Read Acts 9:10-19a
In our scripture for today, the Lord calls Ananias out of his comfort zone. His assignment is to go to Saul and restore the man’s sight. Now you can understand why Ananias would be concerned. He knew of Saul and his reputation. He feared what an encounter with him might produce – perhaps prison, torture, or even death. Yet, Ananias risked his life to obey the Lord’s command. He comes to Saul and says, “Brother Saul.” Oh…the power of those words! He could have said, “Persecutor” or “Murderer.” He could have judged Saul for his previous life of violence. But instead, Ananias addresses him as a brother, refusing to hold Saul’s sins against him. He shows Saul the same mercy, forgiveness and compassion that Jesus Christ has shown him. He does what the Lord requires, restoring Saul’s sight, sharing the gospel with him, baptizing him, and welcoming him into the church. Where is the Lord calling you to go? What is the Lord calling you to do? Remember God will never call you to do something He thinks you are incapable of doing. As long as you are willing to do God’s work, He will always give you the necessary tools for the job. May you be like Ananias, trusting in the Lord, and willing to do whatever He requires in order to share the healing love of Jesus. Blessings, Eric
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The 2016 election season was one of the most divisive in history. For months and months, negative campaigning ruled the day, with many American citizens making the choice to vote for the candidate they disliked the least. So many people became hateful toward the other side that I wondered if our country would ever be able to unify around whomever was elected.
In contrast, this morning, I meditated on Psalm 133 - a psalm about true unity, the unity of the Spirit, a unity that gives strength and on which God pours out His blessing. Unity is always good in the work and influence of a community. My best marathon running has been done in a pack, with other like-minded individuals encouraging me on, as I try to do the same for them. United, we can accomplish much, but divided, we bring strength to the chaos of this world. But…we must also see that the psalmist is not speaking about uniformity in Psalm 133. There is a difference between unity and uniformity. We were not meant to be a bunch of “cookie-cutter” people. Unity is an investing of people’s passions, ready to work together, according to each one’s unique gifts and graces. Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:34-35 Unity takes practice and effort. May we begin practicing unity by sharing hope, peace, love, and joy…together…today! Blessings, Eric The two most important details of the Christian life could be a complete and total love for God and for our neighbor. Jesus shares these ideas so forceful that we must take notice of it.
But sadly, it seems to be a lack of love that causes so many problems in our world. We just don’t understand what true love is and we don’t practice it in our daily living. We understand about loving those who love us. We look at what we do for our families and close friends and we think we are so full of love. But then Jesus says that if we only love those who love us, how is that truly giving anything away? Jesus wants us to be like Him. We are to give away our love, expecting nothing in return, loving those who will not love us back, loving strangers and dare we say it…even our enemies. And believe or not, when you do this it will make you a better person all the way around. When you truly love all people with a genuine love, your life will turn around and so will the lives of those around you. So today, let me encourage you to genuinely love one another. It will take practice, it will take patience and it will take persistence, but it will make a huge difference in your life and in the life of others. God bless... Read Galatians 5:13-18
This month many people will celebrate Independence Day in a variety of ways. We celebrate this holiday because of what happened in 1776. We celebrate the actions of people that lived without electricity, without e-mail, without cell phones and without a Super Wal-Mart! We celebrate that these people had the courage to break free from the strangling hold of a tyrant. So how does this compare to our Christian faith? In Galatians 5, Paul tells the churches in Galatia that they were meant to be free. Free from slavery to sin and free from the obligation to keep a law that was impossible to keep. However, even Paul explains that with freedom there are still rules and limits. We cannot use our freedom to become immoral people. We cannot use our freedom to abuse others. We cannot use our freedom to sit around and do nothing. Because you see, our struggle for independence against the tyrannies of this world continues on today. But luckily, in the midst of that struggle, God offers us the help we need. Today, may you listen to God’s guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit as you fight the battle for your freedom and for the freedom of others. The recent fires in California got me thinking...
