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Part 5 of the series ‘Desert Spirituality’  Gratitude Begets Gratitude Submitted to Red Rock News for 11/29/24 Rev. Dona Johnson |November 24, 2024 Are you feeling grateful this Thanksgiving? If so, what are you grateful for? Henri Nouwen suggests gratitude is the most fruitful way of deepening your consciousness that you are not an “accident,” but a divine choice. “It is important to realize how often we have had chances to be grateful and have not used them. When someone is kind to us, when an event turns out well, when a problem is solved, a relationship restored, a wound healed, there are very concrete reasons to offer thanks: be it with words, with flowers, with a text, a card, a phone call, or just a gesture of affection. . . ”Every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for.        Gratitude is one of the identifying virtues for any follower of Jesus Christ. An enemy of gratefulness focusing on what we don’t have. Better said, living a life of lack. Maybe someone or something in your life is not meeting your expectations. So, rather than focus on the goodness in a person or situation, we become obsessed with what we feel is lacking, and that morphs into feelings ungrateful and resentment—a vicious cycle.        Sometimes we can become so focused on what we think is wrong around us that we lose sight of God’s blessings. We develop an attitude that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence that stymies a life of gratitude. We become less grateful and thus less gracious and this leads to complaining. This can happen without our ever realizing it. Who wants to be around a person who complains all the time and a person who is not gracious? Gratitude is the opposite of resentment, in Latin it means gratia, favor. Gratitude is not an occasional ‘thanks be to God,’ but the way of the heart, a heart turned towards God’s favor.  Gratefulness takes away our fatigue and the apathy we often feel when we become distracted with discontent. Much of the discontent we feel towards others flows out of the dissatisfaction we have with ourselves.        But moving away from resentment requires moving toward something that is life-giving, and that something is gratitude. Gratitude looks towards the future, towards what could be and sees new possibilities. What are some of the little things you are grateful for? Maybe it’s having that first cup of hot coffee in the morning. What about a beloved friend who is always there to support you? What about the breathtaking view of the mountains out your window? What about thanking God that you have eyes to see, ears to hear, legs to move and hands to grasp?       Gratitude…goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift, a gift from God to be cherished in ourselves and in others. In the end “gratitude” is a choice we make.Jesus modeled gratefulness perfectly! He continually, raised his head and eyes upward thanking his heavenly Father, whether it was multiplying a few loaves of bread and fish to feed 5000 people (Matt. 14:19), or breaking bread with the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke24:30), or the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41). Again, before Jesus was to be arrested and crucified, Jesus gave holy communion to his disciples at the meal of the Passover—the Last Supper. He lifted the bread and cup towards heaven and gave thanks (Matt. 26:27). In fact, in many congregations, every Sunday, holy communion is celebrated at the climax of each worship service. It is called the Great Thanksgiving—because it is “great,” it is God’s amazing grace penetrating the human heart in the bread and the cup. It is a foretaste of the gloriously feast to come for all God’s people.       So, as image bearers of Jesus, on this weekend before Thanksgiving, wherever you are in life and in whatever situation you find yourself, reach out to someone and share something of yourself with others— be kind, be generous and look for the goodness of God in others. Celebrate life, the living. You have a Savior, Christ the Lord who adores you. And in him, you have more than you could ever imagine. Remember, gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love. May boundless blessings of God fill your heart with gratitude! Rev. Dona Johnson |November 24, 2024

Part 4 of the series ‘Desert Spirituality’: The spiritual practice of proximity  overpowers greed  Submitted to the Red Rock News for 11/22/24 Rev. Dona Johnson |November 17, 2024 Greed is a vice that distorts the natural desires that, when unchecked, lead to significant personal and communal harm writes author Rebecca DeYoung. Greed deals with the compulsive consumption of material wealth. A good example, you may have a huge nest egg of financial investments stored away, but there is always this nagging voice that says, “Oh if I could have just a little bit more.” We accumulate because of an underlying insecurity. We fear that we will run out of money before leave this world. And this is surely a legitimate fear. And yet the more we have seems to create more anxiety and dissatisfaction, a vicious cycle.       