Healing Rays of Righteousness

Remember God Is Our Strength

God’s people have returned from Babylonian captivity to again live in their homeland and to rebuild Jerusalem.  There is great joy in there liberation from captivity and the freedom to return to their homeland.

But their homecoming is not pretty and peaceful.  There is much disappointment and difficulty.  A large part of Jerusalem has been destroyed.  Foreign people claim the grazing land, and only a small remnant of the twelve tribes of Israel have returned with them.

In the midst of this situation and prayer of lament, Isaiah issues a call to his people to remember God and what he has done for them in the past.   But he also urges them to remember and rejoice in what God has promised to do for them in the future.

To “remember” is an important word of encouragement in the Bible.  Before the Hebrews crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, Moses urged them to “remember” who was giving them the land.  And throughout the history of God’s people, the prophets and the psalm writers urged the people to “remember” God’s actions and benefits in their behalf, as well as his promises for their future.

To “remember” is not just a looking back, it is also a looking forward.  Remembering the past is a blessed treasure and resource that undergirds and keeps alive our present hope. And it also reminds and reconnects us to God’s ongoing redemptive love and purposes for us in the future.

In reading Isaiah 63:7-9, we discover that in spite of their difficult circumstances, Isaiah is thankful for the goodness of God in verse 7, the grace of God in verse 8, and the presence of God in verse 9.

Regarding the goodness of God, Isaiah says, “I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us – yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.”

Regarding the grace of God, Isaiah says, “He said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me’; so he became their Savior.”

Isaiah wants Israel to remember that God had adopted them as his very own people and became their Savior.  He did not do this because the Hebrews were the biggest and the best, but only because of his grace and love.

How long has it been since you thanked God for being your Savior?  We do not deserve salvation; we received it only because of God’s grace.  Think of where you would be, and what you would be, without God, and then thank him for the eternal difference he has made in your life and future.

Regarding the presence of God, Isaiah says, “In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them.  In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

Isaiah wants Israel to remember that in all of their sufferings and distress, God did more than just send angels.  God himself came to them to be present and participate in their sufferings.  Isaiah reminds his people that it was this presence of God that saved them, or made them well, complete, and whole, which are the most inclusive meanings of salvation.

In this verse, Isaiah paints a beautiful word portrait of the empathetic love of God.  He wants us to visualize ourselves as crying children being picked up (redeemed) from unpleasant, painful, and hopeless circumstances and (carried) with strong arms that enfold us with comforting protection and provision.

According to the psalmist, this is God being “our refuge and strength, an ever- present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1).  He hurts when we hurt – he helps, protects, and provides for us – and he even picks us up and carries us.  Most certainly, I believe that all of us have experienced this providential hand of God at work in our lives in some way during the past year.

You and I are alive this morning because of God’s goodness, grace, and presence in our lives the past year. As we enter into a new year and face the known and unknown challenges of 2020, let us pause to “remember” and give God thankful praise for his sustaining grace in the year past and petition him for enabling grace in the year ahead.

I invite you to pray the words of Fanny Crosby in her 1882 hymn, “God of Our Strength.”

God of our strength, enthroned above, the source of life, the fount of love,                                        O let devotion’s sacred flame / our souls awake to praise thy name.

God of our strength, from day to day / direct our thoughts and guide our way.                              Oh, may our hearts united be / in sweet communion, Lord, with thee.

God of our strength, on thee we call. God of our hope, our light, our all,                                          Thy name we praise, they love adore, our rock, our shield, forevermore.

(Chorus) God of our strength, we wait on thee, our sure defense forever be.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – January 8, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

A Happy New Year

Former President Jimmy Carter graduated from the Naval Academy and served as an officer on a nuclear-powered submarine.  But before he was able to assume that position, he had to have a personal interview with Admiral Hyman Rickover, who is considered to be the father of the nuclear navy.