Each day we are given an opportunity to choose how to respond to the attitudes and actions of the people around us, and how to react to situations we encounter in our community. We may choose to be "firestarters," adding to the anxiety and volatility of a given situation, igniting explosive and destructive behavior, maximizing the devastation left behind. Or, we may choose to be "firefighters," managing potentially dangerous toxic situations with a calm, optimistic demeanor - putting out the embers of miscommunication, prejudice, deceit, slander, malice, etc. For God's take on things (through the pen of the Apostle Paul)...see Romans 12:9-21. It's our choice! Which will you choose? May God help you become "Smokey, The Bear" in your neck of the woods! Psalm 23:5 "You prepare a table before for me in the presence of my enemies..."
When I was recovering from hip replacement surgery, God was blessing me with a new found mobility and strength, even in the midst of one of my greatest challenges - rehab! I couldn't always see it, but each day, I recovered a little bit more and grew a little bit stronger...a little bit more flexible. Now I am growing faster little by little, surpassing race times from several years before my surgery. The Bible too gives us several examples of people who enjoyed a good life...a blessed life, in spite of difficult situations. God continues to bless us and provide wonderful faith-sharing opportunities in the midst of tragedy, turmoil, and trauma. The key to it all rests on your choice of response to the world around you. You may choose to be consumed with your problems and worries, or you may choose to focus on what God has given you...how he has "prepared a table before you" in the midst of life's storms. Don't wait for the day when you have no problems and no worries...that day will never come. Jesus says, "...In the world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) This day...choose joy...and enjoy what God has prepared for you! I ran a 5K last night and things didn’t go so well. I felt uncomfortable from the start, ran the first mile too fast, and suffered through the rest of the race. At the end, I was disappointed and frustrated...perhaps even a little angry.
As I sat there on the curb, I had a choice to make. What would I do with the anger I was feeling. Sure, I could let it tear me down, but couldn’t I also use it to motivate me to do better? Think about it. What makes you angry? Angry enough to find a solution to the problem? Angry enough to make things better? Anger, like other emotions, can energize and motivate us. Rather than letting your anger destroy you, what could you do to ensure your anger leads to making things better? Turning to faith, in the Bible we see Jesus get angry many times, but His anger is always temporary, motivating Him to make a positive impact on the things and people around Him. Jesus takes his anger and uses it to heal the sick, give to the poor, defend the oppressed... ultimately making the world a better place. Couldn't we do the same? Read Matthew 7:24-29
What do you think these scripture verses are saying? What makes for a solid foundation in life? In the winters of 1992 and 1995, I spent some time working in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nearby, there is an unusual tourist attraction called the "Garden of the Gods." It is here in the garden that huge red rocks jut randomly out of the soil. It looks like a giant has been playing with these massive stones…like a bunch of marbles. One of the more amazing rock formations in the garden is one called “Balance Rock.” It’s a huge, irregularly-shaped boulder, perhaps more than 25 feet across, resting on a thin base, only about two-feet wide. When you look at it, you wonder how it could possibly be real. But as crazy as it may seem, the rock is solid and rather safe to climb on. Throughout the years, storms, winds, and rains have battered against it, but it has not fallen. The precise balancing of the rock on its foundation have held it solidly in place. It is so solid that many people each year (including me – two different times) feel safe to stand underneath it and have their pictures taken. Now, a lot of what is amazing about Balance Rock is also amazing about our “rock” – Jesus Christ. Just like Balance Rock, when you look at Jesus and what he has said, you may wonder how he can be real. And you wouldn’t be the only one – look again at verse 28 of Matthew 7. “The crowds were amazed at his teaching!” Jesus promised that if we build our lives on solid rock – if we listen and obey his teaching, even when the storms rage, no matter how difficult our position or situation, we will not give in under the pressure. For the inspiration for this post, please read Psalm 103.
