COME…The Lord’s invitation to us.
LEARN…Our response to the Lord.
REST…The Lord’s freedom for us.
I LOVE THE LORD, BECAUSE_____!
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy. ~Psalm 116:1
It is the last week of April and Passover, the Hebrew celebration commemorating the Israelites being delivered from slavery in ancient Egypt. This week I have been in the reading on Psalms 113-118 which are known as The Egyptian Hallel: A Cantata of Salvation.
Each of these six Psalms stands alone, but together offer a glimpse of a nation exalting the Lord their God, who has heard their cries for mercy and made provision for their exodus.
The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us…
For great is his stedfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.
~Psalm 113:4; 114:1-2; 115:12; 117:2; 118:27,28
These verses also commemorate why the Lord is so loved.
This week, I fondly remembered my own exodus from a life without God to a life filled with so many reasons to proclaim “I love the Lord, because ___.”
I love the Lord because just as the heavy winter snow on the mountain peaks is melting, so also, the harsh realities of grief are becoming less weighty!
I love the Lord because when my worried heart has no more words to pray, the Holy Spirit takes over and interprets my groaning!
I love the Lord because in messy emotional moments, the peace of Christ brings life-giving perspective!
And always, I love the Lord because from his fullness I have all received, grace upon grace!
After a full week of celebrations and commemorations, Passover ends at sundown. For Christ-followers the fullness of so many gifts and graces that it is only fitting each new day to fill in the blank, “I love the Lord, because___.”
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ~John 1:16
Love and Lent
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ~Galatians 5:22-23
It is so obvious. Love is the first of the fruit of the Spirit. I must confess, I have never taken the time to contemplate how love would look through this lens.
In the context of the fruit of the Spirit love coexists with other characteristics of Christ. So mostly, I have wondered about the extent to which love, informs or is informed by joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
As Scripture passages came to mind, I reflected on the following questions:
Does my strength come from the my love and joy of the Lord? (Neh 8:10)
Do I let Christ’s love and peace guard my heart and mind? (Phil 4:7)
Do I clothe myself with love, patience and kindness in order to forgive as I have been forgiven? (Col 3:12-13)
Do I truly believe that God’s love, goodness and mercy are following me each new day? (Ps 23:6)
Do I reveal, rather than conceal, the Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness to others? (Ps 40:10)
Do I bear my own and others’ burdens with love and gentleness? (Eph 4:2)
Does a spirit of self-control keep me prayerfully loving others well? (1Pe 4:6-8)
Tomorrow is both Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. Whether for one day or all 40 days of Lent, may you and I seek to love the Lord and others so well that fruit of the Spirit becomes our second nature.
Hope, Joy, Peace and Love in Each New Day
On this 7th day of the new year and Epiphany Sunday, I recall with gratitude the lighting of advent wreath candles…the celebrating of Christ’s birth…and the Three Wisemen following a bright believable star mile after mile to welcome and worship Christ, the newborn King.
And so I share with you the following prayer for the year ahead:
Gracious Lord Jesus,
There’s a hope that comes from being grateful for
God‘s strength and consolation.
There’s a joy that comes from rejoicing in the hope of
God‘s unexpected invitations.
There’s a peace that comes from hoping against hope in
God’s precious promises.
There’s a love that comes from seeking peace with God,
and letting go of all the rest.
There’s a freedom that comes from welcoming a new year…
…trusting that the light of Christ’s hope, joy, peace, and love
will guide us each new day. ~Amen and amen!
Psalm 123: God’s Mercy Upon Us
To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
~Psalm 123:1-2
Spring is coming to the Bridger Tetons in Wyoming. And I am fascinated by how the shadows seem to have a say in how the sun melts the snow. But in my fascination, I notice my eyes are fixated on the patches of snow on the ground.
My neighbor helped me turn my eyes upward. “Look at the tops of the aspen trees, the leaves are just starting to show.” Yes…indeed…the aspens appear to have light green halos. And with the evergreen trees in the background, the new aspen leaves are even more striking.
I think of Psalm 123 and the metaphor of God’s goodness that is before me. Like the evergreens, God’s grace and mercy are a forever reality. But there are seasons when one’s soul longs to be seen and known with all its stirrings. Being fully known and seen takes time and can ebb and flow in our relationships. In the ebbs, we wait, pay attention and look upward for reminders that God’s mercy is not far.
