Devotional 3-20-15

 “Clean-Up”

Lectionary Readings:  Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Psalm 51: 1-12; Hebrews 5:5-10 and John 12: 20-33.

“Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.  Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing.  Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health.  God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.” Psalm 51:  7-9  (The Message).

My grandparents did not have indoor plumbing until I was in college.  Washing dishes, clothes and bodies was always an interesting adventure.  A “day in the life” at Grandma’s seemed so carefree to all of the grandchildren.  We raced and chased outside all day long.  There were creeks to ford and trees to climb.  Chickens to chase and buttercups to pick.  When the sun lowered we would be called in and reluctantly report for “bath time”. The tub, which consisted of a round galvanized tub about 3 feet in diameter, was set up close to the stove. No privacy was really needed when we were younger, but we usually did take turns in the tub. Since all the water had to be pumped and then heated, the water was never very deep, but we pretended we were sailing the seas in our fantastic ship and we imagined the water pouring over our head was really a water fall to hide behind during a wonderful mystery.

When I read the version of Psalm 51 from The Message, I was reminded of the wash tub we bathed in at Grandma’s house.  For most of my childhood, the tub always signified an adventure.  Later as I grew, the tub began to pose a challenge as I no longer really fit in the tub in a seated position.  So it was with a giggle that I pictured God’s BIG laundry tub where I would be soaked and scrubbed as laundry to become clean.

The focus on the laundry tub was short-lived as God immediately drew my attention to the purpose of a tub:  a thorough “soul cleaning”.  Psalm 51, written by David after he was confronted by Nathan about David’s affair with Bathsheba, is a plea for forgiveness.  David pled guilty to his sin and asked to be forgiven and cleansed from its grasp.  Although I am not guilty of adultery, “sin is sin,” as my father would remind me, and the daily act of asking for forgiveness is a necessity.

Lent 2015 for me has been a challenge to improve my prayer life.  God has been calling me to develop a pattern of prayer throughout the day that can be repeated daily.  This process has increased an awareness of my shortcomings and a sad lack of diligence.  I had settled into a habit of quick, short prayers regarding the challenge of the moment and not the deep soul-searching prayers meant to improve my relationship with God.

Today, God has used this psalm to remind me of an important needed addition to my prayers—a method of asking for forgiveness. I had not studied Psalm 51 for some time.  Using The Message translation was a chance to explore the words from a different perspective.  The climactic message David conveys is that God has the power to forgive, and what God demands of us is a “broken and contrite heart.”  We can go through the motions of worship and offerings on the altar, but what God requires is the surrender of our hearts and our will to God’s direction.  Forgiveness is readily available—we just have to ask for it on a daily basis.

God is in the cleaning business—cleaning up sin and offering forgiveness. Jesus’ life was sacrificed for our sins.  We cannot “fix” our sins on our own.  Why not spend some time studying this psalm and try some of God’s version of spring cleaning—a fresh start with a healthy dose of forgiveness.  “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow”.

Dear Loving God, we ask your forgiveness for our many sins and transgressions.  We are truly sorry for the disappointments and heartaches we have caused you.  Please accept our penitent hearts and show us a way to serve you with greater commitment.  We submit our lives to your will.  Help us to follow your direction more diligently.  We thank you for the life of your son whose blood was shed for our sins.  Help us to serve you by sharing your love as Jesus has shown us.  AMEN.


Chyrl Budd

Devotional 3-13-15

Till Death Us Do Part

Yesterday was my parents’ anniversary. If Mom were still with us, it would have been 57 years together for them. While I have to admit to not being there for the 1958 nuptials, I do feel certain that the traditional words, “till death do us part” were used in their traditional 1958 service. I witnessed those words played out over the years as a kid living at home and a grown up kid returning home. They shared many things while maintaining their own interests. Mom loved to go to the movies. Dad would have needed to be bound and gagged to get him inside a theater. Dad loved crafts and wood working. Upon their return from Gatlinburg (to see the crafts) Mom’s comment, with a grimace on her face, was that the sidewalks were uphill – both ways. My witness to the caring was never more pronounced than when the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease showed up in our family and prepared to take Mom away. In making a list of my Dad’s qualities, ‘patient’ would never make the list > not even way, way down the list. Alzheimer’s is not fast acting, and as Mom began to fade, Dad never missed a beat. He was never short with her for asking the same question over and over again or for dressing herself in only three socks on one foot and shirt and being ready to go to the mall. He cared for her at home beyond what was healthy for either of them. And once professional care in a professional place was sought, he visited EVERYDAY. He had taken a vow, and he loved my mom – period.

We take a vow when we join the church. We promise that we will serve Christ in union with the church that He has opened to people of all ages, nations and races. I looked again, and it really does say ALL; not just some or the convenient ones. We say that we will faithfully participate in the church’s ministries with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. While I was in there I looked again at this too, and it doesn’t say anything about ‘when you feel like it’ or ‘only give gifts to those you think deserve it.’ It says pray, be there, give, serve and proclaim – period.

Jesus came and walked among us. He promised that he would never leave us and that he was going to prepare a place for us. He stretched his arms from one side of the cross to the other so that we would never be parted and said, “I love you this much – period.”

I pray that as we approach Eater we remember our vows; love God and love our neighbor – period.

Devotional 3-6-15

The Theology of Desi Arnaz
John 2:13-22

In the Gospel according to John, the story of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple of those who corrupted the sacred space with profiteering and cheating comes early, partially laying groundwork for what follows as John unfolds the story of who Jesus is.  In Mark, Matthew, and Luke, the story appears near the end of Jesus’ life and is part of the emotional escalator that leads religious authorities to want to be rid of him.  In either case, Jesus is shown with the emotion of anger at what he saw instead of what should be holiness and righteousness.

Rev. Peter Wallace, a son of Johnson Memorial, has written a book titled The Passionate Jesus:  What We Can Learn from Love, Fear, Grief, Joy, and Living Authentically.  He describes the various emotions experienced and displayed by Jesus.

In the text prescribed for the third Sunday of Lent, it is Jesus’ anger that dominates the emotionally charged story.

Many will remember with smiles the “I Love Lucy” series.   While the program had old culturally traditional male-female portrayals, the episodes always ended with a loving emotion between Lucy and Desi.  In most shows, Lucy got into some predicament, and the emotions of everyone in the program ran the gamut.  Desi would often be angry and could be heard saying, “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do.”

This holy season of the year offers a time of self-examination and reflection.  If Jesus were to enter our lives today, as he entered the temple centuries ago, what would he find?  What emotion would Jesus have as he observes and experiences our minds and hearts?  When Jesus says to us, “You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do,” what is our response?  Are there parts of our lives that give us pause at the thought of needing to explain to God?  Does the thought cross your mind:  “How am I going to explain this one to God?”  Perhaps it is a way of thinking, a behavior, a bias or prejudice, a hardness of heart, a failure to forgive.

Take some time as we prepare for the great festival of Easter and the promise of resurrection to engage in some self-examination.  Be honest with yourself and God.  Offer to God those things that might rightly draw the Lord’s wrath.  Don’t make that offering with fear of God’s reprisal but, instead, make it in response to a loving God who seeks a relationship with us that is marked by wholeness and righteousness.  Desi would display anger with Lucy, but he always embraced her with love.  We might expect God to be angry with us, but God’s mercy and love always trump what we might rightly deserve.  Thanks be to God for unending love.

Holy God:  give us the will to be honest with ourselves and you.  Let us name those things that separate us from your ways.  In naming our sin, we place our wrongs before you with a desire to turn toward your desires for us.  Restore us to the paths of righteousness.  Thank you for your merciful love.  We pray in the name of Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Rev. Jack Lipphardt

Devotional 2-27-15

Mark 8: 31-37                        Jesus Predicts His Death

³¹He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.  ³²He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  ³³But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter.  “get behind me, Satan!”he said.  “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Jesus goes on to warn the crowd that anyone who wants to follow him must deny themselves and be willing to lose their life!  He challenges us with this question- What can a man give in exchange for his soul?

This is a question that each of us tries to answer some time and some way during our life.  Therein is the challenge that Jesus presents to us.  Should we have in mind the things of man and enjoy earthly pleasures?  Or- can we find that spiritual place where we begin to look at things as God intended?  Imagine announcing to the disciples that you must deny and risk loss of life.  What?  No way!

Yet these followers were witnesses to “God With Us” and believed.

So where are you on your journey this Lenten season?  Are you like Peter and thinking in the ways of man or has the Holy Spirit challenged you to respond to his calling?  There is a quotation attributed to Roy Disney that goes “ Ir’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”  If you are reading this then you know what you value most.  What better time than Lent to reinvigorate your faith thru the things of God?  May it always be so!

Prayer: Heavenly father we thank you for the witness of believers.  Forgive us when we turn our thoughts to earthly things.  Continue to feed our souls spirtually with your word so we can do your will here on Earth.  Thank you for the promise of forgiveness and eternal life through your son Jesus Christ.  Amen

Marv Jones

Devotional 2-20-15

More Than a Promise

Read Gen.9:8-17, Psalm 25:1-10, I Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15

Above are four scriptures. When you read them, you will find one word either stated or implied in each. That word is covenant. Now, there is a Bible word for you! It is certainly not one I use when posting on Facebook, but it is a word that I’ve heard since my youth. How many times have I looked at a rainbow and thought of God’s covenant with Noah? How would my world be different if God had not issued the Ten Commandments as part of His covenant with Moses?

What is a covenant? I used to think that it was a promise, but it is more than that. If I promise you something, it is up to me to follow through. If we form a covenant, we both have conditions to meet. Along with the shared responsibility, we may also recite an oath and follow it with some kind of sign when the contract is fulfilled. When Don and I were married forty years ago, we vowed before God to love one another as long as we were both alive. Our rings were an outward sign of that covenant.

On Wednesday, February 18, we will again begin our Lenten journey. At its end, we will celebrate the covenant of grace that God formed with us two thousand years ago. What conditions do we need to meet? None. Jesus Christ met them for us. What do we stand to gain? Forgiveness of our sins and everlasting life. What a contract! What a gift!

Join me in singing the following hymn as a prayer of thanksgiving.

The Church’s One Foundation
By Samuel J. Stone
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.
Amen

Becky Warren

Devotional 2-13-15

ARE YOU HAVING A GOOD DAY?

How is your day going? I hope it is going well. Just in case things could be looking better let me remind you of some words of wisdom written by Michael Perry, a Church of England clergyman who penned over three hundred hymns in the nineteen sixties and later in the twentieth century.

 HEAL ME, HANDS OF JESUS
(#262 in the United Methodist hymnal)

Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain;
Restore my hope, remove my fear, and bring me peace again.

Cleanse me, blood of Jesus, take bitterness away;
Let me forgive as one forgiven and bring me peace today.

Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin;
Dispel the memories of guilt and bring me peace within.

Fill me, joy of Jesus, anxiety shall cease,
And heaven's serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace.

HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Jean Dean

Devotional 2-6-15

I recently cleaned out a drawer of my computer desk. Let's just say, it was interesting. I found a boat-load of quotations, pages ripped off of calendars or out of magazines. I'm going to share a dozen of them with you today. Let me know your favorite.

1. The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today. (St. Francis of Assisi). 
2. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.  (Richard Bach)
3. Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.  (Mark Twain)
4. The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity. (Francis Maitland Balfour)
5. Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. (W. T. Purkiser)
6. America would be a better place if leaders would do more long-term thinking. In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.  (Wilma Mankiller)
7. One filled with joy preaches without preaching.  (Mother Teresa)
8. Now the message that we have heard from His Son and announce is this: God is light and there is no darkness at all in him.  (I John 1:5)
9. You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.  (Anne Lamott)
10. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers and sisters.  (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
11. Every piece of the universe, even the tiniest little snow crystal, matters somehow. I have a place in the pattern, and so do you. (T.A. Barron)
12. You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.  (Golda Meir)

Anita Gardner Farrell