Wisdom

"If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you." James 1:5 NRSV

Every now and then, as I attempt to fix the things that I cannot fix, I am reminded of the serenity prayer that was written by Reinhold Niebuhr.       

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

It is difficult to watch others suffer. Sometimes we can help them. Sometimes, we cannot do anything except to pray for them. Sometimes, we lack the wisdom to know the difference so we go about spinning our wheels trying to fix that which only God can fix.

Wisdom will help us to determine what we can and should change and what we must trust to God alone. When God gives us the knowledge and the wisdom of how we are to proceed, it would be very wise indeed to follow His directions. Ignoring what God has taught or told you (whether directly or through others) is definitely not wise.

May God grant us all the wisdom to listen to Him and the courage to do what He asks of us and go where He would send us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Dead Flies

Listening to all the fall flies buzzing around me while busy sorting out books in the church library yesterday afternoon, I heard someone come in the side door. I thought maybe it was Joe or Bill coming to contemplate what to do with all the flies. There were not too many dead ones laying around after worship; but, by 3 p.m., the carpeting as beginning to turn a bit black with them. No, it was not Joe or Bill. The visitors were tourists who wanted to check out the church and get directions back to the highway. When asked, I explained that all the buzzing that they heard was the sound of flies fighting to survive even as they prepared to breath their last breaths.

There seems to be nothing that we can do to avoid the invasion of flies each fall. Most homes, particularly the older homes, in the township have them. It can be slightly embarrassing to have such a mess when one receives unexpected company. But, it's really not worth getting too excited about. It's an inevitable reality. All one can do is clean up the mess.

Our lives can get pretty messy at times, as well. There are some messes that are just not worth getting too excited about. There is nothing that one can do about them. They are just a part of life's daily routines and wasting energy on trying to fix something that will work itself out with time really does seem like folly. Creating drama or getting too excited about something we can do nothing about sometimes will create even more messes and destroy any joy we have in living. Sometimes all we can or should do is nothing; but, to be still and know that whatever comes our way, God is with us in the messiness of life.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Amos 5 - "Seek Me And Live!"

“Seek me and live..." (Amos 5:5 NIV)

One of my goals during CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) was not to enable the perpetually needy who refused to seek the LORD. There are those who would have their or someone else's pastor fix everything for them. I (as many other pastors) sometimes spend an inordinate amount of time helping people who absolutely refuse to worship and trust the LORD; who absolutely refuse to make any changes to their physical and/or spiritual lives. They can take up so much time that there is not time for the soul care of others; there is no time to feed the hungry. I am not saying that the first group doesn't have genuine needs. They do. But, they need to understand that others can't fix everything for them all of the time. Our help comes from the LORD and, yes, often that help comes through other people. Pastors can help others spiritually; but, they are not a replacement for a genuine relationship with God our Father, God who is Jesus the Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. Genuine, abundant life comes from being reconciled to God; from being in a loving relationship with His Son, Jesus; by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I cannot fix you. I cannot give you a better life. I cannot save you. Jesus saves. I can, of course, help feed you and find you a warm place to stay and provide warm clothing. But, those things are only temporary and helping one person week after week and month after month is only enabling them to continue in a way that is hurtful to themselves and to others. There are many hungry people in the world. They all need feeding - both physically and spiritually. And... my resources are limited as are most peoples. Those who refuse to seek the LORD and follow in His Way; but, depend on the Christian to provide for them, take the food out of the mouths of those who are willing to listen; willing to follow; and desire to seek the LORD and live life more abundantly. Thanksgiving is next week and I'm reminded of the lepers that Jesus healed. Only one was made whole. He was the one who turned around in search of the LORD to give Him thanks. He sought out the LORD.

Where am I going with all of this? Decisions have to be made by me and all Christians. Sometimes we have to decide whether we are genuinely helping someone or enabling them to live in dysfunction as they seek the ways of this world and their own desires. Seek the LORD and live...!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

P.S. Here at Zion, since we live in a small community whose needs are not extreme in regard to financial assistance, have decided that we would help take care of individual physical needs by budgeting and actively raising funds for and support agencies throughout the county like St. Vincent DePaul's (a local Catholic charity), Toys for Tots (Marine Corps League), Baraga County Shelter Home. These and other agencies are better equipped than we are to discern how best to help those in physical need.