Bron Yocum

Gold Medal Humble

Posted by

0

“The Lord has shown you what is good.           image
He has told you what he requires of you.
You must act with justice.
You must love to show mercy.
And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.”
Micah 6:8

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Have you been watching the Olympics this week? What an exciting time it has been, to see Michael Phelps extend his record for the most gold medals, and to see Katie Ledecky blow the field away in the women’s 800 meter freestyle. And the US women’s gymnastic team and little Simone Biles claiming the all around gold!

How does someone with 23 gold medals be humble? How does a woman who wins a race by six or eight body lengths stay humble? Or a girl who is told she is the best all-around gymnast in the world? Is that even possible without seeming fake? I guess it all depends on your interpretation of humble.

Thursday and Friday of this week I attended the satellite broadcast of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, an event bringing together outstanding leaders in many fields to learn from each other. One of the speakers was the Director of Social Justice in the Western US for the Salvation Army. She told a story about her six year old son, trying on his Avengers costumes and running into the living room, jumping up on the ottoman, and shouting “Ta-da!” followed by “I’m…” and then he’d announce the costume he was wearing. First it was “I’m Captain America!” Then, “I’m the Hulk.” Finally, he ran into the room dressed only in his skivvies, jumped up on the ottoman and shouted, “Ta-da!” His mother asked him who he was, and he looked at her puzzled and answered, “I’m me!”

I think that’s what humility is all about. It’s not about pretending we are less than we are, nor claiming to be more than we are. It is simply being who we are, who God made us to be. Genesis 1 tells us that God made everything and then called it good, and that included us. The Apostle Paul tells us that God has given everyone at least one gift, so there’s no use pretending we have no gifts at all. We are who we are, not because we earned it but because God made us that way. We can develop the gifts we’ve been given, but we can’t create them from scratch. Michael Phelps was born with the physical gifts that, if properly developed, made him an Olympic swimmer. Simone Biles was doing flips around the house at an early age – she was born with natural skills. Both of them had serious issues in their lives to overcome – Phelps struggled with depression over the last 8 years; Simone was put in foster care as a young child until her grandparents found and adopted her. But they each had certain natural skills. Humility doesn’t mean denying those gifts God gave them; it means accepting the gifts but recognizing they are gifts, not something we deserve. And then, it also means recognizing that possessing these gifts and using them as they were intended does not make us better as a person, just better as a swimmer or gymnast or whatever our gifts allow us to do.

We live in an area where many people seem to be blessed with more than one gift and with the resources to develop them to a high level. Let’s never forget that we are not better people because of our gifts, just gifted people who had the resources to develop those gifts. Let’s give thanks to God and walk humbly with the Lord, recognizing the source of our gifts and looking to see how God might be inviting us to use those gifts for the good of all. That’s what will make us better people.
Prayer: Gracious God, you have made me your beloved child and given me gifts that I could never earn or deserve. Help me to recognize my gifts, to develop them as you intended, and to use them for the good of the world. Keep me from arrogance, keep me from denial. Let me see myself and all the world around me as you see. Most of all, let me see you as the God who made me and anchors my life. This I pray through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

image

 

 

The Rev. Dr. Bronwyn Yocum is an ordained United Methodist elder.  She served God through the local church as pastor and as a district superintendent in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.  She has taught leadership and conflict management at Palmer Seminary (Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary).  She holds a D.Min. in worship from the Theological School of Drew University.  Bron now provides assistance to local congregations through consulting and workshops as well as guest preaching.

Ready With Heart, Mind, & Strength

Posted by

0

image

“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence”

1 Peter 3:15b-16a

—————————————————-
Wednesday morning Gordy and I had an adventure. We took the train into Philadelphia, riding for the first time on our $1 senior fare. What a deal that is! Then, we walked over to 17th and Vine for a tour of the new Mormon Temple. I had responded to an invitation extended to Philly area clergy to visit and tour the new building prior to its consecration this fall. Once a Mormon Temple is in use, only Mormons may enter it, so this was a wonderful opportunity to see the building before it was closed to visitors.

