The Upper Room: A wonderful daily devotional to share with you.

I receive the Upper Room Devotional by email each day. Many times I quickly read through it, especially as I recognize the text upon which they are focusing. As a pastor, I've used parts of the following text in funerals to celebrate how someone with an illness or disease endured their final days. As I read through the July 10th reading this morning (I'm a little behind on things!), it spoke to me in amazing ways in relation to how we as members of the Body of Christ and the world around us should see each other. I hope you enjoy it as well. If you've like to receive this devotional on a daily basis, read all the way to the bottom. I realize there is a copyright law involved in sharing this, but I believe that they would be very happy to know that their work is helping to build God's kingdom here on earth...

Thursday, July 10, 2008
Let Us Pray with You
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Cracked Pots

Suggested Bible Reading
Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture--"I believed, and so I spoke"--we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
-2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (NRSV)

Today's ScriptureWe have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
-2 Corinthians 4:7 (NRSV)

MY life in Christ has helped me to accept the nature of the clay jar that I am. I have weaknesses. I have strengths. For some people who know me, my strengths outweigh my weaknesses. For others, my weaknesses outweigh my good traits. But we all live somewhere between what we have been and what God is reshaping us to be.
This is an image of God's kingdom. We live in an "already-but-not-yet" time. God's salvation in Christ has already come, but it is not yet enjoyed by all people and all creation. Jesus gave us a glimpse of God's future glory, but its full realization remains future. We live between the already of what God has done and the not-yet of what God will do. The work God has begun in us is not complete.
Yet God's glory is seen clearly in our sinful, broken, imperfect humanity. "We have this treasure in clay jars." We can focus on the clay jar, or we can focus on the treasure. We can condemn each other for being a cracked, chipped, misshapen, leaky, brittle, traditional, or contemporary jar. But if we focus on the treasure, we have hope - hope for me, for you, for enemies as well as friends, for the world - because the treasure is God's extraordinary power at work in us.
Mike Ripski (Tennessee, U.S.A.)
Prayer
Dear God, fulfill your purposes in the world and in us. Amen.
Thought for the Day

Today, I will look for God's treasure in myself and others.

Prayer Focus
For the peace of God among all people

Related Reading
Companions in Christ: The Way of Transforming Discipleship (Participant's Book)Discover what spiritual formation and authentic spirituality are all about in THE WAY OF TRANSFORMING DISCIPLESHIP, the sixth title in the Companions in Christ series. Reflect on what your faith means in terms of who you are, how you must change, how you deal with pain, and how you relate to others.
The scripture quotation is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.PLEASE SHARE THIS MINISTRY with a friend. Invite them to sign up for the free E-Mail Devotional by visiting: http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/email/Copyright © 2008 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher. http://www.upperroom.org

Are we asking the right questions????

This morning I ventured away from the sports pages of the Boston Herald and moved to the front page of the Boston Globe. I know that I should be doing this on a regular basis but I find following the moves of the Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox much more interesting. I began by reading of Senator Kennedy's return to the Senate floor to vote on the Medicare Bill and then decided to venture further into the national news of the day. It was then that I came upon this article which had me shaking my head. The argument is not whether or not the trailers are safe for human occupation but whether or not someone can be held accountable for their actions. Is there something wrong with this? Could this be one of the problems of our society today, that we don't want to accept responsibility for our actions? Or, that we don't really care about the impact of our decisions on other individuals as long as we make our profit? As we walk through the day today, I invite us to consider if we are asking the right question when making decisions. My suggestion for two possible questions would be:
1) Do we praise God with our decision?
2) Do we serve our neighbor by our actions?

If the answer to either is "No" or the decision doesn't allow for us to ask such questions, I would invite us to stop, pray, and seek God's guidance. No one should suffer from the poison of our unwillingness to make a change in our lives, even if there is a cost involved to us!

