Category Archives: Holy Spirit

Top Ten Children Prayers

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Child Praying

Yesterday I ran across an internet listing of children’s prayers which I have reduced to my top 10.  These prayers you can pray with exceeding joy!

10.  Dear God,
please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now.
Amanda

9.  Dear God,
Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up.
Joyce

8.  Dear God,
how did you know you were God? Who told you?
Charlene

7.  Dear God,
do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don’t, who does?
Nathan

6.  Dear God,
I keep waiting for spring, but it never did come yet. What’s up?  Don’t forget.
Mark

5.  Dear God,
Is Pastor Keller a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business?
Donny

4.  Dear God,
I bet it’s very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.
Nancy

3.  Dear God,
I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just want you to know that. I am not just saying that because you are already God.
Charles

2.  Dear God,
I am doing the best I can. Really !!!!
Frank

And, saving the best for last   .

1.  Dear God,
I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool.
Thomas

I think #2 captures our tremendous need for confession and God’s promise of forgiveness while #1 describes the joy of praising God for the wonder and beauty of creation.   Sometime the simplest prayers are the best.  Romans 8:26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

What prayers give you joy?

Holy Place of Peace

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Hiking below Mt. Rainier

This morning I lead a class on prayer and one of the prayer exercises was a guided meditation, based on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  One method that has helped me enter into silent meditation is to take an imaginary trip to a favorite place that emotes peace.  Many people (especially during a Minnesota winter) might choose a tropical beach with warm breezes and rhythmic surf.  Or a beautiful garden that is under a brilliant blue sky and filled with fragrant blooms.  I choose the Cowlitz Ridge near Mt. Rainier.

I hiked the ridge once, nearly forty years ago.  The week before I left for my freshman year of college, my friend Marv and I decided on one last hike together.  We picked a three-day trip along the Wonderland trail which circles Mt. Rainier.  At first we climbed the steep switchbacks up out of the dark forested river canyon.  As we near the top of the ridge we stepped out of the dark forest into brilliant sunshine and a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier.  We camped in that meadow for two nights, soaking up the beauty and wonder of that ridge.

Now whenever I want a special time of prayer, I go on an imaginary journey to that same spot.  The only difference is that I take the imaginary trip with Jesus as my guide and friend.  For many reason, I find rest, comfort, strength, hope in visualizing him there with me.  As I meditate a deep abiding peace grows up around me.  I realize that I could imagine Jesus with me in other locations, but that spot has become a very holy spot.

I sometimes wonder if I will ever make the hike back to Cowlitz Ridge.  I might, but it is not essential to my spiritual life.  The essential part remains Jesus who is my guide and source of peace and joy wherever I am.

 Has guided meditation helped you in your spiritual journey?  Where do you find God’s peace?

God at Work

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God at Work

Today I read Pastor Tim Keller’s comments about serving God in the work place.  Tim is no relative of mine, but I like the way he thinks, especially being a Presbyterian quoting Martin Luther.  You can check his remarks yourself at http://bit.ly/i77xMD.  A key concept for Keller is Luther’s “Priesthood of All Believers.”  Luther was commenting on I Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood.”

One does not need to be in the church to serve God.  As a pastor I like it when people volunteer and serve in our congregation.  I often give them special recognition and encouragement.  But the congregation is only one place where a Christian can serve God.  God’s work is not limited to congregations, important as they are.  

I serve God as I love my neighbor, which I can do in various ways.  I love to quote Dr. Marc Kolden, “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does!”  And we love our neighbor through our daily work as a spouse, parent, worker, community leader and citizen.  The home, the office, and the community are as vital to God as the congregation.

For example, if one owns a small manufacturing company that makes machine parts for cars, the owner loves his neighbor in at least two key ways.  The company is helping provide necessary transportation (car parts) as well as providing employment to the workers.  God would want the owner to be fair and equitable with the employees and with the customers.   In this way God is working through the owner.  God does this with farmers, salespersons, artists, nursing aides, and even politicians.  As Luther wrote, these are the “masks God wears” to accomplish God’s task on earth. 

For sure, we live in sinful, broken world, in which people take advantage of each other.  As sinful human being we can turn work into a false god that consumes our lives.  We can make monetary profit the god that rules our lives.    We need God’s grace mediated through Jesus Christ to call us back to the vibrant life.  And the church can be a community that helps us stay faithful to God’s call at work.

How have you loved your neighbor this past week?

Patience and beyond

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Pastor John when he could run

 I must confess that I have had trouble keeping up with my running buddies due to my own inactivity.  Over the past several months I have tried a few tentative runs, actually jogs, to see if my hip was better. Each time, the same pain came back and I would stop running and walk. I’ve stretched, I’ve iced, I’ve strengthen, I’ve Ibuprofen, I’ve massaged.  I have prayed.  I have had five appointments with a physical therapist to manipulate the SI joint.  Now I am scheduling an appointment with my doctor to see what options I have.  During this inactivity, several people have told me, “You must be patient.”

I have been hearing that patient word a lot.   As a new pastor in a congregation friends tell me tobe patient as I learn new names, faces, family connections and ministry choices.  At home I am learning to be patient with my siblings as we try to remodel and sell my mother’s home in Washington state.   I know that patience is a part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and it is good virtue to possess.  I just wish that I could be more patient in learning to be patient.   

In my journal, as I wrote about these frustrations, I came to the realization that in the grand scheme of things, a season or two without running is not the end of the world.  I have had other such experiences of inactivity from running injuries and eventually recovered.   In fact, this hiatus may just open me to some new activity of the Holy Spirit.  Like learning to walk in the Spirit of God.  Or cross-country skiing or snow showing or cycling or yoga.

And thanks for your patient listening and prayers for my recovery.

What has been an important lesson in patience for you?

Installation Reflections

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The day before my installation, I sent my daughter, Suzanne, a picture of our family stove and a quick note that I was being installed as Lead Pastor at Resurrection, as a gentle form of humor.  Her comment was that I should have used an image from a better stove, like a Wolf Convection Oven. It was the one she used when working as a pastry chef at a guest ranch in Colorado last summer.   A Wolf stove is first class and will serve the people well for many years. A stove that will last.

As I reflect on her comments, I hear wisdom. Resurrection deserves and needs the best from its staff.  And I do want to serve the people of Resurrection for many years.   I know from my experience at St. Andrew’s that ministry and trust build over time.  There are rarely instant solutions or fixes, particularly when one is dealing with the intricate network of relationships within a congregation.   Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit that is often ignored in our instant culture.

I also know that the real power of a stove comes from outside, either gas or electricity.  I am praying that I will remain steadfast in remembering that all my power and all the power of Resurrection comes from outside of us.  As Bishop Rogness read yesterday, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to your through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.”  I Timothy 6:14

How do we together keep from neglecting the gift of the Holy Spirit?