Friday’s Devotion – Secrets that are Harmful to Your Health

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

I read an interesting article yesterday about helping people age gracefully. It said there is a fine balance between encouraging people to remain physically active and allowing them to admit their infirmities that come with age. A pastor of a large church whom I know became almost overwhelmed trying to keep up with all those who were sick, in assisted living or in the hospital. Thankfully members assisted with visitation, phone calls, prayers and cards.  Yet worse for pastors is to have a member who is ill and does not let the pastor know.  There are some who just don’t want to bother others with their concerns. Still we wonder if they don’t trust us to give the care and support that they need, or they don’t trust the power of prayer.  Maybe they are embarrassed to have whatever their condition is. Scripture says let the elders pray for the sick. I believe in getting medical treatment for sickness but I also believe in the power of prayer as an enhancement to that treatment and a comfort when the treatment doesn’t work. Please encourage the sick, especially the chronically ill to let their pastors serve in the capacity to which God called them and for which they have been trained and ordained.

Heavenly Father, we pray for those who are suffering from illnesses and depression and addictions.  Please help them to know that they don’t have to go through their trials alone or without spiritual guidance. We ask in the name of the one who came to heal, save and comfort. Amen.

Thursday’s Devotion: The Quilt

Psalm 103:2-5  Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

I love handmade quilts. A good friend recently showed me a beautiful one made from a variety of colored pieces.  I was given a star pattern quilt in faded red, white and blue when I was thirteen years old.  It sits on a chest in my den and reminds me of the generosity of the elderly lady who wanted me to have it for my hope chest.  My favorite quilt though is a yo-yo quilt made by my grandmother. She used many different scraps of fabric; scraps left over from clothes she loving sewed for my mother, me and my dolls over the years. Some people would have just discarded these bits of cloth but she brought them together and made something beautiful and useful.  Christ does that with lives. When people feel used up and useless, Christ can heal.  Christ can gather the broken pieces of our life and restore us and make us into something beautiful. Christ sees possibilities where others see hopelessness. My prayer is that those struggling with life right now will put themselves in the hands of the master who redeems and heals.

Abba Father, you sent your holy Son, fully human and fully divine to restore us in many ways.  He understands our pain, our temptations and our frustrations.  We ask that he continue to piece together broken lives.  We pray in his holy name.  Amen.

Wednesday’s Devotion: Trusting God

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

This scripture kept coming to me this morning as I walked and prayed. We had a great meeting last night with our new Pastor for Hispanic Ministry, Efrain Diaz. People from our church, our district and the North GA conference are all enthusiastic about the possibilities of our expanded Hispanic ministry.  I confess that sometimes when things seem to be going really well, I find myself more anxious than when I face more direct challenges. That probably comes from times in my life when things seemed to be doing well only to take a sudden change to a very stressful time. We all go through those periods.  That’s when we can only claim and live by scriptures such as the one above.   In 1John 16:33 Jesus says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If you are struggling with something today, take heart!  Your savior understands and can help lead you into peace.

Gracious God, lead us today in your righteousness.  Help us to submit our understanding to your greater wisdom.  Help us to feel the guiding, loving and comforting presence of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Tuesday’s Devotion: Hearing a Different Song

Mark 4:24 (NLT) Then he added, "Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given--and you will receive even more.

My sermon title Sunday was, “The Bus Stops for Everyone.” As usual in the Jazz service, our director of music came up with popular songs that played on the theme.  After the service our bass player asked me if I heard the wheels.  I shook my head and he sang “The wheels on the bus go round and round.”  I laughed to myself. I had wondered why they were playing “This is the way we wash our clothes!”  Obviously we had two different songs with the same or a similar tune.  Many hymns share the same hymn tune.  I guess when we hear one of those played our life experiences would lead us to recall one song or the other.  Our scripture says, “Pay close attention to what you hear.”  That’s good advice.  Two people can hear the same words and yet “hear” different messages.  We all “hear” through the veil of our predispositions.  Our world views affect how we interpret things and how we react.  That’s not a bad thing in itself, but it is something of which we should be aware.  It explains why we can overact to seemingly innocent statements or not hear important messages someone is trying to share with us.  Pay close attention to what you hear.

