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September 9, 2010
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Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom. Encourage Yourself In order to renovate our souls and break through to the authentic person in each of us, God must break through several hard "outside" barriers. What are some of those resistant barriers and how does God break through to that hidden part? Prayer Lord God, as we encourage ourselves to embrace the renovation that is taking place in our lives, we thank You for the blessed assurance that You are right there with us. We submit ourselves to be molded into vessels that You can use for Your glory. As painful as it is now, we are excited about the end result! AMEN Thought for the day Sometimes you have to encourage yourself . . . Sometimes you have to speak victory during the test! |
September 8, 2010
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The Supplier of My Needs I am often amazed at the things my sister can recall from our childhood. Her ability to remember even the smallest details is awesome. She can also recall where she knows a person whether it be grammar school, a previous job or church! While we share the propensity to recall faces, childhood memories seem to escape me more and more, as time goes by. What we do share is, neither of us has ever “seen the righteous forsaken…” We cannot recall not having our needs met. Surely there have been times where we wanted things but did not get them. Perhaps, we really did not have a need... But never have we needed something and it was not provided. Whether as children or as adults at the onset of midlife, we have always been fed, clothed, sheltered and loved. As children, we recognized we received the basic provisions not just from our parents, but through friends and other family members. Now as adults, we have been blessed to be able to be our own providers. But we know it is through God’s grace and mercy that we are blessed, provided for. We have not been forsaken and now our children shall also be able to say with thanksgiving that they did not have to beg for bread. Prayer God, we praise You. We thank You for the provisions of life: food, clothing, shelter and love. We offer praises for peace of mind, body and spirit. We humbly and graciously acknowledge Your presence in all matters of our lives. We seek You God and love You. We need You and desire to dwell in Your house forever. This is our prayer and our most humble supplication. Amen Thought for the day In the midst of want, be mindful of the met need. In the midst want, be grateful for the answered prayer. In the midst of want, be prayerful about the pain, chaos and sorrow so many endure. When your needs are met, rejoice in the Lord! |
September 7, 2010
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When Should I Praise God? I looked at the water in our basement that was about six inches deep and I looked at the old hot water heater that had not been taken out to the trash after the first flood a month earlier. This was the fourth time there had been water in the basement during a summer season of severe heat punctuated by severe thunderstorms. My question to God that morning was, “What are you trying to show us or teach us God?” “Open our eyes, our ears and our minds, so that we can see, hear and understand what you are trying to tell us.” It was a summer that not only included severe weather but it also was a summer where we were trying to weather the storm of unemployment as my wife fell victim to joblessness. Later that day I remembered something that our Pastor Emeritus, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. used to always say. “There are only two times to praise God. When you feel like it and when you don’t feel like it!” I will be honest I did not think about his statement that morning but I did look at the blessings that I did have in spite of my frustration. David in Psalm 34:1-3 gives a similar answer to my question which mirrors Pastor Emeritus Wright’s statement. “David says I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.” David was hiding in a cave after acting like a crazy man to get away from King Abimelech. He is not hiding alone, so he not only is praising God in spite of his situation to help himself but he wants those with him to be encouraged as well. So he continues, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” My point beloved, is that whether you are in a cave hiding from your enemies or you are standing in shin deep water in your basement, God can still be praised because God will see you through the storms of life. Prayer God grant me the ability to praise You even in the midst of struggle. Help me to count my blessings and not to dwell on the negative. Help me not to let praise be limited by my feelings. Thought for the day Praise God when you feel like it and praise God when you don’t feel like it. |
September 6, 2010
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“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.” Into the Body: Heart The heart is an important open space for God. Sometimes my heart is so full I am unable to talk. I once said in a poem, "I hold my heart in my hand so I can breathe." My heart is a tattletale. It can overflow from the realm of emotion: love, joy, embarrassment, pain, anger…you know the list. Instead of words, I get tears. I find myself in real need of the Holy Spirit who goes to God with groaning on my behalf (Romans 8:26 ). My tears usually make me self conscious; in public, I do a bit of quick wiping at them hoping no one will notice this move, as if they missed the double stream down my face in the first place. It can be said that we talk and think too much. There can be so much focus on thinking and speaking, yet not enough on feeling. The idea that we should love the Lord with all our heart is mentioned frequently in the Christian bible. If our bodies are temples, then the heart is probably the place for God to take up residence in our bodies. We should really make room and physically feel God's presence in us. In his book, Space for God, Don Postema compares the writings of Thomas Merton and John Calvin on heart, mind, and prayer. He notes that "...the heart hears, sees, imagines, receives, experiences. And the heart gives the mind insight, sensitivity, and depth." Moving through life, witnesses to so many worldly events that break our hearts, we might consider fixing our hearts on loving God fully. Meditating on this, instead of obsessing on negative thoughts or running our mouths, might keep those commandments mentioned in the Scripture actually inscribed on our hearts. Prayer Magnificent Creator God, forgive us our ingratitude. We thank You for heartbeats, the evidence of Your grace and mercy. Please renew us with each beat of our thirsty heart, in the name above all names, Our Savior, Jesus the Christ, we pray and say Amen, Amen and Amen. Thought for the day With my hand on my heart, feeling my heartbeat keeps me in time with God. |
September 5, 2010
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Rooted in the Word of God When a tree is planted it is small and needs tending. The roots of the tree must be deeply planted in the soil so that the tree may grow. Everyday the tree is exposed to the elements … sunshine, rain, wind, snow, thunderstorms and gentle breezes. Each day the tree becomes stronger, each day the tree grows taller, each day the tree becomes more deeply rooted. We are like the tree. In order to survive and flourish in this life we must be planted in the soil that is “the law of of the Lord”. We must meditate on the Word of God so that we will yield fruit in season and not wither when the storms of life are raging. When we are “planted by streams of water”, like the tree, God will revitalize, revive and restore us. Prayer Thought for the Day
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September 4, 2010
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Gifts from God "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Nowadays, it appears that we are living through perilous times – the domestic and international recessionary economy, warfare in our inner city and suburban communities and abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many desperate uncertainties about our physical future. Through all of this, our faith in God can oftentimes fall far short of the miraculous plans God has in store for us as individuals and as a collective faith community. Many times, God’s plans remain hidden from our physical eyes. However, if one uses the words of Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy, we learn that we should be encouraged and not allow the physical pressures of doom and gloom to rule over our relationship and our belief in an Omnipotent God, the creator of all things. In fact, Apostle Paul decisively points us toward what God HAS NOT and HAS given to us. God has not given us the spirit of FEAR, which some have translated as an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. Quite to the contrary, God has given us the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind (some translations like the NIV and the NRSV substitute the words “self-discipline” for “sound mind”). In tough times, God builds strong people to step up and to do the purpose for which God has called them. The question is: Will you rise to God’s call in your life, or will you allow your physical and mental infirmities and current circumstances to dictate a perpetual downfall that never again rises? Prayer Almighty Father and Mother God of our great and ancient African ancestors, we come boldly before you, and we ask you to continually remind us that you did not create us with a spirit of cowardice, timidity, or fear. You gifted us with the spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline and self control. Renew our strength and courage to act according to your mighty and gracious gifts. Allow your gifts in us to resonate toward others in our spiritual walk within the physical places of our neighborhoods and residences, our churches and other holy gathering places, on our jobs, and in our businesses. We ask this in the name of Jesus, whom you sent and who was and is a living example of the gracious gifts of courage, power, love, a divinely sane mind, and self control. Amen! Thought for the Day Give an emphatic “YES!” to God’s calling in your life.
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September 3, 2010
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What have you planned? For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD," plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. A friend had an emergency and needed someone to not only pick up her 5-year-old son Jayvon after school but to also watch him until she could return home later that evening. I was glad to help and began to plan the evening for Jayvon and me. We accomplished much of what was planned – the pick up, a quick bite to eat then on to the movie the theater. By now, Jayvon was excited about going to the movie, but unfortunately, we arrived to the theater later than expected and the movie had started. We would have to wait until the next movie time so we could enjoy the entire movie. While we waited in a semi-dark theater, my young friend continued to ask me one question after another as to why the movie was not on the screen. While the music played, Jayvon repeatedly asked me whether we entered the correct theater, was the movie broke, how long would it take for the movie to play and then he wanted to walk out of the theater completely. Soon enough I became exasperated with all the questions and moving around, and I simply decided to sit still and be quiet. It is in this moment, I began to think about God, and does God ever get impatient with us. When God takes us on new adventures, journeys that promises to bless us and not harm us, do we trust God to lead us and direct us, or do we have a thousand questions for him? Do we question God before we decide to take the journey or do we question him every step of the way when we cannot see how this thing is going to work out? Jayvon soon began to stop asking questions and together we sat still to wait on the movie. The movie started shortly thereafter, and we had a wonderful evening together. Later, after Jayvon went home, I thought about the evening and how I show and live out complete trust in God. Prayer Thought for the Day When we do not know how, God already knows when.
