Devotional 2-29-12

A Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
(Shhh, it’s alright. Grammy loves you.)
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
(That’s it. Close your eyes and go to sleep.)
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night.
(Here’s your blanket. Here’s your bottle.)
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
(Pappy loves you, too.)

When my grandson, Landon, began to spend the night with Grammy and Pappy, he had a little trouble getting to sleep. No matter how hard Don and I tried to replicate his nightly routine, we were not Mom and Dad. To distract him and put him at ease, I decided to sing a lullaby. Unfortunately I didn’t know any. So I chose the most soothing song I knew, “Be Thou My Vision”. At first I got some of the stanzas a little confused, but by the time his sister Ruby was born, I could sing them all with the confidence of a rock star. They both loved it, and I loved sharing it with them.

“Be Thou My Vision” was originally a poem commonly attributed to Saint Dallan Forgaill. He was given the name Dallan, which means “little blind one,” after he lost his sight as the result of studying intensely. He was killed in 598 when pirates broke into the island monastery of Inniskeel, County Donegal. His poem was part of monastic tradition for centuries before it was translated from Old Irish into English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne in 1905. The English text was first versified by Eleanor Hull in 1912, and that version, set to the tune of Slane, is the one we have in our hymnal. (Wikipedia)

Recently the Sanctuary Choir at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church began practicing “Be Thou My Vision” for the March 4 anthem. I had sung it many times, but this time, instead of focusing on the beautiful melody, I looked at the text. What did the author mean by a “vision”? Was he talking about his sight, a religious experience, a mental image of what the future might be? Maybe he was referring to all of these definitions and more!

While I do not pretend to know what a poet was thinking 1500 years ago, I do know what Forgaill’s words say to me today. They tell me that when he turned off his TV, computer, phone, Xbox, ( oops, that would be us) and focused on Jesus, he found love, wisdom, joy, truth, a loving and protective father, and most importantly an inheritance of grace. Let’s turn off our gadgets, tune in to prayer and study, and see if we can find our Vision. That would make this hymn so much more than a lullaby.

Let this be your Lenten prayer of rededication.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul's Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Becky Warren

Devotional 2-28-12

After the death of Jim Ray, a JM member, someone brought books to JM that Jim had owned and let people take any they wanted. I took several, one being 52 Hymn Story Devotions, by Lucy Neeley Adams.

Today's devotion is taken from this book, so therefore, I feel Jim is apart of this devotion. "In the Garden" is a favorite old hymn of mine, so this devotion is about this hymn.

"You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.He has been raised; he is not here." (Mark 16:6)

God so loved the world that he sent Jesus, but when he was crucified, it seemed that God's plan was defeated. Behold the risen Lord! He is alive and millions have believed since that event.

One of those believers was C. Austin Miles. Born in Lakehurst, New Jersey, in 1868, he studied to be a pharmacist but returned to an earlier interest in music. When someone asked him to write a hymn "that brings hope to the hopeless and rest for the weary," he turned in his Bible to his favorite passage-- John 20. The composer wrote: "I seemed to be a part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary's life, when she knelt before her Lord, and cried, "Rabboni!" I gripped my Bible close to me with muscles tense and nerves vibrating. Under the inspiration of this vision, I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed, the poem exactly as it has since appeared. That same evening I wrote the music."

I (Lucy Adams) experienced my own version of epiphany years ago. Easter morning in 1976 began beautifully. As I cooked breakfast, I turned on the radio to my favorite Christian station. The sermon by Dr. Ben Haden was entitled, "If a Man Die, Shall He Live Again?" I rejoiced as I listened to the words affirming my faith in eternal life.

The phone rang. I heard the news that my sister Margaret had died very suddenly. Shock, grief, and tears overwhelmed me. However, before I could get a flight to Virginia to be with Margaret's family, I went to church for the usual Easter celebration. I trembled in my weakness, but my faith was strong.

As I sat in the pew listening to the organ music, I glanced down at the bulletin in my lap. On the cover were two words: "He lives." Staring at those words, I was struck by another truth, and I penciled in the letter"S". The bulletin now read, "She Lives."

Death has been conquered for all believers, because Jesus lives. I knew that Margaret, too, was alive in heaven, just as I will be one day.

Lord because your tomb was temporary, life with you is eternal. Hallelujah! Amen.

I come to the garden alone
while the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear
falling on my ear,
the Son of God discloses.
Refrain:And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
and He tells me I am Hisown;
and the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.

