Christian, devotion, faith, Fear, Martin Luther, Presbyterian Church (USA), Psalm, Psalms, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for October 14, 2017

As you walk west up the streets of Edinburgh’s “Royal Mile” an imposing figure looms before you; The Edinburgh Castle. Standing on a craggy volcanic rock, it has been a place of refuge and symbol of power for at least 3000 years. Above the drawbridge gate there is a crest with inscription written in Latin; Anemone me impugned laces sit, which means, “No one attacks me with impunity.”

As I read those words in this, the 500th year of Luther’s birth, I recalled his great hymn, “A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing.”

“God is our refuge and our strength,” the Psalmist wrote, “very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” (Psalm 46: 1&2a)

We live in a very fearful time. The late Edwin Friedman described this as “a time of free-floating anxiety” manifested by a “failure of nerve”. We seek quick answers and easy fixes. Your team isn’t winning? Replace the coach. Business is lagging? Replace the CEO. Not happy at home? Find a new spouse. But the problem isn’t “them”, it’s “us”–we just don’t have the “nerve”, the “courage” to own up to it.

I suspect that the Psalmist faced such a time as this when he penned the words to Psalm 46. “Though the waters roar and the mountains shake …God is in the midst. (vss. 3&5) Those are truly words of grace … Glimpses of grace.

Let we forget Whose in charge, the Psalm ends on a note of faith and conviction. Be still and know that I am God … The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (vss. 10a & 11) That’s more than words; that’s a promise.

Lord when my heart is troubled or worried or anxious, give me the grace to rest in Your Presence. Remind me that You are in the midst of life’s storms and turmoil. Remove me fear and give me courage as well as a peace that passes all human understanding. Amen.

Christian, devotion, faith, Fear, I John, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace for October 13,2017

Standing in the quiet silence of the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, I saw the North Sea in the distance. The wind and mist blew in my face and I fell into a trance of wonderment of what was. The Present broke in, though, by the distant sounds of children at play, the distinctive tweet of a teacher’s whistle, and the snap of a kicked soccer ball.

Jesus once told His disciples, as they stood in awe of the grandeur of the Temple, that there would come a day when not one stone would lie upon another. It was hard for the twelve to hear and others simply didn’t want to hear it, but Jesus knew that nothing in this world last forever. Nothing. New cities are built on long forgotten ruins. In these new cities couples fall in love, babies are born, children laugh and play with each new beginning calling us, no, inviting us, into an unknown Future. Remember this: in the midst of ruins there are always new beginnings.

Jesus’ death was not the End. It was the precursor of a New Beginning. And even now The Story–God’s Story–has not ended. The Resurrected One continues to call, guide and lead us into a Future that is known only to God. This Future did not frighten the writer of John’s first letter. It didn’t frighten him because he knew something that we often forget. He preached it to his dying day. “God is love…and perfect love casts out fear.” L(1 John 4:9&14) Let this be today’s glimpse of grace: be not afraid. We may not know what the future holds, but we do know in Whose Hands it is held.

Lord, give me the courage to commit my whole self, my very life and the lives of all whom I love, into Your loving hands.

Cemeteries, Christian, Death, faith, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for October 12,2017

I like walking through old cemeteries. To me they are a kind of library. As I walk among the markers I read biographies; a name, a date of birth and of death. Sometimes an inscription tells of a profession, or whether they were the a son or daughter, husband or wife. Some died in war. Some in youth, some in old age. Each has a story to tell. At times you sense the tragedy of a whole family, church and village. I saw this once in a small church cemetery. A mother and three of her children died of cholera within days of each other in the 1850s. I grieved for the husband and father left behind.
In the picture above it looks as if the dead look down upon the living in the city below. Maybe they do. “Good people dear as you pass by, On my cold grave do cast and eye As you are now so once was I, As I am now so shall you, Prepare for death and follow me.”

Jesus once told a story about a man who never had enough. No matter how much he had, he wanted more. One night the Angel of Death took his hand. “Tell me,” Jusus asked, who does his stuff belong to now?” (Luke 12:16-21)

“Th each is to number our days,” the Psalmist wrote, “that we might gain a heart of wisdom. “ (90:12) A glimpse of grace.

