Tuesday’s Musings: Loyalty – Missing in Action

1 Samuel 24:6-10  He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’

I’ve been thinking for awhile about writing something on the subject of loyalty. In the scripture we see David is still loyal to King Saul, even though Saul was seeking to kill David.  Last Tuesday night at City Council we all recited the Pledge of Allegiance. I remember saying the Girl Scout Pledge and Law. “I promise, on my honor, I pledge, until death do us part…” all of these are words associated with our promises of unfailing loyalty. And yet loyalty seems to have fallen from its place of importance among qualities of character over the decades.  Divorce rates have soared. People have more and more serial marriages if they even commit to marriage. We see less and less brand loyalty. It seems like we’re always looking for a better deal – in relationships, in jobs, in products. The thing which is of concern to me as a pastor is that this lack of loyalty carries over into our faith life.  In every church you can find those who are faithfully in worship Sunday after Sunday, year after year.  In the same church there will be others who come when there’s nothing better going on.  If they become dissatisfied with the pastor or some other aspect of the church they don’t hesitate to go elsewhere.  Of course there are those in between who cannot always be there but come when they can.  Loyalty to the Kingdom of God isn’t all about church attendance.  It is however about being loyal to Christ’s attitude of selflessness – of living out our faith. In any event, I think there’s a direct correlation between being a person to whom loyalty is important and one’s quality of life.  As always, being loyal to someone or something must also be tempered with good judgment.

Help us to be loyal to You, Lord God; to not stray when something else seems more attractive than your teachings and your ways. We ask in Jesus’ name Amen.

Have a blessed day,
Paige

Monday’s Musings: A Story of Selfless Giving

Phillipians 2:3-4 (NLT)  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

A human interest story on a morning news program last week told of an odd friendship between two men.  The younger is now 22 and the older 72 years old.  The young man was paralyzed in an accident as a teen.  It was a struggle for his family to meet all his needs.  Enter the older man who heard of their plight.  He decided to spend each day with the young man.  He pushed him to all of his high school and then college classes.  For eight years he pushed, cared for during the day and even took class notes for this young man.  When college graduation day came, the graduate’s parents were sitting proudly in the audience, but it was his friend who pushed him across the stage.  To his surprise, he was awarded his own diploma.  They are each going their own direction now but I’m sure this young man and his family will be forever grateful for someone who decided to look to the interest of someone else for no other reason than to meet a need out of the goodness of his heart.  May we all use him as an example.

It is easy Lord to become so intently focused on our own desires and daily tasks, that we don’t make the effort to see where someone else might need help.  Help us to be more aware of the needs of others and give us the desire to be givers as well as receivers in life.  We ask in the name of the One who gave His all for our sake. Amen.

Have a blessed day,
Paige

Friday’s Musings: You Just Gotta Laugh

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I started the day yesterday by knocking a glass bottle of spray body oil off the shelf in the bathroom closet and breaking it. Thank goodness it was almost completely empty. An hour later the entire back of a drawer in our wooden lateral file cabinet fell off when I opened it collapsing all the hanging files. At least I was able to purge some old files as I emptied the drawer. Tiring of that, I decided to do some laundry.  I forgot to mention that I had not gone to the church because for the second day I was experiencing a queasy stomach – something I rarely have.  When I opened the washing machine I discovered the automatic softener and bleach dispenser was full of water. After removing the cover I found gummy softener and black mold. Armed with a variety of tools, I unclogged the drainage holes and cleaned the machine. I managed to finish my sermon and go into the church without further mishap; that is until I decided to puree some leftover Brussels sprouts for a dish I was making for dinner.  The blender was not blending but when I attempted to carefully push the food down with a wooden spoon I caught the blade and the food exploded. It was all over the floor, on the counters, on the cabinets, on the ceiling, on my clothes and in my hair.  Sweet Joe came to help. He mopped the ceiling and cleaned the cabinet while I cleaned the counters. Daisy helped clean the floor.  He offered to take me out to dinner but by that time I was afraid to leave the house.  Burying my face in my hands I started to cry but instead of tears coming I found myself laughing. It would be easy to say yesterday was a horrible day. I certainly don’t want to repeat it!  Yet throughout it all I experienced the peace of Philippians 4.  While adversity isn’t pleasant, the upside is that in those times, we often are more aware of the Lord working in our lives.

Holy God, thank you for being with me throughout the challenges of yesterday.  Help me to continue to seek your peace and presence. Amen.

Hoping for a good day for everyone
Paige

Thursday’s Devotion: Absences in our Lives

Psalm 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

Somehow the other day I remembered being in school and the teacher calling roll so she could mark students as either present or absent.  We still do that at our Service League meetings. There are times in all of our lives when we experience absence. We reach out at night in our sleep to someone who is no longer there; we have one less pet to feed; the time we once spent at a job is now free of obligation. Ever since our boys were small we had a Christmas Eve tradition of cooking a gourmet meal just for us.  Christmas days were always spent at grandparents.  This was our time to cook and celebrate together. The Christmas after our son Glenn died at the age of 33, we could not bring ourselves to do that just for the three of us. We decided to eat at one of our favorite restaurants in Loganville where Joe and I lived.  We were seated at a table for four.  We were still faced with that empty chair.  In subsequent years we resumed our tradition of cooking our own meal. Loss is difficult, but someone wrote that God can only fill an empty cup.  We have experienced God’s care and healing in our loss and pray that everyone will be able to experience the same in their lives.

Father God, When we experience the absence of something in our lives, help us to always remember that you are ready to fill that void with your presence.  We offer our thanks and praise, always and everywhere. Amen.

Blessings for the day,
Paige

Wednesday's Musings: Don't Look Back!

Genesis 19:17, 26 (NLT)  When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”  But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

I read a Chinese fortune recently that said, “No one can walk backwards into the future.” That was pretty wise. Often we spend too much time looking back, regretting things of the past or not letting go of things when we should move on.  Our future lies ahead of us, not in the past.  It’s fine to reminisce about the good old days, when we were younger and all our body parts and our brains still functioned well, but we must not linger.  Instead let’s make the most of where we are now, with an eye on how today’s actions can make our tomorrows better.

Loving God, help us to not be like Lot’s wife who missed out on her future because she insisted on looking back.  Help us to live lives that will leave no regrets. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a Blessed Day,
Paige

Tuesday’s Musings – Straight Paths and Train Tracks

Hebrews 12:12-14 (CEB)  So strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees!  Make straight paths for your feet so that if any part is lame, it will be healed rather than injured more seriously.  Pursue the goal of peace along with everyone—and holiness as well, because no one will see the Lord without it.

Someone posted a picture on Facebook this morning of train tracks with a quote about God making our paths straight.  I thought about the tracks that run through Hapeville.  When a train gets on the track it doesn’t have the option to wander around.  It can’t easily choose an alternate route. I’m not sure I’d like to be a train.  I like to vary my routes when I walk and run. Yet in my Christian walk, I appreciate a straight path.  I want the assurance of being able to live in a right manner.  There is much in the Bible that tells us how to lay straight tracks.  Even trains get in wrecks sometimes and / or get derailed.  It’s the same for us but for the most part, travelling the straight tracks is safer than the crooked highways.

Dear Lord, we ask that you go before us and help make our paths straight. Please keep us safe and show us the way to living in a manner that is pleasing to you and to ourselves.  In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Blessings,
Paige

 

Monday’s Musings: Grab Those Pruning Sheers USED

Modified and used 3-3-21

Monday’s Musings: Grab Those Pruning Sheers

Matthew 5:27-30 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’  But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Recently someone suggested that each member of the Wood Valley pool adopt one of the ivy covered trees and cut the vines off as they are killing some of the trees. It brought to memory the first house Joe and I purchased.  Just before the hill leading down to a little creek was a long row of honeysuckle and vine covered bushes.  Not caring for vines, I worked for one whole day cutting and pulling and cutting and pulling until I had cleared all of them away.  Underneath I found some very scraggly red tipped photinias.  Within a year, freed of the strangling vines, they filled out and were big and healthy and beautiful.  Sometimes we have things in our lives that hold us back; that keep us from reaching our full potential as children of God. It takes some hard work but will we be better off when we can cut that out of our lives.  That’s what Jesus is saying using this hyperbole.  He’s not talking about literally disfiguring ourselves. Instead he’s saying get rid of whatever causes us to sin.  Whether they are causing us to sin, or just holding us back, we need to seriously ask if letting them invade our lives is worth it.

Loving God, help us to identify the things in our lives that hold us back. Help us to see what might be keeping us from being healthy and successful.  We ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a great week!
Paige