We began across the street in the meeting house where actual worship services will be held. The Temple itself is reserved for special services, weddings, proxy baptisms of deceased ancestors, and special instruction. Crossing the street, we entered the Temple after several volunteers helped us put coverings over our shoes to preserve the carpeting inside. The building is beautiful. The interior reflects the Philadelphia colonial period, the decor is gorgeous, and striking artwork adorned the walls. It was a treat to tour the four floors of the building.

What struck me more than the building was the knowledge of our tour guides. The husband had been a leader in the local church. He and his wife guided us through the building answering questions not only about the building but about the Mormon faith as well. They explained the theology behind the proxy baptism ritual, described Mormon beliefs about the afterlife, outlines the organization of the Mormon church and more. I was deeply impressed by their knowledge of their faith, but I realized he had been a leader in the church.

Following the tour, we entered a side building where refreshments awaited us, along with several dozen hosts and hostesses. I realized that throughout the tour, we had seen people on every floor to guide and direct. Altogether, there must have been nearly 100 people present assisting with the tours, all volunteers. There were young adults and youth providing music in the reception area, some young adults doing their 2 year mission assisting in various places, adults of all ages volunteering their time to help with the welcome across the street, the tours and the reception. It wasn’t just for one day, either. All of this will go on for several weeks as the Philadelphia area is introduced to the new Temple. And every participant is ready to speak of their faith, to explain why they are Mormon, and to offer God’s love, human hospitality and an invitation to faith.

As I looked around, I was struck by the knowledge and commitment of those who were involved, and I wondered, how would our denomination stack up? Each person we met yesterday seemed to feel honored to be present to extend hospitality to visitors. Each one was “ready to make their defense” and share their faith if asked. Could we say the same? Could we gather such willing volunteers and would they be ready to explain their faith, their church? In the Scripture passage above, Peter clearly believes that all of us who call Christ our Savior need be ready to explain the hope we have in him. Are we? Are we ready? Do we understand enough about our faith to give an account, do we know why we have hope or are we just blindly accepting a faith we don’t really understand?

As we move toward the start of school and the program year in churches, I encourage you to consider how you might deepen your knowledge of your faith. It isn’t a choice between knowing God or knowing about God; we need to do both. We are each responsible for working to grow closer to God through our own devotional life; but we are also called on to understand our faith, to explore it intellectually. I believe God is honored when we use our heart, our mind and our strength to know God. Perhaps we can best do that when we worship (heart – love), study (mind – knowledge) and serve (strength – service) the Lord.

Prayer: Gracious God, you have given us hearts to love you, minds to know you and strength to serve you in this world. Help us to offer you all of ourself, not holding back any part but giving our all to you. Open our hearts to receive your love and offer you our own. Open our minds to know you more fully. And open our hands to serve you in the world. May we find in knowing you that we love you more dearly and want to serve you, for we ask it through Christ our Lord Amen.

 

image

 

Setting Aside Bitterness and Anger

Posted by

1

                                                                                                                                      image
“Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” 
                                                            Ephesians 4:31-32
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 
Over the last two weeks, we have watched political rhetoric at its height.  First the Republican and then the Democratic conventions presented their respective candidates and their positions with speeches, endorsements, music and balloons.  Hyperbole and attack language filled the convention halls.  And throughout these two weeks, Facebook and Twitter have been overheating with responses from people on the left and on the right.
This week, I read the words of one friend who wrote, “I hate Hillary Clinton.”  I was very surprised by his words, since we first met at church and I know he considers himself a solid Christian.  I felt his language was inappropriate for a Christian, but I hesitated to respond to him  I thought about simply unfriending him, but finally felt I had to address his words directly with him.  I wrote back to him that I was disappointed to hear a fellow Christian use the words “I hate” about a person.  I explained I was upset by his statement knowing he considered himself a Christian, reminding him that we can disagree with another person, we can hate their policies, but our Christian faith calls us to set aside all hate and anger towards persons.
My friend responded later that day in the most wonderful way.  He wrote on his Facebook page that “a friend” had called him on his language and he realized his words were inappropriate for a Christian.  He apologized for the statement, and then went on in a more reasoned way to explain his disagreement with the Clinton campaign.  And I found myself so filled – filled with forgiveness for my friend, filled with repentance for any ways I myself may have committed the same acts, and filled with gratitude that God had led me to call out my friend on his words.
There are three full months of campaign still ahead for us.  There will be many outrageous statements and efforts to demonize others by both sides of the race, Republican and Democratic.  Let’s commit to setting aside bitterness and anger, wrangling and slander and malice.  And let’s agree to call out anyone who claims the name of Christ but acts in ways that deny that allegiance, whether they are candidates, campaign workers or friends down the street.  Let’s act in ways that will lead others, on every side of politics, on every side of any debate, to see the love of God in our words and actions.  Let kindness, respect and love be our guiding principles even in the midst of disagreement.
Prayer: Eternal God, you have called us to seek justice and love kindness.  You have told us that what we do to the least, we do to you.  Help us in the coming months to see your face not only in the faces of those with whom we agree, but also in the faces of our opponents.  Give us the grace to speak with love and kindness even when we disagree.  Let us lead with love so that all the world will look and see in us the love of the God who welcomed us even when we were sinners, acting in opposition to God’s kingdom.  For I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
image

