Lent Devotion: Saturday Psalm

Today the sun came out.  Along with the sun came a little bit of warmth.  After the chill of winter our souls drink in the promise of spring.  At this point there is a longing in our Spirits for the promise of new life, robin sightings, daffodils in bloom, and green grass.  At this point in Lent I am beginning to long for the joyous celebration of Easter, are you?  

Tonight's Psalm reading is one that speaks of longing.  

42 1-3 A white-tailed deer drinks
    from the creek;
I want to drink God,
    deep draughts of God.
I’m thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, “Will I ever make it—
    arrive and drink in God’s presence?”
I’m on a diet of tears—
    tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
    people knock at my door,
Pestering,
    “Where is this God of yours?”

4 These are the things I go over and over,
    emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
    right out in front,
Leading them all,
    eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
    celebrating, all of us, God’s feast!

5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
    Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
    soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
    He’s my God.

6-8 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
    everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
    including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
    to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
    crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
    sing songs all through the night!
    My life is God’s prayer.

9-10 Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
    “Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
    harassed by enemies?”
They’re out for the kill, these
    tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
    “Where is this God of yours?”

11 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
    Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
    soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
    He’s my God.

Obviously, this is not the traditional version of this Psalm.  This is taken from The Message and offers us a unique perspective on the Psalmist's intention.  It is easy to rest in the darkness of discouragement.  Sometimes feelings of anxiety can seem to swallow us.  Other times we simply long to be in the quiet presence of God - drinking in that soul-quenching living water.

Tonight take a few minutes of silence to just be with God.  For what do you long?  What is it like to sit in the presence of the rock-solid God?  What do you hear?  

Read the Psalm again as a prayer tonight - and may you find that your life is God's prayer.

Friday Lent Devo: Where is Your Faith?

Jesus Calms the Storm

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

This story occurs in all three of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).  As I drove by the lake shore with some friends today I noticed the rough water spraying up over what is left of the snow and ice.  Another bleak day in Michigan seems to make everyone long for the warmth and promise of spring.  In the midst of the gray, rainy, whitecaps stood the lighthouse, a tourist attraction yes, but also a reminder of the safety of light in the darkness.  

This encounter, like many others, happens on the water.  The Disciples are people comfortable with boats, fishing, and being with Jesus.  This time a squall rose up.  It was scary.  It was rough.  Jesus was sleeping.  Jesus must have been exhausted.  They wake him and tell him of the storm.  (In Mark the Disciples question, "Don't you care that we're going to drown?")  After rebuking the wind and waves Jesus drops the tough question.  "Where is your faith?"  

This question can be a conversation-stopper.  Where is your faith?  I imagine the Disciples felt that they too had been rebuked.  Why would they think that Jesus would let them drown?  After spending so much time with him, didn't they realize that He was filled with the power of God?  

It's in times like these when our faith can easily become questionable.  Rocky seas shake our confidence.  Chilling rain takes away our passion, leaving us complacent.  Fear can stop us in our tracks unsure of which way to turn.  Have you ever turned to the Lord with the question, "Don't you care?"

There stands the lighthouse, unshaken, immovable, a pillar of strength and light.  While Jesus slept the Disciples were not able to hear that familiar phrase "do not be afraid."  Fear overtook their knowledge of the sea.  Raging thunder took away their ability to think.  Jesus was the answer.  Faith was the answer.

So today I ask you, where is your faith?  We have been on this Lent journey for quite some time, how has your journey been traveled?  Do you feel you are in the midst of a storm or are you standing strong in the light?  Is the Spirit alive inside of you, or do you feel like you too are asleep in the boat?

Prayer:  Powerful and Mighty God calm the storms in my life.  Help me to trust in you as I live in the light of Christ.  Strengthen my faith and help me to be the presence of light in another's darkness.  Amen.  

Lent Devotion: The Love Test

One of the most well-known Scripture passages for weddings is 1 Corinthians 13.  While it is certainly appropriate for the love shared between spouses, we may limit the power it if only used in this context.

Check it out:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

In the context Paul was speaking to, namely the early Christian community in Corinth, I think this passage can speak to nearly every partnership in our lives.  I like to think that Paul was writing about friendship.  I hope you have experienced friendship like this in your lifetime.  This is the kind of relationship that helps you be the best you! 

With Whom have you truly found this type of relationship? What has it taught you about yourself? How have you grown in some of these areas? Which are the most challenging?  How might you reconnect with or encourage someone who has been a true friend to you?

