Devotional 2-17-12

Our Prayer

Our creator God, hear our prayer.
Holy, holy, holy, we lift our prayer to you.
You live in heaven,
you live among us.
We pray for the change that will bring
heaven to earth.
We pray for reality to be shaped by your will,
instead of our own.

The hope of our church
is that you will come among us.
Heal our families.
Surround our friends with your grace.
Tune our ears to your word
so that we will hear you,
and follow you.
Walk with us, so that justice will flow
and rightousness will stream like living water
in your world.
We pray that your church
will be brought together in unity.
Hear our prayers.

We pray that you will give us
what we need to live.
To live this life, alive.
Hear our cries for forgiveness
and for the ability to forgive.
Give us the strength to resist the
lure of sin.
Give us the courage to repent,
and to turn back to you.

Hear our secret hopes
Our unspoken worries
that move silently
through the crevices of our souls.
Hear these breathless, silent prayers,
unheard by others,
sometimes ignored by our hearts,
sometimes our hearts' deepest desires,
sometimes silenced by our pain or shame.
The echoes of these silent prayers
can be deafening in our lives.
Hear our groaning of our souls.

For the universe is yours,
the power is yours,
and we live our lives,
in your glory.
Amen.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 2-10-12

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said “Oh dear, what are you doing in my yard, can I help you, are you hungry? Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is everyone home that lives here?” they asked. “No,” she replied. “My husband is out.” “Then we cannot come in”, they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. “Go tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a house together,” they replied. “Why is that?” she asked.
One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with everyone you live with which one of us you want in your home.”

Which Would You Choose?
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!!” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”

His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughter jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love in? Our home will then be filled with love!” “Let us heed her advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Let’s invite Love to be our guest.”

The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.” Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!”

The moral of the story… if you have love in your life all else will follow.

Gracious God,
May my life, home, family, friends, and coworkers have love in our lives as we enter this new year. AMEN

Rev. David Johnson

Devotional 2-3-12

New Year's Resolutions

As I was watching the Rose Bowl Parade January 2, 2012, they were taking a survey asking people how they were doing on keeping their New Year’s Resolutions. It was reported that 32% had already broken a resolution they had made for 2012. I began to wonder which one of the top 13 New Year’s resolutions they had failed to keep: drink less alcohol, eat healthy food, get a better education, get a better job, get fit, lose weight, manage debt, manage stress, quit smoking, save money, take a trip, volunteer to help others, or follow the three R- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Well as I looked at that list, I could see how 32% could have already broken a resolution with one cigarette, an extra piece of pie, too many drinks, or buying that new car with 0% interest for 60 months.

But even the most well-intended resolutions tend to fall to pieces soon after the Time Square ball drops. Niall O'Dowd of New York City resolved to lose 30 pounds one year but fell off the exercise bike the first day in and fractured his leg. "No more weight loss," O'Dowd told ABCNews.com.

Do you have a list of New Year’s Resolutions? What is driving you to better your life? What is on your list of resolutions? Does it include some of the top 13? Or does your list include none of the top 13? As I thought about the top 13, this devotion I am writing, and what might be on my list, I was forced to ask myself the question, “What would Jesus want me to put on my resolutions list?”

In other words ask yourself: What is Jesus calling me to change? What is Jesus asking me to do? Where is Jesus calling me to serve? How can I be a better Disciple for Jesus?

If I were to make a list I believe these would be the top 13 Christian resolutions:

1. I will spend no less than 15 minutes a day reading my Bible.
2. I will be in personal prayer at least three times a day.
3. I will be in prayer with my family at every meal, and strive to also be in prayer with family members at other times regularly.
4. I will find a place where I can be alone for 10 minutes every day to think of nothing else other than my walk with God.
5. I will not only be at worship every Sunday but I will pray for the service and prepare myself for worship each week.
6. I will strive to be involved in a Bible Study opportunity at least twice this year.
7. I will begin asking God where he wants to use me in His church and watch diligently for that to be revealed to me by June of this year.
8. I will look for opportunities to share with others how I see Jesus working in my life and in the world.
9. I will strive to accept God’s forgiveness both in my life and in the lives of others.
10. I will ask God for help in changing those things in my life that are hurting me physically and spiritually and to replace them with positive actions.
11. I will turn over to God those things that are hard for me to do and wait for Him to show me what to do.
12. I will ask God to help me to be more loving and caring of others.
13. I will ask God to show me where he wants to use me in my community to help others in need

Rev. Sam Wachter