Pray with Thanksgiving
Roger Kunkel

Pray with Thanksgiving

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

For a moment, consider this brief passage from the New Testament as J.B. Phillips paraphrases Philippians 4:6: “Don’t worry over anything whatsoever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.”

You know, worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere! It may get you to the hospital, however. For it is estimated that three out of four nervous breakdowns and at least 35 percent of all illnesses begin with worry. Worry results from letting the mind dwell on trouble. It is the human response to a lack of faith.

Feelings have nothing to do with faith. Faith is an act. It is something you do. It is simply responding to the promises of God.

Today’s scripture passage urges you to do something when you are worried: pray with thanksgiving. This causes your mind to dwell on the things that are right and good. Immediately you feel better… because you are turning away from trouble and are looking toward God, your source. This is the prescription for worry which never fails to restore hope and peace of God to your heart and mind.

Let us pray: O God of china-blue skies and dazzling sunrises, we wake to a new day filled with promise and possibility. Lord, you come to us like the silent flight of the eagle, as suddenly as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, as imperceptibly as the wind charting the course of large sailing ships. As we pray with thanksgiving, help us to share your love with others. If we are carefully calculating the right moment to tell someone, I love you, move us to do that today. Through the amazing grace of the risen Christ. Amen.

Heaven on Earth
Joe Albright

Heaven on Earth

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Author Saul Bellow wrote about a Rabbi who lived in a small town in Russia. Every Friday Morning the Rabbi disappeared for several hours. The people of his congregation liked to tell people that during his absences, their Rabbi went up to heaven and talked to God. When a stranger moved into town and heard this explanation for the Rabbi’s weekly departure, he was not convinced. So, he decided to find out what was really going on.

The next Friday morning, he hid by the Rabbi’s house. As usual, the Rabbi got up and said his prayers. But unlike other mornings of the week, he then dressed in peasant clothes. He grabbed an ax and wandered off into the woods to cut some firewood. With the man watching from afar, the Rabbi then hauled the wood to a shack on the outskirts of the village where an old woman and her son lived. He then left the wood, enough for a week, and hiked quietly back home.

After seeing what the Rabbi did, the stranger decided to stay in the village and join the congregation. From then on, whenever he heard one of the villagers say, “On Friday morning our Rabbi ascends all the way to heaven,” the newcomer quietly added, “Yes, to heaven – if not higher.”

Jesus said, “Whatever you have done to the least of these… you have done it to me.” In some real sense when we care for those most in need, he promises to be present right there in that moment.

This week, try and do something generous for someone you know to be in need. And, try not to let them, or anyone else, find out it was you who did it. When you do, I trust that you will encounter the presence of the Risen Lord. And like the Rabbi in the story, I trust that you too will experience a foretaste of heaven.

Let us pray: Come, Lord Jesus, surround us with your peace. Lift from our hearts any burdens or anxiety we may be carrying, and restore us again to the joy of your salvation. Then, Loving God, may we experience your presence as we reach out to others. Help us to forgive as we have been forgiven, to love as we have been loved, and to give as we have received. Amen.

The Power to Love
Joe Albright

The Power to Love

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In The Promise of Listening, Keith Wagner shared a poignant parable:

Years ago, there was a young woman who had a baby boy. Just after her son’s baptism, a ragged old man came to her and offered to grant her one wish on behalf of her son. Thinking only the best for her baby, the woman wished that her son would always be loved by everyone he met. “So be it,” replied the ragged old man, as he vanished.

It turned out just as wished. As the boy grew, everyone loved him so much that he never lacked anything. Yet, things did not turn out as expected. As adored and admired as the young man was, he experienced a terrible emptiness within him. He could have anything he wanted, just by asking, but he had no real friends. He never knew the joy of a day’s work or achievement, richly rewarded. His neighbors took care of all his needs. The young man became cynical, jaded, and selfish as none of his actions ever brought him any negative consequences.

Finally, the day came when his aged mother died. At the funeral, the same mysterious old man appeared and offered the young man one wish. The young man took him up on his offer and asked that his mother’s original wish for him be changed. Rather than being loved by everyone he met, the young man asked the old wizard to give him the power to love everyone he met. And, the story goes, from that day forward, he knew happiness such as no one on this earth has ever known.

There is a lot of truth to that parable. Jesus once said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Those who are able to serve and love others have deep and abiding joy.

Let us pray: Lord: Bless us with . . .
Enough tears to keep us human
Enough humor to keep us wise,
Enough setbacks to keep us humble,
Enough accomplishments to keep us confident,
Enough patience to teach us endurance;
Enough hope to teach us trust
Enough friends to give us love
Enough memories to give us comfort
And enough faith to keep us going.
Amen.