Father God, help us to really hear and understand you and those around us. Help us to pay closer attention and to know how our attitudes might affect what we hear.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Monday’s Devotion: Going the Wrong Way on a One Way Street

Psalm 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

I’m glad there are few one way streets in Hapeville.  When I first moved to Americus, to attend GA Southwestern College, I was constantly confused and lost because of the one way roads.  I remember trying to get to the grocery store.  I could see the store but couldn’t get to it!  Luckily I only turned the wrong way a couple of times while I lived there. When I did there was that sudden feeling of alarm.  I didn’t want to get in a wreck and I didn’t want a traffic ticket.  Once and a while in our lives we take a wrong turn.  We head down a road that looks right at first then discover we are on the wrong path.  Just a few drinks, just a little gambling, just charge this one expensive outfit.  Soon we are way down the path, going in the wrong direction and seeing no near way to turn around.  The way to drive safely is to pay close attention to the signs.  God also offers us signs.  We just have to ask for guidance and play close attention so we can hear the answers.  Let God, not your temptations be your guide. 

Loving God, there are times when we go the wrong way and find ourselves in trouble and it doesn’t seem that there’s an easy way to turn around.  We ask for your strength and guidance.  Thank you for the grace that always forgives when we sincerely come to you.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Friday’s Devotion: Terror in the Pulpit

Deuteronomy 18:19-21    I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.  But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” 1 Corinthians 9:16     For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
Last Sunday right in the middle of my pastoral prayer at the 11:00 service I was overcome with the thought, “What are you doing here?”  I suddenly felt out of sync and out of place.  I finished my prayer and the feeling subsided.  The next morning I remembered that feeling during my prayer time and wondered if Satan was not trying to upset me.  But suddenly an assurance came to me that this was not the case.  The presence of God was evident in that service.  What I had experienced in that moment was such a strong personal sense of God’s presence that I could not stand before it. What I had felt was truly, “Who am I to try to speak on Your behalf?  I am so small compared to You.”  Someone wrote in an article on preaching recently that one ascends the steps to the pulpit each week with fear and trembling in hopes of delivering the Word of God without being struck dead.  I’m glad I live through my sermons but never take lightly the seriousness of speaking about and on behalf of the Lord God Almighty. Whether you preach, or teach or deliver God’s word through example may you also at times have that experience of standing on holy ground. 
Holy God, we ask that the words we speak on your behalf be true and acceptable in your sight.  Please guide, protect and lift us up each day. Help us to discern and convey your Truth to others.  Amen.

Thursday’s Devotion: Trust and Obey is More Than a Song Title

Psalm 9:10  “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

I taped the premier of Dancing with the Stars and watched it last night.  I like to watch the first couple of shows and then the last couple.  The transformation of the clumsy, stiff contestants into beautiful talented dancers over the course of the season is fun to see.  They really do prove the saying, “Practice makes perfect.”  The scripture says that God won’t forsake those who seek him.  Those who seek God will over time become better and better at connecting with God.  They will grow in their faith and in their life skills.  This doesn’t work for 100% of the people who seek God but generally those who are trying to live after the example of Christ seem to have more success in life.  The founder of Methodism, John Wesley is largely credited with preventing an English revolution like the one in France.  As a great evangelism movement took hold in England led by Wesley and others, the standard of living rose dramatically for the people.  Why?  They stopped drinking, gambling and living sinful lifestyles.  Instead they turned to lives of responsibility and moral behavior.  Those who sought God did better than those who didn’t.  As they sought God, our Father in turn helped them turn their lives around.  God was there, helping and not forsaking.  As we continue to seek God, let’s remember that even when we can’t sense his presence, God is there beside us.

Father God, help us to be faithful and to trust you to guide and empower our lives.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

Wednesday’s Devotion: Variety Really is the Spice of Life

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

My friend Tony Singleton posted these thoughts on Facebook last night:

“As I've grown older, I've thought about that many times. Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget anniversaries and special occasions just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.” 

Last week I had a good talk with our lay leader.  I appreciate the support that I receive from her.   She said we might not always agree on decisions we make in committees but we can talk them through. I’m glad that our church is made up of a diverse group of folk.  People are affected by all that happens to them in life and all whom they meet. We need to understand that their attitudes and their opinions flow from all of that.  Instead of putting down people because they think and act differently from us, even when they seem to make less than intelligent decisions, we need to understand that these differences are part of the nature of the human race.  In the end, no one is perfect, but all are created in God’s image and loved by God.

Loving God, thank you for the diversity of the human race.  Help us to be more loving and accepting of others. Lift us up if times come when we ourselves don’t feel accepted.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Tuesday’s Devotion: When Others Fear Us

1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I stayed in with the children and their teachers last night during our English and Spanish classes.  Two cute sisters cry loudly (very loudly) each week when their mother leaves them to go to her class.  After a bit they settle down and do well at their lessons and laugh and play.  Another couple brought a baby and his sister who appeared to be about 3 years old.  She was terrified.  She stood near the teacher holding her brother but shook her hands and cried if anyone looked at her or made any move to get near her.  It’s sad to have a child afraid of you. Her parents speak very little English so it is understandable that a child suddenly left in an alien environment with people who are not Hispanic and who are speaking a language she doesn’t understand would be afraid.  I did what I could, speaking to her in Spanish and trying to show love.  I think that sometimes newcomers at church may feel they are in an alien world too.  They don’t understand our language:  Apostle’s Creed, narthex, sacristy, communion, washed in the blood, great cloud of witnesses.  In their presence we should try to do what I did with this child, speak their language and try to show them love. We want everyone to feel welcomed, safe and at home.  In our church and in our personal life, our openness and acceptance of others and our efforts to make them feel comfortable and appreciated is a matter of hospitality.  Let’s all be intentional about offering acts of hospitality.

Father God, we ask that you help us to show the type of perfect love to others that they need.  Help us to be open and friendly to those who come into our presence even when we don’t know quite how to relate to them.  We ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Monday’s Devotion: Goodbye Summer

Psalm 104:19  He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.

Yesterday was officially the last day of summer.  I didn’t realize that until someone mentioned it on television late in the evening.  Maybe I would have marked the day in some way.  With the exception of winter, I say goodbye to each season with some reluctance.  I love the freshness and explosion of blooms of springs suddenly adorning barren ground and branches.  Summer brings warmth to my chilled bones and good times at the pool. There’s something about the crispness of fall that gives me renewed energy and the changing leaves are beautiful.  God gives us the seasons and for whatever reason they also remind us that life is in cycles.  We have different seasons in our life.  As I mentioned in my sermon yesterday, we have seasons of plenty and seasons of want.  For all of us we have times when things are going great and other times when we experience trials or sadness.  It’s all part of life but just as summer follows spring, God’s presence can mark the seasons of our lives. 

Creator God, we thank you for the variety of the seasons. Each brings its own gift to the earth. We pray that your presence will be with us, causing each of our seasons to bring gifts to our lives.  We ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Friday’s Devotion: A New Take on Praise thru the Alphabet

Isaiah 9:6  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Dear God, you are all powerful.  Thank you for hearing our prayers.  We pray that you will listen to the cries of the hearts of those who do not know how to pray.  Bless us this day in all we do.  We ask in Christ’s name.  Amen.

I posted before about a way to pray taught to some of us by the Rev. Jim Burt. He praises God by going through the alphabet and naming attributes of God.  God you are Almighty, Bountiful, Caring, etc.  The other morning I walked in the park and decided to go deeper.  For each letter I praised an attribute, found something to be thankful for and something to pray for others.  For example: “M” - Lord you are magnificent.  Thank you for my marriage.  I pray for people who can’t afford the medicine they need.   Sometimes I would link them.  Thank you for my marriage and I pray for people who are having problems in their marriages. I didn’t get all the way through the alphabet but finished the next day.  This may not be for everyone but we all need to find something that will lead us to a more disciplined prayer life and to balance our laundry list of prayers for personal needs with praise and with prayers for others. On busy, stress-filled days, it is my prayer life that lifts me and carries me through. 

Thursday’s Devotion: Two are Better than One

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)   Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

The Message version of these verses say, “It's better to have a partner than go it alone.    Share the work, share the wealth.  And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there's no one to help, tough!”

I had a conversation with someone yesterday about how difficult it was for this person to get up by herself if she should fall.  This is a problem for a number of our senior members.  On numerous occasions I’ve heard about one falling and remaining on the ground outside or on the floor inside for hours before being discovered. Many seniors have had great loves in their lives but are now widowed and live alone. I realize how blessed I am to be in a loving relationship with a wonderful person.  Joe is someone with whom I can share the work and the wealth and who will pick me up should I fall in any way.  When God made Adam, he saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. God made us to be in relationships.  We’re to be in relationship with God and with other people. He didn't design us to go it alone.  We are born into some relationships. Others we make on our own. Becoming close to another person takes a willingness to trust, to share, to help, and to risk the hurt of loss. Yet a loving relationship with a spouse, partner or good friend makes all that worthwhile.  1 John chapter 4 contains some beautiful verses on love: ⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. …..¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Dear God, we give thanks for the love you have for us and the love you bring into our lives through earthly relationships.  Please help us in our relationships to love others as you love us. Amen.

