D365.org: God-Power

INVOCATION...   (d365.org - Abby Thornton Hailey)
We are limited, every one of us. There is only so much we can know, so much we can do.

God is not like us. Limitless in time, space, and imagination, God is mighty in ways we cannot fully describe; we can only trust in God's unlimited power.

Power, in God's case, is expressed in unlimited love. Rest now in the all-encompassing love of the Almighty.

Sunday, March 2   Child of God
Psalms 2:7-9 CEB
I will announce the Lord’s decision:
    He said to me, “You are my son,
        today I have become your father.
8 Just ask me,
    and I will make the nations your possession;
    the far corners of the earth will be your property.
9 You will smash them with an iron rod;
    you will shatter them like a pottery jar.”

     'You are my son'.  This is the king of Israel speaking in Psalms.  He is in relationship with God, first and foremost.  God has granted him his power and leadership.  In the Transfiguration, God has spoken to those on the mountaintop, reminding them of Jesus' power through God.  
     D365 writer Abbey Thornton Hailey prays, 

"God, so many things go into making me who I am: my family, my DNA, my past, my culture, my personality. At the root of it all, however, I am your child. Let me live in a way that reflects who you are, shining forth from my core. Amen."

     First and foremost, I am a child of God.  That is the overriding heritage, the constant above all else.  May I reflect my upbringing, my culture, my family in all I do, but more than anything, may I reflect my God.  

Who am I?
McLean. Walker. Rembold. 
Scottish. Danish. German. English. American. 

Who am I?
Virginia. Ginger. Paprika. Sunkist.
Honey. Sweetheart. Mom.

Who am I?
Sister. Daughter. Grandchild.
Lover. Companion. Mother. 
Partner.  Friend. Confidant.  

Who am I?
Creator. Builder. Dreamer. 
Mender. Nurturer. Artist. Leader.

Who am I?
Brunette. Green-Eyed. Short.
Weathered. Active. Bubbly. 

Who am I?
Above all else...A Child of God. 
At my very core...A Child of God. 
Loved, blessed, and forgiven. 
And from this birthright
Comes the power to be
All that I am;
The power to reflect
A portion of all that God is. 
Shine, Ginger, Shine!


Saturday, March 1  Light and Dark
2 Peter 1:19 MSG
We couldn’t be more sure of what we saw and heard—God’s glory, God’s voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You’ll do well to keep focusing on it. It’s the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts. 
     Our d365 writer today reminds us that we are leaving the period of Epiphany,  marked by the light of God's glory, the light of the transfiguration, the light and hope of Christ.  Next week Lent begins.  Think denial, darkness, and doubt.  (Maybe dirge....most Lent hymns fall into this category in my book!)   In Lent we remember the times we have failed to remember the Christ who walks with us, the God who leads us, and the Spirit who dwells within us.  Peter reminds us to focus on the light during the tough times, to let Christ guide us through the darkness of trial and temptation.  
     May we seek and focus on the light and love of the Almighty: unlimited in glory, unlimited in power!!   
     
Friday, February 28    Truth
2 Peter 1:16-18 MSG
We weren’t, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes: Jesus

resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight.” We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.
     I am realizing, hopefully not for the first time, that if I stay tuned to the world around me, I often find what I have daily written reinforced over and over.  Case in point:  Yesterday I watched Touched by an Angel for the first time in years!  I saw the angel glow, the God-Light radiate, when the words of the angel were God-inspired.  In another show I heard a character encourage another to fear not, to not let fear hold them back from realizing God's plan.  I've been working on a scribble mandala [not done yet! :(]  that incorporates not just Jesus, but Peter, James and John at the top of the mountain during the transfiguration.  Witnesses to the truth of the Gospel message. 
     God-power, every day, expressed in unlimited Love.  Pass it on.   

Thursday, February 27   Be Not Afraid!!
Matthew 17:6-8 MSG
When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. “Don’t be afraid.” When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.
     How many times in the Bible are we told to Fear Not!!  God tells us, angels tell us, Jesus tells us, we tell one another!  We are a fearful people, and we let our fears control us more often than we let God be in control.  We fear failure probably most of all, which means we fail to trust God.
     If I am to be transformed by God's unlimited love, I must trust God to do the metamorphosis.  I must believe in the ultimate power of the Almighty to do all things.  I must believe in MY power to do all things THROUGH God.  Fear Not!!  
  
(FYI...according to a Google Search, there are over 365 repetitions of something that means along the lines of fear not in the Bible!  One for every day of the year!  God must have known we'd need to hear it alot.) 

Wednesday, February 26  Dwelling Place
Matthew 17:4-5  GNT

 Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Lord, how good it is that we are here! If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

 While he was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased—listen to him!” 
     Tents?  Other translations use the term shrine, memorial, tabernacle, or shelter.  Wow.  Seems to me there is a big difference between a tent and a tabernacle, a shelter and a shrine.  But the point is, Peter wants this moment to last.  He wants some permanency to the experience,  to remember and remain in the glory of God.  
     In moments of absolute glory and wonder, we don't often want to 'come down from the mountain' and do the dirty work.  But God made his point to Peter clear: 'Listen to Jesus!  He knows what he is doing!  His work is to be your work!  This glory will be with him, and with you!'
     And that transfiguring light is with us still, if we allow it to shine from within us, if we allow God to dwell in our tent.   May I take the glory as God in me and let it radiate as I work with and through God....and do some dirty work.  

Tuesday, February 25     
Matthew 17:1-2 MSG
Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. 
     Transfigured.  Not a word we use much our common vocabulary.  I looked it up online and found two basic definitions.  The first means simply to change in outward form or appearance.  It is the second definition I love: to change so as to glorify, beautify or exalt!  We sometimes use the term metamorphosis (think caterpillar to butterfly!) 
     Jesus is not outwardly changed, but the transformation that takes place from within causes his momentary appearance to alter.  He dazzles with light!  (Remember watching Touched by an Angel and how the angels took on a glow when the power of God was working through them?)   There is no doubt for the watching disciples that they were in God's presence and something amazing was taking place. 
     Can those around us tell the difference when God is at work in us?  I like to think they can.  Maybe not quite in such an obvious lightning show, but we reflect God's glory when we fill ourselves with the power of God.  May I be so transfigured and may I see the light in others.  

(I'll include the following God-light, transfiguration scribbles until I get a new one drawn!)

BENEDICTION.....(D365.org - Abby Thornton Haily)

Strong is the light that comes from our Creator,
Maker of heaven and earth.

Long is the way that leads from now to forever,
Yet we are not left alone.

Wherever you go and however you travel,
The strong arm of God
Is taking you home.

TRINITY PRAYER

"Arise each day and pray "The Trinity Prayer'.  
It will put a new perspective on your day!!"
Patsy Lewis, author
(Simply Rejoicing: 12 Months with God)
I am rising today in the name of the Father
who created me,
sent his Son to redeem me, 
watches over me,
and hears my prayers.  
Heavenly Father, may I behold the wonders of your creation throughout this day and see through your eyes and heart the world around me and everyone you choose to cross my path. 
I am rising today in the name of the Son,
who gave his life for me, 
has forgiven my sins,
understands my suffering, 
and loves me. 
Precious Jesus, may I exalt you in all that I do and say, and may my lips praise you with a heart of thanksgiving for your blessing and saving grace. 
I am rising today in the name of the Holy Spirit,
who breathed life into me
and lives in my heart. 
Breath of heaven, breathe afresh on me today, and may I be aware of your presence every waking moment and even as I life down to rest at the end of the day. 

Holy God, Three in One, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I commit this day to you.  

With this Trinity Prayer as my inspiration, enroute to Hawaii a couple weeks ago, I wrote my own morning prayer with its accompanying drawing:

Good Morning, God! 

I awake this day to celebrate your presence as Creator God, maker of all the beauty, the wonder, the intricate balance of our world, your everlasting love as our Father-Mother, Nurturing Lord.

I awake this day to celebrate the Son, your presence in a form we can recognize, touch, and engage.  The one who suffered as we suffer and died to end all suffering. 

I awake this day to celebrate the Spirit, the constant, living, indwelling of you within and through us. 

I awake to celebrate the Trinity and to seek God in all I encounter this day.  

