Devotions: Catching our breath

CATCHING OUR BREATH

When my son was growing up, we lived in the Finger Lakes section of New York. It is a beautiful area, filled with lakes and woods and hiking trails.  One of our favorite hiking places was Watkins Glen, with a park and several trails developed around a huge gorge, a remnant of the ice age centuries ago. 

Depending on the trail we chose, the people in the group, our physical conditions, and baggage (such as babies in backpacks), we needed to stop now and then to catch our breath. This came naturally - we didn't need to think about it.  But ponder, for a moment, just what it means to "catch your breath." 

When you're hiking, you can look around at the scenery, retie a shoe, readjust or trade a load, shed or don a jacket, and assess how everyone is doing.  You can look back down at how for you've come, and up to where you're headed. You can check weather conditions and even sip a drink. There's a lot to do, really, while you catch your breath - though it takes just a few minutes.

Breath is vital - without it we die. To someone in respiratory arrest, each breath from a rescue breather is life-giving. To a woman in labor, breathing correctly can ease the process of birth. To singers and public speakers, breath control is essential. I used to have a stuttering problem, and breathing properly was a key to fluent speech.  Breathing deeply helps us relax, and can even reduce anxiety and blood pressure. For all of us, whether we are working hard or running fast, it is important to stop now and then to catch our breath.

There is something to be said for a church to take the time to catch its breath as well. It can be a valuable time of opportunity.  We take a good look around us, we see what progress we've made on our journey, we take stock of our conditions, we take off what is no longer necessary and put on what we need , we assess the climate, we share burdens.

And we breathe.....we breathe deeply.  It's such a simple process, but one that gives us life.  For in that breath, as God's people, is the very breath of God - God's Spirit. And the Spirit, even in our standing-still, in-between times, is pulsing and moving and breathing life into our weary spirits and tired churches.  A time to catch our breath can be a blessing if it allows us to be more fully aware of God's Spirit moving in our midst - if it gives us time and space to make sure our own spirits are in tune with the Spirit of God. 

I am more aware of this during the season of Pentecost - as Christians celebrate the life-giving breath of God which infused the disciples  of Jesus and led to the birth to the Christian church.  The wind of the Spirit, God's Spirit, still breathes in our midst.  We are the ones who forget, or get too busy, or stop believing that God still has plans and dreams for us - individually and as communities of faith.

As we reread the powerful story in Acts 2, maybe we can take a few moments, or more, to catch our breath - to inhale long and deep and feel the life of breath going in.  For in that breath, I believe, is the very breath of God.

Shared by Rev. Jerrie Shepard Matney

Devotion: Listening

Listening for His Voice

Isaiah 30:21 says “You shall hear a voice behind you saying ‘This is the way, walk ye in it, whether you turn to the right or to the left.’” These are comforting words indeed but not always easy to discern when in the moment of decision. A poem by Mary Baker Eddy contains a similar phrase: “I will listen for Thy voice, lest my footsteps stray. I will follow and rejoice, all the rugged way.” In this context, we get a better feeling of the challenge of discovering God’s divine will for us and our loved ones.

Elijah the prophet in Kings I:19 discovers this very problem. In the moment of his greatest despair, he hears a mighty wind and an earthquake and expects God’s voice to be there loud and clear. The trouble is that God speaks to the inner mind and we are so often loudly proclaiming our self will and self desires that the “still small voice” that is the Lord is blocked from our hearts and minds.  Psalm 46:10 exhorts us to “Be still and know that I am God.” Our challenge in constant prayer and deliberation is to quiet our inner voices (that are often obnoxiously loud) and “wait for the Lord.”

God expects our attention to be set on Him at all times, not on the things of this world. So many times I have been willful and had my desires fulfilled , only to see what a disaster it turned out to be. Psalm 55:22 tells us to “cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you.”

Divine Shepherd of the sheep, still our inner wanting and learn to trust that in You alone will be all good and gracious things that are Your divine gifts to us, whether we are awake or asleep.

Shared by Dr. Franklyn Commisso

Devotions: Patience

Patience

Patience is the ability to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.  Patient people are the ones who understand that the pain or discomfort they are experiencing while waiting is temporary and one day it will change their lives for the better.  Impatience, on the other hand, while sometimes justified, can be a character flaw or dark personality trait associated with anything that causes delay.

When everything is going our way, patience is easy to demonstrate. When we rush around, we lose patience and enjoyment of the moment. The true test of patience IS TO ACCEPT WHAT WE CAN”T CHANGE AT THE MOMENT.  We can be tested when someone cuts us off in traffic, our children repeatedly don’t listen or when we are waiting in a long line at the grocery store.