Jimmy Carter says that the interview made him very nervous; knowing how much was at stake and that only the best, most disciplined officers were chosen to serve in this prestigious role.  As he stood before Admiral Rickover, it was soon obvious to Carter that the wise admiral knew more about nearly every subject discussed than he did.

Finally, Rickover came to the last question on his list – “Where did you finish in your class, young man?”  Please with his accomplishments and thrilled to finally be presented a question he was sure of, Carter informed the Admiral that he had finished 59^th out of a student body numbering 820.  Then he waited for a commendation from the old sailor – but it never came.

In telling the story later, Jimmy Carter said that the question that broke the uncomfortable silence between the two men was, “Did you always do your best?”  Carter thought a moment and then cleared his throat and hesitantly replied, “No sir, I did not.”  At that point, Rickover turned he chair around, signaling the interview was over, and asked, “Why not?”

That is a good question to ask ourselves at the beginning of a new year.  How do we evaluate what we have done during the past year?  Would we say it was poor, so-so, adequate, good, very good, or outstanding?

In the past year, have we always done our best?  Probably not.  And if not, why not?  Have any of our conversations and actions caused unnecessary pain.  Probably so.  If so, why?

The beginning of a new year offers us a time to reflect on our past, regret our mistakes, contemplate the future, and make resolutions.  I believe that most people, including me, want to do and be better in the New Year.

Many years ago, Louisa Fletcher Tarkington, wrote a perceptive poem entitled, “The Land of Beginning Again.”  It begins and ends with a verse which is almost a universal wish.

I wish there were some wonderful place

Called the land of beginning again

Where all our mistakes,

And all our heartaches,

And all of our poor selfish grief,

Could be dropped like a shabby

Old coat at the door,

And never be put on again.

There seems to always be something about the past that often troubles us, even if it is nothing more than the nagging belief that we could do better if we had another go at it.

Mistakes and regrets of the past can and often do become heavy emotional baggage for many people.  The baggage is real and cannot be easily waved aside, for it is the consequence of mistaken judgments and unwise decisions that have left scars, and sometimes, painful open wounds in our relationships.

However, the Bible is filled with the possibility of forgiveness and new beginnings.  This is God’s good news to us.  The angel’s message to the shepherds is forever new.  “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today … a Savior has been born to you.”

Whatever mistakes and regrets that may still be lying out there in our past, whatever relationships remain painfully wounded and in need of healing, God’s “Savior Jesus” can help us gather them all into a prayer of repentance, forgiveness, and new beginnings.  The ability to forgive and to be forgiven is always ours for the asking.  Jesus himself invites us to “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).

Instead of fretting over the past, take hold of forgiveness, and move forward through God’s open door of a new year and a new beginning toward more Christ-like excellence in all of our conversations and activities.

I hope you will join me in making the decision and effort to walk into the new year of 2020 with a new commitment to be the person God created us to be.  And may all your days be happy and blessed.  Amen!

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – January 1, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Today … A Savior Has Been Born To You

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”  (Lk. 2:8-11).

The angel’s sudden and unexpected appearance terrified the shepherds.  But the angel quickly reassured them that the special message he was bringing to them was “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Have you ever been frightened by an unexpected event?  Try to imagine yourself being one of the shepherds that night.  Sitting on a hillside, under a starlit sky, with the sheep settled and sleeping, all is quiet; all is calm, as it should be and normally is.  But then suddenly the hillside is awakened by a brilliant, glorious light, and a magnificent angel appears.  Yes, I too, would have been terrified.

The sudden burst of light and the appearance of an angel to a bunch of laborers in a field was certainly an unexpected surprise.  But even more so, was the angel’s message, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

And, as if that wasn’t a big enough surprise, the angel said, “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  Imagine their troubling thoughts.  A Savior, the promised Messiah and Lord, born in a smelly stable built for animals, and using the feed trough as a crib.  How could this be happening that way?  Should not a Savior be born in a royal palace and lying in a magnificent crib?

Indeed, the angel’s “good news” message is filled with unexpected surprises.  In fact, just about everything regarding Jesus’ birth is an unexpected surprise.  Think about it.  Is not Jesus’ birth really the most surprising and amazing gift of all time, coming to us from God?  Is not his gift of “a Savior” the most marvelous and greatest gift we could ever receive?  Is not this the reason we celebrate Christmas with gift-giving, always reminding ourselves of God’s amazing gift to us.

Yes, Christmas is about God coming to us as “Savior” in the person of Jesus to rescue us from the death grip of evil and sinfulness, and give us forgiveness, peace, joy, love, and life forever.  Christmas is about Immanuel, “God with us.” 

What a wonder-filled, life-giving gift is given us in Jesus’ birth.  It is the miracle of Incarnation – God becoming human, and as “Savior” choosing to live among us.  Oh, what glorious wonder, heaven and earth coming together, as God comes down to dwell with his people to redeem and save them.

How incredible the gift, the long-awaited Messiah, the Lord himself, wrapped in the swaddling clothes of a helpless baby, fully human and fully divine, coming to rescue and reconcile broken humanity and restore the peace and joy of God’s good world.  Truly “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Even though many refuse to believe it, Christmas is God’s answer to our brokenness.  Christmas is the good news that God wants to do something about our failures and fears, our pain and confusion.  He wants to forgive, heal, and restore us to wholeness as his beloved people.

As darkness and doubts cloud your thoughts and spirit this Christmas Day, hear the message of the heavenly angel, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Lk. 2:10-11).

It is Christmas morning and possibly too late to buy the perfect Christmas present for a friend or family member. But it is not too late for you to accept the amazing gift of love that God is offering you — the gift of Jesus as your Savior, Messiah and Lord.

Let us pray.                                                                                                                                                               “O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend on us, we pray.  Cast our sin, and enter in; Be born in us today.  We hear the Christmas angels / The great glad tidings tell.  O come to us; abide with us, Our Lord, Emmanuel.”

• “Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 25, 2019
• www.geigler13.wordpress.com
• Ray M. Geigley

The Lord Is With You

Picture a young Jewish girl, living in the lush green hills of Galilee, far from the bustle of Jerusalem.  She knows the Scriptures.  She prays for God to send the Messiah to re-establish his rule.  She longs for Israel to again be a light to the nations.  But never in her wildest dreams does she imagine how God will answer her prayers.

Even more, this young girl, Mary, has something far more immediate on her mind.  She is engaged to be married and soon to leave the protection of her father’s home and begin a new life with Joseph.

By night, she imagines how she will arrange her furniture and decorate her house.  How fortunate she is that her beloved Joseph is a carpenter and can make what they cannot afford to buy.  By day, with needle and thread, she works her dreams into linen cloth.

Then in the midst of her joyous anticipation, preparations, and prayers, she receives a frightening visitation from an angel who says, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.”  And Mary is greatly troubled.

Even though we have heard this same story many times before, and even though the plot doesn’t change from year to year and we are very familiar with the details, yet each Christmas we lean forward with anticipation, because we believe that somehow this story is about us.

What if the angel’s message to Mary, “The Lord is with you” is God’s message to us?  We desire to see God, but do we know how and where to look?  Do we know how to open space in our busy and cluttered lives for the indwelling presence of God?

“The Lord is with you.”  That simple, startling statement came to Mary as surprise and promise.  Most likely we have read and heard these words so often that the element of “surprise” has completely evaporated from them.  Yet that is precisely the glorious message of Christmas.  Not only is there a God, but that God comes very near to us in the most unexpected places and circumstances as “surprise.”

To believe that God is above us as the almighty, all-sufficient, sovereign God is one thing.  But to believe that God is the sovereign, loving God with us, that he is God near us, the intimate God who understands us, that my friend, is the best news of all.

For the eternal, all-powerful, high and holy God to come down into human life is a most marvelous and amazing thing.  God’s coming to us in human flesh tells us that he is not like the philosopher king in Thomas Carlyle’s classic writing, Sartos Resortus, who gazes out of his attic window.  Down below him stretch the dark streets of despair where half a million human beings are herded and crowded together.  The joyful and the sorrowful, people dying and people being born, some praying and others cursing, women laughing and others weeping.  And looking down from his attic window, the philosopher king concludes, “But I – I sit above it all.  I am alone with the stars.”

