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Copyright 2009 R. Michael Sanders |
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The Grumbling Business “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” Matthew 7. 3 NRSV When I’m full of myself, it becomes difficult to have patience with those who differ from me. I measure others by the lofty standards I imagine I have attained. This takes me to the unpleasant land of faultfinding, a cruel little country whose gross national product is worth nothing. It is always easier to point out the failures of others rather than finding their good qualities. In fact, nothing is easier than faultfinding. It requires no talent, no degree or specialized training. Faultfinding calls forth no self-denial, requires no character and no license is needed to establish a grumbling business. We just hang out our shingles and have at it. Prayer: Lord, without lowering standards of excellence, give me sympathy and understanding today.
What a Waste “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’--when you have it with you.” Proverbs 3.27,28 NRSV Several years ago we were given a gift certificate to one of our favorite restaurants. We decided to save it for a special occasion. Several months went by and when we were ready to use it we discovered that the restaurant had closed. What a waste! Most of the genuine waste in life are the things we haven’t done, the moments we have not celebrated, the talents we never used. Are we waiting for just the right moment to tell someone what they have meant to us? Are we waiting until someone is in “genuine” need before we do a kindness? All too often those moments come and go and we miss them. Today will be the perfect day to be kind and generous. Why? It’ the only “today” we have. Prayer: Lord, of all the gifts I could ask from You, let it be the spirit of kindness above all else.
It Isn’t Rocket Science “For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.” Psalm 86.10 NRSV The one question I hear most is, “How do I find God’s will for my life?” There is a first principle we must fix in our mind about finding God’s will and that is that finding God’s will for our life isn’t rocket science. It isn’t a mystery to be solved, nor is God testing us with riddles to see if we’re smart enough find the answer. The task God has for us is often right at hand and is so commonplace that we miss it. Perhaps we think it is so simple that God surely would not make it an assignment, but the foundation of all great things are small tasks done cheerfully. We do not plant an orchard, we plant one tree at a time. We do not write a novel, we write a sentence followed by another. We do not build a church of hundreds or thousands, we invite one friend and then another. Such is the will of God for each of us. It is our doing the small, everyday tasks of love, charity and generosity that brings us fully into His will for us. Prayer: Lord, we thank You for a day full of activity and reflection, a day of service for each of us and the opportunities to use our gifts even with those opportunities seem small.
God Will Not Forsake Us “… I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42.16 NRSV God could have spared Joseph from the results of the jealousy of his brothers, but did not. Prayer: Lord, today will be hard for some of us. Thanks for coming with us.
A Wedding in Mount Morris “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us…” 1 Thessalonians 3.7a NRSV A week ago there was a special wedding at First Baptist Mount Morris, the church I serve as interim pastor. Ron and Orpha were married and, on their wedding bulletin, they shared their beliefs and philosophies on marriage. While the document is worth the read, it is too long to reprint here, but I want to share the following part with you. “First, why in the world would two people in their early-to-mid eighties want to marry. Why not just move in together? Two reasons: 1. We have both tried to live according to what we believe the Lord has directed in His word, and Scripture is very clear that He desires that those living together be married. 2. We both have grandchildren and great grandchildren who will likely look to us as role models and we want to be the best examples we can…” They understand that they are role models to their family and all who know them. For Ron and Orpha, Christianity is not about convenience or what is comfortable or pleasing for the moment. They feel they have a higher obligation and have chosen to live that out even as they come to this late stage in their lives. And people watch and take note. As Christians, we say we follow the teachings of Christ. We say it is the right and noble way to live. What we say we believe must be reflected in what we do or those outside the faith may shake their heads and turn away. Perhaps it is not fair to judge the merits of Christ on our inadequacies, but it happens. Prayer: Lord, it is often a struggle for the walk to match the talk. Help me, I pray.
Let Me Go Grateful "(Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 1 Corinthians 13. 7,8a NRSV Let Me Go Grateful Let me go with the warm sweetness Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the gifts of love, especially those who grace my life.
