Daily Advent Devotional Link

 Here is a DailyAdvent Devotional Written for Lake Murray Presbyterian but also for anyone-for 2020- 

"More Than Waiting for 2020 to End"  

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Advent One- God Comes to Us and We Come to God Through Communication

 

“Praying and Listening”  11-29-20 1^st advent   LMPC Ben Sloan John 15:1-9 Advent, as you know, means “coming.”  This advent, my sermons will be on “Coming to God, and How He comes to us.”  In many ways- Jesus came to us that we might come to God.  He teaches that we can come to God and that God loves us and wants us to love Him in return.  Today we will talk about communicating with God and how important that is to coming to Him.  Isla Glaiser was a 4 year old who called 911 when her mother fell down and she calmly gave directions to police, while watching over her three younger siblings.  It was important that she stayed on the phone and listened and that she talked to those who could help her on the phone.  Doctors say she saved her mother’s life.  When something bad happens, it is important to call out.  In our 2020 time it is important to stay on the line with God- listen and talk. 
    In our passage in John, Jesus speaks about abiding, remaining, staying, in Him like a branch stays in a vine.  During our pandemic time- this is especially important.  We are in many ways alienated from each other- with no large inside gatherings, masks and social distancing- all important in our day.  Because of that it takes extra focus and effort to remain in Him.  The monks, who practice isolation for the most part- had a rule that isolation without devotion is empty loneliness.  It is the same with us today. 
Jesus focused specifically about listening and praying as a part of our devotion to God. 
    LISTENING- There are two parts of listening to God that are dependent on each other.  One part is the experiential listening- experiencing God’s presence in your life.  There are special times when God comes to us.  These are special and not ordinary experiences.  Many testify that this comes when in worship or reading scripture.  It is like that verse is meant for you, or God speaks to you through that song sung or sermon. 
     But the second kind of listening is more mundane- it is simply heeding what God has already said.  The less we heed God, the more we are deaf to Him, and the less He wants to talk to us.  If you are in a conversation with someone and they turn their back on you, or immediately look down and start texting, it keeps you from wanting to continue the conversation.  The reason Bible study and Sunday School, and personal quiet times are important is that we believe God has something to say to you in the Scripture.  We call the scripture “The Word of God” not because it is static, but it is a living word for us.  The Situation in Life (German “Sitz Im Leben”) is not simply what it meant back when it was written- but what the scripture means in our situation in life.  The scriptures speak to our every day decisions, morals, ability to love.  As you learn and listen to scripture, it becomes a part of who you are- so that you know the right way, the right way to act- discerning the evil from the good.  If I am asking God to help me make a decision, for example, I don’t have to ask about whether I should steal or cheat or not.  I don’t have to ask about whether I should covet or lie or disrespect my parents. 
    If you want to experience God’s guidance, you must look to be guided by Him in what He has already said.  Jesus said it like this, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord but do not do what I say.’”
    Years ago, when I was working on my doctorate, I went to the Monastery in Monk’s Corner.  I studied there and worshiped with them.  One of the main characteristics of the Trappist monks there is that they do not talk at all except for reading the Bible and praising God in confession and song.  It was really different being there.  But I did appreciate that sometimes talking too much can get you into trouble or can be hurtful to others.  While God has designed us to communicate with others, we would do well sometimes to control our words.  When they did speak scripture or worship- there was an enthusiasm of expression that was inspirational. 
     PRAYER  is the second way we communicate to God.  Someone said, “How do you define prayer.”  Basically, you can say, “Prayer is talking to God.”  But even in talking to God there is listening because sometimes we don’t have the right words and we just need to sit in silence.  It is in those times that God speaks to us.  If you really respect someone (Maybe someone like a professor a grandparent), you may want to say something to them, but in respect you hang on every word they say. 
    But if you abide in Him- you can ask Him whatever.  If you remain in Him, you have this relationship of love that gives you confidence to approach the throne of grace in prayer knowing He came for us and died for us and loves us. You don’t have to have perfect words or grammar. Just communicate. 
    I think a lot of people are numb to all the stress of this pandemic and are just kind of coasting through life- almost closed down.  But I want to say, God is trying to say something to you.  I believe God tries to reach every one of us- regularly.  He cares about us.  That is the message of advent.  When we are in a dire situation- instead of going numb, we would do well to heighten our listening and prayer.  
     John and Helen Collins were flying in their Cessna when John had a heart attack.  His 80 year old wife, who had never flown, grabbed the controls, called a tower, and they talked her down to land in an emergency landing.  Now she could have panicked.  She could have gone into shock and numbness and not heard anything.  But instead she listened very carefully, followed instructions, communicated properly and saved her life.  God is dealing with you.  He wants you to listen to Him, talk to Him, and let Him lead you safely through this tough time. 