Wednesday's Devotion: Winner or Whiner

James 1:2-4 (NLT)  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

The leader of a meeting I was in this afternoon asked those present what challenges they might face in the coming week when it came to managing their health and fitness program.  She then said that challenges usually present opportunities if you look closely enough.  One man was in Chicago last week and the trip interrupted his normal routine.  However, he found a beautiful in-town nature preserve and had even more enjoyable walks than he’d been having around his neighborhood.  When faced with adversity we can be a whiner or a winner.  It mostly depends upon our attitude. Ask God to show you the opportunity in the opposition.

Heavenly Father, life does bring us challenges and adversity.  Open our eyes to the hidden blessings you have placed within them.  Help us put our hope and trust in your care.  Amen.

Tuesday’s Devotion: The Lights that Don’t Go Out

Psalm 121  1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  3 He will not let your foot slip—    he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  5 The LORD watches over you—    the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Every night before bedtime I say to the dogs, “It’s time to get a treat and go to bed!”  They all jump up, Dino usually starts barking and they run to the basement and go to their room.  The other night after I turned out the lights I walked through the darkened house and marveled at all the remaining lights.  There were lights glowing all over the big room in the basement; the time in digital format was dancing across computer monitors; red, green, and yellow lights glowed softly around the room reminding me of the interior of a space ship.  There were lights on the computers, on the stereo system, on the TV and VCR and a white light glowed from behind some speakers – who knows what that was coming from.  Upstairs lights came from clocks on the oven and microwave, a digital picture frame, the alarm system and more TVs. A light flickers from something mounted in the hallway ceiling and Joe’s toothbrush even flashes to show it is charging.  The house is never truly dark; it never sleeps.  I wondered if the lights in the dryer and refrigerator really go out when they are closed.  I only had to look out my windows to see more lights outside from glowing solar powered garden globes in our yard and our neighbor’s yard and street and security lights.  They give me a greater sense of safety when I need to go out into the dark.  It all reminded me that I have a God who doesn’t sleep; that the true Light of the World never goes out. God is always watching; always loving; always protecting. Remember that maybe the next time you turn out the lights and they don’t all go out.

Gracious God, we marvel at the light that you give us.  You have set the sun, moon and stars in their place.  Most of all we are grateful that you are our constant guardian and guide.  We praise your holy name and give you thanks for our care.  In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Monday’s Devotion: O God, Where are You?

Habakkuk 3:2  LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

This was Habakkuk’s prayer. Perhaps it is one that we pray but only half-heartedly.  A student of the Bible reads of the mighty acts of God.  They encounter a God who walked in the cool of the garden, who parted the Red Sea, who carved commandments into stone, who spoke from a burning bush.  Where is our burning bush?  We wonder if God was once here only to withdraw into heaven?  Did it take a simpler people in a simpler time to discern the presence of God?  We yearn for a sign; someone sees the image of the face of Jesus on a piece of toast or tree trunk and it makes the national news.  Science tries to explain away the theophanies but we believe God spoke from the clouds. We believe the seas parted, that the rains came and that the walls came tumbling down.  We believe in a God of miracles because if there is none who is going to heal and rescue and save?  Maybe God doesn’t act as overtly as recorded in the Old Testament or maybe we have been blinded so by the dazzle of our own creations that we can’t recognize those acts.  But I believe they are there.  God called me to get out of my seat and go to a hurting teenager last weekend even though everything appeared to be fine from my point of view.  His voice didn’t come from a burning bush; it was more an irresistible pull but it was there – something beyond me compelling to act against my inclinations.  Keep looking, keep listening, God is there.

Abba God, we stand in awe of your deeds.  Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known. Open our eyes that we may see thee. We pray in the name of the one who made your presence manifest in the flesh. Amen.

