Devotional 7-17-15

“ ‘With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
He has told you, O mortal one, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:6-8

As I write this, it has been a week since I had the blessing of attending the Wednesday evening Bible Study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.  We had planned a family vacation in Charleston to visit and hold two new month-old babies:  a great granddaughter (our third) born June 1 and a grandson (our 17th) born June 2.  Since we would be there, I determined that I would attend the Wednesday Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church, called “Mother Emanuel” because it was the first AME congregation in the south from which others were born.  The Johnson Memorial congregation sent with me nine prayer shawls into which people wove their own prayers as the shawls draped from the prayer rail during the Eucharist the Sunday we left.

The United Methodist Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church are siblings in the broader Methodist family.  That makes JM and Emanuel first cousins.  It was a holy joy to meet my cousins.

The group was studying the prophet Micah.  Chapters 5 and 6 are full of God’s judgment against those who refuse to live in the ways of God.  The conversation often turned to events three weeks earlier when 9 members were gunned down and a 10th wounded.  The memory of the event was still fresh and raw, though the Emanuel folk exhibited remarkable grace and hope.  At one point, a woman stood and very quietly but directly said, “Our church is getting a lot of credit in the media and across the country for how we have handled this tragedy.  But we don’t deserve the credit; God did that.”  She sat down, and there was a moment of palpable stillness.  I know that in my feebled attempt to write this, I cannot capture the deep and wide spirit of that moment. But her comment, and the grace of the Emanuel congregation, are bringing redemption to a sacred space that had been fouled by violence and hatefulness.  Perhaps the lesson beyond that evening’s study is that wherever we are, there is the opportunity to sense the fresh blowing of the spirit’s wind, cleansing what humans have soiled.  Further, there is the lesson that we are all called to be redeemers in a troubled world.

“Breathe on me, breath of God.  Fill me with life anew,
That I would love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do.” – Edwin Hatch, 1878
     
Rev.. Jack Lipphardt

Devotional 7-10-15

WAIT A MINUTE…WHAT???

 

This week's lectionary readings ranged from King David's exuberant joy in returning the ark of the covenant (the presence of God) to the city of Jerusalem; to David's Psalm proclaiming God's holiness and sovereignty over all creation; to Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, exhorting them to remain strong in their faith because they have been adopted as children of God; to Mark's Gospel which records people's responses to the miracles and healings performed by Jesus and His disciples. I'm sure there is a common thread in this mix of Scripture… I just can't seem to grasp it… try as I might.  As a consequence, I've chosen to focus on one portion of the Gospel reading, which is quite jolting after reading the first 16 verses of Mark 6.

 

Mark tells of some people saying, "'John the baptizer has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.'  But others said, 'It is Elijah.' And others said, 'It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.'  But when Herod heard of it, he said, 'John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.'" (Mark 6:14b-16).

 

"For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her.  For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him.  But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him.  When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him." (Mark 6:17-20)

 

Wait a minute…what???  Herod recognized John's righteousness, his holiness, feared him, imprisoned him, and liked listening to him. Yet Herod let his own self-importance, reputation, and power overcome that small piece of light beginning to appear in his dark soul ("and yet he liked to listen to him."), and allowed himself to be manipulated to the point of having John beheaded!

 

I believe God, through Jesus Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, has given each of us that wonderfully amazing small piece of light to help us during those dark seasons we all have at one time or another. The causes of the darkness run the entire spectrum of human emotions and human circumstances.  Our response to the darkness is our choice.  Sadly, being human, it is often much easier to indulge in the seductive power of the darkness, which requires no effort to sustain.

 

Because we have all been adopted into the family of God, we must do everything possible to encourage and enable our little pieces of light to become brighter, so they may help eliminate the dimming of others' pieces of light.  As Jesus reminds us, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:40).

 

My prayer is for us all to be aware of each member of our holy family – of each other's little piece of light. When there is a dimming, offer a piece of your light, and, in the giving, I'm sure your light and my light will burn a little brighter. 

     

Linda Summers

Devotional 7-3-15

ENOUGH GRACE

Lectionary Readings:  2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10; Psalm 48; 2 Corinthians 12:  2-10; Mark 6:1-13

And then He told me, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need.  My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”  Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen.  I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift.  It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size---abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks.  I just let Christ take over!  And so the weaker I get the stronger I become. (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10. The Message)

I think that I speak for the majority when I say that celebrating a weakness is not an easy thing to do.   Human nature leans closer to celebrating accomplishments, joys, achievements and wins.  The idea of appreciating a weakness is as radical as “the last will be first” or “you must lose your life to save it”.  And yet, that is exactly what Paul advises.  The theme of this chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians is “Surrender to God and God will provide all you need, even enough strength to overcome any weakness”.

Surrendering control of our lives to God is such a radical idea that most of us have great difficulty in accomplishing the surrender.  The act of surrendering control is difficult because we like making decisions and choices, planning and implementing, creating and directing. We are encouraged to become independent in all thoughts and actions. Surrendering has a negative connotation when we think it means “giving in” or “giving up”.  Even dealing with a full-fledged handicap is not usually welcomed as an asset even though many of us compensate effectively for multitudes of different and varying degrees of handicap.But Paul is talking about spiritual surrender not an abandonment of self-control.

The blessing of this radical change of thinking is that God already knows what we need.  The marvelous grace of God is the gift given freely because of the sacrifice of his Son on Calvary.  Surrendering to God—Letting Christ take over—gives us the strength we require for any situation or activity. God promises to accept us as we are, with our limitations and handicaps, with no strings attached.  Ah, the mystery of love!!!

This hymn about God’s grace is one example of the depth of God’s love for us(#365 in the Methodist Hymnal):

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace

Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Freely bestowed on all who believe!

Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, You that are longing to see his face,

There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt, will you this moment his grace receive?

Grace, Grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,

Grace, Grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Julia H. Johnston (1911)

Dear Loving God, We humbly ask you to forgive us for our sins.  We thank you for your amazing gift of love and acceptance—love beyond our wildest imagination.  Help us to surrender to your guidance and plan for our lives.  Help us to accept the grace that you so freely offer.  AMEN

Chyrl Budd
P.S   Happy Independence Day Weekend, everyone.  Celebrate responsibly!!

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