GOP backs trailer makers
Report: Firms not to blame for toxins
By Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press July 10, 2008
WASHINGTON - Manufacturers say they are not responsible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers that had toxic levels of formaldehyde, despite Democrats' findings that companies knew of the dangers yet sold them to the government anyway after Hurricane Katrina.
The report by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is at odds with an analysis by Republican staff members on the same committee. The Republican report backs the companies and found that trailer manufacturers should not be held accountable for the high levels of formaldehyde - a preservative commonly used in building materials - in trailers that FEMA set up to house people displaced by Katrina in 2005. Republicans say it is the government's fault for not having standards for safe levels of formaldehyde in trailers.
But Democrats say their staff interviewed employees from one of the manufacturers, Gulf Stream Coach, who said they, too, were suffering effects from formaldehyde exposure, including nose bleeds, shortness of breath, dizziness, and bleeding ears.
Gulf Stream Coach Inc., received the bulk of the FEMA trailer contracts after Katrina, collecting more than $500 million.
Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California and committee chairman, said the Democrats' investigation found that Gulf Stream tested the trailers, but treated the results as a public relations liability instead of a health hazard.
"It found pervasive formaldehyde contamination in its trailers, and it didn't tell anyone," Waxman said yesterday.
Jim Shea, chairman of Gulf Stream, said there was no actual testing of trailers. Instead, there was informal screening with a Formaldemeter, which is not a scientific test.
Shea said, however, that his company asked FEMA in 2006 whether it should test the trailers, but FEMA said no.
Last year, scientists tested hundreds of FEMA trailers and found potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
There is no government standard for the amount of formaldehyde in travel trailers. Standards are set for indoor air quality for materials used to build mobile homes, but not travel trailers. Katrina victims now occupy 15,000 travel trailers in the Gulf Coast, down from the more than 143,000 trailers that once housed victims.

Thomas Dorsey - Precious Lord, Take My Hand

I received one of those massive emails that talked of the story behind this hymn and so I thought I'd journey to YouTube and see what I could find. Here is the story of Tommy Dorsey, his faith, and this song. It's wonderful to not only hear about a song, but to have the author share the true meaning of the words that God gave to them. Enjoy and then head to YouTube for a number of videos about "Precious Lord..." including Tommy Dorsey leading a church in the singing of the song.

Annual Conference for the United Methodists of New England

From Thursday night to Sunday noon, lay representatives from local United Methodist Churches, clergy (active and retired), and others, gathered for our Annual Conference. It was an interesting time for listening, worshiping, and experiencing the living presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit. While there were times when I know that God was looking down and frowning at what we were doing, there were also times when God was clearly present in the testimony of others! Here are a couple of sites that give the daily happenings at AC.

News from Friday at Annual Conference

News from Saturday at Annual Conference

Prayers for a stranger...

Last night, as many throughout Belfast slept in preparation for a new week, an individual, or individuals, cut a screen leading into our sanctuary and entered the church. In the darkness of the night, they collected a variety of small items (computers to coffee makers), money from the preschool downstairs as well as the food cupboard, and then loaded them into a vehicle. When the first person for the preschool arrived, they found the damage and losses.

When I was called at 6:10am, I headed for the church and arrived just before the local police. Over the next few hours we looked at doors broken by big feet, possible pieces of evidence, and discussed what had happened. Feelings of anger, guilt, frustration, and violation were common. There were tears as well as words of comfort. The church staff gathered in the sanctuary for prayer.

As we reflected on the events of the evening, our prayers were of thanksgiving that no one was in the facility when the individual(s) was there, that there was no real damage to the building, and that no one was hurt. We also prayed for the stranger whom we may never meet. We prayed for healing, for understanding, for guidance, and for peace.

It's sad that the building was broken into but God will restore the sanctity of the space just as God, through Christ, restores us when we've been violated. It's going to be strange to walk into the facility and not feel safe but I know that the real enemy is the One who is evil, not those who get lost in evil ways.

I don't know why, but as soon as I heard about the stranger and walked through the building seeing the damage, I prayed that one day we would meet and that we might be able to walk through the process of restorative justice together. I know there are people who are just evil and may never enjoy the healing presence of Christ, but I think they are the distinct minority and that many have stories, that once told, can lead to a new life of hope.

Wherever you are stranger, know that tonight there is at least one person praying for you...

Follow Me

As we reflect on what it means to follow Jesus, what it is that we must give up to be a Christian, this video suggests that maybe that which we fear giving up is just extra baggage that makes any journey a difficult one. What do you think? What am I carrying that makes my following of Jesus so difficult? Maybe if I give up that which I am carrying I can make it to the top and experience the living presence of Christ in an amazing way!

Insight from a distance over time

In November 2007, I had the honor of participating in the New England United Methodist Church School of Congregational Development. One of our main speakers was Tod Bolsinger, the pastor at the San Clemente Presbyterian Church and also the author of "It takes a church to raise a Christian".

On June 5th, on his blog "It takes a church", he reflected on his time in Maine. Though I know you can easily go to his blog with a click of the mouse, I am adding his complete column just in case you are more comfortable staying here. What I really find interesting are questions 2-58 in his "talkback session". It creates concern in my heart and a challenge in my soul, to remind folks that we have been given everything we need to do God's ministry, to grow the Kingdom, we've just got to take the time to figure out what God intends for us to do with our abundant blessings. In a world that is so good at forcing us to compare what we don't have with what others have, we need to remember that in God's kingdom, God has given us everything we need, and faith in that understanding brings us great peace!!

