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Grief is a fickle fiend. And totally unpredictable. We have all experienced the loss of a loved one at some point or another. Some a long time ago, and some very recent. There is a difference between mourning and grieving. Mourning is a time period after death, which is the expression of an experience, involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone’s death. Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also ...

I have found myself suddenly at a point in my life, without realizing that I have been traveling that way for awhile now. And to be honest, I have noticed a lot of people suffering the same fate. Especially during this Covid Pandemic the past two years. It is called languishing. Merriam Webster Defines languishing as to be drained of energy or vitality to be or live in a state of lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern having lost enthusiasm and hope; disheartened Not everyone who is languishing will experience it in the same way or with the same intensity ...

Journeying through the Psalms Psalm 62:1-8 Trust God. David offers a supreme description of pure trust in God. The Psalm has three parts, the first part confesses reliance on God, the second part speaks of trust and hope, and the last part explains why this is possible. This is such a beautiful declaration of David’s total dependence upon God. And David speaks to the righteous, encouraging them to rely on God. What is true of the king, is expanded to include the whole family of God. David expressed his feelings to God and then reaffirmed his faith. Prayer ...

Journeying through the Psalms Psalm 19:1-4 Both God’s creation and his Word reveals his greatness! In this Psalm, David’s steps of meditation take him from creation, through God’s Word, through David’s own sinfulness, to salvation. We are surrounded by fantastic displays of God’s craftmanship. The heavens give dramatic evidence of his existence, his power, his love, his care. To say that the universe happened by chance is absurd. It’s design, intricacy, and orderliness point to a personally involved Creator. As you look at God’s handiwork in nature and the heavens, thank him ...

This week we begin a new series of reflections, focused on the Psalms. I encourage you to continue with your Journalling, as we grow in our faith. Psalm 32 In Psalm 32, we read how David expresses the joy of forgiveness. God had forgiven him for the sins he had committed against Bathsheba and Uriah. The message that we are receiving today is that God wants to forgive sinners. Forgiveness has always been part of his loving nature. He announced this to Moses, he revealed it to David, and he dramatically showed it to the world through Jesus Christ. These ...

SATURDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT Preparing for Next Week Has Lent felt long for you this year, or has it gone by quickly? What have been the graces for you? Do you feel more grounded or closer to God?What prayer, fasting, or almsgiving disciplines have been fruitful for you this season? Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the holiest week of the year for Christians. As a kid, I only thought of this period as “the week before Easter,” and I looked forward to finding our Easter baskets full of sweets the next Sunday. I was oblivious to ...

FRIDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT Listen to Someone Else For I hear many whisperings: ‘Terror is all around!’ … But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior. —Jeremiah 20:10-11 Forget about whispering; we hear much of the media and plenty of individual cynics shouting, “terror is all around!” Between the terror of the COVID-19 pandemic, the violence and injustice perpetrated against African people in this country, and extreme weather events, reading the news can be very terrifying these days. Jeremiah had reason to be afraid when he heard the whisperings of his powerful enemies. He also discovered that ...

THURSDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT When Do I Seek Strength? Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. —Psalm 105:4 Theoretically, I want to follow this entreaty all the time. Realistically, I find that more often than not, I make time to seek the Lord’s presence when things are difficult. When I beg for God’s help, I promise that I will keep praying just as much when things get easier. It reminds me of when I had a debilitating back injury, and I promised God that I would do core exercises every day for the ...

WEDNESDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT Choosing Truth You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. —John 8:31-32 I am sometimes struck that Jesus said, “The truth will make/set you free” instead of “The truth will make things easier.” We have discovered that telling the truth is sometimes more painful than telling a lie, at least initially. At the same time, we have learned that once we are in the habit of telling the truth, we are all much freer to trust and be trusting. We are not imprisoned by suspicion or second-guessing someone else ...

TUESDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT Worn Out by the Journey From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” —Numbers 21:4-5 In this passage, the Israelites had escaped slavery in Egypt and thought they were headed quickly for the Promised Land where they ...

MONDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT Invitation to Rest The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. —Psalm 23:1-3 When I was a kid, I did not understand why people seemed to like Psalm 23 so much. I thought it meant “I shouldn’t want anything,” and so I felt guilty when I did. Also, I thought it meant that God was trying to get me to nap outside when what I really wanted to do was play. It took me ...

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT Following Your Conscience I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. —Jeremiah 31:33 As far back as the time of Jeremiah, hundreds of years before Jesus lived, our ancestors in faith understood that we all have access to God’s truth in our deepest core. Like us, the Jews at that time understood that rules written for the public are necessary for keeping society running smoothly, but ultimately, we have the responsibility first and foremost to ...

SATURDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT How Is Your Lent Going? Now that we are at the end of the fourth week of Lent, this is an excellent time to review the past few weeks. How has this season been for you? Have you felt yourself in a desert wilderness? How so? Has it felt like a desert because it has been a time of dryness and thirsting? Or has it been a period in the wilderness when you have been able to hear God’s voice more easily because of the quiet and stillness? Does that image resonate with how ...

FRIDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Jesus Has Been There The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. —Psalm 34:18 Given the choice, I would prefer to follow a God who would protect me from ever having a broken heart. Short of that, I am grateful that I was born into a religion in which God became fully human and knows first-hand our experience. Scripture tells us Jesus was broken-hearted when his good friend Lazarus died. His spirit was crushed as he hung on the cross (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ...

THURSDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Idolatry Today They have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it. —Exodus 32:8 The thing about idols is that those worshiping them do not think they are idols—they believe they are the real thing. We might wonder how in the world the Israelites convinced themselves that the golden calf was their god. Then again, people outside of our culture might wonder how we have let ourselves get sucked into worshiping ...

WEDNESDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Commas, Not Periods My Father is still working, and I also am working. —John 5:17 A couple of times I have seen a meme online that says, “Don’t put a period where God has placed a comma. God is still speaking.” It reminds me of this verse from John’s Gospel. Jesus’ work did not end 2,000 years ago when he ascended into heaven, and God did not quit communicating with us after the Bible was written. No matter how troubling things may be, God is still active here and now. God ...

TUESDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Fake-It-Till-You-Make-It Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. —Psalm 46:2 My personality type tends toward worry and fear more than most. Maybe that is the reason I love the Bible passages where Jesus tells people, “Do not be afraid.” I could use that reminder pretty much every day of my life, and even more so now that I have son and my heart is walking around outside of myself. In him. I would love to get to a place where I ...

MONDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT It Gets Better No more shall the sound of weeping be heard, or the cry of distress. —Isaiah 65:19 Since my brother’s daughter Tanika, choked and drowned in a public pool, friends and family members have not been able to stop crying. If I were to read them this passage from Isaiah, would they be able to believe that someday they will not weep or be distressed by Tanika’s death anymore? Probably not, because as humans it is hard for us to believe something that is so different from what we are ...

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT Modern-Day Messengers Early and often did the Lord, the God of their ancestors, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people. —2 Chronicles 36:15 What messengers has God sent you recently —and with what messages? If God is consistent, God still uses all manner of people to be messengers, just as God used a diverse cast of characters to get people’s attention in Bible times. Back then, God used children (like Samuel), refugees Naomi and Ruth, educated scholars from another land (the magi), loud-mouthed folks who appeared mentally unstable (John ...

WEDNESDAY, THIRD WEEK OF LENT Past Blessings But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life. —Deuteronomy 4:9 In this passage, Moses implores the Israelites always to remember and pass onto their children and their grandchildren stories of the wonderful things God has done for them. This speech comes after God freed them from slavery in Egypt and sustained them on their 40-year journey in the wilderness. Moses’ advice is still good instruction today, especially ...