Henri Nouwen makes an interesting point; the two main enemies of the spiritual life are anger and greed. “Greed and anger are brother and sister of the false self—the self we fabricate by the compulsions of an unredeemed world.” Maybe deep down, we are angry because we are not the people we want to be. So we keep accumulating more of just about everything in hopes that we will quell the unspoken dissatisfaction we have with ourselves. Nouwen continues, “Anger paralyzes a generous heart.”       So what do we do with this dilemma? Turning to Scripture, it’s surprising to learn that out of Jesus’ 38 parables, in 16 of them he mentions money and possessions more than faith and prayer (Matt. 18:23-25; 25:14-30; Mark 10:17-30…). Why? He knew all too well the weakness of the human heart. We want eternity but we also want the worldly benefits of what money can buy for us right now! But Jesus’ concern was not about our having money per se, but our obsession with it. And to be overly focused on money endangers our spiritual lives.       If greed is the vice, then generosity is its virtue. Generosity is a fruit of the spiritual life. Christians among all people, are called to be over-the-top generous with their money and possessions towards the church, other Christians and all who suffer. Looking back centuries ago, several of the early church fathers who fled the distractions of ecclesiastical life, made pilgrimages to the desert to be closer with God. They intentionally took vows of poverty, lived meagerly to get away from the earthly compulsions of greed, money and living a false Christian witness. St. Basil the Great came out of his desert experience after twenty years so transformed by the voice of the God, that he vowed to use his life, his God-given natural abilities and resources to help the suffering, to care for the orphans and widows. In 386 A.D. he built one of the first hospitals. He also went on to build orphanages and homes for the elderly.      Chris Hall, author of the video series “Desert Spirituality” asks: If Basil were to sit with us in our living rooms right now, what advice or spiritual practice might he suggest that we undertake to become more generous? I believe he would suggest the spiritual practice of ‘proximity.’ Proximity, to be close to and not distant from people who suffer. In other words, to be so deeply moved by the suffering of others that you feel it in your bones. It opens your heart and opens your purse strings. When you truly take in the suffering and poverty of people, animals and creation, you can’t help but give, and give generously. When you understand that their suffering by the grace of God is not yours—it moves you to radical action. Reformer Martin Luther was on point when he said, “People go through three conversions: The conversion of their head, their heart, and their pocketbook. Unfortunately, not all at the same time.”      Thanksgiving is almost upon us. What is the Lord asking you to see that you are not seeing? Each of us can become a more generous person, holding what we possess lightly. The result of which is freedom— freedom from the sin of our own greed and abundance for others.Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are so extremely generous, you hold nothing back. Lord make me a generous person, if there is any greed within me, cleanse me and make me whole. Amen. Rev. Dona Johnson |November 17, 2024

Part 3 of the series ‘Desert Spirituality’ God’s Love Overpowers Our  Envy and Jealousy  Submitted to the Red Rock News for 11/15/24 Rev. Dona Johnson |November 12, 2024 Envy is one of the currents within the heart that makes deep grooves in the human soul. Scripture calls out envy as a vice and we need to understand its power and destructive nature. So, what does envy look like. In Proverbs 73:3-6, we are given a description of someone who is envious. “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.” The wisdom of this passage depicts a person who was envious of those who had healthy and beautiful bodies. A person who was envious of those who had accumulated wealth, and especially envious of those who seemed to have no problems in life—life made in the shade.       So, what is envy? Envy is wanting some aspect of someone else’s life. You may want their fame, status, character, accomplishments and or wealth. Rather than be happy for them, rather than rejoice in the gifts and blessing which have been bestowed on them, you have contempt for and begrudge them. A whole host of things can make us envious. For many, money is a big one. We can easily be envious of people who live in bigger homes, drive expensive cars and have more education. Acclaim, fame and popularity can make a person envious . Envy can make you obsessed with what others have and if left unchecked, fuels resentment and hatred towards others.       Cyprian of Carthage an early church father from the 3rd Century said this about envy, ““But what a gnawing worm of the soul is it, what a plague-spot of our thoughts, what a rust of the heart, to be jealous of another, either in respect of his virtue or of his happiness; that is, to hate in him either his own deserving’s or the divine benefits…”       Gavin Ortland, author of Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness writes, “There is no joy in your life that cannot be destroyed by envy. No matter what you have, envy can say, “Yes, you might have X, but you don’t have Y.” . . . “Yeah, you might have gotten into that college, but you didn’t get into that one.” “Yeah, you might be making good money, but you don’t have enough time to enjoy it.” “Yeah, your church might be growing, but you don’t have the opportunities that so-and-so has.”        Like all vices, envy is universal. It is the enemy of love. By definition, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Many a career or ministry has collapsed under too much too soon. Many of us want what others have without considering the sacrifice. Always remember, behind every success there lies a cost, sometimes a great struggle that requires time and effort. Being patient, living every day to the fullest, living every day with the end in mind guides us towards God’s preferred future for us. God will provide!      So how do you avoid or stop being envious of others? First, prayerfully confess your envy and ask God to replace your feelings of jealousy with his peace and contentment. “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones (Proverbs 14:30). Secondly, avoid comparing yourself to others. Look at what God has already gifted you with. Yes, stop and look around you. Take inventory of all you have. If you are honest with yourself, you have much more than you think. God has given you the promise of a glorious future. So, rejoice and be grateful for your body and how God meticulously wove every part of it together, you are his masterpiece, be grateful for what God-given abilities and skills you have, be grateful for whatever material blessings you’ve been given and use them all for good, rather than be discouraged and discontent. May each of us learn how to rejoice in the giftedness, the fortunes and successes of others and our own. Amen. Rev. Dona Johnson |November 12, 2024

Overpowering Vainglory With God’s Love  Part 2 of the series ‘Desert Spirituality’ Submitted to Red Rock News for 11/08/24 Rev. Dona Johnson |November 3, 2024 Have you ever padded your resume when searching for a job? Resume padding is quite a common practice these days—the practice of adding untrue or exaggerated information to your resume to make your accomplishments look greater than they are. A recent LinkedIn survey reports that 72% of job applicants lie on their resumes, while 68% percent lie during their interviews. They lie mostly about academic achievements.       Have you ever heard the phrase ‘vain glory’? In Christian circles it is known as a vice, an excessive elation or pride over one’s own achievements and abilities. Today’s culture sees a person’s worth, value and usefulness in society based on their success and accomplishments, so much so that they are willing to inflate and stretch the truth about themselves. It is such a great temptation to glorify ourselves by exaggerating how good we are. This also happens in every facet of life. A great example of this is our social media hits. We’re so hungry for ‘likes.’ Many of us feel so accepted and important when we receive a great number of likes for our posts.       But all in all, vain glory is a relational issue. Most of us crave affirmation, applause and appreciation. We want so desperately to be loved and liked. Being known, being recognized, being appreciated and acknowledged — these are the things we people live for. So, where do we go wrong? When we put ourselves on display, show off and inflate our goodness, we are actually at that point of manufacturing glory for ourselves by putting ourselves out there, says Rebecca DeYoung, author of Glittering Vices. You might say, we either don’t trust or acknowledge the deep affirmation that has already been given to us by God. Very early, as children we learn to brag about ourselves.  And Christians have no immunity to bragging and seeking a name for themselves. “I am the lead pastor of a growing church; we’re worshiping 150 on Sunday.” Or how about this, “I baptized fifteen people on Sunday.” Or what about this, “I am good person, I would never do something like that, I am not one of those kinds of people.”       Paul in both Romans and Ephesians makes it clear, we are always in every way and every circumstance to give praise and glory to God for our faith, for the grace and countless blessings God continues to shower us with, even as we sin. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Ro 1:17). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8- 9). Now faith produces works, no doubt about it but those works and our achievements do not produce salvation, it is faith alone that produces righteousness in us.       The early church Fathers likened vain glory to peeling back an onion. Every time you peel back a layer, another layer of vanity stares you in the face. DeYoung continues, “Augustine’s and Aquinas’s moral insight is that every vice is a sham substitute for some good thing that we try to self-manufacture, rather than receiving as a gift from God. What’s the good we hunger for when tempted by vainglory? Being known and loved. We long for the attentive love of others.”      