God's Perspective on Our Lives

 This comic strip suggested God's perspective on us, His ability to view our lifespan as a whole, because He is outside time and omnipresent.

Where Can We Find Healing?

 Through Eucharist, we receive healing and are enabled to aid in the healing of others. Sozo, the root of the Greek word used in the New Testament for healing, is also translated as salvation and wholeness. Much of this healing is spiritual, but it also includes the healing of our thoughts and emotions, of our minds and bodies, of our attitudes and relationships. The grace received at the Table of the Lord can make us whole. As those who are being saved, we seek to bring healing to a broken world. The United Methodist Book of Worship describes this well: “Spiritual healing is God’s work of offering persons balance, harmony, and wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships through confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Through such healing, God works to bring about reconciliation between God and humanity, among individuals and communities, within each person, and between humanity and the rest of creation” (page 613). Holy Communion can be a powerful aspect of the services of healing provided in the Book of Worship (pages 615–623). 

from This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion p. 10

The Potter

 “The world is not spinning out of control...it’s just on a potter’s wheel.”  -Jessica LaGrone

(quoted by Maxie Dunnam on Facebook)

Joy as Well as Sorrow!

 "As I began looking for a church home in my new town, however, every sermon I heard was about how Christ comforts us in our troubles and the church is there for us in our sorrows. I knew that, but I also wanted to hear the message that the church cared about my happiness. It was frustrating to want to share joy when all I encountered was sympathy. When one pastor happened to mention that God cares about our joy as well as our sorrows, I returned to that church." 

-Thomas Blanton, Upper Room, Wed. May 11th A.D. 2022

Blanton here reminds me not to be too narrowly focused in my sermons. If I'm preaching about sympathy in sorrow, I should look for an opportunity to mention sharing in others joys as well. 

God's Hand at Work

" 'God, where are you?' I was 22 when I first asked this question. A horrific car crash had left me with a ten percent chance of survival, yet miraculously I am still here. Now in my sixties, I am finding it easier to see God’s work in my life.

I grew up in a Christian household, made a profession of faith at age 12, and have been a Christian since. When I was young, I mistakenly believed that being Christian should give me protection from suffering. But this is simply not true. It was not true for Christ, nor is it true for his followers.

Looking at my life that has included multiple surgeries and physical maladies, an onlooker might mistakenly assume that God was far removed from me. But that would be a mistake. I saw God’s hand at work when surgeons changed their minds at the last minute, when treatment plans were altered, and when surgery revealed results dramatically different from x-rays. God was present in the support of friends and family who prayed and offered words of encouragement. God was there all along."

by Dean Gammons, Upper Room, Monday, May 9th A.D. 2022

Polarized Squabbling

 

https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1960/10/29

forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead Philippians 3:12-14

 

https://www.gocomics.com/culdesac/2007/11/07

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 3:12-14

"Not on Your Life!"

Charles Blondin, whose real name was Jean François Gravelet, was a French acrobat who first walked a tightrope 1100 feet across Niagara Falls in 1859. He performed this feat many more times. More than once he walked across the falls while carrying his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back. After one such trip he said to a man in the crowd, “Do you believe I could do that with you?” 

The man answered, “Yes, I’ve just seen you do it.” 

“Well, then,” Blondin said, “Hop on and I’ll carry you across.” 

But the man replied, “Not on your life.” 

Saving faith goes beyond mere mental assent that affirms certain statements as true. Faith must also involve the consent of our will. We must trust in Christ.

from High Calling, published by the Francis Asbury Society, March - April issue 2022

What Abraham Could Not Hear

(as preserved by Dennis Kinlaw)

Henry Clay Morrison used to describe this scene in a powerful way. He would say:

I thought I heard a conversation on Mount Moriah. It wasn’t between Abraham and Isaac, it was between the first Person of the Trinity and the second Person of the Trinity. The second Person of the Blessed Trinity said to the first of the Blessed Trinity. “Father, this is not the last time we’re coming to this mountaintop, is it?”

And the Father said to the eternal Son, “No, Son, this is not the last time we’re coming to this mountaintop. It will be about two thousand years and we’ll be back here.”

“Father, when we come back the next time, it won’t be one of them on this altar, will it?”

