Monday,
March 13, 2006
Matthew Chapter
7: 7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives;
he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
My best friend
has been battling a very rare form of cancer for years now. I have been asking
God to help her almost daily for what seems like an eternity. I have many
friends who pray for her too, not to mention her family. Just 2 days ago she
called me with the first good news she has received in years. Her tumors are
shrinking and she has no new ones. She isn't cured, she still has plenty of
treatments and experimental procedures to undergo, but she sounded like she had
a new lease on life.
I truly believe
that the constant petitioning of God has made a difference in my friend's
health. I also know that her faith in God has kept her positive when one
wouldn't expect her to be. But it wasn't an easy route for her. She was treated
unsuccessfully in
Living through
this illness with my friend has made me closer to God. He is the One I find
myself turning to every day, when there is no one else to turn to when medicine
doesn't work. I am so grateful that I feel free to knock on the door. I know it
will be opened for me.
Dear God, help me to find the time to stop daily and
reflect on your endless love for me.
Lois Cook
Tuesday,
March 14, 2006
Matthew 14:23
And after he had dismissed the crowds, he
went up in to the hills by himself to pray.
I was assigned this
one sentence for the devotional. When I volunteered to write a devotional, I
said, “Give me a passage at random, because “I like serendipity.” Sure enough,
it may be that this verse is one that I needed to spend some time
contemplating.
I confess that I
have lots of trouble getting away quietly by myself to do anything. There is so
much need in the world, and I have been blessed with resources. I am not
plagued with serious illness or financial insecurity. I live in a free and
prosperous country. I have had a loving family, who have encouraged me to use
my gifts. Whenever I am not engaged in doing something for someone else,
especially for those who have not enjoyed all those blessings, I feel as though
those blessings have been wasted on me. So, I tend to be “doing” something all
the time (or feeling guilty if I am not). Even my admittedly too rare
devotional time tends toward the manic. I am more comfortable reading a
theological tome than spending time in contemplation or prayer.
Thinking and
worrying about what God wants me to do and whether I am doing it, and about
what is honest and just and loving, are on my mind a lot. But quiet prayer and
peaceful openness to God and the Holy Spirit are hard for me. My prayers, when
they are the most fervent, consist mostly of begging for insight and
forgiveness for not having done
enough. At worst, my prayers are of the formulaic “thank you for this” and
“thank for that” and “God bless us every one” type. I could use more of being
still and quiet, away from the crowds and concern for the crowds, just
absorbing the powerful love of God. I suspect that most of us could use more of
that.
This passage
from the Gospel according to Matthew falls between two powerful miracle
stories. Just before verse 23, Jesus has heard of the murder of John the
Baptist and “withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart.” But “the
crowds” hunted him down and came from the towns all around to seek him out. He
didn’t say, “Go away, I’m grieving, I’m trying to rest and get reconnected to
God.” He preached, and he somehow fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. Then
he told his disciples to get a head start in their boats for the other side of
the lake while he bid farewell to the crowds. But, again, before he set off to
rejoin his disciples, “he went up in to the hills by himself to pray.” When he
set off to join his disciples, he saw that they had sailed a good way off, and
he went walking to them on the water. But it was not long before he was called
upon again, by a fearful and panicky, emotional volatile Peter, who tried to
walk across the water to meet him but started to sink and then begged for Jesus
to save him.
Jesus’
compassion interfered with his restful contemplation. But between his
miraculous acts of compassion, he sought alone-time with God, fortification for
the tasks at hand. Even he who was “one with the Father,” took time in a lonely
place apart to pray. How can we
survive without doing likewise?
Prayer: Lord, I
am still, and I want to know that you are God. Flood me with your love and
compassion, and let that love and compassion overflow from me to others. Amen.
