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Giving Up! I hated beets, and still do. Beets prospered in my mother’s garden-so we had many meals with beets, very lightly flavored by an English cook and prepared in various “beastly formats.” At the dinner table, I would carefully move the beets toward a corner of my mouth. In one chorographic strike with a movement of mouth to hand; I would propel the beets to Tippy, my dog, who was waiting patiently under the table. (I could have been charged with animal abuse.) In my neighborhood, many “Christian Folks” had to observe Lent. These were my friends. They were going to “Hell” if they failed to follow the dietary restrictions for Lent. I was raised in a New England culture, meaning something “had to go” during Lent. Might you believe that as a twelve year old, I was “engaged” in a premature religious journey? I mean, was I really dealing with Justification, Sanctification and Christian Perfection. On the other hand, I was touched by the Wesleyan heart strangely warmed, especially in passing the peace-like being hugged by the beautiful Mrs. Serett. I was also an ember plucked from the burning fire. I jumped over the staircase at eleven years of age during our house fire. At the same time I was engaged in a “religious warfare” with my mother about attending Sunday school, choir and confirmation class-every week. I really loved MYF. Back to Lent, my mother insisted on this pious act of “giving up something.” I was forced to make a decision. Yes Sir! My sacrifice would be beets. “Mother, I will give up beets."Douglas! This is profanity,” exclaimed my mother. I was banned from Youth group and no more Spice Drops for six months, now that did hurt. My mother said, “Your punishment came because of your lack of sincerity before God.” I have often wondered if God ever had to eat beets, cooked until they had lost their redness. For me, and perhaps only me, giving up something for Lent is about as fruitless as a New Year’s Eve resolution. I believe these forty days are sacred, but I can honestly say, I never found a spiritual connection of giving up cherry filled chocolates and loving my Jesus. Actually, just the opposite, I believe we acknowledge the sacrifice of Jesus by taking on more, rather than giving up little. By more, I mean taking on more of what God has called us to be as a “living-servant” church. I find the 22nd Psalm very powerful, “To him indeed shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.” “And I shall live for him.” How shall we live for him? I suspect by bringing him into our wilderness ….. into our daily lives. How may we do this? By giving ourselves to the Lord in prayer, through gifts of love, and acts of kindness. God does not want our menial sacrifices. God wants more. God wants us, not a little bit of us, God wants all of us. Our response will be an offering of all things for the Lord’s work on earth. Yes! All of us shall live for him. Your companion in the Lenten journey.
A requirement for following Jesus is – “to love thy neighbor as thy self.” I know this is not easy. I struggle every day to reflect the Christ in me. The prevenient grace hymn, titled, I Surrender All, focuses on this. “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give, I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live.” Living in the presence of the Lord is heavy stuff, easy to say, but hard to do. Like the early disciples we are called to- “follow me (Jesus) and I will make you fishers of people.” I’m talking about our life-style. Living daily in communion/church relationship is part of our task. Each day I ask myself; “what does the Lord require of me?” How do I live my daily life and glorify my Lord? Remember, -to love thy neighbor as thy self, and without judgment. How about you? Last week I read the most profound poster, “Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.” This cuts right to the core of what is happening in society, but not to those of us who walk in the presence of Christ. Like Jesus we all called to love the very best in others. We are to be forgiving people. We live in the light and not the darkness. I surrender all. Our personal prayer: “Let the Lord live through me and let me love others as you have loved me.” This is a great time of the year to reach out to those near you. This is the joy of serving him. Thank you, Lord, for loving me.
