Devotional 3-31-13

Luke 24:1-12

In younger days, I thought my beloved Nancy resembled Sophia Loren. I was frequently told, mostly in my college days and into my 30s, that I resembled the Kennedys, particularly Teddy Kennedy. Aging has its way of modifying outward appearance. One of these days, the youthful exterior charms of the woman I love may fade. However, my love for her continues to grow deeper and more profound with each passing year. In my Easter sermon, I will share the origin of 19th century Irish poet Thomas Moore's "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms". He composed the poem to assure his wife, who had become disfigured, of his love which was uninterrupted by her change in appearance.

Is this not the message of Easter?

The scriptures advise us that God knew and loved us before we were born. In the course of our lives, we become scarred by life experiences or by painful events or by our own behaviors and sin. We may become emotionally disfigured by the behaviors or careless words of others. Regardless of the depth of our wounds, deeper still is the love of God for us. The cross is the symbol for us of God's gift of love that erases all the scars and obliterates the sin. The empty tomb is the symbol for us of the fulfillment of God's promises of eternal life, eternal love. The message of Easter is that regardless of how far we wander from God or despite how we are affected by life experiences, God's love and mercy are as deep and available to us as on the day we were born. For prayer, I borrow from Moore's poetry and write as prose:

Loving God, through the wearying and scorching heat of the day, the sunflower still turns toward the sun as she does at the freshness of the dawn. We thank you for your love that offers mercy and comfort and forgiveness uninterrupted by any of the events of our lives. Thank you especially for the gift of your son whose passion, death, and resurrection we remember this day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Rev Jack LIpphardt

Devotional 3-30-13

On my charge this year, I am leading Adam Hamilton’s “24 Hours That Changed the World” Lenten study. This is the second time I’ve used this resource. The first was two years ago in Fairmont. As always, I am struck by how much differently God speaks to me from one time in life to the next. I think that is true of familiar Scriptures, ones we have heard many times, like the Scriptures that describe the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. There is perennially something new. This year as I work with this study, I wonder which group of people who were involved in the last days of Jesus’ life I would fit it with. I invite you to think where you would be.

Would it have been with the Scribes and Pharisees who were so threatened by a theology which was different from theirs that they wanted to destroy the Theologian? Was this even a spiritual, doctrinal question for them, or did they just know that Jesus was more popular than they? Would we be a part of the Roman army, who were so secure in their worldly positions and possessions, and had so much faith in their place in the world, that they did not recognize God among them? In fact, they mocked Him at every opportunity. Confronted by Jesus, would we be like Pilate: on the fence, waffling, refusing to take responsibility for anything, lukewarm in our faith today? The disciples, most of whom had run when their Lord needed them most, going back to the way things had been, because following Jesus didn’t turn out to be as easy as they hoped? Would we be like those who stayed until the very end?

I think that we are all of those people from time to time. We are faithful one minute and not the next. I do not know what any of those people were doing on the Sabbath between Good Friday and Easter morning. Maybe they rested. Surely they were moved by the events of the last week. Perhaps Holy Saturday is not a day many of us think too much about. We may spend the day buying new Easter outfits, hunting for Easter eggs, and getting a jump-start on the big Easter dinner. I know I certainly love to do those things. But this year, I am going to try and do something more. I want to take this quiet in-between day to think about where I would have been in that time and in that place. I want to look at where I am now.
I
Instead of a prayer, I submit this poem for your reflection. It is from “Faces at the Cross: A Lent and Easter Collection of Poetry and Prose”.

Holy SaturdayJ Barrie Shepherd

The echoes of this intervening day
tremble between bloodshed and birth.
Full Friday’s passion now is laid away.
These hours are for the proving of its worth.
In darkness will it ripen to a gay
garden scene of festival and mirth,
or in the deadly juices of decay
dissolve into the daily dust of earth?

Rev. Dorcas L. ConradWest Liberty Charge, West Liberty, W.Va.

Devotional 3-29-13

John 19:30 tells us “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

When the angel Gabriel appeared unto Mary with the news that she would bear a son and his name would be Jesus, Mary surely knew that he would do great things in his life. The Bible tells us she was a witness to his first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. She was also present at other events leading up to his crucifixion.

As a mother and grandmother I try to envision the agony Mary must have felt as she witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and heard him say, “It is finished.” I imagine Mary pleading with God to spare her son, while knowing that this was his purpose on earth; to save the lost. Could you or I give up our child to save the sinners of this world?

During Lent we focus on the life, death and resurrection of Christ. But I felt it important to think about Mary and the toll it must have taken on her to be a witness to the treatment her son received. Her faith in God the Father surely carried her through this trying time. Do we have that kind of faith in God? The kind that would allow us to stand by and watch as our son was dying on the cross.

As we prepare to celebrate of the resurrection of Jesus, may this be a time of renewing our faith and recommitting our lives to Christ.

Joyce Townsend

Devotional 3-28-13

“Light Shines in the Darkness”—based on John 13

At table set for supper
Reclining there with friends,
Preparing then to suffer
The dark of night portends.
The gift of bread was just a sign
Heel lifted against heart,
Betrayal lurked in darkness
Inclining one to part.

