Are you in the process of learning to live healthier? Maybe your New Year’s resolution was to eat better, exercise, or in some other way improve your physical health? Join us for the next few days as we offer scripture, insight, and encouragement to help on that journey.

Today’s scripture: Romans 12:1 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?

My thoughts (David Zier):

I think I learned at an early age that life is lived in compartments. There was the sleep compartment, where you were unconscious for 6 to 8 hours a night. Then you had the day compartment, with school or work; the afternoon compartment for homework or fun. The night compartment was television time, reading, homework, and maybe a little more fun.

When I got serious about my spiritual life, those compartments started to shrink. Everything spiritual was about my heart and mind — it was kind of its own compartment. I knew about my physical health, but was I really integrating it all together? I had been exercising since college on a regular basis. Surviving a brain tumor in 1993 was a wake-up call, but it was also a reminder that things in life happen and we do the best we can.

But at some point, when do I integrate all of life into my spiritual journey? What does it mean to offer my body as a living sacrifice, pleasing to God? And how is that a spiritual act of worship? If I am to care for my soul, and cultivate a deeper love of God, and love for others, I can also direct that toward myself. In order to love myself, I can take care of what God has given me. When I do that, I am able to do more for God and others.

We all have our physical bodies, each with our own limits. But as we learn to pray to help take care of our souls, we can integrate a more prayerful way we can take care of our physical bodies to achieve a level of wholeness that is an act of worship. Psalm 34 states, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” What is your spiritual act of worship in how you care for yourself mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically?

Thought for the day: How have I shown worship to God in how I care for myself today?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.

Are you in the process of learning to live healthier? Maybe your New Year’s resolution was to eat better, exercise, or in some other way improve your physical health? Join us for the next few days as we offer scripture, insight, and encouragement to help on that journey.

Today’s scripture: Psalm 139:13-14 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?

My thoughts (David Zier):

Have you ever thought about how awesome the human body is? How everything works together? How blood brings necessary oxygen to all of our organs and extremities? How about all of the coordinated muscles it takes to move your neck, a finger, a toe, or to walk, or how our brains are intricately wired to give us lots of memory capacity?

Paul Reber, professor of psychology at Northwestern University, reports that the human brain consists of about one billion neurons; each neuron forms 1,000 connections to other neurons. He postulates that if each neuron could only help store a single memory, we’d soon run out of space. You might have only a few gigabytes of storage, similar to the space in an iPod or a USB flash drive. Yet neurons combine (multiply!) so that each one helps with many memories at a time, exponentially increasing the brain’s storage capacity to around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes). As a comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage. Well, when do we get started with those reruns on Nick-at-Nite!

We know that our physical bodies need exercise and nutrition to function well. So do our brains! Do you like crossword puzzles or learning new things? Those can keep the brain active! WebMD scientists have determined that foods like blueberries, nuts and seeds, salmon, whole grains, and avocados are good for healthy brain function. They refer to these as Smart Foods (no pun intended I am sure!) These are items that God has given us as part of creation. God created us, and gave us the things that we need to function well, and live healthy lives.

God formed our inward parts; meaning all of who we are. The physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional pieces of us work together as God knit us. Wonderful are these works! If God created us to be a wonderful work, each of one of us, how should we care for that wonderful work? We can make smarter choices about those smart foods, and care for ourselves in a way that shows God that we know we are wonderfully made!

Prayer for the day: God, help me make better choices, so I can better understand what it means to be fearfully and wonderfully made!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (David Zier):

I remember when I was in high school and thinking about my career options. I thought along the lines of Math and Science because they were my favorite subjects. I was one of those high school nerds that really got into Physics and Calculus, and was on the school Math Team.

My Grandmother had asked me (well, maybe told me) on several occasions, I ought to be a doctor and go to medical school. The images of what I would see and have to deal with would make my stomach turn! I remember in Biology getting the creeps from just explaining something in words without even seeing it!

But when I thought about the years and years of dedication it takes to be a doctor, well, that kind of commitment was out of reach in my mind. I wasn’t ready to commit the next ten years to school and a lifetime to blood and guts! So, I majored in engineering and worked on the medical side from a more technical and design perspective.

When I read today’s passage, I get caught up in the response to the teaching. The disciples indicate that the teaching in yesterday’s passage about the living bread “being my flesh” was difficult. The words convey some obscure imagery, but I think the spiritual meaning about eating and drinking is about becoming a true disciple in Christ — being “consumed” by the call of Christ — committing to a lifetime of discipleship.

Many of the disciples turn back because they did not have the level of commitment Jesus required. They no longer followed Jesus.

It is easier to look at life in stages, and commit to things when we can opt out when things become difficult. Just as I looked at medical school as this huge commitment I was not inclined to make, some of the disciples in Jesus day turned back once they realized what it was they were committing themselves to.

