Devotional 7-25-14

Matthew 10:29-30. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of these shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING

Did you ever explain something to someone and what you intended for them to understand was not what they actually understood? Hopefully when this happens the issue can be straightened out without serious consequences......but not always.

Here's an example: Every woman reading this has at one time or another said to herself, "I want to do something different with my hair." I confess that I fell into that trap recently. What I explained to the hairdresser I wanted and what she understood I wanted were two very different things. The result was not a happy one (at least not for me). I hated the result. Not her fault, just one of life's misunderstandings. I'm happy to say it was not irreversible and I'm looking pretty normal now but it did teach me a lesson.  Be very sure both parties are on the exact same page when explaining something to one another.

Part of the lesson I learned is something wonderful. WE DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO GOD. Jesus knows us completely, inside and out. He knows when we need His help whether it be for something large or small, we only have to ask. Trust me on this, I prove it every day. He knows what we need even before we know it ourselves.

And how comforting to know that to Him we are of greater importance than the tiniest bird or the least valuable of the coin of the realm. NO GREATER LOVE.

 Jean Dean

Devotional 7-19-14

Psalm 139: 1-12,23-24

"Where can I go from Your spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?" Psalm 139:7

In Jean Ramsey's Devotion of last week, she said that maybe Jesus was with her as she was planting and caring for the beautiful flora around Johnson Memorial UMC. I believe she is right.

There is nowhere we can go from the spirit or presence of God. God is always with us and how comforting is that? Right here, where you are reading this devotion, is God. No, we cannot reach out and physically touch him, but we can ask for comfort, healing, wisdom, whatever our heart and mind needs at the time. He is there.

I remember driving back from a vacation at the seashore, where I had felt God's presence in the ocean, the sand, and sun: all around. But as much as I hated to leave the beach, I felt such a comfort in God's green mountains of West Virginia, my home. Being in the mountains, I felt as though God had placed a comforting blanket around me.

God is everywhere! God is always with us! Amen

Kay Lewis

Devotional 7-11-14

If by chance I should actually meet Jesus when I was planting flowers at Johnson Memorial UMC, what would I do or say? Never really thought about that happening, but if it happened what would I do? I guess I would say, "Hey I am working to make JM look really good on the outside so that people will like our church where we meet to show how much we love you. I guess I would show him around the church outside and show him the Memory Garden and the playground for the kids. I would invite him inside to our sanctuary and show him where I sit.  I would tell him that I love to sit and point out the stained glass windows. I would take him to our Sunday School rooms and let him meet the kids in our preschool, and Miss Anita and her staff. I would then show him the Fellowship Hall and the kitchen where we feed not only our members but the hungry at Common Grounds. I would tell him about the people that make that happen. I would have him say hey to Ron and Hilda who take care of our church, too.  I would have him say hello to Bruce Rous who leads us all in beautiful music every Sunday. I would then have him  take the elevator to the fourth floor to meet the staff there that serve us so well. I guess Amy, Mace, Linda, Joe, and Jack will be surprised when he meets them. I think he would be pleased at what he sees.

So many times I have taken others to see our great church just the same way as I would take Jesus. Maybe he was there beside me, and I did not know it.

Jean Ramsey

Devotional 7-4-14

Faith AND Fear

Please read Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33 contains the story of Peter walking on water.  He steps out of the boat, willing to follow Jesus, even to do this thing which is impossible, because Jesus calls him to do it.  In his fear and doubt, he sinks.  Jesus rescues him and then rebukes him.  I identify so much with Peter that sometimes I feel the sting of that rebuke and count it as failure.

We are so much like Peter.  We are not without faith, but with our faith lives our fear.  Barbara Brown Taylor talks about this in a sermon in the book The Seeds of Heaven.  Read this quote from Taylor's sermon:

Why do we doubt?  Because we are afraid, because the sea is so vast and we are so small, because the storm is so powerful and we are so easily sunk, because life is so beyond our control and we are so helpless in its grip.  Why do we doubt? Because we are afraid, even when we do have faith.

It isn't a lack of faith that causes Peter to sink; it's the presence of fear.

Paul, in the second letter to the Corinthians, spoke of his desire for a "thorn in his flesh" to be removed.  He writes that God said to him, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Corinthians 9)

It's a hard verse to understand for me, but it came  to mind as I read the Taylor sermon.  If Peter had walked across the water in confidence, with no fear, then Christ would not have had to pull him out of the water.  In his fear, he needed Christ.  In our fear, we come to realize the necessity of salvation.  In our strength, we do not always see it.  God is always powerful, but in our weakness, we rely on his power instead of our own.

That doesn't mean that Christ caused Peter to sink so that Peter would come to realize the necessity of Christ, and it doesn't mean that God causes fearful things to happen to us so that our faith will be strengthened.  Really, we have enough fear on our own with God needing in any way to add to it.  It does mean that when we sink, God is there, and we come to understand that.  God offers grace - the hand that lifts Peter out of the water.  God offers accountability - the rebuke Christ spoke to him.  And God offers salvation - Christ returns Peter to the boat.  In none of that does God offer rejection.

And what do the disciples do?  They worship Christ in the boat.  As should we.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 6-26-14

This was submitted as a possible extra to use during Lent, but I think it applies all year 'round.  
This was the devotional for Sunday in the Guidepost. I thought it fit right in with several things we've been talking about over the last few weeks. I think I'm going to try to do this for Lent. See what you think. 
 
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
--James 1:26 (KJV)
 
When I was in my twenties, I started going to the opera. An enthusiastic novice, I'd walk joyfully to the lobby for intermission, only to hear the dismissive remarks of the jaded veterans. A fine performance by Pavarotti? "He has no squillo. You really should have heard Corelli in that part." An incredible high note from Joan Sutherland? "Too bad you couldn't have heard her twenty years ago" I'd go back to my seat for the second act, regretting that I wasn't twenty years older rather than enjoying the singing that night.

I've tried, with diminishing success as I've grown older, to be less of a curmudgeon. But the place I've failed utterly has been church. Walking home on Sunday mornings, I've related a litany of complaints, "The music here is terrible. Do you remember the choir at St. So-and- So's?"

"There was no meat in that sermon. Father X was so much more thoughtful."

"Did you see the sneakers the alter server was wearing?

We'd never have let that pass at St. Thingummy's"

Finally, my wife, Julia, had enough. "What are you doing for Lent?" she asked.

"Giving up peanut butter, like always," I answered.

"How about giving up all that negativity?"

So I tried. Sometimes I'd just keep quiet. Sometimes I'd catch myself mid-complaint. Sometimes I'd even say something positive ! And you know what? I found myself praying rather than looking for things I didn't like. After all, I was there for God's sake, not my own. You know what else? This Lent I'm going to find something good to say every Sunday.
 
Lord, keep my attention where it really belongs- on You.

Written by Andrew Attaway
Submitted by Debbie McGinnis

Devotional 6-20-14

Don’t Be Afraid !!

Lectionary Readings:  Genesis 21: 8-21; Psalm 17; Psalm 86: 1-10 & 16-17; Romans 6: 1-11; Matthew 10: 24-39.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your father.  And even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid:  you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:28-30.

Lately, I have been struggling with change.  The end/beginning of various chapters of my life and the lives of several friends and family members.  Many of the events are joyfully anticipated and celebrated even though they mean big changes in future schedules and life focus—my grandson just graduated from high school and will be going to Marshall in the fall.  We have truly enjoyed all of the senior activities and team triumphs, but there is also an element of sadness as a part of life’s journey must be laid aside.  Other changes involve more sadness than celebration: saying “Happy Retirement” to trusted friends or “Best Wishes in your New Job or New Home” as friends move on to other activities or places.  Even the death of long-time friends has caused me to pause and reflect on the changes that are happening all around me.

But as I read and contemplated the scriptures for this week, I realized that the constant that I can and should be counting on is GOD.  I am blessed by a God who cares for me, wants the best for me, loves me beyond any speck of deserving and who sends me countless messages to “PAY ATTENTION:  I AM IN CHARGE:  DO NOT BE AFRAID!!!”  Change is inevitable.  I don’t need to be afraid of the future, because God is in control.  Those who know me, know that giving up control is not a natural or easy activity for me.  I struggle with letting go more than is reasonable or comfortable, but all of my future is in God’s hands.  I do not need to be afraid.

Why should I feel discouraged?  Why should the shadows come?

Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home,

When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is he:

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,

When song gives place to sighing, when hope within me dies,

I draw the closer to him, from care he sets me free:

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,

For his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

                                                                                    Words by Civilla Martin

Life is constantly shifting and moving like the sand dunes at the beach. When we are lucky enough to actually visit a beach, we observe the changing tides and the sights and smells surrounding us and are reminded that even the lands and the seas do not stay the same. There is a plan in the ebb and flow of all of life.  My problems may seem overwhelming at times, but God holds my hand, shelters my soul and hides me from the storm.  Change happens—hang on to God and enjoy the ride!

Dear Heavenly Protector we are so very grateful for your constant presence in our lives.  Help us to sing or say these words daily to remind us that we are yours. And although life changes fill us with fear, you are always the source of our protection and strength.
“Let the Son of God enfold you with his Spirit and his love. 
Let him fill your heart and satisfy your soul.
O let him have the things that hold you and his Spirit like a dove 
will descend upon your life and make you whole.
O come and sing this song with gladness as your hearts are filled with joy.  
Lift your hands in sweet surrender to his name.  
O give him all your tears and sadness; give him all your years of pain, 
and you’ll enter into life in Jesus’ name.
Jesus, Jesus, come and fill your lambs.  
Jesus, O,  Jesus, come and fill your lambs.” 
(words by John Wimber)     AMEN.

Chyrl Budd

Devotional 6-13-14

Read Genesis 1:1-2:4, Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20

Pleasing our God

Our God is a loving, creating, caring God.  One that is easily pleased not just by what he did when he created the earth, and all that is on it, but also the stars and sun.  Of course he created man and woman and was pleased.  He is pleased when we treat one another with acceptance, love and care.  He is happy when we help the least of our brothers and sisters without regard for where they are in life. We are all children of this great and awesome God.  His son, Jesus Christ is our example of how we are to treat each other - the poor, the rich, the prostitute, the addict, our neighbor, and on and on.  Love and respect for all. Let’s be the hands and feet for Jesus.  Let’s make our life a pleasing life for God.

Fred Herr