From the Heart of Pastor Jacqueline A. Thompson
April 7, 2014
Good Monday Morning To You!
We're almost there! This is week five and I pray this day finds you blessed and better having taken this Lenten Journey to the Cross: Remembering Jesus. I also hope you were enriched personally and spiritually by finding some way to just help somebody. It's through service to others that we can find our greatest fulfillment.
As I write, I am learning my own personal lesson in this week's discipline. I am at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley with my mother who was brought to emergency room for a sudden loss of consciousness. When I got the call, I dropped everything to meet the ambulance at the emergency room. As I waited to be allowed to see her, I came face to face with my own humanity and powerlessness. There are moments in life when we become painfully aware of our humanity, our frailty, the vapor that we call life. In that same moment, I was grateful for the Journey. I recalled our scriptures on Surrender and simply rested on the reality of God. Be encouraged no matter what you face because there is a God!
This week our focus is on the dreaded "S" word: Submission. Yes, I said it...Submission. I am not sure there is another discipline so misunderstood and abused as Submission. It is a concept that has been used as a weapon of power, control and domination. As a result, many have missed out on the freedom that comes with willingly practicing this discipline in their daily lives.
In the New Testament, the word submission is a compound of two Greek words. Hupó means under or beneath and Tàssō means to arrange in order. Together, hupotasso means to place oneself in order, to defer or as we commonly understand it, to yield. We willingly yield ourselves.
Richard Foster suggests there is a freedom that comes with submission. "I said that every Discipline has its corresponding freedom. What freedom corresponds to submission? It is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way. The obsession to demand that things go the way we want them to go is one of the greatest bondages in human society today. People will spend weeks, months, even years in a perpetual stew because some little thing did not go as they wished. They will fuss and fume. They will get mad about it. They will act as if their life hangs on the issue. They may even get an ulcer over it. In the Discipline of submission we are released to drop the matter, to forget it. Frankly, most things in life are not nearly as important as we think they are. Our lives will not come to an end if this or that does not happen."1
For me, perhaps the best biblical picture of submission is found in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed with a freedom I wish many of us prayed. He was honest and transparent telling God, His Father that the way of the cross was not what He desired. In Matthew 26:39, it says, "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt".
How often do we feel this way? What areas or situations are we being called to yield our will to? As we read, reflect and respond to this week's daily scripture, let's pray that the Holy Spirit shows us ourselves and those areas where we need to yield.
Monday - John 2:1-11
Tuesday - John 8:31-36
Wednesday - Matthew 26:36-46
Thursday - John 12:24-26
Friday - Matthew 5:38-48 .
Saturday - Philippians 2:1-11
Sunday - (Worship)
There are many areas where we can practice this discipline: Submission to God, Submission to Scripture, Submission to our Family, Submission to our Neighbors, Submission to God's Church, Submission to the Least and the Lost. This week, let's ask God to heal us, restore us and help us yield in the areas where the Holy Spirit is leading. Blessings to you this week! We are bound for the Cross.
I'm still at the hospital. Deaconess Green is sleeping. My sister and niece are talking and I am grateful for a God who allows us to cast all our cares upon Him knowing that He cares about everything concerning us. Keep us in prayer!
Let's Grow!
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
March 31, 2014
Good Monday Morning To You!
We have reached our halfway mark in our Journey To The Cross: Remembering Jesus. I pray this week's devotional finds you better for having embarked with us and still abstaining, adopting, and studying daily. Every journey has its' challenges. So if you have fallen away, take this week and recommit. It's not about being perfect. No matter what you are facing, the Good News translation of 1 Corinthians 12:9 makes it plain: "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak". Knowing that God is strongest when we are weakest is certainly good news.
I also hope you were able to find freedom and blessing through the discipline of Simplicity as well. I had so many reminders this week of the joy and contentment that can be found outside of "things". Witnessing the return of my Pastor Emeritus to the pulpit to preach after suffering a stroke; singing with my father during that same service 11 years after he suffered a stroke; the hand drawn picture of me that a five year old gave me after preaching in Vallejo, stating "God loves you and so do I" were all simple pleasures that meant more than the pursuit of any worldly possession.
As we move closer to the cross this week, we reflect upon the Discipline of Service in the life of Jesus. For many, just hearing the word service produces anxiety, fear and fatigue. We already have so many things we must do, the idea of adding to that list, no matter how noble and beneficial, is overwhelming. But the greatest leaders, philosophers and theologians suggest that the key to peace, fulfillment and joy is found in serving others. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?" Mahatma Gandhi, whose life and work greatly influenced Dr. King said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service." 15th century theologian and founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola suggested that service is not about great deeds and accomplishments and cannot be restricted to a certain list of actions. Rather service is looking for opportunities in our daily life to be helpful.