A Prayer for this Thanksgiving Dear Lord, We gather together to ask for your blessings. Lord thank you for what we have. You have been most gracious. It is deeply appreciated, but please understand some of our folks need a little bit more, especially food and clothing. I’m not trying to be so ungrateful, just keep those vital things coming our way. If you have some extras we can handle it. At the same time, I’m asking for something deeper. In this prayer, O Lord, I’m pleading for those children who need to be loved. Please hear me! Some of our teenagers have THINGS, but they truly need understanding people around them. Please hear me! And you know, dear Lord, so many adults are searching for meaningful relationships. Please God be with them in their decisions! Please hear me! Finally, remember the elderly who ask for dignity and companionship, as they bring joy to our church family. Yes indeed! O Lord, am I wandering in my prayer? Please give me time to pray for our church. You have allowed us to survive this past year, actually more than survive. We have become a forgiving community. Thank you Lord for the many faithful who have maintained the course. I pray for those who have traveled elsewhere, looking for a body of perfect people. They will be traveling a long time. God speed to them. I now see this church seeking to live in Christ and through Christ. Forgive our short comings, dear Lord, and make us whole. So Lord thank you! We are growing again, folks are happy in worship, service, study/prayer and fellowship. We are singing again and rejoicing in the goodness of your Word. I ask these things in the name of your precious Son, The Christ and thank you for our many blessings. Amen A requirement for following Jesus is – “to love thy neighbor as thy self.” I know this is not easy. I struggle every day to reflect the Christ in me. The prevenient grace hymn, titled, I Surrender All, focuses on this. “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give, I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live.” Living in the presence of the Lord is heavy stuff, easy to say, but hard to do. Like the early disciples we are called to- “follow me (Jesus) and I will make you fishers of people.” I’m talking about our life-style. Living daily in communion/church relationship is part of our task. Each day I ask myself; “what does the Lord require of me?” How do I live my daily life and glorify my Lord? Remember, -to love thy neighbor as thy self, and without judgment. How about you? Last week I read the most profound poster, “Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.” This cuts right to the core of what is happening in society, but not to those of us who walk in the presence of Christ. Like Jesus we all called to love the very best in others. We are to be forgiving people. We live in the light and not the darkness. I surrender all. Our personal prayer: “Let the Lord live through me and let me love others as you have loved me.” This is a great time of the year to reach out to those near you. This is the joy of serving him. Thank you, Lord, for loving me.
As we gather at the very beginning of this fall season, I have been searching for a special reading for the worshiping community in the Dingmans Ferry United Methodist Church. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the closest person to sainthood within the Protestant tradition and a martyr in World War 11, provides some powerful insight about a word we use all the time - GRACE Perhaps we use it too flippantly, casually and without really understanding its mandate as found in the gospels. First Bonhoeffer describes, "CHEAP GRACE which is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline and Communion without confession.----- Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without a cross, and grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." What we preach as pastors in this church is what Bonhoeffer calls “COSTLY GRACE.” See what the Bible says, as pronounced by Bonhoeffer, "It is like the hidden treasure in the field and for the sake of it a ‘man’ (person) will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy for which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him." “COSTLY GRACE is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is COSTLY because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.” This is what we proclaim each Sunday, this is what we affirm in our lives, this is what we live for and this is the proclamation that will lead our church into eternity. Come; let’s walk together in the light of the Christ. Together may we be witnesses for the one who brings us grace to live the abundant life, in community. Your servant, Doug Miller
Fullfilling the Life through Jesus On July 16th a mission Team called the Delaware River Bunch will be leaving for the Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. We will be the guests of some folks who really need our help. Why do we go? The answer is clear; the gospel is not about me or you. The gospel is about us! We are called to be the Lord's Servants in this "down beaten" part of the world. Do not be Misled!. We will return with much more than we could ever bring. We will invest ourselves in the lives of others. We will come back with a new way of thinking, speaking and serving. Yes, it is all about "US". We the people of God. A good friend of mine, Marty Cox reminds us, "If we really want to know how the Christian life works, it may mean that we have to learn a new language, a new way of thinking, a new way of doing, a new way of living. And all of that comes about only when we are open to learning and have the willingness to be taught." Knowing how to live as a Christian does not come naturally. It is a mistake to think so. The "how" of living the Christian life together comes through worship, study, fellowship, community living, prayer and giving back; yes, time and dollars to God. Thank God we are surrounded by folks in our church that show us how to live the faith so in turn we can do the same for others. We go to Red Bird in your name. We need your prayers. Remember us in our journey. Remember us in our work. Remember us in our study and worship together. Jesus remember us in this mission. Jesus remember us and be with us. We represent you...the people of God. Your Servant, Dr. Douglas Stephen Miller
Many years ago, a group of singing nuns in Philadelphia recorded several folks songs. One verse from one of the songs comes to my mind this morning, " I see raindrops on my window, joy is like the rain." God is bringing us rain to clean the air and to refresh our souls. "Joy is like the rain." Rain upon our faces occasionally draws tears from the heart. I hope Spring brings joy into your journey. Remember, as a child, when you loved to walk in the rain. Where is that child today?
