Spiritual Maturity 5

Spiritual Maturity 5: Awareness of Christ and Holy Spirit 

Psalm 121; John 15: 1-11

            Very often we use the phrase “I’m here if you need me,” with friends and family. It’s a great phrase, and it’s designed to remind people that there’s a person and presence who cares for them and will provide support if needed. In years of pastoring, though, I’ve learned there are times to use that phrase and wait for the person to ask. But then, there are other times where you just know a person isn’t going to say they need you. They will suffer all the way to crisis mode before they would ever say, “I need you,” or “I need help.” 

            T. B. Matson addresses this as one of his principles of spiritual maturity. That principle is a consistent awareness of Christ’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s leadership in life. Do we, on a regular and continuous basis, feel the presence of Christ in our lives and let the Spirit lead us each step of our day? Jesus is not just a “call me if you need me” kind of Savior. His presence is real and powerful, and he is with us always. Jesus speaks to this in today’s gospel. He tells the disciples, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener…yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.” Christ gets to the very heart of this message quickly in verse 5: “Those who remain (or abide) in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” 

            Those words should resonate with us, “For apart [from Christ, we] can do nothing.” Those words may sound a bit troubling on their own, but we must read them in light of another promise from Jesus. In Matthew 28:20, he says, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” In our times of helplessness, Jesus says to us that he is with us always, period, no matter what until or unto the very end of time. 

            That is a powerful bond. One scholar writes that the “allegory of the vine and the branches is the most complete expression of the mystical union between Christ and the Christian in this gospel.”  Do we take the time, in stillness, in prayer and meditation to make ourselves aware of Christ’s presence with us? Do we pray that he is revealed to us? Are we willing to embrace the fact that humanity and specifically each one of us is helpless without that life-giving presence of Jesus with us each and every day? Embrace that idea that Christ is like the vine, and we are branches—our lives, our growth, and our existence come from the strength and nourishment we get from that vine. 

            But there’s another point to this marker of spiritual maturity. Along with the continuous recognition of the presence of Christ, we must also have a consistent awareness of the Holy Spirit’s leadership in our lives. The Psalm tells us, “I look to the mountains—does my help come from there?” There’s a lot of places in life we look for help and guidance. We look to doctors, but their knowledge is a gift from God. We look to friends, but in truth, it’s Jesus who wrote the book on the bond of sacrificial love. We look to a spouse, but after asking six times just to take the trash out, I’m not sure how much help is there. We sometimes look to lawyers, and for $350 per hour, which is a discount, you might find a bit of help. 

            But in verse 2 of the Psalm we are told, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” In greater detail, the Psalm even tells us that, “The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, now and forever.” These both go hand in hand. With the presence of Christ consistently in your thoughts and lives, you will be more in tune with the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

            The philosopher Seneca said, “All my life, I have been trying to climb out of the pit of my besetting sins—in vain. And I never can, and never will, unless a hand is let down to draw me up.” This is true for any pit we find ourselves in through our lives. We need help, and Jesus says to us, “I’m here when (not if) you need me.” The Gospel goes on to tell us that those who do not remain in Christ wither, struggle, and eventually die. 

            Now, I don’t believe that with every season of struggle in your faith, there’s a ticking John 15 timebomb where you will literally die. But there is a reality to the idea that our struggles and troubles seem magnified so much worse when we find ourselves apart from Christ and against the leadership of the Holy Spirit to the very point that our souls and life of faith may wither away. The truth of our lives is that we need Christ in all times and in all ways to save us not just from sin but from ourselves as well. Jesus says to his disciples, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.” What, then, does this sense of abiding in Christ do for us? 

            Luther Bridgers was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in the early 1900s. After ministering in Belgium, the Czech Republic and Russia, he returned to Gainesville, Georgia. In 1910, he accepted an invitation to preach at a conference in Kentucky. He left his wife and three kids with his father-in-law and went to preach. After the two weeks of incredibly successful ministry and revival, he received a phone call with the worst news possible. A fire had killed his entire family. It’s impossible to imagine the grief he endured. However, not long thereafter, he found the faith to write the words to the hymn, “He Keeps Me Singing.” The fourth verse reads, “Though sometimes He leads through waters deep, trials fall across the way; though sometimes the path seems rough and steep, see His footprints all the way. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.” 

            Why does Jesus say to remain in his love? The answer is at the end of our Gospel, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” The secret to our joy and our hope in this life and the next, is tied directly to Jesus. He is the life-giving, deeply rooted vine, and we are the branches who grow and bloom forth. And so, Jesus asks us to abide in him and he will remain with us always. As we grow and mature in faith, we should become more aware of Christ with us and the Holy Spirit leading us. For in every struggle and difficulty here on earth, we can rest assured that Jesus knows our pain and says to us, “I am here when you need me.” 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1108968366519572

Spiritual Maturity Part 4

Spiritual Maturity—Vitalities Over Formalities; Psalm1; I Peter 1:13-25

            In this week’s installment of our series on spiritual maturity, we look at the idea of our religion being measured by vitalities (or what gives it life) and not formalities (which is just repeating the same thing). Now, in some circles, that concept of “the ‘R’ word” is never used. We’re not a religion; we’re a faith. Oh, we’re not just a religion…we’re a movement. I wouldn’t call us a “religion,” we’re a way of being. Call it what you want, but when someone switches from Baptist to Methodist, no one asks, “Which way are you being today?” Instead, we are asked, “What is your religion?” As the number of faithful have declined, we have blamed it on this idea of “religion,” and we have used any other name for it ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous. 

            Religion is not a bad thing. The literal definition of “religion” is “a system of faith and worship.” Religion is the word to describe the ways you use to worship your God. And yet, we constantly hear people say that they’re faith is “more than a religion.” I think we’ve misdirected our concern. The question should not be whether or not what you believe is a “religion” or something else. The question should be how you measure your belief. Is it just a mindless, spiritless set of formalities you follow, or is there something living and vital within the faith you practice here and in the world around us each week. The scripture in I Peter gives us three of the markers to measure the vitality of our faith: new hope, new holiness, and new life. 

