"You proclaim your truth in every age by many voices. Direct those, we pray, who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of your people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous."
-- from The Prayer for Those Who Influence Others
"It is not exactly news that a person who spends his life writing books, or trying to (some days a decent paragraph seems beyond me), would love books. It is not astonishing to think that books would have affected me so. What is surprising, to me at least, is not that they had so much to do with my writing life. It is that they have had so much to do with my praying life." -- Robert Benson in Living Prayer
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
When Did You Last Display Love In Action?
Nothing impedes a person's ability to change more than the idea that nothing can improve your present situation, and that your social strata is scripted by destiny. Nothing brings hope to the poor except realizing God is the great change agent who invites the poor to well-being and deliverance.
"Why is it that we keep giving dimes without daring to look into the face of the beggar?" asks Henri Nouwen
There is poverty all around us – in the First World as well as in the Third World.
There is poverty of spirit, of relationship, of community. There is spiritual poverty where worship and prayer have become absent from people’s lives. There are the permanently unemployed, the disabled, the alcoholic, and the drug addict.
But the question is: Are all of these living in poverty just strangers to us? Have we ever shared a cup of coffee or a meal? Offered true companionship? Stopped long enough to sit with them and hear their heart cry?
There must come a time when “companionship” becomes the call to integrity. It means we clasp the beggars hand, break bread together, and join one another in the journey toward wholeness. (Charles Ringma)
“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love” (1 Cor. 13:3 Message).
Everywhere there are opportunities and challenges to love, to care, to give. “The poor you will always have with you” (Matthew 26:11). Have you become blind to the needs?
As Mother Teresa said, “The needs are always greater than our ability to meet them.” Her work in Calcutta was among the poorest of the poor, including lepers and abandoned children. Throughout India, the needs defy counting. The challenges are staggering.
Love in action gives us the opportunity to help and bless others. This often opens the way for sharing the good news of the gospel. “The deeds of the gospel make way for the words of the gospel.” – Charles Ringma
And isn’t this our Calling: the call to care for, proclaim good news to, and advocate on behalf of those who are needy. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16).
Reflection: Giving opens us to mysterious graces because it brings us in touch with the heart of God. – Charles Ringma
"Why is it that we keep giving dimes without daring to look into the face of the beggar?" asks Henri Nouwen
There is poverty all around us – in the First World as well as in the Third World.
There is poverty of spirit, of relationship, of community. There is spiritual poverty where worship and prayer have become absent from people’s lives. There are the permanently unemployed, the disabled, the alcoholic, and the drug addict.
But the question is: Are all of these living in poverty just strangers to us? Have we ever shared a cup of coffee or a meal? Offered true companionship? Stopped long enough to sit with them and hear their heart cry?
There must come a time when “companionship” becomes the call to integrity. It means we clasp the beggars hand, break bread together, and join one another in the journey toward wholeness. (Charles Ringma)
“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love” (1 Cor. 13:3 Message).
Everywhere there are opportunities and challenges to love, to care, to give. “The poor you will always have with you” (Matthew 26:11). Have you become blind to the needs?
As Mother Teresa said, “The needs are always greater than our ability to meet them.” Her work in Calcutta was among the poorest of the poor, including lepers and abandoned children. Throughout India, the needs defy counting. The challenges are staggering.
Love in action gives us the opportunity to help and bless others. This often opens the way for sharing the good news of the gospel. “The deeds of the gospel make way for the words of the gospel.” – Charles Ringma
And isn’t this our Calling: the call to care for, proclaim good news to, and advocate on behalf of those who are needy. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16).
Reflection: Giving opens us to mysterious graces because it brings us in touch with the heart of God. – Charles Ringma
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Do Your Mind, Soul, and Body Need Helping?
The only resistance to Satan and the doubts and questions he dogs us with is to flee – flee to Jesus; flee to that place where we find protection and help; flee to the crucified. Flee to Christ for His purging, protection, and empowering.
With these thoughts I knew I needed a vacation. I booked a plane ticket for a short get-away trip to Hawaii, where I envisioned sitting on a beach, watching waves and sunsets, and visiting with good friends I knew were at the University of the Nations (YWAM).
