I'm In Control Here---A Humorous Thought

Stand in line at any grocery store by the periodicals and we're instantly bombarded by the word "Control".  "Control your weight", "Control your life", "Control your children", "Control your work environment". Control, control, control...we do seem to love the idea of being in control.


Perhaps we need to be in control to assure power or dominance over a situation; the "master of our universe", so to speak. There are certainly a few folks out there that would nod their heads in certain agreement that it's not only good but necessary that they feel in power or in dominance of their environment. Think not? Check the self-help section the next time you're at a mega-bookstore--the selves are over-flowing with advice on gaining control.


Most of us, however, just want to feel the sense of peace and flow that comes from a controlled environment. We're not confrontational people; we like people to get along with one another and us, we like for the dog to behave, and we like for the kids to listen. We do have a certain amount of control over some of the more basic things of life. If we weigh too much to suit, we know if we eat the right combination of foods, not too much of said food, and move around enough to satisfy the requirement for exercise, we'll most definitely be in control of that issue. If we start raising our kids the day we bring them home from the hospital and not when they're 8 or 9 years old, and all goes well with no situations that become out of our range of skills as basic caregivers, we'll be pretty successful in that capacity as well. If we carefully choose our mate and work diligently at making a marriage and a home, we'll more than likely be happily married many years down the road.


However...in TOTAL control? Think again; it's just not going to happen. And WHY would we want to be in total control? To do so is to say that we have all the answers, can solve all the problems, and know all that is to be known. Nope. Not gonna happen. We have someone who takes care of that for us...thank God. 


I always liked the joke where the guy asked God how difficult could it be to run the universe, and God, in response, said the guy could run it for an hour--He'd be back. Think about that...even Hollywood made an attempt a few years back by making a movie about the enormity of such an endeavor. I don't remember how it ended--probably Hollywood-esque well. However, the reality is that it doesn't have to be our job. And truly...we DON'T want the gig.


In Job, God gives an earful to both Job and to us. Job 38 gives a riveting reply from God to Job concerning all the glories of God and His universe. Verse 12, for example, "Have you ever once commanded the morning to appear, and cause the dawn to rise in the east? Verse 16, "Have you ever explored the springs from which the seas come, or walked the sources of their depths?" Verse 31, "Can you hold back the stars? Can you restrain Orion or Pleiades?" Yes, indeed. An earful. 


We have been given one aspect of control in our lives--the challenge of having the faith of a child eliminating the need for constant control. Kids know, on any given date, that things just work. Remember when you were a kid? No worries about being in control. We had the occasional spat with our neighbor kids when we all wanted to be the one in charge, but we were quick to forgive...it wasn't fun to hold a grudge and not get to play, so forget the control business. Too overrated!  In the Gospels, when Jesus is asked what is necessary to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, one of His replies is that we need to love our neighbors as ourselves...but without any grudges. So--want a control challenge? Try that. No grudges. Forget controlling all those around us; let's try controlling ourselves. We adults have trouble with those two things--we like to be in control and we do tend to harbor those grudges.


For this week, let's get a little taste of the true peace that passes understanding. Practice the idea of not having to be in control of everything and let God do what God does in running the universe quite well. Have the faith of a child that things are going to work out if we have faith and we let go of those nasty grudges. Try it for a week...better yet...give it up for Lent. Meditate and pray about it today, tomorrow, and Tuesday. Come Ash Wednesday--give it up. Think how much better we'll all feel and how much better we'll all look to our loving Father come Easter morning. 


Peace be with you.

Lightening the Load

I'm beginning to feel that wonderful familiar pull of the seasons changing from winter into glorious spring. The days are getting longer, minute by minute. The cooler days--when the sun is shining--have a tinge of warmth to them that hints at the coming season. 


As I tossed my now longer hair up in a ponytail the other day, I decided it was time to lighten the load, so to speak, for the coming season. Spring always gives that feel of airiness, and the weight of the hair on my head seemed out of character with the way the rest of me was feeling. So...out came the scissors and the razor and off came the hair with great gusto. And, while I'm at it, why not a color change? I think I remember what color my hair is naturally--close enough. In my spirit of lightening the load, I'm thinking when I gear the color down, I can eventually shed the color in favor of the "now" natural color...whatever that will be.


So the load has been lightened--a good feeling indeed. Little care, little trouble. Sounds a whole lot like how God tells us to remember to live our lives. He gives us that wonderful news in John: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I now give and bequeath to you" (14:27). Wonder why we don't shed our worries? Probably one of our greatest failures as humans.


Today start fresh--recognize the feel of spring in the breeze, the differing light,   the "lightening of the load" of sloughing off of the heaviness of winter. And, more importantly, let's take God at His word...let's take that glorious feeling of PEACE that He's freely offering and use that gift to the fullest. 


Peace be with you.

Saying Just the Right Thing

Ever felt tongue-tied? Who of us hasn't? There are situations in life when the last thing we want to do is make things worse for the person suffering. I'm guessing that many a visitation line at funeral homes are filled with people rehearsing just the right thing to say once they approach the family members. Then, as they do make that initial eye contact, all words are lost and the stumbling begins. It's a tough time for the mourners as well as the family of the loved one that has passed on; just one of many awkward situations when we don't want our words to let us down.

