Category: First Steps

This past week I have been thinking about God’s faithfulness. What does it mean for one to be faithful? Most of the time, faithfulness is tied to a consistency of action. One is faithful when one consistently does what one says he/she will do. It is like a promise. One will gladly trust in a promise if the person consistently fulfills what is promised.

With God, it is no different. God’s faithfulness is tied to a trust in the fact that God will perform what has been promised. For God, what is at stake is not only a consistency of action but God’s very nature. Who God Is Determines What God Does. Therefore, for God to not do what was promised is for God’s very nature to be in jeopardy. When you are asked to trust in God’s faithfulness, you are asked to trust God’s very nature.

When Joshua inherited the mantle of leadership, he was commanded to trust…to trust in what God promised. What was that promise? It was that God would be with him. It is the same for you: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the LORD your God will be with wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Trust in the faithfulness of God by trusting in God’s very nature.

This week’s reading:

• Monday – Luke 11
• Tuesday – Luke 12
• Wednesday – Luke 13
• Thursday – Luke 14
• Friday – Luke 15
  
  
  Please Pray for:
• For the family, friends and loved ones of those precious lives lost in the recent storms.
• The United Methodist Church and Post-General Conference Information Session, March 9, 2019 in Tifton, Georgia.
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• Our nation and our leaders.
• Those who are grieving and depressed.
• Those who are unwillingly absent.
• ​Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Completion of New Youth Building and rear parking.

Lately, I’ve wrestled with these two questions:
Is it possible for such a devoted shepherd to ignore a returning stray sheep? Would it matter if the sheep had only a low intention of following him?

The answer to both questions is NO. The Good Shepherd would look with compassion, listen to the cries of the sheep, and carry it on his shoulders returning it to the safety of the flock.

Often I forget how loving God really is. Unfortunately, I view God out of the same lens that I view others. For so many, love comes with conditions and limits. Because we love this way, we think God does the same. Therefore, when we hear of the limitless love of God and grace given beyond measure, it is hard to comprehend, much less believe.

Chris Tomlin, a contemporary Christian artist, penned these words to a song:
I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think you’re like. But I’ve heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of the night and you tell me that you’re pleased and that I’m never alone…I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide but I know we’re all searching for answers only you provide ‘cause you know just what we need before we say a word…because you are perfect in all your ways…you are perfect in all your ways to us. Oh, it’s love so undeniable, I can hardly speak. Peace so unexplainable, I can hardly think. As you call me deeper still into love, love, love. You’re a good good father, it’s who you are and I’m loved by you, it is who I am.”

Our task is to allow the love of God to fall over us, drenching us to the point that everything else pales in comparison. Even if it takes a while for this to happen—resist the temptation to run or move on. Stay. Trust in the Good Shepherd who will not run away from you.

This Week’s reading:

• Monday – Luke 1
• Tuesday – Luke 2
• Wednesday – Luke 3
• Thursday – Luke 4
• Friday – Luke 5

• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• Our nation and our leaders.
• Those suffering due to catastrophic natural disasters.
• Those who are grieving and depressed.
• Those who are unwillingly absent.
• ​Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Completion of New Youth Building and rear parking.
• The United Methodist Church.

“Some people believe that devotion [faith] will slip away from them if they relax a little.  Recreation is good for the soul.  We will be stronger when we return to prayer.  Do not spend all your time in one method of prayer.  You may have found an excellent method of prayer that you really enjoy.  Maybe you need a kind of Sunday.  I mean a time of rest from your spiritual labor.  

You think you would lose something if you stop working at prayer.  My view is that your loss would be gain. Try to imagine yourself in the presence of Christ.  Talk with him.  Delight in him.  There is no need to weary yourself by composing speeches to him.  

There is a time for one thing and a time for another.  The soul can become weary of eating the same food over and over again. There is a great variety of food that is wholesome and nutritious. If your spiritual palate becomes familiar with their various tastes, they will sustain the life of your soul, bringing many benefits.” (Teresa of Avila).

I like this quote for two reasons: First, she rightly describes how the spiritual perfectionist is trapped in what I call a faith formula.  If I do (x) and then do (y) that will equal a holy life. For them, spiritual disciplines are the end and not the means to the end. For them, being holy is checking boxes. Sabbath is a foreign concept because to break from box checking means they haven’t performed or done what is needed to be holy.  Yet, holiness is not something done or checked but stems from living with Christ.  Sure, we might do something but what is done flows out of what one already is. I don’t do something to make me holy, I’m holy because God deems so and I live out of that relationship.

Second, mix up your spiritual disciplines.Try something different. Not because it is another box to check but because it might produce a different experience.  If your main disciplines are study and prayer, then redirect that time in service. Volunteer in a ministry.  Attend different styles of worship. Try fasting. “If your spiritual palate becomes familiar with their various tastes, they will sustain the life of your soul, bringing many benefits.”

This week’s reading:

• Monday – Revelation 18
• Tuesday – Revelation 19
• Wednesday – Revelation 20
• Thursday – Revelation 21
• Friday – Revelation 22

Please Pray for:

• Shane, John and everyone traveling with them on the Israel trip. Safe travels, there and back home.
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• The United Methodist Church.
• ​Our nation and our leaders.
• Those suffering due to catastrophic natural disasters. 
• ​Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Completion of New Youth Building and rear parking.

Care for self restores one to a steady heartbeat that is a must for being human.  When one turns inward—self-compassion—one is better equipped to turn outward in love for another.  Healthy self-love creates healthy love for someone else.  We can only give to another that which we already have or possess.

Lately I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s Gospel (7:3-5): 

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Traditionally speaking, when we think about of these verses we associate it with judging others of their faults without any concern for our own.  Jesus illustrated to be in touch with your own sense of self before you move on to someone else.  In other words, don’t be a hypocrite. 

At the same time, I think there is something deeper in his teaching that is equally valuable.  When we are agitated, reactive, and depleted, our soul cries out of attention.  Ignoring the cries can be caustic.  Even when we press to cultivate compassion for another at the expense of our own suffering might not achieve what we ultimately desire.  Similar to co-dependency, to focus on others without tending to your needs dismisses the suffering cry from your own soul. 

It is no different than ‘screaming yourself into silence, straining your way into relaxation, or fighting your way to inner peace.’  Perhaps, one should take time to tend to his/her own soul before they try to help another.   This is not selfishness!  You can’t give to another what you don’t already have.  Out of your own sense of wholeness you love others.  Jesus would later say, “Love your neighbor has yourself.”  Here, you actually love two persons:  Your neighbor and yourself.  Tending to your soul’s needs is loving yourself.  

This Week’s Reading:

• Monday – Revelation 8
• Tuesday – Revelation 9
• Wednesday – Revelation 10
• Thursday – Revelation 11
• Friday – Revelation 12

Please Pray for:

• The United Methodist Church
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• ​Our nation and our leaders.
• Those suffering due to catastrophic natural disasters.
• ​Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Completion of New Youth Building and rear parking.