Category: First Steps

Our capacities for compassion are deepened when we stay grounded in the sacred truth of our belovedness. Did you know that is how God sees you? So often we forget and start believing the lies that we are not worthy of love. We seek the source of value in our work, wealth, physical appearance, and in others while deep within, a longing lingers. We long for the face of God to remind us of His care.

The walking with God invites us to remember that our belovedness is as secure as the air we breathe. It is the ground on which we have our being. In fact, God’s face is smiling as we speak. We deepen our connection with this compassionate God in various ways — prayer, meditation, solitude, retreat, worship, ritual, fellowship, and community. Every moment we recall God’s grace in our life, we connect with God’s presence in the world. Beloved! Look for God’s grace in your life. Know of his love.

 

 

This week’s reading:

• Monday – Titus 2
• Tuesday – Titus 3
• Wednesday – Jude
• Thursday – Philemon
• ​Friday – Hebrews 1

 

 

• Please Pray for:
• All Saints’ Sunday and all those gone before us.
• Our nation and our leaders
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community
• Those that are suffering and grieving.
• Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Construction of New Youth Building and rear parking.
• The United Methodist Church.

Jean-Pierre de Caussade said this (I find it very helpful):

“We will be perfect when we are in complete cooperation with God. The way toward this perfection is slow and hidden from our observation. There are many books written about these things. There are many theories and theological explanations. If we want, we can go to school and learn about all of this. We might even become competent to teach and write about it ourselves. Maybe we will even begin to give others some spiritual direction. To have only an intellectual understanding of our faith is to be like a sick medical doctor living among healthy people.

You don’t need to understand how medicine works in order to be cured. All you have to do is take it. You can be warmed and cheered by a fire without knowledge of combustion and chemistry. If we are thirsty, we want to drink of water rather than a book that explains thirst.  Holiness is not the result of study. If we have a thirst for holiness, reading about it will only make us thirstier!”

One of the things I like about this quote is the focus on a slow and sometimes hidden process of holiness. Sure, once a person is justified, they are holy according to God. It is a gift God gives to us via Jesus Christ. Romans says the righteousness of Christ is applied to us. Yet, there is the part of the salvation experience that is process-orientated, meaning it takes time—often a long time—a lifetime. It is good to be reminded of this.  Holiness is a lifetime pursuit. Therefore, settle in, give yourselves a little grace and trust God’s work in your life. You might not see the day-to-day change but over long periods of time, you definitely will.

 

This week’s reading:

• Monday – Colossians 1
• Tuesday – Colossians 2
• Wednesday – Colossians 3
• Thursday – Colossians 4
• ​Friday – 1 Timothy 1

 

Please Pray for:

• The people in need of help from the devastating damage from Hurricane Michael.
• Our nation and our leaders.
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• Those that are suffering and grieving.
• Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Construction of New Youth Building and rear parking.
• The United Methodist Church.

“But sooner or later we must distinguish between what we are not and what we are.  We must accept the fact that we are not what we would like to be.  We must cast off our false, exterior self like the cheap and showy garment that it is.  We must find our real self…created to be a child of God, and capable of loving with something of God’s own sincerity and His unselfishness.” (Thomas Merton-No Man Is An Island).

Often we present one view of ourselves to others, and we withhold who we really are as if behind closed doors.  Perhaps it is fear.  Maybe we are scared of what people will think of us if they really see who we are.  The net effect is an inauthentic life.

What is interesting to me is that the message of the New Testament is one that recognizes the inconsistencies of what we are and what we are becoming.  To some degree it is a paradox.  We are both sinners and saints—at the same time.  God is aware of this and is not fooled by our inabilities to be authentic.  Therefore, at some point we must become more comfortable with the paradox of sinner and saint.  Perhaps the more we get comfortable with what we are and what we are becoming with the help of God’s Spirit, the less likely we are to live inauthentically.

 

This week’s reading:

• Monday – Ephesians 6
• Tuesday – Philippians 1
• Wednesday – Philippians 2
• Thursday – Philippians 3
• ​Friday – Philippians 4

Please Pray for:

• Our nation and our leaders.
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• Our new year in Christian studies and activities.
• Those that are suffering and grieving.
• Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Construction of New Youth Building and rear parking.
• The United Methodist Church.

Anger and anxiety characterizes our lives more than patience and peace. We act in compulsive, competitive, and controlling ways.  We have our addictions and issues, though some of us hide them better than others.  We lose our temper, and our tongues rattle off with meaningless chatter or hurtful diatribes.  Often they are verbal arrows that pierce others.  Then all of this produces grief and guilt because we don’t want to live in this way.  A conflict rages inside us that our shame and guilt only fuels.  We know we ought to love, and at times we desire it deeply; but still, more often than not, we do not choose to love.

Yet, our experience with the risen Christ reorients and renews us towards compassion and kindness.  As we continually—daily—give ourselves to Christ, it creates a whole new capacity to love God, our neighbor, and even ourselves. We are all not what we want to be BUT we definitely aren’t what we used to be.  Thankfully, personal transformation is not left to us alone.  We are not abandoned to our own will and ability.  We participate with the Divine One.  It is the Holy One who breaks into our time, our space, our minds, our psyche, and our personality to give comfort and companionship in a very real way.  It is the Spirit’s work in us, which produces the inward transformation that is desperately needed.

Unfortunately, I forget the assurance that comes with the Spirit’s work, especially when I focus on the destructive areas of my life.  Therefore, trust that God is working on their areas.  We are all works-in-progress.  Remember the Spirit’s work in you.

 

 

This week’s reading:

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

Please Pray for:

• Our nation and our leaders.
• Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
• Our new year in Christian studies and activities.
• Those that are suffering and grieving.
• Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Construction of New Youth Building and rear parking.
• The United Methodist Church.