Devotional 10-30-20

 Inspired by Psalm 90

We think we are strong.

We imagine, sometimes, that we are invincible.

Invisible to the pain of death.

And then we realize that we are not.

We dwell in your house, O God.

We were born in you - created in you.

As were all who came before us. 

At the beginning of time,

when the mountains rose from the sea,

and the earth was formed,

you were there,

and you created us.

You know, even when we forget, 

that we are dust,

and to dust we will return.

Time is nothing to you.

Hours and minutes are meaningless,

you sweep them away like a dream.

The grass grows,

the grass fades as the sun sets.

When we open ourselves to your presence,

we realize our sin.

Your righteous anger is justified.

Our sins overwhelm us.

Our disobedience overtakes us.

You set it before us.

Shine light on it.

And we cannot avoid it.

All our days pass by

and our years end like a quiet sigh.

Seventy. Eighty. Perhaps.

Even in your presence,

we do not live in heaven.

Life passes. Trouble passes.

And they are gone. And we fly away.

You are God.

Your majesty and divinity are great before us.

Teach us to count our days.

Grant us the wisdom it brings.

Shine your light, we pray.

Grant us grace in your compassion.

Fill us with your unending, loyal love

so that we may find joy

each day we have been given.

Open our eyes to your presence each day we have been given.

Let your favor be upon us,

and may the work we do

be the work you set for us

so that the days we have been given

have divine meaning.

Devotional 7-3-10

Inspired by Psalm 23

The Lord, my Lord
is a shepherd. My shepherd.
I need shepherding.
I need guidance and direction.
If I will listen, I will find all I need.
If I follow.

The Lord, my Lord
offers peace. Silence. Stillness.
When I need it,
whether I want it or not,
in him I will find it.
And my spirit will be restored.
My soul will find living water.
When I walk on the path
where he leads me.

The Lord, my Lord
When night closes in,
when darkness is all I can see,
I am not alone.
The shepherd finds me.
I do not have to be afraid.
The guidance and the protection
of the Lord 
bring comfort.
Bring light, if I will open my eyes.
I need not be afraid.

The Lord, my Lord
is a God of abundance.
Is a God of mercy.
Is a God of steadfast loyalty and love.
Even when I can find no love,
No friendship,
No support,
God provides.
I am healed; I am made whole.
I am not alone.

The Lord, my Lord
is a God of mercy and grace,
Limitless goodness.
I am pursued.
I am surrounded.
I am never lost.
With my God, I am. 
Forever.
 
Kim Matthews

Devotional 4-11-20

They sat together

Around a table

The only light filtering through

Small holes in the wall.

There was darkness around them.

It was too quiet

Lonely

And they were afraid.

Their friend,

The Messiah.

The hoped-for one.

The promise

Had been crucified.

He had died.

They were so lost

They couldn’t remember

The words he had given them.

Words of hope

Of love.

Of life.

They could not see

That Saturday would be the last day

They would live without hope.

Without light.

They could not see

That tomorrow would be different.

We live in an unexpected time.

A time of fear and anxiety.

We sit in our homes,

Around our tables,

And it is too quiet.

There are those who are sick,

And those who are dying.

There are those who are grieving,

And those who are afraid.

But we don’t live a Saturday life anymore.

We live a Sunday life.

We may not be able to see the light,

But we know it is there.

We may not be able to hear the music of friends,

But we know that they are singing.

Christ has died.

Christ has risen.

And he comes back every day.

Tomorrow we will say alleluia.

We know it.

Because we are Sunday people.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 10-18-19

Inspired by Psalm 145

I speak for the moment.
I speak in the time I have available to me.
I pray that my words of praise to God
would last forever.

My gratitude stretches across time,
into eternity,
My thankfulness is for today,
for it is all I have,
but I offer it to you, and
and I praise your name forever.

Great are you,
my God and King.
My creator,
for without you I would not live today.
My redeemer,
for without you I would not live tomorrow.
My sustainer,
for without you, I would not live at all.
Great are you,
and worthy to be praised.

You are unknowable,
Unsearchable,
and yet you hold my heart
in your hand.

I pray my generation,
my children's generation,
and those who come after me
who I cannot even imagine,
know you,
and declare your work
in their lives.

