Giving Thanks….

We all have so much to be thankful for in our world today. Remember when we used to call things “labor-saving devices?” As I type this, I give God thanks for the fact that I am able to type on a computer and not on onion skin paper! I thank God for the ability for a machine to make copies of this letter to you all, especially since I still can recall sticking carbon paper between sheets to get multiple copies. Wow, we have come a long way!

Can we thank God for all of the blessings that we have in other areas of our lives? Just because we think we add more things to our plate like a visit to the Chinese buffet, we all need to realize that sometimes, less is a little better than trying to do so much. I am as guilty as the next person on this matter, but I know far too many people who have discovered new ways to burn the proverbial candle at both ends, and even the middle. It is a mistaken notion to think that we are doing better.

I’d like to pose a thought. For us to be truly thankful this November, our traditional month of giving thanks in our country, maybe we should look at finding ways to savor the moments that God gives to us, and slow down enough to enjoy them!

Our younger family members will tell of the hectic schedule of getting the young ones to all of the different scheduled events. We give God thanks for all of the opportunities, but I’d offer being so busy you meet yourself coming and or going is just too much to handle. We need to pace ourselves a bit more.

Our faith journey is a lot like that as well. We hear from Scripture that we need to seek God, and at times God is like a still, small voice. Perhaps that means that we cannot really “hear” God when our schedules are the equivalent of driving down the highway with our windows rolled down and the stereo cranked up. We can think we can listen, but the reality of busy-ness is that we simply cannot hear what God might have to say with so much going on in our lives.

By the time Thanksgiving dinner was ready when I was a child, we all were so hungry that we ate way too fast and while it filled that “hole” in our stomachs, we could not truly enjoy the qualities of the meal. Our lives are no different– we need to enjoy our lives by making the space necessary to live those lives in a meaningful manner. Too much crammed into too little time will do more to burn you up into ashes that it will help you out.

So here is my thought-slow down, and give thanks. If you are going so fast in the game of life, slow down to notice things around you. Enjoy a quiet walk with someone you love. Take the time to savor the moment. Be certain to give God thanks by living a life that appreciates all that God has provided to us to celebrate!

Prayer

The power of prayer in our lives often goes unnoticed since we do not always have the opportunity to see what God actually has already worked into the situation that prompted us to pray in the first place. Prayer is such a powerful tool in our faith “arsenal” that we should take a moment to thank God for the blessing of such a gift.

I am inclined to believe it works so well in our lives as we are in an honest moment before our Creator, and as we offer our words of the various petitions that we offer, we begin to get a sense that we are really connecting with the power of the Almighty.

We know God invites us to draw near in prayer since it really helps us keep the relationship in the right framework. We know that God provides, God blesses, and God hears our prayers, and we truly need not rely upon ourselves but can honestly sit back and trust what God can do on our behalf.

Far too often we forget to ask. We are in a hurry and we forget to thank God for the great night’s sleep we just had. We are in a hurry and we forget that God gave us safe travel after that long business trip. We forget to thank God for the meal in front of us when we fail to pause a moment to simply return grace at the mealtime. I know this happens to me, so perhaps it happens to us all. Think of it as a quarterback lining up to call the next play. Knowledgeable about everything related to the team, it all waits upon the actual play calling and the snap of the ball. We probably know lots about prayer…it is up to us to “execute the play.” Nothing happens unless the ball is hiked. Might we think nothing happens unless the prayer is prayed?

Jesus went out of His way to make sure we knew how to pray to the Father through the gift of His own prayer. Modeling that prayer daily, as well as savoring the relationship which we are able to enjoy as children of the Father, we begin to get a sense at least that God really desires great things for us all.

We might even begin to realize that our prayer lives can be improved as we add more prayer into our life. There are blessings that can be said throughout the day, along with the usual times of prayer that we offer. I believe after all these years that there is simply one word that applies best to prayer– MORE!

