Devotional 9.10.20 Rick Meidel

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” - Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

Those who know me aren’t surprised to hear me say that I’m “detailed oriented.” I pay attention to things. I pay attention to situations. I pay attention to people. I’m that way at work; and I’m that way at home. We like to walk our neighborhood every evening. With that, we probably visit every street of our neighborhood at least once every week. I wave at every car. I acknowledge everyone I pass by. I haven’t socialized with many of my neighbors but I know who they are. I know what they look like.

We were driving out of the neighborhood the other evening. A younger man was walking down the hill on one of the gated side streets. Nothing unusual. Except for the bag. The man was carrying an oversized and colorful shopping bag. We live on the Hillside. Walking the hills is difficult enough without your hands full! You certainly don’t carry loaded shopping bags up and down the hills if you can help it! I nodded to the individual, noted it, and continued our journey to town.

The next day, I was working outside on my gutters. I was in an area where I could not be seen, except for my dangling feet on a somewhat rickety ladder. I heard a male voice ask me whether I was the homeowner. I said yes. And I descended down the ladder. The polite young man, holding that same colorful shopping bag I had noticed the night before, told me he wanted to talk to me about Ballot Measure 1. He handed me a flyer. I took it and glanced at it. I told him I was already aligned with the position he was promoting. He had my vote! We exchanged pleasantries. I wished him well.

The man was Black.

For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about that encounter. I thought back to my first sight of him. I hadn’t seen him before and I had made a mental note of that detail, the same as I do for others I do not recognize. I don’t believe my mind questioned whether he “belonged” in our neighborhood. I wonder whether that was because I am more aware now of any bias I might possess. And then I thought about our encounter at home. I wondered, had I been inside, whether I would have opened the door at the sound of his knock. Maybe I would have just waved him off, through the window, as being uninterested in whatever it was he might be peddling, the same as I do for others I do not recognize. I’m glad to have been outside. It was a brief, but pleasant exchange. It was a pleasure to meet the young man.

Over the past few weeks, related to our Back-To-School Mission, I’ve been to a few homes where I would otherwise be unknown. I have a routine. I ring the doorbell and take a few steps back. I don’t want to make someone uncomfortable by standing too close to the door. I want the owners to have full view of me from their eyepiece in the door. The door usually opens, I introduce myself and I communicate my business.

Here’s the thought I can’t get out of my head these past few days. What must it be like for a Black person to come to the door to conduct business in my, or any other, neighborhood? I wonder if they are nervous. What might he/she encounter as they approach a doorway? What might they expect when they knock on the door? Will they be waved away? Will the door be opened, only partially and with skepticism, to understand the reason for the visit? Will there be conversation? Will there be debate? How might you respond to such a knock on the door today? How have you responded in the past? And, peeling the onion further, would our response to the knock on the door be different if it was, say, a police officer at the door? Or if the knock on the door was from a person of a different, but non-Black, race?

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20 (NIV). It is said that this verse in Revelation is the most misused verse in the Bible! At first read, and with a picture in our head like that in this devotional, we might think it’s a call to sinners: open the door when you hear the knock and let Jesus into your heart. But in the proper context, Jesus is knocking at the door of Christians and the Church. In the context of this section of Revelation, these specific Christians had become lazy and nonchalant. Jesus was trying to get their attention.

Knocking at the door is one way to get someone’s attention. Jesus is trying to get my attention. I can feel it. I can tell by the reminders, some of which I spoke about in a prior devotional. I also can’t keep thoughts from popping into my head right now. More devotionals! I’m being pulled to spend more time with Jesus by reading the Bible and by listening to/studying the words of others who help me interpret the message that’s being conveyed. And that’s probably the point Jesus is making to me with these reminders! For others, maybe Jesus is trying to get your attention through feelings of conviction. Or perhaps he’s giving you challenging situations to work through. Or maybe something else. Do you feel it?

There’s a wakeup call in Revelation 3:20. I might feel like I’m doing everything just right. By the book in fact! But, maybe it’s just a book that I wrote myself, or maybe with help from others, to which I’ve grown comfortable. It’s not God’s book. I have read that we may be letting ourselves become so self-absorbed and self-sufficient that Jesus is, essentially, no longer needed. Complacent Christians. That’s why Jesus was knocking at the door in Revelation! He wanted to be back in their lives! 

