Meditations Monday: Spiritual Health

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

Well Father, as always I want to begin the week by thanking You for the multitude of Blessings You bestowed on us over the past weekend.  Due to a nasty respiratory infection I’ve been fighting since late last week, our time was spent in much less energetic pursuits than usual, but it was a lovely couple days nonetheless.  On Saturday we went on a short outing with friends to a local alpaca farm, followed by a quiet afternoon and evening at their home enjoying a tasty home-cooked meal and wonderful conversation.  Sunday morning we attended the contemporary service at Ewell’s St. Paul UMC, and were officially accepted into the congregation as members of the church.  We feel truly Blessed to be a part of this church family Lord, and I thank You so much for bringing us together with them.

As You know Father, it’s been quite some time since I’ve gotten sick, so when this illness came on me hard and fast last week, it very much caught me off guard.  Respiratory infections have always hit me rather intensely, and this current bug is no exception.  However, as I was driving in to work sniffling and coughing this morning, something important dawned on me…

My physical body may be ill at the moment, but I’m more Spiritually Healthy than I’ve ever been.

The distinction between physical and spiritual health is actually one I believe to be fairly significant Father.  I’ve known a number of physically sound people who are absolutely lost spiritually, and yet, some of the brightest signs of Your Holy Spirit have come to me from people whose bodies have turned against them.

In the opening greetings of his Third Epistle, John indicates this division as well by wishing his friend Gaius good physical health, while noting that he’s already quite sure of Gaius’ spiritual well-being:

The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. – 3 John 1:1-2 (NIV)

“…even as your soul is getting along well.”  John already knew Gaius’ devotion to Your Truth was firm, and with that “spiritual fitness” as a reference, he sent wishes that Gaius’ physical well-being would follow suit.

So Father, what can we do to achieve the Spiritual Health that’s so vital in our lives?  If we break it down clinically as we would a physical ailment, I believe it would go something like…

Examination: Evaluate our lives regularly, and ensure that we’re living as God desires us to.  Identify sinful behaviors and actions.

Diagnosis: For the “symptoms” noted during the Examination, consult the appropriate reference (The Bible) and seek additional consultation (pray) to determine the correct course of treatment.

Treatment: Follow the prescribed course of action as determined in the Diagnosis.  Quiet time and rest (Stillness), and increased fluid (Living Water) consumption will aid in healing.

Follow Up: A proper diet (Daily Bread, Eucharist) and exercise (Worship) will help maintain Spiritual Health.

Now that’s reasonable health care reform.  🙂

Heavenly Father,

I thank You for the “Heavenly Health Care Plan” You’ve provided for us Lord.  Please nourish our needy spirits, and bring to us that divine healing that only You can provide.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Bring My Spirit Rest

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Well Lord, once again we arrive at the Thankful Thursday edition of PhatherPhil.org.  In addition to posting my usual list of 15 things I’m particularly grateful for this week, I also want to pay special notice to one in particular.

Last night was not one of my more restful evenings Father.  Yesterday afternoon, I started feeling the tell-tale signs of increased sinus pressure and drainage, and some accompanying stomach discomfort.  I increased my fluids and tried to push through it, but as of 3:30 this morning my head felt like it was in a vice and my whole body ached.  I was awake, and uncomfortable, and exhausted, and grumpy… Not a good combination.  I tried lying quietly in the bed, focusing on the stillness around me, but the thumping in my head readily thwarted my efforts.  By that point, my frustration level was elevated and I resigned myself to the thought that I’d had all the sleep I was getting for the night.

“Rest in God’s Word.” drifted through my mind.

I’ll be honest Father, in the shape I was in at that wee hour of the morning the thought of focusing on Scripture (or on anything else for that matter) wasn’t particularly appealing.  Nonetheless, I decided to trust the “urgings” and do some reading.  I grabbed my Nook Color off the nightstand, fired up YouVersion and picked up where I’d left off earlier in the day in 1^st Kings.  I’d read three chapters or so when I realized…

The thumping in my head had stopped…

My nerves had quieted…

And I was feeling tired again.

I shut of the Nook, and lay back down.  I’m not sure exactly how quickly I fell asleep Father, but it certainly didn’t take long.  And while I didn’t have long before the morning alarm broke the silence and jolted me into the day, it was sleep I would not have had otherwise.  Therefore Father, I want to give special thanks for #265 on today’s list.  🙂

Continuing from where I left off last week Lord, this week I’m especially grateful for:

256. Our cat curled up on my chest, purring softly.

257. A strong cold front coming through bringing with it mid-60s temps for the weekend.

258. Allergy medication.

259. Unexpected opportunities.

260. Discerning Your whispers in the noise.

261. Courteous, responsive customer service at the online pharmacy I use.

262. The opportunity to host an upcoming Small Group Bible Study in our home.

263. Free stock photo sites from which I can pull images for my blogs.

264. Finding three pairs of jeans in my size at the local JC Penney, and on sale.

265. That on those nights when I can’t sleep, I have Your Word to bring my spirit rest.

266. The opportunity to read the Old Testament Scripture at church last Sunday.

267. Pizza nights with the kids.

268. Inexpensive, reasonably reliable high-speed Internet at my home.

269. Key Lime Pie.

270. The daily devotions found in Stand Firm Magazine which start my days off in the proper frame-of-mind.

My life is truly “chock-full” of Blessings Lord…

Heavenly Father,

I thank and praise You for the multitude of Blessings You bestow on us each day; both those that light up the Heavens in glory, and those which grace us in relative silence.  We are truly Blessed!

