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Asking Amiss?

Alignment…

When we petition God, it may do us well to examine our hearts and motives before we ask.

The truth is that much of what we ask of God has nothing to do with honoring Him or aligning ourselves with His will.

We want salve for our wounds, we

want to satisfy our appetites, we want to stroke our egos, and we want to stabilize our own schemes and plans. While the truth is, God’s will is actually just an afterthought! 

Do we want to do God’s will?  Really?

Before you flinch, know that I’m not hurling stones at anyone, inasmuch as I am inspecting the contents of my own heart and examining my whys.   Everyone of us needs time for reflection and introspection, so we can reset and adjust ourselves to God’s plans.  

Time and circumstance can cause the most sturdy of us to drift. But, this morning is as good a time as any to realign.  

In building bridges or any other large structure, being off by just a few inches at the beginning can become miles by the time one finishes!   Get it?

Yet you do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

James 4:2-3

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Full of Surprises?

The saying, ‘life is full of surprises’ is a truly enigmatic adage that’s been passed down through the years.

On the one hand, nature is unpredictable and mysterious.  But with another set of eyes things are very orderly and predictable.

On one hand human beings are mysterious but on the other hand we are rather ordinary and unremarkable.  

The science and the mechanics that make life possible are awe-inspiring and miraculous.  But human behavior is often obvious and disappointingly ordinary.

There is, in my opinion, one major exception that is truly marvelous.

The human tendency toward greed and selfishness is boring and mundane – the cause of wars, violence, struggles, and unnecessary suffering. We have enough of that, huh?   While the capacity to love and be loved despite such tendencies is as amazing as life itself.

Our humanity is an equalizer.  We are all basically the same – driven (though in differing degrees) by hunger, thirst, and desire.  But, the ability to subvert our primal urges in the name of love bears the markings of a divine impetus.

Love makes us exceptional.  To choose love – to give and to receive love – this makes us extraordinary.

Love, in a world full of hatred and brutality, violence and vitriol, fills our lives with surprise – the capacity for joy amid sorrow, comfort through grief, grace under fire, and resilience in the midst of uncertainty.  

Life is indeed ‘full of surprises,’ when we are led by and lead with love.

So today, I hope we will choose love.  Today, I hope we will abandon the mundane human tendencies that create destructive suffering and yield to the creative power of love.

Yes, love is a risky endeavor, but it is worth it!  It is the noblest and most exciting adventure to which we might give ourselves. 

Indeed, life is ‘full of surprises,’ especially when we are led, and lead with love!

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

1 John 4:7-8

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Keep on Living…

When we lose loved ones it can feel like our worlds have come to an end.  Grief ebbs and flows like waves on a shore, leaving us forever altered but somehow the same.  Our beloveds have left us but are somehow always with us.  We cling to their memory with our feet in the sand hoping that we will meet again.  

What do we do to assuage grief?  

In the words of my dear mother, we gotta ‘keep on living…’

When our love seems to have no place to go, it must find itself in the present.  We gotta keep on living.  We gotta learn how to pour this love into those with whom we remain.   We gotta keep on living.

We mustn’t remain among the tombs.  God has placed souls in our way that will become  welcome receptacles and repositories for the love that feels like it has no place to go. We gotta keep on living.

We can  honor our beloveds by continuing to live and to love.  We continue living as we cling to the gratitude that this love was a gift that we were privileged to receive.  

The poet Tennyson wrote,

“It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all…”

I offer this addendum:  

It’s better to have loved, because love is never lost.  

Certainly love changes, but it is never lost. 

Love just  finds new ways of expressing itself.

Pardon my rambling this morning, as I work through my own grief at the passing of so many that I held so dearly.  This love that feels sometimes like it has no place to go,  I offer it to you.

Now, pass it on.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Not Alone?

When you are used to isolating yourself in tough times, you can attach yourself to the idea that you are the only one going through. It’s a downward and backwards spiral. 

When you begin to believe that you are the ‘only one,’ you can assume an attitude that no one knows and no one cares

In Elijah’s case, his prophetic calling and the trouble it caused him, his isolation caused him to think that he was alone in his struggle against corrupt powers in high places.  

At a point of frustration and fear, Elijah says,

“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

1 Kings 19:10

Elijah was wrong.  In despair, Elijah questioned God, and God responded.  Not with thunder and lightning, fire or wind, but with a whisper – God responded. Not in the overwhelming and outstanding supernatural ways Elijah encountered previously, but with a still small, God responded.

God let Elijah know that he wasn’t alone and that there were thousands of others who remained faithful.  

Today, God wants us to know that we are not alone.  While we may not encounter supernatural incursions of the Spirit – God is present among some people we have yet to meet!

We are not alone!  So let’s remain open and receptive to the unexpected ways God will show up among others who share our cause and have remained faithful!  We are – you are not alone!

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. 

1 Kings 19:18 

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

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Get up and Eat!

The prophet Elijah is known for his courageous protest against a corrupt king and queen and their cadre of false prophets. Over and over again, Elijah protested and prophesied against Israel’s idolatry and prevailed.

But the heights of Elijah’s accomplishments were marked by the depths of his anxiety and paradoxical fears.

The same Elijah that stood on the mountains is also found running for his life, exhausted and depressed.  The same Elijah that stood up against corrupt powers, is found cowering in self-pity and doubt.

At one particular low point, Elijah even laments his own birth!

