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March 23, 2001
“The Lord said, ‘Call to me and I will come to you.’” (Jeremiah 33:3)

From Henri Nouwen

“Be still and acknowledge that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on business, teach, work in construction, make music or organize meetings.

It is important to keep a still place in the “marketplace.” This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. It also is the place from which we can speak in a healing way to all the people we meet in our busy days. Without that still space we start spinning. We become driven people, running all over the place without much direction. But with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think and do.

Thought for the Week: As our economy changes and adjusts to market conditions, many of our friends and neighbors are undergoing unplanned changes in their lives. Let us pray that God will be a presence in their lives as they pursue the opportunities presented to them through these changes.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, the world around us is confusing, sometimes cruel and always difficult to understand. Please allow us time to step aside from our busyness and dwell upon “your will” rather then “our needs.” Let us find the peace or stillness to allow “thy will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Amen

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March 16
June and I had a great trip and did not drown too many golf balls.

This week’s “Good News” is from Upper Room for Friday, Jan. 14, 2000. It was submitted to them from a builder of high speed automatic assembly equipment.

Recommended reading: Ecclesiastes 3:9-14.

Motivations
“I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?”
Ecclesiastes, 3:22 (NRSV)

Although my job can provide great satisfaction, as a Christian I have to be on my guard not to let this become a temptation to live for my career instead of God. I realize that my relationship with the Lord and those I work with will far outlast the machines and my career.

Jesus’ words in Luke 12:15 speak to us about greed and our attitude toward possessions: “Take care! Be on guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Christ tells us to remember what is important as we approach our work and the people we encounter each day.

Prayer: Create in us, O God, healthy attitudes toward our daily activities and relationships. Amen

Thought for the Week: Every part of our lives can be an arena for deepening our faithfulness to God.

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March 1
June and I will be out of town until March 13, drowning golf balls and recharging our batteries. We want you to all have this thought during our absence. With blessings and thanks for being our friends.

From the Upper Room, March 31, 2000.
“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Psalm 46:7

Quite often when a crime occurs in “our neighborhood,” we ask “How could this happen here?” The truth is that tragedy and violence can happen anywhere.

None of us is immune to them. Real security can not come from walls and fences; real security comes from having a relationship with God.

The author of the 23rd Psalm realized this centuries ago when he wrote these familiar words, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

The psalmist does not say that we will not have to walk through the darkest valley or that evil does not exist. Rather, the psalmist reminds us that we need not fear or be overwhelmed because God is present with us at all times and in all places. God will see us through. The ground and content of our hope is the promise that nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love.

Thought for the week:
Those who walk with God are never alone.

Prayer: Almighty God, when the foundations of our lives are shaken, hold us close to you and remind us that you will never leave or forsake us. you alone are our hope and security.

Amen.

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February 25
Note: This week is from The Daily Word, July 11,1994.

“My confidence is in God”

There will be times when I am in new surroundings, making new friends, or facing new experiences. I am not reluctant to face those times, for I have power within that allows me to conquer any fear and meet all challenges with confidence. This inner strength comes from the power of God that abides in me.

By stilling my thoughts and turning my attention Godward, I call forth courage and strength to overcome any challenge. When facing a change, I quietly affirm: There is but one Presence and one Power in the universe—God, the good, omnipotent. This all powerful, all knowing, all loving presence fills me with peace and blesses me with confidence.

Renewed by my faith and secure in God’s love, I greet each day with confidence.

“One who trusts in the Lord is secure.” (Proverbs 29:25)

Bob’s Comments: Remember the macho expression “When the going gets tough, the though get going”? Mac Hammond on “The Winner’s Way” reworded it to “When the going gets tough, the winners turn toward the Lord.”

With Blessings, have a great week.

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February 16
This week is an edited text from H.Norman Wright’s “With all My Strength.” “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” (Genesis 2:18,NASB)

“Intimacy is the foundation for both love and friendship. It is a close emotional bond that involves sharing and understanding. Please note that word mutual. Each person in an intimate relationship wants to know the other’s deepest dreams, wishes, concerns hopes and fears; while at the same time, being an open book. Intimacy leads to deep feelings of closeness, warmth and trust. Intimacy eliminates the pain of loneliness and the pain of being strangers with one another. If you are going to have intimacy in your relationship, you must have the confidence to expose the private vulnerable portion of your life. You can not remain isolated from each other.” (H. Norman Wright).

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself to her.” (Ephesians 5:25).

Intimacy is not only a marriage or “significant other” issue. At a Friday morning breakfast meeting recently, I came to realize the intimacy of a group of men who gather to share while dining. The reading that day dealt with “The Intimacy of the Table” and how often we share while dining with others. This time of gathering, whether it be family or friends, is special to us.

How do you think your partner and friends would rate the level of intimacy in your relationships?

Thought For The Week: Let us think about sharing ourselves with others and allowing others to share with us. Sharing not only our joy’s but our concerns and accepting the same.

Prayer For The Week: Heavenly father, we crave intimacy and are afraid to share. We crave intimacy and are too proud to show our flaws to others. Please help us share ourselves with others so that we may enjoy the fruits of deepened relationships.

Amen.

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February 9

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22)

This is from Henri Nouwen’s “Bread For The Journey,” February 4th. The Bible passages are added to his work.

Kindness is a beautiful human attribute. When we say, “She is a kind person,” or “He surely was kind to me,” we express a very warm feeling. In our competitive and often violent world, kindness is not the most frequent response. But when we encounter it we know that we are blessed. Is it possible to grow in kindness, to become a kind person? Yes, but it requires discipline. To be kind means to treat another person as your “kin,” your intimate relative. We say, “We are kin,” or “He is next of kin.” To be kind is to reach out to someone as being of “kindred” spirit.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: Judge fairly and honestly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.” (Zechariah 7:9)
Here is the great challenge: All people, whatever their color, religion, or sex, belong to humankind and are called to be kind to one another, treating one another as brothers and sisters. There is hardly a day in our lives when we are not called to do this.

