My Name Is Carl and I Am Being Coached by Grace
Published in Blog Posts. Tags: Meditations.
Good morning,
Today is the first day of a series of days for me expressing new directions and new purposes. Yesterday my meditation time was spent looking back over the last week and looking forward to this coming week.
Today as I read the scripture, much to my surprise, it is Pentecost. This may be a wild and wooly run! Please join me in this venture. I look forward to the discoveries along the way.
Morning Prayer:
Lord, there are startling things happening all around us. Please give us the wisdom to know when to respond and the grace to respond.
As I sit here I think of the thousands of people who seek to rediscover normal in our lives. The new normal really doesn’t feel all that good.
Music (please choose music that points to the work of the Spirit in our lives):
“They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love”
Meditation (please read all scripture first):
On Saturday I have been asking members to use the day for reflection and catching up. Since Jan. 1 of this year, a seven day devotional/living process has been posted. The change in my own life has almost been startling as my sugars have been almost perfect. I have struggled with steroid induced diabetes for at least 20 years. The prednisone, after what seems like tons of years, is now leaving my body and allows me one fresh thought each day. I feel like a child with multiple grandparents and I get to open a birthday present each day. Memories are coming back, thoughts about life, new ways of expressing things all happening. Today I realize it more than ever.
What does it mean for a preacher to think about giving a meditation only to find out The Lord says wait! Then something beyond understanding happens. The disciples were in that situation. Before they knew it something beyond them happened and everyone seemed to understand
Many years ago I was the pastor of a church in Calgary. We had helped to distribute food to families, it was Christmas time and the recession had hit us as a city hard. On Christmas morning I stood in the pulpit ready to preach my sermon. But I felt this prompting to say nothing. A man stood up, he told the story how he wasn’t a church goer but he did not know where to turn. He came here to this church and asked for help. He had been a roofer and had fallen breaking both legs. We gave his family food and toys. As he talked he wept. He wanted to say thank you. To my surprise guest after guest stood up saying how their lives had crashed. The simple gesture of food, clothing, toys made such a difference. That morning our congregation began to hear the words of the Gospel in words everyone understood.
What does it mean to be the people of God in a secular world?
The disciples were a part of an experience. God chooses to be alive in the world. Sometimes I forget that message. Moses faced an experience. Things were going good. Then God chose to use others. His faithful followers were concerned. Moses, they are… Moses laughed and said I could only wish that God would use everyone. What does it mean to be the people of God in a secular world. In Moses’ words is found a message so simple. Let go, let God. I smile as I say that out loud. Then I hear it in my memories. How often did people who were a part of my life say that. It is permissible to let go, to trust that God who started all this wants to continue with everyone.
It is a truth the Apostle Paul understood. Each person has a gift, perhaps if we turn that around we can understand God working. Each person becomes a gift to the whole body. We now have close to 8,000 members. I have spent my entire life working primarily with smaller groups, the idea of having 8,000 people standing as a group with each person representing a gift from God blows me away. Is this how great the desire of God is to see a difference made. I think so. It will take a while for me to get my head around all this.
There is something needing to be done. Perhaps we will have the privilege of doing it together. Amen.
A young lady dared to dream to think she could be a part of the difference. Perhaps we too can join her in the flight to be who God chooses us to be.