Month: November 2020

For today’s devotion, please take time to meditate and reflect on the first 2 verses of our Stewardship hymn, Count Your Blessing. What are you grateful for this week?

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When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done. 

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

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Click here to watch our choir sing verses 1 & 2.

I don’t know about you, but music has always been my time machine. When I listen to music, it often evokes a memory, a moment, a story from my past that takes me back. It was that same experience that I had on Monday morning, waiting in the service line at the Car Dealership for maintenance. Mondays are my day off and so after taking the kids to school, I took the car in for an oil change. I was 10 minutes early (which is a rare thing, for me) and drove in line behind everyone else. At first, I was listening to NPR and catching up on the weekend’s news, but then I suddenly had an inclination to listen to some music from my past.

There was a band that basically got me through my college years called Shane and Shane. I was first introduced to them in my Senior year of High School, listened to them every summer at Warren Willis camp, and used them a lot for the Interpretative Moment skill for Campers. I was blown away to see them perform live and hear their faith story, and then I promptly bought several, if not all of their CDs and was determined to learn not only the melody but selective harmony parts for most of their songs. One song in particular, called The Answer, has the ability to move me to tears every time I worship to it. Monday was no exception, so yes, I was that girl, in a drive-up line for an oil change, just jamming out to Jesus music with the windows up. Here are the words of the part of the song that moved me so intensely that I had to share them with you.

I’ve tried more of me
And I come up dry
Trading you for things
Things that go away

My happiness is found in less of me
And more of you
My happiness is found in less of me
And more 

I have found the answer is to love you
And be loved by you alone
Alright
You crucify me and the world to me
And I will only boast in you

Often times, the lyrics to these Shane and Shane songs are taken straight from Scripture. More of you and less of me is a theological truth articulated across both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament and it reminds us that God must increase and we must decrease. One particular Scripture found in John 3 shares the tense exchange between John the Baptist and his disciples when they see Jesus over on the other side of the Jordan River also baptizing. The jealousy grows in the hearts of John’s disciples because Jesus has more people on his side than they did. Here is how John the Baptist responds to them:

^“30 He must become greater; I must become less.” ³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.”                             John 3:30-33

Not that the number of people you baptize in a month should ever be a competition, but these disciples get a firm talking to because they have made religion about worldly things. They have turned religion into the numbers game and have missed the point. In John’s response, it seems at first that he is stating the obvious; Jesus is from above and John is from the earth. This is something they can all agree with. But then John, the teacher, the prophet humbly bows down and steps back. As he decreases, Jesus increases. As John makes it less about himself, then God, through Jesus can become more.

This Shane and Shane song that I worshipped to on Monday morning reminded me that I too must decrease so that God can increase in my life. That the earthly standards with which I normally judge my worth and significance matter, not in the Kingdom of God. I don’t know what in your life has become greater in these uncertain days. Maybe it has been worry, pride, diminishing health, broken family dynamics, doubts about your faith, anxiety over finances, lack of patience, bitterness, or a fear about tomorrow. Whatever it might be, would you consider with me today what needs to be decreased so that God can live through your weakness and burst forth in a way that only God can? Are you contented to have less of you and more of God in your daily schedule, thoughts, and actions? Are you ready to spend less time worrying and more time being loved on by God this week? I pray that as you and I decrease, God, through the power of the Holy Spirit may increase in our lives, in our church and in this world that so desperately needs to know that they are loved and set free!

Hope

Isaiah 40:31 says “But those who hope in the Lord renew their strength.”

How joyful is that renewal of strength when it comes! Like many, I struggle with depression. It is so hard to crack open my Bible or even go for a walk when things seem their darkest. However, this year I had resolved to read the entire Bible — something I have never done before. I was on track for months! But after the pandemic hit and I began keeping my kids at home full time, my helpful Bible-in-one-year plan began to send me notifications as I got further and further behind. This week I started to catch up. It’s looking like it’s going to be a full Thanksgiving (or New Year’s Eve) but I think I’ll be able to reach my goal.

Every time I read a chapter, I feel a little bit stronger for the next day. Today’s reading from Timothy included the following: “But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment — that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God.” God is sufficient, thank the Lord for that. Of course, studying scripture is only a part of ensuring our mental and spiritual health. There is much that goes into the daily work of humanity. But it does help to have a firm foundation to return to, a book of wisdom and stories that will (thankfully) still be there on January 2.  

