God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears                                                                                         Psalm 34:4

I spoke with a client recently who suffers from anxiety. The discussion led to the difference between generalized anxiety and performance anxiety. He said that the difference for him is that performance anxiety actually gives him energy. The excitement he feels, while partly uncomfortable, is also somewhat of a spur to him to do his best.

Everyday anxieties are draining and sap him of energy. That anxiety is not productive, while performance anxiety can actually be a motivator to do our best. Both types of anxiety can be very annoying and frustrating, but it is beneficial to try to distinguish between the two.

Performance anxiety is situational, whereas generalized anxiety is pervasive. Performance anxiety can energize and motivate us. Generalized anxiety saps our energy and decreases productivity.

So, not all anxiety is the same. For my client, the discussion about the types of anxiety proved to be helpful and normalizing. His self-awareness was a way for him to feel some control over the anxiety. As I have said in this blog often, control is the antidote for anxiety- we just need to determine what we CAN control and what we CANNOT control.

 I hope this little piece can be helpful for you as well!

Prayer: Lord, help us gain awareness of what we can control, and what we cannot, Amen.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts

   Isaiah 55:9

Did you ever bargain with God in your prayer? I’m guessing that you have. During the Second World War there was a saying about such prayers- “foxhole prayers”. That is, desperate soldiers, in literal fear for their life, offered desperate prayers. Things like, “God, if you get me out of here alive, I’ll dedicate my life to you. I’ll join the priesthood!”

I suppose that if many of those men followed up on those promises, we would not have had a priest shortage! Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming those brave and desperate soldiers who offered such a prayer. No doubt I would have done the same thing.

But God is not looking for bargaining when we lift our hearts in prayer. He knows how desperate we are and how scared we might be. He wants the best for us. But it is also likely that some of the men who offered such prayers did indeed die in that war or another conflict.  

God is sovereign, and he does not answer to us. We know and trust that he loves us, but he owes us nothing. Indeed, he is the giver of life, and he sees life as sacred, but he has also given us free will. With that gift, we have chosen so very poorly at times that we have created impossible situations for ourselves.  

We pray not knowing the outcome, but we pray with the assurance that God wants our communication with him.

Prayer: Lord, your ways are higher than our ways, Amen

But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.                                                      Luke 5:16

We were discussing the practice of prayer the other day in a class at church. I have always found it fascinating that we have been taught to pray regularly. Jesus prayed daily to his Father in heaven, and of course, if Jesus found it important to pray, how could we neglect such a practice?

God already knows what is in our heart and mind, so why the need to take time to express it? I’m thinking that God knows that prayer is good for us. Prayer changes us. I don’t think we pray to change God’s mind. I think we pray so that God can change our mind.

We can look at things differently after having voiced those ideas in our head in a solemn attempt to talk it over with God. Prayer makes us be honest with ourselves and God about the important things in our life. Indeed, we may become aware just how important things are for us as we look to the Creator for comfort, encouragement or direction.

Prayer also reminds us that we are people of faith, even when we doubt. Oh yeah, you bet that we all doubt at times! Just the idea of lifting our heart to God is a statement that he is there, and that he listens and cares.

So, we will talk more in future blogs, but that is enough to ponder for the moment, right?

Prayer: Lord, every time we pray, we affirm your presence in our life, Amen

So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.                                   Matthew 7:12

“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.                                                              Galatians 2:19

I have always thought that Jesus was a “lightning rod” for public opinion and criticism. What I mean by that is, people are not really neutral about Jesus. One is forced to take a side and have an opinion when it comes to Jesus. You love his message and live it out, or you reject his message and live a self-directed life.

During his ministry, Jesus did not shy away from controversy. He challenged people in the way that they looked at God. That is, you love God by loving other people. He called out the religious leaders of the Jews and explained to them very clearly how they had missed the mark. Specifically, he did not like religious leaders who leaned into the letter of the Law to the exclusion of those for whom the Law was written.

People who rigidly favored strict interpretation of the Law over the needs of people were singled out by Jesus as examples of those who had missed the mark. Many parables of Jesus remarked about the failure of those leaders to love others. Those leaders then justified their behavior by the letter of the Law. They had failed to see why the Law was even written.

When I wrote my novels about Joseph Shepherd, I saw him as a type of Jesus. That is, when he showed up in 17^th and 19^th century history, he was treated by people as shabbily as Jesus was treated in the first century. That happened because people either loved or hated Joseph Shepherd. Eventually, Shepherd was persecuted by his contemporaries, even though he loved people, served them, and always tried to live by a moral code. Because of that, he was reviled and rejected by those who perhaps felt judged by his very presence.

So, let’s think of Jesus as the radical that he was. He challenged mainstream Judaic Law with the true fulfillment of it. Because of that, he was rejected, and ultimately crucified.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see past the barriers that stop us from showing love to others, Amen

May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.                               Matthew 6:10

One of the things that is discouraging to me in the American culture now is that many Christians are seeking political solutions to spiritual problems. We know that no political party or political platforms will ever solve problems of the soul.

So, as politicians set forth their plans to solve national problems, we recognize that their aim is essentially to get re-elected, or simply elected for the first time. I don’t mean to be such a cynic my friends, but that is how politics work.

That is why I am concerned that so many people who call themselves Christians are acting in political ways, but not in the ways of Jesus. None of us is perfect, and we all fail in following the example of Jesus. But let us be clear that politics and religion are not good traveling partners. One seeks power, the other seeks peace and justice for the oppressed and marginalized of society.

