Category: Uncategorized (Page 3 of 6)

The Science of Love…?

Thinking about the origins of love as Valentine’s Day approaches…
Were humans equipped to love at the very start? Logically, if you take God out of the equation, and look at it from a scientific point of view, it really doesn’t make sense.
I mean, which molecule creates or fosters love?  Which organ causes us to love?  We say we feel love in our heart,  but we know that’s not really literally true. Our brain is responsible for much of the process, of course, but how would feelings of love – or any emotions for that matter – evolve...and why?

I get that we have a vested biological interest in keeping those who share our lives and our  DNA safe and healthy and strong, but to put it in Tina Turner’s words…What’s Love got to do with it?

It doesn’t seem necessary to love someone to do the right thing and take care of them, or care about what happens to them, and protect them. So where in our human bodies did love come from?

It would seem that humans must have been pre-programmed for love by Whomever created us…

A prayer of Love for Valentine’s Day

Lord You are Love… Thank you for giving us love. Thank you for being love for us and through us. Thank you for allowing us to love and be loved, because you first loved us.

Love From Above

Lord You Are Love… you gave love, you showed love. And you’re responsible for all the love on the planet. It all originated with you. And it was especially made known to us when you sent your son, Jesus. He… communicated and conferred the essence and the reality of Your Love onto your people. Jesus is the ultimate Valentine.

Jesus was the example of love.  He was the embodiment of love. He  encouraged love and inspired those who knew him to love.  And even today though we do not know the person  of Jesus, he still inspires love.

Because we know him in Spirit, He still inspires compassion. He still inspires generosity. He still inspires service. Because without these things we are merely human. But with these things, as we emulate You, God, by emulating your Son… we become more and more like You and more aware of being  “made in your image and your likeness”.

Lord You Are Love… Being made in your image was never intended to mean that we look like you… in body, in person  or in countenance. But that we “look like you” in Spirit.  In our nature and in our actions and our reactions; towards each other…In Love.

Know that you are loved by the One who matters most. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Recently a new friend was telling me that she was having shoulder surgery soon. So I was just praying for her that things go well, of course, and that she recovers quicker than expected. And praying for her surgeon too, that he does what needs to be done, does it efficiently and superbly.

But then I thought well, yeah, a lot of people are probably getting shoulder surgery today. So I threw that addendum prayer onto the end, as I think we often do… Lord please help everyone who’s getting shoulder surgery today. And then I added… well, everyone who’s getting any kind of surgery today, too, I guess.  And wait… anyone who’s in the hospital today and suffering in any kind of pain. And, oh! …..every doctor that’s working today to help fix them… And then what about the people who are in pain but can’t afford to be in the hospital? Or have no access to healthcare. And so then my prayers drifted there. And what about places in the world that are so remote that there isn’t even such a thing as a hospital or doctors or surgery?

And of course, as you can see prayer can become endless. Which is, really, a good thing I guess. But it starts to feel almost futile. Like, does it ever end? Does all this vague praying dilute the effectiveness or the sincerity of my prayers? Is there ever a time I can feel like I’ve prayed enough?

I guess that’s why Joyce Meyer says she likes to  “pray her way through the day.” She says we can pray to God about anything. And she does mean anything. She prays that her hair stylist does a good job on her hair. She prays that she bowls well on her bowling league. She prays for every little thing in each part of her day. I used to think someone who prayed like that was ridiculous. But now I admire them so much.

Should We Pray All Day?

I think when Paul said we are to pray ceaselessly, that’s what he means. Not that we should sit with our heads bowed, or kneel with our hands clasped in fervent, holy prayer 24/7. But that we just pray and have an ongoing conversation with Jesus all day long about everything that’s going on in our lives, and the lives of people around us.

Brother Lawrence was a monk who lived in the 1600s  in a Carmelite monastery in Paris and he really got this. Basically his job at the monastery was mostly working as a cook. He focused on spending every minute of the day in God’s presence, and for God’s purpose.

He wrote letters to a friend about this spiritual practice. And his writings were put in a book after his death called The Practice of the Presence of God. An excerpt can be found here.