Prayer: Jesus you have challenged us to not only love others, but to befriend them.  Help me to be open to the power of friendship in my life.  Open my eyes to those who long to know a true friend.  Most of all may I recognize that friendship is another way for me to recognize your love for each of us.  Amen.

Today's Lent Devotional: Groans

"We can never achieve wholeness simply by ourselves but only together with others."

Lots of folks tell me that they worship God best while they're out on the golf course, or out sitting in the woods.  They explain to me that they don't need to be sitting on a creaky pew in an old church to be in God's presence.  Sometimes I too think that a beach, a chair and some sunshine might be more powerful than the worship rituals and liturgy of a Sunday morning service.  

Yesterday was a tough day around here as my beloved congregation found out that I'm taking on a new position in campus ministry.  This is the third time I've had a day like this, and the third congregation I have grown to love and cherish deeply.  Each time I begin in a new appointment, I think, "How am I going to grow to love these people, while I miss the last bunch so much?"  But then before I know it I am grafted into the unfolding story of God's Kingdom in a new place, building sacred relationships with new faces.  

This time is different though, because I have chosen to go.   It hasn't really been long enough.  I was ready to encounter anger of all levels yesterday and was especially concerned for my evening Bible study group that has been studying about discernment for the last six weeks.  It was here where I was bowled over by the power of the Spirit in our midst.  These women have become such an important part of my life, I was full of sadness and fear at what they might have to say to me.  They said "go", "be excited", "do what God has called you to do."  Sometimes it's the minister who needs the ministering.  

Change is not easy, but God is faithful.  Transition can be scary, yet we hear God's words, "Do Not Be Afraid."  Loving relationships built on the foundation of faith and ministry never dissolve, only take on different forms as life progresses.  

As I am confronted by this decision on so many levels I am taking seriously Paul's words in Romans 8:  

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.

Over and over, again and again I am humbled by the love of God for even me.  I am reminded that being the church isn't only about connecting with God or worship, but it is about the community.  It is about each person's unique attributes and gifts coming together to be the hands and feet of God.  It is about the Spirit within us connecting to the Spirit in others.  It is about the very Spirit of God speaking and connecting with each and every one of us.  This connection goes beyond time, geography, and all the other things that might separate us.  

I am reminded so often, and hope you recognize, that good things  are happening not because of one person - but  because God is alive and moving!  While a pastor shepherds and teaches, it is all of us together who build the strength of the church.  You are powerful because of the Spirit within you!

If you are struggling today let me know.  I want to talk with you.  I want to pray with you.  I want to build you up, encourage you, hug you.  But more importantly let God know, God wants to talk with you, pray with you, build you up and encourage you.  It's all about the goodness of our loving God...

Lent Devotional: Vulnerable

I hope you have read at least a few of Shel Silverstein's poems.  This is one of my favorites, because there have been so many times in my life when I just think a good hug might solve a lot of problems.  While it might seem like a silly children's poem, it seems to get to the root of many of the deep struggles in the world.  I guess when you get right down to it, we really are all the same - we all want to be loved.  

It is easy for me to talk about the love God has for you.  It feels like my calling to make sure you know that you matter and that God longs to be in a deep relationship with you.  In some way I preach about love every single Sunday morning.  I think the most difficult part of faith for me has been to receive the depth of that love.  It is really hard to grasp, isn't it?  I think we catch glimpses of this love as we share our lives with one another.  Being open and vulnerable with each other can feel very risky, but in the end it is this vulnerability that adds strength to our relationships.  It is only in opening ourselves to God that we can begin to understand the gift of love and grace that comes to us in Jesus Christ.  

I love how The Message version of the Bible states this in Romans 12:

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

One of the greatest gifts of ministry is recognizing God's image in the people I serve.  It is an immeasurable gift when someone allows you into the vulnerable parts of their spirit.  It is a measure of love when someone receives you and me exactly where and how we are - no matter what.  These kinds of relationships may seem few and far between, but they are the kind that last a lifetime.  

Are you vulnerable?  Can you see vulnerability as a gift, rather than a risk?  How about verse 9 above, do you love from the center of who you are?  How have you experienced the very love of God?

And, last question for tonight.....Who's ready for  a hug-o-war?

Prayer:  God of love I thank you for meeting me right where I am.  I thank you for trusting me with the love and care of others and pray that I take seriously this commitment.  Help me to be vulnerable and open, to recognize those who may be in need of a good friend, and to do my best to respond with loving-kindness.  Amen.