Devotional 12-17-16

Acting in Peace

I’m a people-watcher.  I try to empathize with those around me, whether or not we have actually met.  Recently, I have reconnected with an old friend.  It has been intriguing to watch him.  He tells me of trials in his own life.  They are situations which make me angry or frustrated on his behalf.  When I ask how he dealt with each problem, his responses always astound me.   He answers irrational with wise.  He answers impatient with peace.  He answers complicated with clarity.  Time after time, he has responded with humility and grace.

Matthew 1: 18-25 tells of Joseph discovering that Mary was with child, even though the two had not yet lived together.  Verse 19 shares that Joseph was planning to ‘quietly dismiss’ Mary.  He was facing a complicated and dramatic situation.  Joseph could easily have shamed her throughout the community.  His world was turned upside down, but he made the better choice.   Even before the angel appeared to him, Joseph was responding with peace and grace.

People are rash, impatient, illogical, immature, and vengeful.   In this age of email and social media, we enjoy the luxury of instant access to the world.  In turn, we seem to also want to have an instant answer for events around us.  Rather than taking the time to think and pray for the correct response (which is often silence!), we act first.  While we journey through another Christmas season – the season of peace—let us take just a little more time to ask God what He would have us do.

Father God, thank you for the gift of your truly amazing grace.  Please help me to listen to you before I speak or act based on my own understanding.  Bless me with peace and discernment, and let me be the voice of Your love to those around me.  In Your holy name,  Amen.

 “Practice the pause : When in doubt, pause.  When angry, pause. When tired, pause.  When stressed, pause.  And when you pause, pray.” –Toby Mac

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-6-14

Prepare the Way

If you look around my home, there are many examples of clutter and disorganization.  If you announce you’ll be visiting tomorrow, I’ll scramble to get it organized, but chances are good that some of that mess will be hidden in a drawer or a closet… and this is of course amplified during the holidays. What if God announces that he’s visiting tomorrow?  I’m pretty sure that none of us has the closet space for all the things cluttering our lives… especially those things we wouldn’t really want Him to see.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  2 Peter 3:8-9

It seems God has announced that he’s visiting tomorrow. Yikes. What a mess we have here. Today’s scriptures suggest that we have a substantial job. We are preparing to meet God face to face. Where do we start?

A message left ringing in my ears often over the last year has been regarding intentionality of action. We need to put God’s purpose behind absolutely everything we do. We are made for the purpose of praising God, so we should strive to consistently act with Godly intentions. Especially during the holidays, we tend to think of Christian charity as donating money or time to those in need. However, the concept of Christian intentionality applies to daily tasks as well. While we are to give in many ways, Godly actions also include freeing ourselves of the clutter we harbor in forms such as stress, worry, and anger.

…[W]hat kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 2 Peter 3: 11-12, 14

From buying the meal for the person behind you at the drive-through (which is so much fun) to simply letting yourself enjoy a laugh during a stressful moment, there are countless ways to prepare our hearts for Christmas as well as for God’s return. Christ walked in love, and we are to share God’s love in our words and actions.

As we anticipate the birth of Jesus, let us remember to ‘prepare the way for the Lord’ (Isaiah 40:3) and keep Christ not only at the center of Christmas but also at the center of our actions. You’ve heard the saying, “God is coming. Look busy.” Perhaps it should be, “God is coming. Be intentional.”

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-17-13

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

One of my favorite songs, appropriate for Christmas or any time of year, is Elizabeth Poston’s arrangement of William Northup’s hymn Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.  The melody is simple but lovely and haunting, and there is a beautiful way that the phrases build and release.  It would serve as quite a good meditation for any of us.  Especially in this crazy season of gift-buying, cookie-baking, and family-visiting, we have to keep our spiritual centers.

The following is the message I hear in this song:

Only with the soul can one find the tree of life.  With our worldly senses, we are distracted by worldly things.  The tree of life is a constant source of the spiritual food upon which we can all truly thrive.  Even the most fruitful natural tree is no comparison with Jesus Christ the apple tree.

Though with our eyes we cannot literally see Christ, His glory is ever-present and mystifyingly tangible.  The beauty of the tree of life is astounding.

We spend all our lives seeking happiness; we spend all our time and money on imperfect solutions to our woes.  True joy is found in Christ the apple tree.

After all our energy has been used to serve ourselves, we may find ourselves catching our breath by seeking Christ.  We discover a peace with Him that we forgot or that we never realized, and we can rest in His embrace.

The fruit of the tree of life feeds the soul and revitalizes it.  Christ strengthens us, and our spiritual selves want nothing more than to be with Him.

An additional note on this song is that it is written in such a way that it never truly feels as though it has ended… much like our journeys of faith.  My prayer for all of us is that the branches of the tree of life reach to every corner of our hearts and every aspect of our lives during this blessed holiday season and always.

This web address is for a performance of the song done by the Choir of St. John’s College of Cambridge.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPJBFYuUWvY  

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-25-10

Speaking When Spoken To

Any parent can identify with those who think “children should speak when spoken to”. Many of us don’t entirely support the idea, but sometimes it would be nice if our kids would stop and listen to us! Even the most energetic child, though, is able to see when an adult needs to tell him or her something important.

In Luke 2, verse nine tells, “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified” (NRSV). Like a child who knows when an adult is saying something momentous, the speechless shepherds understood the significance of what they were hearing. They intently listened to the angel’s news, and then they quickly departed for Bethlehem.

After seeing Jesus, the shepherds shared their experience with Mary and Joseph. They knew it was time to speak. Despite the cold and physical discomfort, Mary sensed that it was time to listen. Verse nineteen says, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” The shepherds were ‘speaking when spoken to’ by the angel of the Lord.

On this joyous Christmas Day, I pray that we all are aware of the awesome miracle before us, and that we take the time to listen to what God has to tell us. I also have faith that we will share His message with those who are ready to listen. Merry Christmas!

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-13-10

Your Faith is What You Make of It
Psalm 80 is believed to have been written after the people of the northern kingdom of Israel were defeated and deported to Assyria. Though the text certainly refers to the experience of trial, the perspective seems to be very positive. In the aftermath of war, one might think that it takes deep-rooted faith to keep a pleasant outlook.

When I was teaching middle school students, I really noticed the effects of the affirmation, “Your day is what you make of it.” Stepping in a puddle on a rainy morning can lead to a day that just continues to worsen, or we can take a deep breath and leave the negativity behind us with that puddle. I tried to help adolescents see that trying to be positive would go a long way toward actually feeling that way.

Of faith and action, which comes first? Was Asaph (or his descendant) writing Psalm 80 out of doubtless faith? Verse three says, “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” Verses seven and nineteen, echoes of the same request, give me the impression that the psalmist was speaking out of struggling faith. I do think, though, that he had the right idea. To maintain brightness despite encountering difficult would likely strengthen one’s faith.

Even when we find it difficult to feel spiritually confident, we should act and speak with faith. There are perfect examples of this throughout the story of Christmas. The shepherds, the magi, Mary, and Joseph all acted with faith, which led to an affirmation of that faith. The same can happen to all of us, because your faith truly is what you make of it.

Natalie Wray

Devotional 2-5-10

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus had been teaching a group of people on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. He told Simon Peter (as well as James and John) to go out into the deep waters and let down their nets. Verse five follows:

“Master,” Simon answered, “we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

As the familiar scripture goes, the catch was plentiful and Jesus instructed the three to abandon their nets and become ‘fishers of men’.

I can only imagine how incredibly weary one might be after a long night of casting nets. In addition to the physical strain, these men must have been disheartened to have nothing to show for their night of work. Maybe Simon Peter was thinking that it would be a waste of time to try again, or he wanted to grumble about how the only thing he’d like to try to catch now would be a nap. His actual words and actions, however, were doubtless and obedient.

Obedience and faith are so often interwoven. As parents do, I try to teach our kids to do things for themselves. I sometimes find myself trying to get one of them to surrender a toy in order for me to demonstrate how it works. Two-year-old Devon, for the most part, understands when I want to show her something. JT, at fourteen months, seems to think I just want to take away that precious toy to be cruel. Devon has a greater degree of faith in me, so (in instances like this) she is more obedient. In order for them to see what I want them to see, they have to trust me and do what I ask.

In order for us to see what God wants us to see, we have to trust Him and do what He expects of us. We as Christians are meant to be fishers of men. We need only cast the net by being faithful witnesses. My children are learning to trustingly heed my requests, just as all of us are children of God, on a similar journey of spiritual growth. I hope that today’s lesson from Luke inspire us all to become more aware of our own faithfulness to Him.

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-12-09

Isaiah 12:2 says, “God is my savior; I will trust him and not be afraid. The Lord gives me power and strength; he is my savior.”

Since our wedding five years ago, I have thought from time to time about the fact that I was a bit of a “bridezilla.” I did a lot of work myself, because I wanted it all to be done exactly my way. I coordinated the reception, made the place cards, and even typed instructions for the caterer on how to arrange the centerpieces (since I couldn’t be there during the wedding to do it myself). I bet that the week after our wedding, not one of our guests would have been able to describe the place cards or the centerpieces. For some ridiculous reason, though, I felt the need to have total control so everything was absolutely perfect. Why didn’t I just let go of a few things and allow my loved ones to help me?

You might be able to think of something in your life with which you wouldn’t trust anyone else. I’d also guess that I’m not alone in that I tend to rely on myself to resolve everyday problems. In the same way that I wanted total control over those wedding arrangements, I often try too hard to have control over my life. If we can’t trust God for the small stuff, how will we ever feel comfortable with Him handling our real crises? Allowing someone else to handle the place cards and centerpieces would have been an exercise of my trust in others. Similarly, I should try harder to have faith that everyday situations will find resolution according to God’s plan. I propose that we as Christians begin a self-improvement process by starting small. If we practice putting our trust in God for more common problems, it might become a “good habit of the spirit.” When we have this good habit in times of prosperity, it will be so much easier to approach greater challenges with trust in Him and without fear.

We Christians frequently think of Jesus Christ as our savior from sin, but we need to remember God is also a savior during adversity. Has someone ever done you a favor to “save you the trouble” of wasting your own time or energy? This is why I think the scripture above describes God as “my savior” twice. Rather than drawing on our own energies and ability to solve our problems –especially the greatest challenges—We need to get our strength from God. It would be impossible to count the number of times that He has helped any one of us, but how many of us actually begin the battle by asking for His help? My trust in God frequently comes into play much later than it should, which often proves to be an effort in vain. If we sincerely allow God to be a savior, He can “save us the trouble” of trying to walk in a direction that wasn’t meant for us.

Natalie Wray