My mind,
my heart,
my breath
are full of your grace and mercy
and I pray I will never forget.
I pray that my words of praise
would last forever.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 7-12-19

Sharing in the Inheritance of the Light

Read these two verses from the first chapter of Colossians:

Verse 3: In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our lord Jesus Christ

Verse 9: For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord., fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

Years ago, when Steve and I were first married, Gloria Peak approached us after worship.  She told us that she had been praying for us.  I'm not certain, but I think she was part of a prayer group in the church, and maybe we had been assigned to her as people for whom to pray.  Being told by someone that she is praying for you is an awkward moment.  I thanked her, and asked her to not stop. 

How do you feel when you find out that someone is praying for you, specifically, by name? I imagine we all feel a sense of gratitude.  It is a gift to know that someone is remembering you, and is praying for you.  It is an act of steadfast love, reflecting the grace of God.

Years later, I was attending a meeting at West Virginia Wesleyan College.  It was the month before Grant, our older son, was to start school there.  On a break, I walked across the campus and sat on a wall across the street from his dorm.  I spent some time in prayer for him, thinking about his future college years, praying for him as he left home to do something new.  When we dropped him off to start school, we left him with a care package.  Among the many items in the box was a note from me, telling him of my prayers for him.  I hoped it was one way to help him understand how loved he was (and is) - by his family and by his God.

Who are you praying for right now? Who in your life needs to be reminded that you love them, that you care enough about them to lift them in prayer? Who needs to be reminded of the love of God, and that they are not alone?

I invite you to take a seat in a pew, or find a quiet wall, and spend some time in prayer for that person.

And for you, I pray verse 11-12:

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. Amen

 

Kim Matthews

Devotional 11-9-18

Please read Zephaniah 3:14-20

I remember.  I remember in the months following the births of our sons, holding them, and marveling over them. They were tiny and new and miraculous.  I remember standing and rocking them, swaying on my feet, and singing to them, overwhelmed with the love I felt for each of them. 

If you’ve held a newborn, I imagine you can understand and relate to this.  When they are so small and so new, they are innocent and amazing. We hold them close and sing over them in joy.

The book of Zephaniah is set in the time of King Josiah of Judah.  Josiah was king of Judah just before the invasions by the Babylonians that ultimately caused the fall of Judah and the exile to Babylon.  The words of Zephaniah are prophecies meant to warn the people of Judah of coming judgment and consequences.  Zephaniah 1:17b says, “because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.”  Read the book, but be warned that it is not very pleasant.

It is a book of judgment against Judah, but at the very end, in the verses of our reading today, it is as if God says, “I remember.”

“[The Lord] will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud signing as on a day of festival.”  (Zephaniah 5:17b)

What is grace? I think this verse is an example of what grace is.  Even though God knows – and completely understands – the wickedness and disloyalty of his people, God remembers that they are his.  God remembers what it was like to create these children in his own image. God remembers how much God loves us – the people of Judah and us.  That memory of love is so much stronger than anything else. 

As you move through Advent, remember:

The Lord rejoices over you with gladness. 
The Lord renews you with his love.

The Lord exults over you with loud singing

As if it were the day of your birth.

And when you are angry or upset or disappointed with someone else, remember these words.  The Lord rejoices over ALL of us with singing – yes, even that person.

Remember that, as God remembers us.

Prayer: Creating, loving, sustaining God, remember your love of us. Recreate us daily in your own image so that we can see others as you see them, and remember the love you have for our neighbors and for us.  In your son’s name we prayer together, Amen.

Devotional 7-7-18

He held the offering in his hand.

Wheat, first fruits from his field.

Looking at it, he remembered

the seed.

The promise of it.

The fear in it.

The possibility of famine or feast

that had rested in it.

He remembered throwing it into the field.

Praying for rain.

Praying for not too much rain.

Praying for sunshine.

Praying for not too much baking sun.

He remembered watching the tiny plants sprout,

hoping for growth.

He thought of plucking the wheat from the field,

the first to become fruit.

So far, it was the only to become usable wheat.

He had pulled it,

made a sheaf,

and brought it to the Lord.

He offered it to God,

hoping that his first fruit

would not be his last.

Praying that there would be enough.

Enough to feed his family

Enough for seed for the next year.

His offering of first fruit

was an act of faith.

An act of obedience.

It was worship that beat back fear.

It was ritual that spoke of his faith in God.

Devotional 4-7-18

Please read Psalm 147:12-20

My husband, Steve, is a Cyclist. With a capital C. And it amazes me. He rides miles and miles and miles on a road bike that has tires about an inch wide. A few years ago, he rode with a group of men from Huntington to Washington D.C. to raise money for homeless veterans in our town.  There are seven mountains between Elkins and Petersburg. Imagine for a moment the amount of balance it requires to control a two-wheeled pedal-powered bicycle with one-inch wide tires moving down a mountain at 40 miles an hour in traffic. He was continually making hundreds of decisions regarding speed, direction, weight distribution, application of brakes and choice of gears.

Balance.

I was reading this morning about free will – the truth that God has given us the ability to make choices, and that those choices have consequences. A consequence can be as small as a hurt feeling that is quickly forgotten to as large as a life changed forever to as monumental as the world turned upside-down. We have free will.

And yet, Psalm 147:15-18 says this: “He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.  He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.   He hurls down hail like crumbs—who can stand before his cold?  He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.”

God created the world. The sun rises and sets, the rain falls, the snow flies. It is so foundational that we probably don’t even think about it. AND God has given us dominion in the world. Dominion. God-given responsibility. Our choices in the stewardship of what is around us have consequences.

Balance.

The sun rises and sets, the rain falls, the snow flies, but what we do has consequences. Even in something as foundational as creation. We must remember, like the bicyclist speeding down the hill, we are have been given the responsibility for the precious balance that keeps everything in working order.

Imagine for a moment if my husband had decided that his decisions and actions on the bicycle had no impact on his descent down the mountain. Disaster. 

And so it is with us.

Prayer: Creating God, guide our steps, open our eyes to the world around us and to the consequences of our obedience to you. In your son’s name, Amen.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 11-19-17

As the breeze blows by
and the drying leaves,
Dying leaves,
Rustle with the footsteps
of the gardener,
The creator comes near.
 
Colors are so brilliant
that they hurt your eyes.
Yellow into orange into red.
Brown, foreshadowing death.
All against a blue, blue sky.
Free of snow, but ready.
The creator comes near.
 
The gardener trims the dead roses,
thorns bringing blood
that is wiped against the undergrowth.
Stained, like the sin in his life.
Dead growth is pruned away,
Weeds are ripped out
as the ground is prepared for emptiness.
Emptiness that will bring new life.
The creator comes near.
 
Finally in the house,
standing at the sink,
looking out over the garden,
the man washes away the dirt.
He feels the presence of the creator,
and he sends out a prayer.
For the hot water cleaning his hands,
warming his soul from the chill.
For the soup bubbling on the stove,
and the bread baking in the oven.
For the setting of the sun
on the golden splendor outside his window.
He offers up his gratitude
to the creator
who has come near.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 9-16-17

A few Sundays ago, I attended worship in a different church than my own. Steve and I went there only because a friend was preaching, and we wanted to hear his message. We live in a different town than the church; there is no chance that living where we live, we would become members of this church. I wasn't there in my Foundation role; I looked like a "regular" visitor.

As we sat there, a person brought us a visitor bag that had homemade banana bread in it. I tried to tell her that she didn't need to do that, but nothing stopped her, and we came home with bread.

As I sat there in worship, feeling guilty, I realized that I was doing the church an injustice. My guilt was based on the idea that the bread was offered in exchange for something - that it was offered to persuade me that they were friendly and to try to convince me to return. That's not a very grace-filled motivation behind offering a gift, and why would I expect that their motivation was anything but grace-filled? The bread was a gift, offered in the love of Christ, to two peoploe they did not know.

Glory to God.

Instead of feeling guilty, I should have felt thankful for their message of welcome and grace. And now I do.

There is a lesson in this for all of us, I think. When we offer hospitality, we should remember that it is a radical act of grace, not done in the expectation of something in return. When we receive that kind of grace, we should be thankful for it, and not think it was done in "exchange" for something.

It's grace.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 9-2-16

The other evening, Steve was out of town, and I had a meeting at church. I parked at church and walked downtown to grab some dinner. If I'm eating alone, I often read, as I was that evening. I read a chapter out of Brene Brown's book, Rising Strong. This is what I read:

When you look away from a homeless person, you diminish their humanity and your own. (Quote from Father Murray Powell)

In the chapter, Brown struggles with her reaction to people in need - how she looks away from them instead of connecting with them. I was feeling the guilt of looking away as I read it. As I walked to dinner, a man had asked me for a quarter, and I had told him no.