No, that is not our God.  The God who came to us in Jesus is deeply involved in our human situation.  God became what we are, in order that we might become what he is.  He wants his face of love, peace, and joy to dwell in us and be reflected from our lives.

And when man reached the end of his long struggle to find peace, forgiveness and salvation, it was God who “became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).

Christmas is God’s answer to our brokenness and sin.  Christmas is the good news that God wants to do something about our failures and fears.  Christmas is about God coming to us, indwelling us to forgive, heal, and restore us to a wholeness of love, peace, and joy.

There is not a more beautiful picture of God’s Father-love than that which shows him as our companion in our many experiences of sin, sickness, sorrow, and the often difficult daily routine of work.  There are no more comforting, reassuring words than to hear, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.” 

Be still, my soul and listen to the angel speak.  And also listen to the last recorded words of Jesus, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 18, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Your Prayer Has Been Heard

If you are like me, you sometimes wake up at 2:00 a.m. and cannot get back to sleep.  Let’s suppose that the next time that happens you go to the kitchen, turn on the light, and find an angel standing there and calls you by name.  What would you say?  What do you think the angel would say?

Luke’s Christmas story begins with a similar situation involving a man named Zachariah.  In chapter one, verse five, we read that both Zachariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were from priestly stock, a fact that was highly valued among the Jews.  Verses six and seven tell us that “Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.  But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.”

Although both of them were “righteous” they were suffering the ultimate disappointment and humiliation.  For most Jews, eternal life and immortality was understood to come through their children.  Through them one lived on forever.  Thus no children meant no immortality, no eternal life.

It was during Zachariah’ great moment of burning incense before God that an angel appeared to him.  Verse twelve says that Zachariah “was startled and was gripped with fear.”  Very likely I would have responded in like manner.  But then comes the almost unbelievable good news.  The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zachariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call John.”

Zachariah is gripped by fear and stuttering with disbelief and doubt. But why?  Had he given up believing that God would answer his fervent prayers?  Had he been praying without conviction?  After the many years of praying for a child, had he given in to the feeling that he and his wife are now too old for such a prayer to be answered.  Yes, even a very righteous man or woman can pray with very little sense of expectation.

I heard the story of a man in his nineties who went to his doctor with knee trouble, and the doctor said, “At your age, what do you expect?”  The man replied, “I expect you to fix this knee.  My other knee is the same age, and it works fine.”

Whatever age we may be, we can slip into disbelief BY thinking that answers to our prayers become restricted or limited because of our age.  This story tells us that Zachariah’s age was not a factor in God’s ability to carry out his purposes.

What if an angel appeared in front of you right now and said to you, “Your prayer has been heard.”  How would you react, and what would such an experience mean to you?  What would be the “too good to be true” news in your life?  Have you given up believing that God can still make it happen, like Zachariah did?

As we grow older and maybe wearied by unanswered prayers, we are tempted to give up believing God can make it happen. Or, we may find it difficult to believe that God still has plans for us to be a participant in his great “good news” work.  Or, we may become impatient in praying and waiting for God to act and decide to take things into our own hands to help God out, like Abraham did.

Whatever the excuse or reason, we will pay a price for our unbelief, just as did Zachariah.  He received very good news in the angel’s message “your prayer is heard,” but because of his unbelief, he could not speak this “good news” blessing to his family and the assembled worshipers, until after the promised birth of his son happened.

What would be the “too good to be true” news in your life?  Have you given up believing that God can still make it happen?  May the beloved scriptures and carols of Jesus’ birth of this Christmas season reawaken your faith and trust in the One who hears and answers our prayers.

“The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.  I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”  (Luke 1:19).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – December 11, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Count Your Blessings

Tomorrow we again celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  This is a day for family gatherings to remember and celebrate our many blessings, and to thank God and others for those blessings.  Many families have a Thanksgiving ritual of everybody stating for what they are most thankful before their thanksgiving feast in enjoyed.

For what are you thankful?  I suggest that you take a few moments to read Psalm 103 sometime today or tomorrow and let the words awaken your memory of God’s goodness to you.  In fact, I would suggest that we make the next several weeks a season of Thanksgiving by reading this Psalm repeatedly leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Day.  And with each reading, let your memories reflect on God’s goodness to you in the year past as you look ahead to the new year of 2020.

At Christmas we gratefully say “Thank you” to those who give us gifts, and I think it just as important to say “Thank you” to God for what he has given us and done for us during the past twelve months.

Maybe the year didn’t go as you had hoped.  Maybe you experienced a very difficult year or at least a less than desirable year.  Even so, I believe, there is much for which we can be and should be thankful.

I’m reminded of the boy in elementary school who arrived late to school and was reprimanded for it.  Later, he discovered that he had forgotten his homework, and was scolded again.  Then he began to feel sick, and ran in from the playground to go home.  And as he ran, he tripped and fell, breaking his arm.  While he was on the ground, he found a quarter.  Later, going home from the doctor’s office he told his parents, “This is the best day of my life!  I have never found a quarter before.”

Each of us needs to cultivate that kind of grateful spirit so that we can remember the good things that happen to us and be more thankful, even when much has gone wrong for us.

Psalm 103 is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise in response to God’s goodness.  It begins with, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”  The psalmist then remembers and stacks up the many things God is doing and will continuing doing for his soul.  It is interesting to note that the psalmist first lists in verses 3-7 the things God does, and then he lists the things God is, all of them being reasons that God is deserving of our praise.

As we come to the ending of this year and face the known and unknown challenges of the next year, I would encourage us to find some quiet, alone time, to open our physical and spiritual eyes and look around us and within us to discover the many things for which we should be thanking and praising God.

I think the song writer, Johnson Oatman, Jr., captures the imperative of Psalm 103 in his hymn, “Count Your Blessings.” He wrote this hymn in response to Apostle Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 1:3-12, regarding God’s goodness to us.  This is another portrait of God’s goodness that would be good to read during this season of Thanksgiving.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,  Count your many blessings – name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings; money cannot buy, Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small, Do not be discouraged; God is over all.  Count your many blessings; angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.”  (Psalm 103:1-2, NLT).  AMEN!

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 27, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Coping With Grief through the Holidays

The annual holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas traditionally begins next weekend.  It is the season to be jolly.  But how can I be jolly when I’m heart-broken and grieving the death of a person I dearly loved.  How can I cope and get through this holiday season?   

If you are in this situation and thinking these thoughts, I offer the following counsel from my own experience that may help you not only to cope but also to experience some good moments of healing.

The death of a loved one does dramatically and painfully change your life and world.  And the holiday celebrations, especially Christmas, seem to maximize the torturous pain of lost and loneliness that you feel.

Added to the hurt and difficulty to cope, is the pain of what others expect from you.  Friends, and sometimes your own children or siblings, who don’t fully understand grief or don’t want to deal with its pain, strongly urge you to participate in family and church traditions as you always have done in previous years.  For them, any change from your former activities during the holidays is threatening and uncomfortable, and they wish for you to act as if nothing has changed.

In response, you may be tempted to choose between ignoring the pain and do as others wish you to do, or to ignore the holiday altogether and withdraw into your own little world.  However, neither of these ways is a healthy and appropriate response, nor are they helpful in your grief coping and healing possibilities.

There is no way to ease the pain, but there are ways to cope with the reality of great loss and pain.  First, allow yourself to feel what you feel, because only what you permit yourself to feel can heal.  Acknowledge your sadness and allow yourself to cry, yes, even in public or in church, but don’t wallow in self-pity.  Share memories with those who will listen.  Talk about former holiday experiences and look at pictures that elicit precious memories for you.

Secondly, be realistic about what you need from the holiday season, remembering that you need both grieving time and celebration time during these days.  Be kind to yourself and beware of being pressured by others.  Separate holiday tasks and your feelings, that is, you can choose to address and send Christmas cards but you cannot choose the feelings that such activity will erupt.  And those feelings are okay, so own them.

If you choose a change of scenery, such as a ski trip or cruise for the holidays, remember that your grief emotions will accompany you, and they will also be waiting for you when you return home and familiar surroundings.  Whatever you do, beware of abusing medications, alcohol, or excessive eating to escape the pain.  Most importantly, live one day at a time, seizing whatever richness the day may offer you.

Thirdly, deliberately choose to be active and around people.  This may be difficult but it is important in combating loneliness.  Physically exercise regularly and often because it releases the body’s natural painkillers and gives you a sense of well-being.  Spend time with children, because they can remind you of the wonder and joy of life.  It also awakens hope in you. Many find it helpful to volunteer in helping those less fortunate than you.

And finally, renew and affirm hope in yourself for the future.    Hope is essential in coping with bereavement loss.  Hope is both a future-oriented framework of expectations and a present-oriented framework of possibilities.  Without hope it is almost impossible to mobilize your energy and potential healing of grief.  I know from experience that hope helps you cope.

Most importantly, believe God loves you, will provide for you, and has planned a future for you.  Under His loving grace and care, you will again be able to sing the carols of Christmas.  But in the meantime, listen to their beautiful melodies and message.

It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the earth To touch their harps of gold.

“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men, From heav’n’s all-gracious King.”

The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angels sing. 

Still thro’ the cloven skies they come, With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heav’nly music floats O’er all the weary world.

Above its sad and lowly plains They bend on hov’ring wing,

And ever o’er its babel sounds The blessed angels sing.

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps and slow,

Look up!  for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road And hear the angels sing.

(It Came Upon the Midnight Clear – Text: Edmund H. Sears)

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 20, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Only One of Ten Is Grateful

As Jesus enters a village on his way to Jerusalem, ten lepers loudly call out from a distance, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” They are desperate for healing, but as unclean people they don’t dare run up to Jesus or come close to him (Luke 17:11-19).

Jesus sees them and hears their plea, and responds with a rather unusual command: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so, with believing faith in Jesus, they obey his command and make their way to the priests.

While on their way, all ten of them are miraculously healed of their leprosy.  We can only imagine the joy that they must have felt in being healed of their terrible skin disease and now able to again live, work, and play in their home community. It was a new day in their life.

But only one of them, a Samaritan, Jesus calls him a foreigner, turns around and runs back to thank Jesus.  Praising God with a loud voice, he throws himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

Ten lepers are healed, but only one of them takes the time to count his blessings.  In doing so, he realizes that he had received much more than the miraculous gift of healing in his body, his skin cured of leprosy, enabling him to be accepted back into his family and community.  He also realizes that he received the gracious gift of healing in his soul.  This realization simply overwhelmed him with overflowing gratefulness.

After asking about the other nine, Jesus tells him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”   Ten lepers were healed, but Jesus says only this man was “made well” in both body and soul.  His gratefulness, expressed to Jesus, made him “well.”  Certainly, this reality is of much greater importance than simply being healed in body.

The truth being spoken in these words from Jesus, and affirm in all of scripture, is that unless gratitude is a part of our nature, we can’t be whole “made well” people.  The other nine men were merely physically healed, and if ingratitude is more deadly than leprosy, then they are in worse shape than before their healing.

Ingratitude does not deny us God’s mercies, but it most certainly denies us of a relationship with him.  Jesus did not punish the nine lepers for their ingratitude, but instead, he left them with only his miracle gift and themselves.  Being wrapped up in themselves, they did not seek the larger gift of a relationship with Jesus.

You may ask why did only one of the ten lepers come back to Jesus and express his deep gratitude in praise to God.  We can only speculate a reason.

