Devotional 9-7-12

A reflection written by Oswald W.S. McCall. I think it makes for a nice lead-in to a time of quiet prayer. I hope it blesses you…

“Not once in a life but again and again, and every day, and perhaps many times a day, it must be encouraged to come…the restoring sacrament of pause. It comes not easily at first without encouragement. Later it seeks one out.

It is the moment that corrects and counteracts our many moments that become destructive to us, snatching us away from and breaking the divine accord.

 
For the sake of all things good and beautiful and true in him, for the guarding of them in all of his life, one must seek again and again that lifting instant in which he rouses his soul to repair the impaired harmony. Back to God he must call his thought, lift his conscience to God for correction, bid his heart express again its chosen loyalty to God. His whole self must make an effort to re-set and re-establish and reconfirm itself in the life and love of God.”

I invite and encourage you today to accept the gift of pause, of stillness. Grant your heart a Sabbath moment to turn from all the demands that compete for our allegiance, to fix your eyes and heart firmly on the God who loves you, who redeems you, and saves you. Enjoy the presence of your God today!

Rev. Joe Hill

Devotional 8-24-12

He Cares About the Little Things

Friday, June 29, 2012, the day of the derecho. Temperatures in Huntington reaching 102 degrees, forest fires raging in Colorado, flooding in Florida and a huge thunderstorm approaching the tri-state from the west. It hit about 6:45PM, gale force winds, trees and tree limbs falling, power outages all over West Virginia. No electricity, no air conditioning, no lights, none of the conveniences we take for granted daily.

If you are like me and depend on air conditioning to get you through our Ohio Valley summers, this is going to be a problem if they don't get the power back on soon.

Darkness descends and I fumble around for a flashlight. Wouldn't you know the big heavy duty flashlight needs new Size D batteries, and I don't have any. I'm grateful for the little flashlight I keep in my car. It doesn't give much light. but it's better than nothing. I go to bed hoping that sometime during the night I will be awakened by the lights coming on.

That doesn't happen and Saturday morning looms with the prospect of another sweltering day. What I wouldn't give for my morning cup of hot tea! I pray, "Dear Lord, how am I going to cope with another day of 100 degree heat and no air conditioning". I feel like I am in panic mode.

I tell myself to stop whining and remember how much worse it must be for those fighting the forest fires, for those having to leave their homes as the flood waters rise. I am chastened but nevertheless I pray, "Please Lord put the power back on". He knows and numbers the very hairs of our head so I know He cares for our everyday problems.

I hear the chainsaws roaring, chopping up tree limbs which have downed power lines and blocked roads. I wonder if this means we will be back on line soon. I think maybe I should drive somewhere, at least my car has air conditioning. The day drags on, hot, hot, hot. What a wimp I am for complaining so. It is far worse for others.

Later that day as I stand at my dining room table, suddenly the chandelier lights blaze on. "Oh, dear Lord, thank you, thank you, thank you". I run from room to room saying over and over again, "thank you, thank you, Lord".

You may think I made a big deal over a small problem, but I share this with you to say that every day our Saviour loves us so much that He takes care of our every concern, little problems, big problems, intimate problems, family problems, every problem. Take them to Him, He understands, He cares, He will answer. Believe!

Luke 12, vs. 6, 7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Jean Dean

Devotional 8-17-12

"Living With a Thankful, Joyous Heart"

Earlier this summer we experienced major power outages accompanied by extreme heat. I was very impressed by the patience, ingenuity, and generosity most people displayed during this difficult time. I heard a lot more people talking about being thankful for what they had than griping about what they lacked. During those extraordinary circumstances we lived with thankful, generous hearts.

But, what about the regular days? Do we live with thankful hearts? In a Garfield cartoon, Jon announces that it has been a good day. Garfield looks surprised and says, “It has? I must have missed it.” How many good days do we miss just because we weren’t paying attention? How many gifts or blessings from God have we missed because we failed to stop our busy lives long enough to acknowledge them and thank God for them?

My youngest grandson, Mace, has a saying, “This has been the best day evah!” At 6 he has a lot of ‘best day evah’s.’ I bet we all could if we just slow down, take time to count our blessings, and live every day with a thankful, joyous heart!

Margaret Williams

Devotional 8-10-12

This week marked the 203th birthday of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. ( I only know that because I heard it on the radio). Tennyson was the Poet Laureate of Great Britain from 1850 till his death in 1892. When I heard his name, I was instantly reminded of two things:

1. His poem Crossing the Bar (1889) which has been part of a number of funerals I have attended. It bears repeating.

Crossing The Bar

Sunset and evening star,

    And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.

2. One of my favorite lines or quotes is from Tennyson's 1833 poem Ulysses, I am a part of all that I have met. That reminds me of the famous quote from Gandhi, Be the change you wish to see in the world.

In looking through some information about Alfred, Lord Tennyson, I found the following poem that makes me think he pondered the same question I often ask while working in my yard, "Why does grass grow in the cracks in the sidewalk and not in the bare patches in the lawn?"

Flower In The Crannied Wall  (1869)

Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower -but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

That reminds me of Job 38: 33-38
Do you know the laws of the heavens? 
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
 
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds   
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
 
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?   
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Who gives the ibis wisdom   
or gives the rooster understanding?
 
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?   
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
 
when the dust becomes hard   
and the clods of earth stick together?

Anita Gardner Farrell
(On a personal note, my kid brother, Gene Gardner, the one who ruined my chances of being an only child, and his family are moving to Mississippi on Saturday. Please pray that they have a safe trip and a happy life in a new state. God Speed, Little Brother. Believe it or not, I will miss you).

Devotional 8-5-12

Bread of Life

Read John 6:24-35

Most all of us like bread. We like soft breads, white, wheat, rye, barley, bagels and biscuits. We like hard breads, French bread, Italian bread. But do we think of it as the Bread of Life?

Look at the ingredients in most bread: flour or whole wheat or another grain. Usually yeast unless unleavened, sugar, water maybe some other additions. And when they are all mixed together, allowed to rise and then baked, we get a delicious treat. This treat, though, feeds our bodies, gives us fiber and provides carbohydrates for energy, and it just plan tastes good.

But have you ever thought about this as a gift from God? God provided for Moses and his people on their forty year journey with “manna” from heaven. God provided each of the living, life giving items to make the bread. Thus Life provides for Life.

And didn’t God give life to his son Jesus Christ to be our ultimate “Bread of Life”! What we need to do is accept Jesus Christ as our “Bread of Life” so that when this earthly life is over your eternal life will continue and “we will never thirsty again” in eternity.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father thank you for your love, thank you for your son Jesus Christ the “Bread of Life”. This day I reaffirm or accept Jesus Christ as my “Bread of Life” so that I’ll never thirst again.

I pray this with the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, Amen.

Fred Herr

Devotional 7-27-12

Tough Uphill Climb-Sweet Downhill – BLOWOUT

I remember learning how to ride a bicycle. It was a small neighborhood hand-me-down outgrown by a larger kid and given to my parents because I was just about the right size. Wow, did I feel free. Zoom zoom around the block I would go (that’s all the day I got it) until I accidently ran upon the heels of a walker as I tried to pass too closely. Ut-oh. That got my bike exiled to the storage locker assigned to our apartment in the military supplied apartment where we lived. I was crushed. Fast forward forty years. I have an opportunity to ride in a fundraising event for church. Well, heck, I’ve ridden a bike most of my life > what could go wrong with this? Let me count the ways! I was not prepared. I had not trained, and it was a rolling disaster. Yes, I finished, but it was not fun. I stayed away from bicycles for nearly ten months. When the fundraising event rolled around the next year, I at first said NO WAY. As I began to apply a tiny bit of logic, I realized that I really did like to ride and that if I trained for it perhaps things would be better. So I trained – and YES, it was a more pleasant and enjoyable ride.

