March 26
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." - Jesus in Matthew 18:15 (RSV)
Repairing broken relationships is not easy. But remembering Jesus' teachings and seeing them working in our lives gives us hope. Our relationships with others can be restored because through it all, the Holy Spirit will stand by us and guide us. Yet when someone wrongs us, we often do the opposite of what Jesus recommends. We turn away in anger, hurt, or resentment. We may even seek revenge, or gossip. By contrast, Jesus says we should go to the person who has offended us and tell them first. The reason we need to go to them is often a person that has sinned against us or hurt us may not even aware of it. Being proactive will create a much better chance of restoring our relationships rather than retreating or isolating in our hurt or anger. However, we often find fixing objects easier than fixing relationships. When objects break, we usually become unhappy, frustrated or angry, and then motivated to fix it. The first two responses are usually brief if we value the object. In a short time, we are usually ready to find the tools to fix the problem.
We all need to remember relationships are of far more value than our material possessions. Only Jesus gives us the invaluable toolbox to fix broken relationships. Don't neglect to use it if you have been hurt yourself or wounded others with harsh words or actions. Yet words alone are not sufficient to take away the pain, even if we meant no harm. When we have been personally wounded or hurt others, we can turn to God’s toolbox in the Bible and find out how to use the tools of outreach, forgiveness, and repentance to fix and heal many broken relationships. While these tools may not work in all situations after we use them, we can rest in peace and leave the rest to God knowing we have done our best.
Prayer:
God,
Grant me courage to follow your instructions on how to heal any of my broken relationships.
Amen.
Meditation For The Day:
Satan breaks. God fixes.
Brief Devotions For Busy Lives: Daily Spring Renewal (Seasonal Devotionals) Paperback – February 21, 2017
Used with permission of the family of the late Rev. Dr. Mary B. Johnson.
Rev. Dr. Mary Johnson, D.Min., (1942-2018)
Mary was Ordained in 1975.
She served both as a Parish Pastor and in multiple Specialized Ministry Settings.
She worked on the Clinical Staff of New England Memorial Hospital and Middleton Pastoral
Counseling Center in Massachusetts and was a Director of Green Pastures Counseling Centers in N.H.
She was a state Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor,
Nationally Board-Certified Counselor (N.C.C.), and Nationally Certified Pastoral Counselor (AAPC)
and held certification as a Clinical Member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (A.C.P.E.).
She received a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Psychology and Clinical Studies
from Andover Newton in Newton, MA.
Dr. Johnson also founded Good News Specialized Ministries, Inc.
This unique ministry provided education and Clinical Christian Counseling to thousands of people over the decades and trained numerous Clinical Counselors and Counseling Ministers while offering weekly non-denominational worship services to the community for more than 20 years.
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I had the honor and privilege of working with Pastor Arnie Johnson
when I served as the pastor for the Richmond Community United Methodist Church in Richmond, NH from 2019 - 2022.
I personally have been deeply touched by Mary's writings. Her family has graciously allowed me to share them with you. - Pastor Sharon Sargent
"I always considered my ministry at Richmond as a shared ministry. Mary had the expertise that helped me function as well as I did. I received critiques on the way home after the services. I finally realized that I may have “arrived” when one day she was pleased with my performance with no critique! That took several years! So, I would love it if you would use the picture of the two of us and mention Rev. Dr. Mary Johnson as my spouse and partner in ministry, and she continued to be until the day she died, four days before the end of my appointment at Richmond." - Pastor Arnie Johnson
Rev. Dr. Mary Johnson is the author of eight other published books including:
"Activating The Power Of Pastoral Care: A Team Approach";
"Brief Devotions For Busy Lives: Daily Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter Renewal"(Vol.1-4);
"Flying Free: Transforming Grief and Loss into Renewal";
Following The Angel Trail: In The Steps Of Jesus";
"Love In Action: The Healing Heritage Of The Counseling Ministry Of The Church";
"Visions Of Hope: Voices Of Americana";
"Healing Streams: Journeys Of Healing".
She has also been published in the AAPC professional Journal "Journeys" and in the Keene Sentinel.