The Holy Rhythms of Lindisfarne

By Pastor Bruce

 

 

A number of years ago, Susan and I attended a spiritual retreat led by a group called the Northumbrian Community. We were somewhere in the mountains of Colorado, but our hearts and minds were drawn to the Northumberland coast in the northeast of England. As Richard Foster says, “It is rugged terrain, and in the ancient days the Celtic saints of Northumbria developed an equally rugged spirituality.”

 

As you can see, Lindisfarne which is also called Holy Island is linked to the mainland by a causeway which is accessible during low tide but is covered with water and impassable at high tide. This is the very feature which defined the life of the Lindisfarne Monastery founded by the Irish monk, Saint Aidan around 634 CE. At low tide the monks could easily walk to the mainland to minister to the people of the surrounding area as well as purchase the necessities of life. However, before the tide came in, whatever they were doing had to stop and they had to head back to the island or be stuck on the mainland for the night.

 

Their explanation of this rhythm of daily retreat to a place of community and prayer deeply affected me as I was at the time a younger pastor with a self-imposed sense of 24/7 responsibility to the congregation I served. I prided myself in being available at all hours of day and night, dropping whatever I was doing to respond to any need that arose. This pattern of life was due more to fear and job security than I would like to admit. I did not have a rhythm of work and prayer, of exertion and renewal, of engagement and solitude, of speaking and listening.

 

And so I was deeply impressed by these very ordinary people from England as they  led our retreat and as they shared what they called the Daily Office which was a pattern of pausing for prayer four times a day: morning, noon, evening, and bedtime. The Daily Office gave their ordinary workaday lives a spiritual depth that was palpable and contagious.

 

We purchased the book of Celtic Daily Prayer and have used it ever since, not as faithfully as four times a day, but regularly enough that it has had a good effect on our daily lives.

 

The morning prayer begins this way:

 

One thing I have asked of the Lord,

This is what I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

All the days of my life;

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to seek him in his holy temple.

 

With simple melodies which were easy to learn, we sang this prayer each morning of the retreat. Perhaps you can pause and listen to this prayer now by clicking on this YouTube link:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekKGRnuakuc

 

We learned that the modern Northumbrian Community does not live on Lindisfarne Island like St Aidan and his successor St. Cuthbert did but is a worldwide community of faith consisting of men and women with a variety of jobs and vocations who have taken vows of “availability and vulnerability,” made a commitment to live by the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount, and whose daily lives are built around the four times of prayer they call the Daily Office.

 

Many of these saints do live in north Northumberland with a motherhouse and administrative center in Nether Springs. (As some of you know, Susan was going to lead a group of students to Ireland this May and I was going to join her after Ireland and possibly drive across England to make a retreat with the Northumbrian Community, but alas, this is 2020, a year unlike any other in our lives…)

 

If you are interested in learning more about this community or just downloading their daily prayers for your personal use, you can find all this and more on their website: 

https://www.northumbriacommunity.org

Since this is Friday, I will leave you with the compline (bedtime prayer) for today:

 

O Lord, You will keep us safe

and protect us forever.

 

I am placing my soul and my body

in Thy safe keeping this night, O God,

in Thy safe keeping, O Jesus Christ,

in Thy safe keeping, O Spirit of perfect truth.

The Three who would defend my cause

be keeping me this night from harm.

 

I call on You, O God,

for You will answer me;

give ear to me and hear my prayer.

 

Show the wonder of Your great love,

You who save by Your right hand

those who take refuge in You from their foes.

 

Keep me as the apple of Your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings.

 

Lighten my darkness, Lord.

Let the light of Your presence

dispel the shadows of night.

 

Christ with me sleeping,

Christ with me waking,

Christ with me watching,

each day and each night.

 

Save us, Lord, while we are awake,

guard us while we are asleep;

that, awake, we may watch with Christ,

and, asleep, may rest in His peace.

 

God with me protecting,

the Lord with me directing,

the Spirit with me strengthening

forever and for evermore.

 

In the name of the Father precious,

and of the Spirit of healing balm.

In the name of the Lord Jesus,

I lay me down to rest.

 

The peace of all peace

be mine this night

in the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

 

Amen.

 

 

Forgiveness

By Cathy Ramsey

 

 

We have all had people in our lives that have hurt us. This includes family members, friends, co-workers, and strangers. These hurts create worry, resentment, the desire to retaliate, sadness, anger, and mourning.

 

My father was a difficult man. He was filled with anger and always seemed to be unhappy about something. He consistently lashed out at our family and anyone involved in his life. In his mind, it seemed like everyone was bad and against him in some way. As a child I feared him and as an adult I avoided him and had negative feelings toward him. Why couldn’t I have a father that loved me like other girls had fathers that loved them?

 

About three years ago, a cousin that I did not know about found me and asked to get together. We met and she told me about my father’s life as a child. His life was so challenging and grueling that he ran away from home at thirteen years of age. I suddenly understood why he was the way he was. After a lot of prayer, I have been able to forgive him, completely and fully. It has lifted a huge burden from me.

 

I have discovered in my spiritual journey that I am a little bit like him. (Heaven help me.) I take offense and get hurt much too easily, get defensive, and say things I sometimes instantly regret or sometimes don’t regret until I have had the opportunity to complain to God about my hurt and seek his guidance. His guidance is always to forgive and forget those that hurt me. I also plead for God’s forgiveness as I know defensiveness is a sin. (I am trying to do better, but change is slow for me.)

 

I have learned that forgiving those that have hurt me is more much of a benefit to me and my soul than it is to those I am forgiving. It releases my anger and hurt and draws me closer to God. I now know that as long as I am carrying resentment or hurt in my heart, I cannot be close to God. Since being close to God brings me the most joy of anything in my life, it doesn’t make sense to carry resentment and hurt. It makes life so much happier and easier to forgive quickly and completely.

 

In the “Good and Beautiful Life” James Bryan Smith says, “Every time we retaliate, we are operating by the narratives of the kingdom of this world. Each time we curse our enemies we are affirming our faith in the narratives of the life without God. When we refuse to freely forgive, we demonstrate our allegiance to the world’s narratives of scarcity and fear. When we hate our enemies, we betray the God who loves his enemies. Conversely, when we pray for and bless those who curse us, we align ourselves with God and his kingdom. We are doing what Jesus did.”

 

The Bible is full of God’s teachings about the importance of forgiveness:

 

Psalm 32:5 – I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 

Luke 6:37 – Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

 

Matthew 5:44-45 – I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

 

Luke 17:4 – If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,” you shall forgive him.

 

Psalm 32:1 – Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered.

 

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Psalm 25:18 – Look on my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins.

 

Romans 4:7 – Blessed are those who lawless deed are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

 

Mark 11:25 – Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

 

Isaiah 43:18-19 – Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

 

Matthew 18:34-35 – His master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

 

Forgiveness Prayer:

 

Lord, I pray that You will help me to show mercy to others just as You have shown mercy to me. Help me not be judgmental and condemning of other people. But rather enable me to choose the way of acceptance and forgiveness. I want to forgive others so that I can receive full forgiveness from You and release for my own sins. I pray that You would help other people to forgive me for things I have done toward them whether unintentionally or not. Give me the ability to make things right with people quickly and completely.

 

Relinquishing Our Rights and Taking Up Our Cross

By Brooke Momblow

 

 

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Matthew 26:39, 42

 

Because of love, Jesus gave up his rights. Leaving heaven to become human meant a giving up of his rights as God. Then he surrendered not only his human right to justice but his right to life. No one forced him. He chose to take up his cross.

 

Paul considered himself a prisoner of Jesus. Though he was a slave to no man, Paul made himself a slave to every man. (1 Cor. 9:19, Eph.3:1) Why? Love. God’s love for Paul caused Paul to pour out himself on behalf of others. In prison, Paul believed he was not a prisoner of Rome but a witness to them sent by God’s will. A Roman soldier who understood the rights of citizenship was afraid when he discovered he had possibly violated Paul’s rights (Acts 22:29). Paul had given his rights back to God as a gift though. He chose to take up his cross.

