Tag: Follow Me

Living in Scary and Uncertain Times: Finding Solace in Galatians 5:22-23

by Linda Russell, posted in Uncategorized

This post started out differently than what you’re seeing here. I intended to simply write about the Fruits of the Spirit and most of the content came directly from my book. Then, I received a “holy prompting” to focus it on the present reality of the violence, hatred, and fear we are daily inundated with.

 Yes, we are living in scary and uncertain times, which is likely causing so many to hide behind locked doors, have the groceries delivered, skip church or any crowds, and throw up frantic prayers to God.

Which makes this a perfect opportunity to delve into Galatians 5:22-23. I have long felt it was the most poignant of all of Scripture and has so much to tell us today.

Imagine God inspiring the writer(s) of these verses and being pleased with their work. Then, sitting back crosses his fingers and hoping we choose wisely because he has no control over our decisions.

We are daily challenged to decide between:

Love or hate

Joy or misery

Peace or worry

Patience or agitation

Kindness and gentleness or malice

Self-Control or instability

So, let’s go…

LOVE

Does love have limits? Many of us carry scars of past pain and hurt that play out in our lives daily and affect how we treat others. I swore I would never be like my mother – does that sound familiar?

When love is conditional, it is worldly, shallow, and indifferent. It can easily transform into hatred. From that perspective, we watch closely for others to screw up just once, and we’re done with them.

We seem to forget that God’s immense love and grace have no expiration date. “Oops, your get-out-of-jail-free card has expired. Sorry.”

He longs to help us love those that we find humanly impossible to like—even ourselves at times. But here’s the key: I can learn to love only when I have accepted God’s love myself.

Know the Difference: worldly love wears the sheepskin of an “if it feels good” mentality over the wolf that devours childhood innocence, destroys relationships, makes compassion a burden, and muddies the pure waters of selfless love created by God (1 Cor. 13:4-8).

JOY

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.” (Psalm 98:4)

A common response to the idea of joy might be something like this: “News flash, dufus, joy is the noise made by fools who don’t have a clue what is going on in the world.”

All right, fair enough (no need to call me names). I actually do know about the terrible things happening in the world today: anger, violence, and hatred. I also know about a man who suffered an indescribable death at the hands of those who wrongly accused him of a crime. He was beaten, spit on, and mocked. Then, he was nailed to a cross as many watched him slowly suffocate and die.

We know the life stories of those who have and continue to follow Jesus’ example. Do you think for one moment they would sign up for that if they were following a fool? They knew that the only way to bring nonbelievers to Christ was to live joyfully because no idiot would follow someone who spewed bad news on a regular basis.

So, what about us? Suffering has a purpose, and when you discover that truth for yourself, as I finally did after many years, hopefully, you will have arrived at a place where you, too, can shout for joy and share the Good News with others.

Joy is the oasis of laughter in the desert of loneliness. It is a caring touch coming through the locked door of a broken heart. It is peering through tear-stained eyes into an empty tomb. Pain and suffering are temporary. Joy is eternal.

PEACE

If I wanted true peace in my life, I would have to let go of the anger and lashing out. I would have to recognize the part I played in my own misery, and I would have to release the people who were on the receiving end of all the pain and hurt that was bottled up inside of me. Did I turn some people away from God because there was no peace in my life? 

One of Jesus’ final acts was to offer his disciples peace, and they were going to need it! “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” 

Have you known someone in your life who radiates peace? If you are wise, you will do everything, short of stalking them, to be in their company, to glimpse through them the very nature and essence of God, which is peace, and then claim it for yourself.

PATIENCE

Today, patience is a dinosaur, and if it doesn’t come in a pill form, we aren’t interested. I want it now! I don’t want to feel it. I don’t want to deal with it. Give me a pill, a distraction, or a bus ticket out of here.

A display of patience we might tolerate would be something like a gentle nudging to wait your turn, wait for your elderly grandmother to catch up, wait for a phone call. Just a small interruption in our daily routine may be okay.

The word patience literally means to suffer and endure. If that’s true, then how much would be required of us to be in a relationship with someone who is unbearable or endure intolerable circumstances? Yet that is exactly what God is asking of us when he calls us to patience, to suffer, and bear the burdens of life.

We excuse ourselves when we fail to be Christ-like to others, yet we expect God to be all-loving, all-forgiving, and all-patient with us. “Well, God’s a bigger man than I am.”  So, you’re comfortable with that excuse, are you?

But hold on. I have some good news for you. God doesn’t demand anything from us that he will not give us the power—his power—to achieve. So why is God so patient with us? He knows our human frailties and longs for us to trust him. He longs to shower us with blessings and guide us through all the obstacles this world presents to us.

A question we are called to ask ourselves: is my impatience a stumbling block to others?

KINDNESS & GENTLENESS

What are the prejudices and injustices we perpetrate on others because of our pride, pious attitudes, and forgetfulness of just how imperfect we are?

If we thought about it, we could all probably recall at least one person in our lives whom we have distanced ourselves from because of struggles in our relationship. That person may be as close as our living room couch.

We are often so determined to stay focused on the hurt we endure from others that we’ll stay there as long as it takes to make that person suffer. But, you know what? That person is a child of God, just like we are. That person is likely broken, just like we are. It’s time to let them off the hook.

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind.” Brad Meltzer

GOODNESS

“Everyone feels benevolent if nothing happens to be annoying him at the moment.” C. S. Lewis

I learned a few tricks from my mother, who was the master of masking. She was from the old school of “What would the neighbors think?” When you walked out the door, you left the dark family secrets behind and played the game in public.

And, oh, the games we play, the lies we tell. But the real tragedy, I believe, is that we think we’re faultless, even though our sins tell a different story. Goodness doesn’t seem to be on the same scale as holiness, does it? I think I could rationalize myself into the category of good, but I would have a tough time comparing myself to Mother Theresa (don’t think I haven’t tried!).

I believe most people really want to do good, but we are constantly in a battle. That’s why Galatians 6:9 says, “Don’t grow weary doing good.”

Our true character is who we are when no one is looking.

Now comes the proverbial question, “Why should I?”  The answer is that being good, especially to our enemies, can bring far greater rewards than treating them the way we think they deserve to be treated. And if you still need convincing, go back to the cross for a reminder of what loving your enemy looks like.

Now, go love that jerk …oops…child of God.

FAITHFULNESS

God’s faithfulness is steadfast, but what about ours? I can only relate to you what has brought me to a place where I know faithfulness means far more than I was ever willing to admit. That didn’t happen as a result of one miraculous event: No burning bush, no parting of the sea, no Lazarus-like miracle, just a journey, a very long journey, to a patient and loving God.

How do we rationalize our indifference to the horror of what took place at Calvary? Could it be that we trivialize Jesus’ suffering to make our meager sacrifices appear to be significant and our sins acceptable? Thus, Jesus becomes a warm fuzzy, and we’re off the hook.

Trivialize this…“Take up your cross and follow Me.” (Mark 8:34) Oh boy, here we go. This is where we disconnect.

We know the kind of men the apostles were before Jesus died. They were a bunch of misfits. They doubted, they questioned, and they fell asleep when he asked them to stay awake and pray with him. Then, they ran away when he was taken to be hanged. But they knew they screwed up big time!

Now, here they are in the Upper Room after Jesus is buried, eleven men lost in confusion and grappling with their weakness; their denial. Then Jesus shows up. And what are his first words? “Peace to you.” (Luke 24:36) 

When Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to take up his cross and follow Me, anyone who wants to suffer the same fate as Me, step forward.”  They did. All of them. There would be no turning back now. No running, no denying. The cock could crow till the cows came home, and not one would falter. Not this time.

Now it’s our turn. Certainly, most of us will not be called to martyrdom. But, we are called, though, to die in our own selfish, self-centered ways. We are called to be different, to suffer if need be. We must stop asking, “Why me, Lord?” and accept our trials with faith and trust that God is right there with us to turn our sorrows into joy.

SELF-CONTROL

Everything that Satan is behind—those worldly things that we call pleasure are really his skillfully disguised handiwork. Each time we justify the smallest sin, we become insensitive to the fact that it actually is sin.

For all those who have been deceived into believing that there is such an excusable thing as a “tiny indiscretion,” those are the lies of Satan that keep us out of a relationship with God.

While we’re on the subject, we would do well to look at all areas that we excuse but God does not. Have we been lulled into a belief that there is nothing wrong with what we are doing? What has happened to our consciences?

Leo Tolstoy, in his essay, The Lion and the Honeycomb, Why Do Men Stupefy Themselves? explains: “What people most want is not that their consciousness should work correctly; it is that their actions should appear to them to be just.”

God says in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” Seriously? They seem awfully burdensome to us, don’t they? But as Christians, we are called to be disciplined in our lives. Until we can give everything to God; until we can come to a place where we are “seeking the Kingdom of God first” (Matthew 6:33), we will repeatedly fail. That’s why self-control is not self-alone.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Following Christ does take a great amount of discipline, and it is only possible through him. To everyone who feels battle-scarred right now, whether those battles of life have only been skirmishes or they have been “all-out, fight-to-the-death, take-no-prisoners” wars, take heed.

We don’t make a one-time – this is it – I surrender – commitment to Christ and then throw ourselves a party. If you think all your sinfulness will instantly be eradicated when you do that, you’re gonna fall hard, smack your loser head, and go join the circus.

Come back here. Don’t do that. Just fall on your bruised knees, seek forgiveness from a merciful and loving God, and start over. You can do this! God created you and equipped you to do this.

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places

Featured by Linda Russell, posted in "Experiencing" God, Do Something, God is LOVE, If not us, then who?, Jesus as Sacrament, the greatest of these is love
(Tenor GIF)

Recently, I was reminded of my long-standing frustration as I gathered my thoughts on what Church is supposed to be and what is actually happening.

I left the Catholic Church several years ago, and though I feel like I have landed in a church I’m growing to love, I still find myself searching for a true depth of faith I want to encounter, not just in others, but also in myself.

I want it to be like those guys on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:32). You know, when they were bellyaching about how their lives were upended, and all of a sudden they realized their hearts “were on fire” as they walked with this guy who showed up out of nowhere. I had my own experience of that in Kentucky, and it changed my life!

In the past, I was great at shaking my finger – at someone, anyone, to blame for the indifference to God’s call to love that I witnessed almost daily: The clergy, bishops, the Pope, but not the faithful sitting unaware in the pews (if they’re sitting there at all). Never those poor innocent folks in the pews.

