Devotional 9-17-10

This was a devotional that my sister sent to me from her church in Alabama. It's not only timely but it made me think about the Convocation Sunday we are having at church this Sunday. I think the only thing that could actually spoil the joy of heaven would be to be there and not have the people you love with you. To me, that would be more like the alternative.
Please think about....

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It was one of the most compelling television documentaries I'd seen in a long time. It aired on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The stories of rescuers and of survivors, told first-person, took the viewer into what that day really felt like for the people who lived it. One story I just can't shake was told by a British young woman who worked in a brokerage firm high up in Tower Two. She recalled with remarkable composure the confusion in her office on whether or not to evacuate the building. She's alive today because she made the right decision. But many of her coworkers never made it out. She broke down for the first time as she talked about her good friend in the office. All she could say was, "I keep thinking, 'I should have asked him to go with me.' I can't get that out of my mind."

Okay, change the scene. You're in heaven, and you're looking for a coworker you cared about...a fellow student or a teammate, a family member, or a neighbor, maybe a friend. You ask Jesus, "Lord, is (there's the name) here? Is he here? Is she here?" What if He says, "Oh, did you bring her? Did you bring him?" "You never asked him. You never asked her to go with you." Another scene: I've been to funerals where I looked at someone I'd been close to and I realized I had talked with them about everything except one thing - Jesus. And now I couldn't.

We can't have back any of those missed opportunities, but the future is yet to be written. I want to turn my regrets for the past mistakes of not telling someone about Jesus into a passion to be sure I don't make that mistake again. You and I have been placed in the lives of some people who are not ready for eternity, who have never been to Jesus to have their sins erased. God put us here to be their spiritual rescuer - to be their link to Jesus. To help them be in heaven with us.
Our assignment comes crystal clear in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning with verse 11. "Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men...for Christ's love compels us...God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." No doubt about it. You're the one God is counting on to deliver His life-saving message to the people who are within your reach.

You can't just depend on your life to rescue them. They won't guess Jesus died on the cross for them. You have to tell them that. Start by loving them in their language of love. Pray with them when they share a burden. You'll be showing them your personal relationship with God as you pray with them. Share the difference Jesus is making in your life at a point where the conversation allows you a natural opportunity. In fact, each day pray for...look for opportunities. They're all around you. Let your hope story open the door for you to ask, "Has anyone ever shown you what the Bible says about how to have a personal love relationship with God and how to go to heaven?" And, in some cases, you might want to put your love for them and God's love for them in a letter where they can receive it without distraction and without debating.

You only have to be God's glove; Him inside you helping you to do and say what you could never do without Him. But silence? That's just not an option. Not if you want them to be in heaven with you. You know what they must know to get there. You're safe. You got out. They're still in the collapsing building. Life's biggest regret would be having to say, "I should have asked them to go with me." You still can. There's still time.

From "Ronald P. Hutchcraft"

May we never be afraid to ask someone to church or share our joy in Christ because we don't want to look silly or pushy or worse yet, judgmental. Would that be worth the risk of now inviting some to heaven ?

Debbie McGinnis

Devotional 9-10-10

LOST & FOUND

Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10.
“…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:7

I don’t like stopping to ask for directions. If I’m traveling to a new place, I’d rather anticipate where I’m going and research the maps or directions from someone who has been there before. And before computer programs like “Map-Quest” I enjoyed being a member of AAA so that I could request the “trip-tiks” and all the travel brochures. Now that there are GPS systems in cars and phones, I have to rely on stopping for those directions even less. So, one would suppose that I would never be lost again. How wrong could anyone be!!! I continue to get lost by not getting those directions first. Every time I think I already “know” where I’m going and set off on my own without getting directions, I lose my way. When I allow myself to think that I am independent of assistance, I am lost!

The Gospel lesson for this week reminds us of the shepherd who lost one member of his flock. He had 99 sheep safely corralled, but he left these to search for only one who was lost. The next part of Luke 15 relates the story of the lady who threw a party because she found one lost coin. And Luke tells us in both instances their neighbors and friends were so happy for them, but that the angels of heaven will be even more joyful when a sinner repents.

These examples support the mysterious ways in which God interacts with us in the world. If left to human inclinations, we might be content with our flock of 99 or our bank account of 9 remaining coins. We are reluctant to ask for God’s direction for our path and then even more reluctant to follow God’s plan when we get a glimpse of it. We, like the sheep and the coin are lost. God is searching for us with constant and abiding love. In order for God to “find” us, we must surrender—to admit that we are lost and cannot find our true direction by ourselves. When we allow God to “find” us, we become the cause for heavenly rejoicing. God uses each moment to reach out to us. We tend to ignore the whispered voice and the knocks on our hearts. However, God continues to use everyone in our path and every circumstance as a means of contact. No matter our imperfections and brokenness—all can be used to further “God’s Plan”.