God Made Us Victors
Roger Kunkel

God Made Us Victors

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

I remember an old story about a family who had twin boys. One son grew up and became an alcoholic. When someone asked him why, he said, “Because of my father.” The other son grew up and became a minister, and he dedicated his ministry to working with and helping alcoholics. When someone asked him why, he said, “Because of my father.” The two sons grew up in exactly the same environment. One was trapped, shackled, paralyzed, pulled down by his situation. The other turned to God and rose above it all.

Sometimes we hear people say, “I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances.” Well, a friend of Dial Hope, we don’t have to live under the circumstances. By the grace of God, we can rise above them. We don’t need to remain victims. God can make us victors. We know that with the help of God, we can rise above our circumstances. The Apostle Paul said, “l can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).

Lord, thank you for keeping us moving and growing and alive, but Lord, life can seem so complicated. We pray that in dealing with all the complexities of life, you would help us to learn the steps and the timing that will make us your effective workers and lead us each to develop his or her own choreography.

Let us pray: Loving God,
Help us to know when to embrace and when to let go;
When to lean, when to stand alone;
When to rest and when to dance;
When to sit back and when to take a chance;
When to follow and when to lead;
When to doubt and when to believe;
When to push and when to pull;
When to take charge, when to flow;
When to reflect and when to react;
When to think and when to act.
Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, thank you so much for the gift of this day. Help us to make it a masterpiece. Now let love and hope break out like an epidemic. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Signposts in Life
Joe Albright

Signposts in Life

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Argentinean race driver Juan Manuel Fangio once told about his experience just after the opening lap of the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. As he approached a dangerous bend for the second time, he noticed that something was wrong. The faces of the spectators were all turned away from him. “If they are not looking at me,” Fangio thought, “they must be looking at something more interesting around the corner.” So he braked hard and carefully rounded the bend. Immediately, he noticed that his split-second assessment had been accurate. The road was blocked by a massive pileup. His intuitive caution, helped him avoid disaster.

When we are astute enough to see signs of danger, it pays to pay attention and change our course of action.

I once heard of a sign placed on a fence by an Arkansas farmer: “Please do not trample the poison ivy or feed the bull.”

Most of us would appreciate that warning!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I don’t want to hear words of warning. I get used to things the way they are, and change is hard. But I also know that sometimes the danger signs are real, and if I fail to change course, I’ll have to face the consequences.

I pray today that God would give us eyes to see to the warning signs along the road of life. Whether they come in the form of a friend’s advice, a doctor’s admonition, a challenging sermon, or something else, may we at the very least, listen deeply and commit them to prayer.

Let us pray: God of all wisdom, God of love, we thank you for signposts along the journey. We thank you for friends and loved ones and others whom you have brought into our lives for the better. We ask you again this day for your guidance, your courage, and your peace. Amen.

Tend and Cultivate
Joe Albright

Tend and Cultivate

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Carl Jung once asserted that the central neurosis of our time is emptiness. Viktor Frankl echoed this when he wrote, “Clinics are crowded with people suffering from a new kind of neurosis, a sense of total and ultimate meaninglessness of life.”

This raises the question: where do we find meaning in life?

Years ago, I heard someone use the metaphor of tending to a garden. He said, to find meaning, he would do everything in his power to make sure that the area around him was well-tended, and that the people he came into contact with were well cared for. This included himself, and his own family, yes. But he also tried to ensure whenever he encountered a need personally, he would do whatever he could to tend to it. He was ever looking for ways to grow and thrive and to help people around him grow and thrive.

The point is, while we can’t be responsible for everything, we all have a certain area of influence. And, there can be great meaning in cultivating beauty and love in life.

Philosopher Will Durant put it this way, “To give life meaning, one must have a purpose larger than one’s self.”

Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap.”

Let us pray: Show us, O God, how we can add beauty and love to this life. Remind us that there are people all around us who could use our care. And then, Lord, as we give, as we serve. as we love, may we experience deeper meaning – and fuller life. Amen.

As the Father Sent Me…
Joe Albright

As the Father Sent Me…

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Near the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father sent me, so I send you.”

Think about where God sent Jesus. He wasn’t sent to live in a church building. He didn’t hang out all the time in the temple. We know he spent a lot of time in prayer, but he didn’t go off to the wilderness permanently to live in a cave as a spiritual guru. No. God sent Jesus to live in the real world. He worked as a carpenter. He hung out with the fisherman. He spent time in people’s homes and ate with them. He went to parties and weddings.

It was out in the world in the midst of everyday life that he helped and healed people and ministered to them. He sent his disciples out to do likewise, and now he sends you.

I wonder where he is sending you this week? Wherever it happens to be, may your faith, hope, and charity help turn hatred to love, conflict to peace, and brokenness to new life.

Let us pray. Loving God, you love us, and call us, and send us. We need your Spirit. We need strength and courage, passion and conviction. Help us to care about what you care about. Help us to shape our lives in a way that brings meaning and hope to ourselves and others. Help us to make a difference in our families, in our jobs, in our community, and in this world that you so love. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Draw Strength
Joe Albright

Draw Strength

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Over the last couple of days, we’ve reflected on the importance of lament and grief. We know that if we bury it, if we hold it all inside, it often comes back to hurt worse later on. And it can come out in weird ways. So it is important to grieve.

But, it is also important not to get stuck there.

A number of years ago, there was a woman in the church I was serving who lost her husband. They had been married 50 something years. And at first, I didn’t think she was going to survive the loss. For well over a year, she rarely went out, whenever I’d see her, it was like the world was coming to an end. I can only imagine after 50 something years the loss, the hole that must be there.

But then, at some point, I think it was close to the second anniversary of her husband’s death, she made a turning point. She got involved in our Stephen Ministry program at our church. She received 50 hours of training in lay pastoral ministry, and become someone I relied on to walk with other women who were going through this.

I don’t know what made the difference for her. But at one point she told me about this scripture in the gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” She told me that the word comfort in English comes from two Latin words, Cum Fortis – with strength.

And I saw that in her. She had mourned, and mourned, maybe too long. But because she had been through it, she was with strength. And it was the kind of strength that she could use to help others through it. On reflection, I think it worked both ways. In getting out to serve others, it got her mind off her grief. And in making a contribution, she found a deeper joy.

My prayer for you today is that in moments of loss when you find yourself picking up the pieces, you would indeed take the time to grieve and lament… But don’t get stuck there. May you celebrate small victories. Draw strength from your experience, and use that experience to look out for others along the way.

Let us pray: Heal us, O God, that we might be instruments of healing. We ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

God Speaks to Us through the Tears.
Joe Albright

God Speaks to Us through the Tears.

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Yesterday we reflected on tears. We’ll continue on that theme today.

The great American writer Frederick Buechner claimed that tears are essential guides. He once wrote, “Whenever you find tears in your eyes, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not, God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go next.

In the book of Revelation, at the end of the Bible, there is a promise that one day, God will wipe every tear from our eyes, when mourning and crying and pain will be no more. Pastor Leonard Sweet wrote, “Until that day, it is our job, our joy, to wipe the eyes of those who weep, especially those who cannot wipe the tears away for themselves. And it is our job, our joy, to help those who are too hungry, too thirsty, too dehydrated for tears to form in their own eyes.”

May tears indeed be our guide. Whether they are our tears or others’ tears, may we listen intently to what God may be saying to us, and calling to us to next.

Let us pray: We remember, Gracious God, that Jesus taught us: Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Meet us in our tears. And meet us in the tears of others. Comfort us. Challenge us. And guide us. We ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

Seeds of New Life
Joe Albright

Seeds of New Life

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The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were written right after a small group of exiles had returned to Israel for the first time after being in Babylon for 70 years. When they see the city of Jerusalem, it is basically in ruins. We’re told that those few who remembered the past when they saw the city, they wept.

Piece by piece, Nehemiah, their leader, focuses his efforts to pull the people together, to pick up the pieces, rebuild, restore, and to start over.

Starting over is hard. When you are sitting there in the shattered ruins of life as you know it, you’re pretty vulnerable.

It strikes me that in life, there are ever moments of loss, rebuilding, restarting. Some of it heart wrenching: the death of a loved one, divorce, job loss. Some maybe even positive, but tough nonetheless: starting a new job, retirement, children moving away.

There is indeed a time to grieve our losses, to lament. It is important not to gloss over that, not to skip it. Even the impulse, God I know I’ve not done this well, I’ve messed up. I know I need to change, sometimes it is important to feel that too.

With lament and grief, if we stuff it, or bury it, it often comes back to hurt worse later on. It often comes out in weird ways. So it is important to do it.

Pastor Leonard Sweet tells about an ancient Jewish commentary on the book of Genesis that claims when Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, God bestowed one more gift on the condemned couple. God gave them the gift of tears. This would ensure that “when grief overtakes you, and your heart aches beyond enduring, and great anguish grips your soul, then there will fall from your eyes this tiny tear. And your burden will grow lighter.” The midrash continues, suggesting that when Adam’s and Eve’s first tears landed on the earth, the first “garden” outside of Eden sprang forth. The tears of anguish and abandonment became tears of new life and new hope.

Sweet claims that “Our tears are liquid prayers. When they rain down, they flush out our guilt. Our tears rain down and release our fears. Our tears rain down and renew our souls.”

May you come to see that our tears are a gift. But we don’t grieve as those who are without hope. We weep as those who trust that our tears are seeds of new beginnings. And we weep as those who know the God who brings life out of death, and who has promised to make all things new.

Let us pray: Help us to grieve, O God, but not to get stuck there. Accept our tears as prayers and use them as seeds of new life; through Christ our Lord. Amen.