Sometimes the greatest lessons in life can be learned by getting lost...
"But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." ~Isaiah 43:1
It's funny how a title can change your perspective. A little over 8 years ago I was blessed to be called "Dad." I remember that moment as both incredible and challenging. The reality of being a dad was incredibly exciting. I was super thrilled about that moment and the reality of the news. Yet, I was also terrified. What if I screw this thing up? What if I mess up my kid? What if I break this tiny little thing? The same was true the moment that I married my incredible wife. A title that shifted my focus from simply surviving to thriving. I married a wonderful person and I went from being a single guy, to a person who was now a husband. The same reality is true this week. I have been sitting on a moment from Sunday morning. I had a moment, when what could have been nerve wracking, I finally felt a sense of identity. "Pastor Jeremy." What a title. I have wanted to be a pastor for at least a decade or two. Yet, in all realities I have tried my best to avoid it. Putting off education for the last couple of decades because being present in this identity was too difficult. This week, in a moment of interpersonal struggle. I finally had a moment of claiming that title an identity as who I am called to be. Tonight, I had a moment to admit that was true. The title I have tried to avoid was coming to a reality and for that I am grateful. This is a weird title, a weird reality worth claiming. What a wealth of tears and joy to finally admit something I have tried to avoid. It got me thinking this week. What identity do you struggle with claiming, and trusting? What word of challenge, or word of hope is holding you back from who God has called you to be? Ponder that this evening, this week, and this month. Maybe God is calling you to something you have been avoiding for a long time? Time to step into the unknown and trust.
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Text: “but the Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Devotion: Have you ever felt surprised by grace? When I was a kid I made a huge mistake. A friend and I decided that we wanted to throw rocks at a squirrel that was running around a tree, had been noisy, and causing a ruckus. Mostly, we were really unwise kids creating a nuisance. Well, having the accuracy of an adolescent, we hit the window with a rock and shattered the window. I remember the absolute terror I felt when the rock hit the glass. That sense of fear that accompanied waiting the punishment. Yet, the neighbor came out of the house, walked over to us, and asked if we were ok. He didn’t scream, yell, punish us, but cared for us. The only small favor he asked was help sweeping up the broken glass. That gentleman taught me a lesson about grace that I will never forget. The beauty of being met where we are, not with what we deserve but with love, compassion, and kindness. This week we invite you to think about offering a word of grace to those around you. Find a person who could use a word of kindness, a word of forgiveness, and meet them where they are at. At the same time, what word of grace do you need to extend to yourself? We hope this week you have a chance to extend a measure of grace that has been extended to you. May you find grace enough for today. Act:
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, harmony; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Creator, Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” ~Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi Social Media Prompt: What does a grace-filled life look like? Text: “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.” Psalm 96:11-12
Devotion: “Music is the language of the heart; it makes our soul dance with joy.” ~Debasish Mridha. I have loved over the last several years watching Weston jam out to his favorite music on Alexa. You can hear him belting out his favorite tunes, going crazy with his favorite dance moves, and bouncing all over the house. Music is the thing that brings out the joy for him and it in turn it brings out the joy for us. As a community of faith, singing creates a space of joy and connectedness. It is the element used to unite people in their causes, or identifies a generation and the events in that generation. Elk River Lutheran Church is a congregation that values joy as a part of our identity. In the midst of a pandemic, political uncertainty, and all the chaos we are experiencing, joy is one of the things that hold us together. Give yourself permission this week to let yourself go! Crank up the music, dance like nobody's watching, and sing your heart out! Create a little joy and find new ways to share that good news with others! You are loved, you are called, and you are invited! May you find joy this week! Act:
Prayer: Loving God, stir in us a spirit of joy this week. Help us pour out your spirit into the lives of others. In your holy name. Amen! Social Media Prompt: What gives you the greatest joy? Text: “When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40
Devotion: Do you remember that awkward phase as a kid? The one when you felt out of sorts? Maybe you were like me, you grew three shoe sizes in a school year and often tripped over your own feet, or stubbed your toes on anything with a corner. Maybe you had a point where your pants were too short, or acne wasn’t your best friend. Somewhere along the way, despite the best efforts of bullies, or our own self-consciousness, we gradually grew out of that phase of life and learned who we were as a person. Though, admittedly, I can’t remember the day that it happened, I eventually learned to be comfortable in my own skin. I learned to accept myself, warts, and all. Jesus’s words this week paint an incredible picture of acceptance. We, as people of God, are called to love God first and love our neighbor as ourselves. Learning to give and receive love from God expands into learning to love our neighbor… as much as we love ourselves. Learning to accept yourself as the beloved person you are, translates into the ways we learn to love our neighbor. This week, as you explore this topic, be kind to yourself, learn to love what you can’t change. In doing so, we learn to pass that love onto someone else. ~Jeremy Hallquist Act:
Social Media Prompt: How do you learn to deal with people you don’t always agree with? How do you learn to accept things in yourself you struggle with? Text: “He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”Luke 14:12-14
Devotion: Before arriving at Elk River Lutheran my wife and I had an experience visiting a congregation that gave us the cold shoulder. We arrived, sat near the middle of the church, and I believe had our friendliest faces on. Yet, as we sat through worship we didn’t receive a single handshake, smile, or word of welcome. I had honestly thought we smelled bad or had committed the most grievous of sins by sitting in someone’s pew. We both left that day feeling like we had done something wrong. At one point in our lives, we have all felt that we didn’t fit in, or that we didn’t belong. Feeling unwelcome feels miserable. As dearly loved children of God, we reminded again and again how welcome we are in God’s family. A welcome that begins in God and pours out through us. We invite you this week to think about ways to invite others in, to encourage one another, and to be people who reciprocate love and welcome that has been extended to us through Christ Jesus. ~Jeremy Hallquist Act:
Social Media Prompt: Where have you felt the most welcome and why? Sunday, September 13th:
Drive-In (Theme: Serving) God’s Work. Our Hands.Text: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 Devotion: I love these words from Matthew 5. They may sound familiar to you as the words that follow baptisms in our Lutheran order of worship. There is a brief moment near the end of the baptismal service where a baptismal candle is lit and passed from the Christ candle to the family of the person being baptized. This symbol goes largely unnoticed for most people. Yet, there is something beautiful happening. The light of Christ goes with us and we are invited to carry that light out into the world. The candle and the words, connected to our baptismal calling invite us to “live among God’s faithful people, hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, serve all people following the example of Jesus, and strive for peace and justice in all the earth.” (ELW) The passing of the light is an invitation to go out into the world and shine a light wherever you may go. Loving and serving our neighbors as an act of living out faith in radical ways. Today, as we embark on this journey of “God’s Work. Our Hands.” we invite you to hear the ways God has called you to shine a light in this world. ~ Jeremy Hallquist Act:
Social Media Prompt: How does serving others fill your bucket? |
AuthorHusband, Dad, Seminary Student, Hopeful Future Pastor. Learning to lean into God's better perspective. Click to set custom HTML
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Copyright of Jeremy Hallquist © 2018
All views and opinions are my own.
All views and opinions are my own.