We sang this hymn last Sunday during communion and I was moved by the line: Let us be bread, broken and shared. In order to fulfill God’s plan we surrender ourselves as we are, in whatever condition or state of wholeness and we will be “found” and saved to become a blessing.
Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
Broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord.
Words by Thomas Porter #2260 in the Faith We Sing

Dear Shepherd of this worldly flock, We thank you for your persistence in gaining our attention and saving us from our pride and self-reliance in not asking for assistance. We are sorry for ignoring your message and for not following your directions for us. We thank you for the gift of amazing grace which “saved a wretch like me…I once was lost, but now I’m found”. Heal us from our tendencies toward stubbornness and apathy so that we might live as one loved by God to share that love with the world. Open our hearts to understand the path we are to take and the mission we are meant to accomplish. AMEN.

Devotional 9-3-10

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! -- Psalm 107:6-8

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost (1874-1963)

I just returned from taking my youngest son to Boston University. The night before he left, his oldest brother, who went to college in New York City, gave him some advice for living in a big city. First, he said, don't take the same route when walking from place to place--go a block out of your way or get off of the subway a stop early so you are always seeing new neighborhoods and exploring new territory. Second, don't walk around with earphones in, rather, listen to the sounds of the city.

I was thinking that this might be good advice for our spiritual lives as well. Do you read the same devotional materials all the time? Maybe it's time to try something new. Sing the same hymns continually? Try some new ones (hopefully the choir will lead us!). I'm sure we all have our favorite books of the Bible. You might be surprised what's waiting for you in the ones you usually skip over. This past year I read The Shack. I really didn't think I'd like it. I can honestly say I set out not to like it, but, surprise, I loved it and felt that it really spoke to me.

I don't walk around with earphones, but I'll admit I turn on the radio as soon as I get in the car and usually turn on the TV or radio as soon as I walk in the house. That background noise just seems necessary for some reason. However, when I'm outside walking the dog or working in the yard I like to listen to the sounds of nature. I often say I do my best thinking and perhaps my best communicating with God when I'm mowing the grass. The sound of the mower shuts everything else out and I can get down to what's really on my mind. We like to talk to God but we also need to listen for God. How can we hear the "still small voice" when we are bombarding our ears with all manner of sounds?

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" -- Psalm 46:10

Anita Gardner Farrell

Devotional 8-27-10

I was listening to two versions of the song Hallelujah this morning -- one by Jason Castro and the other by Lincoln Brewster. They are basically the same tune with some of the same words, but others changed. I think Brewster may have re-written it, although Castro's version is not the original, either.

Anyway, I was thinking about the songs, and decided to play around with the tune and words, myself. This is the result -- it's about Moses and Ezekiel and a little about me.

What is your call to ministry? When you answer it, can you feel you life singing "Hallelujah"?

Your life had changed, from Nile to sand
You cared for sheep and walked the land
Until God sang through holy fire and drew ya
You fought his will, explained your faults,
Convinced his song was all for naught
Until your staff sent forth an Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

You dreamed of God and found the word
To tell his song when it wasn’t heard
The chords of desolation strummed right through ya.
He led you to a place of death
Of hopelessness and dust, no breath
Until you spoke the words of Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

The night is long when God steps in
When the waiting’s done and the trust begins
He calls you to a plan that overwhelms ya
You won’t say yes, you can’t say no
When morning comes and doubts must go
Your life itself becomes an Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Kim Matthews

Devotional 8-20-10

Blind Guides!
Please read Matthew 23.

In Matthew 23, Jesus confronts religious leaders for not practicing what they preach. They talked the big talk about Moses and law, but when it came to their own actions, they didn’t walk the walk. Their words were empty. Jesus denounces them as “blind guides” who put on a show of religiosity while neglecting the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith.

For the past five years or so, I have relied on a GPS to help me find my way around the hills and hollows of West Virginia. It is a useful tool, but not foolproof. For example, my first GPS unit suggested that the quickest route home from I-64 is a right turn through a fence at the end of a dead-end. Fortunately, I did not rely solely on my GPS to get me home, but also on my own vision, memory, and common sense. In an episode of The Office, my favorite television show, Michael Scott, in spite of Dwight Shrute’s protestations, drives off the road and into a pond in deference to the voice of his GPS to “turn left.” Funny as it is on a sitcom, it turns out this is a real problem. Several accidents have been reported because people blindly follow their GPS directions and miss the obvious.

In their book, The Invisible Gorilla, psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons discuss inattentional blindness. The term inattentional blindness describes how we fail to perceive the obvious, not because we’re not paying attention, but because we’re focusing our attention on something other than the obvious. Inattentional blindness causes us to obey the GPS even when the obvious road signs point to something else. Inattentional blindness is why we shouldn’t text and drive. So you think you’re immune to inattentional blindness? Think you’re pretty perceptive? Before you read any further, take a simple test of watching a short video and counting the number of times a basketball is passed.

Take the test at this link: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html

Did you take the test? Are you still confident that you’re observant? Perhaps you’re surprised that you’re not as perceptive as you thought. The theme of Chabris’ and Simons’ book is not so much that we fail to perceive the obvious as much as it is that we are surprised by our lack of perception. That is to say, we think we are more observant than we are. We think our memories are better than they are. We think we can multi-task, but can we really? We are overly confident when it comes to matters of perception. In a sense, we’re like the Pharisees and scribes who were the subject of Jesus’ criticism. Blind guides!

Blind guide! Am I so focused on my own agenda that I fail to see the opportunity for ministry right in front of me?
Blind fool! Am I so focused on low prices that I fail to consider the working conditions in the factories where products are manufactured?
Blind man! Am I so focused on my current need for energy that I fail to see the long-term effects of mining and off-shore drilling on the environment?
Blind guide! Am I so focused on the bottom line investment return that I fail to consider the social impact of my investments?
Blind fool! Am I so focused on church that I fail to see God?
Blind man! Am I so focused on “me” that I fail to see others?

Dear God, open my eyes that I may see clearly your truth revealed; let me hear clearly your voice of truth; and open my heart to share your love with others. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 8-13-10

Faithful Pilgrims

Hebrew 11:29-12:1

A person of faith is always, always, always a person in motion. These actions figures are not on the List of Faithful Saints because they were models of perfection. They were not always perfectly obedient to God. They screwed up at times like the humans they were. They obeyed God much of the time, but when they disobeyed, it was ugly. Noah got drunk after the flood and passed out naked in a tent, only to have his son, Ham, walk in on him in his rather ignoble condition. Abraham lied about his wife, saving own skin but putting Sarah at risk—twice. Jacob cheated Esau. Moses killed an Egyptian. Rahab supported herself through prostitution. Jephthah was the son of another prostitute and then was run out of town by his father’s real wife. Barak refused to fight without Deborah holding his hand. Samson had a weakness for beautiful, persistent women. David’s misconduct in the bedroom and the battlefield are well-documented. In other words, these people are closer in temperament to Jerry Springer than Jesus Christ; they ought to be in the Hall of Shame, not the Hall of Fame. They’re not on the list because they were so special. In fact, many of them were profoundly ordinary. Abel didn’t seem to do much of anything remarkable except watch sheep superbly. They’re not on the list because they won all the battles. Many were notorious failures. The writer says that some were stoned, some endured colorful episodes involving raging fires, hungry lions, flogging and sword fighting. What makes a person of faith influential today? What common thread runs through the lives of all these people on the Hebrew list? What do a good-hearted prostitute, a good man with a drinking problem who built a boat and a blinded, strong man have in common? They were people who were willing to act on vision even though the fruit of their faith was not readily apparent. The text tells us that they all died before receiving everything God had promised them. But they never fully enjoyed those promises. Those who live by faith may never understand why a sheep offering trumps a fruit offering in God’s eyes, as it did in the lives of Abel and Cain. Those who live by faith may never understand that curious tugging which makes us long to leave home and move into unfamiliar territory, as in the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Faith does not guarantee power or beauty or riches or even influence. “Faith is merely and miraculously—the assurance “of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. This is what that odd assortment people of Hebrew 11, had in common; THEY ACTIONIZED THEIR FAITH, INFLUENTFLUAL BECAUSE OF GOD’S ON THEM. WE SHOULD ALL BE SO INFLUENCED. My hope and prayer for myself and for the church is that we might be faithful farsighted pilgrims; that we not be so anxious for immediate results that we miss the blessing of a glorious adventure, following the call of God in our lives.

Jeremiah A. Jasper

Devotional 8-6-10

"I know the plans I have for you," announces the Lord.
"I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you.
I will give you hope for the years to come." Jeremiah 29:11 NIRV

When I was a teenager I had my life planned out. I wanted to be an elementary school teacher, wife, and a mother. When I got to college and about to flunk out it, I realized that I was not going to get my Mrs. before I got my BA. God had other plans for me. So, I buckled down and received my BA in Education. Later, I did become a Mrs. and a mother to Michael.

As a divorced single parent, I am very grateful to God for blessing me with His plans. I had and have a wonderful support system, with God in the front. My plans are not always His plans and that is sometimes hard to take. I try to pray every day, "Thy will be done."

To paraphrase from the book, Mountain Prayers, A Vacation for Your Soul, p.76,"Your plans may have been quite good and notably responsible ones, and certainly you should make plans for your future based on the knowledge and experience you possess today. But when God sends a delay, routes you to another road, or changes the climate completely, give thanks for what He puts in front of you. Maybe even laugh. When God hands you his plans, you're getting the great ones." AMEN

Kay Lewis