Job again ...

A person named Eliphaz asks Job two challenging questions:

Can a motal be of use to God?
Can the wisest be of service to him?
Job 22:2

Eliphaz gives his answer that is "No". To a point he is true ... again, to a point. God can indeed complete all his work without creation. Jesus even said, 'If you are silent the very stones will cry out!' With these thoughts in mind God did not have to make creation to complete his work. Rather he only did it out of unselfish love. From my perspective, Eliphaz stresses that side of God a bit too much for Job who is a suffering person.

The way I would answer the questions are as follows.

Can a mortal be of use to God? From my perspective, the ultimate answer is "Yes!" And those times are best when I don't even realize that I have helped God! The reason for my thought is that I believe that we can get so caught up in ourselves through self-centeredness, self-praise, and desire of other's praise that this can interfere with our work for God. With that in mind,

my hope is that one day Jesus will say to me one-on-one, 'John, did you realize that you helped me by ______________.' And I will say, 'No! Wow, I didn't realize it!' A mortal is of best use to God when we so consciously serve God that we learn to unconsciously do so by good serving habits!

Can the wisest be of service to him? Yes, when God's wisdom is our guide. Jesus is referred to as the wisdom, or its synonym, the word of God (John 1:1-18) so one great way to learn the wisdom or word of God is just to read of Jesus Christ in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. (For those interested in reading Mark is the shortest). Those who follow Jesus are closer to wisdom for they are serving God.

Join me and praise God today and search for wisdom -- ways in which you can be of use or service to God!

Answering questions ...

This morning a part of my scriptural reading was about a man named Job who had lost his family and property and, like many of us would do, he was questioning.

"What is the Almighty that we should serve him?
And what profit do we get if we pray to him?"
(Job 21:15)

If he were asking me these two questions the following would be the beginning of my answers.

What is the Almighty? Job, that is a question too big for me to fully answer, but here is a beginning place. He is the God who makes all that is. He is the God who constantly loves us in spite of us. He is the one who does not bring disaster upon us but gives us the capability to deal with disaster. And even when we walk away from God, the Almighty always loves us and will always receive us home. Job, the ones who harmed you were in rebellion against God. God never wanted you harmed but he allowed them and you to be free in actions. The Almighty is an interesting one who even though he is almighty, he chooses to let us make even the wrong decisions. So those who robbed you, those who deserted you, did. Why even all creation has been messed up because of our sin, so that the collapse of the building on your children was not God's fault, but humanity's fault.

What profit do we get if we pray? Job, for me my profit is just enough to believe that God listens to me whether his answer is "Yes" or "No". His wisdom is insurmountable so his answer is best.

What is the Almighty that we should serve him? God is constant love.

Just questions ...

Another question that was raised at the Get Motivated Seminar was this ...

How do others see you?

Coach Pat Summitt asked this question directly and Rick Bulluzzo as well as others pointed to it. The issue is that to better understand ourselves we need to get a grip on how we come across. So now the direct challenge to me will be to develop a short set of questions for the staff to answer in evaluating my leadership.

But I see this question possibly going further. What if Arlington UMC would ask a handful of participants, members and guests, to regularly evaluate their worship experience here? Growing churches do so and such could help us see how we come across.

Jesus himself focused upon a similar question when he asked, "Who do others say that I am?" And from there he asked, "Who do you say that I am?"

How do others see me? How would I like them to see me? And ultimately, How does God see me? And, what personnel changes do I need to make?

How do others see you?

The beginnings of a self-evaluation ...

Yesterday, part of the staff and I of Arlington UMC attended the Get Motivated Seminar with speakers such as Zig Ziglar, Rudolph Giuliani, Gen. Colin Powell, Brian Tracy, and Bruce Pearl. With each speaker we were challenged to indicate three things we learned as well as immediate action points we would tackle. For me an immediate action point is in the area of staff leadership and it revolves around one question raised by Coach Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee:

Would you work for you?

The answer for me here is a "Yes" and "No".

Yes. I and others (who spoke through my 360-degree leadership evaluation) see me as a man of passion who identifies with where people are at the moment. To that I would add that when they ask for advice I give it. With staff there are advantages and disadvantages of waiting until they ask.

