Monday,
March 20, 2006
1
Timothy 2:8
I want people everywhere to
lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
Some
things never change. Since Paul wrote this admonition to Timothy and the
members of his community, we Christians have found many reasons to be angry with
each other and to argue bitterly over things that are inconsequential in light
of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We
keep missing the point when we argue – whether it is about the nature of God
(who can not be grasped or deconstructed but only felt and loved), or who is
worthy to receive God’s love (when Jesus told us that God’s love is available
to all), or what one needs to do to be a good person (when Jesus helped us make
it really quite simple with the golden rule), or any of the numerous other theological,
political, and personal disagreements Christians have had over the years.
All
we need to do is pray and follow that golden rule – love God and love each
other. The rest will follow. We may have disagreements, but we need not be
angry with each other about them. To me, that is one of the wonderful strengths
of Methodism and of
When
we as faithful followers of Christ are tempted to be angry with someone or to
speak badly of a person, or to argue loudly about something, may we remember
the words of John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist tradition:
“If there is a difference of opinion, where is our
religion, if we cannot think and let think?”
and he also says
“though we may not think
alike, may we not love alike?”
What
a wonderful tradition of openness, and how faithful he is to the gospel of
Christ and Paul’s admonition to Timothy! Thanks be to God for the ways that
Good and loving God, help us
to remember that when we disagree with each other, that we are all your beloved
Children. When we find ourselves in conflict with a person, may we seek to pray
for or even with that person so as to acknowledge our mutual innate goodness
and reach a place of respect for ourselves and each other. With the help of
your grace, we want to let go of things that do not matter in the light of your
Good News. Help us to keep this perspective always so that we can focus on the
only necessary thing – YOU.
Ammon Ripple
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
James 1:6-7
But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is
like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind…
[This devotion is only available in the print edition.]
1 Thessalonians
5:16-18
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in
everything give thanks: for this is what God wants from you in your life in
union with Christ Jesus.
I
stand in line, a refugee from disaster ~ waiting
for
food to warm my body, for words to nourish my soul.
“Thank
you.” My words come slowly and hard at first.
With
new eyes I observe those less fortunate than I ~
those
who often stand in line
to
supply their needs, to receive that they
may
nurture others.
A
question nags at me ~ did I not learn as a child
it
is better to give than to receive?
But
loss and survival reveal their answer: I am not
as
self-reliant as I would believe.
God
has given me everything ~ the self that others see,
The
self that flows through my work and words
and
songs from my heart, my every breath ~
as
gifts to use wisely and well.
Thus
I learn to ask from others, and receive
with
thanksgiving and humility that I may give in return.
New
windows and walls go up around me ~
our
rebuilt lives renew my hope
and
set free my anxieties.
As
blossoms in the snow reach
toward
the light of their Creator, so must I, too,
reach
through the darkness toward the Light.
Though
I have no control over the wind, the waters,
the
actions of the earth or of others,
I
can choose how I respond, and I must begin
with
a thankful heart
Jinnie Milne
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Psalm 5:3
Psalm 118:1-4
Thank God because he is good, because his love never quits.
Tell the world “His love never quits.” Let the priests tell the world “His love
never quits.” And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.”
I love reading
this psalm, seeing prophesy fulfilled between the Old and New Testaments and
being reassured that God’s plans for his people encompass all generations. This
psalm, like to many other places in the Old Testament, foreshadows scriptures
written after the advent of Christ. The psalmist thanks God over and over for
his loving kindness to his people. Under the old covenant of the Laws, the
people lived according to God’ s laws and entered the temple to give God praise
and to offer sacrifices. In return, God rescued and saved his people.
The psalmist
writes of the stone (Jesus) rejected by the builders (the Jewish and Roman
leaders in Jesus’ time), which becomes the capstone in the arch of everlasting
life built by God. Stones are mentioned throughout the New Testament,
especially when Jesus talks about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in
three days. Jesus himself is the very stone of the temple; like the temple,
Jesus was destroyed but arose in three days, a living God.
Under the new
covenant, God fulfills the laws and prophesies. The sacrifices required are our
hearts and minds and souls, rather than rigid adherence to the laws and burnt
offerings on the altar.
Thought for the
day: Remember that God made each day. Rejoice and be glad in it.
Thank you, Lord,
for always being with your people, from the dawn of time and until the end
times. Help us to always be aware of your presence among us. Amen
Paula Byerly
Friday,
March 24, 2006
Psalm 107:1-3
Give thanks
to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Fools:
We’re all fools at one time or another. We’ve all said something foolish. We’ve
been hurtful to others and caused them to suffer. And the saddest parts is we
seem to the deepest the ones we love the most. When I moved here for my first
job, my boss once told me that we know exactly what to say to those we are
closest, to really, really hurt them. That also makes us most vulnerable to
those we love.
But
not only do our hurtful ways hurt others, but they also hurt us. When we say
something mean or do something bad, it isn’t forgotten. It gnaws at us and
stays in our minds. It makes us feel badly. It makes us hurt.
Lent,
like Advent, is a time of preparation. It comes in the spring when we do our
spring cleaning. We sweep out our houses and clean out our closets. Perhaps it
is also a time to clean out our hearts.
God
has shown us the way. When we cry to the Lord and ask for forgiveness, he
forgives us. He heals us. He rescues us from the grave. When we do or say
something hurtful to others, we should recognize it. We should acknowledge it.
We should ask those we hurt for forgiveness and pray to God that they will
accept. And when others come to us saying “I’m sorry,” we should accept their
words and forgive.
Yes,
we’re all fools. But the true fool is the one who remains the fool. You have a
choice. You can change the situation.
Thought for the day: Ask for forgiveness. It will make both
you and the person hyou wronged feel better.
God, I’ve been a fool. Help me to tell
those I’ve hurt that I’m sorry. And give me the strength to forgive others when
they ask. Amen
Sheri Walker
Saturday,
March 25, 2006
Isaiah
29: verse 13
Wherefore the Lord said, for as much as this people draw
near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed
their heart far from me,and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of
men.
For a second reading source or maybe for simplicity, I turned to the Kids
Adventure bible and the verse is translated as The Lord Says these people come near to me with their mouth and honor
me with their lips,but their hearts are far away from me. Their worship of me
is made only of rules taught by men.
In a single verse this scripture sum up the turmoil of our time. More than ever
around the world today, the name of God from our lips become the excuse
for us to treat our brothers and sisters with disdain. In our confusion of the
love of God with the love of religion we are willing to devalue each other.
We seem to have forgotten a most important promise "He made us all and He
loves us all." What is missing is, our heart, from the process of
worshiping and thanking God for lives and our world. I think it is
impossible to love the Lord with all our heart and all our might, and do harm
to our neighbors and their children. It does not matter if this harm comes in
the form of bombs, neglect or starvation.
Dear Lord give us all strength to make
loving you and our neighbors the cause into which we invest our passions.
Edris Ndimbie
I John 5:14-15
And this is the boldness (confidence) we have in
him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever
we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.
At
first glance at this text I may cry out, “Well I don’t think God has been
listening to me; I certainly have not received what I have requested!” Initially this scripture may be perceived as
giving me the privilege of being a spoiled child expecting to be pampered by a
doting parent.
However,
a second reading of the opening line invites a different response. The boldness or confidence I have is not rooted
in self-assurance or self-centered assertiveness. The boldness with which I am invited to
approach God is rooted in my confidence in Christ. Who and what we trust shapes our
requests. Communion with whom we trust
transforms our requests. Having confidence
in Christ, my deepest desire becomes a deep anticipation for the will, the
energy, the joy, and the courage to claim and follow the great commandments
revealed in both our Hebrew and New Testament scriptures, namely to love God
and our neighbor in a manner that draws all of creation toward reconciliation.
I
remember when I would address God as one who is with us and weeps when we weep
and laughs when we laugh. Over the years
my prayer has been transformed and I pray, “O God may I weep when you weep and
laugh when you laugh.”
Having
our confidence in Christ, we approach God as beloved children intuitively
knowing that our prayers are heard. Yes,
God is listening? However, sometimes I
am the one who is playing deaf.
I pray: O God, new every morning is your love, great
God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in me the desire to serve you, the
desire to live peacefully with my neighbors, and the desire to devote each day
to Jesus Christ. Draw me close, that I
may weep when you weep and laugh when you laugh. Amen
Bob Wilson