faith is too.  But here's the thing (and I'm talking to myself here too) God's work is not dependent upon us.  It isn't about what we do or say to "save souls."  God does the saving.  Those prayers that may seem futile or unanswered don't mean that God isn't listening or doesn't care, rather God is in the business of opening and transforming people in grace and love.  This process takes a lot longer for some of us.  If we subscribe to this thinking that doing or praying more leads God to respond in the way we desire we engage in a dangerous, co-dependent way of living out our connection with our Creator.  

In Ephesians 2 it says:

7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing."

I have been told more than once when I'm really nervous about preaching or speaking that God's work in the world is not dependent upon my performance.   If we can really receive the grace and kindness of God that comes in Jesus Christ we quickly realize that the best way to live fully is to be less concerned about "me" and increasingly open to the movement of the Spirit in us.  When focused on growing in the Spirit we can't help but realize that the things we don't like, or the message that doesn't speak to us may be changing the life of the person we are sitting next to.  God loves us so much that we aren't given everything we want.  God loves us so much that we can't comprehend the million ways God interacts with each one of us.  God made us so unique with different likes/dislikes in order that we see the vast, unlimited nature of the One who called us into being.  

So take a deep breath tonight.  If you didn't get everything done today that you'd hoped, or if there is a situation in which you feel God is absent - relax.  It's not about you.  It's not about us.  God is at work and we get to hop-on for the most magical ride of a life of faith.  Our job is to trust.  Our job is to keep the faith and stay connected.  

Are you plugged in? How might you deepen your connection with God?  

Prayer:  God so often it is easy to get too busy.  I'm sorry that I let the things of the world creep in and overwhelm me.  Help me to stay focused on the power that comes from deep connection with You.  Open my perspective to those who experience You differently than I do, that in all times and places together we can celebrate Your love.  Help me to remember that serving you is a gift through which I learn more about your glory and action in the world.  Amen.  

Friends

Friendship is one of those things that I'm not sure I'm very good at.  I have great intentions of staying in touch with people and making time to spend with them and I seem to fail miserably most of the time.  Attending college in Ohio meant that after graduation I wouldn't even be in the same state with most of my best buddies.  Then I met the most wonderful people at seminary, and especially fell in love with the folks in Almon, at Shiloh UMC.  They became my family and though I never get to see them I still feel like they are "mine."  

Serving as a pastor in the UMC can make having close friends kind of a challenge.  In seminary we were urged not to make friends in our churches.  "Our parishioners are not our friends."  But in reality they become closer than friends as together we celebrate and grieve and grow.  Then as God calls to a new place we must say goodbye and unfortunately disconnect so people can develop trust and love for their new pastor.  At each church I have served I have connected deeply with people.  It's the only way I know how to fulfill this calling that God has placed on my life.  When you pray for people every day there's this amazing movement of the Spirit that connects you, and while we might not always like everyone we meet God can sure show us how to love them.  

In John 15 Jesus says, "I don’t call you servants any longer, because servants don’t know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because everything I heard from my Father I have made known to you."  This whole chapter is full of things Jesus was saying to the disciples as he attempted to prepare them for his departure from this world.  While they didn't fully understand they must have felt this same deep connection with the one who had shown them more than they could ever have imagined.  Jesus shared himself with them and while Scripture often  highlights the positives I imagine there must have been days when Jesus just sat down with Peter or one of the others to pour out his heart about the frustration, sorrow, and grief that he must have felt along the way.  These relationships, like the friendships Jesus shared with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus help us to recognize the humanity of Christ.  Jesus needed these friends to do what he had come to do.

We need each other too.  I fully believe that the fullness of God is revealed only as we encounter and embrace the image of God in ourselves and others.  Our eyes are opened to new ideas and understandings when we allow our hearts to connect with each other.  In the midst the Spirit moves us to see things in new ways.  For this I am SO grateful.

So tonight whether you are in Africa, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan or the many other places you might live know that I am grateful for God's image in you.  Thank you for sharing that with me - know that you will never be forgotten, not even when I'm a hundred.  

Prayer:  Gracious God I thank you this evening for the many ways you have blessed my life through the amazing people I call friends.  While I may not see them all very often I pray your blessings would be poured out upon them, that they would know they are loved and appreciated.  Help us to remember that we may be called to befriend the friendless.  Open us to Your image in those we have yet to meet.  Thank you God for calling us friends.  Amen.

Just LOVE.

This morning I found out that a young woman I know was killed in a car accident.  I have thought about it all day as I prayed for her family and community.  It was an accident probably caused by icy roads.  A moment in time that will forever change the lives of the ones she loved.  Makes you think, doesn't it?

My grandpa died a couple of weeks before Christmas.  He had been sick for a while with Leukemia.  He seemed to fight it off pretty well but we all noticed how thin he was getting.  The Leukemia finally overtook him and a man who was drinking coffee and spending time with family on Sunday took his last breath on Thursday night.  While none of us were ready to say goodbye, all of us were thankful that he did not suffer for a long time.  

Exactly three weeks later my grandma died.   By the time she died the woman who had served as the VP of a bank for years was no longer able to remember who we were.  My last conversation with her will remain in my memory.  The day after grandpa died I stopped by on my way back to Big Rapids.  She happened to be laying down for the night and I just wanted to pray with her. As I looked into her confused eyes I told her how much I missed her and how much I loved her.  None of us, even the nurses that cared for her, told her about grandpa.  We knew it would just make her anxious and that we would have to tell her again and again.  To hear that she had died was a shock. She seemed to be doing well.  That's when we were given the rest of the story.  

