Author Archives: karbly

Joy in Suffering
Barbara Howard of Independence, MO, USA

(Reprinted from Journey of Joy, Herald House, 1990, p. 37)

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:13-20

Ancient Babylonian cosmology required suffering on earth to enjoy bliss in heaven. The more one suffered in this life, the greater the reward in the next. Christians do not require suffering for salvation. Christians simply understand that loving requires vulnerability. Such a risk makes possible pain. Suffering is not a prerequisite for righteousness. But because we live in a broken world, human beings suffer. And sometimes circumstances, not of their own making, wound them.

Several years ago, I received a letter from Sonia, a friend I met at a retreat. Her letter was a chronicle of inflicted pain in her childhood. She endured sexual abuse. Her mother died of cancer when she was seven, and the abuse escalated for several years. Finally, when she was twelve, she left home to live with a relative. She concluded her letter,

I could never imagine that out of all that horror I could find anything redemptive. But when I look at my life, I’ve discovered some incredible insights. I don’t think I had to suffer to find out how valuable love is in the life of a child, but I know that is true. I don’t think I had to be abused to realize that, despite all statistics, I did not have to choose to abuse my own children. And I have not. Nothing that happened to me had to happen, but the point is that it did. My response to it is what is important. I want to be able to use those years as tools in my growth. I have not yet reached a place where I can love my father. I’m working on the forgiveness I need to be able to do that someday. I believe that time will come. I did not choose to suffer, but I can choose to love.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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Dedicated Servanthood
Martha Owaga of Mombasa, Kenya

Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people to come and receive divine peace in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life. Follow Christ in the way that leads to God’s peace and discover the blessings of all of the dimensions of salvation. -Doctrine and Covenants 163:2a

The Daily Bread story on February 22, 2020, “Love Came to the Mailbox” by Ila June Brunner, was a beautiful story which reminded me of an elderly lady whose desire was that the steps leading to the church hall be shorter for her to be able to get into church. The lady was very prayerful and had opened up her home to church visitors. She would spend hours each afternoon calling on the name of the Lord God on behalf of the church members. She would get on her knees and spend the entire afternoon that way. Those who knew her routine would schedule their visits in the mornings or late afternoon so as not to interrupt her prayer time.

Eventually, her knees became painful, and getting to the church hall became a challenge. We had to open the front door of the church, which had shorter stairs for her to use. Her visits to the church hall became less frequent as age took its toll. When she went to be with the Lord, her children and grandchildren bought an aisle carpet for the congregation. The carpet wore out, but pieces can still be seen as doormats at the church entrance.

Whenever I got an opportunity share with her, she told me of her desire to have a beautiful worship area. Today after I read the story by Ila June Brunner, my mind went back to the beautiful old lady. It is many years since she rested, and none of her family fellowships with us, but her dream for a beautiful church lives on. I do not remember how the beautiful lady came to join the church, but I know that she had something to give to the church, not only her open home and prayers, but her dream.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Awake and Ready to Response
Cheri Rushton of Auburn, WA, USA

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,  for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. -1 Timothy 2:1-2

I believe God drops me in places where I’m needed.

I fell while puppysitting for a friend and ended up in the emergency room. Nothing was broken, but they gave me a prescription for pain. Since I wasn’t in any pain, however, I went home. Did I mention this was the Thursday before Labor Day?

Monday, Labor Day, I woke to a whole lot of pain. Of course, all the pharmacies were closed except one. I went to have my prescription filled there and bought some windshield wiper fluid as well. My car was new to me, but I finally found the correct place to add the fluid. As I was standing there, a man came out of the drugstore and asked if he could help. I told him I thought I had a handle on it, but he could stay and watch that I didn’t do something stupid. We talked awhile. Apparently, he had also been in the emergency room over the weekend with a migraine and had stopped to get his prescription filled. His prescription was more expensive than he had thought, and the banks were closed.

I knew then that I had to pay for his prescription. I’m not wealthy by any means, but I knew all I had was God’s anyway, and I could afford it. He was very grateful.