Friday’s Devotion: You Are What You Read

2 Timothy 3:15-17 ….From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Over the years I’ve read several books and articles on the psychological influence of media.  People respond to different types of stimuli.  For example I may hum a jingle from a TV or radio commercial but usually can’t remember the product it advertises.  I am much more influenced by printed materials.  Two weeks ago I read a Runners’ World magazine in a waiting room and found myself all psyched up to add more running to my daily walk / run.  Last week I read Car and Driver and came away with new car fever.  Joe told me to forget about that!  If I read Vogue at the hairdressers I start craving designer clothes and jewelry.  I stay away from women’s magazines because they have way too many food features and I don’t want to crave food!  I do control those cravings and am lucky that I can recognize the influence.  This brings me to the best print influence – God’s Word.  The more time I spend reading and studying scripture the better person I feel I am being.  If you do not have a habit of reading the Bible on a regular basis, I encourage you to develop one.  Start with a few verses a day and soon you will feel a difference in your spirit and attitude. 

Creator God, your Word is a guide and a comfort to us.  Please help us to find a time and place for daily study. We pray that your living Word live within us. Amen.

Thursday’s Devotion: Choosing to forgive

Colossians 3:13  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

The weather was perfect today for a morning walk.  Someone called while I was walking so when I came to Master Park I made my way to my favorite bench so I could continue the conversation without getting distracted and walking into a telephone pole.  I’ve had some near misses in the past!  While I was chatting, suddenly a city worker driving a Gator came flying by startling me.  He probably didn’t come that close to hitting me but I drew my legs in and exclaimed “Whoa!”  A minute later a second one came by but not so quickly.  I finished my conversation, and made a couple of laps around the ball fields. By then both men were down on the lower level in conversation about how to fill a low, wet area by the bleachers.  On my second lap the first man stopped me and said, “I want to apologize for scaring you.”  I said that was ok but he said again, “I’m sorry.”  I replied that I appreciated all that they did to keep the park nice and told him to have a blessed day.  It’s nice to receive apologies when someone commits a grievance against us, but it doesn’t always happen. Our scripture doesn’t say forgive if you receive an apology.  It says, forgive as the Lord forgave you.  Sometimes we encounter people or are in relationships with people who are difficult, who harm us and are unrepentant.  We can choose to be irritated, bitter, upset or resentful; that’s a normal human response.  But we can also choose to carry enough niceness and love for ourselves and the other party.  Jesus did that all the way to the cross.  Letting love fill our hearts brings us a great deal more peace than letting our hearts become filled with bitterness.  The choice really is ours. We can rise to the higher level with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Precious Lord, we are so blessed to be in relationship with you. It is from your example that we learn to love those who are difficult and those who offend us.  Fill us with your love so that it might overflow onto others.  We pray everything in your Son’s name.  Amen.

Wednesday’s Devotion: Are You Sure, Lord?

Isaiah 6:8  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

That’s not always the way it happens when God desires to send someone on a mission.  People tend to resist that calling at least at first. There are lots of different reasons; they’re afraid, they aren’t sure it’s really God speaking to them, they don’t want to make the sacrifices that might go with answering the call; they don’t think they have what it takes to do the task to which God is calling them. 

Saturday night as we sat in the chapel at the girls’ retreat we had a time of prayer and reflection after a very meaningful worship service.  The girls were asked to spread out and pray about anything standing between them and God. The spiritual directors were available if anyone needed to speak to one.  We moved toward the back of the large worship space to observe.  I was drawn to notice one girl sitting by herself in prayer.  God said, “Go to her.”  I resisted, not being sure God was really behind this urge.  I didn’t want to disturb her prayer time.  God kept tugging on me until I went.  I sat behind her and placed my hand on her shoulder.  She didn’t respond.  God said, persist.  I moved beside her and asked if she was ok.  She said yes.  But I remained beside her and began to sense a spiritual struggle going on.  I caught the eye of the lay director and she came and sat on the other side of the girl.  After a bit, the floodgates opened and the girl broke into sobs so deep we couldn’t understand what she was saying.  I led her away from others so we could speak privately.  This young woman was dealing with some hard things in her life. I had the knowledge and life experiences to let her know I understood and to give her some encouragement.  Many people have hard things going on that we don’t know about.  If I hadn’t finally stepped out in faith and gone to the girl, I would not have been able to help her.  The pain would have remained with her.  If God calls you to step out and help someone, please do so.  Often you are the one specially equipped to help.