Peggy Hooker
Wednesday,
March 15, 2006
Psalm 5:3
In the morning you hear my voice; At dawn
I will make ready and watch for you
I am sure that I
was led to this scripture because of the word “morning.” At the time the Sunday
School Children were learning a song called “Woke Up This Morning.” This
African American Spiritual says “I woke up this morning with my mind and it was stayed on Jesus.” The
second and third verses say “Can’t hate your neighbor with your mind if you
keep it stayed on Jesus” and ”Makes you love everybody with your mind when you
keep it stayed on Jesus”.
I wonder about
all the different ways during my lifetime that I have awakened and greeted a
new day- with delight when I sense the sun peeking in through the windows, with
awe when I sense the silence of a heavy snowfall, with excitement when
anticipating a visit with children and grandchildren, with reluctance when the
night has been too short for proper rest, with apprehension when a health
concern continues to walk along my path, with unrestrained joy when as a child
I awoke to another summer day. There are as many ways to greet the new day as
there are seasons of our lives.
But have I ever
considered the discipline of awaking each day with “my mind stayed on Jesus”? To
tell the truth, even in retirement, as soon as my mind leaves sleep behind it
is filled with what the new day has in store. And even though we often do a
morning devotional after breakfast, the canvas of the day has already been
painted with a rainbow of joys and concerns.
Perhaps the
faithful in the Islamic tradition are more able to greet the new day “looking
up” because they are called to do so each morning before sunrise and 4 more
times throughout the day. When Paul and I made a trip to
Let me hear a call to prayer, Lord,
before my mind is filled with the day to come and the concerns of my life. Let
me wake up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus. Keep my heart, mind, and
voice watching, waiting, and looking for You.
Amen
Carolynn Schrading
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Psalm 69: 30-33
I will praise God’s name in song will
glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more
than a bull with its horns and hoofs. The poor will see and be glad; you who
seek God, may your hearts live. The Lord hears the needy and does not despise
his captive people.
Psalm 69 is a
lament, the most frequent type of psalm. It is a cry to God for help, justice,
and/or mercy for those in exile. The psalmist in verse 29 is pleading with God:
I am in pain and distress; may your
salvation, O God, protect me.
The psalmist
promises that he will praise God when he is rescued from his affliction. Like
the psalmist we praise God when we are lifted from pain and despair. But is it
heartfelt praise? The psalmist says that God would be more receptive if our
thanksgiving was more deeply felt, not just a formulaic religious offering (an
ox or bull).
The exiles, poor
and needy (us) are reminded of the love of God as exhibited in the saving of
the psalmist from all of his trouble and pain. God’s grace is available to all
regardless of our situation.
The psalms are
more than wonderful literature and poetry; they are instructive for us daily. They describe our human condition with all its
warts, but the good news is that God’s love is with us always. We are God’s
creation, we won’t be abandoned.
So let us praise
and thank God everyday with song and thanksgiving. God dwells in us all
regardless of what we were, what we are, and what we will become. That is the
meaning of grace.
Thanks be to
God,
Lynne and Don Cameron
James
5:14-15
Is any sick among you? Let him call for
the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
I love the
portrayal of the community of faith in the passage above. It illustrates the
role of the individual who requests assistance as well as that of the church,
which rallies around its stricken member and petitions God on his behalf. For
those of us who have difficulty accepting help, it provides a lesson in the
blessings of receiving as well as those of giving.
Many years ago,
I took care of Mrs. B., a vibrant elderly woman who suffered a late—and very
aggressive—recurrence of cancer. Despite the fact that she required enormous
doses of morphine to control her pain, she remained in her own home with
hospice care. She was unfailingly optimistic whenever we spoke on the phone,
declaring to me that she was going to overcome her disease despite the odds. Although
knowing that this was impossible, I could only marvel at her courage.
On the other
hand, Nancy, her nurse, seemed more dispirited and exhausted every time we
talked. She had mentioned that she had three young children and that her
husband was out of work, and I attributed her fatigue to the burdens of her
family life.
Shortly after
Mrs. B. passed away, I discovered that
Lord, thank you for those we care for,
and for those who care for us. Help us learn that our dependence upon You and
upon one another is our greatest strength. Amen.
Helen Thornton
Luke 9: 28-29
... [H]e took Peter, John,
and James and went up a mountain to pray. And while he was praying the
appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white.
As
I read these verses, I envision a glorious day: serene, warm calm breeze, green
leaves barely rustling, lush hillside, sunshine, a curious gentle animal or two
observing the three men. Jesus is on his knees, gazing up into the heavens,
hands raised in prayer, silently praying, becoming inspired. Moments later his
countenance changed: he appeared to be brighter, more beautiful, more
energetic, more powerful. What a magnificent scene! Jesus’ prayers were
answered.
Occasionally
we have the opportunity to pray the way Jesus did, perhaps when on a much
earned vacation or on a holiday, when we can escape from our hectic schedules. We
become refreshed after our conversations with God.
How
else may one have conversations with God? Why not every moment of every day? Imagine
a typical day in your life. What is the first thing you think of when you wake
up in the morning? Is it work? Is it plans for the day? Is it God? Perhaps your
first thoughts are, “What a glorious day, thank you very much, Lord!” Then
what, rush around and get ready for work or appointments? What are you thinking
then? Who would be a better listener than God to discuss (silently or aloud)
the potential issues of the day. Sometimes the answers to problems come quickly
and freely. Sometimes it is a struggle and takes many conversations over a
course of many days, weeks, months, before the resolutions become clear. But,
just as if you are running concepts past friends or colleagues, talking out the
issues with God may make the challenges a little less challenging. Have
breakfast with God. Talk to him instead of watching television. Pray in the car
on the way to work. Turn on soft music on the radio and meditate with God
instead of calling clients on the cell phone while driving. Share a coffee
break with God. Instead of participating in idle gossip, why not find a quiet
place, perhaps by a window or outdoors, and refresh yourself in prayer. It
settles the nerves. Try going out to lunch with God. Take a walk or ride to a
favorite spot and thank God for the brilliant autumn leaves, or the geese
landing on the lake, or the quiet snow fall, or the trees bursting with
blossoms. Then the afternoon, with all the pressures of getting things done
prior to the close of business; stop, breathe, pray. Maybe your colleagues will
notice a difference in you. They may see a brighter, more beautiful, more
energetic, more powerful you!
Go
home. Sit in front of the fireplace with God (after you cook dinner and put the
kids to bed). Tell him about your day. Your face and entire being will
transform in the firelight. Maybe then you will be able to sleep a more
peaceful sleep.
My precious Lord, help me
always to remember that you are here with me, everywhere I go, in everything I
do. You are the constant listener, the constant answerer, the constant
companion, the constant provider. What I think I want may not be what is the
best for me. You know. You are the one from whom I should be seeking advice. Let
me soak in all you have to offer. Transform me into a better person, however
that translates for me, in my own life. When I look in the mirror I will like
what I see. When my friends and colleagues look at me they will see a new me. A
transformed me. Praise you for your inspiration.
Amen.
Barbara Hamilton
Sunday,
March
19, 2006
A Prayer
Sustainer
God,
As
we travel the Lenten journey
collectively and individually,
we
ask that you keep us ever mindful of the steps taken by our Savior Jesus
during the 1st journey so many
years ago.
Many
of us face our own wildernesses of brokenness, sickness, and loneliness
and our own deserts of temptation, pride,
and sinfulness today
just as Jesus had done long ago.
Some of us feel a bloody crown of thorns
around our hearts, Lord,
as we see the poverty of violence and
despair in the world today.
We watch as the rich appear to cast lots
for the meager robes of the poor.
Help us Almighty God, to remember in
these dark times,
the Salvation that comes to us on Easter.
Reassure us that we too are wrapped in
the rays of the Glorious Easter Sonrise.
Lisa Lockwood