Why Go to Church?

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10: 23-25  

“If going to church makes you a Christian, does going to the garage make you a car?”  I recently saw this question on a vehicle’s bumper sticker and found it intriguing to consider what kind of person was asking this nonsensical question.  Is he a “nonbeliever” with animosity toward Christians for some reason?  Could he be a “believer” who attends worship services regularly but questions the sincerity of the others who occupy the pews around him?  Could he be a “believer” who thinks his personal relationship with Christ is adequate and attending church is unnecessary? 

No, going to church does not make me a Christian. It is my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior that makes me a Christian. But attending worship services at church on Sundays makes me a better Christian…and I don’t mean better than other Christians. I mean that it makes me a better follower of Christ than I would be without the encouragement and support of others in my congregation.

Prayer: Father God, you have provided an awesome plan for the spiritual nourishment of Your people through the church. Thank You for the privilege of coming near to You through church attendance and fellowship with others who believe in You and Your Son.

Judith Keller (reprinted from July 2011)

An Election Day Prayer

A prayer for Election Day

Holy God, we come to you today in prayer, full of emotions. Election seasons always seem to bring that out in us - worry and hope, fear and frustration. The list could go on. So today we bow our heads and ask for guidance, open our ears to hear the groans of creation. Open our eyes to see the needs of others. Open our hearts to make room for empathy. Give us the wisdom to navigate challenging conversations. Give us the compassion to make decisions for the greater good. And when all else fails, bring us back to love. Bring our hearts and our hands, our dreams and our hopes, our anger and our frustration, our hurt and our fear all back to love. With hope we pray, with hope we are sustained. Amen. 

reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art

Listening

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 1:22

When I first heard the story of Joan of Arc in my childhood, I wondered what God's voice must have sounded like to her. It was frightening to think of hearing something that no one else could hear. It was daunting to think that the voice would tell me things that would be hard for me to accept. I wondered why she was chosen for all this.
 
I have a friend whose daughter was having unusual vision issues when she was little. Because I was familiar with things my own daughter's neurologist examined for, I asked her about what she was seeing while I was visiting her and her mother. She matter-factly described the images of what she saw, and the filters through which she sometimes perceived the world. There were voices as well. She seemed unabashedly healthy and comfortable with all this. Her doctor found nothing wrong with her either. When I brought this up with other friends, some of them mentioned remembering hearing voices when they were little. Some of them had known children who could draw auras they saw emitting from people. Like the ability to hear the sleigh bell in the book The Polar Express, this sense disappeared with maturation. 

I don't understand all this, but I know that children are often the ones who see and hear things acutely, and I wonder if it has to do with their openness and being in active learning mode. Selecting and editing that to which they choose to give attention is not yet a habit. 

Listening is a true skill, and we live in an age where communication output is highly encouraged. We are known by the extent of our Facebook posts. We have the first President in history who communicates by Twitter instead of fireside chats. The tower of babel is an ongoing environment for us. We receive emails daily to which we are expected to respond.  
 
When I truly listen, I am changed inside. Listening requires focus. It needs space and time. Lately I have preferred to have physical meetings in order to listen to the people closest to me. There is much to hear in the tone of voice, the placement of silence, the look on the face. When I am really listening, I am able to help the other person by relating something interesting about what I have heard, or to ask a question that takes the discussion below the surface. It is not about taking on burdens or jumping to solutions, both of which might stall the process. I am simply learning something. I am offering up the best of what I am and what I have to the effort.
 
In a recent move, I had to purge a loveseat that had moved with me every place I had lived with my children. It was difficult to let this piece of outmoded furniture go, because so many moments of their growth had happened while we sat, side by side, trying to get over life's hurdles, whether they were toddler tears or emotional adolescent conundrums. That loveseat was a good listener, and a comforting springboard to the next step. Similarly, every car I have driven has become an ally, not only in road trips and adventure, but also in providing that comforting environment for listening when it is hard for the person talking to have forced eye contact. I had a friend who was frustrated that she was too busy to have her normal daily prayer time, and she said she simply told God "Come on in the car, you're gonna have to go with me today".  There is always something fortifying about the idea of having your friends by your side. It is offering support while looking in the same direction.
 
During the Taize services I used to play and sing for, there was always a central time of meditation, about ten minutes long, during which I would play something to help slow the body into a receptive state, and then sit in silence.  Sometimes I would find that during this time I could have the luxury of a complete thought, and realized how much it was missing from my regimen of interruptions.  At other times, I filled it with unhurried prayer, unlike the frantic tweet-like prayers I often blurt throughout the day. But eventually I simply listened: to God, and in some cases, to the silent prayers of those in the room.  I tried to simply sit with those around me, witnessing their thoughts and inviting God's word to be felt. It was a vital state of being that I hadn't found in a lot of worship experiences.

I am a pianist working with students who are performing songs or musical theatre pieces, I usually try to tell them what I heard and saw from their presentations. In this way, we can work at getting closer to what their intent is.  We work together to make the artistic expression authentic. It helps to make both of us aware of many things, and we both explore and learn together.  

My indelible faith experience from my childhood came when I was 6 or 7, spending a sleepless night because of my active little brain. I was pondering how the world might end, and my fear was eating me up. Finally, I prayed in utter anguish to God about how scared I was. I must have actually listened to God then; I felt a blanket of peace covering me, and I lay back and simply rested in God's cradling for the rest of the night. 
 
Prayer: Listening God, you hear every word I stumble over and every speech I deliver. Beyond that, you hear my heart beating and my soul searching. Among and above the great sounds and music of your creation, let me hear your voice for all and your words for me alone. Help my inner ears to listen and hear, to learn and to digest, to understand. Amen.

  
Mollie Manner (reprinted from 2018)

How to Find God in a Horror Movie

This may seem counterintuitive but bear with me as I explain.

Horror movies may seem like the bane of good Christian values, but like an onion it has layers. Peel back the surface, you will find that there are inherent values and a lesson to be learned by those who seek it. When you see a horror movie you come face to face with the worst mankind can come up with. In the movies, the devil is on earth, the dead come back to life, and society as we know it crumbles. Cynical viewing aside, a horror movie can be a morale about the injustice in this world. A simple truth that bad things happen to good people. Horror movies bring that to the forefront of our minds. Like Job, we are forced to reconcile that our power is limited when compared to the all-mighty. We don’t know everything. In the story of Job, we are shown that bad things happen to good people. We are humbled because our power doesn’t match God’s power. No one is perfect like God. We can struggle to comprehend the concept that bad things happen to good people. A good horror movie brings that struggle to the forefront. He knows all and we know little compared to him. We find God in horror movies by accepting our limited understanding when compared to the Almighty.

 Then Job replied to the Lord:

 “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.

 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’
 My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.
 Therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

Prayer: Dear God, please bless us with your wisdom. Help guide us as we confront injustice in this world. Help us to put our faith in you lord. Help us to understand our shortcomings. Help us to grow. Help us to love. Guide us when life is cruel when we stumble and fall. Lift us up with your loving hands. In your name we pray, Amen.

Charles Kendeigh (reprinted from 2021)

Joy

“Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord Your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locust and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. An afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:23-29

This passage shares a reminder that sons and daughters, children and grandchildren will see life in a new way. After judgment and repentance, restoration and blessing will follow. When disturbing world events threaten to overwhelm, we take comfort in the promise of deliverance for those who are faithful to God. We find joy in the promise of restoration.

As our grandchildren bubble over with joy and excitement brought by new experiences, their delight makes us aware of the many blessings that come from seeing life in a new way. A baby crowing with delight when hearing stirring music played by a bell choir, a preschooler excitedly urging a reluctant mom to embrace a first roller coaster ride or savoring orange slices dunked in chicken soup (hmmm…)—simple daily experiences remind us of the joy God intends for those who love him. 

Prayer: Creator God, thank you for your promises of blessing and restoration. As we seek to be faithful to you, give us an appreciation for seeing life in new ways and the courage to be agents of your hope, joy and laughter. Amen. 

Barry and Alinda Stelk (reprinted from 2018)

Stressful Days

                                                 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore. Psalm 121

Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. Ephesians 3:20

It is my busy season at work. “Busy” doesn’t seem to capture it very well. Stressful describes it better. Add in personal obligations and it is overwhelming at times. Can you relate?
 
In a previous devotion I shared where I have learned to ask Jesus “What is the next thing I need to do?” in the midst of being pulled in so many directions.  And He faithfully answers. And then I ask again and He answers. Like a child, I trust my Father to tell me what is best.
 
At particularly stressful times, I calm myself by taking a breath in while thinking “breathing in peace” and exhaling while thinking “breathing out grace”. Peace to calm me and grace to give others. Jesus brings me back to thinking clearly and stops (sometimes) my tongue. I keep doing this until my breathing becomes slow and calm.

When roadblocks hit (computer doesn’t cooperate, a project stalls without other information, a headache comes on), I now look at those moments as God saying “That’s enough for now; let’s deal with that later”. Be thankful for little things (a hot shower, ice cream, or my husband making dinner).

At night when you can’t shut off your brain of things to do or worry, I do two things: 1) I get up and write down the list of “to do” things in my head; and 2) I say the Lord’s Prayer in my head very, very slowly concentrating on each word. Say it again until you fall asleep.

Remember to show extra love to those closest to you as they often, unintentionally, receive less time and attention from you. Love brings you back to center.
 
Peace and grace to you.

Prayer: Dear Father, In the midst of trial and stress, thank you for your peaceful presence guiding us if only we would look to you to show us the way. We will keep trying to let you lead instead of trying to do it all on our own. Amen.

Cathy Schapmann (reprinted from 2018)

Claiming the Tree of Life

Blessed is the one

    who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

    or sit in the company of mockers,

 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,

    and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

    which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—

    whatever they do prospers.  Psalm 1:1-3

Many of us have been in grief and horrified by the shooting at the Tree of Life Synogogue in Pittsburgh on October 27th (editor's note: this shooting happened in 2018). A friend and I attended a memorial service at Tifereth Israel Synogogue in Lincoln. It was reassuring in the midst of this tragedy that so many from many faith traditions were in attendance at this memorial service. It was a united voice – a concert of voices that would agree that hate has no home in this community or elsewhere in the United States. 

One point made a profound impression on me: the Tree of Life as portrayed in Psalm 1. It is descriptive of those who walk in the way of the Lord – who meditate on the Law of God - God’s Word every day and night. They are like a tree planted by streams of water. That tree is a tree of life that bears fruit and will prosper. My encouragement is that we find the solace of this fruit bearing tree – of God’s Word – God’s Spirit Who ministers not only to this community, but more so, to the Pittsburgh community and to those directly impacted by this tragedy. Yes, God cries with us and we with each other. God is with us in this - as Emmanuel – God with us in Jesus Christ. May we find comfort, strength, and a voice that has the courage to say, “No more!”

Prayer: Most gracious God, keep us nurtured and strengthened through Him Who is our Vine and we are His branches. Fortify us with Your Spirit. May we bring words and deeds of life to a world that is so encumbered by death. Let this day be a day for living in the name of Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus Christ. Amen

Rev. Dr. John Duling (reprinted from 2018)