Stages of Faith & Age

in a recent thread i was following a friend shared a link on Spiritual Stages… “Stages of Faith”   and of course some liked the information – others thought it strange… but we do go through stages, weather we like it or not… adolescence, puberty and adulthood, we also go through Spiritual Stages, of beginning a new relationship with Christ and learning and growing in our faith and then teaching and preaching to others…  this came to mind… in commenting about the stages we do go through from adolescence to adulthood; adulthood is the most difficult – we can become so hard hearted, disappointed, cold uncaring because of our journey to adulthood, we forget to look at everything with the eyes and heart of a child… I wrote this in my journal: when we have finally reached maturity – spiritually and physically – I pray that we always remain with the heart and eyes of a child… always looking and learning with fresh, new, expectant hearts of joy – not with hearts and eyes of stone. disappointment – un willing – un caring, very sad, we long to be mature, and forget to be a child… 

going alone

often we can find ourselves feeling like we are going it alone… walking through this world all by ourselves, even with others in tow, our journey’s can seem very lonely… the good news – we are never truly alone… “for I Am with you always”… how comforting especially when we find ourselves feeling otherwise. there are however times that we must journey alone, to seek out new adventures in our lives, search our innermost selves, reflect on the journey we take. sometimes we are alone because we have chosen to be alone – other times because we have run everyone else off, and sometimes just because we fail to listen to that Still Small Voice… and it’s the only way to quite us… Ultimately we are never truly alone… even if to the outside world it may appear that way… we are all meant to journey with each other – in fellowship with one another – sharing ourselves – even in some of the most painful moments of our lives… all to often we only want to share the good stuff, however we are called to cry with each other as well…  the next time you feel as though you are going it alone… stop and still yourself, now are you really alone? May your journey never leave you feeling like you are going it alone…  Terry McGuire

just before dawn

on my morning walk this morning – it started to rain, so I turned and headed back to the house, just then it stopped, so I turned and continued to finish my walk, a different route than the everyday path I have been taking each and every morning for the past 2 weeks… another something I will have to share sometime later not today…. I love my morning walks, time to Pray – reflect on the thoughts and inspirations of the Spirit… This morning I noticed that the road while smooth enough to walk on has many cracks in it, making for some very unusual space and shapes in them. Got me thinking, funny how a cracked blacktop in the middle of darkness with casts of street lights can make one see a road so different… but none the less for today it did… here is what I saw – some of the shapes were small, some very large, some shaped very oddly and some as square as if cut by hand, hummm – anyway, within these shapes I began to see that sometimes our life takes us on different paths – and sometimes these situations last only a second the small shape that only the foot can step into, and others that last longer taking more steps to clear, some shapes make us go to the left or right to avoid a fall and others to keep us on track for finishing the walk, as the street turned to go on with my walk – I noticed that life also takes turns for us to take, sometimes we want a smooth uneventful walk, but sometimes it is the most difficult ones that help us to be able to help others… sometimes we are in a situation or circumstance that last only moments and other times we find them lasting years… I Pray what ever the walk, let us always walk mindful of each other & share the journey.

in & out…

reflecting on the people past/present/future - good/bad that we allow into & out of our lives and how they shape who we are/have/will become…

so this really got me thinking – about all the wonderful people, and some not so much, that I have allowed in and out of my life, some have been called home - away from us all to soon for us, and others simply fade out of our lives and on with their own journey’s… some are good and some are bad - but all in all regardless of how we view their marks on us, they really do make us who we are and who we will become, past/present/future - each person leaves an indelible mark on us and us them, whether we like it or not… good and bad… sometimes we know the differences that we make in others lives, along the way. more times than not we don’t, all to often it is at funerals that we come to hear the impact we had on people, communities and the relationships we build along the way… the other thing that got me thinking is that we really do allow others in and out of our lives, just as we allow them into our inner circles, our inner most thoughts, our truest self at the very core, good and bad, we also allow them to go, to leave, to move on and sometimes we let them go completely out of our minds, the thoughts to painful, to keep them fresh in our minds, let alone our hearts, and so we say farewell, good riddens to some, and I will sorely miss you to still others… some we love others we hate, and the reality of it is that if we find we have hateful feelings for another, we really do love them, otherwise why would we give such energy to acting as though we didn’t, if they didn’t matter at all then why say that we hate them, you have to know them to hate them, now I admit that some people make it very difficult to love them most of the time, others make it so easy, we connect with them, almost immediately, and others it seems we have to struggle to make it work, and yet somehow we do, we come to realize that even the worst of us – reminds us of the worst in us… all to often it is the very things in ourselves that we want to change that we hate about someone else… sometimes the truth is to painful, for us to have them around us constantly reminding us we really do need to change that, but we simply just aren't ready or willing to… some times our friendships last a life time and others, only briefly, be thankful for each and every one of them, love each and every one of them – we never know the full scope of all the journey we take, but someday we will, and my Prayer for each of us is that we all will be greeted with “well done”  – so the next time we are thinking of either letting someone in or out of our lives – let us give pause to what we are doing…. and remember “where others may see waste God see’s a blessing, always bring out the best in others”… Terry J. McGuire

“understanding but who's”

 

in our Scripture readings this week – we find a summons of the people to obey the law, to see and acknowledge God's glory in creation and the law and that we are all one body, with many members and even Christ's Ministry had acceptance and rejection, then and now...

I think for me one of the truest words ever spoken is this we save no one... we can be vessels for God, but it is still He who saves us... often when we say Amen, and done twice, Amen, Amen, we are in accord with what is said or believe it in our core, gifted by the Spirit to understand... and so it is that God has richly blessed us with people we can understand, by reading the Scriptures we can read and begin to see all the wonderful graces and mercy God continues to give us as a people, even after all these years of denial or even down right disobedience. And in our journeys along the way we begin to share all the wonderful blessings that God has given to us, and we begin to be used by God to enrich the life of someone else who potentially had no hope, never heard that God has created you so uniquely that God loves you just as you are and has plans for you too... we are to be attentive to the Spirit within us that God will never fail us, we may fail in our attempts, but even so God can turn them into a blessing too.... the commandment of the Lord is clear – Love as I have Loved You... and in the Psalms we find we do have undetected blind spots, personal errors and hidden faults, it is about our omission not commission of the faults, that we could possibly do anything with out God... really... and of course my favorite verse 14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. O Lord, my strength and my redeemer” again in Corinthians we find we are of one Spirit, the body doesn't consist of only one member, but many, affirming the unity and the diversity of each and everyone of the members, and in doing so – we see it is God who has arranged the members in the body, each one of them as HE chose... and still we have the hardest time with this one... we can not imagine that we should have the same care for one another, that if one suffers, we all suffer, if one rejoices we all rejoice... and again we find we are cautioned about judging others... and yet we do it... it seems like we just can't help ourselves, I think for me that one of the greatest acknowledgements that the Progressive Christian Alliance has is that it is God who appoints us and calls us... we simply affirm that call... so many different Churches, Denominations, and Fellowships will certainly disagree... but we hold fast to the truths we are given, and the simplicity of that Call, to Love one another... I agree some make it very hard to love them... but we are to find the way around even the toughest exterior and find the heart of Christ in even them... it truly can be done... if Christ can do so must we... all to often, just like Christ in His ministry – some will agree, some will not... all we can do is to fulfill our mission, be the open vessels that God has placed exactly where we are... each of us have been blessed with so many wonderful gifts that even we haven't tapped into yet... allow the Spirit to work in and through us, reaching the captives, by circumstance, or lies they have been told before, or simply just never heard that God does indeed love them and wants a relationship with them too... and like Christ... we too can fulfill our Callings, our Missions, our Ministry's all within reach, what an awesome Ministry we each have been blessed with and when empowered by the Holy Spirit, watch out – the evidence of God shines forth in our lives – our words – our actions, even in our insufficient attempts the Holy Spirit can turn it into something incredible – usable – understandable to others, May the power of the Holy Spirit always be our guide, our voice, our witness to others in Christs most Holy Name... Amen, and Amen...

Rev. Terry J. McGuire