Hello to all the Easter People.......... That is you & that is me! We are the people who have been with Mary to the garden. We are the people who celebrate the power of the risen Christ! We are the transformed people! We are the people of God called together to this place called Dingmans Ferry United Methodist Church! We are the people who affirm the Resurrection!!! We are the folks who want to live like Jesus & follow....... ~~~ Well, we are in May, and I want to make sure you take every opportunity to celebrate who you are and to whom you belong. Many things are happening in our faith community. The confirmation class is meeting and we are preparing for the one wonderful time together on Sunday, June 12th when the entire congregation will gather at 10:00 AM to receive these young folks into the church fellowship. Meanwhile they are putting up with me in the confirmation sessions. They are super people! ~~~ Have you heard? Two of our young people, Victoria & Carly, will be going to Taize this summer We are all part of this trip. Hope you might help in this matter. This will be a life changing experience for these pilgrims. Pray for them. Ask me how you can help! ~~~ We are preparing for the Red Bird Mission Trip this year. Our team name is "The Delaware River Bunch". Twelve folks will venture into Red Bird, Pike County, Kentucky and work on homes as part of the greater UMC mission outreach project established in 1921. Red Bird has a medical unit, a K - 12 school and social services for the community.We will be working on homes for the needy. Many of the men in that area have Black Lung Disease and as a result, are not able to work. We will be gone between July 16th and the 23rd. Pray for us. Ask me how you might help. ~~~ Worship, study, prayer and fellowship are core areas that all of us need to involve ourselves. It makes all the difference! Growing in the faith each day helps us cope with all that is going on. So... See you in church... If not before. As you remember, we get together every Sunday at 9:00 and 11:00 AM! Your Servant, Dr. Douglas Stephen Miller
Dear Friends, There is a hill behind the Grower house, with a play area that faces the eastern mountains in Berkshire County. Dick, Jack, Jerome and myself, the neighborhood gang, played on that cherished hill for countless hours-we were just kids a few years ago. A Massachusetts winter has a long arm reaching into spring, but occasionally in early April, the warm sun will shine on the Grower hill. We would play all morning until the sun passed to the other side. By keeping our heads below the peak, we could hide from the freezing northwest wind. Lying on the hill we would make up stories and together make plans for the rest of our lives. Allow me to travel with this image for a moment. I suspect that some of us would like to spend our earthy life on the eastern slope. Here calmness and serenity is assured. No troubles, no problems, just a place to live, play and make merry. No mortgages, No tuition payments, No utility bills, No budgets, No shared ministry gifts, and No missions. It would be a “heavenly” place to be in ministry. Do you remember the game where you held your palms together and said, “Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the door and see all the people.” Big problem friends! Most of these people live on the western side of the hill. They are the elderly, the separated, the addicted, the unemployed, and you know and I know, many have lost hope. Some of them are like us. The Lord is calling the church to this other side; it’s where you will find the people. This is life. The Jesus of the Cross and the Lord of the Resurrection did not play in the sun, but he journeyed with all kinds of people. He did not come to comfort the comfortable. Jesus came to shake up the comfortable. He came to bring hope to the comfortless. The Kingdom is at hand, it is here, and it is also coming. In our troubling times, some folks have become “mean spirited.” What a time to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Rejoice, repent and believe. Christ’s resurrection is a sign of reconciliation. Christ came to heal, mend and restore the broken, namely, the hearts of men and women. Let us rejoice! Remember: Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again! As Easter people we know what to do. Come, live and serve with me on the western slope. Let us be in ministry together. Come and worship. Happy Easter Doug Miller Miller of Mumblings
