Wesleyan Wisdom: Reason and Experience

  One of the things I love the most about the United Methodist Church and the Wesleyan Wisdom that it is built upon, is that it encompasses our reason and our experiences. Our hearts and our heads, good gifts from God, are part of who we are and thus are part of how we experience God.
   Perhaps this is one of the reasons my heart breaks when we devalue someone else's experience, by trying to brush it off or fit it into the terms of our lives and not theirs, it can effect their experience of God. We need to support one another as we go through good and difficult experiences, constantly pointing towards the God who loves us and wants to be with us.
   How do you experience God with your heart and your head?

Reason and Experience Devo

February 26th, 2017  

Devotional

“Wesleyan Wisdom: Experience and Reason” - Job 23: 1-9, 16-17

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “If Only I Could Find Him” - Job 23: 1-3

Job has been through more than one person should ever have to go through - he has lost his family, his fields, his home. He is ill. And in a culture where blessings are thought to be a sign of God’s favor and curses a sign of God’s displeasure - the little family and friends Job have left are trying to convince Job that he is being punished by God. Job doesn’t believe this, but he also doesn’t keenly feel God’s presence at this time. 

We all go through seasons when we feel closer to God and seasons when we feel distant. Our experiences and reason are important parts of our relationship with God and play a vital part in how we seek God’s wisdom and make decisions. However, the primary place we turn to measure our feelings is scripture. Job knew that he had not broken the covenant or violated scripture. He knew that he was not being punished for unconfessed sin, so he sought out God even harder. 

What role do experience and reason play in your faith journey?

What do you do when you feel distant from God? How do you seek out God?

Prayer: Jesus, we know that sometimes we don’t feel as close to you as we would like to. There are times when the distance seems like a chasm. Bridge the gap, Lord Jesus, and help us feel close to your Spirit again. Amen. 

Tuesday: “He Would Answer Me” - Job 23: 4-5

By this point in the book of Job, Job is distraught. He is feeling distant from God. He is starting to feel all the feels - the things that flutter up to the surface when we are stressed and don’t know what is going on or what to do. 

Job wants to seek out God with his questions. He has thought thru everything that he wants to say to God and wants to know what God’s answers to his deep “why?” questions will be. 

What I appreciate about Job is that he is not shying away from what he would like to say. Sometimes it is as if we feel that we need to make our words pretty when we pray or set our emotions aside. God wants us to seek him out with all we are - and not simply say what we think God wants to hear. I also appreciate that Job anticipates that God will answer. He believes that God will meet him in his need and God will respond. 

How do you pray to God when you are stressed or angry? Do you set your emotions aside? Why or why not?

Do you believe that God will respond to your prayers? Why or why not?

Prayer: Lord, help us to address you with all we are. Prevent us from praying the way we believe that we should and instead enable us to simply come before you as we are. Meet us in our hour of need, dear Lord, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Delivered Forever” - Job 23: 6-7

Remember that at this point in the narrative, Job is surrounded by people who say that they care about him, but don’t believe what he is experiencing. Job is going through the worst that someone can go through, yet he knows deep in his heart that he has not sinned against God. His reason and experience are not matching what others are perceiving. They are judging him based on their beliefs about God instead of Job’s lived in experience.

Sometimes, we unknowingly belittle another person’s experience. Instead of just listening to what they are going through, we try to interject ourselves into their story by telling them what we think or what we have went through. 

Job knows that it is not the judgment of others but those of the righteous Judge. He believes that God will vindicate him and set him free forever. This became his hope and purpose in the midst of the doubts of his family and friends. 

Do you look to other people or God to judge you? Why?

How has God delivered you from what other’s think?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you are the only judge that matters. We thank you that you will set us free. Deliver us forever, we pray! Amen. 

Thursday: “I Can’t” - Job 23: 8-9

Job has a deep personal relationship with God, yet he cannot sense God’s presence in the midst of his trials. It’s as if everywhere he turns God is not there - Job cannot even catch a glimpse of God.

The hardest times to sense God are usually when we are going through a hard time that we cannot understand. Yet, it is exactly during those moments that God is walking right beside us, holding our hand. It is as if we are looking everywhere from God except for where God is - beside us. But Job keeps looking, keeps searching. He does not give up in discouragement, but instead continues to seek God’s face. 