In verse 13 we read that our minds should be prepared, and we read that our hope should be Christ’s power to save us. Our faith and the way we practice faith should give us some kind of new hope. There are a couple of ways to get something new. The first is when we come here seeking God from a place of nothing—no relationship, no love, no grace in our lives. It draws us back to that first time we found and felt God’s presence in a place of worship and people at worship. But many of us are a few years down the road in our faith and worship. That’s the point where danger can set in. Worship can be interesting but just a formality. Prayer can be well-worded, but just a formality. Bible Studies can be informative, but just a formality. We can come to a place where there is nothing living and vital about the way we practice faith. 

Each time we encounter worship, a sacred space, or the children of God we should find something living, transformative, which gives us new hope. This makes us like trees which bear new, good fruit each season, as Psalm 1 says. That’s a two-way street to receive new hope. First, our worship and faith must offer us something of God, but our hearts and minds must also be prepared to engage. I hear people say they’re getting nothing out of their church or their faith. I wonder if they are offered the opportunity to find growth in their relationship to God. But also, I wonder if they are willing to receive it. God cannot speak to closed ears. I Peter tells us to prepare our minds for action—to receive new, revitalized, and living hope. 

A vital practice of faith also offers us new holiness. This is another word we struggle with. Some struggle because holiness doesn’t give much wiggle room. Some other struggle because they take “holiness” to mean “holier than thou” and make no room for grace and love. Verse 16 doesn’t command us to be perfectly holy. That’s impossible in our lives. What God says through these words is “be like me.” In a relationship, there is a desire to grow closer to the other person. So it is with God. We should be drawn by our faith, our love, and the Spirit to be more like and closer to the way God calls us and the example Jesus gave us. 

A pastor was once asked how to know when a church got the idea of holiness wrong. The pastor replied, “Look for the rules. Where rules are more important than relationship, the church has turned away from being a living and vital place of faith.” Remember Psalm 1 tells us to meditate on God’s law, but over and over in New Testament, we are told Jesus came to “fulfill the law.” Fulfillment doesn’t mean ending one big old set of laws and giving us another. Jesus came to end the need for religious rules because we have a relationship with him. It’s a new holiness built not on religious rule, but on relationship with a loving redeemer and savior. 

And finally, a vital and living faith has new life. I Peter 1: 23 says, “Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. But 1 Peter 1: 14 also warns us not to slip back into old ways of living. Some faiths and churches tend to focus in on this idea of new life as only getting into heaven. And in fact, we believe in a faith that promises us an eternal reward of heaven, but there is still something transformative which happens to us here on earth. 

If the only point of our belief was to pop through the pearly gate, we wouldn’t have needed the example Jesus gave us. There’s two main things Jesus did here on earth: the redemptive work of the cross and resurrection, but also the example of a Godly or Christian life through years of ministry. Surely there is something to be done in this life as we live here 50, 60, 80, 90 or more years. New life begins immediately, with a relationship and a call to live Christ’s example of hope, holiness, and forgiving grace on earth. Jesus healed. Jesus loved (even the most unlovable). Jesus fed and taught. Jesus sought to make a difference in his ministry, and it brought life and vitality to a people whose faith which had become just a bunch of formal practices. 

So, as we live and practice our faith here on earth, we must be careful that our worship and our actions bring life and vitality to our faith and the world around us. When we sing, pray, proclaim the Good News, and respond to it, we must do so with the power and energy that come from a relationship with Christ compeling us to be grace in this world. May we then have new or renewed hope each and every morning. May we practice holiness by becoming less worldly and rule oriented, and instead focusing on a relationship that pushes us to be Christlike. And may we proclaim the Good News of new life which rises above suffering on earth and calls for love, justice, and a people of God focused wholly and completely on God instead of the evils around us. Prepare your hearts and minds, and be renewed in your hope, relationship, and life of faith. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/297284502374083

Spiritual Maturity, Part 3

Spiritual Maturity 3: Faith Based on Essentials, Not Non-Essentials

Ecclesiastes 7: 19-20, 23-25; I Corinthians 1: 10-17

            Years ago, I worked for the local newspaper, and I did a series of human-interest stories highlighting local churches in the community. I had hoped to find a common theme of churches working for the good of the community, caring about ministry, and sharing God’s Good News. Well, I found a common theme alright. That theme was they all complained about each other. 

            One local church still harbored anger that they were reviled by the church up the street for hosting dances. (Retired Baptists, you can guess which denomination thought dancing was a sin). Mind you, this occurred almost 50 years ago. Another church said that they believed in helping the community, but they refused to work with other churches in that endeavor. Another church said they were the only true church, and all others were “apostates.” And yet another church said they didn’t just serve Communion willy-nilly like some churches (read here the Christian churches). Instead, they were far more careful who got Communion and when. I had never seen so many people who had basically the same doctrine, believed in the same God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, yet still could not get along in any way, shape, form, or fashion. 

            Paul, I would argue, calls such divisiveness a sin. As the Sunday School class is learning in Acts, Paul was of a very singular mind—that the basic message of grace in Christ should never be compromised, but on all the non-essential things, Paul did compromise. He used Greek pronunciations of names instead of Jewish pronunciations when he was in Greek territory. He argued against the Jewish practice of circumcision for Gentiles, but he insisted Timothy do so to make him acceptable in Jewish communities. Paul believed that sharing this message of Christ’s redeeming love and grace was the singular, sole, and undivided primary focus of the Christian community and all other things paled in comparison.  

            Here, he lays out the case quite clearly. After calling upon them to be in harmony, he says in verse 10, “Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” He goes on to explain that they are not followers of individual apostles, but of Christ, and not Christ the teacher, but Christ the Savior and Lord, one God, now and forever. As T.B. Matson says to us, our faith must be based on the essentials, not on the non-essentials. 