LUCADO: Creator God

Devotions based on The Lucado Inspirational Reader by Max Lucado, Nashville: Thomas Nelson

SUNDAY, February 23  Choice

"From the palette of the Ageless Artist came inimitable splendors. Before there was a person to see it, his creation was pregnant with wonder.  Flowers didn't just grow; they blossomed.  Chicks weren't just born, they hatched.  Salmon didn't just swim, they leaped.....He must have loved it.  Creators relish creating.  ....He was mighty.  He was creative.  And he was LOVE.  Even greater than his might and deeper than his creativity was one all-consuming characteristic: LOVE. " 'You will love me, nature,' God said.  'I made you that way.  You will obey me, universe.  For you were designed to do so.  You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created.  But this one will be like me.  This one will be able to choose.' " (Lucado, p. 75-79)

      This final part of Lucado's chapter on Creation was lengthy.  But the message was of love and choice.  All Creation is designed to receive and respond to God's love, with one exception: mankind.  We have the choice.  We can choose God's love or reject it.  

"To remove the choice, is to remove the love." (Lucado, p. 82)

      When we abuse Creation, when we mistreat one another, we reject God's love.  Everything is interconnected in that love, in and through God.  There is no middle ground.  Have I chosen acceptance or rejection?  Do my daily actions reflect my response?  

"The One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return." (p.85)

SATURDAY, February 22  The Ultimate Gift
James 1:17 MSG
Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.
     
      Think of the joy you feel when you give the perfect gift...the time spent researching, shopping, perhaps time spent creating it yourself.  And then the moment when the gift is given, and the receiver's eyes pop with joy and excitement!  Even now, nearly 10 years later, I can remember my anticipation and joy when I gave Rick his snowshoes.  It was the BEST gift ever!
       I think God was filled with the same joy as he created our world.  And God continues to smile as he tweaks this mountain peak or brings out a field of alpine wildflowers each season.  We don't NEED such beauty in order to exist, but God loves to make our eyes pop, our hearts swell in wonder.   Perhaps God realizes we crave such a display of God-glory to remind us of His presence.  Whatever the purpose, the gift is given, and re-given every day like 'a river of light cascading down'.  
      Have I written God a thank you note lately for the Creation Gift?  How might I express my gratitude?  

(I found a couple more previously drawn Scribbles so appropriate for yesterday's scripture that I just have to include them too!  I LOVE this chapter in Max Lucado's book!!!!)  

  


FRIDAY, February 21  Missionary Skies
Psalm 19:1-4 GNT
How clearly the sky reveals God's glory!
    How plainly it shows what he has done!
2 Each day announces it to the following day;
    each night repeats it to the next.
3 No speech or words are used,
    no sound is heard;
4 yet their message goes out to all the world
    and is heard to the ends of the earth.

     Max Lucado writes, "Creation is God's first missionary."  I have never thought of nature's glories as missionaries to the world!  I love the analogy! After all, except for the love of parent, the natural world is often the first introduction people have to the majesty of our God!  It makes sense!  I can't improve on Lucado's words here....

"Every star is an announcement.  Each leaf a reminder.  The glaciers are megaphones, the seasons are chapters, the clouds are banners.  Nature is a song of many parts but one theme and one verse: God is...."  (p. 68)

     For some, failing to find the community of God within the structure of church or spiritual practice, the natural world of creation remains their primary connection to God.   If they respond to such testimony, it can be enough.  For some, the word of the Good News has never come.  Can they not know God through creation?  The full Gospel provides so much more in terms of relationships, forgiveness, grace, and salvation, but if Creation is all one has, God can and does speak!  
     This concept puts Creation on a powerful platform:  Not just what God did first before he 'moved on to salvation stuff', but creation is what God continues to do each and every day! Unfortunately, we sometime fail to listen to the silent words God is sending out to all the world:  Look! I am here. Listen!  

   
THURSDAY, February 20    Creator God
Genesis 1:1  GNT
In the beginning God created the universe....

     I went through at least 12 translations of Genesis 1:1.  The words differ in several manners, but always the verb created.  God didn't make, construct, photocopy, or mass produce the world.  God created.
     The process of creating is very different from mass production.  Perhaps it is why we haven't yet found another 'earth' just like our world in the universe!  We are a one-of-a-kind-creation, not another product off God's universal assembly line! 
     There is a joyful, expectant adventure in creating!

