Today’s message was written by Guest Pastor, Chaplin Bob Griffiths.

Like most kids, I wanted to do just as I pleased. “ Yeah, Mom” or “okay, Dad” was my usual response to whatever they asked me or told me to do, and then I’d go on with whatever it was I wanted to do. So when they really wanted to get my attention, they would get in my face and announce firmly, “Bob – now listen to me!!!” And I grudgingly stopped, listened, and obeyed (well, most of the time). 

But God doesn’t work that way. God doesn’t get in our face and yell at us to pay attention. Indeed, God gave us free will to listen and obey – or not. Perhaps that’s why we (including me) don’t always pay attention to what God’s telling me. And that’s why I end my morning devotions with one of my favorite lines from the Bible (Psalm 95): “Oh, that today we would hearken to His voice!” To which I add “Oh, that today I would hearken to His voice.” Because hearken means “to listen carefully to,” and I don’t do that every waking moment. Think of what a difference it would make in the world if all of us hearkened to God’s voice. For God’s pretty clear about what’s expected. The prophet Micah put it this way: “To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” And Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia (part of modern-day Turkey): “the harvest of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, fidelity, gentleness, and self-control.” Couldn’t be clearer! So let’s listen – and do our darnedest to obey. 

Let us pray: Loving God, you are always more ready to give than we to receive, and your never-failing love embraces us all. Help us to unstop the ear of our hearts as you lovingly call us into your wonderful light. Give us grace as we go out this day to do your will and show forth your love to all we encounter. Amen. 

Today’s message was written by Guest Pastor, Chaplin Bob Griffiths.

“When I Called, You Did Not Answer,” so God reminds us in Isaiah. It’s challenging to hear and heed God’s call in today’s world – not just the big stuff, such as career or marriage, but the little stuff: our behavior with others, discerning sacredness in the ordinary (and there’s a lot of it), seeing Christ in those we dislike, and in general acting in accordance with God’s will. It’s a tall order! So, how do we do it? In a world distracted by 24-hour electronic connectedness and our non-stop reacting to it, how does God (or God’s messengers) have a chance to get through? The answer is to take responsibility for our end of God’s never-failing covenant and be proactive about our spiritual practice. 

Begin by knowing that God is always with us. That even when the light’s not on, the plug is always in the wall. That we’re the ones who need to turn off the distractions and turn on the God switch. Carve out some time for prayer, and follow it with a time of quiet. Because God rarely shouts: God’s “still, small voice” whispers, softly, in our hearts. 

Saint Benedict understood that when he wrote “listen, my little brothers, with the ear of the heart.” How about ten minutes a day? It’s a start – and it just might change your life. 

Let us pray: Patient and loving God, your goodness never fails. Give us, we pray, the willingness to put You before our earthly distractions and concerns. Help us to know in our hearts the things you want us to do and grant us the grace and power faithfully to accomplish them. Amen. 

Today’s message was written by Guest Pastor, Chaplin Bob Griffiths.

 Before I began to discern God’s call to chaplaincy in 1985, I spent my life chasing happiness. I would be happy if only I had more money, a better house, a bigger title, a different spouse (who really understood me), the recognition of my community, and so on. So I worked harder, earned more money, got a nicer house, a bigger title, (but stayed with the spouse who really does understand me), and pretty much all the rest. Yet that hole inside me never got filled, regardless of all, I did, achieved, or acquired. I had yet to learn that happiness cannot be bought or caught. I had yet to learn that it can only come as a byproduct of how I live my life. I had not yet read Psalm 12, which tells us “that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone.” Or poet William Wordsworth, who wrote “The world is too much with us. Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” 

So God finally hit me up the side of the head with a two-by-four and I stopped chasing my idea of more, better, and different and began to listen. And discern. And seek guidance. And learn patience. And pray – a lot. And I slowly came to understand that God’s intent for me is and always has been ….. more, better, and different – just not what I thought it should be. So now, I sit with a dying patient and we talk and we pray and I feel the presence of God as she begins to find peace. And I am grateful. I meet and talk with the policeman who was a first responder to the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando and I hear his story of how God helped him transcend the post-trauma nightmares of that event so that he is once more present to his wife and family – and that he will soon be entering seminary. And I cry, and I am grateful. And I watch the infectious joy of the little kids playing in my nursing home’s child-care center. And I am joyfully infected, and I am grateful. And I thank God every night for the blessings and rewards and gifts of my life. I am deeply and profoundly grateful and … happy. 

Every one of you reading or listening to this message is a minister. Yes, you are! You don’t have to go to seminary or get a theology degree. There is a place for you to bring hope, joy, comfort, and love to another of God’s children. Just give God a little time and maneuvering room in your life and career. Then listen with the ear of your heart. It will be made known to you. The rest will be up to you. And the happiness will come. 

Let us pray: God of hope and love, lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God. Bless us with the patience to let you work in our hearts so that in your time, we may discern what you would have us do. Then help us to do it with a grateful heart, that we may receive the true happiness that only you can give. Amen. 

Today’s message was written by my friend, Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

Friend of Dial Hope, how are you dealing with worry? Worry is a major contributor to physical illness. But we must not confuse worry with concern. We should be concerned about the conditions of the world, the plight of the poor, the diseased, the abuse of children. We should be concerned about our health. Sometimes worry is destructive. God’s resources are at our own disposal, and God is anxious to help, for worry cannot live in an atmosphere saturated with God’s unconditional love. Remember these words of scripture, the Bible, which I call the Manufacturer’s Handbook: 

Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your own requests be made to God (Philippians 4:6). 
I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:15). 
Cast all your anxiety on God … because God cares for you (l Peter 5:7). 
My grace is sufficient for you (Il Corinthians 12:9). 
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28). 
The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid (Hebrews 13:6). 

Friend of Dial Hope, when you and God are working together, you can live without worry! 

Let us pray: God of gentle dreams and awesome space, cultivate in our hearts a faith that is tall and sure. Create in us a spirit that overcomes hopelessness. No mind is without doubt or worry and we would not ask for that. May we believe enough in your Spirit of Grace to risk the hurt of love in order to find the joy of love. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Today’s message was written by Guest Pastor, Chaplin Bob Griffiths.

I never know when and how God is going to bless me. Forget the big stuff (blinding lights, thunderclaps, etc.) because, like Elijah experienced, God most often comes as a “still, small voice” – and that voice often is another of God’s children (that would be any one of you). 

A few years ago, one of the women I was ministering to was 95 and slowly failing. She was the granddaughter of slaves, one of 19 children, and mother to 14 of her own! Her deteriorating vision prevented her from reading, so I read scripture to her, and we talked, and then we prayed. At one point, she told me at length about the many reasons she feels blessed by God, despite an often challenging life. When she finished, I took her hands and we prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. When I finished, she held onto my hands and began to sing … “May the good Lord bless and keep you,” in her still-firm alto voice, and sang it through to the end. I could feel the presence of God as strongly as I ever have, and, with tears in my eyes, I thanked her. And she said, “Well, I guess God’s still in the blessin’ business.” 

My friends, how might you and I reach out today and bless someone with a kind word or deed, a smile, a silent prayer for them, or just by being there for them? 

Let us pray: God of our earthly pilgrimage, we thank you for all your goodness and loving-kindness. Help us to overcome our problems and trials so that we can show forth our gratitude and praise not only with our lips but in our lives, by sharing with others your love, grace, and blessing. Help us this day to honor you by speaking lovingly and acting kindly, through Him who blessed us beyond comprehension. Amen.