Brief devotionals with scripture and reflections.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Wayfarer, the only way
is your footsteps, there is no other.
Wayfarer, there is no way,
you make the way by walking.
As you go, you make the way
and stopping to look behind,
you see the path that your feet
will never travel again.
Wayfarer, there is no way -
Only foam trails to the sea.
–Antonio Machado
(translated by A. Trueblood)
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
Happy Juneteenth! Two Sundays ago, we explored the problems found in the Promised Land. Interestingly, the same thing can be said about freedom. Even though today is the first official federal holiday of Juneteenth, the day America commemorates the emancipation of African-American slaves, we also remember that Black Americans faced incredible opposition after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Discrimination, oppression, and even lynching was still legal after June 19, 1865. Even today, Black Americans are still victims of senseless acts of violence and explicit hate crimes. Personally, as a POC, I’ve benefitted tremendously from the struggles of my Black siblings in Christ who have gone before me.
Freedom is not free. Others have paid the price for us to live freely today. May we not be so naive to think that freedom will come without its challenges.
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them.”
Joshua 1:2
What has been a “Promised Land” in your life? Perhaps it’s a job you’ve applied for. Maybe it’s a school you hoped to get into. Possibly it’s a person you’ve been wanting to date. While these proverbial Promised Lands may be better places to be than where you were before, they still have problems of their own. The job will have a learning curve. The new school will be very different from your previous school. And the honeymoon stage of your dating relationship won’t last forever.
This past Sunday, we learned that just before the Israelites entered into the Promised Land, they were given a few pieces of bad news: their great leader Moses is dead, they have to cross the massive Jordan River, and they will enter a new land where their enemies and obstacles are unknown.
Likewise, even though we may be exiting Covid lockdown soon, there will undoubtedly be new problems that come with the new normal. In seasons with turbulent waters, it is imperative to keep ourselves anchored in God and community to keep us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually grounded.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
What stage of your journey are you in? This past year has been quite the journey, hasn’t it? Many of us have undergone dramatic transitions in the past year. Many of us will go through some new transitions in the upcoming year. There’s a significant truth about the journey of life that God wants to reveal to us: you don’t need to have it all figured out; you just need to take the next step.
The Holy Spirit wants someone who is reading this to believe this truth for herself.
I realized something important yesterday during my therapy session. Now that I’ve been in therapy for nearly 10 years, I came to understand that therapy in my 30’s has been about tackling my conscious behavior while therapy in my 40’s will be about tackling my subconscious behavior. A lot of the subconscious thoughts, beliefs, and habits I still carry with me are results of past wounds, mistakes, or pain. Unfortunately, my past still haunts me today in more ways than I realize.
Have you ever been haunted by something from your past? Maybe you’re like me and you still are more than you’d like to admit. We’ve all made big mistakes in the past that we regret and sometimes we are the last ones to forgive ourselves. But how does God treat us with our regrets?
For in God all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through God and for God. God is before all things, and in God all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16-17
There’s one lesson I learned recently as a hospital chaplain; nearly everyone believes in some form of spirituality. While patients come from different faiths and backgrounds, I’ve yet to meet someone who believes in merely the physical world. People may call it God, Higher Power, or Mother Nature, there is an undeniable longing deep in their hearts to connect with the Great Spirit of this universe. I literally encounter this everyday as a hospital chaplain with patients who are often ill, vulnerable, and very honest. It’s difficult to be an atheist while lying on a hospital bed.
What is the God shaped hole inside of you and how is your spirit longing for spiritual fulfillment? If this is a question that you’re wrestling with and would like to process it with someone, I would love to hear your story. Feel free to email me to schedule a phone call or meeting al@perch.church
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.
Acts 2:46
One of the activities I miss the most during lockdown is eating with friends, especially our church members. Most of us at Perch.Church LOVE TO EAT. Sometimes I worry if I’m being a glutton, but I read verses like Acts 2:46 and it gives me reassurance that food is an important ingredient to community. In fact, when Jesus first appeared to His disciples after His resurrection in Luke 24, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” Jesus was a foodie and He loved to eat with His friends too!
Now that the CDC has lifted some of its restrictions on social gatherings for vaccinated individuals, let’s gather, eat, drink, and enjoy each other’s company with glad and sincere hearts.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31:25-28
Mother,
Your voice learning to soothe
Your new child
Was the first home-sound
We heard before we could see.
Your young eyes
Gazing on us
Was the first mirror
Where we glimpsed
What to be seen
Could mean.
Mother,
Your nearness tilled the air,
An umbilical garden for all the seeds
Of thought that stirred in our infant hearts.
You nurtured and fostered this space
To root all our quietly gathering intensity
That could grow nowhere else.
Mother,
Formed from the depths beneath your heart,
You know us from the inside out.
No deeds or seas or others
Could ever erase that.
Blessing For a Mother
by John O’Donohue
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome? If you’ve never heard the term before, it’s loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. I read an interesting article on Harvard Business Review today that shed a bit more light on this newly identified phenomenon that disproportionately effects women and BIPOC. Conversely, those who have never experienced Imposter Syndrome before are sometimes overconfident; but if you’ve worked long enough with other people, you probably already know that confidence does not equate competence. This season that we’re in has thrust many individuals into the abyss of self-doubt, insecurity, and insignificance. But just because you feel unqualified, does not make it true.
There was a collective sigh of relief across the nation on Tuesday when former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on three counts, including second degree murder. Justice has been served, at least for now. Yet, various people do not feel like it is adequate. “This is accountability, not justice,” some would say. How did you feel after Tuesday’s verdict? Personally, I’d like to think that justice has been carried out for the time being; but I have to admit that most people and I are far from satisfied for there is still a lot more work to be done in this country. We see glimpses of justice here and there, but we are nowhere near where we ought to be. We exist in this liminal space while we are on citizens of this planet.
There is a powerful energy that lies in the tension of the “in-between” space; the already but not yet. We get a taste of what can be when goodness is fully realized, yet we are still dealing with the brokenness, wickedness, and evil that surrounds us daily. How do we navigate through it all and how can we hold onto hope?
