Presby-Musings

I've known some pretty joyless Christians throughout my life.  I remember when I was younger that it seemed like so many of the people in the churches I attended seemed so severe, grumpy, stodgy and absolutely devoid of joy.   They took very seriously all of the prohibitions that their faith drove them to embrace, and the world around them became a dangerous place, full of temptation and sin, and was to be avoided at all costs.   I've also known people who never cracked a smile during worship, sitting stoically in their pew at church, looking as though they were in the waiting room for the dentist.  Nothing would crack their stony visage, and when I greeted them at the exit after worship, they would invariably have something negative to say about the service, or my sermon.   These kinds of folks once prompted me to say in a sermon I preached about joy, "If you're happy and you know it, tell your face!"    There's a short little quote fro...

  "God's love is not something we achieve by becoming better people. It is the gift we awaken to when we finally stop trying to prove ourselves worthy. Grace always comes first. It is not a reward for the righteous but the foundation upon which new life is built."  —  Richard Rohr Most of us understand forgiveness—at least in theory. We believe that God forgives us. We proclaim it in worship, hear it in Scripture, and sing about it in our hymns. Yet many of us continue carrying guilt long after God has laid it down. We confess our sins, but we continue sentencing ourselves. I know that this is something that I struggle with, and I imagine I'm not alone in that struggle.  Many of us live with regrets over things we have done or left undone in our past.  We might be able to let go of bitterness, anger, and feelings of betrayal toward others, but the hurdle of actually forgiving ourselves is one we have difficulty leaping over.   In my role as a pastor, I...

This week in the Daily Devos, we will explore what it means to learn to receive the gifts of help, forgiveness, joy, rest, and belovedness from God.    The Christian life is often described as a life of giving. We are called to give generously, serve faithfully, forgive freely, and love extravagantly. Yet before we can become people who give, we must first learn to receive. The Gospel begins not with our offering something to God, but with God offering everything to us. We receive grace before we extend grace. We receive forgiveness before we forgive. We receive love before we know how to love others. We receive Christ before we are sent into the world in Christ's name. For many of us, receiving is surprisingly difficult. We would rather solve our own problems than ask for help. We are quicker to forgive others than ourselves. We feel guilty when life is joyful or when we stop long enough to rest. We spend years trying to earn an identity that God has already given us. This we...