No. When I see issues that may need to be covered, I don't ask staff persons a question like, "Tell me when you have time to talk". (Such is an approach recommended by a good number of leadership materials). I just think I avoid such too often.

I need to become more up front with staff, with the laity, and with myself.

Now that you have heard from me, Would you work for you?

The place where I was raised ...

Now and then, when I visit people in Baptist Hospital I will park up on the top floor of the Twenty-first Avenue Garage for after the visit(s) from there I can stand and look north in a lower area between two hills where I was raised. The hill to the right has two water reservoirs. And while there I will often remember that as I was growing up from my parent's kitchen window I used to look out and see downtown Nashville.

I am sure this came to mind for a couple of reasons. Yesterday was Youth Sunday at church and it was a grand experience to watch today's leaders leading our worship experience. And as I was reading the Scripture lessons for today the 114th Psalm had these words in verses 1-4. Italics are added.

When Israel went out from Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people with a strange language,

Judah became God's sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled;

Jordan turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs".

The Lord changes things including us.

I pray to God ...

The scene I identified with today in my devotional reading was in Acts 26.

And there although Paul, a Christian, is on trial for being a Christian he is daring enough to give witness to his human judge who was King Agrippa. Specifically he tells that king about Jesus who had been raised from the dead.

Agrippa responds, "Are you quickly persuading me to become a Christian?"

And Paul replies, "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today might become such as I am--except for these chains" (Acts 26:29).

My prayer is that as I have opportunities to witness for Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God will say to me, "Now is the time!" And as my experience has shown, the Spirit of God will make me aware of the words to speak and the actions to do in the name of Jesus Christ.

And may that be true for you as well.

Hearing from today's church ...

This coming Sunday is youth Sunday at Arlington UMC. From my perspective our children and youth are not just the church of tomorrow.

Our children and youth are today's church.

For me the phrase today's church means being more acquainted with what tomorrow's world is leaning toward. For one, our children and youth's grapevines are predominantly forward-looking grapevines (unlike us adults who more often keep looking back to our past for more of our guidelines than we look forward to where we are going). They reveal to us older folks the way the world is becoming and if we older folks want to remain relevant to today's world we begin with listening ears and changing our lives as we continue to follow Jesus Christ. If we are changing in a healthy way such models healthy change behavior to our children and youth which for all of us is a lifetime experiential change.

As youth are experimenting with living out their call from God so in this changing world we adults should be as well.

Youth Sunday will be on October 26, 2008 at 10:00 AM.

Come hear from today's church ...

God is Love: Part 2

This morning I was in a Public Library intending to have time away from the office. And, of course, the computer was not making an Internet connection and I confess I was getting frustrated.

The way the story goes is I would set my computer to search for the Internet connection and it would each time point out that the library connection was the strongest so I would press the connect button and the computer would verify that this had occurred but my computer would not make any other connections. To that I quietly said, "I cannot connect to our website".

At that point, a person in the library smiled and chuckled and walked to my computer offering help. For the Public Library there was one more step (that is not necessary at home or in the office).

Yes, God is love for in the day I needed away from the office for study, preparation and prayer he sent a person who knew the next step for it to occur at this site. Once again,

God is love ...

Three words ...

For me, God is amazing. God never needed to create anything or anyone for he was complete and whole in God's own self. Why did God create? He is a God of love.

A couple of days ago I placed a reminder of this each time I use my cell phone. On my cell phone I have some choices to make for when it comes on. One is for it to go immediately to commonly called phone numbers, one is to have my name, address, etc to pop up just in case it is left somewhere, and another is one I accidentally discovered: to have a phrase come on the screen. When I discovered that I placed on my phone's screen a simple phrase from 1 John 4:16 ...

"God is love ..."

How many times a day I see this reminder of a simple truth! Now at times it comes as reassuring words and at other times it comes as a challenge to reflect the love of God in my actions. Irregardless, God is love.

Little things can help me remember!

Organizational Change ...

For me things like tension and anxiety have become motivations for personal healthy changes, and my hope is that through leading, coaching and instruction change will become healthy in local churches and denominations as well.

I have said for years that if you want to find out more about disagreements in church just read the scriptures! Like this morning I read Acts 15. It tells the story of an anxiety moment in the church when Gentiles (who may not have been familiar with the Jewish laws) came into the predominantly Jewish-Christian church, and at that point this question was raised:

'Shouldn't church newcomers be like us?'

