---

May 21, 2005- Pride and Humility
“Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.”
(Proverbs 18:12, NIV)

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.

This is especially true in athletics. When my daughter was in school her friend Mary was the second best runner in Minnesota. In both cross country and track she was a distant second to Cindy. Her senior year, the day before the state cross country championships, Mary was being very boastful that tomorrow would finally be her day. We all bit our tongues as Mary described her strategy. It included everything but reality. Mary finished second; behind by a hundred yards, and Cindy went on to the Olympics as a speed skater and bicyclist.

In other areas 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 and the older generation and history are weakened in our every day lives.

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 the Week: 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. This week let us focus on being humble and dealing with the realities of our individual worlds.

---

May 11, 2005— Feed My Sheep
John 21:17.
When was the last time any of us did a twenty four hour fast? Well, it was something that runners did in the 70s to drop weight. We would drink only water for 24 hours and we would seem to drop two to three pounds. It was uncomfortable and crazy!

Jesus was not talking about food feeding. He was talking about feeding your spirituality. Many people only feed once a week, Sunday, and that is if there are no more important activities. Try that with food!

Many Christians do not eat well, spiritually. They come to prayer when they are in need. We need to help them feed. I do not mean to suggest that we stand on our soap boxes giving lengthy dissertations about Jesus like John Wesley. But somehow we need to be recognized as someone to come to for spiritual food. Maybe we need a sign around our necks announcing that we are a food shelf!

When we love as Christians do, feeding the sheep is no problem. People seem to recognize that we are available. When we say things like “bless you” and say a blessing before lunch, we telegraph our availability as well as blessing the Lord. As Jesus told Peter, “As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” We are all sent out to feed the sheep.

Thought for the week: This week let us do at least one thing to announce our availability to help feed the sheep. Let’s do a morning blessing with the kids, say grace at lunch with a coworker, hang up with a “good by and God bless.” Let’s let people know that we are part of Jesus’ food shelf.

We live in a very fast moving society today. It is easy to get caught up taking short cuts and hard to slow down and review our day’s activities. The end often justifies the means.
We see it and do it every day. We often do not take the time to analyze our actions.

A harmless example of this is writing Good News. It is 5:30 am and that is a time God and the world let me be creative. No phone calls and no honey do list, just the computer and me. Often on a Sunday, I lose track of time and run off to the church, without ever looking in a mirror, with what little hair I have going in different directions. Even a positive activity can take attention away from “keeping a close watch on yourself.”

We always have room for improvement in our lives. Twelve step programs ask people to take a personal inventory. They ask for a balance sheet of rights and wrongs; things to be proud of and things to be improved. It is an interesting exercise. It is formal way of keeping a watch on yourself. It generates a balanced to do list for growth.

We all know that the best way to lead is by example and staying as close to the mark as possible. Every day all day, our actions are observed by those around us. As Paul instructed Timothy, “…but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in faith and in purity….” (1 Timothy 4:12). We need to do the same.

Thought for the Week: This week will be a great week. There will be seven sunny days, interaction with friends and family, colleagues and neighbors. This week let us watch our selves and make each interaction a positive experience. Let us demonstrate the love that God has given us through our actions.

---

May 8, 2005— Faith Crises
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything.
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to him.”
(James1; 2-4 NIV)

Faith seems to be a constant challenge to us. Yes, some times we need to understand where God is in our lives. We can doubt that He is with us, we challenge his input and even knowingly violate His rules and submit to temptation. Does this make us bad people?

The answer is a resounding NO. As we look back at our lives we often see a trail of mistakes, moments or events that we would like to “edit or replay.” Surely we know that reliving life is not an option. But, feeling guilty or bad about these things can bring about crises of faith, low self image and have a negative effect on our future. This is true at any age.

However, as we work through our faults, we learn that life goes on. God eventually works his miracles in our lives. When we lack the wisdom he comes through for us.

Thought for the Week: When we are very busy, it is difficult to feel God’s presence in our lives. This week, let us all try to take time to understand and appreciate His contributions.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord, life in this world is very tense. There is terror, war threatens around the World. There are also great and positive things happening. Amongst all this sometimes we have a problem understanding your message. Heavenly Father, please help us appreciate the good things and understand your roll in the World.
Amen

---

April 30, 2005- Hurry Up God

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.
This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,
so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
(Hebrews 11:3, NIV)

Spring is a test of our patience and vision. We are tempted to believe that summer has arrived only to be brought back to reality. We will often get a week of cloudy, cold and windy weather after several weeks of warm weather. Bulbs pop through the ground and get covered with frost and dew. Our hoses are on the reels and we worry they will freeze. The lawn needs to be mowed but it is too cold to sit out and enjoy it. In our case, the pool is open and we fear the pipes will freeze overnight.

