Amazing Grace
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
This week we have spent with the above verse and thinking about mercy and grace. It is just about time to close the work week and enjoy the renewal that comes from the rhythm of the weekend. The following is a favorite hymn of millions and your mind deserves to hear it throughout the day. Here are the words; the melody will come to your mind as you read:
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wreck like me
I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see.
‘Tis grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
A merciful God accepts you at the very point where you are in your pilgrimage. Why not be still enough to at least experience the embrace of steadfast love. Have a blessed day and a wonderful weekend.
Prayer: God, be with me in my tension moments today. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.14.09
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Daily Devotion - Thursday, August 13
Being Still Enough
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
This week we are looking at a primary aspect of spiritual development – the recognition of mercy and grace. We are using the above verse from scripture for starting the meditations.
Working in the health care field can be particularly stressful. In fact many of us (myself included) tend to be rather attached to the high tension/high demand role of caregiving. Within many of us (myself included) we recognize the spirit working in and through us. One difficulty we can face is the cultivation of good spiritual disciplines which, if not used, can lead to the feeling of being “spent”. Spiritual development happens best when spending time in quiet, receptive openness and meditation.
Gerald May writes, “Even mild addiction to stress becomes rapidly evident for many modern spiritual pilgrims. The mind can generate wondrous excuses to do something instead of just being open and present. … we might rather avoid the self-knowledge that comes to us in quiet. Now, increasing numbers of us are discovering that we would rather not experience the discomfort of being peaceful.” (P.89, Addiction and Grace)
A merciful God accepts you at the very point where you are in your pilgrimage. Why not be still enough to at least experience the embrace of steadfast love. AND THEN, get back to – whatever!
Prayer: God, slow me down, allow me to experience a couple of moments of quiet. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.13.09
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
This week we are looking at a primary aspect of spiritual development – the recognition of mercy and grace. We are using the above verse from scripture for starting the meditations.
Working in the health care field can be particularly stressful. In fact many of us (myself included) tend to be rather attached to the high tension/high demand role of caregiving. Within many of us (myself included) we recognize the spirit working in and through us. One difficulty we can face is the cultivation of good spiritual disciplines which, if not used, can lead to the feeling of being “spent”. Spiritual development happens best when spending time in quiet, receptive openness and meditation.
Gerald May writes, “Even mild addiction to stress becomes rapidly evident for many modern spiritual pilgrims. The mind can generate wondrous excuses to do something instead of just being open and present. … we might rather avoid the self-knowledge that comes to us in quiet. Now, increasing numbers of us are discovering that we would rather not experience the discomfort of being peaceful.” (P.89, Addiction and Grace)
A merciful God accepts you at the very point where you are in your pilgrimage. Why not be still enough to at least experience the embrace of steadfast love. AND THEN, get back to – whatever!
Prayer: God, slow me down, allow me to experience a couple of moments of quiet. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.13.09
Daily Devotion - Wednesday, August 12
Letting Go!
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
A primary aspect of spiritual development is recognizing mercy and grace. This week we are spending time meditating on the above verse.
Yesterday we talked about holding on to unhealthy thought patterns, thereby limiting our accessing of the grace that is available to us. Let me tell a little story that I call “Cottage Cheese.”
At age 15 my parents (probably mom more than dad) decided I was going to “try” cottage cheese. I was certain I didn’t like it and put up my best defense. I lost. On my first bite I “won” by losing not only the cottage cheese, but also everything else in my digestive system. The experience was memorable.
Eleven years later as pastor of a new church start in Lima, Ohio I sat in the living room of a new member. She was a retired school teacher, gifted musician and gracious hostess. She invited me to stay for lunch, telling me she had already prepared a light lunch. I said, “That will be fine; I eat about anything.” Lunch that day was cottage cheese on a pineapple ring with crackers on the side.
I ate. I enjoyed. I still eat cottage cheese and enjoy. Letting go of unhealthy patterns is healthy!
--Ben Keckler
08.12.09
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
A primary aspect of spiritual development is recognizing mercy and grace. This week we are spending time meditating on the above verse.
Yesterday we talked about holding on to unhealthy thought patterns, thereby limiting our accessing of the grace that is available to us. Let me tell a little story that I call “Cottage Cheese.”
At age 15 my parents (probably mom more than dad) decided I was going to “try” cottage cheese. I was certain I didn’t like it and put up my best defense. I lost. On my first bite I “won” by losing not only the cottage cheese, but also everything else in my digestive system. The experience was memorable.
Eleven years later as pastor of a new church start in Lima, Ohio I sat in the living room of a new member. She was a retired school teacher, gifted musician and gracious hostess. She invited me to stay for lunch, telling me she had already prepared a light lunch. I said, “That will be fine; I eat about anything.” Lunch that day was cottage cheese on a pineapple ring with crackers on the side.