            Few churches fight over the essentials: Jesus is the Savior, the Son of God. God created us and called us to be God’s very own. God gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us and guide us. Through that spiritual guidance, we are also called to follow Jesus’s example in our daily life. Very few fights in the Christian world start over these essentials of faith. But my-oh-my how our churches have fought and killed and found themselves torn asunder over all the non-essential things of our faith. And rarely does a church fight begin with words of scripture. They begin with the fearful words, “Well, I think…” 

            It’s a very bleak picture. A divisive church provides no useful witness to the world. A divisive church cannot minister properly either to members or the community. A divisive church can never grow personally or as the body of Christ. A divisive church will never, ever save souls from sin or people from suffering, and Paul meets this mindset with fury—whether it’s Corinth, Galatia, or even his own relationship with the Mother Church in Jerusalem. It is, in fact, in Galatians 3:28 where Paul writes, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Now, be sure, this does not mean a legitimate theological wrong—this is more plain old church fighting and contentiousness that Paul is calling out. 

            A spiritually mature Christian should begin to realize that drama and struggles, especially in a place of faith, are tiring and unproductive. There’s an old saying attributed to St. Augustine, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” This speaks to the power of relationship over rightness, strength and mission over divisiveness, and a church which seeks Christ’s calling over all else. The bulletin quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also speaks to this, ““Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” In essence, God has called us to be one body which unites people over this common theme of faith in Christ, transformation by God’s love, and led by the Spirit into God’s mission and ministry. That’s not and can never truly be a singular calling. It takes a whole church. 

            I’ll never forget a conversation at a small non-denominational church I played for. One of the members, who I was friends with, was talking to me about an upcoming community project, and he wasn’t sure about it. I asked what his issue was. He replied, “Well, it’s the fact that we’re working with Presbyterians. And, well, you know how Presbyterians are.” I did not, in fact, know what he meant at all. So, I looked at him and said, “John, it’s a food pantry, not a conversion experience. You are perfectly safe from being Presbyterian-ed.” He thought for a moment and shook his head saying, “You know, you’re right. I’ll bring my cans of green beans next week.” 

            We don’t have to every last one of us agree on every single bit of doctrine to share the urgency of souls who need the grace of God, hungry people in need of food, lonely people in need of care and love, lost and broken people in need of a church family with wide open arms. The measure of our faith is not avoiding all disagreement. The measure of our faith is whether we lived each and every day, wholeheartedly, fully surrendered to the work and the will of the God who loves us. In essentials, may we be united. In non-essentials may we be free. In all things here on earth may we live in charitable love. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1417315352057731

Spiritual Maturity Part 2

Spiritual Maturity—Inner Principles > Outside Pressure

Deuteronomy 13: 1-4, 6-8; Matthew 7: 15-23

            Some years ago, a friend and colleague decided she was joining and going to the gym, and she also decided I was going with her. I did not go seeking an opportunity to wake up at the crack of dawn to go work out at an expensive place, but I figured if God opened the door and all…you know. When we met with the trainer, he asked about our motivation for coming. He started in on all this “get healthy, commitments to a new self,” and all of this motivational pep talk. I simply agreed because I didn’t want to admit in public that, after the holidays, it was getting hard to button my pants. My friend, however, when asked her motivation said without pause, “When I look down, I want to see bust and toes instead of belly.” At least she’s honest and stuck to her real principles. 

            As our second principle of spiritual maturity today, we look at “acting less from outside pressures and more from principles of inner convictions.” In order to understand this idea of inner convictions and principles over outside pressures, we must first understand what principles Jesus left us. In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. He actually names two—love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and second, love your neighbor as yourself. But then Jesus makes a very sweeping statement, “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 40). Thus, these two commandments should be the foundation of our principles of inner convictions. 

            It is often harder than you think to stand on principles. In Deuteronomy, the writer notes that some will perform signs and miracles, may dream dreams and have visions much like a prophet of that day. It may be a close friend or relative who pushes or entices us to do something that steps out of our faith and God’s principles. In the days of Deuteronomy, this often looked like being enticed to worship false idols of neighboring peoples. In our day it often looks more like being distracted or diverted from God’s calling to bad behaviors and temptations. In the law, we call it undue influence—some form of persuasion which overcomes your own will, but never convinces you that it’s actually right. 

            Standing on God’s principles requires a strong foundation of knowing Christ’s teachings and prayerfully applying them to your life. Now this doesn’t mean we should avoid working with other denominations and faiths—God has given us a mission and expects us to work together—in love—with others to accomplish it. What we are warned to avoid is letting our thoughts go to places which pull us away from our faith in Christ. We must avoid letting our actions become a stumbling block for others or walk us away from the love that binds us to God. Living by principles of inner convictions means our faith, our actions, and God’s will all stay aligned in our daily life here on earth. 

            There’s another warning in the Gospel for today, though. Jesus says that some who call out, “Lord, Lord,” some who perform miracles and prophesy, some who cast out demons even claiming they do so in Christ’s name will also utterly fail. Why? I’m going to borrow a phrase from a younger generation. They will ask, “Dude, are you for real (pronounced fuh-real)?” Here is one place where “fake it till you make it” does NOT work. This one is a struggle. Just how faithful do we need to be? I’ll give you another example from my ill-fated time at the gym. While in the morning class at 5:30 A.M., the instructor would excitedly shout, “Are we ready to get pumped this morning!” I and everyone else yelled back, “YES!” But, if I were to be honest, there was absolutely nothing I found even exciting, encouraging, or even remotely desirable at all about doing cardio at 5:30 in the morning in a room full of people who were caffeinated into a frenzy. 

            We must be honest about our faith, our walk with God, and where we are struggling. This isn’t to find judgment, but to be met with the prayers, the encouragement, and the love of our church family. It’s okay to ask for help when you feel lost, but what Matthew’s Gospel warns against is faking it. Sometimes people pretend in their faith because they’re struggling. And sometimes they pretend with more sinful motives like money, exploitation, and a desire for personal gain over love of God and neighbor. Be honest when you struggle or feel alone and worried. If you can’t come to your church family to find love and support, then what is the point of being a church family? This is a place to restore our faith and find the courage to stand on Christ, the solid rock of our faith. 

