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Devotional

Rising from the Ash

3 Comments

Read Genesis 3:1-19; John 1:1-5, 14; 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-15

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Rising from the AshSurely most, if not all, of us have the image etched into our head. There in a quaint little cemetery, stand a group of people dressed in black, all gathered around a rectangular hole in the ground. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” echo the priest’s voice through the thickened, damp mist that blankets the sky in a dismal, dark gray.  As the words fade out into the foggy veil, the rain begins to fall, each drop turning the dusty ground into muddy spittle.

This is an image that reminds us all of our own mortality. It is often an image that we reserve for depressing dramas, eerie horror movies or other stories that are meant to haunt us in the night.  When all is said and done, most of us try to bury the notion of our mortality until the moment in which we must come face to face with it.  We all know that we are mortal, that our time here is limited; however, most of us live our lives in a way that seeming denies what we know to be true.

Such images often come to mind on Ash Wednesday, where we are reminded of our mortality; however, it is also a day in which we are supposed to be reminded of our imperfection. The reminder of our mortality does, in fact, humble us to recognize our need for something bigger than we are.  In ancient Israel, and the surrounding regions, people who sough God’s forgiveness would wear sackcloth and roll around in ash, as seen in Jeremiah 6:26. The ash served as a reminder of the penitent person’s mortality, humbling the person into repentance. This also went along with fasting and continual prayer.

But the ultimate point of Ash Wednesday goes far beyond the grave, far beyond human mortality, and far beyond human culpability.  After all, we were not created to live in a permanent state of guilt. Unfortunately, many Christians get stuck in the mea culpa mentality, believing that they are sinners in the hands of an angry God. I remember being stuck in that state, praying for forgiveness every second of every moment I prayed. My prayers would consist of, “Lord, forgive me of this” and, “Lord, forgive me of that.”  I would sometimes repeat the words “forgive me” without really knowing what I was seeking forgiveness for.

As Christians, the ashes being imposed on Ash Wednesday should not only remind us of our immortality and/or our culpability; however, it should also be a reminder that we are constantly being sought out by a God who loves us; that God loved us so much that God chose to take on our form and live life as a mortal. A God who chose to become dust with us, and return to dust for us.  But the story doesn’t stop there, because out of the dust God rose up and conquered death, showing us that nothing is impossible for those who believe that true LOVE never dies.

While many people focus on the mortality and culpability aspects of Ash Wednesday, and those aspects have their place, I see this day of observance to be one of celebrating life in God. It is a day in which we are reminded of the mighty works God has done in and through Christ Jesus…and the mighty works God is doing in and through each and every one of us!  So, wherever you are today, when you are getting the ashes imposed, close your eyes and see the God who rose from the dust and turned the ashes into lilies. Then open your eyes and remember that this is exactly what God has done in you! Breathe in the life God has given you and go share that life with others.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“”The cross, with which the ashes are traced upon us, is the sign of Christ’s victory over death.” – Thomas Merton

PRAYER

Lord, help me to move forward from guilt to the new life you have waiting for me. Help me also to share that life in relevant ways with those around me who are in need of it. Amen.

 

Devotional

From Top to Bottom

2 Comments

Read Matthew 5-7; Luke 6:12-49; Mark 10:42-45

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

And [Jesus] to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48)

Nepal_Mount_Everest_And_AmaMany people talk about the power of God in their lives. Many people speak of God as having control over the course of their lives. Many people convey that it is God who has brought them as far as they are and that God has blessed them.  But the question is, what has God blessed them with? Where has God brought them to, how has God been in control of their lives, and what in their lives displays God’s power.

On the surface, such claims sound good and humble. It is great to give God credit and to praise God for being present in our lives.  But when one looks past the surface, it becomes clear that these praises are often in light of success.  For instance, Ray Lewis praised God for his team’s Super Bowl win. Some celebrities publicly thank God for blessing them with success. Countries the world over thank God for making them “the greatest country in the world.”

Why is it that we attribute God’s power, God’s presence, and God’s blessing with being at the top. Why is it that God is in control of our lives, that automatically means we will be successful, prosperous, great, and at the top of the pecking order?  And we need not look at football stars, or celebrities, of countries to see this understanding of God’s presence in our lives.  We only need look at the church and we see hierarchy and power struggles and the desire to be the biggest, the best and the most successful.