After dinner, I was walking back to church. I walked by the yogurt store, and stopped, thinking a bottle of water would be great during the meeting, so I turned around and bought one, and dropped it down into my bag.

As I approached church, I saw a woman was sitting on our church steps. I started to go in, and she asked me for - you guessed it - a bottle of water.  No one has ever asked me for a bottle of water.

Do you think God was involved? I do.  I got a second chance to see someone who needed help and to respond. I was able to give a cold, unopened bottle of water to a thirsty woman. I drink water, but I rarely walk around town with an unopened bottle in my bag. And yet, God knew this woman needed water, and God knew I needed to give it to her.  Two humans, needing God.
Kim Matthews

Devotional 7-1-16

The woman

Ninety, if she was a day

Stood on her porch. 

The trash on the sidewalk embarrassed her

but what could she do?

As she watched, 

a man with a garbage bag

walked into her yard

and started clearing away the mess.

At her look of puzzlement,

he said, "I'm here to help.

I'm from the church."

Greater things have yet to come

and greater things are still to be done

in the city.

There is no God like our God.

The father sat with his son

on the bench outside the principal's office.

The teenager had been caught

His locker yielding pills.

The father's heart was broken.

The son's future hung in the balance.

Neither knew what to do.

Except pray.

Greater things have yet to come

and greater things are still to be done

in the city.

There is no God like our God.

The child hid in the backyard

Trying to be invisible.

She hurt, and she knew worse was coming.

If he found her.

If he saw her.

The sound near the tree startled her,

She didn't trust the voice of the neighbor,

but to the neighbor, she wasn't invisible.

She took her hand, 

and they went in the neighbor's house.

The kind woman called someone

and told her she would be safe.

Greater things have yet to come

and greater things are still to be done

in the city.

There is no God like our God.

Quote from God of This City (Chris Tomlin)

Kim Matthews

Devotional 2-12-16

Standing on the edge of Lent
Standing on the edge of a journey.

Jesus stood at the edge of his journey
From ministry to sacrifice
From freedom to torture
On the edge of pain and humiliation
On the edge of the beginning of the end.
Jesus stood, looking forward
Peering around the path,
seeing the future
and knowing what it held.

He stood on the edge of his future
In full knowledge of the outcome
and yet
He took the step,
beginning his walk to Jerusalem
His path to the cross, the nails, and death.
He chose the pain,
the sacrifice
the humiliation
For us.

We stand on the edge of Lent
On the edge of service.
We can't see around the corner
We don't know what the future holds.
We just can't predict the consequences
of letting go.
Of leaving control behind.

And yet, we stand on the edge of Lent,
God calling us into service
with the poor, the downtrodden, the lost.
Do we count the cost?
Do we wonder if the cross is too heavy,
or if the path is too dark?
Do we question if we travel with God
or alone?
Do we take the step through the portal into Lent?
Or do we stay at the edge?

Standing on the edge of Lent.

(Thanks to Bill Wilson, many years ago, for the phrase "on the edge of Lent.")

Kim Matthews

Devotional 11-20-15

We have a dog.  She is a beagle, and her name is Molly.  She is quite possibly the sweetest animal I have ever known. We met her when she was about two weeks old; she joined our family at six weeks old, and has been here ever since.  She is beloved.

Molly is not without flaws, and one of them is that she pretends, when it suits her, that she does not understand English.  She can't fool me; I know she understands me when I speak.  I say, "Back," and she turns around and walks the other way.  I say, "Let's go downstairs," and she runs full speed down the stairs.  If I say, "Treat," well, you can imagine her reaction.  But when it's time for bed, and I say, "Let's go upstairs," she just stares at me as if I am speaking Portuguese or Cat.

She knows my voice, she understands the words, but she doesn't like them.  So she ignores me.

This Sunday is Christ the King Sunday. Like any seeker of knowledge, I googled it this evening. The Feast of Christ the King was established in 1925 by Pope Pious XI.  He wrote in December of that year that even though World War I was over, there was still no true peace. He believed that true peace could only be found in the recognition of the Christ as King.

John 18:37, from this Sunday's lectionary, says, "Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

"Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Do we listen to Christ's voice?  Or are we as stubborn as our family's beagle, ignoring words we understand but choose not to obey?  When Christ says to feed the poor, do we?  When he says, "Forgive that person so many times that you can't keep count," do we? When he says that the most important action we can do with our lives is to love God and love each other, do we?