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

Posted by

1

                                                                                                                                               image
The new Ghostbusters movie opened this past week across the nation. Thirty years after the original, a new foursome tackles the battle against the supernatural powers of chaos. Some things are different; for example, the main characters are all women this time around. But just like thirty years ago, we’ll be hearing cries of “Who ya gonna call?” all around us. And for the next several weeks, the answer will come, “Ghostbusters!”

But fictional characters in a movie can’t really change the world around us.  In this political season, we need to remember that even the President of the US and other political figures are limited in their impact.  There is only one we can call on who has the power to create in us a new heart, to model absolute love, and to change the world – the God of Jesus Christ. When our lives are out of control, when we worry that we cannot find a way forward, who else would we call but God?

Over the last few weeks we have seen violence in too many places. Shootings by police, shootings of police, nearly one hundred killed in an intentional truck crash in France, the list goes on and on. We look at the conflicts behind these acts of violence, the animosity between people based on race or religion, and we wonder how on earth we can find peaceful resolution and reconciliation. Left to our own devices, the answer is probably that we can’t. But we are not on our own. When the world threatens to overwhelm, when the obstacles seem insurmountable, who are we gonna call? We can call on the name of the Lord in prayer. We have a God who cares about us, listens to us and wants what is best for us.

So as we go forward as a church, as a nation, as a world, let’s remember that there is one we can call on who has already won the battle with sin and death, one we can turn to whose love for us is steadfast and whose power is infinite. The God of Jesus Christ is there for us, waiting for us to turn and reach out in prayer and in love.

Prayer: Almighty God, we look around us and see such overwhelming problems, and we wonder if peace and reconciliation are a possibility in this world. Remind us that we do not tackle these problems alone. You are there for us if we will just call on you. Turning to you in prayer, may we follow your will. Sensing your presence and love, may we live this day with courage and hope. For I ask it in the name of the Lord. Amen.
image
 
The Rev. Dr. Bronwyn Yocum

In God’s Time

Posted by

1

image

 

“To everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1          

 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I was overjoyed when my last church gave me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer as a retirement gift. I planned to start cooking once I had the time, and so after my last Sunday, the mixer was christened with flour.  Cookies and cakes began to appear on the kitchen counter.  And best of all was the homemade bread.

The first day I made bread, the taste was okay but the loaves didn’t look quite right.  They did’t seem to rise enough.  As I thought about it, I realized I may have been a little over anxious to get them made.  The directions called for me to let the dough rise for an hour, punch it down, divide it in half and put it in loaf pans.  Then I was to let it rise again until it was higher than the edge of the pan, about another hour, before baking.  I think I was so excited about making bread that as soon as the dough got anywhere near the top of the loaf pan, I shoved it in the oven, not giving it the time it needed to rise the full amount.  What came out tasted good, but wasn’t really as high or light as it could have been if I had waited the full time.  I was too impatient.

Ecclesiastes reminds us that God has a sense of time as well.  Sometimes we want to rush things along.  We don’t allow God to accomplish things in God’s time; we want it done now. I remember a woman at one of the churches I served who told me how alone she felt after her husband died.  Her friends were great for the first two months, but then they started to tell her to get on with life and stop moping over her husband’s death.  They wanted her grieving to be over in their time.  The reality is that it takes years to fully grieve the loss of a spouse.  