The day of my trip, I prayed the words of Charles Ringma: “Lord, I come to You acknowledging my weakness and vulnerability. I pray not only for your protection, but more particularly for your strengthening and transformation. Amen.”
Running deep in my thoughts was the theme: Learning to live well.
It had been a week of too many losses (my cousin at age 57 from brain cancer; an acquaintance in his 70s, and a favorite 95-year-old man at our church from a stroke). I remembered the Scripture, “Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!”(Psalm 90:12); and earlier in the same Psalm we’re reminded: “We live for 70 years or so (with luck we might make it to 80), and what do we have to show for it?”
On my way to the airport, I’d stopped by the doctor’s office for results of recent xrays – only to learn that I needed to make some tough decisions that could have long-reaching effects on my quality of life. And this too was feeding my thoughts.
“Lord, how long do we have? How do you want us to spend our remaining days for your Kingdom glory? What’s important to you – the one who has numbered all of our days?”
Arriving in Hawaii and settling into my hotel room, I again asked God for a specific word before going to speak to a group of authors seeking marketing tips for their new books. Although I sometimes wonder in my heart, my head knowledge tells me that God is simply waiting for us to ask – and He will meet us at our point of need. But this time, the directness of His answer in my devotional book blew me away:
“I come, I come. You need Me. Live much out here. My sunshine, My glorious air, My presence, My teaching. Would they not make holiday anywhere for you. Sunshine helps to make glad the heart of man. It is the laughter of Nature. Live much outside. My medicines are sun and air, trust and faith. Trust is the spirit sun, your being enwrapped by the Divine Spirit. Mind, soul, and body need helping. Welcome my treatment for you. Draw near to me. Nature is often My nurse of tired souls and weary bodies. Let her have her way with you.” (A. J. Russell in God Calling, August 17)
It is in these times when we know we have heard from God that we can say with David the Psalmist: “He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening” (Psalm 22:24 The Message).
With these thoughts I knew I needed a vacation. I booked a plane ticket for a short get-away trip to Hawaii, where I envisioned sitting on a beach, watching waves and sunsets, and visiting with good friends I knew were at the University of the Nations (YWAM).
The day of my trip, I prayed the words of Charles Ringma: “Lord, I come to You acknowledging my weakness and vulnerability. I pray not only for your protection, but more particularly for your strengthening and transformation. Amen.”
Running deep in my thoughts was the theme: Learning to live well.
It had been a week of too many losses (my cousin at age 57 from brain cancer; an acquaintance in his 70s, and a favorite 95-year-old man at our church from a stroke). I remembered the Scripture, “Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!”(Psalm 90:12); and earlier in the same Psalm we’re reminded: “We live for 70 years or so (with luck we might make it to 80), and what do we have to show for it?”
On my way to the airport, I’d stopped by the doctor’s office for results of recent xrays – only to learn that I needed to make some tough decisions that could have long-reaching effects on my quality of life. And this too was feeding my thoughts.
“Lord, how long do we have? How do you want us to spend our remaining days for your Kingdom glory? What’s important to you – the one who has numbered all of our days?”
Arriving in Hawaii and settling into my hotel room, I again asked God for a specific word before going to speak to a group of authors seeking marketing tips for their new books. Although I sometimes wonder in my heart, my head knowledge tells me that God is simply waiting for us to ask – and He will meet us at our point of need. But this time, the directness of His answer in my devotional book blew me away:
“I come, I come. You need Me. Live much out here. My sunshine, My glorious air, My presence, My teaching. Would they not make holiday anywhere for you. Sunshine helps to make glad the heart of man. It is the laughter of Nature. Live much outside. My medicines are sun and air, trust and faith. Trust is the spirit sun, your being enwrapped by the Divine Spirit. Mind, soul, and body need helping. Welcome my treatment for you. Draw near to me. Nature is often My nurse of tired souls and weary bodies. Let her have her way with you.” (A. J. Russell in God Calling, August 17)
It is in these times when we know we have heard from God that we can say with David the Psalmist: “He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening” (Psalm 22:24 The Message).
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