Or do we stare at our savior as if we don't understand him at all because it's not the words we want to hear?

Kim Matthews

Devotional 9-4-15

Isaiah 41:13

The child, new to the world,
walked starry-eyed through the mall.
Dangers were all around.
He could have been lost,
He could have been injured,
He could have been afraid.

His father held his hand,
walking with him through the crowd.
The father did it for protection,
He held his hand to guide him,
to direct him,
to ensure his obedience.
He held the child's hand as an extension of his love.

And the son knew it.
He was loved.

Isaiah recorded God's words,
"For I, the Lord you God,
hold your right hand:
It is I who say to you,' Do not fear,
I will help you.'"

God's beloved creature,
walks starry-eyed through the world.
Dangers are all around.
He could be lost,
He could be injured.
He could be afraid.

God holds his hand,
walking with him on his journey.
God does it for protection,
God holds his hand to guide him,
to direct him,
to ensure his obedience.
God holds the son's hand as an extension of God's love.

And the son knows it.
He is loved.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 5-15-15

From Adam Hamilton's book, Revival:

We have forgotten how to listen, as individuals, as churches, and as a nation. Liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, progressives and fundamentalists find it easy to demonize others.  The mark of those early Methodists, and a key elements of personal and corporate revival in the twenty-first century, is a willingness to see the good in others, hold our positions with humility, and treat others with respect.

I enjoy Facebook.  I like catching up on what is going on in friends' lives, I like to see their pictures of their families, I enjoy articles people post, and I like the funny shared stories. For the most part, it is a nice addition to my day. What I don't like are the judgmental posts or the political posts that strive to manipulate.  I don't like the unsubstantiated posts.  For me it seems to be a more widely spread form of gossip at the least, and slander at the most. I don't like the comments people make when they don't have – and don’t want - all the information. And I dislike the status updates written with the voice of arrogance. For the most part, I don’t read any of these posts.
Many years ago, an author of one of the blogs I read, whose name is Stephanie, asked her readers to consider her blog to be her living room.  She asked her readers to ask themselves if they would say what they post in comments to her while sitting in her living room.  Would they say it if their mothers were sitting there, too? The problem with online conversation is that we perceive a distance between us and the reader, but it's a distance that really isn't there. I think we should extend Stephanie's test to a much wider venue (ie, all of social media, and beyond).

I posted the above quote on Facebook a few days ago, and wrote that it should be the personal rules we use when posting and commenting. Our Christianity - how we love people - doesn't stop when our fingers meet the keyboard. Are we demonstrating the love of Christ to others with what we write?

Kim Matthews

Devotional 4-2-15

You who fear the Lord
Praise him.
All you offspring of Jacob,
glorify him.
stand in awe of him, 
all you offspring of Israel!

For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.

I sat at my desk,
and I read the Psalm,
and I thought,
"Of course that's so.
Why would God ever
hide his face from those
who are suffering?"

And then I remembered
the man on the street
whose eyes I did not meet,
who stood, cold and shivering,
needing help.
And then I remembered
how I had walked by,
ignoring him,
hiding my face.

And then I remembered,
the children on the news,
hungry, abused,
needing help from someone
who cared.
And then I remembered
how I had thought
"What could I possibly do?
The problem is too big;
the solutions are beyond my grasp."
And I hid my face,
and changed the channel.

And then I remembered,
the man in grief.
I don't know what he needed,
or how I could help.
And then I remembered
that I had thought,
"I don't have the words,
I don't know how to help,"
so I hid my face,
and said nothing,
instead of showing love.

Is it any surprise
that the Psalmist is shocked
that God does not hid God's face
to the pain and suffering of the afflicted?
Why would his expectations be any different?
He would not have seen God
in the likes of me.

Two opening stanzas from Psalm 22:23-24

Kim Matthews

Devotional 1-9-15

When I read the lectionary reading in Disciplines this morning (based on Psalm 29), I was reminded of this poem.  I was hoping I hadn't sent it out as a devotional before, but I did - in 2009.  I decided to send it to you today anyway, with apologies for the rerun.  I still like it, though, because there are times when our awe is so big and our words are so small, that we must rely on the angels to sing God's praises.