The eternal Father replied, “No, Son, when we come back the next time, it won’t be one of them on this altar; it will be one of us.”

“It will be me, won’t it?”

And the Father said, “Son, yes, it will be you.”

The eternal Son looked into the face of the eternal Father and he said, “Father, when we come back the next time, and it’s me on that altar, and the knife’s raised or the spear is raised, and they’re ready to push it in, are you going to say, ‘Don’t touch the lad’?”

“No Son. We never ask them to do in symbol what we are not willing to do in reality.”

Authentic Christian Experience

“Authentic Christian experience is not playing praise music on your car radio or placing your body in a pew to listen to a sermon. Authentic Christian experience is the process of establishing provenance, of growing into Christ. The world is not impressed that people attend church on Sunday morning. If anything, such a habit is viewed as a quaint waste of time. But imagine if every Christian in the world were living as a little Christ. Such provenance is not just a passionate transforming experience for the Christian; it’s also a tantalizing expression of the gospel to the outside world. Starbucks opens stores on the opposite street corners because of the draw of passion and authentic experience. But what is the draw of Christian faith if that faith is not practiced and experienced?”—Leonard Sweet, The Gospel According to Starbucks, 2007

 Leonard Sweet's Rapture Story

"Growing up as a kid, we were pre-Trib. So every night I prayed, “Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If He should come before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” That was my prayer. His coming was more real to me than anything else. “Come Jesus,” was how we ended off our family prayer in the evening. So we were talking about His return any minute to save us from what was coming.

I was the oldest, two younger brothers, all year apart. When I got home from school, my mother was not there and my brothers would dribble in after me. That was really a concern when she wasn't there if there was no note. We knew when Jesus came back he would take mother.  I was uncertain whether I would go or not.  I knew my brothers were not going 'cause I knew things about them.

If it became over 20 minutes that mother wasn't there and I didn’t know where she was, I began to panic. I could give it 30 minutes, but I had to have some relief 'cause I would really break out in a sweat.  The problem was I wasn't sure about my father if he was going. My mother didn't know this but he went to some movies, and we couldn't go to movies in our tribe. And so I wasn’t sure dad was going and did not want you to call him at work. Mother always took care of Dad. And if mother had gone up in the cloud and we were left, I figured I had figured I had to take care of Dad too because I was the oldest. And I knew it take care my brother.  So I was really sweating!

I had one friend that I could call 663-0180. We had to use those old rotary phones and so it took a long while.  Her name was Ruth and when she answered the phone, I hung up. ‘Cause I knew Ruth was going. I knew Ruth was going. So I've always had a tender spot in my heart for hang ups. You never know why people may be calling and hanging up on you.

But if she didn't answer and I couldn’t get anybody there, it was it was just paralyzing. One time I waited about an hour, mother hadn’t come home. I was having to take care of my brothers.  I figured, OK, it come. I'm gonna have to be responsible here. I had saved $14.00 my brothers and I had earned from doing some revivals with my mother. It was for a new suit. I figured, OK,  it's time to take it as seriously.  Jesus came back and I've been left. I'm going to have to start taking care of the family. So me and my brothers walked down to the corner store at the bottom of the hill. I bought some food for the dogs and of course the food I thought to buy were chocolate chip cookies. The dogs would like that, right? So I got dog food which was really snacks for us. When Mom finally got home, she was not happy with my spending the whole $14.00 on basically snacks that I justified, Well, somebody’s got take care of the dogs. The dogs have to eat something.

This was the highly charged atmosphere I grew up in."

transcribed from "Are You Rapture Ready?" YouTube video at https://youtu.be/osSqcFQXcEE

Korean Christmas carol promotion draws ire from Buddhists

Leonard Sweet commented on this news story saying, "I love that idea of Christmas Carols as deadly weapons. The New Testament, T.N.T, the story of Jesus's birth is the greatest stick of dynamite, blows your past into smithereens and starts a whole new life, and create a whole new world. It is a deadly weapon for that which oppresses us and suppresses us and keeps us from lifting up our eyes and looking up." https://youtu.be/QTltWCz0yU4

A state-sponsored campaign to promote Christmas carols as a way of stimulating festive spirit among South Koreans has triggered a strong backlash from Buddhist groups in the East Asian nation.

