Claude King's blog

I can remember planning a church event, a public demonstration, or a long road trip of one kind or another, and saying, "Let's do everything that we can to be prepared should something happen unexpectedly." The response that I usually received was, "Okay, let's try to do as much as we can to cover ourselves with a plan 'B.'" But one time after I said that phrase, the response was, "I'm sorry pastor, but how can we possibly prepare for the unexpected?"

What do you consider wealth? Is it the level of your lavishness, privilege, means, or possessions? Is your wealth found in how much power, prestige, or knowledge that you have now or are gathering? Is your wealth the time that you invest in your family, in their well-being, and the emotional security that they give to you as well? Or, is your wealth founded on the faithfulness and connectedness that you have gained from your friends which you have come to depend on over the years?

"He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray,
as John taught his disciples.' " Luke 11:1

I am a product of a family and a United Methodist Church tradition that taught me, through God's love, guidance and power, to focus my priorities on helping to better the lives of those around me of every kind of people, of every station in life. I've also been taught that in order to do that, I should begin by assisting the people who need help by first trying to meet their temporal needs as much as I humanly can and creating a genuine, caring relationship with them.

In John 14:8, Philip, one of Jesus' disciples, basically asked him to show us the Father, or show us that you are God. Jesus responds that he is in God and God is in him, they are one in the same. Further on in John 14:14-16, we see that Jesus told his disciples "When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever."

I have often heard or read that most people are in favor of being freed from whichever person, situation or system that might hold them back from reaching their fullest potential in life. However, upon a closer look at what is actually desired to be freed from, and what are the byproducts of that type of freedom; some of us begin to have misgivings about saying that we are in favor of being free in general.

This is springtime - new leaves are sprouting, new grass is growing, and new flowers are blooming. New crops are planted - wheat, corn, oats, beans, greens, melons, and apples are being harvested for us to eat.

The happenings around us this time of year are full of the great expectations of a new spring season and the breaking forth of new life in nature and within many families that we know or have heard of.

With so much newness and blossoming going on we become thankful for the world we live in and all that we have that is good and wanting to thank the One who is the source of our blessedness. The desire to show our gratitude to the source of our worlds' renewal and the giver of life to all of humanity reveals the basis of our worldview, specifically, our belief in God.

There are many things that we are thankful for and can praise God that we have them. Here are a few to think about: love, good health, good friends, freedom of religion, your parents, having a life partner, opportunity to get an education, having a home, laughter, safety and security, clean water, kindness of strangers, diversity, children, music, freedom to vote (lifehack.org). These are all very good things to be thankful for, we all are thankful that we have them in varying degrees of comfort.

Achieving goals and reaching high levels of accomplishment in our lives is very gratifying. We may have felt or still feel the need to strive against a set of odds to make sure our lives have significance and long-lasting meaning. Looking inwardly, we should discover ways that we seek to make our lives meaningful in this present climate of uncertainty, discord, and dissatisfaction. As we search our souls, let's consider this question: "How can we be sure that our lives have importance and long-term meaning from God's point of view?"