 

Recently I’ve struggled with how to love someone in my circle. They take advantage, manipulate for their own good at the cost of others; they’re ungrateful, entitled, and smug when they get away with it. I don’t want anyone to associate me with that kind of character so I don’t like claiming them as part of my circle. Nevertheless, they are a part of my life, it isn’t a choice for me to make. The choice I do have though is to take up my cross. To love them. By giving the rights of my reputation, my finances, justice, my right to my will… back to God as a gift, I’m saying that I want His will to be done.

 

To my eyes, this person in my circle is unhelped and unchanged by my efforts at loving like Jesus. And to be honest, I haven’t had the attitude of Christ; I’ve been angry and resentful. Until recently that is, when God got a hold of my heart. While I was praying about the situation, I asked God what I should do because God tells us in scripture to be wise when dealing with unbelievers, he tells us to be both cunning and gentle. So my question to God was if I should turn the other cheek? Or if I was supposed to protect myself, draw healthy boundaries. I felt like the Spirit gave me this passage:

 

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:27-30,35-36

 

This is so radical. So counter to sound judgment. I feel like I might have a lot to lose if God means this literally.

 

In scripture I find that God’s answer to a situation is usually bizarre. When his directions are followed, God is glorified in transformative ways. These aren’t new ideas he is asking us to live, these paths to righteousness are two thousand years old. As long as “take up your cross” remains just spiritual terminology, we will find we have missed the cross.

 

Lauren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM (Youth with A Mission), talks about learning to relinquish his rights to God. Here is just one story he shares:

 

We were at a Youth for Christ camp in New Zealand sharing the word of God with many unsaved teens. I was walking the road one night and praying when the Lord spoke to me and asked, “What do you have in your hand?”

 

I pulled my hand out of my pocket and said, “I’ve got some money, Lord.”

 

He said, “throw it down,” and so I threw it down and walked off thinking God was going to lead someone to that money.

 

Suddenly the Lord said, “Go back and pick it up.”

 

So then I asked, “God is that really you?” You know – is it God, is it the devil, is it my imagination… all the voices we have to check out. It was the Lord, so I went back and picked up the money.

 

As I was coming back into camp there was a young man I had been witnessing to earlier that day in counseling who was deeply involved in drugs, and as I walked towards him the Lord said, “Give it to him.”

 

I said, “No God, he’s a drug addict.” Isn’t it amazing all the things we save God from making mistakes in? I walked right past the young man.

 

The Lord said to me, “I could trust you back there to obey me. Why can’t I trust you now when you know what the circumstances are?”

 

My response to God was that I needed confirmation, even though I hadn’t asked for it before when he told me to throw the money down. You see, confirmation can sometimes just expose the rebellion in our hearts, our stubbornness.

 

I asked the Lord to have the young man meet me at a building I was going towards even though he was going in the other direction. I wanted an unbeliever to be more obedient to the Lord than I was!

 

Anyway, as I got to the corner of the building there he was. So I said to him, “God wants me to give you this money.” The young man began to weep and said that after talking with me earlier that day he had told God he would go to a certain Christian rehabilitation program and now with the money I’d given him he had enough to go.

 

Today the man is in full time ministry. What God was showing me was that it is often the little thing that we won’t take to the cross [that makes all the difference.]

 

We have lots of rights. Rights like justice and freedom. Rights to nationality and rights because of nationality. Rights to sleep, food, clothes, culture, faith, finance, family.

 

Lauren Cunningham, Jim Elliot, Elizabeth Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Corrie ten Boom, George Muller, Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, and so many others. Their stories are about being aware of how much they were loved by God and their desire to follow him in love even if it meant giving up their rights. Their stories are living examples of living out the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit despite the circumstances they found themselves in or willingly walked into. They are dangerous people to learn about because you might find yourself so inspired that you pack for India next week!

 

Admission: Practicing sacrificial love is new for me, I’m still learning.

 

Realization: God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. If I do the same, then I am His child.