•       God created as an artist to paint the world with colored beauty - sunsets, wildflowers, a myriad of verdant greens, blues, and golds..... 
•       God created as a sculptor to chisel red-rock canyons, mountain peaks, dark caverns, the convoluted bark of trees....
•       God created as a scientist to interweave all life into an co-dependent community, filled with organisms of intricate adaptability and genius.....  
•       God created with humor, wonder, and variety! 
•       God wrapped his very self into his world when he created man,  when he walked on earth as man.  

      We are no different as creators.  Whether it is a painting, a poem, a musical composition, a sculpture, or a beautiful building, when the process starts, we pour ourselves into it.  All else of life is put on hold while the creation comes forth.  And when we are done, we are usually well pleased.  I  think that God still enjoys creating, - often along with us, or perhaps sometimes, through us.  

Of all we don't know about the creation, there is one thing we do know - God did it with a SMILE!  (Lucado, p.64)

WEDNESDAY, February 19   Behind the Beauty
Genesis 1:1  GNT
In the beginning God created the universe....

What grabs my eye and makes me look?
What fills my gaze with wonder?
What holds me spellbound with pounding chest
     and reverent eye?
What stops me in my tracks, overwhelmed with the glory?
Behind the beauty, I see my God. 

When I see colors splashed across the skies in morning or evening,
     The clouds tinted in ever-changing golden light;
When I witness intricate patterns amid fields of wildflowers,
     Orange glowing trunks of towering Ponderosa forests;
When I behold ridges of mountain peaks, chiseled with snow and stone,
    Or rivers, foamy and fierce, pushing through red-rock canyons;
Behind all the beauty, I see my God. 

Standing on top of a mountain, the air clear and cold and thin,
     The moon within touch of my hand;
I'm wrapped in the glory of stars dancing across the sky,
     Nebulas and galaxies, light years before my time.
Our star, the sun, sets aglow the ocean of clouds below
     And I feel small, insignificant in the immensity of it all. 
But behind all the beauty, I see my God. 

Creator God, what makes me look?
Creator God, what makes me wonder?
Creator God, what makes me praise?
Behind the beauty,
Behind the wonder,
Behind the glory,
Your presence radiates -
Your love reaches out
And envelops me with holy.
Behind the beauty, I find my God.  
    
     
As an addendum, I wanted to include one of Max Lucado's poems.....

He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. 
And if you love to see geese gather, chances are you'll see that too. 
Did he have to make a squirrel's tail furry?
Was he obliged to make birds sing?
Or the funny way that chickens scurry
Or the majesty of thunder when it rings?
Why give a flower fragrance?  What give food its taste?
Could it be he loves to see
That look upon your face?  
      From HE CHOSE THE NAILS

LUCADO: Compassion

Devotions based on The Lucado Inspirational Reader by Max Lucado, Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 

TUESDAY, February 18   Expectations
Matthew 25:40 MSG
Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

     The least of these.  The ignored or overlooked.  We don't expect to find Jesus here.  We look for more saintly and sacred spaces.  Our expectations blind us. 
     Lucado shares a wonderful story of world-class violinist Joshua Bell who goes to a DC Metro Station and plays his 3.5 million dollar violin as a street musician, complete with open case for donations.  In an hour, he makes $37.  Three nights earlier, he played at a symphony hall for about $1000 a minute.  The difference?  People didn't come to the Metro expecting to such quality; they didn't come expecting to be interrupted by perfection.  Our expectations blind us to what lies within.     
     If we expect to see Jesus in every face we encounter, we will find him.  We will find where and how to serve him.  We will discover opportunities for compassion and kindness.        
     Open my eyes, Lord, and let me expect Jesus everywhere, and may I respond accordingly.  


MONDAY, February 17  Kindness
Ephesians 4:32 CEB
Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.
     Kindness.  Be kind.  We toss the word around as a virtue, the obvious manner in which we should act.  But truly KIND people are a step above others.  They are kind to the unloved.  They reach out to those on the 'other side of the tracks'.  They perform acts of kindness for those who think differently, who take what they want, perhaps even enemies.  Their deeds are silently done without the desire for recognition.  Compassion and kindness go hand in hand.  
     Lucado asks, 'What's your kindness quotient?'  A good question!  We can start small.  Kindness often need not be on a world-shattering scale.  The next door neighbor with the messy yard is a good start!  Shovel their walk of snow, pick up their trash.  Think of it as a RAK meter.  Could I list a deliberate Random Act of Kindness performed at day's end...... every day?  It doesn't have to be big, just intentional.  A good challenge. 
     Kindness lays the seeds for a life of compassion.  Kindness is the start of servant-hood.  Kindness seeks out service.  What is MY quotient?