In time, we step out of the shadows, of our making, and let the mind of Christ renew us heart, soul, mind and strength. We step into the familiar flow of God’s grace, evermore aware that God’s mercy is once again upon us!
How are you experiencing God’s mercy upon you in nature? In what ways are you longing to expereince God’s mercy?
If you are a spiritual director, how can you help others experience God’s mercy?
The Blessing of Strength and Peace
Psalm 29: The Voice of God in a Great Storm
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl
and strips the forest bare,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
This is the picture of “peace” the Lord provided after yet another Northern California storm this March. Looking at the bright greens of the landscape and vibrant blues in the sky, I could no longer hear the wind or the rain. It’s ironic, but the absence of sound made me think of Psalm 29.
I went to my Bible and prayerfully read the verses of Psalm 29 as I wrote them above. As I lingered at the window ascribing to the Lord glory and strength, I chose to believe that the voice of the Lord had been in the storm, but this “peace” was his final word.
Whatever “storms” you and I encounter, the voice of God is there and blesses us with strength and peace!
If you are a spiritual director, how can you help those who come for direction experience the blessing of God’s strength and peace?
If you have a monthly spiritual direction practice, how can your spiritual director help you hear the voice of the Lord in your life and receive the blessing of God’s strength and peace?
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Advent: Encountering the Holy Spirit
The early protagonists had a directness in their encounters with God that was, perhaps, simpler in their simpler world than it is for us in our far more complex universe. *
Advent is the time I remember that Mary had an extremely direct encounter with the Holy Spirit. Each year pondering the angel’s words even as Mary did, offers fresh insight into the Holy Spirit’s work in my own life.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. ~Luke 1:35
As Advent comes to a close, I invite you to read the article below I wrote for Faithward about the direct encounters with God that Moses, Elijah and Mary experienced. And I challenge you to pray for your own direct encounter with the Holy Spirit this Christmas and beyond.
If you are a spiritual director how might you pray for new experiences of the Holy Spirit during direction sessions. And then how might share them with your supervisor. If you are in spiritual direction, share moments when the Holy Spirit comes over you with your director.
*L’Engle, Madeleine and Chase, Carole F. (ed.). Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.
Today, if your hear his voice…
Today, if you hear his voice…~Psalm 95
Has one line of Scripture ever stopped you from reading any further?
Is “today” truly this day or the day the psalm was written?
What are the implications for “if you hear his voice”?
As a spiritual director, I am forever encouraging others to pay attention to what God is saying and doing in their lives. Listening to the Lord is not easy. And new each day you and I face the challenge of both hearing and responding well to God’s voice.
Our prayers often echo the psalmist’s pleas for help in recognizing God’s leading. In John’s gospel, Jesus tells the disciples what to expect when listening for the Lord’s voice.
Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. ~John 10:1-5a (MSG)
First there is an awareness of Jesus walking along the spiritual landscape of our lives with us. With patience and perseverance, a distant hope becomes a gateway for God’s goodness and mercy. As Jesus walks us right up to that hope, we will know its a place of beginning again because the opening is named “_your name’s__ way out.”
I have no idea if today will be the day Jesus, our Shepherd, calls your name or mine. However, I do know today is a good day to begin again paying more attention to our Shepherd’s leading than the rustling of doubts and dilemmas.
They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it. ~John 10:5b (MSG)
Slowly and evermore surely, I recognize God’s voice as a benediction of familiar words of hope!
I pray you do as well.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~Romans 15:13
If you are a spiritual director, how can recognizing Jesus voice in your own life equip you to listen well to others?
If you have a monthly spiritual direction practice, how can your spiritual director help you face the challenge of listening to and responding well to God’s voice?
Matters of the Soul
Souls who follow their hearts thrive;
fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.
~Proverbs 13:19 (MSG)
Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror. But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come ahead.” Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!” Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?” The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!” ~Matthew 14:24-33 (MSG)
While reflecting on and journaling about Proverbs 13:19 for weeks, I heard a devotion on this passage from Matthew 14. As I listened, I wondered about the matters within the disciples’ souls. How desperate were their longings for a calm sea? How deep was their desire for comfort? How did Peter really feel when he got back into the boat? How did he hear Jesus words, “Faint-heart, what got into you?” Based on my own desperations and insecurities, I would have felt foolish.
There was no foolishness or evil in Peter, who followed his heart out of the boat and seemingly jumped at the chance to feel the churning waves beneath his feet. There is no denying that Peter’s heart fainted for a split second. But for me Peter will now always be the one disciple wise enough to know that it is not everyday one gets invited to walk on water with God’s Son.