Doug Muder writing in a recent article entitled, “Optimism often lies, but hope never fails,” describes something about this winter season. He says, “Every year, the snow is miraculous, the second one pretty, and events go downhill from there. The ski jacket that looked so bright and cheerful in November is getting a little dingy. That beautiful Christmas sweater has been worn more than once, and its magic is fading.”As I write this Mumblings to you in the early hours of February 21th, the snow has started again. Believe it or not the reality of winter will leave when it is ready to leave, and today is not that day. This year we are running into folks who find hope hard to discover. Some live near us and some are part of our church. Winter often makes us somewhat skeptical about “all that is about us.” In this winter season folks are hurting. Some are looking for a job, any job that will help the family. Some are waiting for loved ones to come home from distant places, especially Afghanistan. College students are graduating into the unknown. The cost of living makes it harder to pay the same old bills. Someone told me yesterday that auto fuel may top five dollars a gallon. Talk about depression you may have heard there are a bunch of nuts in North Carolina that predict the end of the world will come in May. I believe if you are a Methodist you will not be saved with them. That in-it -self is a blessing. Eternity with those wackos would be worse than hell. Whatever! If you age is late 30’s and older, you will remember the Blizzard of 1978. That winter I skied down Bloomfield Avenue to reach my church, I came back up the hill on the only bus running. The driver thought it to be strange. That was also the first winter my children experienced without their mother. It was a hard time. It was a winter of discovery. Where is hope to be found in this winter of despair? It is our faith in God who made heaven and earth. He comes to us in Jesus the Christ, who walks with us and loves us in our journey. Do not despair we are never alone. You are the Lords church-my community of believers. As they say in West Virginia, “How be Ya?” “We be good!” “Good, we be good too,” Look for the first robin, enjoy the next hug, and learn how to forgive, and accept forgiveness and rejoice in those around you. On a Sunday morning in May, I’ll ask Dr.Rich Copper to write a liturgy about bringing your shovels to church to bless them for the coming winter. Sure bring them, if you can find them! After the last snowfall our shovels and scrappers, once visible in the garage, are covered with bicycles, lawnmowers, rakes and inflatable swimming pools. We soon forget the winter and complain about the heat. Hope is the creative force of the human spirit. Miller of Mumblings
I share a recent quote by David Beckmann, “I see this as God moving in our time, and also asking us to get with the program, and basically, what we need to finish the job to overcome hunger and poverty, is a more organized give-a-damn." David Beckmann is president of Bread for the World and winner of the 2010 World Food Prize, on the fact that in the past two to three decades more progress has been made against hunger, poverty and disease than any other time in history. Yet I see poverty and hunger all around Dingmans Ferry and Pike County. I recently heard a report that a higher percentage of people 65 years old and above, live in Philadelphia, higher than any other place in the country. In that group one in every five persons live in poverty. This seems to contradict some of Mr. Beckmann's findings. It seems like every day we see poverty in the eyes of folks who come or call the church for help. I hope we are making progress in other parts of the world, I really do. The church does what it possibly can do, thanks to your gifts to the Mission Outreach Fund. The church is the body of Christ-persons, called to do the work of our Lord. Not only do we offer food, money for medications, rent supplements and auto repairs, but we also offer hope and love. Our church reaches into the world because we are a faithful people, called to proclaim Christ's transformation. Mr. Nicholas Kristof said, “How strange it is in our time that the richest 1 percent of Americans now take 24 percent of income, up from 9 percent in 1976. Our nation now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana." Do not forget the words from the Great Thanksgiving Prayer we shared during Advent, "You scatter the proud in the imagination of their hearts and have mercy on those that fear you from generation to generation. You put down the mighty from their thrones and exalt those of low degree. You fill the hungry with good things, and the rich you send away hungry. Your own son came among us as a servant, to be Emmanuel, your presence with us." Yes, it is that Lord we celebrate, serve and love. Remember... The Lord Healed the Sick The Lord Fed the Hungry The Lord Ate with Sinners This is what we are all about! You are my kind of people! You are the Lord's People! Hallelujah!!! Your Servant Doug Miller
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