            Finally, Matthew’s Gospel says that the evidence is what is produced from a person’s life. Jesus often likes to use the examples of growing plants and bearing fruit. It’s simple and clear. No one picks a grape from a thorn bush, or at least I wouldn’t recommend it. You wouldn’t find a delicate fig in a bunch of thistles. When a person follows the voice and guidance of God in their lives, you see the evidence of God at work in them. If someone is listening to every bit of bad advice, bad temptation, and sinful voice out there, you will see that in the outcome of their lives. This isn’t a question of suffering in life, for suffering visits us all. This is a question of whether a person is building for God’s kingdom or lost in bad behaviors that destroy their life and their witness for God. 

            What is our motivation? Do our faith and actions come from inner principles based on the foundation of Christ’s guidance? Or are we tossed around by every bit of bad advice under the planet? We have all, at one time or another, been talked into something that we knew was wrong, or we may have talked our own selves into it. That’s not a place where we can live in for the rest of our lives as God’s children. We must find God’s word and guidance from which we get our inner strength. We must be open and honest—for real if you want to use the phrase—about our faith. And we must continue to bear good fruit in this world with God’s help. That kind of motivation and those inner principles will always steer us in the right direction in this life. 

       Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1353781455057511

Spiritual Maturity Part One

Adjusting to Life’s Inevitabilities—Isaiah 60: 1-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

            We begin a series on the marks of spiritual maturity lasting most of this time of Epiphany. The basic outline for this series comes from the writings of Christian ethics professor T.B. Matson, who taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The outline and the characteristics are his. The details of the sermons are my own, so I stole (or borrowed, shall we say) the idea, not the content. The first of these marks of spiritual maturity is being able to adjust to life’s inevitabilities. Now, the self-help books list a few things as “life’s inevitabilities.” Some of those include conflict, personal weaknesses, getting old, failure, taking something for granted, and death. I’m sure there are more, but this gets us started. 

            I had a friend who could adjust to life better than anyone I have ever met. If he had a flat tire, he just smiled and whistled while he changed it. When people began to fight and quarrel around him, he could defuse the situation in an instant. If he couldn’t do something, he just shrugged and went on to something else. I asked one time how he managed this whole sense of calm. He laughed, and said, “Whenever something happens outside of my control, I try very hard to be unbothered. I’ve decided to live my life unbothered by things I cannot change.” 

            I think we see a number of instances of being unbothered in our texts today. The Magi followed a star—they were unbothered by the struggle and difficulty of the journey to Jesus. They were unbothered by Herod’s complete lack of help in their search for Jesus. They were unbothered by the awkwardness of meeting a young Jesus and finding a poor family instead of a rich king. They were unbothered by having to find a new route home to avoid the wicked plans of King Herod. Mary and Joseph were likewise unbothered by three complete strangers showing up; though, I’m sure expensive gifts helped. These Magi were foreign and strange to Mary and Joseph, from different social classes, and likely both parties were taken aback by one another, but both were unbothered by it in this unique moment of Gentiles from far away meeting and worshiping the Holy One—Christ. 

            The person who was truly bothered by the whole situation was King Herod. His limited time as king, his weakness before God, and his fear of losing the privilege of the throne not only bothered him but shook him to his core. It caused him to scheme, to continuously go against God, and finally to order a murderous rampage against innocent children. But God always has the last word over the Herod’s of this life who seek to bring power only to themselves instead of following where God leads. 

            In our own lives, we must learn to be unbothered. Life and the troubles of life will come and go so long as we live and breathe here on earth. There are things we can control—suffering, poverty, hunger, lack of faith and hope. We can fight to combat these evils in our world. We can live and work our part of God’s mission here on earth. But there are also some things that we cannot control. 

            For those things we cannot control, we have this gift of trusting in God just enough to find ourselves unbothered. Now, being unbothered isn’t some miraculous, never-ending sense of happiness. Of course, when life’s inevitabilities happen, we are going to be upset, hurt, and wounded deeply. Feelings and emotions are natural—even Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus despite knowing he could raise the dead!  Instead, being unbothered means we find this peace which passes all understanding that can only come from God. 

            When we find this peace, this “unbotheredness” at adjusting to life’s inevitabilities, we can move from unbothered to unburdened. Jesus tells us what this means in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you…for my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” But the best part of those verses is what we find in Christ. Verse 29 says that “you will find rest for your souls.” If unbotheredness is finding peace, then being unburdened is finding rest. Two things we don’t often get enough of in life are peace and rest. 

            This whole story of Jesus teaches us about the importance of growing in a closer relationship to Christ. In our story of the Magi today, the ones who sought Jesus with all their efforts were unbothered and unburdened in life. Herod, who fought against Jesus the whole way to the point of pure wickedness, remained riddled with fear, anger, and sin right up until his death. 

            Life is going to send us inevitabilities, troubles, real burdens which we must cope with. But the real mark of our spiritual growth is not what troubles we navigate in life, but how much we are willing to rely on the Holy One to see us through. As Proverbs 3:5 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” The true secret to being unbothered by the inevitabilities or “inescapbables” of life is how much we are willing to trust in Jesus to navigate us through all of these things. And when we find this peace of unbotheredness we can find this rest of being unburdened. 

            A friend of mine was recently told that it seemed he was talented at everything. Shyly, he replied, “I’m not, unfortunately, but God knew what he was doing when he made me flawed because I’d let it go to my head if I knew [too much] more.” He went on to acknowledge that where he finds shortcomings, he knows to rely on God. To be unbothered and unburdened and find God’s peace and rest requires us to trust in God’s guidance and wisdom. Some may even call it God’s providence. Whether we are led by a star in the sky, a feeling in our heart, a cloud, pillar of fire, or any other means of God speaking to us, one thing is certain: the more we trust, the more life’s inevitable troubles fade away into God’s goodness and God’s glory. I pray this year is an amazing year for all of you, my friends. 

 Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/448438886911228

Advent IV and Christmas

Today we are only sharing a short reflection as this was mainly a service of Lessons and Carols. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Reflection: “The Waiting Periods” 

            In all honesty, I don’t feel very Christmas-y this year. Maybe it’s how fast the year has seemed to move. Maybe it’s all of the anxiety still going on in our world. Maybe it’s the uncertainty of fellowship and togetherness even as we continue in this pandemic, cause groups seem a lot more “people-y” than they did before. Maybe in my mid-30s it’s time to just resign myself to the fact that it’s just not going to feel that magical at Christmas. 

I feel like I’ve done everything. I decorated a week early. I bought gifts for up to half my folks this year instead of stuffing money in cards from Dollar Tree. (You’ve done it, don’t judge.) I attended so many lessons and carols services—Presbyterian, Mercer, Messiah, Episcopalian, online—I could probably classify my Christmas experience as Presby-Methodo-Baptist-Episcoposterian. The point is I’ve tried, but the magic just isn’t there. 

Then I came across this quote by Rich Villodas, “What God does in us as we wait is often much more important than what we are waiting for.” Maybe we need to embrace this idea of understanding the waiting period so that we’re not living this untruth of fake festivity. Maybe God’s best work in us is in these tough times of waiting for the miraculous, because truthfully, you cannot appreciate the miraculous if you don’t fully do the work of anticipation or waiting.  

God spoke to Mary as she waited for her marriage and birth of Jesus. God spoke to her cousin Elizabeth before hers and Mary’s sons would be born. God spoke to Joseph as he waited to figure out what to do with his pregnant fiancé. God spoke to the people through John the Baptist as they waited for Jesus appeared on the scene. It’s in these waiting periods that God speaks to us and not necessarily when we reach the miraculous. 

Waiting periods are hard. They are a space where anxiety, uncertainty, and impatience can find a home in our spirits, but if we embrace the wait, we can understand the miraculous even more. We read in Luke 2 that rather than rejoicing, proclaiming the good news, or anything else, Mary kept all these things she’d seen and heard and pondered them in her heart. Maybe the magic isn’t so much in the festivities of the season. Maybe instead it’s found in what we ponder in our heart as we wait for God to speak to us. God and sinner reconciled, Prince of Peace, Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love, have we pondered in hearts what these things mean to us? 

The full magic of the season may not have hit yet, and for many of us, the honest truth is it may not have for years. But maybe instead of going full-on Christmas, we can back up a bit and begin to wait with hearts open to listening, spirits softened enough for hearing. I promise that when we are ready, like Mary we will have plenty of things to ponder in our hearts. Instead of shouting Merry Christmas to you like you walked into a giant retail store, I’m going to leave you with a different wish. As you pause and wait this Advent, may the wisdom, the love, and presence of God overwhelm you so that your heart is filled with Good News you can ponder upon. 

Worship Video: https://fb.watch/9-frZrsOpz/

Advent III: Action

Action: Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3: 7-18

            When I was a kid, we used to play a game called “Truth or Dare.” It’s pretty self-explanatory from the name. Basically, you go around the group and each person chooses whether they want to answer a question truthfully or be challenged by a dare. I played the game once and ONLY once in my life. The first time around I chose truth, and I came out easy. The second time around I chose dare, and the snot-nosed little kid next to me dared me to lick a toilet seat. Now I have done many dumb and gullible things in life; however, this was most certainly not going to be one of them. There was no way I was going along with all this foolishness. 

            I flatly refused the dare, got kicked out of the “teacher-forbidden” group game, and happily went over to the swing set by myself. We’re not always too keen on that idea of dares in society. Usually dares challenge us to do something way, way outside our comfort zone, and for the most part, we are all creatures of habit. In today’s Gospel lesson, it is almost as if John the Baptist gives the listeners a dare: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” Those are the words we hear in verse 8. It’s a dare—prove it! But it’s also more than a dare. It’s a call to action for us to show how faith has made the difference in our lives. Without evidence of Christ at work in us, what good are our claims of being faithful? Isn’t that the very thing the non-religious world so often indict us for—failing to live our lives reflecting the faith we claim? 

            John the Baptist spares no abruptness and does not mince his words for this accusation in his day.  He calls the assembled folks a “brood of snakes.” Some translations have this as “brood of vipers.” Now, in my own personal life, I never greet folks with the phrase, “You brood of vipers!” (unless I’m walking into a room full of lawyers). John goes on to graphically describe how the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to violently chop down the trees producing bad fruit and burning them up in the fire. In the modern age, we’ve lost that fire and brimstone, and I don’t necessarily miss it because churches were far too good at the scare tactics, but not so good at the follow up. John, though tells the people that their actions must align with the faith they claim to have, in essence he dared them to live the truth they professed. 

            What does this look like? John gives them a few examples. For instance, if you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with the hungry. When the soldiers who policed the streets asked what they should do, John advised to stop taking bribes and falsely accusing others. To the tax collectors, John said to collect no more taxes than the government requires. And by that one hopefully you realize that most of these instructions didn’t really stick. They didn’t stick then, and they don’t really stick with us now. If we’re playing truth or dare, the truth is we don’t really like the dare, the challenge, or the call to action. 

            The people with two shirts stopped and thought, “But I like both shirts…I don’t want to give it away.” The soldiers weren’t happy because how were they supposed to live on the cheap Roman pay without getting their bribes? The tax collectors weren’t happy because their careers and finances did better the more money they collected. Honesty and truth didn’t really pay off for them at all, and now this is what this man is telling them? They really were a brood of snakes just as John the Baptist said. 

            They were more than ready to claim that they followed the Messiah, but when that following cut into their comfort, their faith didn’t stand the test. I think, in a way, John knew that the people didn’t have the heart to act on what they said they believed. That’s why John said Jesus was ready to separate the chaff from the wheat. The wheat could be used to make the bread of life, but the chaff is just the husks on the outside that provides no useful material for food. 

We cling to so much chaff in our lives instead of using the wheat to make something nourishing and filling. John warned the people that looking to their heritage and history would not save them. Being children of Abraham was not the point of grace needed. Business as usual was not going to work, for John challenged their entrenched corruption of heart and practice, and Jesus later flipped the tables in the temple. But the Gospel winds up with an odd last verse. It says that John used such warnings to announce the Good News. He talks about God ready to chop people down with an ax and throw them into the fire as a way of announcing Good News? 

But the truth is that is what all of the Christmas story revolves around—the Good News of a loving Savior. John came to challenge hearts and minds to create a fertile ground for Jesus’s teaching. It’s much like decades ago in revivals. The visiting preacher would come in and go to town preaching on hellfire and brimstone. By the following Sunday, everyone was really happy to have their regular preacher back for a bit of relief. 