Thought for the Week: Let us wake up each morning this week and find a way to be kind to someone.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, perhaps it is too much to ask, but somehow let us find a way to bring peace and kindness to the trouble spots of the world. Also, please help us, in our personal lives, practice the kindness and peace that your son, Jesus, demonstrated to us in his life.

Amen

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February 2

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust.” Psalm(56:3)

We all experience times in our lives, certain situations when our trust level is down. These are usually times when we must let a situation be under someone else’s control. A teenager spending a weekend away with friends, away at camp or going off to school. We fear what they may find to do. A family member not home at an expected time. We fear an accident or other harm.

Consider a simple four way stop sign with all drivers arriving at the same time. Often no one trusts enough to go first.

Reading this, it would be easy to think that the subject was fear, but it is Trust. “The Lord is my light and salvation- Whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1)

There is a direct link between a weak faith and trust in the Lord, and high levels of anxiety and stress. Yes, there are days when we are strong and have no fear, then there are days when we are weak.

On the weak days, we need to meditate. Leave the news turned off, put down the newspaper and get closer to God. “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15)

Thought for the Week: When we have doubts this week, let us stop, take a deep breath and try to place our faith in God. If we can do that, our reactions to doubtful situations will be less stressful.

Prayer For the Week: Heavenly Father, as we go through our busy schedules, it is easy to forget you. We try to control, manipulate and alter our lives to fit “our will” and lose sight of “your will”. We seem not to trust you. We pray that we can slow down, consider your will for us and increase our trust in you.

Amen

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January 26
The following was submitted by my aunt in Florida. Since it was a classic e-mail chain correspondence, some of you may have seen it. For those of you that have not, there is a good message here.

“... those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31) NIV

Eagles in a Storm
Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us—and all of us will experience them—we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God’s power to lift us above them.

God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm.
Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

The Bible says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.” (Isaiah 40:31).

Thought For The Week: Let us use our faith in the Lord to rise above the problems of every day life.

Prayer focus for the week: As our country moves forward with a new administration, let us pray that as a country we can find a way to serve “God’s will” rather than “our will.”

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January 19
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 5 & 6).

From Henri Nouwen’s Bread for the Journey.

Trust is the basis of life. Without trust, no human being can live.

Trapeze artists offer a beautiful image of this. Flyers have to trust their catchers. They can do the most spectacular doubles, triples or quads, but what finally makes their performance spectacular are the catchers who are there for them at the right time and at the right place.

Much of our lives is flying. It is wonderful to fly in the air as free as a bird, but when God is not there to catch us, all our flying comes to nothing.

Thought For The Week: Let us look at our schedules, and find the time to allow ourselves to let God catch us. Find the time to be with Him instead of “flying” around as much as we do.

Prayer Focus This Week: Let us focus on two issues:
First let us allow God into our lives to “catch us.”
Second let us focus on healing relationships: political, personal and professional.

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January 12
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters...” (Psalms 23:1-2).

In the 40s and 50s, public school in Massachusetts always started with the 23rd Psalm, the Lord’s prayer and the salute to the Flag. Wow, by today’s standards, that is powerful stuff. Let us take a look at this and see if we can apply it to our lives today.

The first two lines above lead us to tranquility. Faith will take care of our wants and lead us to that inner peace we desire and lead us to the restful place beside still waters.

“He refreshes and restores my life; He leads in the paths of righteousness for His name sake” (Psalm23:3). There are always periods when things in our lives need rebuilding. There are temptations to take the easy way. These verses point out that the way to get out of the “dumps” is to follow Him.

“Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4). In the biblical context, the rod is an instrument used for guiding, rescuing and protecting (sheep) and the staff is an instrument of support. The Psalm points out that the Lord is with us and will guide and support us through out our lives.

Yes, today our lives get filled with stress. As Christians we are given wonderful tools to work with in our daily lives. The more we let God lead us, the more we will be at peace.

Thought for the Week: Let us reflect on this new year and all of our goals and resolutions. Read the 23rd Psalm and accept the help that God has available to us. It will be a big help in locating those still waters we all seek.

Prayer For the Week: Heavenly Father, many times stress builds up in our lives. It is a combination of hurts, anger and resentments kept hidden inside of ourselves. I pray that when this occurs, I find a way to let you help and can accept the guidance, protection and support promised through our Christian faith.

Amen

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January 5
This weeks “Good News” is based on the serenity prayer. It is used by most 12 step programs and I believe was originally drafted by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

As we go into the new year, peace and tranquility always seem to be part of our new years goals. Last year we did too much. One more committee at church, the kids need a coach, how can we get everyone to every game, lesson class etc. Oh, the boss wants us 50 hours a week too!!

It takes a certain courage to let go and let God play a roll in our lives. “I... will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exhaulted in my body...” Phillippians (1:20). At work and in our daily lives, we often fail to take the risk of allowing God to take control.

How often we do not accept the spiritual help available. We will handle it all. Where is our humility when we try to do it all ? “... humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” James (2:1).

We tend to forget the basic rules taught to us by our faith. When we are taking control, adding stress to ourselves, do we ask for the help available? “ If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God...and it will be given to you.” ( James 1:5)

We are told to keep God at the forefront in our search for this inner peace: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

The serenity prayer is simple. We all know that simple is good Let us start the new year with this thought in mind.

Thought for the week: Let us focus on peace and tranquility in our lives; with our families, neighbors and coworkers.

Prayer for the week: Let’s use the serenity prayer, this week and for the year, especially when over stressed.

Amen