Devotional 3-2-09

Amazing Love!

We, women often complain about our husbands not really seeing us, not noticing something new about us. One day last January I realized that there were some advantages to that. I was getting ready to go to the grocery store, and it occurred to me how bad I had probably looked all day. We had spent the day watching the snow fall, trying to stay warm while waiting for our furnace repairman to arrive. I thought it was a good thing that my husband loved the inner me, the essence of me. (Have you ever noticed that when you love someone, be it parent, child, spouse, or friend, outer appearance seems to sink into the background and meld with the inner person?) Then, I took it one step farther, and I thought, that’s how God loves us. He loves our souls. He knows us better than anyone. He knows every thought, every deed. He knows all the ugliness that we hide from the world, and yet he still loves us!

God loves us so much that He sent his beloved, perfect Son to save us from our sins. How could he send his Son to be tortured, and to die a terrible death? That is a love beyond my comprehension. My children's pain and problems are harder to bear than my own. I would gladly suffer for them if that was possible. But wait, maybe that is the answer. We are all God's children. Our pain and problems hurt Him. Our sins cause Him pain and sorrow. So he sent a part of Himself, His Son to save us. What an amazing love!Prayer: Thank you for knowing all our sins and failures and yet loving us enough to send your Son, Jesus to redeem us. Transform us, please Lord into emissaries of your love and forgiveness to the world. Amen

Margaret Williams

Thank you to Rev. Dorcas Conrad for the following contribution to the Devotional Ministry. Each day of Lent we will be including a prayer concern for Mission as well as a means of response.

CELEBRATION OF MISSION EVENT
LENTEN PRAYER CALENDAR

God has given each of us so much! As Lent begins, the Celebration of Mission Event planning committee invites you to use this calendar as a part of your devotional time. Contemplation and prayer are vital to growing Christians, but God wants concrete actions from us as well. Prayerfully consider the disciplines that we suggest here. We thought the easiest way to do the bookkeeping part of this is for every church to have a central collection place, such as a jar or basket for people to place their money in and then, as the season of Easter begins, to send a check for the total amount raised to the District office, with COME offering duly noted.

The Mission projects, Church and Community Ministries and Volunteers in Mission are Community Development Outreach Ministries; Ebenezer Community Outreach Center; Heart and Hand House, Inc.; House of the Carpenter; Scott's Run Settlement House; Tyrand Cooperative Parish; Upshur Parish House; Volunteers in Mission; Bluefield Parish-Mary's Cradle; Greater Clarksburg Cooperative Parish; Richwood-Craigsville-Webster Cooperative Parish; United Methodist Ministries.

March 1-7: We celebrate Community Development Outreach Ministries, Charleston (Mike Morris, Director)
They minister through a school supply drive, summer day camp, Christmas toys and food; a food pantry, support for teen mothers, and many other things. They need craft supplies, paper plates and cups, computer and education software, cleaning supplies, baby products of all kinds, alarm clocks, school supplies and merchandise gift cards

Prayer Calendar and Response Suggestions:
March 1: Pray for the ministry provided by Community Development Outreach Ministries.
March 2: For each computer in your home, please donate a quarter