The criticism came as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism paired up with Seoul Catholic Archdiocese, the National Council of Churches in Korea and the United Christian Churches of Korea as well as music services providers to promote Christmas carols throughout December.

The ministry has reportedly allocated a budget of 1 billion won (US$850,000) for the campaign to encourage public gathering places such as coffee shops, restaurants and retail outlets to play more Christmas carols, reported the Korea Times.

Popular South Korean radio stations including KBS, MBC and SBS will play more Christmas carols than before, while music service providers will distribute free coupons so that more people can enjoy festive songs.

The Korea Music Copyright Association is also providing 22 popular carols for free on its website.

Aggrieved over the campaign, the Association of Korean Buddhist Orders announced on Dec. 2 that it had filed a lawsuit for an injunction to stop the government using its budget for the carol campaign.

If the songs, which some people are uncomfortable about, are played continuously through the media, it turns into a deadly weapon

Earlier, on Dec. 1, South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, issued a statement to express shock at the government’s official promotion of Christmas carols.

"The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which should be fair and impartial in policies regarding religion, is leading a Christian missionary project on the pretense of comforting people," the group said.

"If the songs, which some people are uncomfortable about, are played continuously through the media, it turns into a deadly weapon, and is nothing more than pollution for those people." 

Christmas carols have become less visible in public places in South Korea in recent times, mostly for economic reasons, the Korea Times report noted.

Under South Korea’s copyright law, some businesses such as coffee shops, gyms, retail outlets and department stores are subject to paying royalties if their shop area is 50 square meters or more. Fees for musical services are also rising.

Media reports say many Koreans complain that amid the gradual disappearance of Christmas carols from public places “Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas anymore.”

In response to Buddhist opposition, the Culture Ministry said it was not supporting a specific religion but intends to promote festive spirit during the year-end season.

About 56 percent of an estimated 58 million South Koreans have no religion, 20 percent are Protestant, 8 percent are Catholic and 15.5 percent are Buddhist, according to government records.

South Korean President Timothy Moon Jae-in is the second Catholic head of state after Kim Dae-jung.

 from UCA News  Korean Christmas carol promotion draws ire from Buddhists - UCA News

“The comfort of the Holy Spirit is often like a kick up the backside!”

The above section of the Bayeux Tapestry shows Bishop Odo, who had come across with the Norman forces to England with their invasion fleet. Above him it says, in Latin, Bishop Odo comforts the troops! Look closely and you will see his comfort it a raised mace about to strike his own forces. What happened in the battle of Hastings was that Harold’s English forces had the higher ground and used that advantage for all it was worth. The Norman’s were famed for their cavalry and so William sent the cavalry forth to try and gain an advantage, and turn the tide of the battle. To his dismay the cavalry were forced back and began to run back down the hill away from the English. Now enter Bishop Odo into the story. On seeing the Norman Cavalry retreat he charges forward on his horse and uses his Bishop’s mace to force the cavalry back up the hill by striking the horses rumps with that mace! His actions worked and the next cavalry charge alongside a volley of arrows from the archers started to win the day and bring about the ultimate victory for the Normans. Its a spectacular image and shows a different idea of “comfort” to that which we are used to. We often think of that term as a nice soft place to fall, or a soft, smooth material. Not a smack on the rump by a blunt heavy object!

This story was relayed to me from a pulpit in 1992 by a vicar who was announcing to the congregation that after many years he was about to move on. He told them that whilst he could stay in the parish, where he indeed felt in his comfort zone, the Holy Spirit’s comfort, much like the mace of Bishop Odo, had kicked him up the backside and forced him to realise it was time to move on. He then pointed to the bible to emphasise that this was often how the Holy Spirit works. In Psalm 23 the psalmist writes “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and you staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23 v4). Think about a rod and a staff and you will realise that these are not cosy cushions or soft things, they are rugged and hard and used to push animals around and prod them when they go the wrong way. So can be the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

At the same time as the vicar was telling us that the Holy Spirit prompting him to move, almost against his will, so I was being prompted to act too. For about 6 months God had been prompting me to respond to my call to the priesthood. A call I kept acknowledging and then ignoring thinking “if this is of God then this will have to happen…” and as soon as that did happen (whatever obstacle or experience I was wanting to happen) then I’d put up another barrier. In fact after hearing this sermon and knowing God was speaking to me to act, I sat on things for a further 4 months. But the Holy Spirit would not let me go, His comfort left me very uncomfortable as if a Bishop’s mace or a shepherds crook was bashing into me! Those images have never left me and I have often felt promptings that are like that when I have been too stuck in my ways or in what I am doing.