SUNDAY, February 16   Servanthood
Matthew 20:28 MSG
[Jesus] came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
     Sometimes servant-hood means doing things that aren't top on our list.  It means doing the hard stuff, the dirty stuff.  God calls us to use our talents, but not always in the manner we expect!  We might not think our gifts include THAT kind of service!  
     But it does.  Look at Jesus.  He often chose the lesser road, the darker shadows, the shadier companions.  That was where he was needed.  Do I do the same?  Not often!  Who do I ask to help me on a committee?  Where do I choose to offer my gifts?  Do I seek the safe, the secure, the clean and tidy?  
     What kind of servant am I?  What kind of servant should I be?  

SATURDAY, February 15   Spirit Clothed 
Revelation 3:20 GNT
 Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me.
    Lucado paints a word picture of God as a pair of gloves, filling the fingers with the Spirit to enable us to do God-work.  A closed fist doesn't open to the world; the fingers must fill the glove to reach out and be useful.  

"God gets his fingers into our lives, inch by inch reclaiming the territory that is rightfully his." (p. 53)

      It puts a different slant on getting dressed in the morning.  When I pull on my shoes, am I thinking, 'Where will God take my feet today as we work together?'  As I wrap my heart and soul with a warm shirt, do I allow the God-spirit to warm my heart to reach out to those who are hurting around me?  When I put on my work gloves at a Habitat site, do I stop to think that God is working through my fingers as well?  As I don my eyeglasses each day, do I ever stop and ask God to give me clear vision to SEE where love and compassion is needed? 
      God stands next to me each morning in the bedroom, knocking.  How often do I open myself up and allow God in to eat, to work through me?  Come, Lord Jesus, come inside!  

FRIDAY, February 14  Second Look  
2 Corinthians 5:16 MSG
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look.

     No labels.  No 'first' impressions.  Our call as Christians is to take the second look, the look inside, to the heart that lies within.  We sometimes treat people as trash, to be tossed aside, based solely on that first look.  
     As an artist, I love to take those materials to be tossed out and recycle them,  to find the inherent beauty in which they can be transformed.  Jesus does this with us as well.  We are blemished and unfinished.  But through Christ, we can glow with the light of a new soul.  
     As there people around me that I have tossed out?  That I have neglected to know and love?  Do I need to take a second look and allow God to work through me?  Of what handiwork of God can I be a part?  

 

RANDOM MORNING THOUGHTS....

Somedays I don't stay on track with one particular theme or another...God calls in a different direction?  Or I don't have internet access for what I am currently working through!  I thought perhaps I would just group these random days together!  

THURSDAY, May 29  Habitat Ripple Effect
     This morning I am in charge of offering the opening devotion for our Habitat for Humanity build here in Columbia Falls, Montana.  I am using a brief article I read in the most recent Habitat World magazine in which CEO Jonathan Reckford writes of the ripple effect of a Habitat home.  Our building supervisor Steve also commented on the 'side effects' of home ownership when he told the story last week of a young boy finally able to play sports because his family wasn't moving all the time.  This made me think about pebbles and Habitat homes.  The following poem is the result:  

 

Toss a pebble into a pond.

Ever widening circles of impact

Delight as the surface shifts and changes

Below the water we cannot see

Yet growth happens here as well.

Toss one Habitat house into a community

and the ripples begin.

The house becomes a home;

A source of safety, protection, and stability.

Improved education, jobs, and health.

Community pride, involvement, participation.

Self respect. 

One pebble.

One home.

Multiple lives changed.

Ripples we can’t even foresee.

With each swing of hammer,

Each sheetrock screw,

Every stroke of paint,

We are tossing pebbles.

One small action

Results beyond our wildest imagination.

May we all keep tossing pebbles,

Knowing God is at work in each one

With ripples of changing lives.   

TUESDAY, March 4  Real Deal

Matt 3:17  NRSV

This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. 