Yet, Jesus presents a different view of God’s power, presence and what it means to have God in control of your life.  Rather than being the best, the greatest, the most successful, or at the top, God calls those who wish to inherit God’s Kingdom to be the least of these and a servant of all. What’s that? Come again? In order to be the greatest I have to be the least? You mean to tell me that in order to be a leader I need to be the servant of all? What kind of flip-flop theological mish-mash is that? It’s called the Gospel.

The Good News for the folks at the bottom is that God IS WITH YOU! The least of these are the greatest in the eyes of God; however, that is not to say that the greatest are left behind or considered rubbish either.  God is with all people and loves all people. The truth, though, is that God calls those who think the great to become the servant of those who are the least. In other words, those who have should be serving those who have not. Just think of what kind of world this would be if God were TRULY in control of our lives. Just think of what miracles would be worked through us if we TRULY opened ourselves up to God’s power? Just think of where we would be led if we TRULY knew that God’s blessing is the gift of being a blessing to others?

Rather than getting caught up in power plays, we should give up “our power” and claim the power that God has give us…the power to LOVE as God first loved us.  Rather than seeking to be the greatest, the most successful, and/or the best, we should seek to be among the least of these, our brothers and sisters. It is only when we do that, it is only when we surrender all to God, it is only when we live out the Sermons on the Mount (in Matthew) and on the Plain (in Luke) that we will come to realize how blessed we really have been.  It is then, and only then, that we will be giving credit as living witnesses to God’s awesome power and presence.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Greatness is relative. From the moon the great Mt. Everest looks like a wrinkle on the earth.

PRAYER

Lord, humble me to be a bearer of the Good News of your present and imminent Kingdom. Amen.

Devotional

Who Can Be Against Us?

1 Comment

Read Romans 8:31-39

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

Who Can Be Against UsSunday, February 3, 2013 was an all-American holiday…a sacred day of sitting on the couches and chairs, a day of huddling in the living room. It was a day of chips and dip, plenty of beverages and the sounds of guys and gals the country over shouting at the top of their lungs.  This holiday has forever become known a Super Bowl Sunday and has a larger attendance than all of the churches in America combined.

In this past Super Bowl the Baltimore Ravens went up against the San Francisco 49ers in a game that was bound to be a crowd pleaser.  In the first half of the game it seemed like nothing could stop the Ravens. The 49ers were down 28 – 3 and seemed to have no chance to comeback. Yet, they did and almost destroyed the Raven’s dreams of winning the Super Bowl. But as the phrase goes, “almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”  In the end, the Ravens narrowly won the game, with the final score being 34-31.

But how were the Raven’s able to stop the raging moment that the 49ers picked up in the second half of the game? How were the Raven’s able to conquer their foe and lay claim of the iconic Vince Lombardi trophy?  According to Ray Lewis, God was how they were able to win.  When asked how they were able to pull off the win, Ray Lewis proclaimed, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?”  It seems that God was certainly a Raven’s fan that day.

Now, on the surface nothing seems wrong with Ray’s proclamation.  In the midst of the great moment, in the midst of all of the emotions welling up inside of him and his fellow teammates, there seems to be nothing wrong with give God the credit for a job well done; however, when one thinks deeper about the implications of such a comment, perhaps the credit give to God is credit God would rather not take.

For instance, is it safe to say that God had it out against the 49ers? What did God choose the Ravens over and against the 49ers? What makes the Ravens more deserving of a Super Bowl victory?  What did the 49ers do to deserve to lose the game after rallying their team to such an amazing comeback?  And what does it say about God’s will regarding the rest of the teams in the NFL?

The danger in this type of theology comes into play when we start applying to other people, places and things of more import than American Football.  For instance, when we win a war, should we credit God with that win? Does God wish us to fight each other and pick sides as to who should conquer and who should be conquered and/or wiped out? Or how about countries with plenty versus third world countries? Why would God choose to give prosperity to some (especially when those prosperous nations are far from perfect), while allowing other people to live in oppressed and deprived states?

