Saturday, March 14

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin …"

Romans 6:6

Most people think of Christmas as the time for gifts, but Good Friday is the time when we received the best gift of all, a crucified Christ. I know that doesn't sound like a very pleasant gift, but some gifts that aren't pretty at all, we love the most.

In his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum has a name for these ugly gifts: “gummy lumps" He uses this term to describe a shoe box that he keeps on the top shelf of his closet that was decorated and given to him by one of his children.

Anyhow, this shoe box isn't looking too good now. It's a little shriveled and kind of moldy where the jelly beans and gumdrops have run together. It's still sticky in places, and most of it is more beige than red and white. If you lift the lid, however, you will begin to know what makes him keep it.

On folded and faded and fragile pieces of large-lined school paper, there are words: “Hi daddi” and “Hoppy valimtime” and “I lov you. A whole big lot of I lov you." Once in a while he takes it down from the shelf and open it. It is something he can touch and hold and believe in, especially when love gets difficult and there are no small arms around his neck anymore."

Isn't a crucified Christ, who died for each one of us, the ultimate “gummy lump?" This “gummy lump" isn't a pretty sight, it is messy and broken, yet it says “A whole big lot of I lov you." Every Lent we need to take this “gummy lump" out of our closet and remember that Christ's death for our sins means we are dead to sin and free to live a new life with Him. What a gift!

Lord Jesus, thank you for your gift, and help us to remember that each day we are free to live a new life with you. Amen.

 Mary Fry Walters (1994)

Friday, March 13

I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness.

John 12:46

An Alphabet Of Spiritual Inspirations From The Bible (continued)

R	Restore	Ps 51:12	Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
S	Strength	Ps 105.4	Seek The Lord and His Strength, and keep on searching.
S	Spirit	Ps 139:7-10	Where can I go from your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from your presence?  If I ascend into Heaven,You  are there;  If I make my bed in hell, behold You are there.  If I take the wings  of the morning and and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
T	Trust	Ps 61:4	I will Trust in the shelter of Your wings!
U	Upon	Ps 55:16	As for me I will call Upon God, and The Lord shall save me.

And the Word was God

Thursday, March 12

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34: 1-3

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Many, many times each day, I thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed on me. However, there have been periods of agonizing worry and grief during the critical illnesses of those I love most - father, mother, husband, dear friend, and yes, my own health.

Although I have tried to comfort others who have similar experience by encouraging them to strive for complete faith in God, I find it difficult – often impossible – to apply my own advice. Along with prayer, I have found the strength in Psalm 34. What can be more assuring than verse 4 of that song, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears." To be sure, He does not always answer my pleas in the way I suggested, but in delivering me from my fears, I was better able to act on the crisis. It also shows me how to enjoy daily living by “keeping my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceit, seeking peace and pursuing it."

My sincere hope is that when the next crisis comes, “this poor soul will look to Him and be radiant, will cry and be heard by the Lord and be saved from trouble."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, hear us all as we pray for your love and assurance of strength while we strive to have perfect faith in your promise. Amen.

Mary Cosner (1994)

O Magnify the Lord with me

Wednesday, March 11

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts? And I will show you a still more excellent way.

I Corinthians 12:27-31

In the scripture above, Paul says, “God has appointed helpers.” This is how I see myself in the total picture of the church. I respect and admire others who have the gift of leadership, oratory skills, administrative ability etc. But for the ordinary person, like myself, the word helper suggests that there is something important for everyone to do. It's a matter of finding things that we can do, and doing them.

I once heard an analogy about three and four leaf clovers. The four leaf variety is special and rare. (As children, we would hunt them on warm summer days.) They are wonderful to find. And how thankful we are for the “4 leaf ” multi-talented people who are involved in the life and ministry of the church.

The three leaf variety, common and ordinary, however is the variety that keeps the field green, the cows fed and the milk flowing. We can be thankful for the ordinary members, who are involved in some vital way in the life and ministry of our church. Ordinary people who say, “I am only one, but still, I am one. I can not do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

Heavenly Father, during this Lenten season, help us to re-examine ourselves. Help us to find the “something" we can do and give us perseverance to keep at it. We remember that it is in doing that we learn and grow, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Paula Painter (1994)

Tuesday, March 10

With what shall I come before the Lord,  and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,  the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:6-8

As we approach Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season, some of us seriously consider giving up something. Many of us are reminded of this time-old ritual of sacrificing something we particularly enjoy - a special sweet, movies, that pizza treat, chewing gum, perhaps donating the money we spend on a daily Starbucks latte to a charity, etc. Some of our acquaintances and friends are extremely diligent about the decision and rigorously adhere to making a sacrifice for the forty-day period of Lent. It is a reminder of the temptation Jesus endured in the wilderness and of the sacrifice He was to make for humankind. Some of us think about this Lenten practice; we may, even with the best of intentions, try to observe the tradition as best we can, and others, though religiously inclined, may choose to ignore it. But...should this ritual be about giving up something we can live without for 40 days, or should it be about sacrificing something of ourselves for 365 days? What should it be?

