Connections

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14:27 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Today, many of us are forced to be separated from our church family, friends, and others. Many are struggling and discouraged. We look for ways to connect with others as we are in our “cocoons” at home. Julia Noyes of Noyes Art Gallery found a way to help community members connect. She invited persons of all ages, including children, to paint butterflies on the south side of her gallery at 119 S. 9th St. You can view the mural in the alley. My youngest daughter and I participated by adding a butterfly to the wall.  Over a hundred have added butterflies as symbols of hope and connection. More are welcome.

If that isn’t your thing, there are other ideas for connecting. A friend shared that she calls one person each day that she has not talked to for a while. This friend keeps a log of the people she calls.

A number of organizations plan “calling trees” as each member calls another member according to a list. Many churches and other organizations use “Zoom” to communicate, worship, and conduct business.

Tom Barber of the People’s City Mission reached out to over 100 churches. Singers from Lincoln churches created a composite video of a blessing –  “The Lord bless you, and keep you” –.  Groups in other cities have done something similar.  Pastor Tom stated “It’s kind of united the churches. When you have Methodists and the Presbyterians and Lutherans talking to each other, that’s a good thing.”

We can connect with God through the power of scripture, prayer, hymns, and the Holy Spirit. It is hard for us to be patient and wait for “God’s time.” Sometimes we do not take time to listen and hear what God is saying to us. One day we can be transformed into a butterfly through spiritual growth and wisdom.

Prayer: Dear God, you are with us as we grieve and live with changes beyond our control. Thank you for being with us no matter what. Amen.  

Lois Poppe

Be Courageous

So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Far More Than I Thought Possible

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. Psalm 37:5 (NLT)

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (NIV) 

All my life, organization has been a struggle for me. It doesn't help that I'm a bit of a pack rat. Through the years, small piles of clutter have accumulated in almost every room and closet in our house. (And let's not even talk about the basement!)  From time to time, I've been able to tackle small bits of it. However, most often, I'm too overwhelmed to know where to start.   

Then recently, God gave me a gift: time—lots of it! Never before have I had so much time off from work, with very little on my schedule. This quarantine, while inconvenient in a lot of ways, has also given me a perfect opportunity to finally dig in and get the clutter under control—God's control. Knowing full well that I couldn't handle this project on my own, I prayed for the motivation and guidance I needed. 

With God's help, I've been able to take it one pile, one box, one table-top, one basket, and one closet shelf at a time. Sometimes the process has been difficult, and the progress slow, but when I look back, I'm truly amazed at all that God has helped me accomplish so far! Never, in a million years, did I think I could have this much success with organizing! 

Along the way, I discovered the benefits of decluttering go beyond making our house look nicer. I can find things better when I need them, and I don't have a dark cloud hanging over my head—making me feel guilty, frustrated and overwhelmed by my disorganization.  Decluttering my house declutters my mind! I feel more relaxed and “free”.  And in this better mental state, I'm better able to hear and follow God's call.

I'm far from being done with decluttering, but now I'm more motivated to keep going. Each and every little success has encouraged me and given me more confidence—both in myself and in God.  Together, we're able to accomplish far more than I thought possible.

Prayer: Almighty God, forgive us for letting our struggles—with organization, or whatever they may be—overwhelm us.  Help us remember to ask for, and trust in, your awesome and mighty power to help us.  And when we do, thank you for giving us just what we need—sometimes far beyond what we thought possible. Amen.

Sharon Irvin

Prayer

Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Keep on praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

I received a mug as a gift that says "Dear God, Do You Ever Sit Around...Waiting For The Phone to Ring?" When I read that, it got me thinking and relating the phone to prayer and do we use the phone-prayer? God is always at work in our lives and he is always ready to answer the phone and listen to our prayer when we need help or when we want to thank God for his love. God is on the job all the time and is ready for our call. Prayer gives us God's peace in our lives.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for giving us prayer to talk to you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Susan Taylor

Isaiah 51

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
    and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

look to Abraham, your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.
 The Lord will surely comfort Zion
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
    her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

  “Listen to me, my people;
    hear me, my nation:
Instruction will go out from me;
    my justice will become a light to the nations.
  My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation is on the way,
    and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me
    and wait in hope for my arm.
  Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
    my righteousness will never fail.

