Devotional 6-26-15

Each one should use what ever gifts he has received to serve others, 

faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that  in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 

To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. 1 Peter 4: 10

As a christian, a child of God, we have always been taught that we should praise the Lord God. Thank him for the things we have been given.

It is right  to give thanks and praise Him In all we do. When you are traveling on a trip and you are setting down to eat a meal in a public place, such as an airport, don't forget to give Him praise. When we were at the Charlotte airport, on our way to D.C., we had a layover and were at a fast food establishment for breakfast. After we got our food, Fred and I joined hands and bowed our heads and said a prayer over our food and asked for a safe journey. We then ate our breakfast. Before we boarded the plane, I went to the restroom. While i was washing my hands a lady came up to me and said, "Oh, you are the ones who were praying earlier, I just think it is wonderful for you both to do that in public! It was a reminder to me that we should also be praying and praising Go. Thank you so much for being an example!"  I said, "Well that's what it is all about, God, and we must give it all to Him."

So the next time you want to give God all the glory, just pray to him in public, and maybe you will reach someone you don't even know. We don't know  who will be watching all our actions, so we must give Him the praise for all He has given us.

Let us Pray,

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all you have made possible for all of us to be able to praise your name.

Hold all of us in your loving hand and comfort us as we travel and go out in the world so that we can spread your word by our actions. May those who see us be reminded of the things they may have if they just trust and have the faith in God that we have. May we all be an example of what a Child of God is like by your grace as you guide us throughout your world.

Amen,

Melanie Herr

Devotional 6-19-15

Into the storm

The lectionary Gospel reading for this week is Mark 4:35-41.  It tells the story you may have heard many times about Jesus telling his disciples that they should cross the lake, late in the evening.  This is after a day on the lake already - a day that such large crowd had gathered to hear what Jesus had to say, he had to get in a boat and get away from the shore to be seen and heard.

During the day, Jesus shared with the disciples and all those gathered several parables - the parable of the soils, a parable about lamps, parables about what God’s kingdom is like.  We read that Jesus have the listeners “as much as they were able to hear.” (Mark 4:33).  Jesus spoke to the crowds that day only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them.

After all this, Jesus suggests to his disciples that they should cross over to the other side of the lake.  This might sound like a reasonable request.  However, things quickly went wrong.  While they were underway, a storm quickly came up.  The disciples, most of whom were fishermen and familiar with sailing for most of their lives, panicked.  Jesus, however, slept through the event, until they woke him and accused him of not caring that they were “drowning.”

Jesus calmed the sea, and then asked the disciples why they were frightened.  Did they not have faith yet?

On the one hand, this is a story about faith - about trusting in Christ to be with us in the storm, and watching over us and caring for us.  But perhaps an equally important lesson is that Jesus will send us INTO storms.  It was not uncommon for storms to come quickly at night here.  Perhaps Jesus even knew that there would come a storm.  His mission of getting to the other side of the lake was what he asked the disciples to accomplish.  It was his plan, and his timing.  If the disciples knew this, they should not have been frightened or concerned about drowning.

It was uncomfortable for them.  And it was clearly frightening for them, as it would be for us.  Most of what we are called to do is like that.  Sometimes I think we expect our road of discipleship to be easy.  Perhaps though if we find ourselves too comfortable, we should begin to ask if we are where Jesus wants us to be.

In the end, the disciples learned a valuable lesson that evening - that though it felt scary and though it seemed as though Christ had forgotten about them and their predicament, he was in it with them, but had the peace and assurance of living into the Kingdom plan, as dangerous as that seemed.  When we are faced with that same storm, remember that Christ is there with us too.

“Gracious God, give us the peace and assurance of your comfort in the storms.  We know that we are called to a radical discipleship, out onto the stormy waters.  But we know that you are always with us.  Let us lean into that peace as we go and make disciples of all the world.  Amen.”

Rev. Alan Williams

Devotional 6-12-15

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

--Anita Gardner Farrell     Photo by Mary Marmett McDaniel

Devotional 6-5-15

Ever Learning

I remember learning to ride a bike. First training wheels on – then off. I shared a snippet about that on FaceBook a while back > complete with a picture of that very bike. I still have the bike and seeing it in the garage makes me smile. I rode a bike all through my elementary years and well into high school - mainly around the neighborhoods where we lived.  In 2010 an opportunity presented itself for me to ride my bike as part of a fund raiser. 100 miles one day and 50 miles the next. Well, I had ridden a bicycle practically all my life, how hard could it be – really? Did I mention that the first leg of the trip was ONE HUNDRED miles? I trained for a couple of weeks racking up far too few miles to be considered ‘training.’ I took off on that fateful June day and nearly d-i-e-d! It was awful. I was out of shape and parts of me hurt that I didn’t really know could hurt. The only thing on my mind as I neared the end was SELL THE BIKE!! When the same event rolled around the next year I said, ”Oh, no. NOT me.” The ride date drew closer and the thought crossed my mind that if I trained and practiced more than the year before perhaps the ride would be easier and more enjoyable. That’s what I did, and yes, it was. On the second day of that ride years later I had spent many miles riding and talking with a new friend. We approached a particularly steep climb near the end of our journey. As I prepared myself to gear down and grind it out, it became apparent that he was going to have to dismount from his bike and walk. I did likewise. (I had walked up hills on this ride before). We had come this many miles together, why ride on up the hill without him? As a result of our ‘walk’ I got to see and hear the most wonderful little waterfall hidden behind the brush beyond the guardrail. Had I ridden on ahead – alone – I would have missed it.

I have attended Sunday school and church for as long as I can remember. To say that the Bible on my shelf dated 1971 was my first Bible would probably not be entirely accurate, neither would saying that the 08/27/1972 date on a certificate of baptism was my first acceptance of Christ in my life.  I sometimes find myself in a situation where I need to refute a statement made – I believe – in error. “It says so in the Bible.”  I remind myself that I have gone to church all my life. How hard can this be – really? Well, then comes the humble realization that I have not trained or practiced my theology and/or my Christianity nearly enough to engage in such an exercise.   It’s time to dismount and walk. I am ever grateful for those strong Christians and leaders in my life who could have blown right by me…but didn’t. They saw my struggle, got off their bikes and walked. They taught me where to look, what to ask and to know that I’m allowed to believe what I believe and not what I’m supposed to believe because someone tells me “It’s in the Bible.”

I’ve ridden some 10,000 miles since that “awful” June 2010 day. I hope to tell you in a later devotional that I’ve read and studied some 10,000 Bible verses.

The joy is in the journey.

Steve Matthews