I'll have this week's Bible readings here tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned.

I apologize for not contributing to this blog recently. I have had some problems; some to do with the computer, and some to do with my personal life. The computer problems are almost fixed; the personal problems are in the process of being fixed.

However, there is a potential problem coming up this weekend. Thrivent, the company that hosts this website, is changing its registration policy on Sunday, June 27. I have some misgivings about what they have been telling us (the various webmasters) concerning our ability to log in after the changes. Thrivent has assured us that we will be able to re-register with no problem and still have access to the sites and blogs that we have been maintaining. I have my doubts.

If you don’t find any new postings on this blog soon after June 27, you will know that something has happened to my ability to log on and contribute something new. I pray that everything will be all right, but we can only wait and see.

See you next week (I hope)

Frank

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26)

Jesus makes it as plain as he possibly can. When someone follows him, it won’t be a bed of roses. If a “follower” doesn’t actually follow him and his words, he will assume that that person is ashamed of him.

And yet, he isn’t talking about mindless following. He doesn’t want us to be automatons, otherwise he wouldn’t be concerned about us losing or forfeiting ourselves. Every time the gospels record his words about how a person is to deal with his own personal cross, he talks about that person taking it up. That involves a decisive action on our part. You don’t passively accept a cross that is thrust upon you; you consciously take it up yourself.

His words about denying ourselves and taking up our individual crosses include a very important word: “daily”. We are to do this every day. Now we’re getting into the real nuts and bolts of discipleship. But his words also include a very important word of hope: we are to follow him. We’re not plugging along all by ourselves. We’re with Jesus.

That’s one thing I really like about our Lord. Even in the midst of hard words, he offers hope. We’re not in this life alone. We have Jesus.

Stay tuned.

Here are the readings for next week, loosely based on the Revised Common Lectionary. The eighth reading, a devotional reading, is to be read right before Sunday morning (or Saturday night) worship on June 27th.

Sunday 20 June 2004
Psalm 42

Monday 21 June 2004
Luke 8:26-39

Tuesday 22 June 2004
1 Kings 19:1-15a

Wednesday 23 June 2004
Psalm 16

Thursday 24 June 2004
Luke 9:51-62

Friday 25 June 2004
1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live; but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:19-20.)

I don’t know about you, but I have to be reminded about this every now and then. I don’t mean the part about being saved by grace; that’s with me all the time. But the part about living by faith is not always in the forefront of my thoughts.

What’s usually in the forefront is all the bad stuff—you know, the sin. I see myself living in sin, not living by faith. It’s the flesh that I’m living in, and all those things Paul said about the flesh I have to agree with. But in this passage, Paul says, emphatically, that we live in the flesh.

You see, I remember the stuff about walking by the Spirit, not by the flesh, from Romans 8. But Paul never suggested that we are not still living IN the flesh. That’s the kicker. We live IN the flesh, but BY the Spirit. So all the sin—which we know perfectly well that we have—no longer has a consequence for us.

Got it? Or are you like me; you’ll just have to be reminded again? That’s okay, that’s why we study this stuff. Let’s repeat after Paul, again and again...

The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God

The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God

The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God

Stay tuned.

Today is a national day of mourning, for former president Ronald Reagan, who died last Saturday. With the church services on television all day, we are reminded of our Christian duty to pray for our leaders.

Of course, we should not limit our prayer to the sad times, or any time of great stress in the country. We should be praying for our leaders all the time.

There is an organization that helps with this. It's called the Presidential Prayer Team. I have put a link to their web site at the end of this post. This is a wonderful way to remind ourselves of our prayer duties; but the organization also keeps us informed about what's going on in government, so that we may include all relevant people and events in our prayers.

The web site today is mainly concerned with Reagan, and rightly so. But it is a good idea to refer to it often.

Please keep our President and other leaders in your prayers. And check out the Presidential Prayer Team.

Stay tuned.

Frank

Here’s a form of the Nicene Creed that emphasizes the nature of our faith in a new way. It’s in dialog form. The pastor or assistant minister asks the questions, and the congregation responds with the words of the Creed.

We used it at Trinity during the Easter season. I think you’ll find it helpful in reminding people what our faith is all about.

Stay tuned.

Here are the readings for next week, loosely based on the Revised Common Lectionary. The eighth reading, a devotional reading, is to be read right before Sunday morning (or Saturday night) worship on June 20th.

Sunday 13 June 2004
Psalm 5: 1-8

Monday 14 June 2004
Luke 9:11-17

Tuesday 15 June 2004
Genesis 14:18-20

Wednesday 16 June 2004
Psalm 22:18-27

Thursday 17 June 2004
Luke 9:18-24

Friday 18 June 2004
Isaiah 65:1-9

Saturday 19 June 2004
Galatians 3:23-29

Praying is one of the most important things that we do as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians that they should pray without ceasing; the same holds true for us.

Of course, in our modern day world, we find ourselves in many situations where praying doesn't normally come to mind--sitting at the computer, for instance. But believe it or not, there are places on the Internet that help us attend to our Lord.

One of the best, in my opinion, is a site maintained by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Ireland. It's called Sacred Space. This technologically sophisticated site presents a very simple exercise for prayer and meditation. It is a guided meditation, along with a scripture reading for the day. In just a few minutes, this website will show you how to put yourself in the presence of the Lord. It works every time.

The directions are easy to follow. You will find a link to Sacred Space below. I recommend it.

Stay tuned.

A few days ago, I posted a list of relief agencies active in Haiti. I also gave their phone numbers and web sites. It seems that I made a mistake.

Is there any better reason for the Church to be an influence in the world? At the very least, our youth ministries would help our young people to have a better self-image than what these kids had.