James 5 – Prayer Matters

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James 5 – Prayer Matters

The many forms and styles of prayer – which we’ll talk about soon – help us create and nurture healthy, life-giving relationships with God, with ourselves, and with others. When we choose to engage with this powerful tool, the Kingdom of Heaven is filled with the energy of Divinity Itself. That energy, that power has transformed communities and lives for millennia; and prayer can do the same for us today. Let’s embrace this power and open our lives to God’s transforming Spirit.

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Easter – The Promise of New Life – Luke 24:1-12

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Easter – The Promise of New Life – Luke 24:1-12

Butterflies have become my favorite symbol of our faith in the miraculous, a symbol of our hope for beautiful transformation, the necessity of having to patiently wait for the transformation to develop, AND the necessity of living into our potential and our limits.

Our celebration of Easter begs the questions, “What’s YOUR story of transformation? Where are you IN your story of transformation?”
As we dig into and wrestle with these questions, we will often find God creating new life within us. And like the butterfly, we begin to realize that we are not who we once were – individually or as a community of faith. We have become new creations with new abilities so that we can embrace the new opportunities God puts before us.

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John 17 – One Last Prayer / Knowing God

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John 17 – One Last Prayer / Knowing God

Jesus does not describe eternal life as knowing about God, but actually knowing God. So how do we do that? How do we personally “know” the Creator of the Universe?!? We start by having interactions with God. So how do we do that?!? Everyone has their own path, their own journey.

Eternal life – being in relationship with God – and “becoming holy” are blessings we can enjoy now AND look forward to enjoying in new, different, and greater ways in the future. Eternal life is a way of living in love and in hope with ourselves and with others. It is part of what Jesus meant when He said “the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The Kingdom of Heaven is near indeed and there is plenty of room for everyone!

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John 9 – Seeing with New Eyes

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John 9 – Seeing with New Eyes

Awaken... It’s an action-oriented word. It’s a word focused on looking forward, not back. It’s a word that calls us to be intentionally mindful of our immediate surroundings. When Jesus healed the blind man, his newfound eyesight awakened him to new realities, new possibilities, and a new understanding of God’s presence and power.
To what is God trying to awaken each of us?

Make no mistake, this whole eye-opening, awakening stuff can feel overwhelming – much like seeing color for the first time. Once God reveals something to us, we can’t unsee it. This is when the power of a faith community is so important. We NEED to discuss what we hear and see (what God “puts on our hearts,” to use churchy language) so that, together, we can better understand the world around us and how we should respond to it.

Consider adding this simple request to your morning prayer, “Lord, help me SEE Your presence around me more clearly today. Help me SEE Your presence in other people. And help me BE Your presence to people who need to hear, see, and feel Your love, Your grace, and Your peace.”

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John 8 – Dignity Instead of Shame

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John 8 – Dignity Instead of Shame

Without naming the crime, Jesus acknowledges the woman’s transgression and immediately offers her God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion. When I read verses that talk about God judging us, I think about this brief exchange between Jesus and the woman. Today’s story is a powerful reminder of God’s ceaseless, tireless efforts to deliver us out of shame and into dignity, out of despair and into renewal, out of judgement and into blessing. Surely this is how the redemptive Kingdom of God operates. Surely this is the theology, the philosophy... the way of living into which God invites us.

The only question for us today is how can each of us offer the people we meet God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion? IF each of us sincerely makes an effort to share those aspects of God’s nature with others, we will become better and better at loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others.

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

If our sacred texts – the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament – provide the bones of our faith, and Jesus’ ministry of words and deeds provide the flesh, the Holy Spirit that ran through Jesus and runs through us today is the life-giving blood we all depend upon to live from one moment to the next. The skeleton gives structure; the flesh gives power; the blood give life.

Our Sunday worship services are a spiritual meal shared among friends, a time together meant to be savored and shared, like the steak and wine meal.

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John 5:16-30 – Embracing Eternal Life Here and Now

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John 5:16-30 – Embracing Eternal Life Here and Now

Despite all that’s wrong with the world around us, despite all the ways our bodies and minds ache, despite all of our faults and failings... despite the long list of items we could choose to complain about, the GREAT News Jesus proclaimed is that we have the opportunity here and now to enjoy being in a loving relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

The new life Jesus speaks about is God’s invitation – here and now – to let the living water of God’s love flow, nurturing and growing the Kingdom of God, heaven on earth, by loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others. The questions for us today and every day are this: How can we stir that water within us? What can we say or do to share that water with someone who is wilted or parched? Answering these questions with our words and actions are just one way we can embrace the eternal life Jesus spoke about here and now!