A friend used to say “Spring has come, the grass has riz, I wonder where the flowers is.” English teachers may shudder on that one, but has a good message. We do wonder where the flowers and are generally impatient while we wait. We buy flowers in pots and find warm places for them.  We want to rush the season. There needs to be a prayer called “Hurry up God.”

Spring is also a great time for visions. We know that at his pace, God will make things green and colorful. The frost will go away, the buds will open up and the color will return to nature. We know this will happen and we trust in it as we trust in our faith.

Thought for the Week: This week let us stop and smell the roses that aren’t there yet. Yes, they have not come out yet, but we know that they will. Spring is a great example of God’s power and wonders, let us enjoy it.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Heavenly Father, Hurry Up! Yes, we on earth need you to step up the pace! Bring us our spring flowers, warmer weather, fishing season and all that we enjoy. While you are at it, let’s eliminate the hungry, the poor and have world peace! Now let us ask for how we may help. This week we pray that we can contribute to these tasks, that we may find a place to help serve your will in our world.
Amen

---

April 8, 2005—Radiance
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God”
(Romans 8:37 and 38, NIV)

In life we tend to gravitate to our level of comfort. Socially, we tend to hang out with people that are like us, people with the same values and operating style. It is normal and a very informal process without applications or interviews. We find each other because we radiate our feelings and beliefs through our behavior.

I like to tell the story about my running buddies. After ten years and perhaps 10,000 miles, numerous races, lunches and breakfasts, four of us (Dexter, Dave, Gary and myself) were doing a half marathon and talking. Dex mentioned to Dave a 12 step meeting he had attended. After ten years, I was running with two veteran AA members and did not know it. Before I could open my mouth, Gary asked them which meetings they attended and if they had ever been to a particular conference! More shock, the four of us had found each other because our serenity and life style were similar—we were comfortable with each other.

Often in church, visitors come looking for peace, comfort, good people etc. When they find what they want they come back. There is no interview. We do not ask them for an application to join the club. They are not asked for a financial statement or social security number. There needs to be a God given radiance that they pick up on, a feeling of peace and support from the group. When we radiate God’s love in our every day life, we are sharing with others and people will want what we have. We need to radiate God’s love in our every day lives.

Thought for the Week: Each week our pastor asks us to look for the person God will place in our way who needs us. This week let us do that while being radiant and Godly. Let us make it easy for them to find us.

---

April 11, 2005—Anger
“A patient man has great understanding,
but a quick-tempered man displays folly.”
(Proverbs 14:29, NIV)

“An angry man stirs up dissension,
and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.”
(Proverbs 29:22, NIV)

There is way to much anger in the world.

There are too many angry people in the world.

Let’s all agree on that because, in my book, one angry person is too many. I pray that at sometime world anger may be eliminated. Do not think that I am talking about anger in the mid-east, Russia, or between religions etc. I want to focus on the family.

All too often, family anger exists behind closed doors. Dad and mom bring it home from work, the kids bring it home from school and it can develop at home, behind closed doors.

Here are two quick stories about family anger. I am in touch with two people with serious health issues. One is very angry and focusing on ignoring feelings about the problem while the deep seeded resentment regarding his condition manifests itself in a “why me?” attitude. In another, the person is tackling the problems, seeking advice on how to minimize the effect on life style. The family has pulled together as a team to minimize problems and adjustments.

Patrick Morley, in his book “The Man In The Mirror,” writes, “Anger destroys the quality of our personal lives, our marriages and our health… When anger pierces the soul of the home, the life blood of the family starts to drain away….” Those are interesting comments.

In my examples, the latter family has a strong faith and high level of spirituality. The first has not. We need to minimize anger in all of our families. I propose the concept of using our faith to do it!

Thought for the Week: This week we may all be exposed to frustrations, fear and hurts. We may also be confronted with the opportunity to observe someone choosing to be angry. Let us keep our faith in mind when this occurs. Let’s deal with anger through prayer and meditation.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord and Father, this week we have experienced anger around the World. National, racial, personal and other angers result in a violation of your desire for peace on Earth. This week we pray that through our little bit of love and prayer, we may help spread peace in the World.
Amen