Some
where in the recesses of my mind, I have a vague memory from my childhood when I prayed in a family or other group gathering. Someone, perhaps a sibling, snickered at the words I chose in my prayer. My mother, the ever protector, responded quickly, “He wasn’t talking to you.”
Jesus taught that prayer was never a public performance but a private one.
Category: Moment Practices
Rules, Rules, Rules – Love Rules!
script:
Our word for today is Rules.
Everywhere we go there are rules.
Pick almost any word, and it is amazing how many rules you can come up with like the simple word ‘keep.’
Keep in touch.
Keep it in mind.
Keep up the good work.
Keep on trying.
Keep out of my way.
Keep out of this.
Keep quiet.
Keep still.
Keep smiling.
Keep this to yourself.
Keep your chin up.
Keep your mouth shut.
Keep your nose out of my business.
Keep your shirt on.
All those rules for one simple word, ‘keep’.
Rules are everywhere.
Rules are basically commands, do this or do that, and most rules are basically negative, don’t do this or don’t do that.
Don’t ask.
Don’t tell.
Don’t stay out too late.
Don’t go.
Don’t be gone to long.
Don’t look at me.
Don’t look at me like that.
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
Don’t get up.
Don’t let it keep you down.
Don’t hold your breath.
Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.
Don’t give in.
Don’t give up.
Don’t speak so loud.
Don’t speak too soon.
Don’t be so naïve.
Don’t be so sure.
Don’t even think about it.
Don’t give it another thought.
Don’t bother.
Don’t bother me!
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t put all that in your mouth.
Don’t make me tell you again.
Don’t make me get up.
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t you tell me what to do!!!!!!
Rules. Rules. Rules. Everywhere there are rules.
Jesus said in JOHN 13
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Above all other rules is this one…
love one another.
Above all else…
Love rules.
Why?
All You Need Is Love
Love is all you need.
You can buy me a diamond ring my friend,
But you can’t buy me love.
No, no, no.
No.
I like it.
I love it.
I want some more of it.
More of what?
This crazy little thing called love.
You might as well face it.
You’re addicted to love.
I Want to Know What Love Is
I know you can show me.
People of the world, join in.
Join a love train.
Love train.
Love rules.
Jesus said
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
Love rules.
Pray, “For the moment…”
A king gave one of his servants a challenge, he said, “Go and find a ring that will make a happy person sad and a sad person happy.” The servant searched the jewelers and merchants in every surrounding village and kingdom, and then he returned years later.
The king asked, “You’ve found a ring that can make a sad person happy and a happy person sad?”
The servant nodded and gave the ring to the king who looked at it closely then said to his servant, “Well done. Surely, this is a ring that can make a sad person happy and a happy person sad.”
The inscription inside the ring was, “For the moment…”
Marriage is Like Football
To help you understand the premarital work I do with couples before they get married, I need you to watch this piece by one of America’s best theologians, George Carlin. Sure, Germany had Karl Barth, Geneva had John Calvin, Americans have had George Carlin. Makes a lot of sense to me. In this brief set, Carlin will clarify the differences between to two sports, and I help relate to marriage. Continue reading “Marriage is Like Football”
Slow Down to See Your Neighbor
Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” and he replied with this famous story in Luke 10,
30 “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii,[b] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
While the Samaritan has been called ‘good’ while we’ve looked down on the priest and Levite for two thousand years, I’d like to offer them a little sympathy. By nature of their roles as a priest and Levite, they had somewhere to go. They were likely in a hurry. Continue reading “Slow Down to See Your Neighbor”
Slow Down to Show Up: Lesson from Our Town
In 1965, a Senate subcommittee predicted the upcoming changes in technology would so revolutionize life in America, and that by 1985, Americans would be working twenty-two hour workweeks and would be able to retire at age thirty-eight. However, the result has been that instead of giving us more time, the new technologies have enabled us to fill every minute of our day as the boundaries of work and home vanished. We can work from anywhere and anytime. Whatever time is left, the list of distractions are infinite. A more accurate forecast of the future came earlier, in 1955, with Parkinson’s Law of Busyness (That’s busyness not business). The law states,
Busyness expands to fill whatever time we have. Busyness is like helium gas released in a room. The gas will expand to fill the whole room, however, as it expands, it becomes less and less dense.
Continue reading “Slow Down to Show Up: Lesson from Our Town”
Fake it Until You Become It
As the New Year begins, if you’re already dreading breaking your resolutions, perhaps you need a different approach, an easier path toward becoming the person you want to be – act like you’ve already achieved it. Continue reading “Fake it Until You Become It”
Great First Lines or “This is just the beginning…”
A friend and I were discussing our favorite writers, those who offered an amazing phrase, art in a sentence. After discussing our mutual admiration for Norman McClean’s masterful, A River Runs Through It, he suggested I read Wallace Stegner starting with Angle of Repose. When I got the novel, I didn’t have time to start the book, but I did want to know what words he chose for his beginning. I opened the cover and read the dedication, For my son, Page. My response was, “Really, you’re an author, and you name your son, Page?” I was stuck. I did move on, and so far, Stegner has delivered as my friend promised. My fixation on first words did lead me to pick my top five first lines of novels, though my list is subject to change without notice.
Continue reading “Great First Lines or “This is just the beginning…””
Why Worry? A sermon for those suffering from viral fear…
Macland Presbyterian Church. March 29, 2020
You can watch the service below, fast forward to sermon, or read the sermon text at this link: https://davidjonespub.com/wp-content/uploads/Matthew-6-Why-Worry-Macland-Presbyterian-March-29-2020.pdf
Like a child…
Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
Dick Renard wrote, “God, Help Me Be Like My Boys”
When I look at my boys, I see the life of simple concentration.
They play hard, they work hard, they learn with intensity
They fight going to bed because they haven’t had enough of today.
They look forward to tomorrow only at bedtime prayers.
God, help me be like my boys.
They love unconditionally.
They don’t worry about food or clothes or where they will sleep.
They know they will be taken care of.
They move into the world as friendly agents, without pretense or false motive.
God, help me be like my boys.
They know who you are and have no doubt they will be with you forever.
They see your awesome creative powers.
They don’t compromise their faith with their friends.
They communicate their feelings without the mask of an adult.
God help me be like my boys.
But, O God, look at me. See my insides. I’m just the opposite of my boys.
I hold onto anger instead of putting it behind me.
I don’t genuinely laugh anymore. I want to go to be because I’m tired.
God, help me be like my boys.
My relationships are conditional. I like those who like me.
There is usually a motive to all I do. I’m cautious moving into the world.
I worry about my family, my job, money, and things.
I often wonder if you will take care of me.
God, help me be like my boys.
I’m afraid my faith is not socially acceptable. Some friends feel I’ve committed intellectual suicide. I’ve become a chameleon to hide my embarrassment of you. I wonder why you came to me because I am so selfish.
God, help me be like my boys.
God, I look at my two boys and I see a refreshing view of you.
I see life and gaiety. I see acceptance and conviction.
I see strength and commitment. I see a pair who know what it means to die for you.
God, help me be like my boys.
Please, God, don’t allow their hearts to ever change. Let me be like my boys because I want to be like you.
Spirits on a Human Journey (Part 2)
The last post looks at Carl Jung’s four stages of development (as we journey from humans having spiritual experiences to spirits having human experiences. Leon Oudejans offers a great picture of the four stages with the epiphanies that accompany each transition.
Here are the top quotes by Carl Jung to help you on your journey from humans stuck in life hoping for a spiritual experience to spirits on an awakened human journey: Continue reading “Spirits on a Human Journey (Part 2)”
Spirits on a Human Journey (Part 1)
According to Carl Jung, we grow up as humans and on the journey, we have spiritual experience. The goal for life is to mature, to become spirits having a human experience.