Too often we want to leave behind the old and dive right in to the new without taking time for reflection and evaluation.   We want to shed the old with its challenges and hurts, disappointments and concerns, leaving it behind like a hermit crab moving to a new shell. But our life experiences are not something we can shed like an old shell.  What happens to us in our lives becomes a part of who we are.  We need to acknowledge what we’ve experienced, process it, learn from it and discern how God is inviting us to move forward, incorporating our past experience into our approach to life in the future.  Where there has been success, what can we do to build on it?  Where there has been hurt, how can we become wounded healers?  Where we have failed, what might we do differently in the future?  

In the New International Version, Ecclesiastes 3:11a reads “God has made everything beautiful in its time.”  If we are sensitive to God’s time, if we refrain from rushing things and give God the time to work as God desires, then we, too, will find that God can accomplish wonders that make life beautiful.

Prayer:  Loving God, help me to live this day in your time, not mine.  Let me wait patiently for your way to be made clear; let me live hopefully, knowing that in your time all things work together for the good of your people.  Show me how to learn from every experience in my life, and to find your presence in the middle of every situation.  For I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

image

 

A Provoking Poeple

Posted by

0

 

Pastor’s Friday Reflection

“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

                                                      Hebrews 10:24-25                   

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 

The Scripture from Hebrews is one of my favorite passages from the Bible.  But there’s always been an inherent contradiction for me in these words – “…provoke one another to love and good deeds…”  My kids are now 32 and 29, but I can still remember when my daughter was about five and her little brother knew just how to provoke a response from her, and not one of love and good deeds.  Doug knew every one of Jenny’s buttons, and he had no difficulty pushing those buttons to get a rise out of her.  He “provoked” her unmercifully, and always got a response – tears, anger, or frustration.  So when I read the passage from Hebrews, that’s the first image I see – my daughter red in the face and my son with a smug, “gotcha” look on his visage.

But as I thought about it, I realized there was actually something helpful in that image.  Doug knew Jenny’s buttons, and knew how to provoke her; I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we knew each others good deed buttons?  If we knew how to provoke love instead of anger or frustration?  What would happen if we could interact with each other in ways that were just as provoking as my son’s when he was 2 and 1/2, but resulted in good deeds rather than crying and calling for mommy?

Perhaps that is what the author of Hebrews had in mind.  We all have a pretty good idea of the buttons that will send our neighbors into anger and frustration, but how well do we know the buttons that result in love and good deeds?  Those buttons are much more difficult to find, but they are the ones that we Christians are called to discover.  Christ understands that left on our own, the world around us is pushing the wrong buttons; it doesn’t take much to send us into that downward spiral of anger, accusation or frustration.  That’s why we have the church, a place that will help us counteract the natural tendencies of the world and move us toward love and acceptance rather than anger or hate.  Here in the church, we can encourage each other when those natural negative tendencies raise their heads; we can help each other let go of the anger and frustration that the world naturally elicits from us and instead move toward loving affirmation, forgiveness and hope.

This summer, why don’t we study each other with an eye to finding those buttons of love and good deeds, to discovering the ways we can provoke each other to living as gospel people?  It is my hope that we can encourage one another and discover that each of us has love to share and good deeds to offer that will help make our church all that God could desire.

image

Like a Child

Posted by

0

image
“But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children
come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these
that the kingdom of God belongs.”
                           Luke 18:16
The story of Jesus and the children always reminds me of the movie Dave, with Kevin Kline.  The hero, Dave, is a look alike for the president.  When the president has had a massive stroke, Dave is hired to come to the White House and impersonate the president so the country won’t know anything has happened.  Acting as the president, Dave goes with the First Lady to a photo opportunity at a child care center.  She has been estranged from her husband, and is unaware of Dave’s substitution.  The First Lady is passionate about quality day care, and is lecturing a group of reporters, surrounded by the children who attend the center.  She looks up and sees Dave, off in a corner, out of view of the reporters and TV cameras, talking quietly with one troubled, little boy, doing magic tricks for the child.  Everyone else was taking in the kids as one mass -a gaggle of kids, a collection of statistics, an opportunity for a photograph; but Dave was getting to know one real child in an intimate way, giving his time in a way that said, you’re valuable enough for me to spend my time with just you.

And isn’t that what God’s intimate ministry says to us?  When God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, God showed how much they were valued.  God loved them enough to stop other important duties, to set aside the tasks of the divine in order to simply delight in the company of humans.  Not delight in the mass of humanity or the idea of human beings, but in the very presence of two concrete, specific people.

Jesus, too, loved people, not just the concept of people.  He stopped to take the children on his knee, children with dirty diapers, kids who pulled his hair and spit up on his robes.  He ate and drank with sinners, even being accused of gluttony and drunkenness because he enjoyed the company of others and valued getting to know people as individuals.  He listened to them, he related to them, one on one.  He developed relationships with people, rather than standing far off, like the pope on his balcony blessing thousands of people at a time.  His presence was an affirmation of our worth, a confirmation that even one single creature – whether the sparrow or a human being – matters to God.

So let’s remember that as we live our days.  Each one is worthy of God’s love; each one is worthy of our attention; each one is someone to relate to and get to know as a unique individual, a child of God created by the master.

Prayer:  Lord of life, I thank you that you created human beings, each one, unique and valuable.  Help me to approach each person in my life as your handiwork, a child of God who is precious in your sight.  Let me value each person and seek to know them not simply by their gender, their race or other shared characteristics, but to know them as your unique and beloved child in whom your image is reflected.  For I ask it in the name of Jesus, who loves me as your unique and individual child.  Amen.

Death, Taxes and God’s Grace

Posted by

0

image

“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us  even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved…”
                  Ephesians 2:4-5
We all know that old saying, “there’s nothing surer than death and taxes.”  But this year, as we continue in our Easter season, neither death nor taxes is sure.  On Easter Sunday we celebrated Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and today, what should be tax day – April 15th – we celebrate the IRS’s grace as they give us until Monday, April 18th to file our taxes.
Grace – a word that we often tend to misinterpret or misconstrue.  This year’s delay in tax day can help us better understand grace.  Grace is often defined as unmerited favor, or an undeserved break.  We didn’t do anything to deserve an extra weekend to file our taxes; the government just gave it to us.  In the same way, there is nothing we can do to earn God’s forgiveness since we are all sinners.  God, through grace, just offers us forgiveness.  It is by grace that we are saved.
But too often, we also think of grace as a pat on the head with God saying, “There, there; it’s alright.  I’ll forgive you no matter what you do.”  Grace then appears to be God’s acceptance of us just as we are, with no expectations of growth or change on our part.   If we consider grace in light of the tax comparison, however, we can say that just as the IRS has given us an extra weekend but still expects us to file our taxes, so God is willing to forgive us, but still expects us to grow as disciples.  We aren’t saved by grace in order to keep doing everything wrong and make no effort to do better.
Grace is God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and mercy that wipes the slate of our sin clean and invites us to do better next time.  God does understand when we slip and fall back, but God is not inviting us to stay the way we were with no effort to be better.  There’s a saying from the black church, “Lord we ain’t what we should be and we ain’t what we gonna be, but thank God, we ain’t what we was!”  That’s a good way to think about grace – we aren’t yet the heavenly angels we hope to be someday nor are we perfect in living our lives as disciples today, but thank God, we aren’t the sinners living apart from God that we once were.  The invitation from God is to grow closer to God, to grow deeper in relationship with the Lord, and to grow in our commitment and effort to live as God’s people every day, always by grace.
Prayer:  Loving God, by grace you have saved me from the consequences of my sin, and offered me entrance into your eternal kingdom.  May I recognize that gift, and in gratitude, live my life as your beloved child, always striving to honor you in all I do.  Forgive me when I fail, but give me the strength to try always to live as Jesus lives.  For it is in Jesus’ name that I pray.  Amen. 

God and the Electoral Process

Posted by

0

image
“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
                                                                              1 Corinthians 13:1

Have you been watching the political process in our country as we’ve seen it acted out in the primary campaigns going on? Listening to the candidates, we might wonder if this is a country of liars or non-Christians who bicker and backbite! Truth and civility seem to be the casualties of the electoral process.  I listened as one commentator talked about his sons, one college age and one high school age, remarking that they would never consider running for office on the basis of the attacks and smear campaigns they are witnessing in this year’s electoral process.  Their reaction saddened me as I wondered, are we driving away the gifted by the nature of contemporary campaigns, and only getting candidates who are committed to misbehaving?

Is it possible to get elected and not lie?  Is it possible to get elected and be decent and civil in he process?  Can a real Christian who commits to truth-telling and love for fellow humans even run for office?  These are questions we need to be asking ourselves.  These are qualities we need to demand in our candidates.  No, it isn’t nearly as much fun to watch a civil debate as it is to see the fireworks in personal attacks; it isn’t nearly as entertaining to hear policy descriptions and factual information as it is to see candidates tear each other apart with innuendo and half-truths.  But we, the American people, will get what we demand, and if we don’t demand civility and truthfulness in our electoral process, we’ll get the alternative – half truths and personal demonization.

Regardless of politics, it pains me to see someone like Gen. Colin Powell step away from the political process because of the potential cost to his family. Are we losing the opportunity to benefit from the gifts of truly gifted candidates because of the process we have created? It may be that the candidate who truly espouses Christian virtues cannot be elected in this country.  That would make me very sad, but I have to consider that possibility.  But I would love to see somebody try; I’d love to see a candidate tell the truth to the best of their ability and refrain from personal attacks.  Wouldn’t that be a novel approach? Perhaps the problem, however, is not in the candidates but in us, the electorate.  Perhaps we get the behavior we reward. So maybe we need to ask ourselves, what do we really want in our election process, because it may be that despite our protests to the contrary, we are getting exactly what we want

 

Prayer:    Almighty God, you have gifted and equipped some to be leaders in the civic arena, and called them to exercise their gifts for the good of all people.  And yet the very process by which we select leaders seems to deny your law and discourage some truly gifted candidates from entering the arena. Help me by my actions to encourage a process that conforms to your expectations of how we are to live together.  Let me not only affirm community with my lips, but let me live it with my life, so that those who are gifted and called will be willing to share their gifts without risk to themselves and their families.  Amen. 

The Important vs The Urgent

Posted by

2

image

“But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
                                 Matthew 6:33
     Thursday morning before I turned to my sermon, Gordy and I made a trip to the grocery store to stock up for the coming storm.  We went at the start of the day hoping to avoid the crowds.  Imagine our surprise to find the store almost deserted.  There was hardly anyone else shopping.  Now I know that many people were at work and others were still getting elementary aged children off to the school bus, but the store was practically empty!  I could’t understand it.
     Later that morning, Gordy went out to pick up a few more things.  He mentioned to the owner at one store how few people seemed to be out stocking up, and the owner provided what he thought was the reason – procrastination.  He said, “Wait until the end of the workday.  This store will be mobbed tonight.  People just wait till the last minute!”
     There was a whole day before the snow was forecast, so I guess people had other things that seemed more important – Thursday’s work or kids’ schedules.  But woe to the person who waited too long and discovered empty shelves without bread or milk on Friday afternoon.  They’d be hard pressed to provide for themselves or their family if the storm turns out to be as severe as forecast.
     Too often, we allow our priorities to be set by what’s next on the calendar instead of asking ourselves what’s most important.  In the words of Steven Covey, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”  (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People)  We allow ourselves to be dominated by things that are in truth less important but appear to be urgent because they are due sooner rather than later.  But sometimes, the things we are caught up doing prove to be relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, focusing on the near at hand deadlines can lead us to overlook what is truly important.
     Our faith life is like that.  For most of us, life seems to stretch out before us for years to come.  End of life concerns are things we think we can put off for some other day. “There’s time to nurture my relationship with God later,” we think, turning instead to address the “urgent” things in our life, things that are happening now.  But isn’t our eternal salvation one of the most important things in our life?  Isn’t our relationship with God the most important relationship we have? Which will be more important in eternity – that we squeezed in one more phone call for work, or that we set aside five minutes to spend with God.  Don’t put off doing the things that will draw you nearer to God; don’t delay!  This is the day to ask God to be a regular part of your life, and commit to growing in your faith.

     Prayer:  Patient and forbearing God, you want me to be in a close relationship with you, but too often I put you off, letting other needs eat up my time, consume my focus and move me away from you.  Open my eyes to your presence in my life. Open my heart to seek you every day in prayer, in Scripture and in my actions.  Help me to put your kingdom first, and to let your will be the guide to ordering all the rest of my life.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.