As Christians, Jesus was, and is, knocking at the door of our eyes and ears as well as our heart. I ask you: Are we seeing and are we listening? Let’s reflect on how we might answer the knock on the door. It’s Jesus. And he wants our attention. Let him come in and be with us!

Heavenly Father, help us to hear the knock on the door. Help us to be unassuming as we interpret why there’s a knock on the door. Open our minds as we reflect on reminders, convictions and challenges. We are not lazy; but we may be comfortable! Be persistent with us! In Your Son’s name, Amen.

Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.

Devotional 9.9.20 Betty Hertz

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24

Usually this verse has a calming and hopeful effect on me.  I often share it with others and talk about having hope even in challenging times because God has given this day. But as I reflected on this recently, my mind wandered to these questions: How can I rejoice when the world is turned upside down daily? How can I rejoice as I examine my own racism?

To seek a better understanding, I read some Bible commentary about verse 24. One reading talked about the day being referred to is Resurrection Day - Easter - when anxiety and sorrow turned to rejoicing as God’s promise was fulfilled.

Well … that changed my thinking - I believe God wants me to start the day by taking a deep breath and listen for His  plan for me today.

God gives me each day to follow His path and gives me the skills to face challenges with His help - if I seek it.

On reflection I found some answers:  When I am feeling this is another day of upside-down living, I am reminded that God wraps His loving arms around me when I am anxious and gives me peace.

As I exam my racism, I know God has put people and books in my life to help me examine my actions and to learn new ways of Christian living.

I know there are no guarantees of constant happiness and carefree living; but God guarantees each day is given to me to make a positive difference and God guarantees I am never alone. That is a lot to rejoice about!

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your patience with us. Help us turn to you first in the morning and to rejoice in the gifts you have given us.  Continue to show us Your way so that we can be more Christian in our daily living. In Jesus name. Amen

Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.

A Prayer for Labor Day

God, today we give you thanks for millions of laborers who have worked to build this nation. From ditch diggers to road pavers, from machinists to mechanics, from builders to demolitionists, we give you thanks for the contribution of all who have contributed to this great land.

Likewise Lord, we recognize that this nation was built on some labor that we'd like to conveniently forget. The institution of slavery, coerced and uncompensated labor, was a reality in our nation only two to three generations ago; one hundred and fifty-five years ago abolition finally outlawed the evil practice of owning other human beings and forcing them into servitude and labor.

And while we've come some distance from that time Lord, it is clear that divisions still exist in our nation. Open our eyes Lord to see one another as your beloved creation, human beings, created in your image, of sacred value and worth. Help us to not be divided by color of skin. Help us to not be divided by political persuasion. Help us not be divided by ideas, but unite us in love, by the power of your grace.

Work in our hearts to foment a commitment of laboring towards a future where the goal is not an absence of racism, but that the goal would be a world that is marked by anti-racism, such that we can live into our baptismal vows fully of resisting evil, injustice, and oppression, in whatever forms they present themselves.

~ Pastor Andy Bartel

Family Devotional Romans 13:8-14

For families with little ones (preschool age), this could be a 3-5 minute talk! It doesn’t have to be much. For older children, you can opt in for more of these options to extend your study time together. I recommend doing this with (especially little) children over a meal – whichever meal is the least chaotic in your home (for my family right now, that’s lunch), or saving the questions for while you’re on a walk or playing outside together. Have fun!

1. Read the scripture together: Romans 13:8-14. The important thing is that you’re reading scripture together! If you’re looking for different ways to engage your children while reading, here are some fun ways to read scripture as a family

• Every Reader takes a verse

• Ask each child to pick two words they don’t understand to talk about after you read it. (For longer scriptures and younger children, you may need to split up the reading in order to do this.)

• Draw a picture of what you read

• Act it out as a family (And please send documentation of this to children.sjumc@gmail.com because we could all use a laugh right now!)

• Sing it!

• Use Legos or dolls to tell the story

2. Tell your kids that this is the apostle Paul teaching a group of people called the Romans. He is talking about how all of our rules can be boiled down into one very important rule: Love your neighbor as yourself.

3. Discussion Questions (as always, pick and choose which questions you’d like to discuss!):

• Can you think of any of the 10 commandments? How many can you think of?

• Who is your neighbor?

• What does it mean to you to love your neighbor like you love yourself?

• Do you think you want the same things for everyone else in the world, that you want for yourself?

• Can you see how if you love your neighbor as yourself, you automatically follow all the other rules?

4. Close in Prayer: Dear God, thank you for rules that help teach us about each other and bring us closer to You. Thank you for teaching us that LOVE is bigger than all the rules, and when we LOVE like You, we obey the most important rules that help us care for each other. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

~ Erynne DeVore, director of Children’s Ministry

Devotional 9.3.20 Rick Meidel

I dislike being reminded of things. I like to know what needs to be done, get after it and mark it off the list. It’s a style that can be both a gift and a curse! As we finished our walk one evening, Natalie told me there were aphids on the beautiful flowers in one of our four planters. It was my second reminder. I had other things I needed to do and, being the end of the week, I was a bit tired as well. It didn’t rise to critical in terms of importance, but I dutifully went about mixing the spray. I sprayed the flowers. In fact, I sprayed the flowers in all four planters as a precautionary measure! Good for me! Mark that task off the list! The next night after our walk, my wife noticed the plants looked a bit wilted, even though she had watered them that morning. I ventured into the garage to check the concentrate I had used. Had I mixed it correctly? I was sure I had. Had the chemical expired? I doubt that would make a big difference. Suddenly, the cause became clear. The bottle of concentrated Round Up looks similar to the bottle of concentrated insect spray!

I dislike being reminded of things. Maybe that’s why I’m not really enjoying church all that much right now. Every Sunday I’m reminded - by either the pastors or the congregation - which lives matter. I’m being told how to feel. I’m being told ‘do this, don’t do that’ (“can’t you read the signs”….sorry, I couldn’t help myself). I feel like I’m getting a new to-do list every week. Being a Christian is becoming a full-time job! I try to do the right thing, or at least I think I’m trying, but it feels difficult to get these Christian to-do items marked off my list. That raises my anxiety and makes me wonder if I’m worthy as a person. When I feel this way, I begin making comparisons. I listen to a message and I begin thinking, ‘brother Bill and sister Sue sure need to hear today’s message; it wasn’t really meant for me; I hope they were listening.'

When I have these thoughts, I am reminded of Scripture: "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." James 1:23-25, NIV. Sometimes we want to use the Word as a magnifying glass to look at others. But James tells us that the Word is not a magnifying glass, but rather a mirror. A mirror for looking at oneself

I dislike being reminded of things. But I remember that there is good reason why we are getting these reminders every Sunday. Even with all the attention, the situation just isn’t getting any better. Not even close. We try to shirk off the Christian to-do list we are given by claiming blue lives matter or all lives matter. Of course they do! But when we do this as a way to avoid looking at oneself in the Christian mirror as it relates to Black lives matter, we do ourselves - and the world around us - a disservice. Our to-do list is really no more than this: Love our God and love our neighbor. Really love our neighbor. It’s not that difficult; we’re making it out to be more than it is. We can do so much better. We can be so much better, together

I dislike being reminded of things. I think about what were, once, beautiful flowers. I didn’t want to spray those stupid aphids. I went through the motions to get something else off my list and end the reminders. If I had only adjusted my attitude. If I had only been more focused. As an aside, I’ve been using this story at work during the past couple weeks as a way to communicate consequences when we’re distracted. Sure, my dead flowers don’t rise to the level of a serious consequence. But distractions while driving, or using tools or operating machinery, or doing virtually anything else can cause serious consequences. My dead flowers remind me that I need to be more focused, and more sincere, in working through my Christian to-do list. Love my God and love my neighbor. Look in the mirror and polish any of my rough edges. Shirking those responsibilities - not looking at oneself, and instead examining others - could result in serious consequences! I’m going to reflect on that and try to be better. I think I’ll enjoy church more with that change in attitude. Maybe you can try it with me. I’m praying for us! 

P.S. And I think the aphids lived!

Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.