My thoughts (Theresa Benson):

There it was, almost 5:00 pm, and I had 15 guests invited to a get-together at my house at 6:00. Scrambling to put the finishing touches on a quilt I’d promised to make for a friend’s granddaughter, I hadn’t started putting the food out, hadn’t walked the dog, hadn’t showered yet, and everything for the mulled wine I’d planned to make, which takes a couple hours to simmer to start to taste really good, was still in the grocery bags from my run to the store that morning. Oh, and did I mention that I still had a couple presents to wrap and needed to pack for a trip for which I was leaving bright and early the next morning?

Who planned this party tonight, anyway?!

I certainly had all the ingredients for full-blown panic to set in, culminating in a mad rush around the house trying to get everything together in time for when the doorbell rang. I needed some major help here.

I’ve recently taken the basic Discipleship classes (101 and 102) here at church, and one of the things we discussed and practiced was really cultivating a relationship with God — talking to God, asking for help, thanking God for all the blessings we receive every day.

For me, this has historically been a scary proposition, as my image of God had been damaged by my relationships with adults as a child, and I thought of God as angry, withholding, and punishing. And while I am working to improve my image of God, unlearning something many years in the making can be a tough job.

However, putting trust in the things I’d learned, and in the examples that my friends here at church have shared with me about a God who loves me and is intimately interested in creating an abundant life with me, I realized that if I’m going to be in relationship with someone, I certainly better not leave that One off the guest list to my party!

Right there, in that moment, I decided to stop panicking and talked with God, and gave a last-minute invitation:

God, I’m frantic about getting everything done in time for my party. I’m sorry I didn’t think to invite You sooner, but I need Your help. You are Infinite, and in the grand scheme of things, time means nothing to You. I need a miracle here — can You stretch out time or something so I can get done everything I need to and send Your Holy Spirit and help me be calm when my guests arrive? Please be with us tonight at this get-together. Thank You for keeping everyone safe tonight and for helping make this a lot of fun. Love You!

Shortly after this, I got a phone call that a couple folks were going to be late, and would arrive around 6:30. A couple more called to say they, too, would be delayed. Amazingly, I had my shower taken, the dog walked, the food out, the music going by five after six, and still had a few minutes to sit with the dog and relax before my guests arrived.

Thought for the day: Whenever I’m stressed, I’ll ask myself: “Did I invite God to this party?”

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

My thoughts (Ben Lamb):

“Yeah, this’ll be an easy passage to write about,” I thought. “Everybody knows The Lord’s Prayer; it’s a check-off list of items that are easy to agree with. . .”

• God’s name is to be revered
• Look forward to heaven
• Ask for strength
• Ask for forgiveness
• Keep us out of trouble
• We forgive others. . . Whoops! Where’d that one come from?

Well, okay. I’ll forgive the kid who accidentally spilled a drink on me last week at the restaurant.

But, do I have to forgive the monster who molested and damaged me when I was a teenager more than 30 years ago? He was totally reprehensible: a generation older than I, and a respected physician. I guess the Hippocratic oath (“…I will do no harm…”) must have slipped his mind.

When thinking about what to write for this passage, this dreadful period of my past kept running through my mind (which it never has before), so I take it as a sign that I’m suppose to deal with it now. Drat. Compartmentalizing it into the [DON'T GO THERE] portion of my mind was so handy.

The details of the incident aren’t relevant for this article. But dealing with the issue of forgiveness has been quite an adventure.

I’m discovering that there are different types and levels of forgiveness. Some are easy to perform; some are not. This one is quite difficult. I have to be willing to face the situation; it is emotionally painful.

Why did he do it? I cannot crawl into his mind and find out any answers. I have no way to contact him, and he’s likely dead by now. I no longer care why — it has happened and cannot be undone. How I deal with it is now up to me.

I’ve thought about the trauma only a few times in the past several years. During most of those times, my mind’s processing of the matter included the decidedly un-Christian thought, “I hope he’s endlessly and tortuously rotting in hell!” For some reason, the crucifixion (with Jesus not wishing such a fate on his tormentors) never crossed my mind during these moments of wishful revenge.

As I recall the fact that God did not create all of existence at once, but chose instead, to perform the birth of the universe in stages, it seems to me that it’s perfectly okay for simple humans to perform humanly significant feats in stages. Acts of forgiveness would appear to fall into that category, I’d venture to say.

I used to believe that forgiveness included the act of erasing knowledge of a wrong deed from the victim’s mind. One might say a “do-it-yourself amnesia magic act” was a component of true forgiveness. Oh yes, and it really should be accomplished in one simple, handy-dandy instant swoop, too. I now say such ideas are hogwash.

I explored several others’ ideas about forgiveness. One recurring theme which spoke volumes to me was the need to “stop being angry.” Interestingly, nobody said how rapidly the anger must stop. Nor was there any admonition to “don’t ever reflect upon a wrong-doer’s ramifications in your life, nor otherwise let it pass into your consciousness.”

I recall John 20:25,

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. (KJV)

This makes me suspect that Jesus will forever retain the scars from his ordeal, even though he forgave everyone involved. Now, I don’t equate the attack I endured to what Jesus suffered. But my point is this: Jesus forgave, but the scars on his hands and in his side indicate to me that it’s not inappropriate to retain some reminders of traumatic events in our lives, even though we may not have anger running at full tilt, non-stop.

I’m at a point now where I no longer wish him to be tormented. I doubt that I’ll ever have warm, friendly feelings for the man, but who knows? God will hold a Great Banquet for people like me who don’t merit forgiveness. Maybe my journey of forgiveness is still in its infancy. I believe I’ll keep on traveling.

Thought for the day: Some roads are smooth and easy to travel. Some roads are filled with many rocks and valleys. But if we keep persevering, we’ll eventually get to where we need to be.

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

A message from Pastor Jeff for those who live far from our Church

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me in this passage? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Christen Peters):

I am, by nature, someone who holds onto “things” for a long, long time. I am the techie with adapters for connector types that haven’t been used on computers for the last 7 years. I am loathe to get rid of any old clothing. . . or potting flats from the nursery. . . or anything else that I think I might have some use for down the line.

I also, though, can still tell you the name of a police officer that I thought pulled me over unfairly in 1989, and successfully recreate the remorse I felt for an angry conversation with a family member 6 years ago. So it’s not just “things” I hold on to.

I’ve been in a period of deep self-examination. And my propensity for holding onto past hurts and guilt has been one of the hardest things for me to face. It also, though, is the one thing that has caused me the most discomfort.

I had been struggling in my efforts to change my view when I came across this verse in Philippians 3 as part of an earlier Be Still assignment:

“…but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…”

This verse has made its way to the forefront of my mind on several occasions when I was slipping into ‘scorekeeping’ or wishing that I could just take a mulligan. I have found that when I remember to leave the past in the past, I look forward to each day a little bit more than I did before.

Thought for the day: The past is over and done. Dragging it along with me into tomorrow keeps me from really experiencing the uniqueness of each new day God has granted me.

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 (Tammy Mills):

Just the other night as I was tucking my youngest daughter into bed she asked me a puzzling question. “Mama, would you still love me if there were a devil in me?” I was taken aback by this question. I quickly assured her I loved her no matter what. Then I began to try to figure out where the question came from.

I thought perhaps she had watched a movie that wasn’t appropriate. Turns out though, she had been reading the Bible. She started telling me the story of Jesus meeting a girl with a “devil” inside of her. I asked her if I could share some context, and I then began to explain that back in those days when people acted strangely and did really odd stuff they thought a demon had possessed them. I assured her that, with the advances of science, we now know that there are times when one’s brain gets sick and causes you to act in odd ways. If that would ever happen we would go to the doctor and get help.

She seemed comforted by this knowledge. She sighed and I mistakenly thought the conversation was over, but then came this gem. With exasperation on her face, her hands in the air in an I-give-up-manner, she exclaimed, “I’m done reading the Bible!”

My daughter reminded me how important it is to read the Bible with help and in context! She also reminded me how frustrating Bible reading can be! So if you are getting frustrated with the Bible, know you are not alone! I know, for me sometimes, it feels like the light has burned out — so to speak — of the word! I know I tread on dangerous ground saying so, but I feel I might not be alone. I have had times, when like my youngest daughter, I have said “I’m not reading that book anymore!”

If you can relate, take heart. It isn’t the end of the world. It is usually a beginning of rediscovery for me. I take time away. I honor my spirit and let it lead in new directions. Those new direction have always brought me back to a new place with the Bible. Sometimes a better place and other times a more puzzling place, yet I come back.

I guess what spirit is teaching me is to be real about where I am, and trust the spirit’s leading to take me in the directions I need to go!

Thought for the day: Am I ready to give up Bible reading? Or am I ready to give it another try? Or am I ready to read it differently?

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

My thoughts (Kay Olry):

“If God is in control, why is the world such a mess?”
“Why do people suffer?”
“Why is life so hard?”
“Why did Jesus have to die on a cross if he’s God? Wasn’t there another (easier) way?”
“Is that what Christianity is about? I don’t want anything to do with it!”
“What is the meaning of life? If there’s a God, why hasn’t God made it clear what we’re here for?”

Have you ever been in a conversation with a non-Christian, and had them throw questions like these at you? Do you have any idea how to answer them? The questions have been asked by many of us at one time or another. They’re honest questions, which deserve honest answers.

I used to love arguing with Christians about all of them, back when I was an agnostic and borderline atheist. I look back now and am astonished to think that I was so arrogant. It used to frustrate me even more when the response became the same refrain: “Because it’s in the Bible.” It always seemed like I needed to leave my intellect at the door.

I’ve come a long way from the days when I thought I knew everything. In fact, it was when I admitted that I didn’t know everything that God was able to begin working in my life.

I came to realize that just because I didn’t have good answers to the questions didn’t mean that God didn’t. Just because some Christians couldn’t answer the questions didn’t mean that there weren’t any answers.

Once I realized that the Creator who made the earth, moon, and stars had to be much greater than I could imagine or comprehend, I became much more humble. I also realized that my way wasn’t working anymore. So, I began at the beginning and asked myself, “Who is this Jesus guy I’ve heard about my whole life?” I’d heard many other people tell me who He was, but I needed to find out for myself.

What changed things for me was this — Jesus Christ is the only God I ever prayed to that answered. He reached down in my brokenness, and welcomed me back, even though I didn’t deserve it.

Later on, I came to realize that there are reasonably good answers for all of the questions I once had. Sometimes, we really do just need to have faith when we don’t know the answer. The difference now is that I trust that just because I don’t know the answer, doesn’t mean there isn’t one. I have faith that God knows.

What a relief! It’s nice to know that the universe doesn’t depend on me.

Here’s a song that fits with today’s thoughts:

Thought for the day: Are you willing to let God be God, and trust that everything is under control?

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.

My thoughts (Tammy Mills):

I’m sitting in a meeting at church where we are discussing how we might better meet the needs of those around the globe. The energy in the room is powerful. We are all brainstorming, throwing out ideas, and dreaming of how God might call us to be more involved in the world! For a moment I was silent and I remember thinking, “Wow — God Rocks!”

Not long ago my family took some time for vacation and went to the Grand Canyon. We were all excited and the girls kept asking what the Grand Canyon was like. I tried to explain, but really there are no words! When we finally got our first view of the canyon my whole family was silent. We were blown away by the enormity and beauty of the Grand Canyon. On a hike down to the bottom we all stopped, held hands in a circle and declared the Grand Canyon a sacred place where we all stood in awe of God’s presence.

Sometimes it is good for me to just be silent and let God amaze me with what is around me. It can be a simple as a meeting or as complex as a view of the Grand Canyon.

Thought for the day: When is the last time you just “stood in awe” of God’s presence?

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