And after debate the answer that was given was this: the only way they should be like us is they should worship only God, (and other than that they can be themselves even though they are different from us). (Acts 15:28-29)

P.S. If you would like to do further reading on healthy ways of working for healthy organizational change the top work I would recommend is by Donna J. Markham entitled Spiritlinking Leadership: Working through Resistance to Organizational Change. It is good for group study for it includes a good set of discussion questions after each chapter.

From Laity Sunday ...

This past Sunday, October 19, 2008 was Laity Sunday at Arlington (AUMC). The service was entirely designed and led by the laity of the church and two laypersons gave witness of their relationship with the Lord Jesus. One of them shared of how the Lord has worked through her giftedness for the building of God's kingdom and the other spoke of our United Methodist history and called for our current applications of our history. Admittedly, they did not want to call their talks 'sermons' but I would call them very-well prepared and delivered sermons.

On the personal side, for the first time, my wife and I sat in the AUMC balcony and just listened, observed and participated in centering upon our worship of God. It was such a holy experience for me.

My prayer is this will be part of AUMC discovering that

• by the power of the Holy Spirit God delights in using all God's people to bear witness by word and deed of God's boundary-crossing love;
• and that the worshipers will sense the words they are to speak and the deeds they are to do to express the love of God on a daily basis;
• and more than just sensing what is right in the eyes of God that they will do.

"And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit"
(Acts 13:52)

May the same be true for you ...

Sometimes things go right, sometimes they go wrong. God admits that and my Scripture reading this morning from Acts 12 affirmed that admission.

Acts 12 moved from recalling the execution and imprisonment of church leaders to ...

• an angel setting a Christian believer free from prison;
• that freed prisoner (Peter) visiting with a Christian prayer group to their surprise;
• the execution of the prison guards because of the prison escape; and,
• the king's anger over this and how the people and God dealt with his anger.

For me, this text says that God's victory is always a sure thing especially with the way Acts 12 ends ...

"But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents" (Acts 12:24).

My thought and prayer was that the Lord God would please speak well enough through my words and actions that others may see and hear not me, but God who lives in me.

And may the same be true for you today ...

I just wish it was easy ...

My Scriptural reading for today pointed to the God who crosses uncrossable boundaries. The reading was from Acts 10 and 11 that I invite you to read. The story begins like this ... a man named Cornelius, a Gentile, had a vision from God to invite a Jewish-Christian believer named Simon Peter into his home. In human terns this was an uncrossable boundary for Jews were not to mix with Gentiles for a couple of reasons. One was religious: Gentiles may be worshipping a number of different false gods and mixing with them may not be good influence on the one God people, the Jews and Christians. Another was political--Cornelius was one of the commanders of the Roman Empire's army that had conquered Israel, so why would the conquered want to go to the conquering army commander's home? Nevertheless, Simon Peter was called by God to cross these boundaries and enter the home of Cornelius and that he did!

Why was Simon Peter to go into Cornelius home? To hear of Cornelius, the godless man's God-centered experience, and to learn of and give witness to Jesus, the Son of God, who had constantly been crossing uncrossable boundaries.

I wrestle with such a boundary-crossing God.

• What barriers does God want me to cross?
• Of them, what barriers are most important for me to cross right now? And, specifically, how do I do so?
• And on top of all of that, how may I lead God's people to cross our uncrossable boundaries?

I just wish such was easy.

Haven't you?

"There was once a man in the land of Uz whose named was Job." So the story begins. Job was a man who had everything of which you would ever dream: a profitable business, a family, a home that was more than likely top notch, and on and on his success story goes. And on top of all of that he was one who sought first to be "blameless and upright" in the eyes of God. But then a number of tragedies hit. His property was stolen and his children were all killed in an accident. His wife calls him crazier than a loony bird for sticking with God and up front he does so, but later he goes on to even challenge God for allowing all the tragedy to occur to him when he had continuously striven to love and serve God alone!

I have seen such an unexplainable tragedy so many times. Haven't you?