May that glimpse of grace be our prayer, too.

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Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for October 11, 2017

The Lost has been found!

I doubt that there was rejoicing in heaven, but there was rejoicing in my heart! All that being said, those who know me best may think that I seem to only think 5 minutes ahead but in reality I always have a Plan B, C, D and, at times, even an E in the back of my head. I don’t know why my brain works this way. Maybe this hardwiring was set when I was a toddler. A “family systems” approach would seem to say this. Maybe it occurred when I tried to learn how to master chess–I never did, by the way. Maybe it was reading a lot of biographies of military generals and Presidents in my youth–I read few of them nowadays. Maybe it was because I admired football quarterbacks who didn’t stay in “the pocket” and who could “scramble” toward a successful play or basketball point guards who made things happen. I could do neither. Maybe it’s “just because.”

President Eisenhower once said that plans are worthless but planning is essential. Some are puzzled by his seemingly contradictory statement, but I understood it immediately. Charles Darwin would have, too. He didn’t say that it is the strongest who survive, but the most adaptable.

Life is unpredictable. There will always be detours, missteps and “unforeseen” things along the way. Consider the Old Testament figure Joseph; Joseph as in “Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat” fame (see Genesis, chapters 37-50). His life path was full of twists and turns but ultimately he ended up right where he needed to be. I suspect that the same will be true of you and me. It may not be where we wanted to be but it will be where we need to be for whatever Eternal reason.

The Apostle Paul once wrote that he has learned the secret of being content. The secret is relying on the strength, power, wisdom and love witnessed in Jesus. Not my will, but Thy will be done. (Luke 22:42) Jesus was at one with God. Those who wish to take Him seriously are invited to seek that same fellowship.

So here are three little glimpses of grace: 1. Take Proverbs 19:21 to heart–Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. 2. Be adaptable. (Things never go as planned, so deal with it!) 3. Remember, Tomorrow, Today will be a memory. Make it a good one.

Christian, devotion, Lost luggage, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for October 10, 2017

My luggage didn’t make it with me to Scotland. I had a hunch that it would miss its flight, or rather my flight. With a plane delayed from take off by an hour and 51 minutes, my hunch proved correct. Before even going to the baggage carousel I checked with airport claims. As I suspected, luggage MIA (Missing In Action)! I was advised to check the luggage carousel with the other passengers on my arriving flight. I waited and waited. Soon there was only me and three unclaimed bags.

Jesus told many stories about lost things; a son, a coin and a sheep.(Luke 15,et al). In each of those stories and others He pointed to a God that both actively searched and patiently waited. At a different time and place He said that there were others, His “sheep”, that were not of “this fold”. (John 10:16). They, too, must be found and patiently waited for. Those who take Jesus seriously are called to actively search and patiently wait for thos “sheep”, not with formulated tracts or prayers but with lives that inspire imitation.

Lord, remind me each morning as I begin a new day that each day is a gift. Let me live in such a way that when others see me they see a true reflection of You and Your love. Amen.

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Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for October 9, 2017

With the season of Fall upon us, farmers sound me are getting into their fields for harvest. This is an uncertain time as combines and grain trucks lumber down county roads. The smell of corn and beans rest upon the country air in the early morning haze and the last rays of day.

In our first couple of parishes farmers would take a load or two to the local grain elevator and say, “This load is the Church’s.” Others would put signs the declared “God’s Acre” on a corner or two of their fields. Fall harvest heralds the end of a season as well as the uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving, a holiday increasingly by overshadowed by Halloween and Christmas. In one of his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God imprinted a spirit of gratitude upon the human heart. In that spirit we set aside a percentage of our own income and time and ask ourselves if we are doing not only what God wants us to do but to be. We are challenged to strive for significance more than success. When we do this, we become a glimpse of grace.

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Glimpse of Grace Devotion for September 25, 2017

“And when the women went to the tomb they found it empty.” Luke’s gospel.
The picture is that of a “Resurrection” lily in our front yard. They go by a variety of other names, too. They are scattered around the edges of our yard. I suspect that sometimes a squirrel or two may dig one up and “replant” it. The flower is called a Resurrection lily because its first bloom is in the Spring, generally around Easter—the day of Resurrection in the Christian faith. Occasionally it blooms in late summer or early fall. Then it dies back and is generally forgotten, at least by me, before it shoots once again up through the earth and proclaims a new beginning.