I ate. I enjoyed. I still eat cottage cheese and enjoy. Letting go of unhealthy patterns is healthy!
--Ben Keckler
08.12.09
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Daily Devotion - Tuesday, August 11
Stinkin’ Thinkin’
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
This week we are spending time meditating on the above verse. Recognizing mercy and grace is a primary aspect of spiritual development.
Have you ever heard the little phrase “stinkin’ thinkin’”? Whether or not we acknowledge it, we all possess it. All of us have learned or developed some unhealthy patterns in our lives that we remain attached to. We participate in them freely without realizing that we are doing so because it is a learned behavior. Sometimes when we get stuck in the pattern or behavior, we can view it as something that is unhealthy. Obvious examples of this are alcoholics, drug addicts, or people with pathological behaviors. But equally true examples can be things like specific intolerances or phobias. (Don’t get defensive - just allow yourself to absorb this possibility!)
The one type of thinkin’ that appears healthy to me, especially when I am faced with my own “stinkin’ thinkin’” is: I am accepted by the Holy One. I am embraced with a steadfast love – even if/when my thinkin’ is stinkin’!
Prayer: God, thanks for your embrace, even when my thinkin’ isn’t quite right. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.11.09
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song
Psalm 25: 6
This week we are spending time meditating on the above verse. Recognizing mercy and grace is a primary aspect of spiritual development.
Have you ever heard the little phrase “stinkin’ thinkin’”? Whether or not we acknowledge it, we all possess it. All of us have learned or developed some unhealthy patterns in our lives that we remain attached to. We participate in them freely without realizing that we are doing so because it is a learned behavior. Sometimes when we get stuck in the pattern or behavior, we can view it as something that is unhealthy. Obvious examples of this are alcoholics, drug addicts, or people with pathological behaviors. But equally true examples can be things like specific intolerances or phobias. (Don’t get defensive - just allow yourself to absorb this possibility!)
The one type of thinkin’ that appears healthy to me, especially when I am faced with my own “stinkin’ thinkin’” is: I am accepted by the Holy One. I am embraced with a steadfast love – even if/when my thinkin’ is stinkin’!
Prayer: God, thanks for your embrace, even when my thinkin’ isn’t quite right. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.11.09
Monday, August 10, 2009
Daily Devotion - Monday, August 10
Slow Down to Feel
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song, Psalm 25: 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are back from a wonderful, wonderful vacation to the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park. The scenery was beautiful, the weather gorgeous, and the company of others terrific. It was a great time to relax and enjoy life. I have been renewed. It is now time to get back in the saddle again - and yes, we did go horseback riding!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A primary aspect of our spiritual development is learning to recognize the mercy and grace that surrounds us.
It is tempting to overlook the above verse, to get to the devotion, to read the devotion, to finish the task and get on with the busy-ness (or is that busi-ness). One of the cultural illnesses that can hinder our spiritual development is our addiction to staying busy. The opposite illness – idleness – can also hinder our spiritual development.
Learning to identify our “addictions” and to access “grace” is probably the most important thing we can do. Continued practice of this identification and access process can help us unleash personal potentials. Gerald May writes, “I’ve learned that all people are addicts, and that addictions to alcohol and other drugs are simply more obvious and tragic addictions. To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace.” (p. 11, Addiction and Grace)
In your busy-ness this week, slow down enough to feel the steadfast love of God surrounding you.
Prayer: God, I’m looking forward to a week of basking in your grace. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.10.09
“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song, Psalm 25: 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are back from a wonderful, wonderful vacation to the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park. The scenery was beautiful, the weather gorgeous, and the company of others terrific. It was a great time to relax and enjoy life. I have been renewed. It is now time to get back in the saddle again - and yes, we did go horseback riding!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A primary aspect of our spiritual development is learning to recognize the mercy and grace that surrounds us.
It is tempting to overlook the above verse, to get to the devotion, to read the devotion, to finish the task and get on with the busy-ness (or is that busi-ness). One of the cultural illnesses that can hinder our spiritual development is our addiction to staying busy. The opposite illness – idleness – can also hinder our spiritual development.
Learning to identify our “addictions” and to access “grace” is probably the most important thing we can do. Continued practice of this identification and access process can help us unleash personal potentials. Gerald May writes, “I’ve learned that all people are addicts, and that addictions to alcohol and other drugs are simply more obvious and tragic addictions. To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace.” (p. 11, Addiction and Grace)
In your busy-ness this week, slow down enough to feel the steadfast love of God surrounding you.
Prayer: God, I’m looking forward to a week of basking in your grace. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
08.10.09
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