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May 2, 2012, Pride and Humility

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is...
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
—Romans 12; 1-4

Society does not fit the biblical model that we are taught and often desire. Truth, honesty, integrity, love and many other virtues seem rare at times. Often in our human desire to “fit”, we join in and need correction. It is normal to err and join in. It is also forgivable.
In a discussion last week in a business environment, we were discussing several long term successful business men. We were comparing the successful men with some that were sinking fast or already out of business. It seems that the ones that have long term success may have read Paul’s message to the Romans. Fairness was their trademark and perpetual growth seemed to be a trait. They were not always right, but always seemed to be growing and striving for excellence.

They earned the respect and trust of those around them. They were not “sharks” but win-win business men. Somehow, they incorporated their Christian beliefs into the tough world of doing business. That is truly doing God’s will.

Thought for Today: Today we will all have a chance to stand up and be counted. We will have opportunities to demonstrate our faith in circumstances where we would not normally do so. Let us demonstrate that we are considerate and Godly in our daily activities.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, the world we live in is distracting and volatile. We all have too much to do, too many commitments and too many fears. Throughout all of this we pray for peace. Peace in our own lives, peace around the world and an end to hate and prejudice. We pray that we end anger and hate in ourselves and can demonstrate the value of peace to others through our example.
Ame

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May 2, 2012, Pride and Humility
“Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.”
—Proverbs 18, 12

My mom used to use some interesting terms and expressions when describing humanity. One of her favorites was “fool hardy” when someone did something out of line. Another was that “It is better to be silent and be thought a fool that to speak out and remove all doubt.” Somehow, when we are proud in the context of today’s text, we are not paying attention. When we kid ourselves with false pride, it helps us grow to have an appreciation for the realities of life.

We are often overconfident. It seems that the younger we are the more likely we are to suffer from “cockiness”. Somehow that is God’s way of teaching us. We constantly have to monitor our pride and confidence. The elders of society have knowledge and experience but are not always correct. Technology and society are changing faster than fifty years ago. Therefore many of the rules of life have changed.

In our spiritual lives, the rules have not and will not change. We need to take inventory on our pride and be real. The ethics, love and traditions taught to us by Christ will endure regardless of technology changes and cash flows. We need to hold up our values to serve the Lord in an ever changing world.

Thought for Today: Every day is the first day of the rest of our lives. The mistakes and experiences of our past are nothing more than learning experiences and enable us to move forward with confidence. Today let us focus on being humble and dealing with the realities of our individual worlds.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today we give thanks for the lessons we have learned and the great loves that we have. Through all that Jesus taught us and what we learned from the past, thank you for putting it before us.

Amen

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April 24, 2012, Frozen Chosen
“Praise the Lord
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
…Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
Praise the Lord”
—Psalm 147, verses 1 and 7

Listening to Beth Moore recently she talked about evangelism, sharing our faith and singing praises. Not only during Sunday services but all week long! That is evangelism, an invitational ministry, a welcoming format. In our small Methodist church we are far from being evangelists. The young families are too busy and we in the older generation seem too tired. The actuality of it is we are too conservative. A term that I like is that we are the “frozen chosen.”

Twenty years ago we had a gospel group come to our church for what they thought would be a rousing concert. The leader did all he could to get a group on Methodists to stomp their feet and clap their hands. He had limited success. We enjoyed the music but foot stomping was not an apt description!

At a worship team meeting several years ago a group came to complain because people often applauded when our quartet or a soloist finished a piece. They requested that we put a notice in the announcements asking for no such show of pleasure or appreciation. As a team member I stated that if applause was outlawed they would have to deal with me standing upon a pew shouting “halleluiah-Amen!” Our pastor said “Pass the motion I want to see that!” I was blessed and the motion failed and we still applaud.

We make decisions every day as to how we will interact with others. So today we will decide whether we will be inviting Christians or members of the frozen chosen!

