Sometime back I heard a woman speak about a trying time in her life – years when everything seemed to fall apart. During that time she lost a husband and a job. Through all of this, she hung on to a promise in the book of Joel, where after a terrible drought and plague God says, “I will repay you for the years the locust have eaten.”

This woman felt that the locust had taken a toll on her life.

However, her testimony affirmed that in her experience God was faithful. Not that she got back what she lost, but that God had carried her through it. She was finally coming to a place where she could begin to see blessings and feel joy once again. She felt stronger and wiser than ever.

I don’t know what the locust have eaten in your life, or what toll they may have had on your health, your family, your heart. But, I do know this: you can hold onto hope. You can trust that God is faithful. You can know that even through heartache and pain, we are ever being pulled closer to God.

Let us pray: God of Hope, through the ups and downs of life, through the joys and heartaches, we trust you are with us, and we trust that you are good. I pray today especially for those who are in the midst of life’s struggles and who can’t see a way out. We hold on to hope for them. Bring the right people into their lives to help carry the burdens, and may they know you are near. We ask in the name of the One who is the Resurrection and the Life. Amen.

Yesterday I reflected on Jesus’ parable where he said the kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who planted a wheat field with good seed. And an enemy comes along and sows weeds right in the mix. When the servants notice, they say to the master: “This field is not pure. Do you want us to go out and pull the weeds?” But the Master stops them. In trying to pull out the weeds, you very well might also uproot the crop.

Now I imagine, when Jesus told this parable, he had the future church on his mind. I imagine he knew that some of us would be fixers, some of us here might be overly zealous, and some of us here would want our community to be pure, to be healthy, to look a certain way. I imagine he knew that we would think we always know best, and we would at times be too quick to judge, too quick to sort, too quick to pull what we thought were the weeds.

The truth is, sometimes in our attempts to pull weeds or to clean house, we’ve caused great harm.

I remember in reading church history, that in one of the first crusades, knights from Western Europe attacked an Arab town on their way to the holy land and killed everyone in sight. It was not until later, when they turned the bodies over, that they found crosses around most of their victim’s necks. Up until that point, it had never occurred to them that Christians came in brown skin as well as in white.

I wish I could say that that kind of weed pulling, and even violence were a thing of the past. Many great writers and theologians have contended that perhaps more evil comes into this world from trying to eliminate what we think is evil than from anything else. The fact is, we often can’t tell the wheat from the weeds, because they are so often intertwined – even within our own hearts.

Here, Jesus is saying: It’s not your job to judge, it’s mine. And it will happen at the end of the age. But not now, and not without me. Ultimately he is reminding us that it is not our job to determine who is worthy of God’s love. It is rather our job to love everyone and to imagine everyone as belonging to God.

Let us pray: Holy God, help us to trust your holy and mysterious workings. And grant us the sureness that one day you will sort out the good from the bad, the right from the wrong – even from within our own hearts; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

It is no secret that I have a passion for encouraging people to base their lives on gratitude. Paul put it like this, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18a).

Let me point out that Paul didn’t say to give thanks ‘for” all circumstances. Obviously, we don’t give thanks for cancer or heart attacks, arthritis or blindness, Alzheimer’s or terrorist attacks. But we can give thanks “in” all circumstances because God is with us, come what may. And when we realize that and embrace that, and reach out to God in faith, he will give us strength and see us through. We can count on that. And that is cause for great thanksgiving.

There is an old legend that tells about a man who came one day to the barn where Satan stores the seeds that he scatters across the earth. The man noticed that the two most abundant seeds in the barn were the seeds of bitterness and discouragement. He asked Satan about those seeds. “Oh, yes,” came the reply, “bitterness and discouragement; they are, without question, my most effective seeds. Why these seeds will grow almost anywhere.”

Then, with a solemn look on his face, Satan said, “However, there is one place where the seeds of bitterness and discouragement will not grow.” “Oh?” said the man, “and where is that?” Satan answered, “They will not grow in a heart of gratitude.”

Let us pray: God of love, we come to you with hearts full of love, souls full of trust, and minds full of thanksgiving. Your lovingkindness is as far-reaching as the stars, your care for us as deep as the sea. Help us to turn with childlike trust. Open our eyes to the wonders of Your Word and send us on our way with hope and courage. Watch over those traveling. Teach us that we never journey beyond your loving-care. Through the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.

When I lived in Jamaica, a couple of my neighbors kept a regular Sabbath. Everyone called him Smith, though I think that was his last name. Smith worked two jobs, and his wife was a full-time nursing student. She commuted an hour each day to Kingston for both work and school. They both led busy, hectic lives.

On their day off together, they would go to church in the morning. That afternoon would be spent sharing food with family and friends. Sometimes they’d hang out under the mango tree. I remember lots of laughter from their house, lots of singing. They took this time off so seriously – and yet had so much fun with it. It was a pattern of holy rest, a ritual. And, it was amazing to see every weekend all of their stress just disappear.

Looking back, I too had this day off. I had the whole weekend free. But I spent Saturday mornings doing my wash, and the afternoons grading papers. On Sunday afternoons I’d clean the house and make the lesson plans for the next week. There always seemed to be something that needed to be done.

One Sunday afternoon, I was sitting outside grading papers as my neighbor walked up. I’ll never forget the moment. With a big smile on his face, Smith asked, “Presbyterians take no rest mon?” I said, “Sure. But I’ve got to get this done.” He gently replied, “Even God rests, Joe. Are you more important than God?” He was kidding. But not really. He was right.

I pray today for you – that you would be able to take one day a week and let go of work, let go of laundry or paying bills, and perhaps even technology. One day a week. Instead, fill that day with things that nourish your soul.

Let us pray: Loving God, We want to honor you, and we want to experience the abundant life that you offer. Help us, O God, set a healthy pattern of work and rest, so that we may live a life that puts you at the heart and center. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I remember sometime back riding in the car with my friend Hunter and we passed by a large cemetery. Hunter asked me, “So, how many dead do you suppose are in this place.” “I don’t know,” I replied. He said, “How about all of them!”

We laughed hard, but underneath the lightness, his joke was a reminder to me that life is not a dress rehearsal. We get only one shot at life, and this is it.

Later, as I stepped out of the car into the crisp January morning, I looked up at the bright blue sky and I lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving. I gave thanks for the blessing of life, for friendship, for health, and for the ability to laugh in the face of the abyss. “Today,” I said to myself, remembering my friend Roger Kunkel’s words, “Today is an unrepeatable miracle! Let’s make it a masterpiece!”

Let us pray: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of life. Even with all of it’s blessings and challenges, there is such great beauty. Help us appreciate our time here on earth, especially the people who surround us. Remind us to forgive and to love as fully as we are able. May we ever live with open eyes and open arms so that we might receive your blessings and in turn bless others. Amen.