So, as we await the feast of Pentecost let us be attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, let us strive to hear what God is saying to us, where he want’s us to be or go or to do. Be sure that if we ignore Him he will let us know in no uncertain terms. Let us find no rest until we find our rest in God.

from “The comfort of the Holy Spirit is often like a kick up the backside!” – Site Title (wordpress.com)
by caterwaulingcanon
I am the Vicar of Frodingham and New Brumby in Scunthorpe. All things I blog about are my own opinions and thoughts. View more posts

D.L. Moody ~ From “The Prodigal Son” in The Gospel Awakening

There was a young man went off to California, and he left a kind, praying father. He went to the Pacific coast; and the first letter to his father brought the tidings that he was in bad company. The next letter told he had gone on from bad to worse; and every time he heard from that dear boy he heard how he was going on in sin. At last one of the neighbors was going out to California, and the father said to him: “When you get there hunt up my boy, and tell him one thing—that his father loves him still. Tell him my love is unchanged. Tell him I never loved him more than I do at the present time; and if he will come home, I will forgive him all.” The man, when he got to California, had hard work to find the boy; but one night, past midnight, he found him in one of the lowest dens in California. He got him out, and he said to him: “I have news from home for you. I have come from New England, and just before I left I met your father; and he told me, if I found you, to tell you that he loved you as much as ever, and he wants you to come home.” The young prodigal said: “Did my father tell you to tell me he loved me still? I do not understand that.” “But,” says the man, “it is true.” That broke the man’s heart, and he started back to his father. I bring the message to you that God loves you still. I say to every sinner in Philadelphia, I do not care how vile you are in the sight of your fellowmen, I want to tell you upon the authority of God’s word, that the Lord Jesus loves you, and loves you still.

William McPherson--the man who read the Bible with his tongue

   I. How much do you value a Bible?

      A. This man made an effort.

William McPherson was severely injured when a charge of dynamite exploded in front of his face. Although he survived the blast, he lost both hands, both eyes, and the feeling in parts of his face. He was a new Christian and he realized how much the Bible meant to him. He needed its strength now more than ever, but he couldn't read it. William heard that a woman in Britain had learned to read Braille with her lips, so he ordered portions of the Bible in Braille. When it arrived, he was dismayed to discover that the explosion had deadened the nerves in his lips so that no sense of touch remained. But then he found his tongue was able to feel the raised dots. Although the metal left his lips and tongue bleeding and very sore, he prayed to God to help him continue to learn just one letter of the alphabet.  A teacher was able to help him learn the Moon Type system of Braille, which uses simplified figures instead of dots. In the 65 years that followed, this Kansas City man read the Bible through four times with his tongue. How much effort do you put into reading God's Word?

from Holwick's 1500+ Sermon Archive

The Problem: Jeff's Story - quoted from Robert Marshall's dissertation

Jeff, a neighbor, responded to the invitation to attend church with a resounding, “Not only NO, but…” His wife, Pat, interrupted his outburst by loudly clearing her throat. Jeff continued in a calmer voice. “I attended that church for nearly three years. I liked the worship services. I could understand the pastor. His sermons challenged me. Often he’d say, at the end of the service, ‘Many of you will walk out those doors of amnesia at the back of the church. I call them doors of amnesia because many of you will forget just about everything that I have said this morning. Your lives will not be any more conformed to Jesus’ teaching this coming week than they were last week.’” Jeff continued, “I emailed him one time about that statement. I complimented him on his boldness and asked why he didn’t do something about those ‘amnesia doors’? His assistant emailed back and recommended we join a Life Group.” 

