Printer
Friendly page - click here
Journal — January, 2007 |
|
|
AN ONGOING
SPIRITUAL WEBLOG
|
|
 |
January 31, 2007
Despite not always knowing what is best for me I really dislike others
telling me what to do. Even when they have my best interests in
mind. Other people can be quite kind and considerate and still
be telling me what to do. It is usually in the form of "you should...".
I'm not saying it is right for me to be rebellious to directions. It
is just that as a self-centered human I have a problem with being told
what to do. On the other hand, wanting to do something is a very
powerful motivation. So, when suggestions are made I can more easily
consider them than orders.
I was thinking about this specifically this morning because I was visiting
the Hazelden website. This
famous recovery center has posted a Thought
for the Day and today it was about the very subject I've written
about here. And I loved the quote that led off their commentary: "Thou
shalt not should thyself."
|
January 28, 2007
What is a friend? Oh, we banter about terms like someone who is
always there, who will never let you down, through the thick and thin. And
so on.
But what really is a friend? To be there with another human being
who is suffering, down on their luck, hurting (both themselves and others) —to
really be there with love, not condemnation. This is friendship.
Sometimes we have to tell our friends some hard truths. Honesty
is a sign of friendship.
The apostle Paul had a few friends that mean a lot to him, Barnabas,
Timothy and Titus among them. I love what Jesus said to the ones
who were his close followers. "I no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have
called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father
I have made known to you." (John 15:15 - NIV).
|
January 24, 2007
I truly believe that each of us has a gift that God has given to us,
to be used for the purpose of helping others. The beauty of this
is that we help ourselves by helping others through the use of our gifts. And
we also grow from our contact with others and their gifts. This
is why community is important. We need to mix together, even when
it is unpleasant.
This can be particularly challenging for me. As a writer I am often
alone with my thoughts and writing is something that requires concentration
and some quiet time. People interrupting that can be frustrating. But
unless I kid myself that I am writing only for an audience of one - me
- then I need other people in my life. Even when they are annoying or
interrupting me.
A man who understood this well and wrote about the importance of everyone
in all walks of life being called to a life of devotion was St. Francis
de Sales. He is the parton saint of authors and journalists. In
his book The Introduction to the Devout Life he wrote: “It
is an error, or rather a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with
the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman....
It has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had
preserved it in the world. ”
Today is feast day of Francis de Sales and you can find out more about
him here.
|
January 21, 2007
Clyde's been thinking again. This is a good thing, because Clyde
is a spiritual man with some good insights into the faith and an interesting web
site. One of the remarkable things about the World Wide Web
is that people who write well and have insights can be helpful in carrying
the message of God's love through Jesus Christ, and in a way that reaches
out to seekers without being heavy-handed. "Reach, don't preach" is
often much more effective.
Visit Clyde's
Journal here.
|
January 19, 2007
The 2008 presidential campaign is heating up with more candidates announcing
their intention to run for the office. The Democrats will
have a number of candidates vying for the nomination. Recently
Senator Barack Obama from Illinois began his exploratory process. Senator
Joe Biden (Deleware) and John Edwards (former senator from North Carolina
and vice presidentail candidate in 2004) are in along with Hillary Clinton,
the Senator from New York.
Here in New Mexico we expect our governor, Bill Richardson, to announce
his intentions soon. He has an interesting resume and has done
a lot of diplomacy, including a recent trip to Sudan where he negotiated
a 60-day cease fire in Darfur. There is still a great crisis there
with many innocent people being killed.
The more candidates the better for it will prompt more debates on issues. Hopefully
there will be open and honest talk on issues that really matter, like
poverty, education, and help for those oppressed. It's easy to become
cynical or apathetic about the political process, but that will never
promote real change. And it is our obligation as citizens to be
involved.
|
January 17, 2007
I was reading again in Miroslav Volf's excellent book, Free
of Charge, and in his final chapter titled Postlude:
A Conversation with a Skeptic he has a great line. "God is present
to us whether we believe it or not." Isn't that something? It might be
hard for agnostics or atheists to swallow this fact, but God is present
everywhere and therefore active and engaged in all of our lives.
|
January
16, 2007
Yesterday we honored the birth, life and memory of Martin
Luther King, Jr. The holiday was celebrated across America
for this man who "had a dream" that others share, work and live to see
come to fulfillment. The dream is that all of us will one day be
treated fairly as children of God.
Having a dream and taking action to help the dream be achieved are two
things. First the dream, then the action. We all live in
the footwork of life. The results are up to our loving God. But
we each must do our part. 1 Corinthians
12: 4-11 tells us that we all are part of One Body, but we each
have special, often different, gifts bestowed on us by the Holy Spirit. Everyone
plays a part, but diversity is celebrated. I think this was at
the heart of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream.