If we all would take the time to savor the grace that God has given to us as we thank and praise and live our lives in relationship to God, we begin to acquire a new understanding to how we can live first with God, and then with each other. We find ourselves dependent upon that relationship more and more, since we are taking it and using it more and more. That would be good news for us indeed!

So if you are lagging in your prayer life, there is no better way than to spend more time actually praying! God will not grade you on the quality of the prayer, but watches the heart of the man or woman who turns heavenward for the solutions for living.

Welcome to September!

We find that it always seems to sneak up upon us all when we are not looking, and we have to begin to realize that our summer activities need to draw to a close, and we move into the Fall schedule with a renewed sense of purpose here at Wayne Zion. You will see scattered all over this newsletter the plans we have for the month and even beyond, and I hope you get the feeling that we have a lot going on here that will be of benefit to you all. It is a good time to gather as the body of Christ in this time and place!

This is a good time to spend a moment in prayerful contemplation of what we can do as the gathered people of God to carry out our mission to the world, first in our own congregation, then in Jones County, then in Iowa, the United States, and the world. We can begin to realize the power that is at stake as the Holy Spirit moves in and among us as we seek be Missional and to do the Spirit’s work.
We have lots to be reflecting upon and we lift them up in prayer:

• We pray for the Evangelical Church in America, as it has recently passed some new directions for its journey together at the recent Church wide Assembly in Minneapolis. We pray that God gives us all the wisdom to deal with the days ahead mindful of our Lord’s call to mission and to our own role within the larger church.

• We pray for our congregation, as it works together to accomplish the goals it will be setting for itself as it moves into the fall season, that everything we would engage in would receive favor form the Lord in our attempts to carryout His mission.

• We pray for our educational program within our congregation, that we would receive the support of our families for this endeavor and to seek that our study of God’s word would provide us all with the insight for living the life of those who follow Jesus.

• We pray for our congregation Council as they continue to lead us as they work on the responsibilities of drawing together working guidelines for our congregational committees.

• We pray for our college students as they resume the fall semester in locations all over the country.

• We pray for our Harvest Festival, that it can be a tool of reaching others to share with them the vision of what it means to be a congregation which works together toward a common goal.

• We pray for those around us who are struggling economically, that we could use our collective wealth and abilities to work together to eradicate poverty throughout the world, no matter where that poverty is located.

• We pray for those engaged in the wars around the globe, especially our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, that as they continue to have to journey in harm’s way, that they would be blessed by the protective power of the very hand of God.

• We pray for the many, many people who are struggling with health issues that are keeping them down and not able to bounce back to good health. We ask God to directly intervene in these situations and to provide healing to those who are in need.

This list can go on forever, but I cannot help but face the fall with these petitions in the back of my mind. It helps us know where we have been, and informs us of how far we need to go on this great journey with Jesus.

God’s Work, Our Hands

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be in session August 17-23.  This is a very important time in the life of the ELCA.  We would encourage you to follow along as you can and stay connected during the week through the many multimedia links available on the ELCA multimedia page. There will be…

• Live Streaming video
• Video, photos, audio and the latest news releases
• Links to follow on Facebook and Twitter during the assembly
• Blog discussions (Bishop Burk of the Southeast Iowa Synod will have his own blog during this time)

All plenary sessions will also be broadcast live at http://www.elca.org/livevideo; video and photo highlights will be posted daily.

“That grace is mine!”

Isaiah 55: 8-11 gives this insight for living:

 

  ”I don’t think the way you think.  The way you work isn’t the way I work. For as the sky soars high above earth,  so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.  Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth.  Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth  not come back empty-handed.  They’ll do the work I sent them to do; they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.   MSG

 

Our God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah that things are not necessarily the way we think they are or even should be.  God has a plan for things in our lives, and there are countless numbers of times in our lives we get frustrated with life because somehow it just isn’t going the way we think it should. 

