And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19 (NIV)
Do you believe God meets your needs? Why or why not? What do you lack? What do you need? What to you give thanks for?
The following story is about the 7th century English saint Cuthbert:
Once upon a time, the good Saint Cuthbert of Lindesfarne, went forth from his monastery to preach to the poor. He took with him a young lad as his only attendant. Together they walked along the dusty way. The heat of the noonday sun beat upon their heads, and fatigue overcame them.
"Son," said Saint Cuthbert, "do you know any one on the road, whom we may ask for food and a place in which to rest?"
"I was just thinking the same thing," answered the lad, "but I know nobody on the road who will entertain us. Alas why did we not bring along provisions? How can we proceed on our long journey without them?"
"My son," answered the saint, "Learn to have trust in God, who never will suffer those to perish of hunger who believe in Him."
Then looking up and seeing an eagle flying in the air, he added, "Do you see the eagle yonder? It is possible for God to feed us by means of this bird."
While they were talking thus, they came to a river, and, lo the eagle stood on the bank.
"Son," said Saint Cuthbert, "run and see what provision God has made for us by his handmaid the bird."
The lad ran, and found a good-sized fish that the eagle had just caught. This he brought to the saint.
"What have you done?" exclaimed the good man, "why have you not given a part to God's handmaid? Cut the fish in two pieces, and give her one, as her service well deserves."
The lad did as he was bidden, and the eagle, taking the half fish in her beak, flew away.
Then entering a neighboring village, Saint Cuthbert gave the other half to a peasant to cook, and while the lad and the villagers feasted, the good saint preached to them the Word of God
An old story you say? Yes it is, but it still speaks an eternal truth. God will supply our needs! As things are getting harder economically we begin to worry. As our things are going away, and budgets get harder to meet and the needs keep increasing our faith wanes. It is a good time that we pray for faith – not just belief in God’s existence, but faith that God can do what God promises. God can!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Confessions of Faith
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV 1984)
Why is the cross foolish? How is it also the power of God? When thinking of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus do you discover hope? Why?
The following is by Timothy George, “Delighted by Doctrine,” Christian History and Biography (Summer 2006):
Judaism has its shema and Islam its shahadah, but Christians, responding to Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” have produced literally thousands of statements of faith across the centuries.
As a capstone to his lifelong interest in the central texts of the Christian faith, Jaroslav Pelikan edited (with Valerie Hotchkiss) Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition, a four-volume critical edition with a one-volume historical and theological guide called simply Credo.
Pelikan’s collection includes several hundred creeds, including the Masai Creed from Nigeria, which Africanizes Christianity by declaring that Jesus “was always on safari doing good.” It also declares that after Jesus had been “tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died, he lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended unto the skies. He is the Lord.”
This creed was brought to Pelikan’s attention by one of his students, a woman who had been a member of a religious order working in a hospital in East Nigeria. Pelikan wrote, “She brought it to me, and I just got shivers. Just the thought, you know, the hyenas did not touch him, and the act of defiance — God lives even in spite of the hyenas.”
Not only do we believe Jesus died, that God died, but we believe Jesus lives! Yes it is foolish! It is crazy to believe such a thing, but we defiantly proclaim it. Who do we say Jesus is? What parts of our culture does the Christ who changes culture change? Where does God live in spite of death dealers? Now let us proclaim who Jesus is each morning as a confession of faith. Within our confession we say something about the power of God!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Why is the cross foolish? How is it also the power of God? When thinking of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus do you discover hope? Why?
The following is by Timothy George, “Delighted by Doctrine,” Christian History and Biography (Summer 2006):
Judaism has its shema and Islam its shahadah, but Christians, responding to Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” have produced literally thousands of statements of faith across the centuries.
As a capstone to his lifelong interest in the central texts of the Christian faith, Jaroslav Pelikan edited (with Valerie Hotchkiss) Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition, a four-volume critical edition with a one-volume historical and theological guide called simply Credo.
Pelikan’s collection includes several hundred creeds, including the Masai Creed from Nigeria, which Africanizes Christianity by declaring that Jesus “was always on safari doing good.” It also declares that after Jesus had been “tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died, he lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended unto the skies. He is the Lord.”
This creed was brought to Pelikan’s attention by one of his students, a woman who had been a member of a religious order working in a hospital in East Nigeria. Pelikan wrote, “She brought it to me, and I just got shivers. Just the thought, you know, the hyenas did not touch him, and the act of defiance — God lives even in spite of the hyenas.”
Not only do we believe Jesus died, that God died, but we believe Jesus lives! Yes it is foolish! It is crazy to believe such a thing, but we defiantly proclaim it. Who do we say Jesus is? What parts of our culture does the Christ who changes culture change? Where does God live in spite of death dealers? Now let us proclaim who Jesus is each morning as a confession of faith. Within our confession we say something about the power of God!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Friday, September 9, 2011
Broken Hearts
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Sometimes we do not need questions to help to think about things. Sometimes we just need to hear good news. This is good news.
