“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 26:28 NIV Jayne has an uncle who is a retired seminary professor and a respected author of books on theology and Christian history. He just released a book on St. Francis of Assisi that I finished reading while stuck inside during Hurricane Debby. The title is “Francis of Assisi, Movement Maker: The Unconventional Leadership of a Simple Saint,” by Dr. Howard Snyder . It’s a fascinating history of St. Francis and the movement of renewal in the Catholic church in the 13th century that became the Brotherhood of the Franciscans (There was also a women’s renewal movement associated with it called the Order of the Poor Claires). Francis grew up in a wealthy family but was called by God to renew the church spiritually. He took a vow of poverty. He gave up all his worldly possessions. He did not have a home. Instead, he wandered from town to town, serving others by manual labor, and preaching where he could. Some people would let him sleep on their porch or in their fields. Some would give him food to eat. And when he ran out of food, he went to the streets to beg. Not just for him, but to give to others. Remember, he owned nothing. His life was an inspiration to others, who quickly joined him in his lifestyle for Christ. After just a few years, he had thousands that joined his Franciscan lifestyle or orders. They were known as the Order of Lesser Brothers. Because Francis’ challenge was to be a Lesser Brother (or sister). Howard states in his book, “Follow Jesus and commit to be lesser. Don’t try to be ‘humble’; that’s too vague, abstract, pious. Just pledge to be lesser in every way. That kind of behavior is social, cultural, often visible, and starkly countercultural. It is acting like Jesus…” “The genius of Francis of Assisi was that he made people aspire, hunger and thirst, to be lesser.” What would it take for you to be “lesser?” #service #humility #grace

This past week, Gary and I decided to take a few days away before the fall begins. We decided to head to Jacksonville where Gary’s sister lives on the beach. Unfortunately, Hurricane Debbie had the same plans, so Monday we sat indoors and watched the rain and wind all day long. Around 4pm that day, two young boys, about seven years old, walked by the house battling the wind with their umbrellas, barely able to hold on to them. My immediate thought was there was a mom out there who was at the end of her rope because of those boys who had been rough housing all day, and she finally had enough and found two umbrellas and showed them the door. Why else would you send your young sons out into a hurricane? Of course, I don’t know what happened, maybe they had sneaked out of the house, but I like my version better. I think most of us know what it feels like to be at the end of our rope. It may be small things, or it may be big issues, but sometimes we just hit the wall, and we feel like we cannot continue to do what we have been doing. Sometimes this is a good thing. Maybe we will finally get off the couch and start exercising. Maybe we will finally start looking for a new job. All we know is that we are finally ready for a change. Even a hard change. One time I was so frustrated by my life that I actually explained to God what the end of my rope meant. I told Him I had been hanging on to the rope for a long time and I was now down to the last knot, and I was going to let go any day. I think I was threatening God with my explanation. I was so tired of waiting and I felt God had let me down. When you do hit these kinds of moments, it is important to understand that in these spaces of desperation, God is often doing some of His best work in our lives. He might be teaching us faith or perseverance. He might be changing our perspective or helping us reframe the situation. Whatever God is doing may not feel like enough, but that is when we need to be reminded of the words found in Philippians 1:6 "I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus." Don’t give up on God. He never gives up on us. Remember, being at the end of our rope is a feeling. Feelings matter, but they should not push us to do something unhealthy. Talk about your feelings and remember that while we may not like the timing of God, it is still perfect because it is God’s timing. And no matter how irritating your children are, don’t put them outside during a hurricane! #divinetiming #peace #grace

I’m not saying this because I need anything, for I have learned how to be content in any circumstance. Philippians 4:11 Have you been watching any of the Summer Olympics from Paris? It’s not just the competition that is fascinating but also the awards ceremony. It’s intriguing to watch the medalists on the podium and the expressions on their faces as the winner’s national anthem is played. While watching this, I am always reminded of a study that I read about a few years back. A study was conducted in the mid 1990’s by a psychologist named Steve Brody. The study observed various awards ceremonies and the three medal winners as they stood on the platforms to receive their medals. It concluded that the bronze medal winner always looked happier than the silver medal winner Why do the bronze medalists appear happier? Brody reasons that the silver medal winners are up there comparing themselves to the gold medal winners. “If I were only a second faster.” Or “If I had only nailed that last dismount.” On the other hand, the bronze medal winners “compared down.” They compared themselves to the rest of the field and are thrilled just to be up there. They are glad that they didn’t come in fourth and fail to get a medal. How we look at things affects how we feel. If we compare “up”, we will continually be embittered and see ourselves as not adequate or “losers.” However, if we appreciate what we do have, we will feel blessed. The morale is, according to Brody, is that the next time we begin moaning and crying about what we wish we had, just “think bronze” and be thankful for what we do have. Be content that we have been blessed in all circumstances. #content #peace #grace

But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the Lord let him alone. Exodus 4:25-26 NIV This is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to interpret. But if you look at the message and don’t get bogged down with the details, it’s a powerful story of a wife reminding her husband who he is. That woman is Zipporah, wife of Moses. Years earlier, Moses, an Israelite, fled the bondage and slavery of Egypt to live in Midian. As he arrived in Midian, he sat down by a well while seven sisters arrived to draw water. Some shepherds came by and began to harass the sisters and chased the ladies away. Which means they would be going back to their home with thirsty livestock. And what could only be described as a scene straight out of a Marvel movie, Moses came to their rescue, fought off the shepherds, and watered their flock. One of those sisters was Zipporah, whom Moses married. If you remember the upbringing of Moses, he was born an Israelite, but as a baby was found by Pharoah’s daughter, floating in a basket down the Nile River. So, he was raised in affluence in the Pharoah’s court. So even in Midian, everything about him was still Egyptian, except for one thing. He was circumcised as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham. In this passage, Moses is about to return to Egypt to tell the Pharoah, to “let my people go.” His time in Egypt had caused Moses to forget his roots—his identity—as a descendant of Abraham. He was contaminated by his Egyptian upbringing. Alas, he had forgotten his bloodline. He had not even circumcised their son Gershom. This may be the reason why it says in verse 24 that the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. Moses had forgotten who he was. His heart was not in the mission that God had given to him. But the courageous Zipporah stepped in and performed an impromptu circumcision on the son. And proclaimed that Moses was a bridegroom of the bloodline of Abraham. So, the Lord let him be. Refreshed by the blunt reminder from his wife, he ventured on to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh. Zipporah stands as a faithful prophet to us all, to remember who we are. #women #womenofthebible #sheroes #zipporah #leadership #ministry

Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son; and he named him Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house. His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 1 Chronicles 7:23-24 NSRV The Book of 1 Chronicles is not one that we read often. It is essentially a historical record, tracing the rise of the Jewish people from Adam to King David. It is filled with a lot of “begats.” And as you read through the list, it is apparent that it was a patriarchal society back then. But then occasionally, you will see a woman’s name appear. Such is the case for Sheerah in this Scripture. Sheerah is one of the Sheroes we are talking about during the month of July, ordinary women who God used to do extraordinary things. Sheerah was a descendant of Ephraim, who was the son of Joseph - the Joseph with the coat of many colors from the book of Genesis. Many of the men in Ephraim’s family were killed in a raid by a neighboring people. That is the “disaster” that is mentioned in the Scripture passage. This is the only mention of Sheerah in the Bible. But what we can read into the passage is that she did not let the fact that much of her kindred were killed nor that she was a woman in a male-dominated society hinder her. Sheerah began to build. She had a dream and a plan. And she carried it out to build 3 cities, Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. It was no easy task to build cities back then. Everything had to be done by hand. And it was no easy task for a woman to be accepted as a leader to lead such an endeavor. But Sheerah did. Later, Lower and Upper Beth-horon become strategically vital locations for Joshua and his men as they defeat the Amorites after being surrounded by them. It is the place where in history, God made the sun “stand still” for a full day. And the city of Uzzen-sheerah? Well, the name literally means in Hebrew, “listen to Sheerah.” So, let us listen and follow the example of Sheerah. What foundation are we building for the future despite the odds? How are we following God’s lead in our life? Be sure to check out other Sheroes of faith on St. Andrew's UMC YouTube Channel: "SHEroes: Ordinary Women. Extraordinary Faith." #women #womenofthebible #sheroes #sheerah #leadership #ministry

In ancient times, the meaning of your name mattered. The name Priscilla means "old or ancient." Not a name most of us would embrace. Priscilla is one of the Sheroes we are talking about during the month of July. By Sheroe I mean women who are ordinary in every way, yet because they decided to put their trust in God, He did extraordinary things through them. This is what we know about her. Priscilla was originally from Rome but was kicked out with many other Jewish Christians under Roman emperor Claudius. She was married to Aquila, but she is usually named first in Biblical references which may mean she was the more prominent Christian leader. The husband usually was always named first, so the speculation is that she outranked him. They were both tentmakers and preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what is so amazing about her. She may be the first formal female preacher of the gospel outside of the women who announced the empty tomb. Both she and her husband were missionaries and close friends of the apostle Paul. He continually refers to Priscilla and Aquila as comrades in faith and supporters of his missionary work. The three shared a deep, self-sacrificing love of Jesus Christ and the work of the Kingdom of God. In Romans 16:3, Paul calls Priscilla synergos , which is the same title Paul uses for her husband Aquila, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Mark, and Luke. This title indicates significant leadership. In a culture that was patriarchal, a period when a woman’s word was not admissible in a courtroom, and when the social status of females was at its lowest point, Priscilla was a leader of the church. While women today are still barred from using the gifts of leadership and preaching in some mainline churches, I think Priscilla can be a beacon of hope that God is in the business of using whomever He chooses to do kingdom work. I am grateful to this Sheroe who was not afraid to be who she was, and she wisely chose a husband who was secure enough in his calling to fully support her. What a great example for women today. Be sure to check out other Sheroes of faith on St. Andrew's UMC YouTube Channel: "SHEroes: Ordinary Women. Extraordinary Faith." #women #womenofthebible #sheroes #priscilla #leadership #ministry

“But if it seems wrong in your opinion to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But my family and I will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 CEB In the book “Halftime” by Bob Buford, the author challenges the reader to make the second half of your life better than the first by changing your priorities from a quest for success to a quest for significance. One important question that Buford challenges the readers of his book, is the question “What is in your box?” His challenge was that if you could only put one word in the box, one thing that describes what drives you, what motivates us, what is significant to you, what would that word be? That one thing should drive what your plans will be, what choices you will make, what is the center of your life. In this` Scripture from chapter 24 from the prophet Joshua, he asks the Jewish people basically the same question. He gathers all the tribes of Israel, near the end of his life and asks them in essence, “What’s in your box?” But not in those words. He reminds them of how far and long it took them to get to this point and how God has blessed them. He narrates the story of the settlement in the land of Canaan. Then he asks them “Choose this day whom you will serve.” The people respond resoundingly in verse 24, “We will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” Joshua knew the hearts of the people. They were much like ours. He knew how fickle and erratic the people could be. He knew they had more than one thing “in their box.” And they we constantly swinging back and forth among the differing influences that they found themselves immersed in. Joshua framed a challenge to them that is a challenge to us today. Choose this day whom you will serve. #God #covenant #faithfulness

There is a great story in Luke 5:1-11 where Jesus teaches the disciples to not be stuck in a routine, but to be open to change when God is nudging you to try something different. Here, Jesus is nudging His disciples who are sitting on the shore, cleaning their nets, to head back into the water again, but this time, go a bit deeper. Peter very cautiously reminds Jesus that they have been fishing all night and had no success. Still, he obediently agrees to try again and heads back into the boat. You can imagine the disciple’s surprise when the nets become so full of fish that the boat is about to sink with all the excess fish. Over the past two weeks, we invited our hospitality greeters to come and be trained in Radical Hospitality. Let’s be honest, these people give of their time and energy each week to do all the greeting at St. Andrew’s. They know how to greet, yet I asked them to come to be trained anyways. I am sure the irony was not lost on them, but our greeters are so amazing that 40 came to the training over the past two weeks. That says something about their hearts for ministry. Starting July 21, we will begin to implement some new hospitality practices so that we can welcome visitors and make them feel at home at St. Andrew’s. We are simply expanding on some of the great practices we are already doing or have done in the past. We will now start recruiting some additional greeters for the 11:15am service. If this is your gift, look for me on Sunday to sign you up. This story in Luke ends with Jesus saying to Peter, “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” That is a universal calling for all Christians. We are all called to fish, helping the world experience the love of Christ through our actions. That is why we are expanding our hospitality. We don’t want to do anything that would hinder someone from pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ. Instead, it is our prayer that we are a place where someone can visit and feel the love of Jesus from the minute, they enter our campus. This job will not be accomplished by the greeters alone. It will take the entire family of St. Andrew’s to be the face of Jesus to those who come looking for Him. #discipleship #fishersofmen #thegreatcommission

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their hard work. If either should fall, one can pick up the other. But how miserable are those who fall and don’t have a companion to help them up! Also, one can be overpowered, but two together can put up resistance. A three-ply cord doesn’t easily snap. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,12 CEB A devotion that I read this week in the Upper Room shares a story of a man’s experience when he was in the Navy. He watched as some equipment was being transported from one ship to another. The sea was too rough to have it transported via a smaller boat. So, they rigged up a pulley system between the two ships to move the equipment from one to the other. As the two ships swayed back and forth in the rough seas, he noticed that the rope would slacken and then be pulled tight and rigid. He wondered if the rope would break, and the equipment would plummet into the rough waters below. But it didn’t. After the ordeal, he saw that the rope was triple-braided. Those three entwined strands gave the rope its strength and prevented it from breaking. A three-ply cord doesn’t easily snap. What a great reminder that in all our relationships we must invite Jesus to be there in the middle with us. So often the problems with relationships that have been contentious and unloving to the point of breaking is that we have neglected to let Jesus in to strengthen the bond. To allow Christ to help make decisions and to nurture peace and harmony. When we let Christ in, just like a three-ply cord, he will strengthen our relationships with His love and grace. #harmony #grace #love

Because you are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” Galatians 4:6 CEB Some theologians would say that your view of God as Father, depends a lot on your relationship with your own father. If your own father was a strict disciplinarian, then your perspective of God the Father can often be one of a God who is watching every step. To catch you slipping up. Accepting God as a loving and caring Father is much easier if your own Father was loving and caring. In this department, I have to say that I was very fortunate. My own father had all the attributes that we ascribe to God; loving, caring, forgiving, slow to anger, kind, gracious, and merciful. He showed me what unconditional love was all about. I did not have to earn his love, for I knew he loved me no matter what I did. My parents divorced when I was 7. Consequently, I did not live with him. Yet, he was always there when I needed him. He sat through all my band concerts in elementary school, which should earn him a special place in heaven. For I knew even at a young age that those concerts were pretty dreadful. But after the concert he would wrap his arms around me as if this was the most glorious music he had ever heard. Even though he was not much of a churchgoer, he showed me what a loving father was all about. This Sunday is Father’s Day. Each of us has or has had different experiences with our earthly father. Some of our fathers were absent. Some may not have known their fathers. Some struggled with their fathers and may be estranged. And some, like me, were blessed to have a loving, caring father. Yet in all things, no matter what kind of father we have or had, we have a loving Father in God, that reaches out to us in unconditional love. Who wants to redeem us, not condemn us, when we go down the wrong path. This Sunday is a day in which we are to give thanks to those who have shown us the example of the unconditional love of God the Father. A love for which all fathers should strive to express. #Father'sDay #God #love

He (Jesus) told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.” Luke 13:31-32 CEB Throughout the New Testament we read Jesus trying to explain to the people, his followers, the bystanders, what this Kingdom was all about. Tell us about this kingdom, Jesus. So, Jesus picks up a handful of mustard seeds and says, “The kingdom is like a mustard seed…” Mustard Seed? What is he talking about? Why doesn’t Jesus tell us exactly what this kingdom is all about? Why does he keep using parables and metaphors? But the ironic thing about it, is that Jesus was telling them, and is telling us about the kingdom of God. It is not something we can grasp and get our fingers around. For you see the kingdom does not have political boundaries, it is not ushered in with military might. The Kingdom of God is not like any kingdom we have read about in history books or exist in the world today. For it is not a kingdom that is confined to a specific group of people within a specific territory or within a certain time period. The Kingdom of God is simply wherever and whenever God’s rule is supreme. It is wherever love of God is foremost, His mercy, and compassion. Where perfect justice exists, God’s flawless justice. It is wherever people take a stand against the things that rule society, the callousness, the insensitivity, the hate, the spitefulness, the immorality, the materialism. Yet it is wherever people humble themselves to let God reign in their lives. So that this world can be what God created this world to be, a blessing. The kingdom is not yet complete, but we can see pockets of it all around us. One of my favorite quotes is from Mother Teresa. She said that we can do no great things in life, only small things with great love. T he strength of God’s love in our lives can change the ordinary and commonplace to powerful vessels of transformation in our world. The strength of God’s love can change ordinary and common people to perform powerful deeds in bringing about God’s kingdom in this world. We can find the kingdom in the commonplace. #KingdomofGod #love #mustardseed #faith

Have you noticed that when you have been on vacation, it is hard to go back to work? I think it might have something to do with our different mindsets depending on what we are doing. At work, we often strive to accomplish tasks and get our work done. While we are on vacation, we are just being, enjoying our life and our families. To shift from just being back into the grind of work is challenging. There is a beloved passage in Matthew that says, “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27) Jesus is giving us a poetic symbol of birds to remind us of His providential care. We don’t have to be frantic in our work life. When we only focus on striving to accomplish tasks, we are not being creative, and we are not enjoying the fruit of our labor. Maybe we need to think about just being when we are at work. That doesn’t mean sloughing off at work or not getting your job done, but instead, seeing the workday as an opportunity to also be . Give yourself time to be creative. Build margins of time between your meetings. Eat lunch with a coworker or go for a walk instead of eating in front of your computer. Do some breathing prayers throughout your day. Remember, God takes care of the birds. As much as He loves them, He loves you and me a lot more. Slow down today and breathe, and remember, God is God of your work life as well as you homelife. #grace #rest #work