 

To Ponder: As Christians we are heirs with Christ, we have all the rights of sonship, a much greater value than what we might give up here on earth. Isn’t that the way of God’s kingdom though? The life we try to save we lose, but the life we give up for Christ’s sake we save. What does taking up my cross look like in reality?

 

o   Relinquishing our rights does not mean giving up our responsibilities.

 

o   A few signs that we might be clinging to certain rights might be: our temper, bitterness, or fear of loss.

 

o   What is directly in front of you that would require that you give up a right in order to love like Jesus?

 

o   Are we willing to trust God’s plan?

 

Lord, show us what rights we are clinging to. Teach us to cling only to you.

 

Amen.

 

Seeking the Kingdom

By Marilyn McGrath

 

 

Meditating on the verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6:33) got me thinking about how we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

 

Perhaps one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways we seek God’s kingdom is in seeing the glory of God in nature. “The whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa 6:3). Glory is evidence of the presence of God. God is present everywhere around us.

 

Dallas Willard defined the kingdom of God “as the range of God’s effective will, hence anything that obeys God’s will is within his kingdom. It has always existed but has been made accessible to everyone through Jesus Christ.”

 

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Lk 17:20-21.

 

And so we find God’s kingdom in people around us. Their words, their thoughts (ideas) and their actions can reveal the kingdom to us, but mostly, I think, it is in their attitude towards and relationship with God that they reveal the kingdom. We see that in Abraham’s response to God in Gen 15:6 “And he believed God, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” We are righteous when we believe God as Abraham did.

 

When we obey God, we are also righteousness:

 

Psalm 119:106 “I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances.”

 

Isa 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

 

Mt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

 

Jesus exemplified righteousness for us:

 

Isa 11:5 “Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins and faithfulness the belt of His waist.”

 

Jer 23:6 “In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (NKJV)

 

Rom 5:18 “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.”

 

2 Cor 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who know no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  

 

We become righteous when we believe God, obey Him, and do His will just as Jesus did:

 

Mt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

 

Eph 4:22-24 “You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

 

Hos 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”

 

Amen.

 

Click below for a short video about Home for Our Troops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmM9Dks7AZE

Going Deeper for August 23, 2020

By Pat Russell

 

 

Considering the sermon by Pastor Bruce on August 23, 2020

 

Acts 9:1-9  Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 

³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

 

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

 

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

 

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So, they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

 

Galatians 1:15-20  But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. ¹⁷ I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

 

¹⁸ Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

 

1 Cor 2:1-5  When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

 

•          •          •

 

“Conversion.” This word has been used many times throughout history to mark a change within a person’s deepest being. Other words that have been used are “saved,” “born again,” “washed in the blood of the lamb,” “accept Jesus as your Savior,” “receive Jesus into your heart,” to mention a few. In conservative Christian circles where I grew up, the question often was put forth, “Have you been saved?” Another one was, “Are you born again?” I often thought that if you did not know the Bible, you would have no idea what was being asked.

 

Today, Pastor Bruce expanded on Paul’s conversion experience and the impact it had on his life. The Lord came to Paul in a very dramatic way. In that moment Jesus spoke the words that Paul needed to hear; words that “knocked him off his horse;” words that caused him to re-evaluate his life’s direction; words that made him realize that he had “gotten it so wrong for so long,” as Bruce said.

 

When I was 8 years old, two important events happened in my life. One, we bought a very large, somewhat wild horse for me to ride, and two, I “accepted Jesus as my Savior.” With relief, I say that the two events did not happen at the same time. I was not knocked off my horse with words from God (I did, however, get knocked off that horse many times!). What did happen was, as I sat by my mother in a small country church during what was known as an alter call (come forward and pray at the alter to “receive Jesus into your heart”), I said to her, “I want to do that.” I had to be brave, stand up in front of everybody and walk up there alone. The voice of the Lord was a quiet yearning inside of my 8-year-old heart. I had not had enough life to have many regrets, but I did have my share. That was the beginning of my life’s ongoing conversion.

 

I have a dear friend who cannot say when she was “saved” or “born again.” She only knows that she has been a follower of Jesus her whole life from as early as she can remember. Being in her 80’s and on hospice has only brought her into deeper communion with Jesus. So, her “conversion” looks very different from Paul’s story and very different from mine. My point is that God works in us according to who we are and how we can best be drawn to him. We cannot compare the individual creative work of God within each of us.