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September 2, 2010
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Home, Sweet, Home "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head."
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September 1, 2010
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Sexual Oppression: Breaking the Code of Silence, Part 1 As a young girl I witnessed the rape of a young relative. She protested by telling an adult, but no one believed her. The perpetrator did not face any consequences for his actions. Members of the village—the church, our family and our community members remain silent and choose to whisper their speculations instead of addressing the reality of incest and rape. In our text, Tamar was not quiet. She boldly protested her rape by removing her fine garments and wearing ashes upon her face while wailing publicly. Yet two years went by with silence and inaction from her community and when action took place, it was a fatal act. Sexual oppression is real and it is not something that will go away with silence. There are countless stories in biblical liturgy that demonstrates the harsh ramifications of not only the violent acts of sexual oppression, but the act of not speaking out to reject these behaviors. Author and scholar Marie Fortune writes, “We must name the unmentionable sin and look to resources from scriptures and tradition to inform us.”<sup>1</sup> We can learn a lot from Tamar’s courageousness and her public outcry against her oppressor. But we can also learn from the silence in her story. We can learn from the tragic response to Tamar’s rape and the cycle it created for her family. We can learn from the social norms that forced Tamar to remain in the village that further perpetuated her oppression by focusing on protecting the perpetrator and the family’s good name over standing up for what was right and just. Silence is not golden when persons are being hurt and stripped of his or her humanity by sexual oppression. Let us examine the biblical narratives and use the stories of survivors like Tamar to reject sexual oppression and break the silence. Prayer
No weapon formed against me shall prosper!. Thought for the day If you or someone you know is a survivor or experiencing a form of sexual oppression (rape, incest, molestation, etc.) there are resources available for adults and children. If your life is in immediate danger, call 911. You may also visit RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) www.rainn.org or Darkness to Light, www.darkness2light.org for confidential support. 1 Fortune, Marie M. Sexual Violence The Sin Revisited. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2005.
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August 30, 2010
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Your Cloak of Honor 19So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. My husband likes to watch golf on television. Once I came into the room after a tournament had ended and noticed that the winning golfer was being helped into a green sport coat by the previous year’s winner. The new winner, who had seemed quite jaunty until that moment, suddenly looked overcome by emotion. He seemed about to burst into tears. My husband explained that this was a very important tournament for golfers and golf fans, called the Masters, and that the green jacket was a symbol of being one of the best golfers in the world. Each year on the eve of the tournament, all the living past winners gather for a special dinner, to which they each wear their green jackets. The green jacket of the Masters of course pales in comparison to Elijah’s cloak, which was endowed by God with the capacity to perform miracles, such as parting waters. When Elijah is taken into heaven (in 2 Kings 2), his cloak is left behind for Elisha. Many days when I am putting on my jacket or shawl or overcoat—and always when I am preparing to face a challenging situation in which my Christian values might be put to a test—I imagine that I am being helped into those clothes by someone who has been a mentor to me, and I commit myself to honoring the values they taught me. The person might be someone who affected my life directly and profoundly (my mother or Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for example); it might be a figure from the Bible (Esther, or Isaiah, for example); it might be a Biblical scholar such as David Rhoads or Walter Brueggemann, whose words have shaped my religious path. I usually include a message to that person with this “ceremony,” such as “Yes, today I will honor what you taught me about manifesting Jesus’s fierce love and compassion in all my actions.” And I walk out the door thinking of the words of Isaiah (61:10): “My soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”
Prayer Help me, Lord, to honor in my thoughts and actions all those who have gone before me in devotion to your will. Help me to live in accordance with your desires for me, in all the ways that they have taught me as they were touched by your holy spirit. Thought for the day Who has thrown a cloak of righteousness and salvation over you in your life? How are you honoring that extraordinary gift, which gives you the capacity to perform miracles in the lives of others? |