How do you seek God in the midst of life’s trails?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we focus on everywhere we think you should be instead of seeking you right where you are - beside us. Open our eyes, ears, and hearts, so we may perceive and follow your still small voice of love. Amen. 

Friday: “Made My Heart Faint” - Job 23: 16-17

Sometimes our experiences in life are not good. I have yet to meet someone who went through life untouched by sorrow, grief, pain, or heartache. It is very easy during these times to let our emotions take over our reason. We know in our hearts and heads that God loves us, yet we can end up shying away from God when life is difficult out of fear. 

Let us instead look to the totality of our faith journey - to scripture, tradition, reason and experience, instead of simply writing God off for what we are going through. Surely we should grieve our losses and feel our pain instead of ignoring it, but let us also not ignore scripture that tells us that God loves us and is for us, no matter what. 

Has there been a time when you have believed that God was not with you? Was this true? What made you recognize God’s presence?

Prayer: Lord, help us to trust you and turn to you in all experiences. Help us to seek your face and rely on the resources you have blessed us with - reason, experience, scripture, and tradition, in good times and in those that are difficult. Amen.

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Metamorphosis: The Radical Love of Christ” - Luke 18: 18-29

Family Activity: Talk about time when it is hard to feel God. What do you do when God doesn’t feel close? What reminds you that God is always with you? 

Wesleyan Wisdom: Tradition

   Traditions are things that we have done over a period of time that bring us meaning. Around the holidays we have traditions - when we put the Christmas tree up. Whose house we go to when we eat. When we open presents. Sometimes family have traditions - around meals, birthdays, and vacations. Even when we don't realize that we have traditions, we still do, when we start to carefully examine why we do what we do.
   The Church is filled with traditions - both universally and locally. Traditions in the church, however, should harken back to what we believe and why we believe it. Sometimes, instead of focusing on the rooting nature of traditions, we substitute things that "we have always done" that don't really speak to our faith in Christ. The local church has the hard task of sorting through what we do to see what adds value in proclaiming Christ to the world and what is simply a preference.
   What traditions do you value and what do they proclaim about Christ?

Traditions Devo

February 12th, 2017  

Devotional

“Wesleyan Wisdom: Tradition” - Hebrews 1: 1-4, 2: 5-12

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “In the Past…But Now” - Hebrews 1: 1-2

The author of Hebrews has a unique way to engage readers and hearers in conversation - he contrasts the past with the present.We do this sometimes as well, often looking at the past with rose colored glasses and wishing, at times, that we could go back. The author of Hebrews does the opposite. He proclaims that there was a time, in the past, when God spoke to the people through prophets, trying to get them to repent of their sin and return to following God. But now, God doesn’t speak to us through prophets, but instead directly through the Son, Jesus Christ. While the author doesn’t speak poorly of the prophets, he looks to Jesus Christ at the present time as the better way to hear the word of God.

The apostle Paul wrote like this in some of his letters as well - contrasting what it was like being an infant in the faith, to now being mature and growing with God. The point both authors are making is that it is important to know the past, but we also need to be able to fully live into the here and now, in order to reach out to people. When we dwell on the past, wishing to return instead of bringing the wisdom of that time into the present, we can miss opportunities to proclaim the name of Christ. 

How can you bring the wisdom of the past into your present situations? 

Prayer: Jesus, we know that sometimes we would rather go back to simpler times instead of living into the full reality of the present. Helps us to be grounded in the wisdom you have taught us in the past while proclaiming Christ here and now, dear Lord. Amen! 

Tuesday: “The Radiance of God” - Hebrews 1: 3-4

The people receiving the letters to the Hebrews had a problem - they didn’t quite understand how Jesus fit into all that they had been taught about the figures of the faith, like Moses, and the prophet who had taught them, or the angels who ministered to God. They struggled to fit Jesus into what they ha previously learned. 

To which the author replies, Jesus doesn’t fit. He is so far above and beyond anyone or anything that they had previously learned about. Jesus is the reflection of God; the Son is the radiance of God’s glory. No one else could make that claim previously. Jesus did what no one else could do, apart from God, by redeeming the people from their sins. So Jesus is superior to everyone and everything. 

Note that the author of Hebrews isn’t saying that what they had learned previously wasn’t true. Or that they had been mislead. Instead, he is proclaiming that Jesus is far above traditions of the past and is instead pointing to a new way in the future. 