  “Hear me, you who know what is right,
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.
  For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
    the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
    my salvation through all generations.” Isaiah 51:1-8

Did I say that right?

Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

As I sit to write some of my thoughts into devotion, sometimes I put it down in words after much thought. I know what I am trying to convey. I find that I struggle to use words that are not offensive to some or express it so it has the right meaning. I am always cautious with texts that I send on my phone as I know that they can be read and the person on the receiving side totally does not read what I thought I wrote. I know that punctuation, spelling and complete sentences help the conversation; but texts are to be short and concise. Text messages are not to be typed in all capitals because that means I am shouting. Abbreviations can be dangerous as some have several interpretations and some are dated to the age, gender and ethnicity of the person. I am not fond of phone conversations, because I can't see the person's expression and I find I can have a more clear understanding of the person I am talking to and what they are saying if I can see their expressions and gestures.

There is so much that is offensive to people in our current world. I find it hard to understand their expectations to eliminate everything. There are designs, artwork, statues, or writings that I find unacceptable or offensive; but I know that to some it is not. I don't expect everything I find offensive to be removed from my sight.  We need to learn from our history as to not repeat it or at least the horrific and harmful portions of history. I think we need to open our minds to change and learn from our mistakes.  

The problem is that too quickly people assume that something said or something done was meant to hurt someone. I don't think that is the case in most incidences, I think people struggle to know how to say or write something that all will understand. It's the communication and understanding of which each is saying but what does the other person hear?  

Reflecting and wondering what it was like for Jesus to reach out to express his love. The Bible talks of the struggles, each denomination of church has their own historical story of what it was to worship God and what they believe. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, Help us to open our hearts, open our minds, and open our temperaments to the ability to understand your teachings. Open our ears that we hear what you want us to hear and not what is leading us away from you. Fill our souls with calmness, empathy, and love for others.  Help us to listen for what others express in their feelings and give us the understanding even if the words are not the same as we would use.  Stop us from our negative receipt of other’s communications and accept that they may not use the right words, phrases or gestures. Guide us to spend more time with you and reading the Bible for the guidance to improve the world in your name.  Amen

Lori Hood

More like Christ, leading to Christ

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Mark 9:14-29


Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!...
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalms 103:1, 6-8

Many things are broken in this world, and many good people are upset by injustice, cruelty, and suffering.  I’ve noticed that in many instances this awareness of injustice and cruelty then leads good people to become angry, cruel, and unjust to other people – lashing out with accusations and name-calling, and a spiral of anger, cruelty, and injustice perpetuates.  It makes my heart so sad.  I have to admit that BOTH the injustice AND the anger make me angry too.  I see many places in the Psalms where the Lord’s wonderful ways are extolled, and His ways look quite different from ours: merciful, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. As Christ’s disciple, I want to be more like God than like the angry mob, but I also know I am to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world.  How can I do both? In my despair about this, I cried out to the Lord, and in one week was led to both these passages – through a sermon and in my wonderful Bible study class.

I was privileged to be able to hear the Stated Clerk of the PCUSA preach at our church, using the passage from Mark, above.   He used the passage to point out that Scripture teaches us not to lean on our own ways, for they are faulty – both as individuals and as the Church.  This passage teaches us that the faithful pray and lead others to Christ, and Christ heals.  Through Christ, we can make things happen that we can’t do through our own power, or by our own ways.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is helpful to me here, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understand;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes;  fear the Lord and shun evil.” (Proverbs 3: 5-7).  So when I find myself becoming angry at either the injustice OR the anger, I pray to God in trust and ask to become more like Him: merciful, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Does it always work?  No, but God isn’t finished with me yet.

Prayer: Lord of my life, please make me more like you - merciful, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love - and through this to point more people to you.  For you, alone, can solve the problems this world faces.  So many are hurting; so many are angry.  You died and rose again so that we could be restored to you and reconciled to one another.  Yet we throw that away in our anger.  Please reach down to this hurting world that needs Your love, and help us to reach up as well.  Amen 

Lori Snyder-Sloan, reprinted from 2017