Could it be that the nine Jewish lepers thought that being God’s special people gave them a privileged right to be healed and thus no gratitude?  Likewise, is it possible that we, who claim to be Christian, feel we have a right in expecting God to bless our life with good things, and thus we express very little, if any, gratitude to God?  Check your praying.  Which is the greater content of your prayer, praise or petition?

Could it be that the nine self-centered lepers were so eager to reunite and reestablish themselves in family and community that taking the time to return to Jesus and express their gratitude was of little importance?  Likewise, is it possible that we, who are so busy doing good things, assume that God already knows we are grateful and doesn’t need to hear our thanks?

If so, are we not like the pagan world as described by Apostle Paul in Romans 1:21 – “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Furthermore, let’s remember that this “made well” leper came back praising God even though he still had some enormous problems facing him.  He had been living as an outcast with no family and no job, and it would not be easy going back into community.  Even so, he saw God’s merciful goodness in his healing, and he is overwhelmed with gratefulness.

Most likely you have a problem facing you right now.  Nobody is problem-free.  Listen to the apostle Paul as he exhorts us to praise God in the midst of problems:

“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Eph.5: 19-20).

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

Helen Keller, who was blind, wrote, “I thank God for my handicaps.  Through them I have found myself, my work, and my God.”  Helen Keller was not physically healed of her blindness, but she was “made well” as evidenced by the many praise songs she wrote, and that we enjoy singing today.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 13, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

With Gratitude or For Granted

It is now November and our thoughts become more focused on Thanksgiving Day and its call to be thankful.  Last week I stated that an attitude of gratitude is of supreme importance in our aging well.

However, I am convinced that an attitude of gratitude is not only important for aging well, but is also vital to our living well.  The apostle Paul admonishes us to “Rejoice always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

It has been correctly said that most people fall into two classes; those who take things for granted and those who take things with gratitude.

I think you would agree that whenever we sit down to a table to eat a meal, we have two options about the way we partake of what is put before us, and the choice we make says a lot about our attitude toward life in general.

We can approach the meal with a negative spirit, wishing we were at a different table, critical of the way the food is cooked, unhappy about what we are being served.  Or we can sit down with gratitude and appreciation that a meal has been provided for us and choose to enjoy whatever has been set before us.

I believe we have the same two options when we sit down at the table of life.  We humans are never free to determine what life will be set before us, but we are free to decide how we will partake of it, whether with resentment or with gratitude.

We can either partake resentfully and bitterly of the events set before us, or we can respond with a positive attitude and gratefully accept whatever is set before us.  And the way we choose to receive all of life events, whether they be refreshing or difficult, big or small, makes a vast difference in the way we experience or do not experience God’s presence and blessings.

It is a grateful spirit and thankful heart that discovers blessings in what most others take for granted.  Richard P. Johnson, PhD, a speaker and writer regarding ministry to senior adults, writes “When we take things for granted, we dismiss them as ordinary because we see them as so commonplace that we fail to notice them at all.  When we take things for granted, we transform miracles into nothingness, and, in so doing, we erase virtue from our lives.  When we are presumptuous, we lack hope, and when we lack hope, we move into despair.                                                                                                                                                                                    So many persons suffering from sickness move into despair.  They have taken their good health for granted.  When sickness strikes, they rail against the forces and causes of it, wring their hands, and shake their fists at God for allowing such a terrible thing to befall them.  Yet, what response do they make in thanksgiving for the many years they have enjoyed in good health?”

I read about one psychiatrist who prescribes a simple six-week cure to any person who is depressed.  He instructs his patients to say “Thank you” whenever anyone does them a favor of any kind, and they are to emphasize the words with a smile.  The doctor reports that the common reply is, “But, doctor, no one ever does any favors for me.”  And the doctor responds, “That’s why you are sick.  You don’t look for reasons to be thankful.”

The doctor further reports that two results flow from his treatment, 1) the patient becomes less discouraged, and 2) persons who associate with the patient become more active in their affirming words and good deeds toward the patient.

