Shalom, welcome to October 12^th


><//>--------------------Thought for the Day

Am I still on the 'free ride' in Christ?  Am I all get and no give?  Do I go to gatherings of believers and always sit in the back row and let others do all the work?  Do I think it's enough just because I’m cleaning up my life and can rest on my laurels?  If so, I haven't gone very far in the teachings of Jesus, nor am I getting nearly enough of what He has to offer.  I will be a weak member until I get in there and help carry the load.  I must eventually get off the bench and get into the game.  I'm not just a spectator; I'm supposed to be one of the team.

Do I go and truly participate?


><//>--------------------Meditation for the Day

You Are My Joy

Remember, that just as you thank God for Me, so I thank God for His Gift to Me of you. In that hour of My agony on earth, one not of Joy thrilled through the pain. The thought of the souls, given Me by My Father, who had kept My Word.

   They had not then done great deeds, as they did later, for, and in, My Name. They were simple doers of My Word, not hearers only. Just in their daily tasks and ways they kept My Word.

   You, too, can bring Joy to My Heart by faithful service. Faithful service in the little things. Be faithful.

   Do your simple tasks for Me.


><//>--------------------Prayer for the Day

Father, we pray that we perform each task faithfully. We pray that we may meet each issue of life squarely and not hold back. Amen.


A Disciple's Reflection:  The Light In The Tunnel

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest." – Psalm 22:1-2

Beloved, there are lots of reasons why people sometimes experience a profound hole in their lives where God is supposed to be. Perhaps there are loved ones who die before their time, those who suffer extended illness – those who find themselves deep in trouble of their own making. In such times we react. We hurt. We get angry. We even get angry with God.  I have experienced all of these, and I share this that you may know that you are not alone and also that God understands our inappropriate emotions and is more than great enough to handle them.

There is plenty of unending grace for us to pray and work to get our emotions under control.  Many totally misunderstand the meaning of what it is to be filled with the spirit.  There is  definitely a filling by the Holy Spirit, but this is not the general meaning of the phrase.  It is good to know that the general meaning of the hopeful phrase means that neither our emotions nor our minds are in authority within us, but rather, it is our spirit that has control over both.

Once our spirit ascends to rule all then the Holy Spirit, which dwells within our born-again spirit, may find obedience.  This is the very life we are called to seek, this is the life that brings the peace that is beyond all understanding.

Perhaps we see the events we find our nation and the world in are too great for our minds to even consider, and then we turn to God and know in our hearts that He is in control, including the attacks on America, even the current financial breakdown, and some of us get angrier at Him still.  Some may have difficulty realizing that God is preparing the United States, and the whole world to receive His Son on His coming, which is very near.  Praise God!

Just the other day I heard a commentary that so expresses a sinner's approach to God.  This well-known individual stated that he was seeking God, but after witnessing 9/11 he opted for Atheism.  In short, this individual in his hubris judged God instead of humbly seeking Him to be granted understanding.

Believing that we or someone we know is not getting a fair shake from God or whatever it is at the center of life that decides who gets cancer, or who suffers from Alzheimer’s, or who loses their job, or whose marriage ends – we might even get to the point that our pain cuts off our communication with the Lord. We're sometimes so angry with God that we can't even pray.  Can you relate?  I sure can.  There are times I can be so resentful at God I can not even open the Bible to read His word.

Then we're really caught because sometime along the way some well meaning Sunday School teacher might have taught us that it is a sin to get angry with God.

If it is a sin, then the Bible is full of some big named sinners. Prophets and priests and holy people often got angry with God. Even Jesus seems to get mad. From the cross he questions God about forsaking him. The words he used came right out of Psalm 22. Some have suggested that he was only quoting the Psalms. He wasn't really accusing God of abandoning him.

Perhaps, maybe Jesus was just reciting to himself the passages of scripture that he had learned as a child. When he came to these words in Psalm 22 though, it must have seemed as though they were written just for him. "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?"

We must hear the anguish and even anger in the question that Jesus flings heavenward. Obviously God doesn't punish Jesus or reject him for his anger. It is a natural emotion. It is even a healing emotion. It would have been a sad thing if Jesus had piously papered over his pain.

Instead, he gives voice to it and is set free to move on.

Beloved, I personally pray to God in my anger and in every case I begin with telling God that I know He is Just and Righteous in all things, including all that He brings my way.  I ask His help for me to accept where He is taking me, and grant me the courage and peace that I may walk in wisdom.  I pray for Him to join me as a light in the tunnel instead of being the light at the end of the tunnel.  I need Him in all my affairs, not just on Sunday morn.

Jesus was in profound pain, but even then he knew that just as day follows the night, Psalm 23 follows Psalm 22. "The Lord is my shepherd... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

God goes THROUGH not around. God goes with us through the valley. Our feelings of anger will not send God away. God will go with us through the valley and God is strong enough to bear our anger without offense or reprisal. God understands because, remember, God, too, had to stand by helplessly while a loved one, His Beloved Son, suffered and died.

When we are found to be in our own darkest of tunnels, let us not wait for the light at the end, but rather, invite the light to come and be with us, even when we are angry, especially when we are angry. 

Let us each rejoice in the reality of this loving companionship.

Let us pray: Oh God, thank you for always understanding and loving us even when we doubt Your love and grace. Teach us to trust you enough so that we lean on your grace and mercy during the stormy times of our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.


As The Spirit Moves

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger. 
– Ephesians 4:26

That great African-American spiritual "I'm Goin'a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing" has a line, which many of us might find troubling – if we give it much thought. Like many spirituals, which were originally sung not from hymnals, but from memory, only a word or two changes in each verse. We sing enthusiastically, "I'm goin'a sing when the Spirit says sing . . . and obey the Spirit of the Lord!" As the verses progress we can get Spirit-led: "I'm goin'a pray when the Spirit says pray!" "I'm goin'a shout when the Spirit says shout!" But when we sing, "I'm goin'a moan when the Spirit says moan"--this can throw us. 

Why would the Holy Spirit of Jesus want us to moan? We can understand the Spirit causing us to sing, to pray and even to shout, but how moaning could be "obeying the Spirit of the Lord" may elude us. We moan when we're hurting, when we're in travail. We moan for our loved ones who are hurting or may be lost.

Most of us are more comfortable with a "pleasant" Christian faith. "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted." If we move beyond the sloganeering, we'll see that the Bible reveals how deep passion, even moaning, even anger, can be "obeying the Spirit of the Lord." 

Our Prayer: Lord Yeshua, help us to use emotion to do good for your kingdom and keep us from sin. Amen. 


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Please have a blessed day, be hopeful, be encouraged, and know you are not alone.

“God Calling” compiled by A. J. Russell.
"Twenty-Four Hours A Day" Hazelton – adapted.
Kerry & Barry write The Light in The Tunnel.
Barry Gray writes A Disciple’s Reflections.