Welcome to the JCPC Daily Reflections Blog. Reflections are daily devotionals authored by JCPC pastors, staff and members and provide insight, guidance and comfort to help you make it through each day. If you’d like to receive Reflections each day via email, provide your email address.
This Sunday, Neal is preaching a sermon called "A Dream Dreaming Us" based on the story of Jacob's dream from Genesis 28:10-17. Neal and I were talking about dreaming earlier this week. We talked about the dreams many have had for significant events like graduations or weddings that have been affected by the pandemic. I also thought about those who have had dreams for their businesses or work that have been impacted by this event, or those who dreamed of a certain kind of retirement, only to have those dreams fade. I am looking forward to how Neal will speak to us about all of this.
When the Bible speaks of dreams, it is often telling a story of God speaking to someone through a dream. In the Bible, dreams are not usually something created in the mind of the person - they are usually vehicles for receiving a message from God. That is the case with Jacob in Sunday's Bible story.
In our time, we have those who dream of a better world. Dr. King was one of those who spoke of his dream - a dream that continues to speak to us today:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. . . . I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. . . .
Prayer for Today
Loving God, help us to hear your dreams for us and for your world. Strengthen us today, so that together we might make your dreams a reality. In the strong name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.
-Ephesians 1:18
In the summer of 2009, as I was finishing my seminary training, I landed a summer internship with a racial reconciliation ministry in the East End of Richmond, VA. At the time, it had just moved down the list of Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America from three to eight. There was nonetheless a murder almost every day of our first week working there. We helped to run a summer day camp for the kids, lead worship in the intentionally black/white mixed church, and I taught summer school for English and Math to kids we were trying to catch up to grade level.
A part of our internship was having a mentor in the organization and being one to one of the older kids who were counselors in training. And we also met in a small group as staff for Bible study. A fellow counselor remarked one day of his experiences before this and now, "My eyes had been made small by my choices." Which I wrote in the margins of my Bible and read again this week. In other words, not going out of his way to find people of color, people in poverty, people who were oppressed or rejected, younger kids in need of mentors, his eyes saw less. Choosing to travel far outside his experiences and comfort opened his eyes. For many of us, we have been forced to live in new ways by the quarantine and to see new realities in the news. Our eyes are being made bigger, not by choice, but force.
For me, I could never have imagined online worship, drive-in worship, or virtual Bible study. My eyes were small. I did not imagine school from home, canceled sports and extracurriculars, canceled vacations, families home together on weekends and evenings. My eyes were small. But now I see possibilities. Empty schedules and a greater hunger for Christian fellowship and God's word, for worship. I couldn't imagine a summer without week-long trips, but now it's stirring creativity. I'm appreciating time at home and watching the milestones of my boys as I do this work. I'm observing hundreds of moments that are teaching me lessons for future sermons and reflections. My eyes are becoming larger by the decisions to observe and be joyful, thankful for what is good. My prayer is that you'll find what is good and choose to be embrace that good. And I hope you'll share it with me.
Prayer for Today
Lord, help me make choices that widen my eyes. Help me to see your goodness, my blessings, the needs of others, and how I can help. Amen.
Some of you may remember this children's song if you grew up in the church. It is a simple tune -- easy to sing and remember. The words are pretty simple, too - but they are not simplistic. As good songwriters often do, they speak deeper truths . . . if we are paying attention. Sometimes it takes a long time to figure this out - maybe even a lifetime.
This song addresses two of the more profound challenges we are facing today - how to be the church during a pandemic and how we address and heal issues of race and racism. Both are complex - if for different reasons. First of all, what does it mean to be the church when we cannot yet meet together in our buildings for worship? As the song reminds us -- the church is not the building - it is the people. So, we find different ways to worship when challenged. In a place like China, the underground church flourished while being forbidden to meet together. The church has not stopped being the church - we have just found a different way to worship, connect, and serve others during this time. Like you, I am looking forward to worshiping again with others on our campus as soon as we can.
The other challenge that has recently exploded in our nation is the challenge of race and racism. The song also reminds us that as the church, we are many kinds of people of all races, from all over the world. Christ calls us to come together in love and to work against whatever devalues or threatens anyone - especially those directly affected by racism. Racism is a sin which we must address now. As the church, we should help lead the way in working for a peaceful and just world for all.
Prayer for Today
Thank you, God, for calling us from all places and races to be your church. Sustain us until we can worship together physically. Empower us to be the church wherever we are - working so that your kingdom can come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Amen.
For many of the times I have read Jonah's story, I focused on the lessons God teaches us related to repentance and forgiveness.
These words from a devotion for families, Sing! Play! Summer! put love at the center.
Jonah 2:1-2, "Then Jonah prayed to God from the belly of the fish, saying, 'I called to God out of my distress, and God answered me."
I saw this story of Jonah in a new way as I read the devotion. "Full of twists and turns, the story of Jonah is about at least two things: 1) God's pervasive and persistent love, and 2) stepping up to the challenges that change can bring. Jonah tries to avoid God's call at first, while the people of Nineveh embrace it, changing their lives for the better. The story ends with the idea that the God of love is at work in and through all the twists and turns of our lives, sometimes hidden, sometimes plain- and that God's mercy knows no bounds!" (Salt Project)
"God of love is at work in and through all the twists and turns of our lives". Over the past almost three months we have experiences lots of twists and turns that were not expected. How have you seen our God of love at work in your twists and turns recently? When has someone reminded you of God's mercy?
Aghast, stunned, angry, sad, confused; these are but a few emotions I have experienced watching the chaos in Atlanta this past weekend. Our Solace Sunday meeting was spent processing these emotions and more as we attempted to sort out what Christian responses need to be in the face of this chaos. The answers aren't simple; they never are, yet Christian faith was born into chaos and it is lived to bring reconciliation into the chaotic world. Listen to how St. Paul describes our ministry in the 5th chapter of 2 Corinthians:
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What does reconciliation look like in action? I want to share three pictures which illustrate the power of reconciliation in the face of chaos. The first is a picture from Louisville, KY where a police officer had been separated from his unit and was protected by his citizens he is sworn to protect.
This second picture is one of police officers kneeling in prayer as protesters approached them.
Finally, through prayer reconciliation brings order to the chaos.
We have witnessed too many scenes of violence, chaos, and destruction. God is working to bring about reconciliation in our broken world. Let's share together in the ministry of reconciliation.
Prayer for Today
Breathe your Spirit upon your people, O Merciful God, and convict us to be ambassadors of Christ who heed your call to the ministry of reconciliation so that we will be people of healing, hope, and love. Amen.
In spite of not being able to gather yet for worship, we have some pretty exciting things happening in the near future. This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday and we will once again be celebrating communion in the service. I hope everyone will have bread and grape juice or wine ready at home to celebrate The Lord's Supper along with us. We will also be watching a special Zoom video Brian has created, along with many others, to offer one way to hear the Pentecost passage from Acts 2. You won't want to miss it!
On the next Sunday, June 7th, we're trying something new. At the suggestion of one of our church members, Angela Harvey, we are inviting members of the church to drive through and bring their offerings between 10:00 a.m. and Noon. Angela thought this might be a good way for church members to connect, even though we will stay in our cars. Pastors (wearing masks) and some elders will be there to receive the offering and to offer a blessing -- if folks would like one. We will also be collecting for our mission partner, Hands of Christ. Food, clothing, and monetary donations will be accepted. We will be doing all of this taking safety precautions into account.
On June 14, the Rev. Ben Mathes will be our guest Online Worship preacher. Ben is finally retiring completely and asked if he could preach one last time this year at JCPC. June 14 was the only date he had available, so we took it. Ben founded Rivers of the World (ROW) which later became Mission: Hope. Those who know Ben know what to expect . . . or not! Ben always shares some exciting stories from the mission field. You will not want to miss the online sermon that day!
God continues to work through the members, ministry, and mission of Johns Creek Presbyterian Church - even when we cannot gather for worship. As Pentecost reminds us, God's Holy Spirit is never confined to one place!
Prayer for Today
Thank you, God, for your Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of the risen Christ alive everywhere. May your Spirit inspire us to live life fully, whatever challenges we face in life. In the strong name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.
-Matthew 18:20
This morning, I was preparing to come to church and record the worship service for Pentecost. Pentecost and the Holy Spirit have been on my mind all week with the video project we worked on, and as I lifted our three-month old from his bed, I whispered, "The Holy Spirit is in you too. Did you know that?" And he grinned the biggest grin I've ever seen. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of joy and sense that my words were more true than I could imagine.
The Spirit is indeed within each of us, from the quietest to the most prophetic. From the introvert to extrovert. I'm alone in my family as being an extrovert, unless that little baby is, and I suspect as much. Even in my extended family. My mom knows every lifeguard at her pool and I can introduce you to half the staff at my Kroger. It's how we are wired. Being apart from society, especially my church family, is painful. I long to be with everyone again, as much or more than anyone. But, like the youth I serve and admire, I understand why this is a time to refrain from gathering and embracing. I'm protecting the wise elder members and the nursery kids, as well as my smiling, Spirit-filled baby.
He reminded me that that Spirit came to people in their houses on Pentecost. It connected people, and it still does. He's never been to our church, the one I serve and love and worship with. He's never been to a church at all. But he's been a part of the Church from his birth. The Spirit filled his lungs, the lungs that caused a nurse to say, "wow, he's the loudest baby I've ever heard," and the lungs that were monitored in the NICU for three days while hundreds of people from OUR church and churches of my friends, the greater Church prayed for his return home, and the lungs I seek to protect at home, grateful that others wear masks.
And those lungs, God-willing, will one day sing out as he is baptized in that Spirit, as he confirms his faith, and as he sings in our chapel. That Spirit connects us as we serve in Mexico and the DR, downtown at the shelters and in Duluth at Hands of Christ. That Spirit connects us in our homes to the homes of foster children and the house of the Lord. It makes us one people, so long as we trust God to unite us and we never let ourselves be divided, even when we are separated. And if we forget that, we need only hold a baby to remember.
Prayer for Today
Lord, hold me as your child, and whisper to me that your Spirit lives in me too, wherever I am and wherever I go. There is the Church. Amen.
One "new" tradition that has emerged in our household over the Memorial Day Weekend is watching the video series, Band of Brothers. It is based on the true story of the World War II soldiers in Easy Company. The actual soldiers on which this story is based are interviewed at the beginning of each episode. Without exception, they each talk about the fear they all felt and how they each found a way to complete their mission -- in spite of their fears. I am inspired by the courage of these whom some have called "The Greatest Generation."
Recently, I heard a Pulitzer Prize winning historian compare our generation facing of this pandemic to that earlier generation facing World War II. While there are certainly differences between a World War and a pandemic, her point was that these were events that affected the whole world and required a response from everyone. When I watch Band of Brothers, I remember soldiers like my wife Pam's father who was a B-17 pilot in World War II. He was shot down over Germany and finished out the war in a prisoner of war camp. Pam's father was one of the "older" soldiers in his mid-20s -- a Captain and a Wing Commander called upon to lead others who were even younger than he was.
When I watch how the series depicts those young soldiers rising to the leadership challenge in spite of their fears, I'm also reminded of the excellent leadership book I have just finished by Peter Steinke called, Uproar: Calm Leadership in Anxious Times. I have shared with our session and our staff some of his key insights such as this one: in anxious times such as these, the most effective leadership comes from leaders who are able to calm their own anxiety, and then lead with a calming, non-anxious presence. This allows those of us who are experiencing the normal anxiety and fear that we all feel, to first take time to calm our own anxiety. Doing that first, then allows us to lead and make decisions based on our principles and our mission. I am grateful to be serving with leaders on our session and staff who are trying to lead in this way. Please keep our church's leaders in your thoughts and in your prayers, as we are praying for all of you -- the members of our JCPC church family.
Prayer for Today
God of peace, in these anxious and challenging times, fills us with your peace - a peace that passes all understanding and a peace like only you can give. Help us to calm our anxiety and face our fears in a way that allows us to fulfill the mission of this church you love - Johns Creek Presbyterian Church. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus, who faced his fear when giving his life on a cross in order to fulfill his death-defeating, life-saving mission. Amen.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
-John 4:24
Lord, you have been our home since the beginning.
-Psalm 90:1
I was recently reminded that God is not far away or up there, but rather as close to us as our home. This Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost and as I can recall from previous years, I shared a book in Children's Worship as a part of our scripture reading, The Day When God Made Church. Throughout the reading the children looked intently at the images and followed the story. They enjoyed creating sound effects to accompany parts of it. This part sticks with me, "Then the room grows brighter. Something hot and blazing shines on us. Darkness is gone. FIRE fills the cold space. Now we feel WARM inside our bodies. Smiles paint our faces. We all know something new is happening. We feel our hearts change inside". The disciples gathered in a home together on that day and their lives were forever changed by experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way.
Remember that God is with us in the presence of the Holy Spirit anytime and anywhere. God can be equally familiar to us, like our homes. Max Lucado says it well, "with time you can learn where to go for nourishment, where to hide for protection, where to turn for guidance. Just as your earthly house is a place of refuge, so God's house is a place of peace."
As you spend time in your home this week, think about the ways that you can invite God into every aspect of your life. Put your trust in God knowing that he goes before you, stands beside you and walks behind you.
If you would like to see this children's book read by the author, click here.
Prayer for Today
Loving God, Thank you for the comfort and security that you bring into our lives. Help us to see you in every part of our day. In Christ's Name, Amen.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.
-John 15:13
On Memorial Day, I think of many military veterans but especially my dad and uncles, who served in the military during World War II. They made it home, but in that war hundreds of thousands of families tragically lost loved ones in service to their country. Yet, when asked, my dad and most soldiers from that era would say they were willing to give up their lives to protect their loved ones and stand for what they believed to be right.
When someone dies in defense of their country, John 15:13-"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends"-is often recited during the funeral service to honor their sacrifice. But what were the circumstances behind this verse?
When Jesus spoke those words to His disciples during the Last Supper, He was about to die. And, in fact, one of His small group of disciples, Judas, had already left to betray Him (13:18-30). Yet Christ knew all of this and still chose to sacrifice His life for His friends and enemies.
Jesus was willing and ready to die for those who'd one day believe in Him, even for those who were still His enemies (Romans 5:10). In return, He asks His disciples (then and now) to "love each other" as He has loved them (John 15:12). His great love compels us to sacrificially love others-friend and foe alike.
Prayer for Today
Jesus, we're so thankful that You were willing to die for us! Amen.