What about us? Some of the things Jesus asks us to do are difficult. Sometimes it seems easier to turn back because discipleship is hard work — it’s a lifetime commitment to be transformed in Christ. But on our spiritual journey in discipleship, we can soak up the rays of God’s grace and glory, and know that through Christ, we can go the distance.

Thought for the day: Am I committed to following Jesus?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (David Zier):

Have you ever handled your spiritual life like a cash register or a bank account?

I remember a time in my life where I wanted to read the Bible cover to cover. I first read Genesis as fast as I could, then deposited that into my account — “cha-ching.” Then I’m moving fast forward through Exodus, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Jeremiah — “cha-ching” “cha-ching.” My account was getting really large. Then I finished up the New Testament, and was done. I really didn’t understand much of what I rushed through, but no problem! My bank account was really growing!

My next tasks: pray as much as I could, help with Sunday school, do all of the church activities that were available, and attend all of the different services during the week — CHA-CHING! My spiritual bank account was really getting super-sized! Or was it?

Today’s scripture is about Jesus’ reaction to the marketplace that filled the outer temple — the space really designated for the Gentiles and their worship space. No matter the consequences, Jesus turned the tables on those who thought they had God and this religion business down pat. He rocked their boat. He shook their world.

Aren’t we all guilty at times of thinking we have this God thing down pat? Too often I’ve thought that I’m just the best disciple — my bank account is full from all of this great stuff I have done! What more could I possibly need! CHA-CHING!

We all have times when Jesus could enter our spiritual spaces and start throwing chairs and turning over tables to get our attention — because we just don’t get it!

When I assessed where I was, I realized I had to ask God to transform my prayer life — to move beyond praying to check the box. I had to ask God to help me be patient and study scripture so I could grow spiritually — not approach spiritual things as a checklist and race to see who gets to the finish line first.

It is really spiritual maturity that is the true target — not the “bank account” checklist of spiritual tasks — but that took a while to sink in for me.

This particular act of Jesus has traditionally been called the “cleansing of the temple.” When I read this now, I see it as Christ sending me a message reminding me that I need to cleanse my temple, and maintain a thirst for spiritual growth that will keep me fresh. I need to let God in even deeper and in all areas of my life, and not let complacency settle in.

Thought for the day: How is Christ trying to rock my world? What cleansing is needed in my temple?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to begin, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

This is the second week of Advent, the Christian season of preparation for Christmas. We’re looking at some of the traditional themes of the season. This week: Patience, Preparation, and Accepting.

Today’s scripture: Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?

My thoughts (David Zier):

Sometimes we hear God speaking to us, telling us that something is happening or will happen in our life and that can appear perplexing or like something out of the blue. Has that ever happened to you?

One of those moments for me happened when I was in Toronto in the 1990s for business, working on a fascinating project to help people with HIV/AIDS. As I would leave the office to go back to the hotel each day, I would see children that looked scared and alone, and hungry, trying to hide as if no one could see them. After a few days, I asked someone in the office about those kids. I was told, “They live on the streets and come out at night. There are many of them and the city could be dangerous at night.”

Well, I really did not hear that last part. I could only remember the looks in the eyes of those children. I felt I was being called to do something. So one night at around midnight I went to a local market and gathered sandwiches and bottled water, apples and oranges. I walked around and dropped food off at places where I saw the children in open doorways or on grates. I was not well received, certainly not trusted, but I just dropped off the food and went on my way.

When I was in seminary I did several projects around homelessness, and in my internship at West Richmond Friends, I worked with Open Arms, a coalition of churches pulling resources together to make a bigger impact on helping those who were slipping through the cracks. I worked with dozens and dozens of individuals and families, sometimes in circumstances that were not easy to see or hear.

I don’t want you to think I am somehow “so good” for doing what I have done. This is really nothing. So much more is needed. I still feel God laying something on my heart that I have barely tapped into. It seems there is always something to do or someone in need. Where is this leading? I like the words of Mary from today’s scripture. “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Thought for the day: What is it that God is laying on your heart? What does it mean for you to do and be as Christ?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (David Zier):

There is someone in my life that I do not see or talk to very often. We email occasionally, and we include each other in our prayers. This person has been an important part of my spiritual journey in the last few years, and has given me much encouragement and joy. This person seems to bring out gifts within me, and says things to encourage me even when I am not in a good place. The way they share their faith, even in the smallest of gestures, or the way they offer encouragement to me and others, is a blessing. God’s love pours out to overflowing. What a gift!

As I read this passage in Philemon, the words are something I feel for this person. When I think of all this person has done in my life, I give thanks to God for putting this person on my path. Seeing how they love and walk in faith is inspiring for me, and others, to be a better person, to follow Christ, and to continue on the path of discipleship.

Who is it that you wish to give thanks for during this season? Who has made a difference in your life and shown you deep love and faith that shows Christ?

Thought for the day: Reflect on the people that have shown you great love and faith, and remember to lift them up in gratitude and thanksgiving, and give thanks to God for the impact they have made on your life.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.