I assumed that for some reason beyond their consciousness – poor religious instruction or perhaps sucky sermons that can rival Ambien’s effect as a sleep medication – they have never encountered the “living” Christ. How is that supposed to happen when we’re either nodding off in the pew or thinking of that much-anticipated Super Bowl in just a few hours (more on that later).

If liturgy is, as I learned from Church teachings, the “source and summit” of faith, then it must give meaning to our lives. Right? Meaning that should cause us to sit in stunned silence in the presence of the Incarnate Word of God. Where, in awe and wonder, we remove our sandals on what is surely holy ground.

Gradually, it would seem, Sunday after Sunday, we would fall in love with Love. Perhaps we would begin to squirm in the pew we once found comfortable as we realize that God calls us to take responsibility for responding to that love. It’s really not optional if we call ourselves “Christian,” you know.

From the Greek leitourgia, liturgy means “the work of the people.” That’s all of us, every single one! Let’s look at the early Church where it began – with Jesus himself. Think of Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper. Think of John resting on Jesus’ shoulder. Jesus poured the wine, washed their feet, loved on them, and said, “Do this in memory of Me, always recall My love for you, prepare yourselves for the work I’m calling you to.

Sooooo, what are you waiting for? Get out there and love on people!” I can guarantee you that not once during that supper did Jesus or any of his apostles ruminate on the Super Bowl or long for hot wings while consuming dry bread. Not one of them!

But we do. The significance and power of our worship seems to be lost today. It isn’t confined to the Pastor. There isn’t a list of formalities we can check off: Enter, bow, glare at the person who’s sitting in your spot, gaze out the stained glass windows past the tearful widow next to you, tune out the sermon, rush out the door. Repeat.

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me. But don’t stop there!” He gives us explicit instructions to respond in action, to “love and serve the Lord.” Every part of our worship should lead us to that end.

Here’s what I believe a life of faith should look like. It’s what I strive for and so often fail miserably at. We go to Church to be nurtured by God’s Word, to seek and know we are forgiven for our sins. We are challenged by the sermon, share the peace and love of God with others, and then are sent out to be Christ in a hurting world.

If, instead, we sit as silent spectators simply waiting to get our card punched for the week, a hurting world suffers the loss. What is missing? Many people today say they can be spiritual without the Church. Those who simply “show up” also miss the point.

Here’s a question for you: Who wants to watch the Super Bowl alone? We surround ourselves with friends and indulge in a feast made for a king. It’s a party! If we could only approach liturgy with that same excitement. We are called to prepare our hearts and minds at the banquet table, where we celebrate the love of God.

Guys, the liturgy is a feast celebrating God’s extravagant Love. We relish the fires of hot wings while the fire of the Holy Spirit lies smoldering in our hearts. This realization always causes me to point my finger in the mirror again and again. Perhaps many believers have not encountered the living Christ, but I have. Yet, I, too, often resist his most profound call to love.

Mary Collins speaks of “God-seekers” who “risk more than the ordinary. They risk their sanity….The rest of us go to church”. It’s too frightening. We don’t want the responsibility to love like that. We want that left to those “holy” people we often read about. But….

 What if we had an Emmaus encounter with Christ right in the midst of communion?

What if we actually saw Christ proclaiming God’s lavish, magnificent, and unending Love?

What if we turned to offer others the sign of peace, and Christ took our hand?

What if in our “Amen,” we meant it? “Amen” means, “Yep, I wholeheartedly agree!”  It doesn’t mean, “Let me think about that and get back to you.”

What if, in sheer gratitude for God’s self-giving Love, Christ in our midst, we became that very Love emptied and spilled out into the world? Catherine Vincie calls this “the prophetic function of a dangerous memory.”

Then, how dangerous would this be – what if we saw Jesus Himself as the primary sacrament of grace. Could we handle that? All forms of love, goodness, sacrifice, and resurrection are salvific. In this sense, Jesus is the greatest sacrament of all. Why does that reality not trump football? Why does Jesus always have to be competing with a cheap imitation?

Empowering Faith in a Secular World

by Linda Russell, posted in Boldness in adversity, Countering Donald Trump, Do Something, dying for hope, End of Religion, Energized by hope, For such a time as this, hope after the 2024 election, loving others, Lukewarm Christian

There are several examples in the Old and New Testament of people abandoning God and going their own way to do their own thing. Probably most notable for us is when Jesus was hauled away in the midst of his disciples – his friends – to be crucified. They instantly and collectively decided that was not something they signed up for and ran like hell.

Of course, the good news is that they came back stronger and more determined to follow Jesus’ example of God’s love for a broken world. This time they would not turn back. This time they would willingly die for him. And to that end, all but John became mortars. How do their lives compare with ours today? Well, the abandoning Jesus part lines up.

How did we get here?

Let’s start with statistics from the Pew Research Center: Today, about 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion. In our latest data, 17% of “nones” identify as atheists, 20% say they are agnostic, and 63% choose “nothing in particular.”

Why?

When asked why they are not religious, two-thirds say they question a lot of religious teachings mainly because they don’t see those teachings lived out, or they don’t believe in God. “Many also bring up criticisms of religious institutions or people, including 47% who say that one extremely or very important reason why they are not religious is that they dislike religious organizations. And 30% say bad experiences they’ve had with religious people help explain why they are nonreligious.”

So, that doesn’t leave much more to dislike besides uncomfortable pews and bad music.

If you want to geek out on the research, here’s the link: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/01/24/religious-nones-in-america-who-they-are-and-what-they-believe/

So, why does it matter?

Many researchers that have followed the attitudes of Gen Z’s, and Millennials in particular, believe it is linked decisively to Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and even more so in 2024.

I believe that if we have any chance of restoring care and compassion for each other and for those God calls us to love: the weak and vulnerable, we must open our hearts to those who have lost their way.

Matt. 5-14-16 tells us: “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

How do we do that?

I’m glad you asked. It’s not going to be easy because we have to start with our own understanding of God’s love and what he is calling us to, and then have the courage and conviction it will require.

Let me share a bit of my own story that might help. Thirty years ago – give or take – I was a Youth Minister. Each year, the school allowed us to speak to the seventh graders about the Youth Program and invite them to come. We would have an initial event to start the year. I knew some of the boys came because there were girls there, and visa-versa.

I didn’t care what got them there. I just hoped we could offer them something special that would keep them there. To that end, we offered two big events during the year, and they both had to do with serving others.

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to a church in the inner city and delivered meals to the poor. Then, during the summer, we went to Georgia for a week-long service project, helping paint and fix up homes in the poorer areas of a community. It was a huge endeavor that brought large numbers of kids from several states together. Every night we gathered for prayer and celebration. Our kids were blown away by all of it!

But, here’s the beautiful part: The result of those two experiences didn’t end there. The kids shared the impact on their own lives. Thanksgiving had a whole new meaning for them. When we came back from Georgia they couldn’t get enough of opportunities to serve their own community. They would come up with things to do. For example: we started what we called “Rake and Run”. We would go to the homes of the elderly, rake their leaves, bag them, and sneak away (they loved the sneaking away part!)

For years, I have watched kids sit in church bored to tears – if they actually showed up. I’ve seen some parents drop them off at church and leave. Some of those kids didn’t even go inside. Youth programs were few and far between. Like the adults, they were just expected to go for that hour to get their card punched. Like that would somehow magically convert them into lovers of Christ and become His “hands and feet” in this broken world.

Making a change will not be easy or quick

Our country is overrun by heathens who are already wreaking havoc and will continue to destroy everything in their path. God only knows where it will end and how many innocent people will suffer. But, I do know this: if we care, we must step out with courage and conviction that comes from God alone.

This is not a time for fear, anger, or timidity. It’s a time for action! It’s a time to live the Beatitudes as God intended:

Being Poor in Spirit means to act with humility not hatred.

Mourning – calls us to recognize our sins and the sins of others. Not only the sin of hatred that we harbor in our hearts but also the sin of culpability when we excuse the sins of others – to have the courage to call them out.  

Meekness – does not mean weakness, but to be submissive to the will of God, who calls us to love others.

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness – this is a call not only for us to hunger for God, but as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and so many others, we are called beyond a hunger and thirst for God within ourselves, but also directed out to those who suffer.

Merciful – not simply feeling compassion for others in need. True, deep, inner compassion calls us outward to service and care for the most vulnerable.

Pure in Heart – not only speaks to what we do as believers but why we do it. The why informs our motivation.

Peacemaker – bringing people back to God, not by our words, but by our example.

Persecuted for Righteousness – If I am persecuted by others for loving and serving God then I am right where He wants me.

Are you ready?

God’s waiting for our response. He’s counting on us, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the examples of those in the trenches and those who have gone before us, like John Lewis, “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this!

When Jesus Comes Begging

by Linda Russell, posted in Do you love Me?, Follow Me, God is LOVE, If not us, then who?, loving others

Recently, I was with a friend when we saw a man begging on the street corner. She made the comment that she doesn’t give money to beggars because she doesn’t know what they’ll do with it. “They’ll probably buy drugs or alcohol.”

I can’t tell you how many people have said that to me over the years. And I can’t tell you how hard it has been for me to keep from slapping them silly! So, hopefully, this post will speak to that in a kinder way that won’t raise my blood pressure or leave marks on them!

Let me set this scene for you. God is in the beginning stages of creating humans. I could have told him that was a bad idea, but he didn’t ask. Anyway, as he draws up his plans and orders his priorities – the top of the list is teaching them to “love”. It’s the most important thing of all to him and what he will base everything else on.

He wants his love for us to naturally flow to our love for others, especially “the least of these”. It’s a great plan, and he’s pretty proud of himself. But for whatever reason, that idea never seemed to gain much popularity over these bazillion years. To this day, considering the latest number of homeless families in America is over 57,000, little seems to have changed.

Over time, God, though a bit peeved, continues to try to show us how to love others by Jesus’ example. And we continually screw up, ask for forgiveness, he obliges, wipes the slate clean, and off we go all bright and shiny until we screw up again…

AND AGAIN.

AND AGAIN.

What if God decided to cancel all future blessings?! He’s thought long and hard about it, and considering our indifference to his call for us to love others as he loves us, he thinks it’s a total wasted effort, especially since he “doesn’t know what we’ll do with them”. Maybe we’ll trade them with someone else for something we would rather have. Like, oh, I don’t know, drugs or alcohol!”

Oops, sorry, I got a little side-tracked there.

We go up – Jesus goes down

While we ascend to the loftiest place on our “spiritual” journey, Jesus descends to the lowest. Of course, we fail to recognize him as we pass him by.

Paradoxically, we worship a homeless man on Sunday and fail to care for the homeless man right in front of us the rest of the week.