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes ^a so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

High Noon- Do Not Forsake Me

 

Day 8) Psalm 22:1,2; Matthew 27:45 “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” 
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?  O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night and am not silent.

Thoughts: Jesus quoted much from the Old Testament in the midst of His trail and crucifixion.  Christ quoted from David who was crying out to God for help, but there was no answer.  There are times when the “Dark Night of the Soul” comes upon us.  It appears God has deserted us.  Some at this point, desert God.  But as in David’s case and Jesus’ case, God did not truly leave.  Instead He came at the proper time and lifted David back up, and raised Christ from the dead.  He is able to lift us up as well. 
    Yet this time of God-forsakenness is like going through the valley of the shadow of death.  There is hopelessness all around.  Even God seems to have left.
     One of my favorite movies of all time is a black and white western called “High Noon.”  The theme song is “Do not forsake me O My Darlin.”  The story is of a sheriff who gets married and finds out his sworn enemy has been released from prison and his gang is coming to kill him and take back over the town.  His wife leaves.  The whole town leaves.  His assistants leave.  He has to face this terrible gang by himself.  In the end people come back in time to help him.  But he has to get the courage to “wait alone.”  We too must have courage to face our isolation and trials. 
     Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Dwight Eisenhower saw this as one of their favorite films because of his Will Kane's (played by Gary Cooper) willingness as a marshal to stand up for what is right even if he were all alone.   The old saying goes God +1 makes the greatest majority.  If you feel you are the only one left standing up for what is right and that all have seemingly deserted you, take courage.  

High Noon- with Gary Cooper all alone and seemingly deserted (1952)

Homily from 10-4-20 on 1 Thess 2:17-20 "Longing to See You"

 

“Longing to See You”  1 Thess. 2:17-20  LMPC Dr. Ben Sloan 10-4-20 (Communion Homily)