It was a series of the letters that he wrote about how every little thing he did was for God. Every dish he washed in the kitchen, every plate he served… his mind never strayed far from God throughout his entire day.  He got to the point that every single thing he did, he did out of love for God.  He talks about how it was only difficult for the first 10 years.(!)

It sounds like a lot of work. But I’ve been trying to do it, been working on it.  I’m nowhere near Brother Lawrence’s level of commitment, but I am trying to make prayer my go-to whenever I remember, all throughout the day.  Good times, bad times, regular times. Trying not to wait for a crisis to think to  pray. 

And it really does become a very comfortable, reassuring, peaceful practice to rely on. It’s just such a great reminder that God is always right there with you. And a reminder of the peace that you can have when you acknowledge his presence.

So when prayer seems endless and sometimes frustrating it’s helpful to remember that every word that you speak to God with sincerity, every moment you take to listen for his answer, draws you closer and closer to him. And to that beautiful mystery…the peace that passes understanding, that we are all searching for.

God put love in a body and sent Him down to earth…

Because he knew that we needed to see his love. Tangibly. In a form that we could understand and an example that we could follow.

God put love in a body and sent Him down to earth... So we would know that there is hope.   In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. His  light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5   There’s no force on this Earth, no source of power in the universe that is stronger than his love.

There is no darkness or difficulty, no loneliness or grief, no sickness, addiction or problem that his light does not shine upon and carry you through. No matter the good or the bad that’s happening in your life this holiday season, his light is there shining… for you! He’s there for you and for me. His light, his power, his comfort, his courage, his provision, his peace… Is there for anyone who wants it.  Anyone who reaches out and asks for it. It’s there. He is there.  You are never alone because he never leaves you nor forsakes you.

God put love in a body and sent him down to earth… So we could know we have a Father in heaven who guides us and protects us. Who gives us wisdom, purpose and peace. He helps us see that we are here for more than  maybe we had thought.  More than whatever we see on the surface.  What is important about you is not what you have or  what you do.
God loves YOU. That. Is what makes you significant. You are loved, you are important,  you are a child of God.  And you are exactly what God wants for Christmas this year.

Blessings for a Very Merry Christmas to you all !

Reading Hebrews 2:10 and it says in part …God, for whom and through whom everything exists… And it just made me think… wow, if we could just get a hold of that. That God made everything and that it is all made for him! We’re not here for ourselves. We’re not important because of what we do and who we know, and what we wear and what we drive, and what we have… we’re only important for one reason. And that reason is that God made us for himself and he views each one of us as equally important. We’re all here for his purpose. Not a single one of us is redundant or superfluous.

We all have something to add to this world. Some gift or talent, or ability or propensity that fits into God’s great plan. And when we think we’re important for any other reason,  that’s when the trouble starts. That’s where we get it wrong.

It’s our own pride to think that anything  we do well is because of our own effort. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. James 1:17  If you’re good at something it’s not because of you. It’s because God gifted you with that thing. And you’re expected to use it for his glory!

God, for whom and through whom everything exists…

He didn’t just give it to you to keep for yourself! It’s not for you. It’s for his glory. And he glories the most when we do for others. When we take something we have and use it to help one of his other children.

Nothing makes a parent happier than when someone is willing to help their child, or say something, or do something to make their child feel better or fit in. It’s a great joy and comfort to know someone else out there is looking out for our kids. A teacher, a coach, a friend, a neighbor, whomever. God feels the exact same way about each and every one of us. And he’s gifted us uniquely and he’s placed us exactly where we’re at, to do the most good.

God, for whom and through whom everything exists…

If only we could see that each one of us is a vital part of the puzzle. In God’s eyes, the janitor is no less important than the CEO; the street sweeper no less important than the president. We are called to do what we are made to do. What’s that thing you love that people keep telling you you are good at? What’s that thing that brings you joy or satisfaction? What’s something that comes so easy to you, it feels like breathing? God won’t force us, but he calls us. He made you  for a purpose.

…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…

I used to interpret this line in The Lord’s Prayer as a plea –  ‘Please let your kingdom come, down here on earth, Lord,  and let your will be done, here on earth,  just as it is being done in heaven.’

But now I see it as less of an Ask and more of a Declaration – ‘Lord, because your kingdom (Jesus) has come…your Will, will be done -by us and through us – here on earth,  just as it is being done in heaven.

Don’t we get it? God has equipped us to create a version of Heaven here on earth, with the power of the Holy Spirit that he has given each of his followers. We just don’t always choose to listen to God’s call on our heart for what he wants us to do.

Dear Lord everything that I am, was made by you. I am, in one sense, under your complete control; my body, my mind and soul, and my spirit.  And yet you choose to give me free will. You choose to let me choose. So what do I do with that?

What will I do with that impossible-to-imagine freedom? I can do anything I want, we all can, and yet so many of us choose poorly. Some choose merely wastefully,  some  negatively, some choose horribly. And some of us choose just to float along. Thinking that by not choosing we can’t make any mistakes…

But maybe one of the biggest mistakes is choosing to choose nothing.   Life is full of choices, and it’s not always easy to make a decision.  I heard someone once say ‘the best decision is the right one, the next best decision is the wrong one, and the worst decision is to not decide.’   In other words, the biggest mistake is to waste the gift of free choice. To bumble along and flounder through life just getting by. When we were all meant for so much more.

Lord, Maybe the greatest choice we can make with our free will is to give it back to you. Lord, you gave us free will to choose anything we want.  Maybe the greatest and the grandest thing to understand is that the very best thing we can choose with our free will is Your will. That we can kind of surrender our free will back to you and choose to do your will. We choose to surrender and trust and submit, and in obedience, do your will.
Let your will be done through us, Lord. …Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…

Help us recognize that we are put on this Earth as your hands and feet to do not our own will, but Yours. What on Earth can our tiny minds even conjure up that would be half as impactful as your will? The answer is nothing. There’s nothing in our own minds that is greater than what you have put in our paths to do. And all it takes is surrender. All it takes is the willingness to trust you and put everything we have in your hands. Thank you, Lord for the courage to surrender. Amen

So the whole “Thy will be done on Earth” thing is really, largely,  up to us!  God has provided a way for his will to be done on Earth, but we are his instruments. We get to have a say in whether it actually happens or not.  I can think about it, talk about it,  write about it, read about it, I can pray about it… but can I actually do it? It’s in the doing that I get caught up. Oh I think it’s all a great idea. Surrender to God? Sure, that’s a great plan!   But the jumping in is the hard part.

But… it doesn’t always have to be that hard. Maybe I just need to try to model Jesus’ behavior in one area of my life. Just pray for help to change one small thing that I struggle with.
Is there something big you feel God is calling you to do? Or something small he is calling you to work on?

A very interesting man named Bob Goff wrote a book called Love Does, and in it he says something that I find really  profound. He talks about reading the Bible and studying the Bible.  And he acknowledges that it’s all very good and important stuff.  But he goes on to say, once you get the idea of it all, you should just be going out and doing something about it.  He says something like  ‘Instead of learning all of it, just go out and do some of it!’  And I think that’s one mistake we sometimes make in the church. We do learn a lot about Jesus and the Bible and that’s awesome, but if we don’t follow up that learning with some doing how are we ever going to change the world? 

My good friend Jo visited yesterday and she never fails to lift my spirits and inspire me. When she left, I took a walk through our woods and this prayer came to me…

Dear Lord, thank you for the doorways, thank you for the stairways; thank you for the grassy fields and the rough terrain.  Thank you for the leaf strewn paths and the snowy trails. Thank you Lord for the freeways and the highways, the dirt roads and the driveways. Thank you for the rocky Moors and the snowy cliffs. Thank you Lord, for the smooth sidewalks and the bumpy pathways.

Thank you Lord that no matter where we are in life, rough roads crop up. Rocks appear in our path, we hit slippery patches, stormy weather, icy mountain roads and rocky cliffs to climb. But in the big picture it really doesn’t matter. Whatever it is we are given in this life, whatever it is that befalls us -by happenstance or by design – is never insurmountable with You by our side.