All of these world changers have spoken publicly about how the life and ministry of Jesus informed their worldview and their work. So let's go straight to the source and read, reflect and respond ourselves to the discipline of service as found in the life and teachings of Jesus.
Monday - John 13:12-17
Tuesday - Matthew 25:31-40
Wednesday - Matthew 6:1-4 .
Thursday - Mark 10:35-45
Friday - Mark 9:33-37 .
Saturday - Philippians 2:3-7
Sunday - (Worship)
Service will look different for each of us. Pray and ask God to show you how this discipline can become consistently active in our lives. Let's look for opportunities to help someone everyday this week. Mahalia Jackson sums it up best, "If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain." Let me know how the journey is going for you. We are almost to the cross and I want us to get there together.
Let's Grow!
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
March 24, 2014
Good Monday Morning To You!
I pray this week's devotional finds you well on our Lenten Journey To The Cross: Remembering Jesus! I hope that you were able to find and practice real Solitude this week. I was able to take a quick but relaxing drive while enjoying the beautiful weather and God's creation. There is a peace that passes all understanding when you are able to find time to connect with God. Practicing Solitude this week, made the Surrender that much easier. It is amazing how each of the disciplines build one upon another, all drawing us into a deeper fellowship with God.
Silence, Surrender and Solitude are practices that are polar opposites to practices celebrated in our culture. Busyness, Control and Constant Consumption have become the hallmarks of society and for many of us our lives. We work more, to attain more and then fight to retain more believing this gives us control. We often do so at the expense of our health, our relationships and our walk with God. Everyday through media and other avenues, we are encouraged to spend more, buy more, eat and drink more all while being told that somehow possessing more makes us better, more viable people. Possession of itself is not a problem; it is the undue attachment to these possessions that are dangerous. But Jesus provides for us another perspective, a higher way of living. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). Jesus tells us that there needs to be a shifting in our focus and priorities. Rather than focusing our lives around pursuing, "these things", perhaps we should embrace and practice the concept of Simplicity. Simplicity is an inward discipline that has outward expression. It is freeing ourselves from physical, spiritual and relational attachments that hinder our ability to live fully in the purpose of God.
So often we allow "these things" to get in the way of our complete trust and dependence on God. As you read, reflect and respond to the scriptures this week, ask the Lord how and where you can simplify your life. Perhaps we need to re-examine our priorities. For some, we have some physical things we need to just give away to others. For others, we may need to curb our consumption. And still for others, our relations need some simplifying. Whatever the area, let the Holy Spirit reveal to you this week how less is truly more.
Monday - Matthew 6:25-33 .
Tuesday - Luke 10:25-37
Wednesday - Matthew 6:19-21 .
Thursday - Matthew 13:45-46
Friday - Luke 3:10-13 .
Saturday - Matthew 10:5-13
Sunday - (Worship)
Know that I am praying with you and for you as we continue abstaining, adopting and studying. We are on this Journey together!
Let's Grow!
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
March 17, 2014
Good Monday Morning To You!
I hope this week's devotional finds you well and having fully embraced the Journey To The Cross: Remembering Jesus, every step of the way. I have to admit, this past week I was faced each day with a situation that presented me with an opportunity to practice the inward discipline of Surrender. Often, it was frustrating having to surrender the need and desire to address, control and fix every matter that presented itself. But, I was so grateful to have a daily word to revisit and remind me that If I just let it go, God is well able to handle every challenge life presents. I am grateful for the peace that comes with knowing God is in complete control and that ALL things are working together for my good!
We live in such busy world. Everyday it seems as if there are more things to do than there is time to do it. Many of us find ourselves moving, moving, moving, from the time we wake up until long after the time we should be sleeping. Each day is filled with constant talking, texting, tweeting, emailing, checking Facebook and sometimes all at the same time. Our days and evenings are filled with work, meetings, and more meetings, ministry and family responsibilities. Even as I write this, I am on a plane headed to Chicago and by the time you read it, I will have preached four times in two days. Perhaps it's just me but it seems as if the more we do, the more there is to do. We often find it challenging to even connect with God through personal study and reflection because of the many things we feel we MUST do. And if busy were not enough, each day and night is filled with the constant noise and chatter of daily commuting, television, Netflix, iTunes, Podcasts and Pandora just to name a few.
Often this hectic pace leaves us feeling constantly depleted and functioning on fumes. But in the life of Jesus, we find a better way, a more productive way. Not only did Jesus practice the discipline of Surrender but throughout His life and ministry, we find Jesus slipping away to spend time alone. He actively and regularly practiced the discipline of SOLITUDE: Intentional isolation for planned availability to God. "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16-NIV)
The power, wisdom and direction needed to live the abundant life Jesus taught about requires a vital connection with God. The courage and strength required to combat injustice and speak truth to power requires a vital connection with God. To see the Kingdom of God fulfilled and world transformed requires a vital connection with God. Maintaining the vitality of that connection requires our intentional isolation and planned availability to God.
As a child, I remember hearing and singing in church the hymn, "I Come to the Garden Alone". The spirit would always enter in as the entire church sang in harmony the chorus, testifying of their time alone with God. "And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." There is joy and fulfillment that comes from time alone with God.
The scriptures this week show us how Jesus practiced Solitude despite his busy life and ministry. As you read, also take note of the situations that occurred before and after his acts of solitude asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you about how and why Solitude is so necessary for our relationship with God.
Monday - Matthew 14:22-23
Tuesday - Luke 6:12-16 .
Wednesday - Mark 6:30-33
Thursday - Luke 5:15-16 .
Friday - Mark 1:35-39
Saturday - John 6:14-15
Sunday - (Worship)
As you read, reflect and respond to the daily scriptures this week, why don't you find a garden or make one. Find or create a time and space where you can meet the Lord in Solitude. Your garden may have to be your car or the lunch room or that place you drive to for peace and quiet. If you do that this week, I believe he'll walk with you and he'll talk with you and he'll tell that you are his own, and the joy you'll share as you tarry there, none other has ever known.
I'll be praying for you this week. Feel free to share your journey experience with me and invite others to join us. We are on this journey together, abstaining, adopting and Remembering Jesus.
Let's Grow!
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
March 10, 2014
Good Monday Morning To You!
I hope this note finds you well and excited about beginning our Lenten Journey to the Cross: Remembering Jesus. I am excited that so many of you have decided to join us as we explore the power of the disciplines practiced by Jesus. Hopefully by now, you have prayerfully considered what you will abstain from and what you will adopt. It has been uplifting and encouraging reading all the responses from those of you who have shared. We can pray for and support one another in our commitments along the way.
Richard Foster, a renowned Christian theologian and author best known for his groundbreaking book, Celebration of Discipline wrote in 1978, "Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."1 These words are still true for us today. The many challenges we face in our personal, professional and spiritual lives require us to live, think and act from a deeper place. So as we endeavor to answer the call to go deeper, we look to the life of Jesus Christ as our guide and example. Scripture says, "And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." (Col 2:6-7) With this goal in mind, Let's Grow!
The first discipline found in the life of Christ we will explore during this first week is SURRENDER! I know, I know. If you are anything like me, just hearing the word makes you slightly defensive. The notion of giving up control to someone else; to stop resisting and fighting and allowing something/someone else to influence and control you is not a happy notion. But there is power in surrendering our lives to God. Jesus lived a surrendered life. He was totally and completely consumed with doing, saying and being all that God, the Father desired. When speaking of his life's purpose, he says "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will". (John 6:38)
As you read and meditate on the daily verses for this week, ask God through the Holy Spirit to show you those things and areas of your life where you may need to surrender or surrender fully. Maybe it's the need to be right or understood. Maybe it's in the area of finances. Maybe it's the desire to control outcomes or certain hopes and dreams of our future. Maybe you need to answer a call or surrender to a direction in life, career and ministry that feels uncomfortable and unsure. We all have something and maybe even someone that we need to surrender to God. Let's hear what the word has to say to us about the power of surrender this week and believe God to speak to us in powerful and transformative ways.
Monday - Mark 8:34-37
Tuesday - Galatians 2:20
Wednesday - Philippians 3:5-8
Thursday - John 8:28-29
Friday - Luke 22:39-43
Saturday - Luke 1:26-39
Sunday (Worship)
You may already have your own method of verse study but I will share one that I have found helpful for devotional study. It is simply, READ, REFLECT and RESPOND. Reading is of course the easiest part. Reflect, is where we ask ourselves the tough questions, "How does this verse speak to my life today? What truth can I draw on for my situation? What is God saying to me through this verse?" There are many reflection questions, choose the one you find most beneficial. Last, the word has no effect if we don't respond to it. So in light of this verse, decide what can you do today to make this verse come alive in your life.
I look forward to studying this week with you! Remember God is with us every step of the way. So, this week go on, wave the white flag and SURRENDER! God has great things in store for us!
Let's Grow!
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
1Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline--The Path to Spiritual Growth. New York, NY: Harper San Francisco, 1988. Print.