Anxiety

 Anxiety

Philippians 4:4-9

 

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

Anxiety presents itself as if it is unavoidable. It is, in fact, the body’s response to external and internal stimuli of stress and hormones. So, in this way, it is indeed unavoidable. But like other bodily responses to emotions, there are ways in which we can battle anxiety. I must admit that I have not completely conquered anxiety myself. It, like stress, is a part of the human condition. 

I am certain Paul had his experiences with anxiety. He was shipwrecked, run out of town on more than one occasion, and imprisoned multiple times. All of these were certainly cause for anxiety and perhaps even anxiety so severe as to paralyze him. When the Philippians asked him how to go through what they were going through, he tells them to rejoice and to be publicly gentle. Then he tells them not to be anxious! How is this possible considering it is a bodily response? Perhaps it is because he uses what I call replacement therapy. Instead of willing himself not to be anxious, he does something opposite to perhaps what his body wants him to do. Instead of pulling the covers over his head or letting his body be the controller, he prays, engaging in conversations with God. He tells God what is going on because speaking it aloud is a form of release in and of itself. He also adds thanksgiving to the conversation, not for the horrible way he feels or how his body is responding to stress, but for all that God is, all that God has promised, and all that God does. To me, thanksgiving is like laughter. When I start thanking God, I can’t help but feel somehow lighter.

 

Paul offers that when we enter into the spiritual practices of prayer and thanksgiving, peace that is not understandable descends. Then, and this is my favorite part, he tells us to refocus our brains. Think on the things that are both beautiful and true. Focusing just on reality can be devastatingly depressing. Focusing just on beauty can be Pollyannish. But the combination! What is beautiful and what is true. 

 

Permit me to share some things that are both beautiful and true that I focus on in tough times. 

The word of God, Jesus, is alive. (Hebrews 4:12)

The good work God started in me is not completed and will continue (Phil 1:6)

God will never forsake or leave me (Deuteronomy 31:8)

God is with me always (Matt. 28:20)

I live because Jesus lives (John 14:19)

God is with me and is my God (Is. 41:10)

 

Footnote: Some medical conditions require treatments in addition to spiritual practices. God has blessed us with innovations in mental health, including medications and professionals, and we should all avail ourselves of them when needed. Thank God for all. 

 

Healing and Restoration

One of the things I have lately been fascinated with is how Jesus healed people. He used a variety of techniques. Jesus touched, spoke words of forgiveness, healing, and restoration, commanded healing, and was touched.

Equally important to those with infirmities, including mobility, vision, physical ailments, raised from the dead, and possession, was the fact that, now healed, those Jesus encountered were restored. Being healed meant a return to families and communities. It also meant a return to places of worship. You see, having any infirmity was deemed by the religious circles as the same as being unclean. Being unclean often meant you were expelled from your home, your family, your community, and your synagogue. Imagine the ways the tag “unclean” imposed the burdens of rejection and isolation. Leviticus designated some major illnesses as unclean because others could contract them. While the blind and the lame were not considered ritually unclean, a physical disability prevented them from becoming priests or serving in the temple. Human beings are the ones who made these a part of a sinful past, i.e., John 9:2: “His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered Neither the man nor his parents sinned.

 

The point is this. Jesus came to bring not only life but abundant life (John 10:10). Jesus’ ministry was prophesied by Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of God, my Lord is upon me because Yahweh my Lord has anointed me to preach good news (the Gospel) to the meek, poor, oppressed; He has sent me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom and liberty for the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and grace, and the our Yahweh’s Day of Vengeance; to comfort all the mourners (Expanded from the Orthodox Jewish Bible translation).

 

If this is so, then healing must be more than just a physical change. Healing must include psychological and spiritual changes as well. The changes in the healed must also include their return to family, community, and church. Lastly, the changes in the healed are to impact family, community, and church.

 

We have all experienced healing from God via the medical profession, prayer, lifestyle changes, etc. Is it now up to us who have been healed to use that healing to restore our lives in families, communities, and our church so that those places and the people in them experience that healing power as well? Be healed in the powerful name of Jesus. Walk in that healing and offer its benefits wherever you find yourself this week. Amen.

 

Romans 10:10

 Weekly Devotion (August 6, 2026)

 

“Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation.” Romans 10:10

 

Paul talks about two processes by which we show ourselves as disciples. The two processes are trusting and confessing. I call these processes because neither is a one-time thing. Trusting has to be something we do every hour of every day. The Jewish concept of the heart (lev) is that this is the “total control center of human existence—encompassing intellect, choice, conscience, and spiritual life” (Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls).

 

Trusting, then, is an active choice-driven process. As we trust, we build a healthy right relationship (righteousness) with God. Think of it this way. A child holds Dad's or Mom’s hand, and as a result, they are safe. Every time this is the outcome, they trust this will always be the outcome. Every time a meal is available, a hungry person begins to trust that there will always be food available when they are hungry. 

 

Every time we trust God as the redeemer of our souls, we develop trust that our souls are safe in the palm of God’s hand. 

 

According to Paul, believing God redeems us and trusting with our mind and spirit that God redeems us is not enough. We must also engage the body. This is in part because Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45 that it is out of the overflow of the heart (lev) that the mouth speaks. 

 

We all know that sometimes the mouth speaks without prior thought. Things tend to slip out if we do not make it a practice to engage the brain first. Paul reminds us that our choices of speech and the process of speaking thoughtfully lead to salvation. We must recognize that salvation is not “going to heaven.” Salvation refers to being rescued from both the power and the penalty of sin. 

 

This again is a process. I say this because in my life I have seen the changes that occur in me as I live as someone who is saved (rescued) from the power and penalty of sin. This is another seemingly complicated concept. As I live as someone who is trusting, strengthening my relationship with God, my speech changes (what I say and how I say it). This change is because my speech now aligns with my relationship. Now, I must practice speaking in ways that witness to my relationship with God through Jesus. 

 

First, as my speech changes to reflect my new priorities, I am now influenced by that renewing relationship, not by the brokenness formerly represented by sin (sin’s power). Second, I am now freed from the penalty of sin, which is death. Life now abounds unhindered. 

 

Trusting and confessing are the processes by which we become disciples. It is a marriage of inner spirituality and outer actions. Thanks be to God. The Holy Spirit equips and empowers us to do both. Unleash this power in your life today and always. Amen.

The Art of Becoming

Processes are often frustrating. I am sure I am not the first or only one who wishes you could be…a basketball star without years of training and thousands of free throws…a healthy person without having to watch what you eat or exercise….a disciple (Christian) without learning how to control your actions and words, or put in the time necessary to discipline your body and mind so that it responds to God’s voice and God’s word. It would be easy if God could wave God’s hands and “bling” you as a fully mature disciple. But, on the other hand, would the maturity last? Would we have any appreciation for the work it takes to mature? Would we recognize God for who God is and what God has and continues to do in and through us? Probably not! Paul encourages us in Hebrews to “run with perseverance the race that is laid out in front of us…” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Paul, using the image of a race, immediately reminds us that the journey toward maturity is something that requires us to stick to it until the end. These scriptures provide the reader with disciplines that will lead to maturity. The disciplines and the attitude include endurance, down-sizing, cleaning, and focus. Like a runner, becoming a disciple requires us to keep at it, whether through training or practice. Maturing as a disciple means that we need to “run without baggage.” This means unburdening yourself and being willing to get rid of anything and everything that is between you and God. Lastly, we all must focus our minds, bodies, and spirits on the source and the goal. “…fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter” (v.2).

Becoming is a process. It may, like all other processes, be frustrating at times. It may also make you feel discouraged, thinking that you are not making any progress. When this happens, take heart. It is a lifelong journey. It is normal to falter and flail. It is normal to tire and to want to give up or in. Take all of this in stride and keep putting one foot in front of the other. You are not alone. Jesus is with us every step of the way, and we walk with an entire community here and in glory cheering us on (v. 1).

The Cost of Unity

 

Unity is such a wonderful concept, isn’t it? It sounds admirable and certainly is something we should all not only long for but work toward. The problem is this. Unity is costly. Jesus told those gathered to count the cost.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Luke 14:28-30

Most of us, I am guessing, did not think about the cost of discipleship when we chose to follow Jesus. But it probably also did not take long for all of us to find out that being a disciple has personal and maybe even professional costs associated with it.

The same is true with unity. Our reading this Sunday speaks of attributes that lead to unity and those that lead to disunity. In the unity category, we have “humility, gentleness, and patience,” and on the disunity side, we have “deceitful scheming and the trick people play to deliberately mislead others” (Ephesians 4).

It is easy to see how these characteristics work, but still, the question in my mind is what is the cost of unity? It costs us to be patient when everything inside of us is screaming “Hurry up!” It costs us to be gentle when we are not feeling gentle. It costs us to be humble when we know we “are all of that and a bag of chips.” Yet, Christ asks us to take up our cross. Paul advises us to “grow in every way into Christ.”

Why? I believe it is because the cost may be great, and we should be soberly aware of it and agree to bear it. But greater than the cost is the benefit. When we choose to live in ways that honor God and use the measure of grace given to us, we grow those wonderful branches that are attached to the tree that is God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). When we are attached to that tree, we cannot help but prosper in spirit and in truth. We cannot help but grow in health. And our health cannot do anything but strengthen the entire tree.

Friends, I invite you this weekend to explore your connection to the true Tree of Life that shelters us from harmful rays, provides stability in wild winds, and nourishes us with strong roots. Explore your unity with our Lord and Savior and how, while costly, it cannot be compared with the immeasurable blessings we receive in return.

The Rhythms of Life

 

I have been thinking about the concept of balance lately. This buzzword has always baffled me because I don’t think I've ever mastered the work-life balance everyone says I am supposed to have. My failure at this has always made me feel like something is wrong with me. This changed when I read a chapter from a book assigned for one of my classes, titled “Why I Hate the Word Balance.” In this chapter was the language I have been looking for to explain why balance, for me, just did not work. The author, Lance Witt, offered a different word for what we can achieve to be whole and healthy: rhythm. That word, of course, spoke loads into my musician’s heart. That’s it. Rhythm describes the passage of seasons, minutes into hours, and hours into days. Rhythm describes the ebbs and flows that are natural to life. Unlike balance, I don’t have to feel “off” if I am in a period of flow or if I am in a period of ebb. That is natural and normal. The first scripture that comes to mind is the one set to music by the Byrds "Turn!" Turn! Turn! The scripture is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Both the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament have a lot to say about seasons and the rhythm of life.

The gist of this devotion is this. Friends, life has a rhythm. Don’t frustrate yourself by trying to shove it onto a balance scale. Recognize that being a whole, healthy person does not mean that your choices will make everything smooth all of the time. Despite your best efforts and correct choices, there will still be times when you are thrown off. This is ok. This is normal. Heal yourself through those times, recognizing that it is just a part of the rhythm. Be kind to yourself and soothe yourself knowing that in every season and in every rhythm God is in the band. Sometimes he’s playing the snare. Sometimes God’s playing the bass drum. But in all ways God is present, providing beat patterns that can soothe us towards rest or excite us towards action. Go with the flow, looking for the voice of God to do what is necessary. Have a good weekend, everyone.

 

Gifts of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12

 

English translations of the bible always confuse me. A great example of this is in the translation of the word “phanerosis.” Almost every bible translation I have read translates this word as “gifts.” My handy-dandy Greek translator uses manifestation or coming to light. This is deeper, richer, and more colorful, isn’t it? Wisdom, knowledge, faith, the ability to heal, to perform miracles, to prophesy, communicate in different ways, and to distinguish between spirits are manifestations of the spirit of God. Paul is careful to say that these manifestations are linked to their being used for the common good and to the ability to “say” or proclaim Jesus as Lord. That is the key. Why is this important? It is important because, in the ancient world as in today, many exhibit these manifestations. There are many who appear to heal miraculously and to speak words of wisdom or knowledge. There are many who can see into the future. But, and this is a big but, are they using these for the common good, or are they using these abilities for profit or for their own good? Are those who use these manifestations of God’s active Spirit proclaiming Jesus as Master (Lord)? This is our key. 

 

The Spirit of God was breathed into a lifeless lump of earth to make it live. This Spirit was in Adam and Eve when they sinned, so it stands to reason that the Spirit of God is in all humans, those who call themselves by Christ’s name and those who do not. If the Spirit of God is present in all human beings, then the accompanying manifestations of God’s Spirit can be used to further the kingdom of God, leading people to Yahweh, or in attempts to dismantle the kingdom of God or lead people away from Yahweh. The central issue is how these manifestations are used: for God’s kingdom or against it.

This is our call. Since we have all been endowed with God’s Spirit, we must use the manifestations of God’s Spirit to draw our spirits and the spirits of others to God’s Spirit. When we communicate, whether verbally or through our lifestyle, we must convey a message that aligns with our belief that Jesus is Lord. When we seek to heal others, it is not to pat ourselves on the back, but it is to bless them with the blessings of our Lord. When we speak knowledge, offer wisdom, or speak of futures, these must all be centered in the faith we have in Jesus. That is the point. 

 

The gist of all of this is this. Friends, we all have God’s Spirit. We all have abilities and inner callings that represent God’s Spirit in us. It is up to us to choose to use these abilities and inner callings to represent our relationship with Jesus as Lord, so that we fulfill our call to be not only a blessing but also a blessing to others. So let us use what we have been given to point others to God and to Jesus as Lord. Have a good rest of the week.