Be My Voice

Inspired by Psalm 29

I depend on you, God’s many angels.
I count on you, His heavenly creations,
To praise his name,
When my lips fall silent,
When I stand here, a creature of dust,
Made silent in amazement at his glory.
Fill the heavens with His praises,
Glorify his name with your sweet songs,
For there are times when my throat closes,
And my tongue falls silent.
There are times when his majesty is too great
For my feeble songs and my useless words.

His voice is never silent.
It echoes across the waters
Lifting waves in its wake.
His voice is powerful,
Thunderous,
Mighty and glorious.
His voice is majesty.

The bass of his voice makes mighty trees tremble.
Even the most towering,
Even the ones which seem to reach all the way to heaven.
The tenor strains lift me to my feet,
And give me wings to skip like a child.

His voice has the heat and flash of fire,
It shakes the wilderness,
It thunders across empty land,
Land not seen by anyone.
His voice even reaches to the wilderness of my heart,
His breath warms my coldness.

His mighty voice,
His powerful exhalation,
Stirs the leaves of the trees
Whips them around as if a mighty storm were passing.
His exhaled breath,
Strips away the leaves,
Strips away my pretenses.
Leaves us all bare,
Until all that we have left
Is to glorify his name.

Our mighty God sits high in heaven,
Enthroned as a king
A reassurance for all of eternity.
He gives me strength.
He gives us strength.
He creates in us a mighty and powerful ability
To do His work in the world.
He rules from heaven,
And he gives us the wonderful blessing of peace.

Praise His name and His mighty works,
Be my voice, all you angels,
For when I stand here speechless.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 7-14-14

Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help; for he (Sisera, Commander of King Jabin of Canaan’s Army) had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years.  At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel.  (Judges 4:3-4)

Expectations.  I don’t know the answer to this question, but I wonder if anyone expected that Deborah, a woman, would be a effective judge for Israel.  I wonder if Sisera would have expected it.  Judges 4 tells us that Israelites came to her for judgment.  I wonder how long it took before they could overcome their expectations and learn to listen to her.  She summons Barak to battle Sisera, and he tells her he will only do it if he comes with him.  Was that because he trusted her or because he didn’t?

What I do know is that God trusted Deborah.  God called her into service, and she listened and followed.

Too often our expectations, based on our past experiences, what we have been taught, and what society leads us to believe, can get in God’s way.  We like to believe that isn’t the case in today’s world, but it is.  Prejudice is subtle and pervasive, even among those of us who would profess to be free of it.

Every so often I serve as a team member on a Walk to Emmaus.  One of the challenges that is always offered to the pilgrims is that they refrain from anticipation.  They are asked to not let their expectations of what they think is going to happen color the unfolding of what God is planning for them during the weekend.  I offer a similar challenge to you today.  Spend some time in self-examination.  What expectations – whether based on race, gender, orientation, ethnicity, economic background, education, etc. – get between you and what God is doing in the world?  Give those expectations up to God so that God can transform them into excitement and readiness for what God offers to you through those around you.

Your expectations won’t be the only thing that is transformed.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 9-27-14

Begun with folded hands.
An admission of powerlessness.
There is nothing I can do,
O God,
Without you.
Whatever I bring to you,
Heartache, joy, concern
Confession,
All is taken from my hands
And given to you
I fold my empty hands
And admit my lack of control.

Head bowed.
You are God, and I am not.
Thank you for this truth.
Too often I try to play God,
Taking blame, taking credit,
Taking responsibility
For what belongs in the hands
Of the divine.
Lay your hand on my head
And remind me.
You are God and I am not.

Eyes closed.
A temporary, voluntary blindness.
Closing my eyes to how I look at the world.
Seeking the clear vision of God.
Seeing with the clear vision of God.
Hoping to see the world
As you sees it.
Trusting, as one without vision
Would trust.
That you will lead the way
Even when I cannot see the path.

Our Father, who lives in heaven,
We praise your wonderful name.
Holy, powerful, loving God.
We place our trust in you,
And ask that your will be done.
Here in your kingdom on earth.
Thank you that you provide all we need
Daily grace abundant.
We place our sins at your feet
And ask for forgiveness.
Daily grace abundant.
We place our anger and selfishness
at your feet
And ask for power to bring
Daily grace abundant.
Light our paths through dark valleys,
And inhabit our worship,
So that you will be praised
And we will be blessed by your joy.
Amen.

Kim Matthews