 

The story of Paul’s conversion, however, does give us some common elements about our conversion stories, no matter how they happened and are continuing to happen. This is how I see it from what Pastor Bruce said…

 

1.      Our pride is addressed – the great Paul was blinded and had to be led around. I, as a child, had to get up in front of everybody and walk down that aisle. My friend knows that it is God at work within her not her own work.

 

2.      Our view of what is true changes – Paul’s understanding of Jesus was transformed. I knew Jesus was real, not just a character from the Bible stories I learned. My friend has found ongoing truth in Jesus throughout her life.

 

3.      Our Guide becomes someone different from before – Paul went to the wilderness to receive insight and understanding from Jesus’ Spirit. I started listening to another Voice inside of me. My friend has a strong inner sense of the Holy Spirit.

 

4.      Our life direction changes course – Paul became a missionary to the Gentiles, a people the Jews rejected. I NEVER wanted to be a missionary because I was afraid of going to places like Africa; I ended up going to China. (Being a missionary to a foreign land is not a requirement, by the way, but you may head in a way you never expected.) And my friend is following Jesus in the midst of an uncomfortable ending to life as she knows it.

 

Then, in follow-up to those common elements, these important questions come to us from Pastor Bruce’s sermon…

 

1.      To whom do we listen? Jesus’ voice or the voice of human wisdom and understanding?

 

2.      What traditions from our culture or from our human family do we need to release?

 

3.      What are we choosing to be or do because of the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit that might be very different from the opinions of others?

 

So, my friend, what is your conversion story? Dramatic, quiet, young, old, public, private, a one-time experience, an on-going experience? One thing for sure, Jesus calls each of us in the way we best require, and he keeps on calling. I have this quote on a sign in my “she-shed” AKA “My Hiding Place”: “I choose you. And I’ll choose you over and over, without pause, without doubt, in a heartbeat I’ll keep choosing you.”

 

I add, “Will you choose Me?” Paul could have gotten back up and kept going his own way thinking he simply was hit with some strange weather event.

 

Tolkien and Lewis

By Mike Banta

 

 

You may not know that I am a big fan of good fantasy and science fiction writing. As a teen I was very much taken with The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, as well as the novels of CS Lewis, including the Narnia books, and the science fiction trilogy beginning with Out of the Silent Planet. CS Lewis, as most of you know, was also a prolific and popular Christian writer. Tolkien was a devout Catholic.

 

JRR Tolkien

Lewis and Tolkien were friends while professors at Oxford. Both men were fascinated by the power of mythology. Today we often equate the word “myth” with “fable” or something not true. But Tolkien and Lewis were convinced that mythic stories could deeply move and influence people. When they could find no contemporary authors publishing such stories, they decided to write some themselves. The resulting books are the masterpieces we know both men for today.

 

CS Lewis

 

CS Lewis credited Tolkien for his conversion to Christianity. In 1931 the two professors (joined by a third friend named Hugo Dyson) went for a walk on a blustery evening, talking far into the night. Humphrey Carter recounts the story in his biography of Tolkien, which I have abbreviated:

 

Lewis could not yet understand the function of Christ in Christianity, could not perceive the meaning of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Tolkien and Dyson reminded him that when [Lewis] encountered the idea of sacrifice in mythology he admired it and was moved by it. Could he not transfer his comparatively unquestioning appreciation of sacrifice from the myth to the true story?

 

“But,” said Lewis, “myths are lies, even though lies breathed through silver.”

 

“No,” said Tolkien, “they are not.”

 

After further conversation, Lewis finally asked, “You mean that the story of Christ is simply a true myth, a myth that works on us in the same way as the others, but a myth that really happened? In that case, I begin to understand.”

 

Lewis wrote to a friend twelve days later, professing his belief in Christ based on this conversation.