“We tried belonging. We really tried. We needed something. We were transplants. Family and friends, the church we both grew up in, were all back East. We were lonely. And honestly, our marriage was gruesome. But most of the groups we wanted to join were closed to newcomers or focused on subjects we were not interested in. In our desperation, we did get involved with one group for a while. What a waste of time! Truthfully, Pat and I got really good at ‘faking it,’ you know, being dishonest. Even though we were fighting all the time, at our group meetings we acted like things were sunny. To me, it felt like that’s what our group expected of its members. No one there seemed to have any problems. I sure was not going to be the only one with a problem. Yes, they all talked about honesty and accountability and transparency, but I never saw it. Anyway, we never felt like we fit into either that group or the church.” 

“You know what helped the most? My VFW. I felt welcomed. I felt like I belonged. They didn’t judge me because I was from another part of the country or that our marriage was falling apart. They were honest with me and expected the same. My VFW buddies would not let me wear my ‘saint’ disguise. If not for them, Pat and I would be divorced. Do you know how comforting it is when someone asks how you are doing and you don’t have to mentally evaluate your response through some church language filter? Isn’t it sad! You go to church and lie so others think you’ve got your act together. Do you remember the story of the flea that eventually limited his jumping height because of the glass lid on the container he was in? After hitting his head so often he quit jumping so high. That church and the small group made me feel like that flea. No, I don’t want anything to do with that church or any church.”

from dissertation "Spiritual Renovation through Accountability: A Contemporary Look at John Wesley's Class Meeting and his Admonition to Watch over one Another in Love" by Robert Marshall, George Fox University

Orphans in India

Sonali, 14 year old, caretaker to younger siblings. She cooks for them, feeds them, and rocks them to sleep as her mother would.

“My mother kept us safe like an umbrella does, from the heat and rain of life,” said Sonali, holding back tears. “I imagine her being close to me. That’s what keeps me going.”

Sonali and her siblings are among more than 3,000 Indian children who have been orphaned during the pandemic, according to state governments.

They had come to deliver an “orphan pension” to the children, enough money to last for the summer. Bank accounts were opened in their names. The officials dropped off large bags of rice. 

Saucer-eyed, Sonali listened carefully as they rattled off a list of instructions for using her bank account. Her siblings — Jagabalia, 8, and Bhabana, 5 — looked on listlessly, clutching their sister’s blue dress.

By Suhasini Raj, New York Times, July 10, 2021

Real Confession

There is a big difference between saying, “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” and saying, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I realize now that it was my insecurity that produced such bad behavior. I have really prayed about this, and I believe God is showing me how I can avoid doing that again. Will you forgive me?” Confession at this level is so countercultural for so many reasons that it is hard to know how to begin to talk about it; however, to stop short of confession is to stop short of the deepest levels of transformation.

Barton, R.Ruth. Sacred Rhythms : Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006.

For Love

 I once knew a woman . . . she asked her son to shine her shoes

She put a quarter in each one . . . cause she thought that was his due

But he returned the money . . . and when she asked him why that was

He said, “Mom, I’m old enough to know by now . . .

You just do some things  . . . for love”

 

song lyrics “You Give it All Your Heart” by Bill Mallonee

Prayer of Self-emptying

The story is told of a learned professor who went to visit an old monk who was famous for his wisdom. The monk graciously welcomed him into his temple and offered him a seat on a cushion. No sooner had the professor sat down than he launched into a long, wordy account of his own accomplishments, his own knowledge, his own theories and opinions. The monk listened quietly for awhile and then asked politely, “Would you like some tea?” 

The professor nodded, smiled and kept right on talking. The monk handed him a teacup and began pouring tea from a large pot. The tea rose to the brim of the cup, but the monk kept right on pouring while the professor kept right on talking. Finally the professor noticed what was going on, leaped to his feet and demanded, “What are you doing? Can’t you see that the cup is overflowing?” To which the monk replied, “This cup is like your mind. It can’t take in anything new because it’s already full.”

Eventually, when we stop the flow of our own words, another gift comes to us, quietly and imperceptibly at first: we find ourselves resting in prayer. Rather than working so hard to put everything into words, we rest from the noise and stimulation that are so characteristic of life in our culture. We rest our overactive, hardworking mind from the need to put everything into words. We rest from clinging, grasping and trying to figure everything out. The soul returns to its most natural state in God. In returning and rest you will be saved.

Barton, R.Ruth. Sacred Rhythms : Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006.