In reading the Hebrew Testament, we learn of sacrifices that were brought by God's people. We read of the lambs brought to the altar, the burnt offerings, the precious oils, etc., all sacrificially impressive and dear to the donor. Yet, in spite of these offerings which the Lord accepted, we find that the prophet Micah asks the people if they know what God truly requires of them - what is ultimately important to God. Micah's answer is a very simple one. It is not just goods; it is an offering of ourselves to others, “...to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly before your God.” It is a sacrifice of ourselves to speak for those whose voice is not heard, to treat others as God expects us to do, and to serve the Lord as His servants.

Dear Lord, May we do what you require of us not just this season but every day of our lives. Amen. 

Swid Kirchhofer

… and to walk humbly with your God

Monday, March 9

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, And the flame shall not consume you. …You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.

Isaiah 43:1b-2, 4 (NRSV)

This email arrived last week:

“Hi Kate,

Sierra is doing well and has adjusted to her new family and school. She was adopted in December :) “

Here’s the story:

About eighteen months ago I received a general email asking for help for one of our young women in foster care. The foster mom had agreed to take 13 year old Sierra in April. She enrolled her in the same school that her own daughter attended. In those few weeks until school ended, Sierra blossomed. And what a contrast to her previous performance in her other school situation. She had barely attended. She hated it and was failing. But at St. Valentine’s School, she found her niche.

In the fall the foster mom saw how well Sierra was doing. she had a hard choice, Let Sierra go back into residential care, or find the resources to keep her and provide for her continued education in that parochial school. So she sent out a general notice asking if any help was available for the upcoming school year. Thanks to a grant from First Foundation, we were able to cover a part of that tuition. Other churches pitched in. Later on the foster mom sent us a copy of Sierra’s report card. It showed A’s in English and religion. She needed further help in math. And one of our members at FPC designated the memorial money recently donated to honor her mother for the tutoring help that Sierra needed.

As the months flew by, other congregations contributed in various ways for Sierra. She received a beautiful prom outfit. Financial support came in so that she could engage in other extra-curricular activities. What could have been a situation where a vulnerable young women in foster care got discouraged and quit, Sierra thrived.

And she is now with her own forever family.

Sierra has already learned in her short life that she is a child of God and that God is always with her, especially in the tough times. Thanks to her foster family, her religion classes, and the concrete help from many churches, she can also sense how much she is cherished and loved by God. God is working through her now to bless her own family. Her future is filled with hope.

Isn’t it amazing how together we are called to share God’s love in action? It’s like being part of a huge jig saw puzzle where each person fits in their own particular way in that grand design of God’s Kingdom on earth.

God of grace, You give us opportunities to share your Word and apply it to our daily lives. Open our eyes to your invitations to participate in your love in action. Energize us in your service through Christ. Amen

Kate Thoresen

Third Sunday, March 8

Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back. Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth. When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap. Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Ecclesiastes 11

The Value of Diligence or "Thoughts on Ministry"

If you were at First on a Rejoicing Spirits Sunday at around 4:30pm you would see a bus pull up to the front of the building. On this bus, on a very good day, are maybe eight of our Angels Place friends plus maybe one or two others, Peter Miller, Marcie, a paid driver who is not a member of First or possibly any congregation, and me. We are the Rejoicing Spirits bus team and it wouldn't take long to see that what we do is done in an extremely inefficient manner. Well, it is. It doesn't take four people to pick up maybe eight but we aren't doing business, we're doing ministry and Thank God, the rules are different.

If you take a quick look you will see that I've added my title to that of the editors of the NRSV. My title is "Thoughts on Ministry" and this is why. In doing the ministry of the bus for Rejoicing Spirits I'm not driven by thoughts of ten years from now, or how many come on the bus. I'm not overly concerned about how many people are involved from First, though I'd like more, or anything like that. The members of the team are following our passion, casting our bread in the form of our time, energy, and availability on the water of ministry with no guarantee that we'll find it in the form of some kind of reward again. By casting our bread in the form of our time and energy, we have and will continue to learn together, we'll grow together as we take risks of ministry. The risks of learning, of changing our perspectives as we experience others, and growing into the people that God has called us to be. As we do this we'll have the wonderful opportunities of getting to build relationships with each other and the riders, to encourage each other, to help each other out of the cultural boxes of who is serving and who is served that it is so easy to get caught in.

I hope and pray that you find a ministry that works for you. If you haven't yet come, join Marcie, Peter, the driver Steve and me as we do our ministry. Maybe your bread of time and energy will come back to you in finding that it is your ministry too, or maybe you'll find it a springboard to something else. Either way is fine; just cast your bread.

Terry Chaney