You have created it all; the soft grassy field and the slippery rocky terrain. And with You by our side on this walk of life, we need never fear falling or failure. Because You, our vast, limitless Creator are journeying with us, helping us negotiate every step of the way. You know every crevasse, every stumbling block, every icy patch to avoid…

And He knows exactly when we won’t avoid them, too. On purpose, by our own choice, or by accident or circumstance. Either way,  He’s got our back. He steadies us when we stumble. He catches us when we fall. He guides us, leads us and urges us down the right path.

His touch is a gentle one though, He will never force you. He will never create the itinerary, but only make suggestions and hint at the better way to go, with His still, small voice.

There is a path, there is a way, there is the Light of Truth. He’s there, right there, on the path with you; beckoning, urging, asking, inviting.

The paved path is there, also available. It is the one that most take. It is easy, it is familiar, it is highly populated. It seems like the best choice at first glance; it is a well worn path. And  comfortable, oh so comfortable! And it barely requires a choice at all. You end up on it by default. When you choose not to choose.
But you can choose to be deliberate.  Be proactive,  Be decisive! Make a decision. Your decision. Don’t let life decide for you.

The Apostle Paul was an amazing and prolific writer. It’s commonly accepted that he wrote up to 13 of the New Testament letters, four of them while in a prison cell.  Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina, points out that Paul, Barnabas and Apollos did a lot of touring and speaking together, and at one point Paul admits that he doesn’t have the stature of some of the other prophets and speakers. And so Furtick muses that because Paul was insecure about his speaking perhaps that is what turned him to writing. Would we even have Paul’s inspired writings,  had he not been insecure about his speaking? If he had not been stuck inside a prison cell?

Sometimes we are given  what looks to be a deficit, what looks to be a difficulty or a challenge…but how do we know what God might purpose it for? We don’t. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. We have to get over  thinking that we need to or even can figure out how and why God does what he does.  We assume that if we can’t figure it out that there’s no good reason for it. It’s like we say we believe God is the Creator of the Universe, but then when something happens that our tiny  human brains don’t understand, we throw up our hands and say “Why God, why?” or “When God, when?” And we act like it all has to make sense to us!

Your Part In God’s Plan

So when we are confronted with a challenge or difficulty, or a situation in our life that we don’t understand, and we begin to feel angry, depressed, confused and hopeless,  maybe we can choose to take a new perspective on it. Instead of ‘Why?’ or ‘When?’ we can ask “What …does God want me to do with this?”

Maybe, although he did not cause your situation, God can use your very specific difficulty for a very unique reason. Maybe he’s asking you to respond in a certain way that will echo somewhere in the community or in the future for the good of someone else.

And when we don’t listen for God’s voice, or we hear God’s voice but we don’t obey… what is it we are missing out on? What is it we are giving up?

What or who, somewhere down the line, is being affected by our lack of action on God’s promptings? I have this feeling God is trying to orchestrate this beautiful life for us all. He’s trying to get these jigsaw puzzle pieces together in the way that he has intended. But because of his gift of free will, because he will not make us do something – he will only encourage us, only give us ideas and thoughts and promptings, only ask us- but  because God will not force us to do something, many good things go undone.

There is a negative force in this world, and if you are a Christian you may call it satan, or the devil, or the enemy. In any case, most people agree that evil exists in our world. And I believe there is an enemy and it comes to us in that little voice in our head that says “Nooo… Don’t step out there, you’ll look foolish!   No… You can’t do that – you have no experience.   No…don’t try that, what will people think?   What if you fail?”

