A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. Isaiah 40:3-5

On Wednesday evening Bible Study, the prophet Isaiah was mentioned in 2Kings. Isaiah lived in a time of great uncertainty.

The northern half of the nation of Israel had been invaded and conquered by the Assyrian army. Israelites were displaced and new Assyrian settlers were brought in to replace them.

The Assyrian army then moved south and set its sights on Jerusalem and all of Judah.

Isaiah lived in Jerusalem at that time.

In the middle of a hopeless situation, God spoke through Isaiah.

When God spoke to Isaiah, God didn’t say,  “People of Israel, sorry things are so bad right now but I can’t help you.” No, God brings hope to a hopeless situation. In this case, through the prophet Isaiah. A word of promise that God is up to something.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. invoked those same words of God on August 28, 1963 at a speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom gathering. Later it became known as the “I Have a Dream” speech.

Here is an excerpt:

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. 

In faith, Dr. King understood God was up to something in 1963.  

When these words were proclaimed, there was no resolution, no certainty of the outcome and continued resistance to the verbalized pledge of “liberty and justice for all.”

Dr. King states (and I love this statement), With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

I understand what he was trying to convey, and I believe we can apply this principle to our lives without it undermining its meaning in the struggle for civil rights.

There can be a mountain of obstacles, junk and despair in our lives for various reasons. Some of it external, some of it self-inflicted. Sometimes that mountain is our mindset or even temperament.  Mountains of despair materialize in our lives for various reasons and no one is exempt.

God wishes to help us move up and over that mountain of despair and at the same time to carve out a stone of hope from all that junk. That there is something to be learned along the way. That skills are developed as we traverse the unwelcome difficulties of life. The struggle itself can be a defining moment for us as human beings. Those moments and seasons can bring forth a stone of hope.

Here is how Saint Paul understands this principal…

…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:3-5

We can carve out a stone of hope when we look to God to help us through our struggles as a nation and as individuals.

God bless,
Pr. Ben

Does the thought of 2024 excite you or scare you? Or is January 1 just a date on the calendar with no significant meaning?

I can remember struggling to write the correct year on checks back when I wrote checks for everything.  Luckily, using a debit card eliminates that worry!

For me personally, a new year doesn’t fill me with hope nor does it cause dread. I am more of a “put one foot in front of the other” kind of guy. Address what is right in front of me and move on to the next thing.

 Friedrich Nietzsche the German philosopher once wrote, “The devil is in the details.” I find the opposite to be true.

The website “grammarist” states that Nietzsche “use of the phrase is most likely attributed to a play on the original phrase, ‘God is in the details,’ which means a higher power has a hand in the success and truthfulness of the completed work.”

I know that when I look for God, I can often see his work and guidance in the details. When I see a change that I didn’t expect, I think to myself, “God wants it this way.”

I see change as something God implementing behind the scenes. Of course, God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to people or his creation. Reasonably I don’t attribute bad events or changes to God.

I often sense God placing me in situations or moments for a reason. Or as David once wrote…

God guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:3b

I don’t know what 2024 will bring, but I do know who will be with us every step of the way: Jesus.

There is a song we sing at our 11am worship called Miracle Power. There is a phrase in the song that give me great comfort. I hope it does for you too…

“I may not know wat a day may bring, but I know who brings the day.”

Keep your eyes on Jesus!

God bless you and may God bless this coming year,

Pr. Ben

Last weekend, I preached a message on overcoming shame. I mentioned an article that landed on my phone which is very helpful in terms of processing negative feelings of any kind. Below is that article in its entirety.

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By Stephanie Harrison

As a researcher on the psychology of happiness, I’ve seen how this can create problems for our well-being. Without knowing how to feel our feelings, it’s difficult to treat ourselves with compassion, make wise decisions, and grow as individuals.

Here’s a simple process I use:

Step 1: Notice the feeling.

Take a deep breath in and out to center yourself. Then, turn inward and ask, “What feelings am I experiencing right now?”

Pay attention to any physical sensations that you’re experiencing. For example, you might be able to discern anger due to a tight sensation in your chest, or notice fear because of a jittery feeling in your hands or legs. 

Step 2: Name the feeling.

Putting your emotions into words makes them easier to manage.

How would you describe your emotional experience right now: annoyance, anger, envy, fear, disgust, disappointment, sadness, grief or something else? The more specific, the better. 

Describe the feeling out loud with a phrase like, “I am experiencing disappointment right now.”

Step 3: Accept the feeling.

Growing up, many of us were taught to suppress or hide our emotions. So as an adult, your first instinct might still be to push them away. You may think, “It’s wrong to feel that emotion.”

Research has found that suppressing our emotions can have negative consequences for both physical and mental well-being. Instead, we want to accept it. 

This emotion is offering you the opportunity to make a different, healthier choice. Use a phrase like, “I accept that I’m feeling angry right now.”

Step 4: Be with the feeling.

Once you’ve accepted the feeling, open up to it and fully experience it. The neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor found that the physiological experience of an emotion lasts for just 90 seconds. 

Commit to staying with the emotion for a minute and a half, giving it your full attention. 

Step 5: Stay with the feeling until it changes.

At a certain point, you will notice that the feeling has changed. You might now feel calmer, like a storm has passed. You also might notice another feeling emerging in its place. 

This is a sign that you allowed yourself to fully experience the emotion

Step 6: Offer yourself compassion.

Take a moment to offer kindness to yourself, to honor what you just experienced. There are many ways to do this, including:

• Putting your hand on your heart and saying, “I’m here for you.” 
• Physically soothing yourself, by giving yourself a hug or taking a few deep breaths. 
• Validating your experience with a phrase like, “I really felt sad just now.” 

Step 7: Reflect on what the feeling has to teach you.

It’s critical to remember that this emotion has a purpose. It can help you to better understand yourself, your life, and what you need the most. When we suppress our emotions, we cut ourselves off from this insight. 

Ask yourself: 

• What thought led to that feeling? 
• How did my past experiences influence that thought? 
• What does this feeling indicate about how my needs are being met?
• What lessons does that emotion have to teach me?

Step 8: Decide how you want to respond.

Now that you’ve experienced your feelings and learned from them, you’re ready to respond with wisdom and make the best choice that you can.

That will look different depending on the situation. You might need to pause, gather more information, ask for help, prioritize a specific need, or reach out to connect with someone. 

Ultimately, by using this process, you will be able to make a plan that will support your well-being, empower you to nurture your relationships and help you to achieve your goals.

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I added one step of my own too: Thank Jesus for walking with you. He will never abandon us, even when we walk away.

Jesus came to help us over come our shame and guilt and help us find healing even this pain is self-inflicted. I pray that if you are struggling, Jesus will help you find a path forward towards abundant and joyful living.

God bless you now and always,
Pr. Ben

For God’s anger lasts only a moment, but the Lord’s favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

These words reflect the thoughts of a songwriter in ancient Israel. This psalm could be almost 3000 years old. Their experience of God tells them God’s goodness and favor is not fickle or short-lived which is definitely good news!

Yet, there might be moments of anger. I want to ask in return, “Are there?” I am not so sure. Why? The cross of Jesus tells me that my sin and brokenness do not obstruct God’s love. The psalmist doesn’t have the same perspective because they lived before the time of Jesus. In other words, they may not have as complete a picture of God’s nature as we do.

However, many people interpret God’s anger through the lens of “there are consequences for my actions.” Or to put it more biblically, “A person reaps what they sow.” Galatians 6:7

It may not be God’s anger or even judgment at all. Instead it is the consequences of poor choices. You are free to choose your path, but not the ramifications of that decision.

Whoever wrote this has been through some stuff. Yet, there is some clarity in the next phrase. …weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

We have all had heartbreaking moments in our life. Some of us have cried for more than an evening because of loss and devastation. I am also certain there will be more because the world we live in is broken.

But the promise made is that once the dark clouds have passed, once the sun has risen… there will be joy in the proverbial morning. God’s joy gets the final say.

Our future is promised to be unending joy. One day we will wake up in heaven… a place of perfect and perpetual joy.

King David expressed this in a song he wrote about God…

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.
1Chronicles 16:27

Life is a lot like the night of weeping but joy awaits us. Don’t give up hope! We still can have joy in this life too! But greater joy is ahead!

As we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath, the candle of joy, we are encouraged to hold on because joy is our destiny!

God bless,
Pr. Ben