 

What moves you deeply? Are there books or stories that inspire a deep and enduring connection? CS Lewis was drawn into relationship with God because he admired mythology, and it became a paradigm for understanding Christ in reality. Perhaps for you it is the beauty of nature, or the preciousness of human relationship that inspires you. I am reminded of Paul speaking to us in the first chapter of Romans, as I paraphrase:

 

… That which is known about God is evident within [us], for God made it evident to [us].

 

Yes, we come to know God through scripture, prayer, and preaching, but in those ways and more, through the Holy Spirit speaking within us. As humans we are drawn to that which generates deep feelings of joy and connectedness, for in these things we glimpse our Creator. That which we see “as through a glass, darkly” causes us to further discover the vastness of the Gospel, which draws us more deeply into wholeness of relationship with God.

 

Lord, as we anticipate new understanding and growth in You, we ask You to use that which moves us deeply to teach us and draw us nearer to You. We ask that each day would bring us new dimensions of understanding of Your Gospel. Let us exult in fresh experiences of Your love and compassion. Amen.

 

Blessings and Gratitude

By Cathy Ramsey

 

 

I used to wake up with a cloud over my head and spend the day as Eeyore, the woeful little donkey in Winnie the Pooh. Thoughts roiling through my brain: Why did this happen? Why did that person say that to me? Why did I say that? How can I fix that? What can I do to be more loved and respected?

 

Once Jim and I joined EPC, we started to avail ourselves of all the spiritual formation opportunities available to us there and focused our learning on how to live more in the kingdom of God. I learned that I could speak with God and he would speak with me. He told me He loved me, always and unconditionally. Thank you, God.

 

I think the most benefit I have discovered in our learning journey, is to learn to count my blessings and be grateful for all of God’s love and grace, every hour of every day. It has brought me more joy and peace than I could have ever dreamed. I notice the little things so much more than I did before, no matter how small they are. They are all gifts from God.

 

The COVID 19 pandemic has taught me to never take anything for granted again. We are blessed to be able to survive this with our home and animal family safe and sound. The church worship services on-line, the devotionals, and our meetings with church family have helped us stay grounded in our faith and in God’s love.

 

I wake up in the morning, thanking God that Jim and I are in good health and the dogs and cats are all excited that morning has come. I go out to check that the llamas, alpacas, sheep, donkeys, chickens, guineas, and ducks are awake and moving around. We are so blessed to live in the country. Thank you, thank you, thank you, God, that my family is good today.

 

In the summer, I sit on the deck to study, read, and pray. The hummingbirds and butterflies are amazing little creatures and the squirrels are so lively, thank you God. The flowers are blooming and so pretty, and the trees are majestic, thank you God. The skies and the sunrise are beautiful, thank you God. The rain is so calming and rejuvenating, thank you God.

 

We like to go to the mountains in the summer. It makes me feel so peaceful with the breathtaking views, mountain creeks, moose, elk, eagles, and marmots. Thank you, God, that we can live and thrive in Colorado.

 

In the winter, I am so thankful for the beautiful snow and the gorgeous skies. The crisp, cold mornings are refreshing, and all is well. Thank you, God.

 

I count my blessings and thank God every night when I go to bed. Every day is an opportunity to visit with God and learn his lessons of loving everyone more, showing kindness and compassion, and thank him for his love, grace, and blessings.

 

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

 

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body: and be ye thankful.

 

From Henri Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved: “The problem of modern living is that we are all too busy to notice that we are being blessed.”

 

Henri Nouwen: “Gratitude is the most fruitful way of deepening your consciousness that you are not an ‘accident’ but a divine choice…What fascinates me so much is that every time we decide to be grateful it becomes easier to see new things to be grateful for. Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love.”

 

From Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: “At the last, this is what will determine a fulfilling, meaningful life, a life that, behind all the facades, every one of us longs to live: gratitude for the blessings that expresses itself by becoming the blessing.”

 

A Prayer of Gratitude (from Crosswalk.com):

 

Dear God,

 

Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that you are able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are always with us and will never leave us. Thank you for your incredible sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy. In Jesus Name we pray.

 

When the High Plains Singers performed this song last Christmas, it became one of my favorites.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGKhgdF9vWA