Dear God, thank you for giving me a gift of spiritual discernment.  Help me and others to be bolder to respond when you call us to a task.  Help us to be more sensitive to those who need our support and comfort.  Amen.

  

Tuesday’s Devotion: Age Doesn’t Matter

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

I was blessed this Labor Day weekend to serve as a spiritual director along with four other pastor friends on a three day Chrysalis spiritual retreat for teenage girls.  Some of the girls were very quiet especially at first while others had irrepressible energy.  By the end of the weekend though, it was evident that each had been touched by the talks they had heard, the discussions they held,  and by the fun and silliness and outpouring of unconditional agape love they had received from a great many people both obvious to them and from behind the scenes.  Leadership in Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis spiritual retreats is jointly held by clergy and laity. Some of the lay leaders of this weekend were teenagers who had already experienced a Chrysalis retreat.  Before and after each talk, the speaker is taken to a prayer room and prayed for by a pastor and friends.  One 17 year old spoke whom I have known since she was a little girl.  After her talk she shared with me and one of the lay directors that she now discerned that God was calling her into the ministry.   I was not surprised having witnessed her spiritual maturity and strength of faith during our team meetings leading up to the weekend.  My message to her is that though she has a long road ahead of her as she finishes high school and college and seminary, ministry can begin now.  Serving God is not tied to any age.  We are never too young or too old!  The last hymn John Wesley sang was one by Isaac Watts: “I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath.”  Whatever your age, God has a calling for you to serve others as part of the Kingdom.

Dear Lord,  help us to be open to hearing your voice as you send us out into the world to share the Gospel, help the poor, support the downtrodden and care for the sick and lonely.  Help us to support those who are young and hearing your call and help us to praise and serve you until our last days and then beyond.  In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Friday’s Devotion: Even I Can be Wrong

Luke 6:37  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

So I was walking with Joe last night.  We chose a good 4 mile route without many hills that I had found.  As we approached one corner we saw an older teen boy on a bicycle.  He called out to a pretty young woman in tight jeans who had just passed by him.  “How about $10?  She replied, “I charge $50.”  Yes, I thought what you are thinking I thought.  Then she continued, “I charge $50 for braids.  What type of braids do you want?” “Down the back” he replied.  She continued on down the street and we caught up with her as we walked faster than she was.  We passed her and spoke.  She engaged us in conversation.  “It’s not so hot now.”  We talked about the weather.  She told us of an incident she had heard about that day.  She asked where we lived and told us where she lived.  As we got to her house and parted company she turned and told us her name.  I told her mine and of course, invited her to church.  I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.  We are often quick to judge people based on incomplete information.  Every person is a loved creation of God.  I’ve found in life that given half a chance, most are much more likeable than we would expect.

God of Heaven, help us to not judge people but to recognize your image in them.  We confess we all have imperfections.  Thank you for loving us as we are. Help us to do the same with others.  We ask in the name of Jesus who came not to judge but to save. Amen.

Thursday’s Devotion: Through Thick and Through Thin

Psalm 12:1  A psalm of David. Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

Much of David’s life seemed to revolve around battles and intrigues and betrayal.  We can sense his frustration in this Psalm.  I wonder sometime if the characteristic of loyalty hasn’t gone the way of chivalry.  You don’t see much of either anymore.  Some couples choose to live together but not get married because they see marriage as a commitment of loyalty through better and worse and don’t want to make that commitment.  Others get married but take the issue of loyalty lightly and end up having serial marriages.  Marketers work hard to promote brand loyalty. The strongest sense of loyalty I see is in sports – especially college teams. Churches struggle in this day and time with the issue of lack of loyalty among those who attend.  When the longer term members who come from a generation that respected loyalty start to die or become too old to serve effectively the church must replace them with newer members.  Small membership churches have a difficult time doing that when their newcomers are prone to wander off to what they perceive is the next greener pasture. Being church nomads is not an effective way to build the kingdom.  Joe and I have attended Clemson games through winning and through losing seasons.  We have stayed at churches through good times and pastors and not so good times and/or pastors.  Let’s pray for our churches that as long as their teachings and practices are theologically sound and they are intent on serving God by making disciples and mission work, that they will be blessed with loyal congregations who will joyfully take up the responsibility of the work of the kingdom.

Heavenly Father, you are faithful to us, offering grace even when we are prone to wander.  Help us to inspire others to be loyal to you through your church which is the body of Christ. Empower us all to serve faithfully through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. Amen.