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Hypocritical Worship

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

As you know Father, I didn’t post to PhatherPhil.org last Friday.  It was odd for me, because I’ve conditioned myself and put time aside to write to You each day, but on Friday the words just didn’t come.  For whatever reason, I felt disconnected somehow and couldn’t hear Your voice with the clarity I’ve become used to.  I struggled with it, and even tried to force myself to post something, but in the end I decided against just…

Going through the motions.

Although at the time I felt like I was reneging on some “unspoken obligation”, I’m happier that I chose not to post anything at all rather than something that wasn’t of Your inspiration.

And today Lord, I came across a passage in Isaiah that brought it all into wonderful perspective for me:

The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”

You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”? – Isaiah 29:13-16 (NIV)

We’ve all done it at one point or another Father; followed the worship “bouncing ball”, but done so without that deep communion in our hearts that gives the spiritual expression it’s purpose.  For many years when I was young, I went to Sunday school and church simply to appease my parents.  It was very much “textbook worship”, and throughout that period I never truly felt the deep, yearning connection to You that I’m Blessed with now.

You know our hearts Lord, and have no interest in hypocritical worship.

Thankfully Father, the “spiritual cloud” that obscured You from me on Friday passed quickly, and I even managed to gain some insight in the process.  I find it wondrous and fascinating that even in those unusual moments when my connection to You isn’t as clear, that You’re still teaching me nonetheless.  🙂

Heavenly Father,

We thank You for Your unending faithfulness and patience with us.  I pray that we all come to You presenting an open heart; with the lessons of Your Son firmly in our minds and enthusiastic praises of You on our lips.  Lift our spiritual clouds Lord, and make the Holy Spirit in us shine like the beacons You intend us to be.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Love and Commitment

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

To begin our week’s conversations Lord, I want to thank You for yet another lovely weekend filled to the brim with Your Blessings.  Friday night we attended a spaghetti dinner at Ewell’s St. Paul UMC to benefit the “Jesus Freaks” youth group.  The food and fellowship were wonderful, and it was very well attended.  Saturday, the boys stayed with friends for the day while Shannon and I got the opportunity to attend an end-of-summer pool party.  Sunday began with an inspiring church service, and then while Shannon played her viola in the Dover Symphony at a local patriotic concert, the boys and I were able to catch up on overdue housework, grocery shopping and laundry.  As seems to be our “normal” lately Father, it was a very busy weekend, but certainly time we’re thankful for.

As You know Father, each morning I’ve been reading a daily devotional message from the Stand Firm magazines that Shannon got me a subscription to for Father’s Day.  This morning’s message was focused on love and commitment, and it very much resonated with things that You and I have been discussing quite a lot as of late.  The passage cited in the devotional was from the first chapter of the Book of Ruth, and details Ruth’s response to Naomi when Naomi attempts to send her back to her family following the death of Ruth’s husband (Naomi’s son):

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” – Ruth 1:16-17 (NIV)

Such a powerful statement of commitment Lord, and unfortunately something we see far too little of in society today.  Unwavering devotion to those we love, and to You Father, should be our firm goal and desire each and every day.  If we all looked to replace our selfish, wayward thoughts with the yearning to care for and serve others, and to praise You with each waking breath, our world would be truly transformed.

It’s certainly something I’ll be praying on this week Lord.

Heavenly Father,

As we go through the day Lord, please fill our hearts with the desire, devotion and drive to unselfishly and openly bring Your love to those around us.  Grant us the resolve in our hearts Father, that we may committedly focus ourselves on those relationships that You Bless us with; our marriages, our families and our friendships, that we may glorify You thorough those connections.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday (Tuesday Edition): Our Beautiful Fabric

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Mon… Um, Tuesday Father!

Well Father, to begin with I want to thank You for a lovely three-day-weekend.  Other than some much-needed housecleaning, we were Blessed to enjoy quality time with friends, have a fun “Date Night” out, and help another of our friends celebrate her 40^th birthday by hosting a surprise party at the house.  All-in-all it was a very pleasant few days respite, and I’m very grateful for that time.

As we’ve discussed many times Lord, Shannon and I consider our friends one of Your most amazing Blessings in our lives.  As I was running around on Monday morning picking up supplies for the birthday party we hosted, it dawned on me how amazingly diverse our group of friends really is.  Truly, nearly every walk of life is represented in some fashion; each person a beautiful, unique thread in the tapestry of our “extended family”.

In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul discusses the importance of diversity in Your People along those same lines.  In his example, the diversity comes from the varied Spiritual Gifts You bestow on us through the Holy Spirit:

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” – 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 (NIV)

Paul makes a marvelous point in that in Christ, there is no ethnic, cultural or social distinction; each individual member is a loved and important part of the Whole.  We all have roles to play, and gifts to share in the Body of Christ, and each is as important as the others.  You created us all to be exactly what You intended us to be; fearfully and wonderfully made, and designed to offer the unique and precious gifts You’ve granted us for the benefit of Your Family.

It’s a very powerful lesson Lord, and one I know we could all stand to implement more effectively in our daily lives.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the wonderful people You’ve brought into our lives; each a unique, beautiful, and Blessed thread in our family’s fabric.  Please help us see through any improperly perceived barriers between one another, and to reach out with our Spiritual Gifts to further the business of Your Eternal Kingdom.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil