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Written by Peggy Lundy - Heartland Church - Fort Wayne, IN Photo Credit: Janet Mueller  For most of December, one word had been reoccurring with uncharacteristic frequency. Multiple times a day, I had seen it in print, heard it in music, or read it on social media. Maybe it was because of the holiday season or the type of year we’d just had. Regardless, I had heard it a lot, and it was beginning to annoy and irritate me.
Why should one word cause me such frustration? Because I had given up on that word. I had decided it was empty and impossible. It had become illusive and imaginary. I was disappointed, discouraged, and despondent. And every time I heard that word, I wanted to scream or growl or both. It’s only a little four-letter word. It is, however, a very powerful word — as powerful as sunlight pouring through a window when heavy drapes are thrown open. It’s blinding and painful and annoying. But God is relentless when He speaks. He will not stop until we listen. And He was speaking to me. His persistence began to penetrate my darkness, and I began to see and hear again. He was offering me a gift. And even though I continued to push it away, He kept offering. Finally, realizing I was fighting a losing battle, I began to open up to His gift. The days got brighter, my heart got lighter, and the future didn’t seem so dark anymore. Hope had come in like the sunlight. That one pesky word didn’t seem so irritating any more. Looking ahead into 2021 can feel ominous, dreadful and downright scary. But, we have hope. The kind of hope that’s steadfast and sure. It doesn’t disappoint and it doesn’t lie. It is as eternal as the God who gives it. Every time I’ve experienced uncertainty in my future, God has always highlighted Scriptures to encourage me. Two of the most significant are Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 15:13. This is how I repeat them to myself. “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a future and a hope.’ ” And from Romans, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may abound with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” And yes, both of those verses popped up, more than once, during the days I wasn’t listening. I believe God is reminding us we don’t have to manufacture our own hope or find it hidden in our circumstances. Hope is part of His nature, and He wants to share it with us so that our future, no matter how uncertain, is filled with joy, peace, and provision. He is offering the same gift of hope to every Christ follower as we take on the adventures that await us in 2021. Will you join me by receiving His gift? Written by Fr. Joe Boysel - Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Hudson, OH  Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
—Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV) In his book Alienated America Timothy P. Carney calls the Church, “America’s Indispensable Institution.” A commentary editor for the Washington Examiner, Carney shockingly notes that active participation in religion in general, and in Christianity in particular, leads to all sorts of positive personal outcomes, such as: stronger marriages, greater economic prosperity, longer lives, and an overall greater level of happiness. Simply put, going to church is good for people. Carney demonstrates this through many different sociological studies, citing data from every imaginable angle. He is so convinced that the church is America’s most important institution—the glue that holds our society together—he baldly states, “that only the most stubborn enemies of religion deny [it].” The corollary is likewise true. While religion is demonstrably good for people, secularism—people living as irreligious members of a society—hurts them. As Carney puts it, “the irreligious suffer.” Now it’s true that there are many happy individual atheists/agnostics in our country and around the world; that’s not the point. The statistical reality is that, for an American, life outside of religion is far more likely to lead to dysfunction and misery than adding the single ingredient of participating in weekly worship. Carney’s analysis of Gallup’s research data leads him to conclude, “that very religious people have better lives than similarly situated non-religious people.” But there remains one stunning caveat; he writes, “Interestingly, the ‘moderate religious’ fared worse on almost every [metric] than both the very religious and the nonreligious.” In other words, “being highly religious seems correlated with happiness, but being a little bit religious does not.” The problem, of course, is that America has been on a slippery slope of becoming more and more secularized for a very long time. We’re still religious, but less so all the time. Yes, this is certainly a problem exacerbated by the policies enacted in the halls of Washington and Columbus, Albany and Lansing, Tallahassee and Sacramento, but that’s not the biggest part of the problem. America has become more and more secularized because we’ve become quite comfortable with tepid Christianity. Unfortunately, the more irreligious we become the more miserable we will become and the more our society will begin to break down into further disrepair. We are all hoping that, over the course of this coming year, our world will at last emerge from this long pandemic nightmare. By God’s grace, we hope to see more and more people vaccinated against COVID-19 until, one day, the virus will be nothing more than a bad memory. Indeed, we all look forward to the day when we will talk about COVID-19 like we do polio and measles now. “Ah, remember back when?” we’ll all say. “Wasn’t that awful?” But I wonder, what sort of America will emerge with this new reality? Will our societal and spiritual health match our physical wellbeing? Will we discover that the long hiatus from church, for so many people, created a craving for return? Or will it be just the opposite? After the pandemic will we find a society primed for revival or ruination? What’s more, what will we find of those who clung to their faith through the pandemic? Will we be ready to engage the world in mission? Will we be ready to move beyond the walls of our parish buildings to encounter the secularized corners of our nation with the hope of the Gospel? Will we be ready to face the future with optimism, believing that we have been called for such a time as this? Or will we be content to lament the “good old days,” back when people used to believe in God and went to church? As the calendar turns over a new year I want to urge us all to be thinking about the importance of putting Christ first in our lives. That means putting Christ first on Sunday and then putting him first on Monday too. Putting Christ first means putting both worship and mission front-and-center on the priority page of our lives. After all, people need the Lord and our nation desperately needs the Church. As always, I send this with, Love and Blessings, Father Joe+ Written by Sue VanderKlay - Heartland Church - Fort Wayne, IN Photo Credit: Rhonda Bailey  A devotional dedicated to my mom, who passed away on December 20, 2016.