~ Laura Paquette, Family Council Chair

“In 2017, a woman of color regularly faces food insecurity, violence, and/or housing instability. This is the norm. Since privileged people have agency and mobility, we can typically choose which neighborhoods we want to live in, which schools to send our children to, and which churches to attend. Most privileged people make choices that shield them from the realities of those who are excluded from such stable, safe, and prosperous communities.” ~Christena Cleveland

Church, it should be noted that I am writing this devotion on Election Day. By the time you read this, we may have the results of the election, or we may not, but nevertheless, I have been thinking about past elections and how I felt after all was said and done.

Over the last two weeks, as I have driven back and forth to Trinity Christian Academy, which is our church’s preschool on the Reeves campus, I drive past a lot of enthusiastic flag wavers and sign holders. Some I honk for, and some I don’t. Some I wave at and some I simply nod and pray for while driving past. My children have gotten into the spirit of this too and encourage me to honk and wave and make enthusiastic noise as well. They really get into it and play along.

This morning, as we were listening to Disney’s Moana music and driving to school, I remembered my first election and the part I played in it. It was 1992, and I was in 1^st Grade. My parents, one a teacher, one an architect were supporting the independent candidate Ross Perot. Earlier that week, I had been voluntold (this is when you are told by someone you love to help do something but act like you enjoy doing it) to hold a sign on the busy corner between my school and my home with my parents. At school that morning I had told my friends, who were as wise as I was at age 6, that I was helping hold signs for my parent’s candidate, Ross Perot afterschool. I was immediately laughed at. My friends told me that it was stupid to hold signs for that man, and when I asked them why, one friend said it was because his ears were too big! Wait, what?! His ears were too big? I didn’t realize that the facial features of a person were the main qualifying concerns for the Country’s highest office, but obviously, I was ill-informed. It is interesting what you remember about events in your childhood as you process them as an adult, but I distinctly remember but holding the sign over my face, so my friends couldn’t see me. I remember, even at a young age feeling embarrassed but torn because I wanted to do what was asked of me, yet I did not know how to express myself in the moment.

Of course, (spoiler alert) Ross Perot did not win the election, Democrat Bill Clinton did, but Perot did win 18.9% of the popular vote which was the highest share won by a candidate outside of either the Republican or Democratic parties in almost 100 years. I didn’t know then, what I now know and what I try and teach my children through words and actions every day.  Scripture says it like this,

^“7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

This verse is pulled from the story of when the Prophet Samuel is choosing the next King to anoint for Israel and time after time, the sons of Jesse do not impress God. God was looking at the heart of the future King, not his physical appearance or his stature. What a relief! But also, how very confusing. You see, even four or five thousand years ago, leaders were chosen based on their physical appearances, it would seem. Which would mean that my first-grade friends were just following along with the age-old process of judging the outer rather than the inner. We haven’t evolved much as a human race in the last few millennia it would appear, but then again, doesn’t this realization point us once again to the wisdom of God? We are broken individuals that have finite abilities to discern and judge who is worthy and who is not. We are not THE Judge, thank goodness and at the end of this election, however it turns out, we won’t have any more power to judge or condemn than before. We will however have the power to include, rather than to exclude. We will still possess the power to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. And we will be given a new chance to see ourselves, in the reflection of Jesus the Christ.

Will, we hide behind the judgments of others, embarrassed and ill-informed, or will we choose to build a relationship with the unlikely “other” and get to know their heart? My hope for you and for me is that when all is said and done, we will choose the road less traveled and be a change-agent for the Kingdom of God. Ultimately it is our choice. Over the next few days, we will be left with the reality that half of our country will be hurt, disappointed, angry, and possibly feeling hopeless. What are we going to do about it? What might God be calling us to do in this season of divisiveness? And how might God’s grace show us how to live into our Kingdom’s identity to get to know the person on the “other side?”

May I offer this prayer for us today?

Good and Gracious God,

I am not the Judge; you are, Oh God because you look at the heart. I don’t want to look at others with my eyes anymore, so see for me, discern for me and help me love as you love.

Be present Lord Jesus, be present.

AMEN