How can our traditions helps us proclaim Christ? How can our traditions hinder us at times from proclaiming Christ?

Prayer: Lord, we want to lift your name on high. Help us, O Lord, to not be so wedded to the past that we miss what you are doing in the present to propel us into the future. Help us to see how you are proclaimed in all that we do and say, as individuals and as the Church! Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Crowned with Glory and Honor” - Hebrews 2: 5-8

The author of Hebrews likes to pick up on pieces of scripture and weave them into his writings. The quotations in verse 6b-8a today comes Psalm 8:4-6. By turning back to scripture time and time again, he is trying to show that the tradition and scriptures of the people were pointing to Christ even before he came in the form of a babe who would set the people free. 

Different version of the Bible translates these words different ways - which can be confusing. Some speak of “them” and others of “him.” I am preferential to the versions that read: “You made him a little lower than the angels;/ you crowned him with glory and honor/ and put everything under his feet.” When we look back at the Psalm of David that is quoted by the author we find that David is speaking about humans being a little lower than the angels (ie them) but the author of Hebrews is showing that Christ chose to be made lower than the angels for a period of time in order to redeem us (ie him). No matter what translation we read the point is clear - God loves humanity so much that God is mindful of them and works to shower us with tender love and care. 

How do you experience the care and love of God? How do you share the story of this love and care with others? 

How can you see scripture pointing to the greatest story ever told, that of Christ’s saving love, time and time again?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your servants who went before. Faithful men and women who could weave scripture together to tell your story and use traditions to build upon your story. Use us we pray, to continue to tell all who will listen, of your redeeming love. Amen. 

Thursday: “We Do See Jesus” - Hebrews 2: 9

Scripture is not always easy to understand. Sometimes we cannot figure out how it relates to our lives. Other times it feels distant from our experiences. The folks being addressed in the letter to the Hebrews had these same struggles. But the author reminds them that they have seen the embodiment of scripture in Jesus Christ. They may not understand all of the ins and outs of how Christ died on the cross, but they can proclaim the love that it represents to the world. 

Traditions exist to help us tell the story. Church seasons, colors, sacraments - they all help us to proclaim the story of Jesus Christ in a tangible way. Traditions lack their meaning when we forget why we have them in the first place. And traditions can become dangerous when we divorce them from Christ. They are to help us see Jesus, here and now, as we tell the story of our faith. 

How have traditions helped you to share the story of your faith in Jesus Christ?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we focus more on the tradition then the Savior they represent. Forgive us, O Lord, and help us focus afresh on the story that changed our lives so that we can share it with others. Amen. 

Friday: “Call Them Brothers and Sisters” - Hebrews 2: 10-12

Friends, we are part of the family of God when we accept the gift that Christ has offered us through his redeeming blood. When we are welcomed into the family of God, we become brothers and sisters, and more importantly we become bearers of the family story, the story of Christ.

Why do we practice traditions in our homes? So we can tell our children the story of our family. For my mom that means having macaroni salad at big family holiday meals, so we can tell the story of my grandma and her family, who are no longer with us. It’s not the macaroni salad that is the most important thing, its the story it represents that we are able to tell. 

We have the most important story ever told - the story of Jesus and how he changed our hearts and lives. May we use the traditions of the church to continue to tell the story for generations to come - until the whole world has heard!

What family traditions do you have in your home? What do they represent?

What do the traditions of the church mean to you?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the traditions we have - in our family homes and in our faith lives. May we use them as a tool to share with the world the story of the cross and your love, that made a way for us to be called your family. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

Family Activity: Talk about traditions. What are some of the traditions you have in your home? Why do they matter? What do they mean to you? What traditions do we have in church and why are those important?

“Wesleyan Wisdom: Scripture”

   What role does scripture play in our decision making? How do we discern God's will alongside God's word? For too many of us, we were never taught how to use scripture in making decisions - so when we reach points in time when we become depesperate for direction and answers, we don't know where to begin. Truthfully, looking to the Word of God to guide us begins well before we have to make a decision - it begins when we build our lives upon the foundation of the Word. When we mediate on it day and night. When we turn to it daily, not just when we are in a pinch. At the heart of using scripture to guide are questions like what relationship do you have to the Bible? And how are you engaging the Word? So I ask you now, What relationship do you have to the Bible and how are you engaging the Word? How does Scripture guide your days? How do you trust God?