And there is no doubting, Peter denied Jesus at the time of his crucifixion. However, Peter is also the disciple who payed attention to his soul’s desire and in return experienced God in a very unique way. The book of Proverbs offers practical wisdom about life and relationships, including relationship with God. Paying attention to matters of the soul, brings clarity to our experience of God so that our hearts can thrive.
PS. I wrote this May 2nd. On May 3rd my father-in-law had a massive heart attack and on May 7th passed away. In helping to plan his graveside and memorial services, I learned that this verse in Proverbs was both his and his father’s favorite verse. I wonder now how often it was quoted in his childhood home on Liberty Street in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
PPS. And so it is, these words have had to wait for a postscript to be added while I tended to the matters of my own soul and other details. Those other details included writing an article about spiritual direction and preaching a sermon on The Cross. It was impossible for my experiences of God during these past two months to not be part of my writing and speaking. Below are links to both.
I pray they deepen your understanding of spiritual direction and the Cross’s invitation to lament our losses with humility and hope.
Keep Vigilant Watch…
Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that’s where life starts.
~Proverbs 4:23
Day by day, I have been praying this proverb. If you walked into my house, you would eventually notice all the hearts and surmise correctly I was initially drawn to the word heart in this verse. In their own way, these decorative reminders help me pay attention to the stirrings of my heart. However, by the middle of the month I found myself pondering the phrase “keep vigilant watch.”
How do we keep vigilant watch over our hearts on a consistent basis? When I realized how many times a day I glance at my Apple watch, I decided to replace the message app with the heart monitor app. Now the little heart icon on the face of my watch keeps me more attentive to my feelings than to the number of text messages I have.
When I made this switch it never dawned on me I might really need the heart monitor. But just last week before the start of a meeting, I thought I was getting a phone call. However, the vibration on my wrist was so intense I immediately looked down to see my heart rate was 130 beats per minute. My anticipation of what might transpire was affecting my heart, mind and body more than I knew. I was so relieved when the words of this old familiar hymn came to mind:
Be Thou my vision / O Lord of my heart / Naught be all else to me / Save that Thou art / Thou my best thought / By day or by night / Waking or sleeping / Thy presence my light*
The health of our physical bodies, the quality of our emotional lives and the spiritual state of our souls begin and end with how well we pay attention to the beats and stirrings of our hearts.
All spiritual practices start with being keenly aware of how God is at work in our lives. This awareness equips and enables us to live authentically and lovingly with God, ourselves and others. It takes courage to keep vigilant watch over our hearts. Madeleine L’Engle writes the following:
We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are, to see through plastic sham to living, breathing reality, and to break down our defenses of self-protection in order to be free to receive and give love.**
To that end, may the Lord of our hearts help us to always keep vigilant watch over our hearts.
If you are a spiritual director, how are you keeping watch over your heart so that you can help others do so also?
If you have spiritual direction practice, what are you keenly aware of that you can bring to your director to process?
*Mary Elizabeth Byrne, translator. Be Thou My Vision. (Public Domain, 1905)
** Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art (New York: Convergent Books, 2016), 58.
Wholehearted Trust
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
~Proverbs 3:5-6
I began February reflecting on these seemingly straightforward verses from the book of Proverbs. However, my times of reflection soon began to feel like a wrestling match. As March begins, I will continue to wonder what wholehearted trust in the Lord really looks and feels like. For now, I am grateful that I can share a few things I have learned.
Wrestling with God offers the space to authentically assess the fullness of our trust in the Lord. How much of “all your heart” is really trusting in the Lord…a quarter…a third…a half? With greater self-awareness, trust untangles our seemingly good intentions and insights so that the Lord’s straight path is recognizable.
Trust invites us to acknowledge that wrestling is part of our everyday life with God. And within that trust there is faith that at just the right moments, the Lord will lovingly come and lift us up off the proverbial mat of doubt and discouragement.
Love…always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. ~1Corinthians 13:7
Finally, trusting in the Lord’s deep and abiding love is an each-new-day endeavor that offers us renewed hope to share with others.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Romans 15:13
If you are a spiritual director, how is your trust in the Lord helping you listen lovingly and hopefully to others.
If you are in spiritual direction, how can your practice of spiritual direction help you trust in the Lord’s love for you?
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