Devotional 5-27-11

This week's gospel passage is part of Jesus' farewell discourse to his closest disciples that centers on the final Passover meal they shared together.

Jesus knew that his ministry on earth would soon be coming to an end. He would be betrayed and denied by his own, arrested, tried and crucified. He and his disciples had shared together what would later become known as the Last Supper. During the supper, Jesus got up from the table and began to wash the disciples' feet to demonstrate for them that leadership means service.

Jesus knew the arrest and crucifixion would be confusing for his disciples. He knew they would be tempted to leave their new life and go back to their old ways, before they had responded to his invitation to "follow me." Jesus wanted to encourage the disciples to continue believing in God and him, and he explained that belief equals action. It is within this context that Jesus continues his discourse as recorded in this week's gospel passage, John 14:15-21:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.

Jesus' promise to the disciples, and to us, is that the Holy Spirit will empower us to live in ways that give testimony to Jesus' life. Jesus makes it clear here that discipleship empowered by the Holy Spirit is more than mere belief or creed.

They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.

This week, think about how others have seen Jesus because of your belief in him. What has the Holy Spirit empowered you to do that gives others a glimpse of Jesus?

It's easy to talk the talk; discipleship involves walking the walk.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 5-20-11

Read Acts 7:55-60

If you have seen the movie Braveheart, you no doubt have a vivid memory of protagonist William Wallace being put to death in a most gruesome manner. Though no one would want to take Wallace's place, we can all admire his strength of will through the experience. I have always looked up to the apostle Stephen in a similar way. It is an amazing feat to die for one's beliefs. Few have the chance-- not that many of us are anxious to do so-- and possibly fewer have the spiritual strength.

During our day-to-day existence, we thankfully aren't asked to die for our Christian faith. We are expected to live for it, which should by comparison be a simple task. We can show that we are grateful for our salvation by being forgiving of others and by standing up for what is just. We are so willing to open our mouths to share everything from bad jokes to insults, but we could more frequently use our voices to improve others' lives (and our own). We are quick to take advantage of what we think we deserve, while we could be using our time to help a neighbor. Imagine how everything would change if we Christians were to use just twenty-five percent more of our energy to stand up for what is right. In turn, there would indeed be less road rage and other wastes of time.

Stephen stood before Israel's leaders and shed an unpleasant light on their past. Though he knew his own words would be used against him, he had the resolve to continue. Stephen acted according to the truth in the face of death. For most of us to act in the name of God, the consquences are minimal, so we have no reason to hold back! I pray we are all inspired by Stephen and others like him whose faith oulasted their wordly bodies. Let us use our energy to spread God's message of truth and show the power of His amazing love.

 

Natalie Wray

Devotional 5-13-11

Tea Time

The makers of Celestial Seasonings tea include an interesting, often inspirational, quote on most boxes of their teas. Over the years, I have saved many for just such an occasion as this. So grab yourself a cup of tea and enjoy.

Every little action of the common day makes or unmakes character.--Oscar Wilde

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.--Tennyson
Ultimately time is all you have, and the idea isn't to save it, but to savor it.--Ellen Goodman

We must take care to live not merely a long life, but a full one; for living a long life requires only good fortune, but living a full life requires character.--Seneca

Fill the cup of happiness for others, and there will be enough overflowing to fill yours to the brim.--Rose Pastor Stokes

The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days.--Robert Leighton

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.--Sarah Ban Breathnach

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.--Rabindranath Tagore

The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.--Galileo

What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?--Jean-Jaques Rousseau

He who forgives ends the argument.--African Proverb

A gem cannot be polished without friction nor a man perfected without trials.--Chinese Proverb

Every piece of the universe, even the tiniest little snow crystal, matters somehow. I have a place in the pattern, as do you.--T.A. Barron

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.--Dorothy Nevill

What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.--Meister Eckhart

Anita Gardner Farrell

Devotional 5-6-11

Running Between the Raindrops

With the April we have had, it is not a stretch to have a conversation turn to the weather. People say things like "I may have to build a boat" or "Do you think the floodwall is high enough?" Several times in the last few weeks, as I am leaving a customer's office -- in the rain -- customers will say, or I will say, "If I run between the raindrops, I could stay dry." Pretty near impossible considering what is pouring down.

I ran a quick GOOGLE search for songs and hymns that reference rain. Believe me, there are loads. To name just a few: Come Rain, Let Your Mercy Rain, Rain of Your Mercy, In the Midst of Rain, Rain Down and the Todd Agnew song, Grace Like Rain. Grace Like Rain, hmmm.

In the movie The Presidio, two of the stars are Sean Connery and Jack Warden. The history between their two characters dates back to active combat and a time when Warden saved Connery's life. His heroic actions resulted in the awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor (actually named just Medal of Honor). As the story line unfolds, we discover that Warden is in cahoots with the bad guys. During his attempt to "make things right", he is fatally shot. He's laying there dying, Sean Connery assuring him that everything will be ok, and Warden mutters these words about the Medal of Honor: "I think it was easier to earn it than it was to wear it."

Grace like rain falls down on me. Lyrics from Agnew's song. It pours down all around us, yet for reasons known only to us, the words "I don't deserve it", "I don't like so and so", "I wasn't nice to such and such" run through our minds. We spend a tremendous amount of time and energy trying to get out from under it. Grace is hard to wear. It covers us and makes us different. What will it do to my life if I get some on me? I will be changed. I will be clean. Let's stop running between the raindrops. Let's go get wet.

Steve Matthews

Devotional 4-30-11

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. "One of you is going to betray me." The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about. So, being the closest, he said, "Master, who?" (John 13:21-25 from The Message)

Sometimes reading a different version of a passage in the Bible will give us a different viewpoint. When I read these verses of John from The Message, I was struck by the line "was reclining against him." That phrase creates a vision of John leaning against Jesus in my mind.

Our beagle is a pack dog. She likes to be close. She'll jump up on the couch when I'm sitting on it, find a spot, and start walking in circles. Once she has massaged the couch into submission, she plops down, right against me. It doesn't matter if she has the entire couch as a resting place, she chooses to shove herself against me.

Shouldn't we be that way with God? Reclining against him when we have questions?

Consider Thomas, one of the lectionary readings for this week. He had doubts, and he gets a bad name because of it. Really, though, he did what we are all to do -- he asked Jesus for help. He leaned against God. Sometimes I think I am too slow to remember to do the same thing.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 3-4-11

Creation

In the beginning was God.
His hands itched to create,
to swirl nothingness with the power of his Word
and create goodness and glory.

Nothing existed except for God.
The breath of his Word swept across the nothingness,
until God imagined light.
From a tiny flicker of thought
in the mind of God,
there was a spark.
God pulled light out of darkness,
and it was good.
God created the Day and the Night.

God moved across the water,
dividing it with power greater than we can imagine,
until there was sea and sky.
Related and yet separate.
God imagined clouds and wind,
waves and tides.
And he created them,
and they were good.

God swept across the ocean,
and like a potter with clay,
divided out land from sea.
Mountains rose at his thought.
Valleys and canyons were carved by his fingertips.
With joy and power, he sculpted the earth,
setting into motion the tectonic plates,
floating on a core of fire.
Each detail felt his breath
until he was satisfied.
Using the fabric of life,
he quilted together the trees,
Leaves and berries were his stitches,
Pops of color in the flowers.
Seeds for the future,
creating for the perpetuation of all he designed.
As he tugged the last aspen into place
he knew that it was good.

Like a photographer, he gathered the light,
and bound it into the sun and moon.
He met the needs of his creation
for heat and light,
by swinging the sun into the sky.
The moon became an anchor for the tides.
Earthly time flew from his Words
as the movement of his creation through the sky
marked the hours and the years.
His paint bush dabbed power in the sky
as stars began to glint and glimmer.
Giving the planet a push, he set the world spinning,
creating an evening and a night.
And they were good.

The next morning, God surveyed his canvas,
and smiled, rubbing his hands together with glee.
Life began to pulse as his Word spoke.
The air lifted creatures with wings
and fish shot through the deep.
Color and variety danced on the joy of God's imagination.
Clown fish darted as anemones waved in the water.
Eagles soared as God played with ostriches.
Fish swam and birds flew
as God declared their goodness.

Cell to cell, worms and elephants began to evolve
from the imagination of God.
Serpents basked on rocks, soaking in God's sunshine,
as spiders wove webs.
Animals sprang to life,
and God planted dreams of creation in their minds.
God's hands became gentle as he whispered.
A self portrait.
Man and woman, two parts of a whole, were spoken into being.
He blessed them with his imagination, his joy and laughter.
He blew across their hearts to start them beating
with love, created out of his own depth of being.
He made them clever and emotional,
and touched their lives with an awareness of their creator.
God laughed
at the goodness of it all.

He invited them to dominion and responsibility.
He placed his creations in their care --
the moon and the stars;
the water and the air;
the plants and the animals;
each other.
He promised them his presence,
and kissed them with his spirit.
The master touched his creation,
hallowing it,
and knew that it was very good.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 2-25-11

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."   --Genesis 1:26

"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope. --Wendell Berry (born in Kentucky in 1934, author and farmer)

Caution--this may get a little preachy!

What have you done today to care for the earth that God so lovingly provided for you and me? What did you do this morning with your empty cereal box? Toss it in the garbage? I know what you're thinking, Give me a break--it was just one cereal box! But look at it this way--what if every family in our state threw one cereal box into a pile. Would you tell your children or grandchildren to go play on that pile of boxes? Now add to that pile all the recyclable things you throw away in a day:

newspapers, magazines and junk mail,
egg cartons, Starbucks cups, fast-food cartons,
yogurt, cottage cheese, and other such containers,
peanut butter jar, soup and other tin cans,
plastic milk containers, plastic water bottles and soda bottles, aluminum cans,
glass jars, wine bottles,
cardboard boxes--the mac and cheese box, pizza box, toothpaste box, shipping boxes,
detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, ketchup bottles,
on and on and on..................

Still want to send the kids out to play in that pile of trash?

Recycling is not just for Old Hippies or New Age Seekers. Recycling is for everyone. Especially for those of us who claim to be God's people. Don't we want to take care of God's amazing creation?

If your community doesn't have a recycling program, demand one! There are certain businesses that provide recycling bins. It is not that much trouble to take your trash to those bins if you don't have curbside recycling.

How about your business? How about your church? Are we serious about "saving the earth" or not?

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.   --Cree Indian Proverb

Anita Gardner Farrell