This comes from A Turbulent Peace by Ray Waddle
“Religion’s for old people,” my buddy declared as we drove through the countryside. I found his comment a little insulting: I was a churchgoer, age nineteen. Was that so wrong? I lost touch with him; now it’s been twenty-five years since we’ve spoken. But he was on to something. At twenty, the road looks clear all the way to forever. We arrogantly waste time, try a hundred new jobs or relationships or ideologies, believe and fool thing. The heart is not yet broken, not in the way it is when time crashes down on it – soured dreams, career missteps, divorce, illness, the death of loved ones, the passing of so much we love. By old age the ghostly procession of the once-was can be unbearable.
My heroes include any elderly persons who keep the flame lit, who still feel inspiration and outrage at ideas, current events, history, movies, books, national tragedies, spring flowers, the passing parade. Somehow they take it all in. Life enlarges their spirit, becomes fuel for the remaining journey, seasoned with humor, not bitterness. They age with dignity. Part of the dignity is keeping the inevitable heartbreak framed by larger perspectives and by going deeper into the grief, not denying it.
The heart breaks again and again. In the midst of heartbreak God moves ever closer. I saw a sign recently that read, “Faith is not faith until we have nothing else to hold on to.” Someone told me, “We are always trying to reach the place where we do not need faith, but that is when fear kicks in.” Yet when life tears us down and we are left with nothing sometimes all we have is faith… and that is when some of us may realize that is all we need.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Sometimes we do not need questions to help to think about things. Sometimes we just need to hear good news. This is good news.
This comes from A Turbulent Peace by Ray Waddle
“Religion’s for old people,” my buddy declared as we drove through the countryside. I found his comment a little insulting: I was a churchgoer, age nineteen. Was that so wrong? I lost touch with him; now it’s been twenty-five years since we’ve spoken. But he was on to something. At twenty, the road looks clear all the way to forever. We arrogantly waste time, try a hundred new jobs or relationships or ideologies, believe and fool thing. The heart is not yet broken, not in the way it is when time crashes down on it – soured dreams, career missteps, divorce, illness, the death of loved ones, the passing of so much we love. By old age the ghostly procession of the once-was can be unbearable.
My heroes include any elderly persons who keep the flame lit, who still feel inspiration and outrage at ideas, current events, history, movies, books, national tragedies, spring flowers, the passing parade. Somehow they take it all in. Life enlarges their spirit, becomes fuel for the remaining journey, seasoned with humor, not bitterness. They age with dignity. Part of the dignity is keeping the inevitable heartbreak framed by larger perspectives and by going deeper into the grief, not denying it.
The heart breaks again and again. In the midst of heartbreak God moves ever closer. I saw a sign recently that read, “Faith is not faith until we have nothing else to hold on to.” Someone told me, “We are always trying to reach the place where we do not need faith, but that is when fear kicks in.” Yet when life tears us down and we are left with nothing sometimes all we have is faith… and that is when some of us may realize that is all we need.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
God Is There
Don't panic. I'm with you.
There's no need to fear for I'm your God.
I'll give you strength. I'll help you.
I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. – Isaiah 41:10 (The Message)
When did you panic last? What was going on? Of what are you afraid? Where is God? What is God doing?
This came from the Christian Century on July 26, 2011:
When Fred Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy award in 1998, he asked the celebrity audience to take ten seconds of silence to think about people who had loved them into being and helped them become who they are.
Within seconds weeping and sobs could be heard throughout the audience. Then Rodgers said, “May God be with you,” and sat down. Eliot Daley, a Presbyterian minster who had worked with Rogers, says it is significant that Rogers didn’t say “God bless you.” Rogers knew that the people were already blessed by God. He wanted the people in the audience to be aware that God was with them.
Sometimes when things seem hard we forget the many blessings that have saturated our lives. However, even when the world seems more full of curses than blessings God is still with us. I know we need to be reminded of this from time to time, because I know I need to be reminded of this from time to time. When we walk in valleys so deep they can be called the valley of the shadow of death, God is still there. Even though God tells us not to panic, not to be afraid, and all the rest we will be. Today let us pray that we may be filled with faith. In that way when fear knocks on our doors we may open them and discover God is there.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
There's no need to fear for I'm your God.
I'll give you strength. I'll help you.
I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. – Isaiah 41:10 (The Message)
When did you panic last? What was going on? Of what are you afraid? Where is God? What is God doing?
This came from the Christian Century on July 26, 2011:
When Fred Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy award in 1998, he asked the celebrity audience to take ten seconds of silence to think about people who had loved them into being and helped them become who they are.