But, in that dark moment, God sent Elijah a messenger to minister to him and offer these few words…

And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”

1 Kings 19:7

I offer the same words to you, this morning!  Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you!

You are not the first or the last person to be haunted by insecurity and imposter syndrome.  You are not the only one to ride the wave of emotions that accompany great triumph and great tragedy!  God will sustain you!  But you must get up and eat!  God’s promises are true!  Cling to Him and He will keep you!

Get up and eat!  Meditate on God’s word!  Receive strength from the Spirit and get up!  We do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!

Now, get up and eat!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

… In the details? 

There are times when God’s will is obvious.  Should I forgive? Should I share? Should I be compassionate? Should I treat them with dignity? Should I love?  

The answer to all these questions is a resounding, ‘Yes!’

But the proverbial devil lies in the details… How should I share?  What’s the best way to demonstrate compassion in this circumstance?  How can I demonstrate love most faithfully in this situation?   What does love look like under these conditions?  How do I show care in ways that can be understood and received?   

In order to answer these questions, one must have an ear to hear and a heart that is responsive to the Word and the Spirit of God.  This requires time, discipline, and above all else a relationship with Jesus – the One who teaches us how to love  – the Mediator who governs how we treat one another! 

Get it?

Without echoing the cliche – we must ask a simple question – “What would Jesus do?” And then we must determine to ‘Go, and do likewise!’

Don’t know what to do?  Ask God.  What do the Scriptures say? Listen to the voice of the Spirit.  Follow Jesus’ example!  You won’t go wrong!

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. 

Psalm 119:105-106

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Just BE…

I don’t know what your morning routine consists of, but as a writer the first thing I do is look for something with which to write…

Let me pause there.  

Long before I stood in a pulpit, I was a writer.  It was therapy for me in a sometimes chaotic, unstable home.  My journaling evolved into poetry, and then, when I became a Christian, many of these thoughts and poems became prayers. And now, these thoughts, poems, and prayers have become the meditations and devotions that I share with you all, and sometimes they even become sermons!  Who knew?

I was concerned when I first started whether these little writings would be well-received or do any good for anyone besides myself.  But time and again, I receive little notes and responses—signposts that affirm my efforts and let me know that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.

And this ‘doing’ is an extension of my being.  I am a writer.  I love Jesus.  I love you all.  I am who God created me to be, and I try to use what God has given me for His glory and for the good of others.  And guess what? That’s all God requires.

Whoever God has created you to be –  BE that!  Whatever gifts God has given YOU – use them for God’s glory! BE and then DO what you were created for and God will be pleased, you will be blessed, and you will be a blessing!

Don’t know what that is?  Ask God.  But, don’t be surprised if it is something you have already been given to! Now do it for God’s glory!  You may well discover that someone has been waiting on you to BE who you were created to be!

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

1 Peter 4:10-11 

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Another Day… (3)

The ability to look forward, to plan, and to anticipate things is often identified as a sign of maturity and good leadership.  

But everyday holds with it a certain amount of surprise.  There are eventualities and disruptions that we can not plan for or anticipate.  There are things that escape the purview of the most capable and mature people.

This doesn’t mean we should stop making plans, I wouldn’t dare say that!  But what it does mean, is that we must admit that our plans are limited!  We can be as prepared as we can be, but there are some things that are beyond our influence.

So what do we do?

We make plans.  We set our schedules.  We anticipate risks.  We arrange contingencies.  Yes, yes, and yes!  But after we’ve done what we can do (within reason), we submit our plans to the LORD – and trust God for the outcomes!  Get it?

Trusting God frees us from anxiety by allowing us to remain present and opening us to enjoy the journey.  And then sometimes the disruptions and surprises are better than our carefully designed plans!  

It’s a brand new day.  I know you have plans.  But trust God!

20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. 

21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.  

Proverbs 19:20-21

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Another Day…(2)

We’ve survived difficult days. We’ve endured dark nights. But we do not only survive, we thrive beyond our trials. 

Survey the landscape of your own life.  

We grow through our grief. We are stable in storms.  We are strengthened through our struggles. 

We are perfected by our pains. We find fortitude in the face of our worst fears.  And we are confident amid conflict…

How… Why?

Because our security is not in our circumstance. 

Our confidence is in our Savior, the Sovereign God, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit! 

So…

Rejoice always, 

Pray without ceasing, 

Give thanks in all circumstances!

This is GOD’s will in Christ Jesus for us!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Make it personal this morning!  

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Posted on by Pastor Poet

Another Day…

As many of us are beginning a new week and rising to meet the day, if we are not careful we will begin with groans rather than gratitude.

These groans quickly become grumbling and before you know we’ve sped past the miracle that occurred in order for us to make it to another day.  

Brand new mercy meets us as we rise, a stunning reminder that grace did not abandon us as we slept. God’s faithfulness is proven again, and we are still here…

So rather than groans and grumbling, let’s allow gratitude to be our entrance to this brand new day.  And, let’s allow this gratitude overflow in generosity toward every soul that we encounter today!

Someone was awakened to tragedy this morning.  Someone did not sleep at all last night.  Someone cried themselves to sleep.  And, that someone is next to you in traffic… sitting in the cubicle next to you… living next door… in front of you at the gas station…

So, be grateful, be kind, be generous this morning – your attitude may be the very light that changes someone else’s…

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam