Bias Opinion / Blog

May 11, 2012Happy Mother's Dayby CindyThis Mother’s Day weekend, I give thanks for seven persons for whom I am especially thankful. I am convinced I am who I am because of their loving and caring support as well as their insightful instructions and direction.

I give thanks for my Aunt Ruby. She knew I was going to be a minister before I knew. At family dinners she would ask me to give thanks for the meal. Even though I did not know it at the time, she provided me the opportunity to learn to pray. I have been blessed to have had her spiritual support and guidance in my life. Although she passed several years ago, I believe she prays for me daily.

I give thanks for my Grandma Flo. She was a Missionary Baptist. Her church building was a converted house. Although I don’t remember it, she was the first one to take me to worship and to expose me to the living and loving God. She was the first person to take me visiting the sick and the homebound. Much of what I learned about the Bible I learned through her Sunday school teaching. She was a model of faith and service.

I give thanks for my Grandma Bias. She was Methodist. Although her formal education ended in the third grade, she taught herself to read. I remember her reading the Bible every night before going to bed. She kept her Bible on the mantel over the fireplace. Every evening she would take it down, open it, and read aloud while pointing to the words with her arthritic fingers. I always thought it was funny that she read aloud, especially when she would come across a word she did not know and would pronounce it phonetically. Only when I became an adult did I realize the impact of her scripture reading in my life. More than once after tucking me into bed, she knelt at the foot of the bed and prayed, named me by name before God. Jesus heard about me long before I met him for myself. Twenty-seven years ago she was “welcomed home” by her many friends and family members. I have no doubt that she continues speaking to God about her “little man.”

I give thanks for my mother. She will turn 80 this year. This is not the place to list her many influences in my life, but I do want to say that I have yet to meet anyone who has given herself or himself to the care of others like my mother. Whether it was family, neighbors, even enemies, my mother gave herself in compassion to those who needed care. As I have matured over the years, I have grown to appreciate more and more her guidance and care. I am especially grateful for her models of love and acceptance.

I give thanks for the most influential woman in my life, my wife, Kim. With each moment of every day, Kim fills my life with grace, joy, fun, and laughter. She is the love of my life, my best friend, my greatest critic, and the balance I need to be all God created me to be. Because of her parenting skills, our children have grown and matured into responsible adults with loving spouses. What a gift! I am grateful for the thirty-six years we have shared life together.

I am also grateful for my daughter, Emily and my daughter-in-law, Nikki. Emily continues to amaze me with her independence and insight. She is a beautiful, intelligent, and determined young woman. And Nikki constantly amazes me with her creativity, compassion, and care, as a wife and mother.

Today, as with most days, I am taking a special moment to give God thanks for those who have had, and who continue to have, a significant impact upon my life.

For whom are you giving thanks this Mother’s Day?

May 4, 2012Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thingby CindyThere is a gospel hymn that says, “Like the woman at the well I was seeking for things that could not satisfy…” Have you ever had an inward emptiness? I have. My life was filled with activity and busyness. Most all of it good, but I was not satisfied. Like empty calories that filled my stomach but failed to nourish my body, my heart, mind, and spirit were not being nourished by the good activity of my life. There was no shortage of things, many of them good things, clamoring to take up residence in my heart. I learned that if I opened my heart to them, they pushed and pulled to take control of my life.

To live as children of God, and most specifically as Christ followers, our hearts need to be nourished with the presence of God. Against the attractions and anxieties that swirl about us, Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God (Matthew 6:33). This means to allow God to inform our lives through the witness of the scriptures, through Jesus Christ, and the witness of the saints through the ages. In this way God becomes the center of everything.

James W. Skillen, in his book A Covenant to Keep: Meditations on the Biblical Theme of Justice writes, “The wisdom of Ecclesiastes teaches us that making ourselves the fixed point from which to view reality is a recipe for despair.” His words challenge us in the midst of a culture that is convinced that each individual is the source of what is right, wrong, and true. The result is often a do-it-yourself spirituality that tends to focus on personal fulfillment. How different from Jesus. Jesus assumes that the fixed point is God, who reveals wisdom to those who are as receptive as children rather than to those regarded as wise and learned (Matthew 11:25).

Our hearts will be filled with something. That is why Jesus asks us to hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God. Doing so does not come naturally to us. In fact it is natural for us to follow our own desires. So we begin always by inviting God to enter a heart that is instinctively unreceptive.

Arthur Simon, in his book, How Much Is Enough? writes, “It should not surprise us, that prayer and time alone with God seem strange and out of place in a life that is occupied with many interests and responsibilities that make little allowance for anything so impractical. However, if the heart is to be properly filled, it must be emptied of things that leave no space for God, and give God access. Doing so means setting aside time for prayer and reflection. An empty prayer life reflects an emptiness in life, which is to say a cluttered and distracted heart.”

I hope you are allowing God access to your heart. It is my hope that you and I become so connected to God and to God’s desire for us, that all the people around us whether they be family, friends, neighbors or whether they be people experiencing grief or pain, become the focus of our care and hospitality. It is my hope that those known or unknown to us, who may be hungry, homeless, imprisoned, victims of violence will be held close to God as we offer ourselves in risk-taking mission and service. Richard Foster writes, “If we genuinely love people, we desire for them far more than it is within our power to give, and that will cause us to pray.” (Celebrations of Discipline)

Our hearts will be filled with something. When our prayers are in order, everything else follows. When we pray, God helps us put our hearts and minds on things that matter. The action follows. May I tell you that my heart is filled with a deep and abiding love for God and for you. I pray that your heart will be filled with God’s love as well.

Remember that no matter who you are or what you have done; you are loved.
April 27, 2012Turning Anxiety into Prayerby CindyEugene Peterson, in The Message, writes the Philippians 4:6-7 scripture like this:

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Paul’s teaching “Don’t fret or worry” seems unrealistic. Who among us has gone even one day without worrying about something? Over the past several years it seems we have been bombarded with bad news. The news of financial crisis, floods, natural disasters, unemployment, and unexpected deaths, along with the reality of rising gas prices, home foreclosures, and rising costs of basic commodities have elevated our anxiety levels.

I have learned that anxiety is contagious and that when I am driven by anxiety, I tend to see the world differently. I begin to make decisions based upon the fear of scarcity and I tend to focus on needs, problems, and shortages rather than the great goodness of God.

What do you do when you are anxious? What do you do when you are worried about a loved one, your health, your financial security, some worthwhile project you are working on, a terrorist attack, global warming, or your own failures and shortcomings? Paul reminds us to “Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.” In other words, turn your anxiety into prayer.

Let’s remember that the one place we do not have to be anxious is the church. I know there are anxious times, but as Christians we are focused upon the covenant God who is with us, for us, and working for our good. We are focused upon the Creator of the universe who provides for all our needs. We are focused upon the God we can depend upon to provide for us and to see us through any point of crisis or anxiety.

When we turn our anxiety into prayer, Paul writes, “Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

So let’s try it. I invite you to join in taking an anxiety we all share and to turn that anxiety into prayer.

O God, we confess to you our anxiety over the future. We place our anxieties and our church in your hands. If there is some specific action you want us to take in regard to any of these anxieties, please let us know. We trust your leading, we are grateful for your goodness, and we offer ourselves to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you! Amen.

I invite you to do the same with whatever raises your anxiety level. Remember Paul’s words, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

So let it be!
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