     I just went through these words recently first as Jesus is baptized, and then similar words from God during the transfiguration.  In the baptismal text, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove.  It is a reminder of God’s dove-presence after the Flood, as new life returned to the cleansed Earth.  Jesus is new life, prepared to cleanse the earth once more…and for the last time. 

    The Beloved.  While these words imply endearment, they are more words of authority.  My Son, my beloved.  This Jesus I have sent acts on MY authority, his power comes from above.  God is making this clear during Jesus’ baptism and in the transfiguration.  Make no mistake, world, this man is the real deal!! 

(God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson - 2.10.14) 

     Still no internet on a consistent basis.  We can get it on the Kindle or phone briefly, but the laptop is struggling.  I can’t read some of my BMCC student assignments.  I am behind in downloading blogs.  It is Fat Tuesday, and we are in a predominant Catholic community.  Would love to know what is going on tonight in the area.  McDonalds on the menu or perhaps the Habitat office this afternoon!?  (Habitat office - better connection!) 

MONDAY, March 3     The Way!?

John 3:5-6 NRSV

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me. 

     No internet connection this morning, so this will be one of those ‘random thought’ days!  But appropriate in light of what I read just yesterday morning concerning the Pope. 

     This is one of the scripture passages that has always bothered me.  It appears so cut and dried, black and white in saying Christianity is the only way.  While the word ONLY isn’t in the first line, it is inferred in the second when it says no one comes to God except through Jesus.  Where does that leave the Jew, the Muslim?  I firmly believe it is the same God we all worship.  I  believe that Christianity allows an intimacy and personal relationship with God that others perhaps don’t have,  but I don’t think God changes for people of differing faiths.  Same loving God, different route to know him.

     The new Catholic Pope is radical.  He is going to change perceptions and realities of the Catholic Church.  Yesterday he was quoted as saying that he believes ‘all religions to be true’.  Wow!  Granted, Catholicism is still Christianity, and perhaps his comments weren’t intended to spread beyond that boundary.  Still, this reaching beyond the ‘my way or the highway’ theology is revolutionary for the church.  It sets a precedent that we should all follow. 

     This scripture comes from Peterson’s The Daily Message  and he goes on to say that there are two aspects to our Christian life: disciple and pilgrim.  The first involves a relationship with the teacher to learn and absorp all that we can.  The second involves a journey to take that relationship to a new destination, to new people, to a new life.  How do we know the way?  Jesus tells us in this verse.  The ONLY way?  Probably not.  A shortcut?  Maybe!  I think I’ll follow this route regardless. 

      Yesterday,  my home church entered into discussion on what defines Christian marriage.  I was sorry to miss the conversation, not because I think we were going to change minds, but because it is important to at least discuss the issue!  So last night…in solidarity with my LBGT friends and family and while thinking about the implications of marriage, equal rights, etc., I colored one of my drawings appropriately!   A Peace Dove.  

TUESDAY, February 11    Creative Mess
Proverbs 20:5 The Message
Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart; a wise person draws from the well within. 

     In today's devotion, Eugene Peterson talks about creativity.  He says it isn't 'neat or orderly'.  This resonates with me.  I always said my art room desk was a place of organized chaos.  I often quoted, "A creative mind is not a tidy mind."  And Peterson agrees!!  
     Creativity cannot be planned.  It happens.  I like to think it is often God inspired.  We experiment, we risk, we err, but in the end, God paints a beautiful canvas, an inspiring relationship, a worthy endeavor.  We can't do it alone.  We can't do it with absolute intentionality.  We have to give God room to work!  We have to draw from the well of inspiration deep within us, to the God-source.  And beauty, love, peace, and Spirit will come forth.  

(God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson - 2.10.14)

WEDNESDAY, February 12    Just for Me!
Psalm 31:22 The Message
Blessed God!  His love is the wonder of the world. 

Created and crafted.
Handiwork of God.
An expression of love and desire.
Poetry and design. 
That's me! 
ME! 
God made me.
He made me for a purpose.
No one else can fill those shoes.
Like Cinderella, they were made just for me! 
No entrance exam, 
No test of worthiness. 
I qualify. 
God will take care of the rest.
Have I accepted the job? 
Have I accepted the love? 
It's personal. 
It's just for me. 

(God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson - 2.12.14)


































   

























 

LUCADO: The Church - God's Family

The Max Lucado Inspirational Reader
Chapter 2:  The Church - God's Family

MONDAY, February 3  Poetry

Ephesians 2:10a  NKJV
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works...

     Rarely do I quote from the King James translation, but the key word here is workmanship.  Others translations cite handiwork, accomplishment, work.  But according to Lucado, workmanship comes from the Greek work poeo which means poetry.  God wrote poetry in and through us!  Divine poetry! The Creator God took humankind as words and wove us together to express his love for the world.  
     This isn't a single word poem, but a masterpiece of different phrases and thoughts.  As Paul writes in Corinthians, we all bring many gifts to the poetry of church, but we are all equally part of the composition.  The church is the WE of God.   

 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (1 Cor 12:27 NLT)  
Together, one body.  Separate and distinct, many parts.  All God's children.  All family.  That really is poetry!  

(I am switching back to Max Lucado for the next few weeks...who knows for how long!  Off on travels and something small and easy to pack!) 


TUESDAY, February 4    A Common Song

Acts 1:8 CEB
Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

     Lucado writes of a time in college when he traveled with a diverse group of ministry students to rebuild homes in earthquake torn Guatemala.  They debated theology enroute on the plane - vast chasms separated them.  But when faced with a common disaster, a team was created.  As he worked side by side with one who did not share his music styles, they began to sing together songs that worked for each.  Lucado said, "Our common concern gave us a common song."  
     Our common concern should be justice.  Our common concern should be to witness God's love.  All the divisions we have created were not God's intent.  Jesus charges the disciples collectively in Acts.  

"None of us can do what all of us can do....Jesus works in community. For that reason, you find no personal pronouns in the earliest descriptions of the church." (ML-19)

     Reminds me of a common sports poster:  There is no I in TEAM.  The church is our team, the WHOLE church.  We are starting to show a little teamwork locally in Open Door and Backpack.   We are singing a common song!  


WEDNESDAY, February 5

Matthew 13:13  MSG

I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge people toward receptive insight. 

“Story is the primary way in which the revelation of God is given to us…” writes Eugene Peterson.  The Bible is filled with the stories of Moses, Joshua, David, and the prophets.  Jesus told stories, the Gospel writers told stories about Jesus.  We share the gospel today with the stories we tell our families and friends.  We live a story and in that story God is revealed. 

What story or narrative of God will Rick and I find in Hawaii?  I write enroute…somewhere over the Pacific.  We are filled with anticipation and excitement…for a new adventure, for a new culture and climate, for a true vacation!  But I am also excited to seek God in this place – in the beauty, the people, the history.  What story does God have to share in this island paradise?  My seat mate is a postman from Illinois, transplanted to the Islands over 20 years ago.  He is flying HOME to his story (He came over to Portland to watch the SuperBowl with his son and family ….proudly wearing his Seahawks shirt back!) I later check on the internet as he and his wife have a vacation rental.  His name is Ken Smith and their place looks amazing!

Back to Max Lucado tomorrow!! 

THURSDAY, February 6     Planes & Pews

Matthew 7:7 NIV

Seek and you will find. 

     “People on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common” says Max Lucado.  As I flew yesterday for the longest extended flight I have ever taken, this hit home.  How so, I wondered? 

     Most flyers approach the flight as ho-hum.  Gotta do this.  Satisfied but not excited. The faces on many travelers confirmed this. (Although the anticipation of a resort destination makes a bit of a difference!) Most worshipers approach Sundays the same way.  Gotta do this.  Ho-hum.  How soon can I hit the trail, the ski slope, or the golf course?

     But when you come longing for something more, you just might find it.  Lucado tells the story of a young boy who excitedly anticipates meeting the pilot, looking out the windows, eating the peanuts, etc.  His enthusiasm transferred to wonder, to a deep contentment and joy. He went to the cockpit.  He met the captain.  He received his ‘wings’.     

     Do we come to church hoping to meet our Pilot?  Do we enter into the experience with anticipation and preparation?  If we seek, we just might find.  We just might go home with new wings.  

