Friday, October 31, 2014

Devotional 10-31-14

THE SEASONS OF OUR LIVES

 "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven".
Ecclesiastes  3:1 (KJV)

Here in the tri-state we have been known to experience  four seasons in one day with temperatures rising and falling like a weather roller coaster. I pity  our local meteorologists.

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. Trees delight with their breathtaking color, wood smoke perfumes  the evenings. As the nights cool we enjoy warm homes with family and friends. The season's pinnacle comes on Thanksgiving  and then we look to Christmas joys.

The changing seasons reflect our lives. Some transitions are joyful: a marriage takes place and the joy of love swirls around us. A baby is born and new life begins. What will that life hold?  We move to a new home, a different job, make new friends.

Life's winters come. We lose one we love dearly, our finances don't provide for everything we want, we go through a period of ill health. Joys and sorrows; through them all our heavenly Father watches over us, strengthens us in time of trouble and sadness, rejoices with us in happy times. He is always there, every second of every day.

Keep in your heart that there is for each of us a "time to every purpose under heaven" even if we have difficulty understanding why.  God knows and understands and watches over us. After all, He is our Father.

Jean Dean

Friday, October 24, 2014

Devotional 12-24-14

Taken from Little Seeds of Hope by Karen Moore

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up. I put away childish things.  Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. There are three things that will endure---faith, hope, and love---and the greatest of these is love.  (1 Corinthians 13:11-13)

The beautiful part of our faith is that it is always subject to growth. We may have greater faith in certain matters than we do in others. We may truly believe God has a plan and purpose for us, but still doubt that we'll figure out what it is. Or we may believe that God sees us and knows us sometimes, but not all the time. That's because our faith walks hand in hand with doubt. Our faith takes a long time to mature. We are always growing.

Consider the rest of the parable about seed of the farmer from Matthew 13. When the soil was not fertilized, the seed died. When the soil was too rocky, the roots did not go deep enough and nothing could grow. When the soil was thorny, the seed got choked in the weeds. It was only when the seeds were planted in prepared soil that they began to grow.

Your heart is the good soil. Your heart is the place where God plants his seeds for faith, hope, and love. He wants to bring more joy to your life, more  possibility to your days, and more opportunity for you to know Him in a real and personal way. God wants you to know how great His love really is. He is the farmer. He offers seeds for faith and hope and love so that you can grow up strong and firm in Him. The One who provides you with air and water and light and food, is the same One who offers you His bounty through faith. He will harvest a great relationship with you, because He knows your heart is ready for Him.

Hope and a Prayer

Lord, You have given us this incredible gift called faith. Like children, we are not always aware of how much we depend on You, or how much faith provides the way for us to go, but we are truly grateful to You. Help us to grow up and become adults strong in our faith, eager to embrace even more faith in every area of our lives. We thank You for Your love even when we can't feel it, for the hope You bring even when we have lost our way, and for the faith that sustains us through all things.


Melanie Herr

Friday, October 17, 2014

Devotional 10-17-14

DID YOU KNOW????????????????


Recently I was working on a program about the importance of being like a child as we grow in our faith and work on our relationship with God.  I went to the Children’s Defense Fund webpage for some information, and discovered some unbelievable facts about the children in West Virginia.

There are 385,994 children living in West Virginia. (As of 2013)

Did you know that:

in West Virginia, a child is abused or neglected every 2 hours.

in West Virginia, a child dies before his or her first birthday every 2 days.

in West Virginia, there are 97,677 poor children, which is 25.8% of the total children in the state.         

in West Virginia, 37,134 children are without health insurance, which is 9.7% of the total children in the state.

There are so many of God’s little children in need right here in our state.  I was astounded.  I know that there is much to be done and it sounds so over whelming.  I also know that many of you are already involved in ways to help some of these children – like the Back Pack Ministry, Ebenezer Outreach Center and Common Grounds.  And yet – are we doing all God wants us to do?  Is there something else we should be doing to advocate for these children who have no voice and no power to change things?

In Mark 9:36-37, Jesus took a little child in his arms and said “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”   God show me the way!

Dear God, We know that every baby born is a sign of hope from You. Guide our steps as we strive to make life better for the children in this state. Help us to see Your vision for these children. Help us as we yearn to be closer to you and we share Your love with everyone we encounter. Help us to be more child-like as we grow in our faith and our relationship with You.  Amen

Rev. Suzanne Ellis

Friday, October 10, 2014

Devotional 10-10-14

Don’t Worry

Philippians 4:6-7  
“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Unfortunately, anxiety and worry have become a part of our everyday life—sometimes quite overwhelming, and at other times, only a passing thought.  This is the time we need to remember that God has asked us to just pray, and let him do the worrying.

I had back surgery two weeks ago, and worried about it for days prior to surgery.  It’s all I could think about.  I’ve had surgery before, and I don’t recall obsessively worrying about it.  My surgery went very well, I’m now recuperating, and I am free of pain! Before my surgery, some people told me stories of risky back surgery, and others said recovery would be difficult because of my age. And so I worried. And worried.

Sometimes we can become so obsessed with worry that we focus only on whatever it may be which has created our grave concern.  I used to tease my mom, who was a worrier. She worried continually over one thing or another.  And I would say, “Mom, before you know it, you’ll be worrying because you don’t have anything to worry about!”

It’s natural to worry. We face a world crisis of terrorism; we know human rights of thousands are brutally being taken away; and it’s rare to hear much good news at six p.m.  We’re concerned over safety when our children and grand children are at school; we go over and over our retirement plans to make sure we’ll have enough to take care of ourselves. There are always decisions to make. We’re human after all, and we care about lots of things that naturally cause us to worry.

God knows we worry.  Even though we know that worrying is a waste of time, we still worry. God has asked us not to worry, and to turn over all of our fear, anxiety, concern and worry to Him.  We need to remember to do that. Being able to do so is a blessing only God can give.

The morning of my surgery, I happened to see on my refrigerator a magnet with an important message. It was given to me on my Walk to Emmaus. I read it almost every day, but on the day of my surgery, it reminded me that I needn’t worry.  God would take care of everything.

Good Morning!

This is God.
I will be handling 
all of your problems today.
I will not need your help,
So have a good day!

Diane Feaganes

Monday, October 6, 2014

Devotional 10-6-14

The following narrative, as related by a young man named Wayne, is an excellent example of how God blesses us through the actions of our fellow human beings.  

This is a story that begs to be shared.  So, here it is - the story of...

The Black Telephone

When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood.  I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall.  The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box.  I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then  I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person.  Her name was "Information Please," and there was nothing she did not know.  Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.  Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer; the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.  The telephone!  Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing.  Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. 

"Information, please," I said into  the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question. 

"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.

"No," I replied.  I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."

"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it on your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.  I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was.  She helped me with my math.

She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before would eat fruit and nuts.

Then there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died.  I called, "Information Please," and told her the sad story.  She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child.  But I was not consoled.  I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Wayne, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."

"Information," she said in the now familiar voice.

"How do you spell fix?"  I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.  When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston.  I missed my friend very much.

"Information Please" belong in that old wooden box back home, and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.  As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then.  I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on  my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle.  I h ad about a half-hour or so between planes.  I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

"Information."

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause.  Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed, "So it's really you," I said.  "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"

"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me.  I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years, and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do," she said.  " Just ask for Sally.

Three months later I was back in Seattle.

A different voice answered, "Information."

I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" she said.

"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said.  "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick.  She died five weeks ago."

Before I could hang up, she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Well, Sally left a message for you.  She wrote it down in case you called.  Let me read it to you." 

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.  He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up.  I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.  Whose life have you touched today? Why not pass this on?  I just did....

Submitted by 
Charlie and Margaret Ann Lewis