The reality is that God is not a puppet master in the sky who tweaks the performances of one team over that of another, nor is God on the side of one people over that of the other. Rather, God is present with us all. God is on all of our sides, nudging each of us to move closer and closer into a divine relationship with our Creator.  If we were to listen to God, if we were to stop for a moment and actually listen, we would hear God telling us that we are all the children of the most High and that we are all loved.  If we would only listen, we would realize that God is calling us to be that love in the world. And what’s stopping us from doing that? After all, if God is for us who can stand against us?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

God doesn’t play favorites. There is radical equality in God’s love.

PRAYER

Lord, teach me to love in a way that truly gives credit to you. Use me as your instrument of love. Amen.

 

Devotional

Running in the Rain

3 Comments

Read Matthew 5

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.” (Ecclesiastes 11:3)

Running in the RainTypically, my days to jog are Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Every week I plan on running first thing in the morning on those days so that I can continue to keep my heart, body and soul healthy. With that said, a few days ago I decided that I was going to change things up a bit. I had a lot of work to do, as well as having to travel to different places to accomplish some of the work and so I decided that I would run later in the day. This was on this past Tuesday, and the weather was about as wonderful as it had been in a while.

My wife and daughters had to get their teeth worked on at the dentist and I would go running at a park I used to run at while waiting for them.  Now, have you ever noticed that when you plan on doing something, the universe seems to align itself against you and your plans?  This is what seems to always happen and certainly, as we were getting closer to the dentist, the drops of rain started to fall on to the windshield.

I dropped my wife and daughters off at the dentist and tried to hurry over to the park, but by the time I got there it began to rain steadily. I was totally bummed out; I mean, if I had only ran earlier I could’ve gotten a run in with sunlight and everything. Yet, there I was looking out at the dismal gray, rainy and dusk filled skies wondering whether I should run or not. And that is when I decided…I was going to run.

I ran two and a half miles and was soaked to the bone; however, I realized that I totally enjoyed myself out in the rain. Sure I was wet, and I did spend the remainder of the time waiting for my wife with my socks and shoes hanging over the heater vents, yet there I also felt good about accomplishing that run in the rain. I felt good about not giving up on what I knew I needed to do, just because the circumstances were different.

Often times, we go through our lives hoping that every day will bear sun and warmth, that every day the universe will align itself with our hopes and dreams. Yet, the reality is that the universe isn’t aligned with any of our hopes and dreams. Nor, is the weather or anything else for that matter. Life goes on with or without us and the fact of the matter is that, as Jesus says, the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike.

People always question why bad things happen to good people, but who says that bad things don’t happen to bad people? Who says that good things don’t happen to good people? I know, when I reflect on my life, I have had my share of good and bad things. The good things fly by, often with me taking them for granted; however, the second bad stuff happens, I begin to groan and moan about how terrible things are for me.

Jesus calls us away from that kind of thinking as such thoughts are terribly self-centered. That is not to say that we should be happy when bad things happen or when things don’t go our way; what we need to realize is that regardless of the circumstances, we can choose how we react and/or respond.  Sitting in my van, I could have chosen to drive back to the dentist office and mope about how much life stinks, or I could have chosen to suck it up, get out of the car and run the most refreshing 2.5 miles I have run in a long time. That is what I chose to do and that is what God is calling us all to do in the rainstorms in our lives. After all, we really do have much to be grateful for, so let our lives reflect our gratefulness!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.”  – Lord Byron

PRAYER
Lord, while I do not like it when storms hit, guide me through them and give me the wisdom to see beyond them so that I can truly be grateful for all of the blessings in my life. Amen.

Devotional

Technical Issue…

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Hello All,

Due to a technical issue, it seems that Friday’s devotional never got posted. I apologize for any inconvenience; however, the good news is that this week you get three. I will post Friday’s devotional right now…and Wednesday’s is already scheduled to be posted on Wednesday!

God bless,

Pastor Todd

Devotional

Reversing Evil

4 Comments

Read Matthew 5:44-48; 7:1-5; Luke 6:27-38

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13)

Reversing EvilIt seems like every time we turn on the news anymore we are bombarded with two types of images. The first image that we are constantly seeing is that of “heroism”.  Our society just loves to find stories of people doing courageous things. We are constantly seeking out the heroes that are among us, looking for those who will come in and save the day.  Heroes fascinate us so much that there are film studios, such as Marvel, established just for the purpose of making superhero movies.

On the flip side, the image of evil bombards us all the time.  It is so easy for us to get enraptured in that image. In fact, evil fascinates us just as much, if not even more than images heroism.  Horror movies, depicting evil at its extreme are a multi-billion dollar industry throughout the world. Real life events such as 9/11 and the recent school shooting in Newtown, CT, are seen as to be acts of evil committed by the faces of evil.  How often do we turn on the news and see someone’s mug shot on the screen with the words evil posted somewhere around it?

Doesn’t it make sense, though, to label horrific acts of violence as being evil? Doesn’t it make sense to see people like Hitler, Stalin, terrorists and other violent groups of people as being evil? If they are not evil, what are they?  We certainly cannot call them good can we?  It would be a far cry to raise such people up as being heroes or saints.  If we are going to call them anything, evil seems to be the only word that can possibly describe them.

Yet, what is evil? Is it merely heinous acts of violence committed by people against others? And how is it that we always find ourselves looking at evil as if it is distant from us, as if we are on the opposite side of evil and can determine where and what it is?  I have yet to hear someone determine themselves, or their viewpoints as being evil. Evil is almost exclusively something that the “other” is. “We” are never evil, whereas “they” often are.

The point is not to state that violent acts are not evil, or that people don’t do evil things. Clearly evil exists and we do witness the awful effects of its existence; however, it is important to point out that we are not to be the judges of what is evil and what isn’t. God did not set us up to be the judge and jury of who’s evil and who’s a hero; rather, God has called us to reverse E-V-I-L and L-I-V-E out the reality of God’s presence in the world. In other words, we are to be the presence of God…the presence of unconditional love…in this world.

When Jesus said that we are to LOVE our enemies, he wasn’t kidding. When Jesus said we are supposed to pray for those who persecute us, he wasn’t being facetious. There were lots of people Jesus could have pointed the finger at and called evil; however, he never did. Instead, he prayed for those who attacked and accused him. He shared communion with the ones (his own disciples) who would abandon and betray him. He petitioned God to forgive the ones who nailed him to the cross. To play God and set ourselves up as the judge and jury is an act of evil as well, because it reverses how God wanted us to LIVE. When we LIVE the way God wants us to, we are actively working to reverse EVIL. Just remember that EVIL is LIVE spelled backwards and you will remember that to LIVE as God intended us to LIVE is to reverse EVIL. How did God intend us to live…in LOVE!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

PRAYER

Lord, help me to reverse evil by living out your Gospel in my life and the lives of those around me. Amen.

Devotional

Trashing the Time Machine

2 Comments

Read Exodus 3:1-14; Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Trashing the Time MachineHave you ever read the novella, “The Time Machine”, or are at least familiar with the film adaptations of the same name?  In the novella, H. G. Wells develops a character called the Time Traveler who believes he has invented a machine that can travel through time. Indeed, he had developed such a machine and travels to the year 802,701 A.D. where he runs into the Eloi, which he theorizes are a peaceful communist society and the result of nature being overtaken by human technology, in which humanity learned to adapt to an environment where they didn’t really need strength or intellect.

He also runs into the Morlock who are ape-like in appearance and who live underground. The Morlocks attack the Eloi and, to make a long story short, the Time Traveler comes to the realization that they are hunting and eating the Eloi, who are too carefree to doing anything about it.  The Time Traveler eventually has to make an escape as he too falls prey of the Morlock and he moves 30 million years into the future and sees what appears to him to be the end of the world.  Eventually, he returns back to his own time and tells his disbelieving dinner guests all that he has seen in the future.

Often, when we think of God and of God being eternal, we think of a timeline. We think of a linear line that stretches from beginning to end, one that can be looked back upon and can be travelled into the future on, much like the way the novella “The Time Machine” is set up.  When we think of the word “eternal”, we think of something that stretches on and one forever.  What’s more, we believe this to be backed up Biblically because, after all, doesn’t both God and Jesus claim in Revelation to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end?

Yet, that is a misunderstanding of what it means to be the beginning and the end. It is true that in God is both the beginning and the end of all things; however, God never began and never ends. In eternity there is no beginning and no end. There just is. In other words, God was not in the past, nor will God be in the future, rather God is always in the present.  There is only ever presence in the present.

In Exodus, when Moses asked God to tell him who he should say sent him to the Hebrews, God replied, “I AM WHO I AM…tell them that I AM sent you.” God’s own self-definition is that GOD IS.  Notice that God did not say to Moses, “Tell them that I WAS or I WILL BE sent you.”  What kind of hope is there in a God that WAS or a God that WILL BE?  God is not a God of the past or the present. Such things do not truly exist. All that really exists is the PRESENT…right here and right now.

God is not calling us to dwell in our past or worry about our future. Rather God is calling us to live in the present.  It is in the present that we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. It is in the present that we are enveloped by the presence of God. It is in the present that we enter into eternity. It is in the present that we live and that is exactly where God meets us. While we as human beings may measure time in three tenses (past, present and future), God is calling us to live in the present in a way that reflects the reality of God’s present presence. Remember that eternity is at our door, we only need to open up the door and let it in.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

How much of the present is wasted living in the past and/or worrying about the future?

PRAYER

Lord, help me to recognize your presence with me right here and right now. Help me to reflect the truth of your present presence to all I come in contact with. Amen.

 

Devotional

I Am You

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ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

I Am YouOne of my all time favorite music bands is a band called Demon Hunter. Now I am sure that, judging from the name, you can probably tell that they are Heavy Metal band. If so, you are absolutely correct. I am also sure that, judging by the name, some of you might be questioning why someone like would be listening to a band with that kind of a name. Well, the truth be told, I listen to all sorts of music from classical to heavy metal, from Christian to secular music. In fact, sometimes I find a deeper spirit-filled theology (whether it was on purpose or accidental) in secular music than I do in Christian music.

With all of that said, Demon Hunter is actually a Christian heavy metal band who writes music that really speak to me as a person who knows what it is like to struggle in life. I know what it means to be depressed, to feel hopeless, to feel like the world might be literally crushing me, to feel like I am at wits end, and to feel like no one truly understands me. The lyrics that Ryan Clark write for Demon Hunter are ones that reach out to people who struggle in life, it is their ministry to do so and God certainly has blessed them, and those listening to them, as a result of doing that ministry.

There is a song that they write called, I AM YOU. In this song, Ryan writes, “A new voice for the broken souls in a world awaiting its death—I am you—an everlasting well of life for the hopeless and the wrecked I am the dying self, the narrow path, the calm that conquered the storm—I am you—the cross-hairs on the head of shame, the negation to conform.” For the longest time, I interpreted this to mean that Ryan, the singer, was saying that he was like anyone else and that he, too, has struggled in his life. I am certain that, in part, he is saying that.

This time around, however, I began to see the song in a whole new light. I began to hear God’s voice in it. After all, is it not true that God is a new voice for the broken souls? Is it not true that God is an everlasting well of life for the hopeless and the wrecked? Did Jesus not embody the dying self, the narrow path, the calm that conquered the storm? Did Jesus not set the cross-hairs on the head of shame, and represented the negation to conform? To Moses, God revealed Godself as I AM. In Jesus, God revealed to the world, I AM YOU.

What a wonderfully powerful notion that God is one of us. That God knows what it means to struggle. After all, which one of us has not struggled in this life? Which one of us have remained completely unscathed from childhood to whatever age we are at now? Which one of us has lived a perfect, paradise-like existence without any pain, loss or suffering? I am imagining the answer to be: NONE OF US.

Then how powerful of a message it is for us to receive that God is one of us and knows how to conquer the struggles we face everyday. It is a wonderful message that God is not above us or somewhere out there watching us from afar but, rather, God is with us…God is in us. When we truly embrace that, we will recognize that God is not only with us, but God is with us wherever we go. Once we realize that truth, we will see that when we are in the lives of others…when We reach out to others with compassion and say, “It’s okay, I AM YOU”, we are showing such people that God is with them too…you are giving them the good news of God’s presence and of God’s hope, healing and wholeness.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” – Anne Frank

PRAYER

Lord, fill me with your Good News and send me out to bring it to others. Amen.

Devotional

Wednesday’s Devotional Accidentally Released Early…

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To All of My Email Readers,

Not that this is the end of the world; however, I accidentally published Wednesday’s devotional tonight, normally I schedule it to be sent out on Wednesdays at 5 AM.  I reset it so that it is released on Wednesday; however, for those who receive the devotional via email…you will have already received it tonight. So, you get a little goodie in your email tonight…but keep that in mind when the same devotional is reposted on Wednesday. The email you got tonight is Wednesday’s devotional…the next one after that to be published will be released on Friday.  May you continue to find spiritual nourishment through these devotions…who knows…perhaps some of you needed the message earlier than Wednesday. The spirit works in ways that are beyond my knowledge. If that is the case, then I am glad it worked out that way! May God bless you and keep you all!

Devotional

Hammer Time

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Hammer Time

Read Psalm 98; Matthew 28:16-20

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

Hammer TimeDo you remember M.C. Hammer?  He was a rapper who came out in the early 1990s and hit the top of the charts with songs like “U Can’t Touch This”, “Pray”, “Have You Seen Her”, “2 Legit 2 Quit”, and “Do Not Pass Me By”. Donning his trademarked baggy pants, flashy dance moves and an over the top live show, it seemed like Hammer was a force to be reckoned with. Yet, almost as fast as he exploded onto the charts, he was gone.

Just the other day I was listening to a song on his second album entitled, “Do Not Pass Me By”. As I was listening to it I noticed how the song fit even more perfectly in the Gospel genre than it did in the rap and hip-hop genre.  So, I put the song on again, this time really listening to the words. It wasn’t just Gospel, it WAS THE GOSPEL!  There he was, M.C. Hammer, a huge mega-star who had all the money, girls, and fame in the world and he was totally “Shouting out” to God on one of his highest selling albums during the peak of his career.

Then it also occurred to me that each of his best selling albums had similar songs on them. In fact, each of his albums had at least one song dedicated to God on them. His first album had “Son of the King”. His second album, “Pray”. His third album, “Do not Pass Me By”, and His fourth album, “Help Lord (Won’t You Come)”.  It also turns out that M.C. Hammer, who’s real name is Stanley Burrell, became an ordained minister during the late 1990’s and has since devoted his life to prison and youth ministries.

Now, I have no clue what his theological approach to ministry is, nor is that ultimately important. What is important to note is that here is a guy who knows the heights of success, here’s a guy who knows what means to fall from that success, here’s a guy who knows what it’s like to be judged and ridiculed for going bankrupt, and yet this is the same guy who I hear praising God through the airwaves. There is something infectious about his faith. There is something uplifting about his willingness to let people know what he believes. There is something inspiring about his willingness to use his own resources to visit the “least of these” in the prisons and on the inner city streets. And if I am finding that to be infectious, imagine what others think of it.

It is impossible to guess how many millions, if not billions, of people have brought home his album “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” album and listened to the song pray. It’s hard to imagine what the words “You’ve got to pray, just to make it today” would mean to someone who is surrounded by gang violence, or to a kid who is about to commit suicide, or to a prisoner who just wishes he could be forgiven and move on with his life. Here was Hammer, amid all of the pop songs, pushing a message that spread the hope, healing and wholeness of Christ in the lives of so many different people

This is what we as Christians are called to do. We are called to spread the Gospel; we are called to spread the good news of God’s hope, healing and wholeness in the lives of those who need it. We aren’t called to be silent and quiet about our faith; rather, we are called to shout it, unashamed, from the mountaintops for the world to hear! After all, God’s unconditional love and everlasting presence is Good News worth shouting about, is it not? Then no matter who you are, or how you are are called to “shout”, get to it!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

To shout does not necessarily me to scream with your voice; rather, it means to beam with excitement through all of your being.

PRAYER

Lord, help me to use my gifts and talents for the spreading of your Good News, and allow me to beam, from head to toe, with excitement in the great things you are doing! Amen.

A biweekly devotional