March 17 Devotion

Please read John 17

Have you ever read a passage of scripture and seen something for the first time? Recently, I re-read John 17 and what really jumped out at me was Jesus’ selflessness at a time when I would expect him to focus on himself. Jesus recognized that his time on earth was coming to an end. What do you think he did? He prayed. Not a selfish prayer, “God, help me!” He prayed for his followers. In class Wednesday night, I asked, “What do you think of that?”

“Awesome!” was the reply. I agree. It is awesome that Jesus would pray for us, even for me. It is awesome love for us, even for me; it is awesome trust in us, even in me.

And for my part, it is awesome responsibility. I read the words as if Jesus were praying for me. Try it: read verse 20 and insert your name for “them” and “they.”

I’m praying not only for Jeff but also for those who will believe in me because of Jeff and Jeff’s witness about me.

Does anyone believe in Jesus because of me? Am I living up to my responsibility? Sometimes I have missed opportunities to be a witness to Christ’s love; other times I have failed, thinking instead of myself. But I will do better; I have confidence knowing that Jesus is praying for me!

And He’s praying for all of us.

Dear God: May the ones who come behind us find us faithful; may the fire of our devotion light the Way. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

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

March 3 Devotion

Please read Psalm 150 and John 4: 22-24

What is the proper setting for worship?

That is an issue that stimulates discussion among church people.

What is the right kind of music for worship? Should we sing only hymns? Praise songs? Can worship styles be blended? Is a pipe organ the only musical instrument fitting for true worship? Is it disrespectful to have electric guitars and drum sets in church? Can we really praise God in Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church with electric guitars and drums?

Last year, our church’s youth group combined with another youth group to co-sponsor JesusQuest, which featured a music group called Portal. Portal provided enthusiastic worship and praise music that affected the youth and many of the adults present at the Saturday evening service and again on Sunday morning. Because I am one of the volunteer youth leaders, and I was lay leader at the time, I got quite a lot of feedback from members of the congregation. I am thankful that people could feel free to share their opinions with me.

Many people shared with me that it was the most exciting and meaningful worship service they had ever attended in our sanctuary. On the other hand, some people were offended by the loud music and the scene of people moving out of their pews, clapping, even forming circles of worshipers swaying and rocking to the music arm in arm.

Consider these words of the psalmist:

Psalm 150

Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!

Sounds like he had been to JesusQuest!

Perhaps the style of music is is not the important thing; our praise and worship must be God-centered, and not self-centered..

What kind of building do we need for worship? Does God permit worship in rooms that don’t have fixed pews and stained glass? Listen to what Jesus said about the proper place for worship:

But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.

It is not the building; it is not the music. God wants our hearts. I think we can learn to worship by watching the youth.

Dear God: Inspire us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Help us to be people who are simply and honestly ourselves before you in our worship, so that we may worship you out of our very beings, our spirits, and our true selves in adoration. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

March 18 Devotion

Seedling recruitment after fire arises from a previously dormant seed bank in the soil and first seems to play a cruial role in germination. This is from a scientific article outlining the process by which forest firest play an integral role in the continuation of a species. Without the first and the heat produced during such a blaze, the seed simply stays buried in the ground, never living up to its role in the world.

• "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matthew 3:11)
• John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Luke 3:16)

Too often we lay dormant. Buried under work, pleasure, guilt… Perfect specimens, made by God. Created to love Him above all else and to love our neighbors as ourselves. But we stay hidden from view, our potential unrealized and our willingness to branch out to others unstirred. We fail to germinate.

This Lenten season, may we be so close to Christ that the flames of his glory scorch our souls and the heat from His presence in our lives allows us to grow in a way that will lead to a life of love, a life of service, and life everlasting.

Steve Matthews

Evening Prayer:

Dear God,
By the power of the fire of your Holy Spirit, ignite our souls with a desire to live up to your will, that as we mature in faithful service to you, we will branch out and produce fruit, sowing seeds in your Kingdom.
Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 2-23-10

A Legacy of Faithfulness

Please read Genesis 15:1-12; 17-18

“…the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates....’”

In these days of instant gratification and materialism, it is difficult to imagine one acting in faith as Abram did. Abram gave up the comfort of his familiar surroundings and set out to a strange land in response to God’s call, not so that he could gain personally, but so that his descendents could have the land that God promised. As the writer of Hebrews said, Abram (Abraham) “died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.” Hebrews 11:13.

I see examples of that kind of faithfulness in my work at the United Methodist Foundation. I often help individuals who have a desire to act in faith to make a planned gift, that is, a gift from their accumulated resources. It is like they are planting trees the fruit from which they will never personally enjoy. They act generously and in faith, with a vision that goes beyond their own lifetimes. Often, the motivation for a planned gift is to not only provide future financial resources, but also to set an example of faith.

For instance, I met a gentleman during the terrible economic climate of the last half of 2008, who decided it was the right time to create an endowment fund (anonymously) for his church in rural West Virginia. His inspiration was that he wanted to be a witness of faithfulness and generosity in tough times for future generations.

By contrast, we are all paying a price for the actions of some individuals and corporations who act not out of generosity and faith, but out greed without regard for anyone else.

We are examples of for future generations. Will you leave a legacy of faithfulness?

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 4-12-09

Read John 20: 1-18

John shares his eye-witness account of the first Easter morning. Mary Magdalene had gone before dawn to the tomb. We know from other accounts that there were other women with her, and they had gone to prepare the body. When they arrived, found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, they ran to tell Peter and John—two of Jesus’ most trusted disciples.

Along with James, Peter and John made up the inner circle—they were Jesus’ closest disciples and had witnessed more than the others, including the transfiguration of Jesus some weeks earlier. Jesus must have seen in them a spiritual maturity; perhaps they were ready to see who Jesus really is.

John includes an interesting detail in his telling of what happened on Easter morning. In the race to the tomb after they learned from Mary that it was empty, John got there first. It was apparently important to John, who always refers to himself as “the one Jesus loved,” to arrive ahead of Peter. As a man, I get that…everything’s a competition. I imagine that the impulsive Peter, upon hearing the news of the empty tomb, sprinted furiously and became exhausted. John paced himself.

This Easter morning, some of us will race to be the first to witness the risen Christ—we’ll be gathering for a sunrise service in the prayer garden. It’s not a competition, though. Whenever we rise, Christ has risen. Alleluia!

There’s something else, though, about this gospel that jumps out at me. Imagine, if you can, the emotional highs and lows of the last few weeks from the disciples’ perspective. After following Jesus and witnessing miraculous healings and feedings and casting out of demons, the disciples have accompanied Jesus in a triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, shared a Passover meal with Jesus that would forever be labeled “The Last Supper,” then saw Jesus arrested, tried in a kangaroo court, and crucified.

But THIS morning, they finally see, and believe, what Jesus had been trying to explain to them. He would die and be resurrected on the third day. It was true. So what is their response? The answer is in verse 10.

Then the disciples returned to their homes.

What? Their response seems anticlimactic, that they would witness the resurrection…and then just return to their homes. Shouldn’t such a witness prompt some other action or emotion? But then…I guess you could ask me the same question.

How will this Easter affect you? Will your experience of the resurrection of Jesus Christ change you? Will you live life differently because you have seen and believe? Will you love more radically? Will you give more generously?

Or will you just return to your home and to your normal routine?

Dear God, may the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ transform each of us, so that we might be the ones who do Your will and bring about Your kingdom on earth. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Mission Prayer Focus and response:
As Lent ends and Easter begins, don't forget the new life that we celebrate as Christians. And don't forget to share that new life with others. The mission projects give us many opportunities to put "feet" to our prayers, and to be the visible body of Christ working in the world.

Devotional 3-6-12

Please read Psalm 19

It is no wonder that C. S. Lewis called Psalm 19 “the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”  (Lewis, C. S. Reflections on the Psalms. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958, 63).   The psalmist writes of the revelation of God through creation.  “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament^* proclaims his handiwork.”  (v. 1).  If you have ever marveled at a sunset, a newborn baby, the mountains, or the sea, then you know the difficulty in finding the words to express your vision and experience.  Our humanity and our language limit us from describing creation, and from describing God.  “There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice^* goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (vv. 3-4). 

Creation reveals something about God.  The bible reveals something more about God and about God’s relationship with creation. For me, the most meaningful revelation of God is in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and in God’s continuing work and presence of the Holy Spirit.

It is hard to describe the awe-filled presence of God.  Sometimes, words aren’t necessary; other times, words aren’t enough.  There are no words to sufficiently describe God or respond to God’s gifts to us.  This feeling perplexed the ancient psalmist as he or she pondered creation.  It also mystified the twelfth century monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, to whom are attributed the words to the hymn “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.”  (UMH, 1989, 286).

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

Contemporary writers also give expression to the enigma.  Consider Jarolslav J. Vajda’s ponderings in the third verse of “God of the Sparrow and God of the Whale.”  (UMH, 1989, 122).

God of the rainbow

God of the cross
God of the empty grave
How does the creature say Grace
How does the creature say Thanks?

This Lent, may we consider how our lives can faithfully respond to God’s gifts of creation, God’s gift of the Word, and God’s gift of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 2-6-08

Please read Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Today is Ash Wednesday. Our Lenten journey has begun. Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday. Pancake Day. Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday.

My first memory of Lent is the annual youth pancake breakfast on Shrove Tuesday. We would meet at the church ridiculously early for a time of devotion and then eat pancakes. I didn’t like having to get up that early. The pancakes weren’t worth the lost sleep, to me. Then, after we ate pancakes, we also would go around the room and talk about what we would “give up” for Lent.

What"s up with these strange rituals, with getting rid of the fat and the cream so we could “fast” for forty days? They told us it was a time of preparation, but I just didn’t get it.

I remember the year I gave up Coke. It wasn’t long before I gave in to drinking a soft drink, but somehow justified it. “Hey, it’s a Pepsi. I only gave up Coke.” I always had an angle.

I think Jesus speaks to this in our Gospel reading. Don’t practice religion just for show. It’s between you and God. Let your Lenten discipline bring you closer to God.

One suggestion; instead of merely giving something up for Lent, take something on as well. Jesus didn’t say to deny yourself—period…he added that we should take up a cross, and follow him. This Lenten season, practice taking up the cross.

Perhaps “your cross” means more intentional time with God in prayer or study; perhaps it is working with the poor or homeless or ill; maybe it is donating your time or money to the youth fundraiser this Sunday…

This Lenten season, try giving something up, but take something on in its place. Perhaps when Easter arrives, you will find that you have experienced a closer walk with God.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 4-24-11

Please read Matthew 28:1-10

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”  So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

We blend the birth stories of Matthew and Luke into one nativity story so that our collective memory of the Nativity includes both shepherds and wise men. The same is true, I think, with the gospel accounts of the first Easter. In our memory, there is only one story, albeit with differing details and emphases.

As you read this Easter morning’s Gospel lesson from Matthew, you may be so familiar with the details of the story that your mind filled in details that aren’t present.

Try taking this quiz after reading the above scripture: Why were the two Marys going to the tomb?

If you answered that they were taking spices to prepare the body, and they had to wait until after the Sabbath, then you are, well, wrong. Okay, you are not necessarily wrong; you have demonstrated that you paid attention in Sunday school and church and that perhaps you have knowledge of the various gospel accounts of Jesus’ post-crucifixion appearance to the women. But if you only had Matthew’s version of the events, and you could divorce your mind from other memories, then you should have answered, “They were going to see the tomb.”

Matthew says nothing of spices or preparing the body; these two women, devout believers in Jesus’ words, were going to see. The two Marys had been witnesses to the words and acts of Jesus during his lifetime. They had seen him do great things and heard his great teachings. Matthew recounts several times when Jesus had said that he would be killed and arise on the third day; no doubt the two Marys had heard him.

It had been a dreadful weekend for Jesus and his followers. There was nothing to be joyful or hopeful about. Jesus had been betrayed, arrested, denied, abandoned, mocked, and crucified. Jesus died on the cross.

Jesus had died.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 3-24-14

March 24, 2013

Believing is Seeing

Please read John 9:1-41

Today’s gospel passage deals with a man born blind, a beggar Jesus encounters in the streets of Jerusalem. As he often does, John uses a foolish question to set the scene for Jesus’ teaching: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (9:2). Physical impairments were, and are, often seen as God’s judgment for an individual’s sin. By the end of the story it is the man born blind who can see and the others who are blind. Jesus teaches that seeing is about believing.

We are all born blind. Our ideologies and our vision are shaped and molded by the belief systems of our families, our culture, our religious institutions, and our political systems. We come to believe so deeply our own traditions that they filter what we see…and what we fail to see. We can be blind to our own faults and the faults of our nation, our family, or our church. We can be blind to any sense of justice or righteousness that is outside our own narrow interests.

Much as we like to sneer and snarl at the Pharisees and ridicule their inability to see Jesus for who he was, don’t the Pharisees represent us? They are upset because the healing took place on the Sabbath. Then they didn’t believe the man was really healed so they interrogated him, then his parents. Their belief systems were challenged. Their customs and traditions were confronted by something new and different. Frustrated by the man’s claims, they threw him out of the Temple. “You were born entirely in sins, and are trying to teach us?” (9:34). Because they did not believe, they did not see.

Often, we get so entrenched in our beliefs and fixed in our interpretation of reality, we are unable to see the truth. For example, we believe so strongly in our nation and its founding democratic principles that we fail, or we refuse, to see the poverty and injustice that exists in our country. Because we do not believe, we do not see.

Jesus challenged the belief systems of religious leaders in his day, and he continues to do so today. May we believe, so that we can see.

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.*

*Clara H. Scott, “Open My Eyes, That I May See” (No. 454) in The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, Tennessee: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989).

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 4-6-12

Who Could Imagine?

Please read Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and John 18 and 19.

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future?”

Who could have imagined that after the Passover meal with his closest disciples, Jesus would be betrayed by one of his own? 

Who could have imagined that Jesus would be led to the home of Annas—who was no longer the high priest; he had no jurisdiction.  Annas was the patriarch of a family known for greed and corruption.  Jesus’ action in cleansing the Temple of what he called robbers was a direct affront to the organized crime of the Annas family.  So rather than taking Jesus to the duly appointed high priest, or the Jewish council, or to jail, they took him to Annas—the “godfather” of Jerusalem.

Who could have imagined that another disciple, Simon Peter, who had vowed to follow Jesus “even unto death,” would three times deny knowing Jesus?

Who could have imagined the end result of the miscarriages of justice?  Who could have imagined that Jesus would be found not guilty but sentenced to be crucified to mollify the angry mob?  Who could have imagined that Barabbas, who was found guilty of murder, treason, and sedition, would be released?

Who could have imagined Jesus, healer, teacher, friend, rabbi, savior, hanging on a cross not for his own sins, but for mine?

Who could have imagined it is finished?

Was it for crimes that I have done,

He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 4-2-10

Please Read John 18:1-27

I’ve never been too critical of Peter for denying Christ. It’s easy to point an accusatory finger at him for denying any knowledge of Christ not once, not twice, but three times. But he had several excellent excuses. He was needed to be a leader of the Christian movement after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Had he confessed to knowing Jesus, it is likely he might have been crucified alongside him.

When, during the Last Supper, Jesus foretold of Peter’s denial, Peter was understandably horrified. None of us wants to admit that in a moment of weakness, we will let our friends down. Peter, ever bold, exclaimed, “Not me! I’ll be with you until death!”

Perhaps the lesson for Peter and us is to not make promises we cannot keep. I know, like Peter, in moments of spiritual joy, I have promised God that I will never abandon my new ways. Then, like Peter, in moments of weakness, I too deny Christ.

If I really think about it, and if I’m really honest, I find there are many ways I deny Christ daily—not in so many words, but by my actions.

When I react out of anger instead of responding out of love…am I denying my relationship with Christ? When I walk past the beggar, averting my gaze…what am I saying about my life of grace? When I read an article about a CEO going down, and I think, with glee, that “he got his” instead of feeling compassion, am I responding as Christ would have me respond? When I speed through the store to get ahead of a mother with a load of groceries and children, what does that say about my Christian walk? The hymnist Johann Heermann captured that feeling in Ah, Holy Jesus. (UMH # 289).

Who was the guilty?
Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.

Peter meant well, but words are easy. Living up to them is the hard part. Fortunately, there is hope for Peter, and there is even hope for the likes of me. Thankfully, God is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

Dear God, this Good Friday, we pray for grace to love you more, and to love others more. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 3-22-08

Please read John 19:38-42

The Bible is full of examples of God’s will being fulfilled by unlikely candidates. Think about it. A prince of Egypt led the Israelites out of captivity. An unwed teen became the mother of the Savior of the world. A persecutor of Christians carried the gospel message to the ends of the earth. The list goes on and on.

Consider the case of Nicodemus. Nicodemus is only mentioned in the Gospel of John, and only in three brief encounters. He came with Joseph of Arimathea bearing spices to help prepare the body of Jesus for burial. I can imagine Nicodemus, as he and Joseph were preparing Jesus’ body, thinking about how he came to know Jesus. I imagine that as a Pharisee, Nicodemus was concerned about this Jesus he was hearing about, who was stirring up crowds, healing, and casting out demons. Nicodemus and the other Pharisees were following Jesus to catch him in some violation of the law. Nicodemus witnessed the miracles and heard the sermons of Jesus. I wonder when his contempt for Jesus abated. Which miracle, or sign, or sermon “got to” Nicodemus? When was the hour he first believed?

We’ll never know. But we know something happened that changed Nicodemus. He went to visit Jesus—in the night, so he wouldn’t be seen. He had a conversation with Jesus that confused him—something about being born again. And it was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke the words that have become the most familiar bible verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

When we meet Jesus face to face, transformation is inevitable. This was true for Nicodemus. Later he would defend Jesus among those Jewish leaders who would convict him without a trial. But after Jesus’ death on the cross, it became evident that Nicodemus’ transformation was complete.

I can hear Nicodemus rehearsing in his mind the earlier conversation with Jesus. And I can picture Nicodemus considering where he had been, and where he now was. From gathering evidence to convict a rabble-rouser to gathering myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus according to Jewish burial customs.

During his night visit with Jesus, Nicodemus had been confused by Jesus’ statement about being born again. That night, with Joseph of Arimathea, with the myrrh and the aloes and the strips of linen…I imagine that Nicodemus got it.

Dear God, we thank you for loving the world so much that all we have to do is believe, and live. Thank you for your transforming grace. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 3-1-09

Peaks and Valleys

10And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Last week, on Transfiguration Sunday, we were reminded that we are not to stay on the mountaintop forever to soak in a dazzling, wonderful worship experience. There’s ministry waiting for us in the valleys.

In our Gospel passage for today, the first Sunday of Lent, we receive a similar reminder. Mark tells us the story of Jesus’ baptism, during which a voice from heaven speaks the familiar words that will later be echoed on the Mount of Transfiguration: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

What a moment. Can you imagine? Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, the heavens were torn apart and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, as those magnificent words were spoken from on high. What would you imagine would be the human response to that kind of recognition?

“Ha! I’m King of the World! Look at me!”

No time for self-absorption or reveling in the moment. Mark tells us that immediately, the Spirit—the same Spirit—drove him into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan.
This admission may come as a shock to some of you who know of my ego, but the Spirit has never descended on me like a dove—or any other kind of bird for that matter. Nor have I been driven into the desert to be tempted by Satan for forty days, a record I hope to keep intact! But I have experienced spiritual highs and lows.

I am aware of the temptation to drink in the good times and revel in spiritual highs. And I know the emptiness of spiritually low points and the temptation to ask where God went. I find that I get lost in self-absorption during both the peaks and valleys of my spiritual life. In looking back, though, I can see how good times and bad have prepared me and strengthened me to discern God’s will for me.

We spend these forty days of Lent as a time in the wilderness. We give up things and take things on as a Lenten Discipline. In this period of darkness, we know of the bright promise of spring and resurrection, a promise captured so beautifully and poetically in Natalie Sleeth’s Hymn of Promise:

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Jeff Taylor

February 25 Devotion

From Disciples 2007:

Throughout the season of Lent, we become more acutely aware that temptation waits for all of us. It waits like an animal in the shadows ready to pounce upon its prey. This experience has always been so for the human family. Temptation waited for Cain before he slew Abel. It crouched until the right angry, jealous moment. Before Cain knew it, he had been overcome. Temptation also waits for you and for me when we are angry beyond words -- providing an excuse to do some harm to those who anger us. Perhaps for this reason, Jesus suggested that an angry person was just as culpable as a murderer.

Jesus is in a wilderness for this particular time of temptation; temptation also waits for us in the wild places of life. Wild places take the form of circumstances so out of the ordinary that we could be persuaded to suspend the rules, to respond to the seduction of the moment, or to sin for the good of the order. Temptation waited for Moses in a wild place. In a wild moment of realization that life was not fair, Moses willingly looked, firs this way then that, before slaying an Egyptian. The wild places are many; the temptation to exaggerate, to bend the truth, to outright lie waits around every bend in the road.