There is so much in our lives that we take for granted. I live about 10 miles from my office and while using a four-lane city street, I recently noticed there are approximately 12 restaurants and 24 gas stations between those two locations, many different choices just in case I need a fill-up…one way or another. And when I do get home, I approach my garage; press a button, the door opens and the lights go on. Press another button and the door closes behind me. I can then enter my house, turn on a light switch and light up the room. From there I can open my refrigerator and once again there are all kinds of things to eat and drink. We tend take those things for granted. But that wasn’t the way things went last September on the east coast. When Hurricane Matthew slammed into the coastline, everything those folks had and in many cases probably took for granted, was threatened. Houses were destroyed. The electricity grid went off line leaving 2.2 million homes and businesses without power. Emergency supplies dwindled and disappeared. Even drinkable water was in short supply. Most folks didn’t know what they had until it was gone. And so, in Psalm 103, David starts out praising God, and then it says: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” He’s saying: get into the habit of being thankful…right now! Get into the habit of not forgetting what God has given you. God loves us so much that He’s not only willing to meet our physical needs…but also gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Over the course of about 2 years from 2010 to 2012, I was able to go on five mission trips to Haiti immediately following the devastating earthquake of January 2010. When I arrived, I was shocked at the crushing poverty in which the people there lived. Most of the people there had little in the way of “personal property.” Homes for the most part were at best, one room shacks, with no electricity. There was little food to be had and as well as little clean water. But through all this, I was amazed at many of the Haitian Christians’ positive outlook. In fact one young Haitian adult said, “There are people in this world that say we are poor. But no one is poor who has Jesus.” Though these were poor by this world’s standards – they were cheerful and optimistic. Why? Because God was on their side and they knew it. Do we believe that too? That God is on our side? That we are rich in the love of God? Then let’s prove it by the way we live our lives. God bless. Read Acts 11:1-18.
Change isn’t easy. Doing something different from the way we’ve always done it. Leaving our comfort zone. But sometimes it’s necessary. A child who is in my youth group was diagnosed a few years ago with severe ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation and production of ulcers in their colon and rectum. This meant they had to dramatically change their eating and drinking habits. They had always eaten healthy, but now their diet became radically simple, bland, all-natural, and extremely regimented, as all sorts of standard ingredients and additives put in today’s food were a cause for concern. I remember how in the beginning they would eat correctly for a week or two, improving in their overall health, but then go back to their old ways, get sick, and even end up in the hospital on several occasions. Eventually they made the choice to stick with the new plan and now, as much as it will always affect their life, the sickness has decreased dramatically. As hard as the change was, they have never been happier. A dramatic change in diet is also featured heavily in Acts 11:1-18, but in this case it’s a metaphor for something else. Acts 11 records the moment when Christ’s church was opened up to all people of all nations and Peter is questioned for taking the first steps in this mission. In verses 1 through 18 the disciples in Jerusalem told Peter that he had some explaining to do. They had heard that Peter had eaten with and associated with the Gentiles. In their eyes, this was embarrassing and totally inappropriate because the Jews always kept themselves separate from the Gentiles…because the Jews considered the Gentiles to be “unclean.” Who do we consider to be unclean today? Who do we have a hard time including? Acts 11:1-18 is a summary of the events in Acts 10 with a few additional details. This passage is awesome because it shows that nothing can stand in the way of God’s love...in the first century or in the 21st century. God breaks down the walls that divide and asks us to do the same. So…once again...who are the people we would consider to be “unclean?” Labeling people violates the message of the gospel by excluding people just because they are different from us. Remember, as Peter discovered in Acts 10 and 11, call nothing unclean that God has made clean. |
Bio
I am a UMC pastor, appointed to serve as a chaplain for two senior adult living communities. My wife is a general music teacher and middle school band director, and we have two sons – 18 and 14. Archives
March 2020
Reflections From The Run
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