The word ‘patience’ appears in the bible over 30 times. James the apostle, as a chief leader in the church at Jerusalem, focused on the life of faith. He encouraged Jewish believers to endure and live bold Christian lives and to be patient, until the coming of the Lord. Our patience is developed and strengthened by resting in God’s perfect will and our patience is rewarded in the end when the Lord comes.

In Colossians, Paul encourages the church to focus on God and put aside the pettiness’s that prevent the spread of the Gospel. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) God’s power and goodness are crucial to the development of patience.

In Ephesians, Paul having described how Jesus attained unity between the Jew and Gentile through His death on the cross, he asks the Ephesians “to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Patience does not develop overnight.  Our natural response is impatience, which leads to stress and anger. As Christians we have to rely on the Lord’s strength to respond with patience. So the next time you are delayed in a traffic jam or long line or betrayed again by a friend, how will you respond?

 Shared by Joanne Icken

Devotions:know-it-all

Have you ever been around a “Know-It-All”?   No matter what the subject, they have all the answers, and if they don’t, they make it up!

Though, who doesn’t like to be that “go-to person” on a particular subject?   It feels good to have the answers.  I used to strive to be this person at work.  But I found I learned a lot more when I showed up and asked questions.  When I gave myself permission to ask, I actually learned something.  And the people around me, who were afraid to ask, learned something too. 

But, sometimes we’re all wrapped up in knowing it all.  There’s no room left for a new way of seeing things or a different story.  We’re in a closed cocoon of knowing it all.  This is not a good place to be if you want to grow and learn.

Jesus wasn’t a know-it-all.  He’d answer a question with a story or ask another question or explain things in such a way that his enemies didn’t understand him or have enough evidence to arrest him.

I think Jesus did this on purpose.  I think he wants us to not-know everything.  That opens us up to be curious and wonder and discover.   I think Jesus knew that the not-knowing is where we meet God.  When we’re looking for answers instead of knowing it all, we give God some space to show up and give us answers.  A little prayer asking God a question will reveal a lot. Try it and see for yourself.   And the more we ask of God, the more we rely on God.  And then our relationship grows -- the more you engage with God, the closer you get to God.  I wish know-it-alls knew this!

Shared by Lynn Byrnes

Where the light enters you

 

Where the Light Enters You

BY OMID SAFI (@OSTADJAAN), ON BEING  COLUMNIST (Shared by Lynn Byrnes)

Many spiritual paths talk about the metaphors of light and reflection — and a few use metaphors of mirrors and mirroring. I often wonder about “holding someone in the light” (as my Friends from the Quaker community say) and seeking the light of God in humanity.

But what about when the mirrors of our heart are broken? What happens to the light shining through when the glass/window/mirror is fractured? And aren’t we all?

I saw an image that led me to sit with that image, and this is a poem that came to my own fractured, healing heart.

Where the Light Enters You

broken window

Sunlight

Light shines through

It was sunset

What colors

I am this window

You,

the light

We are the brokenness

Illuminated.

The beauty

is all of us

This window,

the brokenness,

and the light

is all us.

We all broken

Frac tured

shat tered

Somewhere in us

there is

a healing

The Nur comes

from beyond

God is the Light.

The One

who gave me the wounds

gives the healing

We are

Wounded healers

Illuminated brokenness

Poets and sages tell us:

        The Wound is where the Light enters you.

I look at my own heart

and see scars

   scars piled on scars

So many deaths

and yet,

life--

Stubborn

    clings to me.

Some see the injury,

the pain

the hurt.

I caress the scar

gently.

This is where the healing

and the light

    entered me.

The scars tell me

I lived through it all

and grew.

I survived.

Even thrived.

The wound

the injury

and the healing

are now all a part of me.    

I pause now

at all the broken windows

O wonder!

the broken window

of my heart

this scattered light

How beautiful each of us

the broken

the unbroken

the healing

the light

The survival.

Trinity Devotions: Psalm 19

Hello Friends in Faith. 

Click here and listen to a beautiful song on these words from Psalm 19 and Philippians 4:8:

Let the words of my mouth
    and the meditations of my heart
    be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my strength and my redeemer

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,

  whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,

  whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—

  if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Have a blessed day.

Shared by Lynn Byrnes

Trinity Devotions - Friendship

A friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that gentle hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

― George Eliot

I love this quote from George Eliot.  It gave me comfort when my friend of 50 years turned against me.  I had been talking to her every Tuesday night for 5 years in an effort to console her over losing her first-born son at the age of 18.  Her grief was enormous and unending.