Here are Jung’s 4 Archetypes or Stages of Development: Continue reading “Spirits on a Human Journey (Part 1)”
Faith – Leap Before You Look
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Do you remember learning to swim? Perhaps you jumped from the side of the pool into someone’s arms. Someone who loved you. Someone who cared for you. That was faith. Continue reading “Faith – Leap Before You Look”
Shalom Now, Shalom Here, Shalom Within, Shalom Among
The more things change, the more trouble I have staying the same.
As the new year begins, I was fascinated by this list of statistics for 1915. Only one hundred plus a few years ago.
I’m not sure how accurate this numbers are, but they do represent the amount of change over the last century.
Continue reading “Shalom Now, Shalom Here, Shalom Within, Shalom Among”
New Year’s Resolution – What Would Jesus Have Me Do?
Here is a wonderfully creative take on that popular question, “What Would Jesus Do?” by an artist better known for his movies like Dumb and Dumber, but he’s no shabby guitar player and these lyrics are not only, not stupid, they are quite wise…
As you’re thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, or avoiding making any resolutions at all, I challenge you to take this question a bit further. “What would Jesus do?” is a challenge, especially since we have no record of Jesus stuck in a traffic jam or trying to help their child with calculus or chemistry. So, a more helpful and more applicable question is, “What would Jesus have me do?”
You are the only you. You are a character like you in all of God’s story throughout history. Jesus was one in a billion, Messiah, Christ, Emmanuel, but so are you. You are also one in a billion. No one else has been you in all of history. How you live out your story has some particular challenges that you must face. “What would Jesus have me do?” is a better compass. If we all gave that question a little more consideration, not only would 2016 be a better year, but the world would be a better place for all God’s children to develop their characters in God’s story.
Amazing Peace
Even as a professional Christian for three decades, I still find it difficult to feel spiritual on demand – especially at Christmas. I find it just as difficult to feel tidings of comfort and joy in December even if it is the hap-happiest season of all. Perhaps my heart just won’t settle for tinsel when I need something more along the lines of silver, or even better, gold, frankincense, or myrrh. Fortunately, God seems to work not because of me but in spite of me (or sometimes even to spite me). For my reorientation, God sends the wise ones to point beyond my melancholy to the holy. When the carols won’t cut it, and even the prophets fall shy, I look to the poets. Maya Angelou reorients my heart for a greater peace on earth than a simple silent night. Continue reading “Amazing Peace”
The Parable of The Joy Handle
You can’t buy love or joy. You’ve got to bring it.
Instead of trying to buy the right gift to bring joy, bring joy as the right gift then any object can be a joy handle.
Galatians 5: 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Audience of One
In the theater to the right, where would you place the following?
Preacher
Choir or Singers and Musicians
Congregation
God
The common response is to place the preacher, choir, and musicians on stage, the congregation in the audience, and God everywhere. We discuss worship as in any theater. Soren Kierkegaard challenged our thinking of worship and said that we have the audience wrong. The congregation is not the audience. God is the audience. Those who gather for worship are on stage. The preacher, singers, and musicians are all backstage prompting the congregation. It is not our pleasure which is the final judge but God’s. It is not whether or not we consider a service meaningful but whether God finds meaning in our service, in church and out, on holy days and every days. God is our audience of One. Continue reading “Audience of One”
Own a Sunday Song
Each Sunday, across the world, people gather around the world and sing songs to God. Do you think God enjoys all those songs? Is our singling like radio to God? If so, why do we all sing at the same time?
If God really enjoys our music, why don’t we spread out the singing? Continue reading “Own a Sunday Song”
Bible, Then or Now?
Is the Bible history? If we read the Bible with a linear sense of time past, time present, and time future, if we read the Bible looking only for words God spoke and deeds God did once upon another time, then we may miss God speaking and God acting through the scriptures today. When we read the Bible and place it in the past alone, we may try to trap God between the covers, seeking a simple check-your-brain-at-the-door morality with definitive interpretations and implications. We may even profess, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Instead of saying like Mary and Isaiah, “Here I am,” and like Samuel, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Continue reading “Bible, Then or Now?”