A passage read today from Matthew deals specifically with Jesus' words for the disciples to encourage them on the overwhelming task they have been given. He says, "When you are arrested, don't worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time. For it won't be you doing the talking--it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (10:19-20)

Even though we may not find ourselves in this extreme type of situation as the disciples found themselves in on a regular basis (what now is still shunned by some--a proclamation of Christ--was cause for arrest in those days since it caused civil disturbances as well as going against the beliefs of those days), we still find our words being "arrested" in the form of just not coming to us as we'd like when we're trying out best to assure, to show love, or to calm those amongst us. The problem is that we depend solely upon ourselves or the latest "self help" gibberish to do the job. It doesn't.

The simple solution to to ask God through His son Jesus for the right words...and then have FAITH that this will happen. And it will. He doesn't let us down. Just be sure to let go completely and let God be in all thoughts, words, and deeds to help others.

Many times the complexities we create for ourselves are quite simple when we clear out all the human foibles and ego. Take a deep breath, say a prayer, and bask in the comfort that faith provides. You will come up with the right thing to say to whomever, whenever. Guaranteed.

Blessings to All.

A Lovely and Practical Proverb to Use Everyday

In my daily meditations earlier today, I came across Proverbs 3:5-6. It reads, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend upon your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths."

What a wondrous thought...what a wondrous message of peace to us. We continually try to go it alone and, as a result, we continually fail, make mistakes, say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing. What a relief to know that we aren't failures if we don't "depend on our own understanding". It's not only okay but commanded of us to just let go and trust the Lord.

If we "seek His will in all we do" we have the guarantee that "He will direct our paths". This all sounds so simple to do; however, being the fallible and proud humans we are, it's anything but easy. We have that little annoying voice in us that we have to be right, we have to be independent, we have to be superior. We're just funny that way.

As I grow older, the need to be right, to be independent, the need to be superior fades. The idea of being able to be totally dependent upon our loving God is welcomed indeed.

We learn to trust from those we love; and who loves us more than God? So, let's relax, let's let go, and let's follow the simple yet profound wisdom of the proverb.

God's blessings to you.

Let's Not Forget ALL of Christmas

Since Christmas decorations tend to appear in people's homes these days around Thanksgiving (or before), I hear many comments of relief when Christmas "finally" arrives and these folks can take down all the decor the day or two after December 25. Since this phenomena hasn't always been commonplace in our culture, I'm guessing that commercialism has had something to do with this...just guessing.

The song The Twelve Days of Christmas is still heard during the commercial "Christmas season" on the radio,  in the malls, and in the halls, but I tend to think that few know its actual meaning. The Twelve Days of Christmas actually start of December 25...Christmas itself starts on December 25. Up until that point is Advent--the time of anticipation. From December 25 through January 6 are the twelve days of Christmas. And today, January 6, is a very important date to all Christians...it is Epiphany. The glorious day when, according to our faith, three very wise men who after extensively studying the location of a unique star that appeared in the heavens, found its reason--the Christ child and the Holy family. What a wondrous discovery.

In any country that is ruled by a principality, the birth of a future King is an event of epic proportion. This event was no less momentous, albeit more complex. Who was this family? How could this newborn be considered a King? Yet those who believed the world of God knew this was a King indeed. The prophets had spoken of this event for generations. It was convincing enough that Pharaoh himself sent out a decree that, after the wise men didn't return to report on this momentous event, to kill all male children throughout the land ages 2 and under in keeping within the time of the first appearance of the glorious "new" star. Yes, an event of epic proportion.

This special day, January 6, is seldom recognized by anyone outside the Church anymore. I invite you to bring it back into your home. Maybe next year don't get in as much hurry to bring about Christmas, but enjoy the beauty of Advent, the miracle of Christmas, and the glory of Epiphany.

Blessings to you.

The Only Priest Needed

"But Jesus lives on forever and continues to be a Priest so that no one else is needed."--Hebrews 7:24

This morning I came across a splendid reading in the book of Hebrews. It explains, in the most direct way, how the lineage of priesthood among the Jews came to a halt with the coming of Christ. Up until that time, there were many priests and these priests were of the lineage of the Tribe of Levi (to the best of my understanding). During the time of Moses' leading the Jews across the dessert, it was the Levites who were responsible for carrying all the items of the Temple, and once stopped for a period of rest or by direction from God, they sat up the Temple and handled all matters holy. However, as with humans, they began to get a bit questionable in their practices. One thing about us...we're quite habitual and our habits of the bad type tend to return to us over and over and over again. 