Though conscious of his greatness
With towel and basin bends,
A servant demonstration
As light their souls to cleanse.
They did not comprehend then
How darkness veils the Light,
Still chose the path of evil
As each one took his flight.

Am I the one betrayed him
With choices I have made?
Are we yet in denial
Minds fixed on some crusade?
We do not comprehend still
The Light that was made known,
That bids we love each other
As on the cross was shown.

At table set for supper
Communion with a friend.
The gift of bread, the cup of wine,
God’s love it has no end.
Light still shines in the darkness
And darkness nay prevail
The cross reveals God’s glory,
Love’s victory over Hell!

© 2013 Jeffrey A. Taylor. All rights reserved.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 3-27-13

Three Ideas: a Compilation from the Summit Worship Arts Academy

Children were asked to complete sentences and answer a question, and their independent answers are below.  Our prayer is that you feel encouraged by a child’s simple awareness of God’s truth.

Easter is when we:

·         Find eggs

·         Eat chocolate bunnies

·         Praise God

·         Are thankful for others

What does Easter mean to me?

·         The Easter Bunny

·         Receiving baskets full of goodies

·         The best music of the church year

·         Jesus died for us

·         Jesus rose from the dead

·         Because Jesus died, all our sins are forgiven

Jesus is most proud of us when we:

·         Follow the Golden Rule

·         Love others

·         Don’t sin

·         Give of ourselves

·         Forgive

·         Forgive and forget

Devotional 3-26-13

Lectionary - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

“Call Me A Stumbling Fool”

In the first chapter of his first letter to the early Church at Corinth, St. Paul finds himself in a bit of a bind. The faithful, it seems, are dividing into factions within the congregation and Paul, to use the current euphemism, is preaching to the choir. His self-proclaimed mission since his Damascus Road experience had been to proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ to non-believers. Here, however, and just a scant 55 years post crucifixion according to some biblical scholars, he is in the middle of competing contentions among those who already believe. It is fair to characterize the context of this scripture as a stage well set for Paul to designate a priority of believers or to select one group of followers in a hierarchy over another and to do some “stem-winding pontification” in the process. However, he opts not to indulge such a fancy, and instead delivers a piece of hard hitting, straightforward Christian theology.

The point of the above cited scripture, it seems to me, is made in verses 22 – 24. The division which Paul is addressing within the Corinthian congregation is the tension between those who believe they possess certain spiritual gifts, such as ecstatic speech, and those who claim special religious knowledge and wisdom. He likens the spiritual gifts crowd to the Jews, who at the very mention of Jesus’ name during His life among them demanded to see signs, symbols and tangible proof that God’s King had, indeed, arrived. To the knowledge and wisdom group he assigned the moniker of the Greeks who, after observing the substance of Jesus’ ministry, responded that incarnation, if indeed possible, must be established analytically. And, just as Jesus did at the cross when He showed us all that the path to redemption and reconciliation with God comes through divine love and sacrifice rather than human power and wealth, Paul leveled the Corinthian banality which was extant with these terse words: WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED. This thought, he says, since the moment of Jesus’ resurrection has been hard for mere humans to understand. These words are counterintuitive. They were a stumbling block for the Jews. They were foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet they are the essence of faith and the keys to the Kingdom. They are words beyond all other words and they transport those who believe in them to a place beyond all other places.

It is the Tuesday of Holy week. WE followers of Jesus, having hailed our King with palms and coats upon the ground just two days ago, are beginning to grow faint of heart. Why is he acting this way? Where is this all going? Why is He not do the things we think He should do? And why, 2000 years later, are we still living our lives as stumbling fools?

Tom Craig

Devotional 3-25-13

Please read Isaiah 42: 1-9, the First Song of the Suffering Servant

It is Monday of Holy Week, and already the palms of yesterday’s procession are beginning to dry out. The cries of “Hosanna, blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord” have faded in volume and enthusiasm. The Cross of Calvary is coming into view and we would prefer not to look. We thought that God’s justice would come through power and might, but the Suffering Servant’s song reminds us again that true power comes through Christ’s sacrifice and service.

You met Heather Murray Elkins a couple years ago at your Convocation. Heather has told a story from her family’s time in North Carolina. Someone told them of a deserted monastery which was far off the main highways. They had been tempted to make this journey by an offer of religious relics. This long abandoned retreat center was being destroyed after being bought by a corporation. The architect was offering any of the statues and carvings to anyone who would carry them off. They found the right spot then traveled on foot like pilgrims to a shrine.

It was a mistake from the beginning. The statues that were left would have required a crane, not two adults, a small child, and an older Volkswagen Beetle. They decided to call it an adventure. Bill (Heather’s husband) began to unpack their picnic basket and prepare lunch. Heather and her young son, Daniel, did a little more exploring.

In the center of what had been a garden, they discovered a crucifix. Even in its abandoned state, it dominated the garden. Heather looked, judged the size and weight and dismissed it as too big, too heavy – too bad. She lifted Daniel, ready to carry him back to lunch.

Heather then told, “The stiffness of the child stopped me. He had turned to stone. His eyes were like x-rays, restlessly scanning the body there on the cross. From the shock on his face, I realized that he had never seen one of these before. Every cross he had ever seen had been empty. This one was not empty. This one was filled with the dying agony of a good, strong man.”

“Jesus?” Daniel questioned, his eyes still on the form. Heather answered, “Yes, it’s an image of Jesus.” Suddenly Daniel exploded into action and sound, “Take him down!” he shouted. He began pushing against her crying out loudly, “Take him down!” Bill came running, prepared to defend his son from any danger. It was comfort that was needed—comfort and the telling of the story.

When did we learn to take this action of Christ for granted? We make our crosses pretty and sometimes forget that the cross was not always empty. Who taught us to see this text of the Suffering Servant without seeing the blood, the agony, and the hurt?

Here is the gift of this week: God’s Son journeyed through this week and made his way to the cross so that we are able to believe. No matter how much we have heard about the cross; no matter how many crosses are around us in our lives, the one big need remains that we find in Christ’s death the gift of forgiveness and life. We cannot take Christ down because that is his gift to us. The Suffering Servant gives his life to give us life.

Prayer: We thank you, God of life, that your grace and forgiving love is based not on our excellence, our good works, or our piety, but on the work of your Son, Jesus. Help us that we may walk faithfully with you in in the journey to the cross. Amen.

Rev. Mark Connor

Devotional 3-24-13

HANDS

“If you do what the Lord wants, God will make certain each step you take is sure.
The Lord will hold your hand, and if you stumble, you still won’t fall.” Psalms 37:24 (Contemporary English Version)

God will hold your hand. What a magnificent image!

As the song so aptly puts it - God’s got the whole world in God’s hands. (Excuse my attempt at trying to make this song’s words not gender specific.)

God’s got the tiny little baby in God’s hands.
God’s got the wind and rain in God’s hands.
God’s got you and me, brother, in God’s hands.
God’s got the whole world in God’s hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing. God’s hands. Your hands. So take a look at your own hands - those appendages that God created at the end of your arms. Study the veins, the wrinkles, the cuticles, the lines in the palms.

Then open and close your hand and notice the amazing complexity of how all the parts of your hands, work together. Think of all the things you tell others with the motion of your hand. You wave hello; you ask someone to come closer; you tell someone that something is okay; you stop someone. What a tool God has equipped you with.

Think of all the things you can do with your hands. Build, cook, play an instrument, speak with sign language, point, and direct traffic.

So as we near the end of this Lenten season, where we have searched ourselves, and worked on building a better, more open and loving relationship to God, it is important for us to remember that God wants each of us to love and care for all of God’s creation and God’s children. You are the only hands God has here on earth now. So what are you doing to lend a hand in love and grace for one of God’s children? Are your hands helping or hurting? Are your hands creating or destroying? Are your hands praying or lashing out?

God will hold your hand as you continue this journey of life. Will you allow God to direct your life and your hands, so that you may fulfill your mission of loving God’s children to the best of your ability?

Rev. Suzanne Ellis

Devotional 3-23-13

Read Psalm 118:19-29

We must depend upon God always and give Him thanks, no matter what happens in our lives because He is and will always be our salvation. This past year has been an emotional and spiritual challenge. I have been the care giver for my Mother, Betty Lemley. She had many different physical and medical ailments.

There were many doctor appointments for arthritis, ankle and knee problems, and general body aching, Plus physical therapy in attempt to walk again. She also had Macular degeneration and each month she had to have shots in her eye, which was not much fun.

Right after Christmas she began having really bad pain in lower back and knees. We took her to the Emergency Room-all they could say that it was lower back spasms. While all this was happening, Fred and I had a trip planned to South Africa to visit our daughter Melissa and her family, leaving the middle of January and to return the first part of February. Wondering if we should go or not, we asked the Lord to guide us as to go or not. My brother Mike, from Texas called and said "I could come home and be with Mom while we were gone, go ahead and go". So we did go ahead with our plans.

The week we were to leave, Mom began having terrible pain, ending up in the hospital. Well, I thought they would treat her pain and she would go to Rehab Hospital and be able to come home by the time we came home from South Africa in about 4 weeks.

Well, while she was in the hospital they ran all kinds of tests to get a diagnosis: CT scan, MRI, Bone Scan and Bone Biopsy. The pain continued........... after being hospitalized for a week the answer came..........................

Bone Cancer, stage 4,aggressive type! When Michelle and Mike called us in South Africa to let us know for sure that it was CANCER, I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I thought there is no way, there is no cancer in the family, are they sure? I just had to leave it in God's hands to take care and control what it was He had in mind for Mom and all of us.

There were a lot of What if's and How did they miss it or never found anything to lead them that is was Cancer. That weekend she was moved to the Hospice House of Huntington. I told her that we would be home, leaving Tuesday and would be home Wednesday afternoon. She knew we were coming home. She was waiting for us. We spent Wednesday afternoon and evening with her. She was aware that we were there. Thursday morning when we got to the Hospice House we were told it wouldn't be long. She went Home peacefully before noon.

Thankfully she was kept comfortable, no pain. We all had questions, "What could we have done different to help her?" We just have to believe in the Lord and follow His plan, whether we understand it or not. We had to let her go to Jesus for his purpose and give up our selfish wants and believe she is with Him and know that He is wonderful and will take care of us in his kingdom on earth and those who have gone on before.

We will praise and exalt Him.
Give thanks to the Lord,
His Love will endure forever.

Melanie Herr

Devotional 3-22-13

Please read Philippians 2:5-11

In this passage, Paul entreats the Christians at Philippi to seek unification in their beliefs (“be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind”) and to consider others above themselves. He further says “let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus . . .” -good advice for Christians then and now. The defeatist in me says, however, that this is an impossible goal. Yes, our humanity prevents us from totally possessing the mind of one who was perfect. But look at what we have to deal with today, the voice says. Temptation is everywhere in our world-so many choices, so many distractions, so many things competing for our attention. Our minds become cluttered with concerns about ourselves, things we want, holding on to what we think is ours while those around us suffer, and so many other seemingly important things. There is not enough room (or time for that matter) to have the “same mind” as Jesus.

So, are we hopeless? Thankfully God doesn’t give up on us. We would, however, do well to follow the advice Paul gave to the Philippians about how they could emulate Jesus, especially during this season of Lent when we are invited to examine ourselves and our relationships. Paul noted that Jesus emptied himself, taking on the role of a servant, putting others and their needs ahead of his own. He also humbled himself, displaying obedience to God to the point of dying on the cross.

Emptying ourselves involves getting rid of all the things that vie with God for our attention and focusing more on how we see and can help others, without regard to how it makes us look or what sacrifices we are called to make. Humility similarly requires that we see ourselves as no better than anyone else and that we appreciate that we are all created in God’s image, each having unique gifts and talents. Neither of these is easy, and we cannot make such changes without prayer and effort, but in this season of new beginnings don’t we owe it to ourselves and our creator to try and look at others and ourselves as Jesus would?

Mary Taylor

Devotional 3-20-13

Giving and Receiving Thanks
Psalm 118 (NIV): “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Most of us are not good at saying “thanks” for the things and people who bless and enrich our lives. Yes, we do say ‘thank you’ for some special gift; and yes, we manage to say grace before meals. But how many times are those words said out of convention, not true gratitude. Americans today are too self-absorbed to live in gratitude.

Did you know that the lyrics to the song “I did It my way” (made famous by singers Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Elvis Presley and Luciano Pavarotti, to name a few) got more than 8.5 million hits on You Tube? This song should be nominated as a theme song for the mythical self-made man- or maybe the self-proclaimed atheist. You know, the person who thinks (s)he can navigate life by himself, relying only on himself; and believing that “following the green line to economic security” will get him to a full and joyful life.

This song strikes a chord because it says he did it all “my way”: alone, by himself. He never recognized God’s grace at work in his life. He never understood God as the source of his strength and resolve. And now, at the end of life, he can only boast that he took the journey and all its ups and downs, by himself.

Contrast that to our psalmist who declares outright (v.5) “In my anguish I cried to the Lord and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.” (v.8) “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All the nations surround me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them off.” (v.14) “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (v.17)”I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done”.

As we contemplate Jesus’ journey to the cross, let us be reminded that Jesus was never alone on his journey. Thanks be to God!

*Prayer: “ In the coming weeks, O Lord, I will be able to see again how much you indeed love me. Let these weeks become an opportunity for me to let go of all my resistances to your love and an occasion for you to call me closer to you. Amen.”

* P.67, “ A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee” by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Text of the entire prayer by Henri Nouwen:

Dear Lord, show me your kindness and your gentleness, you who are meek and humble of heart. So often I say to myself, “The Lord loves me,” but very often this truth does not enter into the center of my heart. The fact that I get so easily upset because of a disappointment, so easily angered because of a slight criticism, and so easily depressed because of a slight rejection, shows that your love does not yet fill me. Why, otherwise, would I be so easily thrown off balance? What can people do to me, when I really know that you love me, care for me, protect me, defend me, guide me and support me? What does a small—or even a great—failure mean, when I know that you are with me in all my sorrows and turmoil? Yet time and again I have to confess that I have not let your love descend fully from my mind into my heart, and that I have not let my knowing grow into real, full knowledge that pervades all of my being. In the coming weeks, O Lord, I will be able to see again how much you indeed love me. Let these weeks become an opportunity for me to let go of all my resistances to your love and an occasion for you to call me closer to you. Amen.

Dorothy Turner-Lacy

Devotional 3-17-13

John 12:1-8

As the days draw closer Easter I am reminded of a book I read several years ago. The book is, “The Gospel According to Judas” and it had a subtitle that read, “come home all is forgiven!” Throughout the book the author develops a key theme and that theme is this, Judas was not the only disciple to betray Jesus and of course, he is right. Each of the disciples betrayed Jesus. They cut and ran there at the Mount of Olives. Peter did go to the courtyard while the trial was going on to be close to Jesus but even there he denied him three times.

The only difference between Judas and the other disciples as far as we know is this, the other disciples repented – they asked for forgiveness and they received it. Yes, they failed to be true to Jesus even as Judas was but they admitted their failure and began again.

The Lenten season provides us with an opportunity to examine our own journey with Jesus. There are likely times of high idealism when we are right there at the foot of the Cross. It is also likely if you are anything like me that at times we come close to losing sight of the Cross and Jesus as well. Times when we decide to go our own way and push our own agendas that we perceive to be for the good of the community.

It would seem Judas thought that if he could just guide Jesus to lovingly see things his way life would be better for one and all. Who of us has not had the idea at least once that if one in charge would listen to us we could improve the situation?

Mary the sister of Lazarus on the other hand expressed her love for Jesus in a way that honored him. Her act of love wasn’t done to make her look good. It was I believe an act of genuine love and thankfulness for the teacher from Galilee.

Prayer: Gracious Lord, open our hearts and examine our lives. Help us to look to You, o Lord, as the author and completer of our faith. Remind us who we are and whose we are not for any praise or recognition for ourselves but that others will be drawn to you. Amen.

Thom Malcolm, D Min

Devotional 3-16-13

You May Be the Match Someone is Looking For
My parents raised four children in the United Methodist Church. They taught us that faith was active rather than passive and that it was much more than Sunday morning services. They taught us that “when you live in a community, that community should be better because you live in it”. It was with that sense of service to others that led me more than 10 years ago to get involved in a bone marrow registry. This was an opportunity to serve someone with the anonymity that I prefer.

Recently, I was contacted by the registry and it seems that I am a match for a young woman needing a bone marrow transplant. I was so excited that I read the letter several times to make sure. I called my family to share the good news with them. Then I called the registry to begin the process. It was then that things turned sour for me.

I have prostate cancer. It was detected too late and had spread before I could get the prostate removed. It is incurable but currently in remission. This poses no risk to the marrow recipient, but the process of stimulating cell growth for transplant will undoubtedly bring the cancer out of remission and push it beyond the oncologist’s ability to control it – in short it would be fatal. For this reason, I have been waived and am no longer a suitable donor.

In my nearly 40 years in the medical field, I have heard “well, the odds of finding a match would be better if more people were on the registry” many times. It is being said right now because of my medical problem and truly saddens me. My only recourse now is to champion the cause and challenge all who read this to prayerfully consider registering. I am not endorsing any specific group as they all share resources. I registered through has a website, www.bethematch.com. I registered, and then they sent me the swabs for the DNA testing. Or, just google “bone marrow registry” and you will find many different options.

Someone is counting on you.

Joel Taylor

Devotional 3-14-13

One of my favorite writers is Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Atlanta, and author of several books, including  Leaving Church, The Bread of Angels, and An Altar in the World.

Her words, delivered as a sermon at a conference at Piedmont College, spoke to my heart.  I trust they will speak to yours as well. Following are excerpts from that sermon.

“‘Follow the money,’ people say when they are trying to get to the bottom of something corrupt.  Follow the money and it will lead you to the perp.  Since they are so often right, I want to take the advice but change the subject.  It is bread I want to follow, not to the perp but to God.  Follow the bread and it will lead you to the source of all life.  That is John’s gospel in a sentence, but the bread in it is not for believers only.  It is bread for the world – the one God so loves – and for everyone in it whose stomach has ever growled.

“Have you ever counted the bread stories in the gospels?  There are dozens of them..Add to those teachings the stories that happened around supper tables – at Levi the tax collector’s house, where Jesus was criticized for the low-class company he kept; at Simon the Pharisee’s house, where a woman bathed his feet with her tears; in the large upper room where he ate his last Passover with his friends, reminding them that it was better to serve than to be served.  Add those stories to the list, and the trail of breadcrumbs starts to look more like a lit path…

“If you are paying attention, then there might be something scratching at the door of your subconscious right about now.  Isn’t there another story about bread in the gospels – one that took place in another wilderness – when the devil tempted Jesus to make bread out of stones so no one ever had to go hungry again?...

“Here is something easy to miss:  Jesus never turns stones to bread – not in the wilderness, not on the beach, not anywhere.  He never makes manna rain from heaven…He always works with what his disciples give him.  When he asks his disciples to feed the crowd and they give him exact numbers so he will understand how little they have (two fish and five loaves), he ignores their math along with their insecurity and asks them to bring him what they have…Here is a teacher who does not separate body from soul.  He wants his followers to have more than words to eat.  So he decides to make them some food right where they are.

“Then he makes more of it (they add; he multiplies) without ever cutting his disciples out of the equation.  His miracles depend on their willingness to give him what they have, because he “takes no bread” either.  He carries no bottomless backpack full of Super Bread so that he can be the one-man solution to a world of need.  Instead, he relies on his followers to remember what he taught them when he sent them out two by two: when God answers the prayer for daily bread, God does it through other people…

Do you love me?  You know I do.  Feed my lambs.

Do you love me?  You know I do.  Tend my sheep.

Do you love me?  You know everything; you know I do.  Feed my sheep.