FRIDAY, February 7   Refuge
Psalm 46: 1 
God is our refuge and strength,
    a help always near in times of great trouble. CEB
God is a safe place to hide,
    ready to help when we need him.  MSG

     Another brief break from Max Lucado...as I wanted to comment on the experience of visiting The City of Refuge: Pu'uhonua O Honaunau yesterday.  This city of Hawaiian ali'i (kings), nestled in a sandy coconut grove near a small harbor, also housed the pu'uhonua - place of refuge.  Kapu meant most any kind of transgression, whether refusing or unable to fight in battle to preparing a meal for a man (women).  To break kapu meant death.  Some of the laws reminded me a bit of a few Judaic laws in the OT: laws which we don't understand the purpose for in our modern culture, but which usually had some alternate purpose of health or safety in their day. 
     To reach the refuge was not easy.  A 17' wide, 10', wall barricaded the refuge from the kings' village.  The only access was by sea, over a rough, tidal altered, reef of aa lava.  Ki'i, wooden statues, still guard the site.  
     What brought me to thinking of Psalm 46 is the final aspect of the Refuge:  ALL were treated equally once there.  A murderer was no different from one who had walked on the shadow of the king.  According to the NPS brochure, "If they reached the pu'uhonua, the kahuna pule (priest) performed a ceremony of absolution, and the offenders could return home safely.  The spirit of the pu'uhonua was respected by all." Forgiveness granted.  Sins absolved.  
     We have a Place of Refuge even now: safe in the arms of God.  We can seek refuge and forgiveness - we don't have to swim the ocean or crawl over aa lava to get there.  And all sins, large and small, are washed away.  

SATURDAY, February 8   Support & Fellowship 
"At some point you need support.  You need to be with folks who cheer when you do.  You need what the Bible calls fellowship.  And you need it every week.  After all, you can only go so long before you think about joining the crowd."   (Max Lucado)
     
     When you attend a ball game at the stadium of the opposing team, you often don't find many friends in the crowd.  People turn and stare at you, maybe heckle you, when you cheer at the 'wrong' times.  How satisfying and encouraging it is when you find someone nearby who is cheering with you.  A bond is formed that can extend across lines of race, age, or status.  If is the bond of fellowship in a common 'team'. 
     Join God's team and find camaraderie in your teammates and other 'fans' in church.  We can only survive a wilderness experience so long.  Even Jesus came back from the wilderness.  Christianity is community.  
     Off this morning early to explore a different community - that 'under the sea' in the ocean reef!  Still all are God's creatures, and we are bound together in that!  

SUNDAY, February 9   One Flock - CHURCH
Ephesians 4:3  CEB

...and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together.

   Toby Mac's song One World just went flying through my head.  As I wander the Hawaiian Islands, where no one culture is in a majority, Paul's words to seek the unity of Spirit make sense.  A couple of Lucado's thoughts...

"Never in the Bible are we told to create unity.  We are simply told to maintain the unity that exists.....Our task is not to invent unity, but to acknowledge it.""What would happen if all the churches agreed, on a given day, to change their names to simply 'church'?...then we Christians wouldn't be known for what divides us, instead we'd be known for what unites us - our common Father.......God would like it.  It was his idea to begin with."

     We aren't going to make it to CHURCH today - the way our schedule worked out, this is our day of most driving.  We need an early start.  But I will ponder One Church thoughts as we drive.  I have no clue what 'denomination' some of the churches we have seen are, and it isn't important.  There are brothers and sisters of faith across the island.  They are family.

     Back to Ken Smith, my seatmate on the plane.  I felt a sense of 'family' when I went to his website, and there beneath the picture of he and his wife, was a symbol of a fish with a cross in the center.  A small sign, but one that made us ONE.  Have a great day, brothers and sisters!!

I finished a couple of my prayer mandalas.....they use a 'snowflake-style cutout' for the basic pattern, but where you go from there can really change the result.  Both of these center on the four areas of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, intercession, and confession.  

MONDAY, February 10  Family

Romans 12:10 

Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.MSG

Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. CEB

Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another. GNT

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. NIV
Multiple translations above of Paul's admonition in Romans to get along as members of a family.  Lucado goes on to explore all the different Greek words for love, indicating that an awkward but accurate translation might be, "Have a friend/family devotion to each other in a friend/family sort of way."  However you interpret the verse, the intent is the same:  God unites us.  And because God loves us both, we need to get along.  Lucado writes, 

You didn't pick me.  I didn't pick you.  You may not like me.  I may not like you.  But since God picked and likes us both, we are family. (p28)

'Nuf said, brother!