 

God does not deliver the power for the world events into our hands, rather we find ourselves reacting to the winds of life’s difficulties as they happen.  We are constantly adjusting to things being different, and we start to have questions along the way.  Real questions like- “Why God?  Why did you let this happen to me?”  The past storms which packed hail that shredded fields point to the randomness of the why of life- why did one farm get leveled, and the next survived untouched?  We can look at the situation and only begin to wonder “Why?”

 

I call our attention to the verse once again- the first thing we ought to consider is that we are playing with a limited “hand” when it comes to knowing the secrets of the universe.  While it is our human nature to think we know all that there is about a subject, we are dwarfed by the complexities that surround us, and our wisdom of the situation is quite different from the reality of God’s grace.

 

It seems to be the heart of God to love us, no matter what!  It seems the heart of God that He cares for us so much to send His Son to help fully communicate this to His people.  When you think about it, it doesn’t make sense-why would God do that?  What have we done to deserve that?  What possible thing have we done to deserve this unmerited favor?  We could answer the questions from our point of view, but we need to hear Isaiah’s words on this topic as well.  It is a bigger deal!

 

God’s way of thinking is so great, so much larger that what we have the capability of doing on our own!  A danger that is present is that we think with the limited thoughts of mankind, and not the same level which God chooses to operate within.  We just aren’t willing to see things in any other way than our own.  Sadly, we miss the boat-again!

 

In, around, and through all of our life, is the power of God’s word at work in the world.  While our own sight might be limited, we would do well recognizing the divine hand in all that is happening around us, and how God cares for each one of us, even when we do not fell like He is doing anything.  It is not our feelings, our perception, even our thoughts Isaiah tells us- that makes any difference- for God cares, and moves, for the blessing and safety of those He calls His own! 

 

So I’m amazed!  Amazed at the grace God gives to us all!  I can’t explain it, defend it, examine it or even begin to comprehend it all-but what I can do is know with eyes of faith, that grace belongs to me.  Wow!

Setting Sail

With all of the graduations that so many of us went to over the past few weeks, we are happy for the graduates and all that they have accomplished. It is a pleasure to see this point in their lives, how they have completed this venture, and are getting ready to take the next step in their lives. It is a critical time for those making new plans, because plans begin to change almost as quickly as they finally get made. At times, it becomes almost a bewildering issue, and we might become casualties of life processes that were a lot harder than they have a right to become.

Noted productivity expert Stephen Covey explains it this way- “Begin with the end in mind!” This principle of living is a process which is not always necessarily easy! Yet when we count the cost, plan ahead; know where we are going before we set out on the journey, it really does have a tendency to help us all realize it is very achievable. We need not fall victim to the fear of the future with a well-made plan of action for our lives.

I recall a wise person once reminded me- “A boat was not created for the harbor. It was created for the journey across the sea.” Life has the tendency to come in bunches so I would find the almost natural instinct to back away from the issues that I would be facing, looking more toward the safe harbor.

You know, we were not really created to hide! In my analogy, we were made to sail out of the harbor to our next, greatest destination! It is not a case of finding excuses, but rather seizing the opportunities that you have presented before you. Skip the safe harbor, and step out in faith that you were created for a reason, and you can find fulfillment of your dreams only if you live your life as God intends.

So to all who are at a crossroad in their lives- high school graduates, college graduates, those whose companies have been downsized and are now looking for a new future, whoever you are and whatever you are facing-remember you have been created for the journey, and you will find your way to your new future when you get out there! God’s blessings to you and yours on the journey!

It Can Happen Again

We are approaching the one year anniversary of the devastating flooding that occurred all over Eastern Iowa last year during June. This is a time for many to pause and reflect upon the many, many changes that have happened as a result of that water rising so quickly. People came together to help, to try to save what they could, yet all were amazed at the speed and the ferocity of the event. There are a few thoughts I’d like to share as a result, as we come upon the anniversary dates along the way in the upcoming month.

