Today we finish our message series about learning what we can about our faith through facebook. facebook was created to help you share and connect with the people in your life. To get into your facebook account you need to enter your email address and your password. And you can do this each time you want to get into your facebook account.
However there is also a little box you can mark so that you do not have to reenter your information every time you want to get into facebook. By marking this box your computer remembers your email and password and gets you right into your account when you go to the facebook homepage. This little box says, “Keep me logged in.”
You would not want to mark that box if you were checking your account from someone else’s computer or from a public computer because then whoever uses that computer after you can get into your account. But it sure is nice to click that box on my home computer, and yes, my work computer. Then I just go to facebook and it takes me right to my account.
Now this does not mean I am on facebook continuously like 24/7, but only when I go to that page.
So staying logged in on facebook is a nice little feature. And I believe that staying logged in, staying connected to God is vital in our faith. The worst times in my life have been times I have felt distant from God. Times that I felt disconnected from my faith. And if we can discover ways to remain connected, remain logged into God and our faith, then we can live the life God wants for us better.
So how do we remain connected to God? I think there are many ways. Reading your Bible on a regular basis. This helps you to connect with God through His Word. The Scriptures should challenge you, convict you and encourage you. We remain connected through small groups. Meeting with other Christians to share about our faith can help us be accountable and recognize God’s presence. We also remain connected through worship, whether that is private worship or communal worship like this morning. Worship brings us into awareness of God’s presence. You need to find your way to keep logged in.
What I want to offer you as a way to remain logged in is something I learned from Leonard Sweet. I have to give him credit. He was the preacher at Helen’s family reunion this summer. I have several of his books and even preached on one of them a few years ago called the Gospel According to Starbucks.
He shared with us his mantra. It is a phrase he repeats several times a day to keep his connection to God. It comes from the two verses I read for you this morning from Philippians 4. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” And as I thought about these verses I also searched through the Scriptures for verses on prayer and found the idea of this verse said several ways by Paul, which made me think maybe this was his mantra also.
Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
This may not be a complete list, but when Paul says something three times in a similar fashion then it must have been something regularly on his heart and mind.
So you can work to memorize these verses, or if you want to just remember 7 words then you will have the idea of these verses. And I believe these 7 words can help you stay logged into the Spirit of God. These 7 words can connect with you as God’s Word in the midst of whatever you are facing. I will give you the words and then we will touch on them.
Anxious…nothing. Prayerful…everything. Thankful…anything. Peace. Say that with me. Anxious…nothing. Prayerful…everything. Thankful…anything. Peace. And when you say peace you have to feel that word. It is not just peace, but peace. The peace that comes from these words is that connection to God. It is God’s peace that remains with us as we are logged in.
The first phrase is anxious…nothing. This reminds us that we do not need to be anxious about anything. Nothing needs to overwhelm us with worry or fear. I know that is easier said than done. Actually most of this idea is easier said than done. It is a goal to lead us, an ideal to place before us. We are not going to be able to do each of these perfectly, so don’t feel bad if one phrase is more difficult than another. For most of us, each of these should challenge and encourage us.
But Jesus reminds us to be anxious over nothing. He logically says basically, how exactly will your worrying fix anything? By worrying about things does the problem go away? If we can be mindful to allow nothing to make us anxious or worry, then God’s peace will remain connected in our lives.
I am not sure if I am the best to tell you how to not be anxious. Being anxious is not often a problem for me. I am not a worrier. Mainly I think this is because I am a problem solver. I like to find solutions. And to find solutions you need a problem. So when a problem comes up that might cause others to worry, it excites me because I get to solve a problem. This does not mean I like for things to go wrong, but I do not worry too much when they do because I know either we can solve it or if there is not a solution, then I need to move on anyway.
This is a personality thing for me. Now if you do worry, try to work on letting the worry go. Find ways that work for you to release worry. You might need to turn to prayer more quickly. You might need to talk with someone to express the concerns and find someone who will be your listener. Maybe finding some Scripture verses or just reading the Bible in general can help you worry less often.
I think being anxious can be a faith issue, but is not necessarily a faith issue. Just because you worry does not mean you lack faith. It could mean that, but it also could mean you are a perfectionist or some other personal quality causes you to worry. So I don’t want to say if you just try harder and had more faith all anxiety will leave your life, but I do think if you discipline yourself with whatever method works for you, you can let go of more anxiety than you are at this time. Remember, anxious…nothing.