Within seconds weeping and sobs could be heard throughout the audience. Then Rodgers said, “May God be with you,” and sat down. Eliot Daley, a Presbyterian minster who had worked with Rogers, says it is significant that Rogers didn’t say “God bless you.” Rogers knew that the people were already blessed by God. He wanted the people in the audience to be aware that God was with them.
Sometimes when things seem hard we forget the many blessings that have saturated our lives. However, even when the world seems more full of curses than blessings God is still with us. I know we need to be reminded of this from time to time, because I know I need to be reminded of this from time to time. When we walk in valleys so deep they can be called the valley of the shadow of death, God is still there. Even though God tells us not to panic, not to be afraid, and all the rest we will be. Today let us pray that we may be filled with faith. In that way when fear knocks on our doors we may open them and discover God is there.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Audacity of Faith
Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you see me. Those who believe without seeing me will be truly blessed." – John 20:29 (NCV)
What do you believe? What is it like to believe in a God you cannot see? Do you wish you could see some proof? What proof would be good enough? How would that change your belief?
This comes from the book, “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom
On this day, Morrie says that he has an exercise for us to try. We are to stand, facing away from our classmates, and fall backward, relying on another student to catch us. Most of us are uncomfortable with this, and we cannot let go for more than a few inches before stopping ourselves. We laugh in embarrassment.
Finally, one student, a thin, quiet, dark-haired girl whom I notice almost always wears bulky, white fisherman sweaters, crosses her arms over her chest, closes her eyes, leans back, and does not flinch, like one of those Lipton tea commercials where the model splashes into the pool..
For a moment, I am sure she is going to thump on the floor. At the last instant, her assigned partner grabs her head and shoulders and yanks her up harshly.
“Whoa!” several students yell. Some clap. Morrie finally smiles. “You see”, he says to the girl, “you closed your eyes, that was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too – even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling”.
Belief and trust go hand in hand. Abraham took God on a promise, and trusted that promise even when all evidence pointed to the contrary. It is true that sometimes faith seems utterly ridiculous, especially when we are looking for something to give us some certainty in the face of uncertain times. Yet all we have is a promise. When life feels like we are falling it is still best to close our eyes and trust in the Promise Maker. Should we do such audacious and ludicrous thing, somehow we will be truly blessed.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What do you believe? What is it like to believe in a God you cannot see? Do you wish you could see some proof? What proof would be good enough? How would that change your belief?
This comes from the book, “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom
On this day, Morrie says that he has an exercise for us to try. We are to stand, facing away from our classmates, and fall backward, relying on another student to catch us. Most of us are uncomfortable with this, and we cannot let go for more than a few inches before stopping ourselves. We laugh in embarrassment.
Finally, one student, a thin, quiet, dark-haired girl whom I notice almost always wears bulky, white fisherman sweaters, crosses her arms over her chest, closes her eyes, leans back, and does not flinch, like one of those Lipton tea commercials where the model splashes into the pool..
For a moment, I am sure she is going to thump on the floor. At the last instant, her assigned partner grabs her head and shoulders and yanks her up harshly.
“Whoa!” several students yell. Some clap. Morrie finally smiles. “You see”, he says to the girl, “you closed your eyes, that was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too – even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling”.
Belief and trust go hand in hand. Abraham took God on a promise, and trusted that promise even when all evidence pointed to the contrary. It is true that sometimes faith seems utterly ridiculous, especially when we are looking for something to give us some certainty in the face of uncertain times. Yet all we have is a promise. When life feels like we are falling it is still best to close our eyes and trust in the Promise Maker. Should we do such audacious and ludicrous thing, somehow we will be truly blessed.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, October 7, 2010
God's Rosebud and Our Faith
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. – Proverbs 3:5,6 (NRSV)
What does it mean to trust in the Lord? Do you? How have you tried to rely on your own insight? What happens? How will you acknowledge God in all ways?
The following was e-mailed to me and is called “GOD'S Rosebud”
A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice.
The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry. But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact.
It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem...
"It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine."
"The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily,
But in my hands they die."
"If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?"
"So I'll trust in God for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance
In each step of the way."
"The path that lies before me,
Only my Lord knows.
I'll trust God to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose."
Mother Teresa said, “I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.” Oswald Chambers said, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the one who is leading.” We are God’s beauties, and God will make us bloom when the time is right, if we are still following. So let us follow with faith!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does it mean to trust in the Lord? Do you? How have you tried to rely on your own insight? What happens? How will you acknowledge God in all ways?
The following was e-mailed to me and is called “GOD'S Rosebud”
A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice.
The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry. But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact.
It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem...
"It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine."
"The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily,
But in my hands they die."
"If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?"
"So I'll trust in God for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance
In each step of the way."
"The path that lies before me,
Only my Lord knows.
I'll trust God to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose."
Mother Teresa said, “I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.” Oswald Chambers said, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the one who is leading.” We are God’s beauties, and God will make us bloom when the time is right, if we are still following. So let us follow with faith!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
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