BRAIDED ROPE

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:8-10

 

We recently visited McGregor, Iowa, a charming Mississippi River town. On a river boat tour, listened to the captain enlightened us about this great natural resource . He called the waterway “a braided rope:” the river and its tributaries, backwaters, and estuaries feed and sustain each other. Water flows down the river, filling the backwaters, while streams and other rivers flow into the larger Mississippi in a perfect relationship, continuous for thousands of years. After we returned, I happened to read about the Solimoes and Negro Rivers in Brazil, which meet to form the mighty Amazon. But the waters of the two rivers look completely different and do not “blend” into one river for quite some distance.

 

All of this reminded me about our relationship with God. In Colossians, Paul tells us to take off our “old self” and “put on the new self,” in the “image of its Creator.” I was struck by how much like these rivers we are in our imperfect quest to be “Christ-like.” We may ride the current along with God’s program, trying our level best to follow His precepts and live as He would have us live. But it is a give-and-take proposition, a “blending” of our inadequate efforts with the wonderful, never-ending flow of God’s love. His mercies flood our lives, feeding us endlessly. He rejoices when we sometimes get it right. God delights when we show that we are getting closer—more “Christ-like”—and He pours more of His marvelous grace upon us. Most importantly, it is because God first loved us (1 John 4:19) that we are able to be in this relationship with Him. He doesn’t ask us to enter “the river of life” as perfect human beings. He invites us, flaws and all, to join Him in the divine gift of grace, “pressed down, shaken together and running over” l(Luke 6:38). This is “walking wet,” in the waters of baptism in God’s great river!

 

Praise You, Living Water, for Your unfathomable grace and mercy! Amen

 

Meg Blaine Corrigan is the author of three books: Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child; Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has over thirty years’ experience working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and war veterans, and other trauma survivors.  Her books may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

THE SECRET OF LIFE

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

I recently read an article in AARP Magazine about singer/songwriter Willie Nelson. Writer Rich Cohen has been a Willie fan most of his life, and he speaks very highly of the man and his music. Cohen quotes Willy on singing sad songs: “Getting into that emotional state to sing…, you’re really putting yourself in a negative situation,” which he said makes him want to get drunk. Many years ago, when I played drums and sang in a band, I could relate to what Willie was saying. Night after night, I would channel my inner Patsy Cline and interpret Willie’s song, “Crazy,” to the best of my ability—probably causing poor Patsy to roll over in her grave. But my point is, country music can be downright sad, especially when the one singing or listening is already sad—which I was at that time in my life. I had all the “country blues” markers: depression, lousy first marriage, abuse of alcohol, recovering from a life of trauma. No wonder I was sad!

Cohen closed the article by asking Willie “the secret of life.” In typical superstar fashion, Willie said, “It’s simple. Do what you want to do. If I don’t want to do it, forget it. But if I do want to…, get out of my way!” Funny, when I finally decided to get serious about my relationship with Christ, doing what I wanted to do became secondary to listening to God’s still small voice and seeking His will rather than mine.  I’m not judging Willie; that’s not my place. And it’s no secret he, like most of us, has had his ups and downs, financially, personally, and in his musical career. He’s about fourteen years my senior, so I guess he can live the way he chooses. But I’ll take my small, mundane life away from the glitz and glamor of show business any day. I am a superstar to my Lord, and He probably thinks I can sing “Crazy” with the best of them. That’s just the kind of Dad He is, always cheering us on. He’s got our backs, twenty-four/seven. And there is plenty of uplifting Christian music to use as our soundtrack.

Creator God, show us the secret of life according to You! Amen

Meg Blaine Corrigan is the author of three books: Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child; Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has worked with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and war veterans.  Her books may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

 

TENDING THE FLOCK

“It is you who have scattered My flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:2-2

 

The judge summoned me to his office. I was a new, young county social worker with a “vulnerable adult” caseload. “It’s been reported,” the judge said, “that this preacher, Dan Schmidt, is taking advantage of his congregation. He calls them his ‘flock,’ and it sounds like he’s trying to bilk them out of anything he can get.” Did I mention that I was also a new, young Christian? I was shocked! I had just accepted Christ into my life a few months before, and now, on my new job where I thought all I was going to do was save the world, I was being instructed by this big, important judge to go out and “bust” some phony preacher! I was mortified!

 

Dan’s was the smallest church in our rural county. The building was in shambles. A huge canvas sign proclaimed, “First Church of the Found Sheep.” What the heck did that mean? As young and inexperienced as I was in dealing with such a character, I could see at first glance he was a phony. “My flock love me,” he said, “just as they would have loved Jesus!” Seriously? I left his office and visited a couple of his “flock” whose names were supplied by the judge. One woman’s curtains were missing; she said the pastor asked them to donate them to the church. I saw them in “Pastor” Dan’s office. An elderly man’s refrigerator was completely empty. He said he gave all his food to Dan, “for the poor.” I just bet I knew which “poor” received the food. Dan Schmidt was eventually convicted of theft by swindle. No surprise: he wasn’t really a pastor either.

 

In ancient times, the prophet Jeremiah, condemned “spiritual” leaders who caused God’s people harm. God will deal with self-serving preachers, in this world or the next. “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,” a King who will lead the people to safety and security (Jeremiah 23:5-6). His name will be “The Lord is our righteousness” (verse 6).

 

Righteous Lord, we thank You that You are trustworthy and reliable. We never fear You. Amen

 

Meg Blaine Corrigan is the author of three books: Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child; Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has worked with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and war veterans.  Her books may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

THE CAMPAIGN TO GAIN

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin….Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ But strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:28,31-33

 

In her classic novel, The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver’s character Estevan tells a South American story about heaven and hell. In hell, there is a wonderful pot of stew, but the people are starving because they only have spoons with very long handles which are impossible to get into their mouths. In the same scenario in heaven, the spoons are also very long. But the people are enjoying the stew very much because they are feeding each other across the table.

 

Jesus taught that, as long as we are driven by greed, we will never have enough. But if we allow ourselves to consider others’ needs before our own, we act with integrity. The budget of the United States says a lot about where our nation’s priorities are: $668 billion for defense vs. $190 billion for education, housing, infrastructure, and other basic services. A young pastor told of his experience serving two churches at once. One church had only a $5000 surplus at year’s end; the other had three times that much. The one with the smaller surplus decided to give half their money to their church’s parent organization as “seed money,” to see what God would do with their gift. That church thrived and served its congregation and community well for many years. The church with the larger surplus held onto every dime they had. They did not flourish and lost membership and subsequent donations to keep going.

 

In this life, each of us struggles in some fashion, between our monetary needs to survive in this world and the tugging of our souls towards the Kingdom of God. When we operate out of a desire to serve our neighbors, we are taking the high road, the more excellent way, enhancing our own lives by the sharing of our blessings with those in need. How have your personal experiences informed your decisions about how to “spend” your assets?

 

God of Grace Upon Grace, move us from a world view of scarcity to one of abundance through You! Amen

 

Meg Blaine Corrigan is the author of three books: Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child; Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has worked with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and war veterans.  Her books may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .