Thoughts on John Wesley, UMC, life, faith, and anything else!
Psalm 60:1-12
You thought you had it all figured out. You planned. You strategized. And then…failure. Not a small failure, but a colossal failure. A failure so big you had to step back and reassess your approach and ask, “What went wrong? Where did I get off track? How in the world did things get so bad?”
Continue reading “Missing God – Reflection on Psalm 60”
Psalm 55:1-23
You can’t believe what you are hearing! Your friend, your best friend, shares what you told them in confidence. You’ve been betrayed! If it was anyone else you wouldn’t be surprised, but you though your friend was on your side. Now you wonder if he was ever really a friend. Perhaps all the kind words were a facade. Maybe he was trying to ‘suck you in’ so that he could destroy you!
Continue reading “Should I Stay or Should I Go – Reflection on Psalm 55”
Psalm 54:1-7
I remember wonderful times of youth, playing Kick the Cans or Hide and Go Seek. In my neighborhood, all the kids would gather across the street and we would play until it was too dark to see.
I was pretty good at hiding, which was extremely helpful in both games. I could find great hiding places and would only come out if everyone’s focus was somewhere else.
Continue reading “How to Rest in Hope – Reflection on Psalm 54”
Psalm 46:1-3
Sometimes I forget. I’ll walk into a room and forget why. I’ll pick up my laptop and forgot what I wanted to do. I forget. I forget a lot.
I don’t know why I forget so much. I wonder if distractions contribute to my forgetfulness. I know what I want to do when I start to do it, but then another thought enters and the previous thought fades away. Distractions cause me to focus on something new, forgetting what came before.
Continue reading “All Will Be Well – Reflection on Psalm 46”
If I follow God, everything will work out alright. At least that is what I want to believe. In order to hang onto that belief, I have to forget history and that none of the Apostles had a particularly easy life. I have to forget that the 2nd-century church father Tertullian wrote, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” I must forget that some of the most faithful followers of Jesus experienced horrible circumstances.
Continue reading “Hope in Darkness – Reflection on Psalm 43”