Archive | February 2018

Chaplain’s Corner – Spiritual Discipline

Feb28

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

The spiritual disciplines are designed to bring us closer to God.  I like how John Ortberg describes these spiritual disciplines as practices, because they do take practice.  Just like when we practice a musical instrument or sport, we can benefit from instruction, coaching, and repetition in our spiritual walk.  Practice should make the spiritual discipline easier, and it should help us to improve.

In Ortberg’s book, How to Have the Life You’ve Always Wanted, the first spiritual discipline he writes about is the practice of celebration.  That got me hooked!  He says that we are invited to rejoice in every moment of life because every moment of life is a gift.  He says that when we are not fully present, not aware of the voice and purpose of God, we are almost literally killing time.  And this is what really got me:  He said that when I wait without experiencing joy, it is likely because I am preoccupied with self.  Busted!

That reference to killing time reminded me of a message from Rick Warren a few years ago in one of his Daily Hope devotions.  He said, “We all have the same amount of time every week: 168 hours. It’s what you do with it that counts! You only have a certain number of days you’ve been allotted in this world, and if you blow them, you’ve blown it! If you waste time, you’re wasting your life. If you kill time, you’re committing suicide. Your time is your life.”

We all want to spend time doing Kingdom work, but this is a reminder that our thought life is as much or more important to our daily walk.  I challenge us all to practice focusing our minds on God, His attributes, His faithfulness.  I challenge us all to intentionally look for God at work and celebrate every good and perfect gift.  I challenge us all to have a biblical perspective as we view our lives and evaluate others and our relationships with them.  And remember, when we wait (whether it’s in the grocery line, in the doctor’s office, or for the meeting to start), think on God and be joyful.

This is what we have to rejoice about:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.  Hallelujah!!

Blessings,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Loving God

Feb21

“Love the Lord With All Your Heart, Soul, and Mind.”  I don’t know about you, but I struggle a bit with this, the first and greatest commandment according to Jesus (Matthew 22:36-38).  I want to love God, I say I love God, but am I really loving God the way He wants me to?

Among all the attributes we know about God, one is that He is a God of emotion.  God he delights, and he grieves.  For example, Jeremiah says this of God in Jeremiah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  And Psalm 78 is a description of what God has done for us in spite of our disobedience.  Verse 40 reads: “How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!”

We are made in the image of God, and that is also why we have emotions.  We delight and we grieve.  For example, I have seven grandchildren, and I dearly love them all.  Among those grandchildren are two sets of sisters.  One set of sisters absolutely adores each other.  They look out for each other, they run to each other’s aid, they are very affectionate with each other.  To witness this makes me very happy. The other set of sisters fight like cats and dogs. They are sometimes hurtful to each other and complain about the other endlessly.  This makes me so sad to see and hear.

Consider this:  As an imperfect human, if I can love my grandchildren as much as I do, how much more does my heavenly father love them?  And even though I love them, if their actions can either delight or sadden me to such a great degree, how much more so will our heavenly father be delighted or saddened to see them act like they do?  What is the application for us?

I challenge you, during this season of Lent and forever after, to put into practice an effort to make all your actions (thoughts, words, deeds) delight God and to eliminate all actions (thoughts, words, deeds) that would make God sad. This is one important way that you and I will demonstrate that we love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds.

Blessings,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Lent

Feb14

Today is the beginning of Lent which represents 46 days before Easter, not counting Sundays, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some denominations formally observe Lent; however, most Protestant denominations do not.  We often hear people say with satisfaction, “I’m giving up thus and so for Lent.”  While fasting is a recommended spiritual discipline, Jesus says that we should fast in private: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward<https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-Lent.html> in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen” (Matthew 6:16-18<https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%206.16-18>).

The key to observing Lent is to focus on repenting of sin and consecrating oneself to God. Lent should not be a time of boasting of one’s sacrifice or trying to earn God’s favor or increasing His love. God’s love for us could not be any greater than it already is.

So should we observe Lent?  Personally, I recommend observing the Lenten season as a way to increase our focus on our daily walk with God.  But rather than eagerly waiting for Lent to be over so that we can resume our “normal” ways, hopefully during our Lenten observance we will grow to a “new normal” resulting in a stronger walk with God for the remainder of our lives.

For the last few years, and for this year once again, I will read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  It has 40 chapters, and I read one chapter per day which takes me through most of Lent and for me is a wonderful guide, along with God’s Word, for my personal spiritual journey.

Blessings,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Introduction

Feb7

After thirty plus years in the private sector, I joined Nashville Rescue Mission as their first Senior Director of Human Resources in October, 2012.  I had just turned 60 when I took the job, and planned to retire from the Mission at an appropriate age.  That appropriate age occurred this past January, but our CEO approached me with the idea of working part-time in a newly-created position of Staff Chaplain, effective January 1, 2018.  This position has been such a blessing to me; I can hardly believe my good fortune.

In February, I began writing a weekly column for the Mission, called Chaplain’s Corner, since my office at the Mission is in a tiny corner office.  This is the first one–an introduction:

I am so pleased and honored to be serving as your Chaplain. I am out of town this week, but I want you to know that I am praying for you every day. I am praying for you all generally, and I am praying for each one of you specifically if you have given me a prayer request.  Let me know how I can pray for you.

One of my “go to” verses is from Isaiah 41:10.

“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.”

This is such a personal verse. It’s like God is speaking to me. This is a verse that gives me comfort and encouragement, and I pray that this verse will comfort and encourage you.

Blessings,

Judy