“I guess we could have a long discussion about who those sheep are, exactly.  Do only Christians need apply?  If you have ever been fed, body and soul, at a supper table where you broke bread with friends (or friendly strangers), then you know the answer.  This is a story for anyone blessed with hunger.

“When you break bread, the bread opens up.  When the bread opens up, so does the table.  When the table opens up, so does your heart.  When your heart opens up, so do your hands – reaching out for some of what you have to hand it to someone else – only to discover that you have more instead of less.  This is how the miracle goes on happening, again and again.  You follow the bread, and the bread leads you to life – not only for you, and not only for your flock, but for every lamb of God.”

 Holy Father, During this Lenten Season, open our eyes and hearts to those around us whose bodies and souls hunger.  Encourage us, as followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to offer back to You what You have given us. Forgive and free us from judgmental attitudes which often hinder our willingness to reach out in love.  May we instead demonstrate our love and devotion through serving - feeding and tending His sheep, be they in His fold or in another’s.  Amen.

Linda Summers

Devotional 3-12-13

Feel the Love

Psalm 126
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.

Could I be more blessed? I don’t think so. It’s 7:00 on a Sunday morning, and I’m sitting on the couch, sipping a hot cup of coffee, watching my grandchildren sleep. The sun, giving a preview of the gorgeous day we have in store, is peeking through the blinds. I suddenly realize that if I were consciously storing memories – if I were a Giver or Receiver - this would be one I would keep.

In Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a community where Sameness is the main goal. To keep the citizens from feeling anything close to psychological or physical pain, the community has scientifically engineered or altered everything. At first the reader is impressed by the temperate climate and daily interactions between family members. But each chapter brings new realizations that make this utopian society a nightmare rather than a dream.

At the Ceremony of Twelve, when Jonas and his friends are given their occupations by the Committee of Elders, Jonas learns that he is to be the Receiver of Memories. The former Receiver – now the Giver – transfers all of the ancient memories of the community to Jonas. Jonas’s favorite memory is one in which parents, children, and grandparents are celebrating Christmas. He feels something in the room he has never felt in his own home. The memory tells him it’s love. That is the moment that Jonas realizes what he and others have given up in order to be “protected”. Jonas figures out that seeds of love and commitment must be sown if joy is to be harvested. His love and commitment are tested before the story concludes.

You and I are lucky because we have two distinct advantages over Jonas. First of all, we’re real; second, just as God brought the Israelites out of Babylon, He delivered us from evil and allowed His son to take our place on the cross. If you were a Giver, what memories would you give to others that would convey God’s love? Take a moment today to list those memories, those blessings. Could we be more blessed? I don’t think so.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessings You have given us. Help us to remember that in order to harvest Your blessings, we may have to endure pain. And while that pain may be separation from those we love, we will remember their lives and know we’ve been blessed.
In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Becky Warren

Devotional 3-11-13

Joshua 5:9-12
The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

“Taste the Manna”

I imagine Joshua, in his old age, with his grandson on his lap, telling the old stories. “Grandpa, tell me about manna again.” Joshua looks down at his young grandson and says, “Moses let God’s people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea and to freedom. But freedom came with a price. We were in the wilderness and wilderness is desert. It was hot and you can’t grow crops there and animals don’t live there. Some of the people got mad at their decision to leave Egypt. Some blamed Moses for leading them out. Others blamed God. It came down to the fact that we were all hungry and thirsty and tired. So as we stood there shaking our fist at God, God did not focus on our anger, but instead, God focused on our pain. God did not abandon us. God provided for us. We drank water from a rock. We ate quail. But it was the manna that I miss the most. You see, every morning, when we rose from our beds, there was manna on the ground. I’m not sure what it was exactly, some type of edible flakes. We would gather it in the morning, but we only gathered enough. Oh, there were some who tried to gather it in bunches to horde in case there was none for the next day, but it went bad. Manna couldn’t be kept for long. And what we didn’t gather, did not last either.”

“Did it fill you up, Grandpa?” Joshua smiled and told him, “No, I don’t think of it like being full. It was more about stopping our hunger than filling our bellies. But the day came when the manna stopped.”

“Why, Grandpa? Why isn’t there manna anymore?” Joshua rubbed his chin and said, “When we got to the Promised Land, we could farm and raise livestock. There was food there. We didn’t need the manna the way we needed it in the desert. And so it stopped. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I was never happier than the day we reached the Promised Land. No more desert, no more wandering, and no more uncertainty about where our next meal would come from. But in a way, I think we were better off in the wilderness. When we were wandering in the wilderness, we HAD to depend on God to lead us and to feed us. Nowadays, we depend entirely too much on ourselves. It seems like we were closer to God when life was harder. I don’t know why that is really, but I guess it is easier to feel God’s presence in times of trouble. Maybe it is because God draws nearer to us. But I think it is because we are more open to God in those moments.”

