Ask, Seek, Knock, for bread

Spiritual Bread Luke 11:1-13
from a Feb. 2008 column in the Mapleton PRESS

FYI: 'Bethlehem' is Hebrew for 'House of Bread' or 'bakery.' Ironic since Jesus himself is the 'Bread of Life.' Since this week's part of the Advent wreath is the Bethlehem candle, I thought that this old column inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be appropriate for an Advent devotion.

Last month, I started re-reading a book of sermons by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called “Strength to Love,” from 1963. Many people would be surprised by what a Biblical teacher King was because we tend to take him for granted as a cultural icon or a Black leader or a political activist.

One chapter in particular struck me as something that we could all use these days. Let’s face it, this is a time of high anxiety and stress for many of us. Governor Culver recently tried to reassure Iowans that we’re in better shape than the nation as a whole to face the coming recession. But come on, things have been getting hard for all of us for a long time.

Wars, stagnant wages, increasing costs of living especially gas, food, heating fuel and health insurance, talk of climate change, cultural change, and global competition have all left us a little frazzled. Perhaps you’re finding that just the challenges of daily life, let alone personal tragedies and crises are wearing you down.

Rev. King talked about Jesus’ parable of the man who knocks on his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for bread found in Luke 11:5-8.

“The traveler asks for three loaves of bread,” Dr. King wrote. The three things we need most are faith, hope and love.

“In a generation of so many colossal disappointments, men have lost faith in God, faith in man, and faith in the future…in the midst of staggering disillusionment, many cry for the bread of faith.”

“There is also a deep longing for the bread of hope.” Dr. King continued, “In the early years of this century many people did not hunger for this bread. The days of the first telephones, automobiles, and airplanes gave them a radiant optimism. They worshiped at the shrine of inevitable progress. They believed that every new scientific achievement lifted man to higher levels of perfection.”

But as we all know, came WWI and WWII and the Cold War. We realized that technology won’t produce a futuristic utopia. We may have more than enough food to eradicate world hunger, but greed and corruption prevent us from ever being able to get the food to who needs it. The twentieth century left mankind wounded and disillusioned.

King lamented that “the light of hope went out, and they roamed wearily in the dark chambers of pessimism. Many concluded that life has no meaning… But even in the inevitable moments when all seems hopeless, men know that without hope they cannot really live, and in agonizing desperation they cry for the bread of hope.”

If anything, we’ve learned too well that life is not fair. Some people don’t even see the point in trying anymore.

Finally, MLK pointed out what we are most starved for.

“There is the deep longing,” King wrote, “for the bread of love. Everybody wishes to love and to be loved. He who feels that he is not loved feels that he does not count. Much has happened in the modern world to make men feel that they do not belong. Living in a world which has become oppressively impersonal, many of us have come to feel that we are little more than numbers.”

We all need to find ways to get out of bed in the middle of the night and come to our neighbor’s aid. We all need to try to feed others in anyway we can but we should also remember where to turn when times get worst.

Luke 11: 5-8 has a man asking to borrow bread from a neighbor, but in Luke 11:1-4, Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer and in 11:9-13, He urges us to pray and ask God’s help for anything we need. If we need faith, hope, or love, all we have to do as ask, seek, or knock.

Second week in Advent; Peace

Second week in Advent

Second week in Advent

“This generation of Americans has already had enough - more
than enough - of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others
wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to
build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are
not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and
unafraid, we labor on - not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a
strategy of peace.” ~John F. Kennedy

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” -Romans 12:18

”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” -Matthew 5:9

"If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you” -Matthew 10:13

So what does peace have to do with Bethlehem or with Fellowship? Let me tell you. Peace is a verb, something you practice. Like ‘love is a decision,’ peace is not just a noun that you have, it is a verb that you do. Did you notice that in Matt 10:13, it’s something you share with others?

Being “in fellowship,” means that you are not “in conflict,” with someone. It means you share, you support, you encourage, you don’t injure or compete with someone.

The traditional Hebrew greeting that people in Bethlehem shared at the time of Mary and Joseph was “Shalohm.” Shalohm means, “God’s peace be with you.” Kind of like “Good Bye” means “God Be with Ye,” or “Adios” is short for “Via con Dios,” or “Go with God.”

But do you have room for peace in your heart? Do you have room for Jesus in your heart? Mary & Joseph found no room at the Inn. If your heart, your life, and your relationships are full of conflict, selfishness, worry, anxiety, anger, hate etc. etc., there’s no room for fellowship. And remember, that’s what Christmas is all about, God seeking fellowship with us, an end to conflict.

Shalohm to you.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.” -Psalm 122:6

Prayer:

Shalohm Lord Jesus,

Thank You for coming so that we can be at peace,
not war with God.

Thank You for coming so that we can be at peace,
not war with our fellow man.

Help me to make room for peace in my heart and in my life.
Help me to share Your peace with others.

I love You, Jesus, Amen.

Second week in Advent

Second week in Advent
hope - PEACE - joy - love -light

Sorry for the hiatus- I didn't have MS Word on my computer for a few days and it took a while to get it re-installed. Monday I had promised to look closer at Philippians 4:6-7 and how you can deliberately, carefully condition your mind to receive Christ’s peace. Here goes:

“6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

~Philippians 4:6-7

It’s easy to say do not be anxious about anything, but it’s another to not be, right?

St. Paul tells us how to ease our anxiety in the very next breath- “in everything, present your requests to God, with thanksgiving.”
Prayer is the key to peace. Dr. Bob Orr, director of clinical ethics at Fletcher Allen Health Care, the teaching hospital for the University of Vermont reported that prayer brings a definite physiological benefit.
"I certainly encourage people who are believers to pray," Orr said. "My observation is the person who prays is less stressed. He becomes less anxious, and his blood pressure and pulse improve."

One study showed the risk of diastolic hypertension was 40 percent lower among those who studied the Bible daily and attended church weekly. Another study concluded that elderly heart patients were 14 times less likely to die after surgery if they found comfort in religious faith.
It’s a simple if-then proposition.

IF YOU BRING EVERYTHING TO GOD IN PRAYER WITH THANKSGIVING: then… THE PEACE WHICH PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING WILL GUARD YOUR HEART AND MIND.

Here’s a special Christmas song from one of my favorite Christmas movies, White Christmas, to help you remember Philippians 4:7...

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS (Instead of Sheep) by Irving Berlin

Both Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney had hit versions of this song from their 1954 1954 movie White Christmas. "Count Your Blessings" was the 11th song introduced by Bing to be nominated for an Academy Award.

When I'm worried and I can't sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting smallI think of when I had none at
all

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads

And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds

If you're worried and you can't sleep

Just count your blessings instead of sheep

And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads

And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds

If you're worried and you can't sleep

Just count your blessings instead of sheep

And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus

For being the blessings you bring me, including peace.

Please grant peace to my friends and loved ones who don’t have it this Christmas.

Teach us to pray, Lord.

Teach us to leave our burdens at your feet and count our blessings.

I love You, Jesus, Amen.

Second week in Advent

Monday Second week in Advent
hope - PEACE - joy - love -light
prophets - BETHLEHEM -angels -shepherds -Christ

“6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:6

“I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to
discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely
perceived - yet it is the most important topic on earth: world
peace.

What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced
on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the
security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that
makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow
and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for
Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but
peace for all time.” ~John F. Kennedy

This is not really a peaceful season is it? Whether it’s the stress of getting things done or the stress of family spending time together, the very time of year when we talk the most about “peace on earth,” seems to be one of the least peaceful.

As far as President Kennedy’s speech goes, I hate to be too cynical, but let’s face it, after September 11, 2001, do any of us really believe that world peace is possible?

But Paul’s not talking about either of those kinds of so-called peace. He’s talking about a deeper, truer, more lasting peace. An inner peace-of-mind. One that surpasses all human understanding. In my experience this is something that almost all of my students want most.

Whether it’s clinical depression, anxiety attacks, epilepsy, ADD, ADHD, bipolar, someone who’d molested them as a child, their parent’s divorce, money, grades, drug or alcohol addition, sex, guilt, fear, anger, hatred…the list goes on and on. Today’s teens desperately desire this kind of peace. A peace that let’s you sleep at night.

Jesus came to offer us this peace. All you have to do is ask Him for it. In tomorrow’s devotion, I’d like to look closer at Philippians 4:6-7 and how you can deliberately, carefully condition your mind to receive Christ’s peace.

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus

For being the Prince of peace and for offering me escape, stability, and strengthening peace. Please be my anchor and my refuge this Christmas, please grant me peace.

I love You, Jesus, Amen.