C. Austin Miles, 1913 (John 20:11-18)

Kay Lewis

Devotional 2-27-12

Scripture: Mark 9:2-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

The Mirror
Once upon a time, there was a young man named Nate who didn’t quite fit in. As a child in school, he tried hard to make friends, but the other kids picked on him and teased him. In his youth, he wanted to date, but every girl he asked out, turned him down. He knew that his parents loved him and no matter how much praise they gave him, he felt like a disappointment. His favorite song was Billy Joel’s Piano Man, which included the line: “Yes, they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness But it’s better than drinking alone.”

One day, while he was sitting in church, partially listening to the minister’s sermon, Nate felt God’s presence. The preacher had just said, “God love and accepts you just as you are!” “Is that really true?” he thought to himself. “Is it possible that I fit in with God?” he whispered to himself. And somewhere, deep inside of himself, he knew the answer was “yes.”

Immediately after church, Nate went home and looked in the mirror. Not only did he feel different, he even looked different. Instead of appearing distressed and depressed he actually looked joyful. It was the best day of his life. He opened his journal and wrote: “I am loved by God” and underlined it twice.

That week, Nate went out of his way to make friends. He tried talking to seven different people. Out of the seven: two walked away, one said something too mean to repeat, and four told him to “get lost.” He also decided to ask another girl out. He timed it perfectly, so that they would be alone for a moment. He looked her in the eye and said, “would you like to go to dinner with me some night, my treat?” She looked him up and down, smiled, and said, “not if you were the last guy on earth!”

By the end of the week, Nate was struggling to feel loved again. A person can only take so many rejections. He looked in the mirror, expecting to feel the way he did the previous Sunday. Instead of joyful, he saw distressed and depressed. “I am a reject,” he said.

That Sunday, before church, he went to the pastor and told her the whole story. She placed a hand on his shoulder and told him that, “God does love you. People can be harsh and mean at times, but God is not like people. God loves you unconditionally.” He looked at her and said, “but I thought that if God loved me, then God would make things easier for me.”

The scripture begins with the phrase, “six days later.” It should make us want to know just what happened six days earlier. Six days earlier, Jesus had been teaching the disciples that he had to suffer and die, but Peter did not like that one bit (the scripture in Mark 8:31-33 says that Peter began to rebuke Jesus).

Six days later, Peter is on the top of the mountain with Jesus. It isn’t just a good day, it is a great day! Jesus is transfigured and Moses and Elijah appear. So Peter makes Jesus an offer. He wants to build houses so that they can all stay on the mountain and live there. He doesn’t want the fun to end. He knows that the moment they go back down into the valley, things will get difficult again (sure enough the disciples are arguing about a sick child) and that Jesus may start speaking about death again (and that is exactly what Jesus does). Peter wants to stay on the mountain where everything is hunky-dory, but Jesus leads him back down into the valley.

“Nate, God doesn’t promise to make life easy,” the pastor told him. “But God promises to go with us into the valleys of life.” Then she invited him to come the next Sunday in time for Sunday School, saying, “Sunday School is a great place to make friends and learn about the love of God.”

Nate went to worship. Then he went home to look in the mirror. A smile crossed his face as he said to himself, “it’s not easy, but God is with me and God loves and accepts me.”

Prayer
Loving God,
When you created human beings, you created us for relationship…
for relationship with you
and for relationship with each other.
Yet we still get lonely…
sometimes, even when we are with others.
Help us to know that you are there for us,
that you love us,
that you accept us as we are,
and that you forgive us for our misdeeds and for our inaction.
Put people in our lives to remind us that we are loved.
Help us to be there for others who need to be loved and accepted.
We thank you for our pastors,
for our church family,
for the inspiration of worship,
and for a safe place to learn that we call Sunday School.
We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Submitted by: David A. Stackpole, M.Div., J.D.

Devotional 2-25-12

Sign of the Covenant

 
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,…When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature in all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”  (Genesis 9:8, 16-17)

Imagine Noah standing on dry ground with his sons, having experienced the flood, hearing the Word of God spoken, and being told that God has made an everlasting covenant with him and all who will follow him.  Noah is shown what will be a sign – a reminder – of the promise God has made to his creation.  For all the days of his life, and his sons after him, the sign of that covenant must have allayed their fears and brought them comfort.  I imagine without the promise, they would have cringed at every raindrop.