Saint Mother Teresa left her safe, comfortable religious order at the age of sixty-eight to sit on the filthy streets of Calcutta, caring for the dirty and rejected homeless. Stroking the heads of those left to die by an indifferent world. An indifferent world we are part of if we fail to care.

Letting go

Are we clinging to our measly pocket change for fear of what the beggar on the corner is going to do with it? Seriously??? That guy is standing there naked and vulnerable, knowing we are judging him. He no more wants to be on that street corner than we do. Geeezzzzzz!

Micah 6:8 challenges us to “Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

How to Boil a Frog

by Linda Russell, posted in "Experiencing" God, a new Christmas, Follow Me

(originally posted 1/18/20)

Boiling a frog is not complicated because frogs are…well…stupid. The hardest part will be to find one; the rest is easy. Simply put enough water in the pot (not too hot or cold), so its little head won’t be submerged. Place the frog in the pot and set the flame on low.

That’s it! You don’t need to watch the pot, cover it with a lid, or tie an anchor to froggies feet. The frog will not move a muscle. In about twenty minutes, you will have a tender, succulent frog for dinner. You’ll find great recipes online too. (By the way, it really does taste like chicken!)

(Imgflip image)

We are so like those frogs! Seriously. And when life gets a little sticky or uncomfortable and starts to boil over, we just stay stuck in our misery.

If you find yourself going through life day after mundane day, repeating the same routine to ad nauseum, perhaps God is trying to get your attention. WOW! Do you realize what a great segue this is to the miracle and magnificence of the Incarnation? No? Well, hang on…

We’re in mid-January. By now, the decorations are down, trees shredded into mulch, ugly sweaters returned or regifted, and everything packed away for another year. Now we can focus not on the miracle of Christ’s birth we’re done with that, but on fixing all the stupid, unhealthy things we did over the holidays: Drank too much, ate too much, and spent too much.

What are you doing right now? Okay, you’re reading this. But what were you doing before that, for…say… the thirty or so days leading up to Christmas? What about the weeks and months, and years before that?

Wanna know what I was doing? I wasted much of Advent doing nothing that really mattered. But I did have an AHA moment thinking about Mary’s pending parenthood. Do you think she lived her life like a typical teenage girl today? Polishing her nails at sleepovers, giggling about the little Jewish boy her girlfriend sat next to on the bus? Texting, tweeting, and posting selfies all day?

Do you believe for one minute that Gabriel just popped in on her at the eleventh hour and dropped that bomb, “Guess what, Mary, oh favored one, do we have a surprise for you!” Are you kidding me? Even though Mary may not have known what was coming, you can be sure that her entire life was preparation for it. Let’s go back a little further – to her parents. They likely had no clue, either. But, we can be sure the Spirit guided them to parent her well. That was their calling, and they were well prepared for it.

The takeaway for me is that we are all called to holiness, called to use the gifts and talents already given us for God’s kingdom work. But it takes awareness on our part. I would highly recommend Anthony DeMello’s book, Awareness if you need some help climbing out of that boiling pot.

See the segue now?

I know so many people, and I’ll bet you do too, perhaps even you yourself, who just can’t believe God has a plan for them. Over the years, I have encountered people who don’t believe me when I tell them my story. “Oh, really?! God told you to do that, huh? Right!”

To be honest, I wouldn’t have believed it myself if God hadn’t gradually brought me to a place where I could trust him, even if I had no earthly idea what he was up to. For years, little promptings proved to be pretty awesome if I was paying attention.

If you have come out on the other side of Christmas and find yourself back in your old routine – schlepping through the same habits, STOP IT! How about starting over? Right here. Right now. How about starting with your perception of “church” because that’s often the source of our stuckedness (yeah, spell-check it, that’s a word)?

See if any of this rings true for you: In some faith traditions, we have what is called,  “Ordinary Time” – the times before and after Easter and Christmas. But, sadly, there are way too many Christians out there called the C&E people who only attend church on Christmas and Easter, and they’re probably not even sure why they go then.

Perhaps the word “ordinary” is the problem. “Hey, I live ordinary, monotonous, unexciting every day of my life! So why on earth would I want to get up early, dress up, squeeze into a pew full of strangers, and listen to irrelevant “stuff” that puts me back to sleep and causes me to snore and drool out the side of my mouth? Why?”

Megachurches have tried to fill the gap with music and light shows that could rival “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/jesus-christ-superstar-stage-review-2/

The problem is, while we were swinging and swaying and belting out forty-five minutes of music (albeit beautiful music), Jesus left the building, and no one noticed.

Is it the church’s responsibility to turn our ordinary lives into extraordinary – which is what God meant for us, you know! My own faith has grown from non-existent to something beyond my imagination. My God-filled AHA moments and the often breathtaking adventure God has me on did not develop while I was sitting in the pew on most Sundays.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being a part of a church community. It keeps me grounded and enhances my faith. When we receive the Eucharist, we are reminded of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “take this bread and never forget me. Never forget how much I love you!” But, there is more that must take place the other six days of the week. We are told by Jesus to “never forget,” Then, at the end of the service, we are told to take that love out into a hurting world. That’s what Jesus meant by “Follow me”. He never said, “Worship me”.

Don’t sleepwalk through life, it’s too important, and frankly, it’s way too awesome to miss!

I won’t tell you where or how to worship or give you a formula or a checklist to send you on your way to sainthood. But I will tell you this: you cannot love and serve others (which is our greatest calling) until you can love yourself. And you can’t love yourself through any of the myriads of self-help books on the market or the number of “likes” on your Facebook page.