Late in 2011, I was told by a friend that his father was an avid bike rider and that I should call him and ride sometime. Sure, I thought. Before I could call, my friend’s father had called me, and we set our first ride meeting. The friend’s father, two other cyclists and I rode 50 miles that brisk winter day. I almost D-I-E-D! We rode together several more times, and in February I was accepted, by the friend’s dad, as a part of the group that would get to ride from Huntington to Washington, DC. in support of a goal to raise money for Homeless Veterans. Way more of a challenge than I had ever given myself. Training would be the key.

In the months that followed I rode many miles with the dad. This man was not only an avid bike rider; he was/is a skilled bike rider. On all of those long training rides he always stayed near, passing on tips and hints to make me more proficient. This man could have mopped the street with me any day of the week and twice on Sunday – but he never did. He never chastised me for not keeping a faster pace or for showing signs of being tired when he himself could probably have done the ride all over again with only a water bottle change. And on the long ride to DC, able to arrive a day and half before everyone else, he stayed in the group fading and accelerating to be alongside each rider to encourage and check on them.

Faith in my mind is similar. I remember going to church as a child. I would listen in Sunday school and church. I would sing the songs, play the games and memorize Bible verses during VBS. As the challenges in life increase, so does spiritual training have to increase. We can no longer ride our small faith around the neighborhood with the wind in our hair and not a care in the world. We have issues to confront that force us to try and fix them on our own or rely on God to see us through. A spiritual mentor acting much as my bike riding friend can help condition us -- one who is well read and well versed in the scriptures yet never tries to speed past us or make us feel inadequate or inferior because we didn’t come to same conclusion to a question as quickly.

While on the bike ride to Washington my rear tire blew. It happened following a fairly grueling uphill climb and while nearly through a fairly steep descent. I was traveling 25 mph, and the BANG could be heard far and wide. While a rear flat does not carry with it the nearly immanent disaster as a front tire flat, it is still a bit unnerving. Because I had ridden so many miles in training and been coached so well by my friend’s dad I was able to keep my head about me (and not throw my hands up screaming “I’m gonna crash”), steady the bike, apply the brakes and get myself to the side of the road. It’s what came naturally.

When we have climbed a pretty serious hill in life, admire what we’ve done and then begin the sweet downhill ride - only to have a blowout, with our spiritual training as our foundation we can do what comes naturally and turn to God first.

At 50 years old I don’t know if I’m allowed to have a hero. Sorry Bill, you get to be that guy. You have not only molded my riding skills but have shown me how a ‘know-er’ can and should act towards one who is not yet as far along. As my riding ability increases and my spiritual knowledge strengthens and increases I hope that I can be as patient and encouraging as you have shown me is possible.

Steve Matthews

Devotional 7-19-12

Matthew 18: 21-22

Technology has taken things in my life and moved them from a leisurely pace to supersonic speeds and sometimes to my complete consternation and vexation.

One of the greatest inventions in my lifetime was the Ticonderoga #2 pencil. Not so much for the pencil end but for the wonderful brownish red device on the opposite end called the eraser.

I know computer keyboards have backspace buttons and delete keys, but to me it is not the same as rubbing a mistake off the page to the point of ripping through the paper product you were writing on. Additionally, you could make the mistake more than once which was a real big deal to someone whose strong suit was not arithmetic or much anything else mathematical.

I remember taking quizzes and tests when you were instructed to use a ball point device or other permanent marker. You want pressure?

I have thought about this too much but whenever I get a chance to speak with a younger person I know (whether they want it or not) that I know some mistakes in life are inevitable. But I encourage them to make their mistakes with a #2 pencil and not a permanent marking device. Tattoo is an art form, but it will sag at some point.

With God’s love and through the gift of Christ’s advocacy we have the universal solvent to cover our “mistakes” large and small. We are commanded by Christ himself to forgive others in multiples of 7 regardless of how much our natural instincts say differently.

Honestly, that seems a lot more practical than even the Ticonderoga #2.

Mike Bowen