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Mark 6:30-44 – Driven by Compassion

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Mark 6:30-44 – Driven by Compassion

Jesus’ overwhelming compassion for others was a core, driving element of His entire ministry. To those who came to Him with sincere hearts, He always responded with open arms, endless mercy, and unexpected generosity. If we allow ourselves to receive God’s embrace, compassion, and generosity, our lives will be forever changed. If we in turn offer the same to others, both our lives and theirs will be changed all the more.
This is the interactive, hands-on dynamic of God’s Kingdom. And this is how we change lives.

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Seedlings in the Kingdom of God – Mark 4:24-41

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Seedlings in the Kingdom of God – Mark 4:24-41

Whether it’s within you, in your home, your office, your classroom, or anywhere else, know that each one of you is an important part of God’s active and ongoing creation. We all have our own roles to play in God’s garden. We can take great relief knowing that – by design – we do not have total control and success does not depend on any one of us. Thank God! And we can take great joy knowing that God is working alongside us as we, together, help the Kingdom of God grow in magnificent ways that bless us and the people in our community.

It may be cold today, but spring is coming, and I hope that you, like me, are looking forward to seeing what God grows around us.

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Reaching Out for Healing – Mark 3:1-6, 31-35

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Reaching Out for Healing – Mark 3:1-6, 31-35

God offers us love, acceptance and healing with no strings attached. All we have to do is respond to the Holy Spirit’s invitations.
When we ask God to lead us, we need to actively listen for God to respond to our prayers. And when God asks us to do something, we need to have faith that God can act in mighty ways through the most routine actions.

Where else is God calling us to step forward and hold out our hands?
Where else is God leading us – individually and as a faith community?
Are we listening? Are we looking? Are we ready and willing to say, “Yes Lord, if You lead us, we’ll follow. We may be a bit nervous, so be patient with us.

As we follow God’s lead, we can take GREAT comfort in Jesus’ final words from today’s reading: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

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Join Us for Dinner! – Mark 2:1-17

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Join Us for Dinner! – Mark 2:1-17

As God’s children, we are ALL warmly invited and declared worthy of celebrating our loving relationship with God through the elements of bread and juice, symbolically connecting us to the table where Jesus shared a meal with Levi and his very imperfect friends.

There is space for everyone: those who have been miraculously healed, those who are skeptical of healings; those who are curious; those who have been rejected by communities of faith, and those who have never before shared in this meal.

This is what the Kingdom of God looks like, everyone equally welcomed, equally accepted, equally embraced. This is a diverse Kingdom that we can ALL call home!

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Nurturing Our Childlike Faith – Mark 1:21-39

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Nurturing Our Childlike Faith – Mark 1:21-39

Whatever Jesus preached, He backed up with undeniable demonstrations of His message put into action. Today, our actions of service should reflect our words of faith. As our faith grows deeper, we can expect our actions to grow bolder as we share the Good News that EVERYONE is a precious child of the living God created in God’s loving image, designed to serve as God calls each of us.
Today’s story presents us several challenging questions.

  • First, listen: are we listening for God to speak to us in new ways and, perhaps, through unlikely people?

  • Second, grow: are we open to letting God’s activity in our lives increase our childlike faith – our willingness and capacity to believe in the mysterious?

  • Third, share: when we do experience God’s activity in our lives, are we willing to share that to encourage each other and attract others?

  • Fourth, reconnect: as much as we believe we are called to put our faith into the actions of serving others, are we willing to disconnect from everything so that we can reconnect with God through intentional one-on-one time?

  • Finally, clarify: are we willing to let the lure of God’s Spirit guide our lives rather than the lure of what our culture seeks from us?

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Generosity as Thanksgiving – Matthew 25:31-46

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Generosity as Thanksgiving – Matthew 25:31-46

According to this story, God’s only qualification for being “righteous” is quite simple: Did you actively try to alleviate the suffering of your neighbor? Recall the lesson from the story of the Good Samaritan, everyone is your neighbor, no exceptions.