“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20 NIV). I learned something new during our time together at church on December 15, 2019. The song, “Joy to the World,” was not actually written as a Christmas song! It’s a song celebrating Christ’s return! Often, as a child and young lady, I remember my mom humming “Joy to the World” or singing portions of it throughout the year. I remember thinking or wondering if maybe she just longed for Christmas to come as that was her favorite time of year. Family, whom we wouldn’t see but maybe once or twice a year, would come to visit. Now, I’m thinking that maybe mom knew it wasn’t “just” a Christmas song. Mom struggled so much during her life here on earth! Towards the end, she just wanted to hear His word and how it had brought growth and joy to those she loved. She also wanted to be told that she was loved by her family but, most of all, her Lord and Savior. During one of the last times I visited her, I remember hearing someone in the gathering area of the nursing home playing “Joy to the World” on the piano, and she was humming along. She couldn’t speak at that point, and it didn’t really seem as if she understood much, but she knew that song! This year, we have all faced some tough times, and we may face many more challenges in the days and years to come. But the rest of this year and in the new year to come, we have the option to CHOOSE JOY! Key Thought: As we come to the close of this year, remember that our Lord longs for us to draw close to Him, experience the joy, receive the blessings, fill ourselves with His truths, and see the wonders of His love as we prepare for His second coming! Joy to the World Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king; Let every heart, prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and flocks, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove; The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love. Written by Dcn. Sue Bliese - Holy Spirit Anglican - Akron, OH  When I came home from work I was greeted by an envelope on the kitchen table. It was from my health insurance provider. It was unmarked; no “Bill Enclosed” or “Important Information About Your Account.” Hmmmm. No thank you, I thought. I am done adulting today.
My day had not been particularly hard, but nothing makes me want to deny my responsibilities more than insurance. So many details, so many new vocabulary words. Where is the responsible adult who takes care of this stuff? Oh yeah, that’s me. Well, not that night. I’d had enough of reality and was ready to live in denial for an evening. 2020 has been a particularly difficult year. It’s been a year of racial tensions, crazy politics, and pandemic. Businesses have closed, student fail rates have doubled, and people have lost loved ones. If there ever was a time to feel like you are done adulting for a while this may be it. Sleeping late, staying in your pjs all day and watching cartoons until July might seem like the best solution. I feel you. Fortunately we adults do have someone more responsible watching over us, who loves us and provides for us. A creator who takes care of his creation. Whatever happens, I am not adulting on my own. I have this awesome heavenly Father, who delights in me and thinks I am worth, well, his son. In this year of unprecedented changes, he has not changed. Hard times do not intimidate him. He is still “turn[ing] the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water” (Ps. 114:8) I am still seeing friends find God and experiencing new life in Christ. My friend who works with college students reports full zoom small groups who want to be filled with the Spirit. Their natural resources are running out. That Spirit will pour out the Father’s love into their hearts (Rom 5:5). Circumstances do not matter; he is still offering those near and far strength that comes from outside themselves, a safe home within his heart where we can know we are his beloved child. Sometimes I mess up and run away and hide when I should face reality. And sometimes that makes me feel awful about myself. But the morning after I denied the reality of the insurance letter I woke up feeling fresh and new. God does take care of me, my sins and mistakes not because of what I do but because his grace and love is real. I can trust him. And the letter was only informational – I can adult that! And so, with spirits fully alive, safe in the care of our loving heavenly Father, we can change out of our pjs and put real pants on. We, like the gates in Psalm 24, lift up our heads as we face 2021, that “the King of Glory may come in.” You are welcome in my heart Lord. We look forward to your new year. Psalm 24:7-10 (NIV) Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty-- he is the King of glory. Written by The Rev. Andy Dunn - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Gray, KY  “You have found favor with God!”(Luke 1:30)
Can you imagine meeting an angel of the Lord and hearing this announcement? I cannot. We know from Luke’s gospel that a young Mary was in disbelief when she heard these words. This unassuming, innocent, girl going about her own business is suddenly and deliberately visited by this messenger of hope. What would you do? What did she do? Well, from Luke’s account, she simply obeyed and trusted in the Lord. During this Advent week and the soon to be celebrated Christmas season, we can reflect on Mary’s humble acceptance of God’s will in her life trusting in Him without knowing the outcome. That is faith. Faith plays a major part in our Advent journey to a stable in Bethlehem. Christians look to this babe lying in a manger with hope and expectation that He will come to fulfill the prophecies of old and usher in a new creation, a new eternal life of unending joy with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We wait with bated breath that our Savior will come again in glory, not as a mere babe, but as a mighty King. So, how do we find favor with the Almighty as did young Mary? Are we to be perfect saints to satisfy God’s requirements? We are not, of course, unblemished like Him. We are not without the stain of sin. Why would God find favor in us at all? It is because he loves us beyond measure. He wants us all to experience His unyielding love. Remember, Mary obeyed and had faith. It is the same with you and me. What does Christ ask of us? Call upon the name of the Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. We hear this command on most Sundays. Be Jesus. Let those around you see Jesus in you. That is how we can find favor with God - simple obedience and love. This time of year is a perfect time to shine the light of Christ on those who are living in darkness. For those without Christ in their lives, this season can be depressing or even empty. Feelings of loneliness seem to multiply. Depression can take hold. Darkness can overpower the light. It can even happen with our own Christian brothers and sisters. So, I ask you to be aware. Be aware of those around you. Ask the Lord to reveal someone to you right now that needs to see and feel the love of Christ Jesus. While we can be awake and aware and expectant of Jesus’ return, we can still spread His good news with those around us. As we journey toward the stable and beyond to Jesus’ glorious return, let us bring those who know not His story along with us. Love them. Tell them the story. Help lead them to Christ. That is the greatest Christmas gift we can give to each other. Let us all find favor with God when we answer His call in our lives to spread this amazing news in the same way Mary proclaimed, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Come Lord Jesus. Come. |
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