Tag Archive | Nashville Rescue Mission

Chaplain’s Corner – Choices, Part 2 (Thoughts)

Jan13

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

Last week we began a series on “Choices” and introduced the concept below:

  • Your desires drive your thoughts.
  • Your thoughts direct your actions
  • Your actions become your habits
  • Your habits mold your character
  • Your character shapes your destiny

Godly choices begin in our hearts, and we talked about the importance of repentance, prayer, and remembering the great things that God has done to conform our hearts to desiring God.

“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come–sexual immorality, theft, murder” (Mark 7:21). So, it is critical to get our hearts right to take the next step in the progression of Godly choices to conform our thoughts to what pleases God.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

The question is how?  When one of my granddaughters was spending the night with us (she was about three years old), she was having trouble going to sleep. She kept having scary thoughts. I told her to think about something happy, but she said she was not able to. The scary thoughts just kept going through her mind and she could not do anything about it. I think that happens to us as adults. We have all kinds of thoughts that bombard our minds: impure thoughts, worries, fears, dredging up past hurts, anger, bitterness. It can seem like we have no control. These thoughts can keep us awake, they can keep us from hearing the sermon on Sunday, they upset us so that we are unkind to others. You know it is true. So again, the question is how do we take these thoughts captive and become obedient to Christ? One caveat. We cannot do this alone. We must submit ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit. Here are five practical ways to take your thoughts captive to make it obedient to Christ:

  1. Decide in advance (daily or more often if necessary) that you are going to submit your thoughts to God’s guidance, and ask for his help, in advance.  The Holy Spirit has been given to us for just this purpose. Choose a Bible verse for the day to focus on when your thoughts begin to go astray and/or have a plan for something positive or productive to think about such as something you are grateful for. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
  2. Think about what you are thinking. You may not be able to stop a thought from popping into your mind, but you can choose to continue to think it or to replace it with a more godly thought. “As someone thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).
  3. As an ungodly thought occurs, confess it, and ask for God’s help, then immediately replace it with your Bible verse or thanksgiving. Remember, God already knew your thoughts. When you confess, you are agreeing with God that you need to change your thinking. “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:2). “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
  4. Repeat throughout the day as needed. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9).
  5. Be conscious of what you put into your minds in the first place. There is a computer term that applies: “Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO).” There is no substitute for the Scriptures; they should be foremost in our reading, studying, and meditating. Good commentaries, inspirational messages, and sound Bible study tools are also helpful. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

The main thing is to remember that you do not have to be, and you should not be, enslaved to your thoughts. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, you can decide what to think. Some days might be more challenging than others, but just remember this is a moment-by-moment decision to claim your thoughts for God.

One final thought: Our faith is a matter of our hearts and minds, before anything else. “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). All we must do is believe, and belief happens in our hearts and minds, not in anything that we do.

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Choices, Part 1 (Desire)

Jan6

“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” (Genesis 2:16-17)

God did something very intentional when he created humans during that first week of creation: He gave us the ability to choose.

He created the earth and all the plants and animals, and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Uniquely among His Creation, God made humans in His image to rule over the remainder of His Creation. He planted the beautiful Garden of Eden for them, He gave them responsibilities, and He delighted in spending time with them. It is clear that God made humans for relationship with Himself; and He wanted that relationship to be based on man’s willingness to love Him back. So, God also gave them a choice. We often call this “free will.”

God accomplished this by placing a tree in the garden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then telling Adam that if he ate the fruit of this tree he would surely die. This is also considered to be a conditional covenant, meaning that God gave to Adam this eternal paradise on the condition that he not eat the fruit of that tree. So, Adam’s choice was either to not eat the fruit of the tree and live forever, or he could eat the fruit and die. A life or death choice, a “no-brainer.”

But we know what happened. Satan, an angel who had earlier made his own choice to become an enemy of God, set out to win over God’s creation to the enemy side. Satan began a campaign of deception right there in the Garden of Eden, and Adam chose to believe Satan’s lies rather than God’s truth.

Do you find yourself wishing that God had not put the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden? Why did he do that if He didn’t want Adam to eat the fruit? If God had just not given Adam this choice, our lives would have been so much easier, right? Well, in His infinite wisdom, He did give us choices. Our decision today, this very minute, is how are we going to choose?

Our choice is to believe and obey the Word of God, or to believe and obey the lies of Satan. There is no middle ground. It sounds simple, so why do we fail? Here is something to help us to understand:

  • Your desires drive your thoughts.
  • Your thoughts direct your actions.
  • Your actions become your habits.
  • Your habits mold your character.
  • Your character shapes your destiny.

Many people have been credited with this concept. I believe it to be useful in helping us to make good choices, so it will be used as an outline for the next six devotions. As you can see, the starting point is desire. So, if, according to Genesis 6:5 “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time,” how can our hearts be changed? In fact, it is only Christ’s death on the cross that enabled us to be saved, that accomplished our heart change. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When we accept what God has done for us, we are able to build on our desire to make godly choices. Here is a three-step plan.

1. Repent of our sin nature. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

2. Ask God to change our hearts. “God have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

3. Make it a habit to remember all the good things that God has done for us. “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

Note that while Jesus’ work of salvation was accomplished once and for all at the cross, our part in our sanctification is an ongoing process. As Paul instructed and encouraged the Philippians, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

Let us start with seeking to glorify God by desiring a relationship with Him. “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!” (Matthew 5:6) (The Message).

In Christ,

Judy Cline

Chaplain’s Corner – Be Ready

Dec30

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

When January 1, 2020 dawned, could we have ever imagined what we would be dealing with for the next twelve months, or how courageous and resilient and creative we could be? Truth is, we never know. Maybe there will not be another tornado to devastate much of Middle Tennessee in 2021. Maybe there will not be another global pandemic in 2021. Maybe there will not be another bombing (can you even believe it?!). But some of us will undoubtedly experience some calamity or tragedy or sickness that will wreck our schedules, require financial resources, and introduce the unexpected.

What have we learned in 2020 to help us to be better prepared for 2021, whatever it holds? One way to think about this is to realize what we most appreciate about what we have been through, and that will shed some light on what we have learned. I asked my seven grandchildren, ages 14 to 3, what they most appreciated about 2020, and their responses were overwhelmingly the opportunity to spend more time with their own families, as well as the use of technology (ZOOM) to be with more people than even would have been the case in a “normal” year. I can certainly identify with both of those. I cherished every moment with my family. And because of the pandemic. I joined a Bible Study Fellowship bible study online which includes people from England, Washington State, Texas, and many other states. These godly women are becoming very dear to me, and I probably would not have “met” them in a “normal” year.

In the above passage, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his upcoming crucifixion. He continues in Matthew 25 to give three parables or teachings on the need to be ready today, taking any needed action without procrastination, because we do not know what the future holds or when the end might arrive.

  • The first is the Parable of the Ten Virgins. “Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.” When the bridegroom did arrive, the ones with oil in their lamps were able to go into the feast, but the others were scrambling to find oil for their lamps and got locked out of the event. Jesus then advises “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
  • The second is the Parable of the Bags of Gold. A businessman was going on a trip and gave three of his employees some money to take care of in his absence. The first two invested their money and doubled it. The third one, however, just stuck the money in a drawer. His boss was angry at this and said he should have at least put it in the bank to draw interest. But to the first two employees, he rewarded them for their faithfulness and their efforts, saying “Well done, good and faithful servant(s)! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
  • The third is the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. Basically, Jesus is telling us that when he returns as King of Glory, he will execute final judgement. Everyone will come before him and will be classified as a sheep or a goat. To the sheep he will say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” To the goats he will say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” The difference was that both sheep and goats had an opportunity to serve Jesus by serving the least of these, but only the sheep had done so.

Make no mistake; this message is not about doing good works. It is about being ready. It is about not waiting another moment to place your heart and soul in the hands of Jesus, believing him for your salvation. The good works, such as serving the least of these, follow our salvation, motivated only by our love and gratitude for what Jesus has done for us.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”(Ephesians 2:8-10).

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Advent: Love

Dec23

This fourth and final week of Advent we celebrate Love. We have celebrated Hope, Peace (Shalom), and Joy in the previous weeks. While we can describe these biblical qualities, what I hope has been made clear is that not only are these attributes of God, these are God.

  • “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
  • “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Ephesians 2:14).
  • “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

But nowhere in the Bible is there a clearer statement about who and what God is than what we find in 1 John 4:7-12: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what a blessing to know that we worship the God of love, peace, and joy; and therefore He is our Blessed Hope.

We are made in the image of God. That means that we can grow more like him in his personality. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, each of us is empowered to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, which include peace, joy, and love (among others).

Frequently, God tells his people that he wants our obedience more than sacrifice. So how do we obey? Jesus told us exactly how: “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (John 13:34-35).

Our love for each other is our testimony to a broken and needy world, which is so apparent during these days of sickness and isolation and grief. In the world in which we currently reside, let us remember that God is love, and as the hands and feet, we are called to be love to each other.

“My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!” (1 John 4:11-12).

Merry Christmas,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Advent: Joy

Dec16

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'” (Luke 2:9-11)

What is joy? I typically go to Webster’s Dictionary when I want a definition. Webster says of joy: “a. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight. B. the expression or exhibition of such emotion: gaiety.” So, Webster says joy is an emotion or the expression of that emotion, which is the result of well-being, success, good fortune, or possessing what one desires; therefore, joy is conditional on our circumstances. But we as believers know that’s not the biblical definition of joy.

We must look to the Bible if we want understanding of biblical joy such as that referenced in our scripture above. If we turn to the Bible (which I should have done in the first place, right?), one of the key verses about joy is in Galatians 5:22-23 which speaks of the fruits of the spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Breaking this down, we first see that joy comes from the Holy Spirit, not our circumstances. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We see in Jesus’ teaching that true joy can survive the harshest of circumstances because it is not dependent on circumstances. It is instead dependent on God and his promises for his people’s eternal future. (Bible Project / Advent Reflections).

Toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he spoke about joy. It was only with Jesus’ arrival on earth that believers could have true joy, the joy of having Jesus in their (our) hearts. And when Jesus ascended to Heaven, he sent to us the Holy Spirit to give us continual access to joy, the joy of man’s desiring.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

“So, with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22).

“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).

Joy is having Jesus in our hearts, which God made possible by sending his Son to earth to redeem us from our sins and make the way to have life everlasting.

Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come, sung by Charlie Pride

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Advent: Shalom

Dec9

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)

I have two brothers, and between them and our Dad, our house in my childhood was rather rambunctious to say the least, and often full of conflict, with fighting, yelling, etc. My sweet mother suffered through all of this and begged for peace. She would have been happy if everyone just stopped yelling and fighting. However, as a mother myself, I know now that what she really longed for was not just the elimination of conflict but the restoration of love and reconciliation between all the members of her family. Maybe you can relate at some level. As a mother, I am most happy when all my children are together and truly enjoying each other. It is then that I feel whole, complete. I hope you can relate. That sense of wholeness is the essence of “shalom.”

“Shalom” is the Hebrew word for “peace,” but it means much more than the absence of conflict. It means restoration or reconciliation, completeness or wholeness. Many times in the Old Testament we have seen reference to peace treaties after a time of war. We have seen peace treaties in modern world history. Typically, there are conditions and regulations to ensure not only a ceasefire, but to instruct how to live in harmony with each other.  We know these peace treaties are legally binding, but not always long-lasting. But when Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, he revealed God’s promise of reconciliation, not primarily between people, but between people and God.

Ever since God sent Adam and Eve from the Garden, we have felt the consequence of our sin which separates us from God. It is only through the mediation of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, that we are not only spared the wrath of God but allowed back into God’s presence. It is only the sacrificial horrific death of Jesus on the cross that has gained for us the ability to rest in peace with God, eternally in His presence, whole and complete in His love. We celebrate Advent, the first coming of Jesus, because he is the Prince of Peace, our mediator to reconcile us and restore us to God’s holy eternal presence.

May you rest in His peace forever. Shalom.

“Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne  and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it  with justice and righteousness  from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty  will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7).

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Advent: Hope

Dec2

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14

This is the season of Advent, and during this first week we will focus on hope. Hope has many definitions, but the one we use is a person. Jesus is our hope, our blessed hope as the above scripture reveals.

What’s your plan for Christmas? Mine tends to read like this: decorate the house and tree, get the Christmas cards mailed, make candy and cookies, buy presents, plan the family gift-giving and eating gathering. It’s no wonder then, that when it’s over, I’m exhausted. I dread putting up the Christmas decorations, I dread getting the pounds off that I put on with all the candy and cookies, I dread seeing my credit card balance from all the spending, and I’m worn out from all the celebrating. That just sounds awful, doesn’t it?  Why would we put ourselves through it? We say we do it for everyone else, because it’s expected of us. Really?

Now I know some people don’t go in for all that. They don’t decorate, they don’t participate in gift giving or family gatherings. But the people I know who are like that usually have less than positive reasons—Christmas is a depressing time for them, and they just want to get through it, ignore it and hope it goes away uneventfully. I can see that, and I understand. Really, I do. But it sounds equally awful.

What if we celebrated Christmas another way? It might only take changing our mind about what we are doing. What if our mindset was totally on celebrating the birth of the Christ Child, the arrival of the Savior of the world? If so, then:

  • We might still decorate, but we are decorating for the most important birthday party in the history of the world. We are honoring our Savior by putting out our special beautiful seasonal décor, our best things that we save for such a time as this.
  • We might still cook, but we are preparing these foods to offer hospitality and our most delicious treats in honor of our King and to welcome others into His presence.
  • We might still send Christmas cards, but the purpose is to remind others of the coming of the Christ Child, which we can do with nativity-themed cards and messages, and even religious-themed stamps.
  • We might still give gifts, but it’s all in recognition of God who loved us so much that He gave us His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life.
  • We might still celebrate with family and friends, but we do so with the intention of sharing the gospel message through our love, words and deeds.

So, again I ask, What’s your plan for Christmas? Is it to follow the culture? Or is it to be intentional?

I pray that you will enjoy Christmas for all it’s worth. I pray that the Holy Spirit guide you and strengthen you as you dedicate this season to the celebration of Jesus, who as God incarnate, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, came to save his people from their sins. Our blessed hope. What a gift!!

In Christ,

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Power

Nov11

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

One definition of power is “the ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing … to supply with electricity or other means of power.”

It’s difficult, maybe impossible, to get much done without power. In the olden days we operated using horsepower; now we use electrical power, battery power, nuclear power, gas power, etc. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think I am completely out of gas. Then something comes along that is a crisis, or maybe it’s something fun like seeing my grandchildren, and I find an inner reservoir of power that keeps me going.

And we admire powerful people, probably because of their ability to get things done. I once heard a highly respected person in the Nashville community speak on power (Nelson Andrews, now deceased). He said that a person could have wealth, position, intelligence, physical ability, talents or skills; however, unless that person spent those resources, they did not exhibit power.

As humans, we need power to keep us moving, and we also need power to keep us on course. Likewise, Jesus, in his humanity, needed power to keep him perfectly obedient. Did you ever wonder how He did it? How was he able to be perfectly obedient? After all, he was challenged, he was tempted just like we are. Many biblical scholars would say that it was impossible for Jesus to sin because of his God nature. I can’t argue with that; however, I believe that the Holy Spirit played a major role in Jesus’ perfect obedience. We know from Scripture that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus during his entire life on earth. Here are some verses that point this out:

  • At His conception:  “And the angel answered (Mary) and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35).
  • At His baptism: “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22).
  • During his time in the wilderness: “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1).
  • As He worked: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed . . . Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18,21).
  • As he performed miracles: “But, if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28).
  • To raise him from the dead: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

The Message puts it like this in Romans 8:9-11:

“But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!”

The song, Same Power, by Jeremy Camp plays over and over in my mind, reminding me that I have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in me. And you have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in you. It’s up to us to call on this power residing in us, to use it to obey more perfectly, to grow in our Christlikeness, and to empower our ministry here on earth in Jesus name and for His glory.

Chaplain’s Corner – Praise God

Oct28

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise father, son, and holy ghost.

I have written two Chaplain’s Corners for today, but all the while the above refrain keeps playing in my head. Rather than publish either of those other devotions, I just want to praise God for his goodness and mercy. I am so thankful today.

I am thankful that our leadership team had the foresight way back in the early days of what would become a pandemic to insist that we have additional shelter capacity in the city for those in quarantine as well as to accommodate social distancing.

I am thankful for our leadership team who have made the hard decisions in a timely way all during these past eight months.

I am thankful for all our fantastic staff who have carried out the decisions and made “in the moment” calls when needed.

I am thankful that we have the relationship with the Health Department to help manage the medical side of this pandemic, and I am thankful for the testing capacity.

I am thankful we made it so long without an “outbreak.”

I am thankful for the staff at the Women’s Campus who have courageously covered while so thinly staffed. (And the Men’s Campus have had their share of this as well.)

I am thankful that most of our women’s staff who tested positive are getting better, and some have already returned to work.

I am so thankful that we have been able to transport the remaining women guests to the overflow shelter where they will be cared for while giving our staff a much-needed break.

I am thankful that the number of positives at the Men’s Campus has been mercifully low.

I pray that our staff who are out on leave will recover to full health and be back at work as soon as possible.

I pray that those awaiting test results will get negatives.

I pray for our program participants and guests who are quarantined will be restored to good health.

I pray that we will be able to use these next two weeks to get back to full strength in every way.

I pray that we will all have grateful hearts, and that God will use us in a mighty way to testify to His glory and love.

I pray all this in Jesus name,

Amen

“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 The Message).

Chaplain’s Corner – The Intersection of Justice and Mercy

Oct14

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The Bible is clear that God loves justice and He hates wrongdoing (Isaiah 61:8). Unfortunately, justice is not something that just happens. Because of our sinful natures, we naturally skew toward injustice and wrongdoing rather than justice and righteousness. At best, most of us just avoid making matters worse, or do we? It takes being proactive to bring about justice.

The concept of justice implies more than one party (and I’m not talking politics). Just as we can’t exercise justice in a vacuum, we can’t live in harmony with others without engaging and interacting with each other in healthy ways. (Like notes on a scale, without interaction and connection there is no harmony, just independent melodies.) If we are not engaging and interacting, then we are co-existing, but falling short of harmony.

The passage above advises us twice to speak up. That means to take action, to be bold, to advocate. I see that quality in heaps in our staff. That is the work of a Rescue Mission, and you do it so well.

This passage also tells us to judge fairly. Judging implies that we make decisions on behalf of others. We do this all the time, unconsciously as well as consciously. In all our dealings with others we are coming to conclusions about them that determine how and what we say and do. We are instructed to do this fairly. We must not jump to conclusions or be hasty in our decisions, although we should be aware when time is truly of the essence. To be fair, we must listen well, we must assume good intentions in the other person, and we must always make an effort to educate ourselves about the entire situation. To be fair, we must have all the facts possible about the individual and about the culture and environment.

I applaud the work that you do, and I want to encourage you to continue because God demands it. Our God is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy, and nowhere do these two traits merge more than in our interactions with the poor and needy. When Jesus returns and sits on this throne to separate the sheep (his followers) from the goats (those who are not followers), he places his sheep on the right, bound for heaven and the goats on the left, bound for hell). This passage in which Jesus is executing judgment indicates that the mercy we show toward others determines the mercy he will show toward us. (Read Matthew 25:31-46.)

We should not infer from this that it is our works of mercy and justice that will save us. The Scriptures are very clear that it is only by the grace of God that we are saved. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Works of mercy and justice will not save us, but through them we can glorify God, which should be the chief goal of every part of our lives. “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).

Can you just imagine how beautiful the harmonies are that are raised to God when we live in harmony with one another?

In Christ,

Judy