Next is prayerful…everything. We need to lift everything up to go in prayer. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is life changing. Prayer in your life transforms you and others.
This week Jamison got his first loose tooth. It started to wiggle on Monday. That night we had a meal here at the church with the committees and teams. When I said a prayer for the meal Jamison was upset I did not pray about his loose tooth. And I said that not everyone there needs to know about his loose tooth, there were about 50 to 60 people there. And he said, well, I already told most of them.
That just reminded me of how our kids grow. It's an awesome journey. Is there anything as exciting as watching your baby go from a snuggly little lump you cradle in your arms to a roller, then a crawler, then a "cruiser," and finally a walker?
Babies seem absolutely driven to get on their feet. No matter how many times they tumble and topple, babies in the "cruiser" stage keep letting go with their hands and start moving their feet. Standing upright, walking and running with a straight back and straight legs. Those are the marks of the human being. It is this posture that sets us apart from all other living creatures on earth.
But there is another position that reveals even more about the uniqueness of being human. Standing up defines our most remarkable physical gift. Kneeling down reveals our most miraculous spiritual gift. Praying is uniquely human as well. And although we spend just one year learning how to stand on our own two feet, it can take us a lifetime to learn how to get back down on our knees. Learning to pray is a lifelong process.
The sooner we can learn to be on our knees in prayer about everything, the sooner God’s peace will remain in our lives. And actually you do not need to be on your knees to pray, but you do need to humble yourself and quiet yourself to talk with God and listen for God’s still small voice. Take everything to God in prayer.
From the smallest of things to the biggest of things. I need to learn even something small like my son’s loose tooth is worth praying about. Nothing is too small to share it with God. At the other end nothing is too big for prayer either.
Anxious…nothing. Prayerful…everything.
Finally, thankful…anything. These verses mention the idea of always being joyful or thankful. This does not mean to always be happy. Happiness to me, is more of an emotional state that is dependent on outside circumstances. Joyfulness or being thankful are more a spiritual state that is dependant on the internal state of being.
I know being thankful for anything is also not an easy task. Thankful for anything sounds silly at first. Think about all of the bad things that have happened to you or to others and those are all included in being thankful for anything. This does not mean we want bad things to happen, but we need to be of the mindset that even in the worst of times there is something to be thankful for.
For instance, when Paul wrote this verse from Philippians he was in prison. Well, actually he was arrested and being held. He was probably under house arrest and not in some dungeon. So maybe that is what he was being thankful for even though he was in prison, he was in a home. It is important for us to see the good and the gifts even in the midst of frustration or bad times.
In the past 5 weeks we had three deaths in our congregation. Death is one of those times that being joyful and thankful can be tough. Although I am thankful that of these three deaths the youngest woman was 80, which is still a pretty good life.
Fern Orr was one of those deaths. She moved to Highland Ridge here in Williamsburg in 2004 with her husband. As long time United Methodists they transferred their membership to our congregation although they did not make it to worship with us often because of health and those kinds of things. Her husband died 4 years ago and Fern’s health was declining as she battled cancer.
This summer Fern’s health kept her moving from a care center in Coralville to the University of Iowa Hospitals. And Teresa and I visited with her at both places. The last time I was with her we had a nice conversation. I could tell that she was tired, but we talked about this and that. As I was getting ready to go I ask her if there was anything specific I could pray for for her. She looked at me and asked me to pray for her healing.
The next morning I got the call that she had died. At first I was shocked, it had happened so quickly. And it is sad and we mourn the loss. But I was also thankful. Her prayer was answered. She was healed. Her earthly body was never going to be as good as it was. Her health was never going to be good again. Now she has been set free. Our faith says she has a new, perfect body. A body that cannot be attacked by cancer. A body that will never again feel pain. We need to be thankful, even in the midst of the sorrow, for the new life she received.
We can be thankful in anything we face. If nothing else, we can be thankful God is with us. If God were not with us it would be even worse. So be thankful for anything.
When we put these together the peace of God will remain connected to us. When we remember these 7 words and say them day after day, several times a day, we will remain logged into God’s Spirit. Whenever you start to feel disconnected, when you feel like you are running low, repeat these words and then do what they say and you can get reconnected. Let’s say it once more. Anxious…nothing. Prayerful…everything. Thankful…anything. Peace.