Later at home, I realized that if I had filled my prescription on Thursday, I wouldn’t have been there Monday to help him. God had dropped me there for a purpose and as a lesson to me. I felt very blessed to have been needed, awake, and ready to respond.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Springtime
Evie Kalvelage of Independence, MO, USA

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.  All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.  Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. -Acts 2:42-47

Psalm 139:12 says, “even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like day. For darkness is as light to you.” It’s easy for me to accept the truth of this. God knows no bounds of space and time; God is omnipotent. Why would dark and light matter to God?

They make a huge difference for me. As darkness falls, I feel tired and anxious. I can’t figure out why darkness shuts me down and causes fear and uneasiness. Since I can’t see well enough to drive at night, I have to be home between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. in the dead of winter.

I numb myself with mindless TV. Sometimes I read, but by evening my brain usually isn’t willing to do much. I talk myself into believing that darkness justifies giving in to the call of my recliner.

I celebrate the winter solstice, imagine plants coming to life under the frozen soil, and give myself a pep talk. We’re headed toward spring. Daylight savings time gives me a longer leash. I feel renewed. More energy comes with no effort. My new curfew expands to 7:30 or later.

Though I’m grateful for electric lights, they don’t offer the hope and joy of sunshine for me. I know much good comes from darkness. Bulbs and seeds burst forth from their places of darkness under the earth. Babies come from the darkness of wombs.

1 John 1:5 tells me, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Longer spring days awaken me to seek God’s light in my soul despite the length of each day. Numbers 6:25 says, “The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” I will seek God’s face and dispel the darkness.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

The Lord Is My Shepherd
Jane M. Gardner, presiding evangelist

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff- they comfort me You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. -Psalm 23

Some think that Psalm 23 was written by David as a description of the kind of leader he wanted to be-mindful and present with God throughout his life.

One of my earliest recollections is sitting on my NaNa Browne’s lap while she taught me to sing:
Jesus is the shepherd,
 Guess who I am?
 Such a lovely secret,
 I’m his little lamb.

Her strong, warm alto voice vibrated through me and communicated her love for me and for Jesus. I couldn’t have been more than two years old. The first time I saw the famous painting of Jesus the Shepherd holding a small lamb, I remember thinking, “That’s me! Jesus is holding me in his arms.” That coziness of my grandmother’s lap and the feeling of the lamb in the painting being securely held by Jesus became inextricably linked. Even at that early age I knew Jesus loved me.

Like David in the psalm, I have carried that knowing with me. As I view the landscape of my life now, it is rather humbling to realize that God has been a faithful companion, helping to lead my life, even at moments when I felt alone and deserted. From the vantage point of years later, I can see God’s faithfulness, even though, at times, I was convinced otherwise.

The Lord is my shepherd-I’m his little lamb. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,” or as Isaac Watts paraphrased it:
 

The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days;
oh, may his house be my abode, and all my work be praise.
There will I find reviving rest, and freely go and come;
 no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home. -“My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” Community of Christ Sings 247

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Alleluia! Amen!
Connie Altman of Jackson, OH, USA

You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
    stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he did not despise or abhor
    the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
    but heard when I cried to him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!   all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it. -Psalm 22:23-24, 26-28, 30-31

Last Sunday I was privileged to attend a newly consolidated congregation at Wellston, Ohio. Three congregations in a small geographical area were struggling to have four to six people attend each Sunday. They were wonderful people who had given outstanding ministry in years past, but they had dwindled away to a very small attendance.

We talked of closing and consolidating, but there were always those voices that whispered, “It won’t work. Every time groups consolidate, it turns out that most of the people won’t come, and it will still be the same few in attendance.” We worried; but most of all we prayed, met together, discerned the way forward, and then decided to make it happen.

The first blended service was the first Sunday of January. We had a good turnout and rejoiced that almost everyone from all congregations had come. There were some glitches, but everyone worked together, and the service went well. Love was experienced and hope fulfilled. As mission center president, I was privileged to be a guest and watch as people who had worshiped separately moved together in support and encouragement.

I returned last Sunday to conduct their budget business meeting. They were led in worship by a young man who is not yet baptized in the church. He was nervous, but had prepared using the Worship Helps, and he provided a beautiful worship experience. I marveled at the singing of thirty people with lovely voices. I was in tears at the transformation that had taken place as these few people had come together to envision something that could be and it had come to fruition.

After the service, five people decided they wanted to be baptized or confirmed into Community of Christ. They had been coming for a while, but now they were sure. I am so blessed to be part of a people with vision! Alleluia! Amen!

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Sacred Creation
Jan Hill of New Brighton, MN, USA

Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace-
    in peace because they trust in you. -Isaiah 26:3

Creation is sacred to me because in it, and through it, I experience God.
When I am awakened by the songs of the birds early on a June morning, while it is still dark and not even the first ray of dawn is visible, I know God as hope.
When I am lulled to sleep at night by the hum of the crickets, I know God as rest and regeneration.
When I sit by a campfire on a chilly evening, I know God as warmth, light, and focus.
When I hear the haunting call of the loon, I know God as ancient and mysterious.
When I see the patterns of the green leaves against the blue sky, I know God as beauty, balance, color, texture, and contrast.
When I hear the pounding rain, the raging wind, and the echoing boom of thunder, I know God as strength and might.
When I see the quiet grazing doe and her fawns, I know God as gentle, peaceful, and serene.
When I see the green of summer turn to the blazing oranges and burgundies of autumn, and when I see the neutral colors of winter burst into the yellow-green buds of spring, I know God as faithful and trustworthy.
When I drive through the midwest countryside in July and see the acres and acres of green corn, I know God as generous.
When I hold a grandchild in my arms, I know God as love and promise.
When I see the vast ocean against the far-off horizon and feel the waves lap against my toes in the sand, I know God as unknowable, yet present.
God is all that our senses can take in, and so much more!
If we experience creation as having our being in God, then creation is, indeed, sacred.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Clapping
Susan Conklin of Yulee, FL, USA

For you shall go out in joy,
  and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
  shall burst into song,
  and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. -Isaiah 55:12

“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” I vividly remember sitting beside my daughter’s hospital bed as she sang to her son via FaceTime. Since he was used to her singing and clapping with him, he waited for Mommy to clap. His face fell because Mommy couldn’t clap this time. Her hands were all bandaged due to severe burns. With tears in her eyes, she started the song over, and I clapped for her when she came to that part. Since he was only two at the time, he was easy to fool and thought that was his mommy’s “pop” he heard so he joined right in, pointing to his cheeks, showing that “his face will surely show it.”

So many times, I’ve thought back to this time and how we should be helping our loved ones when they are unable to do things for themselves. How many times have I not felt like “clapping” and one of my more spiritual friends has had to “clap” for me? Understand, this clap I’m talking about could be praying or cooking or singing or any number of things; the point is, there are times we need a likeminded friend by our side to do things our weary body is unable to do.

Romans 12 tells us we have different gifts but are all still one body in Christ. The body of Christ is a real thing, and we each have our place where we are the most gifted. But there are times when we must come out of our comfort zones and help another body member in an unexpected way. I can promise you’ll be glad you put your hands together for them and clapped!

Prayer Phrase

Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?

Spiritual Practice

Moving Toward the Peaceful One

As Jesus was nearing the final days of his life, he wept over the city and proclaimed, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace” (Luke 19:41-42).What are the things that make for peace in our lives, communities, and around the world? As we move through the Easter season, spend time in silent refection or journaling each day to notice: Am I moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One? Pay attention to your attitudes, actions, and relationships this day. When did you most embody the peaceful One in your daily living? When were your thoughts or actions contrary to the peace of Jesus Christ? How might Jesus, the peaceful One, who is always near to you, be inviting you to draw nearer to him through your daily living?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Another’s Perspective
Carol Ann Reiff of Whitehall, MT, USA

O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
  but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
  O righteous God.
God is my shield,
  who saves the upright in heart. -Psalm 7:9-10

A friend of mine is heartbroken. She came to my country with many dreams and hopes for her future. She is a naturalized citizen. She has had many opportunities but also many disappointments due to outward actions of prejudice against her. She is honest, kind, loving, humble, a hard worker, and a wonderful person. She has been falsely accused, verbally attacked, and taken advantage of because of her vulnerability as a person who was not born in my country.

As I reviewed some of the things that have happened to her, I wondered how people could treat another human that way, especially in a place that was originally a melting pot of immigrants. My answer came as I remembered a scene from my childhood. I was walking down the main street of a town nearby with a close relative. We were always friendly as we passed people so when an African American man passed by, I looked up, smiled and said, “Hi.”

My relative was usually a kind man, so I was surprised when he said, very gruffly, “Don’t you ever talk to those (racial slur)!” Even as a child I knew he was wrong. He reacted out of fear and ignorance. I think fear is an enemy to love. In thinking about this I realized I, too, have reacted in fear. I have withheld my love and association from some people who think differently from me, refusing to really listen to their side. I have said hurtful things behind their backs. I’m writing this as a reminder to myself and anyone who might read this. The hope for our world lies in getting behind the eyes of other people, seeing life from their perspective. Even if we feel sure they are wrong, it is about showing respect and kindness to whomever we meet. My heart is broken for my friend. Bullying does not just happen on school yards. Change begins with the person in the mirror.

Prayer Phrase

Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?

Spiritual Practice

Moving Toward the Peaceful One

As Jesus was nearing the final days of his life, he wept over the city and proclaimed, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace” (Luke 19:41-42).What are the things that make for peace in our lives, communities, and around the world? As we move through the Easter season, spend time in silent refection or journaling each day to notice: Am I moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One? Pay attention to your attitudes, actions, and relationships this day. When did you most embody the peaceful One in your daily living? When were your thoughts or actions contrary to the peace of Jesus Christ? How might Jesus, the peaceful One, who is always near to you, be inviting you to draw nearer to him through your daily living?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Will You Recognize Him?
Tony Chvala Smith, World Church Theology Formation Team, team leader

As they came near the village to which they were going, he [Jesus] walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. -Luke 24:28-31

For 1500 years Benedictine monks have excelled in practicing hospitality. A text called The Rule of St. Benedict guides these communities. One memorable line from it says, “Guests who present themselves are to be received as Christ.” It reminds monastics to welcome Christ in the form of the visitor, the guest, and even the stranger. A small plaque with these words from the Rule adorns the wall beside our front door. It helps us remember to treat our guests with dignity, for Christ is present in them.

Once during an evening gathering in our home, a rough-looking young man came to the door and entered. He was not among the invited guests, though related to one of them. From past experience, we knew him as rude, self-centered, and hostile. When I saw him enter, I forgot all about Benedict’s Rule and welcoming strangers. I was ready to escort the young man out that door. Seeing the rising fury in my face, my wife Charmaine whispered to me to remember what this potluck of our weekly Bible study group was about. Taking a deep breath I returned to the dining room, welcomed the young man, and invited him to get a plate. As he ate and chatted, I overheard him say, “I feel so safe here.” Later I learned he had been beaten up earlier that evening and came to the one place he hoped he would be okay.

Christ came to us that night. Like those Emmaus disciples, I didn’t recognize him at first. But in the breaking of bread Christ did appear, this time embodied in the needs of a struggling, fearful soul, yearning for a safe and loving community. In countless unlikely forms he still comes to our doors. Will we dare to welcome him?

Prayer Phrase

Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?

Spiritual Practice

Moving Toward the Peaceful One

As Jesus was nearing the final days of his life, he wept over the city and proclaimed, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace” (Luke 19:41-42).What are the things that make for peace in our lives, communities, and around the world? As we move through the Easter season, spend time in silent refection or journaling each day to notice: Am I moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One? Pay attention to your attitudes, actions, and relationships this day. When did you most embody the peaceful One in your daily living? When were your thoughts or actions contrary to the peace of Jesus Christ? How might Jesus, the peaceful One, who is always near to you, be inviting you to draw nearer to him through your daily living?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.