Category: know

Trust

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One of the blogs I read is by https://mypastoralponderings.com/ from Rev. James Lawrence. Today he was talking about our ability to keep on worrying in spite of god’s promises to us. I reminded me of a talk on that subject I gave as part of a series I did on healing. We tend to want to carry everything ourselves. Not just our worries but our failings, our guilts, our pains. We turn it over to God and then we pick it back up. Put it down, pick it up, put it down.

Every day we empty those things into the trash and then grab the bag and drag it behind us. We move on and drag the bag…on and on and on. Somehow we need to learn that when we turn it loose it is gone. Really gone. Forever gone. God can handle our fears and worries. We just have to trust and believe it.

God never leaves us

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Things have been so difficult for me since February. My husband was ill, in the hospital in March, no better at home until he was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic this month. At last we have answers and healing. Add covid and it became unbearable. During this time the only thing holding me together has been knowing that I am held in the arms of God. There were days when I couldn’t pray but could feel the prayers of others supporting me and lifting me up.

God never leaves us. Sometimes we may not be able to feel his presence but he is there. God never leaves us.

Isaiah 41:10 (New International Version) 

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalm 94:19

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Hope is always there

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Psalm 33: 20-22
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and shield.
21 Our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.


Hope is a word to cling too. So many of us are in a time of trial but there is hope. It is out there drawing us in....reminding us to hold on....its voice heard calling. The Lord forgets not our names. We have each been called and our name is known and always remembered.

Don’t let go. Hold on. Hope is there just waiting.

Hard Times

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answered-prayers-400x

We can have hard times in our lives. I’m sure this is one of them for many of us. When this happens we rely on the strength we can count on. The strength God supplies for us. One version of The Lord’s Prayer in the New Zealand Prayer Book makes it very clear that God is there for us. This is just an excerpt.

 

With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever.    Amen.

I use that prayer at at night along my personal prayers. Right now the line  From trials too great to endure, spare us speaks to clearly to me. God knows there are hard times and is there for us every second. Just call on God.

Just keep praying

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“Praying is like using a cell phone. Sometimes we have a clear communication or hear and be heard clearly. At other times there is no signal.” loosely quoted from “The Two Popes.”

God-is-always-listening-7

Sometimes we think that prayer does no good. We don’t seem to have any answer and it seems that no one is listening. Sometimes we are in “the dark night of the soul” feel as if we are praying into a void.

All those feeling and doubts are our side of the prayer. God has not moved. God is still listening.  We can’t “expect” to feel something all the time. That is not how it goes. Feelings get in our way. Put them aside and just know that prayer works. Prayer is a way to share those feelings with God. Don’t be afraid to complain about it seeming useless. Fuss if you feel that way. Tell God everything. God gets it. Just keep on praying.

Nothing can trouble

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Matthew 6:34 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

I don’t know how many times my grandmother quoted this verse to me. Of course it was the King James version but the meaning is the same. I don’t know why it is in my nature to worry but I know that I am not alone. This is one of the things I am trying to change in myself. When I fall into a worried state I sing or listen to the Taize hymn. Here are the words. I have posted the Spanish sung version because it is so beautiful. Listen and sing along using the English words. (unless of course you speak Spanish)

Nothing can trouble,
nothing can frighten.
Those who seek God shall
never go wanting.
Nothing can trouble,
nothing can frighten.
God alone fills us.

 

Being totally present

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I have been doing intercessory prayer for many years. Some times I really feel the anguish of those on my list. At other time I feel as if I am just reciting names. I am sure that God hears every name and I am forgiven for my lack of attention but I can sense the difference when I am present in their pain. I love this statement from Br. Geoffrey

mindful

Intercession True intercession, the sort that Jesus shares with the Father, is not just a detached impassioned shopping list of the needs of the world, nor is it informing God of something God knows already. Rather, it is a profound, loving, and costly holding up of others who are on our hearts before God. True intercession is being with God, with the people on our hearts.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Did we forget?

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We have Halloween coming our way. It is sad that all religious connection has been lost. People only think of parties with costumes and children trick or treating. Even the churches which offer alternative options don’t usually talk about the origin of the holiday. It is fine to have fun with the day but we should not forget the connections with our faith. Here is the history of that day from History.com.

all hallows

Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2019 occurs on Thursday, October 31. It originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating sweet treats.