Devotion for March 7

The wind blows where it chooses… So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:8

The prairie wind blew in gusts, bending the short pine tree outside my window and, bowing it, pointed its needles east. The wind crested and fell like waves haphazardly beating against the dock. Although they had predicted its coming, I was still startled at the strength of the blowing. I found myself captivated by the raw strength of it.

The Spirit of God moves across the landscape of the human heart. We cannot know when it comes or to where it will lead. But it blows in raw strength encouraging the faint-hearted, comforting the broken-hearted and enlivening the empty-hearted. And the human soul bows before it pointing to the overwhelming love of God.

Jesus knew the overpowering Spirit of God. This is the One that rested on him at his baptism; led him into his wilderness confrontation with Evil; and lifted him in courage to the Tree of Death that God would transform into the Tree of Life on that first Easter Sunday. He is the One born of the Spirit who then adopts children into this eternal family.

Lent is the marking of his obedience. Lent is our own meager bowing before the eternal Spirit of God’s sacrificial love in Jesus Christ. We remember his self-giving – and reflect on our selfishness. We remember his spiritual clarity – and acknowledge our spiritual confusion. Most of all, we remember his persistent and insistent love – and recall our limited reflection of it. And, as we do so, that heavenly Spirit blows – and we move just a bit closer to Him.

Spirit of God, blow across my life that I may bow humbly before the Living God of Love. Amen

Devotion for August 4

Turn to me and be gracious to me; give strength to your servant. Ps. 86:16

The pedals turned – but only with effort.  Nearing the final five minutes of my workout, I was drenched in sweat and tense as I made the final effort to get over the machine-generated hill.  Level 10 with the lights lit to the very top is usually not a huge effort for me – even for thirty seconds.  But today, the workout was just hard.  Give strength to your servant, O Lord.

There are times in our lives when just going on, just getting through can be difficult.  The end of the month comes and we see that stack of bills is higher than usual.  The medical exam raises some questions and the doctor determines she will need to see you in sixty days.  A phone call comes from a child, a parent or best friend, and your heart constricts as you try to remain calm and reach through the miles of separation to send your love and care – and finding the right thing to say is just out of reach.  Give strength to your servant, O Lord.

My brother Fred has faced many significant personal and professional challenges.  As we spoke together last week, he laughed and said, “If it hadn’t been for the Good Lord, I just wouldn’t have made it through.”

He’s right.  Many of us have experienced just the right amount of inner peace and confidence to get us through when we needed it the most.  Many of us have looked back, like my brother does, and discovered that God was doing the heavy lifting, and we didn’t even know it at that time.  Give strength to your servant, O Lord.

And God does.

Devotion for May 12

Come to me all you that are weary… and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

With each slap of my feet a grasshopper flew. They were the first of this year for me. One of the signs of impending summer is the arrival of the grasshoppers. They congregate on the sidewalks – only to scatter as I run or walk through their midst.

And the temperature was warm – it hovered in the upper 80’s, according to the weather news. But on the pavement and in the sun it was much hotter. So, I was running easy, careful not to overdo it in the first really warm day of our year. My breathing was steady – but the warmth began to slowly leech my strength. I became aware of the fatigue as my body began to drip. “At least my cooling system is working,” I thought. It was small consolation.

Then I topped the hill and was welcomed by a refreshing gust of wind. It brought a restorative cool to my brow and my pace picked up, my breathing seemed to ease into a natural rhythm and my legs pumped more freely. It was just a bit of a breeze… but it was all I needed.

In times of struggle and hardship, I have often found just such a restorative wind in prayer. The words of Jesus, above, come to mind and I know I am not alone. My spirit breathes a bit easier; my body relaxes and hope blows through my soul. In moments like that, my mind turns from myself towards others and I pray for them.

May our God lift you and caress you with his love in your time of need. Amen

Devotion for April 22

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. Luke 23:46 (Jesus on the Cross)

He stopped into my office on his way out of town. He was headed up north to be with family and friends for the Easter weekend. As we chatted he told me of a respected pastor who missed Sunday worship; returned and informed the Church Council, and later the congregation, that he had been at the Mayo Clinic. There he had been diagnosed with lung cancer – advanced stage. Somewhere in the journey between a growing upper back pain, the diagnosis and his return to the congregation that he had loved and served for many years, he had decided not to attempt any treatment for his disease. He hadn’t given up. He had decided to entrust his life and his death to the God whom he had trusted with his whole life – let alone his ministry. He has resigned his call in order to spend the next weeks and months with family and loved ones.

Good Friday… it is one of the days of truth for humankind. Not only did our Savior face his death for our sakes, but, in so doing, he demonstrated a radical trust in our Heavenly Father. In a very real way, we of faith know that we trust our lives into the care of God – on Good Friday we are reminded to entrust our dying into the hands of our loving God. Trusting God with our death is a radical step because we live in a culture that denies death. Oh, we know it is real – for everyone else. We assume it will come – but not for a long time. Then there is the unexplained pain or shortness of breath; a trip to the doctor and a round of tests; and the statistics now include us.

There is the One who went there before us. He is the One who will meet us there and transform our farewells into a great reunion. His Spirit reminds us, encourages us, promises us that, just as we trust Him with our lives, so we can trust him with our deaths.

No wonder they call it Good Friday… Amen.