First, flood recovery, as well as recovery from any natural disaster, takes time. Experts predict that we have completed the first year of a five year period of recovery in our area, and many still find themselves stuck in the terror of the situation at the time. When we couple that with economic uncertainty, we all have reason to be concerned about the recovery process in Eastern Iowa. It will take a long time to get through this, and we need to get through this together.

Secondly, your friends and relatives that have been adversely affected by the flooding or tornadoes elsewhere in the state still need your sympathetic ear! For many of us, we have developed the attention span of the evening news, which unfortunately forgets everything from newscast to newscast, so that we simply do not have the desire to remember every little piece of information that we come across. Be sure you take a moment to call a family member, a friend, even a co-worker that you know who experienced the floods personally. I am sure they will be able to appreciate your concern, and we all will happily support one another with our well wishes and with our prayers.

Thirdly, this can happen again! It goes without saying that few of us anywhere we live are immune to natural disaster. In a few days hurricane season starts again down south. Summer tornadoes will soon be the stuff of the weather reports. Wildfires and Earthquakes are always around as well. It might be a wise thing for you and your family to take the time now to develop an emergency plan to make sure that if some type of disaster strikes, you will be ready to cope with the challenges you will face, so you can muster your energy to cope with the days following the challenge of the event. Having been part of those who respond to emergencies for a few decades, I have seen people who have taken the time to develop a plan together are the ones who can cope best in times of great emergency. What’s that old saying? An ounce of prevention…..you know the rest.

In all of our commemoration of the past flood, we are mindful of the Biblical flood as well, where our God promised Noah that this type of destruction would never happen again. It is hard to accept regional flooding as something that is “acceptable” at anytime, yet the guiding principle of a God who cares needs to be remembered as we head off into summer time. God is the God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies. God promises. We accept and live by those promises.

We simply have to trust in the one who cared so much about our sin that Jesus Christ came into the world that we might have life, is also concerned about our day to day life as well. We need to be good stewards of our time, energy, and ability to share the burdens as well as the joys of all that we might face each year. It is weary, to be sure, for the product of sin is weariness and the stress of life can indeed become a burden.

God is a gracious God! We are given the gift of life through the life, death, and the resurrection of our Lord. We are also given the promise that God is with us until the end of the age. We have little to fear, for if God is for us, who can be against us? His strength is our Rock, our Shield, and our Fortress. What a blessing we have to share! Enjoy the summer!

Radical Prayer

As I was tracking through some devotionals, the word radical seemed to be jumping off of the page at me. It was in a discussion about the radical nature of sin, and the radical power that prayer brings to the event as well. It would stand to reason that effective management of life events that take a turn toward the dark side need all of the power we can muster, yet how often do we even begin to get radical in our prayer? One church I know is holding a day of prayer for itself. Imagine, knowing we are on the eve of the National Day of Prayer, that this church realizes its situation demands the radical nature of God to come alongside. Radical!

How many people are praying radical prayer? Getting emotional about it, I mean really getting into God’s space and holding Him to His promise? God is probably wore out with our lukewarm, self-centered stuff we toss heavenward. I’m talking radical prayer. Gifted by the Holy Spirit prayer. Prayer that you have wrestled with your demons all night long over, sleepless nights all leading to the power of the Christ in your life. Prayers that commit everything you have to the Lord’s discretion. Prayers that drive us to the foot of the cross. Oh, for a heart that knows such radical prayer!

I know I probably have gotten onto this soap box before, but until the church wakes up to the mighty power of God, it sleeps in its own selfish cocoon, wrapped in blissful ignorance of dogma and antiquated ideology.  It is time to get radical in the Spirit’s call of prayer and become willing to be-as Jesus himself invited us- to be followers, of Him!  Radical!

Heavy Lifting

I was reminded of the passage of St Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 the other day in reference to having enough faith to move mountains and not having love.  I was once again reminded that any ability to do any heavy lifting comes from God, through the gift of faith, and not of my own doing.  The clause that Paul adds to it, at first blush, is that we have the ability to simply cancel that grace-filled gift of “heavy lifting” by our lack of love.  Without the subsequent power of love manifested in my life, I am nothing.