As explained in Hebrews, Yes, the old system of priesthood based on family lines was canceled because it didn't work. It was weak and useless for saving people. It never made anyone really right with God. But now we have a far better hope, for Christ makes us acceptable to God and now we may draw near to him" (verses 18 & 19)

So now we have an ever-lasting Priest that speaks on our behalf to God--in Christ. He (God) says that Christ has the rank of Melchizedek, a sometimes forgotten but amazingly important person in our Faith. (The mystery of Melchizedek is fascinating and more than worthy of a meditation of its own, so I'll use this only at this time for a point of reference.) We need no other priests: "Under the old arrangement there had to be many priests, so that when the older ones died off, the system could still be carried on by others who took their places. But Jesus lives forever and continues to be a Priest so that no one else is needed. He is able to save completely all who come to God through him. Since he will live forever, he will always be there to remind God that he has paid for their sins with his blood" (verses 23-25)

Many people have become highly disillusioned throughout the ages when those in positions of leadership in the church fail to exemplify, through their daily living, the way of God. Even back in the time of Aaron (during the 40 years in the desert), Aaron himself had that weak moment and, before control could be regained, idols were appearing and people returned to their unsavory habits. Fast-forward to today--people see members of the priesthood, members of the clergy, high-ranking church officials failing to live their faith through example. As a result, the general population thinks what is good for the goose is good for the gander. And the "idolic" way of life returns yet again. How wonderful to read the words of Hebrews and know that all the human foibles of our earthly leaders and would-be leaders have little to do with our faith in daily life. As it is stated: "He is, therefore, exactly the kind of High Priest we need; for he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin, undefiled by sinners, and to him has been given the place of honor in heaven. Under the old system, even the high priests were weak and sinful men who could not keep from doing wrong, but later God appointed his Son who is perfect forever" (verses 26 & 28).

We have everything we need on this earth to help us to become people of Faith. And, through the reading of the book of Hebrews, we know we have the only priest needed.

May God be with you.

Gliding Along the Tides of Time

"We glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a racing river, and vanish as quickly as a dream. Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should." Psalm 90: 5 and 12

Gliding along the tides of time--this pretty much says it all. Although through better and better prevention we are able to achieve longer lifespans, once life draws to a close it usually seems too short. Perhaps the idea we're missing is that it is all about quality and not quantity.


Many of us on this planet are born into a virtual Garden of Eden. We have more than enough food at our disposal; a place of shelter to keep us warm, cool, and protected; clothes on our backs and shoes on our feet. Mercifully, we're also given a conscience that reminds us of others who aren't living with the same ease as us, so we see to it to share. The act of sharing emulates the love of Christ, thereby not only giving material items to others through kindness, but sharing our belief in Christ as well.  Fortunately, most of us are more than willing to share our abundant resources with others in need. It's the sharing our belief in Christ that makes us hesitant. How do we do this? We feel awkward, we feel intrusive, we feel a lack of skills of how to smoothly interject Christ's love into our daily conversations. We've unfortunately been bombarded with one televangelist after another that tend to overwhelm us to the point that we feel if we speak of the word of God or Christ to anyone, we come across in that same overwhelming way. Don't worry--it won't. God is in our corner. He knows every hair on our head and every thought in our mind. He knows how we're wired--He had a hand in it, remember? If we ask for calm in our own thoughts and speech, we'll have it. The appropriate words will come to soothe, help, love, and give hope to those around us. All the teachings of Christ were done in this manner; he sat amongst people, quietly sharing parables--not screaming from the rooftops or flailing and flaunting about. He gives us the same still and calm sharing ability if we ask Him for it.

In 2 Timothy 1:8 Paul finds himself once again in jail for sharing the news of Christ. WHAT?!? JAIL?!? Didn't we just agree that we could ask for and be given the calm and smooth words to share with others? And now we're talking about being jailed? If you're not familiar with Paul, he is the exception to the rule. Paul didn't do anything half way. When he was in is "former" life as he puts it, his greatest joy was exposing Christians left and right--doing his level best to destroy the whole of the growing sect of Christianity in the Mid-East. Once his conversion came, he did his level best to make Christianity the way and only way. One can see how this might anger some of his former employers. So...Paul spent quite a bit of time in jail. But he never gave up. And he also was wise to accept a God-given partner in Christianity in the form of Timothy--a soft-spoken, hard-working man. In verse 8 it states: "If you will stir up this inner power, you will never be afraid to tell others about our Lord, or to let them know that I am your friend even though I am in jail for Christ's sake. You will be ready to suffer with me for the Lord, for he will give you strength in suffering. He goes on in verse 13: "Hold tightly to the pattern of truth I taught you, especially concerning the faith and love Christ Jesus offers you. Guard well the splendid, God-given abilities you received as a gift from the Holy Spirit who lives within you."

We all have those God-given abilities...those gifts from the Holy Spirit. We may not feel comfortable at first sharing the love of God and Christ through direct conversation. But remember the old axiom, "Actions speak louder than words." Think of how you can exemplify the beauty of Christ's love through simple gestures of kindness to others. If you have money--share it with organizations that you feel good about to share food, livestock, seeds, medicines, etc. If you have time--share it by helping at a food pantry, a soup kitchen, visiting at a nursing home, or cleaning us something for someone who can't do it on his own. If you have talent--share it by singing a song, sharing a poem or prose, making a pot of soup or a loaf of bread.


We are gliding along the tides of time. Every day does  count. We're given so much; we need to use our limited time of this dear Earth to do good to others and feel the love of Christ as we share.

May the Lord be with you always. Amen.