You can only do that by growing in the knowledge that you are deeply and passionately loved by the God who created you! And you can only do that by being in relationship with him, which requires your time and attention.

You are his son/daughter with whom he is well-pleased (Matthew 17:5). Let that sink in.

Take the time to read Scripture, pray, and…big AND...LISTEN. Geeeezzzzz, we’re so bad at listening.

Then, a year from now, on Christmas morning, I pray you will be sitting with me to witness in a new way what a profound mystery we behold there!

Passion, Purpose and Poopyheads

by Linda Russell, posted in "Experiencing" God, Do you love Me?, God's plan, If not us, then who?, Lukewarm Christian, Using our gifts

Life sometimes seems like a “Comedy of Errors” from our first breath. You probably expected something very different while you were being formed in that cozy little B&B. You’re all comfy in there, aren’t you? Floating around getting all your needs met. It’s pretty sweet.

Except for those damn hiccups and people poking at you and trying to converse with you right in the middle of your nap. But then the party’s over. Without any warning, whoosh outcha’ go there little feller. You get flipped on your head and slapped silly by a stranger with a mask (that’s not scary!). All the while, you’re thinking this is not what the brochures promised!

I have fourteen grandkids and, at last count, fifteen great-grandkids. I am always awe-struck at the sight of babies. They show up all fresh and new, a clean slate. Well, they do have all that slimy stuff all over them, true, but it washes off.

And then life happens.

Good grief, life can be a shitstorm some days, can’t it? It really wasn’t meant to be that way, you know. Long before we set one teeny foot into this world, God had our life all figured out. He gave us a big hug and a heart bursting with love. Our purpose was to use the gifts he gave each of us to share that love. Then, finally, after all the work of creating us in his image (remember that for later), he kicked back, patted himself on the back, and proclaimed to himself, “Nice work!”.

Then, it all went sideways.

Maybe a parent failed us, or a friend betrayed us. A cheating spouse or a devastating illness caught us off guard. Then, throw in our own missteps and sinfulness. All of which helped to build a wall around our fragile hearts that God can’t even penetrate. That wall is fortified by a culture that worships independence, self-sufficiency, and self-promotion. As a result, we lose our way and move further from God. The world does not offer us choices that are meant to fulfill our lives. We simply learn how to climb into the least leaky boat.

If we dare step back, take a deep breath, and pay attention, the emptiness is almost palatable. But how did we end up here if it wasn’t meant to be that way? Well, somewhere along the way, we forgot who and Whose we were.

Being indoctrinated into “religion” only made it worse. Jesus’ whole purpose was to remind us of God’s love, the desire of God for relationship with us, and the longing of God for us to share that love with a broken world. But, we got lost in the “rules” and fell asleep. 

Oh sure, sometimes we get some crazy notion that we are here for a reason. So, we start beating our chest, determined to face our fears, stand down the bullies in our lives, and our own shadow. But it doesn’t seem to last long. We fizzle out for many reasons: Confusion, fear, lack of trust in ourselves, that stupid poopyhead that keeps showing up uninvited to the party, or that zombie apocalypse in our heads (you know that’s not real, right?)!

Well, crap!

But hey, if it’s any consolation, think about the hand-picked bunch of misfits Jesus had to deal with! Allow me to paint a picture for you. Better still, stick yourself in this moment. You’re Simon Peter at the Last Supper. Now don’t get all gender-specific about it; just indulge me, okay?

Anyway, everyone’s enjoying fellowship and a great meal. You start to take an extra helping of mashed potatoes with a big slab of butter. Yum. Then,  just as you’re about to dig in, Jesus turns to you and asks a question that seems to come out of nowhere, “Simon Peter, do you love me?”

You: “What?! Seriously? Of course I love you,” you say as you go back to stuffing your face (by the way, you should cut back on those carbs).

Jesus: “Feed my sheep.”

You nod.

But you barely get that spoonful of lusciousness to your mouth when Jesus asks again, “Simon Peter, do you love me?”

You’re flabbergasted, and your potatoes are getting cold. “Yes, Lord, I do. I swear (oops)!”

“Where is this coming from?” you mumble under your breath.

Jesus, unrelenting, “Feed my lambs.”

You scratch your head but get lost in – drum roll please – dessert. OMG! Your favorite, apple pie ala mode! You grab the server before she gets away and ask for an extra scoop of ice cream. You start to dig in, and….yep…

There he goes again, “Simon Peter, tell me again. Are you sure you love me?” Now, in all fairness, it’s understandable why Jesus keeps asking you that since you did run and hide when it all got too scary for you. But you’re about to lose it anyway, “Why do you keep asking me that same question? Yes, yes, yes, I love you.”

Then, without responding, Jesus stands up, walks to the window, and pulls back the curtain. “Simon Peter, come here.”

“Oh man,” you groan. Great, now your ice cream is going to melt. Everyone else is finished, and the server comes to clear the table, “Don’t take this,” you say, “I’ll be right back”! You walk to the window.

Jesus, “Simon Peter, look outside. What do you see?”

At this point, you get a little snarky: “I see trees of green, red roses too; I see them bloom for me and you, and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

Jesus, “Oh, for heaven’s sake! You don’t see that mother crying as she holds her starving child? Don’t you see the beggar everyone is ignoring? You don’t see the broken humanity right outside this window?”

