Category: First Steps

Teresa of Avila, a 16th Century Carmelite nun, once said: “Our soul is like a castle created out of a precious jewel. There are many interesting rooms in this beautiful castle of the soul.  How do we enter? Is that a foolish question?  After all, if the castle is your own soul you are already intimate with it.  What you must realize is that there are many different ways we can exist within this castle.  You can remain with the guards in the courtyard outside the gate.  You can live your entire life and never discover what it’s like inside.” Prayer and meditation are doorways into your castle. Routine and quoted prayers are helpful and a good starting place.  They can help form the words, and concepts, or give the food the chew on; however, authentic words come from the person and is the means to journey inside the soul.  In this first week of the year, began the journey inward.  Make prayer and meditation a priority this year. Start small, focus on a few minutes each day, and build that foundation. Only after the foundation is laid and the daily habit is created can it be expanded to the level where one moves freely around their own castle.    This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Luke 11 *Tuesday – Luke 12 *Wednesday – Luke 13 *Thursday – Luke 14 *Friday – Luke 15 Prayer Requests: *Continued blessings in the New Year 2023. *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

There is a word that Luke used in his gospel that is a bit unnerving.  It is diaskorpidzo (squandered or wasted).  I bet you recognize it in connection to the younger son in Luke 15.  The younger son, The Prodigal, squandered or wasted what was given to him by his father.  You know the story, the father welcomed him back into the family, no questions asked. However, what you might not know is that the same word, diaskorpidzo, is used in the next chapter (Chapter 16) to describe the actions of the Dishonest Manager in a different parable.  He squandered what was given by the landowner.  Both of them wasted and misspent things making a mess of their lives.  Yet, what both received was grace.  The son is welcomed back into the family and not excommunicated, and the manager is not jailed.  Both should have received punishment or at least the repercussions of their actions.  They did not get what they deserved.  Shockingly, the son received a party and the manager a commendation.  The parable endings have always interested me.  They are open-ended.  We don’t know what the next day entailed suggesting there is no agenda to do, no makeup for the wrongs.  What we see is an open invitation to receive something one can never achieve.  This is the purpose of the parables and ultimately the heart of God—a grace giver—and it can only be received. The celebration of Christmas is the recognition that we are, first and foremost, receivers of a gift of grace that becomes the means for one to be made whole.   Notice again the angelic message: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord…“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”          This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Luke 6 *Tuesday – Luke 7 *Wednesday – Luke 8 *Thursday – Luke 9 *Friday – Luke 10 Prayer Requests: *Families traveling this holiday season. *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

Often when Jesus was asked questions concerning heaven, the Kingdom of God, and other theological issues, he answered them with stories about a wounded stranger, a persistent door knocker, and a hungry drop-in guest.  Maybe it was because Jesus knew that much of a person’s God-talk is nothing more than spiritual deflection.  How often do we jump headfirst into the things of God only to avoid the personal presence of God in the hurt and hungry people that cross our paths?  Shocking, more than we care to admit for we see what we want to see.   Perhaps Jesus knows our preoccupation with the things of glory is really a diversion from having to deal personally with families and friends in whom God is present.  As I write this, I’m reflectively praying, “Lord, how many times am I guilty of deflection?”  Sad as it is to admit, more times than not.  Instead of vilifying and categorizing others with labels only to write them off, maybe the better action, the more spiritual behavior, is to see how God is working in those same people that are labeled.     What strikes me is the central heart disposition that it takes to begin the journey of following Jesus is the same disposition needed for every step taken on that journey.  It is and will always be, “It’s me, it’s me standing in the need of prayer.”  When this is my spiritual mantra, my vision is clear, and I can see God’s presence all over the place—even in those that are vilified.    It is not by chance that the proclamation of the Messiah’s birth was given to the meek and lowly:  Shepherds, a peasant girl and her fiancé, and Magi nomads.  Many would have looked past those types of people never to notice their presence, yet it was in them that God did his work.   This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Luke 1 *Tuesday – Luke 2 *Wednesday – Luke 3 *Thursday – Luke 4 *Friday – Luke 5 Prayer Requests: *Families traveling this holiday season. *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

