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.
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a servant to sin. The servant does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
-John 8:34-36
It's a holiday weekend, chiefly Independence Day. Many folks will be talking about freedom, particularly in light of the restrictions during the pandemic, the racial justice protests, and of course, this being an election year. Freedom is a concept important to believers. However, it is understood differently by us as believers. Freedom is typically understood by one's relationship to rules and restrictions. So for a believer, we have both the rules of society, as understood through the legal system, as well as God's laws.
Freedom is typically defined as the power to act or speak as one wants without hindrance or restraint. And that's why we understand it differently as Christians. We know that we are either a servant to God or to our wants and desires. There are only those two options. We can either serve God and love our lives according to the rules and expectations of our loving creator or serve only our own wants and desires. To live our lives by the love and grace Christ shows us as an example looks like servitude to the world. And it is. But as Christians, we understand it is ultimate freedom from our own wants and desires that consume so many people. To serve the needs of our neighbors and the least of these frees us from greed, lust, laziness, consumerism, racism, bigotry, busyness, cruelty, selfishness, pettiness, divisiveness, ego, tyranny, ignorance, and apathy.
Why does this matter? This matters because as we approach the middle of one of the most difficult and disastrous years in memory, and among the worst in history, a year marked by restrictions in and fights for freedom, we must understand what freedom is and be a witness to the world of what true freedom is. To be free in Christ is not freedom from the rules and restrictions of government and medical professionals. It is the freedom to care for our neighbors and vulnerable people through social distancing practices. It's not freedom from protestors or police. It's the freedom to examine systems that allow and perpetuate unfair treatment of our brothers and sisters of color, and to love and pray for the officers who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe. It's not freedom to choose leaders who will protect the interests of ourselves and people like us, but to consider the needs of the most vulnerable, the least of these, and to choose people who will represent those needs and lead us all to be our best selves.
As believers, we approach Independence Day with solemnity and joy. We must give thanks for the great freedoms we have as Americans, but also the understanding that true freedom in Christ holds us to be very responsible citizens who love our neighbors through our actions and words, living into the expectations and hopes of our loving creator rather than just enjoying the removal of tyrannical laws.
Prayer for Today
Lord, thank you for my freedom. Help me to live a life worthy of that freedom. Help me to overcome being a servant to myself by serving others. Amen.
P.S. - Don't forget to come this Sunday, July 5, for our first Drive-In Worship at 9:30 a.m. - rain or shine. We will also have an On-Line version of the service on our website.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken."
- Psalm 55:22
When I went by the church yesterday to lead my Zoom Pastors' Bible Study, I checked the church office for mail. I found a piece of paper in my mailbox with a handwritten note from one of our church members containing the Bible verse above. The person ended the note with "Have a good day" and signed her name. It was nice to get such words of encouragement unexpectedly. My sense is that many of us continue to feel shaken by the daily changing events in our lives. I know I have. So, the reminder from the book of Psalms, to cast our cares on the Lord with the promise that God will sustain us when we feel shaken by the events of life, was both appreciated and needed.
You may remember that the word "encourage" comes from two French words: en- which means "make" or "put in" and corage which comes from the word for "heart" - coeur. One could say that enragement is really en-heartment, or giving someone heart. Some of us are really good at encouraging, while others of us have to work at it. Whether encouragement come to us naturally or because we are gifted in that way (Paul lists it as one of the spiritual gifts in Romans 12:8), or it something we have to make a deliberate effort at doing-we can all chose to try and encourage each other more often.
In this pandemic storm, we especially need to lean into offering words of encouragement because all of us feel "shaken" at the present time. Yet I believe that one of the main ways God sustains us during these times is through the encouragement we can offer one another as sisters and brothers in Christ. Maybe it will come in a personal note and a Bible verse, like the one I mentioned above. Find your own way to be an encourager today!
Prayer for Today
God of encouragement, fill our hearts with your love this day. Help us to cast our cares on you, knowing that you promise to sustain us even when we feel shaken. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
P.S. - Don't forget to come this Sunday, July 5, for our first Drive-In Worship at 9:30 a.m. - rain or shine. We will also have an On-Line version of the service on our website.
In January of this year, Jamie Traylor and I traveled to Charlotte to participate in a Labyrinth facilitator training with Veriditas. We were paired with Catherine Anderson as our guide and instructor. We both found the experience, community, and time to reflect deeply meaningful. At that time, we were just hearing more information about COVID-19 and the possible implications. I never imagined we would continue to be in the midst of this pandemic exactly 6 months later.
Catherine like many of us has been reflecting and re-evaluating our place in this world and in our own community especially during this unusual season. She recently shared some very meaningful words and actions that she can bring to our world in this time.
Some of the words she shared,
"It is not the easy or convenient life for which I search - but rather life lived to the edge of all my possibility."
-Maryanne Radmacher
"We don't have to agree on anything to be kind to one another."
-Catherine Anderson
"Be the kindness you wish to see in the world."
-Catherine Anderson
Her words reminded me of Paul's in his letter to the church in Ephesus, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
-Ephesians 4:32
I would invite you this week to consider these words and how they might guide your reflections, actions, and conversations. I find that when I walk a familiar path in my neighborhood or on a labyrinth, my mind can come to a place of calm and clarity through prayer and movement. This prayer time brings more depth and meaning to my day.
Each day as we navigate this pandemic, messages from the news and challenges we face in our personal relationships, I invite you to find time for prayer and movement. Perhaps write one of these quotes or scripture on a card and carry it with you.
Prayer for Today
Creator God, open our hearts, minds, and bodies to your kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Guide us as we continue to navigate new paths and new challenges. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Her doctor said her detached retinas couldn't be repaired. But after living without sight for fifteen years-learning Braille, and using a cane and service dog-a Montana woman's life changed when her husband asked another eye doctor a simple question: could she be helped? The answer was yes. As the doctor discovered, the woman had a common eye condition, cataracts, which the doctor removed from her right eye. When the eye patch came off the next day, her vision was 20/20. A second surgery for her left eye met with equal success.
A simple question also changed the life of Naaman, a powerful military man with leprosy. But Naaman raged arrogantly at the prophet Elisha's instructions to "wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored" (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman's servants, however, asked the military leader a simple question: "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?" (v. 13). Persuaded, Naaman washed "and his flesh was restored and became clean" (v. 14).
In our lives, sometimes we struggle with a problem because we won't ask God. Will You help? Should I go? Will You lead? He doesn't require complicated questions from us to help. "Before they call I will answer," God promised His people (Isaiah 65:24). So today, simply ask Him.
Prayer for Today
Dear heavenly Father, when life feels complicated and difficult, thank You for Your promise to hear even my simple prayers. Amen.
No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I'm clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?
- Refrain from My Life Flows On by Robert Lowry
I think it can be hard to really feel what the opening of this refrain is talking about. In good times, I like to think that I am strong and nothing can disrupt my inmost calm, but right now, I feel like the storms swirling around all of us are seriously rattling the shutters on this calm! I don't know about you, but I find myself seeking ways to cling on to some rock - any rock! - every day. But this hymn, which we will sing together during worship online this Sunday, helps to at least shift my focus away from the storm itself and more towards the Solid Rock we should all be clinging to.
But simply knowing that the peace of Christ should bring me a sense of calm doesn't always bring the comfort that I need. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but I find that two things that can help me relax and be able to feel the peace of Christ amidst the tumult are nature and walking. Walking along a path deep in a forest somewhere, I am able to stop the noise and get closer to really feeling the peace of Christ. But through my Saturday trips to hiking trails, I've realized something else: this peace I so desperately need is also often found during worship, which the pandemic has disrupted.
We say that "worship is the most important thing we do," and part of that worship is singing hymns together. We've managed to do some virtual singing together, but there's nothing else quite like singing together as a group in worship, voices joined in praising God. It also just so happens that singing may be one of the best ways to spread diseases. It seems so unfair the way this virus has disrupted our ways of worshiping together, but no matter how rough the storm gets, it will pass and Christ will still be the Lord of heaven and earth. I hope that we can all rally together in this unprecedented time and support one another, letting songs of peace echo through our hearts and finding new ways to act as the body of Christ.
Prayer for Today
God of endless song, help us to cling to you and hear your songs in the dark of night. Be our hope and stay in this and every storm, and guide us toward the profound, life-changing peace that you offer with open arms. Amen.
Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
-Matthew 7:7-8
There's no doubt that this is a tough time to be in the world. A pandemic, race tensions, murder hornets, Saharan sand, politics, elections, and more. Every single person I talk to is carrying heavy burdens for their personal and professional lives, stress and anxiety, fear and frustration, anger and disappointment. Zoom meetings, small gatherings, and chance encounters in the store feel heavy with the emotional strain of everyday life.
So yesterday, the softly spoken words of my Irish friend, author and storyteller, Gareth, resonates within my soul. When he leads gatherings and retreats for folks, he almost whispers, in his gentle Irish brogue, the invitation, "Bring what ya have and ask for what ya need." It's simple and profound. When we come to one another as Christians, in small moments of chance encounters and the structured time of small groups, classes, and worship, we bring what we have. Our burdens and our blessings. And we ask for what we need. Forgiveness and fellowship. We are honest, we are vulnerable, we are generous, and we are healed.
For many of us, we have missed all of that from our distance in quarantine. We yearn to gather in small and large groups, to transcend our difficult reality for the peace of those moments where we bring what we have and ask for what we need. As a pastor, as a leader, as a father, and as personality type focused on the needs of others, I often forget I have needs myself. Perhaps you do too. Or perhaps, you forget that we all are carrying heavy burdens just now. We will gather once more on July 5 for drive-in worship, a first phase of a new normal. I hope you'll be there. I miss you. And I hope you'll bring what ya have and ask for what ya need.
Prayer for Today
God, help me be mindful of all I have, the burdens and the blessings, to ask for what I need, and to love those near me. Amen.
Last weekend's Wall Street Journal featured an article on the comeback of the Drive-in Theater. When the pandemic hit this past spring, Drive-in Theater owners lobbied to keep their doors open because it was a social distancing way of watching a movie, while getting out of the house. The article even mentioned Atlanta's Plaza Theater, the oldest and the only independent cinema, that has pivoted to offer drive-in movies in its parking lot. Our session has voted to begin on-campus worship Sunday, July 5th at 9:30 AM with JCPC's own version of Drive-in Worship. Who knew we would be such trendsetters?
Earlier this week, our Worship Ministry Team held a Zoom meeting to prepare for all of this. Our preparation discussion included how we would park, how we would collect the offering, what happens if we filled up the West parking lot next to the ballfield, and many other details. It was a spirited discussion and my sense is that we're all excited to gather again for worship on our campus. All of us want to be prepared so that we can worship together in person (or in cars) because, as we say around here, "Worship is the most important thing we do!"
Preparation is an important part of life. The Scouts have their motto, "Be prepared." This Sunday, our next message in our Living Through the Storm series is called "Preparing for the Storm." When we get word a storm is on its way, most of us make appropriate preparations. What about the storms of life? What can we do to be prepared?
I hope you will join us online this Sunday as we wrestle with those questions. We will be looking at the end of the Sermon on the Mount -- Matthew 7:24-29. Jesus' words remind us that how we prepare prior to a storm makes a difference how we live through the storm. And as we said in last week's message, Jesus promises to be with us in the center of our storms -- never leaving us alone. And that's good news!
Prayer for Today
Loving God, thank you for being with us in the center of the storms of life. Help us to prepare, as your disciples, so that we might weather the storms of life. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Think for a moment about some of the major milestones in your life. Do you ever reflect on what happened the day before this significant day in your life? In many cases you knew the day was coming and you were preparing. The day before your graduation, the day before your wedding, the day before a milestone birthday or anniversary.
In many instances, if it's the day before your child is going to be born, you don't know it in advance. You likely start preparing for their arrival months ahead and in the last weeks, you're mostly ready. You are often just waiting to be surprised by the day when your child will be born. Chap and I are planners in life and in most cases, over prepared and in my case overpacked with any possible item we might need.
On June 20 six years ago, the day before Will was born, we were not prepared. We had moved into a new house the week before. We were finishing up projects, starting to unpack, and enjoying our new surroundings with a month before his due date.
We went to a wedding for two dear friends on the Chattahoochee in Roswell. It was a very meaningful service outdoors overlooking the river followed by a reception inside. We were excited about the delicious food and time to fellowship with friends. Before I could sit down to enjoy our dinner, everything changed. My water broke and we suddenly realized that we were not prepared for a trip to the hospital. There was not a single item set up or in most cases even unpacked for Will, and no hospital bag or car seat installed.
You can imagine our anxiousness that day realizing we were not prepared. God's timing was different from ours and a major milestone in our lives was approaching much quicker than anyone had anticipated. In this moment, we both realized that God was in control and we cannot do this on our own. A whole village of family and friends stepped up in the days and weeks to come to help us prepare for Will to join our us. From his first day on earth, we have felt the prayers, love and support from a great cloud of witnesses that have helped us to raise Will in the faith.
Now each year the day before Will's birthday, I think about this experience and it reminds me that God has a plan and God provides. I would invite you today to be open to God's plan for your life. Listen for ways that God is teaching you through unexpected or unplanned experiences.
And he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will have the same spirit and power that Elijah had. He will bring peace between parents and their children. He will teach people who don't obey to be wise and do what is right. In this way, he will prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.
-Luke 1:17
Prayer for Today
Gracious God, Help us to be open to your guidance and planning. Prepare our hearts to receive unexpected news and situations. In Christ's Name, Amen.
Eternal eyes, that's what my friend Madeline prays her children and grandchildren would have. Her family has gone through a tumultuous season that ended with the death of her daughter. As the family grieves from this horrific loss, Madeline longs for them to be less and less nearsighted-consumed by the pain of this world. And to be more and more farsighted-filled with hope in our loving God.
The apostle Paul and his co-workers experienced great suffering at the hands of persecutors and even from believers who tried to discredit them. Yet, they had their eyes fixed on eternity. Paul boldly acknowledged that "we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Although they were doing God's work, they lived with the reality of being "hard pressed on every side," "perplexed," "persecuted," and "struck down" (vv. 8-9). Shouldn't God have delivered them from these troubles? But instead of being disappointed, Paul built his hope on the "eternal glory" that supersedes momentary troubles (v. 17). He knew God's power was at work in him and had complete assurance that "the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus" (v. 14).
When our world around us feels shaky, may we turn our eyes to God-the eternal Rock that will never be destroyed.
Prayer for Today
I lift my eyes to You today, O God. Give me a glimpse of the security I have in You.Amen.
"The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: 'He is good; his love endures forever.' Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud." - 2 Chronicles 5:13, NIV
The Bible often talks about music with trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, offering fervent praises to God, though at JCPC, we often use piano, organ, and other somewhat less boisterous instruments. True to the many references in the Bible, this week, we'll be praising God together online with the sound of a trumpet, played by our very own Victoria Melin. Despite the uncertain storms we face, may the sounds of the trumpet open our eyes to the rays of light shining through the clouds.
It's fitting that Gray's new sermon series is titled, "Living Through the Storm." We are certainly living through today what seems like a prolonged series of storms. The scripture for this week's service is the familiar account of Noah's ark - certainly the flood to end all floods! Do you remember how it ends? God sets his rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant between God and the earth. It's a symbol of his promise to never again send a flood to destroy all life. It's helpful to us as this time to remember that we can trust in God's promises. One of the ways to remember God's promises is through music.
If you came to the Drive-Through Offering a few weeks ago, you received a CD from us and hopefully had a chance to pass it on to someone in need. Even when we're physically apart, our belief is that the power of music to offer hope and comfort can be one of many ways for us to both connect and reach out to those in need. Surely the author of Chronicles did not know about SoundCloud when they wrote, "the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud", but it's fitting that we are sharing music that reaffirms God's promises on this platform. As we add more songs, please take some time to find someone who needs to be reminded of God's promises and send them the link so we can join, "in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord" - even as we are physically distanced for the common good.
Prayer for Today
God of the Ages, we believe that you are good, that your love endures forever, and that we can trust in your promises. Help us to sing your praises, even during the storms of life. Amen.