Temptation waits for us, but we are not powerless. Jesus is not powerless. As a hungry mortal, he refuses the justifiable self-indulgence of turning stones into bread. As a person with hidden strength, he refuses an ostentatious show of power. As a person of royal destiny, he does not requires the attendance of angels to prove his worth to onlookers. The One who pitched a tent among us proved by example that yielding to temptation is not inevitable. Jesus teaches by example; neither moments of weakness or wild places need give way to temptation. Even in the wild places, temptation wait for Jesus in vain!

Submitted by Jim Ray

An Evening Prayer

Dear God,

During our Lenten Journey, we are reminded of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry. We remember that at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. Then he was led into the wilderness.

We know that when we are full of the Holy Spirit, we are vulnerable to the temptations of the world. We are tempted to take an easy way, rather than to stay on the straight and narrow path to your will. Although your grace is free, following your path is costly. We must give up ourselves, and take up a cross and follow you. Forgive us for our reluctance to give in to your will, to let go of the things that make us comfortable.

Although we know we will be tempted at times, we ask you to give us the strength to withstand temptation. We know we will experience time in the desert or the wilderness, Lord, and while we do not look forward to such times, we can look back at them and see how they strengthened us and prepared us, and we are able to give you thanks.

Prepare us anew, this Lenten Season, to be drawn closer to you, to be more like you, and to do your will with trust and selfless obedience. Lord, when we emerge from our journey we invite you to love through us; weep through us; and speak through us; that we may we live up to our calling as the Body of Christ, in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Jeff Taylor

April 6 Devotion

Please read John 13:36-38

Before Jesus was arrested, Peter boldly and confidently proclaimed to Jesus that he was with him to the end. But Jesus warned him that, no, he would deny having anything to do with him. In fact he would deny him three times before morning.

Have you ever made a big, righteous pronouncement…only to be smacked down?

I imagine that Peter wanted to defend himself against such an outrageous claim. How could Jesus even suggest that he, Peter, would deny him? I imagine Peter rehearsing over in his mind their relationship, and Peter’s obedience, and his position within the inner circle of Jesus’ very closest friends.

After all, this was Peter who dropped his nets—no questions asked—in obedience to Jesus’ summons to follow him. This was Peter, who was with Jesus at Capernaum when Jesus first cast out demons. This was Peter, who traveled with Jesus and witnessed, first hand, how he turned water into wine, how he healed paraplegics, how he gave sight to the blind; this was Peter, who witnessed how he could calm even a storm; this was Peter, who witnessed how Jesus could give thanks for resources that appeared scarce, and then feed 5000 people; this was Peter, who when summoned, walked onto the water to meet Jesus; this was Peter, who witnessed the very Transfiguration of Jesus.

How could Peter have denied Jesus? I’m sure glad I’m not like that.

No, I’m with Jesus to the end. And shame on anyone who isn’t. I denied myself, took up a cross, and followed Jesus.

I mean, I didn’t completely deny myself. Who’s going to take care of me if I don’t? And my family? The girls have a lot of needs, and college isn’t too far in the future. Let’s not get radical. I gave up some for Jesus.

And maybe I didn’t go everywhere Jesus wanted me to go. But there are only so many hours in a day. And gas is over $2.00 a gallon. One person can only do so much. Besides, charity begins at home.

And, ok, maybe I went some places that Jesus didn’t want me to go, but let’s not meddle!

When I think of the ways I deny Jesus daily; when I think of the ways I have failed to love God or to love my neighbor as myself, I am humbled. All I can do is to seek forgiveness.

Dear God, forgive us for the ways we deny you; by your spirit give us strength to be the people who give witness to your love, that the world may be transformed.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 3-11-08

What is Worship?

What is worship? Paul discusses the answer to this question in his first letter to the Corinthian church. What should be done in worship?

"What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” 1 Corinthians 14: 26b

Paul describes a church where every member is a crucial and indispensable part of the body. In order to worship God, it is necessary that the entire body be present and member using her or his particular spiritual gifts. “Let all things be done for building up.”

Does Paul describe the worship in your church?

Sometimes I feel like Sunday morning worship is something I watch, like a “spectator event.” The ministers and the worship leaders use their gifts of proclamation and music, while the rest of us soak it in, trying to have a “meaningful worship experience.” If the ministers and the worship leaders do an inadequate job, then I might not “get anything out of the service.” If someone is in my seat, or if the music is not what I am used to, it might interfere with my worship. If I didn’t get the word that someone is filling in the pulpit today, or if it is a youth-led service, then perhaps I’ll just go home and come back next week.