And so evil in the world often succeeds in thwarting God’s plan for our life. How do we know that what we do today may or may not affect our great-great-great grandchildren? And if we don’t do that thing that God is asking us to do, how do we know what negative effects might come of it? How do we know that our actions weren’t supposed to be coupled together with some other person’s actions to create something really, really good? How do we know that right now maybe cancer should already be cured? Maybe homelessness and hunger and poverty, even.  Maybe if we all listened to the voice of God and acted on it, and obeyed him and trusted him… trusted that he really knows better than we do… What could we be accomplishing? What kind of world could we be living in?
 … And we know that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Just Take the First Step

So…what has he given you to work with? What’s in your hands? Maybe at this point in your life, you have time to spare. Maybe you have money. Or maybe it’s a unique talent or experience. Maybe it’s some kind of difficulty that you’ve been through, or are still going through, that you can guide someone else through. Someone that’s further down that path than you are.

Maybe just take a few minutes with God and ask him what he wants you to do, with what you already have. Chances are you already have a pretty good idea. I don’t think God makes it hard for us to figure this out. But – and here’s the hard part – once you have that idea, you’ve gotta step out. You’ve got to trust God. You gotta stick your toe in the water and take that first step. That is something God will not do for you.

But he will enable you. He will  guide and support you. He’s waiting for you to take that first step. And when you do, he will be there every step of the way to help, if you let him.

Have you ever thought about your own eulogy? What do you hope people will say about you when you are gone? Back in college, in a psychology class, our professor had us each write what we would like said about us at our own funeral. It’s very thought provoking, and a really good exercise.  If you have a few minutes, give it a go.

If you are brave enough to be really  honest, do this twice. Write the eulogy that you would like spoken about you, then in your heart of hearts, with no one reading over your shoulder – write the one you think might actually be spoken, by someone being completely honest. Go ahead, feel free to be completely truthful, it’s just between you and God.

If there’s a big difference between the hoped-for eulogy and the truthful one,  well maybe there’s some work to be done. Another version of this is…imagine your 90th birthday party;  imagine people are asked to get up and say the three words that best describe you.  What would your boss say?  What would your spouse say?  Your kids…?  What would your friends, co-workers, neighbors, say?

Kind of a scary thought, right?

Back in college,  writing my hoped-for eulogy, I focused mostly on  accomplishments. I mentioned things like…she was well-known in her field…she was good at her profession, respected by her colleagues…she was a trustworthy friend, someone you could count on…

Not surprisingly, if I were to do that today it would come out  differently.  I think my ‘goal’ eulogy would include many of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These are character traits identified in the Bible as: Love, Joy, Peace, Kindness, Patience, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Goodness and Self Control.  My mom gave me a beautiful quilt recently with the Fruits of the Spirit written on it, along with related scripture verses.  I have it in my bedroom and I even had a picture of it made and hung it in my dining room. So I see it often, and I’m more conscious of trying to measure up to it.

When I taught 1st grade catechism, the kids would make a tree with apples on it and each apple had one of the Fruits of the Spirit listed. I always thought it would be cool to have each spiritual fruit on a different type of literal fruit.  Kind of like a fruit salad.  

So, I guess if I were to write my eulogy these days, I would hope it would look more like fruit salad.

But…nine characteristics is daunting, right?  I guess I should focus on one at a time. So I’m going with patience. Because that’s probably the one I have the most trouble with. The next few months I’m going to really be aware of when and why I lose my patience.  

 And interestingly, Christian theology teaches us it’s not really a matter of purely trying to be more patient.  I need to ask the Holy Spirit to produce patience in me. I want to be conscious and aware of it, but we need to pray for, and be open to the work of the Spirit in us.  Changing us.

I saw a fantastic series on a Christian TV station that explores the nuances and benefits of the Holy Spirit. It’s called The Wild Goose. It  focuses on different facets and concepts of the  Spirit and is extremely well done – I highly recommend it. You can find it at https://thewildgooseisloose.com/

If you’d like to play along with me, please feel free to comment below which Fruit of the Spirit you’d like to focus on.

Dear Lord, Thank You for the Holy Spirit and His work in us. Thank You for helping us  recognize His power and His presence so that the Fruits of the Spirit can come alive and be expressed in us. Help us to see that just trying, and trying, and trying is not enough to develop these traits. But, rather, communing with You through prayer, Scripture study and  practicing Your presence, along with our willingness to trust and surrender, are all things that will make these goals easier to reach. Amen