If you want to read a book that gives all the answers that reasons out the meaning or purpose of tragedy the biblical book of Job does not directly do so. Yet, I am reading it again not to search for answers to that insistent question, "Why?" but to just experience again all the answers that the human family offers to tragedy which, by the way, God challenges in Job's story.

God never clearly answers Job's question, "Why?" In the end God's way of answering (if you want to call it that) is to show Job all the universe and, in my own words, say this: 'Job, do you understand all of the universe? Well, if you don't understand the universe you won't understand my answer to "Why?"'

Perhaps, perhaps, God is pushing me, and maybe you as well, to ask a different question about our suffering:

"Lord God, now that this has happened to me (us), what on earth do you want me (us) to do?"

See you tomorrow!

Our healing service seeks your healing as well ...

Because I have both experienced healing from God as well as experiencing lifetime conditions such as epilepsy healing services are very special to me. And this past Sunday, October 12, 2008, Arlington UMC had a healing service.

The front of the worship folder had an artistic imagery of Jesus with his hands stretched out from side to side, human hands were reaching forward and a person in praise with their hands lifted up. So was the visual of our worship time.

From our worship traditions we opened with a responsive call to worship, sang a prayerful hymn, and prayed for God's power to come "upon those in need". Then I talked to our children about the healing taking place of my broken fibula as a work of God. Afterward the Scripture lessons of Isaiah 40:28-31; James 5:13-20; and Mark 6:7-13 were read and the message focused upon the reading from James and its speaking of prayer and anointing.

As part of our healing process we confessed our sins to God for our healing involves body, mind, soul, relationships and all that we are; sang "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"; prayed; dedicated our library in memory of a deceased church member; gave our offerings to God; and then prayed a prayer of thanksgiving over the oil.

The time of anointing came. Prayers and anointing ... prayers and anointing ... prayers and anointing.

Afterward we together prayed ...

Almighty God, we pray that our brothers and sisters may be comforted in their sufferings and made whole. When they are afraid, give them courage; when they feel weak, grant them strength; when they are afflicted, afford them patience; when they are lost, offer them hope; when they are alone, move us to their side. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Today, I have offered this prayer for you ... pray for me as well. Thanks be to God.

A ship in a bottle ...

There are a few possessions that are really special to me. They mean so much to me even though they are not of great economic value. One is a ship in a bottle kit that is thirty-two years old and has not yet been completed. Nevertheless, it is very special to me because of the time of its purchase -- our honeymoon.

For me it is somewhat similar to my own self that for the last fifty-two years has been under God's construction. The difference between the ship in a bottle kit and myself is this: God daily strengthens my hull, daily straightens my masts, and daily seeks to guide my ship each day. His wind comes and my free participation in his preparation sails my life along the direction of God.

This morning when I read the phrase "They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession" in Malachi 3:17 and my thoughts drifted to my special possession of that unfinished ship in a bottle kit imagining God working upon you and me each day.

Wrestling, just wrestling ...

One of the universal themes I have personally noted in the leadership works I have read from the business and church world has helped to give me healthier leadership. It is a theme that should be obvious, but unfortunately it is not always so. A lot of the 'how-to' leadership works stress the call of this theme.

The common-sense leadership theme on my mind is this: 'the only one you can change is your self'.

Oh, I can help change the settings in other person's lives such as providing for them learning events, example, times when they are pushed to make personal reflections; medical treatments, food, offering them places to stay, or even further becoming a true friend to them; but I cannot change them. Even God, who can do anything, will not help change us unless we are willing to change. He has the power to do so but he refuses to use it.

Each day I wrestle with what change(s) God has for me to personally make. I believe this is the wrestling journey on which I am walking, limping, falling, standing, and, at times, running.

This morning I was reminded of my everyday journey in Malachi 2:16b ('b' means the second part of a verse): "So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless".

When you are in those wrestling moments, may you (and I) take time to be still and seek to listen for God.

The hour of prayer

For my own prayer time each day I have discovered from experience that the best time for me is first thing in the morning. With me, that is also true for 'heavier' study time. By heavier I mean more pages per hour or more intellectually in depth work.

Such is not true for everyone. There are some who have discovered that late morning, early afternoon or evening hours work best for study. And that's OK, and as a matter of fact, historically the church has recognized that. For example, there is one method that encourages six hours of prayer each day: morning, mid-morning, mid-day, mid-afternoon, early evening, and late evening. That way you will sure be praying at one of your best times!