Wesleyan Wisdom: Scripture Devo

February 5th, 2017  

Devotional

“Wesleyan Wisdom: Scripture” - Psalm 1 

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Blessed” - Psalm 1:1

In ancient societies, people were considered blessed when they followed the ways of the Lord. It was believed that when you followed the law, God would bless you with good health, children for lineage, etc. But when the law was disregarded you would be cursed. 

We know today, especially from the scriptural example of faithful people like Job, that this is not always the case. Blessings are not always tangible, but rather things of eternal value and significance. What are some of the ways that you have been blessed by following the ways of the Lord? 

What are some blessings you have experienced by following the Lord?

Tell of a time you have experienced something of eternal significance by following the path of the Lord. 

Prayer: Jesus, we know that sometimes our hearts wander far from you. Sometimes we walk down the path of the wicked instead of following where you lead. Helps us find the blessing in following you, precious Lord. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Meditate” - Psalm 1:2 

Another translation of this verse reads “those who delight in the law of the Lord meditate on it day and night.” What does it mean to meditate on the law of the Lord? It means that we reflect upon it. That we hold it in our hearts.

One of my favorite ways to meditate is called Lectio Divinea - it involves reading a passage very slowly several times, both out loud and in silence, seeing what words or phrases catch your attention. When something speaks to you, you meditate on that word or phrase - slowly bringing it up throughout the day. 

The Word of the Lord never ceases to speak to us, and often different pieces capture our attention at different times. 

How do you meditate on the Word of the Lord?

Prayer: Lord, we want to delight in your word. Help us to constantly turn to your word for guidance and life giving ways. Help us to never cease to meditate on your Word. Amen!

Wednesday: “ Yield Fruit” - Psalm 1:3

Part of our struggle with scripture is that we want immediate results. Sometimes, instead of meditating, we want to read it once, get a cosmic check mark, and be rewarded. But the reward of meditating on scripture is the meditating itself. When we dwell on the word of the Lord, it is like we are a tree, firmly planted, that yield fruit in its season.

Sometimes the season prior to yielding fruit is long. It is hard. It is a time of waiting. But we keep dwelling on scripture - keep meditating during this season, trusting that time will come when we yield the fruit that God desires us to yield. 

What images do you relate to as you read the word of God?A river? A tree? 

What fruit is God using you to yield?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the gift of your Word. We thank you that it nourishes us, as a stream nourishes the tree. We yield ourselves to you, asking that you use us to bear fruit for the sake of the Kingdom. Amen. 

Thursday: “Blows Away” - Psalm 1: 4-5

While those who dwell on the word of God are like strong trees nourished by flowing steams, it is not so with the wicked. The wicked are like chaff - the part of the wheat that the wind separates and blows away, leaving only the grain that is useful. 

Sometimes we jump in and try to do God’s job- we try to separate the wheat from the chaff. But the reality is when we spend so much of our time judging, we are usually not meditating. Let us let God be God, and let God do the work of blowing way the chaff. 

Are you ever tempted to blow away the chaff on your own? What is the result?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we focus more on the actions and attitudes of others then on our own. We also confess that sometimes we let our judgments get in the way of our spiritual nourishment through dwelling on the Word. Forgive us we, pray. Amen. 

Friday: “Watches Over” - Psalm 1:6

What meditating should do is draw us closer to God. It should help us trust God and trust the ways of God that lead to the abundant life. But when we forget that God is in charge, forget that God watches over the ways of the righteous, we start to take matters into our own hands. There is certainly a time when God calls us to act and to speak out against injustice. There are certainly times that God wants us to speak words of truth in love. But we need to be called to those things by our prayer lives and meditating on God’s word - not acting on our own for what we think is best. 

Let us grow with God - trusting God more each day and listening for the call of God upon our lives. 

What reminds us that God is watching over us? 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for watching over us. Thank your for holding the world in your hands. Nourish us and use us in a way that is a reflection of your love, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Wesleyan Wisdom: Tradition ” - Hebrews 1: 1-4, 2: 5-12

Family Activity: Plant something together (indoors during this time of the year). What do you need for the plant to grow? What do we need to grow with God?