“Does that mean that we are more closed to God in good times, Grandpa?” Joshua frowned and said, “You sure are full of questions. But then again, knowing how to ask the right questions is better than feeling like we have all the answers. I guess the answer to your question is that it depends. We don’t have to be closed to God just because we are in good times. It just seems like more people are. We just get so busy living our lives that we get out of touch with the divine. It is like the way we get when people are out of our lives for a time. We don’t forget about them, but we don’t necessarily think about them either. I bet if we stopped and took time to look around and to listen for God, we just might find that the manna never truly stopped.”

“What do you mean, Grandpa?” Grinning, Joshua said, “I mean, God still is at work in our lives trying to lead us and feed us, we just don’t always see it or we convince ourselves that it is our own doing. As long as people exist, God will find ways to meet their needs. Manna is all around us, if only we would open our hearts to see it.”

Prayer

God of Abraham and Sarah,
     God of Moses and Joshua,
           God of Esther and Ruth:
When your people were in the desert and were hungry,
      you sent manna.
But there came a day when the manna stopped,
      when your people were able to eat of the fruit of the land.
And so we stopped looking for you to provide,
      and we worked hard to make our own way,
           and we have food on our table.
But God, we are still hungry.
      We fill ourselves with empty calories.
           We eat more than we should.
All the while, there are people in want of their daily bread,
      hungry people, yearning for a meal.
Give us eyes to see you,
      ears to hear you,
           hearts to feel you.
Allow us to see the manna that you provide for us daily:
      in the faces of children,
           in the reconciliation of feuds,
                in the clasped hand of the dying.
And help us to be the manna:
      offering food to growling bellies,
           offering forgiveness to hurting souls,
                offering love to the unloved.
In the name of one who came to be manna for us,
      like bread broken,
           like yeast, rising . . .
In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.


Rev. David A. Stackpole, Esq

Devotional 3-10-13

Selah Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

32:7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

Though there are many theories on the meaning of the word ‘selah’, there are two that I feel led to use. It might be a cue to really spend time to consider the value of the wisdom being shared. A second thought is that the word is rooted in Hebrew words meaning ‘to praise’ and ‘to lift up’. I encourage you to keep these in mind through this reading.

Both of the above verses mention God’s care for us. However, the words paint almost opposite pictures. In verse 5, “I did not hide”, while in verse 7, God is “a hiding place for me.” How can these two pictures come together in our heads and our hearts?

When I was in college studying music therapy, we practiced relaxation through imagery. A brief explanation is that a person or group relaxes with eyes closed. Over soft music, a leader directs the group to close their eyes and relax the entire body. Then there is a description which guides the group in creating visuals in the mind. I have for you one such ‘verbal sketch’, bringing together my mind’s picture of the two selected verses.

Life is a sometimes torrent of challenges. Yours might be stress at work, physical ailment, or concern for others. *Imagine yourself standing in the midst of a tornado of these challenges, gray and ominous, whipping around you and threatening to tear you from your roots. While this all continues on every side, you realize that you stand alone before God, sins and mistakes painfully exposed. You couldn’t hide them, of course, if you wanted it. He allows you to mourn your transgressions. Like any parent, He smiles at the maturity shown in your remorse. Just when you think you can’t withstand any more, His arms envelope you like huge wings. They are strong and warm. “Selah!” You collapse in exhausted relief. You now have time to allow yourself to relax, head to toe. (That’s a cue; I recommend actually trying to relax one part at a time, beginning with your head, progressing to the tips of your fingers and toes.) Through His protective embrace, you see the dark sky and hear the violent wind. It doesn’t touch you, for you are surrounded with a strong warm glow. You have been delivered from your stressors. “Selah!” This glow encases you in such a way that you must move a bit more slowly, but this allows time for you to weigh your decisions more clearly. What is the next decision to be made? Clear your mind and ask for His guidance.*

You know your challenges are there, but if you allow God to protect you, these issues will not taint your heart and mind. “Selah!” Weigh the value of what the Bible shows that He has given you, and praise Him for this amazing gift. God is good ALL THE TIME.

Natalie Wray

Devotional 3-7-13

Forgiveness I try very hard to be a good person. Inevitably I fail. Jeremiah 17:9 NIV tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” We all sin, none of us is worthy of God’s love and forgiveness.

It is not whether we sin or even how we sin. It is how we react to the sin. Are we honest with ourselves and with God? Do we go to God with a contrite heart and ask His forgiveness and help? Or do we make excuses to ourselves and to God? Psalm 32:1-2NIV says, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose heart there is no deceit.” Thanks be to Jesus Christ we are forgiven. We are blessed!

Our sins are forgiven. We are a new creation. Corinthians 5:16-21 reminds us that if someone is in Christ, he is a new creation. God doesn’t count his sins against him. Can we do any less? Should we not forgive as we have been forgiven? Should we not treat others as God’s creations--each special in their own way? If we did this, how could we change someone’s life? How could our own lives be changed? Forgiveness is a powerful act. Pass it on!

Margaret Williams

Devotional 3-5-13

THE LINEN CLOSET As the season of Lent gets closer to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday it becomes a very sad time for me and, no doubt, for many Christians as we contemplate Jesus' crucifixion. We celebrate Palm Sunday and the triumphant entry into Jerusalem only to be reminded of humanity's fickleness as the crowd turns upon Jesus and seeks His death.