So I was surprised and hurt when I got a letter listing offenses from years past, many of which I couldn’t remember or fathom as an offense.  I said I was sorry and asked for her forgiveness.  And two years later, I got another email notice, similar to the first letter.  She even told me to stop talking to her about God. 

I cried for a week and then couldn’t imagine ever opening my heart to her again.  It was just too painful to be so powerfully rejected after so many years of friendship.

Through prayer and meditation, I realized that her emotions were still very raw and she couldn’t handle my life’s problems which I shared with her as friends do.  And let’s face it, I wasn’t totally innocent.  I did things that irritated her as friends do.  It’s part of the package of being human.

Months later, she started making overtures toward me, asking me how I was in emails, and sending loving cards, writing about her family; as if nothing had happened. 

I could have blown her off” and it was tempting, believe me.  I couldn’t imagine going through that pain again.  But that is not what God calls us to do.  We are to never give up on the people we love, just as God never gave up on us.

So when I share my faith with her now, I always ask her if it’s OK first.  She hasn’t denied a conversation yet.  Slowly, we’re coming back together and my heart is opening up once again.   And with a breath of kindness which can only come from God, I’m blowing the rest away.

Shared by Lynn Byrnes

Trinity Devotions: A Prayer for Us

A Prayer for Us:

As we go about the most common business of our day, let us be conscious of doing every little thing for the love of GOD, who regards not the greatness of our work, but the love in which it is performed. 

And in so doing, we shall sense the timeless presence of GOD in our time-bound day, our souls being replenished and nourished by Divine love.

And when our prayers are past, we find no difference in the present, because we continue breathing in the Holy Spirit and breathing out a blessing from God, pleasing to God; so that we pass this day in continual joy. 

Amen.

Based on Brother Lawrence (2011-03-24). The Practice of the Presence of God the Best Rule of a Holy Life (p. 6).  . Kindle Edition.

Shared by Lynn Byrnes

Devotions - Fear of the Lord

What Does It Mean to “Fear the Lord?”

 

There are upward of 138 occurrences of the term in a wide range of Old Testament books but most prominently in Proverbs, Psalms, Isaiah, Chronicles, and Deuteronomy.  Yet, “do not be afraid” is in the bible over 70 times, so how are we supposed to live in “fear” of the Lord?   

The word Fear, translated in many versions of the bible comes from the Hebrew word, “yirah,” which has a range of meaning in the scriptures.  Sometimes it refers to the fear we feel in anticipation of danger or pain, but it can also mean “awe” and “reverence.” In this latter sense, yirah includes the idea of wonder, amazement, mystery, gratitude, astonishment, adoration and even worship.  (from Hebrew4Christians.com). 

In his book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology, Eugene Peterson writes about it:

Fear-of-the-Lord is about living in reverence before God. We don't so much lack knowledge, we lack reverence. Fear-of-the-Lord is not a technique for acquiring spiritual know-how but a willed not-knowing. It is not so much know-how we lack; we lack a simple being-there. Fear-of-the-Lord, nurtured in worship and prayer, silence and quiet, love and sacrifice, turns everything we do into a life of "breathing God."

The fact that fear-of-the-Lord cannot be precisely defined is one of its glories - we are dealing with something that we cannot pin down, we inhabit mystery, we can't be cocksure about anything, we cultivate an attentive and reverent expectation before every person, event, rock, and tree. Presumption recedes, attentiveness increases, expectancy heightens.

The primary way in which we cultivate fear-of-the-Lord is in prayer and worship - personal prayer and corporate worship. We deliberately interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to God, place ourselves intentionally in sacred space, in sacred time, in the Holy Presence - and wait. We become silent and still in order to listen and respond to what is other than us. Once we get the hang of this we find that this can occur any place and any time. But prayer and worship provide the base. "Fear-of-the-Lord" is the best term we have to point to this way of life we cultivate as Christians.

I’ve seen “fear-of-the-Lord” on faces at Trinity on Sundays, from the Communion Table to Passing of the Peace.  Our communal worship each Sunday inspires us to keep living in heightened awareness and expectancy of the Lord.  Simply “being-there” is something we do on Sundays.  Bible study and personal prayer keep us nurtured in the Word and in relationship with God.  And sometimes, our lives are transformed in an instant:  when living in fear-of-the-Lord actually feels like “breathing God.”  And in these moments we experience a fusing of our human feelings and behavior with God’s being and revelation.

Shared by Lynn Byrnes