A biblical example of such is in Acts 3:1 --"One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon".

The point is this: If you are not sure of it yet, experiment to find the best time of day for your prayer time.

Day by day ...

This morning I was reading from Acts 2. The chapter tells the story of the Spirit of God entering the community of faith. The result was empowered witnessing by word and deed of the community of faith about Jesus Christ ... his death and resurrection.

In Acts 2 a phrase pops up a couple of times ... day by day.

"Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (Acts 2:46-47)

Day by day ... day by day ... day by day ...

That phrase reminds me of a song that comes from Godspell. The words are: "Day by day ... Day by day, Oh Dear Lord, Three things I pray: To see thee more clearly; Love thee more dearly; Follow thee more nearly; Day by day".

That's my prayer for this morning. May it be yours as well.

You're kidding ...

This morning I was reading from Acts in the New Testament which is early church history. The next paragraph is my personal interpretation of an imaginary retreat put in the first person. If you want to know more about this, just read Acts , chapter 1 (and further on if you will ...)

One month I went on a retreat to reflect on my relationship with Jesus Christ. On the retreat I kept asking two questions: What was good about my response to the consistent love of Jesus? And where did I need to polish my side of that relationship? Now while I was a pondering, a voice inside me said, 'John, John'. And I replied, 'It is me, Lord'. And the voice said, 'John, I want you to go back in your memory to the one time and location in your life that was the most disappointing, hurtful, and tragic moment you ever endured.' To that I said, 'Lord, you have to be kidding!'

That is similar to what Jesus said to his followers when he appeared to them after his resurrection as is recorded in Acts 1:4 ... "While staying with them (his followers), he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father (which would be the Holy Spirit of God living in the believing community)." Jesus was asking them to not leave the place where he had been executed and where there may end up being a 'witch-hunt' for his followers.

Personally, I have learned that there can be a healthy part of 'staying' in those troublesome occasions if we remain 'calm, cool, and collected'. For if I remain cool then by the grace of God I can intensely grow more mature ... more like Jesus Christ who is the center of love.

In my perspective our nation and world is in one of those times to stay calm, cool, and collected. Yes, we are in a financial mess but to stay calm, cool, and collected is best for all of life.

The invitation is to think back to the most disappointing, hurtful and tragic moment in your life. And to wrestle with how God has helped you endure the past so that those thoughts will expand your trust that God will also help you endure your future.

Looking back ...

Jesus had taught goodness, healed the sick, raised the dead, and preached about the love-rules of God. And no doubt surprisingly to some, he was executed. You see, the religious side did not like him because he had not followed all the religious rules and the state side did not like him because he was driving away those they ruled over even more.

After his execution, two of his followers were walking down the road and talking about their memories of Jesus. And while they were talking about Jesus, the risen Jesus walked with them. The even more surprising thing is it was only right before Jesus left that they recognized him! For the whole story read Luke 24:13-35.

For me, that is indeed a lot like my life for, like them, it is when I look over my past that I begin to see where Jesus has been with me. And my guess is that others are a bit the same. So today I ivite you to take a little time to try to remember one or two times when Jesus, the source of all that is good, has been with you.

I hope see you tomorrow.

When you feel like you are working alone ...

To relax I am one of those who likes to do handiwork. Such is in helping to build Habitat Houses or doing some house repairs such as dry wall repair, painting, and minor plumbing work. On a humorous side, I gave some help to a gentleman in the rough-in work of a three-car garage with an upstairs apartment and when it came to the finishing work, he said with a humorous seriousness, 'Stay away'!

There are times in Scripture when the people of God are about building and repairs. Such is in Nehemiah 3. The setting is after Babylon had invaded Jerusalem destroying it. So the people of God started rebuilding their city.

A phrase that is repetitive in this rebuilding story is "next to them" stating that next to them were others who were working as well. Together, they rebuilt, repaired, set up, covered, and restored. I like that word ... restored. Now admittedly, there were some people that refused to work on the restoration. But isn't that always the way restoration occurs?

In those moments when I feel as if I am working alone I strive to recall biblical scenes like this where "next to them" were countless others working with the goodness of God as well.