Several Excellent Excuses "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Genesis 3.12 NRSV Dr. George Finnegan sat across the desk from me. In his hands were all my research statistics, the three finished chapters of my dissertation and my copious reading log. As my faculty advisor at the Oxford Graduate School, he listened as I explained why my dissertation was not yet completed. I had begun the program four years before with eight others. The first month two had dropped out. After the first year only half of us were left. Of the remaining four I was the only one who had not yet completed the work. I talked about computer failures and research dead ends. Of having to finish a SECOND Master's Degree (thank you very much Board of Ordained Ministry of the United Methodist Church!) while concurrently working through the doctoral program. And on and on. When I stopped talking, he laid my work on his desk. "Finished?" He asked pleasantly. "Uh, yeh." I'm always brilliant with the comeback. "Good. Now, here is what you're going to do over the next six months so you can attend graduation as a participant and not as an observer." Then he laid out my writing schedule. He never affirmed or rejected my reasons or excuses. Sometimes we need someone who will not argue about why we are failing or why we have fallen behind. Someone who will simply show us the way home. Six months later I graduated. Have faith. It all comes right. Prayer: Lord, today, I'll try not to bore You with my usual excuses.
Finding Happiness "Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor." Proverbs 14.21 NRSV "This planet (Earth) has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it was not the small pieces of paper that were unhappy." The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Mr. Adams was not a believer, but he had some interesting insights into our condition. When it came to finding happiness, he understood that having money or having anything material did not bring happiness. The best it can do is make us comfortable in our misery. But there is something that does work. It works for Christians, non-believers, just about anyone. Seek a place of service. Give yourself to a cause bigger than yourself, a cause that you yourself do not benefit monetarily from. Indeed, it may be a cause that costs you! And happiness will simply show up one day like a long lost puppy. It will wag its tail, lick your hand and move in to stay. Not logical, I suppose, but there it is. Prayer: Lord, show me the next place to help.
Just One Point "...but this one thing I do..." Phil 3.13 NRSV Six years ago this week the freshmen boys basketball team I coached won their first game after two months of failure. We trailed the much larger school the entire game until the last thirty seconds. We took a one point lead and won. Just one point. Because of the way it came in the tourney, the win propeled us into the championship game. Just one point. A rebound here, a blocked shot or a blown assignment there and we would have lost again. But we won by just one point. We never know what our efforts will bring. Much may turn not on great acts of heroism or sacrifice, but on that one good thing we do. That one simple act of obedience. That one word of encouragement when, with only seconds on the clock, the team looks you in the eye and you say, "You can do this." Don't lose heart. Lift up your head. Have faith. It all comes right. Prayer: Let me never forget to do the little things because they are never little.
When It Isn't Working "Moses' father-in-law said to him, 'What you are doing is not good.'" Exodus 18.17 Most of us have been in those times when nothing is going right. If someone put our life on a graph, it would look like the stock market lately! Bummer. What should we do? What can we do? I've come across a maxim that works: If nothing is going well for me, if all seems caught in a downward spiral, I need to change what I'm doing. Hey, what do you want? Most of the time, life isn't rocket science. I cannot change those around me. The one thing I have power over is how and what I'm doing. The changes may be small at first, but that's where big changes start. And remember what Martin Vanbee (and many others) have said: Try to learn from the mistakes of others. You don't have time to make them all yourself! Prayer: Lord, today can be a day of small beginnings that can bring great endings.
Living To Ninety "He said to his disciples, 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing…'" Luke 12.22,23 NRSV As the ambulance pulled away that fall day, one of my the neighbors said to me, "He wanted to live to be ninety. I guess he made it." After years of self-preservation and taking no unnecessary risks, the keeping strict attention to diet and exercise, would reaching a number such as ninety validate his life? Or yours? Or mine? The fullness and the meaning of our lives is best measured in what we lived for, not how long we lived. Today let's be sure we do something that makes us glad we were here today. Prayer: Lord, help me celebrate the great gift of life you gave me.
Looking Back "...let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us..." Hebrews 12.1 NRSV It can be a good thing to look back on the past year and reflect. Reflect on what we did well and what needs work. The problem comes when we spend too much time looking back on our past mistakes and kicking ourselves over our lack of omnipotence. At the end of a race many years ago, the leader made the mistake of looking back. He stumbled and fell. The other runners all sprinted the final yards to the finish line ahead of him. The fallen runner got to his feet, bleeding from the fall, and staggered across the finish line. That was when the crowd rose to their feet with thunderous applause. They didn't cheer for the winner. They didn't cheer for the hometown favorite. They cheered for one who fell, but who would not give up. John Wesley wrote: "If you stumble, O seeker of God, do not just lie there...bemoaning your weakness! Pray: 'Lord, I acknowledge that every moment I would be stumbling if You were not upholding me.' And then get up! Leap! Walk! Go on your way!" Prayer: Lord, I fallen more times than I want to admit. But thanks for helping me up.
Praying For My Boss "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it." Matthew 8.9 NRSV When I "bump" into many of you I'm asked how my writing is coming. I'm pleased with the progress of my writing and it seems to be popular…except with editors who buy manuscripts! So I recently took a short-term job. It has been many years since I had a boss. As I listen and watch how my new boss handles things and I've come to two conclusions. The first conclusion is I don't want her job. The second is I need to pray for her. I'm not praying for her because she is doing a poor job. On the contrary, she is doing well. I need to pray for her because scripture instructs me to pray for her. We are clearly instructed to pray for those in authority over us and, for the purposes of this job, she is in authority over me (How many of my fundamentalist readers did I just lose?). Most of us are good at complaining about our bosses, making jokes about them and trying to ignore as much of their advice as we can, but are we praying for them? Are we praying for our pastor, our supervisor or the committees that we have to report to? If we aren't praying for them, we are not living up to our end of the deal as Christians. Prayer: Lord, the next time I start to complain or joke, let me stop and lift my boss up to You in prayer. For further reading: Hebrews 13.7-17
Slow Down and Do More "Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out…'" Exodus 18.17, 18a NRSV England was fighting for her life early in World War II. At one of the most critical times, when her military needed all the weapons and munitions they could manufacture, the head of the war ministry ordered the workers at the war plants to cut back their hours. He hadn't lost his reason. In fact he had reasoned it out. As the workers put in more and more overtime in an effort to produce additional materials, they were starting to produce less and what they produced was dropping in quality. They had reached the point of diminishing returns. Most of us have been there. We need to do more so we work longer and harder. If we keep this pace up or even try to increase it, we cease to be efficient and then we get sloppy. There comes a point where more work and greater effort actually produces less. Sometimes to do better we must slow down or even stop for a while. We must let our bodies regain strength and we let our minds regain sharpness. Hey, it's the weekend! Enjoy! Prayer: Lord, remind me that rest and relaxation are not laziness, but good sense. For further reading: Exodus 18.13-24
Up To My Neck "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me." Psalm 69.1,2 NRSV This Psalm speaks of a predicament we relate to. I think we've all been up to our necks in trouble. Finances so in the red we wondered if there were any other colors in the spectrum. Personal relationships so complicated we kick ourselves for not being a hermit. Children struggling so hard we wonder why we didn't give celibacy a fair hearing. Parents so demanding we secretly wish we were adopted! When we get up to our neck in troubles and struggle to find words to pray, this Psalm reminds us we are not the first and we will not be the last. It also reminds us there is One ready and willing to show us the way. Prayer: Lord, help me. I'm in over my head and need Your help. For further reading: Psalm 69.1-18
Enjoying Small Things "I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." Psalm 81.16 NRSV Enjoying the small things means enjoying what we have when we have it. We can get so concerned about the next "big thing" in our life that the little wonders slip by us. Part of our faithfulness to God is to enjoy what God has given us, even the "little" things like an unexpected hug from a little child. Or savoring the moment when we hear a long forgotten song over the radio and the smile of memory lights our face. We stumble across a favorite book and quietly thumb through the pages remembering the joy of it. Or we take pleasure in the taste of a new recipe. Relax this weekend and enjoy the small things. It is an act of gratitude to your Creator. Prayer: Lord, thank You for the little joys and pleasures of this day and tomorrow. For further reading: 1 Corinthians 10.29-32
How to Write a Book "For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little." Isa. 28.10 NRSV Our new landlord and I were installing the new stove last week. He had done some writing in his past and commented, "I don't know how you can just sit down and write a book!" "I can't," I answered. "I sit down and write sentence. Then another and another. After a few days I have the best part of a chapter. Just stay with it and you have a book." All we have to do today is that part of our job we can do today. We know that that. But we we feel overwhelmed. We look at the job or the family or the church and say, "This is too much!" If we try to do it all at once, it is too much. But life is to be lived one day at a time, one small task at a time. And we can handle that. Prayer: Lord, give me the strength for today and that is all I need today. For further reading: Mt. 6.26-34
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