You swallow hard because you sense your moment of reckoning is here.

Jesus, “Three times I called you to feed my sheep, and three times you chose to feed yourself instead. You give lip service to my call to care for those who hunger and, in the same breath, claim to love me.”

Hopefully, this is where you pass on the dessert and get your sorry self out there doing what really matters like you were supposed to all along. But how do you do that? That, my friend, is a  good question. It was supposed to have been answered by your Kindergarten teacher when you were learning “This little light of mine”. Unless, of course, you were a public school kid like me. Okay, then, maybe you began to learn it in Sunday school – unless you were a heathen like me. Then, there’s the possibility your dear granny sat you on her knee (before knee surgery) and taught you all about Jesus’ love – unless your granny was a heathen too.

I think we were set up too when the Church decided to take control by creating lots of rules to keep us in line. It worked for a while, actually a very long while. But then, people tired of “rules” that couldn’t fill the void. Years of studies by Pew Research can attest to that fact, even if the Churches have decided to ignore it. The studies show the number of people fleeing from churches, particularly millennials, is growing.

Even older folks are just showing up to get their cards punched. They shake the Pastor’s hand and lie about how good his sermon was (if they stay that long), then grab a bulletin to prove they were there. Done for another week or two, or maybe till Easter. 

Then, as if that isn’t enough, we have the “stories” in the Bible. I know we could debate all day long about whether or not the “stories” are factual or myths. I know how I see them. You’ll have to decide for yourself.

Let’s look at just two I have a real problem with: Adam and his accomplice wife, Eve. We’re told that Adam and Eve set us up for failure. No sense in trying to be good. That’s a lesson in futility because, well, we can’t be “good”. It’s called “Original Sin”. It’s like a hereditary disease. We all have it, and there’s no cure for it. (Believe me, if the pharmaceutical companies could come up with a pill for it, they would have long ago!)

“I’ve got you now, you wretched little creature!” (Not sure how the Scripture verse that says we were made in God’s image reconciles with that, but there it is.) Like the Elf-on-the-Shelf, he watches our every move, just waiting for us to screw up. I mean, really. He was lurking around in the garden while they tried to hide, but he caught em’.

https://media.freebibleimages.org/stories/FB_EG_Adam_Eve/overview-thumbnails/08_FB_EG_Adam_Eve_Thumbnail.jpg?1698853889

GOD: “I can see you, Adam.”

ADAM: “No, you can’t.”

GOD: “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can.”

Then, there’s that whole burning bush thing. Do you think for one minute that wasn’t a setup for Moses? “Come on out God. We know you’re hiding there, waiting to pounce on our slightest indiscretion. That’s sneaky.” Sorry, I just can’t believe in that kind of god.

Somewhere along life’s journey, we are supposed to grow into the person we were created to be. But, we got snookered by the lies. Unfortunately, change isn’t going to happen on its own.

And don’t think for a moment that it’s just you. People who seem to have everything are hungry for that something “more”. Deep within every one of us is a longing for purpose. But, we can spend a lifetime whacking away at it in our foolish efforts to figure it out.

(https://media.gifdb.com/whack-a-mole-cartoon-cat-leksrq4xop7cipic.gif)

I think our world today has successfully sucked the life out of anyone who believes for one minute that we are here for more than accumulating fake friends on FB, making lots of money, having the newest iPhone, or investing in the latest miracle weight loss cure. And for what?

Get up. Do life. Go to bed. Repeat.

The fact remains, we have all been given a purpose in this life, the passion to fulfill it, and lots of poopyheads along the way intent on screwing it all up! The truth of our essence has been stifled, stuffed away, and rendered irrelevant, along with God and all that matters for humankind.

I believe “religion” has become something God never intended. For so long, if we stuck with it, we learned to stay within our comfortable unquestioned faith because to do otherwise was just too daunting. So religion became empty and void of meaning. And when young people came along who were not afraid to ask the hard questions and were not content with the canned answers the Church offered, they left in droves, and they’re still leaving.

“So what is my purpose?” – you ask. Why am I here? Good question. Our struggle is embedded in worldly pursuits that ultimately bring us to a dead-end. We want life on our terms. We don’t want to struggle, we don’t want to suffer, and we damn sure don’t want to encounter anyone else’s suffering. We have enough to deal with trying to stand out in this dog-eat-dog world. The point is that none of it offers fulfillment that lasts. Striving for more, paradoxically, leaves us emptier and hungrier.

Consider this: What would you be willing to die for if someone approached you and demanded everything you have accumulated and cling to, or they will kill you right where you stand? Any of it? Or would you quickly, without hesitating, hand over all the “things” you value? I’m guessing you would. I would!

Martin Luther King said, “If a man has not found something worth dying for, he is not fit to live.” Ouch! So, the question then becomes, what is worth dying for? I have a one-word answer. Ready? Love.

There it is.

I don’t know about you, but my most profound moments of clarity are when I do a life review at funerals. If funerals don’t cause us to evaluate our existence, I don’t know what will. We may still be standing at the grave site when the questions surface: Do I matter? Have I value? What is my legacy? Will anyone care when I’m gone? Do I really have a purpose? What have I done to make the world a better place? Will I have to eat that crappy potato salad at the luncheon again? (Oh, sorry, I digress)

We too want absolute certitude that what we are after is real. Faith is a calculated risk, but we don’t like risk even if there is a high degree of probability. It’s too iffy. No thanks.