Life is full of new beginnings. The idea of new beginnings lies at the heart of the Christian faith. A loved one, a relationship or a way of life dies but by the grace of God something new grows in the empty space.

At this time of year it is good to reflect upon the spring and summer seasons that have come to an end. Something new is about to begin. Something beautiful. Something unexpected. It is good that when the women went to the tomb that they found it empty. It is good because it was a herald that God was doing something new. And God is still at it, in your life

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Glimpses of Grace Devotion for September 3, 2017

On the next to last evening of a week long continuing education in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina I received a gift that took my breath away and brought a tear to my eye. A member of my group of four called me over. She was sitting on a church pew with her husband who was recovering from extensive brain surgery. Standing in front of them, her husband reached into his pocket and handed me a horse shoe in the shape of a fish, an early symbol used by followers of Jesus to identify one another.

Before his surgery he had been a blacksmith, skilled in all aspects of the art of “smithing.” It had been two years since he worked although anvil and hammer, forge and fire. A local smith let him use his shop that afternoon where he made two fish from two horseshoes. And he gave one to me! Why, I wondered. We had shared a meal, some conversation and laughter–every day activities hardly worthy of such a gift. But therein lies the glimpse, the gift in spite of my unworthiness.

The gift was nothing short of an act of grace. Amazing grace that comes to us not because we are worthy of the gift, but because the giver simply wishes to give it! For God so love the world that He gave…(John 3:16a), not because of who we are or what we have done but because God simply wishes to give, unconditionally. And when we receive the gift, truly receive it, we do so in total humility.

Lord God, give me a heart that is truly humbled by Your grace, Your love that knows no bounds. Amen.

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Glimpses of Grace Devotion for August 30, 2017

When I was a child I was afraid of the dark. I was convinced that the night contained all kinds of scary life-threatening things. My mind would be on red alert, and I would eventually fall asleep from panic exhaustion. Then, one night, my parents put a night light in my bedroom and in the hallway outside my room. The threat of the darkness was broken.

Robert Voyle once wrote, “When children are afraid of the dark, we don’t turn off the dark. We don’t need to spend time analyzing the darkness or where it came from, or eloquently describing its subtle shades and nuances, or romanticizing the darkness, or fighting the monsters that roam in the darkness. We just need to turn on the light! And in the words of Martin Buber, if we teach children to see and carry the light that is within her or him, she or he need never be afraid of the darkness.”

As I write this a former colleague sits beside the bed of his critically injured son, a wife sits beside the bed of her critically ill husband, a son plans the funeral of his father and a nation and prays for the people in southeast Texas.

Jesus said that those who take Him seriously are “the light of the world.” We are called to shine the light of Peace, Hope, Joy and God’s Love into all of dark places of God’s world.

Lord, show me how to let my light shine brightly so that others will not be afraid. Remove my fear and fill my life with the Light of Your Love.

Blindness, Christian, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace for August 29, 2017:Walking in the Dark

I’ve walked in the dark a lot in my life. Maybe you have, too. I don’t mean spiritual or psychological darkness but the physical darkness of the night in homes, buildings, and wooded areas. Over the years I’ve learned a few important things.

First, be alert and watch for shadows. They often indicate drop offs or dips of one sort or another.

Second, and most importantly, slide your feet along the surface without putting your weight on the front foot so that you can keep your balance and control. It’s a lot like ballroom dancing.

My wife and I ballroom dance. Over the years I learned that the best ballroom dancers seldom “pick up” their feet. Rather they slide them forward. This is particularly true in my case, as my wife often wears open toed shoes. Sliding my foot cuts down on toe injuries–her’s, not mine!

Third, follow the lead. In any ballroom dance, and in any walk, someone has to lead.

Ye, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear no evil… (Ps. 23: 4) There are many dark places in life. When you walk through one, which you will, remember to watch the shadows. Slide your feet forward. Keep your balance. And follow the lead of the One “Who brought you.”

Lord, make me sensitive to Your lead in life’s “dance”. Amen.