Thought for Today: For today let’s mention our faith or our church to show someone why we are who we are. Let’s take our faith public at least for a day.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and father, the world is blooming into spring and your wondrous work surrounds us but here is still strife and tensions that are un-Godly. Today we pray that we may contribute to peace and help relax the tensions around the world.
Amen

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April 19, 2012, Patriots Day
I got home at midnight last evening from a sales meeting so this is a repeat from last year and one of my favorites. April 19th is Patriot’s Day, a Massachusetts holiday. It was celebrated on Monday with the Boston Marathon. Mother nature, the Lord’s chief meteorologist, turned the heat in Boston up to 90 degrees. I prayed for my friends and all who were trying to run there.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run,
but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last,
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
—1 Corinthians 9. verses 24 and 25)

Growing up in Boston we celebrated Patriots day. That gave me two choices to write about today; Paul Revere’s ride or the Boston Marathon. There is a similarity and it is not direction!

The marathon involves over 20,000 participants, one lady and one male will make a six figure pay check and be declared winners. As many as twenty others will receive appearance money and have a good pay day. The majority will receive personal gratification, be the recipient of a great engine for their body from their training and recognition for a great effort. That is all they want. They do it out of the passion that endurance runners have and the feeling of accomplishment.

In 1775 Paul Revere and William Dawes raced out of Boston with a message that the British were moving out. Their message to the people of greater Boston was the call to arms. Unfortunately, Paul did not get very far because he was picked up in west Cambridge by a British patrol. However, he did get the poem named for him, I guess William Dawes did not rhyme as well! They were both on a mission to benefit humanity, both were unselfish and both are American heroes.

Life is not a sprint. It is a marathon. We need to race it and live it with our eye on the ultimate prize that is promised through our faith.

Thought for Today: For today let us focus on our race for the prize. Let’s take a step closer to perfection.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord today we pray for the safety and success of the many who ran in Boston. May they be blessed with fitness and great memories.
Amen

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April 11, 2012, Style Change?
“For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
—Proverbs 1:32/33

The more we change the more we seem to stay the same. People that focus on being as good as they can be, people that help others, people with spirituality seem to live “…without fear of harm.” When we lose that focus, negatives start to build in our lives and we start a slippery slide.

When we do not have any time for God, it is a sign of over commitment, reacting to our “to do” lists rather than planning out day. The concept of putting one’s self first part each day is the key to maintaining sanity and generating personal growth. We need to take the time to grow every day to be a good parent, employee, and friend; just be as good as we can be The question is how do we do all that we need to do and meet all of our obligations? The answer is priorities, and including the Lord on the list!

Pat McNamara, a former Olympian from Minneapolis advised me that if I was going to stay in shape, I had to give fitness a priority part of every day. That is, make it a calendar item and follow Nike’s advice, “Just Do It”! OK, then if we want to live better we need to schedule time to listen to the Lord’s message so we “…will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Thought for Today: We need to recognize the internal conflict in our lives. The conflict between our over committed “to do” lists and the time required to have personal growth. The concept is simple, we all want to be better in spirit, mind and body but we do not have the time. Our wants look like needs and our stress builds. Today let’s try placing the Lord first for a few minutes a day and try to feel the difference as we go through the day.

Prayer for Today: Father, today you are at the top of my list. I look forward to the piece that you will bring.
Amen

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April 5, 2012, Spring
“Crown Him the Lord of peace,
Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease,
And all be prayer and praise”
—Crown Him, Methodist Hymnal 327
words by Mathew Bridges 1851

Spring is a wonderful time of the year. Short winter days are replaced with warmer and longer evenings. Spring bulbs emerge from the ground with green sprouts, color returns to the woods, parks and our own yards. It is a time when the wonders of God bring peaceful thoughts to us all.

We also live in a world surrounded by fear. Terrorism, anger, financial problems and many other crises fill our world along with the wonders of spring. I do not know about you, but I ponder the why of it all. Where is our “peace on earth”? Spring shows us how close it is and that God is trying to bring it to us. What is our best way to participate in having a peaceful world?

The message in another hymn, “...let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” gives us a hint. If each of us does our part, we can influence the world.

John F. Kennedy put it like this. “One person can make a difference and every person must try.”

Thought for Today: Each week we encounter negativity. There are angry drivers, frustrations in the workplace and certainly opportunities to be frustrated in our family lives. We can chose to be anxious or at peace. This week when given the chance, let us demonstrate our Christian and peaceful side. Let peace begin with each of us.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, each week we see negativity around the world. We as people seem to have very little control over it all. This week we pray that we may lead by the example of Christ, we pray that our living example may contribute to a better world.