Create in me a pure heart, God, and make my spirit right again. – Psalm 51:10 (NCV)
What is a pure heart like? Do you have a pure heart? How can you receive a pure heart? Why does the psalm writer need to ask God to make his “spirit right again”? Do you ever need to ask this? Do you ask for such a thing when you need it?
I have heard a story a couple of times that goes something like this:
A farmer in the Midwest once put out an ad for a farmhand. He had a couple of people who were interested, but they did not seem well suited for what he needed. After a couple of months another man answered his ad. This man had abundant experience and excellent references. However he ended the interview in an odd way telling the farmer he could count on him, because he could sleep during storms. The farmer was confused by the statement but was so impressed by the man’s credentials that he hired him.
After a while, late one night, a fierce storm came bearing down upon the farm. It was shortly past midnight when the farmer arose in a panic. He got dressed and went outside to try to secure everything before the storm caused severe damage. First he checked the barn. The doors were closed, the shutters were locked, and the animals were all tethered and safe. He checked the hay, but it was secure and covered with tarps. He checked the springhouse, the storage shed, the tractors and the trucks. Everything was secured. He kept running around to make sure that he didn’t miss a thing, but alas it seemed as though everything was taken care of. Finally he went into the bunkhouse and saw the farmhand sleeping soundly. It was then he remembered what the man had said during the interview, “I can sleep during storms.” The farmer thought to himself, “Yes, he is at peace and has done everything well. He can sleep during storms.”
A pure heart and a right spirit prepare us for whatever arrives, and can help those around us when the storms of life inevitably come up. There is a peace that surpasses all understanding available to all within the gift of grace that is Jesus Christ. Today pray for a pure heart and a right spirit and perhaps we will also be people who can sleep during storms confident in ourselves and in our God.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A Devilish Tongue
We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself. Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. – James 3:9-10 (NCV)
How do you praise God with your tongue? How have you cursed other people with that same tongue? Why does James say this “should not happen”? How have you felt when you have been cursed? Why have you cursed others?
The following is from — Sam O’Neal, “Tasmanian Devils Spread Cancer with Their Mouths,” PreachingToday.com
In January 2006, Australian scientists discovered the cause of a mysterious disease that had killed thousands of Tasmanian devils on the island state of Tasmania, off the coast of Australia. The scientists initially believed the deaths were caused by a virus; however, their research ultimately uncovered a rare, fatal cancer. They named it Devil Facial Tumor Disease, or DFTD.
What is strange, according to cytogeneticist Anne-Marie Pearse, is that the abnormalities in the chromosomes of the cancer cells were the same in every tumor. That means the disease began in the mouth of a single sick devil. The ferocious little animal facilitated the spread of DFTD by biting its neighbors when squabbling for food, which, according to Pearse, is a natural behavior of Tasmanian devils. “Devils jaw--wrestle and bite each other a lot, usually in the face and around the mouth, and bits of tumor break off one devil and stick in the wounds of another,” Pearse said.
Over the course of several years, infected devils continued to inflict deadly wounds with their mouths. Consequently, DFTD spread at an alarming rate, ultimately wiping out over 40 percent of the devil population.
A similar fate threatens the church if its members persist in the devilish behavior of wounding their neighbors with their mouths.
Isaac could not take back the blessing he had been tricked into giving Jacob, a blessing that was reserved for Esau, because words cannot be taken back. Once they are uttered they are out, and they can cause deep and horrible anguish. Too often we have used words to cause pain. Those who proclaim Christ as Lord never should use words in such horrible ways! Instead we must use our tongues to proclaim the glory of God and to bless our neighbors with love. The cancer of hate will stop spreading the moment we decide to stop spreading it, today let us stop!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
How do you praise God with your tongue? How have you cursed other people with that same tongue? Why does James say this “should not happen”? How have you felt when you have been cursed? Why have you cursed others?
The following is from — Sam O’Neal, “Tasmanian Devils Spread Cancer with Their Mouths,” PreachingToday.com
In January 2006, Australian scientists discovered the cause of a mysterious disease that had killed thousands of Tasmanian devils on the island state of Tasmania, off the coast of Australia. The scientists initially believed the deaths were caused by a virus; however, their research ultimately uncovered a rare, fatal cancer. They named it Devil Facial Tumor Disease, or DFTD.
What is strange, according to cytogeneticist Anne-Marie Pearse, is that the abnormalities in the chromosomes of the cancer cells were the same in every tumor. That means the disease began in the mouth of a single sick devil. The ferocious little animal facilitated the spread of DFTD by biting its neighbors when squabbling for food, which, according to Pearse, is a natural behavior of Tasmanian devils. “Devils jaw--wrestle and bite each other a lot, usually in the face and around the mouth, and bits of tumor break off one devil and stick in the wounds of another,” Pearse said.
Over the course of several years, infected devils continued to inflict deadly wounds with their mouths. Consequently, DFTD spread at an alarming rate, ultimately wiping out over 40 percent of the devil population.
A similar fate threatens the church if its members persist in the devilish behavior of wounding their neighbors with their mouths.
Isaac could not take back the blessing he had been tricked into giving Jacob, a blessing that was reserved for Esau, because words cannot be taken back. Once they are uttered they are out, and they can cause deep and horrible anguish. Too often we have used words to cause pain. Those who proclaim Christ as Lord never should use words in such horrible ways! Instead we must use our tongues to proclaim the glory of God and to bless our neighbors with love. The cancer of hate will stop spreading the moment we decide to stop spreading it, today let us stop!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Keeping the Sabbath Holy
"Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. Work and get everything done during six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities. The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything—the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” – Exodus 20:8-11 (NCV)
What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy? Do you keep the Sabbath holy? Is there a day you stop working? Why do you think God wanted us to rest one day a week? How does resting honor God?
We exist in stressful times. Many people judge their success based off how busy they are, how many meetings they attend, how many boards they are on, and so on. In all of our busyness we do not have time to rest, and the idea of resting seems to be wrong to us. When we rest we wonder what we should be doing and we think about what we have to be doing, “If I don’t get this stuff done it will never get done.” And because there never seems to be an end to it we stop resting in order to work.
I once spoke with a young man after his father died, and died too young to die in our day and time. I asked him how he was holding up, and he told me he was fine. “My dad worked all the time. Always told us kids that it was to give us the life he never had. I guess we had that life, but I am not sure I ever had a father.”
If God could take a day off to rest and knew that the universe was not going to fall apart without him for a day, I think we can be assured that we are not so important that things will fall apart if we take a day off. In fact if we don’t take a day off things do fall apart. Our lives, our relationships, our inner peace, our joy, everything that makes us real (because what we do is not who we are) falls apart when we don’t keep the Sabbath holy. Keeping it holy means that we get some rest, that we honor God by enjoying the creation of which we are a part, that we drink from the wellspring of life that is communion with our Savior, that we spend time with friends and family, that we stop worrying about work and doing things just long enough to remember that Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Since we are made in the image of a Creator who rests, I suppose it is in our DNA to rest. Resting is part of who we are, resting honors the One who made us because it acknowledges who we are, and it bring us closer to our Maker. Starting now let us grow closer to God and his creation by keeping the Sabbath holy. It will make life more worth living!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy? Do you keep the Sabbath holy? Is there a day you stop working? Why do you think God wanted us to rest one day a week? How does resting honor God?
We exist in stressful times. Many people judge their success based off how busy they are, how many meetings they attend, how many boards they are on, and so on. In all of our busyness we do not have time to rest, and the idea of resting seems to be wrong to us. When we rest we wonder what we should be doing and we think about what we have to be doing, “If I don’t get this stuff done it will never get done.” And because there never seems to be an end to it we stop resting in order to work.
I once spoke with a young man after his father died, and died too young to die in our day and time. I asked him how he was holding up, and he told me he was fine. “My dad worked all the time. Always told us kids that it was to give us the life he never had. I guess we had that life, but I am not sure I ever had a father.”
If God could take a day off to rest and knew that the universe was not going to fall apart without him for a day, I think we can be assured that we are not so important that things will fall apart if we take a day off. In fact if we don’t take a day off things do fall apart. Our lives, our relationships, our inner peace, our joy, everything that makes us real (because what we do is not who we are) falls apart when we don’t keep the Sabbath holy. Keeping it holy means that we get some rest, that we honor God by enjoying the creation of which we are a part, that we drink from the wellspring of life that is communion with our Savior, that we spend time with friends and family, that we stop worrying about work and doing things just long enough to remember that Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Since we are made in the image of a Creator who rests, I suppose it is in our DNA to rest. Resting is part of who we are, resting honors the One who made us because it acknowledges who we are, and it bring us closer to our Maker. Starting now let us grow closer to God and his creation by keeping the Sabbath holy. It will make life more worth living!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Minister's Minute from November Issue of the Journal of Hope and Joy
Last night I watched a miracle. Some say that miracles do not occur any more, that they were special things that occurred at a different time or, as the cynic says, maybe at no time at all. I do not believe that however, instead I believe we need eyes for miracles. It is easy to be blind to the miraculous all around us when we do not believe the miraculous is possible. It is impossible to be blind to the miraculous when looking through the lenses of faith, and sometimes God graces us with enough faith that we cannot help but see miracles.
I see miracles often, and I praise my God that I may be blessed to be a witness to such miracles. There are those who consider me foolish for believing what I have witnessed to be a miracle, in which case I praise my God that I am foolish enough to believe in miracles, for it has made life so much more worth living! I have seen the miracle of people who believed that they were worthless discover within themselves the image of God in which they were made and thereby the inherent and infinite worth they posses. I have seen people change their lives, often times quite suddenly and unexpectedly, as they felt the call of God upon their lives to not only change themselves but act as examples of love. I have seen a church left for dead resurrected through the power of the name of Jesus. I have seen hope given to the homeless and hungry. I have seen children blessed through the work of people who never knew their work could be a blessing. I have seen the miracle of birth and romantic love. I have seen the miracle of couples married for longer than I may ever live still in love. I have seen the miracle of hardened hearts melt into compassion. I have seen the miracle of “tree line” at 10,000 feet of elevation where it looks like God put the divine hand upon the mountain and commanded that no more trees grow. I have seen so many miracles that I feel a sincere pity for those who tell me they have never seen a miracle.
The miracle I saw last night was wonderful. At the Fall Festival this church did with the Salvation Army I walked through our education building and discovered that every room within its walls was in use. It is the first time since I have been here where every room has been in use at the same time… it is the first time I have ever seen some rooms in the building used at all! Children of different races and economic levels were playing games together and having fun together. I saw a miracle when we gathered in the Bible Study room and sung songs to our God together, a diverse group of children who generations ago would never have been in the same room together, worshipping their God who must have been smiling while observing the awesome spectacle, the incredible miracle!
Many of you who consider this church your home came together with the love of Christ pouring from you to ensure that this miracle occurred. I was even told that two youth have asked to know more about Jesus because of it! Can you believe that, because of something you did with Christ’s love children created by God are coming to know the God who loves them?!! What a miracle!
As we enter the holiday season and begin to consider things for which we are thankful, consider the wealth of miracles that we are blessed to have witnessed as more than enough reason to give thanks. What miracle will next occur that will cause us to overflow with thanksgiving? How will we see the love of Jesus pour out tomorrow? Where will the lenses of faith give us sight to see a miracle where others see nothing? Where will this wave of the Holy Spirit carry us next, and who will be blessed by the miracles taking place within us and outside of us wherever we are carried? I do not know, but it is with thanksgiving I wait to find out.
Riding the Wave of the Holy Spirit,
Garrett
I see miracles often, and I praise my God that I may be blessed to be a witness to such miracles. There are those who consider me foolish for believing what I have witnessed to be a miracle, in which case I praise my God that I am foolish enough to believe in miracles, for it has made life so much more worth living! I have seen the miracle of people who believed that they were worthless discover within themselves the image of God in which they were made and thereby the inherent and infinite worth they posses. I have seen people change their lives, often times quite suddenly and unexpectedly, as they felt the call of God upon their lives to not only change themselves but act as examples of love. I have seen a church left for dead resurrected through the power of the name of Jesus. I have seen hope given to the homeless and hungry. I have seen children blessed through the work of people who never knew their work could be a blessing. I have seen the miracle of birth and romantic love. I have seen the miracle of couples married for longer than I may ever live still in love. I have seen the miracle of hardened hearts melt into compassion. I have seen the miracle of “tree line” at 10,000 feet of elevation where it looks like God put the divine hand upon the mountain and commanded that no more trees grow. I have seen so many miracles that I feel a sincere pity for those who tell me they have never seen a miracle.
The miracle I saw last night was wonderful. At the Fall Festival this church did with the Salvation Army I walked through our education building and discovered that every room within its walls was in use. It is the first time since I have been here where every room has been in use at the same time… it is the first time I have ever seen some rooms in the building used at all! Children of different races and economic levels were playing games together and having fun together. I saw a miracle when we gathered in the Bible Study room and sung songs to our God together, a diverse group of children who generations ago would never have been in the same room together, worshipping their God who must have been smiling while observing the awesome spectacle, the incredible miracle!
Many of you who consider this church your home came together with the love of Christ pouring from you to ensure that this miracle occurred. I was even told that two youth have asked to know more about Jesus because of it! Can you believe that, because of something you did with Christ’s love children created by God are coming to know the God who loves them?!! What a miracle!
As we enter the holiday season and begin to consider things for which we are thankful, consider the wealth of miracles that we are blessed to have witnessed as more than enough reason to give thanks. What miracle will next occur that will cause us to overflow with thanksgiving? How will we see the love of Jesus pour out tomorrow? Where will the lenses of faith give us sight to see a miracle where others see nothing? Where will this wave of the Holy Spirit carry us next, and who will be blessed by the miracles taking place within us and outside of us wherever we are carried? I do not know, but it is with thanksgiving I wait to find out.
Riding the Wave of the Holy Spirit,
Garrett
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