So, in this political year in the United States, let’s always ask the question, “How can we apply solutions that seek peace and empowerment for others rather than power for us?” For Christians, our primary identity is not Democrat or Republican, or even American. We cannot view our religion through the lens of politics.

So, my friends, be well, and fear not. No matter the results of this American election, God still reigns in the world that he created. We must simply strive for the invocation that Jesus gave, “Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven”

Prayer: Help us to bring your heavenly justice to people on earth, Amen

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.     
    The earth is full of your creatures                                                                         Psalm 104:24

I recently watched a PBS show on NOVA about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and how it was made. It was nearly 30 years in the making and planning of it, and the cost- well, let’s not talk about how much it cost.

Suffice it to say that the project was massive, a technological marvel, a monument to both the engineers and scientists that made this astronomical breakthrough. I am not able to explain the scope of the project, obviously, but it made me think of two things- the majesty of God’s creation, and the amazing gift of intelligence and curiosity that God made in mankind.

Those people pushed the envelope of technology, such as needing to plan for temperatures that could ruin the delicate machine, and how to protect its exquisite structure for the mission. The result was the ability to see into the past. Light from distant galaxies takes millions of light years to reach the earth. As the universe expands, galaxies are moving away from one another. The vastness of our universe defies explanation. It is too marvelous for words or comprehension.   

The Master Creator who made the heavens and earth also made the people who are trying to understand it. Both are marvels of God’s creation. My response?

Wow.

Prayer: Lord, your creation is too marvelous for mere words, Amen

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.                     Romans 15:13

I had a dear friend named Denny Mikel who passed away several years ago. Denny was a mentor to me, and I remember one day when he told me a story about what he felt he had heard God clearly say to him. It was nothing earth shattering or strange. No momentous challenge or “special revelation”. It was just this- Trust Me.

That was his guiding light to a simple faith. Trust Me. I often think about that as I wonder about things that I do not understand. Believe me, there are a lot of things I do not understand about how God works, or the faith journey we are called into.

I think maybe that simple phrase, Trust Me, pretty much sums up a faith journey that we are never going to puzzle out on our own. God delights in our trust, not our ability to figure everything out. Yes, God has given us amazing mental capacity, the ability of performing abstract thought, and this amazing thing called sentience which allows us to be truly aware of our own presence and existence. Yet, the thing that pleases God, and gives us rest and peace is just that simple phrase…

Trust Me

Prayer: Lord, I trust you, Amen

 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God                                                      Matthew 5:23-24 (New Living Translation)

What does it say about the teaching of Jesus that he is instructing his hearers to reconcile relationships with others before offering sacrifice to God? I am always struck by this instruction of Jesus. As we know, Temple sacrifice was a big deal to the Jewish community. It was a sacred rite whereby they recognized the Lordship of Yahweh over all of their life and possessions. Only the best of the flock was to be sacrificed. Indeed, killing a prized animal in an agricultural world was indeed a large sacrifice.

Yet Jesus told them, essentially, “Look, your sacrifice of an animal to God is of secondary importance to Him than your relationships with one another.” I wonder how that landed with the Priests and Levites? What did devout Jews do with that piece of information?

Well, what do WE do with that information? It tells me that God wants peace and restoration of his beloved creation before we offer up possessions to him. Truly, all that we own is his anyway, but he is telling us to value the creation of our fellow human beings, and our relationship with them, before we try to relate to him with our religious rituals.    

What say you?

Prayer: Lord, you have given us clear priorities about how we should love others. Help us to carry that out, Amen

But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.                                                                            Psalm 9:18

It only takes a few minutes in starting to read the Sermon on the Mount for one to see that Jesus came to give a message to those who were hurting. He assumed that the people who were drawn to him were drawn because they could see that he gave a message of hope. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn”, etc. These were hurting people. They needed his attention, and they needed to hear about hope.

The fact that Jesus was so particular, and so direct, in giving a message of hope to those hurting people should be the message that his followers hear. Those are the marching orders for his followers.

So, the gospel message is one of hope, not fear, not destruction, not division, but hope. Let’s follow the Master’s lead in spreading that message.

Prayer: Lord, help us to have clarity about your simple message, Amen

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”                                                            John 13:35

Throughout the history of the Christian Church, Christian witness to the world has been demonstrated through benevolent acts of grace to the community. The early Christians were known to take in babies abandoned by Roman families- unwanted babies who had been left out to die. Infanticide was then often considered as a form of birth control.   

Move on to the early and Middle Ages Church which established schools, orphanages, hospitals and schools for the benefit of the community. Today we see the legacy of those movements in so many schools, hospitals, healthcare organizations and non-profit corporations founded by Christian entities for the benefit of the community in which it exists.

The Christian movement has been marked by love of the community in which it resides, and even in places where it does not reside. Love of people, extension of grace and benevolence to friend and stranger are hallmarks of the faith.  

Today, the perception of some of the population is that the Church is known by what it disapproves of rather than for providing love and care for others. How sad that the message that Jesus lived and died for is so misunderstood by so many.

The Church needs to continue to be creative in how it shows love for a broken world- by providing solutions, rather than condemnation. Child care, job training, education, health and mental health care are just a few areas where the Church can impact the world in positive ways.

I am confident that the message still resonates – God so loved the world…

Prayer: Lord, you reminded us that Christians shall be known by their love, Amen