This passage reminds me that I should probably worry less about what somebody else is doing, and focus myself on what it is that I am bringing to God in worship. If I am so concerned about somebody else, then am I really present for worship? I need to let go of those things, and bring my offering—my prayers, presence, gifts, and service—to God.

On March 30, our church is hosting JesusQuest for the third year in a row. This is a youth-planned and youth-led alternative worship experience that is geared toward reaching out to youth and lifting youth up. I know there are many worshipers in our congregation who won’t see JesusQuest as their “thing” that they would enjoy every week; but I am so thankful that they are willing to give up what they might favor so that youth can be lifted up. By showing up, being present, offering the sacrifice from their traditional worship service, they teach our children and youth a valuable lesson about worship: It’s not about us!

Dear God: Reveal to me what my spiritual gifts are, and give me the strength and the courage to use them in worship to build up the Body of Christ. Forgive me for the ways I make worship something other than what you intended. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

March 5th Devotion

Mark 1: 9-15

“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. (vv. 11-12, NRSV)

I thought I knew the story of Jesus’ baptism. I hear it on this first Sunday of Lent every year. As I read today’s gospel passage, which is in Mark’s typical fast-paced writing style, I am struck by something.

Imagine being baptized in the River Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descending on you and announcing how pleased he is with you. How would you feel? Thankful? Proud? Would you feel as though you had accomplished something? What would you do? Would you celebrate the big day with family and friends? Take a few days off work to let it sink in? “With you I am well-pleased.” Wow!

But wait—Mark tells us that immediately after those words were spoken, the spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan. Immediately! No time to relish in glory.

Jesus didn’t take a vacation or a spiritual retreat to the wilderness. The spirit drove him there—the same spirit that had come upon him at his baptism.

What is the message in this for us?

Being claimed by God, loved by God, and part of God’s family does not keep us from experiencing trials and temptations. Have you had time in the wilderness, time when you were tempted to trust in something or someone other than God?

If you are like me, you can look back at those times and see how they prepared you and strengthened you to be a better servant of God. And you can see that—however you got into the wilderness—it was God who ultimately led you out.

If it was necessary for Jesus to be tested in the wilderness before he began His ministry, how much more necessary is it for us to be proven?

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the blessing of the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us and comforts us during times in the wilderness of tribulation, and guides us through those times. Although we sometimes fail to recognize you, we can look back and see how you were there. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 3-13-11

Happiness is…

Please read Psalm 32

Happiness is…

• A warm blanket.
• Finding a Pencil.
• Learning to Whistle.
• Tying your shoe for the very first time.
• Playing the drum in your church’s praise band.
• Two kinds of ice cream.
• Knowing a secret.
• Catching a butterfly; and setting him free.
• Having a sister.
• Sharing a sandwich.

You can probably identify with one or more of the preceding definitions of happiness, and you can think of many other ways to fill in the blank. These particular examples were shared by the late Charles Schultz’s Peanuts characters. Just like Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and Schroeder, happiness is high on our list of priorities. Our longing for happiness drives much of our lives. I imagine that if each of us surveyed our lives, we would see that we pursue careers, choose hobbies, wear clothes, buy homes and even enter into lasting relationships on the basis of what brings us happiness.

John Lennon, the Beatle, said, “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Our entire lives are lived, to a certain extent, in such a way as to answer the question, “what will make me happy?”

Today’s Psalm provides insight into true happiness. It doesn’t come from achieving fame and fortune. It doesn’t come from wearing the sharpest clothes, having the latest, fastest, most advanced phone/mp3/computer reader device. It doesn’t come from finally getting the dream home or the sports car.

No, true happiness comes from consistently hitting a golf ball 275 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. Just kidding. Even that kind of happiness is fleeting and momentary.

The psalmist instructs that being happy is a matter of being righteous. At first, that sounds daunting. After all, who among us is righteous? Don’t be discouraged. Righteousness, according to the psalmist, is not about being sinless, but about acknowledging sin and accepting God’s forgiveness. Put another way, happiness is…being forgiven.

In many ways, Lent is a time when we can practice walking a journey from grief and despair to confessing our sin and accepting forgiveness, and into the joy and happiness of new life that is the promise of Easter.

They say money cannot buy happiness. So true. It’s already been purchased for you.

Jeff Taylor