"So we ... we ... we rebuilt the wall" (Nehemiah 4:6)

And, of course, a vital part of that "we" is God. When you feel like you are working alone, take time to observe and see. If nothing else is in the midst of your work there is God.

Are you kidding?

My devotional reading for this morning had a phrase in it twice that caught my attention, "Bless the Lord" (Psalm 134). And I was thinking, "Are you kidding? How can I bless the Lord?" What can I give to God who owns the entire universe to bless him? So I began reading about the meaning of the word "bless".

"Bless" is an interpretation of the Hebrew word "barak" that can also be translated as "praise". Ahhh, so to bless God is to praise him. "Barak" can also mean "to kneel, to pay homage, to honor, and to lift up your hands in praise" (Psalm 63:4). To bless the Lord is all of these.

Today, I feel more like just kneeling. Bless the Lord! Yesterday, I felt more like praising. Bless the Lord! Sunday, it was more like honoring. Bless the Lord!

So regardless of what occurs we are called to "Bless (or praise) the Lord!" And even in tough times, perhaps we can praise him for just helping us to get through all that comes.

Again, Bless ... praise the Lord!

Life together, life alone ...

One of the best books I have ever read and have taught from is about 125 pages long and it is by a German theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer (DB) called "Life Together ...". The setting of this book was Germany in the years just before World War II. Resisting Hitler, DB did a number of things -- one of them was to have small groups of Christians in or preparing for resistance meeting together. For him this was life together.

But he also talked highly of life alone. As a matter of fact, the book Life Together has a chapter on life alone. As I get older I have found that both togetherness and momentary seclusion are necessary for one's vital relationship with God. That seclusion time gives moments for self-examination of how well I am loving God, neighbor, enemy and self (the basic commands on us of Jesus).

And today in works on leadership this alone-time is seen as critical for as they agree the only one we can truly change is our self. And by our personal change we can exemplify the benefits of change to those around us.

Even Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless one, took time alone. I saw that again in my devotional for this morning which was partially from Luke 21.

Every day he was teaching in the Temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives (within sight of the temple), as it was called. And all the people would get up early on the morning to listen to him in the temple (Luke 21:37-38).

Genealogies ...

Because I am kin by marriage to the Demonbreum family, my maternal family has been a part of Middle Tennessee since before there was a Nashville. I am also kin to at least the Carneys, Biggs, Binkleys and Simpkins. Not too long ago I began research on our genealogy and I have gone as far back as the 1600's with the Binkley family which at that time was in Switzerland and from there moved to Germany, Pennsylvania and, finally, Tennessee (Cheatham County).

The reason I have mentioned a part of my genealogy is the style with which Scripture is often written. Sometimes there will be a few verses and at other times entire chapters saying words like "...Of David, Hattush, of the descendants of Shecaniah. Of Parosh, Zechariah ..." and on and on and on ... (This is from Ezra 8 and it was part of my devotional for today).

Why have the Scripture writers and editors taken so much trouble for genealogies? I am sure there are quite a few reasons, but today -- today -- it means this to me: every single human being is vitally important to God!

We may not know anything but the names of countless people in Scripture or our genealogy. Nevertheless, they are vital to a part of who we are today! And, of course, God is the One who is most vital in our families!

It is important for me to say that God has made me! For if my family is like many there were not only preachers but also horse-thieves as my grandfather used to say.

Healing service on Sunday, October 12, 2008

This coming Sunday Arlington United Methodist Church will be having a healing service. For me, healing refers more than healing of the human body. It is also the healing of the mind, the soul, relationships, attitudes, and all that there is to life. After all that comes and goes, God want us to be whole--complete. Sometimes healing is called for in our journey toward holiness ... wholeness.

The message for our healing service will focus on the Scripture lesson from James 5:13-20. It goes like this ...

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

My bothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

At the healing service for which bloggers are invited, participants will be prayed for and anointed with olive oil which is an ancient tradition in Jewish and Christian practice.

Arlington United Methodist Church.
1360 Murfreesboro Road (between Briley Parkway and Donelson Pike)
Nashville, TN 37217
(615) 361-4896

As well as we can...

This morning one of the Scripture lessons I read was Luke, chapter 18. While Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem he is taking time to teach his disciples who are his close friends. And, as always his teaching is by his words and actions.

He tells of a judge who while he doesn't fear God still does what is right. He tells of a good for nothing tax-collector who pleases God more than a Pharisee (a preacher of Jesus' day). When Jesus' disciples are trying to prevent kids from interrupting him he replies, 'Come on now, Don't you get it? The Kingdom of God belongs to children!' A rich young ruler comes to Jesus and says, 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus says, 'Give everything away and follow me!' Afterward, Jesus praises his disciples for just following him and then has the audacity to tell them of his coming execution! As they are on the way to his trial he heals a blind man.

For me, in this chapter, Luke uses the healing of the blind man as a symbol of what will happen to us all one day. That is, we will see Jesus as he is and then get it! Until then we see as well as we can and follow Jesus as well as we can.

Oh well, may all of us today see and do as well as we can for Jesus who calls us to love God, neighbor, enemy and self.

Jesus said (to us as well), "Receive your sight; your faith (trust in Jesus) has saved you!"

Looking for the hidden God ...

"In those days" ... this and similar phrases such as "when these days", "in this place", or "from that time" are used in Scripture.

I began reading Esther this morning that is only seven pages long in my Bible. It tells the story of a woman who becomes a queen. And in those days at that place she has the courage to stand and speak against the king's decisions at risk to her own life. (Now days we would have the sense to say that royal married couple had the sense to talk things out.)

The name of God is never mentioned in Esther yet that book is in the Bible. That makes Esther a grand book whose main message for me is when God's presence is not obvious he is still around. That is, like the book of Esther hints, he is beneath the surface of life.

So through the day today I plan to look for that "hidden" God for the surprises he may just bring. Esther's phrases such as "in those days" point to that "hidden" God that pops his head up now and then.

Just sitting ...

As I sit with the window open wide behind me ...

I hear a bird singing as if he, or she, has a sermon and a half to give. Is it one of praise, complaint, pleading, or wonder?

In the far distance I barely hear a train whistle blowing. Where are they going? What will be their time of arrival?

A car just went by the house ...

The train whistle blows again and again ... two pitched whistles, a minor chord ... one of tension, one of warning.

A plane is going over ... the train's whistle is becoming softer ... on it goes ... another car goes by in the opposite direction ...

Another car ...

The train can now be barely heard ...

Through it all the bird has continued to sing ...

I heard the train's soft whistles once again ...

Regardless of what's going on in the bird's mind she or he just continues to sing a song to God.

A way to read and reflect upon Scripture: Life Journaling

A few years back I was introduced to Life Journaling ... a way to read and ponder both the meaning and personal application of Scripture. To be blunt it is both demanding and rewarding, assuring and challenging. When you follow this system you will read the Old Testament (written before Jesus) once a year and the New Testament (written after Jesus) twice a year.

What I have noticed is the Old Testament readings are setup pretty much in the time-period order. For example if one reading for the week comes from about 700 BC then other readings about that same time period will be read as well.

This morning's reading included the 138th psalm and verse 8 of that psalter reading hung in there with me. It goes like this:

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Yes, such is always true.

If you are interested, the website for Life Journaling material which is inexpensive is www.lifejournal.cc or a toll-free number is 1-877-755-9555.

Living out your dream

On Wednesday, September 24, 2008, I wrote a post entitled Just Courage about one of the books I read while on vacation. Here is the other book I would recommend. It tells of a lady who shares how her dream has been coming true for public education. The author's name is Wendy Kopp and her book that I read is One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach for America and What I Learned Along the Way.

It tells of how she has been living out her calling that came from this question: Why didn't this country have a national teacher corps of top recent college graduates who would commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools? (p. 6).

Her dream has become so real that right at 10,000 people has helped in her dream. It tells of victory and struggle, hope and frustration. As she puts it, great leaders wrestle with how to match specific actions with the overall vision. As she writes, "...if I was to fulfill my mission, it would take more than an idealistic vision. In the end, the big idea was important and essential. But it would work only with a lot of attention to the nuts and bolts of effective execution. This lesson would enable me to strengthen Teach for America for years to come" (p. 125).

May you and I always be ready to adjust and fine tune our actions to the vision God has for us. Why don't you pray that I make the right adjustments to God's vision for me each day? Regardless, I will pray such for you as well.