A shaky questioning faith might be less cut and dry than mindlessly following a set of rules. It may be more uncontrollable and mysterious than you have ever experienced, but that will bring you into the presence of Love and your true worth as his beloved.

You may not have been told this, but you’re allowed to wrestle with God, to question the reason for the suffering and heartache in the world. You can tackle the very struggles and heartache within yourself that you have never thought you could bring to him—God’s tough. Trust me. He can take it.

I got so angry with him during a very difficult time in my life I cried and shook my finger at him, “God, if you love me so much, where were you when my mother was abusing me?!” I ranted on and on about all the suffering he allowed in my life. And what I got back from him was not a lightning strike which I was prepared for, but a gentle, loving response that unsettled the core of my being. “Linda, I did not abandon you during that time. I suffered along with you. My heart ached for you. I have lovingly, sorrowfully held your tears. But the choices people make are beyond my control. I’m truly sorry. But, you, my dearest daughter, have also sinned and fallen short. Even then, never have I stopped loving you. I’m just waiting for you to trust me and start loving me. Then, your healing will start, and you will be able to forgive those who hurt you.”

No church “rules” or dogmas will ever bring us into that deep-abiding relationship with him. It is what we call “experiencing” God. Until we can let go of our need to “know” that God is real, we will never allow ourselves to open our hearts to experience him.  It’s that simple and that critical.

That is Good News!

William O’Malley nailed it when he said, “Genuine religion begins – not as it did for most of us, with indoctrination and imposing worship but with a personally captivating experience, a “sense” of the numinous, a presence larger than the capacities of this world to produce.”

Frederick Buechner once wrote, “The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you.”

YOU MATTER!

That is what John Eldredge tells us, “If we could believe that about our lives, and come to know that is true, everything would change. We would be much more able to interpret the events unfolding around us. We would discover the task that is ours alone to fulfill. We would find our courage. The hour is late, and you are needed. So much hangs in the balance. Where is your heart?”

Alrighty then, I’m done, and if I didn’t lose you long ago, I would like to offer you one last thing to contemplate: Which of these two scenarios would most likely bring you right to the heart of this very critical moment of truth, the most profound question of our existence?

(1) All your years growing up, you were drug to “church”. Parents started it: “Get up, clean up, sit quietly, don’t touch your brother, and act like this isn’t the most boring thing in your life! Then you’ll get donuts.” Then teachers of “religion” stepped in: “Memorize all the sins that will send you straight to hell: Miss one Mass – straight to hell. Think those dirty thoughts – straight to hell.” In short order “that little light of yours” has been snuffed out!

Or….

(2) You encounter Someone (guess who) doing things that draw you to him: Feeding the hungry, comforting the dying, kissing the leper, dining with prostitutes and beggars. He is so sincere and passionate about what he is doing that something incredible reaches deep down into the core of your being, and you can’t shake it. You are awe-struck, probably for the first time in your life, and you want to emulate him. You want to follow him. You want to sit at his feet and learn from him.

Prepare the Way…for…the Easter Bunny?

by Linda Russell, posted in Easter, Follow Me, God is LOVE, Is God Relevant?

(Originally posted March of 2012)

(Warner Brothers image)

Today is Ash Wednesday. We are called to contemplate more deeply the life, death, and wondrous Resurrection of Christ.

Knowing what must occur before that glorious day should cause us to tremble – but we’re too busy.

The soon-to-be-revealed and unimaginable love of God for us should bring us to our knees – but we’re too afraid.

The reality of the cross should cause us to beg forgiveness for our sinfulness – but we’ve become desensitized to sin.

We don’t cry out to God because we’re afraid he’ll answer!

And so, for many of us, Easter comes and goes with little more fanfare than any other Sunday.

Consider this:

  • While we prepare the menu for an Easter feast, Jesus is preparing for the Last Supper.
  • While we scrub the house for guests – Pilate washes his hands of the people’s demand for Jesus’ death.
  • While shopping for new outfits – Jesus is stripped, humiliated, and brutally beaten.
  • While we look forward to having all the family together again; kids home from college, parents arriving soon – on the long walk to Calvary, Jesus and his mother touch for a moment as their eyes reveal the unspeakable pain of their suffering.
  • While we are feeling left to do all the work and have our annual pity party – Jesus, in his weakened state, struggles with the weight of the cross he carries, alone and abandoned by those who called themselves his disciples.
  • While we fuss over last-minute appearances playing beat the clock: taming cowlicks, straightening ties, new shirts without stains, socks that match – Jesus’ face is streaked with blood, and his broken body is no longer recognizable.

Could we even bear to consider what just happened? Jesus, as the Incarnation of God, is the fullest expression of God’s own self. God is relentless, extravagant, merciful, indiscriminate, gratuitous, enduring, and grace-filled Love!

In this most holy season of Easter, we are called to remember and celebrate that Love. But not just that! Jesus never said, “Worship me.” He said, “Follow me. Do what I do.” What difference does it make if we have not changed in some way, if Monday is just business as usual, if we step over our suffering brothers and sisters on our way to more important things?

When did you quit believing in the Easter Bunny?

When did you quit believing the message of the cross and the empty tomb?

One is life-altering; the other is not.

Photo by Murilo Soares: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sculpture-of-jesus-hung-on-the-cross-6978414/