Just a few weeks ago I happened upon something in my linen closet of all places which reminded me that after death comes the risen life. The linen closet is not one I explore very often. After all, what does it need except to keep the towels and sheets neatly arranged and act as a depository for a few things that don't belong anywhere else. I decided to find out what few things were hiding on the back shelf and I came upon a glass bowl that seemed to be filled with dirt and had a few brown paper-like stubs in it.

I stared at the bowl for a few minutes and then I remembered that two or three years ago I had planted some daffodil bulbs in the glass bowl after they had bloomed and then looked for a really dark spot to place them in until the following spring. Yes, you guessed it, I completely forgot about them.

I took the bowl and placed it in a sunny window not really expecting to see any change in the little brown stubs but, lo and behold, in a few days I saw tiny green shoots coming up and now the bowl is filled with green leaves. Soon the flower buds will appear.

What a reminder that after Good Friday comes Easter Sunday. Life triumphs over death! Hallelujah! The scripture that comes to my mind is Psalm 30, especially verse five, "...weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning." (KJV).

As we journey through Lent let us remember that life and God's love will always triumph.

Jean Dean

Devotional 3-3-13

A True Story That Never Happened …
A tree stood in a regal vineyard. It was grateful to be there. It was proud to be there. The ground was full of the strength of life….trees call it grace. The tree worked hard with its roots to pull the strength of life from the ground to make itself tall and strong, to make its leaves dark green and large, and to make the roots multiply in order to absorb more grace in order to become stronger and more beautiful. Every year for three years the owner of the vineyard came to the tree and brushed through the leaves and looked at the tree intently. “How beautiful I must be” the tree thought.

One day the tree overheard the owner talking to the gardener: “Cut this tree down, I never find fruit on it! It is just using up the good soil for no reason!”

The tree panicked: “Fruit?? He wants fruit?? I was working hard to be strong and beautiful; I didn’t know he wanted fruit??”

Then a nearby bush said, “Hey buddy, what kind of tree are you? Don’t you know?”

“Of course I know”, the tall, beautiful tree said, “I’m a pear tree…..” As soon as the tree heard its own answer, it he felt ashamed.

“So…not a beauty tree?” the shrub asked.

“…No…” the tree answered.

“Not a strong tree?” the shrub asked.

“…No…” the tree answered.

“Not a pretty big leaf tree?” The shrub asked.

The tree became more ashamed: “Ok, ok, I get it! I’m a pear tree, and I was meant to produce pears… I realize that now. But it looks like it’s too late. He expected pears, I failed him…and I have used up all of the grace around me…and now I’m going to be cut down.”

Just then the tree overheard the gardener speaking to the owner: “Give it another year. Let me put some fresh grace around it and let’s see what it does this time. If It doesn’t work this time, cut it down.” The owner agreed.

The tree was amazed and relieved. He couldn’t believe he would be given more time and more grace. He said to the shrub, “You know, if I was the gardener…I don’t think I would have done what he did.”

The shrub said, “That’s the gardener for you. He is just, well, different. His ways and thoughts are, a little higher I guess. He is really good…and really forgiving…You on the other hand are incredibly forgetful…”

“What do you mean?” asked the tree.

“Don’t you remember?” The shrub replied in disbelief, “The Gardener and the owner have been having the exact same conversation over you about this same time every year for the last three years!”

It’s a true story that never happened….

What kind of person are you?

A person marked by the cross of Christ, sealed by God’s Holy Spirit, a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven? A child of God?

What were you made for? Why were you planted where you are? I think we each know that answer somewhere inside ourselves. Of course we can always know more about the will of God for our lives…but thankfully there is grace for that, to give us understanding. And as we gain understanding, grace also gives us the courage and the heart we need so that we might be fruitful and that we might, each in our own way, give this world what God desires it to have: redemption, hope, forgiveness, love. Do you not know that these are yours to give? They will flow from you when you understand the God and the grace of God that moves through you and claims you.

Child of God, citizen of Heaven, be fruitful in this world that hungers so deeply for the love and grace of God – for this you have been created, planted, called, and empowered. Amen.

Rev Joe HIll

Devotional 3-2-13

Scripture is from 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13

Lent for me has always been a lot less than comfortable.  Perhaps the sadness of Good Friday makes this time much different from Advent.  The anticipation of something wonderful occurring is much more uplifting than anticipation of a very horrible action taking place.

The first letter of Paul to the Corinthians in the first ten verses of Chapter 10 takes us through the “Readers Digest” version of the Hebrews leaving Egypt and their time in the wilderness.  The first twelve verses, if reviewed by someone out of context, would not be a great way to say come on and join us.  It recalls the death of 23,000 people and snakes, for goodness sake.

The intent of Paul was to make an analogy for the church at Corinth and compare their attitudes to those of Hebrews in the desert.  It is an object lesson that in the beginning instructs and in the end offers encouragement, reassurance and hope.

I think this opportunity may bring light to Lent for all of us.  It does have one bad day in it that none of us would or could endure if we did not have the Hope of Easter Morning.

God bless!  

Mike Bowen