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Church Street, Princeton
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It would be just like him

The God of the Bible looks like Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. It would be just like him to go to the cross.

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Practicing Our Scales

Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.

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Rescue

I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.

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Your Roots Are Showing

The life that I bring to the world can only be found in my attachment to Christ. His presence with me is essential.

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Connection

I live in a U.S. county with traffic problems. It's a peninsula, and what's not swamp land has been developed. Building new roads is difficult and expensive. Making things worse, roads that could connect don't.

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Forming Rick Shafer Forming Rick Shafer

Stewardship

So many forms of God’s grace. How is our stewardship of those gifts?

Serve one another, each according to the gift he has received, as good stewards of the many forms of God’s grace. (1 Peter 4:10)

Here at the coast, we love the sunrises. They are breathtaking. We behold their beauty and grab a photo. A beautiful sunrise is God's gift to us. And since it's not earned or deserved, we see that it's his grace. In this example, good stewardship of the gift involves just noticing and appreciating it; maybe even sharing a photo with others.

Consider two other gifts of grace. God has given us the gift of his presence (Immanuel, "God with us") and he's given us the gift of his written word (the Scriptures). How can we steward well his near-ness and his revealed wisdom to us?

What are some other gifts of grace?

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Living Rick Shafer Living Rick Shafer

More about worms

Struggling in God’s hands.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a morning liturgy. When I’m walking and see a worm on the pavement, I catch it and throw it back into the grass. Have you tried picking a worm up off the pavement? It’s not easy. When they’re stretched out, clinging to their world, it’s hard to get a hold on them.

But if I just touch them first, they wriggle their way right into my hands.

This is a good metaphor for me and God. So long as I cling to my world, I’m difficult for God to grasp. He sees me headed for danger. He sees I’m going to dry out in the harsh sun. But, for the moment, I’m comfortable—oblivious to God’s care.

Then he touches me. Maybe with a sunset. Maybe with a sting. He has my attention and I wriggle into his hands. Safe.

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Living Rick Shafer Living Rick Shafer

Move to a place of safety. Now!

Our refuge is a Person.

Since Isaias came through, our Leland, NC neighbors have been dealing with tornado cleanup. Next to storm surge, the threat of tornadoes can be the scariest part of a hurricane. Our TVs and phones alert us repeatedly to find a place of safety. Now!

Where are your places of safety? When we were young children ― and if we were fortunate to have a healthy family ― our place of safety was a person. If we were frightened, we ran to Mom or Dad. But in our adult sophistication, we run to safe rooms and safe deposit boxes.

2020 has been a tornado. It would be good for us to remember that God is our refuge. In Christ, we are his kids and he is our perfect Father. Maybe this year we will rediscover that our real ‘place of safety’ is a Person, and not a place at all.

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