Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. …                                                     Hebrews 11

Do you remember the movies of Indiana Jones? Raiders of the Lost Ark; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? Of course you do! There are a number of culturally iconic movies and movie genres that we all (or almost all of us) can relate to because they made an impact on popular culture.

I have used a scene from this movie genre at various times with clients to discuss the idea of a leap of faith. The scene is when Indiana Jones, in The Last Crusade is nearing the place of a steep canyon divide. He is on the cliff, and he must get to the other side to rescue his dying father. The bridge would not be visible until one actually took a step of faith onto the bridge that they could not see. Only then would it become visible.

With great fear and trepidation, Indy took that step in order to save his father. The bridge appeared when he stepped into the abyss.

Sometimes, my clients are facing what appears to be an impossible abyss. We talk through the situation, the decisions, the options, then I may add the above analogy. Sometimes, the answer does not appear until we take the first step of faith. Yes, it is scary, even terrifying. But having taken the step, what wonders may appear!

It is so hard to step into the unknown. We certainly need to have information and wisdom before taking the step, but at some point, we just have to take the step.

Do you have a difficult decision about a step that you are considering?

Prayer: Lord, give us wisdom and courage as we take steps into the unknown, Amen.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”                                                                                                      John 16:33

I have been reading a book by Adam Hamilton titled Making Sense of the Bible. On one of the quotes that Hamilton shared, he noted that it was an old newspaper clipping he had seen but could find no source. The quote is so good I felt the need to share it with my readers…

Suffering is not God’s desire for us, but it occurs in the process of life. Suffering is not given to teach us something, but through it we may learn. Suffering is not given to punish us, but sometimes it is the consequence of our sin or poor judgment. Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it our faith may be strengthened. God does not depend on human suffering to achieve his purposes, but sometimes through pain, his purposes are achieved. Suffering can either destroy us, or it can add meaning to our life.

Over the course of the history of mankind, suffering has been a consistent, though unwanted traveling partner. Indeed, as with nearly all instances of world-wide calamities and disasters such as COVID, some suffer grievously, and some suffer relatively little. The point is, that all are suffering somehow, and we need not quantify it, nor do we need to explain it. We need to go through it, learn from it, and use those lessons for the benefit of society.  

Prayer: Father, in this time of suffering we look to you as our source of peace. Thank you that you have overcome the troubles of the world, Amen.

We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.                                                                                           II Corinthians 10:5

We are surrounded every day with situations which are challenging. Even our own thoughts often tend to work against us at times. We have messages, often triggered by events around us- comments from other people, the seemingly constant parade of negative news stories, etc.- which can really put our minds into a place of tension and despair.

The verse from II Corinthians reminds us that we need to take hold of our thoughts, and conform them to the worldview which we hold to be life changing and life-saving.

Sometimes we get caught up in an anxiety response, an emotional and physiological reaction that is immediate. That physical/emotional response comes quickly, and the cognitive (executive part of our brain) weighs in later. That is really how we are wired in our fight/flight response system, and it often serves us very well. It can protect us from danger, but it can run away with us if we don’t use the executive part of our brain to regulate when the initial trigger is gone.

The writer Paul suggests that we become aware of our thoughts, own them, then take charge of them, and not let them take charge of us. Speak truth to the thoughts that tell us something else. Our anxieties and insecurities can give us wrong messages which must be tested in the light of truth. To do that, we must take charge of the input in our minds.

The truth does set us free, we just need to slow down the emotions of the moment and put our cognitive, our “executive brain”, in charge.  This takes discipline and patience, things which are in shorter supply when we have few margins in our life.

So when we feel stressed, angry, fearful- whatever negative emotion comes up, we need to take the thoughts captive. We need to ask, “Is this truthful?” “Is this loving?’ Is this helpful?” That way we can slow things down and respond in ways that are honoring to ourselves and others.

Prayer: Lord give us the patience and discipline to take our thoughts captive and conform them to your truth, Amen.

The tendency of a system, especially the physiological system of higher animals, to maintain internal stability, owing to the coordinated response of its parts to any situation or stimulus that would tend to disturb its normal condition or function.

In entomology- the ability of members of a colony of social insects to behave cooperatively to produce a desired result, as when bees coordinate the fanning of their wings to cool the hive.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.                                                                                                         John 14:27

As I was thinking about today’s reflection, I had decided to write about homeostasis. That, in my simple definition, is a way to return to some balance to feel secure once again after disruptive life events. Nature tends to do that- find a way to restore a balance of some type, some type of predictability so that we do not live in fear and uncertainty.

Then as I went to dictionary.com to look up the official definition of homeostasis, I saw that there were definitions for several systems. I saw the one for entomology, and it struck me that insects will instinctively, at least social insects, go to extraordinary lengths to restore the colony, or the hive, to restore health or to repel invaders. I described one of those activities above.

I marvel at creation even at the lowest levels. Somehow, they have been wired to act cooperatively for the good of the entire social order.

Our bodies find ways to compensate for functions that have been lost, such as in certain brain injuries where other parts of the brain take over, after time, some functions that have been lost by injury or disease.

We are now trying, post-COVID (more or less) as all the pundits are saying, to “find a new normal.”

We have great need for homeostasis right now. We need a sense of internal stability to feel safe and secure.

Before Jesus went to the cross, he said to his disciples, Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.                                                                                                        

We need to take heart from the great teachers of the world- Jesus, who came to redeem a broken world, and the lowest of creatures such as bees, who work together for the common good of their environment.

Prayer: Thank you Father for the examples all around us of restoration. Thank you for your son, who restores our soul, Amen.

“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.                                                                                                                                Luke 12:6-7

I considered several different topics for today’s blog, and I ended up, for one reason or another, rejecting them. After I had written them, they just did not seem to hit the mark. That happens sometimes right? So, I decided to just look up the verse of the day on my Bible app, and it was Luke 12:6-7. You can’t go wrong with good old Luke, probably my favorite Gospel writer. Luke gives such a good summation of Jesus’ teachings.

 In this passage, the comfort that is expressed is so clearly obvious, yet easy to pass over sometimes. Jesus asserts that God does not forget a single sparrow. Not one! Then he states that God has numbered the very hairs on our head. (Admittedly, easier for God to do with some of us, but I digress.) He cares so much about our needs and welfare that he knows us that intimately.

We need this reminder from time to time when things around us are so altered and abnormal. Many of the landmarks that we used to navigate our regular routines and plans have been changed or altered by the pandemic. Maybe those landmarks were inadequate to begin with. Perhaps this is the time to rethink what those landmarks should be. Holding on to the truths that Jesus taught is a good way to feel the sense of direction that we need. Just the basics- God loves us and values us, even in the midst of the chaos we may be experiencing.

This disruption can serve as a way to find new navigation tools that really work. If we feel secure in the understanding of the most basic truths of God’s love for us, we can ultimately make sense of our changed environment and be better for it in the long run.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the simple truths which provide such comfort to us, Amen.

Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better                                       Ephesians 4:23 (Living Bible)

I like to use analogies when pointing out principles to clients. One I use is likening our innate talents to a powerful racing engine. It hums along, almost without effort for some very gifted individuals. They have been blessed with a “great motor”- their intellect and natural gifts.

I liken the transmission to our attitude and willingness to work. Not everyone has the same level of “great motor” given at birth, but the hustle, attitude and work ethic- that is the “transmission” that makes everything work.

Without “the good transmission”, the best, strongest engine in the world is reduced to being just a noisy hunk of potential energy. If you can harness the power of that great engine with a good transmission which can focus and direct that power, well then you really have something!

So, we have been given certain gifts and abilities at birth- we all have. But the gift that we give back is the development of those gifts through the transmission of good attitude, discipline, and the ethic of hard work.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us gifts to use for your service. Help us to return those gifts with the development of our attitude and disciplines, Amen

All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the beautiful words that fell from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

 Then he said, “Probably you will quote me that proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Why don’t you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?’  But I solemnly declare to you that no prophet is accepted in his own hometown!                                                                               Luke 4:22-24

I had a very small cut on my finger last week. Nothing big- in fact it was really tiny- but it was in a place where it kept getting bumped, and I was annoyed by it. Of course, it healed in a few days, and I can’t even see it now.

It was the healing that reminded me how amazingly our bodies are made. We typically heal from cuts, bumps, sprains, broken bones, surgeries, etc. Thank God for that. Literally!

When I read Jesus’ response to people from his hometown, I saw the parallel to that way that we take amazing things for granted. Jesus was discounted in his own hometown because he was familiar. The local boy that they knew years ago. “Nothing special in him”, they must have thought.

We take the healing ability of our own bodies for granted, and we often lose the sense of awe in that incredible ability our body has to heal itself. No, that ability does not last forever. At some point, (too soon for many) our body can no longer overcome some devastating disease or injury. Yet, so often, our bodies do these incredible things, and we just expect it.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for all the gifts of healing, and the various ways that we experience that, Amen

Please enjoy this reprint of a reflection from July, 2020, with apologies to Alfred E. Neuman, renowned author of the above quote…

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.                                                                                                                                    Matthew 6:34

We all tend to speculate on the future. It is natural to do that. We plan, we dream, we hope that tomorrow is a better day.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that we need not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself. It will unfold no matter what we do. He basically said, stay in the present and don’t borrow against tomorrow’s possible problems.

When we have high anxiety, we want certainty and control. Anxiety does not like surprises, so we try to predict how tomorrow will be. The problem is that people who have high anxiety almost always predict that tomorrow will bring a terrible thing somehow. They brace themselves, I think with the concept, “expect the worst, hope for the best”. At least that way, they have some preparation for that future problem- they are prepared for it.

It is understandable to try to control everything we can. We even try to predict the future to prepare ourselves for possible pain. Of course, one of the problems with this thinking is that we rob ourselves of present joy- of living in the moment.

So, I think that we should control what we can control, recognize what we cannot control, and pray about the rest. In that same sermon, Jesus said this:  

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

I think these words, if we can really follow them, can help with anxious thinking. If we believe that God takes care of his lower forms of creation, surely he will care for us.

Prayer: Father, we trust your provision for us. The future is yours, our future is in your hands, Amen

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.                                                                                                Psalm 103: 11-13

Stop me if you’ve heard this one… on second thought, don’t. I have shared this story in various places and in various ways, but I think it bears repeating. If you haven’t heard it before, so much the better.

Many years ago, my son and I built a pond in our back yard. It was a good one. In fact, it was so good that it was two ponds, with a bog area in between the ponds. As winter approached, we decided that the fish in the smaller, shallower pond would need the depth of the larger pond to survive the winter freeze.

Sometime in November, I took a small net and tried to remove the small fish to transfer them into the larger pond for their own protection. Of course, the little fish did not see the value in that, and they resisted my attempts to catch them with great vigor (and success I might add).

During this escapade, it struck me that people are sort of like those little fish who resisted the change of environment. They were used to the little pond- the only world they knew. To change that would be devastating for them. Of course, my intent was only for their good, their safekeeping.

 I put myself into the mind of God for a moment. “I’m only looking out for their good, and they resist me at every turn”. How must God look at us as we resist change that is only for our benefit? I pitied the plight of the poor fish in their resistance. However, I persisted, and I caught them, transferred them to the larger pond, and they survived the winter ice.

I have used this story at funerals, to point out that final translation to heaven is for good- eternal life. Of course, desiring life, we resist that change with ferocity, and understandably so. But change is often what we need, even when we are resisting it because the present reality is all we know. God knows our need, and he wants the best for us.

Even when we do not fully understand it.

Prayer: Lord, you understand our thinking, and love us, even in our resistance, Amen

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Mark 9:24

Sometimes we make definitive statements which are too black and white. Sometimes, in order to try to understand the world, we break things into “either/or” categories. That often is too simplistic. Life is nuanced, and there are simply areas of life that cannot be broken into such clear categories.

An example I see is in the area of “certainty”. Living in a certain amount of ambiguity is uncomfortable. We want an answer. In our faith journey, we often want simple yes or no, black or white answers. Yet, I think there are plenty of things which do not lend themselves to easy answers.

Having faith does not mean that we have no doubts. I would argue, that without doubt, there is no need for faith. If everything is simply a matter of blind faith, we leave no room for the discomfort of doubt. I believe that our faith can stand the scrutiny of sincere questioning.

In an earlier post, I made this statement relative to prayer: “We all have doubt, I take that as a given. However, it confirms our faith each time we pray. It affirms our faith, however shaky it may be. Faith, even as small as the mustard seed, is shown when we open our mouth to utter His name.”

The principle here is that we act on faith, even if we are not fully on board. No faith is perfect, but whatever faith we do have must be exercised to become real. It is a counseling principle that we “Do, then feel”- meaning, if we do good and right behaviors, we will begin to feel better. We cannot wait to feel better to start acting better.

So, you have doubt, I have doubt. Let’s not let that get in the way of exercising that small faith that we do have. “I believe, help my unbelief”

Prayer: Thank you Father for giving us the mind to have doubt. Thank you for the grace to give us such space. Thank you for the gift of faith and the room for doubt. Amen