Through the scriptures, we hear over and over again God’s words of steadfast loyalty, and we see signs of his covenant.  We find it in God’s conversations with Abraham, in God’s delivery of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, in his leadership of Moses, and in their arrival in the promised land.  Signs of the covenant are found as judges are raised and kings are anointed.  Believers sing about it in the psalms, and Jonah fights it as he descends to the belly of a fish.  Jesus is born, lives, dies and lives again, becoming the ultimate sign of the covenant.

My challenge to you during this period of lent is to open your hearts to the signs of the covenant around you every day.  Do you see God in the rising of the sun?  In the sight of hungry men and women eating a meal?  In the nods of understanding as you teach Sunday school? Then open your eyes and watch for God.  Do you hear God in the giggles of children?  In the hymns of praise sung on Sundays?  In the sound of righteous indignation voiced against injustice?  Then tune your listening ears for God.  Do you know God because of the strength God provides to you during times of distress?  Are you certain of God’s presence when you taste communion or touch the baptismal water?  Then remember to recognize God.

And then, when you are steeped in the certain hope of the presence of God, become a sign of the covenant.  Work to convince others of what you know – that we are all beloved children of God, precious in God’s sight.

Shine, like the light you have been created to be, a sign of the covenant.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 2-24-12

Put on the Armor of GOD - Ephesians 6: 13-17 +

Like many of you - I often find some good stuff on the computer - prayers, bible verses - stories (some true - some not) - however this is a true one.

"You are a 19 year old kid. You are critically wounded and dying in the jungle - somewhere in the Central

Highlands of Vietnam. It is 11 Nov. 1967 LZ (landing zone) X-Ray. Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense from 100 yards away, that your CO (Commanding Officer) has ordered the Medevac Helicopters (also called Band-Aid Ships) to stop coming in. You are lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you are not getting out!! Your family is halfway around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you will never see them again!! As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day for you to meet JESUS!!

Then over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear the sound of a helicopter. You look up to see a Huey coming in. But..it does not seem real, because no Medevac Markings are on it. Captain Ed Freeman is coming for you. He is not a Medevac, so it is not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he is flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway. Even after the Medevac's were ordered not to come - he is coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors & nurses and safety. And he kept coming back!! 13 more times!! Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm. He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.

Medal of Honor Recipient - CPT Ed Freeman - U.S.Air Force, died last Wednesday at the age of 70, in Boise, Idaho. May GOD bless and rest his soul.

I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we have sure heard a whole bunch about Lindsay Lohan, Dr. Murray, Jerry Sandusky, and the 72 day sham marriage. Shame on the media!!!"

One of these days I hope I meet CPT Freeman as he continues to fly one of GOD'S Golden Huey's!!!!

PAUL S. RIGGS

SFC (ret)
U.S.Army

Devotional 2-22-12

As a devotional today, Jean Ramsey invites us to go to this link to read a story about "What People Talk About When They are Dying."

We should learn from those who are dying that the best way to teach our children about God is by loving each other wholly and forgiving each other fully - just as each of us longs to be loved and forgiven by our mothers and fathers, sons and daughters.  (Kerry Egan)

Devotional 2-23-12

GOD CALLS Read Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Jonah ran from God the first time; the second time he obeyed God’s call. He preached to the people of Nineveh, probably because he feared the consequences of not obeying. Being imprisoned once inside the large fish was enough. The prophet refused at first because he knew God was merciful; Jonah wasn’t, and he wanted Israel’s enemies destroyed. (See Jonah 4:1-2.) Many of us are like Jonah, although perhaps not as hard hearted. We hear the call but ignore it or run from it.

Our calls to serve aren’t as dramatic as the prophet’s. God doesn’t usually tell us to go thousands of miles from home and preach divine destruction that will arrive in forty days.

Our calls may seem minor, such as visiting the sick, ushering at church, and helping the poor. We may not see dramatic turn arounds as Jonah did. After he preached, the Ninevites believed. Then God “changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.”

Jonah obeyed God-- finally. And perhaps that’s the tarnished testimony of many: “I obeyed God—finally.” Extreme measures brought about Jonah’s obedience. For some of us today it may take death of a loved one before we begin to obey.

Even when he obeyed, Jonah found no delight in God’s will. The book closes with the prophet being rebuked for his attitude. He did the right thing but with reluctance. Although it’s good to respond the second time (or third or fourth), it’s even better to cry out with joy the first time, “Yes, Lord, here I am.” Jonah didn’t obey with cheerfulness, and we may assume that he missed out on many divine blessings. Lord, you call me to serve. Forgive me for holding back. Help me to serve joyfully the first time you call.

AMEN

Taken from The Upper Room Disciplines, but reflects my feelings.
Jim Perry