     Paul, in talking about the Lord’s Supper said, “When you come together”…(1 Cor. 11:20).   The supper is meant to be together.  But we are like soldiers on station far away from home.   We are not fully together.  We are like a puzzle that is half way done.  It is nice that we can begin to see the picture coming together, but we are not there yet.  We ache to be complete.
      There is a classic movie called “Dances with Wolves” starring Kevin Costner as “John Dunbar” about a soldier who is stationed all alone in a remote outpost by an officer who died and told no one he was stationed there.  He became so lonely after years of being isolated with no human contact that he befriended a wolf.  Interestingly this parallels the life of a real John Dunbar who was a Christian missionary to the Native Americans in Nebraska- also isolated from all who spoke his language for a greater good.   John Dunbar teaches us about social isolation. 
     The Bible says, “It is not good for people to be alone.”  We are not meant to live isolated lives.  Yet sometimes we must.  In our passage, Paul says that he had an intense longing to go to church with the Thessalonians.  But he could not. 
      Interestingly he describes not being able to gather in morally evil terms.  He was orphaned from them.  Like he was torn away or cut off by a type of death.  He says he tried over and over again to see them but “Satan blocked our way.”  Many do not see our isolation as an evil thing- but Paul saw it that way.  Blaine last week rightly described our time as a period of grief- teachers have not been with their students, some grandparents have been separated from their grandkids, friends have been separated from friends.  Perhaps Paul was thinking “it is not good for people to be alone.”  Sometimes it is something we have to do- but loneliness, being away from everyone is not the goal. 
        One of the four orders of monks is the order of hermit- whose monks live in basic isolation.  Luther, who was a monk himself, criticized monasticism and especially hermits as making it very hard to love your neighbor and thus serve God when you are in isolation.  While there is a time to be alone, it is limited with a goal to come together.  Jesus often withdrew to solitary places- where he prayed.  But his goal was to come back and serve the people. 
        There are many examples of people being alone.  US Admiral Richard Byrd who was in isolation in Antarctica for five months in 1934 with no phone, internet, or way of communicating but morse code. He pointed out that he felt there was a great power in the universe that never left him alone.  
       Al Worden has won the title of “the most isolated human being in history” by the Guiness Book of World Records.  As a pilot of Apollo XV he was further away from any other human being ever- all alone, 2,235 miles from his companions on the surface of the moon and 250,000 miles from home.  When he went behind the moon he could not communicate with anyone at all for 47 minutes.  Wordon orbited the moon 74 times.  Every time he came into communication he would say, “Greetings earth from the Endeavor.”  Why did he greet us?  Greetings are not only a sign of peace but a sign of hope and joy.  A common saying among the older men at LMPC when Then  are told, “It’s great to see you” is “It is better to be seen and not viewed.”  It is a sadness in life to miss someone you know and love.  It is a joy in life to reconnect.  Maybe you are missing that relationship with God.  Maybe you are missing being a part of a church family.  Now may be the time to get that straight and ask Christ to come into your life and for the people in the church to be your supporting family of brothers and sisters in Christ. 
      The word we often use for the Lord’s Supper is “communion.”  “Communion” means fellowship with God and with each other.  When we have communion we remember that one day we will eat and drink with Him and with each other in heaven.  That fellowship will never be taken away.  The isolation on the cross means God can offer us eternal fellowship with Him- that can never be taken away. 

Alone in a Crowd

 

Day 7) Matthew 27:46-49- “Leave him alone and let us see if God can rescue him.” 

Jesus said, “Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabachthani- which means “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”  One of them ran to get a sponge.  He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  But the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 

 Thoughts: One of the tough things about being alone is the crowd nearby.  What are they saying?  Have they heard you are sick and are they blaming you?  Are they being torturous?  The crowds who came to see Jesus be crucified were there to be entertained by torture.  There are mean people out there, and being quarantined you may hear their voices that lead even into more sadness.  Jesus did not react to the crow around him.  He didn’t argue with them. He didn’t say (though I think he would be justified to say) in this instance- “Don’t you understand Aramaic?  I am not asking for Elijah but for God.”  In the end, they were hoping maybe Elijah would show up and rescue him and they could say that they were there and saw the spectacle.  Instead they were the unsuspecting witnesses to one of the greatest events in the world, the death of the Son of God.  We should practice Jesus’ example of silence toward those who like to rub in the pain of someone else.  But also in our aloneness- we are waiting on a rescue.  The ultimate promise of God is that He will rescue us.  Sometimes it is in this life.  For all who believe the best, greatest, and most permanent rescue is when He takes us to Himself and there are no more tears, sickness, pain, loneliness, and death anymore.
     The best leaders do not always take a poll of what the people think.  Yet, it is important to have some idea.  But again, the best leaders, after weighing all the facts do what is right before God- even if there are political consequences. 
    You can have a crowd of people around you and be alone.  We are not here to worry about what others think of us.  We only have to please One- and that is our Maker.  Other people will gossip- expect that.  Other people will misunderstand- expect that.  Other people will misinterpret the scene- expect that too.  Some will be downright mean.  Our call is always to live like Jesus- and that includes turning the other cheek.  

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to not let the snearing crowd get to my soul. 