Even the very first announcement of Jesus’s birth brings these same words, for the angel said to the shepherds, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy.” In spite of all the dire warnings, the terrifying examples, and fiery sermons, at the very core of our lives both the truth and the dare are whether we are willing to live our lives according to this good news of great joy. For it’s not just the grace of Christ that we celebrate, but it’s also the example of how Christ lived on this earth. No one will believe the claim that you’re saved by Christ if you don’t live the example of Christ here on earth. As John the Baptist challenged, the people then and now need to prove their faith by how they live. 

Now, you will not find God’s grace in your works and how you live, but to carry on with John’s analogy, a tree which produces bad, bitter, and nasty fruit cannot be a good and healthy tree. Likewise, a person who lives bringing suffering, misery, hate, and cruelty to others cannot possibly be following what Jesus taught. The hymn says, “You’ll know that they are Christians by their love.” You show your faith by living as the example of Christ. Philippians, I think, sums it up best: always be full of joy, let everyone see that you’re considerate, pray instead of worrying, ask God for what’s needed, be thankful, and live in God’s peace. 

Every day we can be bombarded by challenges, the roughness of the world, and even the very snakes that John preached at and against in his life. But in it all there is still good news of great joy for all the people. That is a gospel truth—that we can rejoice in the Lord always, as Philippians says. And as we rejoice in the truth of God’s Good News—a Savior for us—may we also be challenged, no, actually, may we be dared to live our lives demonstrating our faith by living Christ’s example in this world.  

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/376405607576568

Advent II: Preparation for Peace

Preparation: Malachi 3: 1-4; Luke 3: 1-6

            When I was a junior in high school, I went to summer camp with the youth group all of my friends went to. I was not particularly fond of this youth group or its leader, but all of my friends from school went there, and I had to keep up with appearances you know. We were playing a game as part of the evening Bible Study lesson where we had to gently toss water balloons to each other without breaking them. I have no idea what Gospel lesson this could possibly illustrate, and I have yet to find a Gospel lesson where I feel the need to bring in water balloons. However, there I was dreading the inevitable. And sure enough, while caught off guard, a water balloon hit me square in the face, failed to burst, and knocked me completely on the ground. All I could yell was, “I wasn’t ready!!” 

            Preparation is important in life. Isaiah prophesied of John the Baptist who would come and preach to the people, “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Or, if you grew up King James Bible, you heard, “Prepare, ye, the way of the Lord!” in ye olden English. How, then, do we prepare ourselves for this coming Prince of Peace, Emmanuel? First, preparation means clearing the clutter. Second, preparation means hearts and minds ready to embrace Christ’s way of righteousness. Prepare ye, then, for God’s coming and for the next couple of points on getting ready for God to do something good. 

            Preparation means clearing out the old clutter in our hearts, minds, and lives. John the Baptist preached this word of preparation, but he also told the people to repent of their sins and turn to God. Malachi also talks about the coming day of the Lord but adds that God will be as fire which refines metal, like soap which bleaches clothes, If you go to the assigned Epistle lesson for today, you get Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” 

            None of these things can happen: the refining, the bleaching, the turning, the finishing the good work can happen unless there is space to do it. That means delving into our hearts and minds to clear back the clutter. I like the analogy of when we refurbished the Sanctuary here six years ago. The contractor said, “We’ve gotta take everything out, first.” We all looked around at this full sanctuary and the chair of that committee started to slowly nod with wide eyes and said, “Okay…” You may be a bit concerned when you hear “clear the clutter,” though, because it’s not really possible to just forget everything. 

            That’s true. We live, each one, with a past filled with things good and bad. Some of us live with old memories of happier days which haunt us. Some of us live with that ghastly presence of grief that eases up but never fully goes away. Some of us live with trauma or bad habits. And some of us live with great memories we fear forgetting as we age. Repentance, clearing the clutter, these things don’t mean that we wipe our whole minds clean of everything. That’s impossible as human beings. But we must carefully analyze what’s in our lives and minds and see if it is serving us well.

            Maybe that’s a broader definition of repent. We think of repentance as God taking us by the ear and dragging us back from what we’ve done wrong…a punishment, or even a humiliation. But it’s not fully that. I actually think that definition is a bit of a cheat because being chastised for doing wrong doesn’t require any real or meaningful work. John preached repentance and added examples like clearing the road, filling in the valley, leveling mountains and hills, straightening curves, smoothing over the rough places. That’s a lot more that a grand spiritual humiliation for sin. Clear the clutter by going into your life and analyzing what is making your life here on earth and your life with God better and stronger. Not everything in your waking life has to be sacrificed, but if the road is blocked, clear it. If there’s a valley (think of the shadow of death), fill it in. If there’s an insurmountable mountain, level it. If you have hard curves and rough places, even them out and smooth them over in ways that make your life prepared for God, who began a good work, to complete it in and through your life. 

Preparation means hearts and minds ready to embrace Christ’s way of righteousness. God gives us the tools for this preparation, repentance, and clutter-clearing in the example of Christ. There are times we need therapeutic help to get beyond trauma in life, and Jesus counseled people one on one, if you recall he woman at the well. There are old wounds which need to be brought up and finally forgiven in our lives, as Jesus preached seven times seventy times we forgive. There are places where we are hardened and bitter that need the tender touch of trust and vulnerability. There are places where we are judgmental though we have a plank in our own eye and agonize over the speck in our neighbor’s eye.  And sometimes, as the Old Testament indicates, we need Jesus to come in and just burn it to the ground like the refiner’s fire Malachi talks about. 

John the Baptist even gives us the reason for this repentance and decluttering in verse 6 of the Gospel, “And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.” We talk about God’s grace in the church, and we often say that we receive the “free gift of God’s grace.” But I believe that if our hearts and minds are filled with clutter and mess, that God’s grace is not a free gift. Instead, it is a heavy burden, and we don’t know what to do with it. But, but, but, you might say, you can’t deny God’s grace, it sounds like you’re treading awful close to that. The truth is, though, that there’s still that responsibility for us. John said to repent of sin, turn to God, and find forgiveness. It doesn’t say God will repent for us and make it alright. We are told to do the work of clearing the clutter, of repenting in our lives. 