As you give thanks to God this week for your many blessings, I encourage you to ask God to give you wisdom, direction, opportunities, and the courage to combine all of those into action. If we continually ask God for that package of blessings, we will certainly make God’s loving presence known to ourselves and to the people around us.

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Using our God-Given Talents – Matthew 25:14-30

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Using our God-Given Talents – Matthew 25:14-30

God created us out of love and holds us in love, which means… we never have to earn God’s love. Also, we never have to wonder if God loves us. God always loves us. Always.

When we, individually and collectively as a faith community, understand the gifts and talents God has given us and use them to welcome, include, and encourage those who are fearful, rejected, and suffering… THEN we will truly fulfill our role as the bearers of the Good News of God’s love.

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Waiting for God – Matthew 25:1-13

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Waiting for God – Matthew 25:1-13

The Kingdom of God involves waiting… in a good way. While you wait for God’s promises to you to be fulfilled, are you willing to find and wait with people who care about you, who will support you, and who will wait with you?

As much as we must trust God when we’re called into action, we must also trust God when we are called into alert waiting as we prepare for what’s next. Let us all actively wait in prayer and fellowship so that we’ll be attentive and prepare for God to speak to us and lead us into the next chapter of our lives, individually and as a congregation.

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Sharing God’s Presence – Matthew 26:17-30

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Sharing God’s Presence – Matthew 26:17-30

In Luke’s version of the Passover meal, the Last Supper, Rabbi Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Do this… Do what? Last week we talked about the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:34-40) Jesus shared with His disciples: Love God, love yourself, and love others. Our answer lies in those precious instructions.

We can start “remembering Jesus” by following Jesus’ example. In response to God’s love for each of us… In response to your relationship with God, love others to the point of sacrificing your own comfort and security so that others may come to know God and enjoy a loving relationship with Him. Jesus did that repeatedly.

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The Meaning of Life – Matthew 22:34-46

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The Meaning of Life – Matthew 22:34-46

The Great Commandments Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy and Leviticus serve as perhaps the ultimate litmus test for our own lives and communities.
· How well are we loving God?
· How well are we loving ourselves?
· How well are we loving others?

These are not rhetorical questions. In fact, I often think we would do well starting and ending each day reminding ourselves of these three loves as an encouragement, a compass, and a litmus test – a way of determining where we are and what adjustments we need to make to keep everything balanced and healthy.

Here’s the Good News that Jesus proclaimed: The Lord, our God, our Creator is indeed with us and loves us more than we can imagine! God’s “plan,” the meaning of our lives, is to embrace that Divine love, share it with ourselves, and let it flow through us to others. That is how we create the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

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There is Life After Death – Matthew 22:23-33

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There is Life After Death – Matthew 22:23-33

Jesus says the patriarchs of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) are “living” with God. This gives us great hope for our own ongoing relationships with God. This is the Good News that Jesus was sharing with anyone who would listen: God made you; God loves you; God wants to be in a close, loving relationship with you for forever. That’s not just Good News, it’s GREAT News! And its news worth sharing with people carrying the burdens of guilt, of insecurity, of hate, of neglect, abuse, and suffering of all forms! Our living God offers them and us relief and release!

No matter what is happening in our lives, no matter what we’ve done or imagined doing, the Good News is that we are born into a relationship with the creator of the universe, and that Creator is crazy about us!

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Give to God What is God’s – Matthew 22:15-22

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Give to God What is God’s – Matthew 22:15-22

Everything about Jesus’ ministry challenged the status quo. Jesus urged the people of his day, as well as us today, to use our God-given hearts and brains to decide, in light of our faith, what is the appropriate way for each of us to live. The crucial question is how we integrate our faith into each day. How can you integrate the values of your Christian faith into your workplace? We can do this every day when we vote.

Look at how you’re voting with your time and money. You have these precious resources at your fingertips. Each day is an opportunity to put your faith into action as we all try to live into the Great Commandments of loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others. Consider the issues and vote each day for a better you, a better family, a better community, and a better church. Led by our faith, we really can vote our way toward making the Kingdom of Heaven a reality around us.

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A House of Prayer – Matthew 21:12-17

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A House of Prayer – Matthew 21:12-17

If we focus on prayer, if we build our individual and collective prayer muscles, I am convinced that God will use our greater strengths to accomplish great works of healing in us and through us.

Let Susanville UMC be called a house of prayer! Let the blind and lame come to us! And let God’s mighty Spirit flow through us as we seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community!

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