Wait on the Lord

 

Day 6) Psalm 27:13; Isaiah 40:30-31 - “Wait on the Lord” 
“Do you not know? Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.  But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” 

 Thoughts: Waiting is one of the hardest things to do.  But we do not learn patience without it.  There is no such thing as patience for someone who is always gratified immediately.  Patience comes when God’s “Yes” turns into a “No” or a “Wait.”  Isolation and quarantine are a definite period of waiting.
    This week a famous violinist who had been in isolation since the pandemic began, played in a concert in Taiwan.  He said coming back to play was like he was “resuscitated.”  To be in isolation is in a sense waiting to be resuscitated- for God to bring us back from paralysis into action.   

     “Waiting on the Lord” implies that there is a Lord to wait on, trust in, hope in.  Waiting on God develops faith and trust in Him.  I remember once at a hotel by a pool, hearing the father tell his three children to stay by the chairs and not get in the water while he went to the canteen to get something to drink.  The oldest girl waited patiently.  The younger boys got more and more restless.  One of them finally broke for it and ran to the pool, put his toe in and came back.  After two times of this, he finally just jumped in.  The father got back, and three voices began competing for his ear.  But the father came back,  as he promised, to help them get in the water fully supervised.  The oldest knew he would come back, she had learned to listen and trust.  Part of waiting is to learn to listen and trust in the love of God for us. 
    Seven astronauts know what it is like to go on the dark side of the moon where no one can see you or communicate with you.  They were super isolated.  I can remember the relief when each command module would suddenly and scratchily appear coming into communication.  It seemed as if we held our breath.  We do not want others to be isolated.  Yet many are, out of safety concerns, today.  It is a very sad time of waiting.  But let us wait that our orbit will bring us back around.  The dark side of the moon does not last forever.  But more than that- we have a God of light who brings hope who is described as "love."  As the God of love, He ends isolation.  Only hell is isolation.  Heaven is fellowship.  The Christian hope is not solely in this life- though this life is important.  Our ultimate home and citizenship is in heaven.  
     Today we found out that President Donald John Trump and his wife Melania Trump have Covid-19.  We should pray for them like we should pray for anyone with this dreadful disease- but especially because he is a ruler (1 Tim. 2:2).  Like everyone else, they will have to wait to see if they get severe symptoms or whether they will recover fully or not.  No matter who we are- rich/poor; powerful/helpless; educated/non-educated; no matter what our race, beauty, popularity- we all must wait on the Lord- our Maker and Sustainer.   

 

Prayer: Lord, teach me, help me, strengthen my heart to wait on you.  We do pray for President Trump and his wife.  We pray for those who have been in contact with them.  We look and wait on you for healing for them, and also healing for our whole nation.  We need you, Lord.  Have mercy on us.  

(Waiting Room symbol)

Left Alone to Wrestle with God

 Day 5) Genesis 32:24- “Left alone to wrestle with God”

“After he had sent them [wives and children] across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.  So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak…You name will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”  (Genesis 32:23,24,28)

 

Thoughts: When we are alone, we may mentally and spiritually struggle with God and with others.  It is times of aloneness when it is easier to remove the “white noise” and even the “good focuses” in order to have the greatest focus on God.  In sickness or isolation, we will often consider every scenario and outcome, but only God can change or soften what we face. 
    There is no other god in history that invites us to wrestle with Him.  We may ask “Am I at fault?” “Why is this happening to me?”  “Why would God do/allow this?”  “How does my faith interact with my hurting?”  But God does not want us to think that life is just a series of chaotic and accidental events.  But God has purposes in life and we can learn through each event.  Wrestling with God is one way we learn and not just hide our head in the sand or deny that God isn’t working with us in our heartache.  Wrestling with God is actually a step toward healing and acceptance.  James 1 tells us that it is through wrestling in the trials of life that we become mature.  Isaiah 40 gives us a promise that “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah also reminds us that we may not be able to understand what God is doing for “My ways are higher than your ways.” 
    In this passage we see that it is good to wrestle with God.  After wrestling with God, Israel changed his name from Jacob, and also the name of the place was changed from Jabbock to Penuel (which means “the face of God”).  We get closer to God when we wrestle with Him in our heartaches. 

 

Prayer: Lord, as I wrestle with you, I also know that I am dependent on you to give me strength to wrestle!  In my alone time, come near me.