At 6:30pm the nurse checked on grandma only to hear her say, "Tom died."  (That's my grandpa).  With wonder he asked, "How do you know that?"  She replied, "He told me when he visited."  By 8:30pm that night my grandma had passed in her sleep.  I don't think she even woke up.  My grandpa came and got her, I am certain.  


Romans 8 reminds us that nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus:

37 But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. 38 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers 39 or height or depth, 

or any other thing that is created.

There is so much that separates us these days.  Sometimes it seems that even among Christians the things we disagree about outnumber that which we have in common.  We argue about what God really means in Scripture to the point that our being right excludes the all-encompassing, overpowering, non-judgmental love that God pours out upon all of creation in Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately sometimes it takes a tragic loss like this family is experiencing today or the recognition that God is still in the business of mystery (like my family experienced) to ground us in that love.

Jesus makes it clear in John 13 when he says, "I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

Can it really be that simple?  

Why is it so hard to let ourselves really believe that there are no boundaries on the love of God?  That every single person bears the image of God? That it is our job in life and in death to be the vessels of this love, whether we think someone deserves it or not?

Please join me this night in praying for the Raven family 

as they grieve the loss of their beloved Megan.  

Ashes and Humility.

Campus ministry is an interesting beast.  I think that is a phrase that will stick with me no matter how long I serve the UMC in this way.  Interesting for many reasons - like no two days are the same, you never know what might happen (at any time of day), every semester is like starting a new church, and university red tape is really confusing!  When serving in the church there are some roadblocks that all pastors face, like those people that will do whatever they can to avoid change.  As a Wesley director there is a TON of freedom.  Students are generally excited to try something new and if it doesn't work it's no big deal.  We can worship with the most contemporary music and then sing "Father Abraham" or "I am a C"and laugh our heads off. With the freedom comes the mystery.  How do we reach out to students?  What would make a student leave their dorm room and come worship with us?  What distinguishes Wesley Campus Ministries from all the others? How do we navigate the university system here at Ferris that is not particularly concerned with the spiritual development of its students?  

I've never been one of those people that thinks religion should be shoved into the spotlight at all costs.  I'm ok with separating our court system from our systems of faith.  I don't have an agenda for posting the Ten Commandments or telling people that believe or live differently than I do that they're wrong.  I'm pretty sure that our God is much bigger than the categories we put one another in - and that God doesn't judge nearly as harshly as we do.  I think that's what makes doing ministry on a college campus pretty cool.  Sharing Love is as easy as handing out a popsicle or cup of hot chocolate. I think we are the ministry on this campus that doesn't expect everyone involved to even believe.  It's about loving people into relationship.  And yesterday I was challenged by the keepers of the rules.  (I might like to call them Pharisees, but they're just doing their jobs.)


Making Ash Wednesday approachable and a teachable moment for folks is pretty cool.  So why not take it to the public right?  I thought so anyway - until I was asked to leave for "soliciting."  There I sat at a small table (where we always meet for Bible study) where folks gather to study or eat.  I had a small sign and a few papers to explain what Ash Wednesday and Lent are all about.  I was just sitting, trying not to feel all peculiar about being there.  Being asked to leave was frustrating, but being called out for "solicitation" really made me mad.  He made it sound like I was running after folks throwing ashes at them yelling "repent."  

It was one of those moments that I did not handle all that well - and definitely one that I thought "I wish I would have said..."  But in the end it just made me feel embarrassed and a little frustrated.  I can't imagine the emotions Jesus went through as he was told again and again to "stop" or "go away."  I would have wimped out.  I would have said something mean and failed to be the presence of God.  

None of us like to feel foolish or be misunderstood.  Unfortunately it happens to all of us at some point, and yet we trust with great excitement that one day our God will be revealed to all people.  I can't wait to be embraced by the Light, Love, Mercy and Grace that is our God.  

These sentiments are similar to those of the Psalmist in the 25th chapter:

 My head is high, God, held high;

I’m looking to you, God;

No hangdog skulking for me.

I’ve thrown in my lot with you;

You won’t embarrass me, will you?

Or let my enemies get the best of me?

Don’t embarrass any of us

Who went out on a limb for you.

It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.

Show me how you work, God;

School me in your ways.

Take me by the hand;

Lead me down the path of truth.

You are my Savior, aren’t you?

Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God;

Rebuild the ancient landmarks!

Forget that I sowed wild oats;

Mark me with your sign of love.

Plan only the best for me, God!

God is fair and just;

He corrects the misdirected,

Sends them in the right direction.

He gives the rejects his hand,

And leads them step-by-step.

From now on every road you travel

Will take you to God.

Follow the Covenant signs;

Read the charted directions.

All of us navigate the different paths in our lives.  Living out our faith and passion can be hindered by process, rules, and red-tape - but even these roads, often the ones with the most bumps and hills, lead us to God.  I realized this as students circled the table for the rest of my time in that space, as they laughed and together we celebrated the movement of the Spirit in that place.    

It's all good.  It's all God.  Thanks be to God.