Why would we ever expect a different result?  A basic principle of life is that whenever thanks is given to another, it has a boomerang effect of returned appreciation and favor.

On the tombstone of her husband’s grave, a southern mountain woman had chiseled in rough and uneven letters this epitaph, “He always appreciated.”  I really hope that such a tribute can be said about me and you after our deaths.

During this Thanksgiving season and in every season of the year, let’s join the Psalmist in reminding ourselves to “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103:2).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 6, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

How To Age Well – Part 3

Last week I said that I believe “aging” is God’s gift to us, and that I agree with the person who said, “Aging is not an enemy to be conquered, but a friend to be cultivated.”  I believe such belief greatly enhances the positive attitude called acceptance, which is so critical in our efforts to “age well.”

To accept the fact that we are going to die is so basic to both our living well and aging well.  Until we break down that wall of denial, we will not be motivated to follow through on any of the other much needed attitudes and end-of-life preparations.

Whether we choose to believe it or not, our relationship with death and our attitude about our own dying, significantly affects the way we live every day.  What I do and the decisions I make are often determined by my acceptance or denial of the fact that I am growing older and will someday die.

I agree with those counselors who say that we cannot truly live until we have accepted the fact that one day we will die.  The Psalmist prays, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” (39:4). And again, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (90:12).

Joni Eareckson Tada writes, “…of all the things to be counted, this is the hardest – to number our days.  We number everything else so easily.  We know how much money we have in our purse and how many dollars in the bank.  Farmers number their sheep and cattle.  Restaurants number the meals served in a week.  Teachers check off attendance records.  Gardeners can tell you how many tomato plants are in the backyard.                                                            Yet we find it hard to number something so precious as our days.  Perhaps that’s because we see our days stretching on and on.  They seem infinite and so there is no need, we think,  to number them.  Things we fail to account for, we waste.  That’s why it is wise to ask God to teach us to consider each day separate from the next, distinct in its purpose, unique in the way it is to be lived.”  (“Diamonds in the Dust”- 1993, Devotional for September 14).

Abram Schmitt writes, “I have a haunting notion that too many people live on too shallow a level.  They miss the real joy of living.  There is a depth of meaning to life that eludes them.  If only people would permit themselves to face their limited life span, they would be forced to make the most of every moment.  …There is no escape from death, but in this modern era people do all they can to avoid death, to delay it, and to evade all thoughts and conversations about it.”

Growing older means experiencing many LOSSES.  And each loss is a small death, a “goodbye” to what was.  Growing older means saying “goodbye” to the world of work, health, spouse, friends, freedoms (driving, walking), and to control of activities.  And with each of these losses there comes the accompanying FEARS.

Aging well requires a frequent looking at ourselves and asking some very basic questions;  What is of value, important, and worthwhile to me, and what is not?  Am I becoming more caring or more callous, more forgiving or more vengeful, more tolerant or more critical, more generous or more self-centered?  Am I growing in my Christian faith and behavior, becoming a more mature, well-rounded person, or am I becoming more selfish and childish.

And of supreme importance to aging well is to have an attitude of gratitude – that is, being thankful.  A grateful attitude causes our life to open up like a flower, full of beauty and sweet fragrance. It causes our life to be filled with joy and pleasant surprises because we see God blessing us in so many ways.  King Solomon says that “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”  (Proverbs 17:22)

Every pain has the potential for gratitude or resentment.  Every problem provides an opportunity for stronger faith and new relationships or frustration and despair.  The need for surgery can make us dread the pain or thank God for the surgeon’s skills.  Stormy weather can create dreary complaints or gratitude for the sunny days.  The death of a spouse can produce a terror of the future or a song of thanksgiving for memories of ten thousand shared joys.

A grateful heart discovers blessings in what the discontented, resentful heart overlooks.  It is amazing what happens in our life when we cultivate the habit of always saying “Thank you” to others and to God in every situation we may find ourselves.

“Rejoice always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – October 30, 2019

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley