Tag Archives: power

Fans

fan

I readily admit that I have an obsession with fans. I have a standing oscillating fan in my bedroom that helps me sleep at night. I have ceiling fans in my living room, kitchen and home office. I even have one of those little fans that clips on a table that runs while I eat breakfast.

Why the fascination? I think it has something to do with the feeling of comfort and the slight background noise they provide. But maybe there is a deeper, more spiritual need that is at work here. Consider this verse:

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:8

The wind that a fan creates is a good reminder of the Holy Spirit that blows throughout my life, moving and changing the environments around me to make me keenly aware of the power of God in my midst to make a difference in my life in line with his will. What a comfort the Holy Spirit is, always helping us to remember that God is present and working in the background (and often foreground) for me.

Use a fan today, and feel the Spirit blow.

I Am God

I am God

In the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, there is a tree-like creature named Groot. All that Groot ever says is, “I am Groot!” no matter what the question or situation. And characters in the movies seem to understand the point that Groot is saying simply by his voice inflections or volume. Groot more often than not tends to be the voice of reason when the Guardians of the Galaxy have a decision to make. His repeated declarations have an impact and meaning that can sometimes be quite powerful.

The character of Groot makes me think of our God who tells us again and again, “I am God,” but we often don’t listen or we forget his consistent message to us. When we are afraid, he says, “I am God” and we are calmed. When we need help with a problem, he says, “I am God” and we come to a conclusion. When we are confused or angry about something that has happened to us, he says, “I am God” and we have clarity and confidence.

His identity as our God covers over every circumstance in our lives and gives us the direction we need to move forward in our faith. He is the guardian of our hearts and knows everything about us. All we need to do is listen to him.

The Dawn’s Early Light

American flag

I was recently reading the story of what inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The story is that during the War of 1812 Key was on a ship in the Chesapeake Bay being guarded by British forces after he had rescued a friend who had been arrested. There he was forced to watch the British launch an attack on Fort McHenry in what is now called the Battle of Baltimore. He went to bed that night thinking the British had won, but in “the dawn’s early light,” he saw the American flag being raised over the fort to announce victory by the Americans. Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” in the days that followed based on this experience.

I find it interesting that only the night before Key saw the flag, he assumed the Americans were doomed. But in the light of day, the truth of America’s victory was revealed through the flag.

How often do we as citizens of this nation and members of the kingdom of God write something off as a failure or a defeat? And how often does God surprise us? The sight of the American flag was a surprise to Key and that is why the words of his song are so powerful to us today as Americans. The sight of God’s victory in tough times of many kinds in our lives still can take us aback at first and then empower us to rejoice in what he can do for us as his people in this nation, in this land of the free and this home of the brave. Let the glory of his might dawn upon us today and every day.

The Healing Power

paralyzed man

The story of the healing of the paralyzed man has many applications to our lives today. First, we look at the four friends who carried him. What friends they were! They took the time to carry their friend to healing. They took their friend to Jesus because they knew Jesus had healing in his hands. Who are the friends in your life who have carried you? Who have been there beside you through your suffering? And who have brought you close to Jesus? Thank God for them today.

The way to Jesus was unusual. The friends carrying the paralyzed man to Jesus could not go the normal way through the door to the house where Jesus was. The crowds were crushing in to be near him, to listen to him preach and to receive healing of their own. But this blocking of the door did not stop the friends of the paralyzed man. It led them to seek Jesus by another way—through the roof. They lowered their friend down from above to place him right in front of Jesus. This process took strength, ingenuity and creativity. This activity took risk and coordination among them. What ways to Jesus have been unique and required extra insight and strategy on your part? Thank God for helping you to see new ways to Jesus and allowing you the power to follow through on the often unusual paths he puts before us to receive help from our Savior.

Jesus’ interaction with the paralyzed man is rather unexpected as well. When the paralyzed man is finally placed before Jesus, the first thing Jesus does is forgive the man’s sins. Forgiveness is the man’s greatest need, even more than the healing of his paralysis. Our sins paralyze us in our faith, stopping us from growth and movement in our spiritual lives. The removal of our sins through forgiveness in Christ is the only way we can move forward in following our Savior. Jesus made the benefits of the forgiveness of sins clear when he was questioned by the Pharisees. When we go through trials in our lives, we need to remember that it is the blessing of forgiveness in Christ that is needed most before any physical need.

Yet after providing the forgiveness of sins to the paralyzed man, Jesus still gifts the man with healing in his body. “Rise, take your mat and go,” Jesus says. Jesus allows us to arise from our troubles of body and mind. We are lifted up from being down. We mirror Christ in his resurrection by rising to new life through him.

When Jesus tells the paralyzed man to take his mat, it is like he is saying, “Carry away all reminders of the past trials and recognize the power you now have over those tribulations that once ruled your life.” The mat represents the bad place the paralyzed man once was in and the carrying of the mat symbolizes that he is not in that bad place any longer.

Then Jesus tells the paralyzed man, “Go!” This was something he could not do previously—go forth on his own two feet and walk. “Go!” means that the man can travel on his own by the power of the Spirit and follow the path marked out for him by God. “Go!” means that the man is fully healed and fully ready to move on in Christ.

When healing comes to you, be ready to go as the paralyzed man was. Be ready to go and spread the news of what God has done for you in Christ. Be ready to help those who are in trouble by supporting them with your presence and prayers. Be ready to lead them to Jesus for help and healing. Be ready to step in the footsteps of Christ and go where he goes and do what he does. Go in the name of the Lord and be his follower forever.