On Sunday I was in Phoenix taking the action to fulfill the dream I've
been training hard for since August. I ran a marathon. Running
26.2 miles was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I did it
with a group of people united for a cause. Each of us had individual
reasons for participating. Our common cause is to help find a cure
for blood cancers. For most, the reasons are people we know
with Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma and other cancers. I ran in memory
of my brother-in-law (Rob Lehman), my mother (Jeanne Gilbert), and a
living friend (Ben Bodo).
As the miles accumulated on Sunday and my body ached more and more what
helped keep me going was thinking of those I was running for, and
the many others who are battling cancer. Every year in multiple events
like the P.F. Chang Arizona Rock n' Roll Marathon the Team
in Training group helps to raise money for the Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society. The fundraising provides patient aid
and also much needed dollars for the expensive research, but one day
our dream is that there will be a cure for blood cancers. It is
this dream that motivated me to keep putting one foot in front of the
other over the long distance on an unusually cold Phoenix morning. I
thank God for the opportunity, the ability to do it and for the experience.
|
January
11, 2007
Following the election results in November the Bush administration publicly
admitted that their plan in Iraq was not working. This is something
many others had been saying for some time. The American people
want to know how we are to proceed in the war in Iraq and when we might
be able to bring the troops home.
Last night President Bush spoke to the American people and told us his
plan is for more troops to be deployed to Iraq. Who these 20,000
additional members of our military forces will be, and more importantly,
what the impact on them will be for serving in a situation that so far
has not yielded the results the Bush administration has hoped for, are
important and tough questions.
Will deploying more troops and staying longer in Iraq be successful?
Will it win the war? There is doubt among some of our Armed Forces
members. These active duty soldiers who have put in time in Iraq
are calling for Congress to say "no" to an escalation. Their appeal
message will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day (which is Monday, January 15).You
can read more about the Appeal for Redress here.
|
January
8, 2007
There are many key things we can learn from the life of John the Baptist. He
was a prophet, and as such he openly criticized those who were hypocritical
in their religious observance (Jesus did the same). He lived away
from people on the outskirts of civilization. He was a wild and
wise man.
Yet people were fascinated by him. They came in large numbers to
be baptized by him in the Jordan river. They began to wonder if
he was the prophesied Christ (Luke 3:15).
The Baptizer understood that he was pointing the way, making ready for
the One to come —the messiah and savior. He also understood
that meant that he must become less important. How many of us can
be willing to do the same? It is not easy to give up fame, recognition
and prestige. True humility means being comfortable with accepting
our place and not letting our ego run the show. Hunble believers
let God demonstrate His power through them without making a big production
out of it.
|
January
4, 2007
We are into the heart of winter, but it is quite unusual here in Albuquerque,
New Mexico to be dealing with large amounts of snow. It has been
nearly a week since a record snowfall left 15-20 inches of snow on the
ground here. The city doesn't have the plows, trucks and resources
that northern cities do, so many of the side streets are still icy and
snowpacked. People living near the mountains or in rural areas
are in even tougher situations. I saw on the news that they are
dropping hay for hungry cows.
The snow is pretty to look at, but getting around is not so easy. It
makes me think about how easy it is to "look good on the outside" while
the inside is in turmoil. It is one thing to be calm and serene
in the face of difficulties, but I'm refering to the tendency to act
as if everything is fine when it is not. You know what the acronym
for F.I.N.E. is, don't you? Frustrated, insecure, neurotic and
emotional!
When we face life challenges much of the work is up to us to change what
we can and to accept God's help. To use an analogy, if God needs
to drop some spiritual hay for our hungry souls we still need to walk
over to the hay bale.
|
January
3, 2007
A New Year is always the opportunity to reflect, to look forward, and
to resolve to change some things. Our culture makes a big deal
out of New Year's resolutions, but often they seem shallow. Sure, we
all want to be healthier, to get rid of bad habits, to be happier, and
so on. The way to these changes it not just a once-a-year resolution. It
is a daily approach to living and, as we like to refer to it, living
the solution.
What are the solutions to our life challenges? Each person must
journey along and discover the answers, but a personal belief in
God and Jesus Christ not only guides and instructs us, it invigorates
and inspires us. God's presence in each of us - a union that Jesus
prayed about (see John 17) - makes us partners with the Holy Spirit. And
with God in our lives we have purpose, meaning and the ability
to live fully. That doesn't
mean live problem-free. We are promised our share of difficulties
and even persecutions. That's part of life.
Maybe this year we can each resolve anew to accept life on life's terms
and accept the free grace from God.
|
| Read past Journal entries here. |
Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved
throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering
of goods or services requires the prior written consent of International
Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
You'll also receive Practical Biblical
Solutions for life's challenges with our free e-zine
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
We have more
than 120,000 Christian books, bibles, music,gifts,
video, software and more!
It's easy to find what you're looking for by using our BROWSE
feature to search for your favorite type of
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
PSALM 118:24
|
|
|
"This
is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad
in it."
|
|
(NIV)
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
 |