Lately, I’ve been pondering this: “We depersonalize people by stereotyping them. We depersonalize God by generalizing Him.”   First – Other People With the flick of a word, one can stereotype a person and from there, it is simple to not love them.  This is very easy to do.  In the span of one day, I heard many examples.  Perhaps the most known label of Jesus’ day was Samaritan.  Once labeled, it is easy to ask the same question as the expert of the law asked of Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10).   Obedience to God’s command to love our neighbor is easier when we exclude people from the command by dehumanizing them. It narrows the pool to only the ones we want to love. Yet, the Parable of the Good Samaritan re-humanizes people. In a sense it re-neighbors people and our neighbor becomes every person.   Second – God If God is always a spiritual principle, an ethical or moral cause, or a mysterious feeling, then we fail to comprehend how He has revealed himself.  In Jesus, we see God personally—a living body that ate food, drank wine, spoke to people, and listened to people.  Jesus was born into a family, had a childhood, got angry, wept, and lived and walked among people.   The reason this is important is that we can’t become more like Jesus by divorcing our humanity. We don’t grow in grace by becoming less human. We aren’t more spiritual by being less human. It is in our humanity that God seeks to redeem. It is our humanity that God loves, and it was a human that God humbled himself to become in the person Christ Jesus.    So, again, ponder with me: “We depersonalize people by stereotyping them.  We depersonalize God by generalizing Him.”  This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Revelation 18 *Tuesday – Revelation 19 *Wednesday – Revelation 20 *Thursday – Revelation 21 *Friday – Revelation 22 Prayer Requests: *Families traveling to and fro this holiday season. *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

Is there a such thing as a respectable sin?  I’ve wondered.  Obviously, in the strictest sense, the answer is a resounding “NO!” However, hang with me as we explore the concept.  Some sins need no announcement for they shake the earth. For instance, adultery, theft, and murder are easy to spot, and by no means would anyone call them respectable. They rear their ugly in places that would never be a pew or at a church meeting.   But there is a sin that can show up often in the pew or in the middle of a worship service where Christians gather to praise God.  It is self-righteousness that can be a type of cancer to the heart for out of this one sin grows many others: Gossip, lying, lust, and envy.  Though we wouldn’t call them respectable, but at least they happen in a respectable place, in the pew, under the radar of anyone to see.   They are eusebeigenic (Eugene Peterson’s term stemming from the Greek eusebeia meaning “godly reverence”). Peterson formed this word while recovering from a staph infection where his doctor said he had an iatrogenic illness, a disease contracted while being healed of something else.  Spiritually, while being healed from something else, a person can develop a practice of something equally as destructive, self-righteousness. While reverencing God, we practice judgment, gossip, envy, and many other inward sins stemming from self-righteousness. This was the struggle of the older son in Luke 15.  He failed to realize he was a wandering sheep just like his younger brother.  Whenever we cross the line and fail to recognize our constant need for God’s grace, our sin of self-righteousness is eusebeigenic.  Thankfully, the remedy is simple in practice, difficult in heart—humble oneself and allow God’s Spirit to show us our constant needs. It is there that we will find that his grace continues to be sufficient.  This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Revelation 13 *Tuesday – Revelation 14 *Wednesday – Revelation 15 *Thursday – Revelation 16 *Friday – Revelation 17 Prayer Requests: *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

Two of my favorite books carry the same title: The Story of Christianity by Justo Gonzalez. They are a two-volume set of Church history that was a required reading for first-year seminary students. I’ve always liked them because I love the Church’s history. For at one point, I considered becoming a Church History professor; however, over the years, my affection for these books has deepened because I like the concept of the story.  A narrative directed by God that now includes me.   Do you consider yourself part of the narrative of God’s work? Sometimes, I think we miss this important part of the gospel. We are in fact very much a part of that story. You are a character; you have a part to play. God uses you as much as he used Moses, Peter, Andrew, Paul, and many others. Don’t miss your part in the story. Read Hebrews 11:1-12:3. Ponder the narrative of faith. Focus on the beginning of Chapter 12 and know that you now have a part to play.    This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Revelation 8 *Tuesday – Revelation 9 *Wednesday – Revelation 10 *Thursday – Revelation 11 *Friday – Revelation 12 Prayer Requests: *Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. *Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. *Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. *Guidance for those seeking to find their way. *Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6