Overcoming Temptation

overcoming temptation

In the article “Three Tests in the Wilderness,” in the March 2019 issue of Living Lutheran, author Brian Hiortdahl reviews for us the three temptations that Satan tried to entice Jesus with during his 40 days in the wilderness. The temptations were:

  1. To turn stone to bread.
  2. To throw himself from a high place to be rescued by angels
  3. To gain power over all the kingdoms of the earth by bowing to Satan

Each of these temptations Jesus resists and overcomes, using Scripture and declaring that God should not be put to the test.

Hiortdal reveals that Jesus overcame each of temptations in a much greater way in the last days of his life.

  1. Jesus turns his body into bread for those with hearts of stone on Maundy Thursday.
  2. Jesus is thrown down on the cross on Good Friday, but rises from the dead on Easter.
  3. Jesus ascends to absolute power when he returns to his rightful throne in heaven on Ascension Day.

Because Jesus ultimately overcame these temptations in this way, we, too, have the ultimate power to overcome every temptation the devil sends our way.

God’s Plan Is Bigger

God’s plan is biggerIn light of the fact that over the last two decades, the U.S. suicide rate has risen by 25 percent, leaders in the Church are being compelled more than ever to speak out about the meaning of our lives in the context of God’s plan. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, whose own son, Matthew, committed suicide in 2013, has urged those who are suffering to reach out to others for help, and he urges congregations to make a concerted effort to talk to those who are suffering.

What should our message to them be? Warren says we should remind sufferers of this Biblical truth: “God’s plan and purpose for you is greater than the problem or emotion you’re feeling now” (“People in Pain,” World Magazine, June 30, 2018, 9).

The realization that God’s plan and purpose is bigger than ourselves is a very comforting thought and one that I have gone back to quite often since I read this quote.

Are you having a problem at work or at home? God knows about it and will get you through it, as he has planned.

Are you worried, scared, nervous angry, sad, frustrated? God has the power to overcome those emotions and bring you peace and hope and confidence in him.

Life can be messy and not what we envisioned, for sure, but our faith tells us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

And we are assured that ”he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

We may not be able to see the plan of God for us right now, but we will one day, on the Last Day, and until that time we hold on tight to and find joy in the knowledge that the Lord says, even on our saddest day, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Keep trusting in him.

Pillows

pillowIn the middle of the growing contentious issue regarding refugees in America, I came across a moment of brightness in the conversation. I found it in the story of Pastor Paul Stumme-Diers, of Bethany Lutheran Church in Bainbridge Island, Washington, who had an idea:

“I recognized pillows as a symbol of hospitality. Who invites a guest without offering a pillow? And I found a great deal on pillows at a local retailer. What a fitting way to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the ministry of Jesus, who associated with the outsiders, Samaritans and lepers, and who himself was a refugee as an infant” (Pritchett, Rachel, “Providing Comfort,” Living Lutheran magazine, November 2017, p. 39).

The church blessed 500 pillows in their sanctuary by tossing them into the air before delivering them to Lutheran Community Services (LCS) Northwest, which provides services to refugees.

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Spiritual Prepping

emergency kitBefore Hurricane Harvey and Irma hit, we witnessed all the preparations people were making to protect their homes and keep themselves safe. This is just one example of a burgeoning business called “prepping.” providing people with supplies to prepare for disasters of many kinds, both natural and man-made.

Janie B. Cheaney in “Ready for the Worst?” in the June 10, 2017 issue of World magazine, ponders this question: “What spiritual resources should you add to your emergency supply list?” (World Magazine, June 10, 2017, p. 14).

Surprisingly, the answer involves similar elements to our earthly emergency kits. Take a look:

Food: Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of God in times of trouble and every day.

Water: Drown the old Adam in the waters of your baptism in hard times and be refreshed by the living water that only Christ can give.

Protective clothing: I think here about the armor of God from Ephesians 6: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the readiness of the gospel of peace fitted around your feet.

Back-up power: Be regenerated through prayer and gain new strength through your conversations with your Lord and Savior. i think of this prayer from St. Paul: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being (Ephesians 3:16).

Back-up heat: When you are feeling left out in the cold, draw on the warmth of God’s love from family, friends and your faith community. Listen to the warmth of Paul’s love for his fellow believers in these words: “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” (Philippians 4:1). That same warmth of love is available to you through your brothers and sisters in faith.

Be sure to pull out this prep kit the next time a spiritual emergency of any kind hits. You will be glad you did.

Freedom

freedomAs we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this year, it is important for us to remember some of the key statements of Martin Luther. One of those statements is on the concept of freedom. Luther said in his most famous treatise On the Freedom of the Christian, in 1520: “The Christian individual is a completely free lord of all, subject to none. The Christian individual is a completely dutiful servant of all, subject to all.“

These two statements may seem to contradict one another, but, in fact, they encapsulate the complete picture of what we as Christians call freedom.

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Powerful Words

open BibleI was recently hospitalized and through that experience, among many things, I learned the power that the words of Scripture can have on a person in a time of crisis.

On a plaque directly in my line of sight as I laid in bed read: Fear not, for I am with you (Isaiah 41:10).

Those words kept my spirits up each day and gave me the strength to keep going.

Then my cousin texted these words to me:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning —Lamentations 3:22-23

As soon as I saw those words, I immediately began to cry. It was just what I needed to hear at that exact moment. No matter how bleak it was looking, I was reassured that God will always love me and that his goodness to me is fresh every day—no matter what is happening in my life.

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