Here is the blog writing....

One Question in Maine
Last fall I was invited to speak to a conference of Methodist pastors and lay leaders in Portland, Maine. The organizers of the conference had read It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian and asked if I would be willing to come and address a group of the "movers and shakers" who were looking at new ways of church.
Now, usually, I decline outside speaking engagements because I love my church and love being at my church and have plenty of challenges speaking and teaching within my church. But when I agree to speak somewhere it is usually because it is 1) with a friend I want to spend time with, 2) in a place I want to visit or 3) I think there is something I will learn by doing it. This one fell definitely into #3. I wasn't sure what I would learn, but I had a hunch that there could be something in this setting that God wanted me to get at.
So, I flew off to Portland, Maine for a quick turn around trip (left on a Thursday, was back on a Saturday and was preaching on Sunday back at SCPC). I gave three talks on the theme of the church as the answer to Jesus' prayer "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This set of talks has been my standard "road set" for a year now. It's the theme I most want to encourage people to consider. I like to raise a missional vision for what the church is supposed to embody for the world and I always challenge them to consider that their home church, whatever stripe it is, whatever bent, wherever it is located, is supposed to be the embodiment of God's will, the foretaste of God's new creation, a glimpse at what we long for when we speak of "heaven" or "resurrection" or "new Jerusalem." That the CHURCH is God's demonstration of his character, his love and his truth. And I challenge people to consider what that vision means to THEIR church and THEIR lives.
And then I usually leave.
But this time, they asked if I would do a "talkback with the speaker" session; a Q & A with people who want to follow up on the issues I raised in my talks. So, that afternoon, approximately 60 of the 300 or so people who attended the conference came to my "talkback". I asked the group if we could get all the questions they wanted to discuss on the table and then we'd decide where there was the most interest and energy. So, I went around the room and gathered up all the questions. It went something like this...
Question #1: "How could we get our church more involved in some place like Africa, the way your church is?" Question #2-58: "How do you turn around a dying church?"
Over and over again that was the theme: Our church is dying and "renewing it" is killing us as leaders. We so want to lead into the vision of the Kingdom that you talked about it, but no one is following. What can we do?
I hadn't spoke about church turnarounds, or leadership issues, or bringing change. I had spoken on a missional vision, of the church being the embodiment of the Kingdom. I had wanted to encourage a group of movers and shakers by giving them a grand sweeping vision of what I contend the scriptures lead us to see of what God wants the church to be and that vision had only raised more discouragement.
And this has got me thinking. A lot.
I am a big VISION guy. I believe with all my heart that without a vision, people perish and that without a biblical vision churches become stagnant, complacent and consumeristic. Recently, I have been polled and surveyed and interviewed because SCPC is one of the few growing churches in our denomination and for the better part of ten years, my explanation for why has been our "missional vision".
But more and more I am thinking that Vision, while necessary, is not nearly enough. And the huge challenge of our day is not only recapturing a biblical vision for the church, but re-learning what it takes to lead into that vision.
The "Methodists in Maine" that I met were a great, earnest, sincere, hardworking, Bible-believing, Kingdom-committed bunch. But like most churches in America today, we are facing some uncharted territory in a culture that at every turn is opposing the way we are best at living out our faith and presenting the gospel. And in many ways, I see these same forces at work in my church, too.
To meet this challenge we are going to need a clear, biblical vision and a whole different set of strategies, skills, habits and behaviors. Vision and practices. A clear picture and a new set of skills. And exploring why this is so, and what we need to do about it is about the only conversation that I am interested in being in these days.

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Gotta Serve Somebody-Bob Dylan

As I read Matthew 6:24-34 I am reminded of this song by Bob Dylan. The text says that we must serve "God or wealth" while Dylan says "God or the devil" but the point is the same, we need to either serve God or some idol that most often ties directly back to evil. If we serve God we share in the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22. If we serve wealth, we live in the moment, we buy what we can, we collect all the toys we want, but we must also slave long and hard for the money to keep up that life style. The only "wealthy" folks that I know who are joy-filled are those who use God's gift of finances to do God's work.

While the video ends with a reading from Joshua, I believe it also speaks to Matthew's reading for this coming Sunday.

Who are we going to serve? That which is temporary - wealth while we are alive, or that which is eternal - God who formed us, knows us, loves us, and calls us to a life of hope and promise?

Something to think about because you "Gotta serve somebody"!!!

WOW 2008 New England Conference

A great event where not only are church transformation tools are taught but also a where the power of the Holy Spirit is caught!!! If you've got the time, join us and over 300 other Christians from around the New England area as we seek to spread God's kingdom in all places, in all ways, and all for God's glory!!!!