In Philippians 1:11, Paul prays a beautiful wish for the church in Philippi, “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” To have this full life, repent by clearing the clutter and the mess and be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the overwhelming peace and goodness found in God’s grace unto us. 

God will come to us in some way or another, and I pray that we are prepared. This grace and presence may come as a still, small voice, or it may come as hurtling water balloon straight at our face leaving us with a black eye shouting, “I wasn’t ready!” But the truth is, you are ready. The tools of decluttering, repentance, and new life have been given to us. Each year we celebrate over and over this idea of a wondrous Savior born to give us a way to God’s grace and peace in life. The holidays may be hard, for there may be a lot weighing down on our hearts and minds, and plenty of dread for the holiday itself. But, if we clear just a small path, we may still find just how beautiful the miracle of Christ the Savior, born for us to bring us peace, born to bring us love beyond anything we can possibly know, still truly is. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1491407377905996

Advent I: Hopeful Anticipation

Anticipation: Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Luke 21: 26-36

            A friend of mine said the other day that it seems we are living from one crisis to the next in our lives. He said, that the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, all had very distinct styles and personalities for the decade, but beginning in about the year 2000, all we’ve done is account for the next crisis. And to be honest, it does feel a bit that way. I imagine it felt that way a bit for Ancient Israel and Judah as well. If you read through the Old Testament, it becomes one long story of nation after nation conquering or threatening the ancient kingdoms, usually because of Israel’s disobedience. I’ve found that as people grow accustomed to crisis mode and the bright hope for today gets a little dim in their minds, they utter a new prayer filled with hope built on anticipation, saying, “Even so, come Lord, quickly come.” 

            That’s our text for today. The best way to summarize and explain what is going on is this prayer, “Come, Lord, quickly.” This prayer sustained the people of Ancient Israel and Judah with a hopeful anticipation. Our Old Testament is from the prophet Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet. In the early parts of the book Jeremiah prophesies against a people in exile in Babylon. They are enslaved, suffering, and far from their homes. They are under punishment for having turned from God to other idols and pagan worship. They had forgotten their deliverer and sustainer, the God of Israel, Yahweh. 

            But here, Jeremiah offers a new prophecy, one filled with hope and anticipation. In verse 15, Jeremiah looks towards the coming Messiah with God’s promise to “raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.” But the promise goes on to say that Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will find safety. Jeremiah gave the people this hope—this anticipation for a coming Savior of the people. 

            The New Testament picks up this same line of hopeful anticipation. We are given the instruction, “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life.” This is followed up with in verses 34 and 35 with the warning not to be caught unaware or unready. It’s the same prayer for us: even so, come Lord, quickly. This calls for us to be workers of hope in the meantime. 

            One of the easiest ways to be caught unaware is to focus on the first part of this scripture instead of the second part. People, for years, have played the silly guessing game of “when it’s going to happen.” If an eclipse is coming, people will rave about strange signs in the skies. If a nation saber rattles, people will whisper about signs on earth. Hurricane happening? Sign…for sure. This is not to be taken as a grand checklist for the exact determination of when Jesus will come back bouncing down the clouds of heaven. It’s an instruction and a reminder both to live in hope, but also in anticipation. 

            It’s a call for us to be about God’s business here on earth. We are told to keep alert and to work for the kingdom. When the people of Israel finally get back to Jerusalem, it’s not a pretty sight. The city is pure rubble. They were called to work at rebuilding the city and begin living and worshipping as God’s people again. The same is true for us. Between the ascension of Jesus and the return, we are here for a purpose and a mission. Before the hopeful anticipation, there is a meanwhile here on earth. 

            The past couple of weeks were a bit of a roller coaster as far as hope and prayer. The entire nation watched the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers. His death was brutal and there was no mistaking that the three men who killed him harbored a deep-rooted racism. They were convicted, but a young man is still dead, and his family grieves. Before that was the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Now whatever your thoughts on the outcome and the politicization of that trial and whether he was justified or not, let’s step back to a more basic idea. A 17-year-old traveled across state lines with an assault rifle then later that night shot and killed three people. Whatever your personal beliefs are, that’s still a horrific tragedy. 

            But they’re not isolated—growing murder rates around the country, a looming housing crisis where people will be unable to afford homes or rent, increasing food prices, the continuing undercurrent of animosity and anger based on political beliefs. No wonder we all need antacids and blood pressure medication. Into this world of despair and pain, we have a message of hopeful anticipation and Good News—simple, clear, and hope-filled Good News. It’s two-fold, really. It’s the news of Christ who came to this world teaching love and grace, pushing us to live at peace with one another. Then he showed us exactly what sacrificial love looked like, and he showed us that life and hope overcome sacrifice and suffering. 

            But there’s also a message of hope in the meanwhile. The message comes as food for the hungry, for Jesus fed 5,000 spiritually and physically. It’s a message of clothing and help for those who need a warm place in the cold of winter, for Jesus was without a home. It’s a message that as we live, in and through our work here on earth, we can get a glimpse of hopeful anticipation even as we still pray earnestly in hope, “Come, Lord, quickly.” 

            The words come from Revelation 22 where the writer prays for Christ’s quick return. Paul and Ruth Manz wrote a song based upon the text in 1953 when their three-year-old son was critically ill. There was nothing left to do but pray. As they prayed, Ruth wrote the words, and Paul later added music. The lyrics say this: “Peace be to you and grace from him who freed us from our sins, who loved us all and shed his blood that we might sav-ed be. Sing Holy, Holy to our Lord, the Lord, Almighty God, who was, and is, and is to come. Sing Holy, Holy Lord. Rejoice in heaven, all ye that dwell within; rejoice on earth, ye saints below for Christ is coming, is coming soon, for Christ is coming soon. E'en so Lord Jesus, quickly come, and night shall be no more. They need no light nor lamp nor sun, for Christ will be their All!” Their son made a full recovery, which they credited to prayer and hopeful anticipation. 

            This Advent, may we be ready and watching, for Christ comes soon. But in the meantime, there is the work of hope to be done here on earth. When evils raise their ugly heads, when pain and struggles come to dwell in our homes and communities, may we remember the One who saves us, may we proclaim the Good News, and may we live in this world working as hope to those in need. The night of winter is long and dark, but we wait in hopeful anticipation for Christ, the light of the world. E’en so, Lord, quickly come. Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/600078091305136

Thanksgiving Sermon

Blessed and Highly Favored: Joel 2: 21-27; Matthew 6: 25-33

            A friend of mine, when asked how she is doing, will respond to you, “I am blessed and highly favored in the Lord.” In anticipation of Advent, the saying is a reference to the angel visiting Mary saying something to the effect of, “Hail, you who are blessed and highly favored,” depending on which translation you read. But the saying has come from the words of Luke’s gospel to the everyday Southern sayings we have now. The other day, I jokingly replied with a new twist saying, “I am stressed and highly labored in the world.” My friend gasped and laughed loudly before replying, “You know, sometimes, that’s exactly what it feels like.” 

            I think many of us can say that same thing. Instead of “blessed and highly favored,” we are “stressed and highly labored.” As we approach Thanksgiving this week, there are two things we need to remember from Jesus’s words in Matthew: letting go and finding gratefulness. Changing a mindset from stressed and busy to one of freedom and thankfulness is no easy task. And it’s not really a question of how much you’re doing. It’s more a question of how you approach what you do in both mind and spirit. 

            Let’s look first at letting go. The Gospel starts out with Jesus saying, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food or drink, or enough clothes to wear.” This passage gets a lot of criticism. Many challenge it saying, “How dare Jesus be so dismissive and heartless about people who may be homeless, dressed in tattered clothing, or hungry and without food. How can he say this?!” But that criticism misses the context. This passage comes in the middle of an entire sermon on money and worldly things. It follows closely the scripture on not storing up treasures on earth, but instead storing up your treasures in heaven. 

            One commentator notes that “‘worrying’ in this context is not to be defined as ordinary concern, but a debilitating anxiety that is [completely opposed] to trust in God.”[1] It’s normal to be worried about where your next meal comes from or about good housing. What is not normal is worry or concern that is crippling to your life. And side note, it is equally wrong for churches to leave people with crippling worry about whether they will have food or a warm place at night. Letting go for us who are blessed means we give over these things unto God. But letting go is a hard process, and it’s not just about the bits of worry we have here and there. 

            What is a dragging on your life, holding you hostage, or creating a spiritual clog in the pipeline between you and God? Jesus identifies here that we often let doubts and worries get into our minds far too much. We worry sometimes about the very things God has provided for us. Letting go means realizing that if the lilies in the field are beautifully clothed, if the birds have plenty of food, then God is not going to allow you to be utterly ruined. Jesus even challenges them asking, “Why do you have so little faith?” And that, my friends, can honestly challenge us in a lot of ways. 

            Why do you worry that something has to be perfectly done and arranged? Why do you worry that someone has to appear and act perfect all the time? Why do you worry about the politics and culture we live in? Why do you say no to God’s calling because you don’t think you can do it good enough? Why do we worry about people who look, think, and live differently from us? Why do we fill our lives with doubts, fears, and worries at all? Those things are a product or result of the systems of sinfulness in the world we live in, but Jesus challenges us asking, “Why do you have so little faith?” How many of you all have accomplished one useful thing by being worried? Let it go. If the worst happens in life, so be it. I’m just hopeful enough to think that God will love me enough to see me through here or see me through to heaven. If you have worries, doubts, fears, and concerns, let it go. Let it go. 

            And when you let go of that worry, you can find a sense of peace and gratefulness in life. In the prophet Joel’s book, we are told that God will not disgrace the people again. And in light of those promises of restoration and hope, they are told, “Don’t be afraid, O land. Be glad now and rejoice, for the Lod has done great things.” A major theme of both the Old Testament and Gospel for today is this idea of being at peace or at rest. 

            Joel describes it as being glad and rejoicing at the deliverance God has promised. Matthew is even more poetic and gentle. Some translations have Jesus saying, “Consider the lilies.” There’s a strong calming, meditative quality to what Jesus is trying to teach here. There’s a central theme that as we release all of this misery and dread and concern about life, we can find peace and gratefulness in the knowledge and promise that God provides for us. 

            If Jesus were to really, and I mean really, challenge us in these scriptures, I think Jesus would ask us questions like this: what do you think about more during the day—your gratefulness to God or worry about life; what motivates you to do or not do something in life—your faith God will lead, or your fear and worry it will get messed up; what consumes the bulk of your prayer time—fear-filled petitions that lack the faith to support them or exclamations of praise and trust accompanying your requests?

            Finding this sense of peace and gratefulness while letting go of worry is hard. Jesus knows it’s hard for us. Therefore, Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, verse 32, that God already knows all your needs. Ask in faith, then trust in God to provide. One writer notes that surely to goodness, if we can believe that God gives the gifts of life and body, we can also believe God will take care of food and clothing in our lives.

            The Gospel wraps up with a bit of good advice. It sounds a lot like a commandment, but I prefer to soften it by recommending it to you as good advice in verse 33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and [God] will give you everything you need.” That is actually pretty good advice for living out our days here. Seek the Kingdom of God first and foremost. Live righteously in this world with Christ’s help. Then trust that God will meet your needs. It’s a simple answer for the complex web of fear and doubt in our minds. The trick is turning our minds back to the simplicity of trust Jesus tells us to have. 

            Life may feel like we are “stressed and highly labored” instead of “blessed and highly favored,” but Jesus tells us about the fix for those struggles: consider the lilies and look at the birds. God has provided for them, will not God provide for you, the very ones made in God’s own image and called God’s own children. So, this Thanksgiving I encourage you to let go of some things in life—old habits, ingrained fears, doubts we’ve kept hidden from others—and to find the peace Jesus gives. It’s a simple formula to seek God’s kingdom, live righteously, and trust in God’s care. If we live in that kind of life and mindset, our hearts may be truly filled with gratefulness and praise. 

[1] Senior, Donald. Matthew. Abingdon, 1998. 

 Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/216297207193885