So I see what cancels the equation.  My lack of acting on the faith which might be termed “love” keeps me from being able to tap into the very power of God itself.  If I as a believer of Jesus Christ and walker in the Way of Faith, I suppose it is imperative on me to at least consider the power I’m leaving on the table.

“Mountain moving” is indeed heavy lifting.  In deed!  Can we all realize what we have at our fingertips, yet walk away from when the attitude towards others is gently but firmly redirected toward ourselves?  Can that awkwardly selfish moment in our lives cancel out the good we might do for others?  It might just be food for thought.  Before one can even begin to tap into the power of faith, one has to die to self.  This obviously simple component of mountain moving should be self-evident.  Yet, unfortunately, it is not.

The journey we share in the life of faith has untapped potential for good, and God generously gives us the faith we need to walk together.  More later on if we are using what we have been given to the fullest extent of our capabilities-or if, in a selfish moment, we give it all away.

Do-Over!

Easter brings everything a second chance.  The resurrection frees us from the finite considerations of what we consider as science and defies explanation.  Yet, too often, we forget the tremendous power of what Jesus did for us all on the cross.  We have been set free from the very power of sin and death.  Yet what do we do with it?
You’ve been given a new life!  You have been given a “do-over.”  No matter what you call it, your second chance at life itself because of Christ is founded on the love of the Father for His children in order to again try to capture the hearts of His children.  That second chance should be a powerful moment for us all.
Our problem is that in the society in which we live, that simply isn’t the case.  We tend to hold things against one another, and we simply cannot let go.  We cling to our “rights” to be declared victor in a fight we had nothing to do about.  God set the whole situation in motion when as we know Jesus completed the once-for-all salvation event for you and I and yet we give God no credit.
It amazes me, but we at times we treat the weather with more attention than we put toward the weekly celebration of God’s Word and Sacrament we know as worship.  We have replaced theology with ideology and now practice a nice and neat Gospel which sounds more like the Law than any Gospel that we have known.  We somehow try to grasp God’s redeeming love, but we are quick to substitute rules and regulations where we think they need to be.  I know this is wrong.
Are you broken?  Cracked like the egg from Easter 2’s message, “Cracked” ?  Do you find that somehow everything that the church has been about for centuries simply does not cut it anymore?  Are you restless with fake solutions that do not address our brokenness?  We’ve been on the wrong side of God ever since Adam and Eve crossed the line in the garden.  And for all of the years that have come and gone since, we still are the broken ones.  We feel it!
Friends, Jesus came to change all of that.  The cross and empty tomb signal a new day!  They indicate God is not letting our sin separate us any longer, but that we are made whole by the blood of Jesus.  His grace gives us the ability to be that new creation.  His grace empowers us to be different.  His grace gives hope to the hopeless.  His death and resurrection enables us to have the second chance.
Now the truly hard part- is the answer to the question-“So What?”  Are we living as His New Creation?  Or is it business as usual and we simply continue to do nothing about our new chance at living, and replace the do-over with the same stuff from the past.  We ignore the free gift of grace and resume a life in the darkness of our past sins.  Somehow, we have been so fooled by the Evil One to think is normal. What a shame!

New life means exactly that!  We hope to be exploring what all that means as we take a new tack in our Sunday worship as we hear about two vitally important threads of our life together: Faith and Discipleship.  At our 8:00 AM worship time we consider the Gospel readings which will be relating to our life of faith in the work of what Jesus has done for us all.

At our 10:30 AM worship we will consider the topic of Discipleship, and will learn how the second lessons from 1 John have a powerful impact upon our lives together.  God gifts us with the new life, and if we read His Word, we soon gain wisdom and understanding to be able to better utilize the gift that we have been given.  It’s a new life-let’s treat it accordingly!