Joy in the Journey

There's a bigger picture you can’t see. You don't have to change the world, just trust in me. 'Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan, And through you I will show them, I Am. “I AM” Ginny Owens But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you; When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:11-12 In her song “I AM” Ginny Owens refers to Moses, David and the Virgin Mary. She gives their side of the story so to speak and to each God replies with the words above. When I read those accounts and others like them, Noah, Peter, Paul and so many others, I have the perspective of thousands of years later. Now these are Bible greats but they were just ordinary people when God called them. We used to sing an old hymn. “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” at Ba...

Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 Every Sunday and some days in between, I see or think about our church logo. We are “the inperfect church for inperfect people.” Yes, the misspelling is intentional. There are very good reasons why our pastor needs to make that declaration, why he needs visitors to kind of “get” us before they even walk in the door. This doesn’t mean that we are some new age, anything goes type of place. To the contrary, we are an Anglican church with our roots in some very old, very deep beliefs and practices. As far as how our service looks there is a nice balance. We are presented with ancient teachings in a lighter, freer way. The real rules certainly apply. They not only apply but are revered. A lot of the man made trappings, however, are missing. That’s okay. We’ve sorted out the things that draw us to God from the things that separate us. It’s a lov...

To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy. What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim faithfulness? Hear O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord be my help. Psalm 30:8-10 The notes in my study Bible on these verses refer to David’s understanding of life after death. The “going down into the pit” is apparently referencing David’s death. Certainly the scholars who wrote those notes are smarter than I, so I am not questioning the validity of their explanation. I do, however, see it a bit differently. David begins the psalm talking about God having lifted him up, sparing him and being his joy. Then we have these verses about going into the pit, not being able to be faithful or to offer praise. Could this be about death? It could. To me it isn’t actual death. It’s more of the mini-death, if you will, of sinful behavior. It is the separation we experience when we distance ourselves from God by our own ch...

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:22 Have you ever been on a construction site? They’re awful. It’s bad enough when it’s a new building. But when it’s an existing building being gutted and rebuilt it can be even worse. In either case, no one worries about cleanliness or litter. My husband is a painting contractor. He isn’t a slob. His office is often cluttered but the floor isn’t covered in empty diet Mt. Dew bottles, empty food wrappers or various other debris. Yet, when I go to see him on a site he may well be surrounded by all kinds of rubbish. Those things, those leavings of the people working there are only the beginning. At the same site there are bits and pieces of wood, metal, nails, screws, etc. There is dust and dirt everywhere. It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks it can go from looking like a landfill to looking like a beautiful home, office or church building. Maybe you are very forgi...

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23: 4a, 6 The other night at Bible study the leader asked us to tell which Psalm was our favorite and why. He quickly amended, “But you can’t pick the twenty-third. That’s too easy.” I almost laughed out loud. I wouldn’t pick the twenty-third, even today. Psalm 91 is my favorite psalm. Although having a favorite is highly unusual for me. I find it hard to pick a favorite anything. The reason I found Sam’s remark so funny is that until about a year or so ago, Psalm 23 would be my last choice! I might pick twenty-five or one hundred three. I might pick Psalm 27 but not twenty-three. Anything but twenty-three! Psalm 23 used to be the death psalm to me. When do you hear it? At funerals! You know that’s true. Psalm 23 is on almost every funeral card I own. By that I mean the card...

Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:38 Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” John 21:15 What could Christ possibly need from me? Isn’t everything I have from our Father through him? So I will repeat, what could Christ possibly need from me? Me, and my love. From you, he needs you and your love. He needs it. He also wants it but he does truly need it. We were created to love our God. If he doesn’t need us then our creation was pointless. My husband and I have four children and nine grandbabies. At the moment I have no physical need that they should be meeting. I can take care of myself, thank God. I don’t need money from them. I don’t need them to drive me anywhere or help me take care ...

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:43-45 This verse came to my mind the other day as I was describing the attitude of someone very near and dear to me. This young man would be the first to tell you that isn’t where he should be in terms of his Christian walk. I would be one of the first people, if not the first person, to disagree, strongly disagree. My young friend has an interesting relationship with God. He loves God. He is mindful of God. He wants his children to love God but he does ignore God quite a bit, or at least he says he does. A couple of months ago another young man told me all about his close personal relationship with th...