St. Luke's Blogs

Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise. 

Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee. 

Take my will, and make it Thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
it shall be Thy royal throne. 

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee. 

Frances R. Havergal, 1873
(Romans 12:1)

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” – John 20:24-29

I used to spend way too much time in my life angry about one thing or another. After being frustrated with managing people, I decided there had to be a better way. I came to realize that people want to be spoken to in a way that makes them feel like they matter. They want to be heard in a way that makes them feel someone is listening. I genuinely care about people but used to wonder why they thought I didn’t have time for them…

Recently I was driving into work when I saw a father and his daughter waiting at the bus stop. I had seen them before; she appears to be around six or seven years of age and her father always accompanies her to the bus stop and waits with her till she boards the bus. Sometimes he stands by himself while his daughter and other waiting children run and play around him. This particular morning was very cold and they were the only ones waiting outside for the bus. The little girl had her arms crossed, trying to keep warm, while her father stood behind her to block the wind. He adjusted her coat to make sure it was zipped to the top and that her hood was snug. Finally, he took off his outer jacket and was wrapping it around his daughter. I knew he must be cold being outside in just a flannel shirt, but his focus was on his daughter. The image of the two of them struck me as an apt visual metaphor of God…

Bob Goff is one of my favorite authors. I was introduced to his work while in high school; our Youth Director, Amy Givens, led us in the study of Goff’s book, Love Does. Recently, I started reading his book, Dream Big. In the introduction, Goff says that the advice to never change, is some of the worst advice he has ever received. He states that we are supposed to constantly be changing into kinder, humbler, and more faithful people. Of course, with change comes the risk of failure. In fact, there are often many mistakes along the path of change…

The season of Lent begins a time of spring cleaning in my life. Whether giving up something tangible or intangible, it feels good for my soul to let something go. A few years ago, I dropped social media. It was crazy how much better I felt about my life. It’s extremely easy to compare your life to another’s. You see “perfect” family photos or extravagant five-year-old birthday party decorations or even wonder why you weren’t invited to that fun event. We all know how hateful people can be with their comments as well.

At the time of Jesus, the Roman government had publicans, chief tax collectors who were charged with the responsibility of collecting the taxes in a region. Zaccheus is an example of a chief tax collector in the Bible. In turn, they would employ many different people in the region to actually collect the taxes. There were a multitude of taxes: everyone over a certain age was taxed with the exception of the elderly, there were travel taxes on roads, import taxes on multiple products, food taxes, etc.

All praise to our redeeming Lord,
who joins us by His grace,
and bids us, each to each restored,
together seek His face.

He bids us build each other up;
and, gathered into one,
to our high calling’s glorious hope
we hand in hand go on.

And if our fellowship below
in Jesus be so sweet,
what height of rapture shall we know
when round His throne we meet!

– Charles Wesley, 1747

And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”  They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was reckoned with transgressors’; for what is written about me has its fulfillment.” And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.” – Luke 22:35-38

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Matthew 9:9-13

When I started seminary, I thought I was solid in my faith. I had grown up in church, was active in the youth group, went to a United Methodist school for my undergraduate, and had served in the church for several years at that point. However, as I started taking my seminary classes, I quickly realized just how much I didn’t know about my faith. It started to raise all kinds of questions for me about what I believed, and the fact that I had questions that I didn’t have the answers to was frightening…