So once again, the vice or call it the weakness or flaw of vain glory comes down to love. That is what every human being longs for—to be fully known, imperfections and all and also truly loved. As those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus, there is no longer a need to brag, promote ourselves, justify our goodness and compete against others. Faith alone gives us a holy identity with an eternal destiny—that far out weights any worldly gains we seek. God’s love for us is fiercely unconditional and his grace is inexhaustible.   Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to see my worth and value not in competing with my neighbor or all my attempts to self-promote how good I am, but you alone make me good, in you alone is where I find my true value and an eternal purpose. Amen.   We will be starting a new series Desert Spirituality with Chris Hall from Renovare. In this series we will explore the nine vices (or sins) with virtues that bring life. Rev. Dona Johnson |November 3, 2024

Overcoming Pride with Humility   Submitted to Red Rock News for 11/01/24 Rev. Dona Johnson |October 27, 2024 Aristotle wrote that our vices and virtues are those aspects of our character that are second nature to us. Rebecca DeYoung author of Glittering Vices writes, “Christian thinkers have long considered that the work of Christianity is to continually die to the bad and rise to the good, and so the virtues and vices were incorporated into Christian teaching. The desert fathers, who left the Christian ecclesiastical structures of wealth and luxury to live lives of asceticism and take vows of poverty, living in the desert and caves of Egypt, redefined the list of vices to include nine: pride, anger vainglory, envy, gluttony, greed, fear, lust and sloth. C.S. Lewis suggests of all the vices, “Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.”       Although pride can be a good thing, such as taking pride in your work or family, too much pride can fuel wars, divorces, fierce competition, congregational splits, criminal acts and creates deep impasses that can permanently sever relationships. Pride, is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, successes or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired by others.       Pride is the original sin depicted in the story of the fall of humanity in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve who ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, out of pride wanted to ‘become like gods,’ but they did this against the will of God. And that is exactly what pride is, it is self-centered, it seeks its own gain or advantage. Beauty, success, popularity, intellectual and athletic achievements can be sources of worldly pride.  All of which can manifest into a sense of superiority and discrimination against others. Pride is the major obstacle to forgiving others. Pride prevents us from admitting our wrongs and taking an honest look at our own harmful behaviors. There is also a spiritual pride which in some cases creates ‘false prophets.’ Spiritual pride is an arrogance about Biblical knowledge. Unchecked, pride leads to selfishness, self-inflation and makes us think we are above others, above creation and also makes us feel justified to treat others poorly. In the end, pride is embedded in humanity because we forget or refuse to live out God’s will.       The antidote to pride is humility. Although pride originated in the Garden, humility reaches perfection in Jesus and cross. Humility is having a right view of yourself—compared to the universe, we are God’s creatures, small, dependent, finite, limited in intelligence and ability and prone to sin. But we are also God’s children: created, loved and redeemed by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Humility is also having a right view of God. God is both creator and redeemer, who has the ultimate control over our eternal destinies.      Americans have a widespread, chronic reoccupation with self which is rooted in pride. Paul’s instructions in Philippians runs counter to our current narcissistic culture, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”(Phil. 2:3–4). As we refuse to be preoccupied with ourselves and our own importance and seek to love and serve others, humility reshapes our self-centeredness into outward expressions of love, sacrifice, forgiveness and service towards our neighbor just as Jesus did for us (Phil 2:5-11). Jesus who was God became a suffering servant. We all long to be loved with genuine warmth and acceptance and always laced with lots of grace. We will be starting a new series Desert Spirituality with Chris Hall from Renovare. In this series we will explore the nine vices (or sins) with virtues that bring life. Rev. Dona Johnson |October 27, 2024

The Desert Is A Place Of Spiritual Learning Taken from a Red Rock News Article (10/11/24) Rev. Dona Johnson |October 20, 2024 Sedona, unlike the warmer more arid regions of the Sonoran Desert, is still considered high desert country. It is a place that during the summer months can be very hot, dry and the backcountry can at times bring a deafening stillness. The high desert is both a beautiful place and a place that tests your agility and endurance.       Throughout biblical history, the desert has been known as a place of intense solitude where people encountered God. As Parker Palmer has said, “The desert is a significant learning space, and it was a significant place of learning for Jesus and this wilderness experience strengthened Jesus for his vocation.”       Some of the earliest, if not the earliest Christian monastics, the desert fathers and mothers of Egypt retreated to wilderness places. They intentionally moved away from ecclesiastical centers to the more barren desert areas. There they lived ascetically, living sparsely off the land. All if this was in reaction to the acquired luxury and laxness after Christianity was declared legal and became the official religion of the Roman Empire.       Throughout Scripture God used the desert as a place to test, teach and communicate to his people. In Hebrew, the word for desert is MIDBAR where we get the word ‘medaber’ which means to ‘speak.’ In the wilderness God gathered his chosen people. Then he called Moses to lead them into the wilderness for 40 years. God used those 40 years to speak to his people and demonstrate his saving power. It was not an easy journey.  There was definitely a power struggle between Israel and God. At Mount Sinai God not only spoke to Moses, but gave his people the Ten Commandments, a sign of his deep and abiding love for them. In the wilderness God met Elijah. Later still John the Baptist lived out his ministry in the harsh conditions of the desert, calling people to repentance. Thus, clearing the way for Jesus’ temptation in the desert for 40 days which strengthen him for his vocation—to bring salvation to humanity.        The desert is also used as a metaphor for the spiritual life. We all will eventually experience the desert. When we lose our way, when what worked in the past no longer serves us well, when our vibrant and alive spiritual life suddenly feels dried up or when we feel disillusioned with our belief system and it feels like the voice of God has gone silent.      Wilderness places are where God does some of his best work in us. God is with us in those times when we pray. ‘Surely Lord you are not asking this of me?’ In the desert we hang in there with God, in the heat of the desert, in the demands of the desert, they grow us in ways we would not have the opportunity to grow if we were not there in that very demanding and difficult place.      Human beings want to run from the truth. The truth about ourselves and the truth about God. Facing the truth threatens us. But when we find ourselves in vulnerable places, when we find ourselves in a survival mode, the masks we hide behind, the false images we create and project to others and the bad habits we live with fall away. They no longer protect us. In desert experiences, facing the truth about ourselves can be a painful experience and it is also a life-giving. God uses painful situations to reshape us from the inside out. Whether it be working through a serious illness, marital conflict, a stubborn addiction or unexplored childhood trauma, there is something in the center of these situations that we must take a truthful look at. And when this happens, our prayer is transformed into ‘Thank you Lord for not giving me everything I asked for.’ In the desert, a reordering of our desires and longings take place. And through these periods of testing, we come to truly know ourselves for the first time and our relationship with God moves from ‘belief in God’ to ‘knowing God.’ Amen. Rev. Dona Johnson |October 20, 2024

During The 2024 Election, Prayers  Are To Be Made For All People…  Submitted to the Red Rock News for (10/18/24) Rev. Dona Johnson |October 13, 2024 Right now, a large majority of American citizens are engaging in passionate conversations, discerning and zeroing in on who they will vote for in the 2024 presidential election. From a Christian perspective, with all the various political ideologies that exist, how are we to discern, prepare and approach elections? Author David Koyzis in his book Political Visions and Illusions writes, ‘In recent decades, alternative visions of the political life, ranging from ethnic nationalism to individualistic liberalism, are visions that play out either with power or justice.’ Koyzis continues, ‘Political ideologies are not merely a matter of governmental efficacy, but are intrinsically and inescapably religious: each carries certain assumptions about the nature of reality, individuals and society as well as a particular vision for the common good.’ It’s important to note that all of these political ideologies are to some degree rooted in idolatrous worldviews.       So how are Christians called to respond to elections and politics? Paul in a letter to Timothy, instructs the young pastor to pray and make intercessions for emperors, kings and all those who are in positions of authority. Paul said, ‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’ (1 Timothy 2:1-7).       The early church regarded it an absolute duty to pray and bring before the throne of grace those people in authority over them—emperors and kings. Emperor Nero in the first century hated Christians. So much so, he falsely accused, tortured and killed them. Many emperors that ruled in the first few centuries were not Christian, in fact they despised them. Paul urges Timothy to pray for such emperors. Pray for peace, a change of heart, forgiveness and reconciliation. Thus, Christian prayers are to be universally non-discriminating and far-reaching. They are to include not only those we agree with and who have the same political views, but we are to pray for those we passionately disagree with and those we vehemently oppose. Prayer is to be made for all. That includes every person, regardless of their political views and positions in society. For the early Christians no one was to be excluded from the prayers of the people of God—for all are in need redemption.      The gospel includes both the people in high places and low places. It includes both the emperor in his power and also the poor in theirhelplessness. The gospel includes both the wise and philosophical and ordinary men and women who are less educated. Those in power with wealth and those who have little power and are middle class. Within the gospel there are no class or political distinctions. And so we learn, and it is a very difficult lesson to embrace in our current polarizing political culture, for true Christians, no one is outside the purview of our prayers, for no one is outside the love of Christ and the mission of God—who wants all to be saved.      So, as we approach this year’s 2024 elections, let us remember Paul’s words to young Timothy, pray for all people regardless of their political affiliation. Pray for people on both sides of the political aisle. Pray that our leader’s hearts will be changed and transformed by the love of God. May all people who are elected into office be servants of all people and live for a cause greater than themselves, sacrificing for the common good of all people. Amen. Rev. Dona Johnson |October 13, 2024

God Bottles Up Our Tears Taken from a Red Rock News Article (10/4/24) Rev. Dona Johnson | Oct 6, 2024 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. –Psalm 56:8 It’s difficult to watch on the news right now the people who are crying out for help from the vast devastation left by hurricane Helene—the deep pain and sorrow you see in survivor’s eyes as they experience a gut-wrenching sense of loss.        When was the last time you had a good cry? Did you ever think about this: human beings are the only creatures whose feelings enable them to cry—surprise, grief, joy, sorrow. Scientist believe tears are a heightened emotional response. Before you cry, basically, your body is getting riled up and emotions reach a peak. But when the tears begin to flow, your body actually starts to relax. Your heart rate slows down, the parasympathetic nervous system gets involved, which suggests that tears are something that actually may allow our nervous system to mellow out and recalibrate. Thus, crying can be both a release and a cleansing experience.       Henry Ward Beecher, a pastor who was vehemently against slavery wrote, “Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven.” Oscar Romero, a priest in San Salvador who was gunned down while officiating mass said, “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.” Crying is thus a holy act. Crying allows us to release our hurts and disappointments to God and by doing so, God speaks his truths deep into our souls. Frederick Buechner wrote on tears, “YOU NEVER KNOW what may cause them.  The sight of the Atlantic Ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you’ve never seen before. A pair of somebody’s old shoes can do it…Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.”       Throughout Scripture, we are told over and over again how God not only hears but listens to the cries of his people, and through our tears God speaks to us. There are some people who chose to stay home from church when trauma strikes because they fear cry during worship. Many of us feel embarrassed by our tears, we’ve been conditioned to think tears are a sign of weakness. In a culture that prizes strength and grows uncomfortable with prolonged grieving, many of us respond to our own tears with an apology, thinking we need to get a grip on our circumstances. However, God invites each of us to bring our tears to the altar. Our suffering is never wasted. God remembers our suffering and records each tear we shed in his book.Scripture tells us that our tears are important to God. God actually bottles up our tears. David while in the midst of his enemies wrote, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book (Ps. 56:8).” David trusted that God would remember his suffering.Jesus also wept several times: over the death of his beloved friend Lazarus (John 11:35). He felt sorrow deep in his bones. And with his tears, he reached down into the darkness of death itself and raised Lazarus out of the tomb and redeemed his life. Again in Revelations 21:3-4 we are promised, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” To know in your heart that the God of the universe cares enough about you to wipe away ‘every’ tear from your eyes and also values every tear and bottle them up, makes living in this world a little more bearable. Amen.

Beauty Taken from a Red Rock News Article (8/27/24) Rev. Dona Johnson | Sept 29, 2024 ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ is a somewhat true statement. When you look at a work of art, hike a certain trail with all sorts of beautiful terrain or love the beauty of certain architectural forms and fashions, you may fall head over heels over their beauty while others could care less and think otherwise. From fashion to architecture, the way things look have a significant impact on our emotions, behavior and even our decision-making. Beauty has the power to attract and distract us in many ways. Have you ever caught a glimpse of something so beautiful that it brought you to tears or left you speechless? Scientist believe that when we see something that we find aesthetically pleasing, our brains release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes us feel good. This is why we feel happy and uplifted when we see beautiful art, nature, or even a well designed product. The emotional impact of aesthetics also influences our behavior, our choices and how we show discretion towards others.       There is also another popular idiom on beauty—’beauty runs skin deep.’ Scripture has much to say about human beauty. Yes, a person’s beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there is so much more than physical beauty. What about a person’s character, values and love towards others? The world focuses on what people look like on the outside, but God focuses on what the person looks like on the inside. When Samuel chose the next king, God told him not to choose a king based on how they looked. God said to Samuel, ‘Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Sam 16:7).  When people judge others solely by their outward appearances, they may overlook other qualities the person has because their physical appearance is not what the current cultures admires. Again in 1 Peter 3:3-4, we are told that our beauty comes not from outward adornment, certain hair styles, jewelry and clothes. Instead, we are to look at the inner spirit of the person—the love, mercy and compassion they extend to others.       The world and its savvy marketing strategies want you to think that you are lacking beauty and self-worth because your home, the style of clothes you wear, the car you drive and the places you vacation are not trending. The world’s marketing has to a great degree defined what self worth is and what it isn’t. Generally speaking, marketing campaigns have stayed consistent over the decades. Generation after generation. The ultimate purpose? With our product/service, you will feel good enough. You will feel: happy, sexy, powerful, connected, rich, top-of-the-food-chain.      The God-given soul of a person has a beauty all its own. It transcends all physical appearances, wealth and poverty, health and illness and status and fame. The Psalmist says that we were already created with self-worth: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Ps 139:14). God who created you gave you an intrinsic beauty that no one else or no other thing can give you. God’s character goes into the creation of every person. When you feel worthless, when you compare yourself to others and marketing ads and become discontent or hopeless with who you are or what you have, remember that God’s Spirit which is both perfect and beautiful is already within you. God deems you worthy of love. It is only through Jesus Christ and through his death and resurrection that all humanity is made worthy and given a special divine beauty. As we follow Jesus Christ, we take on a new internal beauty and attractiveness that transcends everything else. Amen.

Living One Day At A Time Defeats Worry  Taken from a Red Rock News Article (8/20/24) Rev. Dona Johnson | Sept 22, 2024 Psychology Today says that anxiety is now the leading mental health problem around the world. Anxiety is on the rise. Increasing numbers of children and adolescents are also being diagnosed with anxiety every day. In the U.S. one third of adults suffer from moderate to severe anxiety. So, what is anxiety? We all experience some degree of anxiety. Anxiety means we are alive and alert. It is not necessarily a bad thing. Dr. Henry Cloud suggests that when our anxiety is no longer manageable and at a heightened state, our adrenal and lymphatic systems which carry experiences such as, trauma, harmful parenting practices, economic and cultural shifts can prompt our systems to be activated all the time. Simply stated, anxiety is worry, a response to unknown danger whether real or imagined. When we experience anxiety, racing heartbeat, negative thoughts and dreadful fear of future events, it’s a warning to us to make the necessary changes in our life to protect, care and listen to what is going on inside us and around us.       Jesus clearly understood the effects of worry and anxiety on the human mind, heart and soul. And so he made it a point to include it in his Sermon on the Mount, a sermon which expanded in great detail the Ten Commandments (Matthew 5-7). He said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “(Matt. 6:25-28). Jesus continues by saying look at the flowers and how your Father clothes them with beautiful blooms. Martin Luther claims the lilies of the field are our theologians. He wrote, ‘The little flowers in the field, which cattle trample and eat, are to become our theologians and masters and to embarrass us still further. Just look at them grow, all adorned with lovely colors! Yet not one of them is anxious or worried about how it should grow or what color it should have, but it leaves these anxieties to God.’       Jesus promises that If we seek God first above all things, all the others things that we so urgently strive for, all driven by anxiety will be given to us. As God provides daily food for the tiny Canyon Wren and the Black-Throated Sparrow, God will most certainly provide for the needs of his people. That is not to say that birds don’t work for their food. They do. But the point Jesus makes is that birds don’t worry. There is not found in them the human weakness of straining to see a future which cannot be seen and seeking to find security stored up and accumulated against the future. What would each day look like if we gave ourselves fully to it?      God who loves his creatures also knows our human limitations. He calls us out of our anxiety to live a life free of worry. Jesus offers us a way to defeat our anxiety—live one day at a time. Each and every day, God calls us to live not in the past and not in the future but to live fully present to each moment. Each moment of every day is a gift from God, rich with countless possibilities to experience God’s presence, protection and provisions. He offers us both peace and prosperity. So, when worry wants to take over your life, look up at the mountains, watch the birds feed from their Creator’s hand, marvel at all the beautiful variety of cactus and cedar trees that patiently wait for the next rain—God’s presence, his grace and his provisions are all around us. As God so generously provides for them, he will surely provide for you. +